Author's note: Hello, Dreamers! That's right, I'm back! This is chapter 1 of Etheria book 2: In Your Dreams! Like I said in the final chapter of book 1, this book will be all about lucid dreaming! The last book was about Daydreaming, but this one will be about Nightdreaming, and how it's not as evil and dark as people think. In this chapter, Esperanza will be introduced, and she'll be important during this book and the next. Enjoy!
My original vision for this story was a musical. Starting in this book, there will be a tracklist before some chapters (Maybe not all of them) and will be different songs for the characters to sing. If a song has 'sung by' next to the name, the certain character sings it out loud. If it has 'background' next to it, it'll be background music, like a score.
Tracklist for this chapter:
Sailor Moon SuperS OST - Crystal Forest (Background music for when Lilith walks through the dream version of the Mansion of Lucidity)
Heart - Thess dreams (Sung by Lilith when she's in the dream version of the mansion.)
Disclaimer! Any of the characters, ideas, locations, or stories that aren't my OCs or part of my ideas aren't mine and I do not claim to own them.
January 2013
The night was peaceful, as most nights are. The residents of the Mansion of Lucidity slept peacefully in their beds. Except for one. Lilith was tossing and turning, dreaming of a world of endless darkness. She traversed through her mind, trying to get to her beautiful destination.
Ever since Dire had died, Lilith had been breaking rules. She had begun practicing Lucid Dreaming. Practicing Lucid dreaming in any place other than the Fallingstar Beachhouse was strictly forbidden.
But Lilith didn't care.
She needed to see Dire again, no matter what she had to do. She started by practicing normal, ordinary, non-magical Lucid Dreaming. She Googled methods, like looking at your hands, and normal stuff like that. But it wasn't enough. One night, Lilith snuck down to the restricted part of the Haventown Etherial Library, which was a part of the Mansion of Lucidity. She secretly read all of the old, forbidden, Lucid Dreaming books she could get her hands on. All she wanted was to be able to see Dire every night.
But one certain book thought otherwise.
It happened one fateful night while Lilith was reading a certain Lucid Dreaming book. As she leafed through the pages, something extraordinary happened. The book started talking to her.
"Young Astral Dragon maiden, what is your biggest wish?" The book said, with an echoing voice.
Lilith looked around. "Wh-who's there?"
"Oh, just everything you've ever wanted..." The voice said.
Now Lilith was curious. "What do you mean by that?" Her voice trembled slightly.
"Allow me to answer a question with a question. Why do you seek to learn the skill of lucid dreaming?" This voice was bad news...
"Why do you want to know?" Lilith knew that whoever talking to her was up to no good. "Who even are you, anyway?" She was a combination of scared and annoyed.
"I'm the person who will make your dreams come true." Whatever this voice was was determined to get inside of Lilith's head...
"My dreams...?" Lilith asked.
"Yes, your dreams. Dire, was it? The man you loved was named Dire, wasn't he?"
Lilith turned white as a ghost. "How do you know him?"
"Because I am the lucid dream spirit of the Mansion of Lucidity. Long ago, when the Mansion of Lucidity and the Fallingstar Beachhouse were first built, Alessia embued them with two different Lucid Dream spirits. She was aiming to use Lucid Dreaming as a good thing, instead of a bad one." The voice said.
"Controlled Lucid dreaming..." Lilith understood.
"While the second spirit was benevolent, I was evil. It was the spirit of good, pleasant dreams, but I was the spirit of nightmares. So Alessia sealed me away." The dreams said.
"Inside of a book?" Lilith asked.
"Inside of a strictly forbidden book! Thank you for helping me, but wow, you're a rebel!" The voice said.
"I didn't want to break the rules... I only wanted to dream about him..." Lilith said.
"Cool, now can I get back to my story?" The voice said. It continued. "I was sealed away inside of this book, and placed in the forbidden library section. I've been waiting for someone to free me, and you did just that!" This wasn't good...
"I-I helped a Nightdremer spirit escape?" Lilith asked. She didn't know what she was getting into...
"Yes, you did! Allow me to introduce myself! Our name is simply 'The Dreams, and we want you to join us in our conquest!"
"NEVER!" Lilith said.
"Do you know what you're missing? Let me show you!" The dreams released sleep mist, that filled the room.
