Once they finished all the countries that needed sweet dreams, Sandy brought her back to the North Pole, and they were met with a curious sight. "Um...Why are the yeti running around frantically?"
"I have no idea..." Sandy floated them into the North Pole where they then saw North, who seemed to be worried about something. Sandy walked up to him and tapped his leg. "North, what's wrong?"
North looked down just in time to see Sandy's question and quickly noticed Mage. "Oh good! You are safe! You were not there when yeti came to bring food."
Sandy's face immediately went from worried to understanding and a mischievous smirk appeared on his lips as he turned to face Mage with crossed arms and mischievous eyes. "You didn't leave the note, did you?"
Mage smiled at him triumphantly and shook her head as she took out a piece of paper from her jacket pocket. "I tore it out last minute."
Sandy looked at the paper and started silently chuckling just before silently being thrown into a fit of silent laughter as he held his stomach from how hard he was laughing. "What is wrong, Sandy?" North asked, not knowing why his friend was suddenly seemingly laughing.
Sandy calmed himself and shook his head as he handed North the note. He waited for North to read it and looked up at him with a patient gaze. Once North looked back at him Sandy held up symbols with a smirk on his lips. "Now you know how I felt when I didn't see Mage in the medical wing. Not a good feeling is it?"
"Ah...I see...I am very sorry, Sandy. I have learned lesson."
"I'm glad. You're never too old to learn a lesson, and you are living proof of that. Oh, and I spoke to Mage about the heart song festival, she said she would go."
"This is good news! I will tell Cupid that we will be adding another person to the festivities and explain situation about you becoming a spirit. You'll like her, she's very nice...a bit much sometimes with new people, but nice!"
"Sounds good to me." Mage told him, but then let out a sigh when she remembered that Sandy was the only one that could hear her.
"Frustrating...I know." Sandy told her as he floated up to pat her shoulder. He then turned to North and said, "She said that sounds good. So...are we in time for breakfast?"
"Yes, but allow yeti to do check up on her. See if anything has changed, and to check stitches."
"North...she arrived two nights ago."
"Yes, and her situation was very severe."
"Alright...but I'm going with."
"Good, let's go." North said with a bellowing laugh as he led them to the medical wing once more. Once they got there, North instructed Mage to get onto the medical bed, and she did. "Now...I'm going to check stitches on neck and stomach okay?" Before he became what people know as Santa Clause, he was a bandit king, and such things didn't bother him as he also had to help heal and mend his wounded men and women that were part of his bandit family. However, he understood that she didn't know that so her flushed cheeks were very understandable at the moment.
Feeling slightly embarrassed she did so hesitantly. Once she took off her jacket she laid back and lifted the shirt up to where he asked. She hadn't realized the stitches were there until she went to change into the clothes she was wearing now. Suddenly, next to her she heard a gasp. "Sandy?" She asked carefully, looking at him, and quickly noticed that his hands were clasped over his mouth as North began to look over the stitches.
"I...I knew the wounds were bad...but I didn't know to the extent of how bad they were." Sandy told her as he felt an ugly and sharp twist in his stomach at seeing Mage stitched up in seven different places on her stomach, and none of the stitches were less than four inches long. The longest one seemed to go from the top of her rib cage to the bottom. He felt a lump in his throat quickly form, and he did everything he could to push it down. "Did...did you know how bad your stitches were?"
"Not until I changed my clothes in the bathroom. I didn't even really notice the stitches across my chest and throat either."
"There's stitches across your chest!?"
"Yes, but they're not as bad as the one's on my stomach. They're smaller and there's only three. I found out about them sometime after lunch."
"That's three too many in my opinion."
"Yeah well...I would rather not have them at all."
"I would have to agree...I've seen the one on your throat and it's not that bad. I can tell that North infused some magic in all of the stitches so it doesn't affect your movement. So, there's that at least."
Mage quickly noticed the worried expression that made it's way onto his face and she let out a sigh. "Sandy...can I play with some of your dream sand? It'll keep my mind off of the stitches..."
Sandy looked at North for a moment, realizing that he left out the small detail, or rather, big detail that she could also manipulate his dream sand, but if it would help her, he wanted to. He felt like he needed to, if only to help himself from drowning in sadness. He nodded his head at her and floated a small dream ball to her. "Sandy what are you doing? She does not need to sleep. She..." Anything else North had planned to say stopped abruptly as he watched Mage lift a hand up and allowed the dream sand to wrap around her hand before turning it into three manta rays. She then waved her hand to Sandy to make them fly around him in a graceful fashion. "She...she can use dream sand?" North whispered out.
Sandy found himself smiling wider as he found out almost immediately that she didn't want the dream sand just for her to keep her mind off the stitches. She wanted him to keep his mind off it as well. He looked at the manta rays and felt his anxiety melt away as they flew. He then grabbed one and turned it into a dragon like the one that had first appeared around her and he sent it to her.
