The Princess
It's been a year already, Cade thought, looking out the round window to the runway. A year.
Tasha sat beside him, her seatbelt on, clutching her watercolors and sketchpad to her chest. Her eyes were closed. The flight attendant was describing the safety procedures, and Cade found himself almost wishing the plane would crash, fall into the sea and disappear forever. There was no pain underwater, no memories.
He looked at his sister. Her eyes were still closed. Her fists were clenched, her knuckles white.
And then the plane was racing, and they were airborne, the first time Cade and Tasha had ever flown. He looked out the window, and the houses and roads were soon so tiny, they looked like toys. How could it be? How could this city of pain, war, and blood look so small and insignificant? He could see pockets of destruction below, toppled buildings and smoking ruins. Home.
Mom and Dad. We're leaving them behind, buried in the earth of this place. He looked at Tasha, but his twin just sat still, fists clenched, eyes shut tightly.
When the flight attendant handed out meals, Tasha refused to open her eyes or acknowledge her, though Cade knew she was awake. Let her deal with her pain this way, if she must. Once we reach the new country, everything will be better.
When the flight attendant handed him his meal, he caught the woman glimpsing at his hands. He hated when people looked at his hands. She looked away quickly, as if nothing happened, but to Cade, that had been enough. He mumbled his thanks and unwrapped his meal. He could not eat any more than Tasha. He took a single bite, then spat it into his napkin. Leaning back, he stared out the window at the endless clouds, streaming clouds, white and blue and golden, floating, fleeing like currents into empty places where no thought or feeling lived.
"Things will be great," he told Tasha. She did not open her eyes or change expression. "I hear they have movie theaters with twenty screens, each one the height of a building. And they get all the great rock concerts. I know you love Poison. They're playing there next month. We should go."
She lowered her head. "Let me sleep, Cade." A tear streamed down her cheek.
"Okay, Tash." He looked out the window again. She wasn't even there. He shut his eyes, sudden anguish filling him. I have to take care of her, and she wasn't even there.
"Yes, thank you. I'm done." The flight attendant took his uneaten meal, and Cade closed his eyes and finally slept.
Like he slept now, a sleep of fatigue and aches.
Soft light fell upon his eyelids.
Cade tossed an arm over his eyes and moaned, waking up. Weariness lay upon him like a blanket. He lay in a soft bed, a pillow under his head. He rolled over. Am I back on Earth? he thought hazily. He smiled softly and prepared to fall back asleep... and then he remembered.
Golgamoth and Kelra.
Dream.
His quest.
His eyes snapped open, and Cade found himself in a room of marble walls bedecked with hyacinths and tapestries. Afternoon light fell through wooden windows. He lay in a large canopy bed, cleaned, his wounds bandaged. His Dreamblade and armor lay on a bedside table by a pot of dried roses and baby's breath.
"Good afternoon, Cade," Tasha said. The mouse was sitting on a second table upon a bowl of Golden Delicious apples, eating one. Her fur was cleaned and brushed.
"Good afternoon," Cade said. "Or gala tela, as they say here in Dream. I can't remember how I got here. What happened?"
"You nearly killed us, that's what happened," Tasha snapped. Then her voice softened and she smiled. "You also saved the Begemmed City." She hopped onto his shoulder. "You were banged up pretty badly; we got you to some healers just in time."
Cade sat up slowly in bed, his wounds still hurting. He stood up carefully, walked toward the window, and gazed upon the city. Marble houses, squares, fountains, and streets covered the hill, studded with gems. Banners bearing the images of gods flapped from temples and halls. Cade saw banners with the likeness of Yor, banners of Alandria, even banners bearing the images of the black and white pegacats, Starlight and Harmony.
"I'm glad I could help the city," he said to his sister. "It's a beautiful place." He thought back to his dream, those stifled memories, and shoved the thought aside. Don't think of that now.
"We're invited to a feast in your honor this evening," Tasha said, "with the king and queen and princess."
Cade stared at his sister. "A royal feast? In my honor?"
Tasha smiled. "You haven't heard the best part. You're going to be knighted."
Cade had to sit back down on the bed. "Knighted!"
