Author's Note:
This is it... the last chapter! But don't worry, there will be an epilogue after this. Somehow this ended up being super long, but I think you all will like it. As always, thank you so much for the reviews, and let me know what you think of this chapter!
Chapter 10
It was a clear, breezy, perfect Saturday morning, but Cass stayed in bed forty minutes later than she usually did, which was as late as her mother would let her. She had been dreading this day all week long, the day of Ryker's engagement party. The very day before the Queen had announced the date of the party, Cass had clarified and accepted her feelings for him, but now she rebelled against them with all her strength and pushed them as deep inside herself as she could.
Cass had seriously considered not going to the party at all, but her mother insisted. Despite knowing her true feelings about Ryker, Cass's mother seemed determined to save their friendship at the very least. In the end, she knew she would've found herself at the party anyway. Ryker was her best friend, and she could never betray him like that, not for something this big.
She got dressed slowly, sinking into a depressing, gloomy mood. I'm going, but I don't have to be happy about it, she thought, feeling like a child who pouts when they don't get what they want. But I'll look happy for Ryker, even if I have to lie to his face. He's still my best friend.
For the first time ever, Cass began to doubt her last thought. Were they still friends? Of course they were, and, in fact, they hadn't fought recently. But then again, Ryker had been avoiding her all week. She hadn't seen him once, but she hadn't analyzed it until now, thinking he was only busy with the Selected girls. Cass exhaled a large sigh, her mind returning to the day ahead.
Cass imagined the lucky girl's face when Ryker proposed, and the scene made her stomach lurch, and she cringed. She collapsed back onto to her bed and hid under the thick covers. She didn't come out until her mother came in and chided her for almost being late.
"Come on. Get up," her mother said, no pity or consolation in her voice. "You know it will kill him if you are not there."
Cass replied with a groan and then pulled the blankets closer to her, trying to cover her ears.
"Cassandra America Leger," she yelled as she ripped the cover off the bed, revealing Cass's hiding place. "I did not raise you to act like this."
Cass just stared straight up at her mother, her blue-green eyes filled with sorrow.
Her mother could not resist consoling her daughter with a hug. "My poor baby. It will be okay, I promise. I've had my heart broken twice, but I still moved on. And that is why you must go to the engagement party."
Cass chose to remain silent, but she rolled her eyes.
"Tell you what," her mother said in a lighter tone. "If you absolutely hate the girl he picks, we can move."
They both laughed. The prospect of moving was ridiculous. Cass had lived her whole life in the palace. In fact, she had barely even been outside the palace walls. She was born here, she grew up here, her father died here, and all her family was here- not just her mother but Ryker, Elliott, and Melody.
"Okay."
Her mother smiled and walked towards the door. "I'll see you down there."
When Cass's mom had left, she sat on her bed for a few moments to pull herself together, preparing for whatever was about to happen.
The walk down the stairs and to the Great Room felt like hours, though Cass knew it was only minutes. As she approached the large double doors, it was strangely quiet. Her heart sank in her chest. He must be about to make the announcement. Cass took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It's now or never. She put her hand on the elegantly curved, brass door knob and turned it slowly. She took one last deep breath and pushed her way into the room, dreading with every ounce of her body what was about to occur.
Cass walked into the room and found... nothing. Nothing. The lights were off and the only light came from the windows, whose lush drapes had been drawn back. There weren't any people in the room, and there was nothing to accomodate them- no tables, no chairs, and no platform on which the girls were supposed to sit.
At first she thought she had the wrong time, but surely the room would already be decorated if she was early. Is this the wrong room, perhaps? she thought. All her questions were answered when a very familiar voice suddenly spoke from across the room.
"Late, as usual I see," it said.
Cass turned and saw Ryker standing on the other side of the room in a fancy new suit with a blue shirt underneath. It brought out his eyes, she noticed. He was also holding a very perfect daisy. She was too stunned to speak.
"I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up," he continued.
"Ryker," she said, her mouth still gaping. "Where are all the people, all the girls?"
"I sent them home. The girls, the families, everyone." The prince said this simply and shrugged.
"But why? I thought..." Cass began, though she didn't know what to say.
"I don't want to marry any of them. I want you, Cass. I've wanted to be with you all along," Ryker said passionately.
