My Dream

Interlude: A Storm at Sea

"Happy birthday Kitty!" Che'nya beamed at her. "Sorry I'm late. I thought it would be a good idea to wait until all the others were gone."

Gwen smiled at him, taking a seat on the bed besides him. "Smart."

"Here you go." Che'nya handed her a box.

Gwen opened her present. "A new bag!" She held it up to look at it.

One big black circle with two smaller black circles on top. The bottom part of the big circle was red with two white buttons.

"It's perfect, thank you." Gwen leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Che'nya purred. "Goodnight, Kitty." He said before disappearing.

***

"W-what's happening here?" Gwen wondered. "This is a crazy storm..."

Gwen was standing in the middle of a stormy sea, but the waves passed harmlessly through her.

"A storm's comin'!" A sailor shouted. "Hold on tight!"

Gwen watched as a young man sacrificed his own safety to rescue his dog. The man was knocked into the water. A few agonizing minutes passed, then his head surfaced.

"Oh, thank god!" Then Gwen noticed the red head who was dragging him to safety. "Is she... a mermaid?"

Gwen rushed after the two, watching as the mermaid brought the man to a sandy beach. There was a yellow guppy, and a seagull with her.

"Look, he's still breathing!" The mermaid pointed out in relief.

A dog barked and the mermaid and her friends took off.

An older man and the dog rushed to the man's side. "Prince Eric!" The man cried, looking overjoyed and relived.

The man helped the prince up and supported him as they walked away. "A girl helped me." Prince Eric said. "She had a beautiful voice."

The mermaid watched them go from a rock. "I wonder why my heart is racing?" She asked. "I know my dream will come true and someday I'll be part of your world!"

"I think it's love at first sight." Gwen replied, knowing she couldn't be heard. "This is so romantic!" Then she noticed something in the background.

Two eels were laughing at the sight. They gave Gwen a bad feeling.

A wave splashed into her, actually dousing her. "Yuck." Gwen looked down at herself, then her eyes widened in fear. "It's ink!"

Another wave crashed down on her.

***

Gwen shuddered as she landed on the ink. "Why... why is this happening?" She wondered.

She stood up carefully. "Myz? Leona?"

She was waiting for someone to come out of the ink, like the Rebel and the Tyrant.

Then something wrapped around her leg. "My darling, little, Mermaid." Something cooed as more things wrapped around Gwen. "Give me your magic, and I'll give you everything!"

Gwen turned to look at whatever was holding her captive. Her head was forced forward.

"No! Don't look at me! You- you can't look at me!" The voice shrieked, sounding desperate. "I can't let you see me like this!"

Gwen started squirming in its grip as it forced her down into the ink. "Myz!!" She called. "LEONA!!"

***

"Here, you can take the hammocK over there."

"How do I get in it?"

"Oh, yeah. It is a bit high for you, huh?"

"I'll switch with her. I don't mind."

"Thanks love. Up you go, lass."

"Can you sing a lullaby?"

"Yeah, can you sing a lullaby?"

"Of course."

Upon one summer's morning, I carefully did stray
Down by the Walls of Wapping, where I met a sailor gay

***

Gwen was jolted from sleep by a loud pounding sound. She looked at the mirror, then to the door. She bolted towards the door and threw it open.

Leona was on the other side. "Hey, Kitten, why did I have the strangest feeling that you had called me?" He asked, looking grumpy. "I couldn't go back to sleep until I was sure you were okay."

"Leona..." Gwen sniffled, collapsing into his chest.

Leona wrapped his arms around her. "What's wrong Kitten?" Effortlessly, he picked her up and carried her inside.

"I had a dream. Again! That means someone's going to Overblot! Again!" Gwen whimpered into his shoulder.

Leona carried Gwen up the stairs and into her bed. "Kitten, you think I'll let anything happen to you?" He asked. "If anything happens, I'll keep you safe."

Gwen curled into him, clutching onto his shirt. "You promise?"

Leona kissed her on the head. "Promise." He replied. "Now come here, Kitten, you're my pillow for the rest of the night." Leona pulled her even closer against him, wrapping his tail around her leg.

***

Did she enjoy her gifts? I'm glad. I wish I could've been there... but... huh? It's nothing. It's not the first birthday I've missed. How has she been doing? You said something about her having weird dreams?