"You're a hero now," Tasha said, "especially because you travel with the pegacats. They are revered here."
Cade shook his head in amazement. "Where are the pegacats? Sitting in a temple being worshiped?" He smiled.
Tasha grinned. "Bingo."
A knock came at the door. Two maids stood there, dressed in pearly dresses, feathers growing on their heads instead of hair. They smiled shyly at Cade and handed him bouquets of flowers.
"We have been bidden to show you to the bathing chamber, sir," one said.
He followed them down a hallway lined with burnished suits of armor and framed portraits of kings. They showed him to a stone bathing chamber. A bronze bath stood there between tables covered with soaps and brushes. The maids placed for him woolen clothes upon a dresser, and laid his helmet, shield, and Dreamblade atop them.
When they had left, Cade bathed for a long time. When his fingers were wrinkled, he grabbed a towel, stepped out of the bath, and dressed in the clothes the servants had laid out. They were woven of the finest wool and silk, dark green like forests, embroidered with golden thread that shone with soft light. He donned his helmet and shield, now polished and glittering, and strapped Sunclaw over his back.
"Well, Tash, do I look like a knight?" he asked, wiping steam off a tall mirror and examining himself.
Tasha shrugged. "You must have when battling those dragons. Now let's go get this knighting over with and be on our way."
Cade sighed. "Yes, we've spent a long time here already, and Phobetor grows stronger every day. We should leave soon. Still, I like it here, and I want to enjoy this day before we go." He placed the mouse on his shoulder. "I need the rest, Tash. I feel so tired and worried. I don't feel like battling any more monsters just yet."
"Nor do I," Tasha agreed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, jumping off the wall like that."
Guards in burnished bronze breastplates awaited outside, their livery deep blue lined with silver. The guards accompanied them along hallways lined with statues and ornate vases. Soon they reached heavy cherry doors inlaid with silver running elks. The guards pushed the doors open to reveal a glittering hall.
Clarions blew, and one guard announced Cade's arrival to the hall of lords and ladies. "Cade the Incubus Slayer, Protector of the Begemmed City, Guardsman of Starlight and Harmony!"
Cade swallowed and stepped into the hall. Lords and ladies sat along a long table, dressed in silks and jewels. Long feathers of gold, raven, or wine red grew from their heads instead of hair. Some even had long beards of feathers. Minstrels played tunes in balconies overlooking the hall. Upon another balcony stood three dreamloomers, great tangles of glowing wire, humming and spinning orbs of dreams that floated out the windows like bubbles.
Three distinguished-looking Elorians sat at the head of the table upon high cherry seats.
"I crept in while you slept," Tasha whispered on Cade's shoulder. "The man with the long white beard is the king. The woman beside him is the queen." Both wore samite, jewels, and crowns. "The young woman at their side is their daughter, Princess Moonmist."
The princess seemed beautiful to Cade, so beautiful that for a moment he could not breathe. Her skin, soft and pale as cream, glowed with soft light. From her head grew long, gentle feathers of gold. She looked toward him and their eyes met. Her eyes were large and hazel. Beside the princess, upon raised seats topped with golden cushions, sat Starlight and Ha
rmony.
"Kneel before the king first," Tasha whispered.
Cade knelt. The king stepped toward him, the rubies in his samite chinking. A smile creased the king's face, giving birth to a million wrinkles. He touched his sword to Cade's shoulders, knighting him "Sir Cade the Incubus Slayer, Defender of Dream."
"Rise, sir knight," said the king. "I thank you for defending our fair city and the holy pegacats of Goddess Niv."
It's a fairytale, Cade realized, the gems sparkling around him. He looked at the dreamloomers upon the balcony and the dreams they wove. This part of Dream is where fairytales come from, where fairytale dreams have always come from. Countless good dreams, for countless years, must have flowed to Earth from this place.
Princess Moonmist outreached her hands, her smile a spring day. "Sit beside us, dear knight," she said. "We've saved you a seat of honor."
Cade swallowed. His heart skipped a beat as he stepped forward.
Tasha on his shoulder, Cade sat between the princess and the pegacats. He could not help but sneak glances toward Princess Moonmist. She caught a few of his glances and smiled. She smelled of wild flowers and berries and mountain air.
