Tales & Dreams

by G. Bailey

  If the dark tales rule, I doubt they will let us all live for much longer, threatening their reign. If the good tales take back the control of the island and the academy, then they rule us under their thumb anyway. We have to marry who they choose, do what they say, and never have much freedom. It worked out for my parents, and they are happy, which I’m sure some people are...but for me? It would mean I couldn’t love the Tale brothers. Not loving them is like taking my heart out of my chest and slamming it into the dirt. That can’t happen.

  “Who is Warren?” Noah eventually asks, and I realise I haven’t told him or Tobias or Knox about Warren yet. Knox and Tobias are sleeping after I made them pass out with a little dust. This time I didn’t have to ask or force them to rest, because they both came to me to ask. Tobias is still struggling with both grief and withdrawal from the drugs he was addicted to. There is no moon here, so he can’t get them if he wanted, but I really feel Sin’s death shocked him into never wanting to take another drug. Anyways, he needed sleep, and Knox never can sleep. I really want to get him alone and find out why exactly that is. I’m sure it’s got something to do with the missions Noah just told me about. That has to affect you, killing people. Even when they are called the bad guys and you’ve been brought up to think that way.

  “Warren is my personal guard, but he isn’t like the others,” I explain to him.

  “What is his last name?” Noah asks, looking serious now.

  “I don’t know, but he is alright. I promise I’m not worried about Warren,” I say, and I leave out the fact he knows about this place and that I come here every night. I don’t know whose side Warren is on and why he keeps helping me, but I feel like I can trust him. I just need to know more about Warren. Noah seems to know I have more to say, but he looks away to the fire before back to me.

  “Wait here,” Noah mysteriously says, getting up and letting my hand go. I watch as he goes to the bar in the room and pulls out some things from under the bar. When he walks back over, he is holding a bag of marshmallows and two metal sticks with plastic handles. As he sits down, he hands me one of the sticks. “Remember when we went camping that one year?”

  “Yes, and I also remember how Knox woke everyone up screaming that there was a bear in his tent. There are no bears in England,” I chuckle, and Noah laughs. I really love Noah’s laugh.

  “It was so funny,” Noah replies.

  “It was funnier when you guys dragged Sin on his mattress out into that river,” I say, chuckling as Noah remembers.

  “We all thought it would be funny to see him wake up in the river, but we didn’t expect the river level to rise and float him about a mile away before he fell in,” he replies with a big smile.

  “I don’t think I will ever forget his face when he got back to camp in just his boxers. He was one wet, mad thirteen-year-old,” I say, and it’s at that moment, we both remember he is gone. Sometimes I just forget and expect him to walk through the door any second, and then it’s a time like this that is a stark reminder about the truth. Sin isn’t coming home, and all we have left are memories now.

  “Here,” Noah says, offering me a marshmallow from the packet he opens. I slide the marshmallow on the end of the stick and place it into the fire. After a second, mine catches fire, and Noah laughs as I pull it back, blowing it out.

  “That fire is too hot for marshmallows. I was about to say let me,” he explains and holds his marshmallow on his stick up in the air. He covers the marshmallow with his hand, which glows brightly for a moment, and then there is a perfectly toasted marshmallow on the stick.

  “You have your uses, it seems,” I cheekily reply, and he grins as he curls a finger at me to come closer. I put my stick down at the side before crawling closer in front of Noah. He watches me closely as I peel the marshmallow off the stick and slowly eat it.

  “Thanks, that was delicious,” I say, and he clears his throat, before rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. Noah’s cheeks are a little red, brighter than they were from the fire a moment ago anyway.

  “Want another?” he asks as I place the stick away from us with the packet of marshmallows, and I shake my head as I crawl closer to him. He lifts a hand, gently running his fingers through my hair, letting it fall onto my shoulder.

  “No, I want you to kiss me, Noah,” I ask, because it is all I want in this moment. I want us, I want to be reminded what it feels like to be really alive.

