Rajah's Curse

Chapter 22: His Dream

I woke up in the middle of the night. Considering my sleep had been filled with peasant revolts, literally drowning in paperwork, and memories of Jasmine's first few months in the trade department, I wasn't surprised.

I stretched and yawned. Then I blinked.

Something was very wrong. My rooms were pitch-black. And I felt...off. I blinked a few more times. My eyes adjusted but it was still unusually dark. What was going on?

I rolled over and decided to get up. My paws touched the palace floor except...they weren't paws.

I stared down at human hands.

No.

I had to be dreaming.

I held a hand up to my face to examine it. It looked real. I put a finger in my mouth and bit it experimentally. It felt real. I let go and stared at the hand, flexing it. I watched as the fingers moved in and out. Slowly, a feeling of euphoria hit.

I was human. I was human again. I pushed myself off the ground and stood on my two feet for the first time in over four years. My room shrunk as I towered above everything.

I took a step and then another. I needed to find a mirror. I needed to know. I stomped over to the washbasin and looked at my reflection.

It was my face staring back at me. I was still wearing my white nightclothes. The ones I had almost been drowned in.

I held on to the washbasin for support. This was really happening. I was human again.

I began to laugh and tears streamed down my face. It had been so long.

Another day, I would have listened to the inner voice of my father and sucked it up. I was a warrior. I was a prince, but damn it, I was a man. I was a man for the first time in years and I did not want to hold back.

So, I let myself sound like a madman. And I was basically crazy. Being stuck as a tiger for half a decade was insanity. It was unbelievable. What would I tell people? What would I tell Jasmine?

Jasmine. I had to see her. I had to see her right now.

I splashed water onto my face and then I stumbled out of my rooms. Her rooms were only a few meters from mine. With each step, my excitement rose. Soon, I was knocking on her door.

There was no answer. Jasmine was probably asleep.

I did not let that stop me. Nothing could stop me tonight.

I pushed the door open. Jasmine was indeed sleeping but she stirred at the sound of the door opening.

Seeing my princess there made my mouth grow dry. I could not move. I could not speak. Reason had finally caught up to me.

I began to panic. This was a horrible idea. I should go back and figure out what I was supposed to say to her. I should-

"Aneesa?" Jasmine moaned from under the covers. "Go away. I'm not a child. I'll dress myself...later..."

She shifted in her bed. The covers fell away from her face.

Right as her eyelids began to flutter open, I got a feeling of intense vertigo. The world went blue for a moment. Suddenly, the room was bigger and much brighter.

"Rajah? What are you doing here?" she asked sleepily. "Did Ali drown again?"

I opened my mouth to say no but a moan came out instead.

I tried again. Same result.

"Rajah?" Jasmine asked again, sounding more lucid.

I shook my head. This couldn't be happening. I was human just moments ago.

"What's wrong?" she held out her hand. "Come here."

I whined.

I hated the sound.

Jasmine sighed and got up out of bed. She came over and gave me a hug.

"Are you having nightmares too?"

If only it were that simple...

She squeezed me tight. "They aren't real," she said and I wasn't sure who she was trying to convince. "They are just dreams. They disappear once you wake up."

I nuzzled into her shoulder. I couldn't explain to her how much I wished that wasn't true. I couldn't tell her that what had just happened was worse than any nightmare. Instead, I wrapped a paw around her and hoped that she was wrong.