Perceval lay in bed and waited for Joan to return after her talk with Gawain. He was dying to tell her about the dream/vision he’d had when unconscious. The moment she entered the room, he sat right up.
“Joan, I have to tell you something; you’ll think I’m mad, but when I was unconscious or whatever I was, I saw the future!”
Joan sat down on the edge of the bed and took his hand. With an unreadable expression, she studied him. “Go on.”
“I held our baby. He was a newborn, plump and pink. Squalling.”
Joan had not yet leapt up from the bed in horror, nor had she run away to retrieve Pawl, or declare Perceval was a madman, so Perceval chose to carry on.
“I know that was him. You’ll see. But then I had another dream right after, and our son was …show more content…
I’m so glad you’re here. A life without you would have been no life at all.”
Content and grateful, Perceval drifted off into a comfortable sleep.
Chapter 30 – A Long-Overdue Visit
It had been three days since Perceval’s near-death jousting accident, and it had not been the most pleasant time. Blinding, nausea-inducing head pain had been his near constant companion during his waking hours. Pawl and Joan’s tinctures took the raw edge off the agony, but the one thing that helped him cope with the suffering was sleep, lots of sleep. Pawl insisted sleep was healing and restorative, and as long as Perceval was woken and checked on every four or so hours and remained alert and coherent while awake.
“Otherwise, rest is best,” insisted Pawl.
But this day, day three, was different.
Perceval woke on a sandy beach, one with fine pink sand gracing the shores and unusual trees dotting the landscape, the likes of which he had never seen before. The bark on these trees was parchment-fine – one could peel it off with his hands – and long, broad, flat leaves grew from only the top of the …show more content…
Though she remained a good distance away, Perceval noted it was a girl wandering up the beach toward him, and oddly her movements were familiar. She wore a sleeveless flowing pink dress, one a princess might, and her light brown hair whipped around her face in the breeze. The girl, about age eight or so, shoved the hair away from her face and grinned.
Perceval wondered if his heart might stop. Gods, it was his sister, Deryn, his beloved younger sibling who had died when she was seven years old, along with Perceval’s parents, during a village raid by King Urien and his men. That had been more than a dozen years ago.
“Perceval!”
The little girl rushed forth, her arms open wide. Shaking off his initial shock, he ran for her. Initially, he thought this might be a dream, but it all seemed so real, the sounds of the ocean, the cool taste of that thirst-quenching liquid against his lips, and the unyielding heat of the sun. This was more than a dream. It had to be.
Regardless, Perceval did not know how much time he had in this place. It might be ages or moments, so he rushed forth toward Deryn. He had missed his little sidekick terribly since she died, and he wanted to make sure he had the chance to hold her and tell her he loved her. He had not seen her in dreams since she died, not even
“Joan, I have to tell you something; you’ll think I’m mad, but when I was unconscious or whatever I was, I saw the future!”
Joan sat down on the edge of the bed and took his hand. With an unreadable expression, she studied him. “Go on.”
“I held our baby. He was a newborn, plump and pink. Squalling.”
Joan had not yet leapt up from the bed in horror, nor had she run away to retrieve Pawl, or declare Perceval was a madman, so Perceval chose to carry on.
“I know that was him. You’ll see. But then I had another dream right after, and our son was …show more content…
I’m so glad you’re here. A life without you would have been no life at all.”
Content and grateful, Perceval drifted off into a comfortable sleep.
Chapter 30 – A Long-Overdue Visit
It had been three days since Perceval’s near-death jousting accident, and it had not been the most pleasant time. Blinding, nausea-inducing head pain had been his near constant companion during his waking hours. Pawl and Joan’s tinctures took the raw edge off the agony, but the one thing that helped him cope with the suffering was sleep, lots of sleep. Pawl insisted sleep was healing and restorative, and as long as Perceval was woken and checked on every four or so hours and remained alert and coherent while awake.
“Otherwise, rest is best,” insisted Pawl.
But this day, day three, was different.
Perceval woke on a sandy beach, one with fine pink sand gracing the shores and unusual trees dotting the landscape, the likes of which he had never seen before. The bark on these trees was parchment-fine – one could peel it off with his hands – and long, broad, flat leaves grew from only the top of the …show more content…
Though she remained a good distance away, Perceval noted it was a girl wandering up the beach toward him, and oddly her movements were familiar. She wore a sleeveless flowing pink dress, one a princess might, and her light brown hair whipped around her face in the breeze. The girl, about age eight or so, shoved the hair away from her face and grinned.
Perceval wondered if his heart might stop. Gods, it was his sister, Deryn, his beloved younger sibling who had died when she was seven years old, along with Perceval’s parents, during a village raid by King Urien and his men. That had been more than a dozen years ago.
“Perceval!”
The little girl rushed forth, her arms open wide. Shaking off his initial shock, he ran for her. Initially, he thought this might be a dream, but it all seemed so real, the sounds of the ocean, the cool taste of that thirst-quenching liquid against his lips, and the unyielding heat of the sun. This was more than a dream. It had to be.
Regardless, Perceval did not know how much time he had in this place. It might be ages or moments, so he rushed forth toward Deryn. He had missed his little sidekick terribly since she died, and he wanted to make sure he had the chance to hold her and tell her he loved her. He had not seen her in dreams since she died, not even