Artemis - dream

XVII - as the night falls

Tw/ talk of death, dead animals

Aerin returned to the small cave entrance about 30 minutes later.

She was grateful to see that Dream had managed to start a fire in between to logs.

This didn't show on her face however as she walked into the small campsite, a handful of dead rabbits in her grasp along with some random plants.

"It's not much but it will do us good" The girl says as she sees Dream eying up the dead animals.

"Mmh" the young king hums, continuing to hazardously poke the fire with a stick.

Aerin didn't even hesitate to grab said stick out of his hand as she passes, sitting on the adjacent log to him.

Pulling out her hunting knife she begins to cut into a rabbit, skinning it, not taking any notice of the boy sat near her looking on in disgust.

"Never skinned an animal before?" Aerin asks, not even looking at Dream as she continues to work.

"My grandfather used to take me hunting as a child, I used to hate it. Killing just for fun." Dream explains, gazing into the fire as he talks.

"You didn't hunt to feed your people?"

"Not my grandfather no. He was a selfish man. Retiring from the throne seemed to only fuel his hatred and vile personality. He made me shoot a deer at the age of 8. Made me take his knife and plunge it into its skull. I watched its life drain from its eyes and at the end of all of it, he just walked away, instructed me to follow and left the deer caucus rotting in the woods"

Aerin listened to every word in solace. She couldn't find herself relating to him in any way. As gross as it sounds she kinda wanted to laugh at the man, but in seeing the look on his face she knew it was deeper than just killing an innocent animal.

As long as she could remember she had needed to kill to survive. If she didn't her family, those who she cares for more than anything in her life, would die. And she couldn't afford that.

"My mother died when I was only a child, and my father left shortly after. Hunting, killing is a part of life. It's natural order. In nature it's kill or be killed and even hidden away in your secure kingdom you're not free from that. So it's better to learn it sooner rather than later." Aerin spoke, before wiping her bloody knife on her trousers before swiftly standing up and walking over to Apollo.

Taking a breath she unhooked her cooking pot from its hook on the saddle.

Taking an extra moment to scan the dark woods for danger she clasps the reigns of her and Dreams horse before leading them behind the camp, in the cave, away from the mobs and monsters that roamed in the trees.

She began to cook the rabbits over the fire whilst also preparing a quick stew with the plants and herbs she had collected.

The girl couldn't help but glance at the king, who sat on the log in the same position in silence, still just monotonously staring into the flames.

Dream was thinking, thoughts running rapidly through his brain.

He knew his was privileged, he knew that.

He knew he hadn't had to endure much during his life, hadn't had to endure the pain of watching your friends and family suffer against nature. Having to fight and scavenge, or even work for food and everything you had.

He had been through pain, loss. Of course he had, he could travel the world and struggle to find a single person who hadn't.

His mother had died during the birth of his little sister. He remember how it felt. How it sounded. The way her screams had echoed through the castle, before suddenly stopping. The silence that followed drowning him as he sat in his room, tears streaming down his face as he could here his fathers cries, his yells of anger and despair.

He remembered leaving his room. Seeing the bed hands and nurses run around. He can here his little sisters cries, as she gets pulled from his mothers corpse.

The silence.

That's what he remembers the most. The silence of the aftermath. The silence of the castle after his father had left that day.

He never mourned his fathers leaving as he did his mothers death.

It may have been due to them both happening on the same day, his mothers just more traumatic.

Or the fact that his father was cruel vindictive man, much like his grandfather was, and had never been a kind father to him.

Or the fact that as Dream thought back he couldn't find any surprise that his father had fled his kingdom after his wifes' death.

That was his style as king. He would also run away from his problems, and just bathe in the riches he bore.

Dream hadn't realised how caught up in his mind he had been, until he felt a touch on his shoulder and a wooden bowl of rabbit meat and strew was placed into his hands.

Snapping out of it quickly, he looked up at Artemis.

She looked pretty in the fire light, he thought.

"Thank you" the king says, dispelling the previous thought.

Aerin nods in response, her eyes not leaving Dreams face, as if she was trying to read his thought.

The pair eat in surprisingly comfortable silence, only accompanied by the cackling of the fire and the unknown noises of the forest.

The noises of the forest made Aerins gaze permanently be surveying the tree line.

"You should get some rest, we should get to my homeland by midday tomorrow, we leave at first light" The trained assassin explains, characteristically not turning to look at him as she speaks.

Dreams gaze lingers on her back for a moment, hoping, willing her to turn around and look at him.

When her movement doesn't even stutter, Dream lets out a sigh, standing up as he place his empty bowl on the log behind him.

Walking over to his bed roll he crouches down onto it, lying uncomfortably on his back.

Staring up a the rough cave ceiling he tries to drown his thought enough to fall asleep.

Taking one last glance at the girl who had dried to kill him, seeing her in the same position as before, he turns to his side, falling into an uncomfortable and unstable rest.

───✱*.｡:｡✱*.:｡✧*.｡✰*.:｡✧*.｡:｡*.｡✱ ───

Dream trauma dump slay.

Seeing as I've been away from this book for so long theres a very real chance that theres some plot holes and such and continuity problems which I could easily solve by reading my own book back but I can't be bothered x

hope you're enjoying these new chapters i'm surprisingly enjoying writing them.

Also I know theyve been slightly longer im hoping they will shorten as i get back into the swing of the story.