In Your Dreams

Chapter 7

Once again, the world came into focus, and the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor filled my ears. After blinking a few times, everything was no longer blurry. A few seconds later, I could hear the sound leather makes when a person moves in their seat.  To my left, was a familiar woman. She was the one from the party in my dream with the sad eyes.

"You're finally awake," she said softly.

In a flash, she was at my bedside, looking down on me with her blue eyes. Her light, brown hair framed her flawless face perfectly, and a small crown sat on top of her head. She reached down and brushed a loose strand of hair out of my face before resting her tawny hand on my shoulder.

"I'm Queen Aurora. I've heard so much about you," she greeted me. She looked perfect. The way she moved was so graceful, it was as if she wasn't from this world.

"Queen? How do you know me?" I asked.

She moved to sit on the bed and smoothed out her gold dress.  "Julian met with us and told us of his discovery. You are quite a mystery.  One detail he left out was your name though, ma chérie."

"I'm Claire. Claire Fields," I answered, hypnotized by her sad eyes.

"Its nice to meet you, Claire," the Queen smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I just had to see you for myself. I never know with Julian. He tends to be a troublemaker."  She winked.

"He tried to eat me."  My eyes widened at the memory, and my heart rate accelerated.

The Queen put her hand on my head and pet my hair. A strange sensation overtook my body, and I was no longer afraid. My brows furrowed in confusion as I searched her eyes.

"Shhh. Don't be scared. Julian was only acting on instinct. It's not his fault," she cooed.

"Because he's a vampire?" I inquired.

"Yes, because we all are vampires," Queen Aurora agreed. "I know this must be hard to take in, but you'll get used to it here. You won't have to worry about anyone trying to drink your blood."

I took in a deep breath.  "I thought vampires were just in movies and books. I never imagined they actually existed."

"There's a lot of things in this world that seem impossible, but you would be surprised on how much is true," she said, thoughtfully.

I nervously glanced down at the IV sticking out of the vein on top of my hand and began to pick at it.

"Don't be nervous, Claire. I won't bite you," she said in a motherly tone.

I whispered, "It's not you...  It's the hospital."

"Oh! I don't blame you. I don't fancy them either. I'll get the doctor to come get you ready to go to your room. You'll be much more comfortable there."

Before I could ask anymore questions, she was gone. I wondered if I was actually going crazy because there was no way this is real. Suddenly, the black haired doctor and Aurora appeared in the room, the air from their presence blew through my hair. The doctor removed my IV and checked my vitals one last time as the Queen handed me a floor-length, light green dress.

The Queen must have picked up on my confusion and winked.  "We don't want you walking around the halls in a hospital gown, do we?"

I took that as an order to put on the clothing, so I complied. After, I followed Queen Aurora down different hallways.   Each hallway was as extravagant as the last. Marble covered the floors and beautiful paintings covered the walls. Red curtains were draped along each window. We didn't talk during the walk, making my nerves worse. I felt strangely intimidated by the Queen, and I kept overthinking about the way I walked and my posture. For some reason, I wanted this woman to like me. I wanted to take the sadness from her eyes, the eyes that reminded me of my mother.

We reached a dark, wooden door and she pushed it open. Beyond the doorway was the most amazing, beautiful room I had ever seen. The decor was modern and simple. The room was painted white, while stone accented the wall with the fireplace. A purple color was splashed amongst the room. The color covered the pillows on the couch, the comforter, and the lamps. It reminded me of my favorite flower.

"I take it that you like the room?" She asked, grinning.

"Like it? I love it! It's the most beautiful room I have ever seen." I was in awe.

The Queen agreed, "It's quite a sight, isn't it? I'll leave you to get comfortable. You'll love the shower."

Shower?

She touched my shoulder once more and left me alone in the extravagant room. I couldn't help but smile and jump onto the bed. It was the most comfortable bed I had ever been on. I mustered up the strength to run to the bathroom to see the shower. The sight was mind-blowing. Half of the bathroom was the actual shower, and the walls in the shower were covered in grey stone. Inside the corner of the shower was a Jacuzzi tub.

Wasting no time, I stripped off the dress to soak in the shower. I don't remember the last time I actually had a decent one. Warm water washed over my body like a waterfall, soothing my aching muscles. My mind was all over the place trying to comprehend what was happening to me. I was in a castle with vampires. 

And I thought that having visions was crazy.

I realized that the last vision I had was when I was in the forest; this was the longest I've gone without one.

The hot water turned cold after an hour, so I finally got out and wrapped a fluffy towel around my body. When I got back to the bedroom, I jumped in fright. A girl with short, red hair stood by the bed with a new dress in her hands.

I guess people just pop in and out around here.

"Who are you?"

The red head said in a formal tone, "I'm sorry Miss Fields. I didn't mean to scare you. I am Olivia, your hand maiden."

"It's okay, but please just call me Claire," I said as I clutched the towel on my chest. "Uh, I'm actually kind of naked here, so could you...?"

"Don't be so modest!" She laughed and got closer. "It's nothing I haven't seen before. As your hand maiden, I am supposed to dress you and make you presentable."

I took a step back, mortified, "Dress me? I think I'm capable of dressing myself."

"Don't worry, Claire. You'll get used to this. I picked this number out for you." She dismissed my comment and held up a pretty, cream and blue dress.

"How long am I going to be here?"

Ignoring my question, Olivia yanked my towel away from my body with inhuman speed, and before I could react, she was already tying the dress in the back. She ushered me in front of a large mirror, where she did a braided updo with my hair.

"You know, you have natural beauty. With your dark eyelashes, there's no need for makeup. I was informed about your physical state. I'm sure after awhile here, you will become a lot healthier," she said in a sure tone. When I didn't answer her and just stared at my reflection she asked, "You hate my work, don't you?"

"No, no. I love it, Olivia. It's just that I don't remember the last time I wore something other than a white jumpsuit or hospital gown....or when someone did my hair," I answered, solemnly.

Olivia had an unreadable expression before her face brightened. "Well you better get used to it. There's a lot of that here."

"I've heard that a lot today." I genuinely smiled at her as I admired my reflection. I saw a girl I didn't recognize, but it was someone I wanted to be. It was someone I felt like I deserved to be. I may have ended up in a strange world with vampires, but if it made me feel this good about myself, then it couldn't be that bad. At least it was better than being back at the hospital with Dr. Carson—so far.