Chapter 20: Among the Flowery Dreams
Claire always found it strange that she couldn't see nearly as many stars in Lakeland as she could in other parts of the world. There were still many and beautiful, but it just felt that when she was in Eorzea, she could see countless more. Or perhaps it was just due to the massive tower of crystal that shined through the darkness that blocked out most of them? Either way, she was grateful the light it gave her as she hit the ground running. She was still feeling sick and dizzy, but she just bore with it as she crossed over Lakeland, trying to track those two wayward charges.
She started off by heading to Fort Jobb, asking them what they had seen, and they confirmed G'raha's words that they had seen a pair of people pass by not long ago. There were two of them but they couldn't make out who they were because of their robes. They did confirm that they ran across the road with an unusual speed and they lost sight of them soon enough.
Claire ran down the same path they pointed out and began to sprint along it, hoping to find a trace of a clue where to go. She knew them well enough to know that it was very difficult to track them, especially at night, but in their present state she reasoned that there was a chance that the idea they were being followed may not have crossed their minds.
And sure enough…?
She caught sight of something flapping in the breeze and she skidded to a stop and saw what looked like a long ribbon that was hooked onto some low branches from a nearby tree. She flew to it and pulled the ribbon down, seeing how it was entangled with a few strands of long, silver hair.
"They've been through here," she said. It was so dark that she couldn't tell which color ribbon it was, but she recognized that it was one of the hair ribbons that they always wore. She began all but fly over the ground and realized that there were several slight imprints of footsteps scattered here and there. It had rained just the day before and the ground was still slightly muddy so she was given a break at this point.
Eventually she followed them until she reached a fork in the road and looked at them both. One path seemed to lead up north, where she knew that Il Mheg was… the other looked to head more to the south… to where Amh Aerang was…?
So they must have split up once they reached it here. She frowned, wondering where she should go. She looked down at the ribbon, knowing that she needed to find them both but had no idea where to go first nor which twin went where?
She looked about and realized that she was closer to the borders of Il Mheg at this point and nodded to herself. She would look there first. She also remembered G'raha's suggestion of meeting up with this Urianger, who was studying the pixies, and see if he knew anything that could help her.
She tucked the ribbon into her pocket as she headed up north, hoping to find Alphinaud or Alisaie as soon as possible. She knew that they both must be beating themselves up for what happened and needed to talk with them as soon as she could… once they learn that there is a possible cure, she was sure that would get them to listen.
She only hoped they were alright and would be able to look after themselves until she caught up with them.
She travelled along the path through the beautiful shadows of the forests as the lilac colored trees were soon replaced by towering pines. She took the mountain pass through the night and by the time that the moon had disappeared to be replaced with the golden glow of the sun, she had reached the very edges of Il Mheg. She had never been this far into the Kingdom of Rainbows before, having been warned not to cross the pixies of Il Mheg before—but now she must if she hoped to find her charge. But with morning now here, she knew that they would have taken shelter at this point and so she began to run over the dew-covered hills as she went further and further north and a thick fog began to appear before her eyes. By the time that she passed through the forest of pine trees and into more open fields however, she could feel the weariness of sleep wanting to sink its claws into her but she ignored it as she pressed onwards.
She was slowly leaving the smell of pine behind them as the scent of the flowers grew even stronger and overwhelmed everything. Though the light above her was bright and brought a slight twinkle to the fog, it was still too thick to see through. It was clear that this fog wasn't natural, and as she stepped over the overgrown path of stone, she could see the faint images of houses and fences the whole way they walked.
She could also make out the shadowy images of creatures that were lurking just out of sight, hiding in the mists, so she discovered that this fog wasn't some natural occurrence… rather just the magicks just to confuse and disorientate her.
Once in a while, she saw a glimmer of something out of the corner of her eyes and knew that the pixies were watching their every move. She stepped forward slowly and cautiously, continuing to hear the giggling of the pixies who were enjoying themselves as they watched her stumble along. The greatest problem for her was that she was having a harder and harder time trying to focus on what was going on.
More than once, she would stumble or fall, having tripped over a stray log or the moss that covered the stepping stones. The sight was enough to cause rings of laughter from the invisible pixies, and Claire knew that she was just here as their entertainment.
