Sarah stringed all the dreams together, but they just seemed to be random, except for the fact that it the dreams all took place at the same time of year. And then she thought of her forth dream, which threw her conclusion out the window.

Ysabel looked out from the balcony of her room. A column of riders were approaching the castle. Joy swelled up in Ysabel when her father had told her that the maou's family was coming was coming for a visit. It had been nearly a year since they've seen each other.

She headed out her room and made her way to the main hall. She passed the guest wing where a few maids and butlers were busy preparing rooms for the coming guests. Lady Cecilie was a good queen and all but she was also known to be very spontaneous. Word of their arrival was heard of by rider who announced that the royal family was fifteen minutes away.

By the time she exited the main doors to the courtyard, grooms were already rushing forwards to take the guests' horses. She spotted her parents talking to Lady Cecilie. She ran over to greet them.

When she peered into the carriage, she noticed that they were a few more people accompanied Celi and her family. Ysabel recognized them immediately as the Wincott family. She greeted Dan Hiri and Celi first then greeted Lord and Lady Wincott and their daughter, Julia, in turn.

When that was done, she walked over to a brown horse. Conrad wore a hoodless purple traveler's cloak with a large red broach which held it in place. Conrad slid down from his saddle and helped another boy who rode behind off.

The boy had orange hair and blue eyes. When Conrad saw her, he smiled. He motioned to the boy that accompanied him. "This is my new friend, Josak."

"Hello," Ysabel said brightly. "I'm Ysabel."

Josak seemed a bit intimidated at first but slowly after, he became more open and smiled. At that moment, pages filtered out of the castle to take the baggage and show the guest to their rooms.

"You should make yourselves comfortable," Ysabel continued. "You know, next time, you should really consider informing us earlier. You threw our master of ceremonies into quite a fit." She said the last statement with a giggle.

Conrad smiled.

Sarah stopped in her tracks on the stairs. Out of all the dreams she had, the forth seemed the most… pointless… of course, she remembered she couldn't really sleep that night so maybe she just woke up before it finished.

Putting that behind her, she recalled the fifth dream.

Ysabel appeared to be in a carriage again.

Their carriage door opened when they arrived at the main doors of Blood Pledge Castle. They were escorted to the castle's ballroom. Inside, many nobles stood mingling with each other. A herald announced their arrival and several of the nobles nodded in greeting.

Ysabel followed her parents through the maze of people. Instead of her usual violet attire, her parents had asked her to put on a white flowing dress. Her hair was tied up in the latest fashion and was decorated with a few pieces of jewelry.

Finally, she spotted the person she was looking for. She tugged lightly at her mother's gown.

After being informed where her daughter was going, she and her husband watch warmheartedly as their daughter disappeared into the crowd of people. "You don't think…" Charles started.

Robyn shrugged. "Only time will tell…"

Conrad stood dressed in a dark blue outfit that looked a lot like a uniform. He smiled and waved when he saw Ysabel. "You look great today," they both said at the same time. They laughed sheepishly.

"Happy Birthday," Ysabel said, ending the awkwardness.

"Thanks," Conrad smiled. Just then, Lady Cecilie walked over to the two youths. "Why don't you two dance?" she suggested. Ysabel took a sideward glance at Conrad. A hint of scarlet could be seen on his cheeks as he seemed to shy away and the suggestion.

"That's okay," Ysabel said. "I can't dance very well…"

The maou merely smiled and walked away muttering something that neither youth could make out. Conrad breathed out heavily and mouthed the words: Thank you.

Ysabel stifled a giggle behind one hand. "So, why don't you want to dance?" Conrad looked slightly uneasy and when he looked like he wanted to brush the question off, Ysabel pouted mockingly and said, "Come on, tell me…"

Conrad sighed. "Fine…" he pursed his lips a bit then said, "Cause I can't."

Ysabel looked skeptical. "That's it?"

"Yeah," Conrad said, surprised that was all his friend had to say. "Isn't it enough?"