She smiled at him and opened the palm of her right hand, allowing it to rest in her hand before it started to crawl up her body and snuggled down in the crook of her neck. She looked up at North who had finished checking her stitches and pulled her shirt down, and she realized that his eyes were wide and his jaw was dropped. He was also looking back and forth at her and Sandy frantically. "Um...Sandy? Is North alright?"
Sandy jumped slightly as he immediately turned his gaze to North. "Sandy...she can use dream sand!?"
"Ah...yeah...I may have failed to mention that..."
"You think!?" North laughed out, his heart filling to the brim with Wonder. "This is Wonderful!"
"There's uh...there's more." Sandy told him and looked at Mage with a slight smile that did not go unnoticed by North. "Show him what you showed me, using the dragon."
Mage smiled and sat up slowly, feeling the irritation of the balm North used on her stitches, but continued to sit up. Once she was up, she mentally commanded the dragon to climb into her palm. Once it did, she transformed it into the green and red rose she made before for Sandy, and held it in her hand for North to see. "That is...she...she changed the color of the sand..." North stated, baffled at what he just saw.
"I know..." Sandy told North once he looked at him. "...it was a shock to me too, but I can tell that it's not bad. It's still good, and it still holds the properties of a dream. It's just..." Sandy's eyes widened considerably as he realized what the colors in the dream sand may mean. "...no way..."
"What, Sandy?" Mage asked.
"Is something wrong?" North asked.
"No...nothing's wrong...I think I may have figured out exactly what her colored sand is. You see, my sand...it's normal dreams, just things that people experience when asleep and then wake up...but a...a lucid dream is entirely different."
"Oh! I've been able to lucid dream before! Sometimes fun...sometimes not." Mage told Sandy, and noticed his shock grew as his eyes widened.
"...Lucid dreaming...you feel everything. You can use all your senses and in some cases, you can..." Sandy's smile grew but his eyes slowly made their way to Mage's in shock and astonishment. "...Mage! That's how you're able to manipulate the dream sand!"
"What are you talking about?" Mage questioned with a curious expression and a tilt of her head.
"You're a lucid dreamer! It explains so much!" He exclaimed with excited symbols flying overhead. "It explains how you're able to give your imagination life! In a way...you ARE imagination! You can manipulate and create whatever comes to your mind, and you are able to imagine and feel in your dreams! It explains how you were able to change the sand's color. You're...you're the spirit of Imagination just like I'm the spirit of dreams! I know what you are! I know your powers, well...not all of them...but enough to know you're the spirit of imagination! Oh my..." Sandy trailed off as he remembered the dream they shared. "...this explains our dream...and the dream walking...I wasn't dream walking INTO your dream...you WANTED to see me! You PULLED me into your dream!"
"I am very lost...what dream did two of you share? What can someone do in some cases of lucid dreaming?"
"Oh...we um...the dream we shared...I was...well..." Sandy blushed fully, his cheeks tinting a light orange red as he glanced at Mage. "We...when she pulled me into her dream...I hadn't known it at the time...and I've tried to dream walk since I came to Earth...but it never worked...then I dream walked in her dream...well she pulled me but...we um...we danced. Twice."
"Did...did the two of you dance to your song?" North asked cautiously but still in a bit of a shocked daze from all of the information. They finally knew what kind of spirit Mage was, and she's the first of her kind, and she was able to harness and use Sandy's dream sand. Not only that, but even after what Pitch did, he let her. His mind was reeling.
"No! We danced to a different song! It wasn't my song, I swear."
"Perhaps...her heart song?"
"No...I don't think so." Sandy told him honestly. "It didn't hold anything unique to her. It felt like listening to a normal song."
"Wait..." Mage started quickly. "...the heart songs hold something unique, and everyone can sense it?"
"Yes...it's the only real difference between listening to music...and listening to someone's heart song. I can't really explain it...but yeah...there's always something like a unique air about the heart song that's song, but unless it resonates with someone beyond that...no one matches."
"He is right...now...what were you saying about lucid dreaming?"
"Oh right! Well...sometimes if a person can lucid dream, they can take control of their own dream and make it their own. They can change the scenery, the people, they can even give themselves wings and fly...there truly is no limit to what a lucid dreamer can do. They can even wake themselves up if they wished. She's a lucid dreamer. She can take control of dreams and change them! I should've realized this sooner. Oh this is remarkable! She's the spirit of Imagination! The first spirit of Imagination!" Then his mouth dropped open in an ecstatic shocked expression. "That explains why she can hear and communicate with me! I'm the spirit of DREAMS! She is a LUCID DREAMER...AND The spirit of Imagination...WOW! This is amazing!" He then turned to face Mage and noticed the wide smile that appeared on her face. "You're the spirit of imagination, Mage!"