It was very hard to tell where she was… she kept getting turned around since couldn't take more than a few steps before forgetting which direction she came from and when she did remember that much, she forgot why she came this way to begin with. It was a vicious cycle as she continued to look through bushes and bunches of flowers before wondering why she was doing such a thing?
Claire completely forgotten how to tell time as well, but after what felt like several hours, she was able to force herself to focus enough to keep her mind on what it was she was supposed to be looking for.
She shook her head to try and clear out some of the fog that seemed to be settling in through her ears and clogging her mind. She gritted her teeth, trying to stay focused on what she was trying to find. She had to find them.
She forced one step in front of the other, but her mind was so muddled at this point, either by weariness or the pixie's magicks she didn't know. All she knew was that she had to stop and rest at one point. She found a spot where soft grass grew and before she knew it… she found herself collapsing where she stood.
She continued to hear the giggling of pixies and knew that they were trying to coax her to sleep. For what purpose, she wasn't sure, but at that moment she didn't care. She was just so tired. Her eyelids were growing heavier and heavier… she curled up among the flowers as she felt the warmth of the ground beneath her sink into her weary bones. She was so comfortable as she curled up on the grass that was as smooth as silk…?
She closed her eyes and was drifting off to peaceful dreams… at least until she heard the screams and her eyes snapped open. The sounds of the pixies were freaking out as she sat up and felt the presence of many beings around her scatter in a panic.
Claire was wheezing when she managed to get to her feet, her entire body swaying dangerously as she slapped herself awake. She was just thinking that some kind of monster had come crawling up from the lake or behind the trees… and she pulled out a wand, ready to defend herself…?
When what came up was…?
…
…
…
A beaver?
Standing before her were a group of little beavers… not even standing up to her knees and she blinked. Really? That was what they were all so scared of?
She wasn't sure whether she should laugh or not but she quickly learned why they were putting up a fuss when the beavers all came at her and soon it was a matter of fighting her way out of biting overgrown rodents.
Claire finally had to kick them away when she felt them biting her legs and soon they went running from the kicks they got. Claire was breathing hard as she wiped the sweat from her brow and watched as the beavers all scampered off. They were small but boy they were annoying.
"Ooh, did you see that?" an awed voice spoke out and she immediately looked up but couldn't see anything.
"I did! I did! This mortal saved us from the beavers!"
"Such an amazing thing to see! I hadn't been able to sleep properly in weeks since those horrid rats moved in!"
Claire then felt herself now the center of attention to what had to be every invisible pixie that there was in this valley and she didn't like it.
"Well… ah, you're welcome?" she called out and they giggled again.
"Ohhh, no fair, no fair! Now we have to help her out!" someone said in disappointment.
"Yes, yes… it's only right," another said with a sigh.
"Alright, we will lift the fog!" a third called out. "But don't get too comfortable here. I hope to still make you mine!"
"No! She'll be mine!"
"No, you both are silly! She belongs to me!"
But as they all argued over who she 'belongs' to, the fog around her cleared so that she could clearly make out the fields of flowers and the sparkling castle upon the lake in the distance. She stared about at the beauty around her as she felt as if a fog had cleared from her mind.
"I know!" one of the pixies piped up, "Let us bring this before king and let them decide!"
"That's a terrible idea! You know they will want to take this mortal for themselves!"
Claire didn't wait around to see who won the argument and instead she hurried off down the worn cobblestone path that led deeper into the valley. She didn't want to stick around to listen to them argue about her as if she were some favorite toy or a piece of fruit they wanted to try a haggle for at the market.
She decided to keep on going deeper and deeper across the valley. Once she was near the lake, she paused long enough to get a good look at the sparkling castle with the butterfly wings made of light attached to its spire for a moment before she began to search again.
What was she to do?
Well, since it was still daylight, she knew that if either twin was here, they would likely be hiding somewhere dark for right now. It seemed that those more mountainous regions would be her best bet. But as she drew closer to the mountain path, she noticed a house standing off to the side and someone standing outside. For one wild moment she thought that it had been Alphinaud or Alisaie… at least until she drew closer to realize that it was another Elezen.
