The dream came to her in the early hours of dawn, the time when dreams were said to real.
In her dream, it seemed to be nighttime, and she was surrounded by a mist while in the middle of a lake, silence thick in the air. She didn't know whether to be afraid or not, but she could feel something.
Suddenly, the shadows were illuminated by a soft blue light that seemed to become brighter until it was almost blinding, and when she looked around, she noticed that the mist was starting to part. Relieved, she inched closer towards the opening, and saw something that she never thought that she would see again.
Up in the sky was a bright blue beam of light that formed into a crystalline spear that seemed to dissolve in a downward spiral that revealed a glowing, rapier like object with a bright sapphire center, pinpoints of azure starlight seeming to herald its appearance.
The Sword of Damocles.
She felt her heart flutter with an unexplained joy even as the familiar feeling of apprehension that had always been present since she was a little girl rose within her, because she understood the symbol's meaning.
A new Blue King has risen.
The mist was now completely gone, and she found that she was ankle deep in the water.
When did I change form?
Before she could even try to comprehend the change in her form, the cerulean light surrounding the Blue King's Sword of Damocles seemed to expand, and when she ascended the banks of the lake in her bare feet, she realized that she wasn't alone.
Her heart suddenly caught in her throat when she saw a man standing a few feet away from her near the water's edge.
He was tall, well over six feet, standing with a majestic bearing that made him seem taller than he already was, and from what she could see, he was dressed in a high collared, long sleeved, dark blue trench coat that reached almost until his ankles, a black leather belt around his trim waist holding the two pieces of clothing together. On the left side of his waist, she could see a gold handled saber with a blue sphere at the tip encased in a dark blue sheath that had several gold straps criss crossed over it. He wore low heeled, apparently knee high black boots.
He stood with his back turned to her as he gazed up at the symbol of the Blue King, his form illuminated by the azure glow, although she wasn't close enough to see his face. She couldn't tell if it was the glow from the Sword of Damocles hovering up in the sky that made his hair look black with dark blue highlights, but she could see that it was somewhat messy, and parted on the right, the tip of his bangs seeming to be swept to the left side of his face.
As startled and apprehensive as she was, she couldn't help but feel intrigued at the sight of the tall and elegant stranger.
Are you the new Blue King?
Although she hadn't voiced the question out loud, the stranger seemed to hear it, becoming aware of her presence.
He turned to look at her….
She opened her eyes, and found herself gazing up at the ceiling of her bedroom in the pre-dawn gloom. It was still dark, and when she turned to look at the clock, she saw that it was 5 a.m.
The time when dreams are said to be real.
That was what the ancient Greeks had believed, and in the story of Europa, she'd had a dream at dawn that had been the foretelling of her abduction and eventual marriage to Zeus, the King of the Gods on the same day that it was fated to happen.
Despite the fact that it was only supposed to be mere mere mythology, she couldn't help but also believe that dreams that came at dawn also had a secret message.
Sighing softly, she stretched, and sat up. Flinging off the covers, she tried not to shiver at the chill that came in the early hours of the morning. Glancing out the window, she could see the faint hint of periwinkle light far off in the horizon. She padded across the floor in her bare feet before making her way to the window and undoing the latch.
She opened the window, inhaling deeply, as the scents of the clean morning air and scent of nature filled her lungs.
He had always enjoyed the tranquility that came with the early hours of the morning, and today was no different as he indulged himself in the silence that accompanied his early morning walks before he started his day. He was never one to take the same route whenever he went for a walk, and today, his route brought him to a small lake in a quiet park not far from headquarters.
As he strolled along the grassy banks, a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, causing him to stop in his tracks. When he turned to look, he was pleasantly surprised to see a white swan gliding gracefully along the surface of the lake, the ripples behind it disappearing almost as soon as they had appeared. Intrigued, he stepped closer to the water's edge and watched the graceful avian as it continued to glide its path along the water, its eyes on the horizon, seeming to anticipate the rising of the sun.
