Dream Catcher

The Twins

Night hung low, and the blue moon high. It was December fifth, the night of the Festival of Sleep. I sat on the rail of the balcony, watching over the festival of Sleep. Nostalgia washed over me, as I remembered the times I could partake in the fun. It was the one night a year that was my day off from training. Ever since the age of four, by day I would train in every form of combat under the sun, by night I would sleep, to regain energy. But the Night of Dreamers, was the sole day and night I could be free and have fun. Once I graduated, my status changed. I had to climb the mountain that the Temple of Sleep rested upon. I protect the twins who sleep for the safety of the kingdom.

I am the sole person alive, since the death of my master, to walk along the castle walls, and see the twins. I'm known as the Dream Catcher. Only I, and the sleeping twins, reside inside of the Temple. No one in or out beside me. On top of that, I'm the only one who knows that they are actually real. Not just a myth or Legend that the townspeople believe.

I must admit it is lonely, I'm not a loud to wake the twins for company, even if I knew how, or bring others. I keep myself entertained though, and just because I'm the guardian, doesn't mean I'm bound to the Temple and twins. I can leave if I wanted to, but I'd always have to return.

A firework went off, snapping me out of my thoughts. I watched as another rocket soared high into the sky, then explode into an array of colors. I watched a few moments longer, then swung my legs back over the railing and hopped back onto the balcony. My large war hammer that I keep on me was leaning against the railing. I picked it up tossed it in the air to adjust my grip then strapped it to my back, in one fluid motion. My hammer had a three foot, quartz rod, a diamond head that was blunt on one side, and jagged on the other. Including the jagged spikes, the head of the hammer was two and a half feet wide. It was really heavy, all together it weighed about fifteen to twenty pounds. I was accustomed to its weight by now though, in my hands it weighed nothing.

I walked back into the temple, and made my usual sweep through the hallways, checking for intruders and what-not. Then I made my way to the twin's sleeping chambers.

The door to their room was a mahogany set of double doors, eight feet high, imbued with stone carvings, dictating the local legend of the dreamers. I turned the steel handle, and poked my head inside. Of course the twins remained suspended in sleep.

I let myself in quietly and looked around the room. On the far end of the room there a large arched stained glass window of a dreamcatcher, that during the day would cast the room in reds, greens, purples, yellows, and blues. The window was at least eight feet wide, and fourteen feet tall. Below the window was an eight foot long dark oak wood dresser. On either side of the dresser were two dark cedar, four poster, queen sized beds, with lilac tinted curtains hung from the tester.

I walked closer to the beds, and picked the one on the right. A small girl, about the age of nine, slept soundlessly underneath a large royal purple comforter, and on top of four large silk pillows. The girl was fair skinned, had long light brown hair, rosey cheeks, and light freckles across her cheekbones and nose.

On the other side, her brother laid on the same bed set up. They were identical, give or take a few features. The boy had short, dirty brown hair, the same fair skin, but no rosey cheeks or freckles.

I smiled sweetly, they looked like they slept so peacefully. I walked away from the beds to the center of the room and looked to the west wall. There was a pair of regular sized, glass double doors, leading to another balcony, with two portraits of each dreamer on either side. On the east wall, was a large soft black couch, complete with a black glass coffee table, sitting on top of a fuzzy, royal purple rug. In the very center of the room, where I was standing, was a monastery used as a large rug. This rug depicted a large cartoon of the twins, awake, smiling, happy, and holding hands. In the picture of them, the girl had green eyes, and the boy had blue. I wondered if they really had those colored eyes.

I shrugged to myself, and started for the door to leave. I was halfway out the door when I heard stirring from behind me. I froze, my hand still on the handle, and wedged between both doors. After a few seconds of dumbfounded shock, I looked towards the beds. The boy was sitting up, his legs over the side of the bed, the comforter half on the floor, half on the bed, one pillow on the floor and one not. They boy rubbed his eyes, then stared his sky blue ones into mine.