Cass thought this must be a dream. Could it really be this perfect, this simple? All the strength in the world couldn't hold back her feelings now. None of it mattered. She knew now that if he had been saying this to some other girl, and she was standing in the back of the room watching, she wouldn't have been able to lie to him about her true feelings. And now he was standing in front of her, telling her how he felt, and Cass couldn't formulate a response. Her thoughts were too scattered.
All she could think to say was the truth, and she blurted it out in her usual blunt fashion, feeling more vulnerable than she had ever felt before, "I love you."
A goofy smile spread across his face. He walked forward, so fast that Cass thought she might miss him if she blinked, and pulled her in for a hug. Ryker ran his hands down her arms until he was holding both of her callused hands, and then he backed away to look into her eyes. "And I love you," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear. "You don't know how happy it makes me to hear you say that."
Cass opened her mouth to say something, but Ryker held up his hand to stop her, an adoring look on his face. "Just a moment, I'm not done yet."
She nodded and stayed quiet.
"I love you Cass, and I want to be with you forever. I don't care if it's now or if it's ten years from now, but I want to be with you. Only you." He released one of her hands to hold out the flower he was holding earlier.
As she took the flower, there were a million questions buzzing through Cass's head, the biggest among them: What about the Selection? She knew Ryker had asked her to be quiet, but she had never been very good at following the rules. The words were tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop herself, "You ended the Selection? But it's a tradition, won't people be angry?"
"I don't care," Ryker said, blue eyes burning into hers as he held her hands tighter. "You may not realize it, but you taught me something. You always stand up for yourself and the people you love, and it's about time I do the same. I stand behind my choice about who to love, no matter what."
For once, Cass was speechless. She watched in mute astonishment as Ryker, still holding her hands firmly and never losing eye contact, got down on one knee. "I love you so much, Cass. I love you, and I choose you. Please, choose me.
"Will you marry me?" Cass could see the pure love in his eyes as he looked up at her, but the slight tremble in his hands as they held hers betrayed his fear of rejection.
Cass felt her heart skip a beat because the emotions in his eyes matched those in her heart. The girl who used to be an emotionless block let her feelings overwhelm her. A wide grin spread across her face, and her eyes were bright with happiness. She breathed her response with much more ease than she could have ever imagined. "Yes."
A brilliant grin appeared on Ryker's face as he jumped up to take her in his arms. In the next moment they both moved so their bodies were pressed together, and they were kissing. Cass tried to pour all of the love she felt for him into that kiss, and she knew Ryker felt it as he held her tighter, reaching up to cup her cheek in his hand.
A few blissful minutes later, Cass broke off the kiss, took his hand, and pulled him out the door and into the gardens. "So, Your Majesty," she said teasingly. "How did you arrive at the conclusion that the only one for you is my wonderful self?"
Ryker laughed and squeezed her hand. "You're going to laugh."
"Promise I won't."
"Fine then," he said. "Believe it or not, I found all the answers to my problems in a book."
"Nerd."
"You said you wouldn't laugh!" Ryker said, faking anger and beginning to pull away.
"I wasn't laughing!" Cass said, wrapping her arm around his waist and standing on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. "At least not outwardly. Continue."
Ryker smiled and put his arm around her shoulders as they continued down the path. "Anyway, you know my favorite book? The one about the hero who has all of the adventures and does all the good deeds." Cass nodded. Ryker had quoted that book to her more times than she could count. "Well I was reading it yesterday, thinking about how much I wanted to be like the main character. But then I realized I already had a hero in my life- you. I figured out that I didn't read that book over and over because I was looking for someone to be, I read it because it reminds me of someone I love. At that moment, I knew I wanted to choose you. I had loved you for so long without ever recognizing it until then."
Cass felt a rush of emotions threatening to take hold of her again, and she tried to contain them, but her voice was still a little shaky when she said, "Well, your inner nerd certainly saved the day. I was about to let you go through with the whole Selection."
They were silent for a minute, their footsteps on the stones the only sound, until Ryker broke in. "So, when was your big moment of realization when you realized you couldn't resist me, despite my lack of swordfighting skills?"
"I didn't really have a specific moment," she admitted. "For awhile I denied my feelings, because of the Selection, and then suddenly I was in the middle of it before I knew what had happened. I have been falling in love with you my whole life, but somehow I fell head-over-heels without ever realizing it."
