Post by Bailey Rosegale on Aug 21, 2011 2:19:16 GMT -5
“Come on, Quil.” I laughed. “Hurry up, we’re gonna miss it!”
“I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying!” Quil grunted, tripping over his big feet. His bare chest was heaving and glistening with sweat from climbing up the steep cliff.
“We’re almost there.” I encouraged him. “There’s no need to quit now.”
“I know!” Quil whined. “I’m tired, though!”
“So am I.” I insisted. I wasn’t lying; my hair was plastered to my head and sweat was rolling down my face and down my neck, making my shirt stick to my back. “But think of it this way,” I panted. “Once we’re up there, we can rest for as long as we want.”
Back at the hospital, they had tried to give me medicine to keep me awake, but I had wanted to see Quil again, and the fight between my sleep and all the doctors had begun again: I was winning.
I hated Realom now. It had been nearly a year ever since I first had the dream with Phoenix and Alice in it, and ever since then, I had been struggling to stay asleep, fighting against the doctors. Realom wasn’t my world anymore.
I thought about this as we climbed to the top of Aurelia’s Peak, which was one of the tallest mountains in all of Drimalia. It had taken us nearly all day just to get up here, and the Twilight Stars were already lighting up the dark night.
Finally, we reached the top of Aurelia’s peak, and Quil and I collapsed onto my back, gasping in breaths. My arms and legs were aching, and as Quil flopped down beside me, I realized he was probably more exhausted than me. Only weeks ago, some Necromancer had tried to poison the both of us, and Quil had gotten very sick. Luckily, I had Phoenix and Alice as friends, and both were very wonderfully connected to people, so Quil was quickly fixed up.
The Necromancer, Ravuna, had been trying to kill every Dreamer and their partner. We were supposed to be careful wherever we went, and I kept my bubbles close at my side so we could escape if need be.
Anyhow, because of that sickness, Quil was still a bit weak, and I was beginning to wonder if we should had climbed all the way up here.
“You all right?” I asked him, worried.
“Yeah.” Quil moaned as he sat up, and he grinned at me as I sat up too and leaned against him. “Why are we here, again?” He asked me.
“The lights.” I murmured, motioning to the sky. As the Twilight Stars crossed over each other, the sky suddenly exploded in a beautiful array of rainbow colors, with deep shades of purple, blue, red, and orange.
Quil sighed softly, and breathed, “It’s beautiful.”
“Phoenix told us it would be.” I commented.
“He was right.”
Suddenly, my head exploded in pain, and I clutched it, moaning.
“Qiu?” Quil asked, alarmed. “Qiu, what’s wrong?
“My head...” I groaned, and let out a yell as the pain jolted through my whole body.
“Qiu, wake up!” Quil yelled. “Please wake up!”
Struggling, I took a bubble from my pouch and forced my eyes open long enough to see what color it was. Silver.
Weakly, I dropped it, and the pain was gone.
Once again, I opened my eyes. This time, instead of the doctors, I saw Arthur, my mom and my dad.
“Are you okay?” Arthur asked me quietly, his voice shaking.
“I’m fine.” I whispered hoarsely. I was so used to breathing through my mouth when I was dreaming that I could barely speak anymore: it hurt too much. “Can I go back to sleep?”
“No.” My father said sternly.
“Why not?” I asked, alarmed.
“The doctors gave you some medicine to keep you awake.” Mom explained.
“Why’d you let them do that?” I croaked.
“It’s been nearly a month since you last woke up.” Dad tried to calm me, but I was getting upset. My whole body was numb, and my legs were so stiff from not moving for so long. My hands were so used to being unused that they stung when I tried to clench them into fists.
A blur of a day later, more doctors came, and they performed tests on me.
I bit one of them.
The doctor’s weren’t very happy with me.
After three or four weeks of suffering, a new nurse made a mistake and didn’t give me the drugs, and I was asleep once more.
Back in my dear Drimalia.
I floated, exhausted, in my state of mind. After a moment, I took out my leather bag and peered inside. Quickly, I reached in and tossed them all in the air. They float around me like they were real bubbles, and then I wondered where Quil would be at the moment.
Slowly, I reached out to the purple bubble, and it dropped below me.
The world shuddered around me, and I was in the market. I had learned to control the shifting from place to place, but Phoenix could do it so smoothly that it seemed like I could just blink and I would be somewhere new.
I crept out onto the street from the alleyway and looked around. Once I saw people, I got a sharp pain in my stomach. It was a warning: I needed Quil near me. He was part of me, and I needed him near me or else the pain would slowly get worse and I would wake up again.
I rushed down the street, but Uli’s stand was empty, and I was beginning to get weaker as the pain began to stab at me. I stumbled to the crystal tower, and I was allowed to walk into the door to the left of the desk, where Dr. Gilly’s office was.
Dr. Gilly was working on something at his desk, and my whole body suddenly shuddered in pain, and I collapsed.
Dr. Gilly bounded from his desk and over to me. “What is wrong, my dear girl?” He cried.
“I need Quil!” I gasped. I clutched my stomach, moaning in pain.
“All right, all right!” Dr. Gilly muttered, pulling me onto a soft couch on the side. I was fighting myself, struggling not to writhe in pain, and the world was numb for a moment. My senses were limited, and I was shifting dangerously in between Drimalia and Realom.
Suddenly, there was a hand on my shoulder, and the pain disappeared. Gasping in relief, I stared up at Quil, who was looking at me with a weak smile.
“You okay?” He asked quietly.
I hugged him tightly, burying my face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and immediately I felt safe again, and I sighed heavily. “I missed you.” I mumbled.
“I missed you too.” Quil murmured.