"Glad to know what I am." She told him honestly.
"I have never seen you this excited or happy about anything, Sandy. I take it this is all good." North pondered as he remembered Sandy's words just hours ago about him not holding any romantic feelings for her. 'One would not blush like that about a dream of dancing if there were absolutely no romantic feelings...' He thought to himself quickly. '...they wouldn't be this excited about this sort of thing either...Maybe...could it be he is just oblivious to himself? I have seen the look of even the tiniest bits of love...a crush is what Jack called it...and that is what it seems is happening...but Sandy is also right...it's not there yet...No...it's building into a crush...he is DEVELOPING feelings...he hasn't realized it! This may make festival next month difficult...but Sandy already gave his answer...and I have already told Cupid...and the guest list is irreversible. This will be interesting...'
"Oh, this is all fantastic!" Sandy shouted, interrupting North's thoughts. "I can help her even more now! I think I know how to unlock the rest of her powers and...magic! You have magic, Mage!"
"What do you mean?"
"You hold the power of imagination...the ability to create and bring your creations to life...your magic...is dream magic!"
"Is that like your magic?"
"YES! You are able to dream walk or even pull others into your dreams as you did to me! You are also able to change the dream sand and turn it into other things and creatures as well as colors! This is incredible!"
"This IS all incredible...and I hate to ruin the mood, but I do need to continue checking stitches. I need to check the stitches on your chest now. Do you...do you want Sandy to stay or go?" North asked Mage cautiously, still feeling off about the whole situation, and if he were to be honest, a bit dumbfounded.
Mage turned to Sandy with a slight blush. "Um...Sandy...the stitches...I have to take my bra off for it...but um...if you want...you can stay and make sure North doesn't agitate the stitches...he did it once when he gave me a check up after lunch..."
"I-If...you're alright with that..." Sandy told only her suddenly feeling a bit nervous, and for the life of him, he didn't know why.
"I am. I'll be able to cover up most of it, but it's close to...well...yeah...I'll be able to cover it up. I know how worried you've been...if you don't want to stay...you don't have to..."
"N-No...I'll stay." He told her and then realized he was blushing again. 'What is wrong with me!? I'm getting all flustered!' He thought to himself and only himself.
"Mage? Do you want him to stay?" North asked once more, and received a nod as an answer, only further dumbfounding him about the whole situation. "Alright, we will turn around to allow you to undress to where you need to." North stated as he gave a side glare to Sandy, who immediately spun around to face the wall. "Good..." North muttered under his breath as he turned around.
Mage took off her bra and stuffed it next to her thigh under the blankets, and then took her sweater off, leaving only her arms in the sleeves and pulled the rest of it down her front just enough to where it was able to show the bottom of the lowest stitch was close to her nipple, but not close enough to where it would reveal anything. "Sandy, you can turn around now. You can tell North to do the same."
Sandy did turn around and forced his blush away at the sight he saw, not knowing why he kept blushing around her, and focused on the concern he held for the amount of stitches she had. She said there were three on her chest and that they weren't that big, and she was right, but she also had seven on her stomach and one on her throat. That gave her a grand total of eleven stitches, and that did not sit well with him. Shaking his head with a silent sigh, he tapped on North's shoulder telling him she was ready to be examined.
North turned around and nodded his head as he made his way to observe the stitches. They are looking good. I just have to put some of the magic salve on it like I did last time, okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine." Mage told him, not minding him taking care of her. He was like a caring father in a way. It was nice, and she could tell that he was trying to be as cautious and tactful about this as possible.
"She said that's fine..." Sandy said for her, realizing she was still having trouble remembering that she had been constantly communicating with her mind, and that it only works on him.
"Oh, okay. That's good." North said as he put the magic salve on the stitches. Once he was done he took a rag and wiped off his hands. "We will turn around so you can get dressed again." Both Sandy and North turned around, and she did as she was asked.
"I'm dressed now." She told Sandy after she readjusted her bra under her sweater.
Sandy nodded his head and tapped North on the shoulder again. "Okay...now for worse stitches." North said as he carefully leaned the bed completely flat and asked her to tilt her head back as far as she could stand it.
The problem in doing that, was that Sandy was actually able to fully see the damage done to her throat, and it was far worse than the other places that needed stitches. It was much more worse than he thought. The sight he was met with was one long scar from the bottom left of her throat creeping up in a curve going up behind her jaw bone. He found tears instantly spilling from his eyes as he felt his heart ache from the sight. 'She is a good person...she believed in us at such a late age...she was kind and just wanted to be herself...why would anyone do this!? Even for such a selfish reason that woman gave...how could someone hurt someone who is so kind, imaginative, creative, fun loving, patient, mischievous, and joyful!?' He choke out a short sob that only Mage could here, and instantly regretted letting it slip.
