Book One, Chapter Twenty-One
Our Dream
They managed to keep him under lock and key for four days. It was long enough for everyone to have gone two days to school. It was long enough for Kaname to introduce me to the entire Night Class, and get them all on my side. It was long enough for things to, perhaps, calm down a little. At least, for everyone but me.
It was a vampyre version of a night sweat. Was it not usually children whom they attacked? I was no child. Right?
I sat up in bed, tears streaming down my face. I had not slept at all since my visit to the senate. Nightmares of the future bombarded me every time I allowed my eyes to close even for a moment. Tonight rain battered my window, giving me the relaxation I had needed to drift to sleep. I now deeply regretted it.
I would not be able to go on like I was. Utterly exhausted, I rose from bed and went to my bathroom mirror. My intentions had been to use the water to cool my racing mind, but when I caught my reflection in the mirror I knew there was something else that had to be done.
I turned and ran.
Down the winding stairs and out onto the stone I traveled. Bare, my feet carried me faster through the pouring rain than any horse could. I could have gone faster but was far too tired. Lighting cracked overhead and thunder roared, but it made no difference: I was a pureblood. I was more silent than a turtle.
With my gifts I bent my Chi so that I was invisible and not tangible at all. I went right through the large front doors of the boys' Sun Dormitories. Again I ran up the steps, raced down the hall, and opened a door very slowly and quietly. I closed it behind me.
"Mike?" I whispered into the dark room.
I heard a rustling of sheets and a sigh.
I proceeded to crawl into the bed and wriggle under the covers. Mike pulled me near, feeling so warm compared to my cold nightclothes.
"I am wet. I apologize."
"No need." Mike assured me. "So, what is the matter?"
"My nightmares are too much to bear." I confided. "I just need to sleep without a prophesy, even a tiny one, for one night . . ."
Instantly as I said those words I fell back to sleep, but this time into a comforting blackness and eventually into Mike's dreams again.
***
Our dream-selves were walking beside a moonlit pond, a mansion in the distance: mine.
"Nice setting." Mike commented. "I like what you have done with the place."
"Thank you."
"Is that your mansion?"
"Yes."
"I can't wait to see it. I know you aren't going to take me inside. You want me to see it for myself."
"That is correct."
"I can hear your thoughts."
"I can hear yours." I teased.
"Well, I am just saying that I know what you want."
"Really?" I challenged.
"Yep." Mike gave me a grin. With the hand that he was not using to hold mine, he waved. Out of the sparkling pond water rose a wooden swan paddleboat.
I laughed. "That is a lot cheesier than I had wanted."
Mike laughed, too. "Well, I have trouble breathing when I dream that I am swimming. It's scary."
"Ah, but you are with a pureblood vampyre. I am not going to let you drown, or even think you might drown." I grinned. "Come." I was already barefoot (It is not my belief that I was the one whose decision that was . . .) so I just stepped into the warm, tickly water. Mike's black shoes disappeared at his command and he followed me. We walked out until we were standing in the middle of the pond, beautiful creatures swimming by us or watching us curiously. I do not know whose imagination they came from, but I was in love with them. Mike took both of my hands, breathing deeply.
"See, you are alright. Have you ever noticed that you fly in your sleep much like you swim?" I asked.
"Yeah, but I can never get very high."
I smiled, thinking of Mike's memories of flying dreams. I had never had a dream like that, myself. All of my dreams had been about the future somehow, in some part of the world.
"That is sad." Mike said in response to my pondering.
"We can fly now." I answered. "Just breathe easy. It will make our departure go more smoothly. And remember that we are under water, so if you break the surface it will be shocking how much harder it is to go up, but you have no limits."
"I have no limits." Mike shook his head, grinning. "This is too amazing."
"It is." I agreed.
"No place on earth is this vibrant and magical. I want to come here every night."
"We can create any place imaginable."
"We just feed off of one another's imagination until we have created an entire universe. We can do anything. We should defiantly write a book about our adventures."
I laughed. "It would be interesting to see how it would be perceived . . ."
"Come on!" Mike said, and launched himself through the water, me in tow. I imagined us going faster and faster. We curved and bounced from the sides of the pond and twisted and twirled through the water, marveling at the beauty. The creatures smiled and played with us, twirling in the ways that we did.
One of the smallest of them swam up to me, the closest one had gotten. I cuddled it. Suddenly time slowed down and there was no longer the need to go fast and experience great feats. All of a sudden I was absorbed in playing with this little pond-creature. I was unaware of time passing. Eventually the beautiful thing drifted off to sleep.
"There is more above water." Mike told me softly. There was something understanding in his voice that made me realize what had been going on.
I did not want to, but I used every inch of my willpower to create a mother to this tiny creature, and a father. They smiled at me and I handed the baby to them, regaining my sanity.
"I am sorry." I told Mike. "Like everyone else, I get lost in thought. It was selfish of me to drag you with me."
"No, I enjoyed it as much as you did." Mike admitted, blushing.
I wanted to get off of the subject sort of quickly. "Are you ready to try flying in air?"
"Of course."
I took Mike's right hand in my left, and we walked out further into the middle of the pond. I grinned at him reassuringly. "You will not come back down this time." I said.
"Good."
I bent my knees slightly, then leaped. Mike did the same simultaneously. We went further and faster than ever before. It was no time before we had pierced the surface and were hurtling into space. Stars flew past. Mike laughed.
I smiled adoringly. "Mike, look behind us."
Cautiously, he did just that. We both marveled at the world beneath us, and the huge moon.
"It's purple." Mike laughed.
I grinned. "That is the area we have not yet created."
"Hey, what is that sound? It's been getting louder." Mike asked.
I shrugged. "I really do not want it to be, but it is probably your alarm clock. Let us ignore it. If you can manage to stay asleep that long, I would like to show you at least beyond this galaxy."
"Whoa. We can go that far?" Mike gawked at me.
"Better yet: because of my connections, I can show you a Solar Max without killing you. I can show you a dying star. I can take you farther than any scientist could ever dream of reasoning out. I can . . ."
Mike stared as I floated limply in space. Then there was the sound of an explosion, and my unconscious body jerked. Though we were defying gravity, I started falling back to earth faster than Mike could ever hope to fly. He screamed my name to no avail. The big roaring in my ears ended when I smacked into the unfinished planet with an extremely loud (and painful) BOOM!
Mike snapped upright and immediately turned to me, shaking my shoulders. "Amara?" He saw no wounds on my body.
I sighed, sincerely wishing he would not continue to shake me so. My eyelids opened. Groggily I attempted to focus, but that required me to pull my eyes down so that I was not staring at the inside of my skull. Mike had stopped shaking me the moment my lips had parted; now he gawked. Unable to stop myself, my eyes closed again and my head rolled forward. A moan escaped my throat.
"Amara? Do I need to get Kaname?"
I found the strength and held my head up again. "Do not ever shake me like that again, please. I beg of you."
"Sorry. What happened?"
I stared into Mike's eyes for a moment. Then I hugged him, resting my head on his shoulder.
Uh, yes . . . so this chapter may be the one that truly deserves my apologies due to fluff. :D Well, I can promise you that I did not lie! I worded my last author's note very carefully, knowing the fluff would go on one more chapter. ;) Today I like fluff, though. So everyone else likes fluff today. Ha ha! Okay, until next time!
P. S. Only one person has made a suggestion as to what should happen, and her idea will be used in the sequel. There is still time for other ideas!
