The Trials of Morpheus: Written for The Hunger Games Fanfic Style III, Training Round
Morpheus's black suit and blue cloak was always a stark contrast against the worlds she created. This one was bright and rich with green grass and flowering trees. A beautiful clear lake stretched out in front of him. He could see pebbles glittering at the bottom and koi fish swirling around them. With each dreamscape she created he could see her talent flourishing right before his eyes. He couldn't be more proud.
Freya was the dream God's daughter, and she took after him in many ways. While anyone else might have been satisfied with the power to create whatever landscape their heart desired, Freya was not. Like Morpheus, her ambitions stretched beyond the limitations of her own abilities, and right now she could feel those limitations as clearly as she would have any physical restraints holding her back. She was sitting at the edge of the lake with her knees pulled up to her chest and her chin resting on top of them. She radiated discontent. He could feel it, even from a distance. Freya had gotten that 'gift' from her mother, as well as her violet hair and blue eyes.
Morpheus stood over her and looked down at what she was staring at. Freya's hand reached out and lightly touched the water, sending small ripples out from the point of contact. As the ripples slowed, a picture began to form on the surface of the water. No, not a picture, Morpheus realized in surprise. Freya had created a window to reality, so that she could watch what was happening on the other side.
"Haven't I given you everything you asked for?" Morpheus pointed out, "Why are you so sad, Freya? What is reality worth when you have the ability to live forever in your favorite dream?"
"I want to be able to see it for myself, like you can." Freya looked up at him and smiled, but Morpheus could see through it.
He was her father after all. He had mastered the illusion of charm before she had ever been imagined.
Morpheus sat down next to her, shoulder to shoulder. "Reality is a dark place, Freya, where some dreams are born, but most die. I don't want that for you."
"It's not all dark," Freya objected, reaching out to ripple the water again. The window shifted, soaring through a stormy sky until it reached a little shack outside of a looming, majestic castle. The owner of the shack, a large, bulky man with long hair and a thick messy beard peered down at something small trembling in his massive hands.
"A hedgehog?" Morpheus frowned.
"The man's name is Hagrid, and he loves animals. I've been watching him on and off for a while." Freya explained, "You said mortals destroy things they don't understand, but his favorite creatures are those most other witches and wizards are afraid of. He believes they're misunderstood and wants to take care of them. Look at him. From the tiniest creature to the largest, Hagrid protects them. That's not darkness, Dad. That's one of the brightest lights I've ever seen. It cuts through the darkness of reality like a knife." Morpheus watched as the man chuckled and stroked the hedgehog's spiny back, slowly calming the creature and winning its trust.
Freya reached out and moved the window again. This time it landed on a large family. Oversized, in Morpheus's opinion. Every single one of them had the most obnoxiously bright red hair he had ever seen. "You're not about to tell me the brightness of their hair also chases away the shadows are you?"
Freya laughed, "No, but look at them. Even when things get bad, they're always there for each other. It must be incredible to meet so many new people."
"To have so many people to lose," Morpheus countered.
"To have friends who are there for you no matter what." Freya said.
"Until they die." Morpheus pointed out, "That is the biggest fault with reality. No matter what good you find there, it all ends, Freya. Here you could live forever in whatever dream world your brilliant mind imagines. Nothing here could ever hurt you. You control it all. There, in reality, you will control almost nothing, and it will all end, most things even before you are ready to let them go."
"Is that what happened with Mom?" Freya asked, "She was mortal, wasn't she? Did you lose her before you were ready to?"
"Your mother stopped dreaming. The shadows of reality ate her alive until there was nothing left of her, and they will do the same to you if you go there." Morpheus warned.
Freya's eyes lit up. "So there is a way for me to go?"
"Of course, that would be all you got out of what I just said." Morpheus muttered.
"Dad, I want a real life. I want to meet new people and live in a place where I don't have control over everything. I want experiences. I want to laugh and hurt and wish." Freya insisted, "Besides, I'm not just mom's dream, I'm the daughter of Morpheus. No matter how dark it gets, I know there will always be a light just around the corner. The dark will only make our light shine brighter."
"You are ridiculously optimistic." Morpheus said in annoyance, "You did not get that from me."
"Clearly," Freya threw back with a smirk.
Morpheus laughed, "Yes. There is one impossible way you can go to reality, but once you do, Freya, I don't know for certain whether I will be able to help you return to the dreamscape."
"I won't want to," Freya replied confidently, "but if I ever need to, you will find a way to bring me back."
"I can't guarantee that," Morpheus insisted.
"Sure, you can." Freya said.
"And how do you propose I do that?" Morpheus demanded.
"You are a God and gods know everything." Freya points out, " How many times did you say that while I was growing up?".
