Author's Note: Last full chapter before the end!

Dream Weaver

Chapter 7

Suteki/Garnet:

          If I thought Jougen was being irrational before, I would be wrong. The moment the crowd heard Musouka/Natiohane's confession, they wanted her put to death immediately. Fortunately for me, Iyori was able to pull some tricks to postpone her death sentence. Unless I could do something soon, the real Musouka would die. Wait…the real Musouka!

          "Iyori, can I go to the jail? I needed to visit Musouka."

          Iyori gave me his suspicious look for a moment or two and nodded. He had gotten used to my strange requests now, which was great.

          "Come on."

          The walk to the jail was a short one and it was hard to believe that Jougen had one. As soon as this situation was done, Jougen and Yoarashi would be seen in a new light. Iyori motioned to the guard to open the gate and ushered me inside.

          "I'm not going inside, Suteki, but I will be here."

          I nodded and headed inside. The interior of the jail was dimly lit and silent except for the tears of someone or something. I walked past the cells slowly, noting the paler appearance of the inhabitants inside. I guess they hadn't seen the light of day in several years. I found it funny that I never heard of them from Musouka or Iyori. As I continued on, the answer dawned on me.

          Musouka had mortals under her care once and Natiohane told me that they had vanished. The only thing about that was that they hadn't disappeared. They were kept in the jail. Was that supposed to be my fate? It was time to find out. In the last cell was a broken and bruised Musouka. She looked up at me slowly, inching closer to the wall.

          "I know it's you, Musouka. The real you," I whispered.

          "No one believes me…"

          "That's what Natiohane wanted. She told everyone that you killed Dori."

          "She killed my sister! She will pay if I'm put to death."

          I blinked.

          "How?" I asked.

          "I am her twin sister, Suteki. She cannot live without me."

          "Doesn't she know that?"

          "She doesn't remember."

          This was very strange indeed. If I were Natiohane, I certainly wouldn't forget my weaknesses.

          "You see, Natiohane's had a few accidents before she ended up in Yoarashi. One of which scrambled her memory," Musouka said softly.

          "So where is Natiohane now?"

          "In Yoarashi resting. She won't be back in Jougen until way after my execution."

          I smiled.

          "Good."

          Musouka's eyes widened in confusion.

          "Good?"

          "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

          I waved at her and went back to the front gate. Iyori yawned and opened the gate for me quickly.

          "Did everyone go ok?"

          I nodded, trying to keep the smile off of my face.

          "Everyone's fine. Let us rest until the rest of the evening."

9:14 P.M.:

          What luck! Iyori was dead asleep and in his own bed, which was excellent. It made things a lot easier, plus it was a lot better than bringing up a string of lies. And lies wasn't something I wanted to tell. Within the last few hours I had read most of the books Dori 'gave' me. The secret to summoning was mine now and I was determined to use it. But my one setback was the jewels. I lacked them…which means I can't summon without it. Maybe I could find an alternative soon. But time was dwindling and I had to get Musouka out before execution time.

          I climbed out of the hut's window and ran down the lane to the jail. I paused at the gate for a second or two, taking time to listen out for anyone else. Jougen remained eerily quiet as ever, prompting me to climb over the gate. I did so and ran into the back to Musouka's cell. Musouka was still there, leaning against the bars casually.

          "You act as if your not going to be put to death," I commented.

          She smirked.

          "I don't fear death anymore."

          Fear death? Well, I suppose that's good for you, Musouka. As for me…I pulled the set of keys off of the wall and unlocked the cell door.

          "These people…were they associated with you?" I asked as Musouka walked out into the hallway.

          "Natiohane framed them so they got trapped in here for life."

          "When I'm finished, free them. But for now, Yoarashi is our next destination."

          I led her back through the way I came and climbed down the side of the nearest tree trunk. I tried to keep us in the shadows so that if Iyori or any other citizen of Jougen wandered out, it would be hard to see us. Then again, that's why I knew magic. Thank you, Iyori.

          "Wait, Suteki. There's a much quicker way to Yoarashi from here," Musouka whispered.

          "Are you sure?" I asked, huddling down in the shadows further.

          "Yes, follow me."

          She took off into the column of trees silently, weaving in and out between the trees. I followed her, gaining speed by each second. For a moment, I felt light and then heavily all over again. This made me stop dead in my tracks and glance around. Musouka stopped just a few paces from me, with a calm expression on her face.

          "Are we in the land of nightmares?" I asked.

