Hello again lovelies. Here is another chapter to Sweet Dreams and I hope you enjoy it. I love writing these stories and I hope you like reading them. I don't have any more reviews to put with this A/N so I will simply get on with the quote.
"Whatever doesn't kill had better start running."
-Anonymus
On with the story!
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o Sweet Dreams o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
The next morning I woke slowly to the sun shining through my curtains which bathed my sight in a warm orangish red from behind my eyelids. My sense of touch was the second thing to register in my mind which made me aware of the comfortable warmth under my covers. Then came my hearing that picked up faint birdsong. I loved the days when I could wake up like this, just being able to bask in the lazy drowsiness I woke up in. A yawn escaped me as I sat up in my bed and reached my arms up towards the ceiling to stretch out any kinks I had in my upper back and arms. By now I was mostly awake so I had no trouble opening my eyes and cast a lazy glance over my room. Because I was the only one who lived in the house, I had the master bedroom. I slowly eased myself from my king sized bed then quickly made it behind me. If I didn't do it now, I wouldn't do it later. When that was done, I padded over to the bathroom to take care of my business. I also flashed through a quick shower, making sure to wash my face and give myself a quick touch up with shaving. I then quickly brushed my teeth and hair so that I could put my hair up into a bun. I didn't even try getting dressed. I simply slipped an amethyst silk robe on to cover my nakedness then made my way down to the kitchen for some breakfast. Instead of actually cooking, I grabbed some cheese, fruit, warmed up two chocolate croissants, and poured myself a glass of milk. A contented sigh left me as I leisurely tucked into my somewhat healthy breakfast. As I ate the cheese and fruit, I relished the taste of food made in Alfheim, home of the light elves. My great-grandparents on my mother's side are the King and Queen of Alfheim with my great-grandfather being a full blooded light elf while my great-grandmother is a full-blooded dark elf. They had married each other because they had found their hugr, or soulmate, in each other which had made alliances with the light elves and dark elves who had previously been sort of enemies. Even though I was only ¼ elf, they still treated me like I was their full blooded descendant. They made sure my fridge and pantry were stocked were filled with food from both Alfheim and Svartlheim with some room from me to put in some Midgardian food. I was even given my own handmaidens, guards, and servants. The servants I told to stay to look after my chambers back at the palace in Alfheim while my handmaidens and guards were called to my home on Midgard whenever I should need them.
Once my breakfast was eaten, I rinsed off my dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. Satisfied that I had taken care of my mess, I headed back up to my bedroom so that I could get dressed. On the days that I had a later shift, I would head over to Sookie's house and soak in some sun with her. After we sat out in the sun for an hour or two, we would head inside and eat some lunch. We would sit down with Amma Adelle and we'd simply talk. However, when we finished eating, I always came back home then ventured to Alfheim for some elf training from my grandparents. Hours of training would pass then I would come home and get ready for my shift at Merlotte's. So, in light of what I was going to do, I slipped on a revealing white bikini and took my hair out of the bun to switch it into a loose braid over my left shoulder. Over the swimsuit, I wore a darling peach-gold sundress that flowed down to my knees. As for my feet, I kept them bare unless I had to wear shoes. I want to blame my elven blood for that. The only things I needed to bring with me over to Sookie's was my phone and my keys so I was out the door within fifteen minutes. The walk across the way was peaceful due to the twittering birds as they flew overhead with other creatures, such as squirrels, were chattering about. To complement the melody, the sigh of the trees as their leaves danced in the wind.
"Hey Dessy!" Sookie greeted me from her place on her yellow lawn chair.
"Hey Sook," I smiled back brightly.
"I have your chair all ready."
"Thanks"
I carefully shed my sundress and folded it up before I reclined on my own purple lawn chair.
"You seem pretty chipper this morning," Sookie chuckled after I felt her gently reach into my mind. "Did your talk with Storm last night go okay?"
"Of course," I beamed over to her. "Though the call did end weirdly."
"How so?"
"Well, I finally plucked up the courage to tell him I love him," I blushed slightly, closing my eyes and turning my face up to the sunlight.
"That's great!" Sookie gushed happily after a few minutes of stunned silence. "What did he say?!"
"That's the thing. He was so stunned he couldn't say anything. Our connection must have cut off because that's when it ended."
"What? Is he okay?"
"I'm sure he's fine," I waved off. "It was just the connection. I'll call him again next week."
"I know he'll say he loves you back," Sookie assured me. "But if he doesn't and breaks your heart, I'll whoop his butt for you."
