A/N: This is the revamped version of Chapter 2. If you read the first version, you'll notice a minor change in some dialogue, that while I thought would originally fit, really didn't suit the character it was coming from. There's also some minor grammar edits in here as well. You won't even see them. :)
Thanks to Delora2047 for her help, once again. :) And thank you to everyone who's been reading thus far! Chapter 4 should be up soon.
Darcerin 3/1/09
Nightmares, Chapter 2
By Darcerin
When Adora awoke, she found herself lying on her side in her heavenly soft bed in her bedroom in the Eternian palace. She rolled over onto her back to stare at the ceiling. The last thing she remembered was seeing Adam and then everything went dark. Had she passed out? Had he brought her back here? He must have. She looked down at herself and the nightgown she was wearing. He certainly hadn't *dressed* her too?! She blushed at the idea - of course, he probably had their mother or one of the chamber maids attend to her.
The bedroom door creaked open just then, and one of the maids poked her head in. When she saw Adora, she exclaimed, "Oh, Princess! We're so glad you're finally awake! Your parents are waiting to speak to you." The maid closed the door again.
Finally? Adora thought, slightly bemused, as she pushed herself into a sitting position. She sighed heavily as she suddenly felt a surge of emotions well up. No tears, Adora. It was all just dreams, and everyone's fine.
This time, the door burst open at her father's urgency, and as soon as Adora saw her parents, the brave face she struggled to maintain shattered. She held out her arms as her parents ran to her, and started bawling uncontrollably as her mother held her.
Hours later, after Adora had calmed down and eaten, Adam paid her a visit, Cringer in tow. Adora was still in her pink nightgown and fuchsia dressing gown, standing out on her balcony, overlooking the palace grounds below; but her thoughts were a million miles away. She didn't need to turn around to know it was he. It seemed everyone in the palace had visited her before he had.
"Is that the latest fashion for the Rebellion these days – doesn't seem to look battle-ready," Adam joked as Adora turned to face him. Normally, Adora would have taken up the banter, but today she simply pulled him into a hug. "You have no idea how good it is to see you standing here, alive and well."
"I'm not so sure about the 'well' part." Adam joked again and Adora pulled away in concern.
"You're not well?"
The look on Adora's face forced Adam to drop his comic routine to lighten the mood. "Adora, I'm fine." He gently grasped her arm and led her away from the balcony. Who knew who could be listening in on their conversation? "Listen, I didn't stop by to see you until I knew you'd be a bit calmer. After I saw in you Grayskull two days ago, I knew…"
Two days? Adora thought wildly as Adam continued talking, I've been asleep for two whole days?! This meant she'd missed the attack on the Horde tax collectors entirely. Had Glimmer gotten the message in time? Had anyone been hurt, enslaved – killed? Adora closed her eyes. She had to believe their training had worked, that they'd been successful; otherwise…
"Adora?" Adam suddenly sounded alarmed.
Adora opened her eyes slowly, trying to attack what had been nagging at her all day. "You all think I've gone crazy, don't you?"
"Of course not!"
"Then why the steady stream of visitors all day – are they all making sure I'm not going to jump off my balcony?"
"You're being ridiculous, Sis."
"Really?" Adora crossed her arms in front of her. "Then why did you pull me off the balcony just now?"
"There are -" Adam struggled to find polite terms, "a lot of people with big ears, and even bigger mouths. Anything could be heard, misinterpreted, and passed on. The gossip I hear around here *now* is bad enough without adding any more to it."
Adora covered her eyes with one hand, suddenly feeling very tired. "I'm sorry; you're right. Let's sit down." She motioned toward the chairs and table across from her bed.
As Adam sat down, he said, "I really came by to listen to you." Adora leaned back in her chair, and looked at him intently. "I haven't known you for very long, admittedly, but I know you well enough that you usually don't get hysterical at the sight of people."
Adora raised a brow. "Is that gossip?"
"I might have been standing outside the door this morning," Adam pretended to be studying his fingernails.
"Adam!"
"And I might have taken a quick trip to Etheria last night."
At this, Adora's stomach clenched and she sat forward in her chair.
"You can relax; I got to Whispering Woods after the battle. You should be proud of yourself, there were only a few minor injuries and one freed town when I got there."
