Dream: Flirting With A Myth

Date: 2/11/2021

((Continues story from "Dream: Engaged With A Dragon")) Once again I was seeing through my own eyes. I was maybe 21 or 22 now. This time I really was in Charleston. I was walking through downtown with some friends of mine. We had found a beautiful spiritual shop. Stones, crystals, oils, incense, and books. So many books. Yes, I’m a bookworm. As we stepped in I felt drawn towards the back. It was a room dedicated to the books and decks for fortune-telling. I had always been drawn to those types of things. I walked around the room as my friends looked in other areas of the store. There sat a woman with long sandy-blonde hair. She had a deck of faery cards sitting in front of her. She looked up at me and her eyes were a beautiful amber color. Her eyes seemed almost familiar to me. “Would you like a reading?” she asked kindly and picked up her deck. “I… um… don’t really have that much cash on me,” I told her as I felt something familiar from the faint lilt of her words. The woman shook her head, “I can see something good in you. This one will be on the house. If that doesn’t suit you, then only a couple dollars.” I sighed but gave a small smile. “Alright.” I put a couple of dollars in her jar and sat across from her. This was the second time I’d had a fortune-teller attempt to give me a free reading. The first time was when I was about 13 and had no cash to tip the woman. If that time was anything to go by, this reading was about to be very accurate about me. “Relax,” She whispered and handed over her deck, “Shuffle them. Slowly and gently. Your spirit will guide the cards.” I nodded and closed my eyes as I shuffled the deck. I felt the faint energy coming from the cards. Along with getting the faintest scent of pine, a scent that always reminded me of what I once called home. I eventually handed back the deck and opened my eyes. The woman grinned as she placed 6 cards facedown in the form of a forked pathway. She looked at me, “You’ve grown quite a bit. Much darkness in your life since last we met.” I raised a brow as I watched in uncertainty, “How does she know me?” I thought as she flipped the first card over. A faery with bright wings that carried a rucksack. The words on the card were in another language but it was clear this was the deck’s representation of ‘The Fool’ card. She nodded at me as she realized I recognized what it resembled. “You’ve traveled a great deal from home. A new life for you.” I just nodded in response. She flipped over the second card. The one just before the fork in the path. The card showed a shadowy beast in the background with two fae of opposing colors in cages. I assumed this to be “The Devil” in her deck. “You must study cards.” She said with a grin, “I don’t have to tell you the names as you seem to gather the names from their imagery.” “I study pretty much everything metaphysical when I’m able. Tarot included.” I explained calmly. “It seems you’ve tethered yourself to an unhealthy situation and are a bit too stubborn to notice the cage isn’t locked.” She told me as she tapped the card, “I suspect a marriage gone wrong.” I looked away at that, “Something to that degree.” I didn’t want to give too much away as she did the reading. She flipped the two forked cards at the same time. One card had a fae woman with a crown. The other had a fae man, also with a crown. But I couldn’t tell if they were court card or of the major arcana. She grinned as she registered my uncertainty. “One path starts with a man who is just. Someone willing to help and guide you.” She then pointed to the fae woman, “The other with a woman who is your equal and your ally.” Before I could react she’d flipped the last two cards. A fae warrior with a slain dragon on one card. Two silhouettes clasping hands on the other. Death and the Lovers. I stared down the cards and noticed tears had spilled. “That card… It’s too much…” I whispered as she gently flipped the Death card back over. “He still breathes, youngling.” she whispered, “I’m just glad you remember him.” I looked up at her and for a moment it seemed as if the room had vanished. We were in a forest. The cards spread across a tree stump instead of a table. Behind her were two beautiful mothlike wings and her hair was a gorgeous green yet it wasn’t hair but vines. She smiled and tapped my wrist. On it appeared a bracelet in the form of a dragon resting its head on its tail, the tail being what wrapped around my wrist. “Evra…” I whispered as I felt someone wipe tears away. When my gaze left the woman’s I was back in the shop, in the reading room. I looked beside me to see the man I’d met so many years before. His eyes still held that peculiar indigo color with the silver spark around the pupils. He smiled before shooting a glare at the woman. I looked to the woman again, “Ilya?” She nodded and gave a small smile, putting her cards back in their deck box, “I’m glad you remember us. This really would’ve been awkward if you hadn’t.” I nodded and felt Evra pull me in an awkward hug. Ilya came over and hugged us both. It was such a weird and awkward yet nice feeling. I eventually parted ways with them and rejoined my friends. I was staying with my friends that week as they lived closer to this area. They had plans to show me all their favorite shops that week as well as some other sights. These friends were Kaiaa and Josephine. They were some of the very few who knew about my gifts. “How about we head down to the beach tomorrow?” Josephine asked as we got ready to turn in for the night. “As long as you don’t mind me staying on the sand. I’m not big on wading in the ocean.” I said nervously. “That’s fine. You can try and find us some really cool shells. I know you collect them to make into jewelry, among other things.” Josephine said while Kaiaa nodded in agreement. “Then we can go hit that new restaurant they have on the boardwalk.” Kaiaa chimed in. She’d been wanting to check it out for a while. It was supposed to have things from many Asian cultures for the food. Plus boba drinks. “Sounds good to me,” I told them. We eventually turned in, got some sleep, and prepared for the next day. Which that next day came pretty quickly. So did the next couple. We saw many shops. Went on a tour of a chocolate shop (no, not willy wonka’s), and went on a haunted tour. I almost didn’t want to leave when my week there was coming to an end.  