Act 8 - Rendezvous in the Garden

Yumeko was sitting on the balcony, staring out over the gardens, which was beginning to become a regular occurrence. It had been over a week since her break-up with Phoenix and that wonderful afternoon spent with Shadow, who had comforted her in a time of deepest sorrow.

The thought of the handsome gardener caused the princess to blush a bright pink color. She had not talked to him since, although she spent much of her time spying on Shadow from the balcony. Today, for example, he was helping Botan and Joji to prune the bushes in the garden.

She was in love with Shadow. There was no other way to put it, but Yumeko was afraid of these feelings of passion she felt. Perhaps that was why she was avoiding him like a case of the plague. She was scared of what she might do if she allowed herself the chance. What had almost happened the day Shadow broke his leg was a wake-up call. Yumeko knew she had to stop it before she did something she would regret, but it was very difficult.

Her nights were filled with dreams of him, dreams that made her blush just to remember them. They were so full of passion, romance, and love. Only in her dreams was she able to freely express herself without fear. It was becoming even more of a struggle for Elysia to drag her out of bed in the morning because Yumeko had no desire to be brought back down to reality. Her only wish was to live in the dreamland of her imagination with the man she loved for all eternity…

The sudden appearance of her overprotective guardian cat brought Yumeko back from her revelry. Elysia had a concerned look on her face. Her mistress had been acting even more absentminded than usual ever since the day Phoenix left.

"Yumeko, shouldn't you be studying?" she asked, jumping on the rail of the balcony. "You're way behind on your schoolwork because of the days you missed after the attack. It's going to take a lot of hard work to get caught up again."

"I'll do it later, Elysia."

"Why not now? There's no better time than the present."

"Okay, okay."

Sighing, Yumeko picked up the book she was supposed to be reading for her psychology class from her vanity, then went back out on the balcony. She turned to the first page and pretended to read, which seemed to satisfy the cat for a couple of minutes until she realized that Yumeko's attention was focused on a certain young man with curly black hair and chocolate brown eyes who was pruning the bushes down below. Could he be the reason why the princess was acting so peculiar?

Elysia quietly studied the gardener. He was certainly handsome, there was no doubt about that, but there was something about the young man that struck her wrong. She could sense a strange power coming from him, causing a chill to run down her spine. Could it be possible that he was an enemy?

Almost as if the man could feel her eyes on him, he glanced up at the balcony, causing Elysia to jump and Yumeko to drop her book in surprise. The text fell in the bush below the balcony.

"My book!" Yumeko exclaimed, jumping up and going to the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Elysia asked.

"Down to the gardens to get my book. I'll be back in a minute."

"Yumeko, no…"

But it was too late. The princess had already left the room, not giving the cat the chance to tell Yumeko about her suspicions.


Shadow was surprised to find Dreama Aurora spying on him from her bedroom balcony. Ever since that day, it seemed like she was avoiding him. For a while, he had even thought that she and Phoenix had gotten back together, but Botan and Joji hadn't heard anything about the engagement being back on, so he knew that wasn't the reason.

Had he done something to upset her? Shadow knew he had been out of line when he tried to kiss her, especially so soon after the break-up, but she was so beautiful, it was hard to resist. He wanted to touch those rose red lips, to hear her heart beat with his, to feel her naked body in his arms…

The last week had been pure torture. How many times had he glanced around the garden, searching for those unusual amber eyes that seemed to fill the world with golden light? He had given up his position in the army to be with her, yet Dreama Aurora was no where to be found.

So when Shadow glanced up at her balcony and found Dreama Aurora staring at him, his heart skipped a beat. She must have been embarrassed by being discovered for the book she was reading fell into the bushes below.

Shadow walked over to the bush and picked up the thick textbook. He stared at the title of the book, his hands running over the raised golden letters. It was called The Interpretation of Dreams, written by some guy by the name of Sigmund Freud, who he had never heard of. Flipping through the pages, Shadow began reading a random passage:

But the description of dreaming - which, after all is said and done, remains a function of the mind - as a somatic process implies another meaning as well. It is intended to show that dreams are unworthy to rank as psychical processes. Dreaming has often been compared with 'the ten fingers of a man who knows nothing of music wondering over the keys of a piano'; and this simile shows as well as anything the sort of opinion that is usually held of dreaming by representatives of the exact sciences. On this view a dream is something wholly and completely incapable of interpretation; for how could the ten fingers of an unmusical player produce a piece of music?

"Shadow?"

He quickly shut the book and turned around on his heel, coming face to face with the princess of Silver Millennium. He gasped, taking in her beauty. Dreama Aurora looked so incredibly beautiful, dressed in a simple white shirt and a long flowing skirt in a soft floral print. The only jewelry she wore was a pair of tasteful gold hoops.

"I believe this is yours," Shadow said, handing the book to Yumeko. Their fingertips touched, causing a shock of electricity.

Yumeko took a step back, holding the book up to her chest. "Thank you," she said softly, turning to leave.

She had to get out of here before she lost her nerve. Shadow was looking a little too sexy. His dark eyes were staring into her own, full of love, desire…and pain?

"Wait, Princess, don't go," he said, taking her hand. "I want to show you something."

"I really have to study, Shadow-kun. And shouldn't you be getting back to work? Poppy-san will yell at you if you slack off."

"It's okay. I'm on my lunch break."

It wasn't exactly the truth, but that didn't matter. He wasn't scared of the old caretaker. The princess finally relented, following Shadow to the back of the garden where the roses were grown.