"Thank you for the support Sookie," I chuckled while I settled more into the lawnchair. It was definitely amusing picturing Sookie trying to pick a fight with Storm. All he would have to do is pick her up from the back of her shirt then she would just hang in the air as she struggled. Sigh, it was nice to know that such loyal friends had my back. The both of us then lapsed into a comfortable silence as we took in the warm sun. I must have fallen into a doze during our sunbathing because I jerked awake when Jason honked his horn as he pulled into the driveway. That boy could wake the dead with that entrance, I grumbled to myself. I sluggishly raised myself onto my elbows to look over to the older blond haired boy.
"Hey," he began as he shut his truck door. "How come you two didn't tell me you two beat up the Rattray's last night?"
"We haven't seen you since then," Sookie retorted smoothly.
"Where's Gran?"
"Hanging laundry out back."
"Can you keep your voice down Jase?" I yawned softly. "For one, I want to get back to my nap and two, Amma shouldn't know about this. She would just be worrying about nothing."
"Nothing?!" he echoed in disbelief. "Fortenberry couldn't wait 'til I got to work this morning to tell me all about it."
"Hoyt Fortenberry?" Sookie clarified to which Jason nodded.
"How the hell does he know?" I ventured lazily.
"He went over to the Ratts last night to buy some weed. Denise drove up like she wanted to kill somebody, she was so mad."
I couldn't help but smirk and snicker at his comment. Served the bitch right. She had no business taking blood from any vampire, regardless of how horrible they were.
"The only way she would sell him any weed was if he would drive Mack to the hospital in Monroe."
"Hey, they were draining a vampire," I threw out there. "I doubt they will go to the police about it."
"You two do not want to get mixed up with vampires," Jason scolded us. He then went on to lecture us, but I immediately tuned him out. If I told him anything about Storm, he'd flip his lid.
"Jason!" I heard Amma Adelle exclaim when she saw him.
"Gran," Jason smiled brightly when he saw the kindly older woman.
"Des!"
"Hey Amma Adelle," I returned with a raise of my hand and a lazy smile.
"Sakes alive boy," Amma Adelle chuckled. "Where have you been keeping yourself? You get over here and hug mah neck."
This earned a laugh from Jason as he stepped forward to hug his grandmother.
"You get here Gran. How's mah girl?"
"You're all sweaty."
"I know."
"Would you like some iced tea?"
"I would love some iced tea. Here, I got it."
Sookie and I both took in a few more minutes of sun before we both rose from our chairs. Sookie hurried off to shower then dress in pajamas while I simply pulled on my sundress then ventured into the kitchen for lunch.
"Want the rest of that?" Jason asked Sookie right as he took the coveted piece of sausage.
"Yes," she laughed just a little too late to save her food.
"Thank you," he uttered instead and shoved the food into his mouth which earned a noise of disbelief from Sookie. "If you're gonna wear that suit, you might want to start watching what you eat."
Upon seeing the look his sister gave him, he quickly tried to rectify what he said.
"You look nice."
All I could do was roll my eyes at him.
"That was Everlee Mason," Amma Adelle told us after she had hung up the phone. "Guess who was strangled to death in her appartment? Maudette Pickens."
"Oh my lord," Sookie gasped.
"She didn't show up for work," Amma Adelle added. "She wasn't answering her phone and so her boss called bud Dearborn. He rode over, got the landlord to let him in...and they found her."
"I went to high school with Maudette," Sookie breathed out in shock.
"Can you believe that?" Amma Adelle let out. "A murder in Bon Temps."
"Well, why are you surprised now that we got ourselves a vampire?" Jason spat in distaste. My eyes narrowed at his words. I didn't care about any or the other vampires he had disrespected, but I would not stand for him badmouthing my hugr.
"Vampires wouldn't leave a body full of blood," I seethed cooly. "And not all vampires kill for pleasure."
"Oh come on," Jason scoffed. "Fangbangers go missing all the time on Shreveport and New Orleans."
"That is what they get for giving their bodies like that."
"What's a fangbanger?" Amma Adelle spoke up in confusion.
"A vampire groupie," Sookie answered in a way that she thought was effectively explaining the subject in a subtle way. Yeah, she failed.
"A person who likes to be bitten by vampires and who are willing to sell their bodies to vampires for either money or V," I offered in place of Sookie's explanation.
"My stars."
"Maudette was a fangbanger?" Sookie directed at Jason. "How do you know that?"
I knew how he knew as soon as I saw the way his face contorted like he was starting to clam up. If this were to continue on, I could see Jason snapping at his sister.
