Hikari ran as fast as she could towards her destination. It was the only place that she could think of that she'd be safe from the crazy witch behind her. She ran past her farm and prayed that Finn had made it before her to warn her dearest friend of the trouble that she was about to bestow upon him. Hikari didn't want to do it, but she feared it was her only choice. She quickly jumped forward as a fireball was thrown at her. She barely missed the flame and managed to stay on her feet as she picked up her pace. She was out of breath and losing consciousness from running so far, so quickly. But she had to reach her friend before the witch incinerated her.
Meanwhile…
The Wizard sat on his bed, engrossed in a book about ancient histories that had long since past, when he heard a light tapping on his door. He knew better though, it wasn't a light tapping; it was a very small sprite banging on his door as hard as the little sprite's arms could. Which meant only one thing… the farm girl had exhausted herself in the mines again and he was the only one who could see the sprite and rush to the farm girl's aid.
The wizard opened the door and said,"Where… is she… this time?" Finn rushed in the door, lightly pushing the Wizard back into his home and began shouting, "It isn't like that Wizard! Hikari's in serious trouble this time! The witch is chasing her all over the island!" Wizard's eyes widened as his first thought was, 'what has Vivi so angry that she'd leave the forest?'
Suddenly he looked up as Hikari rushed into the door and into the Wizard's open arms. He held her close and said, "Hikari… what… happened?" She clung to him as she attempted to catch her breath, trying desperately to explain her dire situation. She didn't even get a word out as the witch rushed in the door on her broom. Her eyes were burning with anger and fury. The Wizard couldn't think of a time where he'd seen her more furious.
He looked at the angry witch for a moment before turning his attention back to the farmer in his grasp and said, "What… happened?" The girl looked up and opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the Witch, "I'll tell you what happened?! That little bitch stole my mushroom!" The Wizard blinked in confusion. He highly doubted that Hikari could steal anything, and knew for certain that she would never be stupid enough to steal from the irrational, teenage-like witch that lived in the forest. He looked at Hikari and waited for her response.
She sheepishly looked away from the Wizard's gaze and said quietly, "I… I was… looking for mushrooms and collecting lumber in the forest when I found a purple mushroom with pink polka-dots. I picked it up and thought I should ask you what it was… when the Witch Princess appeared out of nowhere and began shouting at me that I stole her mushroom and chased me out of the forest." Hikari had rushed through the explanation for fear of the witch's power. Wizard was now extremely irritated that the witch had overreacted and gone this far in her anger.
He looked down at Hikari and noticed a burn scrape on her arm. He knew exactly how that happened and could feel fury boiling in his stomach as he realized what the witch had done. Wizard pushed Hikari behind him and said, "You've gone… too far Witch!" If it was possible, the fire in her eyes burned brighter at the Wizard's statement. The witch screamed in anger and cast a spell that acted as a beam of light that headed straight for the Wizard. He put up a barrier to protect the one behind him, but the beam split into two streams and went around him, hitting the farm girl on both sides. Her eyes widened in fear, and the Wizard immediately turned around; catching the girl as she collapsed to the ground, falling unconscious.
The witch laughed hysterically as her plan had succeeded. The Wizard immediately checked for Hikari's vital signs and identified the spell that was cast. Once he was satisfied that Hikari wasn't going to die and was able to recognize the spell, he laid her down gently on the ground and commanded Finn in a whisper, "Stay near her." Then he stood and turned around, fury in his own eyes. He used his magic to seal the door and put a sound barrier around the house so that no one could hear anything going on inside. He was angry but he still wanted to use precaution in what he was about to do.
The witch hadn't taken notice of his magic use until she heard the Wizard command, "Vivi… you will land on the ground, keep your mouth sealed shut and remain completely still." She gasped as her body moved for her, obeying the Wizard's command. Witches and Wizards were never to reveal their true names to anyone, especially others with magic. If their real names were used by a human, it could cause the human to have power over the magical being. And if their real names were used by a being with magic, they could be commanded to do almost anything.
The Wizard had even made sure to command that the witch's mouth be sealed so she couldn't retaliate using his name. It had been a childhood mistake that the two had revealed their names to one another when they thought they could be friends, but when they had turned to enemies; they had come to an impasse and had agreed to never use their given names on each other again. However, this was a special case where the Wizard had to control the witch's anger, lest she destroy the whole town.
Vivi eyed the small, orange harvest sprite as if to indicate that the Wizard just revealed her name to another magical being. Wizard closed his eyes to control his temper. He did not enjoy how much he had to speak today, but apparently the witch didn't allow him another option. He took a deep breath and said, "The sprite cannot hear us… I've put a sound barrier… around us both so only you and I… can talk." She stewed angrily at the Wizard, knowing that he had just crossed a serious line with her.
