Two weeks went by before they could make their trip back. A snowstorm had hit Crystallia the day after the council meeting, forcing them to remain stranded inside the palace until further notice. After that, they had to wait for the roads to be cleared so they could travel safely. Through all this time, one of the queen’s best herbalists had been at Aluna’s bedside day and night. Using one of her secret formulas, she dosed Aluna to keep her asleep. They could not take any risks. No one knew if the person who woke up would be Aluna or the ruthless fire monster. Willan had paid frequent visits to her small cell; however all he could see through the bars that separated them was her barely breathing body. He wanted to wake her up, but knew perfectly well that it was not an option for the moment.
Once the coaches were ready, Aluna was carried to one of them. The herbalist was the only one at her side, to keep an eye on her. Siruth was also traveling with them; he said he had business to take care of in Thundez.
Another two weeks later, they finally reached the Goran palace. Siruth continued on almost immediately to his own kingdom, apologizing for his inability to stay.
Willan personally carried Aluna and got her settled in the palace. She had been unconscious for nearly a month at this point. She was definitely breathing, but the prince worried about the high dosage of drugs she had been given. Larzac assured him her life was not in danger; her body just needed time to get the herbs out of her system. They had to be patient and wait for her to recover. As a precaution, however, his master kept a sample of the herbal concoction and began working on a way to suppress her powers—even temporarily. For this, he had had to turn to many of his colleagues for help. He had also launched an official investigation to find Xerox; perhaps the druid had a way to subdue what he had created.
As soon as the king heard of their arrival, he summoned his son for a meeting. His reaction was the most surprising. He congratulated Willan on handling the situation responsibly and avoiding a misunderstanding between the two kingdoms. He was also proud that his son had completed his rite of initiation, but was not happy that he had been forced to leave the royal sword with their neighbor, whom the king did not completely trust. Anxious to recover their treasure, the king gave Larzac carte blanche to get results as quickly as he could. He also promised to investigate the origin of the strange attack against Crystallia. The king himself had not been behind it, so clearly the real culprit had been trying to frame him.
Yes, I certainly made my voice heard, the prince thought as he gazed at the face of his beloved, who had been unconscious for nearly two months now. She had slipped into a coma, which worried him to no end. Only the rise and fall of her chest proved she was still breathing. Would she ever wake up? Willan doubted it, but Larzac had reassured him the week before, handing him the object he held in his hand. It was a small, square box made of orquinite, an extremely rare steel-like metal. It was heavy and the initial ’N’ was carved in it. Following his teacher’s directions, Willan inserted a small red key into the lock. With a click, the box opened slowly to reveal a magic stone entirely covered in silver powder. This was the one and only cancellation masex: the Neutron. Unlike all other masex, that enabled the use of magic, this one had the power to temporarily suppress it. It was so powerful that it did not even require a belt to use it. As soon as the stone was removed from the box restraining its power, it gave off a strange light that nullified the magic of anyone nearby. The duration of its effect was unknown. Larzac speculated it was between several minutes and several hours, depending on the strength of the magic involved.
Willan was studying the stone when it lit up brightly. The light left the object, spread around the room and disappeared in the air. After a short pause, the cycle started over. The prince let the box open and set it on the nightstand to ensure Aluna would not wake up inhabited by the fire monster.
The drugs normally should have worn off two days ago. While he was waiting, Willan brought a ravishing red dress into the room so that Aluna could put it on when she woke up. He wanted to see her in all her glory before asking for her hand. . . He loved her, and as soon as her trial was over, he intended to marry her. He did not care about her destructive power. He would find a way to channel it; he loved her too much not to try. Although his plan had two flaws: his father would inevitably reject the proposal—and Aluna might, too. After all, only Siruth had succeeded in saving her, while he had failed. Why him? What did he have that was so special she would only obey his voice? He sighed, realizing Aluna was unable to answer his questions and decided to lay down next to her, hoping his presence might help bring her back from the land of sleep.
∾
Aluna had thought she was dead. Ice had invaded her entire body, so how could she have possibly survived? Yet the meris fields all around her indicated she was dreaming.
She had long sought the fire monster, in vain. She had walked and explored, without ever finding anyone to talk to. It had been cold, then hot, then very hot. So hot she thought she was going to die all over again. She had wandered for hours in the endless meadow, lying down now and again to rest on the grass. At a certain point, she even got convinced that the nothingness was going to be her sentence. Yet she had eventually heard his laugh, the one that always chilled her blood. She had been overcome with joy. Better the company of a heartless monster than no company at all. She had jumped to her feet and waited for him to appear.
Instead she heard a voice, then another one. Someone was speaking, but she could not tell who it was. The voices turned to screams, so harsh and so many that they sounded like a chorus of cries. One screech rose above the others, sharp as a steel blade piercing her skull. The voice—a familiar one—was crying out her name, pleading for her to stop. But stop what?
“Stop that!” Aluna yelled. “Stop that right now!”
There was no response, so she kept screaming, “Show yourself, monster! I know you can stop that, so do it! I’m not scared of you!”
She heard the laugh again. A figure appeared, hazy at first, then clearer. As soon as she could make it out, the screams and pain stopped at once.
