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Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Closed Eyes - 2

As if from a distance, Cece could feel a cool sensation spread over her body. It somehow felt familiar, as if it were waves of water washing over herself.

Sitting up with a start, Cece pressed a hand to her forehead to try and stop the world from spinning. Well this is an odd dream…

Looking around, Cece could see that she was no longer at the formal dinner, but instead on some sort of beach. The sand was hot beneath her skin and the waves were lapping against her bare legs. She was glad that her subconscious mind took her to somewhere warm, but everything felt so clear and vibrant, almost too real. The water reflected the sun brilliantly, making her shield her eyes.

When the ground finally stopped rocking, Cece glanced down at herself. She wasn't wearing the brilliant red dress any longer. In fact, she was concerned to find herself wearing nothing at all. Her skin looked red and tender, as if she had been laying out in the sun far too long.

"Jeeze…" She winced as she cautiously pressed a finger to her thigh. Why am I feeling this stuff? This dream is a little too realistic for my liking!

She supposed it was possible that because she had passed out from exhaustion that her sleep was much deeper than normal, though she had never heard of anyone feeling pain during their dreams.

Frowning, Cece looked behind her toward the main land to get her bearings, but was surprised by a figure standing not too far from her.

 "I'm… I'm sorry, miss," the man stuttered, suddenly very nervous.

Instinctively, Cece through an arm over her chest, though her back was still toward the strange man. "Who are you?" she demanded, glaring at the man as if he were intruding upon her.

He shifted from one foot to the other before respectfully looking away from her naked form.  "I'm Jeroff, son of Arethon, high seat of Nahm," he bowed formally, though not in her direction. "I thought I saw someone out here, so I came to look."

Laughing, Cece shook her head at herself. Apparently I'm very creative when I'm dreaming! "high seat of Nahm"? How do I come up with this stuff?

"Well Jeroff, son of Arethon, high seat of Nahm, is it a crime to be sitting on a beach, or are you thinking that I'd be a damsel in distress?" she asked, amusement clear in her voice.

She slowly stood, dusting sand from her tender and wet skin. She winced in discomfort as her skin felt tight from being roasted by the glaring sun. Even the bottom of my feet feel sunburned! However, Cece no longer felt embarrassment at having no clothing on, though knew it would have probably helped prevent some of her fake sunburn. It was just a dream, after all, so why not have a little fun before she woke up and lost the dream forever?

Jeroff cleared his throat and did his best to try and not glance at Cece. His face was unusually red, and not from just the hot temperature and the sun. He ruffled a hand through his raven black hair, a gesture that seemed more of a nervous habit than anything.

 "Well miss, we just haven't had anyone go near this beach in centuries. The water is cursed."

Pulling a long strand of silvery hair off her face and tucking it behind her ear, Cece could only laugh and shake her head. This dream truly was a very unique one. "Is that so? And how is it cursed?" Cece planted a fist on her hip and tilted her head in a curious gesture, though amusement played across the smirk on her lips. She could only imagine where this dream was taking her next.

For the past few days, she had been having extremely strange dreams, but all of them were just her standing in something cold with dense fog all around. Cece had tried and tried to see through the fog each and every time she had the dream, but it never gave way. Even when a strong gust seemed to whip her hair around her face, the fog never shifted. Whenever she had woken from these strange dreams, her eyes felt exhausted, as if she had been straining them all night, but she knew she was just being silly and the stress of traveling was getting to her. It seemed to happen every month during her travels, but this month seemed so much stronger. Maybe it's time for a career change…

Brushing the thought aside, she watched as Jeroff glanced in her direction, his cheeks darkening to an impossibly deep red. She caught a glimpse at his pale green eyes, eyes that showed just how uncomfortable he was this the whole situation.

"Yes, cursed. It is said that anyone found in these waters is not from this land. There are ancient writings proving that the people from the water will bring death or gain death by entering into the water by foot or by ship. So we do not take any chances, and there is always someone guarding these waters."

Cece strode toward Jeroff and circled around him until she was standing directly in front of him. She was usually a very private person, not even one to wear v-neck shirts for fear of showing too much cleavage, but she didn't consider herself bad looking either. She was fairly athletic, though shapely and could stand to lose a few extra pounds, but all in all she was fine with the way her body looked. This was a dream, after all, so took the chance to do something she would never, ever, ever, normally do. Hell, I won't even let Patrick see me being like this!

Jeroff quickly closed his eyes and turned his head away. Cece could only laugh as she leaned forward and whispered in the man's ear, "You got one thing right. I'm certainly not from this land."

The man paled and visibly swayed on his feet. He took a step back as if her presence was too much for him to be near. A strong wind was beginning to blow, causing the man's white cotton shirt and wide pant-legged trousers to ruffle. Cece's own hair was dancing in the wind, making her realize her neat spiraled bun was no longer.

"Then… then…  ," Jeroff began before finally opening his eyes and forcing himself to meet Cece's own dark gray ones, "then you must be here to bring death."

Cece shivered, the wind growing chillier and chillier against her sunburned skin. "No," she said slowly, "I won't be here long enough for that. This is just a dream. Patrick will wake me up any moment now and I probably won't even remember any of this."

Jeroff's eyes never left hers. They hardened, and even his stance took on that of someone who felt threatened. "Pa-tri-ck? Is this person the one that sent you here?" Patrick's name came out unnaturally, as if he had never formed such a word before.

Rolling her eyes, Cece could only sigh. This dream was getting a little old. For some reason, she felt she had no control over what was happening. She kept expecting Patrick's stocky form to take the place of the lanky Jeroff's, but no matter how much she willed it to happen, Jeroff still stood in front of her, his eyes locked on hers. Maybe my subconscious is just too strong still. Deep dreams can really be strange!

"No, Patrick is my fiancée that is probably extremely worried about me right now," she said impatiently, waving her left hand in front of the man's face to show off her-

"My ring!" she cried in sudden surprise. Cece's eyes grew wide as she stared at her bare ring finger. "It's gone! What the hell is going on?" She knew this was a dream, but why would her subconscious be telling her that she shouldn't have her engagement ring on her finger?

Jeroff only shook his head, confusion clear in his expression. "Fiancée?" Again, it seemed as if he had never formed such a word before. He clearly did not understand the importance of this ring to her, but before she could demand they search for her ring, he continued, "I'm sorry, but I need to take you inside with me. I think it's time you talk with Loyie."
 

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