Ryker's face contorted, trying to hold back a laugh, and Cass promptly punched him in the shoulder. "Do you find my love for you funny?"
"No, it's just I'm not used to you being so emotional," he was still laughing. "You are such a girl!"
"Hey, I could rethink my answer. Actually I think I'm having second thoughts..."
"What?" Ryker's face was panicked. He obviously did not catch her sarcasm.
"Calm down, I was only joking."
"Good lord," Ryker said, stopping in his tracks and turning to face his fiancée. "We are getting married."
Cass smiled and looked up at him. "We are getting married."
The she went on the tips of her toes and gave him a peck of a kiss. As she was pulling away, Ryker pulled her back for more. A breeze came through the air and blew her long brown around, covering both their faces.
"We should probably go back in and tell everyone," Ryker said, his conscience getting the better of him.
"They can wait a couple of minutes," Cass said playfully, reaching up to pull Ryker back in for another long, slow kiss. She threaded her fingers through his golden hair, and he rested his hands on her waist.
Ryker pulled back for a moment, though their foreheads were still touching, and whispered, "I really do love you, Cass, so much."
Cass closed her eyes, feeling nothing but joy and wondering how she was lucky enough to have him. "And I love you, Ryker Aspen Schreave, more than you know."
Ryker had an adoring smile on his face as he leaned in to kiss her quickly before he said, "We really should go in now."
"Do we have to?," Cass groaned good-naturedly.
With a mischievous gleam in his eye, Ryker suddenly bent down and picked her up, one arm underneath her knees and one behind her shoulders, causing Cass to laugh in surprise. "Yes we do." He kissed her once more on the cheek before running towards the doors with her still in his arms, laughing the whole way.
"I feel like I'm floating on a cloud!" Cass exclaimed.
Ryker, slightly out of breath, replied, "Maybe that's because I am carrying you."
Cass laughed, a little more girly than usual due to her giddiness, and let her feet swing back and forth in her fiancé's arms. "That might have something to do with it."
He gave her a small smile and a peck of a kiss on her temple before setting her on her feet in front of the tall double doors.
"Mostly because I can't believe all of this. I mean you and me and how happy I am. I can't get over the way you make me feel. You make me feel... complete." She felt as though words could never describe the incredible feeling captivating every bit of her.
He raised his eyebrows at her as his face lifted in a grin. "Miss Leger, lovely though that thought is, I believe you are trying to avoid the inevitable. We have to go in and tell everyone eventually."
"Maybe we could just procrastinate a little bit longer?"
Ryker stroked a loose strand of her dark wavy hair and tucked it behind her ear as Cass's sea colored eyes looked up at him. His hands found her face, framing it perfectly and fitting it like two pieces of a puzzle. He leaned in and gave her a sweet, innocent kiss on the lips, but it was disrupted by her smile. Cass wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for more, enjoying this new found freedom of being with Ryker. She held him close, as if she might lose him at any second.
Ryker moved his hands down her body, finding it hard to keep them on her face while hers were wrapped around his neck. They found the belt loops on the back of her jeans and fiddled with them before resting on her waist. His whole body felt electrified and alive, as if a fire was burning everywhere Cass touched him. Cass thought that her stomach might burst at any second, and a million butterflies would flutter out.
The kiss grew deeper and more passionate, and one of them was letting out little gasps, but neither one could tell if it was Cass or Ryker or both of them. They were so deep in each other that they didn't hear the doors open.
"I knew it!"
Ryker abruptly broke off the kiss to stare at his little brother. Elliott was standing in the doorway with an ecstatic expression on his face. His glasses were askew, and he reached up to fix them.
"So...?" he asked, looking up at them expectantly.
"Elliott!" Ryker exclaimed in surprise.
Cass came to the rescue yet again, saving him from embarrassment, by starting to close the door with a reassuring smile towards Elliott. "We'll be in in just a moment."
Elliott looked back at her with a knowing smirk on his face, but he let her close the door, leaving her and Ryker alone in the hallway again. When she turned back around, Ryker was running his hands through his hair. "I can't believe my little brother just saw me making out with my girlfriend."
