Feathers of a dream

Chapter 6

 Blinking a few times Lythia looked at a bright blue sky high above her. Fluffy white clouds floated past, while the sun was shining brightly heating her body. Feeling a gentle  breeze blow the blades of grass around her, Lythia closed her eyes and rested her arm over top them.

Letting out a small sigh she realized just where she was. After months on end of similar scenery, it had started to feel like a second home. The dreams were never in a consistent patterns. Coming and going when they wanted, no rhyme or reason. Days could turn into weeks before she found herself back in the beautiful lush fields. Yet every time she returned nothing had changed.

Hushed mumbles pulled Lythia out of her thoughts. Peeking under her arm two small figures came into view. Both boys stood near her emerged into a deep conversation. Hands on hips and scowls on their face it was clear they were arguing about something.

They were the only new thing that has happened in her dreams recently. The blond haired boy had been around for awhile. He never had much to say, but their was always a mischievous glint in his eyes. Something about him was familiar which also made her feel calm.

Watching a smile spread across his the image of the steps from early rushed back to the front of her mind. Feeling surprise and alarm ring through out her, Lythia bounced into a sitting position. Both boys jumped back with her sudden movement.

“Are you okay?” Concern flooded across the brown hair boules face.

She nodded before turning her attention to the blonde hair boy. There was no doubt in her mind that he was the same boy from the steps. As even more questions skated across her mind another sharp pain shot across. The blonde haired boy gave a sheepish smile while mischief danced around his eyes.

Kneeling in front of her he held out his hand. “Did you just think of something?”

“I… You… You were on the stairs…” The words jumbled around as Lythia grabbed his hand.

His sheepish smile turned into a smirk as he helped her to her feet. “Stairs? That is a good possibility.”

The brown hair boy put his hand on the other boys shoulder shaking his head. “Now isn’t the time for this. We need to hurry.”

“Hurry where?” Lythia questioned.

“Away from here.” He look at their surrounds before landing a hard gaze to her. “Trust me.”

He held his hand out while waiting. Lythia had so many questions swirling around her mind. Feeling a slight squeeze on her other hand she darted her eyes over. The blonde haired boy nodded his head in agreement. She looked back to see the other boy still looking around them. Feeling a little hesitant she placed her hand in his.

He looked to her hand as he tightened his grip and then to her eyes. “Thanks.”

With that he pulled her along. Walking hand and hand with noth boys then continued in silence through the hills. Hundreds of questions weighted heavily on her mind, but she couldn’t find the voice to ask. Always alone in this place she felt serenity but after meeting these two worry started to bubble in the pit of her stomach. Everything about them seemed familiar but she can’t remember ever seeing them before. As another image of the Blonde haired boy flashed across her mind goosebumps traveled down her arm.

Feeling a gentle squeeze on her hand again Lythia looked down. The blonde haired boy met her gaze with a sheepish smile. He was trying to comfort her, and to her surprise it worked. Something about them she trusted without a doubt. Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind, she glanced around taking in the scenery.

For what felt like hours they continued walking in silence. As hard as she was trying not to ask questions they were still dancing around her mind. As she began to open her mouth to speak a sweet and salty smell pricked at her nose. As if on queue the hills surrounding them started to flatten. The tall grass was becoming shorter and the decaying bodies were becoming less. Where the grass was a little thinner in areas you could see small mounds of sand poking through.

They walked a bit more before the shore line came into view. Small waves washed across the sand leaving wet splotches where ever they touch. The sun glistening off the bright blue water was enough to make you squint. Seagulls squawked as the flew over head. The strong smell of salt and water lingered in the air.

After spending so much time in the tall grass sadness pinged at Lytjias heart. The months she had spent alone exploring her surroundings she had never ventured far. So seeing tall forest and open beaches were the last thing she was expecting. It was such a different smell than the sweet smell of the grass they had left behind. She couldn’t decided if she liked it. The clear beach broke way to rocks. The small vast violently crashed against spraying water into the air. The sun was sparkled through each drop casting a rainbow effect.

Feeling Lythia slowing her pace, the Brown haired boy tightened his grip and pulled her. It caused her to stumble along after him. Tearing her gaze away from the beautiful scenery she noticed both the boys looked tense. They seemed to be on edge and very guarded. It was a completely different demeanor then what they had earlier.

A knot started to tie in her stomach. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” The blonde haired boy turned his head smiling up at her.

Lythia eyed him suspiciously but kept up their quick pace. The hot sand below was starting to burn her feet. Looking between the boys and her surroundings nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her. Then again she had never traveled this far across the land. She did make a mental note that whatever was keeping them on high alert also had them both resting a hand on the dagger sitting in their belts.

Eventually a thicket of trees came into view. The grass started to grow out of the sand once again. Lythia let out a sigh at stepping into grass. The cool earthy feel gave instant relief to her feet.

