She ran, ran until she felt she could run no more, but still her muscles kept contracting, kept propelling her forward though she thought she would perish from exhaustion. The edges of her vision were dark, as if darkness were reaching from behind in an effort to envelop her. But oddly that was not why she was running. She was chasing something, what she didn’t know, but there it was ahead of her, just out of reach, just out of sight. It glinted in what little light there was as if mocking her, as if challenging her to run faster, promising her that she would catch it if only she could manage a little more speed. She pushed herself, her muscles straining, her entire psyche strained by the last little burst of speed. She reached her hand forward to grasp it, she was so tantalizingly close she could almost feel it in her palm, but it danced out of her reach just as her strength left her and she crashed to the ground.
Gasping and heaving, her muscles unable to support her, she lay there on her stomach, arms twisted painfully beneath her, legs skinned and bleeding from the fall. She turned her head to one side to get her face out of the dirt and lay there, exhausted until she heard the sound of footsteps on wood. She frowned; there was no wood anywhere near her. But in the next moment pain shot through her back and she screamed.
Revena gasped as she woke, the pain in her back real and excruciating. She pushed herself up off her pillows and blinked as she looked around.
“’Bout time you woke up,” said Mareritta, flexing the fingers on her right hand as she picked at her nails. “You’re going to miss breakfast if you don’t get moving.”
“What time is it?” asked Revena; still feeling winded from the dream and her rude awakening.
“Time for you to get up! What else matters? Besides, mom and pop are looking for you,” sneered Mareritta and Revena winced as she crawled out of bed and fumbled for her robe. “I told them I’d wake you up since you obviously can’t do that yourself. Better get a move on!”
With that Mareritta swept from the room, perfectly composed and smiling like an angel. Revena sighed as she plodded down the hall to the bathing chamber. Her not so angelic little sister would do anything if she thought it would make her look better than Revena.
Revena stifled a yawn and shook her head to clear it. She walked into the bathing chamber and dropped her robe, examining herself in the mirror. She turned around and looked over her shoulder and her mouth fell open when she saw what looked like claw marks on her back. No wonder her back hurt so much, but how on earth did she get them? Her mind skipped back to the scene when she first woke up, Mareritta picking at her nails and flexing her hand as if testing it’s usefulness. Revena snarled and tensed up every muscle in her body as anger suffused her. She took a breath to yell for one of her parents but let it out slowly as she realized she was much too old to tattle and that had never gotten her anywhere in the past.
Revena washed her face and put her robe back on, hurrying back to her room to get dressed. She winced as the tight-fitting dress rubbed her sore back but gritted her teeth and headed down to breakfast, plaiting her hair as she went. Mareritta met her on the stairs with a sneer and an impatient look.
“Have trouble getting into your dress this morning, sis? I thought you might have gone back to bed it took you so long to get ready,” Mareritta said as Revena brushed past her.
Revena pretended she hadn’t heard the comment as she hurried into the dining room and took her seat.
“Morning, Mother, morning, Father,” she said as she slid into her chair, forcing a pleasant smile onto her face. “Sorry I’m late, I had terrible dreams all night.”
“Again?” asked their father, hardly looking up from the plate of food in front of him. Mareritta snarled silently as she slipped into her seat across the table from her sister.
“Yes, Father, again. I think it must mean something but I’m not sure what. It’s so strange.”
“Well, I’ve no doubt you’ll figure it out. You always were a smart one, Reva,” said her father, glancing her direction and smiling before returning his attention to his plate. Revena smiled in return and began serving herself, purposely avoiding looking across the table at her sister, who was no doubt scowling as she usually was when Revena received praise from their father.
“Guess what, Pop?” said Mareritta suddenly and their father looked up at her with a start. Mareritta smiled her sweetest smile at him, and in a tone that was all wide-eyed innocence she continued before he had a chance to respond. “Yesterday Harper Pridder said I played the gitar better than any of the other students. He thinks I may even make a good harper! Isn’t that great? You know how I’ve always loved music.”
“That’s wonderful, dear, but I don’t think we’re going to send you off to the Harper Hall any time soon. You know you never stick with anything for long. If you’re still applying yourself in a month or two then we’ll start discussing it.”
Mareritta scowled, pushing the food around on her plate but not eating any of it. Revena just shook her head ever so slightly and continued eating, wondering if her little sister would ever grow up, but doubting it all the while.
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Not yet!
Duh! Not yet!
Obviously not yet! :o)