"Fiancée," Cass reminded him. "Technically I was never your girlfriend."
"I changed my mind. We don't have to go in," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her away.
"Oh no you don't," Cass said, forcing him to turn back and face her. "Look at me, Ry. You are a Prince of Illea. Get your shit together and face your parents!"
Ryker just rolled his eyes.
"And," she continue. "I'll be with you the whole time."
"Okay, but only if you will hold my hand."
Cass smiled and laced her fingers through his. "I think I can make that happen."
He took a deep breath and moved his hand to hover over one of the brass doorknobs. After a couple seconds, Cass gently put her hand on his, and together, they opened the door.
Inside the room, the Royal Family sat around a grand, mahogany table, their half eaten breakfast plates sitting in front of them. Elliott was standing, telling his family a story in a very animated fashion, no doubt explaining to them the scene he saw outside. At the sound of the door opening again, all four heads turned to see Cass and Ryker walking in the room, holding hands. By the looks on their faces, they all knew what was coming.
But Ryker still stood there in silence, dumbstruck with his mouth agape. He didn't know how to start. He made a choking sound in the back of his throat. "Uh... hi."
"So...?" Elliott said, prompting his brother, even more excited than before. Melody turned around in her seat with a smile mirroring her mother's, and the King's eyebrows shot up in curiosity.
Cass looked at Ryker for confirmation before answering. "We are getting married."
The reactions were almost exactly what Cass had expected. The King and Queen looked very pleased and were chatting quietly in their seats, about the impending wedding, perhaps. Melody let out a high pitched squeal of excitement, and Elliott ran over to embrace his new sister in a hug. For once he seemed like the ten-year-old kid he was and not an ancient philosopher.
"Cass, we'll be family for real now!" he seemed about to burst with energy.
"I know," she said, hearing the amazement in her own voice.
Ryker had gone over to talk to his parents about something, and it was Melody's turn to talk to Cass. She walked over, an unassuming smile spread across her face, with her hands clasped behind her back. Being the girly girl she was, Melody was wearing a knee-length sundress decorated with blue flowers and a modest string of pearls. She looked like a princess, very sophisticated compared to the jeans and blouse that Cass had found on the floor of her room that morning.
"I guess we'll be sisters after all," Cass began.
Instead of replying, Melody threw her arms around Cass's neck and pulled her into a sisterly hug, the first of many to come. Then she whispered, "I'm glad it's you."
Ryker had left the room for some reason, and though she was surrounded by her new family, Cass felt far less comfortable with her fiancé gone. The King and Queen had come up now, and they were giving her hugs and "congratulations". From then on, everything was such a blur. At some point her mother had come in and was now joining in the fun. She had been in on the whole thing, she thought. No wonder she was so pushy this morning. Cass put on a polite smile and tried her best to get through everything until Ryker came back for her.
Thankfully, Ryker came back in and stole her away from their excited families. He grabbed her hand and whisked her up the stairs, promising her, "I have something to show you."
Ryker pulled her along quickly, taking some of the steps two at a time. He didn't seem concerned about her not being able to catch up, and Cass couldn't blame him since she consistently beat him every time they raced as children. At that rate, it only took a few seconds to reach the first lading. She began to turn down the second floor corridor, assuming he was taking her to a library, but Ryker had to pull her back.
"We're not going that way," he said simply, leading her up the second staircase.
"What? Are we going to your room?" She wasn't sure what that would mean to him now that they were together. Was she nervous?
He didn't seem to notice. "No. We are going to yours."
This was very confusing. She was about to remind him that her room was on the second floor when they stopped in front of a random white door, identical to all the others in the hall. It wasn't Ryker's room. That was one door down. Elliott and Melody each had their own rooms, but those were around the corner.
"Go on in," he said, sensing her hesitation.
The room inside was, for lack of a better word, huge. It smelled of a fresh coat of paint- a nice cream color- and was furnished with simple furniture. The room definitely had a woman's touch. There was a spacious wardrobe, an armoire, and a vanity table with a mirror. None of that is what startled Cass, however.
She was shocked to see that the room was filled with all her things. Her clothes were all hanging in the wardrobe, a few of her books sat on the bedside table, and her sketchbook was sitting on a desk by the window. Also on the desk were dozens of brand new art supplies. She ran her hands over new colored pencils, markers, and paints- all of which appeared in the widest variety of colors than she had ever seen.
