She was out of breath by the time she found him in the throne room. Her insides were screaming with pain. Knowing that only his powers forced the ragged wounds in her flesh together, this trek from her temporary bedroom to the throne room was likely not a good idea. Yet, she couldn't let Morpheus leave without telling him the truth. And who knew when he would return again?
He stood tall, taking in the ruins of his palace; the debris, the crumbling statues and the broken pieces of stained glass. Lucienne had attempted to describe its previous imperial designs, but try as she might, Hope could not imagine it.
The room looked gloomy and the damaged giant stone head of a statue only punctuated the forlorn state the entire palace seemed to be in.
He turned and her breath caught. Though he was of average height and quite thin, and not at all strong looking, he did have a commanding presence. And she knew that anyone who considered him weak now, was making a grave misjudgement, because she actively had to check the urge to step back when his gaze landed on her and his brows snapped together.
It was quite surreal to see him like this. In that glass prison he'd been completely naked, stripped of all his possessions. Even then he'd not looked weak to her, merely vulnerable.
He did not look vulnerable now.
How they could have done that to him in the first place was utterly beyond her comprehension, because she was already half way down to her knees.
Oh, right… "A strenuous ordeal had left me in a weakened state."
Hopefully she would never find out what kind of unspeakable force could weaken an Endless. She grasped at her side and winced at the burning stab of pain in her back.
Good.
She was not going to just admit she'd been about to kneel!
"You should not be out of bed. You've not healed yet properly."
Each word was delivered with insane self-assurance and very, very measured.
"I know," she said rather lamely. "I'll go back right after…"
His posture again was aggressively straight, so Hope straightened her spine and she angled her chin. A most futile attempt to create balance, because there was non to be had.
Their gazes locked.
Inwardly, she trembled, and hoped it didn't show.
"I lied," she then blurted, "earlier, I mean. When I blamed Lucienne… for…"
"For not bringing you the Homeric Hymn?"
It sounded much nicer when he said it like that.
"Yes. And I didn't want you to think that, uhm, that she would…"
"… prove to be a sub-par librarian, by supplying you with erotic novels while you clearly asked for a classic? You need not worry, I was not thinking that."
What followed was an exceedingly long silence accompanied by a battle of stares.
She was sure he'd somehow slipped an insult in there.
"Was there anything else?" he asked at last.
"No."
"Then I will alert Lucienne I am about to depart. I will ask her to escort you back to your room."
He turned and left her alone and Hope sighed in relief because now she could lower her hurting body to the floor so she could sit.
She wasn't alone for very long because pretty soon she heard the hurried footsteps of Lucienne approaching.
"You should not be out of bed yet!"
"That's what he said too. I might have to sit down for a little bit longer though."
"Alright, while you do that, I have to catch up with Lord Morpheus for a bit. He left in such a hurry and there's something I need to discuss with him. I shan't be long."
A raven suddenly came flying into the throne room. It was a very brief flight though because it pretty much instantly crashed against the floor. "I'm fine! I'm fine!" the raven cried out, flailing and flapping its wings on the floor.
It. Talked.
"Ugh, these blasted things take some getting used to!" The raven finally managed to restore its balance, wiggled its wings a bit and hopped back onto its feat.
"So, was that the new boss?" it asked.
Hope gave the creature a sceptical look. It was not in her nature to trust talking animals.
Not that she ever encountered one.
"Not the new boss, Matthew," Lucienne said, "He's just… the boss. I will explain later but first I really have to catch up with His Lordship."
With those words she hurried away, leaving Hope alone with the bird.
She stared at it-him.
"Hi. Are you new here as well?" He cawed and hopped closer.
"New?"
He sounded American.
"Yeah, new. Or, are you not one of his new recruits? I'm… I'm so confused about all this."
"I'm no recruit. Just, a guest, for now. Until your new boss finds a way to fully heal me and I can return to the waking world. Preferably without dying. How are you confused?"
The raven looked at her and, she wasn't sure, but Hope got the feeling he was assessing her.
"Well, apparently, a couple of hours ago I died in my sleep, right when I was dreaming. The boss lady told me I'm now part of, eh, this place, and she asked me if I wanted to be a Raven. I accepted of course, but, it seems I'm still on trial."
"Wait, you were… human?"
The bird hopped closer to where she was sitting on the stone steps leading up to the throne.
"Yeah, I used to have arms and legs and…" –he opened his wings a little–"now I've got these! I don't even know how to use 'em!"
That would explain the less than graceful crash to the floor. He gave her such a sad little look, she couldn't help but feel for him.
"So… Matthew?"
"Yeah. Matthew the Raven now, I guess. What's your name?"
"Hope Ericks. It's nice to meet you, Matthew."
"It's nice to meet you too, Hope." With that he lifted a wing as though he meant to offer his hand for a shake. Hope laughed at that and gently took hold of it and gave it a little wiggle.
"Do you know the boss man?"
"No, not really. Sorry."
