A Dreamer

Dream's end

Nadia ran blindly through the heavily wooded area outside of town. Her cerulean eyes focused on her destination, not what was in front of her as her sandalled feet trampled on the undergrowth and her bare arms flung vines and branches out of her way. She raced toward a hidden place where she could be alone for once without having the world, where she could dream.

Nadia was a dreamer. Reality seemed wrong to her, so she'd dream a new realm. A realm where dragons roamed, elves played on harps, and handsome knights swept her off her feet. She didn't want to be in the world she lived in, so she'd dream. She'd sit in her isolated spot for hours, wasting hour upon hour, losing track of the time.

As Nadia reached her destination, she slowed down. Her heart started to beat more rapidly as if she, instead, was running uphill, yet it was her mind that was racing. She wanted this trip to her secluded area to be worth her time. She had a rough couple of weeks trying to earn a minute living for her family and herself.

Skidding to a sudden stop, Nadia stared at the glade that was her destination. A man sat at her favourite log, a fire burning brightly on the grassy floor. She stared in disbelief. This was HER glade, no one elses. Why was this man sitting there, on her log? Where did he come from? Just WHO did he think he was?

"Why, hello there, Nadia," the man greeted. He stood, his long, lean legs spread slightly apart; his dark brown hair lifting in the wind. "I'm Taursus. I've been waiting for you."


Nadia was taken aback. His cryptic statement startled her into confusion. She stared into his grey eyes, her slightly bushy eyebrows furrowed in surprise. "How do you know my name?" she whispered.

"I've always known your name, Nadia. You are somewhat dear to me, and my family. I've been looking around for you, and when I finally found out that you lived in this tiny town, I decided to take a rest here since I have traveled a long ways to get here. Lo and behold, you came running through those trees like beautiful goddess in a hurry. Talk about a surprise," Taursus responded.

"Who are you? Why are you looking for me? I don't know you, and I would definately remembered someone with such an otherworldy name."

Taursus laughed, throwing his arms into the air. "Of course you woldn't know me. You've never met me before. Well, you have, but you wouldn't remember. I'm Taursus from the town of Auschburg. Your parents brought you to my house when you were but a babe. I wasn't much older though, but I remember."

"And what does this information have to deal with me? Am I dreaming already?!" Nadia asked, perplexed. She shook her head to get his image out of her mind. She closed her eyes, pinched her arms, yet when she looked back at her log, Taursus was still there. Confused even more, she said to herself, "I don't understand why a man named Taursus from a town I've never heard of would even know about me, or rather yet, care!"

With grey eyes rolling, Taursus continued, "As I was saying, your parents brought you to my house. I remember your auburn hair as if it was yesterday, but that's another story." Taursus watched Nadia tap her feet in impatience, her confusion apparent on her face, so getting to the point, he simply stated," You are to be mine."

"What do you mean, 'you are to be mine'? In what way? As a slave? Please tell me I'm dreaming. That some brute has tried to steal me away from my handsome knight." Nadia closed her eyes tightly. "Please, change the scene. Come on brain. I know you can do it!"

"This isn't a dream, Nadia. I'm not a brute from one of your fantasies. You were given to me by your parents to pay off a debt that they accumulated. Well, you were given to my parents, and they thought they should leave you be with your family until you are of age. Guess what? You are of age, and now you are to be with me and my family."

