“Sister, Sister,” a dark-haired young girl cried out in her peoples’ native language while she pushed the bedroom door open. She carried a lantern to light her path to the curtains. The girl pulled the curtains open across the wide window, letting light into all corners of the large room. The girl hurried next to the side of the spacious bed, setting the lantern on the desk. “Why did you hide under the covers, Sis? I saw something amazing!”
“Go away,” an older girl’s voice said back from under the covers. “I’m trying to sleep. I don’t have morning lessons today.”
“But, but, but…” the younger girl stammered. “There was a boy, and he had blue hair, and a blue jewel. And then there was this girl my age, and she had green hair, and a wand with a green jewel.”
The older girl peaked her head out from under the covers, up to her nose, revealing the same black hair and brown eyes as her younger sister. “What’s your point?”
“Well, they controlled the dreams. It wasn’t even their dream!”
The older girl sat up quickly, dropping the covers. “They controlled someone else’s dream?”
“Yes! I even told the girl to dream about things, and she did, and they really happened. Her green jewel glowed, and everything!”
The older girl put her hands on the younger girl’s shoulders. “Arle, what language did they speak?”
“I couldn’t understand them very well, but it was English. I tried to say some English words I know, and they understood me.”
The older girl put her hands on either side of her forehead. She leaned back against the polished wood headboard of her bed. “So it’s true. The Rainbow Jewels we have really are fakes. And now someone else has the real ones. History is going to repeat itself.”
“History repeating?” Arle asked. “Is that bad?”
“You don’t get it, Arle. The last time something like this happened, the royal family was exiled to the green planet! If these English-speakers show up with the real Rainbow Jewels, we’ll be exiled. You and me, Mother and Father, and everyone in our family.” The nine-year-old girl climbed out of bed beside her sister, her long nightgown a contrast to the six-year-old’s multi-layered daytime dress. She paced back and forth, from near Arle by the headboard to the foot of the bed, a walk of about 15 steps either way. “We can’t allow this. We have to stop it. Hopefully they only have two of the jewels. That means the other four are still out there.” She stopped pacing, her back to Arle. She slammed a fist into her open palm. “Medic! I’ll send Bernard Medic to get the other four jewels. If he can find them, then this threat from the green planet won’t stand a chance against us.”
“I don’t think they’re a threat,” Arle said.
“That’s because you’re a little twerp,” the older sister said, turning around to Arle.
“But they were nice to me. They protected me from a Nightmare, and everything.”
“That’s because they didn’t know you’re an Alsike. If they knew that, there’s no way they would have helped you.”
“But Piñole…”
“Enough! I need to think. If we tell Mother and Father about this, they probably won’t believe us. Our only option is to find those jewels through Bernard Medic.”
“Are you going to tell him to hurt them, Piñole?”
The elder sister, Piñole Alsike, looked at her sister’s younger face, Arle’s lower lip sticking out as she pouted. “I have a special assignment for you, my dear little sister, Arle. I will send Bernard Medic out to find the remaining jewels. I want you to find the bearers of the green and blue jewels, and become friends with them.”
“So, you really won’t hurt them?”
“I promise. Even if a seventh continent appeared, I wouldn’t bring harm to them. But I promise only if they do not harm you. You must not let them know who you really are. You must never tell them you are an Alsike. You haven’t already told them, have you?”
“Mm-mm,” Arle said with a shake of her head.
“I didn’t think so.” Piñole walked around Arle to the desk beside the head of the bed. She took a piece of paper from the top drawer. “Starting today, you’ll join me in all my English lessons.” She uncovered her ink box, and dipped the tip of the brush into the black ink within. “I’m going to add extra lessons, even if they have to be morning lessons.” She put the brush to the paper, and moved it around, writing a message. “We’ll help each other learn. Then you can become better friends with them. After Bernard Medic finds the other four jewels, we’ll reveal who you are to the green landers. If they try to hurt you, we’ll outnumber them with double the power.” Piñole set the brush aside, then handed the paper to her little sister. “Now, go find the language instructor, and tell him you want to learn English. Give him my letter. He’ll handle everything else.”
“Okay!” Arle took the letter, and hurried out the door, pushing it closed as she ran out.
Piñole unlatched the top of the lamp. She lifted the top, and gave a blow inside, causing the candle’s fire to go out. “The Alsike family will not face the same fate as the Seamróg family did.” Piñole started to take another sheet from the desk drawer, but slipped it back in. “No, this calls for a personal visit.”
After dressing in a dress worthy of a princess, Piñole headed to a large house near the palace her and her family lived in. She entered the house without knocking, and did the same when she arrived at a bedroom door. Inside, she found another girl, a girl of 12 years, who wore a simple shirt and dress. She sat at a small table, with a cup of tea before her.
“Good morning, Lady Alsike,” the blond-haired girl said. Her green eyes looked directly at the visitor. “Have you morning plans?”
“This is different,” Piñole said. “I plan to send Bernard on a mission. I will have you tell him of the details.”
“Will my brother be traveling far? Should I pack him a lunch to take along?”
“Bernard will be gone for a long time. He will travel to each continent, and search each world through dreams to locate a few items for me.”
“You want Burr to become a Dreamer? With no disrespect intended, may I ask why this is?”
“A threat to the Alsike and Medic families has appeared. Two Lucid Dreamers.”
The girl sat up from the table. “Lucid Dreamers? Surely there is a mistake, for how can that be?”
“The Rainbow Jewels in the palace are fakes. The Lucid Dreamers have the real jewels.”
“Does your father know of this, Lady Alsike?”
“Actually, I haven’t confirmed the Lucid Dreamers, myself. Only Arle has seen them. Because she saw them in a dream on the green continent, she’ll seek them out there. If she can find them again, and establish a strong bond of friendship, we’ll be able to take their jewels. If they’ve already left the green continent, then Arle won’t be able to see them again. I hope these two are from the green planet, and will not be able to travel easily to other planets, but they may still Lucid Dream on other continents. This is where Bernard comes in. Bernard will take a slave with him, and the two will search the continents, one by one, until they find the jewels.”
“What if they cannot find the jewels? How long will they stay away searching?”
“I don’t know. All you have to keep in mind is what will happen if the jewels go to my family, or to these two from the green planet. If the Alsike family is exiled, the Medic family may be demoted to slave class. There’s no telling what will happen to the Lucerne family. On the other hand, if the true Rainbow Jewels are returned to the palace, the Medic family will move up to commoner class, and the Lucerne family will move up to attendant class.”
“This situation sounds so dire,” the girl said. “It is hard to believe such a thing is happening.”
“Miss Ceciliate Medic, as a member of the royal family, I hereby order you to send your brother and a slave to search for the remaining four crystals. Because Bernard will no longer by within the area of the palace, his duties as attendant to Princess Arle shall fall upon you. You will be expected to continue your duties as my own attendant, as well. You will also learn the green land language called English with us. If you have any problems with this order, speak now.”
Ceciliate sat back down. “I have no problems. I understand the nature of what we’re facing. I will send out Burr. I will assign Alfalfa Lucerne to go with him. Alfalfa has always been a good friend to Burr and myself, even though he is a slave.”
“With no issues or concerns raised, my order is as good as cast in stone. I leave the rest up to you. Be sure to have the slave deliver reports to you, and will you deliver news of their travels and progress directly to me, when we are both alone.”
Having placed her order, Piñole left the room.
Ceciliate remained, sipping her cup of tea. “It’s gotten cold.”