Once there, he stopped in front of one of the bushes and cut off a single, perfect blood red rose, which he placed in her blue hair. "The moment I saw that rose, I thought of you," Shadow whispered.

"It's beautiful, Shadow."

"Not quite as beautiful as you."

Taking her chin in his hand, Shadow raised her lips to his own, kissing her passionately. It happened so fast that Yumeko didn't know how to react, other than to kiss him back. He was pulling her closer to his body, running his hands down her back and through her long curly hair, as she responded hungrily to his kisses. The kiss seemed to last for an eternity, but finally Yumeko managed to gently pull back from his strong embrace. They were both breathless.

"Shadow, I REALLY need to study now," Yumeko said quickly, picking up her book, which had fallen on the ground during their moment of passion. "Next Monday, I have a huge test on Freud's theories about the origin of dreams, and I haven't even gotten past the first page."

"Dreams?"

Yumeko looked up at Shadow's eyes and saw that flicker of pain she saw earlier, only this time it was more pronounced. What was causing him to feel this sadness? She didn't understand.

"Yes, dreams," she answered. "It's for my psychology class."

Shadow was silent for a moment, making Yumeko feel very nervous. What was he thinking about? Finally, he sat down on a nearby bench and said something totally unexpected.

"Princess, what does it feel like to dream?"

She was taken back by the question. What did he mean? Surely he knew what if felt like to dream, but he sounded so sincere and curious, just like a little child who wanted to know where babies came from or why the sky was blue.

"Are you saying that you've never had a dream before?" she asked, sitting down beside him and placing her hand on his knee.

"The people of my world are not allowed to dream," he admitted.

"Not allowed to dream? Shadow, I don't understand. Where did you really come from?"

Shadow knew he had said too much. How was he going to get out of this problem without Dreama Aurora guessing the truth? He began racking his brain, searching for a suitable lie.

"I'm sure you've never heard of it," he finally said. "I come from a small planet in the Asteroid Belt, near the Vesta Asteroid. It's so tiny that you probably couldn't find it on a map. Only about a hundred or so people live there."

"It's not a part of Silver Millennium?"

"Not yet," he lied. "It's a territory of your kingdom, but won't become a full-fledged member until the population reaches five hundred. Until then, we are allowed to make and abide by our own laws."

Yumeko let the information soak in. It was true that there were many small planets in the Belt that were not official members of Silver Millennium, but she never heard of a law that banned people from dreaming. How was that even possible? A person just couldn't stop dreaming of their own will, could they?

Shadow was staring at her patiently, waiting for an answer to his earlier question. Yumeko didn't know how what to say. How could she explain what a dream felt like?

"Well, I guess a dream kind of feels like floating on air. It's like you are in a completely different world, where anything and everything can happen, and usually does."

"Really? It sounds wonderful," he said, caressing her cheek. "What do you dream about, Princess?"

"Honestly?" she asked, slightly blushing. "I've been dreaming about you, Shadow-kun, ever since that day you fell from the fountain."

He bent down and kissed her gently on the lips. It wasn't as passionate as the kiss they shared earlier, but it was twice as sweet.

"If I could dream, Princess, I would dream about you," he whispered in her ear as Poppy interrupted their little rendezvous, looking none too happy.

"Shadow-kun, get back to work," he ordered. "And Princess, Elysia has been looking all over for you."


Elysia paced back and forth along the edge of the fountain. Where could Yumeko have gone? She said that she was just going down to the garden to retrieve her book, but that was over an hour ago. Even worse, the handsome gardener was missing as well. Elysia had no doubt that the two of them were together. She had to end this relationship before Yumeko got hurt.

Just when she felt like she was about to go crazy with worry, the dreamy princess herself walked up to the fountain, a soft smile on her face.

"Where have you been, young lady?" the cat demanded. "You had me worried sick."

"Elysia, you worry way too much. I was just talking to Shadow-kun."

"Shadow-kun? Is he the young man you were so intently studying when you really should have been reading your book?"

Yumeko blushed, realizing that her secret had been discovered. Apparently she hadn't done a good job concealing her little spy game.

"I think you should stay away from that guy, Yumeko."

"Why, Elysia?"

"Well…because I said so, that's why," she replied, unable to think of a suitable reason. What was she supposed to say? That there was a possibility that Shadow was working for the enemy? The last thing Elysia wanted to do was worry her mistress, especially after all that had happened recently.

"Surely you can think of a better reason than 'Because I said so,'" Yumeko said, walking back to the castle.

Elysia jumped off the fountain and followed her. "Well, there's also the fact that you and Phoenix broke up little more than a week ago. Don't you think you should give your heart a little time to heal before you jump into another relationship? And have you even thought about the class division? It simply is not appropriate for the princess to socialize with the service," the cat babbled.

"Don't tell me you're an elitist, Elysia," Yumeko giggled, knowing that she didn't really mean it. Elysia was the one always urging her to make friends with the servants. "I thought I raised you better than that!"

"Don't try to change the subject. The point is, I think that it would be best for everyone concerned if you stayed away from that guy. There's something about him that just doesn't strike me right."

Those words sounded vaguely familiar to Yumeko. Didn't Poppy say something like that when she first asked about Shadow? She knew that the old caretaker and Elysia were looking out for her best interest, but just because they didn't like Shadow (for whatever crazy reason), that was no reason to stop seeing him. What in the world did they have against him?

"This conversation is over, Elysia," Yumeko said tersely, entering the palace library. "I really need to study."

"But Yumeko…"

The door slammed in her face.