Future Dreams Read Free

a nightmarish lifetime had passed since she had last seen any member of her family. Now her parents had traveled all the way from Ingor to see what was left of the daughter who was heir to the House of Tigis.
    The gray-robed assistant healer appeared and slipped a large key into the door lock, the resulting grate of metal against metal echoed down the quiet corridor. Tigh stepped back against the window and the door opened. Her mother and father entered the cell and their presence seemed to suck the air out of the confined space. She could only stare at these living remnants of her shattered youth.
    Paldon Tigis, dressed in a well-tailored Ingoran tunic and leggings, had the open confident face of a successful merchant. Her eyes, taking in Tigh’s residence for the last seven years with a quick appraising glance, were of a darker blue than Tigh’s but her black hair and fair complexion left no doubt that they were closely related. Joul Tigis, clothed in a simple, but delicately spun long tunic and leggings, cast sad encouraging green eyes at Tigh. She noticed his light brown hair had streaks of gray that weren’t there the last time she had seen him.
    “Paldar.” Paldon stepped forward and opened her arms to her skittish daughter. “Come give your mother a proper greeting.”
    Tigh had avoided human contact for the two years she had been a fugitive from the Wars and trembled at the shock of warmth from her mother’s understanding embrace and soothing words of comfort. Joul stepped forward and she was passed into his caring arms.
    “It’s good to see you again, Daughter.” Joul’s gentle voice lit a fire of memories in Tigh’s devastated mind.
    “Let’s all sit and catch our breaths from the climb up those steps,” Paldon said as she and Joul led Tigh to the cot and sat on either side of her. “We’re not as young as we once were.”
    “Thank you for visiting,” Tigh whispered to the floor.
    “You’re our eldest daughter, no matter what the state has done to you in the name of service to the Southern Territories.” Paldon rubbed Tigh’s muscle hardened arm. “We want to make sure you get through this rehabilitation process so you can come home where you belong.”
    “It’s not as simple as that.” Tigh couldn’t keep down her anguish at the thought of being returned to society and knowing what she had been during the Wars.
    “Loena Sihlor appears to be a very competent healer and she feels you’re not giving the process a chance to work for you,” Paldon said.
    Tigh took a deep breath and focused on a small knot in the dark wood floor. “Most of the Guards aren’t known by sight. They can return to the world with only their own demons to fight against. The people know me. Not because I was the supreme commander of the last victorious campaigns but because I was Tigh the Terrible.”
    “But the healers say you’ve been cleansed of all that nastiness,” Paldon said. “You’re certainly the daughter I remember you to be. A little fitter perhaps, but that’s not a bad thing.”
    “Cleansing me doesn’t cleanse the people’s memories of what I was and what I did.” Tigh’s voice cracked with intense despair at the thought of never being free again. “The cleansing didn’t remove the memories of who I was from myself. I’ll spend the rest of my life fighting both society’s memories and my own.”
    “Let the healers help you. That’s their job, after all,” Paldon said. “You’re the eldest daughter of the House of Tigis. The talent you showed for leadership in the Guards is a great attribute to our family.”
    “That Tigh is dead. May I forever trample on her grave.” Tigh broke away from the loose hold of her parents and bolted to the window. “Whatever it was that made me a leader is also dead,” she said to the flower scented breeze touching her face.
    “We’ll be spending a few days here in Ynit,” Paldon said. “We’ll be back tomorrow. All we ask is you think about