“Peanut butter sandwiches?” Arle asked.

“Sure thing,” Samuel said, closing the door behind him.

Rather than idling her time doing nothing, Piñole headed to the bookshelf. Books on history, geography, animals, and the like filled on shelf. Plays and fiction stories filled a couple more. Another held information on science, chemistry, physics, and technology. Piñole looked over the titles of the chemistry books, but the corner of her eye caught something one shelf higher. A title in a language other than English on the spine of a book wedged in between fantasy stories held Aureumi letters. “Diary of an Exile?” she whispered to herself. Piñole looked back at her sister and Ceciliate, the two sitting on a sofa, talking. Looking back at the bookshelf, Piñole picked out the diary. She took it over to a desk, and seated herself with the others to her left. She opened the diary book about an eighth of the way in, her eyes moving quickly from side to side as she read over the words.

“I told her my name is Willden Seamróg. She struggled through my thick accent, and took my name to be ‘William Seamair’.”

Piñole almost stood right up, wanting to exclaim something. She forced herself not to, her eyes peering back at the two on the sofa, then returning to the words in the book. “It’s true,” she told herself in her mind. “It has to be. It’s a book in the Seamair house, written in Aureumi, telling about the exiled Willden of the Seamróg family, and how he came to be known as Seamair here on the green planet.” Her eyes moved to look at the basement door at the top of the stairs to her right. “If the jewels were stolen and replaced with fakes, and not drained of their power, then the exile of the Seamróg was unjust. The Seamróg and Alsike families should have ruled Aureum together, but because of those actions, they were torn apart. If I used my power to pardon them, the Seamróg family could return to power. I know my family wouldn’t allow this, but if done through marriage, it would be the combination of today’s powerful family with yesteryear’s powerful family. Don’t get too excited, Piñole. Samuel Seamair has every reason to be careful around you for past actions. You’ll have to be on your best behavior. Okay, I’ll do it! I’ll simply go along with whatever the others want to do. When the time is right, I’ll return here, I’ll ask Samuel to let me stop by and read books in his underground room. I don’t dare risk trying to take the book with me when either Arle or the slave can see it. No, not ‘the slave’. I have to abide by Samuel’s words. We are equals here on the green planet.”

She flipped ahead a number of pages.

“If only Hayden could see me now! I am now the father of an Earth child, the most wonderful child ever born. Victoria and I will raise him in the ways of my family back home. By the time he’s the same age as I was when I arrived on Earth, he’ll be as self-sufficient as I was. He’ll have his grandparents on my side teaching him the ways of my home, and his grandparents on Victoria’s side instilling the lessons and values of the typical American family.”

“Who is Hayden?” Piñole asked in her mind. “That name is undeniably Aureum. I must read more of this book later.” She looked to her left. “They have no interest in me,” she thought, “and what I’m doing here. I can’t become so enraptured in reading this book that I let one of them sneak up on me and see the writing. I’d better put it away, then check that thick book of plays or something, so I have a viable excuse to return and read.”

By the time Samuel returned, Piñole had made the switch, and had struggled through the first few pages of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”.

“That’s some good reading,” Samuel said, noticing the thick book. He looked at the title at the top of one of the pages. “That’s one of his most well known plays, too.” He set a plate with a peanut butter sandwich–cut into four squares–, a few slices of apple, and a few slices of banana, on the table. He placed a napkin beside it. “Be sure to set the book aside before you start eating. We wouldn’t want to get peanut butter all over the pages.”

The only reaction Piñole could give was to blurt out how she knows not to get food on a book, but she caught herself well in advance. Starting now, she’d be completely in nice-mode. She took the red ribbon attached to the spine of the book and placed it between the open pages. She closed the book, setting it aside. “Of course. Thank you for the meal, Samuel.”

“No problem,” Samuel said, taking two plates to Arle and Ceciliate. After handing the plates over, Samuel asked, “Do you have peanut butter sandwiches back home?”

“Actually, I heard about them when I was really little. You and Sarah were in a dream and saved me. Actually, I couldn’t find my way home easily after that. I had wondered into the green lands, even though I wasn’t supposed to. I finally found my way home when I ran into another dream. There, I saw Sarah–as Clover, of course–giving a boy a peanut butter sandwich. I’ve wanted to try one ever since.”

“In that case, let’s stop talking and start eating,” Samuel said, holding his own plate of lunch in front of him.

After the three had finished their meals, they headed upstairs. Samuel washed the dishes, then the group headed outside, Samuel locking the front door. “By the way,” he said as he took the key from the doorknob. “You can borrow that book later, if you want, Piñole.”

“Thank you very much,” Piñole replied, but in her mind anger filled her thoughts. How could he offer to let her borrow the book just like that? If she borrows the book, she wouldn’t have a chance to read the diary.

“Feel free to borrow any books that interest you,” he added.

The anger ceased all at once. “Any book?” Piñole asked. “You are very kind.”

“It’s no big deal. I just need to make sure anything you borrow is returned before you leave. Some of those books have been in my family for at least four generations, five if you count me. It might not sound like much, as it barely goes back more than a hundred years, especially considering some people in Europe have things going back over 500 years just sitting around in closets, but it means a lot to my family.”

