#sequeal

Peaceful warmth settled over the form nestled on the rock overlooking the placid lake as they stared into the crystal clear depths, watching the small fish there bobbing and weaving around. At least that’s what it appeared they were doing, instead their mind was racing with thoughts as the feast they had just eaten in their honor sat heavily on their stomach. Unfurling to lay out on the rock, seemingly attempting to sun themselves the form revealed itself to be that of a young woman, with long flowing auburn hair, dusty brown skin, and hazel eyes the only revelation that she wasn’t as completely relaxed as her body showed.

  She could still feel the biting chill of the dream, and vague flickers of the creature that had been hunting her. But her mind refused to focus enough to allow her to understand what it was showing, but it wouldn’t drift away enough to let the dream go away. What was the worst was that the flashes she got of the creature would constantly change, shifting, and reforming into other faces around her.

  “What troubles you my child?” a delicate voice, soft and warm as a summer’s breeze drifted over as the beautiful face of the Lady appeared before her like a cloud given solid form. Her long blonde hair spilled down in golden rays of sunshine, while her blue eyes shone like a cloudless sky. “You barely ate at your feast.”

  It took her mind a second to shift from the half-remembered dream to the vision before her. Scrambling to turn over, she prostrated herself before the Lady, her body shivering slightly despite the warmth. “Forgive me my Lady, I was lost in thought. I had not kno-“

  “Rise child, rise,” the woman commanded with a slight laugh to her voice. When she didn’t immediately respond, the girl felt a hand touch her shoulder and help her up. “No need for that my child; you are to be the Lady yourself. But you seem troubled in this paradise, what bothers you?”

  “It is nothing to worry yourself over my Lady, but I- I had this dream before the feast and it lingers in my mind,” she explained, settling back down on the rock, feeling the Lady embrace her around the shoulders as she took up a position next to her. The warmth of the contact, along with the scent of spiced apples that always seemed to surround the Lady helped to ease the tension she hadn’t realized was in her shoulders, and make the dream seem further away.

  The soft laughter of the woman was as warm as her touch and served to drive the chill even further away from her body. “The wisdom of youth is an amazing thing,” she teased lightly as her hand guided the younger woman to lean against her body. “Let me decide what I should worry about. You are important to me, and I think you are in need of some help.”

  Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, the smell of spiced apples filling her senses for a moment as the vision continued to drift away. “I thought I was as well Lady, but I think I just needed time. I can scarcely recall any of the dream right now,” she explained as her eyes opened to look up at the smiling face of the Lady, “Thank you for your concern, but I believe I will be alright now.”

  “If that is so, then all the better for the both of us, but should dreams ever trouble you, seek me out child, I love to help you and the rest of our little family,” the Lady explained as she leaned in to kiss her on the forehead, cupping the back of her head with a hand to draw her in close. “You will be a wonderful Lady, never forget that.”

  “I won’t my Lady, and with your example to guide me, I feel I will be better than I even hope now,” she answered with a bow of her head after she was released. “Thank you for your time.”

  There was the briefest pause, and she could almost swear that the air felt heavier in that instant, but then it was gone and the Lady let out a bemused little laugh. The faint shifting of cloth alerted her to the rising of the Lady, who patted her on the head softly. “Rise and go play my Child, enjoy what time you have before you become the Lady.”

  “Yes, thank you Lady!” she agreed before turning to head towards the fields past the tree she had been sleeping under earlier. There were some flowers that were perfect for making a flower crown. Perhaps that would soothe her mind and show her gratitude for the Lady taking the time to help her out.

  She had only gotten a few yards away when her friend Marigold popped out of the hut at the edge of the village. Her scarlet hair waved in the gentle breeze as her green eyes danced with mirth; in her arms was a basket of freshly baked rolls, obviously for the evening meal in a few hours. Rushing over, she took the other side of the basket from Marigold, giving it a little greater balance. “Thank you.”

  “No problem, you should have told me you were so busy today, I would’ve helped!” she chided softly as the pair made their way to the feasting table in the center pavilion.

  Marigold let out a jolly laugh as she freed one hand enough to pat her on the shoulder. “I had it until just now, and you were busy talking with the Lady. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

  “She was asking me about why I didn’t eat as much at lunch as I normally do, and then I was telling her about this weird dream that was bugging me, but then I forgot it, and...” she started to explain, only to trail off with a huff. “I feel so silly for wasting her time like that.”

  “She knows you don’t spend time worrying over nothing, I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” Marigold pointed out as they entered the pavilion and began loading the bowls with rolls, covering them with a cloth to keep the animals out of them. There were usually some broken pieces at the bottom of the carry basket, and that would go to a feeding area for the critters of the village. The animals were somewhat trained to eat there, and it helped create the harmonious balance with nature the village enjoyed. “Want to go play in the field after this? We got enough time to join in one game of tag before the meal begins in earnest.”

  “I was thinking of making the Lady a flower crown, she was a great help and I think a present would be nice,” she explained while tucking the cloth into place. “Two would be even better, wouldn’t it?”

  “Just so!” the baker cheered happily, clapping her on the shoulder. “I haven’t made her anything in a while, it sounds fun!”

