Dreams

Note from the author: The song in this chapter is 'Final Dream' by Nightwish. Check it out! =)

 

Dreams 

 

 

'Julianna."

 

She'd know that voice anywhere. It was soft and gentle, just like the way her mother used to talk. Julie looked about her, hoping to see her beautiful mother somewhere in the darkness.

 

'Mother?" she called in her native tongue. 'Mother, where are you? Please tell me you are here and this is not a dream!" She heard soft laughter come from in front of her, and when Julie looked in its direction, she saw a gentle light with the figure of a woman in it, a woman of absolute divine beauty. She wore a pure white gown, her long brown hair flowing over her shoulders. Her face was serene and perfect, her eyes brown and kind as she smiled at Julie with her perfect ruby lips.

 

'My Julianna, my beautiful precious Julianna." she murmured, opening her arms to her daughter. Julie broke into a run right then, rushing to meet her mother's embrace, just as she had many years ago. Before she reached her mother, a piercing scream broke through the silence, and Julie saw that her beautiful mother's dress was stained red with blood, her face in a contortion of pain and shock.

'Mother!" she screamed, running towards her even faster. And then she heard the laughter; oh God, how she hated that laughter. It was cold and unfeeling, a laugh that let her know that her mother was no longer in the same world as her.

'No!" she yelled, drawing out both of her guns and opening fire on the dark figure behind her mother. 'I'll kill you! However long it takes me, I swear I'll find you and kill you! I swear to God!"

 

Julie woke up in a cold sweat, her eyes darting about her quickly. It was that dream again, the dream that bothered her so much that she just couldn't stand it. She threw the covers off of her and swung her legs over the bed, the same bed that she had been in before. Julie covered her eyes with her hands, feeling tears coming to her eyes no matter what she did to stop them.

 

'Mother," she whispered, trying to wipe the memory from her mind. 'Mother." Julie looked up once more, letting her hands drop away from her face. She could still see her mother's face, how it looked before she died in Julie's arms. She shuddered, remembering that gruesome day as though it were yesterday:

 

~*~*~*~

 

May 23, 10897 Arithanid Years

 

'Julianna! Julianna, it's time to go now!" Amidista called lovingly to her daughter. Julianna, who had been picking a bouquet of flowers for her mother, stopped what she was doing right then.

 

'One moment, Mother!" she called, picking one last orchid. 'I'll be right there." Once she had tied her prettiest ribbon around the bouquet, Julianna stood and ran up the hill, seeing her mother smiling with love in her kind eyes.

 

'My Julianna, you know how His Majesty is allergic to flowers!" she chided gently, laying a loving hand on her daughter's shoulder. Julianna smiled up at her mother, blushing slightly.

 

'But I didn't pick any for him!" she protested. 'I picked them all for you!" Julianna then presented her mother with the flowers she had gathered for her. Amidista took one look at the orchids and smiled brightly.

 

 'Julianna darling, you didn't have to do this! Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, kissing her forehead softly. Julianna beamed with pride; she knew that flowers always made her mother smile even on her darkest days. Strangely, her mother looked sad, almost as though she were about to cry as she looked longingly into the distance at the setting sun. Julianna then got a mischievous smile on her face as she pushed her mother playfully and ran down the hill, Amidista following her close behind. Julianna giggled with glee when her mother caught her, tackling her to the ground.

 

'Mother! That's not fair!" she exclaimed, tussling with Amidista as they laughed playfully together. They went about this rough housing for what felt like forever, not caring a bit that they were getting grass stains on their white dresses. Amidista laughed happily, her heart soaring with love for her young daughter.

 

It was then that she saw movement from the corner of her eye, and the more she turned to look, the greater the worry built inside her. Julianna, who had been laying on her back, suddenly realized that her mother had stopped this play. Tugging gently on her dress sleeve, Julianna implored her to continue, but Amidista's stare was fixed once more on the hill, and it was then that Julianna looked and saw what had taken her mother's attention.

 

There, staring down at the Arithanids, was a group of Sarafan men. Among them was a large man in heavy gold armor, his eyes and head burning green. Slowly, Amidista rose to her feet, grabbing Julianna's arm tightly.

