Jalerom wakes with a start, gasping and sweating bullets. "What the hell was that?" His words echo slightly in the darkened bedroom. I just need some air, it was only a dream. Leaving his bed, he crosses the room to the window. With trembling hands, he fumbles with the lock a bit before throwing it open, drawing in deep breaths of the cool night air. Leaning out the window, he sighs. "Why won't this nightmare just go away?" For over a week now, Jae has been having the same nightmare every night. They start out pleasant, but it always ends the same. Though, now that i think about it, this one seemed slightly different.
Suddenly, Jalerom hears the quiet creak of the floorboards just outside his door. He turns slowly, one hand on quickstrike. While it hasn't happened since the dishonor brigade disbanded, it wouldn't be the first time someone tried to end him in his sleep. He immediately relaxes though, when he sees a familiar head of lovely violet locks poke through the doorway. "Fae? What are you doing in here?"
"Oh, sorry! I was just looking for one of my books, and I thought that I might have left it in here. Did i wake you?" Faerthurin crosses over to him. He shakes his head "No, I was already up." He turns back to gaze out the window, grateful for her presence. She seemed to be doing slightly better since that night he found her in the basement, but they have not shared a bed since then, to Jalerom's slight disappointment. But still, he's glad to see her again, considering...
Faerthurin notices him beginning to tremble. "Are you ok? What's wrong?" Jae looks away, "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine." Fae raises an eyebrow, "Yeah, sure. You're just up in the middle of the night for no reason at all." Her gaze softens, "Talk to me, please?" He sighs, "All right, I... I had a nightmare." "A nightmare?" Jae nods, "Yeah, and I've been having the same one for over a week. But this last one seemed... different." Fae places her hand on top of his. "You can tell me about it, if you want?" Linking his fingers with hers, he nods. "Okay. Well, it started out fine, quite pleasant actually. We were on the beach in Mirid Port..."
-nightmare-
Jalerom and Faerthurin were walking along the sand, hands intertwined, just enjoying each others company as the sun was setting. Spotting something lying in the surf, Jae rushes forward to pick up a beautiful conch shell. He turns around to show it to Fae, but is shocked to see she has disappeared. Suddenly everything fades to black as the air is filled with whispers. You were too late. You're not good enough. Jalerom tries to block out the words by covering his ears. Failure. You don't deserve her. You're a disgrace. "Stop it!" Then he suddenly hears the sound of sobbing. Looking up, he sees Fae in the distance. "Fae? Fae! What's wrong?" Jae sprints over to her, only to smack into a glass wall. "What the.." Looking around, he notices that he's back in the tower room in the outlands, in front of the giant orb. Turning back to Fae, he sees her in the orb holding his lifeless body, crying her eyes out and begging for him to come back. Jalerom begins to pound his fists on the glass. "I'm right here! I won't leave you! I want to stay with you!"
Jae's grip tightens slightly. "And that's when I would wake up. But this time..."
Are you sure? Startled, Jae spins around to locate this new voice, but there's no one there. Turning back to the orb, he sees the orb is now filled with flames, and the room has once again returned to nothingness. In a deep ominous tone, the voice continues to speak it's message. If you continue down this path, the is nothing but pain and suffering. Following her into hell will mean a fate worse than death if you fail, and you can't get a second chance there. Now, are you sure you wish to stay with this one? Facing the empty blackness, Jalerom stares into the void with a look of solid determination, and says one single word. Very well. Enjoy your future. Suddenly the floor seems to disappear beneath him, and he plummets into what appears to be an endless, scorching inferno.
-end nightmare-
Tears begin to roll down Jalerom's face. "What if they're right?" He turns away as his voice starts to tremble. "I... I'm scared Fae. I've already died once. Heh, twice if you count the night twist." He gives a weak smile, but it quickly fades. "If where we're planning to go is this dangerous, I don't... I don't want to lose you. I don't think I would be able to handle it if something ever happened to you. I..I..." He stops as he feels a pair of arms encircling him. "That's not going to happen. I, and the rest of our friends, will make sure it doesn't." Faerthurin turns him around, holds his head in her hands, and gives him a sweet kiss. "Anything that tries to hurt me will have get though them first, plus get past a very talented assassin who wouldn't let any harm come to me." She smiles and takes his hand. "Now come here, I know I'm not the only one who can't think straight when tired." She leads him over to the bed. As they settle in for the night, there's just one question left in Fae's mind. "Jae? What did you tell the voice before you fell?" He smiles, and holds her close.
"Always."
Author's note:
I'd like to mention my thanks to several wonderful people:
First off, I want to thank S.E. Rowan for inspiring me to actually write my story, instead of keeping it in my head. Ever since I read their IvanXAmber fanfic, I wanted to write my stories as well. I recommend anyone reading this to check out their story as well.
I want to thank Eliyora, the person who actually plays Faerthurin, again for allowing me to use her art as the cover image for this story. Go check out the rest of her wonderful works on Deviantart.
I also want to thank the rest of the Brony D&D group. You guys have created an awesome story. When I first discovered your series, I marathoned so many episodes in a row, and lost plenty of sleep doing so. (still worth it!) I can't wait to see what will happen to my favorite adventurers next!
And lastly, I want to thank everyone who has read my story. In the real world, I don't have any friends. I have Asperger's, and I have trouble socializing with people beyond simple talks like saying "hello", or talking to the person at a cash register. Mostly this is because I don't know anyone in my area who's into the same stuff I like, and there aren't many places I can go to meet people like that. So when I see that people have read my story, and actually like it, it makes me really, really happy! So thank you to everyone who has given my story a chance. I know my writing skills are still not the best, but I am going to continue to try to improve!
I can't promise another chapter or a new story at the moment, but if inspiration hits I'll be sure to update to let you know!
Once again, Thank you!