“Qiu, are you always getting into trouble?” Phoenix stood behind Quil, and I grinned at him.
“Apparently.” I muttered. “Now why are you here, Phoenix?”
“I just am.” Phoenix smirked at me and said, “You hungry?”
As if answering the question for me, my stomach began moaning, and I let out a breath as the feeling of hunger began to claw at me.
“Yes.” I told him sheepishly.
“Good, because I got you this.” Phoenix handed me a brown paper bag, and I took it, retrieving a honey tart from it. I wolfed it down quickly, and as my stomach settled again, I smiled softly at Phoenix, who said, “We should probably get going. Alice had an attack.”
“A what?” I asked, alarmed.
“Alice’s mind gets pulled into the Dream Zone every once and a while, without taking her body with her.” Phoenix frowned. “She... She sees things. She needs to talk to you.”
“All right.” I murmured, worried. Quil helped me to my feet and I turned to Dr. Gilly, who was standing there with his hands folded, giving me a gentle smile.
“Try to get here a little faster next time.” Dr. Gilly suggested gently. I nodded, and then gave him a hug.
“Thanks.” I said. “I know I’m trouble all the time, but thanks.”
“You’re very welcome, my dear.” Dr. Gilly said, stroking my hair. “And you’re never a bother, really.”
“Thanks, Gilly.” Phoenix said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I pulled away and Quil held his arm out to me, and I hooked my elbow in his. “Let’s go, everyone.” Phoenix said, and he strode out the door.
“Wow, he’s walking really fast today.” I mumbled, stumbling over the cobblestone. Quil and I nearly lost him as a crowd of people went streaking by, screaming.
I turned to see what was going on, and Quil stopped, looking to see what I was seeing.
A humungous lion, about twenty feet tall, was prowling the cobblestone road. It’s eyes were pure white, and it was a light cream color, like an albino lion.
“Oh my god!” I cried, terrified.
The lion let out a roar that shook the whole world, and a blinding light came shooting out of it’s mouth like fire.
My body finally started moving, and I grabbed Quil’s arm and dragged him away. “What is that?” Quil cried.
“Like I know!” I screamed back. Without warning, a large, burly man bumped into me, smashing me against a wall.
Stunned, I dropped to the ground, and Quil was pushed away from me by the crowd of panicking people.
I couldn’t move. My whole body was completely numb, and I could only watch as this giant lion approached me.
Its enormous paws stopped two feet away from me, and I felt heat radiating off of it. I began sweating like crazy, and the lion slowly lowered its head and sniffed at me.
“Get away!” A thick roll of black smoke billowed at the lion, and it roared furiously, flashing a blinding light in my eyes and making me cry out in pain as my vision turned white.
For a moment, I was completely blind, and then, as I blinked and tears began to wash the blindness away, I saw Phoenix standing in front of me, a black rope in his hands. It was only about four feet long, but he held it like it was as dangerous as a machine gun, and the lion was backing away, shaking gobs of black smoke away from it. Where the smoke had clung, the lion’s fur had turned a dull grey.
The lion snarled at us, and Phoenix took the rope and tired it around the neck like he was about to hang himself. Black smoke began rolling from him like steam would come from a hot cup of coffee in the middle of a Colorado winter.
Phoenix lifted an arm, and the smoke clung to him tightly for a moment. Then it flung itself at the lion, which roared again and fell back.
“Take out the yellow bubble!” Phoenix told me firmly. His voice had an edge to it, like he was growling. His black hair had grown more ragged, and I could swear the black smoke was turning to black fur... “NOW!” Phoenix shouted at me, and I yanked the bubble out and dropped it to my feet.
The world shuddered, and I landed in the middle of a deep blue room that had its whole floor covered with pillows, cushions, mattresses, bean bags, and blankets. The bed was huge, and large glass doors that led out onto a balcony were open to reveal a beautiful view of Drimalia.
“Quil!” I cried, realizing he wasn’t with me. The aching in my stomach started again, and I collapsed on the floor, amongst the pillow and blankets and cushions, breathing deeply to try and make the pain subside.
All of the sudden, Quil was lying beside me, and a large black wolf, the size of a baby elephant.
“Quil, are you all right?” I asked. He was breathing weird, and moaning in high-pitched sounds. His face was troubled, and I looked to the wolf. “Phoenix?” I asked quietly.
The wolf lowered its head and muttered, “His leg...”
I looked down at Quil’s leg, and I saw his left leg twisted at a sickening angle, and my stomach lurched uncomfortably.
“Quil...” I whispered, very scared.
“He’ll be okay, Qiu.” Phoenix insisted. “Calm down. Go down the hall to the right, and then go down the stairs. Alice is waiting for you.”
“But...”
“Go, Siloqiu!”
My eyes stinging with worried tears, my face screwed into a scowl and I scrambled from the room, choking on my tears.
I followed Phoenix’s instructions, trotting down a marble hallway and down a large staircase.
Alice stood at the bottom, wearing a light blue dress. Her hair was pulled up into a tight bun, and something in her hair, the same color as her dress. It looked almost like a sunset design, and it didn’t seem to bother Alice at all.
She beamed when she saw me, and I managed a weak grin. I was so worried about Quil.
I didn’t cry much. Even as a baby, my mother said I had never really cried. Now, as I saw Alice and how cheerful she looked, and remembering how Quil was upstairs with a broken leg, tears streamed down my face.
Alice frowned deeply at me a whispered, “What’s wrong, Qiu?”
“Quil’s hurt.” I whimpered, trying to swallow my tears.
“Oh, we have the best healers.” Alice insisted.
After I managed to get a hold of my tears, I muttered, “Where are we?”
