Future's Shadow, Past's Glow

"I will kill all the humans," the ogre leaned forward and glared at the beutiful woman before him, who was looking at her manicured nails in boredom.

"Surely not all," she said with a irish lilt touching her words genlty.

"They disgust me," the ogre closed his large, hairy fist around the crude stone dagger he had rammed into the wood tabletop.

"Do I disgust you?" she asked as she leaned back in her chair, throwing her long black hair over her shoulder.

"You are not fully human," the ogre supplied as he placed the dagger in the dirty sheath about his thick calf.

"So, are half humans to be spared?" she lifted a dark brow and smiled softly. "If they are then you intend to leave some humans alive, correct?"

The ogre furled his brow in confusion. "Wha?"

"Never mind." the woman stood and draped her thick cloak around her shoulders. "Will you spare the elves and the kender?"

"Just the humans shall die," the ogre mumbled, feeling once again at a loss for words. The woman always ruined his greatest fits of rage, always made him rethink all he said in anger.

"Good," the woman winked as she made for the door. "So long as we are clear on that fact." That said, she opened the thick wooden door and ducked under the low beam, stepping into the dark night.

The ogre downed the last of his blood ale and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. That woman was the only hope for the humans, he knew, for without her winning presence, humans would have been killed long ago.

Grunting, the ogre stood and tossed a worn copper at the tavern wench, who had kept her distance. He wondered if the woman would mind if he killed one human.

The ogre shrugged the thought away as soon as he thought it, an amazing feat for the slow thinking creature. The woman would definately be upset about any human dying so soon after their conversation.

Growling, the ogre left his intended victim alone as he left, leaving her kneeling to retrieve the tossed coin.

* * *

Julie jerked backwards and dropped the rag into the toilet.

"Damn!" she muttered as she used her yellow gloved hand to fish it out. She cursed her luck again when she heard the bathroom door open.

"You've been in here for over twenty minutes!" her boss, Deryl, demanded as he held the grubby plywood door open.

"I'm almost done," Julie lied, her eyes falling upon the only other stall in the small public restroom.

"Don't lie to me, girl!" Deryl ground out. "Just hurry up!"

He let the door slam back into its frame with a resounding bang as Julie winced.

"I have got to stop this," Julie said as she removed the gloves and massaged her temples. "Daydreaming of ogres and women dressed in black. Maybe I should be a writer."

Julie laughed at this. She hadn't even graduated high school. This was why she was kneeling upon peeling linolium, washing urine stained toilets in the middle of the night.

Placing her gloves back on, Julie began scrubbing again. She didn't even feel the dream come upon her. It was only while it was happening that she realized this one was different. By then it was too late.

* * *

"Julie," the woman extended her hand toward her and Julie studied the rings upon the elegant fingers. All silver, one upon each finger, each glowing warmly. "Welcome."

"Yeah, whatever," Julie shook her head as she tried desperately to regain her surroundings. She was kneeling upon a soft bed of grasses, her jeans and polo shirt replaced with a flowing white gown of satin. She was gloveless and her hands were ugly compared to the delicate beauty extended before her.

"Come, rise, do not kneel," the woman moved closer.

"I have work to do," Julie said grimly.

"Yes, much work," the woman withdrew her hand and nodded to people standing behind Julie, people Julie didn't realize were there.

She felt hands close about her arms, lifting her to her feet. In her mind, she knew that Deryl had found her in her daze and that now she was fired for sure.

"You look tired," the woman stated as she moved closer, placing her slender arm about Julie's shoulders. "Would you like to rest?"

"More than anything," Julie said. "I would like to eat." She wasn't allowed breaks, wasn't allowed to eat while at work. That's what happens when you don't finish school, Deryl was fond of saying.

"Yes, of course," the woman smiled. "Do you know me?"

"No," Julie tried to shrug the woman's embrace away but the arm remained wrapped around her.

"I am Trella Larkke, queen of all you see and even all you don't." the woman propelled Julie forward gently, leading her up a slight embankment to a large home at the top.

"I am going to get fired," Julie muttered and realized, strangely, that she didn't care.

"That doesn't matter now," Trella said calmly and Julie realized how comforting the woman's presence was.

"Who is the ogre?" Julie asked suddenly. Trella turned her amber gaze upon Julie in mild shock.

"You know of Stump?" Trella laughed gently. "He is a very key element in your life."

"Yeah," Julie agreed. "Right along with toilets and comet cleaner."

Trella said nothing as they reached the house. The door opened as they neared it and a servant ran out.

"You found her!" the servant said.

"Of course I did," Trella replied gently. "You didn't doubt me, did you?"

"Not I, mistress," the servant was quick to reply.

"Ah, Jon," Trella smiled knowingly. "Come, Julie. Rest and dine, as you will, then we shall talk some more."

"I can't wait." Julie said, meaning to be sarcasting and discovering that she truly couldn't wait.

As Trella led her through dark halls, Julie waited to wake up staring at either a dirty toilet or Deryl's angry face. She preferred the toilet.

Julie entered a large bedchamber and smelled the wonderous smell of cooked food. She stared at the good sized table sitting to the right side of the room, laden with food so that the wood of the tabletop wasn't visible.

"Eat and sleep," Trella released her hold on Julie and backed toward the door. "I will return later."

Julie hesitated only a moment before digging in. She was positive this was all a dream but she wasn't going to let the food go to waste, even if it wasn't real and she was deeply afraid that she'd wake up gnawing on the washrag that had taken an unplanned swim in the toilet.

* * *

Deryl couldn't understand where Julie had disappeared to. The other waitress insisted that she hadn't seen Julie leave. Deryl just knew that when that lazy dropout returned, she would be fired for sure.

He hollared at Ann, who rushed into the bathroom in a mild panic. Seeing Deryl standing alone beside the toilet, gloves in hand, she felt her anger stir. She thought Julie had been murdered.

"What?" she demanded, hands on hips.

"Finish up here," Deryl demanded, tossing the damp rag at her.

"Where's Julie?" Ann hissed.

"Who knows?" Deryl walked past her. "Fired." Ann glared at his back before looking at the toilet in disgust. She was going to kill Julie, if Julie ever came back.

* * *

Julie looked at the soft bed in wonder. She had managed to eat until she felt as though she was going to burst and yet she had not woken up. Now she wondered if she dare try the bed. She didn't want to wake up in a pile of old mop heads.

Shrugging, asigning her future to fate, Julie tossed back the covers, lay upon the soft feather mattress and wondered what one would dream of in a dream.