"Figures. I'm just, eh, trying to get a feel if this gig will be permanent or… very, very temporary."
"You're afraid he won't accept you as his new… Raven?"
She couldn't help but think back to Jessamy and the look on his face when she was killed in front of him. The person she'd seen then, even if it had been in a dream, was nothing like the slightly terrifying personality she'd met here. And she knew there was not a thing she could tell Matthew to smooth his worries away. She didn't know this-this ruler of dreams at all. In her opinion, he was as likely to accept him as his new Raven as he was to kick him out of his realm.
"What will happen to you if he doesn't… you know…"
"Then I'll really be dead and the Grim Reaper will come for me."
"Don't call her that!" she said in quiet anger.
"Call who what?"
She sighed when he sounded genuinely confused.
"Dee… Death… Don't call her the Grim Reaper. She's my friend."
Matthew cawed, went very still for a brief moment, then he flapped his wings and cocked his head at her.
"You're friends with death? Actual… Death?"
"Yes. She's your boss' older sister?"
Even though Matthew had no features, everything in his posture suggested horror.
"Death is his sister? What the hell does that make him?"
"Dream of the Endless. Lord of the Dreaming. King of… Eh, you know what? I'm not going to repeat all the titles he accumulated for himself over the years. He's the ruler of dreams, that's pretty much all you need to know."
"I… was not aware. How did you get friendly with… Death?"
Hope blew out a long breath and she smiled at him. "Long story."
"I've got time."
"No, you don't," Lucienne suddenly said, sounding a tad out of breath and she fanned her face with her hand as she approached them, small chunks of debris crunching beneath her shoes. "I need you to go after Lord Morpheus and assist him in any way that you can. Keep an eye on him and report back to me with the slightest hint of trouble. He's not… He's not at his full strength yet and we can't..."
"Sure, I'll keep an eye on him. Need to practice flying with these things anyway," Matthew said, showing his wings again.
Lucienne gave him a quick smile, then instantly addressed him 'Head of the Library of Dreams' style.
"He will not like it, Matthew. And he can be very stubborn. He'll throw all kinds of objections your way." She was getting a bit agitated and she punctuated her words with hand gestures. Honestly, Morpheus should count his blessings. She was so completely loyal to him, and she had his back, whether he wanted it or not.
"He will tell you he does not require a Raven right now," Lucienne continued her rant. "He will tell you I'm not your master. But… It. Is. Imperative… that you stay close to him. Don't let him send you away. He's not as familiar with the waking world as he thinks he is. You are. He needs you but… he'll never admit to such a thing."
"Don't you worry 'bout a thing, Boss Lady. I will stick to him like glitter on a craft project."
"It's Lucienne, Matthew, and… do keep in mind he's the ruler of this realm? So, mind your tongue!"
She shooed him off and Matthew flew away with an indignant little caw.
"Now, let's get you back to bed."
Oh, she had that tone.
"I told him the truth Lucienne. That I requested those books and that you didn't…"
"I know," she said, and her tone and posture softened a bit. "He told me. Now, lean on me, gently does it… We'll take it easy. Step by step… That's it."
Weeks slipped by without another sighting of Morpheus, and it didn't take long before Hope found herself drawn to Lucienne's side. As her health improved, albeit slowly, she came to appreciate the moments spent in the librarian's company. Lucienne had a quick wit, a sharp mind, and a keen eye, never missing a thing.
At first, Lucienne treated Hope as some kind of national treasure of the Dreaming, lauding her as its saviour, and she was a bit stiff and overly formal. However, over time, Hope managed to convince Lucienne that she was just a regular person—or rather, convinced Lucienne to treat her like one. Though there were moments when her new friend looked at her over the rim of her glasses, with a look that seemed to say, "I see you," which reminded her of the movie Avatar.
Hope couldn't help but fantasise about spending time in that world. To be part of a world with such vibrant colours, fantastical creatures, and a deep connection to nature. A place where people greeted each other by saying, "I see you". It felt so wonderfully personal! That was actually the one thing in her life she'd ever really wanted.
To be seen.
Her fascination with Pandora soon inspired conversations about movies, leading to discussions where Hope bombarded the poor librarian with questions about her life in the Dreaming: her past, her duties, her interests. Lucienne took it all in stride and eventually loosened up a bit more.
This newfound friendship brought Hope relief. After all, Dee had her own realm to look after, so Hope couldn't expect her to check in constantly. And Morpheus was away, searching for his 'tools of office,' as Lucienne called them. According to her friend, these tools held a great deal of his power. Power he needed to restore his decaying realm and to heal the lingering internal damage done to her when Jason plunged his knife into her back.
With Morpheus' magical wound dressing, the damage wasn't worsening, and the least affected areas were healing normally. Whenever she had the strength, Hope eagerly assisted Lucienne with tasks that weren't too taxing for her still-healing body. However, she always remained on guard, aware that the most severe parts of her wounds were held together solely by Morpheus' powers.