"Sandy?" Mage questioned, unable to see him.
"You..." He started without using any dream sand for symbols. "You did not deserve this. This should not have happened to you."
"I'm glad it did though." She told him with a smile.
"How!?" Sandy asked as he wiped away his tears.
She gave him a fond smile, remembering the dream rose that still laid on the bed. She mentally commanded for it to turn back into gold and to transform into a manta ray. Once it did she told it to fly over to Sandy and circle him. Once it finished circling him twice, her smile got bigger and she looked at him from the corner of her eye, which was the best she could do considering she had to tilt her head up. "If this hadn't happened...I would've never met you."
At her words, Sandy actually felt his heart skip a beat and his jaw drop just slightly. He was completely speechless. Well, as speechless as he could be anyway. Her words touched him all the way to his heart, and he was confused more than ever on his reactions when it came to her. For a brief moment he wondered if maybe Jack and North were right, and he was just being oblivious to himself, but he quickly threw that thought away for now, deeming it impossible to develop feelings for someone after just two nights. However, no matter how much he tried to throw that pesky thought away, it kept coming back.
While North continued to carefully and cautiously look over the stitches, he took the time to reflect on his actions and feelings towards her. He remembered that at first, she was just a spirit that Manny entrusted him with and told him to look after and train, and thinking on it now, Manny knew what her powers would be. 'Cryptic Ass!' He thought as he continued to survey his actions. He then remembered the heart wrenching panic that filled his heart, and now that he looks back, he probably did overreact a bit, but she was hurt, murdered! No one deserved to have to wake up confused after experiencing something like that. Then, he looked back at when she was using the dream sand. He could feel it in his entire body. Not that he would tell her that right now, but he did. Through her using his dream sand he got to know her soul somehow. He couldn't explain it even if he wanted to, but it was like it connected them through the sand somehow. He felt her kindness, compassion, warmth, heartache, pain, curiosity, fascination, and all in all her whole personality. However, he was also able to feel things he, the Guardian of Dreams, shouldn't have been able to feel like he did when she took hold of his dream sand. He felt her Hope, Wonder, Joy, and for a brief moment, it was as if she was recalling fond Memories.
All of that, he found quite strange, and fascinating at the same time, and it certainly made him want to spend more time with her, but then he remembered when they danced. He had never felt like that when dancing with anyone. It may have been millions of years ago, but he would've definitely remembered having fun while dancing a waltz and feeling free, joyous, relaxed, and content.
Brought back to the present, he regarded how he reacted to her stitches and when he realized her powers. If there was absolutely nothing there, then there would be no reason for him to blush, there would be no reason for him to feel so heartbroken over her injuries. Pity at best is what he should've felt. A teacher feeling pity for his student wouldn't be uncommon, and he was her teacher. Manny charged him with that task. However, he felt overwhelmed when he saw the extent of her wounds, and then she said she was glad it happened because she got to meet him.
After looking back on everything and feeling everything in his heart as clearly as if it was still happening, his eyes widened and his breathing slowed as he looked at Mage on the bed, who just got finished being examined and realized that perhaps North and Jack were really and truly right. He remembers a long time ago when he first arrived at the gate for the heart song festival, Cupid examined his heart like she did to every new participant, and she still does. Although, the examination was to give them hints at who their romantic heart song would be, in case they met them outside of the festival. She would tell someone that their heart song would either be love at first sight, true love, slow building love, or oblivious love. She had told him it would be true love.
Even with that, and his heart now skipping several frantic beats, he wasn't about to dare to hope or even dream that it could be that easy for him after six hundred years, so he calmed himself and tried to breathe normally, willing away the thoughts that would be grand and amazing if the feelings were real, but he could not force him to believe they were. Not true love, but he has heard of other spirits developing small romantic feelings for other spirits that were not their love song. He came to the conclusion that there was a possibility he was developing what Jack called a crush outside his heart song. This revelation brought forth a whole new set of problems for him, because if he was to act on it, and then someday found his heart song, he would risk hurting Mage, and that was the last thing he wanted. So, once Mage got up from the bed and faced him with a reassuring smile, he became determined to not let her know his feelings if only to protect her heart at least, if he should some day find his heart song.
"Sandy, are you alright? You look like you're deep in thought." Mage questioned as she got off the medical bed.
"That's because I was."
"Oh? What were you thinking about?"
"About you." He said honestly once again. "The stitches...they worry me. I didn't know that your wounds were that bad..."
"I know, but it's fine. Please don't worry about it." She assured him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Come on, North says breakfast is still warm!"