We had chosen to head back to the beach and the boardwalk. Picking a quaint little cafe that had outdoor seating and sold boba. Josephine and Kaia went for the boba drinks. I went for the honey matcha milk tea. Both of them teased me for grabbing a warm drink in the summer. “I like what I like,” I told them with a laugh. We ordered some food and chatted at one of the outdoor tables while we waited. It didn’t take long before they both began questioning me about what happened days before. I sighed, having figured this would come up eventually. I knew one of them would have seen me in there. “So… who were they?” Kaiaa asked me. She was picking at a fruit bowl as she watched me. I sighed and drank a bit of milk tea, “I assume you mean the woman in the fortune-telling room and the man that was with her.” “Yes. You were hugging them and you were crying.” Josephine said, “Who were they?” “If I’m honest, until that day I thought they were a dream,” I told them both as I stirred my drink a little, “I met them when I was on a family trip when I was 16. At a knick-knack shop out in some town that I don’t really remember.” “That doesn’t tell us much.” Kaiaa teased me. I took a bite of the strawberry shortcake I ordered and took another drink, “The woman goes by Ilya. The man goes by Evra. They ran the shop full of knick-knacks. I spoke to them only once but it was a long conversation. They were people I was able to open up to about my… gifts.” Kaiaa nodded along with the little story. Josephine drank some of her smoothie as she listened. “They were quite open. Both of them. They were kind and understanding. I managed to help Evra a bit with it. He had many spirits in his shop. All just careful attachments to the items within. My family bought some furniture. I got them to take me back to the shop a couple days later and I helped Evra move the spirits attached to the furniture onto items less likely to get broken in our house. One was attached to a bracelet of mine, the other to a necklace. I still have them, safely tucked away in a jewelry box that was protected on my dresser.” I sipped my drink and smiled, thinking back on it. I tapped the bracelet on my left wrist, it represented leaves on a vine. I then tapped the necklace I wore, a thin small bottle of glitter with a faery on it, “They are now worn by me most every day. Just as my book they gave is always in my bag, the book also has a spirit.” “Really? So you travel with three spirits everywhere? And you don’t get freaked out by it?” Josephine asked. “Yeah it’s fine. They’re usually quiet. Making little comments now and again if they don’t like how someone treats me. Among other occasional comments.” I told them with a smile. “And that new bracelet? The dragon one?” Kaiaa asked me. “That was a gift.” I jolted in my seat and quickly looked behind me to see Evra and Ilya. “I gave Ash that as a reminder of our friendship,” Ilya told them both. “Do you mind if we join you?” Evra asked them. Both Josephine and Kaiaa just agreed. We all ate together and then went out to the beach. Kaia and Josephine of course interrogated Ilya and Evra, who returned the questions in kind. I couldn’t tell which duo was being more protective at this point so when we finally reached the sand and tossed down the towels for seats, I was honestly grateful. I sat on a towel and watched as Ilya ran off with Kaiaa and Josephine to the waters. The three of them splashing and swimming together. Likely exchanging stories. Evra sat next to me on a towel of his own. “Do they know?” he asked me. “That you’re a dragon and Ilya is fae?” I questioned before shaking my head, “That wasn’t my secret to tell.” He chuckled and took one of my hands in his, “Ilya thinks I should have found you sooner.” He ran a finger over the lines of my hand, “I really should have. I waited too long and you got married… and now i see the pain it’s caused you.” “I’m separated. Divorce is soon.” I whispered, “I was an idiot. Always have been when it comes to matters of the heart.” Evra pulled me into a hug, “You’ll get through this. We’re back now so we can help you.” “Josie and Kaiaa have been a big help too. Thank you,” I told him with a small smile, “You’re not quite what one would expect of a dragon. You’re too… caring.” “Trust me. I’m a right asshole with most people. Just kind to the ones I feel deserve it.” Evra laughed as he said this. Ilya returned and sat in front of me. She took my hands in hers and smiled brightly, “Marry me?” I blinked in surprise as Kaiaa and Josephine both watched in anticipation. “P-pardon? I don’t think I quite… c-could you run that by me again?” I stammered in confusion. Evra seemed a bit surprised by Ilya’s words as well, “Wait a minute. That’s not what we agreed on, Ilya.” “Snooze you lose,” Ilya said and looked to me, “Marry me? I promise to take better care of you than that idiot you’re divorcing. Better care of you than that dragon too.” “Wait wait wait!” Evra told her, “You’re going too fast here.” My head felt dizzy from this sudden proposal. “May want to answer her,” Josephine remarked, pulling me back to the fact that this gorgeous fae woman was still holding firmly to my hands. “Umm… c-can I think on it a bit? I mean... you just came back in my life. I… I’d like a chance to relearn you first.” I stammered out. Ilya frowned a bit but then kissed the top of my hand, “Then will you let me take you on a date? Evra can be our chauffeur and chaperone if it’s too much.” I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment. Kaiaa was giggling at seeing me so flustered. Josephine kindly stepped in. “How about a few group outings before you try the dating arena?” Josephine suggested, “She did say it’s been some time since you all last met. Would be good to really get to know each other first.” Ilya frowned but nodded, “I suppose that’s fair.” “Exactly why I warned you that you were going too fast.” Evra told her. (I awoke after that.)