It started after a difficult night for Imogen, a night when the storm was chasing her as usual but she had managed to wake up before it reached her. She had run, her mother's voice echoing in the corners of her mind, and she had made it to the cabin that she always felt too far away from her; this time she had reached it. When she woke up, surrounded by her friends and with her hand firmly in Laudna's, Imogen had been able to calm her pounding heart. But she hadn't been able to go back to sleep.
The noises around her seemed amplified, someone tossing in their sleep, Fearne's sleepy mutterings, Chetney's snoring… Laudna's quiet breathing beside her.
Imogen took advantage of the moment to carefully observe the woman's face, remembering the days when Yu captured her attention, in which they were able to get that wide and frank smile that until that moment had only been directed at Imogen. Yu was gone now, the threat of their presence no longer looming over them, but they had left a host of realizations in their wake that had changed the way Imogen viewed Laudna.
Imogen bit her lower lip as her gaze swept over Laudna's lips, barely parted, sighing slowly. For the umpteenth time she imagined what it would be like to kiss them with all the desire that she carried in her heart. She knew that Laudna didn't think like her in that way, it just wasn't how the woman functioned and she respected it. But in the dark hours of the night, that respect slipped through the cracks of Imogen's desire and she was lost among the other feelings that ran through her body when there was nothing to prevent it.
Laudna stirred, muttering something intelligible in her sleep, and moved closer to Imogen's body. The clasped hands rested between them, and Imogen couldn't help but notice how thin the fabric of Laudna's nightgown was. Imogen's fingers twitched at the overwhelming need to reach out and touch her pale skin.
She couldn't be thinking about that, Laudna was her friend for Ruidus' sake!.
Feeling a little guilty, Imogen closed her eyes and tried to focus her attention on something more innocent. Anything would do.
Beside her, Laudna muttered another nonsense, something that sounded very much like "heat". Her eyes were still closed, signaling that it was part of a dream.
That was when Imogen first came up with the idea. If she could enter other people's thoughts, maybe she could also enter their dreams. She didn't want to be invasive but it could be a good idea to keep her mind from going down dangerous paths.
Imogen closed her eyes and focused on the music that was Laudna's mind, on the instant warmth that filled her when she listened to it.
When she opened her eyes again, she was no longer in the camp with the Hells, she was in an unknown forest. The music that she normally heard in Laudna's mind now came from a farther corner, she decided to follow the sound with hesitant steps. Everything was new to her, something she had never experienced, she never thought she could dive into other people's dreams but here she was.
A few steps further, the forest opened into a clearing through which ran a shallow stream of crystal clear water, on the opposite bank from her, Laudna was sitting on a rock humming a tune that sounded like a lullaby.
She was beautiful, her pale skin shimmering in the golden rays of the sun that bathed the clearing, her feet in the water, her face raised to the sky with her eyes closed, the image of peace and tranquility painted on the most beautiful face Imogen had ever seen.
As if she were in a trance, Imogen approached the stream, admiring the Laudna projected in a dream she didn't belong in.
Suddenly, Laudna stopped looking at the sky and focused her gaze on her.
"Imogen?" she asked, no surprise in her voice.
Imogen didn't know how to respond, she didn't know if Laudna had realized that she had invaded her dream or was just expecting to see her there.
"Laud" she said, unable to keep quiet "this is a nice place"
"It is," the woman replied, smiling broadly, "I used to come here when it was really hot in the shed I found, a long time ago. But it's weird…" she told her, her head tilting to the side as if she was trying to grasp a difficult concept.
Totally adorable, Imogen thought with a small smile.
"What's weird, Laud?"
"That you are here, I haven't met you yet"
Imogen understood that this place was a landscape that Laudna had encountered before coming to Gelvaan, before their lives intersected.
"But it makes sense…" the woman continued, standing up and crossing the stream towards Imogen, "that I wanted to show it to you, it is very nice after all"
Imogen nodded as she watched the woman approach, Laudna was wearing an almost transparent dress that she had never seen, of that she was sure. It seemed to be made of a fine silk that hung from the angles of Laudna's body in an exquisite way, it looked like underwear. It was sleeveless and the length of it didn't reach her knees, it had buttons down the front but they were undone up to the middle of Laudna's torso. Imogen swallowed hard, it was an image that didn't help her poor overactive mind, but she couldn't find the will to move from this place, to leave the dream.
"It's so hot today, isn't it?" Laudna asked as she stopped in front of her. "This has been one of the hottest summers I can remember."
"Yes… a little, yes." Imogen's mouth felt dry. The urge to reach out and touch had returned.
"Come to the water with me," Laudna exclaimed excitedly as she took her hand.
