Solid white clouds dotted a pale blue sky. Violet dahlias gazed into his eyes as Nathan lay in their midst. The wind perfumed the air with their scent. The smell bothered Nathan as he sat up. He walked the field in a dizzy fog without a direction in mind. The leaves of the flowers tickled his bare feet.
Wait a minute! He wasn’t a girl anymore. He patted his flattened chest and checked the important part. Victory, but how? He hadn’t even made it to that Tramen continent! With that settled, he ran aimlessly through the fields, yelling a victory cry with all the power of his deeper voice. He passed from the dahlias to another field filled with intense blue pimpernels and wondered why there were so many flowers.
What was this place? It felt suspicious. It couldn’t be home, any place as strange as this had to be in the realm. The only question was, where? For a few minutes, he walked carefully around the field, purposely going in circles until his foot caught a vine that wrapped his ankle and grew up his legs. The harder he pulled, the tighter it held him. Soon, a vine slithered up his other leg. They sprung forth from the soil like the river snakes to grab his arms. Large morning glories in brilliant pink sprouted from the vines holding his arms. Bright orange climatis bloomed around his legs, spraying him with a pollen of yellow that made him sneeze, delicately. No, not again, he thought, don’t make me go through this again!
When the pollen cleared, she was a girl once more. Vines held her legs, waist, and arms. Forced to her knees and unable to move, she struggled vainly against the flowers until a great white morning glory grew over top of her and swallowed her completely. Her arms broke through the soft fabric of the flower easily as it transformed into a white sundress; the other flowers melted into it as a pattern. The soft stems of impatiens broke beneath her feet with her first step. She lifted the broken flowers to feel their petals on her lower lip and stared at them softly for a moment before she laid them back down.
What’s come over me, she thought. She angrily crushed the fragile flower with her foot, smashing it against the soil. When she looked at its mushy remains, her eyes filled, and she began to cry. She couldn’t stop, even as she ran through two fresh fields of flowers, she couldn’t get that crushed impatien out of her mind. Its broken stem with its life juices escaping into the soil, its torn petals, how could she be so cruel to something so beautiful?
A forest of giant bleeding hearts stood on the horizon. The flowers hung in rows from long sturdy stems tilting heavily with their weight. Some hung over the path and mingled with every passing breeze. Each flower was a bell determined to hear its neighbor ring. She reached to feel the lower extension of a heart-shaped flower in her palm. It was soft and red, resembling a droplet ready to fall. The light from above remained cheerful as it passed through this forest, sometimes taking a reddish hue when she passed a line of bleeding hearts.
She wondered what it would be like to marry Dew. Her guess was that he would make her his queen. She would be expected to have lots of children. It wasn’t hard to believe that Dew would always be faithful, unlike Josh; who she suspected to be the type that liked to carouse. Then there was Darrell, who was incredibly cute and knew how to handle a sword, just thinking about him made her blush. Maybe I could let him hold my hand, she thought, but no kissing; I’m not ready to kiss just yet. That was no good though, they already knew that she wasn’t always a girl. A fake.
A sudden headache came so sharply that she fell on her knees. I’m giving in, she thought, I was a guy only moments ago and I’m thinking like this now. After a minute of trying to think, she clutched her forehead, and realized that she didn’t know who she was anymore. The bleeding hearts burst into flames.
The stone walls of a huge city stood in the distance. A castle towered above them. Nadia watched from a ruined tower on a hill. Armies arrayed for battle. Trebuchets and catapults lined the grassy fields before the gates. Boulders flung into the moat created an improvised bridge. They stacked ever higher against the walls. The stone piles bridged the moat and became improvised ramps.
A flurry of arrows rained from the city. They thunked against the wooden shields of the phalanx formations. The archers from behind the shielded spearmen returned a volley over the walls. The cries of the dying whispered from the city. On the ruined tower, standing right next to Nadia, was a stately woman with long dirt blond hair and shining blue eyes. The armor she wore had a silver glint and the crest of chrysanthemum flower colored in pink and blue dominated the chest plate. A silver sword hung from her hip. Her rugged smile beamed as she surveyed the battlefield.