A chef, carrying a ladle before him as a scepter, marched into the hall. Behind him, servants in livery carried trays of food: mushroom broths, salads, fried and seasoned potatoes, breads, and pies. They served heaps of food to every guest. The pegacats were served baskets of gems and strawberries.
The sun was setting by the time the feast ended.
"We'll spend the night," Cade told Tasha, "then head out in the morning."
As they rose from the table, Cade meant to return to his chambers. Princess Moonmist, however, approached him, her smile glittering like the emeralds sewn into her indigo gown and her necklace of sapphires. "Would you care to see the night gardens?" she asked.
She laid her hand upon his arm, and they walked through hallways of marble bedecked with sheaves of wheat strewn with wildflowers. A door of filigreed cherry led into a garden of green flowers, fountains, and marble benches. Fireflies danced between statues of elks with pearl eyes. The green flowers bloomed in the night, their centers glowing soft yellow.
Moonmist's hand on his arm, they walked through the garden, the flowers glowing around them. Cade heard a soft, ethereal song like wind pipes, and looked up to see the lightdragons. The creatures of delicate light, which he had first seen upon the lake so long ago, glided beneath the stars, singing the Dreamsong.
"The lightdragons!" Moonmist breathed. "I love when they visit in the night. They don't sing often. This is a special night."
Moonmist and Cade lay down upon the grass, among the flowers, and gazed into the sky, admiring the lightdragons. The beings swirled and glided above, leaving trails of light, singing softly, twirling, purple and yellow and green and blue.
"I haven't seen the lightdragons since leaving Seashell Shore," Cade said.
"You've been to Seashell Shore?" Moonmist asked with a gasp.
Cade nodded and told of his journeys from Seashell Shore, how he had wandered across Autumn Forest and seen Panda, how he had visited Butterfly Valley, Caterpillar Meadow, the Enchanted Garden, Sunflower Corner, Beluga Beach, and many other lands. He told of meeting the gods and goddesses of Dream. Of the purpose of his quest he did not speak, and he did not mention his battles with Phobetor's henchmen. Those best remain unspoken, he thought.
Moonmist gazed at him, eyes wide, mouth agape. "So many adventures," she said. "I wish I could see those lands some day." She sighed. "To see the Holy Waterfall where the pegacats live! To visit the Crystal Caves! I envy you, Sir Cade the Incubus Slayer."
Her eyes glowed, and Cade had never seen anyone so beautiful. As they lay in the grass, he touched the golden feathers on her head. She did not seem to mind, only smiled softly and watched the lightdragons above. He buried his nose in the feathers, to fully breathe in the scent. The feathers were long and soft, scented of flowers and fruit. He continued to stroke them for many moments, smelling the perfume on her neck, trailing his lips across her skin.
Moonmist continued to gaze upon the lightdragons, as if no longer aware of him... but their fingers found one another in the grass, and their hands came together. Cade sent his other hand to trail across her arm.
Tasha wisely crept away as Cade and Moonmist shared a small kiss... and another one... and then a long kiss under the sky. The lightdragons glided above them, leaving trails of soft light, singing.
In the land whence dreams come
Yor the elk and Alandria the sylvan
ruled with wisdom
sending dreams into the minds of sleepers
sending beauty into the world
Chapter Fifteen
The Vultures of Nightmare
Dawn rose, tickling his eyelids, and Cade rose from bed. He walked to the window and gazed upon the Begemmed City. Its marble spires and steeples glistened. I wish I could stay longer. I'd stay forever with Moonmist if I could.
He sighed and dressed in the traveler's clothes Galgev had given him. He strapped Sunclaw to his back, took his diamond shield, and placed his diamond helmet on his head. He checked the jeweled compass which hung around his neck. It pointed west. That way Phobetor waits. Cade gazed out the window, trying to imagine what Nightmare might look like. He did not like the thought.
A knock came on the door. Cade opened it to reveal the king of the city, surrounded by his servants and guards. The king wore a crown of gold and gems, jewels around his neck, and a ring on every finger. Gems were strewn through his feathery beard. Princess Moonmist stood there too, dressed in saffron silks, flowers in her hair. Starlight and Harmony hovered around the princess, flapping their wings.