"That's hardly a problem," Ysabel said matter-of-factly.

"Can you dance?"

"Sure."

Conrad's expression lightened. "Then, why don't you teach me?"

Ysabel was a bit astonished at Conrad's unexpected request. "Here?"

"Um…" Conrad thought for awhile. "No, come on, follow me." He started running through the chatting nobles. Silently, they slipped out of the ballroom and out into the marshalling yard. Though little did they know that they're every movement was being watched.

"Can you ride yet?" Conrad asked as he led her into the stables.

"Yea, but I still haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet," came her reply.

"Then you'd better ride with me," Conrad said as he took her to one of the last stalls. He saddled his horse and mounted. Once he was firmly on, he offered his hand down to help the girl below mount.

Ysabel encircled her arms around Conrad's waist to steady herself as they rode out. Conrad steered his horse to a portion of the castle grounds Ysabel had never been to, mostly because it was too far.

It was another garden. "Apparently, your mom likes flower gardens," she noted aloud.

Conrad looked over his shoulder and smiled at her. "You could say that."

He slid off his saddle and turned to help Ysabel off, but found that she was already off and mounting the steps into structure. The structure consisted of six columns and a roof. It was practically large enough to be a dance floor.

Conrad tied his horse to one of the columns and followed after the girl. Conrad took his jacket off and slung it over a bench near the steps. "Shall we begin then? We shouldn't disappear for too long a time."

Ysabel started off by showing Conrad a few steps and the proper way they were suppose to be executed. Then, she asked him to come to the center of the floor so that she could teach him waltz. She put his left hand on her waist and placed hers on his shoulder. She took his right.

"One, two, three… One, two, three…" Ysabel counted. "Don't look down at your feet so much."

Time ticked away as Conrad slowly mastered each step. At every misstep, Ysabel would lightly chide him, but overall, Conrad was doing great. They covered a few styles of dancing, all of which Conrad gradually mastered.

"I think that's all," Ysabel said stepping back from him.

"Thanks," he thanked her. "It's about time we get back too."

Conrad retrieved his jacket and buttoned it on. They mounted and headed back. When they reached the marshalling yard, a surprising scenario greeted them. Soldiers and servants alike were scrambling all over the area.

One of the veterans spotted them and shouted to his comrades. By the time Conrad and Ysabel were off the mount, they were mobbed by soldiers and staff asking questions.

Too many people talk at a time. Neither Ysabel nor Conrad could make out anything they said. "What's going on?" Conrad's tone suddenly turned officer-like and Ysabel immediatly knew it was not his age but his rank that was talking.

His tone successfully hushed the crowd. "Young lord, the maou sent out searching parties for you and the young lady," said one of the soldiers.

Conrad stood perplexed. "Why, we were only gone for what? One, two hours?"

"Try five, young sir," a staff supplied.

Conrad and Ysabel exchanged troubled, wide eyed glances. "Uh oh…" both children muttered.

Conrad threw the reins of his horse to one of the soldiers. "Brush him down for me," he said as he grabbed Ysabel's wrist and ran straight for the ballroom.

They entered the ballroom and saw almost the same scenario they saw in the marshalling yard. Ysabel could hear Conrad mutter 'Whoops'. "Ysabel!" "Conrad!" their parents called out when they saw them enter, they rushed forwards.

"Where have you two been?" Charles inquired. "We were so worried."

Conrad spoke first. "Ysabel was just teaching me how to dance, so we went out into the back garden," Conrad explained.

Before anyone could speak, Celi smiled and said, "Well then, let's see your results."

This time, both youths' cheeks were tinted as they were ushered to the center of the ballroom. The eyes of every noble in Shin Makoku were now on them. They took their positions for waltz as the musicians struck up a tune. They carried out each step with enough grace to surpass a swan's.

