Shattered Dreams

by Shirley Wilkinson

  As she got up to leave, she heard a noise behind her. She turned around warily but didn’t see anything. She looked for a minute, then, satisfied nothing was there, headed for the archway to leave. Before she could reach it, a soldier came into the courtyard from the way she had just arrived. There was no use in hiding; he had already seen her. Without even thinking, she started to run. If she could make it out of the courtyard, she might find a place to hide until the soldier passed. She had to survive.

  With that last thought, she heard a shot ring out in the silence. She felt a searing pain on the right side of her head, and then she couldn’t seem to stay on her feet. The world started to fade in and out, and her vision grew fuzzy. Her last thought was that her flight had been for nothing, and she was going to die. She heard a shout that seemed like it was worlds away, then she saw a face lean over her. As her eyes drifted shut, all her thoughts faded into darkness.

  2. Recuperation

  Avila awoke with a short scream, which caused a burst of bright colors behind her eyelids and a searing pain in her head. She opened her eyes to find herself in a strange room. The fear that any moment someone would burst in and try to shoot her seemed overwhelming and confusing. After a few seconds, she realized she had only been dreaming, and she was safe in Galdren’s room. As if thinking about him made him appear, Galdren stepped through the door.

  “Are you all right? I was downstairs, but I had the com turned on in case you needed anything, and I heard you scream.” The breathlessness in his voice and look of concern on his face almost made Avila feel normal again.

  “Yes, I’m fine.” She noticed her voice was stronger now. Also, talking didn’t automatically start the bees buzzing in her head if she lay relatively still and kept her voice low. She decided to brave a few more words. “I had a dream that seemed so real, and I was confused when I woke up in unfamiliar surroundings.”

  “Well, that must have been some dream, because I probably could have heard you without the com. It sounded as if someone was trying to kill you, or you had decided to go for a leap again.” He said the last with a smile, but it completely confused Avila. She thought that maybe the bump on her head was making it hard for her to understand things. She decided to leave it at that and not ask any questions, then closed her eyes as a cue that she was done talking for the moment.

  Galdren took the hint and turned to go. “I think you probably still need to rest, but I will be around, so if you need anything, speak up. I’ll be able to hear you.” With that, he softly closed the door as he left.

  Avila knew she had been rude, and from what she could gather, she probably owed Galdren her life. However, at that moment, she was too disoriented to deal with anything other than her immediate surroundings and swirling thoughts. He had been right about one thing: that had been one hell of a dream. She was still having difficulty slowing her heartbeat down. As she started to slip back into sleep, she decided the bump on her head had shaken her up worse than she had initially thought.

  ―

  Over the next few weeks, Avila slept most of the time, but she could tell she was getting better when awake. By the third week, she could sit up in bed and eat real food without it making her sick. The only bad thing was the dreams. Most of the time, they were not as intense as the first one, but they were always enough to shake her up even if she could never fully remember the details. Afterward, when awake, she felt afraid and disoriented. It would take her several minutes to sort through the bloody images and frightening scenes in her head. Galdren was always there whenever she woke up screaming.

  Galdren was a perfect gentleman, and when he wasn’t around, he had a woman named Olva there to take care of Avila. She didn’t speak much, but she was polite. She would help Avila clean up and rebandage her head, and she was always there to assist her with using the amenities when necessary. She would keep up a minimum conversation, but every time Avila started asking questions about her gracious host, Olva would clam up and find something else she needed to do.

  After the fourth week, Avila managed to get out of bed on her own and move around some. Her favorite place to sit was by the window. It didn’t offer much of a view since it was in the heart of the city, but she could see the park, and there were always birds flitting around. Occasionally she might catch sight of a couple of squirrels chattering to each other or a rabbit hopping across the walkway. She was beginning to feel cooped up, and she often found herself wishing she could be out there with the squirrels and birds.

  It wasn’t that she was lonely. Her parents came to visit her every day, but they could never stay long. Every time she asked them about when she would get to go home, they shied away from the question. Their constant response was to tell her they would worry about those things, and all she needed to worry about was getting better.

  She even had Lissa coming by occasionally to keep her up to date with all the latest gossip at school, but none of it seemed important anymore. More and more, she was getting the feeling she was being kept in the dark about something, though she couldn’t figure out what it could be.

  Once Galdren realized she was feeling better, he took to visiting with her more often. Sometimes he would come and talk to her for an hour or more at a time. He would keep her up to date on current events, and at his request, she would tell him about herself. Whenever she asked any questions about his personal life, he would give her generic answers and quickly change the subject. Whenever she asked about leaving, he would joke about her not being satisfied with his hospitality. The humor didn’t seem to reach his eyes, and he almost seemed hurt that she didn’t want to stay longer.

  By Avila’s rough estimation, she had been at Galdren’s for more than two months. She no longer needed constant attention, and she felt she should be able to leave soon. She planned to ask the doctor about it when he came to check on her.

