Once

Chapter 5

Briar, Rylan and the three nymphs sat around the rest of the day in Rylan's terrarium home, trying to figure out a plan to get Briar's dream to become a reality. They were trying to figure out how to get Briar to remember what is said in the dream, specifically what Prince Alden tells her. 

"What if we used the slipping elixir on her? Maybe that could get her to speak out loud while she's in the dream and we could hear." Willow suggested, though Briar didn't know how she felt about taking another elixir. "The last time I tried it," Rylan started, "I ended up naked attached by the feet to a gryphon. So, let's skip that one, last resort option." Briar really didn't like the sound of that. Gwen chuckled at Rylan's story, but Felicity looked puzzled. "You said the dream only occurs on Tuesday nights, correct?" She asked Briar and she nodded. 

"Tuesday nights are when Sinistra collects the gifts from her crows. Crows of the Night and all that shit." Rylan scoffed and as he leaned back in his chair, branches grew under his feet as a sort of leg rest. 

"Crows of the Night?" Briar asked, puzzled by all these new terms she was learning. 

"It's when Sinistra gathers the four crows-- Silvermoon, Ironhammer, Blackthorn and Darkfire-- all come to Sinistra's palace to give her a gift from each of their lands. The gifts increase her power, which is why the dream must be occurring on Tuesday's, she is at her peak." Felicity explained while she cooked a pot of stew on the stove. 

"They are called Crows of the Night because they are crows, crows who turn into ancient beings that Sinistra created. It's easier for them to fly there than it is to nebulastep." 

Willow explained, "That's how we got here so quickly from the meadow, we nebula-stepped."

Felicity finished stirring the stew and looked back at Briar. "I promise this will all make sense in time, but for right now let's focus on getting the dream figured out." 

"Well," Gwen started, "We know it's on Tuesday's, we know it involves Prince Alden, we know Sinistra is the one ripping them apart, and we know that Briar can't remember anything other than that." 

"What if we had Goldfoot help? It is only Thursday, we have five days until the next dream", Willow suggested. 

"Goldfoot is a good option, I wonder if he is still living in the Cave of Spells tunnels." Felicity sighed as she said this. "I haven't seen him in ages, but he might know of a way to get into Briar's mind." 

"Into my mind?" Briar gasped, "I don't want anyone or thing in my mind." 

"Briar, Sinistra has invaded your mind once a week for the past three years without you even knowing it. Having an elf slip into your mind while you're asleep to get us answers is the least of your problems." Willow said, rather a little harshly Briar had to admit. 

Felicity plated five bowls of stew and handed them out. "If Goldfoot is our only option right now, I say we leave in the morning to meet with him." 

Hours later, Briar laid on a rather soft and comfortable bed made of moss and flower petals, with a blanket woven from cotton. Everyone else had fallen asleep throughout the terrarium-cottage, soft snores came from Rylan high in the trees above her. Her thoughts were scrambling, running all over the place from how she ended up here from Rhode Island, to meeting these creatures, learning the history of this fantastical world and now needing to save a prince? It was a lot to take in. 

As she laid there, her mind drifted to Prince Alden. It was nice to have a name for the face she saw every week for the last three years. She wondered what he sounded like, if he knew her, what his family was like. She then started thinking about her own family, was she even related to them after finding out she is the daughter of a High Sovereign? Did her family know about this place and everything that was going on? If they did, why had they kept it from her for so long? And, where was Tilly? Was she still alive? These thoughts plagued Briar all night until she finally drifted off to a dreamless sleep.