Song: https://youtu.be/bXT96SVp0jg

Barrett watched me look around helplessly for a moment as he set his bow over his shoulder.

"Lost, huh? Well, there's not much I can do about that. C'mon, I'll take you to Tyren's, he has a map. Maybe you can find your way home with that." He offered, gesturing for me to follow him as he started off already.

I practically stumbled after him, my ankle still a bit sore from being snared in tree roots. "Alright." I murmured, though I didn't think it would do much, seeing as I'd literally come here by a doorway in a tree. Unless the offered map told me exactly where the tree was, there wasn't much chance I would find my way home that easily. I followed him nonetheless, perhaps the tree was well known.

Taking a quick look at him, I couldn't help but smile a little. This was the man I'd dreamed of many times before. But seeing him in the flesh made my heart flutter in excitement.

He headed further into the dark forest, making me pause before quickly following after him. Why were we heading deeper into the land of my nightmares? Bad things happened here. Why stay near this place?

When we reached Tyren's, it was rather dark out. I nervously looked around us at the streets, noticing how poor the buildings around us looked. They were worn down, and the people who were outside at this time looked a bit...shabby.

Refocusing on Barrett, I followed him into the tavern before perking up. The inside was cozy and inviting. Small, homemade chandeliers hung from the ceiling and people sat at tables or counters, drinking and eating peacefully. Music was being played on a slightly raised stage off to the side. A singer lulling the place into a feeling of peace.

My guide brought me over to a table and sat me down. "So, where did you come from, and what brought you to the dark forest? Judging by your clothes, you..well, look like you were robbed." He told me as I glanced down at my scuffed shirt and jeans.

I laughed a little, he wasn't wrong. But how would I explain my predicament? I didn't want to lie to him.

"It does look like that's the case." I agreed with him before setting my hands on the table, lacing my fingers together. "It's a bit complicated honestly, but I just sort of wandered here. I guess I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going." I shrugged as Barrett held up a hand to a passing woman and asked her for a map. She obliged, pulling a map out of her apron and set it on the table for us to look at.

"Just point to your home." He told me as he talked with the woman a little more, asking for a meal.

I swallowed before looking at the map. This is where it got complicated. I couldn't find any marks of an enchanted or ancient tree. What's more, is that the dark forest was a lot bigger than I'd originally thought. But it was part of a land I vaguely remembered from earlier dreams in my childhood. The kingdom was called Astra, and the dark forest was located along the south border.

Biting my lip, I tried to find some way to explain where I'd come from that would make sense when Barrett set a hand on the map. The waitress had walked away as he looked at me.

"Find it?" He asked, but I smiled a bit sheepishly.

"Well...remember how I said it's a bit complicated?" I asked as he narrowed his eyes. I swallowed before trying to find the right way to put this. Could I really tell him that I'd found a random door and went through it with no plan on how to get back? It made me sound like a complete dolt, but that was what had happened.

"I stumbled upon a door that led to a forest, and I went through. I guess I got a bit excited and didn't even think about leaving a way to find my way back through." I admitted before rubbing the back of my head.

"So, you're not from Astra." He said with a frown. I glanced at the map and then him before shaking my head.

"No."

"Where are you from then?" He asked as I rubbed the back of my head.

"America?" My words came as more of a question than a real answer. But that was because I was nearly positive that he'd never heard of the United States. Judging by the look he gave me next, I was correct.

"Ama-what?" He asked, making a face. I sighed a little laugh.

"Complicated." I said again as he glared at me.

"What's so complicated? What is amaca?" He pressed as I looked around us, trying to find some way to explain dimension travel.

"Well, I've sort of dreamed about Astra. But, where I come from, this place..isn't..real." I admitted, looking back at him with a bit of a grimace. It sounded terrible when put that way, but I couldn't think of a gentler way to explain where I'd come from.

He paused before raising a brow, his lips cracking something of a half smirk. "So, what? You think you just dreamed this whole world into existence?" He asked, his expression cynical as I looked around once again at the tavern he had brought me to. It was starting to feel even more familiar now.