Imogen suppressed a gasp at the feel of the woman's skin against hers. She knew this was all a dream but it all felt so real, Laudna's hand in hers, her skin soft and cool, her feet touching the cold water of the creek, almost real. Almost.
"You're very red, maybe you should take this off" Laudna's voice pulled her out of her contemplation, she was pointing at Imogen's clothes.
Imogen looked down and discovered that she did not have her usual travel clothes, her nightgown was now covering her body.
"You mean take my clothes off?" she asked, a little stunned by this whole experience.
"Yes" Laudna told her with another of her big smiles, "Like this…" and her hands went to the buttons that still remain to be undone of her own undergarment.
"Wait…" Imogen's voice came out a bit choked, because of the image, the situation, and because of the idea that had crossed her mind. She knew that later she would feel guilty, but at the time she couldn't find the ability to care.
"Can I…?" she asked, pointing to the cloth that barely covered Laudna.
The woman seemed a bit surprised but she just nodded, lowering her hands to make room for Imogen.
Imogen's hands trembled a little as she traced the buttons that held her dress closed, but she never doubted their destination.
Her fingers stopped short of reaching for the first button, diverting its path and caressing the skin that stretched just beyond it.
"So soft…" she whispered in awe. Laudna took a deep breath and closed her eyes, as if she were overwhelmed by the feel of Imogen's hand on her skin.
Emboldened by the reaction, Imogen continued. She moved closer until they were only inches away, until their breaths mingled. Around them, the joyous singing of the birds seemed to wrapped them in a fairy tale. Imogen's hand followed a path, caressing the expanse of skin between Laudna's small, pert breasts, still covered by the fine fabric, she followed until she reached her long neck, her butterfly-like fingers leaving little goosebumps in pale skin. Her index finger traced the contour of Laudna's jaw until it reached her chin and then let her thumb caress the full lips that she so many times wanted to kiss.
"Laud… I shouldn't be here," Imogen said in a faint whisper that was almost lost to the sounds of the forest if they weren't so close.
"No" Laudna answered without opening her eyes "But I don't want you to go"
Those words carved a path of fire down Imogen's abdomen.
Her hands went to the first pinned button on her camisole.
"Please…" Laudna whispered in her ear, her voice filled with longing and need.
Her plea cut deep into Imogen's heart, her fingers slowly undoing button after button, revealing more skin in their path. When she reached the last one, Imogen didn't withdraw her hands, her fists clenching on the cloth as if she didn't want to let Laudna go.
Laudna's fingers found her clenched fists and she gently eased her fingers away from her garment, but she didn't let Imogen's hands go very far, keeping them from moving away from her. She took them in hers, directing them towards her belly.
"Here," the woman exhaled by way of command, a command Imogen happily complied with.
"You want me to touch you, Laud?" This time it was Imogen's turn to whisper words into the ear of the woman in front of her. Laudna shivered under her touch, her hands closing on Imogen's forearms.
The lilac-haired woman's palms slid over the skin on Laudna's sides, tracing exploratory circles near her hips, just a few moments before moving up to her ribs, just below her breasts, to the brunette's heavy breathing. It was getting harder and harder for Imogen to contain herself.
"Imogen" Laudna's voice sounded insistent. "Imogen!" and a little deeper...
"Imogen, wake up"
The girl opened her eyes to find Orym's face hovering above her.
"It's time to wake up" he communicated with a smile and then tried to wake up Laudna next.
Imogen was beyond overwhelmed by the experience, but also very concerned, she looked to her side where Laudna was stirring beside her, on the verge of waking up.
"Come on sleepyhead, Chet's cooking breakfast" Orym told her with a smile after Laudna murmured something very close to "not yet".
When she finally opened her eyes, Laudna sat up quickly, staring blankly at the wall of trees ahead of her.
"Laud?" Imogen needed to know if she was okay.
"Oh dear, you're awake too" the woman replied, her gaze focusing on her face.
"Yes…, are you okay?"
"Perfectly, darling" her voice sounded rough and totally sexy in Imogen's opinion, a shiver ran through her as if Laudna's words had been a caress in the parts of her body that now burned uncomfortably.
Laudna got up quickly and went to the rest of the group who were chatting animatedly around a cheerful fire where Chetney seemed to be cooking something.
Imogen sat on the sleeping blanket for a few more minutes, processing the situation. The consequences of what she had done weighed on her conscience and on the warmth it had left in her core. Laudna seemed not to remember the dream or the unexpected visit she had had in it.
Finally, Imogen joined the group and their lively conversations.
Stealing glances in Laudna's direction, and despite knowing what she was doing was wrong, Imogen couldn't help but anticipate what might happen the next time she dived into Laudna's dreams.