Hope would have laughed at the absurdity of it all, if it wasn't so damned tragic.

"Am I to understand that my choices are to die, to live, or to die and live?" she asked, her voice sounding as though it had been hollowed out by too many emotions.

"Crudely put, but accurate. Yes. And I wouldn't wait too long with a decision if I were you. I believe your heart is perilously close to giving out. Once that happens, and you choose to live after too much time passes… Well, let's say I doubt you would enjoy being a living guinea pig for the remainder of your life."

"This is my life we are talking about!" Hope seethed at Glory. "The least you could do is give me the time to think things through!"

"Unfortunately, you don't have the luxury of time."

"Are you really saying I have to make a rushed decision that determines my fate?"

"Yes, and time is ticking."

The nausea was getting worse and the air in front of her was rippling ominously.

God, I'm going to faint! she thought distantly, miserably.

That's when she noticed she wasn't actually breathing. That would certainly explain things.

She gulped in a huge breath of air to get her lungs back to working again.

There. Much better.

But what should she decide?

Life? Death? Both…?

Death would be the end of everything she held dear. With her luck she'd likely end up in Hell and, well, she doubted Satan would allow her to have tea parties with Dee.

Living… what would that be like? Dream's remnant powers inside of her meant she had to visit the Dreaming on a regular basis. But without being allowed to see him? Could she even stand such torture?

"If it makes you feel better," Glory said, not unkindly, "if you choose to live, you'll be allowed to continue your friendship with Lady Death."

"Just not with…" And she couldn't say it. She couldn't even say his name because the pain was excruciating and she didn't know how to bear this.

Unfortunately, Glory possessed no such qualms. "Just not with Lord Dream."

She closed her eyes in dismay.

Hope loved Dee to, well, death, but looking back on these last couple of months, the way Dream had enriched her life, she realised that all those years before she'd not really been living at all. Though her friendship with Dee was immensely precious to her, because she knew it had saved her life, but… God… it hurt to admit this! Even to herself! But, it was no longer enough.

She had the golden opportunity now to choose Dream, to choose a role and be with him forever, but, based on what? Young love? One wonderful night? Choosing him now would be like planning a wedding after one date! The only difference being that a wedding could be ended with a divorce. This choice… there was no coming back from it!

And why was Dream not even looking at her?

An inner swinging scythe was doing a fine job of shredding her sanity, her ability to keep herself together. Every harrowing pass, or swing, making her feel smaller, weaker and she… couldn't think!

Please, Dream, she silently begged. Please, just look at me!

As if he could hear her silent plea, Dream tilted his head, barely a fraction. Then he stopped.

"What would my role be?" Her voice was a raw, hurt whisper.

"That's up to you. Though you will not be and Endless, we would appreciate the role starting with a D–"

Hope fought the silly urge to snort with laughter. This… this was completely absurd!

"–to keep up the family tradition. So, Doubt for example could be a wonderful supporting role for Despair. Or, Delusion could pair well with Delirium."

No, except for Dee, Hope knew she'd never be able to tie herself to someone other than Dream. And even if she did tie herself to her best friend, she knew she'd always yearn, and yearn, and–

"You are permitted to unite yourself with Lord Shaper. You would no longer be bound by mortal limitations, therefore such a union would be sanctioned and perhaps even applauded, for it would effectively bring a definitive end to his penchant for embarking on ill-fated romantic entanglements with mortals."

In other words, the powers that be were fed up with Dream playing loose with the rules and saw this as an opportunity to get him to behave? How the hell had they managed to get him to agree to that?

"I would, however, like to give you a word of caution," Glory continued, "because his relationships never end well. And, tied to the Dreaming, you would de facto become his subject. He could banish you to the Darkness if you displease him. Or he could make you live in a never-ending hell. And don't think he wouldn't, because one of his lovers he sent to actual Hell."

The nausea became worse.

Hope looked at Dream, still only seeing his back, ramrod straight, his hands at his sides. They were trembling slightly.

And with a sinking feeling she knew she believed Glory.

Good God!

"And if you think him to be a gallant lover, who'll always be kind and loving and gentle… You are sorely mistaken."

A muffled sound came from Dream, but as she only saw his rigid backside, the carefully constricted emotion she detected there, could range from intense anger to intense disappointment at her wavering.

"If you do want to unite yourself with him, you will have our blessing. However, it is crucial that you are aware of the outcomes of his past relationships. First there was Killalla. When it was decided that the Endless may not love mortals, it was her name that was discussed, remembered and talked about many times. Their love, or rather its tragic conclusion, inflicted a profound schism between two Endless that remains unhealed to this day."

Hope thought back to Dream's words the night before, when he'd asked her to call him Dream in that aching voice. "One of them was my first love and she betrayed me. Desire's idea of a joke, one that hurt me most cruelly."