The weeks passed by and Hope arrived at the conclusion that her recovery had reached its limit without Morpheus' return and the full healing of her wounds. It was a sobering thought, but she refused to let it dampen her spirit or prevent her from deepening the growing bond with Lucienne. They spent a lot of their time together, and at some point Hope even discovered that her friend became a lot less strict whenever wine was involved.
Today she found out that the Palace staff did not consist solely of Lucienne. She'd just met Mervyn, the janitor or handyman of the Dreaming for the very first time. He was a, eh, walking and talking scarecrow? But with a pumpkin for a head.
She was still staring after him, mouth agape, when Lucienne chuckled as she stored books away in their proper places.
"You'll get used to him," she said, humour evident in her voice.
Soft rays of light filtered through stained glass windows, casting warm hues across the wooden bookshelves, and even creating a bit of a halo around Lucienne's head.
Hope smiled at her friend's newly acquired saintly appearance.
The scent of aged parchment and ink filled the air, mingled with the aroma of mint and raspberry tea. It was pretty quiet, especially now Mervyn had buggered off, and Hope immensely enjoyed her cosy little spot. As she sat at her polished desk, surrounded by towering shelves, the library had become a bit of a haven for her.
She was busy leafing through the books, making sure there were no sneaky blank pages in them.
"So, now that Morpheus is back, what does that mean for the dreamers? I mean, I was born while he was still being held captive. I still had dreams, and nightmares. What's with that?" she asked. The way dreams worked or rather, Morpheus' connection to them, was still unclear to her.
"People always dream, Hope. It's how the mind processes things… events, images, impressions. Then there are the dreams created by Lord Morpheus. They are used to guide, to inspire and to motivate. And the nightmares serve the purpose of revealing a dreamer's fears, so they can face them."
Hope placed another book on the incomplete pile: 'My awesome story set in a fantasy world I totally ripped off from Sarah J. Maas but no one will notice so I will make millions'.
The entire midsection was blank.
Lucienne walked over to the cart to pick up another stack of books while she explained further.
"His Majesty controls the Dreams and Nightmares he created, for they can easily overwhelm the human mind. I'm afraid that, while he was held captive, some of them escaped into the waking world. Some to taste freedom, others to prey on the dreamers. Once he's back to full power, that too will all be restored."
"But, now he's back, will my dreams change?"
"I should imagine so. People only dream while in the Dreaming. He is the Dreaming. Even though people could still dream… while captured, my lord was unable to govern them. Now he's returned, and once the missing dreams and nightmares have been rounded up, they will once again be under his control and I'm sure the dreamers will notice. Why the sudden interest, Hope?"
Lucienne walked over to her and fixed her with a stare over the rim of her glasses.
"Eh, well, I used to have these wonderful dreams when I was really little. Before…" She paused to clear her throat. "Before my parents died. I was very young when that happened and after that beautiful dreams became frightening nightmares. Now I dream of music. Not all that surprising since I do play and practice a lot, but…"
"Violin, if I recall correctly?"
"Yes. I used to play as an escape. Now…" she chuckled softly, "I guess you could say that music has become as much a part of me as the Dreaming is part of Morpheus. And, dreaming about my music does have its advantages." She held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers. "No cramp, no calluses, no blood after a particularly energetic piece."
"I would love to hear you play sometime," Lucienne said with a smile.
"Can you see people's dreams?"
"Alas, no. Only Lord Morpheus can. I can read them though. Every dreamer has their own dreaming record."
"Oh," Hope said, unable to keep the disappointment from her voice, "but that's not the same as seeing the dream. I thought perhaps that way…"
"Ah. No, unfortunately I can't. Though, back in the day, before he was captured, Lord Morpheus would sometimes let us listen in to music originating from the dreams of the dreamers. Perhaps he will do so again."
At that Hope started to laugh. "You should have him tune in to me then," she quipped. "All I seem to dream about is music. You could use me as a dream radio!"
For a moment Lucienne seemed lost in thought. "Only musical dreams…" she murmured softly. "If you'll excuse me, I have to, eh, check something."
Sounding oddly distracted, Lucienne walked away. Hope shrugged her shoulders. It wouldn't be the first time that Lucienne disappeared off to somewhere. She had a lot of stuff going on in that mind of hers. She knew the name of the author, the title and its location, of every book that had ever been written or even imagined!
That was crazy!
So she didn't think it weird at all that Lucienne had up and gone, and she didn't expect to see her friend again anytime soon, but not even half an hour had past when Lucienne approached her again and…
"You brought me fresh tea and pastries?" Hope looked at her for clarification.
"I'm done checking, and I thought you should have refreshments."
For some reason Lucienne wouldn't meet her eyes and by now Hope knew better than to press her for things her friend didn't want to talk about. If she did, it would only end with Lucienne getting prickly and leaving her on her own.
Hope gave an inward sigh and forced her lips into an oblivious smile. "Can you tell me again about what the Dreaming used to be like?"
She then listened to Lucienne's stories, but she couldn't help but wonder… Why had she avoided her gaze earlier?