A Dreamer's Knight

Chapter 15 - Back to Work

One awoke the next morning to find himself in one of the bedrooms in the private section of the Matinee, buried beneath a tangle of patchwork quilts and black satin-cased pillows.

He started drifting back off to sleep, murmuring, "I'm sure Two can handle Wong for a few more minutes."

Without warning, the room's single window slammed open and flooded the room with brilliant light.

One groaned and covered his head with a thick quilt. "It's too early to be morning!"

The sun's rays focused into a single beam and crept through the room. With surprising determination, the beam inched over a small pile of One's clothes and up the wooden frame of his bed before finally stopping above One's covered head.

The sunbeam suddenly grabbed the quilt covering One's head and tossed it aside before slapping him full across the face.

Trying in vain to shield himself from this sudden assault, One shouted, "Okay, okay! I'm awake!"

The sunbeam faded. Grumbling beneath his breath, One tried to get out of bed but only succeeded in further tangling his legs in his sheets and falling onto the floor with a thud. He muttered something impolite beneath his breath before pushing himself from the floor.

He entered the Lobby a few minutes later via gray room stairwell, still feeling a bit groggy. Two snickered at his partner's appearance over a cup of what smelled strongly of apple cider. Wong was resting his head on the table, drooling ever so slightly. Mom was busily typing at her computer.

She nodded at One, her eyes never leaving her screen. "Good morning, One. Pleasant dreams?"

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, One said, "Yeah, before you woke me up."

Mom replied evenly, "And if I hadn't, you'd just sleep in right past your assignment, just like that assignment you took with Atraius."

"Yeah, 'cause it's totally my fault that witch hit me with a sleep spell!"

"Excuses, excuses." Mom replied, waving her hand at One dismissively.

One popped his neck and sighed with relief. As he sat down in his chair at the conference table, Two snapped his fingers. A cup of steaming liquid appeared in front of One on the table.

"Thanks, Two." One picked up the mug and promptly dropped it back on the table.

Two burst out laughing as One blew on his now red fingers.

"It's hot." Two said, tossing his buddy an oven mitt.

"Thanks for the warning, jerk." Taking a sip from his mug, One felt energy seep back into his limbs much more quickly than it would have with his usual coffee. He looked into the deep amber contents of his mug with surprise, asking, "What is this?"

"Crystallic cider." Two took another sip from his mug before continuing, "Some kind of magical pick-me-up or something from Vinta. It seemed appropriate, considering your assignment. Not bad, huh?"

"Except for the fact I can't use magic." One said with a smirk.

"You can't?" Wong said, a surprised look on his face. "I thought you were from Earth after that big whatchamacallit."

"The Devastation," One corrected, "And I was. Not everyone got augments or magic, y'know."

"Bah. You never needed it," said Two with a chuckle. Pointing at One, he told Wong, "This guy won't even use his abilities as a Dreamer unless he has to."

"Don't need to," One said, lifting his mug.

He started to take another drink when a nearby door slammed open, revealing the Dreamer known as Fate. Physically, Fate is as pleasant of face and form as her sisters, Luck and Karma. Mentally, she's a completely different story: where Karma is shy and Luck is flirtatious, Fate is extremely direct. Where Luck is capricious and Karma is kind, Fate is domineering. With her pitch-black hair hanging to her waist, her pallid skin, and morbid taste in clothing, Fate's sudden appearance can startle the most stalwart Dreamer ... even when her eyes aren't literally flaming with anger.