A Dimension in Time

Our Contract Has Turned to Ashes

♪ ☆* Chapter 10 *☆♪

Our Contract Has Turned to Ashes

Dawn awoke in the Horizon on the polished steps of Moonjumper's Gazebo, but this time he wasn't there, he was sitting at the docks by the lake. Dawn slowly walked up to Moonjumper, making sure to be careful when approaching her friend. "MJ...? Are you okay?" Moonjumper jumped slightly, only to turn his gaze to Dawn instead of his reflection in the lake. "Oh! Dearie! You're alive! I didn't see you arrive." Dawn chuckled sadly, not wanting to remember the time at the manor. "It was awful... but I lived and... well... I know mostly everything now. But I only know things from a surface level... I even found letters from.. well... a Time Rift and Vanessa's Manor." Moonjumper's eyes widened as he turned away from the snowflake-clipped girl. "... You have answers that you'd like to hear... methinks. Isn't that right, dear child?" Moonjumper asked, his tone sounding sad and bittersweet. Dawn finally took the opportunity to sit next to the moon shaped spirit, looking into the lake's waters as she did. Moonjumper inhaled and exhaled a heavy sigh. "I'll start from the humble origins. The place where all these travesties began." Moonjumper closed his sunken eyes and began his tale: "300 years ago as you know, I was created with this dimension within this world. I never met thy maker nor knew how I materialized into this world. But I existed without a purpose nor cause." Moonjumper slowly explained, holding his shackled hands together silently, rubbing them for comfort. "I was in the years of a young one like yourself, perhaps even younger when I learned about two of my wonderful gifts. The gift of controlling the strings and the gift of allowing children to visit me though their dreams." Moonjumper chuckled at the end, reminiscing on the playful times that he'd have with the kids who'd visit him.

"To say that I was always like this would be an understatement, child. I used to be mostly curious and mischievous! I used to wonder what lied beyond the confinement of The Horizon, the world the children knew so well, while I knew so little." Moonjumper then stopped smiling, it was painstakingly obvious this part of the story wasn't going to be friendly. "One day, when I was around the human equivalent of being perhaps the age of your older siblings, I found I could leave The Horizon... but..." Moonjumper paused... taking a deep breath before continuing. "I could not be seen. I was invisible, I was a ghost to those who didn't visit me in their dreams. I was devastated... I hated the isolation. But it had its perks..." Moonjumper opened his eyes as he soon made the water away with his hand. "I could finally see the world that I was naive of, even if I myself couldn't be seen. That was the first time I heard music, smelled baked goods and saw families together. The first time I heard of other stories and folklore and the culture of the village and eventually learned the name of where I had been created, Subcon Forest." Dawn scooted closer as Moonjumper continued recounting the tale of Subcon Forest. "I learned it was a land of trade and travel, a land those who were lucky enough to travel went and came. And its citizens were truly exquisite. The princess, Vanessa, would make her famous pastries, play songs on her copper stringed violin and talk with all the children who all loved running around and wear animal masks, a tradition Subcon was well known for. The traditions with the masks were to ward off spirits and welcome the souls who were lost to somewhere safe. The prince, Lukas, would tell stories and was the sweetest soul you'd meet on this earth... yet that all changed." Moonjumper hastily pulled his hand out of the lavender waters, soon holding himself as a way to shove some bad memories away.

"I was a naive fool back then... I was the equivalent of a child... and nothing could have ever prepared me for what happened..." Dawn's eyes lowered to the lake and then back at Moonjumper. "It's okay... take your time MJ... it's okay." Dawn reassured... letting Moonjumper know that things were okay. Moonjumper sighed as he readied himself to continue the tale. "It was a normal visit, until... the queen came out... clouds had come out and blocked the sun, white shaves of ice started to fall and things I had never seen before started to spread. For the first time I felt... painfully cold. The frost hurt, I shielded myself behind one of the homes and by the time I had opened my eyes... Subcon Village was gone. Just like that... I was confused... I was scared. I flew around and eventually found the manor... only to be greeted with huge blocks of ice. I eventually scaled those walls but it took more than one try." Moonjumper then placed his hands on the ground, averting his gaze from Dawn to the lake once more.