That night, strange things happened. It was like a dream of a nightmare, swirling in the alley as the cube fell apart, broke into glittering pieces that fell to the muddy puddles at the woman's feet. An ethereal figure stepped from the soft clouds that seemed to waver before her eyes. He was easily the most handsome man she had ever seen, but as quickly as he appeared, he vanished. And as many times as she described the turn of events, no one fully seemed to grasp what happened to her that night.
“I think ya just need something to drink, Aensa.” Raz gently patted her shoulder as she slumped next to him on a chair in the room they had rented with a blanket pulled tight about her shoulders. No matter how heavy the woolen blanket was, it wasn't able to shake the shiver of things to come from her bones.
“Raz...” And as happened many times in the past, bogged down heavy with emotion and weary thoughts, her rogue filtered from her voice leaving the taint of the well bred. “I don't think you really understand what happened. He knew my name.”
“Everyone knows yer name! Yer Aensa!” A chuckle was quickly choked back when he lifted his gaze to the searing look of annoyance on her face.
“You remember my last dream, don't you? They always feel so prophetic. There was this weapon, this chained claw. And the cube. I think they are all related somehow. I just don't fully understand what is going on.” A groan passed her lips as she ran her fingers into her hair and grabbed fist fulls of the corn-silk tresses. “Raz...” It was a warning call. He dropped everything and ran to her just in time to catch her before she toppled forward from the chair.
Gently he laid her to rest in his lap upon the floor, stroking her hair with concern. When she drank, this stopped happening. He hated that priest for making her stop. Every time she had one of these dreams, trying to understand it would cause her to black out. And every time she blacked out, there was a chance she would have another dream. It was a vicious cycle and he wanted it to end. He just wanted Aensa to be the happy cheery person she always seemed to be when she was drinking. This couldn't possibly be the real her, could it?
A light frown touched his face as he stroked over her cheek in a loving manner. Why did she do this to him? To herself? Lips lightly touched her clammy forehead, a sad look in his eyes. “Don't worry, Aensa. I ain't ever going to leave you,” he whispered quietly as his eyes closed in hopes of creating a dam for the tears he could feel welling behind his lids. He worried about her. He worried so much that he had spoken to some friends of his, hoping to get some insight. They were all planning to have lunch together. Duran, Ketara, Tertius: they would have an answer, some kind of solution for him. They just had to.
