"Dreams: Chapter Three" by Christina Stratton

Weeks went by and Aubrey missed Bryant more and more. She would have worried about him not coming back except that he left a white rose on her front door step everyday after school. Sometimes they would say things like 'I love you', sometimes they would tell her sweet things, and sometimes he would leave just a rose or maybe a box of chocolates. It just wasn't the same without his warm smile, dark eyes, loving touch, or deep voice. Angelica was happy to have her friend all to her self and not worry about Bryant occupying all of Aubrey's time.

Every night, the same dream haunted her. The more that Angelica glared at her, the more she saw Bryant dressed as a prince, the more she dreaded sleeping at night. Then, the dream changed. In this dream, Angelica was trying to coax her into a hug and she could not find Bryant. No matter where she looked she could not find Bryant. Aubrey decided not to tell Angelica about this one because she thought it would hurt Angelica's feelings.

School got out for the summer and there was still no sign of Bryant. Slowly, the notes stopped coming and the dreams were forgotten. By the end of the summer, Aubrey decided to move on. Yet another boy had broken her heart, but this time Aubrey vowed not to cry, vowed not to let anyone (including herself) see her pain.
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Walking in a dense and green forest, along a small forgotten path, Aubrey watched the man in front of her with interest. How she saw him now was different than what she thought she knew of him. He turned to look at her with those amber eyes and said, "I told you I would come back for my queen." Aubrey awoke with a start. She didn't understand why she was still dreaming about him. She was almost a high school graduate and he had been gone for almost a year. The letters and flowers and candies had not been at her door for almost ten months.

Aubrey got out of bed and, turning on the light, looked at herself in the mirror. Your worst critic is you, she thought as she looked at her pale face. Jet black hair cascaded beyond her lower back to about half way down her upper thighs. Her grey eyes, surrounded by lush eye lashes and accentuated by sexy brows, were groggy with sleep and still had the outline of eyeliner smudged on. Aubrey decided to go out for a walk, if she did not get some fresh air she would probably end up crying over a man she had forgotten about.

As Aubrey walked around the small neighborhood, she considered what might have caused the weird dream. This was the first one she had had about Bryant in a long time and she was unsure of what it meant.

When Aubrey arrived at the park that she had spent so much time in as a child, she could have sworn she was being watched. Aubrey looked around her to see if anybody was there. Nobody. Aubrey shrugged and entered the dark park. After around 11:30, teenagers and most adults went home, so the park was quiet and empty. As Aubrey walked towards a pavilion in the center of the small park, she noticed a young girl watching her from behind a tree.

"Hey! What are you doing out here all by yourself, sweetie?" Aubrey walked closer to the girl, who must have been at most, five. The girl moved away from her hiding spot and stood in the light so Aubrey could see her.

The girl must have been wearing a costume because she was dressed in a brilliant white knee-length toga, a red ribbon served as an ornamental belt, her hair was the most shocking color of red she had ever seen, but the most surprising thing was that the toddler stared at Aubrey from behind the wisest eyes. Aubrey felt queasy standing in front of the child.

Aubrey heard someone laugh from somewhere closer to the pavilion, but when she looked at it no one was there. Aubrey tried to ask the child if she needed help, but the child was gone! Disappeared!

Aubrey decided to ignore the whole thing and walked the rest of the way to the gazebo. When she stepped up to the platform, she saw something that made her heart drop...

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There, sitting casually on a bench with his long legs stretched out in front of him, was Bryant. Aubrey could not believe her eyes! Bryant simply sat as Aubrey stared with an open mouth and slowly looked over at her.

"Hello, my love." The nerve!

"'My love'? You disappear for a year and you have the nerve to call me your love?" Aubrey was furious! She regretted her words as soon as they slipped off her tongue, though, because what she really wanted to do was run into his warm arms and never leave. She wanted to forget about the year without him and pick up where they left off.

"Yes, I have the nerve to call you my love, because that is exactly what you are: my love. Do you know why? Because after tonight, I am certain you will be my queen."

"Your queen? Bryant, what the fuck are you talking about?”
Aubrey thought, maybe he's on some shit like dope or something, who knows what he did while he was gone.

"Just wait and I'll explain. First, the One Child must test your soul to see if you are her. When she is done we will talk." As if on cue, a child dressed in an elegant white toga, with a red ribbon serving as a belt, emerged from the shadows. To Aubrey's surprise, it was the same child she had tried to help just a couple of minutes ago!

"Is she--?" Aubrey started but was cut off by the Child's voice.

"--Silence! You must remain quiet in order for me to know." The Child spoke with a voice full of power and strength, surprising Aubrey into a stupor.

The Child raised her small hand and touched two fingers to Aubrey's heart. Immediately Aubrey blacked out, not even realizing that her body was now glowing a soft red. Her clothes soon disappeared, revealing a pale slender body.

Bryant looked on as the Child's eyes closed and Her eyebrows drew together, as if in pain. Bryant wondered what could possibly cause the Child enough pain as to make her face cringe.

Suddenly, Aubrey's eyes flew open and, unseeing, grappled on to the Child's forearm and yanked it hard away from her heart.

"Child, This heart is not for you to peruse, this mind is not for you to explore! Be gone from me, for you are not worthy to see these secrets!" And with that, Aubrey's naked form collapsed onto the ground, and lay still.

"She is much more powerful than I expected her to be. I was not able to decipher her soul enough to know if she is our long awaited Goddess, however, I do know that she is of royal lineage from a family in our world..."