Glory continued with his horrible summation, "Then there was Nada. She dared to defy him, and as a consequence, she was condemned to the depths of Hell. That's what he's capable of."

Slowly, Hope sank to the inky blackness of the floor, unable to carry her own weight any longer.

The immortality granted by Dee was one thing. It would have given them time to explore the love she knew existed between them, and she would not have been… stuck. But, with that option now firmly off the table, no matter how much she longed to choose the Dreaming, was that really a choice she could make in good conscience?

"And then there was Calliope, a woman he married and with whom he had a son. Tragically, the child perished, despite Lord Dream's ability to intervene. His mother, understandably, did not take this kindly and she became rightfully angry. She told him she hated him. After that, she was no longer welcome in his realm. Because she'd offended him in a heated argument."

"Stop… please… stop…" Hope pleaded, but Glory wasn't finished yet.

"And we mustn't overlook the captivating Alianora, who played a pivotal role in freeing Lord Shaper and aiding him in the restoration of his Kingdom. Their once flourishing relationship ended when his interest waned, and he hid her away in some remote corner of the Dreaming, relegated to obscurity."

Hope couldn't listen any longer; her heart was breaking. With each crack a forgotten memory slipped through the breech. Harsh spoken words. The way he'd stepped over her dying body, without feeling. The accusations he'd flung in her face. She'd known he could be cold, but that cruel?

Again she looked at his back; he still had not deigned to look at her. "Is it true?" Her voice was now barely more than a pitiful croak. And she already knew the answer anyway, because she remembered the story about Alianora; he had told her himself.

There was a seething, fraught silence.

"Every accusation levied against me" – he delivered the words in a painstaking manner, his voice shaking with the effort of control – "is true."

Hope had to hold herself up on her arms, to keep from crumpling down. For she knew what choice she should make. Choosing Dee, after all, was the sensible thing to do.

Even if it meant her heart would break beyond repair.

Glory spoke again. "You might think you can change him, but he's an Endless. And the Endless don't change."

"You're wrong," she said instantly and without thinking, and it surprised herself. Because she had seen change in him. "Dee... I mean, Lady Death, she had a much different start. She went through a drastic change. And Dream, he used to be different. He too went through a change, maybe not for the better, but he changed! And now he's changing again."

"Are you willing to stake your eternal life on that?"

The room, if that's what you could even call this place, became eerily quiet, as if each and every one present was holding their breath. One might hear an atom drop.

And that's when she realised it.

She was being tested.

Closing her eyes, she forced down a deep fortifying gulp of air. When she opened them again, her eyes fell on the crown. Her sigil if she so chose. She released her breath on a long, slow exhale.

The distant, indifferent eyes faded from her memory, and were replaced by eyes filled with warmth and a wealth of emotions. Like last night.

A different memory, of a young girl's voice, drifted back to her. "So many colourful frogs and they were all hopping. And I like your crown. A lot."

Words that had the same impact of a battering ram, and the force shuddered right through her, smashing through the most closed off space of her soul, setting free the blind trust and faith of her childhood.

Her eyes lifted to Delirium and again the young girl gave her a friendly wave. Hope felt her jaw drop and her breaths came out in quick little bursts. She looked further to her left, to where Dee was standing, her arms crossed. One of her index fingers was subtly pointing, at…

Hope followed the invisible line with her eyes, until they landed on Destiny's book.

And she groaned. And laughed.

"Yes," she breathed, not knowing if she wasn't really making a fatal mistake, deciding to trust blind trust and faith instead. 'Yes' was all she wanted to say anyway.

"Yes," she said again, "I'm willing to stake my eternal life on that. I choose Dream."

Refusing to let doubt cripple her any longer, she got to her feet, a bit wobbly at first, but then she walked towards him, now thoroughly done with the entire situation.

"I do not know why your answer still surprises me," Glory suddenly said, "because, of course a you would eagerly accept the greatest boon ever offered to a mortal. An elevation."

"Glory!" Death cried out.

She froze, his words landing on her nerves like salt sprinkled into an open wound.

A boon? This was a bloody boon?

Then, a curious thing happened.

Slowly, Dream sank to one knee, looking every bit a man felled by a determining blow; his head bowed in defeat. For a brief moment Hope was puzzled by his action, and then realisation dawned upon her…

She had vehemently rejected every boon the Endless had tried to offer her: When Dee had been on the verge of offering her immortality, and when Dream had offered her a boon of her own choosing for freeing him and aiding his realm.

A reward she'd refused because she would not allow anyone to be able to claim she'd made her decisions out of greed.

A refusal Dream had considered a fake display of generosity. It had him convinced she'd been manipulating Dee in securing a boon for her. Essentially, he had believed her to be a two-faced snake.