“What’s happening?” she demanded, relieved. “Am I dead?”
He laughed at her, but she refused to be intimidated. “Answer me!” she shouted.
The monster stopped and puffed on his pipe. He looked at her for a moment before answering in a hoarse voice, “Dead? What a stupid idea!”
“So where am I? The execution. . .”
“You really think I would allow you to die so easily?”
“But I thought . . . the freezing was supposed to. . .”
“Imprison me?” He laughed again. “It was a good plan, but there was a flaw in it. I had too much control over you already, you could not shut me up so easily.”
“Yet, I could. . .”
“You must be thinking of your fight with the dragon. You were in control of my magic for a brief time, but only because I allowed you to take over. I did not want to lose face in front of that brat Belmut, but your body was so weak I couldn’t finish him off myself.”
“So I . . . can’t get rid of you?”
“It’s a little late for that, dear. You would have had to take me out a long time ago. Now you’ll just have to get used to having me around.”
“. . .”
“What? Nothing to add?” he mocked her.
She bit her lip. They could discuss this later. She still had questions that needed answering. “Tell me what’s happening right now. What was that voice?”
“Another brat,” he grumbled. “A brat with the power. . .”
“The power?” Aluna asked. “What power?”
“So many questions you have for a little girl! That said, I don’t plan on answering you.”
“Stop making fun of me and answer me! That’s . . . that’s an order!”
The monster’s eyes flamed and the meris plants around him caught fire. Soon the blaze reached Aluna. Knowing that nothing could happen to her in this dream world, she did not move and held the monster’s gaze. After watching her brave the flames for a long moment, he puffed on his pipe again and stopped the illusion.
“I see you have gained some courage. So this little execution was good for you in the end.”
“I-I’m not scared of you anymore.”
“In that case, maybe you deserve to live.”
“You cannot kill me!”
“What?” The monster narrowed his eyes, looking displeased.
“You said it yourself. If I die, you die along with me.”
The chimera cackled, which confused Aluna. Why was he laughing? She was slowly starting to lose her confidence. Could she be wrong? What if he really could kill her? But how could he possibly do that without putting himself in danger?
“What’s so funny?” she demanded.
He stopped laughing, looked at her, and burst out laughing again. After a few seconds that seemed like forever, he managed to say, “Go on then, go away! I’ve seen enough for now.”
Aluna did not have time to reply. The monster disappeared and everything around her began to fade bit by bit. She watched the scene with relief, looking forward to finally waking up and returning to the real world.
But she was wrong. After the fields vanished, she found herself back in that spacious red-and-gold room she knew so well. It was her old dream again, even though she seemed to be in control of herself. She was not lying in the silk bed with Siruth, and she would not fall out the window after hearing the trumpet. Things would happen differently this time.
Curious, she rushed to the door and tried to open it. It stayed closed. She tried the window: sealed. She looked around for another way out, yet there was nothing. She was a prisoner in her own dream! At first she remained calm, exploring the room from top to bottom looking for any tool that could possibly help her escape somehow. After several hours of fruitless searching, she realized she truly was a prisoner. She panicked and began banging on the walls and screaming for help. No one came. When she had worn herself out, she collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.
She woke up in the same place.
Time passed and after a while, she lost track of it. It felt like she had been locked up for several weeks already. She became more and more convinced the monster was punishing her for having defied him and she resigned herself to it. Fighting him was useless.
Still, one day, she heard a noise coming from outside.
Sitting on the ground, Aluna raised her head, almost in disbelief. As she watched, the door opened and a man entered, carrying a basket of fruits. When he set it on the table and moved closer, she recognized him: it was Siruth. Speechless, she stood up to get a better look at him. He smiled at her and suddenly she was paralyzed with shock. She tried to move or even speak, to no avail. Siruth came over and kissed her briefly on the lips before sitting down at the little table. He ate a fruit and smirked at her.
“You’re very quiet.”
Finally, regaining use of her legs—and her voice—, Aluna went to the table and sank into the other seat. She wanted to run away, scream, cry, but there was no point. After all, this was nothing but a dream. Instead, she asked, “Why am I here?”
“Because I brought you here,” Siruth answered, still eating.
“Why you?”
“Oh. You mean why not Prince Willan?”
“So you really are Siruth! I’m not dreaming!”
“Not exactly. Let’s call this an alternate reality.”
“But I’ve been dreaming about this room for years!” she said. “This can’t be real!”
“I didn’t say it was—at least not the way you think of reality. It’s simply a place where minds can communicate, ours included. Call it a dream if you like, but it’s a bit different than that.”
“You sound like someone else I know,” she grumbled, thinking of the monster.
“Who?”
“Forget it, answer my questions instead. You said our minds can communicate here. You mean there are others who communicate in the same way? How is that possible? And if it is, where are they? Why are you the only one I see? And most importantly, if I’m not dead, why aren’t I waking up?”
“Don’t ask me so many questions, I don’t have all the answers. But if you want to see your friend so much, go ahead and wake up.”
“What? I. . .”
