Sophie was on the ladder in the cavernous back room when the shop bell jingled. She jumped and nearly slipped, her booted foot sliding across the rung.

"Hello?"

The voice was so smooth it almost gave her shivers. It was aristocratic, with a very definite touch of impatience. Sophie cursed under her breath.

"One moment, sir"

She scrambled un-gracefully down the ladder, wrestling her heavy skirts into a semblance of order. Running a hand through her hair before giving it up as useless, she hurried out to the main room of the shop

"Welcome to Dreammakers, sir. My name is Sophie. How may I help you?"

Sophie sunk into a slight, demure curtsy before raising her head to scrutinize the stranger. Involuntarily her eyes widened, and she had a fleeting thought that it was a very good thing she wasn't still on the ladder. The man before her was like none she had seen before. His features were sharp and almost startling in their perfection, with slashing cheekbones and winged brows arching over green-gold eyes. He was dressed all in black, in a high-collared coat that could only have come from the finest of tailors.

Pale, straight hair was tied back at his neck with a slim black ribbon. With a furrow of her brow, Sophie also noticed the fine lines around his eyes, standing out in a face that was otherwise quite young.

"I am Jaden." He gave the merest hint of a bow. "If you are quite finished staring, I would like to make an order".

"Oh. Ah-of course"

Shaking off her brief paralysis, Sophie gestured to the dizzying array of boxes lining the walls of the shop.

"What sort of dream are you looking for?"

Jaden shook his head abruptly.

"Not any of these. I wish to place an order for a new dream."

The man couldn't possibly know if they had his dream in stock, but Sophie didn't argue with him. Looking up into his slightly sneering face, she resisted the urge to tell him exactly where he could place his order. His beauty was most definitely skin-deep. The customer is always right, she chanted to herself, and nodded toward the back of the shop.

"I see. This way, please, sir."

Sophie led him to a small table at the back of the shop, with two straight-backed wooden chairs. He sat gracefully, flicking the tails of his coat behind him; he didn't pull out a chair for her. Barely suppressing a sigh, Sophie took out ink and parchment from a drawer and settled across from him. Dipping her quill, he cocked her head at the stranger.

"What sort of dream would you like to order, then?"

Jaden shook his head again and almost jerked the quill out of her hands.

"You won't be needing that." When she opened her mouth to protest, he raised a hand. "Explain to me how you make your dreams."

Sophie furrowed her brows. It was a strange question. Customers never cared about the process, only the result. Still, if it would get rid of her unwanted guest…

"There are basic elements to every dream. Greed, envy, love, hate, despair… emotion." Sophie waved a hand toward the shop door. "Out there, the elements just….float around, I suppose. They're easy to capture. We find them and make them into dreams."

One of the man's winged brows arched.

"How exactly do you 'make them'?"

Sophie looked up, silently seeking patience.

"It's hard to explain, sir. It's a bit like weaving a tapestry, I suppose. We must decide on a dream to make, first. The hero dreams are the most popular; the brave knight and the maiden, that sort of things. Then we find the right combination of elements for the dream. People have to feel like they're really the hero or the maiden, you see, or dreams don't sell. Once the elements are chosen, we draw the storyline of the dream and fuse it with the elements. That's all."

Sophie took a breath, and waited. Across from her, the man's eyes took on a strangely intent gleam.

"The dreams are not your own, then."

Sophie shifted uncomfortably.

"Of course not. I don't actually want to be a knight or a maiden. No one uses their own dreams. That would be…insane."

Jaden leaned forward, and for the first time Sophie felt afraid.

"I want", he said carefully, "to buy one of your dreams."