“We’re at the Orialis.” Alice informed me. “Phoenix didn’t want to tell you, but...” Alice paused, and I frowned.
“But what?” I asked.
“Phoenix didn’t want you to know because he was afraid you’d treat us different.” Alice was nearly begging. “We’re kind of the rulers of Drimalia. Our parents were the king and queen. I’m the princess, and Phoenix is the prince.”
Shock ran through me like a spear. I had known Phoenix and Alice for a year now, and I had never found out that they were even close to royalty. I mean, sure, Phoenix could walk into any building and people would bow their heads respectfully and not charge him for anything, but he always seemed like that kind of person.
“Wow.” I finally managed to choke out.
“Well, yes...” Alice sighed. “I needed to see you.”
“About what?” I asked quietly.
Alice looked troubled, and she sat on the floor, her dress lying out around her. Wearily, I sat down too.
“I dreamed something.” Alice whispered. Her face was too solemn for Alice, and her voice was quiet and dull.
“What was it?”
“Ravuna.” Alice murmured, and immediately I stiffened. “He’s getting more powerful. That lion that attacked you today? It’s called a light lion. Only a very powerful Dreamer could summon one. There’s only been one other light lion before this, and it nearly destroyed all of more Drimalia. It was Ravuna’s fault last time; he lured the Dreamer into doing it.”
“You think he’s done it again?” I asked her.
“Yes.” Alice sighed heavily and said, “I think... I think they’re trying to kill Phoenix.”
Startled, I asked, “Well why would they do that?”
“He’s the prince of Drimalia.” Alice shrugged. “If he dies, then I have to get married, and that gives any boy in Drimalia the chance to take over.”
I stared at my hands, and said stiffly, “I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“Just keep calm.” Alice insisted. “Don’t give up on Drimalia quite yet. Take care of Quil. You can see him now, if you want.”
Exhausted and worried, I didn’t bother with asking anymore questions, and I walked into the dark blue room that Quil had been in.
He was lying on the bed with a blanket over his chest, tucked under his arms so he could use them. His eyes were closed, and his chest was rising and falling softly.
“Quil?” I asked softly, afraid he was asleep.
His eyes opened wearily, and he gave me a weak smile, taking in a shaky breath. “Hey, Qiu.”
“Are you doing okay?” I asked. I sat down next to him and stroked his sweaty hair back out of his pale face.
“The pain’s gone.” Quil muttered, placing a hand on my cheek to comfort me. His hand was trembling, and I took it and held it gently, watching him worriedly. He was lying about the pain; that much was obvious. He was soaked in sweat, and shivering violently. His eyes were fluttering closed, he was so tired.
“You should rest.” I murmured gently, trying to comfort him. I struggled not to let him see my tears, and I had a gentle, forced smile on my face.
Quil looked at me through half-opened eyes. “I don’t wanna sleep...” He mumbled, barely able to move his mouth.
“You need to.” I insisted, and lay down next to him. Quil numbly pulled an arm around me and I lay my head on his shoulder. “Go to sleep, Quil.”
Quil didn’t respond: he had already closed his eyes and fallen to sleep.
I messed with the round buttons on his shirt quietly for a moment, and I looked up at Quil’s troubled face, and I realized my mouth was whispering something.
“Don’t die...” I found myself muttering. “Please don’t die, Quil.”
After a moment, I became sleepy, and I rested my head against Quil’s chest, clutching his shirt as though it would keep him alive, and I fell asleep.
I dreamed.
It was strange. I was dreaming inside of a dream. Instead of having amazing details from my five senses, I depended almost completely on my sixth sense of just knowing.
My legs were slow and sluggish, and the sound around me was muffled. I was struggling to keep my eyes open, and it felt as though I wasn’t really even there.
I was in front of my house in Realom. It didn’t look much like my house, but my sixth sense told me so. My sixth sense also told me that the figures standing around me was Quil, Phoenix, Alice, Arthur, my mom and my dad. They were all scared, and just before I was able to ask why, a giant bulldozer roared down out street, and everyone rushed into the car, leaving me behind.
I moved so slowly, and I was heaving my legs forward like I was treading through molasses. I finally reached the car, panic flitting through me as the bulldozer drew closer. The car doors closed behind me, and the whole vehicle jerked and began rolling up and down the street.
Hundreds of other cars were driving up and down the street with us, and we were banged around. Every time a car banged into us, an ear-splitting shriek pierced through my head and someone disappeared from the car.
Finally, only Quil and I were left. I saw the bulldozer heading straight for us, and the headlights looked like evil eyes, glaring at us. Quil turned to me and looked at me sadly, muttering something that I immediately forgot, and then the whole car was jarred around as the bulldozer hit. Quil let out a wail and disappeared.
I was mad. I was angry.
I was grief-stricken.
I unlocked the car and leapt out onto the street, holding my arms out wide. The cars and trucks all turned to me, and their motors roared angrily.
“I’m not afraid!” I shouted to them. “This is my dream! I have control! I don’t need this! I’m WAKING UP!”
I jerked away, back in Drimalia once again. I could move again, and I felt normal for once.
I glanced over to Quil, who hadn’t moved other than his head turned to other way. He looked a bit pale, but other than that, he was fine.
Smoothing my hand over Quil’s chest, I watched as he slowly opened his eyes and yawned, and I felt his hand clutch the back of my shirt gently.
“You all right?” I mumbled, ignoring the shakiness from my dream.
“Yeah...” Quil sighed. “Just kind of tired.”
“Does your leg hurt?” I asked quietly.
“Not much.” Quil lied. He looked nervous about something, and I frowned at him.
