Not So Pleasant Dreams

Cronk was relieved he had kept Lorem from harm. He was sorry that the Lady Elizabeth had been injured, but was relieved to know that she had survived.

What Cronk had needed was rest. He had lost too much blood to stay awake. Coming into his room, Cronk had sprawled out upon the bed and instantly fell into a deep sleep.

Cronk wasn’t cognizant of the maid entering into the room. Not even when she had taken the care to clean the blood from where Cronk’s healed wounds had been.

Cronk’s mind was elsewhere. Deep asleep, the melatonin his brain produced, began to produce a state of deep sleep, bringing on a dream.

Cronk was standing at one end of the garden, drinking whiskey from a bottle. He was admiring the beauty of the flowers in that corner of the plot.

From behind Cronk, there was a loud boom. Startled alert, Cronk quickly turned to see Lorem jumping up and down, a weapon raised in the air. She was standing on the other side of the large garden plot. Smoke from the explosion her weapon had caused billowed into the air. Her face was marked with grease. Clothing to. Cronk thought it highlighted her beauty even more. She didn’t consider herself so beautiful as not to get dirty.

Cronk smiled as Lorem turned his way. He witnessed a smile upon her face. Certainly a celebration was in order. In his dream, Cronk ran in slow motion toward Pretty Flower, his arms opened wide. Lorem herself, dropped the weapon and began to run in Cronk’s direction, her arms open. To Cronk, this meant love was in the air.

As they neared each other, the slow motion became even slower. Cronk stopped, his arms opened to embrace the one to whom he had been quickly becoming attached.

To Cronk’s surprise, Lorem continued, running between Cronk’s long legs. Cronk turned peering over his shoulder to see Lorem hugging a sculpture of a gnome in the garden bed behind him.

Cronk awoke with a sudden start. His head was full of cobwebs as he tried to determine what was happening about him. Quickly, Cronk remembered the details of the dream.

“Stupid dream!” Cronk exclaimed, wondering if his dream were in some way Cronk’s mind telling him that Lorem could not fall in love with a creature such as him. Was he too big and ugly for the beautiful, petite gnome. Cronk sighed, rolled over, and went back to sleep. Maybe he’d work up the courage to say something. Would he need to speak to her father first. Cronk wasn’t sure of the ways of the upper crust of society. All he knew was the way he had done things in the past.