The Wizard looked her dead in the eyes and said, "You've gone… too far this time Vivi… I won't allow you… to hurt anyone else…" She just stared at him with fury in her eyes. He put his hands up and prepared to enact a spell. He looked at her and said, "Don't… worry… nothing will happen… to physically harm you… I am going to… erase your memory of the last… two hours… and send you home…" He did as he said he was going to and erased her memory. Then immediately he transported her back to her house.
Once that was finished he took down all defenses on his home and rushed to his crystal ball to see if his plan had worked. The witch was standing at her brew pot singing a childish spell that would make a potion to turn people into frogs. Seemingly having no idea what just happened moments ago. The Wizard rolled his eyes at her adolescent behavior and turned his full attention to the unconscious farm girl who had a disturbed look on her face.
Finn looked to the Wizard with tears in his eyes and said, "What's going on Wizard? Hikari won't wake up and she keeps crying in pain!" The Wizard knelt down and brushed the farm girl's bangs out of her eyes. He said to the sprite without looking away from the girl, "The witch… cast a nightmare spell on her… she'll have nightmares… for the next… six hours…" Finn gasped and exclaimed, "WHAT DO WE DO?!" The Wizard scooped the girl up into his arms and replied as he walked to his bed, "The magic… is too powerful… to break the spell… but I can help… weaken the spell… so it will only last three hours…"
He laid her on his bed and pulled up a chair next to the bed. He put his hands on her head and mustered up his voice to speak clearly, "I can enter her dreams and protect her subconscious from being hurt by her nightmares. She will still see the nightmares, but I will protect her from harm… after three hours, I can counteract the spell so her nightmares… turn to harmless dreams for the last three hours." Finn nodded and said, "Do what you need to do Wizard! Hikari will trust you!" The Wizard nodded and focused his energy on entering Hikari's dreams.
At first when the Wizard entered the farm girl's dreams, everything was hazy and he could hardly see anything. Then after a few moments the scene in front of him cleared and he saw Hikari kneeling on the ground crying as various humans from her life yelled lies at her and hit her repeatedly. The Wizard carefully yet quickly rushed to her aid. He had to make it clear to her that he was not part of her nightmares.
When she saw him approaching her, Hikari immediately cowered and sobbed harder than she had with any of the others in her nightmares. The Wizard knelt down in front of her and said, "Do not be frightened Hikari. I am not part of the nightmares. I am here to protect you." She looked up through her fingers that covered her face and whispered, "You're… the real Wizard?" He nodded and said, "I'll protect you from the nightmares." Understanding flooded her eyes and she flung her arms around his neck.
The Wizard sat down with his legs crossed and Hikari sitting sideways in his lap. She watched in horror as nightmare after nightmare swept across her eyes. The Wizard just whispered clearly in her ear, "Shhh they're just illusions. They can't harm you now." The Wizard held her close and watched the nightmares with her as her head rested on his shoulder. The nightmares were anywhere from people picking on her, to watching as she failed her mission and the Goddess tree died along with the rest of the island, and eventually the world. The Wizard thought as he held her to him about how much this mere farmer had riding on her shoulders, but he wasn't surprised that the Goddess picked Hikari for the task. Despite her meek stature, she was quite strong and friendly to all those around her. That's why he trusted her more than anyone he'd ever met… she was his strong farmer girl… and he had dared to hope in his heart that she could possibly be more than a friend.
The Wizard knew when the worst of her nightmares began because Hikari immediately clung tighter to him and attempted to shelter her eyes from the sight, but it was no use… the dream would not allow her to look away. The Wizard watched as the town perished and her dream self rushed through the town in search of something. Finally she came to the Wizard's house and ran inside. The dream faded to reveal the inside of his own home and Hikari's dream self sat in front of her dream Wizard. Her dream self cried and said, "Wizard no! Please don't die!" The dream Wizard looked up at her weakly and replied, "You… failed… Hikari… everyone depended… on you… and you… failed." The dream Hikari cried out, "I'm sorry Wizard! I'm so sorry! I love you!" The dream Wizard looked at her and replied quietly, "I… hate… you…" and then he died in her arms. The dream Hikari bawled and cried at the rejection and loss, and then the dream ended.
The real soul of the Wizard that held Hikari's soul pulled her closer to him… he himself was horrified at the sight. He would never say such things to her. He believed that she wouldn't fail to revive the Goddess tree, but even if she did, he could never hate her. Then he realized what the dream Hikari said… she loved him… was it true? Or part of the dream?