  “Let’s finish up and get out there,” she answered while moving on to the next bowl, adjusting the wooden spoon at one placement so it was straight. It struck her as strange that they used wood and stone for most everything, but it was the Lady’s rule that there be no metals in the village. Shaking her head, the thought was banished as quickly as it rose. Why should she find it strange? They had always used wood and stone.

  Shaking her head, she forced herself back on task of helping her friend set up for the evening meal. Taking a deep breath, she turned to talk to her friend, to find her frozen with a roll dropping out of her hand into the bowl. What was strange was that she seemed to be made of some sort of white stone, with long flowing blue stands of water frozen in time in place of her fiery red hair.

  Just as suddenly as the vision struck, it passed; leaving her staring at her friend in confusion as the baker continued to talk about whatever it had been they were talking about. But her mind couldn’t focus on the words, only on the image of her friend hewn from some strange substance she couldn’t figure out. Then a vision of her dream returned to her in the next breath, a hungry creature of some sort stalking closer made of the same materials, in a land of ice and snow outside a broken room of stone and glass.

  The second vision cleared just as Marigold’s hand rested on her forehead, a concerned look shining in her eyes. “Are you alright? You just spaced out for a moment,” the baker asked, her other arm holding her firmly in place as the gleam of a blade of metal flickered across her mind, echoing the shine of her friend’s eyes.

  “I’m… no, I think I should talk to the Lady, the dream has returned, an-“ and then in the blade of the knife in her hands, she saw her. The Lady in all her beauty was reflected when the knife caught sight of whatever creature that had been. Her stomach knotted as terror grew in her heart. “I need to speak to the Lady. These dreams are… are unsettling, and I worry they may affect my ability to become the Lady.”

  “Sit down,” Marigold commanded as she helped her into a nearby chair from the table, concern shining on her face. “You look ready to fall over, just stay here and I will get her for you. Hold onto the dreams.”

  “Hurry, please,” she asked as she felt a weakness wash over her like she had never known before.

  While the baker ran off, calling for help and the Lady, a blast of cold ripped through her body, followed swiftly by a sweltering heat and pressure, like several people were stretched over every inch of her body. It was very hard for her to breathe with the pressure, and oddly every breath felt like shards of ice stabbing into her lungs. As her vision began swimming, with the entire eating pavilion waving in and out of focus, she shut her eyes and forced herself to breathe steadily.

  At the feel of something warm and wet stroking her face, she found that it was hard to move her arms, as they felt so heavy that she swore the pressure on her body was actual weights strapped across her, pinning her arms down. She wanted to stop the moisture at her face as it came with a rather heavy, musky scent she couldn't place. Finally, she opened her eyes and found herself staring up along a long, white muzzle into piercing yellow eyes. The moisture stroked across her face once more as she caught sight of razor sharp fangs that could have torn her throat open.

  A thin, wiry hand reached forward to push the animal's face out of her own, revealing that she was staring up at a roof of stone. As that filtered into her mind, she realized that she was laying down on a soft mattress, and the pressure remained. Shifting a little, she found another head perk up and turn to look at her. If it wasn't so terrifying, she'd almost think that it was worried about her.

  Then a voice interrupted the welling panic in her chest, drawing her attention to him. "Ah good, you are awake. Forgive us the intrusion on your dwelling, but we caught scent of the Breath Stealer, and sought to hunt them down. We had feared you dead, but your last breath had not been stolen. Now it seems you have many more to come."

  "Th-thank you," she answered as she studied the man that was talking to her. He was a little older than herself, tall and thin, but you could sense that he had a harsh life that left him with powerful muscles despite his slighter build. He was covered in thick furs, and his eyes were a deep amber, with sharp and angular lines. His jet black hair was wild and unkempt, while his long, slender fingers ended with sharp, pointed nails. His smile was tight, not showing teeth, almost like he was unused to smiling.

  "No, thank you for giving my pack an opening to bring down one of those creatures," he stated with a slight bow of his head, his lips parting to reveal sharp teeth of his own. She had a strange, sinking feeling about this scenario.

  Looking around, she found the place was even more destroyed than it had been in what she had thought of as a dream, but the summer world was the dream wasn't it? There were claw marks in the furniture and in the gouges out of the walls. What wasn't broken before, was now shattered beyond recognition, and a crumpled form was pushed into one corner of the room. The other addition to the mess was a fairly large animal by the door, blood seeping into the floor. "We were on a hunt," the man explained when he noticed her gaze, "You are welcome to join us, the Breath Stealers are solitary creatures so you may risk a fire to cook it."

  "What is your name?" she asked as her mind caught up with reality once more, if she could get more of the meat off the moose once the wolves were done, she'd be able to smoke it and add that to her rations. But she wasn't so long removed from civilization to forget her manners.

  He turned back to her, giving her a large, gleaming smile full of teeth. "I am Lewis Pine, but most call me Lew, and you are welcome to join our pack as we hunt the lands of green to the south."

  "Autumn, and... I suppose I can't refuse such a warm invitation."

  As the wolf on her chest turned to lick her cheek in welcome, she heard Lew letting out a deep rumbling laugh. In the moment she was distracted, he had changed from tall and powerful, to a looming pitch black wolf that was a full head over her on the bed. "A human walks with us my pack," the voice of Lew escaped before he tilted his head back and let out a howl, which was soon joined by several voices, but Autumn remained silent in her confusion.