“How is she?” Ceciliate asked when she reached the hall to the physician’s quarters, and seeing Piñole leaning against the wall beside the door.
“She’s going to be all right,” Piñole said to her attendant. “But things aren’t going to be right for her for a while. Something happened to her mind. Physically she’ll recover soon, but the physicians can’t be certain what her mental state will be.”
“Right now all we can do is hope for the best. We must believe in Lady Arle.”
“She’s still just a little child. She didn’t deserve this.”
“How did it happen? I can discretely ask around town for anyone able to give any insight into ways to see Lady Arle safely through this.”
“It was those two green landers. They did this.”
Piñole’s words stunned Ceciliate for a moment. “Clover and Shamrock? Are you certain?”
“I have no doubt in my mind. They did something to it on the violet planet. The worst part is that they left it behind, leading Arle away from it, knowing I would find it. If I didn’t return it to her so loosely, if I were even just a little suspicious of it, this could have been avoided.”
“Lady Alsike, please, don’t blame yourself. If the words you speak about Clover and Shamrock are true, then they would likely wish for you to blame yourself. You must not allow it of yourself. And, please, do not do anything rash.”
“Right now I want nothing more than to unleash the fullest power of Crimson on those kids. I want to show them what power a Rainbow Jewel really holds. Don’t worry, it won’t happen. At least not yet. I left the red jewel with Bernard, so I know the power will not distract me away from Arle’s side.”
The door opened. The female physician leaned out, looking at the elder princess. “You can come in now, Majesty. Your attendant may enter, at your discretion.”
“Follow me,” Piñole told Ceciliate, the physician stepped back to allow the two to enter the room.
Inside the room, Arle rested on a bed, under a few layers of covers. Sweat ran down her forehead.
“She looks uncomfortable,” Ceciliate remarked. “Shouldn’t some of the covers be pulled back?”
“The physician knows what she’s doing.” Piñole looked toward the physician. “Please explain your actions so my attend may be satisfied. I wish to be satisfied, myself.”
“Even though her actions suggest she’s too hot, her majesty Princess Arle has a case of shivers, with a chill running all through her body. Even this may not be enough to keep her body heat up. I believe in her mind, she’s in a place too cold to survive.”
“The violet planet,” Piñole said, gritting her teeth. “She must be recalling about what happened there. Physician, what I just, and anything spoken in this room by my attendant or myself, is strictly confidential. Speak these words to anyone, and your family will be demoted from commoner to slave, skipping attendant class altogether. Am I understood?”
The physician acknowledged Piñole’s request. “I wish only to see the young majesty’s recovery.”
Piñole sat at the side of the bed. She looked at her sister’s grimacing face. “What’s going on in that mind of yours, my sweet Arle?” She brushes Arle’s hair to the side, away from her eyes. “Are you reliving your experiences on that dreadful violet planet? On that place where few people even remain?
“Why did I even allow you to go, any alone at that? You were so insistent, and it took me be surprise. I thought you’d be against it, and after you’d left, I suspected maybe you’d gone to help those two. You went in complete innocence, and those two green landers took complete advantage of you. I don’t know when, and I don’t know how, but rest assured, their foul actions will not go unpunished.”
“Pardon my abruptness, but I have a question.” After asking, and receiving an answer, Ceciliate took her leave.
Ceciliate left the palace, and returned home to think about the events. Entering her house, she found Sarah and Samuel waiting to see her.
“It is not safe for you two to be in Aureum, Ceciliate said, gesturing for the two to join her going to her room.
In Cecilate’s room, Samuel started immediately: “Something happened on the violet planet. We were attacked by dinosaurs. If Sarah and I used all our powers in a dream, we’d wake up. Melilot–Arle–used all her powers on that planet, and she wasn’t in a dream. I don’t know if the two can be compared or not, but how is Arle doing?”
“She’ll be all right,” Cecilate told the two. “Please, be seated.” She looked at Sarah’s worried face as the three sat around a round table. “Really, she’ll be all right.”
“But, but,” Sarah fumbled, “but she was, and then there was, and it was like that, and… and… It was like with the fire.”
“What fire?” Ceciliate asked. “What are you trying to say.”
“Samuel…” Sarah looked at her friend. “You saw it too, didn’t you?”
Looking at Sarah, Samuel gave a nod. He faced Ceciliate. “We used a fire to warm our jewels on the violet planet, but Arle’s jewel acted differently from ours. It let out black flames. Then, when we were surrounded by dinosaurs, Arle used magic, and black lights flashed from the yellow jewel.”
“There’s one possibility,” Ceciliate said, turning away from the two, looking out her room’s window. Looking out to the east, and slightly north, she watched the morning sun reaching far out for its noon position in the sky. “It’s possible to reflect ones feelings through a Rainbow Jewel. This is the secret to unlocking a jewel’s fullest potential.
