BEGINNING�S END
She shook her heavy head groggily, trying to throw off the blanket of sleep that still clung to her, not fully comprehending what was happening, and felt her hands suddenly fall limply to the side of her body, the last letter floating eerily in the damp night air of the cavern before quickly snuffing out. As her senses awoke from their night�s respite, Terra began to discern a hovering aura of fear which lingered from the dream which just ended in her scream. Sweat coated every inch of skin and the sleeping gown she wore was soaked all the way through. Closing her eyes tightly in the silence of her chamber and gripping her head in her hands, she fought to grasp the slipping threads of the dream�s sequence, willing herself to remember every possible detail of the nightmare. For it must have been a nightmare indeed to wake her with such terror flaring within her.
Her racing heart returned mercifully to a more tolerable pace, the dryness of her mouth abated with each passing second and soon Terra was able to calm her mind enough to recall her dream to some extent. A man. No, not a man� a monster in the shape of a man, with a hideous grin filled with sharp teeth and hiding a forked tongue. Laughter, vile and horrible. A proclamation of� of�
Terra opened her eyes and sighed deeply in frustration, her night vision playing tricks with the shadows about the room. A proclamation of what? This part of the dream eluded her and yet she knew that it was the most important piece of her mysterious past that would link with her present and which would certainly open the flood gates of her memory once more. What was it that�
A loud bang erupted at the entrance to her chamber as the door slammed open heavily against the rock wall beside it. Terra sat up quickly in surprise to see Locke standing in the open doorway framed by the candle light which emanated from behind him. His hair was frazzled and his breath came in quick, deep gasps as his muscular chest bellowed with the effort. He was dressed only in the green britches that he undoubtedly wore beneath his other colorful clothing during the day and Terra looked up at him in awe. She never imagined that he was so sculpted beneath the relatively loose shirts that he wore, but logic told her that he would need to wear such open tops to allow free motion of his upper limbs.
�Terra,� Locke said in unhidden concern, �are you alright? I heard screaming from your room.� He crossed the room in three swift, long strides and was kneeling at her bedside before she had time to reply.
�I�m,� she swallowed convulsively and then continued, �I�m ok, I think.� She focused once more at the space before her where those burning letters had been just a few moments ago. �I had a bad dream, Locke, a horrible dream that I cannot remember.� She looked back into his eyes, his emotions blazing openly at her with such force that she withdrew her gaze and focused instead on the doorway behind him. �I�m ok now, dear Locke, for I have awoken and the dream is dispelled.�
Locke remained on bended knee for a moment longer beside her cot, looking at her in open admiration, yet with a sadness she could sense strongly from him, and then stood up, turned around without a moment�s glance back and strode away from her. As he was about to walk through the door, she called out to him.
�Locke!�
She did not know why she had done it or what could have compelled her to ask the question that followed, but she did know that it was the right thing to do and that this was the right time to do it. Terra had watched from afar with a detached guilt as Locke grew deeper in his affection for her, unable to say a single word to him or the others about it and terribly afraid that it would one day prove to be the wedge that drove them apart. She knew that she could not return that affection as she was now and like all else in her life, she could not say how she knew this with any certainty.
�Why did you join the Returners, Locke?�
He stood there for a moment, a monument of uncertainty in a stoic world that neither knew nor cared for the weaknesses of the heart. It pained her deeply to witness the conversion of such a caring and loving person into no more than a broken, desolate being. He still kept his back to her, though Terra saw all this plainly, almost as if his emotions were completely open to her. In a way, they actually were.
�Someone I knew,� he said this hoping she would not ask anymore of that person, �someone important to me was jailed by the Empire. I�ve hated the Empire ever since and swore to use every resource at my disposal to ensure the Empire�s demise.� A sudden burst of fury radiated like heat from a furnace, freshly stoked with coal, as he said, �The entire Empire is rotten to the core, Terra, and their interest is only in power. Domination is their goal. I intend to make the difference between their success and their failure.� He must have sensed how tense his body was, how tightly he was gripping the door�s wooden frame, as he now relaxed with a sigh of despair and turned back to look at her. �Why do you ask this of me, Terra?�
She felt a pang of sadness so sharp that it almost stopped her saying what she knew she must, but in the end, she proceeded with her intended statement.
�Locke� I have no significant other. What reason could I possibly have to face the Empire? Why should I not just run away from this madness and seclude myself from all things?�
Once again, in but a few strides, Locke was over her, taking her hand into his once more and sitting on the edge of her bed. She did not pull away at all for she knew that his intent was no longer based on his affection.
�My dear Terra,� Locke began, smiling down at her as she lay back into her bed and closed her eyes, feeling the tears build there once more, �you are quite wrong. There are those who need you, far more than you would know. These men and women here seek a lost life, free of strife and dissent, and would grasp at any straw, no matter the consequence, to see that life renewed. You give them hope, Terra, as Banon so rightly hinted,� and Terra suppressed the urge to ask Locke what had really happened in Banon�s room during the story telling. �With your help, this world can once again be safe from the tyranny of the Empire�s evil.�
She opened her eyes again and looked at him. It was gone. The sense that he was skirting along the edge of his heart while he spoke to her had evaporated. She understood that he would no longer hold such a passion for her anymore and the smile which played across her lips was one of both relief and gratitude.
�Thank you Locke, for everything you have done,� was all that she said.
Locke stood up once more and strode back towards the door leading out of Terra�s room and did not look back. Terra lay on her bed and wondered, not for the first time since her first memory of awakening in Arvis� hut, what tomorrow would hold in store for her.