Cass looked back at the prince in disbelief. "This is all for me?"
"Everything is for you," he said seriously. "And you haven't even seen the best part!"
He walked over to another door, which Cass had assumed led to a bathroom, and opened it. To her surprise, it didn't lead to a bathroom. It connected straight to Ryker's bedroom.
"So this was all a ploy to get me into your bed?" she joked.
"Only if you want," Ryker replied. "You can have your own bed when you want it." He gestured toward the giant four poster bed in her new bedroom.
"I think," Cass said, smiling and taking hold of the door. "that this should stay open at all times."
"I would like that very much." He smiled and placed his hands in the small of her back, stroking her shirt a bit with his thumb.
"I think I could really get used to sharing a bed with you." Cass turned on her best flirty voice. She was pretty sure she sounded ridiculous, but it seemed to be working on Ryker, who had pulled her closer.
"Oh, really?"
She nodded slowly and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "And... I think we should start now."
Cass fought the bizarre urge to laugh when she saw Ryker's sky blue eyes widen in surprise. She didn't say another word, simply taking his hand and pulling him through the connecting hallway and into his room. They stopped when they were right in front of Ryker's bed, and he was up against the footboard. Cass leaned into him, reaching up and running her thumb over his cheekbone before standing up on her tiptoes and just brushing her lips against his. She heard him sigh and reached up to give him another few butterfly kisses on his lips and jaw line. His hands were on her hips, drawing small circles with his thumbs. Then she drew back for just a moment, smiling when she saw the slightly dazed look in his eyes, before drawing his lips down to hers and kissing him deeply. He buried his fingers in her hair, and when she moved closer, he lost his balance slightly and fell back to sit down on the bed. Feeling Cass's absence the moment their lips broke apart, Ryker quickly lifted her up so she was sitting on his lap, her legs straddling his hips.
Cass gazed down into his face, smoothing back his golden hair. "I love you so much," she said, a smile rising unbidden on to her face.
He traced her lips with his index finger. "I love you too."
He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly, her silky, shining hair falling in waves around kissed again and again, each one became more passionate as they tried to get closer and closer still. Cass could hear Ryker breathing out her name while his lips were on hers, and feeling his mouth move against hers sent shivers up her spine. Ryker moved away from her lips and began to kiss her jaw, slowly moving down to her throat. Cass gasped. Her hands moved from his shoulders down to the hem of his shirt and slipped underneath to feel the smooth skin and hard muscles of his stomach. Ryker stiffened in surprise but then relaxed, reaching back up to kiss her lips again and letting out a low moan against her mouth.
Cass ran her fingers up the ridges of muscle on his abs until she reached his chest. His shirt had risen up to expose half his torso and with an impatient noise, Cass set to work unbuttoning the blue material as Ryker shrugged the shirt off of his shoulders. Cass drew back and sucked in a breath as she looked at Ryker's exposed chest. Sure, he had always been strong, but Cass hadn't realized just how muscular he was. His face was flushed and he looked down shyly. Sensing his slight insecurity, Cass felt a sudden overwhelming tenderness in her heart. She gently pressed her lips to his, trying to convey all of her love and support without words.
Ryker, stunned by Cass's reaction, spun her around and gently maneuvered them both so Cass was resting against the pillows. He balanced himself over her and looked deep into her sparkling blue-green eyes. He bent to kiss her collarbone, only to find her shirt in the way. Hands shaking slightly, he reached for the top button of her shirt, silently asking her if what he was doing was okay. She smiled, reaching down and matter-of-factly undoing all of the buttons herself. She tossed the top over the edge of the bed, now wearing only her jeans and a steely gray bra, and looked up at him, a blazing look in her eyes.
"What are you waiting for?" she whispered.
"For you to realize that I am in no way deserving of you," he said softly, his hand skimming her sides. He lowered himself a little more to press his lips on hers and felt her shiver at the skin-on-skin contact. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him, kissing her lips, her neck, and her exposed shoulders.