"Wha-?" Lilith couldn't fight it. She fell asleep on the library floor.
She awoke in a strange place. It was the Mansion, but there was something odd, almost dreamlike about the atmosphere...
"Wh-where am I?" Lilith asked. She was filled with a peace like no other, as she walked through the glowing, glittery halls. This is amazing... Lilith thought. She sang a beautiful song about Dreams, lost in a dreamlike state…
Then she remembered.
"NO!" Lilith remembered it was all a dream. She pinched herself. "Cmon, Lilith, WAKE UP!" It didn't work. The Dreams were more powerful than mortal dreams.
"What's the matter, my dreamer?" The Dreams said.
Lilith looked up. "Wake me up!" She shouted.
"Why would you want to do that?" The Dreams asked.
"Because I don't want to be here! I want to go home!" Lilith said.
"Trust me, everything you want is within this dreamlike state..." The dreams said.
Lilith scoffed. "Nothing you could give me could make me want to stay here!" She was mistaken.
The Dreams swirled around in the center of the room. They were conjuring something. Or someone.
When the mist cleared, Dire was in front of Lilith.
Lilith froze. "Dire..." She said. She ran to him, and they kissed.
"I've missed you, my star," Dire said, embracing Lilith.
"I've missed you, too. I've missed your warm embrace.
"Lilith, please listen to me."
"Of course, Dire..."
"Do you want this moment to last forever?" Dire asked.
"More than anything!" Even though this wasn't real, and she wasn't being embraced by her Dire, for the first time since his death, she was truly happy.
"I need you to do something for me," Dire said.
"Anything..." Lilith sighed.
Dire's eyes turned purple. "Pledge your eternal loyalty to The Dreams." It wasn't even Dire!
Lilith jumped back. "Wha-?"
"Say you'll join The Dreams, Lilith!" The Dreams said.
"NEVER!" Lilith shouted.
"We can either do this the easy way or the hard way! I can do anything within this dream, even kill your love again!" Dire's eyes turned back to their normal color. He began to scream in pain like The Dreams were killing him from the inside.
"DIRE, NO!" Lilith screamed.
Dire, possessed by The Dreams, said, "I'll spare him if you join me! Join me, and help me persuade others!"
Tears started to stream down Lilith's face. "N-NO!! I'll never help you, as long as I live! You'll have to kill me first!" Lilith shouted.
"That can be arranged!" Dire transformed into a swirling maelstrom of dark energy. It surged after Lilith.
She ran away, trying to evade it. "This cannot be happening!" Lilith whispered to herself.
The Dreams were relentless. They chased Lilith everywhere.
Just then, Lilith felt the dream slipping away. "NO! I can still save Dire! Please, don't let me leave without him!" Lilith shouted.
The dream was coming apart. All she saw was purple. She heard blurry voices.
She's stirring! She's coming out of it!
Please, Lilith, be ok!
Who could've done this?
Lilith couldn't make out whose voice was whose, but they sounded familiar. She opened her eyes, and Aurora, Lily, and Cadenza were standing over her.
"Lilith! You're awake!" Lily said, relieved.
"We heard you shouting in your sleep, so we came down here, and found you laying on the floor, having a nightmare!" Cadenza said.
Lilith was disoriented, but her eyes widened, as she remembered her dream. "Dire!" Lilith shouted, jumping up. "He's stuck in the dream world! I have to save him!"
"Lilith, it was just a night terror. You must've been dreaming about Dire." Aurora didn't know about the book. She thought it was just a night terror.
"But what were you doing in the restricted area of the library?" Cadenza asked. 'You know this place is off-limits!" Cadenza didn't like the looks of this...
"I, well, I, was looking for a certain book..." Lilith stammered.
"Which book?" Aurora asked.
Lily noticed the dark, ominous-looking book under the reading table. "Uh, guys? What's with this creepy and forboding looking book over here?" She asked.
Aurora looked at it. Then her eyes widened. "It... It can't be..."
"What is that thing? It looks evil!" Cadenza was right.
Lilith broke down crying. "I-I'm sorry! I only wanted to see Dire again!" She explained everything, from her forbidden practice of Nightdreamer Lucid Dreaming, to her dream, to The Dreams chasing her.