"I'm not going." She stated as she turned for the town. "I'm not going, and that's that!" With a sob, Nadia began to run.

~~~~~

Emerging from the woods, Nadia ran through the small town on Kungivilla. People on the street corners watched as she ran swiftly past them, her auburn hair flying madly behind her. Some of the people, used to seeing her comings and goings into the temperate forest, frowned as she ran past. Some whispered to each other, wondering why she was running instead of her usual slow reluctant walk; however, they didn't stop her from her headlong rush home.

Reaching her house, Nadia slowed down enough so that she wouldn't trample the rabbits that she raised and sold to help with her family income. Jumping over a few clusters, she rushed into her house, slamming the door behind her, and gasping for breath.

Her mother, surprised at her loud entrance, stared at her. Slowly, she lowered the kettle of tea she was carrying onto the table and folded her arms around her body. "What's with all the rush, Nadia?" she demanded. Her mother ran a strict household and Nadia should of known not to slam the door, but seeing that Nadia looked a little frightened, her mother decided to ignore the door-slamming for the time being.

"Mom! There's some man in my dreaming spot!" Nadia exclaimed through her still quick breaths.

"A man in your dreaming spot? Nadia, you know that the glade isn't just YOUR dreaming spot. It's also Marvin's thinking spot, Mrs. Gretchun's singing spot."

"But mom! This was different. It wasn't Marvin thinking on the log. It wasn't Mrs. Gretchun singing whom, by the way, isn't technically a man, even though she has a mustache. It was a man. A man named Taursus who believes that I'm his. He came up with this ridiculous story about how you sold me to his family to cover a debt when I was an infant."

Nadia's mother gasped, her eyes widened. She licked her lips, a nervous tick she had since she was little. "It can't be," she whispered to herself.

Suddenly, a knock on the door resounded throughout the small house. Nadia, still standing next to the door, jumped with surprise. Without thinking, Nadia opened the door wide as if it was some local wanting to buy one of her many rabbits. "Sorry sir, but the bunny's aren't yet for..." Recognition of Taursus in the doorway made Nadia trail off and stare, terrified. "I said go away!" she yelled, trying to slam the door shut, but Taursus grabbed the door and yanked it off the hinge.

Walking in, Taursus sat the door next to the wall. "Sorry Mrs. Pincter. I didn't mean to take the door with me," he apologized, his cheeks turning into little rose buds.

"Oh dear heavenly bodies! Taursus, why are you here?!" Mrs. Pincter, Nadia's mother, whispered in grief she already felt. She knew why Taursus was here, but she wanted him to say it, to prove to her that he was here to take away her precious daughter.

"I'm here to take Nadia back. She belongs to my family now. You've raised her, but now she's our responsibility," Taursus replied, stepping towards Nadia.

Nadia glanced at her mother. Her heart raced. She didn't know what was going on between Taursus and her mother, and she didn't want to know. She felt hopeless. Taursus was scaring her with his declaration of owning her, and she didn't know what to do. She wanted to run. Run from him, run as far into the horizon. Run into one of her dreams like how Alice walked through the mirror in Alice in Wonderland. Her mind raced with thoughts of fleeing, but her legs remained planted on the floor. Her entire body was confused.

Taursus reached Nadia before she could get her body to coincide with each other. "Don't think about running," he whispered into her ear. Without turning back to Mrs. Pincter, he told Nadia to pack her things. "You have thirty minutes, and then I'm dragging you out of here." He nonchalantly walked out of the house.

Nadia finally realized that her simple, care-free life was coming to a screeching halt. Tears filled her cerulean eyes, as she sluggishly moved to the rear of the house where her belongings were. Her heart ached, her mind suddenly failed to function. No fancy dreams danced in her head, waiting to live outside of her.

Mrs. Pincter watched as her only child walked away. She collapsed into her chair, sobbing into the table cloth and spilling the contents in the kettle. "Taursus!" she yelled, hoping the big man would hear her and come inside. "Taursus! Get over here, young man!"

"I'm coming, Mrs. Pincter!" he cried from the front yard like he used to when he was a little boy. He chuckled at himself and realized that old habits died hard. He walked into the house, holding a tiny rabbit in his hands. "I'm not so young anymore, you know," he chuckled more, stroking the rabbit.

"I know Taursus, but it's hard to realize that when I knew you since you were born. Put the bunny down, and come talk to me. Tell me why I must give my daughter away to you and your family? What will she do when she gets there? I don't want her to lose her mind, she's already half way there," Mrs. Pincter said, letting out a sad sigh afterwards.

Taursus laid his hand on Mrs. Pincter's shoulders, holding the rabbit in his other hand. "I like this 'bunny' creature. I'm taking it with me. But that's besides the point. Nadia will be well taken care of. My dad wanted to put her with the other female slaves, basically being an entourage for my mother, so that my mom would look more wealthy at balls. My mother had a different idea. She didn't like your husband as you well know, so --"

"He's her brother!" Mrs. Pincter interupted, angered at Taursus's mothers indecency.

"Her step-brother," Taursus corrected. Sighing, he returned to his story. "Anyways, mother didn't want her bastard niece, as she calls Nadia, to be near her, so she gave Nadia to me. Nadia is mine to do with as I please."

"I'm not going with you!" Nadia exclaimed, standing in the hallway. Her face contorted in anger. "I'm not some low-life prostitute to be given to some man whose hormones dictate what he'll do to me," Nadia stomped her foot onto the floor, vibrating the small house.

Mrs. Pincter raised herself from her chair and made her way to Nadia. Reaching up to hug her, Mrs. Pincter sobbed, "Be good Nadia, and do what he says. It will be alright."

"Come Nadia. It's time to go. Thirty minutes is up. We must be on our way before dark," Taursus commanded. He walked over to her, his boots thumping omniously on the floor. He shoved the rabbit into Nadia's arms and turned her toward the broken door. "Mrs. Pincter, you and Mr. Pincter are allowed to visit her once every 6 months. Please tell Mr. Pincter that we are sorry that he didn't get to see his daughter leave." Seeing, Mrs. Pincter nod in acknowledgement, Taursus dragged Nadia out of the house and onto the street where surprisingly, two horses stood.

Boosting Nadia onto a grey gelding, Taursus stared into her eyes. "Listen to me now, and listen to me good. I heard that you like to wander off and dream. Well, that has ended. You are not to dream anymore. I don't tolerate dreamers."

Shocked, Nadia sat on her horse. Alligator tears and sobs racked her body. She wasn't allowed to dream anymore. Never allowed to dream. How was she going to live? Vowing to herself to hate Taursus, she blankly followed his mahogany stallion out of town and into unknown territory.