And that was precisely why she had made herself a promise she would never accept a boon from any of them. A sentiment that had pretty much been destroyed last night. Because, if Dee hadn't offered her gift to Dream, she would have gladly begged for it herself. Something neither Dee or Dream knew. So, of course he believed she would reject this boon.

Nice try, Glory-hole, she thought irreverently and very silently.

Hope squared her shoulders and she lifted her chin in defiance, staring him down. "You didn't offer me a boon, Glory of the First Circle. You offered me a job!" And with those words she crossed the remaining distance to Dream and knelt beside him.

She became a bit worried when he wouldn't look at her. "I'm right here," she told him softly. "Will you not look at me, Dream?"

She smiled upon turning his own words against him.

He didn't look at her, but he did start to speak. "You should heed Glory's words."

The emptiness in his voice was awful.

"Choose life, Hope, and live well. My sister, I am sure, will always be there for you and I shall fill your nights with dreams of such beauty, they'll have no equal. Ever."

Hope grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "I already made my choice, Dream. I choose you! Now get up!"

His head lifted slowly and he gazed at her with haunted eyes, his face a pale, ravaged mask. Tears clung to his lashes, his nose, his lips, and she recalled the words he'd uttered earlier in that horrible empty voice, "I will stand by her decision."

Oh, God! He'd been afraid! When she wondered why he wouldn't look at her, he had not been permitted to do so! He'd not been allowed to cast even a single glance at her, so as not to exert any influence on her decision in any way. And he'd come this close to losing her, because she'd almost chosen eternal life with Dee. But why was he pushing her away now, when she'd already made her decision?

"All that Glory told you is true. I am not the safe choice. I'll only end up hurting you. You should run, far away from me."

"Dream, listen to me, I'm sure you will hurt me, just as I will likely hurt you. It's a bit inevitable considering the time we'll spend together. I love you and I know you love me. Is it the eternal kind? I don't know, I hope so! But, I don't hold all the answers. I do know I would like to try. And if it's not an endless love, then so be it. I'll endure it, because I already know what life is like without you in it… and that is no life at all."

Without taking his eyes from hers, Dream rose to his feet, pulling her up with him, and a faint puzzled dent took up residence between his brows.

"You would risk all of your eternal life and happiness… on me? Even after all you've just heard?"

Ugh, he made it sound so foolish! So, Hope did what she usually did… she lifted her chin with bravado she didn't feel. "I would. I will. I will take the sigil and accept my new duties. I will tie myself to your realm and be your aide. Now, will you stand by my decision?" Her voice did not at all sound as confident as she'd intended.

He regarded her with something of a benevolent smile hovering on his lips and then he said, "No."

All air whooshed out of her, until she was completely hollowed out.

She opened her mouth, closed it again, opened it, like a fish flapping around on dry land, but no sound emerged. And she shook her head in denial. She'd just heard him incorrectly. Or, or he was jesting. He smiled, of all things!

She clutched her side as if a colossal boulder had crashed into her, leaving her breathless. And suddenly she couldn't feel her limbs. Any of them.

"I- I thought..."

And he was just standing there, smiling at her, as if he hadn't just… murdered her! Now what was she supposed to do?

"I will not stand by your decision, because an amendment is needed to the terms of uniting yourself with me."

"What terms?" she asked feebly.

Dream took another step closer to her and she could barely stand being in such close proximity to him, not after he'd just rejected her.

"I will not accept you as my support, my aide, or even as my consort. If you wish to unite yourself with me and the Dreaming, then hear me out. My past loves have just cause to think me cold, distant and rigid, to be disappointed in me. But they disappointed me too."

He reached out and took her hands in his, his smile fading and making way for a more solemn look.

"I truly believed I would never again meet a woman I would want for my own." A hesitant smile began to bloom. "Until you… I would marry you, Hope, and make you Queen of the Dreaming, to rule the dreams of all that dream by my side, as my equal."

She felt as if a rug was being pulled right from underneath her feet.

"Is that a proposal, Dream of the Endless? Bit soon, wouldn't you say, after just one" – she leaned a bit closer to him and whispered near his ear – "night?"

Oh, God… really? That was how she responded to the most wonderful, heartfelt proposal ever?

"Why settle for one, when we can have them be endless?" Humour sparkled in his eyes.

"You make a persuasive argument," she murmured, feeling a flush of embarrassment in her cheeks.

"Then say you will be my queen."

"I hate to rush such an endearing moment," Glory interrupted them, "but it appears the lady has made her decision, and I do have other matters to attend to."

Hope rolled her eyes at Dream, but he merely twitched his lips in a barely there smile because he was not the eye-rolling kind. Yet.