 

'Mother?" she asked, looking to Amidista's frozen face.

 

'Julianna, when I tell you to, run. Run and never look back, I'll be right behind you." she whispered. Julianna, who had suddenly become frightened, nodded and looked back to the group of men that were advancing down to the Arithanids. Amidista's breath quickened, knowing what the Sarafan were looking for as they stared at the Arithanids with lust filled eyes.

 

'Run!" Amidista screamed, holding her daughter's arm and pulling her along with her, Julianna struggling to keep up. She could hear the angry shouts of the men as they ran after her, hear the whizzing of arrows past her face. Julianna couldn't recall when her mother's hand left her arm, but she was led to believe that Amidista was still behind her, just as she promised she would. Julie ran straight up the steep hill, her legs feeling weak and tired, her chest heaving with exertion.

 

'We made it!" she began, catching her breath. But to her surprise, Amidista was nowhere in sight. Julianna glanced about her, looking for her beautiful mother.

 

'Mother?" she called, stopping briefly. There was still no answer. Over and over, Julianna called for Amidista, but each time, she was greeted with silence.  It was then that she heard screaming and crying coming from the other side of the hill. 'Mother?" Julianna called once more, walking back to the edge of the hill. Julianna nearly vomited when she saw what was happening.

 

Her mother was being brutally raped by the men, her screams and cries echoing everywhere as they showed her no mercy, laughing at her wails. One of them was cutting her breasts and arms, drawing blood from her as it was caught in buckets, the men chattering excitedly about what they would do with her blood. Fight, Mother, fight, Julianna urged, praying that someone would stop these humans from hurting her mother. She couldn't bear to watch, but she couldn't tear her eyes away.

 

Her mother then caught sight of her daughter and, with all her strength, kicked the men away from her and broke into a run once more, almost reaching Julianna before she stopped, red staining the front of her dress. Julianna screamed when she realized what had happened; her mother had been run through by the Sarafan Lord. He stood there, laughing at Julianna as she rushed to her mother's aide, holding her in her arms and rocking her gently, hoping that somehow, she could keep her alive.

 

'Mother? Mother, are you alright?" she implored, not noticing that the Sarafan Lord had walked away from them, the others still laughing about what they had done. Amidista gazed at Julianna, hardly able to hold her head up. Her dark brown eyes looked to her beautiful daughter, love filling them as she managed a weak smile.

 

'Julianna…" she started, her voice wavering. 'My sweet, loving Julianna...I want you to know something…" Julianna nodded, wanting to know what her mother could possibly want to say to her. 'I want you to become a fine lady. Don't ever let yourself be ruled by a man. Promise me…that you will live your live to the absolute fullest and never forget me..." she managed to whisper.

 

'I will Mother…but I don't understand! Why are you telling me this? Are you dying? Please don't leave me! I love you!" she cried, holding Amidista to her.

 

'I love you too…my dearest daughter. And I'll always be with you, don't ever think that I won't. Now don't cry, dear. Dashara children are strong; you above all should know that! Be brave, dear Julianna Dashara, my sweetest treasure... and do me one more thing." she pleaded, starting to fade away. Julianna once more nodded, laying beside her mother. 'Please, sing your lullaby to me," she asked. Julie didn't understand at first, but when she heard her mother's beautiful soprano voice, she slowly began to sing with her:

 

Lay your head down

And sleep on my shoulder

Lay your head down

And start a new dream

And for tonight the moment is over

Drift in a lullaby

Here where the stars reside

And angels are always seen

Lay your head down

The stars they have whispered

Hear what they say

And know that it means

The moon is your guide

The stars they have kissed her

As she goes gently by

Light as a baby's sigh

Safe on a fairytale stream

And start a new dream

 

 

Only when Julianna heard her mother stop singing did she know that Amidista was no longer with her. Dark, almond brown eyes instantly filled with tears once more, and she couldn't dare to believe what was happening.

 

'Mother? Mother?" she pleaded, hoping that she was only resting. But Amidista had ceased to breathe, quietly dying as her lovely brown eyes were forever sealed behind her pale eyelids.

