Calaen's Dream

In the back of his mind Calaen knew this wasn’t the Capital. Though it felt like the Capital, everything was too straight and orderly. The walls were straight with doors at regular intervals going out into a courtyard filled with trees planted in straight lines to echo the walls he’d just passed. The walls all went in one direction and all the hallways stretched for what seemed forever. He continued to go through openings in the walls and fences and each time he went through a gate or a door the appearance of the area changed slightly. Stone walls with large wooden doors would make way for high fences with simple gateless openings. The quality of the light never changed though, everything was bathed in a strange reddish glow that looked like neither daylight or firelight despite going from what looked like indoors to outdoors. There were others there, wandering as he was, though most of the others looked content to be wandering in this seemingly orderly maze down the corridors rather than go through the endless rows of doors. He, however, felt discontented. He kept going thought openings, hoping the next one would change the light and he would see either the flicker of torches or the bright sun rather than the disconcerting rosy glow coming from above them all. He finally came to a wall that looked like it would go to a true outside area and there was a guard standing there in front of the only door in this wall. After what felt like a long while, the man acknowledged his existence, but it wasn’t what Calaen was hoping for.

“You! Where is your collar!?” The guard pointed to Calaen’s neck accusingly. “You must get a new collar or become one of the hunted!” The man snarled and started to tower over Calaen as if he were growing taller as he spoke.

Calaen’s hand crept up to his neck. His collar WAS gone and he found this only slightly troubling. He was also stubbornly determined not to get a new one. He couldn’t explain the reason, just that he didn’t want the thing on again. “I don’t know what happened to it. Let me pass.”

The guard grinned evilly. “I’ll let you pass, and you shall never be welcome here again.” He unlocked the metal door and pushed it open. Calaen thought it should make a heavy creaking sound but there was no noise at all as the door swung open. “Run, princeling. There is a price on your head and no one will help you as you run.” The guard’s laughter echoed horribly down the hall then he yelled out, “The hunt is ON!”

Calaen stared in disbelief at the guard but his pause was a short one as he heard a sudden rumbling from the direction he had come. It was the sound of eager yelling, of weapons being drawn. He took the man’s advice and bolted out the door without a backwards glance. He was to be hunted and he knew he had to get away as fast as he could. He didn’t know where he would go but away was the important part. The metal door had lead out into a forest that was in as straight lines as the corridors he had just left. The trees were all growing in straight, endless rows with occasional openings in the underbrush. The light still had that reddish tint to it so Calaen knew he was still in danger. He bolted through opening after opening, ignoring the long endless passages going from his left to his right except to move slightly to the next opening since they were never in line with each other. He knew he needed to go through the walls of trees and bushes; that was the way of freedom, though he couldn’t say why he knew this.

He whistled for his horse. He felt relieved as he saw it running toward him, but then it just stopped and looked at him as if it didn’t know him. He called it, knowing having a horse would help him get away much faster but the stubborn thing just stared at him. It then shook its head and wandered back down the endless forest corridor, disappearing into a strange fog. Calaen gritted his teeth in frustration and ran again. No help for it then, he was truly on his own. He discovered he was also unarmed, which he found even more frustrating. He ran, the sounds of the hunters coming closer and closer no matter how many openings he went through. The forest didn’t change as he passed through each new entrance and his legs seemed to not be moving as fast as he knew they should be, like he was running through water.

Finally he saw something different. One opening was far darker and smaller than the others. He dove for it as arrows flew past his head. They were closing in fast and he didn’t have much time.

He blinked as everything changed. He was still standing in a forest, but the orderly trees were replaced with the normal forest chaos. The light was different as well; no longer a reddish tinge but a yellowish amber and surrounding him on all sides where the light didn’t hit was darkness. A tall woman with long auburn hair was standing next to a very tall tree. There was a glowing white opening in the middle of the tree, like a door. She looked at him sadly, like she recognized him and that the memory was painful. She motioned to the tree opening and her voice was quiet. “Go. You will be free through there.”

“Will I be safe?” Calaen gasped out, still winded from his run. She seemed familiar but he was also sure he’d never seen her before now.

Her purple eyes held a hint of tears and she reached out and touched his cheek gently, “Freedom and safety aren’t necessarily the same. You will be free in this case. You will have to keep yourself safe until we meet again.”

Calaen suddenly didn’t want to leave her and grasped her hand. “Come with me.”

“I cannot. I am held here until the barrier is gone. The barrier is gone for you. I will follow later. Go.” She smiled sadly. “Though you may not know me when the time comes. Go, young prince. Your future awaits.” She took his hand and guided him to the door. “Go.” Calaen felt her hand gently push him through the opening and he cried out a protest as he fell through the bright light.