"You are certain this is the choice you wish to make? Eternity is a long, long time." His voice was so soft and gentle when he asked her this.

Certain? Hell no! She wasn't certain of anything! But, if Delirium had seen her with a crown, and Dee pointing at Destiny's book meant it was all in there… then choosing to accept the role had to be the right choice. And since she could only imagine herself spending eternity in one realm…

She took a deep breath. "It's a good thing then I need at least twice as long to get your head on straight."

Why did no one ever stop her from saying such things?

He gave a pained laugh and swallowed once, twice, betraying the emotions welling up inside of him. Gently, he cupped her face and pressed a tender kiss against her brow. To any outside observer, it would have appeared a deeply affectionate gesture, but Hope sensed the fragility behind it, because his lips unsteadily quivered against her skin and his breaths were terribly uneven.

After a moment, one he seemed to need to recompose himself, he whispered, his words meant only for her, "Thank you."

Finally, no inane remarks. Just… overwhelming emotion and gratitude, leaving her both breathless and speechless.

Taking her hand—which was was cold and trembling in his— he guided her towards Glory, their steps heralding a new era in the Dreaming.

"Hope Ericks, this crown will be your sigil," Glory said, his voice resonating with an ancient power that commanded attention. "The moment that crown touches your head, your mortal life shall be forfeit. Do you understand?"

"I do."

Oddly enough, she felt no nerves at all, knowing that, in just a moment, her broken mortal body would simply give in and… stop being.

"Have you decided upon your new name? Your new role, and function?"

This was it then.

Her breath caught and her heart began to hammer in her throat. Her lips felt bloodless.

She scarcely even felt it when her mouth struggled and formed the words, and she was not impressed with the sound that emerged.

Where was the strength in it? Or the gentle yet commanding tone?

The words she'd meant to sound so queenly, came out frayed, small and cracked. But perhaps that should not be such a shock. They were old after all, those words. Forged deep within her, long before she even had a beginning and she wondered just how long ago they'd been written in Destiny's book.

"I am… Devotion."

The breeze from the collective gasps behind her nearly made her lose her balance.

And Dream stared at her, shocked at first. He didn't blink. Then his eyes changed, set ablaze with an emotion she could not yet define, but it burned from him.

"So it shall be. In the grand fabric of existence, let the essence of Dream and Devotion entwine, become a tale of endless possibilities and the unwavering belief that light can pierce even the darkest of shadows."

A hush settled over the small gathering. Hope met Dream's eyes and they gave each other a comforting smile that, she believed, rivalled each other in bemused wonder.

And Glory droned on. "In this solemn moment, let us remember the power of dreams. They guide us through life's storms, illuminating our path. And devotion fuels our determination to achieve greatness, to make those dreams a reality. Lord Shaper?"

Dream took the sparkling crown and held it up, rays of light glimmering off the diamonds and casting a radiant glow throughout the room. "Let the Eight Starred Crown be your sigil, Devotion, representing resilience and endless possibilities. May you forever protect dreams and be my eternal companion in governing our kingdom."

He lowered the crown upon her head and a tether snapped, releasing her. The world seemed to tilt on its axis. There was a fleeting instant of discomfort; she swayed briefly, then collapsed. Dream flexed his arm and capably kept her from falling by clutching her to him.

"I'm here." His voice sounded very far away, as distant as a different planet. "I've got you. I'm here."

A faint rushing sound started up in her ears, like she was falling from a great height.

He placed comforting kisses against her brow, all the while uttering soothing words until she regained control over her limbs. Her hands gripped his arms and she swallowed hard. She shivered when she managed to get herself upright again. And… everything felt strange.

There was no need to ask what had happened; it was quite clear.

She'd just died.

Releasing a shuddering breath, she offered him a quaky smile. "I'm fine."

He gave her a relieved nod. "And the other part?" He still held her close; his attention, however, was on Glory.

"Very well, but I must make haste," Glory sighed. "Dream of the Endless, do you accept?"

"I do."

"Devotion, Keeper of the Sigil, do you accept?"

She gave Glory a dumbfounded look. "Wait, what?"

"Just a yes or a no please."

"Well, yes, but–"

"Wonderful! I now pronounce you husband and wife, King and Queen of the Dreaming. Mazzeltov! My heartfelt felicitations to you both. I wish you much happiness, and may your future be filled with an abundance of bliss. I assume you can take it from here, Lord Shaper?"

"I can," Dream said, obviously biting back a smile.

"No!" Hope blurted. "That's not… That can't be it, right? Is this even official?"

Glory arched a brow at her; he was already fading.

"What did you expect? A wedding officiant? A wedding license? A wedding certificate perhaps? With and Endless? Goodbye, Devotion!"

And poof, he was gone.