Welcome to Gaia! ::

Elizabeth glanced at the clock and yawned. 10:00 time for bed. Wearily, she got up from the chair at the dining room table, where she had been lesson planning for the next week. The kids were to be studying the letter Z and wild animals in preparation for their field trip to the zoo and there was a lot to prepare.

She knew she was also tired because she hadn't been sleeping as well lately. In some respects she was tense with anticipation of this child she was supposed to be getting. But she was also a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect from a young goddess....

Another yawn caught off her thought process and sent her towards her bedroom. She quickly changed into nightclothes and turned on her heater blanket before crawling under the covers. Her cat was not far behind and curled up on the pillow next to her. The tortise-shell's soothing purrs, coupled with her exhaustion from the lack of sleep on previous nights helped her to drift off sooner than usual....

As Elizabeth believed this was a dream, it didn't immediately shake her that she was floating above her body. Afterall, weren't strange things really part of dream normalcy? She idly wondered if that was what she really looked like when she slept. But then when she saw the door and noticed that the necklace had begun to glow and draw her towards the door.

Elizabeth grew apprehensive and fearful. This dream seemed awfully realistic. More vivid than any other dream in recent memory, even in it's simplicity. She had forgotten that she was told she would receive the child in a dream and in her mentally disconnected state could not make the bridge between the relic and the door. What was the door and why was she being pulled towards it? She resisted the pull at first, but moved forward anyways, as if she was being pushed by a slow, but powerful current. Her eyes grew wide and her breathing harsher as she drew close to the door.

As she reached the door, Elizabeth sqeezed her eyes closed (even though in reality they were still closed where she slept on the bed), as if she feared what might happen to her as she passed through the portal. When nothing happened immediately, she allowed one eye to open, then the other. When she saw where she was, she caught her breath in wonder.

She was standing in an amazingly beautiful room that she had never seen the like of before. Everything from floor to ceiling was made of ice and snow and somewhere in the back of her mind she registered that it seemed odd that she wasn't noticing what should obviously be cold.

Instead, despite her interest in her surroundings, she found herself drawn to a motionless figure that was seated in the throne on the other side of the room. Again somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered why the figure didn't move, but the fleeting thoughts were obscured by the desire to be closer to the figure, and the wonder of her surroundings. Slowly she began to make her way across the large room, her "footsteps" making no sound on the floor as her spiritual body never actually came in contact with it.

Elizabeth felt drawn to move closer to what was clearly now, a woman seated on the throne. The nameless figure remained still, even as Elizabeth neared, much to her surprise. It seemed she should sense her approach.

Unless she was.....? Elizabeth banished the thought. Surely she was only sleeping? She felt the need to rouse the pale figure, not consiously recognizing that the desire stemmed from the thing around her neck.

Despite the strength of her feelings that she should draw closer and gently touch the girl to wake her, Elizabeth hesitated. The sensible part of her mind still wondered whether the girl was dead and shied at the thought of coming in contact with a corpse. But if she wasn't....

Almost unwillingly, Elizabeth found herself with her fingers outstretched, inches from the pale skin. She tried to resist the urge to touch the girl, but it was too strong. As she let go a shuddering breath, her fingers touched the woman's bare skin.

All Elizabeth could do was stand there as she watched the relic and the woman suddenly begin to glow brightly and then come together. As unnatural as this seemed, her primal instincts told her to run, but shock and facination kept her glued to the spot, even as the blindingly bright relic/ woman started to dimish in size. And the spectacle did not end there.... no....now there sat a baby girl...perhaps just past infancy, her hair done in a similar manner and other characteristics that told Elizabeth that she could not be mistaken in believing that this was the same being who had just sat unconcious before her. Just...smaller.

Elizabeth slowly sank down to be level with the little girl, reaching out gently as not to frighten her. She glanced around the room, checking to see if any others had witnessed this spectacle. Still alone...She looked back at the girl, wondering if the little thing would allow her to pick her up. After all, Elizabeth couldn't leave her here by herself...but then how to get back?

Elizabeth picked up the girl gently and held her close. The little thing didn't seem alarmed or nervous in any way. In fact, she appeared quite content and laid her head against Elizabeth's shoulder. Smiling, the woman cuddled the little blue-haired girl against her, enjoying the closeness. If she had been more attuned to detail at the moment, Elizabeth would have noticed that the girl's skin and body temperature were lower than was typical for a human child, but then again, this was supposedly the goddess of winter.

Not a moment after picking her up, the door into Elizabeth's bedroom reappeared. She held the child for a moment just staring at the opening. What would she find and experience upon passing through there? Yes she had a child in her arms now, but would the child still be there and still be content when she left this dreamworld? Having the same fear and apprehension she had experienced passing through the doorway the first time, Elizabeth stepped through the door.