Nightmare of Confusion

My eyes blink open to a sight,
of depths of the blackest night.
Heartbeat pounding in my head
as I try to shake the shivering dread.
Where was I now, did I escape?
Was any of it real or only fake?

My legs are throbbing now with pain.
Was I really running again?
Were men truly chasing me,
Or in the dream that I can see?
Or am I traveling to that scene
A place to which I think I dream

I see the tower standing tall.
Its gleaming white stone and ivy walls.
The cool blue lake beside it too.
The scent of roses with evening dew.

Then all goes black and screams surround,
as hundreds of boots shake the ground.
A stampede of men? I think at first,
but turns out it is something worse.

"She killed the king!", I hear one cry.
An arrow shoots past in the sky,
its whistling warning gives me a chance,
to awaken from my shockfilled trance.
I move my legs that still throb with pain
and begin to run in earnest again.

What happened to my safe space?
The bed, the covers, the sweat on my face?
Is this now the dream that wakened me?
Or was the safe space just the dream?