{-Sharena-}

It felt like something had hit her the moment she began realizing that she knew more of this than she should've. She followed along with everything he was saying, and she only found more connections to her fragments of memories as he continued.

"An important thing to remember was that the girl was still mortal. She still aged, since her home was in the waking realm, yet she didn't show signs of leaving. Most kids leave the dream realm behind them by the time they're thirteen—some a little sooner, others later—but she didn't. Due to her ties to the álfar and her natural tie to dreams, it was incredibly unlikely that she never would've left. Ultimately, she wasn't human or álfar; not by the basic description of either of them. There wasn't many ways we could fix it without hurting her or destroying her ties to the other two girls, which would've made the whole situation pointless. So we sealed her powers; did what we likely should've years ago, and let her forget like any other child. Though it meant forgetting her friends as well, there wasn't much options to go through. The youngest of the three assisted me in that process, and it must've felt like betrayal to the bounds they've created.

"In that state, she couldn't bother the effects of the dream realm. That part of her was dormant, along with the memories that she'd made here. But that didn't mean her power didn't continue to grow and develop, even if we didn't notice it at first. There were a few events throughout the years that made a notable change as she grew and was noticed by other groups for her connection to dreams—thinking on it now, the same groups might've acknowledged it before we even did. I will admit that we did have some sort of hand in some of those events, since we had a better control over dreams than the other group did. Freyja, regrettably, still houses some of these creatures to this day. It wasn't that long ago that we were made aware of a second pair of dream guardians, though these for the waking realm. Together, those four took over managing what the girl possessed, which kept her from an overwhelming and sudden re-emerging of her full powers. They also kept her safe from the things that would've otherwise hurt her… without the four, she very well might've fallen prey to the creatures she, as a dreamer, was meant to subdue on her own.

"Now we face the possibility of her going to the dream realm when she's not supposed to. This will majorly effect the balance between the real world and dreams, given her position in both. It came about when she began to remember us; soon after, we realized that if we didn't do something, we'd very well be finding something here that doesn't belong."

By now, Freyr had wandered right in front of her. He was giving her the same kind of look she'd seen from so many others; gentle and caring, with a general understanding that she wasn't a little girl—whether they wished she was or not. The first thing she thought of was a father who actually cared for and acknowledged her.

"I'm assuming by now you've figured out everyone's role in this story," Freyr continued. "The three girls… listing by age, they were Triandra, you, and Peony. One of your waking guardians are with you now; the nightmare."

"I have a name," Lekra pointed out dully, seeming to ignore the fact that the conversation didn't involve them. "I'd very much prefer if you use it. Though I do thank you for using the right pronouns."

Sharena shot them a disapproving glare. "Lekra, no one's asking for your personal preferences right now. Please shut up." They looked more acceptant of it than actually offended, which actually sort of surprised her.

Meanwhile, much quieter, Mirabilis mumbled something that sounded like "I just did it because Sharena did it… nightmares usually don't have preferences…"

Freyr ignored all of them and brought the conversation back to its original line of thought. "The other one, I believe, is at your home in the waking realm." He paused. "To be more specific, likely playing in poison ivy with very little supervision. His name… Iztali, was it?"

That most definitely sounded like something Iztali would do; in fact, Sharena was pretty sure she'd seen him do it before. He honestly never seemed to care how dirty he got as long as he was allowed to do whatever he wanted, and could admit to feeling the same way when she was that little (of course, excusing the fact she never actually could since she had her mother and guards keeping her in one area).

"Peony and Triandra have been watching over you for about five years now." Freyr walked around her once before making his way back to his throne. "It's because of you that they're here, and in turn, they help keep the balance for you. Álfar were created so then those children wouldn't suffer. These two have been through their fair share of suffering and they've been saved having to handle it any longer thanks to you."

She gave an absent nod just to show she was still paying attention. Most of her was still trying to catch up with the information, trying to find a part that still remembered those times. There had to be something, right? Lekra had been able to show her memories similar to that before, and she'd seen bits of them through dreams; if that much remained in her somewhere, then the rest had to be there too. She wasn't even sure if it was possible to just completely wipe a part of a person's memories—they may not ever be able to find them, but they still had to be there somewhere.

The more she thought over it, however, the worse she felt. It was like when she tried to remember before; her head spun more the longer she focused on it, like the memories themselves were sealed away. Given Freyr's description, they probably were, and using Lekra's metaphor, she'd just burst through the door that was meant to stay closed for a while longer.

Both Alfonse and Anna caught on to it quickly, walking over to be on either side of her.

Anna was the first to put her hand on Sharena's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"A little dizzy…" Sharena mumbled, probably just loud enough for the three of them to hear.

All Peony must've noticed was that she was having trouble processing everything. "The palace has a garden not too far from here, if it'll help. Soak in that peaceful Ljósálfheimer air! It always helps me."

"I understand that it's probably a lot to take in," Freyr agreed. Even he seemed unaware of it, or maybe it was because he no longer had a good look at her expression. "Mirabilis can show you."

"What?! Why can't I take them? I won't get lost! I never get lost!" Peony pointed out defiantly. "Since you literally just admitted that we're kinda connected to each other, shouldn't we be allowed to spend more time together? I suggested it! Mirabilis is just over here falling asleep! I don't even think she's paying attention!"

"I'm paying attention," Mirabilis corrected with a yawn. "You're whining because Freyr isn't giving you what you want. By now you'd think you'd have matured a little… or at least to the point where you consider others' feelings. She might not want you there, so close to the problem itself… ever consider that?"

"Sharena, is that—"

"Peony." It only took one word from Freyr for her to shut up and look in trouble. Then again, it was also the disappointed-father voice, which made both Alfonse and Sharena a little more attentive despite not being the ones he was talking to. "I said that Mirabilis will show them there, so she will. You are to stay here with me until they come back. Is that clear?"

Peony, almost begrudgingly, bowed. "Yes, Dream-King Freyr."

((A/N: Wow, this chapter is short… but I didn't want to drag it on for too long and I wanted the ramble that's bound to come in the next chapter.

By the end, I think Freyr said "ties" and "connection" way too much… Also keep in mind that throughout these explanations, Freyr says Sharena had a strong connections to dreams before that. Any guesses on what that means?

Freyr is the father of ljósálfar, change my mind. And in a literal father sense, too—not just by the sense that he made them ljósálfar.

A quick little thing regarding fathers, for those who are new to my AU or forgot (or on the rare chance I haven't actually mentioned it before), Gustav pretty much ignored Sharena. Unless, of course, it was to yell at her for something; and trust me, both of the siblings heard the disappointed-father tone a lot growing up. I've thought of a scenario when they were younger: Sharena, starving for her brother's attention like the five-year-old she probably was, had taken Alfonse's practice sword and proceeded to run around the castle with it. But when she ran into Gustav, he only stared at her for a moment before scolding Alfonse for not paying close enough attention to keep her from getting it. Sharena wasn't even talked to, but she still understood that she'd done something bad—if not just by realizing that Alfonse was the one who got punished for something she'd ultimately done. TL;DR- Gustav was a sucky father, yet somehow both of his kids turned out semi-normal.))