The dreams faded into darkness… the only light being a lighted circle around the Wizard and Hikari. She was shaking from fear but wasn't whimpering or crying at all. The Wizard looked down at her and said, "It is over. The spell is weak enough now that I can reverse it." She only nodded and stood, pulling herself out of the Wizard's arms. The Wizard used his magic before standing up, to reverse the spell. Once that was finished, he stood and looked at Hikari. She was facing away from him with her arms hugging her body. He said to her, "You will still be asleep for another three hours, but your dreams will be peaceful and calming." She asked without turning around, "How are you speaking so fluently with no pauses?" He blinked at her question in confusion but replied, "What you see behind you is my soul. I am not weakened by the physical act of not speaking for long periods of time." She only nodded and said (again still facing away.) "Well then… thank you for your help Wizard… you can leave now and rest."
The Wizard walked forward and gently put a hand on her shoulder and said, "How about you tell me why you won't look at me first?" She gave a fake laugh first and replied, "You're a bit nosier in spirit as well…" Then she turned and he saw tears streaming down her face. The Wizard's expression remained unchanged as he waited for her explanation. She looked down but not away as she replied, "I… didn't want you to see that last nightmare… I've had that one a lot… and it was a very private… I wish you wouldn't have seen that…" The Wizard recalled what she had admitted through the dream and understood her apprehension to look at him. He stepped forward and gently forced her to look him in the eyes as he said, "Hikari… I love you too." Her eyes widened, her expression completely disbelieving what she had just heard. After a moment she whispered, "You… mean it?" He nodded and said, "Rest well Hikari… we'll talk when you awaken." Then the dream world disappeared from the Wizard's view and he came back to reality.
Finn was sitting on the window sill next to the bed waiting for something to happen, when suddenly the Wizard opened his eyes and sat back. Finn immediately perked up and said, "Is she ok Wizard?" The Wizard replied weakly as he rested his head on the back of the chair, "Yes… she'll be… fine… I however… will need rest… to… replenish… my strength." Finn flew quickly to the other side of the room where a blanket sat on the other chair in the house. Despite his tiny body, he was able to drag the blanket to the Wizard's grasp. The Wizard managed to grab the blanket from the sprite and pull it over himself. He closed his eyes and said, "Thank… you…" quickly falling into a deep sleep. Finn smiled, knowing how important he was to Hikari. Then he flew back to the window sill and curled up into a little ball on an empty pin cushion where he too fell fast asleep.
Three hours later, Hikari opened her eyes slowly and took in her surroundings. She noticed immediately that it was dark outside, and that she could see the stars outside the window next to where she was laying. She smiled as she saw that Finn was fast asleep on the window sill. Then she slowly turned her head the other way and recognized the Wizard's home. Hikari then recognized the Wizard… fast asleep in a chair next to her. Hikari smiled; happy that he was resting peacefully. Then she remembered what happened before he left her dreams. She blushed as a million thoughts began running through her head. 'Was he telling the truth when he told me he loved me?!' 'Was it really him… or an illusion?' 'Oh my goodness! He loves me!' 'But is it really love?'
She was so flustered that she didn't notice when the Wizard stirred. He opened his mismatched eyes and looked down at her. She was bright red and her eyes were wide with surprise as she noticed the Wizard's consciousness, but when she tried to move; her body wouldn't obey her. The Wizard smiled at her sudden sheepishness and said, "I trust… you slept better… the last few hours?" Hikari only nodded and looked away. Then she said quietly, "Why can't I move?" the Wizard sat up and replied, "An after effect… of the spell… it'll wear off… soon… do you want me to take… you home?" She looked over to Finn and replied, "If I can't move, and Finn is already asleep then maybe… it's best if I stay…" Wizard could hear the reluctance in her voice.
He looked down at Hikari and said, "We don't… have to talk about… what happened…" She looked at him wide eyed, and then blushed as she looked away. She whispered, "I just want to know one thing… is what you said in my dream true?" A ghost of a smile spread across the Wizard's face as he replied, "Yes…" Hikari looked up at the Wizard and smiled wide as she said, "Then… there's nothing to talk about… I love you Wizard." The Wizard replied quiet enough so that only Hikari could hear, "I love… you too… Hikari…" She smiled brighter and moved her hand slightly to reach out to him; the paralysis leaving her arms. He took her hand and kissed it lightly.
They stared into each other's loving eyes for several minutes before Hikari realized that if she was going to sleep in the Wizard's bed all night… where was the Wizard going to sleep? She decided to ask him and he looked at her lovingly and replied, "You needn't… worry about me…" She looked up at him and said, "If you move me over a bit, you can lay with me if you like?" The Wizard looked deep into her brown eyes to make sure she was serious. When satisfied he stood carefully, still weak from his sudden use of magic and energy, and gently moved Hikari's weak body closer to the window. Then he lay beside her and pulled her into his embrace. She looked at him and said, "Goodnight Wizard… I love you." The Wizard smiled and kissed her forehead, too tired to reply. The last thought that crossed the Wizard's mind before drifting off was, 'I'll never let anyone harm her again… Hikari… I love you.'