  It was nearly time for the doctor’s visit, so Avila got up and started moving around so he wouldn’t catch her in bed. As she paced, she wondered why Galdren had not been up to visit her yet. Eventually, Avila looked at the timeglass and saw that the time for her appointment had passed, and the doctor was still not there. She decided he must have been held up and was running late, so she went to her favorite place by the window to wait for him.

  After a while, she got lost in the antics of a pair of squirrels across the street. She was so engrossed in what she was watching that she didn’t hear the door open and close quietly. After a few moments, someone called her name softly, making her jump. She turned and saw Galdren standing by the door watching her.

  “I thought you were the doctor come to check on me again.” As soon as she said that, she noticed he had a somber look on his face. Not exactly upset, but a little sad and maybe a little anxious. That was a look she had not seen yet, and it was out of place.

  “Well, you are partly right; I was just talking to the doctor.” The way he said that made a shiver go down her spine, especially when he added, “Why don’t you sit back down? I need to talk to you.”

  Avila felt she had better comply before her heart jumped out of her chest. “So, what was his diagnosis? Surely it isn’t that bad. I feel fine. Like I could get back to my regular life.” She was trying to lighten the tension in the room and hide the turmoil going on inside her.

  He followed her cue and smiled as well. “Of course, you are fine. He recommended you take it easy for a while, but you are cleared to get back to your studies and such.” After that, he paused for a moment, but she couldn’t find the breath to say anything, so he continued, “Here is where we get to the reason I really need to talk to you.” As he said that, he pulled up a chair and sat down across from her. “There are so many things I need to tell you, and I don’t know where would be best to start, so I guess I’ll start with the basics.

  “I know we have spent a lot of time getting to know one another, but I am also aware that you don’t know much abou
t me besides my name. Did you ever wonder why my apartments were so close to the Gallery when I first brought you here?” After he asked her the question, he looked directly into her eyes, and for a moment, the intensity she saw there took her breath away.

  When she got her breath back, she looked at him carefully before she answered, “I didn’t think about it at first, but after the first couple of weeks, I did wonder why you were so close to the castle complex. When we would talk, I noticed that you didn’t want to talk about anything too personal, so I figured it would have been pointless to ask, and that you would tell me when you were ready. Anyway, I think I have it figured out.” She paused and checked his face for a reaction. He raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to continue.

  “The nice apartments, the location, the polite servants . . . you even have the same name as the prince—that one took me a while to figure out. I think you are a royal cousin or another relative, maybe even from another high-ranking family. Perhaps named after the prince in a show of respect for the royal family? You seem as if you are close to his age. Am I warm?”

  At those self-assured statements, he smiled, and this time it reached all the way to his eyes, crinkling the edges, but only for a moment. “Well, you truly are as bright as I thought you were, but you underestimate a little. I am Prince Galdren de Althmear, heir to the throne of Aril. I keep apartments both inside and outside the castle proper to use at my convenience.”

  At first, Avila was too stunned to say anything. Then, as it finally hit her, she tripped over her own feet as she hurried to stand up and bow. “Your Highness, I really had no idea. I don’t know how to thank you for everything you have done for me. This must be a burden on your time. I apologize, but I will pay you back for your hospitality in time; all you need to do is tell me what you desire from me.” She ended with a low bow since she was afraid to look up.

  Her reaction seemed to take Galdren off guard at first, but he quickly regained his composure. “You have no need to act like that for me just because you now know who I am. That is not why I told you.” With a soft but firm hand, he pushed on her shoulder. “Sit down before you fall over. You are not fully well yet.”

  Her face was still flushed, but she did as she was told. After she was seated again, she slowly raised her eyes and met his gaze. “I meant what I said about repaying you for your kindness. I knew you were someone of importance and were going out of your way for me. I had planned on telling you something along the same lines anyway.”

  At her words, his face became clouded, and it was hard to tell what he was thinking. “We haven’t talked about what happened that day. I think we need to now.”

  The change of subject threw Avila for a moment. “All right, if that is what you would like, but I can only remember bits and pieces. I was hoping that eventually, you would be able to fill in some of the gaps for me.” Still confused, she looked at him as he sat there, but he only looked at her intently for a few moments before he began again.

  “First, I think you should start with what you can remember from that morning and work your way up to when you can’t. I’ll add what I know then, and we will see if we can get this figured out.” With that said, Galdren sat back more comfortably, clearly trying to look like he was just having a regular conversation. However, Avila could tell he was still tense. This strange day was far from over.

  Avila wasn’t sure what he meant by the beginning, so she started with when she had met Lissa at the fair. “After we looked at the stages behind the Gallery, we went upstairs to find a seat and decided to sit up front. When we walked up there, I looked at the screen to see the stage. The new flag caught my attention, and then I blacked out. The next thing I remember is being here at your apartments.”