She couldn't bite back the disappointment she felt until the Elezen waved her over and she decided to stop and ask him for some help.
"I did see the fog clear and wondered why that was," the tall Elezen said as he held the door open for her to come into his home. "Now doth I see why. Thou must have aided the pixies in some way to have allowed them to clear it."
"I guess," Claire sighed, glad to be away from the strong sent of perfume. She looked around the wide room and could see towers of books scattered all over the place. Stack up on top of each other with papers sticking out and spread out over the floor. There were also bottles and ingredients amassed upon tables that made it so that there was no room for anything else… it certainly looked as though someone was hard at work.
"Forgive me the mess," he said after closing the door and moving to the nearest table to clear some of it. "If I had known that guests would make an appearance I wouldn't have made such a mess."
"No problem," Claire said, panting slightly, realizing just how tired she felt and her neck now hurting from the remaining scars from the attack.
Something that he seemed to notice and the mage got a chair for her while he went about making a pot of tea. Claire was grateful for the chair and as soon as she sat down she wondered if she could just fall asleep right here?
Her unexpected host looked at her kindly as he quickly reappeared. How did he make that tea so fast? She looked up in surprise as he set the cup of tea in front of her with a plate of biscuits as he stated, "Please, thou must be famished by now."
"Thank you," she said as she took her cup, but though she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, she couldn't bring herself to want to eat… it all tasted like ash in her mouth.
Her host didn't question her as he took a seat opposite the table and generously offered her some honey for her tea, which she shook her head.
"What troubles thee? If thou aren't opposed to mine asking?" he asked her kindly.
She sighed as she hesitated, wondering what she should say. She then remembered what G'raha said about Urianger being one of Louisoix's students and suspected that he may already know the whole situation and so she asked if he knew Louisoix. She watched how his eyes widened at the before nodding once.
"Aye, I hath been one of Master Louisoix's most dedicated students," he confessed. "Thou mayst call me Urianger. And so thee must be Mistress Faye. Full often did mine master speak of thee in the most glowing terms. Over these last two years especially. One would think that the sun did doth rise and set with thee."
She forced a laugh before lowering her head sadly.
"Then you must know what happened?" she asked and she raised her head to see that his eyes were trailing over her neck and the exposed red-raw looking scar in her neck.
"Aye," he confirmed for her once again. "Master Louisoix did send a message stating that his beloved grandchildren had disappeared. But tell me, doth thou believeth that the two we seek are here?"
"I think at least one of them is here," she confessed sadly as she looked up to the lone window on the wall where she could see the beautiful flowers continuing to grow and blossom. "But I'm not sure how to find them in a place like this. Just stepping outside is enough to make me feel sick."
"True, the pixie that have claimed these lands as their home are not wont to allow trespassers to trek through without sound reason," he exclaimed and she shook her head, afraid that it was something like that.
"Tell me, do you know if they attack vampires?" she asked.
"Even vampires know better to come through here," he confessed. "But, as far as I doth know… none have passed through here recently. At least, not without the knowledge of the pixies."
That means that if one or both of her charges came through here they were either doing an admirable job of hiding or have already left. She didn't want to believe that they had gotten into such trouble… but at the same time she could not feel her anxiety growing. She had to find them… and she wasn't sure if she would embrace them both or smack them for worrying her so.
Without her realizing it though, Urianger was observing her softly, gazing at her with an intense gaze.
"What troubles thee, my friend?" he asked softly.
"Did you really just ask that?" she asked sadly as she just stirred her tea in an absent-minded way. "I'm worried. While I know that they are not young children who need my protection nearly as much as they did before, I can't help but feel concerned for both of them."
Claire never once gave it any thought. She had always known the two of them as little troublemakers when she first met them. And after she decided to stay in Sharlayan to guard them, that did little to change. After the events that happened upon the Isle of Val, however, the two of them stuck to her side like glue. They were almost always together, in fact, she remembered how many people began to comment on that whenever they were out of earshot.
