Song: https://youtu.be/dumTijQvBIk

"What on earth was that? Why were you shooting at me?!" I asked, trying not to let my voice quiver. I wanted him to know I was angry, not scared. "You could have hit me, or poor Elwen! You know, you scared him half to death." I scolded him as he sat on his bed, looking over the arrow he had shot at us.

"Elwen is it? You should stay away from him. You can't trust talkative strangers." He told me as I set my hands on my hips. Was he serious?

"Is that why you shot at us? You didn't like that I was talking to someone?" I asked, making him tense as he matched my gaze suddenly.

"If it was just that, believe me, I would have left you alone. But there's one thing you need to know if you're to survive. In this world, people aren't kind just because." He said, pointing the arrow at me.

I rolled my eyes as he set the projectile in his quiver. "Says you. What exactly do you get from my company again?"

"I get a glimpse at the future."

"You never listen when I tell you what's in the future. You don't believe me, or you expect me to just know the things you want to know."

"Well before, I didn't have a good enough understanding of your abilities. Now I do, and I can reap the benefits so long as you actually practice." He told me, making me pout. "Listen to me, Monica. No one cares who you are, only what they can get from you."

"That's not fair."

"Life's not fair."

"Life is fair, Barrett. Someone just decided they were better than others. That doesn't mean the world is without good people." I told him before turning and walking out the door. I didn't have time to argue whether or not he was a good person. My break would be over soon and I needed to get back to work.

But even as I kept a brisk pace, heading back to the field, I felt a small pain in my chest. Remembering his words. No one cares about you.

The rest of the day seemed to crawl. I finished up my work and headed back to the house. But I took my sweet time eating dinner before checking on Barrett again. I didn't want to argue with him, I just wanted to tell him about my dream and possibly get some answers. But would he start up about Elwen again? Had he forgotten the incident? What was his problem with the redhead anyway? Elwen hadn't asked me for anything, he was just being nice. There was nothing wrong with being friendly.

"Are you just going to stare at your food all night?" Edna asked me from the other side of the table. Her husband had left to pick up a delivery of medicine from another town, so she was dining with me tonight.

"Sorry." I mumbled, scooping some food into my mouth. Tonight we had porridge for dinner. Barrett had already had some before I'd come home, apparently he was making trips up and down the stairs now. Seems he was almost healed.

It still baffled me though, why did he have such a problem with me talking to others? Was he afraid I'd get attached? He said no one cared about me, so why was he warning me? Or did he worry that his little peek hole into the future would find someone kinder to hang around?

"Something on your mind?" Edna asked, and I realized, I was just stirring the bowl again. Sighing, I put the spoon down.

"I'm sorry Edna. I've just got some things on my mind at the moment." I apologized once more, leaning my head on one hand.

"Is it Barrett?"

I looked up at her while she cupped her bowl with both hands. "He's been muttering something awful lately." She whispered. "Something put him in a bad mood?"

"Yeah, that was me." I confessed, fidgeting with my spoon. "Someone started talking to me today. He was just making pleasant conversation, but Barrett told me not to trust him. I bit back with a bard's remark about how the world's not all bad and left the room."

Edna chuckled softly at me as I took another spoonful of porridge in my mouth. "You sure it wasn't jealousy burning his tongue?" She asked, making me pause as I looked at her a bit skeptically.

"You know, a statement like that would've made me very happy a couple of weeks ago. But now that I've been around him longer, I don't really know what you mean." I shook my head. I was a stranger to Barrett, that much was clear. He didn't trust me, or my visions, not unless it told him something he wanted to hear, which had yet to happen.

"Sometimes, you spend a lot of time with someone without getting to know them at all." She mused, seemingly to herself. I stared at her for a moment before refocusing on my dinner. What did she mean? I already knew Barrett, far more than he liked.

We ate the remainder of our supper in silence, and I decided to revisit my dream in my head. The first caravan in my dream had soldiers, and looked rather heavily guarded. But why had the man ridden in the second caravan without soldiers? Was there a significant amount of time between his traveling in the two caravans? Would I even be present to see those caravans? Where would they be?

After finishing my porridge and helping Edna with the dishes, I started up the stairs towards Barrett's room. The fatigue from the day and also my hesitation weighed my feet down, making the trip much harder. But soon enough, or perhaps too soon, I was standing outside his room door. Sighing softly, I knocked, waiting to see if he would allow me inside.

"Come in." When I opened the door, I saw that he was counting the coins in the bag I'd given him. He looked at me with only his eyes before refocusing on his current task. "What is it?"