“What’s eating you?” I asked him.
“Just a nightmare...” Quil muttered, looking ashamed. “The... the light lion ate you.”
His hand gripped me tighter, and I told him my nightmare. Once we had both calmed down a bit, I climbed out of bed and smoothed down my rumpled clothes, asking, “Breakfast sound good?”
Quil nodded eagerly, pushing himself up in bed. He let out a soft moan which earned him a worried glare from me. “I think they have a library here.” He said. “Could you get me a book on Drimalian mythology?”
“Sure. But after you eat breakfast.” I said sternly. Quil gave me a shaky smile as I turned out the door. I bumped right into Alice, who stood there in a bright yellow dress today, looking somewhat miffed. “Oh.” I said, surprised. “Hello, Alice.”
“Hello,” Alice said cheerfully, as though our conversation the other day had never happened.
“I was just going to get Quil some breakfast.” I told her.
“Oh, the maids are doing that.” Alice chirped. “They’re bringing something up for him right now.”
“Um... I know this is gonna sound kind of weird, but do you...”
“Have a library?” Alice interrupted. “Yes. Two floors up to the left.”
“Can you...”
“Go with you? I’d love to!”
“Well, could you help me...”
“Find a book on Drimalian history? Yes. In fact, I think you’re lucky. A friend just gave a whole series to me and they should still be on the front cart.”
“Okay...”
I said a quick good-bye to Quil and then followed Alice through the hallways and into a humungous library. The thing was three stories tall!
As I stared around, Alice pushed a cart over to me and said, “Here’s everything.” She turned and led me back to Quil’s room.
I sat at Quil’s and shuffled through them while he ate a breakfast of eggs, ham, bacon, sausage and some strawberries on the side. Orange juice was set on the bedside table, half empty.
A book caught my eye, and I pulled it out. It was very old, and the binding was made of leather, so it was holding together well enough. The pages were made from thin strips of hide, and it was all tied together with a leather knot. There was a golden plaque on the front that had streaks of silver because of how old it was. On the plaque, there were symbols I had never seen before.
I showed the book to Quil. “Can you read that?” I asked him.
Quil squinted at the book and through a mouthful of eggs muttered, “Yes.”
“What’s it say?”
Quil swallowed and read, “Mythical, Famous and Infamous Creatures of Drimalia.” Quil took the book from me and flipped through the pages, reading off the names of the creature to me. “Black Lagoon Brownie, Kelpie Pooka, Dregaan, Monotipuni, Light Lion....” Quil paused at that page and looked at it.
As he looked, I noticed he had gotten quite pale, and he was beginning to sweat again. His breathing was cautious, and he had set his breakfast tray to the side, away from him.
He was still in a lot of pain.
“Did the healer say anything about your leg?” I asked him.
“I have to be careful, but I can walk on it.” Quil looked nervous though, and his face had exploded red, and he began frantically reading the book as fast as he possibly could.
“Please, Quil. The truth.” I murmured to him.
Quil gave me a shaky sigh and set the book down. “He.... He thinks I might be crippled for life.”
I stared at him in horror. “No.” I muttered. “No, this isn’t right. This is a dream! I control my dreams! I don’t want you to be hurt!”
“Qiu...” Quil muttered quietly, and I sat down next to him, stroking the hair from his face as he lay back down.
“No.” I said firmly, and I focused.
This is a dream. This is a dream. This is MY dream. I control it. I can do anything I want.
In fact, I could do anything I wanted, but it came at a price.
A sharp stab of pain shot through me, and I cried out. My whole world shook, and for a moment, I was balancing between Drimalia and Realom.
“Qiu?” Quil’s faint voice asked.
“I think she’s waking up!” My mother’s voice.
Another sharp stab of pain went through me, and I was jerked into Realom.
I opened my eyes and moaned. It was more of a whisper, though. My voice had almost completely gone. My eyes were blurred so that I could barely make out anything.
I squinted. Was that Arthur? No, that was a balloon...
“Good morning, Siloqiu.” A doctor’s voice said.
“What do you want from me?” I rasped.
“We only want you well again.”
“I’m not well when I’m here.” I whispered. “Let me sleep.”
“I’m afraid if we do that you will die.”
I fell silent, closed my eyes and waited for sleep to come. Unfortunately, the doctors put more of that medicine in me, and my life was once again a blur.
I simply lay there, not thinking, barely alive, just there as a body. Finally, after five days, they allowed me to sleep for a while, and I gladly closed my tired eyes and reentered Drimalia.
I started in my state of mind, as I always did. I glanced around the curved walls, and then pulled the yellow bubble out and dropped it.
I dropped into the deep blue room, amongst the pillows, collapsed. I lay there for a moment, getting used to the feeling of actually feeling, and then I sat up.
Quil was fast asleep on the bed. He had the Mythical, Famous and Infamous Creatures of Drimalia in his arms.
I stood and walked over to him. Stroking his hair from his face I said quietly, “Quil? You awake?”
Quil opened his eyes slowly and then leapt to his feet when he saw me. His leg wasn’t in a cast anymore, and he obviously wasn’t having any trouble moving around. “You’re all right!” He cried, and then picked me up and spun me around in his arms.
As he set me down, I buried my face in his chest and mumbled, “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Qiu.” He smiled for a moment, and then it dropped. I looked at him wonderingly.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
“That book.” Quil said, motioning to the Creatures of Drimalia. “It tells all about that light lion. Or, at the least the last one. Her name was Glory, and she was defeated by a new Dreamer. Instead of destroying her, they turned her good, but only a Dreamer can do that. Now... Qiu, there’s only one person who can turn the new light lion could?”
“Who?” I asked quietly.
