Sweet Dreams | Dream Of The Endless

11 | 24/7

Atia woke up with a quiet groan. The first thing she noticed, was that she was lying on a cold, hard floor. Beside her, Morpheus was still out cold. Matthew, on the other hand, was constantly talking, pleading for them to wake up.

"Lady Atia!" exclaimed as he noticed she was awake. "Finally!"

"What happened?" she asked, her hand going up to her head.

It was pounding and she couldn't focus. The last thing she could remember was them finding the Ruby. Then, nothing.

"I don't know," the raven admitted. "Dream said something about the Ruby being altered, before it knocked you both out."

"Wha-" her eyes widened, as she remembered.

As she touched it first, she felt something was off, but she brushed it off as the feeling of its power after so long.

"What happened after we got knocked out? Where's the Ruby now?"

"I don't know. Some guy came in here, looked around. To me, it seemed like this place is his. Like he owns all of this," Matthew shook his head. "Anyways, when he saw the Ruby, he quickly grabbed it and ran off."

Atia sighed and turned towards her husband. Gently she raised his head and put it on her lap.

"Come on, love," she urged him, running a hand through his hair. "You have to wake up."

The Endless didn't react. He stayed still, his breathing steady, yet an unsettling stillness clung to him.

"Come on, we don't have time for this. Someone took the Ruby again and we have to find it," she whispered, her fingers gently brushing through his hair.

Still, Dream remained undisturbed, lost in the depths of unconsciousness. Atia's gaze lingered on his face, studying the familiar contours. Despite the worry etched on her features, a calm determination emanated from her.

She turned towards Matthew.

"I'll stay with him. Can you go on, and search around, see if you can find that man?" she asked.

"Yes, My Lady."

"Please, Atia's just fine," she waved him off.

The raven looked at her for a moment, before nodding and quickly moving towards the exit. Then, he took off. Atia turned back towards Morpheus.

"Come on, love, any time, now," Laura murmured.

She took his hand in hers, the connection grounding her as she patiently waited for any sign of his return to consciousness.

The minutes passed by, but there was still no sign of Dream waking up. Atia's composure never wavered; she remained by his side, murmuring encouragements in his ear every once in a while.

Matthew came back after a few hours. He spotted something disturbing happening in the nearby dinner and after taking a closer look, he saw the same man he saw earlier in there. And he had the Ruby.

Finally, a subtle shift in Morpheus' expression signalled the return of awareness. His eyelids fluttered, and a gradual awareness dawned in his eyes. Atia's face brightened with relief as she offered him a reassuring smile.

"Well, well, look whose back," she whispered, her thumb gently stroking his cheek.

Dream blinked, his gaze slowly focusing on his wife. Confusion clouded his eyes briefly before recognition dawned. He slowly sat up, Atia steading him as he wavered.

"What happened?" he mumbled, still groggy.

"We found the Ruby," Atia said.

"And then, we lost it again," Matthew cut in.