          "Yeah. Yoarashi is just ahead. Suteki, why are you doing this?"

          "Because I'm someone else. I am Queen Garnet til Alexandros the 17th. I learned this when you were…supposedly away."

          "So…you found your memory?"

          I sighed.

          "Not yet…not all of it. But I do know the magical and summoning tricks to it."

          Musouka fished a pouch out of her pocket and tossed it to me.

          "Here."

          I caught it and opened it. Inside it was several gemstones that held unseen power within them. Were these the summoning gems?

          "But how did you—"

          "I found them when you first came here. I knew what they were for so I hid them away from Natiohane. I knew you would need them again soon."

          I could have kissed Musouka. (A/N: But that would be wrong.)

          "Thank you, Musouka. You just made kicking Natiohane's ass much easier," I whispered.

          "Come on, let's go."

          The distance between the hills and Yoarashi was considerably short, but it was enough to drain us a bit. The last time I 'visited' Yoarashi, the air was alive with death. Now…it was quiet and energy less. Had Natiohane's return trigger something within those walls? Musouka pulled the front gates open with a grin. A blast of cold air washed over us quickly, making us shiver. I glanced at her warily and walked inside the front foyer that was dimly lit by floating candles. There was a presence in the room.

          "Ah…Suteki, how good of you to join me."

          The candles flared up brightly, lighting up the room further. In one of the chairs near the door was Natiohane.

          "I see you saved Musouka as well. Good job! But is it all in vain?"

          What did she mean by that? Natiohane got to her feet and smiled.

          "You see, there is no real way to escape the darkness of the shadows and you will be my first example, Garnet."

          She threw her hand up into the air, silently calling on whatever magic she knew. The ground cracked apart underneath us and shadowy tendrils came up from them. Musouka pushed me out of the way roughly and I watched in confusion as the shadows seized her. At first, I thought it was a weak and pointless spell, but when I saw the blood flowing from her arms…

          "What are you doing to her?" I asked, getting back to my feet.

          "I'm a night creature, Garnet. And night creatures like blood. I'm just doing Musouka a favor by killing her before Jougen's downfall."

          I hated to think of what she could possibly do to me when she got finished. I growled and pointed my finger at her, letting the energies for my holy spell come forth. What happened next was nothing short of amazing. Blue light flooded the room, setting various things, including Natiohane, on fire. After the initial parts of the spell hit, the room exploded into flames, throwing us out onto the surrounding countryside.

          I hit the ground with a heavy thud, which knocked the air out of my lungs and forced the pouch out of my grasp. Musouka and Natiohane landed just a few feet under me. Somehow, I doubted any of them were fairing any better than me. After five minutes, I was able to get back up to a comfortable sitting position. It was too quiet. Way too quiet. A shadow zoomed past me for a moment or two and returned with a pouch. All of a sudden, a foot launched itself into my stomach and forced me down to the ground.

          I was forced to look at Natiohane's ruined face, halfway twisted up into a smile. She dumped the contents of the pouch on the ground and picked a sapphire up. I had no idea what a sapphire summoned quite yet…and I wasn't sure I wanted to know. But I had to do something quick. I grabbed the closest stone I could reach without alerting Natiohane and balled my hand in a fist.

          "To think I actually counted on you to die quickly. You're almost as annoying as Musouka. But don't worry, I'll make your death quick for I have the one summoning gem that will kill you."

          I have one too, Natiohane. One that could destroy you as well.

          "Shiva, come forth and destroy!"

          I closed my eyes tightly and uttered the prayer to summon whatever monster I had in my hand. I felt a small prick of pain in my hand and then the loud whirr of blades.

          "But how did you—"

          My eyes shot open and I caught a bird's eye view of the destruction that lay upon the land. Natiohane was floating in the air, convulsing with blood flying everywhere. I backed away from the sight, hoping that it would disappear like a dream…like me. But it didn't. The whirr of blades grew louder for a moment or two and then Natiohane exploded, literally. Blood and guts flew past my small form, leaving me with a sense of failure. Now that I had gotten my memory back, was I supposed to be trapped here or was I going to just wake up?

          "I'm afraid it's not that easy, Garnet. Just look at your chest."

          I blinked and glanced down at the gaping wound in my chest. I was…too late. My life was forfeit? But I'm a dream! Dreams don't die, do they? I saw the blurry form of Musouka inch closer to my body and sighed.

          "Dreams don't die," She whispered.

          Dagger, please, please wake up!