Quil looked at me gravely. “The newest Dreamer.” He said bitterly. “You.”
“I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying!” Quil grunted, tripping over his big feet. His bare chest was heaving and glistening with sweat from climbing up the steep cliff.
“We’re almost there.” I encouraged him. “There’s no need to quit now.”
“I know!” Quil whined. “I’m tired, though!”
“So am I.” I insisted. I wasn’t lying; my hair was plastered to my head and sweat was rolling down my face and down my neck, making my shirt stick to my back. “But think of it this way,” I panted. “Once we’re up there, we can rest for as long as we want.”
Back at the hospital, they had tried to give me medicine to keep me awake, but I had wanted to see Quil again, and the fight between my sleep and all the doctors had begun again: I was winning.
I hated Realom now. It had been nearly a year ever since I first had the dream with Phoenix and Alice in it, and ever since then, I had been struggling to stay asleep, fighting against the doctors. Realom wasn’t my world anymore.
I thought about this as we climbed to the top of Aurelia’s Peak, which was one of the tallest mountains in all of Drimalia. It had taken us nearly all day just to get up here, and the Twilight Stars were already lighting up the dark night.
Finally, we reached the top of Aurelia’s peak, and Quil and I collapsed onto my back, gasping in breaths. My arms and legs were aching, and as Quil flopped down beside me, I realized he was probably more exhausted than me. Only weeks ago, some Necromancer had tried to poison the both of us, and Quil had gotten very sick. Luckily, I had Phoenix and Alice as friends, and both were very wonderfully connected to people, so Quil was quickly fixed up.
The Necromancer, Ravuna, had been trying to kill every Dreamer and their partner. We were supposed to be careful wherever we went, and I kept my bubbles close at my side so we could escape if need be.
Anyhow, because of that sickness, Quil was still a bit weak, and I was beginning to wonder if we should had climbed all the way up here.
“You all right?” I asked him, worried.
“Yeah.” Quil moaned as he sat up, and he grinned at me as I sat up too and leaned against him. “Why are we here, again?” He asked me.
“The lights.” I murmured, motioning to the sky. As the Twilight Stars crossed over each other, the sky suddenly exploded in a beautiful array of rainbow colors, with deep shades of purple, blue, red, and orange.
Quil sighed softly, and breathed, “It’s beautiful.”
“Phoenix told us it would be.” I commented.
“He was right.”
Suddenly, my head exploded in pain, and I clutched it, moaning.
“Qiu?” Quil asked, alarmed. “Qiu, what’s wrong?
“My head...” I groaned, and let out a yell as the pain jolted through my whole body.
“Qiu, wake up!” Quil yelled. “Please wake up!”
Struggling, I took a bubble from my pouch and forced my eyes open long enough to see what color it was. Silver.
Weakly, I dropped it, and the pain was gone.
Once again, I opened my eyes. This time, instead of the doctors, I saw Arthur, my mom and my dad.
“Are you okay?” Arthur asked me quietly, his voice shaking.
“I’m fine.” I whispered hoarsely. I was so used to breathing through my mouth when I was dreaming that I could barely speak anymore: it hurt too much. “Can I go back to sleep?”
“No.” My father said sternly.
“Why not?” I asked, alarmed.
“The doctors gave you some medicine to keep you awake.” Mom explained.
“Why’d you let them do that?” I croaked.
“It’s been nearly a month since you last woke up.” Dad tried to calm me, but I was getting upset. My whole body was numb, and my legs were so stiff from not moving for so long. My hands were so used to being unused that they stung when I tried to clench them into fists.
A blur of a day later, more doctors came, and they performed tests on me.
I bit one of them.
The doctor’s weren’t very happy with me.
After three or four weeks of suffering, a new nurse made a mistake and didn’t give me the drugs, and I was asleep once more.
Back in my dear Drimalia.
I floated, exhausted, in my state of mind. After a moment, I took out my leather bag and peered inside. Quickly, I reached in and tossed them all in the air. They float around me like they were real bubbles, and then I wondered where Quil would be at the moment.
Slowly, I reached out to the purple bubble, and it dropped below me.
The world shuddered around me, and I was in the market. I had learned to control the shifting from place to place, but Phoenix could do it so smoothly that it seemed like I could just blink and I would be somewhere new.
I crept out onto the street from the alleyway and looked around. Once I saw people, I got a sharp pain in my stomach. It was a warning: I needed Quil near me. He was part of me, and I needed him near me or else the pain would slowly get worse and I would wake up again.
I rushed down the street, but Uli’s stand was empty, and I was beginning to get weaker as the pain began to stab at me. I stumbled to the crystal tower, and I was allowed to walk into the door to the left of the desk, where Dr. Gilly’s office was.
Dr. Gilly was working on something at his desk, and my whole body suddenly shuddered in pain, and I collapsed.
Dr. Gilly bounded from his desk and over to me. “What is wrong, my dear girl?” He cried.
“I need Quil!” I gasped. I clutched my stomach, moaning in pain.
“All right, all right!” Dr. Gilly muttered, pulling me onto a soft couch on the side. I was fighting myself, struggling not to writhe in pain, and the world was numb for a moment. My senses were limited, and I was shifting dangerously in between Drimalia and Realom.
Suddenly, there was a hand on my shoulder, and the pain disappeared. Gasping in relief, I stared up at Quil, who was looking at me with a weak smile.
“You okay?” He asked quietly.
I hugged him tightly, burying my face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and immediately I felt safe again, and I sighed heavily. “I missed you.” I mumbled.
“I missed you too.” Quil murmured.
“Qiu, are you always getting into trouble?” Phoenix stood behind Quil, and I grinned at him.
