Illusion of Fear
Chapter Two: Fighting the Dreams
Falling... lost in the rift... got to hold on to her... dad... how could you... got to hold on... she's falling... couldn't hold on...
Son. You can tell me. Just tell me where you are. I can help you.
No... don't say it... he can't find out... but... but what if he's right... he could help us... no... liar...
Son, listen to your old man. You can trust me.
No... go away... get out of my head... your a liar... you just want her... you can't have her... she's mine...
Oh dear boy, you know what your doing is wrong. She won't live much longer. Only I can cure her.
You... you did this... you want to kill her... I won't... won't let her die... I can save her... you... killed her father... broke his neck... you... you bastard... no... she will live... you can't stop me...
I will stop you, you stupid boy. She will die, and her guilt, and her blood, will be on your hands. I will win again.
No.. go away... get out of my head... get out... Get... OUT!
- - - - - - - - - -
His own words awoke him. He checked if she was okay. She lay on a homemade cot to his left. "Safe."
Ori had been having the same dream ever since he had escaped his father that day in the forest. Thanks to his families trait of rifting, he was able to get the girl to safety. Once he had transported them to a safer place, he had asked the girl what had happened. She had said that her father was the well-known paladin by the name of Thorn. Why Ori's father would kill a paladin was something he couldn't figure out at the time. The girl said that Meloku's army had been looking for her father, and that they would look for her too. She changed her name to Rose, in memory to her father, but more to throw off the guards. She followed Ori to an abandoned farmhouse. There, Ori had told her that he would take care of her. Over the ten years of traveling, no one had found them. Ori had made use of the power that his family was known for. Even though he didn't understand his full potential, he was able to find the rifts that people had established over time. He couldn't, however, choose where he ended up once he was in. This was another thing he did not understand. He and Rose were currently traveling to his uncle's house. Ori hoped that maybe a user of this magic could help him understand what he was.
Rose moved and said something in her sleep, Ori couldn't help but stare. She had once been a small, frail, frightened girl. Now she was becoming more like her father than either of them knew. But some of the things that she did worried Ori. Sometimes he would wake up to her crying, muttering something in a different language. When Ori had asked her about it, she didn't remember even waking up. Rose was hurting without even knowing it. Another reason why he had to protect her.
But the dreams were what Ori was worrying about. His father was trying to find him. Ori knew that his father wanted to hurt Rose, but he didn't know why. She was troubled, but that's no reason to kill her. But Ori kept on fighting the dreams, keeping them at bay so as not to alert his father of his whereabouts. He had already made that mistake. When he discovered that Rose was dying, he had told his father where they were. They were able to escape, but he shamed himself for falling into his father's trap. He wouldn't let it happen again.
But what of Rose? Ori had brought her to a family friend. The friend, Minerva, was a healer. Ori had obtained an injury while trying to catch some food, so she had healed him. While he was resting, she examined Rose. She was shocked to find that the poor girl was infected by a virus that even Minerva hadn't heard about. The virus was trying to kill her, but something inside her was fighting it off without the girl knowing it. Minerva had told Ori, but he decided to keep it a secret so as not to alarm Rose. She had been through enough in her life.
Minerva instucted Ori to take her to see his uncle. She gave him directions, as sent him off. About three months later, he saw his father kill her in his dreams. That was the first night in ten years that he had woken up crying. He knew his father had gotten to her. From that day, Ori swore not to be the death of anyone again.
Laying there awake, he let his mind wander like always. He thought of him and Rose. It was not the first time he thought of Rose like that. She was eight and he was nine when the day in the forest occured. He was now nineteen and she was eighteen, so why couldn't it work out like that? Maybe after he had stopped his father and cured her, they could have a normal life. With that thought, he drifted back into the nightmares.