Suddenly, the swan seemed to sense his presence, and turned to look at him, surprising him. Soft pools of midnight tinted with dark violet, much like blue sandstones gazed at him in surprise, and what seemed to be slight recognition before a rosy pink blush spread across the beautiful avian creature's cheeks. The swan then dipped its head and spread its wings in greeting before raising its eyes to his face once again.
Surprised by the swan's gesture, he felt a warm glow begin to spread in his chest, and smiled as he nodded his head, returning the swan's greeting.
I feel as if I am being stared at by a beautiful lady.
As if to make the moment more intense, the sun rose, bathing the surroundings in its golden light as it announced the start of a new day, making the surface of the lake sparkle like diamonds, and revealing the beauty of the earth that was not very visible under the cover of night.
It had moved closer now, although it still maintained its distance, as if unsure, gazing at him quietly.
The moment was broken, however, when his phone vibrated in his pocket, and when he saw the caller ID, he knew that it was time to leave.
The swan seemed to understand that the brief time they had together was over, its eyes sad; for some reason, he did not want to leave, his heart aching.
Quietly, the avian creature dipped its head and spread its wings once again, only this time, bidding him goodbye. Sighing, he nodded solemnly before he turned to leave, feeling the swan's gaze on him as he strode away.
Perhaps we shall meet again, he thought.
Until then…
She watched him leave, her heart aching at the time cut short, although she felt a strange blossoming of warmth in her chest; she watched him until he was out of sight before she turned and spread her wings, ascending into the morning sky.
It IS you…
I'll have to buy another sketchbook, she thought to herself as she remembered that this was the last in her supply, and the blank pages available were startling to become less.
She sighed as she toweled her hair dry, and sat on her bed. Picking up her sketchbook, she gazed at the drawings she had made this morning following her return from the lake where she had seen the new Blue King.
The encounter from this morning was still very vivid in her mind, and she smiled as she remembered the man she had seen. Thanks to her being able to see his face, she now knew what he looked like, and she had to admit, it was more than she had ever hoped for.
He had been more handsome than she thought he would be when she had seen him in her dream.
He had been so beautiful…
He had stood with an elegant, majestic grace of a King, his presence the kind that commanded attention wherever he went. In addition to being tall with broad shoulders that only made him seem more elegant, his face was majestically handsome with intense amethyst eyes, and she didn't mind that he wore a pair of rectangular shaped, framelss glasses since he still looked good in them; she had also confirmed that his hair was indeed black with dark blue sapphire tints, although there had been angles where they had looked dark purple.
As she had seen in her dream, he had been wearing a long sleeved, high collared, dark blue trench coat that reached almost until his ankles, held together at the waist by a black leather belt with a golden buckle. Underneath the intricate, storm designed, dark blue coat he wore, he had been wearing a white shirt with an upturned collar paired with a fancy cravat over dark blue pants, wearing knee high boots with metal frames near the top; even the sword he wore on the left side of his trim waist was the same: a gold handled saber adorned with a blue sphere at the tip encased in a dark blue sheath with gold straps criss crossed over it.
His attire had been different from his late predecessor's, but still, there was no mistaking who he was.
That man is the new Blue King.
The new additions she had made to her sketch book were those of him standing by the banks of the lake where she had decided to swim this morning, as well as a sketch of him from the shoulders up.
She hadn't expected anyone to be up that early when she went to watch the sunrise from her favorite spot in the city, and the encounter with the man who was clearly the new Blue King had only added to the morning's surprises.
Why did he look so familiar? she wondered. I know I saw him in my dream, but I feel like this isn't the first time we've met…
For a moment, she felt herself taken back to a time long ago, and a young boy who had captured her heart, although she couldn't really remember what he had looked like; try as she might to remember what the boy had looked like, his face was either blurred, or obscured by shadows.
She felt her face warm as she traced her fingertips along the elegant planes of the Blue King's beautiful face before she stilled, a heartbreaking realization hitting her.
This is probably the closest I can get to you, she thought sadly, the euphoria that had been with her since she'd woken this morning beginning to dissipate like a fog with the sunrise.
The drawings became blurred, and her throat started to burn as she set the sketchpad down on the bedside table.
I can never let you know that I'm human.
The tears fell then, and she drew her knees up as she began to cry.