Adora fell back into her chair with an enormous sigh of relief.
"But Bow, Glimmer, and the rest of your team were deeply worried about you. They told me you'd been having nightmares, and your attention span and patience have been completely worn down."
Adora cringed, "I'll have to apologize when I go back."
"So, talk to me. Tell me what's going on." Adam urged gently.
"D-did you dream about running out of food?"
"Cringer, that's your nighmare," Adam chided his green tiger with a laugh.
Adora smiled, "No, I wish they were only that bad." She leaned down to stroke Cringer on the head. She began speaking of the dark dreams that had plagued her for over a month now. Some were much darker than other, but most causing her to either awaken in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, or to have those same dreams haunt her throughout her work day.
"I've tried everything to make them stop: meditating, talking to someone about them, skipping dinner-"
Adam's eyes narrowed and Cringer looked positively alarmed at the idea of skipping a meal.
"Don't worry, it was only one night," Adora defended herself. "I had a nightmare anyway, on top of an empty stomach. After I realized it wasn't anything in my diet, I went back to eating dinner."
"So if this has been going on for so long, why the sudden urge to come to Eternia?"
Here Adora put her head in her hands, her blond hair falling in front of her. "Because the last one on the night before I arrived here was the worst of them, and I remember every detail about it. It felt real enough to be real for me." She recounted the whole dream to her brother, Adam's eye growing larger with each passing second.
"I won't tell you how you died. Only that it was both horrifying and gruesome. I started screaming and woke up when Bow started shaking me."
Cringer was now shaking so hard by Adora's feet that he was making the table rattle.
"Oh Cringer, I'm sorry." Adora leaned down and scratched him behind both ears.
"I-it's ok, A-Adora. I-it was only a d-dream." Cringer said through chattering teeth.
"I guess I would have done the same thing you did, Sis. I would have wanted to make sure everyone was ok," Adam nodded.
Adora struggled to maintain her composure. "I came home just to reassure myself that everything was fine, that it was just a dream. I left Etheria right before a battle with the Horde. I never do that! What does that say about me and my credibility as Rebellion Leader?" She sounded both exasperated with herself, and bewildered all at once.
"That you're pushing yourself too hard. You're overworked, overstressed and your mind is trying to sort it all out when you sleep."
"By playing out the murders of my entire family? That's reassuring." Adora sulked.
"Look, Adora, the Sorceress could tell something was wrong with you even when you were communicating through the sword. That's why she sent for me. Her fears were only confirmed when you walked through the portal and she saw you in person. You looked like you could have fallen asleep in her arms right there, not to mention you looked like a zombie. She put the sleep spell on you just so you could sleep at all."
"Did I really look that bad?" Adora asked quietly. "I haven't been paying attention, been too busy…" she trailed off.
"You haven't looked into a mirror yet, have you?" Adam asked. "You may not want to."
But Adora was already up and crossing the room to the full length mirror. She gasped when she saw her reflection. Her hair had grown to a length to match She-Ra's, but looked unkempt, and unusually dull. Her face was blotchy, and the dark circles, even after two days of solid rest, were still lining her eyes.
"I-I didn't realize…I had started skipping some morning routines and just plunged myself into work to forget about the previous night. What's happening to me, Adam?" she covered her face with her hands as she began to cry. "Am I losing my mind? I used to be so strong…"
Adam came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Adora, look up again." When she did, he continued speaking. "Look at the woman in front of us. She's determined to beat those who kept her captive under their spells for so long. She's beautiful, she's smart, and she works hard to keep the Rebellion going." He paused, "and she looks better in a dress than her brother."
Adam had finally gotten to her. Her lips parted into a smile. "Thank you, Adam."
"There's the Adora I know." Adam smiled back, as she wiped the last tears away. "Now, if you're up for it, Mother and Father want us to have a quiet meal together as a family in a little while."
Adora turned to her brother. "I think I can do that. I'll go get ready if you'll tell them." She pecked him on the cheek. "Thanks for listening, Brother."
"Anytime, Sis, anytime." Adam smiled, but in the back of his mind, Adora's dream was frightening him very much indeed.
End Chapter 2