“Long ago, there was another family ruling this land. The Seamróg family bestowed a jewel upon each family within the entirety of the Seamróg family. Each family used that jewel of the six to keep the peace in dreams, fighting back the nightmares. By reflecting their will and determination, the power of the jewel could be used by the entire family. Those touched by the power of the jewel had their own desires to protect dreams returned to the jewel, increasing its ability, its output of power.
“Those Dreamers touched by the light of the Lucid Dreamer holding a jewel were said to act under a white light, a glowing light that shined down upon them in the dreams they entered. The good deeds they performed were said to have touched the hearts of those bearing the jewels, making the holders of the jewels in the Seamróg family more pure, more righteous.
“But what if they all had malice in their hearts? What if all the Dreamers fed feelings of hatred into the jewel? Would the jewel’s holder’s heart not turn black? Would the one who uses the jewel not become trapped, seduced by the darkness?” Cecilate turned her back to the window. She looked down, and closed her eyes. “I lied. Lady Arle may not be well. Her mind isn’t all together. She sleeps with trouble, and we don’t know what will be of her upon wakening.
“I have learned the location of the yellow jewel. My brother has it. I need for the two of you to get it from him, and to purify it with the goodness of your minds and the purity of your hearts, reflected through your crystals. Only then can Lady Arle’s mind be put at ease, allowing her to finally rest, to recover.”
“Can we enter her dream?” Samuel asked. “I can meet up with Bernard and Alfalfa. I’d rather Sarah watch over Arle’s dreams and keep her safe.”
“The people of Aureum do not dream,” Ceciliate said.
“How can you not dream?” Sarah asked. “Everybody dreams. Sometimes they might not remember their dream, but they dream every night.”
Samuel stood up. “I agree with Sarah. Bernard is still on the orange planet, right? I’ll track him down and get the yellow jewel. Maybe I can find the orange jewel before he does, and offer it as a trade. Sarah, you have to watch over Arle. If she’s dreaming, you need to enter her dream, and settle her mind. I know you can do it.” Without giving either of the girls a chance to speak, Samuel left the room, closing the door behind him.
As Sarah looked toward the door, Ceciliate started to speak, her words causing Sarah to look back at her. “Do you really think we might dream here on Aureum? I don’t remember dreaming, ever. It doesn’t sound like something that can really happen. Dreams come to us, so where could we go to dream? You’re probably wrong.”
“I don’t know where the dreams take place, but I’m sure you’re dreaming when you sleep. Take me, for example. Every night, I dream. I find myself in so many different, fantastic places. Places I could never even dream of, yet I’m dreaming, and here these places are, and here I am. And then, I wake up. And I’m dreaming again. I wake from that dream, and it’s time for another dream.”
“You don’t remember being awake?”
“When Samuel gave me the green jewel, I felt nostalgic. In a sense, that was the day I was born. I know I had the jewel when I was younger, but that was another life. I’ve been reincarnated into the person I am today. A person who exists only in dreams. But I know I exist when I’m awake. I might not remember it, any of it, but I know it’s there. Sometimes I wish I could wake up, and just have a fun day, with no troubles or worries. Then, I realized maybe I did have such a day. Maybe that’s every day. Maybe I don’t even remember these dreams when I wake up. Maybe I don’t even realize that I even dream each night.”
“Let’s do it.” Ceciliate stood from her chair. “I’ve kept the violet jewel hidden in my closet. Since Piñole left the red jewel with Bernard, there’s no way anyone would have sensed it and taken it from here. We’ll enter Lady Arle’s dreams, and do whatever we can to keep her safe. The only thing is…how do to find her dream?”
“Although I don’t really remember it, I know Samuel had a way to find nightmares. He wold appear as Shamrock, and somehow we would see a nightmare. It was… What was it…? A reflection? A mirror! He has a mirror and it showed him nightmares. I could walk through the mirror. Are there any mirrors like that here?”
“There is a series of rooms deep in the palace. Each room has a plaque with a name on the door. I’ve only heard of the hall linking those rooms together, as it’s off-limits for anyone outside of the Alsike family. Lady Arle as spoken of it. There are rooms with something about mirrors in their names. Perhaps there’s one that’ll let us watch Lady Arle’s dream? But, how will we get in there?”
“We’re a couple of magical girls, and the only ones around,” Sarah reminded. “We can transform into ants. No, that would take too long to get there. Maybe we can become butterflies, or some cute little quails, and we can fly in there. Can quails fly? They can, right? No one will notice us if we have the right disguise.”
“Maybe… But, somehow I don’t think they’d even let a small, flying animal in.”
“Do they have a lot of guards around it?” Sarah asked.
“Actually, I passed by the hall leading to the door leading to the hall with the doors, and there was no one there. I don’t know what kind of security they have. It won’t even matter the security if someone suspects you, though. We’ll visit the Lucernes first. We can borrow an outfit from Alfalfa’s cousin. She’s about your age, so her clothes should fit you fine. The idea isn’t to make you look like her, just to make you look like a slave. If you’re dressed like a slave, no one will question my guiding you around. This will work well, actually. Slaves are not to be seen, so it will be expected for us to be passing through out of sight. We’ll ask the slaves in the palace to show us safe guidance through, until we’re close enough to the hall to check out those rooms. If there’s any security, hopefully we’re far enough away to say I’m showing you where not to go. Is this all understood? Do you have any questions?”