"How many times did you incite me to say it?" Morpheus countered, "With all of that blasted curiosity and ambition stirring up your head, its no wonder you've grown bored with the dreamscape."
"Now that we're in agreement, how do I get there?" Freya presses excitedly.
"You're dreamborn, Freya." Morpheus sighed, finally giving in, "In order for a dream to become a reality, someone real must love it into existence. You must choose someone from their world, and somehow win their heart. They must love you unconditionally and want you more than anything. I am sorry, but you must literally be their dream come true."
"That's perfect!" Freya said, her eyes lighting up. I already know who can help me. Morpheus ran the palm of his hand over his face. That was not the reaction he was expecting. Disappointment seemed much more probable. He had been fully prepared to comfort her as she realized how impossible her ambition was. He had not, in the slightest, been prepared for excitement and an instant solution to the barrier. Freya ignored his reaction and made the window move again.
Morpheus's eyes widened when it landed. He recognized the castle dungeon the moment he saw it. "Absolutely not." He refused before the window even revealed the wizard. "He could never be who you need him to be."
"He loves unconditionally and his loyalty is incredible. Even foolish at times. He's already proven he's capable of it. Isn't that what I need to get me to his realm?" Freya pointed out.
"He is still hung up on a woman he met as a child. I know his story. She wasn't even his to love." Morpheus objected, "You need someone reasonable who will desire you, Freya. That man desires nothing but the past. Why not the zookeeper or one of the redheads. You seemed fond of them."
"I don't want reasonable," Freya insisted. "Severus is sacrificing his life to make up for a mistake he made years ago. That shows dedication and loyalty. That's what I want."
"That man will die for that mission, Freya. He is recklessly loyal, following a senile old man blindly and hoping it leads him where he needs to go to atone for his past, which is quite dark itself."
"What's the difference between what he's doing now and what we want him to do for us? To bring me out of the dreamscape, I need someone recklessly loyal who will follow the directions of my senile old father." Freya pointed out, trying to lighten Morpheus's mood.
"He will never love you, Freya. I forbid you from seeing him. Choose someone else." Morpheus refused, "Someone more realistic."
Freya hesitated before admitting, "I've already seen him. He's the reason I want to go."
"You what?" Morpheus demanded, his eyes narrowing.
Morpheus's anger only made Freya feel more defiant. She'd gotten that from her mother as well. "I've been visiting him in his dreams for weeks."
"He doesn't want you there, I assure you. It is an inconvenience. Nothing more." Morpheus objected.
"Sometimes he sleeps in a place called the Room of Requirement. It helps him remember his dreams. He doesn't want to forget me." Freya countered.
"He won't work," Morpheus refused again, but Freya only raised her voice to speak over him.
"At first he refused to acknowledge me, but then I saved his life and-"
Morpheus cut her off, "How did you save his life? You couldn't have. You're not real, and you're not supposed to interfere!"
"He was in danger and unconscious, so I went into his dream and I screamed at him to wake up." Freya explained.
Morpheus stood up to loom over her. He was furious that she had exposed herself to a mortal. He had told her not to interfere with the outside world. Freya jumped to her feet, refusing to let him use his size to intimidate her. Morpheus suddenly realized she wasn't going to back down from this one. "He's a master of the dark arts, Freya. He revels in it. He lives in a dungeon! You've only made him curious as to what you are, not who you are."
"He talks to me. He wants to see me when he falls asleep. I know he does." Freya replied.
"Its an escape from reality for him. He doesn't want you to be his reality." Morpheus snapped, "He is incapable of loving you, and you are incapable of going there without it."
"Test him, then. We'll see who is right about him." Freya challenged. It was her father's one great weakness. He couldn't resist putting the mortals through his gauntlet to see what their characters were made of. Some of them never completely recovered from it. This wizard would. She was sure of it.
"Test him?" Morpheus repeated, "You hate watching mortals struggle through my trials."
"He can make it. He's strong minded enough." Freya insisted, "Test his character like you tested mother's."
Morpheus is quiet for a long moment, and Freya braced herself for his refusal. Her hands clenched defiantly into fists and her heart raced.
"I choose the time and place and the trials he must endure." Morpheus agreed finally, "He will run my gauntlet, and you will not interfere, except in ways I instruct you to do so."
"He has to know his intended motivation." Freya said, "You can't make him run the gauntlet simply for the sake of watching him do it. He has to know why."
Morpheus laughed, "Yes, Freya, we will see if you are motivation enough for him to endure the gauntlet, but I choose how and when."
"Agreed," Freya smiled, "but I will continue visiting him until you're ready."
Morpheus stepped closer to her, trying to appear more intimidating that he felt at the moment. "Mortals are not like us, Freya. You will be nothing but a dream to him, and dreams mean nothing to mortals like him. Don't say I didn't warn you, love."