Reoccurring Dreams

Synopsis - As a child i looked up to my father, the Great Aldrich of Everplains; supernatural hunter. He was by far the best one around, a mercenary for hire if you would. As long as i can remember i always wanted to grow up like my father and take his place as one of the best. That dream turned into a goal when my father brought me along for the first time to the Vampire Kings castle where every year they throw a battle for a week long to see who the best of all creatures was out there. The Vampire King was one of the nicest men i have ever met in my young life. He had the staff playing with me, cooking, and showing me all the secret hallways of the castle and even telling me the story of how he became King. Every year he had the castle spotless for me to run around in, then one day i found it. A secret passage the staff never showed me; it was dirty but 8 year old me was brave. I found a room that overlooked a large arena, where i got to see everyone in action. The King knew i had found it, my father was mad but that was when my dream; my goal; came true. This is a dream that i have had for as long as i can remember. Every year i have this dream, i slowly age more and more in each passing year until a certain point where the dream finally began to evolve into what it is now. I am an adult now and this dream still happens every year so why not write it here and allow you all to see what its like in my mind. ------------------------------------ "Where are we going Daddy?" "We are going to see a good friend of mine." Daddy showed me the letter. It was written on red paper with neat black cursive written on it. The seal of a giant lizard on the bottom. "Why did he use a lizard?" "Thats a Dragon my sweet Ceceil, its a big and powerful creature that breathes fire and can fly in the air!" His arms spread out around him and he pretended to fly around in the air. Giggling i reached out to him as he scooped me up. "Powerful like the Werewolves and Vampires?" "Dont forget the Witches my love." Ever since i could remember, I have always looked up to my father. He was gentle and brave; strong and reliable. My father was one of the worlds best Supernatural Hunters for hire; the Great Aldrich of Everplains. He was the one to call when the creatures of the world turned against the laws of the land and are exiled, the hunters come for you and your only chance to survive is to run. This was the first time my father was bringing me along with him to his annual trip to the Vampire Kings castle where they held the weeklong event of seeing who the best of the best was. It was a friendly competition between the best of the best in the supernatural world. I can faintly remember the carriage ride we took up the beaten path of the mountain, the Castle coming into view at the top. "Daddy its beautiful!" I cry out looking out the window as the castle gets closer until its was looming over us. As he helped me down the doors swung open and a friendly looking man in a suit was standing there. "Welcome Sir Aldrich and Madam Ceceil, the King is expecting you." "Out of the way Eric!" I saw the man in the suit step to the side as my father took stance for attack when a large man blurred past me and was wrapped up in a tight embrace. "Aldrich my friend!" The man bellowed as he squeezed my father tightly, laughing deeply as my father laughed in return. "Daniel, as imposing as ever!" My father laughed out loud as the large man put him down and patted him on the back, his gaze turning to me. "You must be his daughter Little Ceceil, my name is Daniel Thorn and i am the king here." He bent down to my size and stuck out him large hand to me. "Its nice to me you Mr Vampire King Daniel." I stumble over my words as i place my tiny hand in his and give him a light shake. He gives me and odd look and then turns to my father and begins laughing. "She is a delight Aldrich, reminds me so much of you!" He scoops me up and tosses me high into the air, looking down i cant help but laugh as i spread my arms out in that air. Coming back down he catches me with ease and places me on his shoulders. "Dont worry Aldrich, she will have plenty here to do, and my staff all know to keep her company and give her whatever it is she wants. I also instructed them to clean the castle top to bottom, so she can explore like we used to." He looks back and winks at my father as we pass by the man in the suit. "Nice to meet you Eric!" I wave at him as we pass by from my tall height, his eyes shinning as he looks at me and a soft smile plays across his lips. His hand came up for a little wave. As we entered the large hall, I'm met with the rich colors of reds and yellows decorating stone walls with banners. The carpet on the floor matched in a similar style and a bright chandelier hung above. Two white marble pillars stand tall by the large staircase that are decorated with each of the supernatural races, the marble defining every detail with precise precision. The stairs ascended what seemed like several levels and i felt s little tap on my leg. I looked at the King whose eyes were shinning with joy as he watched me take in everything. "Want to see something really cool?" He asked and i nodded my head enthusiastically. Lifting me off his shoulders, he placed me down and took my hand. Leading me over towards the pillars by the stairs, I got a