“Apparently.” I muttered. “Now why are you here, Phoenix?”
“I just am.” Phoenix smirked at me and said, “You hungry?”
As if answering the question for me, my stomach began moaning, and I let out a breath as the feeling of hunger began to claw at me.
“Yes.” I told him sheepishly.
“Good, because I got you this.” Phoenix handed me a brown paper bag, and I took it, retrieving a honey tart from it. I wolfed it down quickly, and as my stomach settled again, I smiled softly at Phoenix, who said, “We should probably get going. Alice had an attack.”
“A what?” I asked, alarmed.
“Alice’s mind gets pulled into the Dream Zone every once and a while, without taking her body with her.” Phoenix frowned. “She... She sees things. She needs to talk to you.”
“All right.” I murmured, worried. Quil helped me to my feet and I turned to Dr. Gilly, who was standing there with his hands folded, giving me a gentle smile.
“Try to get here a little faster next time.” Dr. Gilly suggested gently. I nodded, and then gave him a hug.
“Thanks.” I said. “I know I’m trouble all the time, but thanks.”
“You’re very welcome, my dear.” Dr. Gilly said, stroking my hair. “And you’re never a bother, really.”
“Thanks, Gilly.” Phoenix said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I pulled away and Quil held his arm out to me, and I hooked my elbow in his. “Let’s go, everyone.” Phoenix said, and he strode out the door.
“Wow, he’s walking really fast today.” I mumbled, stumbling over the cobblestone. Quil and I nearly lost him as a crowd of people went streaking by, screaming.
I turned to see what was going on, and Quil stopped, looking to see what I was seeing.
A humungous lion, about twenty feet tall, was prowling the cobblestone road. It’s eyes were pure white, and it was a light cream color, like an albino lion.
“Oh my god!” I cried, terrified.
The lion let out a roar that shook the whole world, and a blinding light came shooting out of it’s mouth like fire.
My body finally started moving, and I grabbed Quil’s arm and dragged him away. “What is that?” Quil cried.
“Like I know!” I screamed back. Without warning, a large, burly man bumped into me, smashing me against a wall.
Stunned, I dropped to the ground, and Quil was pushed away from me by the crowd of panicking people.
I couldn’t move. My whole body was completely numb, and I could only watch as this giant lion approached me.
Its enormous paws stopped two feet away from me, and I felt heat radiating off of it. I began sweating like crazy, and the lion slowly lowered its head and sniffed at me.
“Get away!” A thick roll of black smoke billowed at the lion, and it roared furiously, flashing a blinding light in my eyes and making me cry out in pain as my vision turned white.
For a moment, I was completely blind, and then, as I blinked and tears began to wash the blindness away, I saw Phoenix standing in front of me, a black rope in his hands. It was only about four feet long, but he held it like it was as dangerous as a machine gun, and the lion was backing away, shaking gobs of black smoke away from it. Where the smoke had clung, the lion’s fur had turned a dull grey.
The lion snarled at us, and Phoenix took the rope and tired it around the neck like he was about to hang himself. Black smoke began rolling from him like steam would come from a hot cup of coffee in the middle of a Colorado winter.
Phoenix lifted an arm, and the smoke clung to him tightly for a moment. Then it flung itself at the lion, which roared again and fell back.
“Take out the yellow bubble!” Phoenix told me firmly. His voice had an edge to it, like he was growling. His black hair had grown more ragged, and I could swear the black smoke was turning to black fur... “NOW!” Phoenix shouted at me, and I yanked the bubble out and dropped it to my feet.
The world shuddered, and I landed in the middle of a deep blue room that had its whole floor covered with pillows, cushions, mattresses, bean bags, and blankets. The bed was huge, and large glass doors that led out onto a balcony were open to reveal a beautiful view of Drimalia.
“Quil!” I cried, realizing he wasn’t with me. The aching in my stomach started again, and I collapsed on the floor, amongst the pillow and blankets and cushions, breathing deeply to try and make the pain subside.
All of the sudden, Quil was lying beside me, and a large black wolf, the size of a baby elephant.
“Quil, are you all right?” I asked. He was breathing weird, and moaning in high-pitched sounds. His face was troubled, and I looked to the wolf. “Phoenix?” I asked quietly.
The wolf lowered its head and muttered, “His leg...”
I looked down at Quil’s leg, and I saw his left leg twisted at a sickening angle, and my stomach lurched uncomfortably.
“Quil...” I whispered, very scared.
“He’ll be okay, Qiu.” Phoenix insisted. “Calm down. Go down the hall to the right, and then go down the stairs. Alice is waiting for you.”
“But...”
“Go, Siloqiu!”
My eyes stinging with worried tears, my face screwed into a scowl and I scrambled from the room, choking on my tears.
I followed Phoenix’s instructions, trotting down a marble hallway and down a large staircase.
Alice stood at the bottom, wearing a light blue dress. Her hair was pulled up into a tight bun, and something in her hair, the same color as her dress. It looked almost like a sunset design, and it didn’t seem to bother Alice at all.
She beamed when she saw me, and I managed a weak grin. I was so worried about Quil.
I didn’t cry much. Even as a baby, my mother said I had never really cried. Now, as I saw Alice and how cheerful she looked, and remembering how Quil was upstairs with a broken leg, tears streamed down my face.
Alice frowned deeply at me a whispered, “What’s wrong, Qiu?”
“Quil’s hurt.” I whimpered, trying to swallow my tears.
“Oh, we have the best healers.” Alice insisted.
After I managed to get a hold of my tears, I muttered, “Where are we?”
“We’re at the Orialis.” Alice informed me. “Phoenix didn’t want to tell you, but...” Alice paused, and I frowned.