I walked over, shutting the door behind me. "I had a dream last night." I admitted, to which he perked up, setting his handful of coins on the bed sheet.

"And? What was it about?" He asked, now staring at me. I had to look away to avoid stammering. Why did his eyes have such an affect on me, even now? I should be used to it already.

"A caravan. Well, two caravans actually, and Lord Dominic. He's planning to kill someone, but I don't know who they are." When I looked back at Barrett, I was met with a frown.

"That's not a very helpful dream." He said plainly, to which I simply shrugged.

"I don't know why I had the dream. I just focused on Dominic before I fell asleep. But I don't think it's just anyone. They were the one in both caravans. The first was heavily guarded, and the second almost felt like it was part of some sort of parade. Lord Dominic also spoke with the person in between the times I saw the two caravans. Each time, this same man was in the front most carriage of the processions."

Barrett sighed softly. "Alright, what did this guy look like, Lord Everton?" He guessed, but I shook my head.

"No, well, yes? He had blonde hair like Lord Everton, but he was thinner." I tried to describe the man, but it had been too long, I couldn't remember many details of his face.

"It's hard to get thicker than Lord Everton." Barrett snorted before picking up the coins again, counting them. "Sounds like it's another nobleman. All the nobles are either related or somehow convinced the king to give them a title. Either way, they all look the same." He told me as I sat at the edge of the bed.

"Aren't you concerned that Lord Dominic is targeting nobles? I thought he only got away with his 'hunts' because he went after thieves." I pointed out as Barrett continued counting the money we had.

"I suppose I'd be more concerned if I hadn't seen it coming. I don't need to remind you that he's a mad man. Hunger for power is another of his desires, other than for bloodshed."

I frowned. "So, you don't plan to do anything about it?" I asked in disbelief.

"I didn't say that. But the idea of protecting a noble isn't exactly the most thrilling thing, contrary to common belief. I'm not the biggest fan of them. After all, they let Lord Dominic run rampant in the first place."

"But what sort of power would he gain from killing a noble?" I asked, watching as he finished counting the coins.

"Depends on the noble." He shrugged, gathering the gold back into the bag they came in. "But, until we know which nobleman he's targeting, we won't be able to do much of anything for or against either of them." He pointed out, making me huff softly.

"I wish I could hear what they'd said to each other."

"What do you mean?" Barrett set the bag off to the side as he looked at me. I simply shrugged.

"Normally, I can't hear conversations in my dreams. Usually just noises, sometimes screams. I heard a lot of screams when the nobleman was killed. It was so loud I fell out of bed."

I rubbed my arm at the memory, the screams had been horrified, it didn't sound like an appropriate reaction to a bad man dying. Clearly this nobleman, whoever he was, was loved rather deeply, and by many people. I wanted to help. But what could I do?

"If you can't hear conversations, how did you know my name?" He asked, snapping me from my thoughts.

"Huh? Oh." I thought back on this, wondering about it. I had first dreamed of Barrett when I was a little girl. It was the night after grandpa had passed. Barrett had come to me in a dream. "You were running through the forest I believe. You were playing, and you wrote your name in the dirt with a stick." I said as I remembered the dream, a small smile crept over my lips at the memory. But when I looked up again, the smile faded.

Barrett was staring at me with an intense expression, and I found I couldn't look away. "I was a child?"

I nodded wordlessly. To which, he looked away, running a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face. It only made his ruffled hair messier.

"How long have you been having these visions?" He murmured, as I fidgeted with my skirt. Would this scare him? Had I already said too much?

"Ever since I was little. My grandfather had passed away, and I started dreaming about you, and about Astra." I admitted quietly. Barrett grabbed my hand, making me flinch as he lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Did your grandfather have visions about Astra?" He spoke quickly, but I shook my head.

"I-I don't know. He would tell me stories when I was a baby, but I don't remember him ever talking about Astra." I said as Barrett squeezed my hand. This moment, it was suddenly familiar. This was a dream I'd had before coming here. One of the first more intimate dreams with Barrett.

Wonder what that means. Course I know, but you guys don't *gremlin cackle* I hope you guys aren't bored during this part of the story. Is anyone even enjoying this? I haven't the foggiest notion. Though, I keep forgetting to ask. I apologize for that. I should be interacting with you all much more.

So tell me, if someone shot an arrow at you to get your attention, how would you react?

Have a lovely Evening,
G'Night Stars.