Diane - Flowery Dreams part 2

Diane was worried. Earlier this night, she had felt Brune’s distress, and had run to her. She sensed pain, anguish, panic, and a plea for help. She had feared the worst, and by the time she had reached the remote cottage of her friend, she stormed into the house, relieved that the door was unlocked. Only to find Brune asleep. Asleep, yes, but caught in some sort of evil nightmare she couldn’t escape from. Lady Rose was anxious to wake her, but didn’t manage to do it. She was sitting on Brune’s chest, and Moonlight joined her, resting his head and paws on the young Woodwife. Diane didn’t know what to do, Brune was struggling in her dream, sweating, moaning. But she suddenly woke up, and seemed to be really confused. The worst part was when she has screamed at the top of her lungs at the sight of a beautiful black rose that was on the floor, as if someone had tossed it here. It took Diane a long time to calm Brune down, and she had to put the rose in a box, away from Brune’s sight, for her to begin to feel better. She took a vial on a shelf labelled «sleeping potion» and asked Brune if she needed some. The younger Woodwife nodded, but begged Diane not to leave her right now. She took the potion and returned to bed, still smelling like fear. Then Diane had stayed by Brune’s side until she finally managed to fall asleep.

The journey home was quick. Diane knew the Misty Paths between her territory and Brune’s cottage by heart. She decided to hunt for a moment before going to bed herself: she felt restless, and needed to do something. Moreover, she didn’t usually go to bed until way later, one or two hours before dawn. She was a nocturnal person. Moonlight and Diane hunted a rabbit, then shared it on the spot where they had killed it. The raw meat felt good to Diane. She liked it when she could have it, still warm, just after the kill. After their little snack, the pair of them got back to their hut, where Diane washed a little blood from her hands and face into the clear water of the spring that was in her yard. She shivered, the water being so cold in early October. Then she went inside, took of her clothes, and lied down, naked, on her straw bed, Moonlight curling by her side, his nose wrapped in his tail.

But Diane couldn’t find sleep. She had this strange feeling, being at the same time very tired, and very awake. The world was turning foggy, but she couldn’t put her mind to rest. She felt ill-at-ease and didn’t know why. After a while, she found herself in the forest again, not knowing if she had walked there or if she was magically summoned. There was a convent. The big dark wolf who had fathered her was here, along with other alfa wolves. Big wolves, all of them. Diane realized she was in a wolf’s body herself. Only she was smaller than the others. Her fur, tan, grey and white as was usually her hair, stood at its end when she noticed the glare of the other wolves. The Wolf, bigger than the others and a black as the night, told her: «Child. You’re not Alfa enough. I can’t have you in my pack. I banish you». She was about to beg, to say something, but she felt the golden chain shatter, heard a metallic noise, and then she was a lonely star who didn’t belong to the constellation of the Wolf anymore.

And she fell. She fell from the sky, for a long, long time, lonely star who shone less and less bright. She was almost extinguished when she reached the floor with a loud bump. She rose, and she was no more a star, but herself, in her human form, only she was naked, and she was at the Lord’s estate again. All the servants pointed at her, and the butler said: «look at her! Watch her eyes! She’s no human! She’s a wolf! We should hunt her!» She wanted to scream, but only a wolf’s howling came out of her mouth, as a hunting party, led by her own father who didn’t seem to recognize her, began to run after her. She was racing through the woods, unable to loose the Hunt. For it was the mythical Hunt, no ordinary hunting party, that was after her. Her lungs began to hurt, as she ran the fastest she could. But the Hunt was closing on her. Any minute, they would catch her, and kill her.

She was surrounded by villagers, armed with forks and shovels. Some had riffles. They mocked her, they began to throw stones at her. They put her in chains, and dragged her to the village’s prison, where they tossed her. «You’ll stay here from now, you monster» a woman said from outside. They closed the door, and it disappeared, leaving only stone walls around Diane. Cold, lifeless stonewalls. She couldn’t use her powers, and she was so frightened! This small a place she couldn’t stay in for long! Things began to worsen when the walls began to close to her. Soon, she would be crushed, her very bones ground as flour. She screamed, and tried to get up.

She found herself sitting up straight instead. She was in her bed. Moonlight had his paws on her shoulders, a worried look on his wolfish face. She was sweating, and began to shake badly. She had to hug Moonlight for a long time before the terrible feeling of imminent death wore off. Then she slowly got up, needing fresh air. On her way to the door, she noticed something on the floor. Moonlight began to growl at the black rose lying on the floor. A black rose? That didn’t mean anything to Diane. But it surely had meant something real bad for Brune. She picked up the flower. It reeked foul magic. Diane frowned. It was no coincidence both Woodwives had a nightmare on the same night, and woke up to find a black rose in their homes. She thought someone - or something - was playing with their worst fears. And she was determined to stop the «Black Rose» from striking again. She didn’t need any sleep. She needed answers. She got dressed, put the flower inside an iron box, and headed to the Heart, hoping to find answers from the Lords.