"Your Highness," Cade said.
"Sir Cade," said the king, "my daughter tells me you intend to leave this morning. I request that you remain. Our city could use your service."
Cade looked at Princess Moonmist, who smiled at him, beautiful in the morning light.
"Stay with us!" she said.
I wish I could, Cade thought. He remembered the softness of Moonmist's lips, the touch of her hand, the scent of her skin and feathers. He desired little more than to stay with her. Maybe I should stay, he thought. This is a strong city, and we can defend Dream from here. We can lure Phobetor to us, and I can use the bottle when he arrives.
He took a deep breath. He was happy here, and if he wanted to stay and fight, with Moonmist, who would stop him? But when he looked at Starlight and Harmony, he sighed. The gods of Dream had sent him on a quest--a quest into the depths of Nightmare. As terrifying as that quest might be, and as tempting as Moonmist was, Cade could not rescind his promise to Windwhisper. He had agreed to travel into horror and darkness and capture Phobetor. He would follow that through.
Starlight seemed to read his mind. "Cade cannot remain in the Begemmed City," she said to the king. "He has a path to follow, and the path winds on."
The king nodded, eyes lowered, and sadness seemed to weigh heavy upon his stooped shoulders. "It is not my task to question the gods' wisdom. I do not know if our city can stand eternal, but I trust in my gods. If Starlight the pegacat says that Cade must continue on his journey, though I do not know its purpose, so it must be."
The king, queen, princess, and all the nobles of the city accompanied Cade out of the palace. They walked with him through the white city, down the marble roads, as throngs of people tossed flowers before them. When they passed by the stables, the king's servants fetched a black stallion called Eclipse.
"Take this destrier," said the king. "He is the finest beast in my stables, sure and quick of foot, and will take you safely to wherever you go."
The horse nodded and tossed his mane. "It will be my pleasure, Sir Cade. Climb onto my back." The horse had a noble voice, deep and beautiful. His mane glittered white like the Milky Way.
Before mounting the horse, Cade caught Moonmist's eyes. The two looked at each other for a moment, and then Moonmist embraced h
im. She kissed his cheek.
"Be safe, Cade," she whispered, eyes moist. "Be careful, wherever the gods send you. Come back and visit. I will be waiting."
"I'll come back," he whispered.
Riding on Eclipse, he left the city, heading into fields still burned from the battle. The pegacats flew at his sides and Tasha sat on his shoulder. Purple mountains soared in the horizons, rising from misty forests.
"I'll miss the city," Harmony said. "I liked being pampered. I wish I could stay."
Cade looked over his shoulder. Princess Moonmist stood upon the city walls, waving, flowers in her feathers. And I'll miss Moonmist. He had never felt so enamored with a girl. He vowed to return to see her.
"Goodbye, Moonmist," he whispered. Harmony seemed to notice his sadness and kissed his cheek.
"You will see her again some day," the white pegacat whispered.
They rode into the distance, through fields of wheat, until day turned to night, and they lay down to sleep under the stars. As Cade lay on his back, watching the skies, a cold wind blew. He had never felt so cold in Dream before. They were getting close to Phobetor.
* * * * *
In the dawn, Cade opened his breadbox to find a lavish breakfast, complete with blueberry pancakes, cheeses, and apple muffins. They all ate silently. Cade fed Eclipse apples, watermelon slices, and cubes of sugar. The horse ate from the grass as well.
They set out, pink wisps of dawn spreading over the eastern sky, soon becoming purple blots fading into blue. The fields gave way that afternoon to a forest of twisted oaks. The trees grew tall, and curtains of pale lichen hung from the boughs. Acorns covered the forest floor. The land was silent save for the whisper of swaying lichen, and all colors were gray, faded brown, and dark green.
They lay down to sleep that night among the oaks.
"Can I build a fire?" Harmony pleaded. "I'm cold, and I want to roast acorns."
Starlight shook her head. "No fire, Harmony. We can't risk anyone seeing the smoke or flame."
Harmony pouted. "Oof! I want roasted acorns!"
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