better look as to what was around. Around the corner was a little reading room, a fireplace roaring to life and providing a soft glow. "I wanted to show you this, when your father told me you were coming i couldn't help myself and had everything cleaned. This is the first secret of this castle I will show you, not many know of its contents except for my loyal subjects; your father and my own family. Now i get to show you." He smiled softly at me as he brought me over to a bookshelf that was decorated with colorful books, scrolls and a few statues. He took me over to one of the shelves and pointed at a small picture frame that showed two men standing together, glasses in hand. "Thats me and your father the first time he came here. Would you believe i told you he won that year?" "Yes! Daddy told me the story before, he said you were very surprised and that he kicked your butt good!" "That he did!" The King laughed heartily as he knelt down to my size. "This is the first hallway of many secret passageways of my Castle. You can sneak around to all the rooms, the kitchens and even the master library!" My eyes lit up and i bounced for joy. I turned and looked back at my father who held a smile of pride on his face. "The main hallways of the secret passages are lite with sconces with electricity, those are fancy lights. The branches of the passages do get darker, but the main hallway will always bring you to the dinning room. Would you care to see?" He asked me as i nodded my head and he reached out to the picture frame, stopping short. "Aldrich, meet us there?" The King called out and my father nodded as he turned to the man in the suit Eric and walked down one of the normal hallways. He took my hand and we both reached forward to the picture frame and gave it a small pull towards up. There was a sound of a click and he stood up taking my hand and walking me to the fireplace. "Watch this." He said to me as my eyes focused on the fire. The whole fire seemed to rise out of the ground and a hallway presented itself behind the opening. I let out a little scream as i took off running down the hallway, hearing the King laugh behind me as he followed along. "This is so cool!" "These passageways have been here for thousands of years. They don't go to every room but it does lead to quite a few within these castle walls." He explained as we casually walked down the hall. He pointed at doors that lined the halls, some ladders and small holes. "Each way to get in is different, but the end of this is right around here." He pointed in the direction of a door and opened it up to reveal a large dinning room decorated with deep woodsy greens and browns. My father was already sitting at the table with a drink in his hand and the table was decorated with food of all types. "We had dinner finish just before you got here, so why dont we all eat, and then after i can have Eric accompany you while you get to explore the castle all week long!" The King exclaimed as he picked me up and placed me in the seat next to my father. My mouth was watering and my stomach grumbled as both men laughed and i pouted at them. "Dont make fun of me, im going to be just like daddy when i get bigger!" I puff out my cheeks to them and they only laugh harder. "Yes my sweet girl, i know you will. You have the heart of a fighter!" I father exclaimed in pride as dinner was served for us. --- Time went by, i would go with my father to these events every year and as each year progressed my knowledge of the castle grew more and more. By the time i was 8 years old i could get through that castle better than even the King and my father could. It made the first day of that week the best days of my life growing up. The king became like a second father to me and would always have the room i picked out as a baby filled with gifts for the year, Christmas, Easter, my birthday. I felt so loved but at the same time i felt like something was missing. It had been 4 years since he had brought me along with him the first time and from there on i always wanted to learn more. My father didn't want me to learn any of the fighting skills because it would have been too dangerous. Instead, he decided to teach me all the important information of the world, what each creatures weakness was to the laws regarding our world. I had everything down and could answer any question brought up to me. I studied on my own and learned more and more than what i needed to, yet it was still missing. Then that year changed it all for me, the year i found a boarded-up passageway that lead to a big room. We greeted the King like we did every year, a large family hug and a nice dinner with just us, followed by racing through the secret passages to see who could get to my room first. I had picked one of the rooms that had a secret door in the closet. I liked that i could either use the door or the hallways to get around, and it was updated after i picked it. The King added a stronger door to the passage and a lock that only had access for a few people within the castle walls to make sure i was safe. We would sit around the fireplace in my room and have hot coca as we went through all the gifts together. While my father and the King went off after that to do what they did every week i decided that this time i was going to slowly go over the whole Castle and make sure i have every hallway memorized