Well, when the twins were, at least, but she always had better hearing. Despite her own heroics upon the isle, there were many who saw her as some homeless riffraff who was trying to worm her way into one of the most influential and richest households. After a while, they stopped mocking her behind their backs, though she suspected that Master Louisoix had something to do with that.
It never bothered him though, for he was always so happy to see whenever his grandchildren were happy.
"My dear, I don't believe I've ever seen either of them light up as much as when you are around," he chuckled one day.
There were times that it did get annoying since it felt that she never got any kind of privacy for herself… they were almost… clingy. But she just chalked it up to their kidnapping and that they would grow out of it with time. Thankfully, as time went on, they were able to learn to give her some space here and there… at least until that day.
When she went racing through the streets when she heard the explosions coming from the Studium, deep down she knew something terrible had happened. She wasn't sure how, but she just knew it in her bones that something was terribly wrong and her heart could not bear the thought. When she learned what was to become of them after breathing in the Black Rose… she felt despair that she had never known…
That night still in her mind…?
*Flashback*
Claire struggled as she heaved up both of the twins with her… how she was able to move with two eleven year olds and a bag on her back, she didn't know. All she did know was that she had to get them out of here as soon as possible.
But where were they to go? Their grandfather said to get them out of Sharlayan.
"I need you to leave and take Alphinaud and Alisaie with you," he said had said, "Get out of the city, off this island if you can, but you must leave. If the Garleans find them…?"
"What do I do?" she asked even though the two could not answer her.
Claire was quickly growing tired as she heaved the two along with her. She had moved the bag to her back and would carry one of the twins right over it while carrying the other in her arms, but still their progress was slow.
They moved through the night, along the shoreline, to get away from the city as far as possible and it eventually lead them out into the middle of the forest-like regions. The smell of fresh grass and pine filled her nose as she stumbled along her path as she still struggled to figure out where to go from here. Louisoix told her to get out of the country, but how could she do so with the two of them with her like this?
Her stomach was roaring at her, having not eaten anything all day, and as she looked to the horizon, she realized just how tired she was and how long she had gone without sleep. She had to find a place to hide out for the time being.
So she finally stopped to set her charges down as she began to look about, the light from a feeble moon giving her just the barest of help. But eventually she was able to find something that could work for them in the form of a large, aged tree with a hallow space about its roots. It was small and tight, but it should work for them for now.
After heaving everything over to it and pulling the twins inside with her, she made sure to cover the entrance of the hole with stones and grass just in case. Finally, exhaustion took over as she collapsed, out a like a light before her head even hit the dirt beneath her.
She slept and slept and she didn't wake until noon the next day where she could feel a few warm rays of the sun on her face. For a moment, she believed that she had simply had a bad dream and she would be awakening in her bed back at the manor…?
Until she heard the cry and her head shot up at once. She looked around, briefly confused to the tangle of roots over her head and the kick in her side.
"C-Claire?" came Alisaie's voice and Claire tried her best to move about in the small space. She reached up to move the stones to let in a little more light so she could see and her heart broke when she found the two weak and sick twins curled up with her.
"Alisaie?" she asked gently as Claire moved over and stroked her hair in a tender way, "How do you feel?"
"W-Where are we?" she asked, her eyes still rolling about in her head but she was making an effort to try and look around their surroundings
"We're in the forests," Claire said soothingly, not wanting to tell them more, but Alisaie began to cough and asked for her grandfather. Claire bit her tongue, refusing to talk about it as she tended to them, but it was something else that she learned that day. It's hard to be a caretaker while in this situation. It is so difficult to be caring when you're not happy, when you are in the wrong mindset, and you feel as if the entire world around you is crashing down.
So she kept her mouth shut for anything negative.
Alphinaud was still unconscious for the most part, but it was Alisaie who was putting up the fight.
"Why? Why would you… why would you do that?! Take us home… I want… I want my grandfather here," she whimpered as she tried to hit Claire with her fists, but she was so weak now that she couldn't muster anything but a feeble pat.
Claire just held her tightly in her arms and soothed her, running her hands through her friend's hair and whispered comforting words to her until Alisaie sighed against her and her exhaustion carried her off to sleep.
