Jewell was not one for true dreaming. There was a time, as a child, when she had experienced dreams of the true sight; it is often said it can manifest itself in times of extreme duress. Since then, she had only experienced dreams of a more mundane nature: manifestation of the thoughts and events of the day, worries and anxieties left floating around in her head before she slept formed into images that played out behind her eyelids, old memories resurfacing and melding with newer ones. Sometimes painful and frightening, other times amusing, occasionally enthralling and exciting, her dreams ran the gamut.
She had sailed far away from RhyDin with Stephen when her latent gift of having dreams of the true sight decided to manifest itself again in a most dreadful way. She fell asleep under a foreign sky dotted with stars, and when she slept, she saw:
A vast expanse of stars, nothing above, below, or to any side of her. She floated, drifting aimlessly, until, quite suddenly, the void solidified beneath her feet into the familiar, cobblestone streets of the West End. Rain fell down heavily upon the city, making the streets slick and wet, and she could feel it actually stinging her skin instead of the refreshing and comforting touch water usually had. She looked down the street and she could see further than even her gifted fey eyes could ever allow, as if the street went on forever. She looked on and on and saw, so very far away, the familiar forms of the Sisters leaving the safety of their Sanctuary, adorned for war. One by one, they filed out, faces determined, some resigned. Instead of coming towards her, they walked further away into the dark, into the night, until it swallowed them up. Eventually it swallowed her too.
She found herself in an alleyway in the New Haven district. It was off the main thorough way, not too far from stores like the Heavenly Boutique, and it was completely coated with blood. The walls dripped with it and there was hardly an inch of ground not covered in red. She felt a phantom pain in her side, even as she slept, from an unknown wound, and as the image faded away, it was replaced for a moment with a toothy grin spread in a truly manic smile.
She saw Issy?s face. Her brow was furrowed as she frowned, her eyes dark from lack of sleep. She stood upon one of the highest buildings in the West End, keeping watch unceasingly on the impenetrable night below her where the shadows moved with malicious intent, curling and crawling up the side of the building as they reached for her friend. One was just within reach when?
There was a dark room. It became quickly apparent that there were two types of darkness within: the darkness of the room and then dark shapes, almost impossible to distinguish from the room itself, moving within it. The shadowy shapes spoke to each other, their voices low and muffled, making it impossible for her to understand what was said. She felt a chill that reached down into her very soul as one indiscernible voice rose above the others. The shadows started to separate, forms just becoming apparent, when it all faded from view once more.
Jewell, stuck in that starry void again, tried to reach back for that last vision with her other senses. It was by far the most chilling, creating a fear in her that begged her to wish that vision away forever, to forget it in the deep recesses of her mind; however, she wanted, needed, to know more. She failed to call it back and another vision rose in its place: her brother standing in his weapon?s room, gearing up for a fight.
Brian turned and left the room. Jewell hesitated before trying to follow, to see where her brother was going. Stepping through the door after him, she found herself alone on the streets of the West End once more. She was dressed in the black leathers that made up her scouting outfits, armed to the teeth as she moved through the night alone. She cut through alleyways and around corners that had become familiar over the many months spent scouring the under regions of the city for an enemy that refused to be found. She turned one corner, thinking she knew where she was going, only to find herself in an alleyway so dark she couldn?t even see her own hands before her face. Starting to back out, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise just before a hand curled around her throat, crushing down on her windpipe quickly.
She awoke with a start, alone in her bed in the cabin she shared with Stephen aboard the Pride and Fury. Her heart was racing and she grimaced when she noticed she was coated in a cold sweat. Her hand reached blindly to her side for her husband, knowing he wasn?t there; it was his shift at the helm and she had been too tired to stay up there with him. She changed her mind now, pulling the blanket off her and swinging her legs over the side of the bed as she wiped at her eyes with her fist. She shivered as the cold night air of the cabin hit her damp skin. She grabbed for her jacket, modeled after a captain?s jacket, and slid it on over her nightgown. Sticking her bare feet into her boots awkwardly, she left their cabin and started towards the helm.
Even in her boots, she managed to walk silently across the deck. Stephen looked aside to her as she stepped up beside him, smiling, ??aving trouble sleepin?, murinin??
She returned the smile a bit uneasily, shivering as the sea air was too cold for her exposed legs at night. She stepped a little closer to him, using his body to shield her own from the wind; husbands were good for things like that. ?You know I don?t sleep well without you next to me. I had a nightmare.?
?Tha? be all?? He asked, knowing that there was clearly more to it than that. When she just nodded?choosing not to mention and make a big deal of the dreams for now?he accepted it silently, knowing she?d tell him if and when she chose to. ?Why not go back tae bed then, love? I be joinin? ye in jus? a bit, now, an? it be tae cold out ?ere for ye.?
