I wondered what Lynn had dreamt about that made her cry in her sleep. She never talked or moved normally. I was the one who was restless. Shaking my head, I made my way back to my room. Our rooms were next to each other, Dad's way of keeping us close together even when we were apart. The closeness helped us calm ourselves after nightmares and things. Knowing your twin was right next door did a lot for confidence.
Slipping back under my covers, I slipped back easily into dreams. I started to dream of a man, tall with shaggy black hair. He seemed confused about something as he cowered behind a big black throne. His eyes caught me, though, as he looked in my direction. Full of fear and confusion, they latched onto me and didn't let go. I wondered what his eyes held when he was not frightened.
Hearing a strange mumble of voices, I looked out from behind the throne and saw three people: two strangers and one very familiar to me. My father stood talking to an extremely tall man all in black while another stood silently by. Dad held a ring in one hand, a silver ring with a strange stone. The stone drew my gaze and I nearly stepped out from behind the throne.
Shaking myself, I stepped back into the shadows behind the throne and into the arms of the strange man behind it. He wrapped his arms around me tightly and whispered in my ear, "Who are you? You should not be here." I struggled to get away from him, but didn't feel any fear. I felt no anger or malice directed at me. The man seemed to be holding onto me as though to a lifeline.
"Who are you and what is this place?" I asked, breathlessly. The man was squeezing me so hard, I had to fight for deep breaths. The man's grip loosened as I struggled a bit. Finally, he released his hold somewhat and allowed me to breath. I looked up and his brown eyes gazed thoughtfully down at me. He seemed to be less afraid and a sardonic humor glinted in his eyes.
"Who am I and where are you?" he mused. "Well, the second is easiest answered. You are in the realm of the Dream king Morpheus. He is the one in black on the throne. The man in white is his successor, Daniel. That man talking to the dream king is a mortal named Morpheus. A favorite of the dream king's if I remember correctly." The man paused and thought a moment. Then he continued, "As to who I am, my name is Matthew and until recently, I was the raven of Morpheus."
I went limp in Matthew's arms, wondering how a raven could become a man. I felt a laugh start to bubble out of him and twisted in his grip until I could see his eyes. He didn't have the look of a madman about him and the laugh was anything but hysteric. He seemed genuinely amused by something. Before I could ask what amused him so greatly, my vision started to darken. Suddenly, I found myself awake in my bed, with the alarm going off in my ear.
I turned over but couldn't go back to sleep. Matthew filled my thoughts and I wondered how I could help him, if indeed he needed my help.
I sat up in my bed, wondering when Morpheus' throne would go to his successor. Daniel seemed quiet but intense, but I couldn't say much about him. I looked at the ring in my hand and read the inscription again. Eternity. I started to notice a trend among the inscriptions on our rings. My daughters had Forever and Love, which melded with my Eternity to create an interesting image of the universe. But then again, I could be just stretching things.
Wondering what could happen that would hurt the dream king, I readied myself for the day ahead. I had a hard case today and it was the first day at court. After shaving and dressing, I noticed a woman lounging on the chair in the corner of my room. She was wearing all black, had wild black hair, white skin, and wore a silver ankh on a chain. She was very familiar, even though I hadn't seen her before. She smiled at me and I smiled back, unconsciously.
"Why, hello Morpheus," the woman said. "How have you been?" I said I had been fine and she shook her head. She stood up and came over to look deep into my eyes. She held a finger up against her lips as she looked at me. I wondered what she was thinking, standing there with a small smile on her face.
"You haven't quite gotten over Lauren's death, have you?" the woman asked me shrewdly. I stepped back and looked at her startled. I wondered who she was and saw a resemblance to the dream king. Her smile grew a little wider and she said, "Hmm, wasn't expecting that were you?" I shook my head numbly and sat down heavily on the bed.
"Who are you? Why do you look so much like Morpheus?" I asked, haltingly. She sat back down on the chair and crossed her arms. She cocked her head and replied, "Well, I look so much like him because he's my younger brother. And I am Death." I felt my head spinning and gripped the comforter before I fell off the bed. She knew Lauren and had taken her!
"W-, why did you take her from me? It was so soon," I said, holding back tears. Death looked at me sadly and said, "It was her time. She had to go. If it comforts you, her last thought was of you and the girls." I shook my head and tried to make sense of everything I had heard so far. Death seemed to know what I was thinking, her smile growing wider.
"How many siblings does Dream have?" I asked, remembering Delirium and Desire. Death laughed, a small tinkling laugh, and said, "There's seven of us, including Dream. I assume you've met others of our siblings?" I related my experiences, not glossing over any of the small details I remembered. Death listened quietly and I was struck by her similarity to Anita. I even related the dreams my daughters had had and the one I had just woken up from. I wondered what Death would do with this information. But I mentally shrugged, thinking she'd tell me in her own time.