Claire set her down as she clumsily crawled out of the roots and out into the fresh air. She was already tired and covered in dirt, as she pulled out their bag and began to look through it for anything useful. She found a knife and a few tools, a few pieces of fruit and a handful of coins first of all… the two books as well as other pieces of paper that was filled with research, some rope and some robes from the Studium. She could probably do something with all this.
But first thing's first, she needed to make Alphinaud and Alisaie more comfortable. She hunted the area until she found a tiny stream that she was able to collect some water from with a makeshift bowl that she fashioned from a rock. She then was lucky enough to find a few bushes with some blackberries and ate her fill of those before crawling back down into the hole with the two of them. Did her best to help cool down their fevers and tried to get them to eat some of the berries juices. They both did take a little, but they didn't seem happy with it and it made her wonder if there was something wrong with the berries.
In truth, however, in the back of her mind she knew that the real reason they weren't taking to eating the berries well was because of what they were becoming. She knew what they would normally be drinking after this.
She gulped in fear as she tried not to focus on how this was going to end. She just had to persevere until she could find an answer. Eventually, Alisaie wore herself out and Claire just dabbed at her forehead with a cold cloth before Alphinaud finally began to stir.
"Alphinaud?" she asked as he heaved himself up and rested his head against her chest, still shaking. She merely embraced him tightly and kissed his brow, promising that she will do better to keep them safe.
Out of exhaustion, she rested her back against the dirt and the roots until she fell asleep… and when she next came too, with the last few rays of sunlight disappearing over the mountains in the distance, both of the twins had moved so that they were clinging tightly to her, holding on as if she were the old thing keeping them anchored to this world.
*End of Flashback*
"Thou art close indeed," Urianger stated when she told him about their escape from the city. "Truly a remarkable feat that not just anyone would have been able to accomplish. The love that thou have for thy charges is something to behold."
"I've always been there to protect them," she said softly. "So of course we would grow close during those years. But things seem to have changed since coming to the Crystarium. I'm not sure how else to describe it."
"What changes doth thou speak of?" he asked curiously.
"I don't know," Claire answered as she moved to rest her head on the desk, suddenly feeling sick. "I feel that we have grown apart these last two years. I felt that with their grandfather back in their lives, then the two of them would want to be with him more and more and work for that cure. I felt that I wasn't needed as much and so I was able to leave more often than I ever had."
"Thou chose to distance thyself from them?" he asked curiously.
"Well, they insisted that I be able to explore the world more since that was what I wanted," Claire confessed. "But I will not deny that I have grown to miss them both dearly while on the road."
Urianger looked at her as she thought back to the time that has passed since coming to the Crystarium. She could not lie and say she didn't love every moment that she got to go out and explore, both day as well as night… she met many other interesting people and seen so many other places… and every time she would find something interesting that pertained to healing or even with vampirism she would bring it back to the Crystarium, but it wasn't the same.
She often wondered if the two of them were alright… if they were safe… or if she needed to return early so that she could ensure that they weren't too thirsty. She also made sure to bring trinkets for the two of them so that she could bring back as much as she could of the world to them so that it felt like they were seeing more and more of it.
While she was relieved to have her duties lifted off her shoulders for the most part, in truth she did miss her two friends. Her little shadows that used to cling to her whenever frightened… or, and she knew that this embarrassed them whenever she brought it up, her little ducklings that would follow her around.
She couldn't help but smile as she told him this and he ended up smiling with her.
"And, doth did the two of them did miss thee just as much," he reassured her.
Her smile soon faded as she looked back to her swirling tea in confusion.
"Maybe I was away too long," he said. "I can't believe that they would lose control like that? That hasn't happened in years."
"Thou cannot blame thyself for what happened," Urianger informed her kindly. "Such roads walked are unknown and unpredictable. Thus did Master Louisoix once said to me."
She nodded, but she could not help but wonder just what was going to happen now. Even if she found them, which was looking more and more bleak by the moment, how would this change their relationship? She could remember how Alisaie was during the first few months after her transformation and how long it took for her to be able to trust and forgive herself again after attacking her as she did.
"I just… don't know… what to do…" she whispered.