"Not all of it. But I've dreamed about you, the forest, even this tavern actually..and I'm sure I'll run into more things I've dreamed about, the longer I'm here." I admitted, being somewhat distracted. The music seemed familiar too. It was light, and comforting.

Barrett leaned back in his chair, folding his arms as his eyes wandered over me. I clearly wasn't dressed like any other girl from this world, but he didn't seem convinced. It's just as well. I didn't mind if he didn't believe me, I knew I was telling the truth.

"So if you dreamed up this world, please, tell me more about this Amaca that you came from." His smirk widened. He was mocking me now. I merely sighed, looking back at him. Now I remembered where I'd seen that cynical look before. I'd been dreaming about him just this morning. What happened in that dream again? I remembered waking up screaming.

"You don't believe me, I can tell that much. I don't think telling you more about where I came from will change your mind. Either you believe me or you don't. It's not my interest to convince you." I told him, focusing more on trying to remember the rest of my dream.

Fire, there was a fire.

I tensed, looking around again and spotted the stairs. "Strange." I muttered, frowning. It was just like in my dream.

"You are indeed." Barrett said, watching me as I looked towards the windows.

"No, I mean, this happened in my dream. Right before the tavern was set on fire." I told him, getting to my feet. If I remembered correctly, it was because something came through the window.

The black haired man scoffed at my words. "That's absurd. This tavern is a safe space, why would anyone-" He began when the doors burst open and men in uniforms walked in.

I stared at them in surprise as Barrett glanced over his shoulder, spotting them. Turning back to me, he grabbed my arm, and pushed me back into my seat. Confused, I let him sit me down and watched as he quickly removed his cloak and placed it around my shoulders. This wasn't part of my dream.

A tall man walked into the tavern at that time, looking around with an expression of disgust at the people around him before his gaze landed on me. His hair was golden in hue, and his eyes a dark color I couldn't quite make out from this distance, but his gaze seemed to narrow at me in irritation.

Barrett snapped his fingers to get my attention, and I immediately looked at him as his red eyes bore into mine with a silent warning. I'd been staring. I hadn't meant to. Once I realized, my eyes fell to the table in front of me as the blonde then started towards the counter.

"Tyren." He addressed, loud enough for us to hear. Barrett kept staring at me as I glanced over at the men, but his head twitched at me to look away.

I frowned a little, making eye contact with Barrett as he stayed hunched forward in his seat, as if he were...listening.

"Lord Dominic, always a pleasure." The bartender said from behind the counter, cleaning a tankard.

"I've had reports of you harboring thieves in your inn. Is this true?" Lord Dominic asked straight out, and I was tempted to look over at Tyren for his reaction. But Barrett's gaze was so intent I nearly fell over from the intensity.

"Can't say. As long as they pay for a room, I offer rooms. I don't pry into people's personal business, I'll leave that to you." He retorted.

I sucked in my lips to contain a snort. I knew this was a moment of high tension, and laughing could possibly get me killed if I wasn't careful. So I swallowed the laughter that tickled my throat, continuing to focus on Barrett's stare. However, he had the smallest smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. Seeing him amused almost made me crack a smile of my own, but I restrained myself.

The lord didn't say anything else. Turning with a swish of his robes, he started out the door. But he stopped at the entrance, and I could feel his eyes bearing down on me for a moment.

"I shall continue to do my duty, Tyren. I do hope you understand." He said before sweeping out the front entrance, his soldiers following behind him.

After a moment, the tension faded and Barrett let out an audible breath. "See? Safe haven. Not even Lord Dominic will touch this place." He told me as I looked towards the door where the lord had left. A pit started to form in my stomach.

"Are you certain of that?" I asked, and when our eyes met again, I watched his eyes harden.

"He wouldn't dare." He told me as I pulled lightly at the cloak now around my shoulders. The music began again, just as I realized that it had stopped. Then something crashed through the window. Whatever it was, burst once it hit the floor boards, setting the tavern entrance ablaze.

The nerve of some people. I don't know why, but this part of the story always gave me Robin Hood vibes. Anyone else?

Have a wondrous Evening,
G'Night Stars!