Ethereal

~Marcie~

Dream is an inescapable place. It pulls you in and won't let you go until it gets it's way. It will delve into your deepest fears, and bring to life your unspoken desires.

And sometimes, it's a little too real.

Before I fell asleep, I stared at the sky. It took me a moment to remember we were underground, and I sat up suddenly, staring at the twinkling lights above me.

Beside me Ashan stirred, and reached out an arm to push me back down. I turned my head to look at him.

"Ashan, what are they?" I whispered.

He left his arm draped over me, mumbling sleepily.

"Stars,"

"No they're not," I said, looking up at them again. "Stars are giant balls of gas, floating millions of miles away."

"That's what they are," he murmured.

And I fell asleep watching the underground stars.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Marcie! Duck!"

"Where?" I turned towards Charlotte's voice. I was surrounded by a gray mist--I couldn't even see the ground beneath my feet.

"No, take this." Ashan's voice echoed through the fog, and a short gray dagger appeared in front of me.

"But it's sharp," I said, stepping away.

"Use your Powers."

The mists cleared and I saw three white stone archways. In the first, a wounded Charlotte--in the second, Ashan, wearing a white crown--and in the third, Prince Dominiv, with the flickering lights of his orange-green aura swirling around him, sparking and hissing like a living thing.

At the same time, all three of them whispered.

"The Koraseg is coming."

"Run while you can," Charlotte whispered, reaching out a shaking hand.

"Defend yourself," Ashan drew a glittering copper sword.

Dominiv smiled. "Destroy."

His eyes lit up, the deep green and the blinding orange, and I stared into them and suddenly I was falling.

Like Alice through Wonderland, I passed strange things on my way down. A battalion of soldiers in white armor, marching towards me. Strands of long black hair, falling to the ground. A black horse with wild, blood-red eyes. And a shadow, that breathed fire and destroyed everything it encountered.

"Oh dear." the voice was unfamiliar and I blinked. Suddenly I was back in the forest, lying on my back and looking up at the stars.

I sat up quickly, looking for it's source. A few feet away, a girl with hair dark as night and glittering black eyes sat on a stump, watching me.

"You aren't quite right in the head, are you?"

"I suppose not," I murmured, rubbing my head and then getting to my feet. "Wait...who are you?"

The girl frowned and clapped her hands. The scene changed and we were on a tropical beach. But when I blinked, I saw that we were still in the forest, and the image of the beach was only a hazy image, superimposed over reality.

"A Seer," she breathed. She stood up and walked around me. When I turned to follow her, I gasped--there, on the ground, was my sleeping form, still wrapped in Ashan's arms.

"Is that...me?"

"You are still in Dream," the girl walked around me. "But strangely awake..." she shrugged. "Cursed Seers, I suppose."

I blinked. "But then who are you?"

She sat down again and sighed, folding her arms. "I suppose it doesn't matter at this point, if you're beyond my control. I am Nusir."

I raised an eyebrow. "That's Risun's name backwards."

She nodded. "It is common in Descar-Dran to give twins complementary names."

"Twins..." I took in her appearance. Everything about her was dark as night. Her brother was pale and ghostly.

"We are opposites," she said lightly. "In every way. Except--" she stood, smiling cruelly. "--in our desire for the Koreask."

I looked over at Charlotte frantically. She seemed peaceful, sound asleep.

Nusir laughed. "As we speak, my brother is meeting her in Dream. Her Blind eyes will be clouded, and she will fall deeper into his grasp." She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. "When she awakes, she will do anything he says,"

"No," I said, walking over to Charlotte, looking down at her. She seemed so at peace.

"And then, well, I obviously failed with you. But no matter, Seer. We only need one of you to follow instructions--she will be the one holding the knife to your throat."

"That won't happen." I said confidently. I knelt down next to her and touched her forehead. I could see the pale Wisps of Dream circling her, intertwining with her sleeping aura.

Nusir laughed again. "It is impossible. You could not defeat my brother, even if you entered Dream yourself."

I smiled. "We'll see."

I reached out a hand to touch Charlotte's Dream...

...and I was falling again.