Nightmares

“…Screams of witchfolk resonated across the streets of Northpass, in the Kingdom of Avaloria, the Witches’ Territory. Deloris awakened to the sounds and wondered if she was having another nightmare, her coming of age was soon approaching seeing as she was almost ten and her mother insisted that dreams were normal for a witch her age. Only, Deloris didn’t dream about fairies and flowers.

“Mum?”

Silence.

Deloris uncovered her duvet and stepped down from her bed carrying her fluffy white teddy bear with her. Daddy said Mr. Snow would protect her from monsters.

She heard more screams from down the street and trembled slightly with fear. She opened her bedroom door slowly peeping out into the hallway. “Mum?” No answer. “Dad?’ Silence.

 She creeped out of her bedroom inching slowly towards her parent’s bedroom at the end of the corridor. Deloris reached for the door which was slightly ajar and pushed it open. “Mum?”

Her eyes widened in terror at the sight of her mother’s body laying limp on the floor. Her head had been severed from her body. Eyes hollow and staring at nothing. Deloris stood transfixed. Her lips trembled and her eyes pooled with tears as she muttered, “M... Mum...?” She hoped this was just another bad dream.

A low growl from behind her snapped her attention away from the tragedy before her, she turned quickly, her blonde pigtails flying across her shoulder. Her mouth went dry as she came face to face with a growling and snapping wolf…. A rogue werewolf! She let out a deafening scream as she turned to run. The werewolf snarled and quickly lunged after her in a chase. Deloris ran down the staircase and managed to get out of the front door but she stopped in her tracks, not expecting the scene that greeted her. She stood gaping in horror, devastated at the carnage she saw. The bodies…. The blood…. She’d seen this all before. The werewolf appeared at the door snapping and snarling and Deloris continued to run. She ran as fast as her tiny legs could take her but the werewolf made one bounding leap and snapped her head off. Blood streamed out from where her head had been and her body fell to the floor lifeless. Mr. Snow’s white coat turned crimson as it lay in her pool of blood.”

“The end.”

My tiny hands trembled as I sat crouched behind a bookshelf in the children’s study. The room was eerily quiet as my mother closed the book she had been reading to the Wilder siblings and their friend. She stood from her sofa, walked over to a nearby shelf and returned it to it’s place.

“Bam!”

I let out a piercing scream as I ran instinctively towards my mother, completely forgetting my plan to stay hidden.

I clutched at her skirt as I hid away from the boy that had snuck up behind me. She looked shocked to see me there while he laughed at me.

“Don’t scare her like that, Alex!” My mother scolded him.

His golden curls bounced as he laughed. “But, Nanny Lyra, it’s not my fault that she’s such a scaredy cat. Besides, why was she hiding behind the shelf like that?”

I let out a small whimper and his smile died. “Hey, I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“I didn’t mean to make you cry.” One of the girls seated in the study mocked him.

A girl with long blonde hair giggled at the mimickery.

Alex noticed it and his cheeks went red with embarassment. He glared at the dark-haired girl that had mocked him. “Shut up Grace.”

“Come shut me up.” She shot back.

“Now, now little ones. Enough with that,” my mother interrupted them as she bent to pick me up. At six years old, I was light enough for her to carry. She stroked my back gently as I cried softly into her beautiful auburn hair that always smelled like fresh blueberries.

“I’ll go put her to bed now, so stay put. And no more fighting with your sister.” She gave Alex a pointed look before turning away from them.

As she walked away, Grace gave Alex a small kick to the shin, making him yelp.

“Ow!” He exclaimed just as mother shut the door behind us.

My eyes were dry by the time we arrived our small room in the servants’ quarters.

“Young Master Alex is so mean.” I said with a pout as my mother gently tucked me into my tiny bed.

“The Heir Alpha only teases you because he’s fond of you.” She said with a chuckle as she smoothed the coarse fabric of the woolen blanket over my tiny frame.

“Why did you leave your bed and come to the study when I told you to go to sleep?” Her eyebrows furrowed in disapproval as she looked at me. “Don’t tell me, it was because you wanted to see Alex.”

Heat flooded my cheeks. “No, I didn’t!”

“I just wanted to listen to the story,” I murmured.

A shadow passed across her face. “I don’t know why the younglings love to hear that story.” She shivered slightly as though trying to push away a memory. “The Alpha and Luna won’t be pleased about their interest in it.”

“You’re too young to be listening to those kinds of stories, sweetie. Promise me that you wouldn’t ever disobey me like that again.”

“I promise.”

She smiled. “Good girl. Now close your eyes, and go to sleep.”

“But… what if the bad wolves come to get me?” I whispered timidly.

She tucked my golden brown hair gently behind my ear.

“There are no bad wolves sweetie. That story was just an old tale.”

Suddenly her expression turned fearful. “But, there’s something else that’s out to get you.”

My eyes widened in terror.

“Mrs Tickle Bunny!” She began to tickle me.

 “Mama, stop it!” I said giggling.

She stopped finally, a broad smile on her face. ‘Will you go to bed now?”

I nodded emphatically.

She stood and walked to the door. Turning to look at me and smiled softly, her brown eyes were so warm as she said,

“Close your eyes, Skye.”

Darkness quickly replaced the warm glow of the candle lit room as I closed my eyes. It seemed to engulf me in it, such that it seemed I was floating.

No, not floating but falling, deeper and deeper into a pitch-black night. The darkness pressed in on me from all sides. I wanted to scream but couldn’t find my voice as it felt like invisible hands were on my throat, squeezing tighter as I descended into the dark. In an instant, I was under water, grappling with the water current, reaching desperately for the surface.

I heard a muffled voice calling my name from somewhere distant.

“Skye…”

“Skye.”

“Skye!”