 

'Mother, please wake up! Don't leave me alone!" Julianna cried out as a long and sorrowful crying broke out across the field. Julie screamed as she felt as though her heart had been ripped from her chest. First Dorothy and Albert, and now Mother, Julianna thought through the million thoughts running through her mind.  She glared at the humans as she watched them walk away.

 

'I'll kill you all for this!" she screamed with absolute hate. 'However long it takes me, I'll hunt you down and make you pay for this! I swear to God!" But the humans paid no attention to her as Julianna began to sob once more, throwing herself onto her mother. This was supposed to be such a perfect day, she thought mournfully, cursing this once happy field, the very field that had one time been her heaven, but had now become her hell...

 

~*~*~*~

 

Julie felt tears streaming down her face as she recalled that day, feeling terrible and sick that she had been right beside her mother when she had died. She still couldn't bear to go to that very field, to look out and see the very place that she had lost her mother at.

 

'Damn them," she whispered as tears fell down her face. 'Damn all the Sarafan. And damn all humans!"

 

'Indeed, damn them all." Vorador's voice rung out suddenly, taking Julie by surprise. She looked to him briefly, wiping the tears from her face. 'Is everything alright?" he asked, walking towards her. Julie nodded her head.

 

'Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." she replied, trying to hold back her tears. Vorador wasn't buying this, and he made it known by sitting beside her on the bed.

 

'You don't look it." he noted, touching her shoulder. Julie, to his surprise, didn't jerk away as she had to Jenna.

 

'It was only a dream, it was nothing important." Julie said, trying so hard to sound like she always did, but she couldn't. Her voice cracked a little, and before she could stop herself, she threw herself into Vorador's arms, wanting to be held by someone, anyone so long as they would comfort her, to show her at least one bit of affection, just to reassure her that she was important to someone.  Please don't believe that, she mentally begged. I need you, please don't turn away like everyone else has. As soon as Julie felt the soft touch of his lips against her forehead, she knew that he had no intention of turning away from her. Vorador understood what she wanted, and without a word, he wrapped his long arms around her, stroking her hair and holding her close as Julie let all her tears out, gripping Vorador's shirt in her hands.

 

'Everything will be alright, dear girl," he whispered, gently moving Julie to where she would be sitting on his lap. 'I won't let them hurt you, ever!" He suddenly vowed, wanting nothing more than to protect and comfort this beautiful Arithanid, this Arithanid that had been denied affection for so many years. She did nothing to move away, which surprised Vorador once more. Julie merely accepted his company and his comfort, nuzzling her head against his neck. This caused his ears to rise up a bit, and before he could stop himself, Vorador kissed Julie's forehead, thinking that she would at least jerk away. Once more, she did nothing.

 

They remained like this, Julie's sobs turning into silent tears, her face frozen once more in a blank stare as she trembled softly. Vorador was lost for words to say to her; all he could do was hold her in silent comfort, stroking her beautiful hair. Her pain runs so deep, he couldn't help but think, as he held her head to his chest. How is it that she survived this long without going mad?

 

'Vorador," Julie started, pulling him back from his thoughts. He looked down to her, his yellow eyes burning into her much darker ones.

 

'Yes Julie?" he replied, not relinquishing his hold on her. Julie looked away for a moment, then stared back up to him.

 

'May I…stay in your room tonight? I fear that…I cannot make myself go to sleep if I am alone." she inquired, her eyes filling with tears once more. Vorador found himself hugging her even closer to him, telling her that she could stay with him that night. Julie was silent once more as Vorador carried her bridal style to his room, laying her gently on the bed before covering her with the heavy blankets. Julie, who had her back turned away from Vorador, heard the sounds of him climbing into bed beside her before one of his large hands reached to touch her shoulder gently. Without hesitation, she turned and snuggled against his bare chest, allowing Vorador to hold her through the night as she fell once more into a merciful sleep.

 

Vorador watched her closely, stroking her shoulders and back gently as her breathing deepened, her tears ceasing to fall. There was something about her that drew him in, something that he hadn't felt in all the years that he had lived. Her pain and her tears were like daggers, stabbing at his heart as they begged him to help her. And that was when he made up his mind that he was going to do just that. Fight as she may, he would be the one to heal her from her pain, to protect her from harm and let her know that there was at least one person in the world that cared about what happened to her.

