Krystelyna

In the glen she could just barely see the top of what seemed to be a tower rising above the trees. Curiosity overcame her fear. She ventured forth into the village. The people were strangely dressed, but they looked at her as if they recognised her or even knew why she was there. Some even called her by name. Surprisingly she knew some of their names as well. She continued on through the village towards the tower. She reached the outer edge of the glen. There was a fork in the road. As if by instinct, she knew which way to go.

She reached the area where the tower was, only to see that the tower was part of a very large, dark and foreboding castle. She crossed over the bridge and entered the gate. She slowly walked around the courtyard and approached the stairs that led up to the huge dark doors. Krystelyna slowly climbed the stairs and even more slowly walked to the doors. She had the strange feeling that she was supposed to be here and that she had been here before. She reached out tentively and knocked. The doors swung open as though someone unseen had opened them. Krystelyna stepped over the threshhold. It was at that moment she awoke.

Krystelyna jumped out of bed and ran over to her sister. "Dawnetta!", she cried, shaking her sister roughly. "Wake up! I've had another dream! This one was a different one!" Dawnetta's eyes slowly opened. "Wha?? Huh?" she slowly said. "Krystelyna, will you please slow down and make some sense? Now, what is this all about?" Krystelyna proceeded to tell her sister about the dream.

Dawnetta was silent as Krystelyna told her of the new dream. But all the while her sister spoke, she was thinking about the trip that lay before them. She was convinced more than ever now that they needed to go see the Lady of the Caves. But at the same time, she was concerned as to how the villagers would react. The Lady was considered to be a witch who put spells over the people that crossed her path. Many people had told stories of how their own loved ones or friends had come back from the caves different than when they had left the village. They had also told of things that had happened up there that had no possible explanation except for sorcery.

Dawnetta battled with her mind as to whether or not they should go. On the one hand, she was scared that the villagers would shun them both and they would be forced to leave the village. Yet on the other hand, she knew that the lady may be her sisters only answer. Dawnetta listened to her sister and watched her face closely. Krystelyna finished telling her about the new dream. "Well? What do you think?"she asked. Dawnetta looked out the window at the sun rising over the hills. "I don't know, dear, I just don't know. Do you want to take this one to the priests and see what they think?" Krystelyna thought about the looks she had recieved the last time they went to see the priests. She looked at Dawnetta. "I feel that if we go to see them again that they will think that I'm touched in the head for sure. And then they will have me sent away from you. But if we go see the Lady, the villagers will surely run us both out of the village. Then what do we do? Where will we go?" Krystelina was going through the same battle in her mind that her sister had been.

Krystelyna turned and looked at her sister. Dawnetta looked at the fear and hopelessness on her sisters face. It broke her heart to see her sister going through all this turmoil. Dawnetta straightened herself. Her desicion was made in that instant. "Krystelyna, get dressed. We are going to see the Lady of the Caves and the village be damned if they don't like it!"

The Beginning? -- chptr 1