Brunehault - Deadly dreams

Brunehault woke up suddenly. She was back in her cottage, all sweaty and breathless. What a vivid nightmare it had been! Lady Rose, who usually was sitting next to her when she slept, wasn't here. She had a moment of panic, but then she felt her beloved familiar. She was back in the Heart, probably because that was the exact place where Brune's body had been magically transported by a vicious creature who had weakened her and other Woodwives through nightmares for weeks. How did Lady Rose get to the Heart alone was a mystery. Maybe Moonlight, Diane's familiar, helped her? It was the most probable option. Brune realized she could feel Diane again too. That was a relief. But also, it was kind of annoying. During the nightmare, Brune had felt helpless a long time. People, like Robert, and even Diane, had talked about her like she hadn't been present. Robert had been quite rude, which wasn't his normal behavior, but then, the situation had been far from normal. They thought, at first, that Luna was dead. And they were not sure if they had done it or not, having dreamed of murder just before. Brunehault could understand Robert's shock, him being the closest to Luna in the assembly. But she was growing tired of people dictating her life. Friends were a good thing. If they didn't try to boss you around.

Still, she was glad she had friends, for she had seen, in the nightmare, strangers who didn't seem to be familiar with many others, like that blind girl with white hair. Those had been even more terrified than she had been. Arty had been there too. She was happy she didn't die after all. For they all thought they would die in there, trapped inside a foul dream by a strange figure with a cloak. They had been rescued - sort of - by a dream creature with glowing red eyes. This one wasn't really nice either, but at least it had considered them to be on the same side, and had helped them build their forces back. It wanted the other monster dead, and Brune could see why.

She was a little startled when she saw all the black roses had vanished from her room where they had piled, but for a single one, a new one it seemed, who bled red. Some souvenir from their circumstantial ally, no doubt. She hoped it would help them to avoid nightmares, and decided to keep it close. She also decided she would, in the next few days, sew a new night gown with charms on it. She would have to think about it, but she definitely didn't want to feel so helpless anymore. She would sleep with an iron blade strapped to her leg with a device she would conceive. And she would also make this new night gown very much more like a proper dress, just in case she would have to meet people in her dreams again. The embarrassment of being almost naked had nearly killed her.

On this thought, she got up, in order to dress up and go to the Heart find Lady Rose - and Diane, since she knew her friend was there. When she put her foot on the ground, she screamed in pain. She had walked on something really pointed. She looked at her bleeding foot, then at the floor, and screamed again, in fear this time. There was an hawthorn bracelet on her floor. A terrifying reminder of her nightmares. She didn't know how it had come to her cottage, but she wanted it out of her sight. She got up, limping from the pain on her foot, avoiding to walk on the bracelet again. She took a bowl from a shelf, and a board. She placed the bowl on the bracelet, then slipped the board under it cautiously. She transported the bracelet inside the bowl to the kitchen, fetched a strong wooden case, and dropped the ominous thing inside until she knew more about it. She closed the case and hid it behind a pot of grain. Then she took care of her bleeding foot, putting a balm on it, then bandaging it. It hurt less, thanks to the balm.

She opened carefully her closet, hoping no dead girl with a knife would jump at her like it had on her last nightmare, but everything was in order. She picked a beautiful red gown, because she wanted to be overdressed for a change. She put it on, dressed her hair skillfully, then went to the stables. Snow was really upset. The stallion had nothing left to eat and seemed really hungry. How long had she been absent? She fed the horse, taking care of him, speaking soothing words. Then she left for the Heart on his back, for her foot hurt, and she needed a ride. Only Snow was trained enough to go through he Misty Paths without getting scared or lost. But she rode really slowly, to avoid exhausting her poor mount.