 

It was with this promise that he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep, holding Julie protectively to him for the rest of the early morning.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Did I seriously almost kill my own friend, Jenna thought as she looked out at the snowy landscape before her. She was sitting atop one of the ruined pillars in Sanctuary, a place where she remembered seeing the clan leaders and Kain hold their meetings. This place was haunted by memories, memories that included the one person that she had allowed herself to fall in love with; Raziel.

 

Kain was livid, of course, hating that his creation was falling in love with his firstborn, and when he caught her with one of Raziel's clan banners, it resulted in him giving her a severe beating, ordering her to never go to Raziel again. She couldn't say if Raziel felt the same about her or not, but deep in her heart, she promised herself that she would one day find out, even if it meant Kain's killing her.

 

She had not been present the day that Raziel had been cast; she had been away in the Shadow Realm with Julie. Jenna never knew that he was truly gone until she saw that Turel had taken his place as Kain's Lieutenant. Oh, how she loathed Turel! She loathed all of them because of how they looked at her. Out of all, Turel was the worst. She was always fearful of leaving the safety of Kain's domain, for wherever she went, Turel was sure to be right there, trying to woo her into being his bride. Each time, Raziel had been right there, protecting her from Turel and sometimes staying with her to be sure he never returned. And it was when he did this that Jenna knew she loved him.

 

Now that the clan leaders were dead with the exception of Kain, Jenna was out of their reach, but there was always danger out there. Fledglings were known to be quite violent with what few females remained, and they had been known to drain those of their own kind. When Jenna had obtained the gift of shape shifting, she was able to slip away from them, knowing that their senses were still too weak to catch her. It wasn't until she saw bats flying towards the pillar beside her that Jenna knew that she was once more in the presence of her sire, Kain. Slowly, he formed from the bats, his dominance and power overwhelming. Jenna bowed her head in respect.

 

'My lord," she greeted, taking care not to stare him directly in the eyes. Kain looked to her, his yellow eyes regarding her in mild surprise.

 

'Jenna," he replied, looking away from her, his white hair floating gently in the wind. Even before he had evolved into the vampire that he was now, Jenna had always considered Kain beautiful, as he was the only person that she considered her family. But Kain was far from being a fatherly figure to her, and he made it a point of putting Jenna in her place if she got too bold.

 

'I assume that your dealings with the Sarafan were resolved?" she questioned, choosing her words carefully.

 

'They were," he replied, the Reaver blade humming with power. Jenna hardly glanced at it, but sometimes she would catch herself looking at the skulls' eyes, seeing that they had taken on a white glow. She nodded, looking at the landscape before them. Snow was starting to fall once more, the sun concealed behind a thick blanket of clouds.

 

'I see," she answered, not meaning to say this. Kain glanced to her briefly, before sighing and looking away. They sat in silence before Jenna caught sight of something laying on Kain's shoulder.

 

'My lord," she addressed, her eyes locked on the object. Kain glanced to her once more. 'What is that on your shoulder?" she questioned. Kain followed her stare and reached to take whatever it was off his shoulder. It turned out to be a lock of black hair that seemed to come from nowhere. He studied, noting that it had a soft shine to it. Clearly, this hair came from a woman, and there was only one woman that he was near-

 

'That looks like Julie's hair," Jenna whispered to herself, not intending for Kain to hear her. Kain looked directly at her.

 

'Who is this Julie that you spoke of?" he questioned. Jenna looked to him briefly and took a breath.

 

'Julie Dashara. She is the Crown Princess of the Arithanids, and has the elemental power of water. She, like yourself Lord Kain, has dealings with the Sarafan."

 

'What dealings?"

 

'Her mother was killed by Sarafan when she was a young girl. Now that she has found their Stronghold, she's determined to get her revenge on them." Jenna explained. A claw went to Kain's chin as he remembered the woman from two nights ago. He now understood what she meant when she said that she was not from his world. Kain had heard of the Arithanids, but had never seen one until that night.

 

'Where is this Arithanid now?" he asked, suddenly wanting to question her further.

