Brothers in Arms

This was a sort of medievally dream. I was a knight, part of a small band of knights that were the King's closest circle. Our job was specifically to protect the royal family and since it was wartime, we had our work cut out for us. I'm guessing this particular dream was set sometime in the 11th century (think William Wallace) as it was very rough and barbaric-looking even for a castle.

I was guarding the princess's quarters with my fellow knight, Ferguson. He was slightly shorter than I was, had the most intense blue eyes, and was the epitome of a Scott's man with his long fiery red hair (it was in dreadlocks though, kinda reminded me of a beefier Newton Faulkner) and fuzzy beard. For a fuzzy ginger Scottish man he was quite handsome though. Somehow I felt like I had known him for a long time and that we were very close.

We knew that the rival clan was coming to attack the castle, it was only a matter of time, and we knew that they were much stronger than our small army and had better technology. They had trebuchets (giant slings which were designed to knock down walls and castles), we also knew they had a number of crossbows... something which we did not. It was going to be a long night and there was this feeling of impending doom.

We looked out the window as the king's children huddled on their fur-covered bed in fear. In the distance we could see the enemy torches lining the horizon. It looked like there were hundreds of them. Ferguson looked at me and smiled sadly then pulled something out from under the plaid (it's a piece of fabric they wore over their shoulder and the pattern was specific to their clan/family, in marriage it was given as something similar to a ring... that pattern of plaid) slung over his shoulder. It was a bracelet woven out of blond and red hair (a Celtic binding spell of love where you'd braid your hair and your lover's hair into a bracelet). He took my hand and slipped it on, saying as he looked deep into my eyes,

"Now we're bound together, even in death."

I chuckled and punched him in the shoulder, "We're not going to die, you sentimental old fool!"

Ferguson laughed but grabbed my arm and wrestled me into a kiss. At first I was surprised but then I realized what our relationship was--this surprise and third person distance from the dream made me realize I was dreaming and I woke up inside the dream.

I grabbed his shoulder, "No, I'm dreaming... we're not going to die. I got this..." I headed for the door and he called after me,
"What're you goin' to do?"

I smirked, "I'm gonna fireball the bastards. Just watch."

Out in the courtyard I could see the heavy wooden gate trembling as they hit it with a battering ram. A volley of arrows flew over the wall. I shouted for everyone to find cover, then blew air from my lips (Big Bad Wolf style), forcing the majority of the arrows to fall away to the side even if some made it, catching things on fire. People started screaming. I focused on creating a ball of fire in my hands but found it increasingly hard. The gate finally gave in and enemy warriors rushed in. I chucked the ball of fire at them but it sort of fizzled out. I tried making another but couldn't.

"Oh shit." So, Plan B, I drew my sword and tried taking a few of them out but there were too many of them. I looked through the gate and it literally looked like a sea of warriors pouring in through the tiny gate. Sort of like that scene from Lord of the Rings, they were endless.

There was so much noise; screams, explosions, clanking-- I forgot I was dreaming and just got lost in the dream again. Where before I knew I was dreaming so I didn't feel fear but now that I had forgotten I didn't know that I wasn't going to die. It was all very real again, very vivid. The noise, the smells, the feeling. I remember how heavy everything felt. It was tiring to move and my sword was very heavy. It took a lot of energy to swing it.

Ferguson appeared out of nowhere and helped me fight with his shoulder close to mine.
"Just can't stay out of trouble can yeh?"

"I thought I had them!"

"Next time follow your orders."

I remembered the children and that we were supposed to be guarding them. "The princess?!"

"Safe! Concentrate. Create the fire again! Use your magic!" There was a large group of warriors clad in heavy armor approaching us. They looked like a medieval version of Robocops and they had high-tech looking crossbows. It was a rather scary sight; these mean-looking soldiers slowly marching towards us with their weapons leveled at us, the dark sky behind them, and the ruddy glow of buildings on fire glinting off of their shiny armor. I started freaking out but Ferguson stood behind me, steadied my arms, and repeated close to my ear,
"Concentrate."

My arms erupted in fire and I willed a column of fire at the enemy. They screamed and writhed as they were cooked in their own armor. That felt pretty freaking badass. I whipped the column of fire at another group of enemy soldier and worked my way back to the gate, rolling my arms back and forth as they ran from me. My fire died out and I couldn't summon it again. I was so tired and my arms felt so heavy. I felt my knees buckle but Ferguson's arms were around me, slinging me over his shoulder as he ran. We were running running running... We came to some woods but we could see the lights of the keep on fire from where we were. He set me down against a tree. I felt awful,

"I failed. I couldn't drive them back. We've lost the Keep... what of the children?"

"Hidden on a wagon on it's way to Salsbury (or some other 'bury' it wasn't important). An emissary from the baron of Warwick with meet them there."

"The king and queen?"

"The king died honorably on the battlefield and the queen ended her own life."

There was a long pause between the two of us for a moment then I asked,

"... and what of us?"

Ferguson smiled kindly, "We are going to ride to the nearest tavern, get a warm meal in us, make passionate love, and then plot our revenge." We both grinned and held on to each other fiercely. I was literally shaking in his arms but I tried to remain stable, strong as I spoke,

"I like this plan." It was one of those bittersweet but awesome moments. It was so vivid. I love how vivid it was. I could feel his shoulder as I buried my face into it. I could smell leather and sweat and smoke. I felt his dreadlocks brush my face. I could feel the muscles shift under his hard leather armor. I could feel his lips press against the crook of my neck.

We made it to said tavern and did just that... (--that-- was very vivid as well...) then the dream devolved into something about D&D and a quest where we were going to talk to a wizard who could help us and I ended up waking up.