Emerald Dreams (The Dream Traveler Series)

by Nicole Knight

It was so uncomfortable. I was sure my face was turning redder with every stride he took.

  I could feel the stomach acids burning my throat, but continued to keep myself from vomiting.

  When we got to the base of the tree, he put me down and gave me one command, “Climb.”

  I grabbed onto the ladder and put one foot on top of the other.

  I refused to look down knowing that if I did, I would lose the little control I had over my stomach. I don’t think Axel wants to wear last night’s fruit. After what felt like forever, I made it to the top and crawled inside the house.

  “What happened to you? You look like you got run over by a horse,” Wisdom joked with me.

  This was not a joking matter, it was frustrating. I felt like I was falling apart. Can I light him on fire?

  “She didn’t make it very far until she took a very long rest,” Axel butted in.

  He was smiling at Wisdom like they were sharing an inside joke. This irritated me a little more.

  They found my failure funny.

  “Looks like you have your work cut out for you,” Wisdom said.

  “Don’t remind me,” I replied dryly.

  “Is there anything you can teach me that doesn’t involve me moving?” I asked him.

  “Not particularly, maybe you should just practice what you know. Get really good at just working very simple magic. It will make all the other magic a little bit easier if you have a solid foundation to build on,” Wisdom said.

  I had now crawled to a spot at the table and was pulling myself into a chair. Axel watched my struggle but didn’t say anything.

  He looked like he was thinking really hard.

  A glass of water appeared magically in front of me. I reached for it and took a big gulp; I set the glass down and closed my eyes.

  I could feel two other pairs of eyes on me. I tuned them out. I mentally put my awareness on the glass of water. I manipulated the air around and underneath the glass. I made it float in the air above the table and brought it closer to my face. I felt something hard pressed to my mouth, I opened my lips slightly and water trickled in. I made the air turn it back upright and set it back on the table.

  I smiled slightly and opened my eyes. Both Axel and Wisdom were smiling. I couldn’t handle a lot of physical activity, but I could control the magic.

  I was sure of it.

  I practiced manipulating things around the house for the next few hours. Putting out random candles and then relighting them. I moved them and other pieces of furniture around the house. It was becoming second nature for me and sort of fun. It was like experiencing a new high.

  This feeling that I could do anything was already an addiction. I never wanted to stop using my magic.

  I didn’t let my fun stop with just moving random things. I hid items I knew Wisdom needed.

  Every once in a while, I would spot him walking around looking for things and cursing his age and his memory.

  I found it amusing.

  Once he would look in one place several times, I would hide the object in that spot while his back was turned. Eventually, he would come back to that spot and see it. He would look up and swear to us he wasn’t going crazy.

  I had to hold in my laughter. I probably would have sounded like an evil scientist if I hadn’t.

  Axel had large sheets of paper spread out all over the floor. He had several different things drawn out. He wasn’t terrible at sketching, which surprised me.

  Maybe one day, when this was all over, I could teach him how to master his artistic talents?

  He started drawing maps of the castle and its grounds. It was part of the strategy he and Wisdom would work on. They would figure out how to get me into the castle without being spotted.

  That part is what made me nervous, what happened inside the castle? I knew I would have to kill the king. I don’t like even thinking about it. I can’t even squash a bug. I always pick them up with a tissue and let them back outside.

  I cherish life; I don’t like to destroy it. How was I going to kill a man? Could I bring myself to do it? Could I end a life? I don’t know if I will be able to do it. If he were directly threatening me, maybe I could.

  Perhaps my brain would recognize that I was in danger, and it would be easier for me to do? However, I couldn’t just come out of the blue and assassinate him. Something about that just didn’t sit right with me.

  If I’m supposed to be the Queen that brings peace, how does killing someone accomplish that? Murder and peace don’t go together, even if it is for the greater good. Is there another way I could assume leadership? I’d have to figure that much out.

  I’ve always been overly sensitive about everything for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, I always thought my dolls had feelings too, and I would talk to them like people. I still took harsh comments and criticism to heart, even as an adult. Was there a way I could just shut that off?

  For now, I will focus my attention on trying to do as many new things with my magic as possible. This is my newfound strength. I would make it as strong as I could, and then I would focus all my attention on my weaknesses, which would be any physical activity.

  I grunted.

  Neither of the guys seemed to pay me much attention. I couldn’t blame them. I was just repeating the same old stuff over and over. Now that I had stopped hiding Wisdom’s things, he looked more content and productive around the cottage. He had books laid open on counters and tables. He had reading spectacles on and was flipping between pages of at least ten different books.

  When I had asked him what he was reading on, he told me he was brushing up on his history of the prophecy.

  Axel had asked if Wisdom had the original. I don’t know what that meant, but whatever it is, Wisdom doesn’t have it. Axel looked slightly disappointed.

  My stomach growled. It had settled down some now that I wasn’t exerting myself, but now it wanted food. I thought about a nice big slice of pizza. I didn’t know how to make things appear out of the air like Wisdom does. It was worth a try, though. I thought about what the slice of pizza would smell like and taste like. I imagined in my head how I wanted it to look with every detail.