"He probably overheard her talking about it," I intervened with a shrug. "People who have slept with a vampire tend to brag."
"I wonder how much one would charge for something like that," Amma Adelle mused.
"A thousand bucks," Jason stated pretty quickly.
"See, that just makes me sick," Sookie huffed.
"I know," Amma Adelle agreed.
"They could at least have some self respect," I seconded.
"No," Sookie denied. "What makes me sick is that they're getting a thousand bucks to lay there and do nothing while I bust my ass for $10 an hour plus tips."
"Oh, I don't think they just lay there," Jason interjected. "I think they are expected to you know, participate."
"Oh, no doubt," I snorted humorlessly. "People with a lot of power like that tend to have huge egos that need to be fed constantly."
Jason let out a chuckle at those words while he took off his cap.
"Thanks for lunch Gran," he smiled. "I should be gettin' back to work."
"I think I'll head out too Amma Adelle," I told her. "I have some things I have to do before work. Thanks for lunch."
"Think nothing of it honey," she said with a warm smile. I gave her shoulders a hug and her cheek a peck then gave Sookie a hug.
"I'll meet you at your car Sook."
She nodded in our hug then let me go so I could leave.
The first place that I went to when I got back home was my self-made nature garden in my backyard. This was the time where I could further my elven training under my great-grandparents. I slipped off my sundress again then walked further into the garden with the lush grass brushing against my bare feet. When I was able to be close to nature like this, I felt at peace with the world and my senses were incredibly heightened. I could literally feel the thrum of magic in the earth, trees, and air as I let out a contented sigh and closed my eyes to feel the gathering magic that would lead me to Alfheim. Once I had a grasp on the doorway, I opened my eyes and lifted my hand towards two elm trees that had a little passage between them.
"Ó Heimdall, heimspekingur (Oh, Heimdall, Watcher of Worlds)
Ég er prinsessa Dagheiður frá Alfheimi (I am Princess Dagheiðr of Alfheim)
Og ég leita öruggan leið frá Midgard til Alfheim (And I seek safe passage from Midgard to Alfheim)."
With those few words, I could feel the door manifesting in front of me as well as see the two trees twining like lovers to reveal a rainbow portal between the two trees. Seeing as though I had thick protective and glamour charms around the property, I wasn't concerned with anybody seeing what was happening. I was quick to move forward through the portal only to come out on the other end being filled to the brim with limitless elven magic. As such, my appearance changed. My hair that was to the small of my back and a platinum blonde before was now to my thighs and a striking white in a high ponytail that had thicker strands. On my forehead now rested a birthmark all royal elves were born with. In the center was a rune for long life that was surrounded on either side like a circlet that was gold around the edges that faded into silver towards the middle. Usually the birthmark would only be gold for the light elves or silver for the dark elves, but because of my great-grandparents the two colors mixed. I also had a set of three amethyst tiger marks on my cheeks that acted as my identity marks in the elven royal family. As for my dress, it was made of a darker amethyst color than my cheek marks made of satin material that left the tops of my shoulders free with a light amethyst layover at the top. A shade of amethyst between the light and dark going down the bodice in a vertical line to a sash that hung in a v at my hips that was a very dark amethyst that was accented with silver lining at the end with an amethyst elven star in the middle of the silver lining. At my hips the fabric of the dressed hugged them then billowed out down to my feet with a silver trim along the hem. The sleeves of the dress came to my wrists in a baggy fashion with a silver trim along the edges with light amethyst mid arm length gloves that only covered the top of my hands that were held in place by a silver band around my middle fingers. My final touch was a pair of dark amethyst pumps on my feet. Unlike on Midgard, one could feel the magic of nature in the air so strongly that it sank into your pores. Thankfully, Heimdall had dropped me off in the large courtyard that was close to the throne room. That meant that I had more time to spend with my grandparents.
Like usual, there were two soldiers standing guard outside the throne room.
"Góðan daginn prinsessa Dagheiður(Good afternoon Princess Dagheiðr)," one of them greeted me, their golden soldier under eye birthmark crinkling when he smiled.
"Góðan daginn Hermaður Baljor. Viltu tilkynna mér vinsamlegast(Good afternoon Soldier Baljor. Would you announce me please)?" I requested softly as I returned his smile.
"Auðvitað, hátign þín(Of course, Your Highness)."
He was quick to rush into the throne room to announce my presence while I was left with the other soldier who turned from her post to send me a warm smile.
"Það er heiður að sjá þig aftur, hátign þín(It is an honor to see you again, Your Highness)."