  “Do you love me, Madi?” he asks me, moving a little closer so we are a tiny bit apart. My heart pounds in my chest as I answer him.

  “Yes. I always have done, and I always will do,” I say.

  “I love you too,” he admits and kisses me. He holds my top tightly as he pulls me closer to him, pressing my chest against his before sliding his hands under my top. His hands are warm against my skin as he deepens the kiss. I tug his shirt up, and he lets me go to slowly pull it up and off his chest. I run my hands over his muscular chest, down to the rippled six pack and to his trousers. He catches my hand, stopping me and looking at me, though I can’t read his expression.

  “I’ve never. I know all my brothers did at one point or another, but for me…well, I wanted you,” he confesses to me. Even though it makes me a tiny bit jealous to know the brothers have all slept with someone else, I can focus on nothing more than how sweet it is that Noah wanted me.

  “Me and Quinton—”

  “I know. Or I guessed. I don’t mind that. At least one of us will have a clue what we are doing,” he tells me, and I’m glad he doesn’t seem that bothered about it.

  “Let’s not overthink this,” I suggest, standing up with Noah. He grins and pulls me to him, kissing me once before he takes my hand and leads me to his bedroom.

  “Trust me, I’ve overthought this moment a million times. I don’t want to think anymore; I want to know what it feels like to be with you,” he tells me. My cheeks burn red as we go to his room, and he shuts the door behind him. There is one candle lit, a dim one that gives a little light into the room as I walk to the bed. I pull my top off and slide out of the rest of my clothes before looking at Noah, who is watching me. His eyes almost look brighter than a pure fire as he walks to me, kissing me harshly as he presses us back onto the bed. His body covers mine as he kisses me, groaning into my mouth when I wrap my legs around him. He rolls us over, and I lean back, undoing his trousers.

  “Wait, do you have any protection?” I ask Noah, and he nods. I climb off Noah so he can reach over to his bedside unit and pull out a packet of condoms. I stroke his arm as he slides one onto himself and turns to me. We both smile at each other for a second, both us shocked that we have gotten to this point, knowing that after this we both will never be apart.

  “I love you, Noah Tale,” I admit as I climb over him and lean down to kiss him. His hands leisurely explore all of my body, finding what I like and what makes me moan before he very slowly inches his length inside me. I gasp when we are finally together, and he flips us over so he can take control as he thrusts in and out of me. He leans down, kissing my nipple as he speeds up. We both look at each other in this moment, where we are perfectly together, and I can’t help but smile at him. This is perfect, and we both know it. It isn’t just the sex, it’s years of knowing you are made for someone and finally getting to be with them. Noah is mine, and I claimed him a long time ago, even if I wasn’t aware I did. I gave him my heart, and as he makes love to me, I know he will treasure it forever. I will cherish this perfect moment forever, too.

  Noah kisses me, exploring my mouth as he thrusts in and out of me, getting faster each time. His lips move down my jaw before brushing across my neck and to the base of my throat. He softly kisses me once more, a groan leaving his lips. Seconds later, I moan his name as I come, and then he finishes moments later. We both breathlessly smile at each other as he pulls out of me and pulls me to his side.

  “Was it as good as you imagined your first time to be?” I ask, curious.

  “Even better.�
� I smile at his confession as he pulls a blanket over us and slides a hand onto my cheek, staring into my eyes. “I love you, Sleepy. I always have, and I always will.”

  Chapter 13

  “You have to stop this all,” a feminine voice whispers to me, sounding like she’s right next to me, but as I turn my head to the side, I’m alone in the field outside the academy. The moon hangs high in the sky, and I stare at it for a moment, before I hear them coming. The ravens. They are never far away in my dreams. I used to be somewhat scared of them, but not anymore. Now I know they have been helping me...just in their own way. Warning me. I turn around as a flock of ravens fly right at me, only missing me by an inch. They fly around my body like a black wave before they start flying in circles around me. The voice doesn’t speak again, but instead, the raven screeches fill my ears next. As I fall to my knees, holding my hands over my ears from the noise being so loud it hurts me, I swear the ravens sound like they are screaming sleep.