“Is it really all right to lie about who I am, and why we’re sneaking around? Isn’t it bad for us if we’re caught?”
“I understand your concern, Sarah, but there’s no way they will let either of us into those rooms. If Lady Piñole sees you, it’s over for the both of us. I don’t know what’ll happen to you, but my whole family would become slaves, Burr included.”
“And what if we’re caught sneaking around?”
“Same thing. But at least this way we have a chance. I don’t know who poisoned the yellow jewel, but we need to keep Lady Arle from losing her mind before Samuel can bring the yellow jewel back.”
Following Ceciliate’s plan, the two headed to the Lucerne household. There, they met with Alfalfa’s cousin. She offered an outfit for Sarah to wear, but Ceciliate refused it, and told her to put it back in the dresser. The slave girl did as Ceciliate ordered, then watched as Ceciliate opened the dresser, taking the same outfit back out.
“I do not understand,” the girl said.
“If I am unable to return it,” Ceciliate told the slave girl, “I will compensate you for it later. If anything goes wrong, you will be truthful to say I entered your room, opened your dresser, and took your outfit. I have stolen it. On the other hand, if everything is successful, your part in the protection and well being of the younger princess shall be rewarded.”
Outside the room, Ceciliate lead Sarah to a room where she could change into the girl’s outfit.
“Will there really be a reward?” Sarah asked as they turned a corner. “If this works, can we even say anything to anyone? They’ll find out we snuck in to the forbidden rooms, and they’ll know we entered Arle’s dream. Will it be all right?”
Ceciliate opened a room door, and the two went in. Sarah, following Ceciliate’s signaling, took the outfit behind a tall curtain, and preceded to change. Ceciliate continued talking by responding to Sarah’s inquiry.
“It most certainly would not be all right, and that would set a very bad precedent, but I believe it’ll be okay. A lot of the stories I’ve heard about the jewels came from Alfalfa’s great great great grandfather. He went senile in his old age, and managed to hang on year after year after year, far surpassing the life expectancy of our people. In those most senile find years, he related stories of his youth, and of the jewels, and their powers. I now question whether he really was senile or not. Either way, that’s how I see my future. I’ll do bad things now, and keep them secret. In my old age, after all is well said and done, I’ll be telling my tales to the children of the future. I will escape punishments for wrongdoing just as the elder Lucerne did before me.
“In the meantime, I’ll rely on Lady Arle’s good grace. She’ll keep secret anything intended to be secret, especially if the details are kept secret even to her. If she understands what happened, and that she had a bad dream, she’ll understand what we’ve risked for her.”
Sarah stepped out from behind the curtain, wearing the slave girl’s clothes.
“Now you look like a house-cleaning slave,” Ceciliate said, putting her hands together. “It’s a cute look on you, but don’t get used to it. I wouldn’t want to see your family descend into slavery if we’re caught, so let’s be sure that doesn’t happen. We must succeed for the sake of Lady Arle, for your sake, and for the sake of Bernard and the rest of my family, not to mention Alfalfa’s cousin, and the rest of his family.”
“I was going to ask you about that. You keep calling her ‘Alfalfa’s cousin’. Doesn’t she have a name?”
“Of course. But there’s no need for me to know it. I only know Alfalfa’s name because he is my family’s slave. To the Alsike princesses, the Lucerne family doesn’t even exist. And likewise, the Alsike princesses likely wouldn’t be able to name anyone else in my family. For this reason, we don’t need to make up a name for you. No one would recognize a slave, nor know the name of one.”
“After Arle is all better,” Sarah said, looking back at the hall where they came from as Ceciliate guided her in the opposite direction, “I want to thank that girl personally. And I’ll ask her her name, so I can thank her properly.”
Outside the Lucerne house, Ceciliate guided Sarah to the palace. The two entered through a back door, into the slaves quarters. A few of the slave girls, age around eight to 14, crowded around the two.
“Is this a new girl?” one asked. “Whose chores will she take over?” another asked. “Which days does she work?” “What kind of training and experience does she have?” “Is she starting today?” “When did we get notice about her?”
“Enough, that’s enough,” Ceciliate told the girls. She tilted her head back, looking at Sarah. “You’ve probably noticed, this room is girls only. Women, boys, and men each of their own separate quarters.” She looked back at the others. “And there’s nothing about this new girl for any of you. Her future is already set elsewhere. She’s just passing through here to learn some things, then she’ll be heading back home.” Ceciliate guided Sarah though the girls, and around to a door at the back of the room. On the other side, she pointed down to a door at the end of the hall. “We go this way, and it’ll take us about ten minutes to get in deep enough. I want to say now’s the time to turn back, but I need you to explain using the jewel to me.”
“There’s no way I’d back out of this,” Sarah told her. “Samuel’s counting on me!”