"Það hefur verið um stund, hefur það ekki(It has been a while, hasn't it)?" I mused to myself. Because of my schedule and the guard rotation schedule, I hardly saw the same guards within the same week or in some cases months. The male guard that had rushed to announce me returned with a large smile.
"Þú hefur verið tilkynnt, hátign þín(You have been announced, Your Highness)," he beamed proudly when he returned to his post.
"Þakka þér fyrir Hermaður Baljor(Thank you Soldier Baljor)."
With those words I padded into the large throne room where five thrones sat at the very front of the room. The central two thrones were made of red and orange material with two thrones flanking the red in yellow and pink while a lone purple throne flanked the orange. In the red throne sat a powerful yet gentle looking man with slicked back coal black hair down to his shoulder blades, the golden royal birthmark on his forehead, and his red identity marks on his cheeks that looked like fangs. This is my great-grandfather King Alric of Alfheim, realm of the light elves. To his left sat a woman whose skin was black as pitch with the silver royal birthmark on her forehead and a grouping of orange stars identity mark lining the sides under her eyes with long blindingly white wavy hair. This is my great-grandmother, Queen Vestele of Alfheim who was the former princess of Svartalfheim, the realm of dark elves. To Afi Alric's other side was a gentle woman with ebony skin and black hair, the same silver and gold royal birthmark I had on my forehead and her own yellow crescent identity marks under her eyes. This is my grandmother Princess Sigfrid who was half light elf and half dark elf.
"Góðan daginn, Afi Alric, Amma Vestele, Amma Sigfrid(Good afternoon, Grandpa Alric, Grandma Vestele, Grandma Sigfrid)," I greeted them all warmly.
"Góðan daginn Dagheiður(Good afternoon Dagheiðr)," Afi Alric returned with a twinkle in his eye.
"Komdu, gefðu mér knús Heiðr(Come give me a hug Heiðr)," Amma Vestele insisted with her arms open. I wasted no time running into her comforting embrace.
"Hvernig var heimsókn þín með Hugr(How was your visit with your Hugr)?" Amma Sigfrid asked me when she came to join in on the hug.
"Það fór frábært(It went great)," I smiled brightly while a small blush settled on my cheeks. "Ég sagði honum jafnvel að ég elska hann(I even told him that I love him)."
"Hvaða frábæra fréttir(What wonderful news)!" Amma Sigfrid cheered.
"Hvað sagði hann(What did he say)?" Afi Alric questioned with a small smile.
"Hann fékk ekki tækifæri til(He didn't get a chance to)," I said. "Við vorum dregin úr rúminu okkar áður en hann gat sagt neitt, en ég mun sjá hann aftur í næstu viku(We were pulled from our space before he could say anything, but I'll see him again next week)."
"Þú spyrð hann betur um leið og þú sérð hann(You better ask him as soon as you see him)," Amma Vestele grumbled.
"Já, Amma Vestele(Yes, Grandma Vestele)," I chuckled lightly. "Hvað erum við að vinna að í dag(What are we working on first today)?"
"Hönd til hönd gegn(Hand to hand combat)," Afi Alric said. "Síðan fórum við á vopnaþjálfun og við munum vinna á töfrum þínum. Útlýsti galdrar þínir eru gallalausar, en við verðum að vinna á þér ekki munnlegan galdra(Then we move onto weapons training then we will work on your magic. Your uttered spells are flawless, but we need to work on you non-verbal magic)."
In the blink of an eye, all four of us teleported to a very spacious room that was the private royal training room. We also changed our court clothes for our sparring outfits. Everyone else's clothes stayed in the elven fashion while my outfit was in Midgardian fashion. My outfit consisted of an amethyst bra bustier top, short black jean shorts with a black studded belt, thigh high white stockings, knee high black high heeled combat boots, and black fingerless gloves. Instead of my hair being in its usual high ponytail, it went up into a bun with some hair free to frame my face. Final touches to my outfit were two thigh straps where a pouch, a knife, and a gun rested along with a short blade holster across the small of my back. I know all of my weapons seemed like an overkill, but my family motto was 'be prepared for anything'. Now that we were in more appropriate clothes, Afi Alric came to stand in front of me in cream colored trousers and knee high riding boots without a shirt. Due to elf immortality, once we reached the human age of twenty-one, our aging dramatically slowed down. All of us had the potential to reach ten thousand years before our decline into death for another thousand years until we became part of the earth. Hence, my great-grandparents still looking like they were twenty-five.