and in my mind. Leaving from my little secret passage, I pulled out the flashlight i got from my father one year for the halls, makes it easier to see in the smaller halls. Climbing down the ladder and passing through another door i was in the main secret hall of the Castle. The halls were always spotless because the King knew every year i would travel through these halls to entertain myself. This year was no different and i wanted to make sure i knew where i was going so i picked a room and started heading down the hall. "Maybe the chef made my favorite cookies again. I'll head to the kitchen and see. Now I'm on the 4th floor, so i have quite a winding path for me to get there, but that is what I need!" Skipping down the hall i make my way through one bedroom, ending in the side hall and make my way into the storage closet two doors down. Heading down the ladder i make two lefts and head down another ladder. The door parts open easily and im met with the main secret hall again. Walking down, I looked at all the small pictures lining the walls, Eric had put them up for me, years worth of pictures and memories of all of us. I smile as my heart beats in my chest, im so glad i get to have this opportunity in life. Opening the wooden door at the end of the hall, I met with the inside of the pantry of the kitchen. Walking out im met with the smile of Martha, the head chef. "Good to see you my child! Your cookies are just about to come out. How I knew you would come here is no surprise to me, you always want these cookies!" She laughs as i jump up and sit on the counter next to the stove as i watch her stirring something in a pot. "Is Gerald being picky again?" I asked Martha and she nods her head slightly. "You are way too smart for your own good, you know that? Though that is what you get when you come from a great man and have a supporting supernatural family." She laughs once again as i stick my finger in and lick it. "You know if your father found out you were doing this." She scolds me as i feel a slight shiver down my spine, my arm bends slightly in an unnatural pose, but gritting my teeth i get through the pain and it subsudes. "I may be young Martha, but if my father won't let me experience the physical, then how am i supposed to follow him? I know you haven't liked helping me last year, but i do appreciate it." "Way too smart for an 8 year old." She pats my head and a small ding goes off as I watched her smile as me and head over to the large over to pull out her famous snickerdoodle cookies. I jumped down and accidentally landed wrong and fell forward, bracing myself with my arm. I hit my head slightly and in my daze I looked under her cutting station and I could see a small door, one similar to the hallway ones. "Oh Ceceil you okay?!" Martha runs over to me and i look up as her and sit up smiling. "That was my fault, i tripped over myself. I am still just a kid." I laugh as she fusses over me, seeing a small bruise appear on my arm. "Oh dear you are hurt, let me get the kit for you!" "Im okay Martha, i done need it!" "I insist." She scolds me as i let her go without fighting more. As soon as she is out of the kitchen i shift her cutting station over using all of my might and pull open the small door. Taking the flashlight out, I shined in and could see that the hall hadn't been used in what seemed like centuries. Old cobwebs hang the walls, no sign of life as if its been closed off like a crypt. Bracing myself, I walked through and brushed the webs out of my way with my arm, making sure to close the door behind me. It wasnt very long and i opened a small door into a brightly lite room. It almost looked like a small cafeteria in an office, with coffee and vending machines. There was a large window on the other end of the room and curiously i walked over to it to see what was out there. My eyes widened as i got to see a fight going on between my father and the King of Wolves, the sound of claws and blades scraping together. I watched on for what seemed like hours until my father finally got the King to concede and won the match, i covered my mouth to hide the excited cheer that erupted from my mouth. Looking out i met with the eyes of the Vampire King who just gave me a slight nod and waved at me slightly. Knowing that i was caught and a conversation was going to happen i left the room back the way i came and put everything back just before Martha came back in with the kit. "Dear, how did you get so dirty! Never mind, lets take care of that bruise." --- That night, my father walked in with the King and had me sit on the bed. My father sat beside me and the king in the chair by the fireplace. "I knew you would find that room, you are a very smart and adventurous girl. I said it before Aldrich, she is just like you." My father sighed and then smiled at me, melting all of my fear. "I knew the day would come too, but i didn't think it would be this soon. You already know what i do and you have all of this knowledge that you want to put to use. Why do you think you got to do all your testing? Martha told us the first day and we decided that if you were going to do it anyway, then with someone we trust. So i guess what I'm saying is, Ceceil, do you want to finally train under me so one day you may replace me as the best Hunter this world will ever know?" "Of course! I have waited forever Daddy!"