Nightmares and Illusion

JULIETTE

“Rise and shine sweetheart.” A melodious voice whispered into my ear and I stirred in my bed. I recognized the voice in an instant, my eyes fluttering open.

“Mom?” I called, surprised to see her by my bed, staring down at me with her beautiful eyes and contagious smile. “Good morning, pumpkin, I trust you had a good night's sleep.” She asked, leaning down to peck my forehead.

Confused, I pushed myself up and swept my gaze around. My lips parted in shock. It wasn't in my tiny room at the castle; I was in my old room from when I was five years old. Everything was the same, from my favorite pink flower blanket to the lilac-painted walls; the only difference was my size. I wasn't five, but my mother didn't seem to notice. This had to be another realistic dream.

“Pumpkin, is something wrong?” My mom asked, reaching to touch my face, and I let her, watching her reaction as she caressed and pinched my cheek.

“No, Mom, I am fine, just tired from sleeping.” She patted my cheek once more before retracting. “Well, it's a lovely weekend, so why don't you get some more rest, while I head back into the kitchen and finish up breakfast?” She slowly stood up, but I caught her wrist, stopping her.

“Urh… I am not so tired, Mom. I want to join you in the kitchen, if you don't mind.” My mom's brows furrowed, but then she replaced them with a smile.

“If you say so, honey.”

I jumped out of my bed and made to follow her when I heard my father's voice thundering outside my door. “Karla!”

My mom's smile disappeared, her lips quavering as she nudged me back to my bed. “Stay here, pumpkin. I will be back before you know it.” She said, pecking my forehead before dashing out the door.

“But Mom…” she didn't stop until she completely vanished out of sight.

“Where were you?” My dad yelled, his raw tone made me spring out of my bed.

“Let's talk about this somewhere more private.” My mom said with sheer panic in her tone.

I hurried out of my room, following the direction of his voice. It kept me in their shared bedroom, the door was closed, but I could pretty much listen to everything they were saying.

“When did you plan on revealing this to me?” My father queried, his tone a little edgy, as if he was trying to speak calmly.

“Dave, please I can explain…”

“Explain? This is all very self-explanatory to me. How could you do this to me, Karla? After all the sacrifices I made to protect this family, this is how you repay me?” my father's voice cut in sharply, his breathing heavy.

“Dave, please just give me a chance to explain. It was a terrible mistake on my end, and I swear I never meant to…” My mother's sobs filled my ears, triggering my memory.

I recalled this memory of my mother sobbing, which was the only thing I could grasp at age five. I didn't understand why my dad had been so angry and why my mother was crying. I thought it was just their movie time, despite it being too early.

What I do remember was two weeks after this incident, my father brought me the grave news of my mother's passing.

“You have to make a choice, Karla, your family or the child in your womb.”

A gasp tore out of my throat, and I staggered backwards, unsure of the words I heard. My mother was pregnant? No. This is impossible; this has to be a very terrible nightmare. None of it is true; it can't be true.

“Dave please, think about Juliette. She needs us right now, she needs both parents. She's too young to go through a separation, it will tear her apart.”

“Then maybe you should have thought about it before letting another man into our lives, Karla. You did this of your own free will; you weren't forced to do what you did. You neglected our daughter the moment you agreed to be with another man. You tore this family apart.” My father yelled, the hurt in his voice could not be ignored.

“Don't do this to us, Dave. It was just one mistake. We can still keep our family together, I can get rid of his child.” My mom pleaded, her voice cracking.

“You are dead to me Karla, and this marriage is over. Karla Deborah Hales…”

No…

“I, David Hales, reject you as my mate.”

My mom screamed, and my heart sank, tears streaming down my face as I grabbed the door handle and pushed it open, bursting into their room. My parents froze as they settled their eyes on me.

“Juliette.” my dad called.

“Juliette.” my mom followed.

“Juliette.”

This time it was an entirely different voice, the one I swore to hate. It was Darius's.

I blinked, my vision suddenly turned blurry, I blinked again, once, twice, and my vision cleared, and his face came into view, just a mild inch away from mine.

His face was lined with what I didn't want to believe was worry. “Why are you here?”

“Juliette.” Ria's voice pulled my attention to the other side of the room, and I realized I wasn't alone with Darius, who immediately got off the spot he had been sitting, walking out of my room without another word.

I turned to Ria, whose face was etched with concern, which caused creased lines to appear on her forehead.

“What happened Juliette? You were crying in your sleep.” She revealed, and the sore memory of what I saw and heard in my dream came crashing in.

“Nothing.” I shrugged it off, “It was just a scary nightmare.”

That is exactly what it was, a nightmare, an illusion my mind is playing at me. There's no way, such a terrible conversation played out with my parents. There is just no way!