  Galdren had a strange look on his face, but he didn’t say anything at first. Then he leaned over, took her hands, and looked directly into her eyes. “Are you sure that is all you can remember? There is absolutely nothing else? You can’t remember what might have made you black out in the first place?”

  The contact had Avila flustered again. For some reason, having her hands inside both of Galdren’s was disconcerting, and she wasn’t sure why. Still, she tried not to show it. She started to tell him that was everything, but then she remembered the inscription on the flag. “I don’t know if this might be important, but it is a little strange. Before I blacked out, I noticed the inscription below the two dragons on the new flag: comhcheol. I know what it means; I mean, I know that language. It translates into ‘harmony,’ but I don’t know how I would know that. I have no memory of seeing it before.”

  “Most people from this planet wouldn’t know.” Galdren leaned in toward her a little more. “The flag is from one of the planets I visited on my journeys; Talamh. It is somewhat misleading, since they have been going through a lot of civil unrest for more than a decade. It seems as if they are finally settled enough that they are trying to put the past behind them and find allies for the future. They even put in an application to rejoin the Trading Alliance.

  “About twelve years ago, when the unrest started, they became totally withdrawn from galactic society and severed all ties with their allies, including the Alliance. There are still too many unsolved mysteries for them to rejoin right now, I think. The issue of what happened to the royal family is a good example. However, my father decided it was better to show acceptance for now rather than make an enemy of them. Therefore, we are flying their flag with our other allies’.”

  That was a bit much for Avila, and it clearly showed on her face. “I’m sorry, that was too much about politics when all you want to know is why you know that language.” He touched her hand again for a moment. “Well, if it is any help to you at all, I think that maybe your family fled when the revolution started. Your parents told me you were adopted and that you had no memory of your early childhood. This could explain a lot of that. Plus, many of the Talamhites fled here to Aril. Since we are neutral, it was a logical destination. Not the only one, but a great many of them have settled here.”

  The shock of everything he had said was barely able to sink in; she was too overwhelmed. As soon as she could cope with one thing, like him being the prince, something else came up to throw her off-balance. “I don’t really know what to say. I had given up on finding out anything about where I’m from. My parents had told me I was a refugee, but they also discouraged me from looking into it more. They always said knowing would hurt more than not knowing. To tell you the truth, I rarely ever think about it anymore.” She glanced out the window for a moment, then turned back to face him. “To think, I’ve found out more in the last twenty minutes than I’ve ever known; it’s a little much to take in.”

  “Well, when I first brought you here, you were mumbling something. When I figured out you were quoting the flag’s inscription, it took me by surprise too. However, you were too weak at first to talk about it, and then the time didn’t seem right. After you had been here for a while, I had already talked to your parents and friends enough to form my own theory, but I wanted to wait to talk to you about it.

  “There are some other things that don’t have answers either. These are a little more serious and harder to figure out,” Galdren said the last with a stern expression. “I will try to pick up your story where you left off.”

  He sat back and glanced to the side, as if he was trying to recall exactly what happened. “I was up on the balcony already, inspecting things to make sure everything was passable for the speeches. When you walked up, it caught my attention because, well, you stand out. Anyway, I watched you walk to the edge, and I was going to use the excuse of getting a look at the stage to get a better look at you.”

  At that, Avila turned bright red. She didn’t trust herself to say anything, so she let him continue with his story. “By the time I reached you, I noticed there was something wrong. Your friend Lissa was trying to pull you away from the edge, but you kept right on walk
ing. I ran up to help her, but you had already pulled away from her, and you had a content expression on your face. You seemed like you were happy. Happy to walk to your death! You walked right off the edge of the balcony. I barely caught you in time. You hit your head extremely hard on the edge, but that was better than the alternative. You would have fallen several stories to your death. It is fortunate I was up there.”

  Avila was trying, but she could not remember any of it. “I’m grateful you were there. I cannot for the life of me think of what would make me act like that. Honestly, I don’t remember.” Tears started to well up in her eyes, and she blinked them back. She was scared and frustrated, but she would not break down here. Galdren had done enough for her already; he did not need to be a shoulder for her to cry on too. Besides, just the thought of him seeing her like that, especially now that she knew who he was, made her cringe. She didn’t even want to think about the fact that he had been nursing her for more than two months.

  Avila pushed those thoughts aside and waited until she trusted herself to speak without her voice cracking. “I’m truly sorry you have been dragged into my personal drama. I’m quite certain you have much better things to be doing. Now that I am better enough to move, I will be out of your way as soon as I can get my things and have someone to come and get me. I will eternally be in your debt.”

  As she said those words, the same strange look of hurt and guardedness passed over Galdren’s face once more. “Avila, that is the other thing I have come to talk to you about.” His words sounded ominous, but she was already numb from all the other revelations. She didn’t move as he continued, “Are you familiar with our laws?”

  Once again, the change of subject had Avila off-balance and searching for what it was he wanted from her. “I am familiar with some of them, but I am no expert. What laws, exactly, do you want to know about?”