“But what?” I asked.
“Phoenix didn’t want you to know because he was afraid you’d treat us different.” Alice was nearly begging. “We’re kind of the rulers of Drimalia. Our parents were the king and queen. I’m the princess, and Phoenix is the prince.”
Shock ran through me like a spear. I had known Phoenix and Alice for a year now, and I had never found out that they were even close to royalty. I mean, sure, Phoenix could walk into any building and people would bow their heads respectfully and not charge him for anything, but he always seemed like that kind of person.
“Wow.” I finally managed to choke out.
“Well, yes...” Alice sighed. “I needed to see you.”
“About what?” I asked quietly.
Alice looked troubled, and she sat on the floor, her dress lying out around her. Wearily, I sat down too.
“I dreamed something.” Alice whispered. Her face was too solemn for Alice, and her voice was quiet and dull.
“What was it?”
“Ravuna.” Alice murmured, and immediately I stiffened. “He’s getting more powerful. That lion that attacked you today? It’s called a light lion. Only a very powerful Dreamer could summon one. There’s only been one other light lion before this, and it nearly destroyed all of more Drimalia. It was Ravuna’s fault last time; he lured the Dreamer into doing it.”
“You think he’s done it again?” I asked her.
“Yes.” Alice sighed heavily and said, “I think... I think they’re trying to kill Phoenix.”
Startled, I asked, “Well why would they do that?”
“He’s the prince of Drimalia.” Alice shrugged. “If he dies, then I have to get married, and that gives any boy in Drimalia the chance to take over.”
I stared at my hands, and said stiffly, “I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“Just keep calm.” Alice insisted. “Don’t give up on Drimalia quite yet. Take care of Quil. You can see him now, if you want.”
Exhausted and worried, I didn’t bother with asking anymore questions, and I walked into the dark blue room that Quil had been in.
He was lying on the bed with a blanket over his chest, tucked under his arms so he could use them. His eyes were closed, and his chest was rising and falling softly.
“Quil?” I asked softly, afraid he was asleep.
His eyes opened wearily, and he gave me a weak smile, taking in a shaky breath. “Hey, Qiu.”
“Are you doing okay?” I asked. I sat down next to him and stroked his sweaty hair back out of his pale face.
“The pain’s gone.” Quil muttered, placing a hand on my cheek to comfort me. His hand was trembling, and I took it and held it gently, watching him worriedly. He was lying about the pain; that much was obvious. He was soaked in sweat, and shivering violently. His eyes were fluttering closed, he was so tired.
“You should rest.” I murmured gently, trying to comfort him. I struggled not to let him see my tears, and I had a gentle, forced smile on my face.
Quil looked at me through half-opened eyes. “I don’t wanna sleep...” He mumbled, barely able to move his mouth.
“You need to.” I insisted, and lay down next to him. Quil numbly pulled an arm around me and I lay my head on his shoulder. “Go to sleep, Quil.”
Quil didn’t respond: he had already closed his eyes and fallen to sleep.
I messed with the round buttons on his shirt quietly for a moment, and I looked up at Quil’s troubled face, and I realized my mouth was whispering something.
“Don’t die...” I found myself muttering. “Please don’t die, Quil.”
After a moment, I became sleepy, and I rested my head against Quil’s chest, clutching his shirt as though it would keep him alive, and I fell asleep.
I dreamed.
It was strange. I was dreaming inside of a dream. Instead of having amazing details from my five senses, I depended almost completely on my sixth sense of just knowing.
My legs were slow and sluggish, and the sound around me was muffled. I was struggling to keep my eyes open, and it felt as though I wasn’t really even there.
I was in front of my house in Realom. It didn’t look much like my house, but my sixth sense told me so. My sixth sense also told me that the figures standing around me was Quil, Phoenix, Alice, Arthur, my mom and my dad. They were all scared, and just before I was able to ask why, a giant bulldozer roared down out street, and everyone rushed into the car, leaving me behind.
I moved so slowly, and I was heaving my legs forward like I was treading through molasses. I finally reached the car, panic flitting through me as the bulldozer drew closer. The car doors closed behind me, and the whole vehicle jerked and began rolling up and down the street.
Hundreds of other cars were driving up and down the street with us, and we were banged around. Every time a car banged into us, an ear-splitting shriek pierced through my head and someone disappeared from the car.
Finally, only Quil and I were left. I saw the bulldozer heading straight for us, and the headlights looked like evil eyes, glaring at us. Quil turned to me and looked at me sadly, muttering something that I immediately forgot, and then the whole car was jarred around as the bulldozer hit. Quil let out a wail and disappeared.
I was mad. I was angry.
I was grief-stricken.
I unlocked the car and leapt out onto the street, holding my arms out wide. The cars and trucks all turned to me, and their motors roared angrily.
“I’m not afraid!” I shouted to them. “This is my dream! I have control! I don’t need this! I’m WAKING UP!”
I jerked away, back in Drimalia once again. I could move again, and I felt normal for once.
I glanced over to Quil, who hadn’t moved other than his head turned to other way. He looked a bit pale, but other than that, he was fine.
Smoothing my hand over Quil’s chest, I watched as he slowly opened his eyes and yawned, and I felt his hand clutch the back of my shirt gently.
“You all right?” I mumbled, ignoring the shakiness from my dream.
“Yeah...” Quil sighed. “Just kind of tired.”
“Does your leg hurt?” I asked quietly.
“Not much.” Quil lied. He looked nervous about something, and I frowned at him.
“What’s eating you?” I asked him.
“Just a nightmare...” Quil muttered, looking ashamed. “The... the light lion ate you.”