 

'That I do not know. But if you wish, I shall search for her." Jenna offered. Kain nodded, waving her away with his hand.

 

'Go then. Find her and bring her to the pillars. She and I have much to discuss." he murmured, knowing that Jenna would hear him just fine. Jenna bowed her head once more and leapt from the tall pillar, shifted into a purple wolf, and ran off once more into the snow. Kain threaded the hair between his claws, not once breaking his stare from it.

 

'Who exactly are you Julie Dashara?" he pondered aloud, looking once more to the horizon.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Julie was the first to wake up that night, feeling something heavy draped over her waist and someone pressed tightly against her. Turning her head slowly, she could see that it was Vorador, his breath tickling her ear gently. She blinked her eyes as she looked back in front of her, feeling strangely drawn to this vampire. Julie had promised her brother and herself that she wouldn't let herself fall in love while she was here, but she couldn't help but think that he was, in an odd way, attractive to her.

 

His low snoring caught her attention, the vibrations from his throat making her giggle, something that she hadn't done since she escaped from the Eternal Prison. People often asked her how it was that she escaped without being killed, and to that day, Julie still had no answer. It was by the grace of God that she escaped, and now she was free once more to do as she pleased.  She turned slowly to face him, Vorador moving only once when she pressed herself to him, letting her body mold to his. It's so strange, Julie thought to herself. Why am I drawn to him? Why would someone like him want an Arithanid girl like me? Julie nestled her head under Vorador's, inhaling his scent slowly. He smelled of Earth and kindness, something that she had never sensed before. Her eyes drooped slowly, starting to fall asleep once more as his arms wrapped even tighter around her.

 

She let a content purr escape her when his hand glided to her hair, stroking it gently. Julie couldn't help but let herself give in to his gentleness, forgetting completely about everything else around her as her arrogant persona fell away from her. Vorador woke not long after Julie started to doze off, his ears folding back as he yawned. Looking down at her, he touched her face softly, waking her up slowly. Her dark eyes opened slowly, looking about her until they rested on his face once more.

 

Julie suddenly had the urge to kiss him, the same urge that she had felt so many years ago with another vampire. But her darker side kicked back in, and she forced herself not to kiss him, much to her disappointment.

 

'You're still asleep at this hour?" he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. Julie touched the tip of her nose against his, staring into his yellow eyes.

 

'Well hello to you too, Vorador," she replied, forcing herself to bring back the old Julie Dashara, the Julie that was so kind and sweet to everyone. A light smile crossed his lips as he chuckled, pulling away from her and getting out of bed. Julie couldn't help but notice that he was very muscular, and that made her even more drawn to him. Shaking her head, Julie rolled over onto her other side, curling once more into a ball and feigning to go back to sleep. She could hear the sounds of Vorador dressing into different clothes, and she felt his eyes on her back as the sound of his footsteps echoed away. Julie couldn't help but open her eyes once more, just to see where he had gone. To her surprise, he was nowhere in sight. She sat up in bed, noticing that she was well rested and feeling much better than she had the day before. She looked at her bandages, wanting so much as to pull them off then. Her skin screamed to breathe, and Julie more than willingly complied by removing the cloth from her arms, legs, abdomen, and her shoulders.

 

The pain was gone now, and there was no trace of a scar on her body from where she had been injured. Julie smiled to herself, finally raising herself out of bed, walking towards the door that lay ajar. Slowly, she opened it, peering around the empty halls.  There, leaning against one of the walls, was Vorador, apparently waiting for her with a kind smile on his face. She nodded back to him, noticing that he held something on his right arm. Slowly, he showed it to her, revealing it to be a dress. Julie looked to him in surprise, taking the silky material in her hands and admiring it.

 

'It's for you," he murmured, handing it to her. 'It will fit you just fine. Your current clothes look as though they have seen better days." Vorador joked. Julie blushed and looked back at him.

 

'Well, being away from home a lot doesn't really give me a chance to change clothes." she replied, taking the dress and walking back into Vorador's room.

 

He chuckled to himself as the door closed, remembering how Julie had admired the dress. Perhaps she is finally beginning to warm up to me, Vorador couldn't help but add.

 

 

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