Sleepwalking

Chapter One

Living in the field of flowers was a literal dream come true. While it was normally quiet in the field, the constant visits from the Pixies and the Arcana made up for what little loneliness I experienced.

It was quiet at my cottage in the field of flowers when I noticed that someone was arriving in the Dreamscape. He had auburn colored hair and wore a bright blue uniform; the fascinated look he had on his face made me softly smile as I left my cottage to greet him.

"Ah...so pretty..." he murmured.

Like any other person who arrived in the Dreamscape, I immediately knew his name as I called out, "Italy!"

"Hmm?" he hummed.

"Italy, come over here!" I called, waving him over.

"And...where is here?" he asked.

I giggled. "Over by the tree! Come on~!"

I smiled as I watched Italy make his way over to the tree I was standing under. A gentle breeze made the grass of the field rustle. When he reached the top of the field, I waved at him. "You made it!"

"Of course I did!" he reassured me. "I wouldn't miss it!"

We sat in silence until I spoke up; "Hey, I have an idea, let's go do something together! You know, like friends do!" I stood up from my spot under the tree and offered him my hand. "Allow me to introduce myself; I'm the GateKeeper and it's my duty to show you around the field of flowers."

"Nice to meet you, GateKeeper!" Italy smiled. "What did you have in mind?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, that depends on what YOU want to do. We can talk about pizza, pasta, or art or go swimming, or anything really."

"Ooh! Swimming sounds like fun!" Italy agreed. "We should do that! Would you care to join us, Germany?"

I turned around and saw Rêve disguised as this man named 'Germany'. They nodded, confirming that they would be joining us. "Then what are we waiting for?" Rêve began walking off towards the lake, while Italy and I lagged behind.

"It really has been too long since I've seen him happy like that...or happy at all," Italy mutters to himself, but I ignore it, knowing that it's probably a personal thing.

We join Rêve at the edge of the lake, and I relax on the sandbank.

"How's the water?" Italy asks Rêve.

"Perfect!"

"Hurray!" Italy cheered. "Germany, catch me!"

The two of them fall back into the lake water and before I know it Italy is gone, meaning he had woken up in the real world. Rêve was widely smiling to themselves as they waved me over.

"It's been too long since we had such a pure host!" Rêve said, walking out of the lake. "This is going to be a good one, GateKeeper!"

"Congrats, Rêve!" I replied. "I know how hard you work trying to please your hosts."

"Next time Italy visits, I'll be the one to greet him this time, since he's been here before. He'll trust me when I'm Germany, and I'm sure he'll love staying here!"

Rêve happily walks off down the dirt path, while I turn the opposite direction and head back to my cottage. It had been a lot of fun meeting Italy today, and I'm sure he'll be a wonderful host.

*****

I spent the rest of the afternoon in my cottage, tending to the garden and tidying up. The cottage looked small on the outside, but it was actually very big on the inside. The kitchen was the perfect size for only one person living here at a time, and down the hall was my bedroom, tucked away from the rest of the house.

A full-length mirror hung on the dining room wall that allowed me to look into other dimensions and to check up on Rêve. I glanced at the mirror and peered into what seemed to be Italy's bedroom in the other world.

"Vee, that was exhausting!" Italy sighed. "I'm sure glad we got away...though now I really need some sleep!"

He walked towards his bed that was covered in a green comforter. I softly frowned. Italy walked back towards his mirror and looked into it, all the while talking to himself. "I look very handsome."

"...." I sighed.

"....!" Italy gasped as I tilted my head in confusion. He quickly backed away from the mirror, and I realized that he must be seeing one of Rêve's forms. Through the mirror, I could make out that Rêve was disguised as Germany, the one that they said Italy would trust.

"G...Germany?" Italy questioned.

Rêve stayed silent as he just smiled.

"I can't hear you. Let's see if I can read your lips." Italy suggested.

They still said nothing, but rather walked over to Italy's bed.

"You...want me to go to bed?" Italy questioned. "Okay!"

Italy walked over to his bed and I scrambled to put everything in order for when he arrived in the field of flowers again. This time, instead of greeting Italy, Rêve would meet him and make him the host of the Dreamscape.

As I rushed to finish preparations, I heard Italy say, "This is all so fun, I wonder if I'm asleep right now!"

******

I expected Italy to be the one to show up in the field of flowers.

When I peeked out my window, I saw his friend, the one he calls 'Germany'. Before I could leave my house, I saw Rêve already greeting him in the field. I frowned, confused as to why he would do so, but brushed it off knowing they might have a plan for doing so. Instead, I listened in on their conversation.

"Hm...? Italy? What is it?" Germany asked.

"...." Rêve stayed quiet until they spoke. "...You don't want me..."

Germany scoffed and went after him. "Italy! Wait!"

Rêve led Germany to the giant tree that I brought all newcomers to and stood with their back facing Germany.

"...Italy?"

"........." Rêve turned around to face him, showing him this new form of Italy; his 'shadowed' form. "sOMetHinG wRoNG, CApTaiN?"

Just like that, Germany disappeared before my eyes, but Rêve's new form stayed the same. Italy was already transitioning into being the new host.

I stayed around my cottage, picking the flowers and braiding them into flower crowns for other travelers. More time passed until I felt the presence of a new traveler. I walked out and greeted them, offering them a flower crown. While we talked, two more arrived, and I also gave them flower crowns.

I learned that their names were Canada, Finland, and Austria.

*****

A.N: It's almost been a month since I put up Chapter Zero, but now that I have more 'free time', I plan to try and update "Sleepwalking" every couple of weeks. Please keep in mind that I'm following Kyo's recent completed playthrough that has about 40 episodes that are each 30+ minutes long.

In Chapter Two, expect GateKeeper to be doing some spying on England as he searches for the answer as to why all these nations are suddenly falling asleep, and maybe they'll get to welcome the nations to the Dreamscape as well.

Until next time,

Em