"Ertu tilbúinn Dagheiður(Are you ready Dagheiðr)?" Afi Alric asked as he fell into a relaxed stance.
"Já(Yes)."
I received no warning before Afi Alric launched himself at me with a punch. My body instinctively fell into a strong fighting stance, then dodged his punch to execute a spin kick to his side. That hardly fazed him but I was able to effectively dodge the punch. He quickly moved to face me again. This time I was ready when he launched a flurry of attacks at me. I deftly ducked out of the way, jumped to avoid a sweep kick, and ducked to avoid a roundhouse kick. Now that I could see his pattern, I could get a feeling for how he moved so that I could start attacking back. We both dealt blow after blow to the other, with me making sure to dodge or block the stronger hits, until we both were two blurs that could easily surpass any vampire. In the end, we both ended in a stalemate even though I knew Ari Alric could have easily beat me.
"Góð vinna Dagheiður(Good work Dagheiðr)," Afi Alric praised me before we launched into weapons training. The first weapon we trained with were swords that morphed into daggers and throwing knives then archery then finally my guns. After weapons training was quickly passed so that we were focusing on my magic. Amma Vestele was the one to step forward to conduct the training.
"Hvað þarftu að framkvæma atala galdra(What do you need to execute non-verbal spells)?" Amma Vestele questioned with hardened gold eyes.
"Nakkvarr stafa í huga mínum og vilja til að gera það gerast(A spell in my mind and the will to make it happen)."
She nodded, pleased with my answer, then moved the lesson onto spells over the elements, spells that are shaped by an incantation, and any other spell you can think of. Once the basics were covered, holograms of different supernatural beings were conjured so that I could learn how best to combat them. The first creature were vampires. Balls of UV light appeared in my hands that I launched out at the holograms that had them bursting into a pile of bloody goo. As for the weres I went up against, I varied from hand to hand combat to shooting them with my gun to shooting simple spells that would incapacitate them before I made the finishing blow. The faeries on the other hand were more of a handful than the other supes. Because of the bright light they shot out of their hands, if you weren't careful they could blind you and kill you. To prevent that from happening I muttered a spell to guard my eyes from the harsh light where I was able to snag the fae with magic draining tendrils of magic then made sure to stab them through the heart to finish the job. The last supe I had to fight were elves. Some were light elves, some were dark elves, and the rest were hybrids between the two. Of course there was a lot of ducking and dodging the flying spells, but I had managed to flip through the air and land killing spells successfully at the elves until I was the last one standing.
"Þú hefur gengið vel í dag Dagheiður(You have done well today Dagheiðr)," Afi Alric congratulated me while Amma Sigfrid was all too happy to bring me into a large bear hug.
"Þakka þér fyrir(Thank you)," I smiled to each of my grandparents. "En ég þarf að fara. Ég hef seint vakt í kvöld(But I need to get going. I have a late shift tonight)."
"Ég sé ekki af hverju þú þarft að vinna(I do not see why you need to work)," Afi Alric fussed with a frown. "Þú ert prinsessa. Ég get veitt þér(You are a princess. I can provide for you)-,"
"Ég þakka hjálp þinni fyrir Afi Alric(I appreciate your help Grandpa Alric)," I interrupted lest he go on another rant. "En ég elska tilfinninguna um að eiga eigin launagreiðslu mína(But I love the feeling of earning my own paycheck)."
"Verður þú að halda þjónunum að minnsta kosti(Will you keep the servants at least)?"
"Já, ég mun halda persónulegum þjónum mínum og gæta(Yes, I will keep my personal servants and guard)."
"Alric, farðu í stelpuna einn(Alric, leave the girl alone)," Amma Vestele scolded lightly to her hedr. "Hún hefur gott höfuð á axlunum(She has a good head on her shoulders)."
"Þú veist að hann er aðeins áhyggjufullur vegna þess að hann elskar þig(You know he only worries because he loves you)," Amma Sigfrid murmured in my ear.
"Ég veit Amma Sigfrid(I know Grandma Sigfrid)."
"Gott. Þá gefðu mér góða blessun áður en þú ferð(Good. Then give me a proper goodbye before you go)."
I gave each of my grandparents a hug and a kiss on the cheek before I called out for Heimdall to send me back to Midgard.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o Sweet Dreams o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
And there we have it lovelies. Another chapter and in this chapter we get to see some of Des's family. What do you guys think of her grandparents? Do you think it's weird to have your great-grandparents and your grandparents seem like they are around your age even though they could be thousands of years old? Tell me what you think or let me know if you have any questions or comments. Remember, reviews are magic!
-White Wolf