  The banging of our bedroom door quickly wakes me up from my power nap, where I swear I only closed my eyes for a few moments when I lay down. Gosh, I’m tired today, and I fully plan to stay in my favourite Dorito-stained hoodie and comfy leggings all day. I want to daydream about last night with Noah. His lips on mine, our first time together, and how he told me he loved me. The way he looked at me, the way he kissed me, and so much more are something I will never forget. Last night was special and a long time coming. I climb out of bed, looking up at the top bed where Tavvy is sitting up, a book in her hand, and her eyes on the door as I pull it open. Warren is standing there, his hand wrapped around his spear at his side and his hood pulled low.

  “Rueben is requesting your presence,” he states.

  “Hey, creepy boy, do you know where Quin is?” Tavvy asks, getting off the bed, and I look at her oddly as she pulls her shoes on.

  “I saw Quinton in the dining room last,” Warren answers.

  “Why do you want to see him?” I ask her.

  “I’m going to say thank you. I need to say it. I’ve already told Warren here thanks this morning, but as you saw, he didn’t seem to care all that much,” Tavvy says, and I chuckle, remembering how awkward it was as Tavvy rambled on about how thankful she was that Warren saved her life, and after all that, Warren simply replied, “Fine.” Then he turned around and continued his guarding of our door as Tavvy shut it.

  Tavvy hugs me tightly while whispering in my ear, “I’m going to tell Quin you are with his uncle. He is the only one that can come and watch to make sure Rueben doesn’t hurt you.” I smile as Tavvy lets go of me and walks out of the room. I let go of the door and put my shoes and cloak on before going out and walking down the corridor. I stop, looking to Warren to lead the rest of the way, and he nods his head to the stairs. Warren stays at my side as we head down the stairs and past the dining room, where I briefly look in to see who is in the cage.

  Miss Noa is gone, and instead Miss Aquana is in there, beaten and looking very cold. Tavvy has her arms around Ella as she cries, and there is no sign of Quin. I can’t help Ella right now, even though my heart breaks for her. I know she loved Miss Aquana, and they were very similar in some qualities. I remember seeing them hug after class once, and Ella was laughing at something she had said. We’re all grieving the loss of loved ones, but it must be torture to watch them suffer this way.

  “Do you think that is right?” I ask Warren as we head down the corridor. “Or do all you dark tales live off pain and death?”

  “Miss Dormiens, you are quite clueless to the world, and it will be your downfall one day,” Warren points out. It almost sounds like advice but wrapped in a threat nonetheless.

  “Are you threatening me now, Warren?” I ask as he stops, and he turns to me.

  “I threaten everyone I’m around, Miss Dormiens. Don’t make the mistake of being my friend and expecting to be safe,” he tells me. Now I feel like he is just trying to push me away. Warren is confusing, and I don’t even know what he looks like. Or his last name. But I’m starting to realise that it’s not important. Even when he hides most of himself from me and everyone else, you can’t miss how different he is.

  “That is the funny thing though, Warren, I feel like, for some strange reason, I am safe around you,” I tell him. Warren clearly is going to say something back when the door is opened, and Rueben smiles at me. Rueben looks more like a king today, not that I will ever call him that. A king is someone whose rule you respect, and I will never respect anything Rueben has done. His black cloak has a silver lining, his white hair is styled more than usual, and his blue eyes are locked onto me.

  “Miss Dormiens, I have been looking forward to this day ever since I heard of your existence,” he explains to me.

  “And what day is this exactly?” I ask. I don’t want to know the answer that badly though. I want to go back to my room and go back to sleep.

