"Do not mind him," Loyie said, walking over to a rocking chair and sitting lightly at the edge of the seat. Cece followed suit, but sat all the way back against the chair, letting herself rock slightly. "He just feels the need to protect his people from the coming evil, and anything dealing with the prophecy makes him nervous."
Cece only stared at the woman, her gray eyes blank. None
of Loyie's words meant anything to her, so stayed silent.
Taking a sip of her tea and swallowing slowly, Loyie
sighed in satisfaction. "But you are not here to talk about the problems
of our people. You are here because you need answers just as much as we
do."
"What do you mean?" Cece asked before finally
taking a sip of the hot tea. It was flavorful with a hint of mint and lemon. At least the prince knows how to make a good cup of tea!
"Tell me, how do you think you got here?"
Cece frowned at the woman. "I don't know, I passed
out at my fiancée's formal dinner and the next thing I knew, I woke up down on
that beach totally naked and my engagement ring missing." Cece paused,
watching Loyie's blank expression. "I don't understand why I have to
explain this to my dream, anyway. This is just ridiculous."
Loyie watched Cece for a long moment. Her pale blue eyes
seemed to weigh and measure every part of Cece's being, as if searching for
answers only Loyie could find.
"A dream? You think you are dreaming?"
Cece set the cup of tea on the ground and grunted in annoyance.
"Of course this is just a dream. Every part of this is my subconscious
mind. My mind must really be trying to tell me something if it's trying to
convince me that this is real."
"I did not know people could see things so vividly
and feel pain so freshly while they were dreaming," was Loyie's only mild
reply. She said it as a simple statement, casting doubt into Cece's mind.
"I didn't know it either, but obviously it's
happening. There's no way anything like this place actually exists!" Cece's tone rose. She could feel herself
getting defensive, but didn't care. She wanted answers, but the ones Loyie were
presenting was not helpful.
Before she could say more, Cece suddenly felt the room spin. She grasped her head
and closed her eyes. It was the same sensation she had felt back at the
Riverside Dining Hall. She felt exhausted, as if the weight of the dream was
crashing down on her in her mind.
"Child, you need sleep. Maybe tomorrow you will have
a clear head." Loyie's tone held concern. She could hear the woman stand,
then the dull thud of her placing her cup beside the rocking chair.
Lifting her head, she could see Loyie's form in front of
her, a hand extended for Cece to take.
Gratefully she took the woman's hand, who helped her out
of the rocking chair and led her toward a pile of blankets in the corner of the
room. Cece wasn't sure why she wanted to sleep so much, considering she had
never wanted to sleep in a dream before… she was already asleep, after all.
Before long, Loyie had the woolen blankets spread out
with Cece tucked in like her mother used to do when she was sick. Her head
kept spinning and her eyelids felt heavy. Soon she kept her eyes closed and
took a deep breath, hoping that when she opened her eyes she would be back with
Patrick and her own life.
***
What felt like only moments later, Cece's eyes sprang
open. She felt disoriented and lost as she squinted in the bright lights. A
woman stood above her, holding her wrist as if checking for a pulse. The
strange woman didn't seem to notice she was awake yet.
Blinking a few times to get her bearings, Cece glanced
around the room, relieved to see that she was no longer in the strange hut from
her dream. Thank God it was just a dream!
Instead, she realized she was in a hospital, and despite the fact that she
hated hospitals, Cece couldn't help but smile.
Patrick sat in a chair not far from her, his face in his
hand, elbow resting on the chair's arm. She could tell by his body language
that he was exhausted and probably hadn't slept since the night before. He was
still wearing his suit and red tie, though it looked rumpled from having sat
in a waiting chair for so long.
"Patrick-" Cece croaked, though she felt
surprised that her throat felt so dry. She extended her hand, relieved to find
her engagement ring still there.
Patrick's head jerked up, fear and concern swelling his
expression before he rushed to her side. The nurse placed her wrist back down
and smiled, letting Patrick stand beside Cece's bed.
"Good morning Miss Marks, or should I say, Mrs.
Allmann?" the nurse said with a wink. "I'll let the doctor know you
are awake. We'll do a few more tests, but you should be able to go home this
afternoon."
Patrick quietly thanked the nurse as she passed before
locking his eyes on Cece. He grasped her outstretched hand and kissed it,
relief visibly flooding through him. "I was so worried," he
whispered.
Cece smiled tiredly. Her skin still felt as if it were on
fire from a sunburn, but Cece supposed it could be a reaction from some
medication she was given. "I had the strangest dream."
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