They sat in silence for what felt like an agonizingly long time before Urianger spoke again.
"What does thy heart say?" Urianger asked her and Claire wasn't really sure what he meant by that.
She placed her hands over her heart and thought long and hard about them both.
"I want to find them and let them know that they don't have to hide anymore," she said. "I want to be able to say to them 'we can cure you' or something like that. I want them both to be free of the night and be allowed to go where they wish."
"And that is admirable indeed," Urianger stated. "But that is not what I am talking about."
"Oh?" she asked, now really confused. "Then… what was it that you meant?"
He just smiled knowingly. "Just that the heart is still something that we struggle to understand at the best of times."
She tilted her head in confusion as he chuckled again.
"I love both of them, but I am not even sure I understand what that means," she whispered softly as she gave it a lot of thought.
Urianger just shook his head and smiled.
"Thou does not give thyself enough credit," he reassured her as he set his up down. "Though thy mind may not see it yet, I have no doubt in time that thee will."
He reached across the table and she looked up in surprise as he gripped her hand in a firm but gentle hand as he gave her a caring smile.
"Thou need but have faith," he told her. "Trust in them and thou will find the way."
He gave her that kind look once more as he got up and led her out of the main room and upstairs to a small bedroom. He told her that this was a guest's room and that she was free to use this room for however long she remained in Il Mheg.
She thanked him and decided that she would rest for a moment. She would pick up her search once more when the sun went down and hopefully she would be able to pick up on the trail. But as she laid down on the bed, she heard the sounds of giggling again and she looked around, really starting to grow annoyed by these constant tricks.
"My, my… this one can hear very well, but she still struggles to see."
And that was when an orb of light came hurtling in from the open window and Claire stared up at it as the little ball transformed and a bright, fiery-red pixie with pigtails appeared in its place.
"You had come here seeking something precious?" Feo Ul asked excitedly. "Oh, you are such a stubborn, reckless thing aren't you? One with the heart of a pixie!"
Claire couldn't speak as she stared up at the cheerful pixie, who grinned like the cat who found the cream.
"I am Feo Ul, the king of the pixies of these lands!" they said happily when Claire still didn't speak. "I heard that it was a mortal who had helped our kind from that invasion of beavers. Well, aren't you just the kindest thing around."
"Oh, well, I'm glad to help them," Claire said as Feo Ul now began to buzz about her head in excitement, looking at her from every angle.
"And not only that you are cute to boot! Very well," Feo Ul said with a rather fond sigh. "I shall lend a helping hand while you are here. Now tell me what it is that you came here and is causing your pretty little head so much worry?"
Claire gapped for a moment before deciding, why not? She told Feo Ul all about the twin vampires that she was looking for and she believed that one of them was here in Il Mheg but she didn't know where or how to find them in a valley so big.
"Cold beings? Why in the world would you be looking for those such as them?" Feo Ul asked in confusion.
"Because they are more than just vampires, and I need to find them," Claire said. "Otherwise they'll be left here in this valley and I don't think that you would like that."
Feo Ul thought it all over for a moment.
"Fair enough," Feo Ul agreed. "Very well, if that is what you desire then we shall lend you a helping hand. If you must know we sensed something not right just the night before. It felt like one of those cold types had come stalking around the borders of Il Mheg."
"Really?" she gasped excitedly. "Can you tell me where they went now?"
"Silly sapling, of course not," Feo Ul stated as if it was explaining why one and one equaled two.
Of course not.
She laid on the bed, her heart still beating painfully in her chest as she tried to come to grips with what Urianger said. What did she feel for the two of them? She didn't know… it had always been with her as their protector and teacher… their friend… but… what did she feel about them now?
That was when she remembered something. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the ribbon she found before… and with the feeble light of the cancel she could see that it was a faded blue.
Though she wasn't sure how she knew… as it could have been either one… somehow seeing that blue cause this feeling inside her that almost choked her. Alphinaud was here in Il Mheg. Again, she wasn't sure but it was just what was screaming at her in the back of her mid.
"Oh, what is it that you are thinking of my precious sapling?"
Claire sighed as the cheerful Feo Ul appeared at her side, still giving that tinkling giggle as she looked on sadly.