Before she had a chance to say anything else, the room started to crumble. The walls broke apart, fruits flew and the bed disappeared. Only Siruth remained, standing, smiling, suspended in mid-air. She fell into the depths of the abyss, crying out in vain for help.
Suddenly, she stopped falling. She sat up and saw everything around her had changed. She was in Willan’s chambers, not Siruth’s. Big green eyes were staring at her, looking stunned. She recognized Willan at once and threw her arms around him. Still petrified, he did not respond to her embrace. She pulled back in surprise. “What’s wrong, Willan? Aren’t you happy to see me?”
“Yes. . .” he said hesitantly. “Of course I am.”
“In that case, why are you staring at me like that? You look . . . shocked.”
Had she talked about Siruth in her sleep? Had she said his name in front of Willan? What would he think of her now? She loved him, but she could not control her dreams. How could she explain that without him taking it the wrong way? Fear paralyzed her. She did not want to lose him, yet she couldn’t tell him the whole truth. What was she to do?
Luckily, the prince’s answer reassured her. “No, I was just worried and surprised. You were unconscious for nearly two months, so. . .”
“Two . . . months?” she repeated, taken aback.
“Yes. After everything that happened at Crystallia, you fainted and. . .”
“Everything that happened at Crystallia?” she interrupted him. “Slow down. What happened exactly? The last thing I remember is seeing you in the crowd before I froze completely. I thought I must have died.”
“Everyone thought you had died, too. You don’t remember anything after that?”
“No.”
“Drink a little first,” he said, handing her the glass of orange juice from the nightstand. “You must be thirsty.”
She took a sip, then put the drink down and asked him to continue. Willan told her everything that had happened in Crystallia after her execution. He told her about the attack and how she had brought down their enemies and nearly killed him. He also explained how he had negotiated for her freedom and the conditions resulting therefrom.
Aluna could not believe what she was hearing. She had hurt Willan, whom she loved so much! How could she ever forgive herself? She felt horrible; she wanted to disappear. Now she understood the monster’s cruel laugh. He had been in control of her body that whole time! Thinking about that, Aluna could not hold back her tears. Willan rushed to console her. “Forget about it, I know you couldn’t hear me.” But you could hear him . . . he almost said.
“I . . . I’m so sorry.”
“I know, I know.” He let her cry, then lifted her chin and kissed her on the forehead. Aluna suddenly felt reassured and put her arms around his neck to pull him closer. To her dismay, Willan broke away. “Aluna, I … I have to go. Father is waiting for me. Besides, you’re just coming out of a long coma, you need to rest.”
“I . . . of course, you’re right,” she capitulated reluctantly.
The prince gave her another kiss on the forehead and stood up to go.
Suddenly, as if he had just remembered something important, he opened a nightstand drawer and took out a small box. It contained a pendant with a green emerald. The jewel was magnificent and the stone, though dull, seemed to gleam in the light of the day. He put it around Aluna’s neck, who did not know how to react. She did not think she deserved such a gift.
“This is the pendant my mother gave me before she died, so I would always remember her,” Willan explained.
“It’s too valuable. . .” Aluna said, trying to give it back.
Willan stopped her. “I meant to give it to you in Crystallia, but with everything that happened, I got distracted. Wear it; this way you’ll always have me close to you.”
“I love you, you know,” Aluna assured him. “I won’t forget you, even without this pendant.”
He answered with a nervous smile, and Aluna’s face fell immediately. Something was off, she knew it, but what? Also noticing the slight unease between them, the prince changed the subject. “See that stone on the nightstand?”
Aluna turned and saw a magic stone in an open box. The object began to glow intensely, then emitted a strange light. The light extinguished around them almost immediately. “What is it?”
“That’s the Neutron, the only masex capable of canceling magic. As long as you don’t close that box, both you and the monster are powerless.”
“You mean when that stone is near me, I’m . . . normal?”
“Yes. The effect is temporary, of course, but it’s our best option until we find a more permanent solution.”
“That’s great news!” exclaimed Aluna. She finally felt liberated from the fear she had lived with so long. The monster would not have a hold on her anymore!
“It is,” Willan agreed. “That way, I can stop worrying about you for now.”
He turned on his heels and reached for the door.
“I almost forgot!” He said, suddenly turning around. “I brought you a dress. Wear it, it’s going to look wonderful on you.”
“Thank you,” She said with a smile.
“Don’t forget to take it easy and rest, you’re still very weak. The drugs have worn off, but you still need to get your strength back. I’ll have someone bring you something to eat right away. We’ll talk later, okay?”
“Okay.”
After he left, Aluna looked at the dress hanging by her bed and sighed. The garment was exquisite, but she could not help thinking about Willan and the new awkwardness between them. What had happened? Was he scared she had stopped loving him? Or was he simply frightened by her? She thought about it and came to the conclusion that it was surely not the case. With the Neutron beside her, he had no reason to fear her. So could he be thinking of the future? How could he possibly love her when he was a prince? He did have a fiancée, after all. Another sigh broke her thoughts. She had to stop brooding and focus on the dream life she was living now. She had survived and she had her lover by her side. Nothing else should matter. Grabbing the dress, she decided she would do everything she could to keep Willan’s love.