Between Two Worlds

Chapter 2 Dream

Neve

Through the trees, I can see a strange glow.

What is that? As I walk closer, I realise the glow is emanating from what appears to be a giant crystal sitting in the middle of a small clearing. I look around me trying to recognise where I am. Judging by the thick layer of snow under my bare feet, I am definitely not in the Summer Realm. I instinctively shiver at the realisation I am barefoot and only wearing my thin cotton nightie. Logically I know this is just a dream so it doesn’t matter what I am wearing.

“Is she here yet?” I hear a woman’s voice ask softly.

Shit! I realise there are a man and a woman facing the crystal. The man has his hand pressed firmly to the side of the crystal. I stop just within the treeline, trying to stay hidden.

“Almost,” was his only response, not removing his hand from the crystal.

I study the pair curiously. They are both wearing brightly coloured winter robes extravagantly embellished with crystals and gold-threaded embroidery. The woman is about my height, she has curly hair that falls to her waist the same shade of brown as my hair but with faint silver streaks of grey. She too has brown eyes similar to mine and her skin a similar golden colour. The man is about a foot taller than the woman, with broad muscular shoulders. His appearance is very intriguing to me- he has white-blonde hair that falls to his shoulders, his skin is lily-white but appears to have a slight iridescent quality. His facial features are sharp- he has a handsome strong jawline and pointed nose… my jaw drops as I realise he also has pointed ears. He is a fairy!

The moment I realise this, the man removes his hand from the crystal and turns to look me dead in the eye. “She is here.”

The woman follows his gaze and her face lights up when she sees me. “Neve!” she exclaims in the same soft voice she spoke with only moments ago.

I step out from behind the trees, confused as to how this woman knows my name and why they were expecting me. The man and woman move towards me, cautiously, as if they did not want to scare me.

“Neve!” The woman says again. “Oh, Nathaniel. Look at her! She is so beautiful.”

“Yes, Noelle” agrees the man. “Our little bambina is very beautiful.”

Nathaniel? Noelle? These are my parents? I stared at them in confusion. How did I not recognise them? It is as if they have aged, and not resembling the few photographs I had of them before they died… This was a seriously strange dream because my father is not a fairy.

As if sensing my confusion, my father begins speaking. “Neve, bambina, we don’t have much time to explain. We are taking a serious risk summoning you like this. You are 18 very soon, and the magic protecting you is going to wear off, so we need to prepare you.”

This is too weird. “What are you talking about, dad?”

“Oh, honey!” My mum sighs, gently tucking a stray curl behind my ear. “This must all seem so strange, but you just need to listen to your dad for a second.”

My father continues, “If anyone comes to harm you, you need to use the portal.”

“What portal? I have no idea what you are talking about” I ask.

Confusion appears on both my parents face. My mother looks to my neck and gasps, turning to my father. “Nathaniel! She isn’t wearing the pendant!”

My father looks at me urgently, “Neve, you need to listen to me. You must find the portal. It is the only way to protect you.”

Nathaniel looks over his shoulder suddenly, as if hearing someone or something that I cannot. “They are coming” he whispers glancing at my mother whose face is full of fear. He turns back to me, repeating his previous statement “You must find the portal.”

Before I have time to respond to my father, my mother takes my face in her hands, her eyes glistening with tears. “Neve, honey, you have to go. It is no longer safe. You need to do what your father asks.”

I open my mouth to reply, but before a word can escape my mouth, my father places his hand on my chest the same way he touched the crystal.

I sit up in my bed gasping for breath. My stomach lurches as if I have just travelled through a portal. That was the weirdest dream. I swing my legs off the bed, I need a drink. As my feet hit the floor I freeze and look down- my feet are wet and muddy like I have been standing barefoot in the snow…