Axel's Promise

XXI

During the night, Axel started dreaming about something significant. 

In the dream, Axel was on a mountain all alone, staring down its edge, the frigid wind whipping his skin with an invisible whip. Axel felt someone touch his back, which caused Axel to turn around quickly but he saw nothing but snowflakes and frozen rocks. 

"On this peak, you will be faced with your grizzly end," said a voice from above. Axel looked up at the sky. 

"Hello?" Axel asked the sky; it responded with a rumble of thunder. Axel flinched at its tremendous volume. "Who are you?!"

"My name doesn't matter, Axel." replied the voice. "But all you know is that you'll be meeting me real soon." 

"Who are you?! I demand your name by Xenia's will!" Axel roared, his voice echoing across the sky. The voice laughed before a hand made of the souls of the damned reached out through the ground and tried to pull Axel in. Axel reached for his staff, but it was blown from his hand with a gust of burning hot wind, which started to burn his tender flesh. Axel tried to resist, but he couldn't. 

"Resistance is futile, White Dove. For you will meet your end right here and right now."

"No! No! No!" Axel cried out. "Leave me alone!"

"Axel!" Cried out another voice. "Axel!"

"Get away from me! Both of you!" Axel exclaimed. Axel was suddenly woken up by Fable, who was shaking him. 

"Axel! Snap out of it! You're fine!" Fable said. Fable stopped shaking Axel. "What happened, babe?"

"I...had this dream. It was...quite vivid," Axel replied before sitting up. Axel looked at the golden clock on the wall. "Why are you up so early?"

"Did you hear? We got the job!" Fable exclaimed. Fable picked up her diamond longbow and put it on the bed to clean it. "Not only that, but we start today!"

"Today?!" Axel replied before jumping to his feet. "What time?!"

"In one hour," Fable retorted as she put her diamond longbow back under the bed. "So, get ready, babe."

Axel made haste to the bathroom to shower. Axel hastily turned on the water and stepped inside, not caring if the water was cold. Axel poured a generous amount of shampoo on his hand and scrubbed his hair as if he were scrubbing the fur of Lobo, then he rinsed it out, turned off the water, and jumped out. Axel wrapped himself in a towel and went back into the bedroom, grabbed his ruby staff, and waved it over his body to instantly dry himself; then, he threw on his best-looking clothing.

"Axel, you don't have to rush," Fable said, sitting on the bed with her legs crossed. "It's not a sprint." 

"I know...I just got excited,"  Axel replied before joining Fable on the bed. "So, I wonder how Leo is doing with the wolves?"

"I assume he's doing well. After all, they are well-behaved creatures," Fable said. Fable was about to say something else, but the ferocious growling of Axel's stomach cut off her speech. Fable chuckled a little, then gave Axel a side-eyed look. "Hungry?"

"Yea. I'm famished. We should grab a little something before we head to our new job," Axel retorted before standing up. "Let's see what we can get in the café." 

"Right behind you," Fable said before standing up. Fable took Axel's hand and smiled. Axel smiled back before leading his beloved to the café. Once they got there, their noses were greeted by the scent of freshly baked goods, like cookies, muffins, and bread with the purest butter the Giant Realm can offer. Fable approached the counter, made from the same materials that Xenia's temple was made of.