"I need to find my friends," she told Feo Ul. "But I don't have a clue where to look or how to find them. I taught them everything they know about to avoid being found and I think that they are hiding from me. If I just could pinpoint their locations then…?"
"Ah, but if they are dreaming, then perhaps we may be able to assist in your plight," Feo Ul said and Claire turned her head on her pillow to look at her.
"A little pixie magic is all that we need," Feo Ul laughed brightly. "We need but place you under a spell to be able to reach out and see if you cannot find your cold friends."
"How can you do that?" Claire asked with wide eyes.
"We pixies have a special set of Dreamspinners who have the power to enter the dreams of others," Feo Ul explained. "Perhaps they can at least tell us where your two are. But be warned of letting them see you in those dreams, for that often causes the dreamers to awaken if dreams are disturbed. But if this is what you wish, then we will help you in this endeavor."
Claire thought that over trying to reason if she should do it. On one hand, she was curious about this and if it helped her find Alisaie or Alphinaud, then she reasoned she had to at least try. On the other hand, she feared that she may be setting herself up for some kind of prank or joke.
"You promise me to help me find them?" she asked Feo Ul, who nodded back.
"Now, now, my precious sapling," Feo Ul answered calmly. "There is no need to fret so. Just relax and allow our pixie magic to do the rest. If they are resting in the day then it will be a simple matter to find them. now then, close your eyes, stand very still, and think not of where you need to go… focus on the here and now… this time and place."
Claire took several deep breaths and nodded as Feo Ul smiled back.
She closed her eyes and rested as she felt the pull of the pixie's magicks take hold. She felt herself drifting and then flying…?
And before she knew it, everything around her was bathed in light… and she shut her eyes once more as it died to darkness.
She felt herself black out for just a brief moment, dozing off someplace warm and comfortable… only to awaken without warning. By the time she next opened her eyes, she gasped at the sight of what was in front of her… to standing amidst the darkness. Not just empty darkness though, for all around her she could see traces of aether spiraling endlessly in a stunningly haunting way. Countless diamonds sparkling as they spun past… falling like rain… it was as if she was suddenly standing in the night sky. It was beautiful… this pure darkness that was both warm and soothing to her, while she realized that these diamonds weren't diamonds like she first thought… but couldn't really see what they were. But she could not help but stare on ahead, as if she was looking at countless sparkling lights that were soaring above her head.
It was so blindingly gorgeous she knew she could never find the words… the closest being that she felt standing in what she could only describe as a sea of stars.
But she didn't have much more time to admire it for at that moment it felt as though an invisible hand had reached out and was now pulling her forward and gaining speed at a rapid pace. What had just felt like a hand pulling her, it now felt as if she was suddenly being pulled along a river and had no choice but to follow it to its end. She could feel herself falling and the wind picking up around her as she covered her face to try and see where she was going.
"Alphinaud? Alisaie?" she called out and the glittering stars seemed to sparkle at their names.
They were both sleeping then, she wasn't surprised as she pushed forward, trying to learn more. She watched as the shadowy image played itself through her mind and she got a glimpse of the castle upon the waters of Il Mheg… and what appeared to be some kind of a deep hole in the ground, surrounded by sands and red cliffs.
Wait… is this where they…?
She felt herself suddenly right itself upright and she looked straight ahead… first focusing upon the sands and cliffs. She was speeding through the air as she began to dive down the deep pit and left the hot sun behind her. Down… down… down… she felt herself drifting and soon she was left in the darkness again.
Claire blinked, trying to focus upon her surroundings, and then she touched down upon some worn out track. Some sort of abandoned mine? Why would she be seeing all this? What was the point…? And then her ears picked up the sound of weeping and she turned around at once to one of the deeper parts of the mines and felt herself gliding along the corridor… and she spotted the flash of white through the dark.
"Alisaie?" she whispered and there she was.
Alisaie was curled up on the ground, the front of her clothes still stained with red, and she was sobbing to herself. Her pain so great that Claire could feel it from where she stood. She gasped and ran to her friend as she let out a particularly loud cry of misery..
