Sweet Dreams | Dream Of The Endless

18 | Dreamwalking

Rose Walker stood confused in the Dreaming. Somehow, she found herself standing before a white-haired woman, who helped her earlier, before she went to sleep and two other people she didn't recognize. There was also a raven sitting on the stairs near them.

What scared and confused her even more, was that they seemed to know her. More importantly, they seemed to know her brother Jed.

Morpheus stood up and held out a hand for Atia to help her up. She took it with a small smile. The two stoop up straight, taking on their role as Rulers of the Dreaming.

"You are welcome here, Rose Walker," Dream was the first of the three to speak, turning to face the girl once again.

"Who are you?" she asked unsurely.

"You have somehow dreamed your way into an audience with Lord Morpheus and Lady Atia," Lucienne said. "The King and Queen of Dreams."

The girl's eyes widened. The woman who saved her just this evening wasn't only from another world, but she was also a Queen.

"And now you must go."

"Lucienne," Atia scolded.

"She shouldn't be here," the librarian protested.

"Maybe, but she is."

"And I should like her to stay," Dream added.

Rose looked between all three of them, lost. Her mind was racing and struggling to comprehend what was going on around her. All of this seemed to surreal for her to be happening.

"What is this place?" she asked.

"You're in the Dreaming," Morpheus announced. "The place where people come when they sleep."

"So, I'm asleep right now? I'm dreaming?" she blinked.

Suddenly, it all made a lot more sense. She's dreaming and none of this is real. She would wake up back in her bed and all would go back to the way it was. Or so she thought.

"Yes, you are," Atia nodded. "And I think we're all wondering and would like to know how it is you found us."

"I heard you talked about my brother," the girl shrugged. "Is he here?"

The two rulers made their way down the steps and towards Rose.

"No," the Endless answered.

"Do you know where he is?"

"No."

They stopped just beside her. They all looked towards the window behind the throne, as the image changed to Gault.

"But we think he might be with one of our missing Nightmares," Dream said.

"She is a nightmare?" Rose asked in disbelief, then frowned. "What would she want with Jed?"

"That's the thing," Atia tsked. "We don't know. But we have a feeling it has something to do with you."

"Me? Why? What did I do?"

"It's not what you did. It's what you are."

Rose blinked, then shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I don't understand any of this," she said.

All of the sudden, she wasn't so sure it was only a dream. It was all too messed up, the way dreams usually weren't.

"No. Dream vortexes are largely incomprehensible," Dream mused.

"What's a dream vortex?"

"It's you, Rose," Aita sent her a small smile. "Once every few thousand years, a mortal is born with a dreaming ability so powerful, she can travel through the dreams of others."