His hand gripped me tighter, and I told him my nightmare. Once we had both calmed down a bit, I climbed out of bed and smoothed down my rumpled clothes, asking, “Breakfast sound good?”
Quil nodded eagerly, pushing himself up in bed. He let out a soft moan which earned him a worried glare from me. “I think they have a library here.” He said. “Could you get me a book on Drimalian mythology?”
“Sure. But after you eat breakfast.” I said sternly. Quil gave me a shaky smile as I turned out the door. I bumped right into Alice, who stood there in a bright yellow dress today, looking somewhat miffed. “Oh.” I said, surprised. “Hello, Alice.”
“Hello,” Alice said cheerfully, as though our conversation the other day had never happened.
“I was just going to get Quil some breakfast.” I told her.
“Oh, the maids are doing that.” Alice chirped. “They’re bringing something up for him right now.”
“Um... I know this is gonna sound kind of weird, but do you...”
“Have a library?” Alice interrupted. “Yes. Two floors up to the left.”
“Can you...”
“Go with you? I’d love to!”
“Well, could you help me...”
“Find a book on Drimalian history? Yes. In fact, I think you’re lucky. A friend just gave a whole series to me and they should still be on the front cart.”
“Okay...”
I said a quick good-bye to Quil and then followed Alice through the hallways and into a humungous library. The thing was three stories tall!
As I stared around, Alice pushed a cart over to me and said, “Here’s everything.” She turned and led me back to Quil’s room.
I sat at Quil’s and shuffled through them while he ate a breakfast of eggs, ham, bacon, sausage and some strawberries on the side. Orange juice was set on the bedside table, half empty.
A book caught my eye, and I pulled it out. It was very old, and the binding was made of leather, so it was holding together well enough. The pages were made from thin strips of hide, and it was all tied together with a leather knot. There was a golden plaque on the front that had streaks of silver because of how old it was. On the plaque, there were symbols I had never seen before.
I showed the book to Quil. “Can you read that?” I asked him.
Quil squinted at the book and through a mouthful of eggs muttered, “Yes.”
“What’s it say?”
Quil swallowed and read, “Mythical, Famous and Infamous Creatures of Drimalia.” Quil took the book from me and flipped through the pages, reading off the names of the creature to me. “Black Lagoon Brownie, Kelpie Pooka, Dregaan, Monotipuni, Light Lion....” Quil paused at that page and looked at it.
As he looked, I noticed he had gotten quite pale, and he was beginning to sweat again. His breathing was cautious, and he had set his breakfast tray to the side, away from him.
He was still in a lot of pain.
“Did the healer say anything about your leg?” I asked him.
“I have to be careful, but I can walk on it.” Quil looked nervous though, and his face had exploded red, and he began frantically reading the book as fast as he possibly could.
“Please, Quil. The truth.” I murmured to him.
Quil gave me a shaky sigh and set the book down. “He.... He thinks I might be crippled for life.”
I stared at him in horror. “No.” I muttered. “No, this isn’t right. This is a dream! I control my dreams! I don’t want you to be hurt!”
“Qiu...” Quil muttered quietly, and I sat down next to him, stroking the hair from his face as he lay back down.
“No.” I said firmly, and I focused.
This is a dream. This is a dream. This is MY dream. I control it. I can do anything I want.
In fact, I could do anything I wanted, but it came at a price.
A sharp stab of pain shot through me, and I cried out. My whole world shook, and for a moment, I was balancing between Drimalia and Realom.
“Qiu?” Quil’s faint voice asked.
“I think she’s waking up!” My mother’s voice.
Another sharp stab of pain went through me, and I was jerked into Realom.
I opened my eyes and moaned. It was more of a whisper, though. My voice had almost completely gone. My eyes were blurred so that I could barely make out anything.
I squinted. Was that Arthur? No, that was a balloon...
“Good morning, Siloqiu.” A doctor’s voice said.
“What do you want from me?” I rasped.
“We only want you well again.”
“I’m not well when I’m here.” I whispered. “Let me sleep.”
“I’m afraid if we do that you will die.”
I fell silent, closed my eyes and waited for sleep to come. Unfortunately, the doctors put more of that medicine in me, and my life was once again a blur.
I simply lay there, not thinking, barely alive, just there as a body. Finally, after five days, they allowed me to sleep for a while, and I gladly closed my tired eyes and reentered Drimalia.
I started in my state of mind, as I always did. I glanced around the curved walls, and then pulled the yellow bubble out and dropped it.
I dropped into the deep blue room, amongst the pillows, collapsed. I lay there for a moment, getting used to the feeling of actually feeling, and then I sat up.
Quil was fast asleep on the bed. He had the Mythical, Famous and Infamous Creatures of Drimalia in his arms.
I stood and walked over to him. Stroking his hair from his face I said quietly, “Quil? You awake?”
Quil opened his eyes slowly and then leapt to his feet when he saw me. His leg wasn’t in a cast anymore, and he obviously wasn’t having any trouble moving around. “You’re all right!” He cried, and then picked me up and spun me around in his arms.
As he set me down, I buried my face in his chest and mumbled, “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Qiu.” He smiled for a moment, and then it dropped. I looked at him wonderingly.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
“That book.” Quil said, motioning to the Creatures of Drimalia. “It tells all about that light lion. Or, at the least the last one. Her name was Glory, and she was defeated by a new Dreamer. Instead of destroying her, they turned her good, but only a Dreamer can do that. Now... Qiu, there’s only one person who can turn the new light lion could?”
“Who?” I asked quietly.
Quil looked at me gravely. “The newest Dreamer.” He said bitterly. “You.”