Both boys slowed down their pace just as they entered into the start of the forest. Tall trees teaming with leaves and vines stood proudly into the sky. A wet early smell swirled around.

As they got a bit deeper in a loud caw echoed around them. The brown haired boy let go of her hair and pushed her back. Standing in front he scanned his surrounds ready to pull the dagger out at any given moment. Another caw came but sounded a bit farther out. The blonde haired boy pushed her back behind him. With drawing his dagger he took a few steps forward.

Taking a few steps back something sharp stabbed at her foot, which made her hiss out in pain. Both boys looked to her as she braced herself against a near by tree  pulling her foot to her knee she saw a small piece of glass was edged into her foot. Plucking it out blood started to pool before creating a path to drip off.

Another loud caw erupted around them. Lythia looked back up to see the blonde haired boy was a little father away walking cautiously with his dagger out stretched. The brown haired boy stood only a few feet in front of her looking around. Panic and anger swirled his face as he looked from side to side. With one of his hands firmly gripping the hilt of his dagger, the other was held up telling Lythia not to move.

Feeling the knot in her stomach tie even more Lythia stayed as still as possible. The three of them stood in silence looking from side to side for what felt like a eternity. The blonde haired boy started making his way back to them as he sheathed his sword back, but still kept a firm grip on the hilt  as the brown haired boy started to relax a loud bell started to go off. It was so loud Lythia threw her hands against her ears letting her foot drop to the ground. Thr impact caused her to wince in pain as another bell sounded. Glancing up at her companions she noticed both boys were moving their lips, bust she couldn’t hear what they were saying over the ringing. For the third time the sound ringed again causing Lythia to shrink to the ground. Still cupping her ears she glanced up while wincing in pain. It made her ears feel like they were bleeding. Wincing again in pain she looked up to two small concerned faces staring back at her. Worry highlighted their eyes as they both mouthed something to her. Just as the bell dinged again a vibration stated to flow through her body. The vibration was so strong she felt like her body was going to be torn in half. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she felt her consciousness fading away. The brown haired boy caught her just as everything went black.

        ~                                 ~

Lythia sat up in bed panting and sweating. Her muscles were all tense and she was on high alert. The pain and loud noise was gone and replaced with the normal silence of her room.  The memories were still vividly replaying in her mind.  

Shivers ran up and down her spine as she glanced around her room. A feeling of safety settled in as she looked toward the window. The sun was just starting to poke its rays into the night sky. Seeing that morning was just on the horizon she felt her muscles loosen up. It was only a dream she told herself.

Laying back down in bed she felt exhaustion wash over her. Covering her face with her hands she let out a sigh. Everything felt so real, just like always. She could taste the saltwater still on her tongue. Moving her hands out of the way she stared up at the ceiling, while repeating over and over in her head that it was a dream. Blinking her eyes closed the imagery of the landscape floated across.

 Knowing she wasn’t going to be able to fall back to sleep anytime soon, Lythia clicked the light on next to her bed. As light flooded the room she let out a loud groan. Pain was tugging at the corner of her head. Kicking the covers off she sat on the edge running her hands through her hair. It was tangled and wet with sweat. Brushing it back out of her face she stood up, which her foot greeted her with pain the moment she put pressure on it.

Feeling alarmed again she sat back down quickly and pulled her foot toward her face. A small red cut laid on the top of her foot. In the same place she just saw it in her dream. Feeling her heart quicken Lythia took big breathes and repeated to herself it’s only a dream.

After a few minutes she of trying to calm her self down she placed her foot back to the ground and stood up. Pacing back and forth in front of her bed she kept trying to rationalization everything.

Something red caught the corner of her eye on the bed sheets. There sat a few splotches of red where her feet were just at. As panic started to kick in she felt a vibration in her pocket, which caused her to jump bumping into the dresser behind her.

Feeling around her pocket she pulled out her cellphone. A bell alarm was starting to ring loudly. Lythia silence the alarm, and noticed it was 7:05am. Her alarm always went off every 5 minutes. As memories of the dreams started flooding through she dropped her phone. Trying not to break out phone a full panic attack she repeatedly told herself it was a dream.

Ripping her sheets off the bed she went to the washing room and stuffed them into the washer. Once it started filling with water she dumped in some solution and let out a small sigh. Silently closing the lid she slid down onto the floor and hugged her knees.. Even if she repeated it was a dream a thousand times, nothing was making sense anymore. She was scared, and confused. Feeling overwhelmed by her own emotions Lythia let the tears drip down her cheeks.

Falling one by one she sat there for a while with her head buried in her knees. As the washer kicked over to another spin cycle she was feeling better. Having no idea what was going on or how to fix it she showed the ideas to the back of her mind. Both the boys faces flashed skated across, and she sighed loudly. Shakily she stood up and made her way to the hallway. Grabbing a towel she headed to the bathroom ready to get her day started