Sarah sipped her hot tea. So far, all these dreams seemed to be highlights in Ysabel's life. Except for the seventh dream she had that is. She searched the mind, for some reason, she couldn't remember what the sixth was. Then, slowly, it all came back to her.

Ysabel held her breath.

"Now," her father said. "Release."

Ysabel let her arrow fly. It sped across the fifty paces and found its mark on the third ring from the center with a firm thud.

"Not bad for a first try," Charles commented as he stood up from his kneeling position. "Keep practicing and you'll be an expert in no time."

Ysabel nodded happily. She turned around. "Hello Conrad," she said brightly.

Conrad blinked in surprise. "You knew I was here?"

"I heard you," was all she said.

"Conrad," Charles said. "When did you get here?"

"We just arrived," the boy answered.

"We? Your family's here too?"

"Yes, mother sent a rider to inform you twenty minutes ago," he smiled.

(Sweatdrop) "Well," Ysabel said. "At least she gave us five minutes more to prepare than the last time…"

"Robyn must have received the message then, I was out here the whole morning," Charles said. "Well then, I'll go and greet our guests." He turned to Ysabel. "Why don't you stay here a bit longer to practice?" She nodded and he made his way back into the castle.

"This must be the first time I've seen you not in a dress," Conrad teased. "I must say, you look good though."

As expected, Ysabel blushed at the slightest bit of complimentary or flattery. Today, because her father had offered to teach her archery, she had donned a white shirt and leggings with violet trimmings. Lastly, instead of letting her hair down, it was gathered up into a pony tail.

Ysabel took an arrow out of a quiver on the floor and drew it back till her cheek. Without her father there to correct her form, she barely remembered how it was done. A hand appeared and tilted her aim higher and then off to the right. "Your aim is off," Conrad explained.

"You're tensing," he observed. "Relax."

"Now, slowly breathe out as you let it fly." She did so and her shot fell on the second ring. "Your father was right," he said. "You do have talent."

Then, something caught his eye. "I never noticed that before," he said, indicating a patch of darker skin on her palm.

Ysabel turned her hand over and saw what he meant. Her face split into grin. "Well, took you long enough." She fingered the design on her palm. "It's just a birthmark."

"Not many birthmarks I've seen are in the perfect shape of a dove."

Ysabel smiled. "This was the reason I called that move 'Camarade's Angel'."

"Speaking of which," Conrad said as a thought came to mind. "I've been meaning to ask you something since that training session with my father three years ago."

She cocked her head, indicated he should continue. "What does 'camarade' mean? I don't think I've heard of that word before."

Ysabel smiled. "I was thinking when someone would ask me that. But, yea, you've heard of the word before… sort of, that is."

"You see, I was in the library looking through some books, and then I came across this think one that looked like a dictionary. Apparently, 'camarade' is 'comrade' in one of the human languages."

Conrad blinked in surprise. "'Comrade's Angel', huh? Oh… makes sense, I suppose."

Ysabel smiled.

The dreams just didn't make sense at all. Actually, more than making Sarah pondered why she was having them, they were freaking her out. Thinking of the sixth dream made her finger the birthmark on her palm as well.

Sarah looked down on the outfit she had throw on and for a reason that she couldn't name, she felt the sudden urge to change it.

She made her way up the stairs and into her bedroom. She opened her wardrobe and changed into a simple white dress. Then, she noticed that a new piece of clothing lay folded on top of a stack.

She took it out and unfolded it. Is this some kind of joke? It was a black cloak.

She held it with one hand and closed her wardrobe with her other. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw a figure standing behind.

"Hello Sarah," the blond man said. The man looked like he just came back from a cosplay convention as he wore a crimson cape over his polished armor.

Sarah's eyes widened then her expression softened. "Great," she muttered out loud. "Later tonight, I'll know exactly what to write in my dairy: Dear diary, today is my birthday and I recalled all the weird dreams I've had during the week. Then five minutes later, I start hearing things and hallucinating."

The man looked as if Sarah had injured his pride. "Sarah…" he began.