  One second the table I was sitting at was cluttered with odds and ends I had been manipulating, the next second I had a slice of pizza sitting in front of me. I could smell the strong scent of the tomato sauce and cheese. It looked so good.

  Axel spoke first, “Wisdom, did you do that?”

  Wisdom looked away from his book to look towards me and saw the food in front of me.

  “Looks like our Princess taught herself a new trick. That’s fantastic!” the magic worker praised.

  I enjoyed it a little.

  It was a confidence boost to my tiny ego.

  I didn’t see any reason to punish myself any further. I picked up my slice and dug in.

  “What is that strange food?” Axel asked me.

  “You don’t have pizza?” I asked.

  My mouth was still half full of half-chewed food. I should have thought about that before I opened my mouth.

  “No, it looks strange,” he replied.

  “It smells delicious, though,” he quickly added after.

  “Try it!” I shoved the piece in his face. “You will love it, I promise.”

  He stretched his neck out and ripped off a piece with his teeth. I could see his jaw moving, and I knew he was chewing.

  Any second now...

  “This is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten!” he exclaimed.

  I knew it.

  I let out a big smile that mirrored the one he was now wearing. I closed my eyes and made him a piece exactly like what I was eating. I let it float in front of him until he reached out and grabbed it.

  “Thank you, Princess,” he said and bowed his head a little towards me.

  Then he took a huge bite.

  “You are very welcome,” I replied.

  I scarfed down the rest of my piece before Axel would try
to take it.

  He had his piece gone faster than I could finish mine. I was taking a sip of water, this time using my own hands when Wisdom approached us, with a big book in hand. He sat down at the other side of the table.

  “I need seriousness for a moment,” he commanded.

  “Okay,” Axel and I both said in unison.

  “Princess, it looks like you have taken a liking to magic, and there is no shame in that, but I am afraid of you using it in your world again. Victoria only tried to use magic once in her world, at least that’s what I know from her personal records. Should the need arise, I don’t want another close call back here. I think that scared us all enough for one day. I found something that might help us."

  “You have her personal records?” I asked, as he opened the book and pulled out a gem from a hidden compartment carved into the book’s pages.

  It was a purple gem, only a quarter of the size of the emerald in my necklace. It was shiny and reflected back all of the light from the candles suspended around us.

  “This needs to be touching your skin at all times. Even if you take the necklace off. I don’t think the necklace is what’s allowing you to do magic. It’s in your blood, and the necklace. This place only woke that magic inside of you.

  The necklace is more like your transportation here. Is there a place you could keep this where people couldn’t take it off of you? Preferably where someone might not see it, and it won’t get stolen?”

  He dropped the gem into my flattened palm. I studied it thinking about where I might be able to place it.

  “If I wore it in a set of earrings, necklace, or bracelet, it would be seen,” I told him.

  “Then what are we going to do? There is no mistaking what it is and that she can manipulate magic if she is wearing it. People in this land would kill her for this,” Axel stated.

  “Most likely, yes,” Wisdom answered as he nodded his head.

  He was wearing a solemn expression.

  “Wait, I have an idea,” I said.

  I had to figure out the best way to explain this.

  “In my world, people will pierce other parts of their body, for example, their belly button. No one back home will know this gem is so valuable. Meaning no one will try to take it from me or rip it out. In this world, as long as I am wearing a shirt, it’s covered. It would also be touching my skin at all times,” I explained.

  “How is it done?” Axel asked curiously.

  There was a smile playing at his lips.

  It was seriously cute the way he was looking at me. Like he could always count on me to have all the answers. I would try my best if it meant he’d always look at me that way.

  “I’ll have to lay flat on the table, and somehow we need to put the gem on a metal point that will stick into my skin. Something will stick to the back to keep it from sliding out. Kind of like this..”

  I pulled my earring out of my ear and handed it to Wisdom.

  “Can you make something like this to house the gem?” I asked him.

  “I could form something like this around it,” he answered.

  He handed the earring back to me, and I put it back in my ear.

  Wisdom held the gem out in the center of his palm. Magically gold formed around the outside of the gemstone. A fragile strand weaved itself around the back of the gem and formed a point. The back to the gem was almost entirely open, allowing the gem to keep in constant contact with my skin but still had enough gold to keep it attached to my body.

  “How is this done in your world?” Wisdom asked?

  He looked a little nervous.

  “Do you have any disinfectant?” I asked.

  I wasn’t sure how advanced they were in medicine here.

  “I have some spirits,” Wisdom answered me.

  Okay, so they have a basic knowledge. That was good, I suppose.

  “Bring it here, along with a clean cloth,” I told him.

  Both appeared right in front of me. I stood up and cleaned the area with a cloth and alcohol. I dipped the new belly accessory in the alcohol too.

  “Who wants to be the one to do it?” I asked the men.

  No one volunteered.

  What a bunch of big babies.

  I pointed to Axel, “You are going to do it.”

