Chapter 4
Nightmares
"Mama! Mama!" a little voice screamed in the night. Sonea was instantly up at the first sound of her son. She rushed to his room, which was right next to her. In less than a minute, Arlen was in her arms whimpering softly. The magician soothed him as best as she could and soon he quieted. Pushing back his black hair from his eyes, Sonea looked at her son.
"What's wrong, darling?" she asked, concerned.
"I had a bad dream, mama," Arlen answered, his dark eyes staring up at her. He closed his eyes tight as if that could make the memories go away. His little scrunched up face was too cute for Sonea and she let out a small chuckle. Arlen opened one eye at her, a little upset that his mother wasn't taking him seriously. The five-year-old tried to pull himself from her grip. Sonea let him go, but not before tickling him in the stomach. Arlen let out a sequel and tried to get her back. They played like that for a few minutes before the boy was tired again. Too tired to dream.
Sonea tucked the blankets around her sleeping son, smiling softly at his peaceful face. She wished that everything could be as simple as it was for a child. His nightmares were forgotten in the blink of an eye, but hers remained forever. With one last look back at her son, Sonea closed his door and went to the kitchen. She took a glass from the cupboard and poured some wine into it. As she sipped the drink, Sonea considered what the higher magicians had asked of her.
It was an impossible task, but Sonea realized that it was necessary. Sachaka was still an unreliable country and now that it was reaching five years since the Invasion, the threat was considerably larger. Balkan had been kind in leaving her alone for as long as he had, but it had no gotten to the point where her feelings didn't matter. They wanted her to use Black Magic again. Sonea took another, larger sip from her glass. She had vowed never to do so, but could hardly deny the higher magicians, especially after what they had done for her.
Balkan wanted her answer by the end of the week, but everyone already knew what it would be when she left his residence. His order was phrased as a request. She had no choice but to accept. Finally finishing the wine, Sonea put the glass away and headed back to bed. As she climbed into the covers, the woman knew there would be no sleep for her tonight. The nightmares would continue.
A/N: So, it's summer and I thought I would work on this a little bit. Thanks for sticking with me and I'm sorry for the long wait.