Sarah clasped her ears with her palms and said, "I can't hear anything from you because you're my hallucination!"

"Sarah…" he started again.

Sarah shot him a look of daggers and said, "Forget it, Shinou." And before he could say anything, Sarah walked out of her room.

Shinou rolled his eyes and followed after her. "Sarah…" he said again as he tried to get her attention.

"I'm hallucinating and you're going to disappear any second now," she said as she walked down the stairs.

Shinou strode behind her. "I'm not your hallucination," he tried to explain.

"Yes, you are," Sarah insisted. She stopped in her tracks making Shinou bump into her. "In fact," she started. "Do you know what you are?" she said as she turned back to face him. She jammed her finger into his shoulder as she marked every point. "You are fictional, you are unreal, and you are imaginary!" she screamed into his face. "And me?" she continued.

Shinou rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall as he waited for her to stop raving.

"Iam real, Iam flesh and blood, and Iam DREAMING!" With that, she stormed down the remaining steps.

Shinou followed the raving girl into a room full of shelves. Sarah opened a drawer and started flipping through the files inside.

"What are you doing?" Shinou inquired.

"I'm checking if I've had any medical history, at least that would explain why this is happening," Sarah murmured.

"You don't have any medical history," Shinou assured her.

"Then, what the hell is going on here?" she shouted.

"Today is your birthday and I am merely giving you a present," Shinou said.

"Okay… I'll go along this for awhile. What present?"

"I need an agent on earth, to help me manipulate events in Shin Makoku."

"You already have Ken to do that," Sarah said as she stormed into the kitchen.

"Ken is non-existing right now; I need you to do it."

"Forget it, get some other fan girl to do that," Sarah said as she turned around to face him, over-turning her teacup in the process.

"Didn't you like the presents I gave you over the week?" Shinou asked.

"The dreams?"

Shinou shook his head. "No, the memories."

"Memories?" Sarah repeated in disbelieve. "But… how?"

Shinou turned away and started to walk. "If you want more answers, you'll just going to have to come and see me in the Original King's Temple. You won't need Ulrike's help to contact me though. Oh, and one more thing," he threw Sarah the cloak which she dropped in her room. "You'll need this." Then, he started to fade.

"Wait, I'm not done raving and/or questioning yet," Sarah said as she moved to grab his wrist but found that her hand move right through his.

Looking over his shoulder, he said, "Sarah, too bad that dye doesn't last very long, I wish you the best of luck. God speed." Then he faded into nothingness.

Sarah stood alone in the middle of the kitchen for some time. She had dyed her hair just last night, but what did that have to do with anything? Wait… She groaned aloud. Please don't tell me… I might as well avoid water for the rest of my life.

She needed to sit down. She crossed to the table but as soon as she took that first step, she kept falling…

I refuse to open my eyes… I refuse to open my eyes…

Sarah opened her eyes. The brilliant sunlight blinded her for a while then she sat up and surveyed her surroundings. She lay on a beach with a canopy of trees behind her. She didn't need any Demon King to tell her where Shinou had dropped her.

She stood up. Panicking won't do me any good and neither will lying to myself; I know very well I'm not dreaming. She threw the cloak Shinou had given her over her shoulders and fastened it.

"Fine, Shinou," she muttered under her breath. "I don't know how I'm supposed to get to Shin Makoku from here and I don't know how I'm supposed to survive without the currency here, but I'll play along with this." She paused, and then added. "If it doesn't get me killed."

She picked up her feet and headed deeper into Big Simaron.

a/n:

End of Chapter one: Dreams, I hoped you all enjoyed it. Forgive any typos! I'd appreciate it if anyone might point them out.

Ysabel is pronounced Ye-za-bell (Roughly). Heh, just thought I'd point that out.

i love athrun: Thanks for your review! I hope you liked this new upload.

Please Review! Reviews are my INSPARATION!

Stay tuned for further chapters and until then,

Cheers,

Val.