"Lilith, what you did was foolish, but let me explain something. If it wasn't you, then it could've been any of us who fell victim to The Dreams' deceit. they try to brainwash you with your biggest desire, but only give it to you when you give in and lose yourself in their darkness" Aurora sort of chuckled when she said this. "I've been waiting for something like this to happen, so, luckily, I have a plan. The prophecy foretold of another incarnation arriving here on a night, just like this one. I've planned this from Lily's birth." Wow, Aurora was prepared!
"So, let me get this straight! A 'thing' that tries to make you go to the dark side, another Author incarnation, AND a forbidden book all in one night? I'M IN!" Lily was excited about this one. "It's the setup for a classic fantasy novel!" She smiled.
"Lily I understand your excitement, but you must understand this. The Dreams will try to tempt you with anything, from purifying all villains, to giving all of the Paragon Essence, to, to... even..." Aurora took a deep breath. "To even bring Lucas back."
Lily's eyes widened. "It can bring back people we lose?"
"That's the first step to falling to The Dreams' temptation. Sad as it is, nothing can ever bring a dead person back." Aurora said.
Lilith chimed in. "They made me think Dire was back... He held me, and it felt so real... I didn't want it to end... I almost fell... Until I remembered the waking world. The Dreams even convinced me Dire was being hurt, trying to force me to join them." Lilith said.
"I'm so, so sorry, Lilith! We'll brave the temptations together!" Lily said.
Lilith shook her head. "No, Lily. it's me who should be sorry. The reason we have to face this villain is that I couldn't cope with Dire's death. My weakness is what caused this." Lilith hung her head in shame.
Lily put her hand on Lilith's shoulder. "You heard Aurora! The Dreams tries to tempt you! It's not because you're weak, it's because The Dreams are a strong villain we need to fight together!" Lily said.
Lilith smiled. The group silently thought about what to do, when a knock on the door broke the silence.
"I'll get it," Aurora said. She ran to the front door and opened it. "Yes-GASP!" Aurora gasped and put her hand to her mouth.
Standing there was a girl with a high ponytail, kind of like Coletta's, but longer and thinner. She was wearing one of her, 'long, pink, inhumanly poofy gowns,' and had a pink tiara decorated with roses and hearts on her head.
"Queen Esperanza…" Aurora said.
All of a sudden, Esperanza shouted out. "You fool! Address me with my full title!"
Aurora facepalmed. "I've been studying it in the prophecy for years, awaiting this moment." Aurora cleared her throat. "Welcome, Queen Esperanza Agadoria BloomingFlower Dubois, Princess of pink, Empress of Everything, Queen Royale of Agador, Ruler of Love, Beauty, and All Good Things In-between!" Aurora said all of that in a colorful, pretentious tone. "Your Royal, Graceful, Imperial, Majesty." Aurora bowed.
Esperanza nodded with a smug grin on her face. "I adore that title!" She said.
"This is the second incarnation? Colette said she was a queen, but I didn't think she would be this full of herself!" Cadenza whispered to Lily.
"I HEARD THAT! All have you know, the Magic Dimension from Winx Club gave me the Agador dimension, an entire UNIVERSE to rule! And you know what else? Coletta was only taken as an apprentice to Chantel Dubois, but she ADOPTED me when I was a young one!" Esperanza said.
"Ok, we can talk about that later!" Aurora said. "But right now, we have work to do!"
"Ok… I come from a legendary royal court but I can't remember any of them. All I know is that every Multiverse Hotel mission will be to their worlds! They will help us defeat The Dreams!" Esperanza's face changed to one of nostalgic memory. "Even though I can't remember them themselves, I remember the good times! They're the greatest, most am amazing people you'll ever meet! I love them all, and can't wait for you to meet them, and for me to remember them again!"
Lily knew this would be fun. An epic adventure to assemble a royal court? New friends? DREAM ADVENTURES?!
This is gonna be fun! Lily thought.
Author's note: So, that was kind of painful to write. :( I want Dire and Lilith to be happy together, so I felt Lilith's pain during her meeting with 'fake Dire.' The next chapter will be to the world of Winx Club season 2! It's gonna take place at the Mansion, just like Winx Club season 1. Esperanza will also demonstrate some crazy powers! So, with that out of the way, I'll see you later! Stay lucid!