Cass, not to be outdone, was running her fingers over Ryker's chest, up his shoulders, and down his back. She brought his lips down to meet hers once more, smiling mischievously as she flipped the two of them over so they were both on their sides. Their legs were all tangled up, and Ryker leaned in, pressing gentle kisses onto Cass's closed eyes, her nose, and finally on her mouth, carefully parting her lips with his as Cass stretched one of her legs over his, pulling them closer together until there was no space left between them.
Cass's fingers trailed down her fiance's stomach, stopping to rest at the waistband of his jeans. She bit her lip hesitantly, feeling herself blushing even more than she knew she already was. She knew now that she loved Ryker more than anyone, but she wasn't sure how far they wanted to go. After all, they had been engaged for less than eight hours. Still, everything they had done up until that point had been wonderful and felt completely natural, like they had been together for years. Feeling Cass go still in his arms, Ryker lifted his head from where it had been buried in her neck, seeming to instantly understand what was on Cass's mind. He had an adoring expression on his face again as he quickly kissed the corner of her mouth and said softly, "It's up to you."
He was so confident. Cass hesitated, her hands still hovering by Ryker's waist, as a thought crossed her mind. "Wait. Have you ever... done this before?"
"No." He must have sensed her embarrassment in her inexperience because he continued, joking playfully. "Cass, when would I have met a girl?"
"I don't know," she said, laughing it off. She smiled and gave him another kiss. "I guess this will be a first for both of us."
"Are you sure this is what you want?"
After a moment, Cass simply nodded and moved her fingers to the buttons on his pants. She had been waiting to be with Ryker for so long, without even consciously knowing it herself, and she didn't want to waste another minute. His breathing noticeably heavier than it had been a few seconds ago, Ryker reached down and slid the jeans off, dropping them onto the floor beside the bed. Now wearing nothing but boxers, Ryker pulled back the sheets and laid back down next to Cass, pulling a blanket over her shoulders and absently stroking her hair.
Now hidden by the covers, Cass shimmied out of her jeans and let them drop to the floor as well. Silently, she was thankful that Ryker couldn't see the frilly, girly underwear her mother had given her. She turned back to face the prince, and they gave each other reassuring nods. With that, Cass swung one leg over Ryker so that she was kneeling over him, and she started kissing him along his chest while he ran his hands up her thighs. In one swift movement, Ryker flipped her over so he was leaning over her. She arched her back off the bed as he kissed her neck and pushed her bra strap off her right shoulder.
Ryker reached to push off the other strap as well, but he was interrupted by a knock on the door. He broke their kiss, startled by the sudden disturbance, and stayed still, hoping whoever was at the door would go away. Then the knock came again, this time more sharp and quick. Reluctantly, Ryker left the bed to open the door as Cass pulled the covers over her face. He came back a moment later carrying a silver tray with two steaming mugs.
"I'm sorry," he said, face full of embarrassment. "I forgot I ordered us some hot chocolate."
Cass was disappointed, and she knowingly let it show on her face.
"But I scared the wits out of that poor maid, opening the door in just my boxers." Ryker continued with a smile, setting the tray down on his bedside table.
She sat up against the pillows, laughing but still feeling a bit uncomfortable. She knew it was her turn to say something, but she was at a loss for words. Cass's emotions were swirling inside her, and the only one she could pinpoint was her love for Ryker.
He sat back down on the bed, this time on top of the sheets, and continued, "Cass, I think... I think we should wait."
"What? Why?" Cass asked suddenly nervous. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No! No," Ryker said, consoling Cass by putting his arm around her. "I just don't want to risk moving too fast."
"Well it's too late for that, Ry. Yesterday we were just friends and now... now we are engaged."
Ryker's grin increased at the reminder. "We've waited years. I think we can wait a few more months."
"Well maybe you can," she laughed.
Cass grabbed her clothes and started shimmying into her jeans. He gave her a strange look, and Cass laughed even harder. "Just give me one of those hot chocolates."
Once they were both fully clothed again, they got back under the covers and laid on their sides, facing each other. Ryker had moved the silver tray to sit between them on the bed, and every so often, one of them would take a sip of their still steaming hot chocolate. The couple talked until they could barely keep their eyes open, legs tangled and hands clasped. Between them sat two empty mugs on a silver platter.
"I love you, Ry," Cass said, drowsily closing her eyes.
"I love you too." Ryker's voice was barely a whisper as he drifted off into a dream.