Another short piece for WritersMonth2021

Prompt: Dream

The princess yanked open her door, ran down the hall in a panic, wearing just her night clothes, bare feet slapping the cold stone. She turned the corner and ran right into Kaylea Wolf, with a sob she threw her arms around the tall woman's hips, hugging her tightly. Freya had been running to her father, but she knew Kaylea would protect her, keep her safe until her father came.

"There's a dragon! It's hunting me, it almost got me!" The words came in a rush, Freya had been trying to get away, every time she thought she was safe the dragon would appear in front of her. She knew she had been running for hours.

"A dragon in Erebor?" Kaylea asked, her voice serious. "Are you certain, princess?"

"Yes! We must tell father!" Freya looked nervously over her shoulder. Her heart was still beating fast, but the hall looked somehow different. And all was quiet. She was certain the beast had been right behind her.

Kaylea knelt down to look the princess in the eye. She could see the girl had quite a fright, wondered what kind of bedtime stories she was hearing to be dreaming about dragons. "We will get your father," she said. "But let me take a look first, then we can both tell him." She held out her hand.

Freya looked around nervously as they walked back down the hall. She pressed close to Kaylea, gripping her hand tightly. "It was in my room," she whispered.

Kaylea smiled at the girl. She was only twelve, though in some ways she seemed much older. One could already see she would be a great beauty; her mother's auburn hair and oval face, her father's bones and eyes. The princess started to relax as they walked towards her rooms, as the adrenaline faded she began to realize it had all been a dream.

They stopped outside her open door. "Where is the dragon?" Kaylea asked.

Now Freya felt embarrassed. She had almost gone and wakened her father over a silly dream. She hoped her brothers didn't hear about this, they would tease her for months. She drew herself up, straightening her nightdress. "It was only a dream," she replied. "Thank you for escorting me to my rooms. I will be fine now."

"You must not say 'only' a dream, your highness," Kaylea told her. "Dreams have great power, to frighten, but also to inspire. Every dream you remember can teach you something about yourself."

Freya looked up at the tall warrior in amazement. The queen would have scolded her for being afraid, for disturbing her father, for running around the palace in her nightgown. Kaylea did none of those things. "Dreams have great power," she repeated.

"They can be very frightening," Kaylea said. "I'll ring for some cocoa and we can sit and talk for a bit. If you would like to."

"Yes, please!" Freya loved to talk with her father's mistress. She knew so many things, and she never talked down to her or treated her like a child. One day, she wanted to be just like her.

Kaylea rang for a servant and exchanged a few words with her. She then made sure Freya was settled in her bed before bringing a chair close to take a seat. "Tell me about this dream," she said.

Freya bit her lip, concentrating. "It seems much less scary now," she said. "I was walking through the halls and I saw a bright light under a door. I opened it and there was this huge dragon. I felt like if it didn't see me I would be fine, but somehow I couldn't close the door and it started coming towards me. I ran and ran. Everytime I thought I was safe, the dragon would come around a corner. And then my feet started to hurt," Freya frowned. "I looked down and they were rotting away, it was so hard to run. The last thing I remember was the dragon chasing me into my room. I knew I had to get to father to tell him." She looked at Kaylea sheepishly. "I was very foolish."

"Everyone has nightmares," Kaylea smiled at her. "There is no shame in it. I would say you were very brave, to run from the dragon, to try to get help."

"You have nightmares?" Freya was taken aback, Kaylea seemed so strong and confident. "About what?"

"There are worse things in this life than dragons," Kaylea said. Just for a moment, Freya saw a shadow pass over her face. "I will not give you more fuel for nightmares, your highness." She looked at the princess thoughtfully. "In my country, we study our dreams. I would say you feel something is pursuing you, something you cannot get away from. And your feet are useless. You feel trapped."

Freya looked down at her hands, embarrassed Kaylea could see her so clearly. She thought she had been hiding it very well. "I am trapped by my life, by my crown. I want to be like you, having great adventures, but a princess can't do those things."

"And where is that written? Why can't being a princess be the greatest adventure? Perhaps you will do things no other princess has ever done."

Freya stared at her. She had never thought of her life that way. Before she could respond the door opened and Thorin Oakenshield came in, carrying a tray with three mugs of cocoa.

"What is this I hear about my youngest child running around the palace in her nightgown?" He smiled at his daughter, giving her a kiss on the head as he handed her a mug. He took a seat on the bed next to her, hugging her shoulders. Freya leaned against him as she sipped her chocolate, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

Kaylea sat back in her chair. Though she and Thorin were lovers, in some ways she felt quite jealous of the princess. When she saw them together she wondered what it was like to have a devoted father, to grow up with that kind of support. "I was able to escort her back here with incident. I believe any hint of scandal has been averted."

"Thank you, my love," Thorin told her. He sat back to look at his daughter. "Now tell me what happened."

Haltingly, Freya told him about her dream. Thorin listened intently, gave her a hug when she had finished. "That sounds very frightening! If you have another dream like that, you must come get me at once," he told her.

With the warm cocoa in her stomach, the fire roaring in the hearth, her father being there, Freya started to feel very sleepy, leaning against Thorin she started to doze off.

"I think it's time we leave you to your sleep, my dear," Thorin said, getting up. He tucked the blankets around his daughter, kissed her cheek. "No more nighttime stories about dragons for you." Freya was asleep before they reached the bedroom door. He paused a moment to look at her. "I would fight a dragon by myself to protect her," he said softly.

"She knows," Kaylea told him. Thorin pulled the door closed, feeling very sleepy himself all of a sudden. Must be the cocoa.