  “The day we test your true powers. Come in,” he says, and I feel like I’m walking into the lions’ den with no weapons. Warren might be right, the fact I really do know nothing about this world might just get me killed.

  Chapter 14

  “Please sit down, Miss Dormiens. Would you like a cup of tea?” Rueben asks, waving a hand at the little counter on the side of the wall where there is a mini kitchen set up. “Or would you prefer to keep glaring at me and making us all feel awkward?”

  “No offence, but I wouldn’t trust you not to poison the tea,” I reply. “And thanks to you forcing me to take poison classes, I know most poisons don’t work for a long time…until they kill you.” This is a total lie, considering poison class isn’t until Monday, but I want to annoy him a little bit to see how far I can push him and knock him off his game.

  “I dislike how people offend you and say ‘no offence’ before they do. It’s quite the annoying contradiction, but never mind,” he remarks. “Straight to business, it seems.” I move and sit down in the chair on the other side of the oak desk where Miss Ona and Miss Noa used to sit when I came in here. Now they are dead, and it’s hard to accept that I couldn’t help them one bit.

  “What do you want?” I ask, crossing my arms and feeling more than tense about being in here alone with this psychopath.

  “First off, I would like to thank you for being a good friend and later on girlfriend to my nephew. I did not know of his existence until a few weeks before I came to get him,” Rueben states. I don’t want him to thank me for anything, and if he thinks I can’t see straight through this little game he is playing, then he is bat shit crazy.

  “Did your brother not tell you about Quinton then?” I ask, because I might as well play along with this manipulation attempt.

  “My brother cared only for himself and his throne. There was no place for much else, and he made it clear that children were not something he wanted. Oddly, he cared for Quinton and kept him a secret until I found out,” he tells me, and he cracks his knuckles as he stares me down. I hate when people do that. So gross. I straighten up in my chair before replying to him.

  “How did you find out?” I ask.

  “That is a story for another day,” he replies with a creepy smile.

  “So it’s a secret you don’t want Quin knowing about,” I figure out quite quickly. Quinton told me his uncle told him that the good tales killed his father. I wonder if the truth is a little bit more complicated than that.

  “You are smarter than you look, aren’t you, Miss Dormiens?” he asks, crossing his arms and resting back in his chair. “Even at just seventeen, you are figuring this world out far more than I expected you to be able to.”

  “I’m only a few months off being eighteen, and yes, I am figuring out many things,” I say and tilt my head to the side. “Mr. Frostan, I will make sure you lose your throne before this is all over. We aren’t playing on the same team here.”

  “We are, you are just very unaware of it yet. Maybe you aren’t as intelligent as you think you are,” he says, and he smiles. “Do call me Rueben. Or Ki
ng Frostan. One or the other.”

  “Mr. Frostan, why am I here?” I ask, getting straight to the point.

  “Have you heard of the raven prophecy?” he asks me, leaning back in his seat and folding his hands together.

  “No,” I reply, but anything concerning ravens catches my attention recently.

  “I expect you wouldn’t have; the good tales wouldn’t want you to know of it,” he replies. “See, the prophecy means you are more powerful than they are. Than their Masters.”

  “Me?” I ask.

  “Yes, Miss Dormiens. I will tell you the prophecy because you are special, because I believe you are the only one it is meant for. The good tales planned your birth perfectly, and I bet they were more than delighted that you were blessed with any powers at all,” he states, and I shift uncomfortably in my seat.

  “I don’t understand what you are talking about,” I answer, and I hate the look he has. Like he knows so much more than I do.

  “Long ago, the last of the seer line died. Every seer would have the same prophecy, but none would speak of it until the last of their blood had found their time or the prophesied one was born. The last seer could not have children due to a childhood injury, and she died naturally in her eighties. On her death bed, she told the dark and the good Masters the raven prophecy,” he explains to me. “Oddly enough, your ancestor was killed the very same day, but her sister, who never received powers, carried on your bloodline and was closely watched. As was your mother’s line.”