Pangaia: Agendas (Year One: Fall)

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Cheyenne

 "And I don't like my dress for homecoming," Cheyenne said.

Her hands moved in front of her animatedly as she attempted to describe the dress in detail to, well, she wasn't quite sure who she was talking to. She couldn't see them, only shadows and silhouettes of people were around her.

The thought, am I dreaming again? came across her mind briefly, but it soon passed and she resumed simply watching herself act. She felt outside of her body, and she didn't like it one bit.

"It'll be taken care of for you. You'll have the most beautiful dress of all the women there and you'll outshine everyone. They'll all envy you, and every man will desire you," one of the shadows said.

"I wouldn't expect any less," Cheyenne said and her entire body relaxed.

She was surrounded by luscious plants with bright red, blue, purple, and pink flowers. They were tropical and heavenly. That was the only way to describe the peace she felt. Heavenly.

Luxury surrounded her as she sat in the most comfortable chair of her life. The sun was shining, and there was a beautiful pool before her with a small waterfall pouring in from a decorative cliff overhang. More of the gorgeous flowers settled around the pool. Some of them were species she'd never seen before. All of them were so large in size she couldn't believe they were real. Some were bigger than her.

They sang nothing but praises for her.

Even she was luxurious. She wore a sparkling golden bikini she modestly covered with a sheer, black wrap. This was for the better as her bikini was not so modest. If she hadn't been dreaming, she would've felt far too self-conscious to dare wear anything like it, but in this world she had a booming confidence.

Her hair was placed upon her head in a messy bun and she wore matching gold jewelry. In fact, she was covered in more gold than she'd ever seen. From head to foot were dangling earrings, necklace chains, and bangles on both of her wrists and ankles. Plentiful, but somehow it managed to cover her in a way that made her not look gaudy.

She felt important in this world, and not just because she was wearing what felt like an entire store's worth of jewelry, but because she was being pampered to no end. At her hands, shadows were busy doing her nails and scrubbing her hands. At her feet, more massaged each foot, ankle, and leg. Her shoulders were being massaged as well, and she saw more shadows nearby eagerly awaiting orders to serve her.

"Your bath is almost ready, my lady," one shadow said with a bow. "Your mind will feel the freshest it has in years. Things will make much more sense, and you'll finally be at rest."

"I'm looking forward to it. I am tired of wandering," Cheyenne said. She politely motioned for the shadows waiting on her to depart so she could stand. "Could I trouble one of you for a drink? I forgot how easily parched I become here."

"Of course, my lady."

She stretched out her entire body and then proceeded to remove the wrap, letting it float to the ground. A shadow returned with a crystal chalice filled with cool and refreshing water. She guzzled the water before handing the empty cup back.

Her toes dipped into the water of the pool and a smile formed on her lips. Feelings of peace, happiness, freedom, excitement, and anticipation washed over her.

The water was cool and inviting to her body and soul. One foot stepped in, and then the other, and she slowly descended a set of decorative stone stairs into the depths of the water. The pool itself wasn't deep. It rose to just above her waist.

All the negative feelings washed off her. In fact, the best part of the experience wasn't the touch of the water on her skin, but the impact it had on her mind.

Every little thing bothering her was soon gone, and knowledge raced through her brain at an almost overwhelming speed.

She closed her eyes and sank deeper into the water, practically falling onto her knees. She wanted to be covered. Her head fell below the surface and she was surprised to find she could breath in the water.

It's a dream, of course I can. A dream she was reluctant to awake from when her alarm clock went off.