"ALISAIE!" she screamed out and Alisaie looked up in shock at her just as Claire reached out to grab her… and then she vanished from her sights.
What in the world…?
But then she was suddenly pulled back and she let out a scream as she ended up tumbling backwards head over foot, and she ended up stumbling and falling hard onto some kind of ground. She could feel wet from the splash of water that she ended up landing in. She sucked in a lungful of air as she sat up and stared around her. She looked to be in some large room, so beautifully decorated that one would thought that you were outside. There were blossoming flowers and butterflies that fluttered about them and she seemed to be in some kind of fountain as she felt herself rising from the pool around her and stared around.
The walls were painted with bright colors which hid the fact that they were built of solid stone. There were several doors surrounding her, all of them blocked with some kind of bars that reminded her of cells. She tilted her head, wondering where she was, when she heard the cry of fear. She turned about to see another familiar figure dashing into room from the doors directly behind her, the only one that didn't have the bars covering it.
As soon as Alphinaud came into the room, he ended up tripping and falling into the water with a loud SPLUSHING sound.
"Alphy what is it?" she couldn't help but speak up and as he coughed, he heard her voice and he looked up at her with wide eyes.
"W-What? But… how… you can't…?" he stuttered, completely speechless. She reached out to try and help him but he faded from her sights too and she felt herself being pulled back and away from the scene.
Now what?!
She felt as if a great hook came out of nowhere and grabbed her in the back as it heaved her upwards. She was going so fast that everything was a blur and she felt sick before she ended up crashing right back into her body and her eyes opened up in shock.
She sat upright, safe in the room that Urianger lent her, and she sucked in lungfuls of air, unable to get enough oxygen to calm herself down.
The pixies were still there and all twittering about her head in curiosity as she tried to get to grips on what just happened.
"My, someone seems to have seen something," Feo Ul said once Claire lunged herself to the table where travelling pouch of water was waiting for her. Claire didn't answer as she began to drink it all in a couple gulps. Once she finished, her mind raced with what she saw and tried hard not to be sick. The images of everything she saw there were still playing themselves over and over as she tried to grasp it all. What just happened?
"That… that was all a dream?" she asked, trying to grasp more of the shadowy images that seemed to trickle in and out.
"Yes, the dreams in these lands are all connected," Feo Ul explained. "And so if your friends were dreaming, you were able to pass through to theirs from your own dreams. People tend to dream of places that they are… and so what you saw were clues to where you could find them."
"Why did they vanish like that?" she asked urgently when she remembered how they disappeared almost at once.
"They woke up," Feo Ul answered as if obvious. "I did warn you not to let them see you or the surprise could awaken them. Of course, they believe it only to be a dream."
"That means…?" she whispered as she thought of the places she had seen. "Alisaie is hiding in some kind of mine in Amh Aerang… but from what I could see, Alphinaud is definitely here somewhere in Il Mheg."
She closed her eyes, trying hard to focus more on the visions she saw. Where Alphinaud was being kept in, it felt a bit closed in with those walls though it wasn't outside? But they couldn't be too far away from here…?
She looked up to the pixies and sat up as she asked, "Is there some kind of dungeon here in Il Mheg?"
"Oh, yes," one of them giggled excitedly. "It was abandoned until the Fauth took over. There used to be so much treasure hidden in those many rooms!"
"Many treasure hunters try to find their way in, but few are able to get out just as easily," another said.
"And if you saw your friend down there," the third added, "It means your friend must be with them, right now!"
Claire nodded as she stood up.
"I understand," she said. "Tell me, how do I get to these dungeons?"
"Oh, we can show you the way," Feo Ul smiled mischievously. "But the true name that mortals used to call it; The Dungeons of Lyhe Ghiah."
(Things are really getting interesting and I can't wait to see the end, which is coming up. There are a total of 5 chapters left and I do plan on getting this story finished before Endwalker! So the next chapter is going to be more Alphinaud related as it really focuses on the relationship that both Claire and Alphinaud have together. Some people have asked if there are going to be some explicit moments between them and I won't spoil anything, but keep reading and you may be surprised by what I got planned for next time! Meanwhile, another is still watching from the shadows.)