?I can stand the cold for a little while longer; I?d rather just stay out here with you. It?s calming this time of night.? She smiled up at him, her mind already starting to feel at ease in his presence and with the endless ocean all around.
He slid one of his arms about her shoulders, ?Aye, love, tha? it is.?
She had sailed far away from RhyDin with Stephen when her latent gift of having dreams of the true sight decided to manifest itself again in a most dreadful way. She fell asleep under a foreign sky dotted with stars, and when she slept, she saw:
A vast expanse of stars, nothing above, below, or to any side of her. She floated, drifting aimlessly, until, quite suddenly, the void solidified beneath her feet into the familiar, cobblestone streets of the West End. Rain fell down heavily upon the city, making the streets slick and wet, and she could feel it actually stinging her skin instead of the refreshing and comforting touch water usually had. She looked down the street and she could see further than even her gifted fey eyes could ever allow, as if the street went on forever. She looked on and on and saw, so very far away, the familiar forms of the Sisters leaving the safety of their Sanctuary, adorned for war. One by one, they filed out, faces determined, some resigned. Instead of coming towards her, they walked further away into the dark, into the night, until it swallowed them up. Eventually it swallowed her too.
She found herself in an alleyway in the New Haven district. It was off the main thorough way, not too far from stores like the Heavenly Boutique, and it was completely coated with blood. The walls dripped with it and there was hardly an inch of ground not covered in red. She felt a phantom pain in her side, even as she slept, from an unknown wound, and as the image faded away, it was replaced for a moment with a toothy grin spread in a truly manic smile.
She saw Issy?s face. Her brow was furrowed as she frowned, her eyes dark from lack of sleep. She stood upon one of the highest buildings in the West End, keeping watch unceasingly on the impenetrable night below her where the shadows moved with malicious intent, curling and crawling up the side of the building as they reached for her friend. One was just within reach when?
There was a dark room. It became quickly apparent that there were two types of darkness within: the darkness of the room and then dark shapes, almost impossible to distinguish from the room itself, moving within it. The shadowy shapes spoke to each other, their voices low and muffled, making it impossible for her to understand what was said. She felt a chill that reached down into her very soul as one indiscernible voice rose above the others. The shadows started to separate, forms just becoming apparent, when it all faded from view once more.
Jewell, stuck in that starry void again, tried to reach back for that last vision with her other senses. It was by far the most chilling, creating a fear in her that begged her to wish that vision away forever, to forget it in the deep recesses of her mind; however, she wanted, needed, to know more. She failed to call it back and another vision rose in its place: her brother standing in his weapon?s room, gearing up for a fight.
Brian turned and left the room. Jewell hesitated before trying to follow, to see where her brother was going. Stepping through the door after him, she found herself alone on the streets of the West End once more. She was dressed in the black leathers that made up her scouting outfits, armed to the teeth as she moved through the night alone. She cut through alleyways and around corners that had become familiar over the many months spent scouring the under regions of the city for an enemy that refused to be found. She turned one corner, thinking she knew where she was going, only to find herself in an alleyway so dark she couldn?t even see her own hands before her face. Starting to back out, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise just before a hand curled around her throat, crushing down on her windpipe quickly.
She awoke with a start, alone in her bed in the cabin she shared with Stephen aboard the Pride and Fury. Her heart was racing and she grimaced when she noticed she was coated in a cold sweat. Her hand reached blindly to her side for her husband, knowing he wasn?t there; it was his shift at the helm and she had been too tired to stay up there with him. She changed her mind now, pulling the blanket off her and swinging her legs over the side of the bed as she wiped at her eyes with her fist. She shivered as the cold night air of the cabin hit her damp skin. She grabbed for her jacket, modeled after a captain?s jacket, and slid it on over her nightgown. Sticking her bare feet into her boots awkwardly, she left their cabin and started towards the helm.
Even in her boots, she managed to walk silently across the deck. Stephen looked aside to her as she stepped up beside him, smiling, ??aving trouble sleepin?, murinin??
She returned the smile a bit uneasily, shivering as the sea air was too cold for her exposed legs at night. She stepped a little closer to him, using his body to shield her own from the wind; husbands were good for things like that. ?You know I don?t sleep well without you next to me. I had a nightmare.?
?Tha? be all?? He asked, knowing that there was clearly more to it than that. When she just nodded?choosing not to mention and make a big deal of the dreams for now?he accepted it silently, knowing she?d tell him if and when she chose to. ?Why not go back tae bed then, love? I be joinin? ye in jus? a bit, now, an? it be tae cold out ?ere for ye.?
?I can stand the cold for a little while longer; I?d rather just stay out here with you. It?s calming this time of night.? She smiled up at him, her mind already starting to feel at ease in his presence and with the endless ocean all around.
He slid one of his arms about her shoulders, ?Aye, love, tha? it is.?