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“The cities will be ours by the next moon. I can feel it.”
The voice felt familiar and strange all at once. Was she talking to her? Nadia mumbled something incomprehensible but nobody on this ruined tower took notice. A creature of a feminine shape manifested, a fiery entity with a cross shaped scar. A swirl of orange and red energy flowed from the elemental flame that formed its humanoid shape. The woman spoke to it.
“But what about me?” Nadia asked.
The vision faded to a brilliant light from a crystal chandelier which hung over a red and gold draped carpet path. Golden hued frames contained paintings of stately women in flowing gowns, glinting armor, the violet and gold robes of a mage, explorer’s garb, or the simple suits of the diplomat. Great marble statues of imposing armor-clad women glared down upon her in assessment of her worth. The path led to a regal woman seated on a great gold throne. Nadia approached.
The queen’s flowing red hair moved as if being blown outwards by the wind, or as if it were rays of sun. The red dress trimmed with gold ran heavily over her lap and trailed across the floor. A red crown lined with gold stars floated far above her as a gold scepter tipped with flawless rubies floated upright by her side. A woman in leather armor who looked so much like Nadia, with long black hair and somewhat pale skin, bowed before the throne. A scar ran the length of the right cheek. The queen rose from her throne. The dress hung down like a curtain as her body defied gravity. A figure of imposing height loomed over the leather clad mercenary.
“You realize the danger of this errand yet still wish to undertake it?”
A hand went over her heart as she knelt, “In honor of my sister’s sacrifice, I must.”
“Your sister was a powerful witch, but you are cursed born. Even a common blood can benefit from magic, but you cannot even be healed by it. You had to study five years to understand our tongue. You fight well, but have no magic to assist you in battle. Using a portal comes at the risk of your life. How will you stand before the lifeless? With what will you seek your vengeance? What chance would you have to even delay it? Stay here and remain my advisor on all matters related to your world. You serve us all best by training your nieces and nephews in the sword.”
The young woman in worn leather armor looked up at the queen with determination in her eyes and began to speak firmly as the scene faded. Nadia couldn’t hear the words or see her lips clearly enough. She reached out to the determined woman who looked so much like herself, only a bit older. A scar ran the length of the right cheek. A heavy thump in Nadia’s chest accompanied her waking suddenly with a gasp.
-----
Wrens warbled their early morning songs. Nadia’s eyes opened as she clutched her chest and steadied her breathing. She didn’t bother to get up; instead, she turned her head sideways and saw Josh, his head hanging limply over his shoulders as he dozed in the corner. She smiled weakly. A faint cough woke him unintentionally. He opened one eye, then the other, shifted in discomfort, and lifted his head slightly.
“You’re awake. Feeling better?” he asked.
“I’m sorry about this.”
“You don’t have to apologize for nothing.”
She pushed herself up a little by the elbows, resisting a growing feeling of faintness. “Thank you anyway, for taking care of me.”
“Don’t thank me. If you die, I get torn to shreds.”
“I still want to thank you.”
“About what?”
“You really are clueless,” she sighed.
“Damn right. Clueless as ever.”
She pushed herself to her feet. Legs shook and her stance proved unsteady, “I have to get back to work. I could get to like you too much, and I have to avoid… at all costs. You’re an assassin who tried to kill me. I’m supposed to not like you.”
Josh felt her forehead, then her cheeks, “You need more rest. I’ll fill in for you. That guy who runs this place said it’d be okay.”
“Who, Swabert? No, he’d never. Don’t worry. I’m not tired.”
“Yeah, right, you look like you’ve been hit by a Mac truck.”
“I can run circles around you any day.”
Nadia suddenly went pale before collapsing back onto her sleeping mat, passed out completely from a fainting spell. Josh laid her back so the pillow rested under her head before covering her with the blanket.
“I had a terrible dream about Natalie. I’m so dry dad. Can’t I have a drink of water?”
“I’m not your dad, but I’ll get you some,” Josh placed the cold wet compress back over her forehead. “Just don’t go nowhere, got that?”
“MmmKay.”