  “Why me?” He whined as I grabbed his hands and poured the alcohol onto them.

  “Rub them together,” I ordered.

  “Why?” He whined again.

  “It cleans your hands so that this won’t get infected.”

  Axel did as he was told, and then I handed the stud to him. I laid flat on the table. I pointed to the skin right above my belly button.

  “You’re going to stick it in right here. The point is going to go through and come out on the other side of this piece of skin. Do it as quickly as you can so the pain ends sooner,” I said.

  Axel reached out and put his finger in my belly button. He used his other hand to position the stud directly over the upper part.

  I had just barely finished speaking and didn’t have any time to prepare myself before he shoved it through the skin.

  I felt the pain, and I did my best to ignore it. It brought tears to my eyes, but I breathed through the pain. Wisdom handed Axel the back to the stud he designed, and Axel slipped it on.

  “All done,” he announced.

  “Hand me more clean cloth, and that bottle will you?” I asked.

  I touched my belly button and then pulled my finger away. There was a small amount of blood on my finger.

  That was to be expected.

  The alcohol and a clean cloth were handed to me, and I poured the alcohol over the piercing. I screamed; it burned so bad. I could hear it echoing through the cabin, bouncing off the wooden planks that made up the walls and ceiling of the cottage.

  My muscles locked up, and I slammed the bottle back down on the table beside me. I laid the cloth on top of the piercing and let it soak up the extra alcohol. I let the pain subside before I sat up. Then it hit me.

  I had just gotten my belly button pierced, and Mom was going to kill me if she found out.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I went to bed in the back bedroom shortly after my piercing. Axel was sitting in a chair next to the bed. He was “catching up on his reading.”

  It was a joke, of course, because while he seemed brilliant, he doesn’t seem patient enough to sit down and read.

  I woke up back in my bed in Arlington. My belly button burned. I looked down, and it was blotted red around the piercing.

  Mom would freak if she saw it, so I will have to keep it hidden.

  I went to the bathroom to clean it and get ready for my day. Once I had cleaned it, I taped a piece of gauze over it. I didn’t want it to get it caught on my shirt and get tugged. The less pain, the better.

  It was Saturday, so there wasn’t any school. I was relieved. I didn’t want to spend any more time in that hell hole than necessary. I was picking up my dirty uniforms from the week and getting ready to walk them to the downstairs washing machine when I heard my phone vibrate.

  I dropped the clothes onto the bed in a pile and checked my phone resting on the nightstand.

  Mads: I got invited to Lacey’s party tonight!

  Me: I’m sorry, was that a giant autocorrect fail?

  Mads: No, it was right, I got asked by Tommy!

  Tommy was a guy on the boys’ soccer team.

  Me: That’s great have fun.

  Mads: Oh, we will. You’re coming with me!

  Me: If Lacey is going to be there, which she will be since it is her house, then I will not be. Have fun, kiddo.

  Mads: Tommy and I are coming to get you at seven. Be ready, wear something cute.

  Me: Do I have to?

  Mads: Yes, see you later!

  Why me? I wanted to go to bed early tonight I was being dragged along because Mads was nervous and she had every right to be. Not many guys show attention to us scholarship kids, and we certainly don’t get i
nvited to the parties. I was only doing this for Mads.

  As nervous as I was for this party, I also felt excited. This is my first high school party, as sad as that sounds. I just hope I can avoid Lacey. I won’t count on that, though; it is her party after all.

  I went to my closet and picked out an outfit for this evening. I’d never worn it out before, but Mom bought it for me last year, and it wasn’t too bad.

  I had a cute summer dress that would be appropriate for the unusually warm weather for December. I had a tan leather jacket to wear with it. It was my first excuse to wear this outfit, and that itself got me excited. I never used to care about how I looked until last year; even then, I didn’t care too much about what I wore. I wore what I could afford to buy.

  I decided I would just wear my hair down and add a little salt water to the lower half; I learned that it gives me a ‘fresh off the beach’ look. I hoped that it wouldn’t look like I tried too hard.

  I didn’t do any of that silly stuff like paint my nails or do a lot of fancy makeup. I didn’t see the need. It was a house party, not prom.

  I walked downstairs and greeted Mom and Grandmother.

  “Hi Mom, hi Grandma.”

  “Hi dear,” they both responded.

  Grandma handed me my customary apple. She was having a good day, and that made me feel optimistic about today.

  “Grandma, I have something to show you, could you follow me to the attic? I want to ask you about something,” I told her.

  “Sure dear,” she answered.

  We walked past Mom, who gave me a weird look, but didn’t say a word. We walked to the attic door, and I helped Grandma up the stairs.

  “What is it dear?” She asked as we were halfway up the stairs.

  “I want to show you something, can you promise you won’t freak out?” I asked her.

  “I will do my best to hold it together,” she said as she smiled at me.

  I walked her over to one of the old couches with a sheet covering it. I lifted part of the sheet and helped her sit down on the exposed portion of the sofa. I then stepped back.

  I closed my eyes and held out the apple in my palm.