The three headed down the street to a bus stop. “Oh yeah, I don’t think I ever saw cars back when I visited your world. How do people get around there? Does everyone walk?”

“Mostly, people walk,” Piñole told him. “Royal families may travel by palanquin, but that’s not very common.”

“Well, ladies, you’re about to be introduced to a little thing we call the mass transit system. You’ll notice the cars parked along the street we’ve been passing by, and the ones driving past.”

“I’ve seen them in dreams,” Arle says. “When I was in the green lands, I saw dreams with them.”

“I have also seen them in dreams,” Piñole added.

“What about you, Cecilia?” Samuel asked.

“I’ve never seen them before. To be honest, the only reason I wasn’t frightened to see one approach us is because no one else gave any reaction. Seeing the calmness on the three of you, I realized there was no danger, and the thing went by us without stopping or anything.”

“We’re going to be going inside a long, tall vehicle called a bus. Just remember: these are machines made by people. They’re not animals or monsters. Entering one is no different from entering a fancy palanquin.”

“It sounds too far above my class,” Ceciliate said. “I realize you said I’m an equal here, but still…”

“Are you kidding?” Samuel said back. “The bus is the transportation system of choice for the lower class. My family may be well enough off to have our own car, but a lot of people don’t or won’t own a car for various reasons, and they all take the bus. I guess where you’re from, the bus would be like a palanquin for the slave and attendant classes, but anyone with a dollar can ride. Oh, speaking of which, I’ve bought four day passes for the bus, so we can ride by showing these.” He handed a bus pass to each of the girls. “Piñole and Arle, it’ll be up to the two of you to fund your own way on the bus in the future if you want to go anywhere, but today’s on me.”

A short wait later, the bus arrived. Samuel showed how to use the day pass, and the others followed his lead. They took seat on the booth at the back of the bus, with Arle looking out one window, Piñole next to her, then Sameul, and Ceciliate looking out the window on the other side of the bus. The ride took them through residential and commercial areas for half an hour before they reached their stop.

“Hey Arle, see that cord up there?” Samuel said.

Arle looked up. “That one?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’s the one. Reach up and give it a tug.”

Uncertain why, Arle decided to just go ahead and try it. She took hold of the cord and pulled, sounding off a buzzer, causing her to quickly let go of the cord, stopping the sound. “What was that? What did I just do?”

Samuel pointed toward the front of the bus. “You made the sign up there turn on. See? It says ‘Stop Requested’. That lets everyone else on the bus know we’ll be stopping at the next bus stop. The buzzer let the driver know to stop.”

“It’s all so fascinating,” Ceciliate said, looking around the bus from her seat beside Samuel. “The area we’ve traveled is already larger then the entire size of the town of Aureum. I could get to like it here. I kind of feel bad that we’ll be heading back home tonight.”

“Maybe you can visit again sometime,” Samuel told her. “I think it’d be difficult to stretch another visitor staying at Sarah’s house right now, though. Give it another four years, and you could always stay with me, and two years after that, you could stay with Sarah on any visits. We should have our own apartments by then.”

The bus stopped. Samuel lead the girls to the side door where they exited off the bus.

“Does everyone leave home at that age?” Arle asked as the bus drove away.

“Not everyone, but it’s tradition to leave around that age, or a few years earlier. In my family, the tradition is to keep the home in the family, so I’d be moving out to learn to further be self-sufficient, but I’d move back in to the old house when it comes time to start a family. Actually, Sarah’s family is like that, too. The Cloverfields have been neighbors with the Seamairs for some time now. Sarah’s the first female born to either family as far back as anyone can remember, so her parents worry that she might live elsewhere, leaving no one to inherit the house. I’m sure things’ll work out in the end, though.”

“That’s a lot like back home,” Ceciliate said. “The family’s name and home stays on the husband’s side.”

Pinole knew it to be more than “a lot like back home”. It was exactly like back home. The Seamrog family had kept the tradition going, and the Cloverfield family followed the same tradition. Why? Why was this? Where did Sarah and her family fit into all this? Pinole had to know how it all connected, and she knew that diary must tell all.

“Come on, let’s go,” Samuel said, gesturing toward the edge of downtown.

“I know this area,” Arle said, looking at their surroundings. “This is where we met before.”

“This is downtown. Whenever someone tells others they’ll be ‘in town’, it’s understood to be this part of the city. It’s a shopping and business district like no other around these parts. It it’s available to buy, it’s probably here in town somewhere. And if you’re looking to pawn off an item for money, there are plenty of places to do that.

“We shouldn’t be carrying around a lot of money, so I took the liberty of opening a second bank account and got a couple of debit cards tied only to that account. It’ll allow the two of you to access your money. Since your money is going to be pooled together, it’ll be up to you as sisters and as joint account owners to discuss any planned purchases with one another. All the money you get from selling items will be put onto this card, and it can be taken off of this card using special machines. Just watch what I do with it, and if you have any questions, I’ll answer them when we’re outside of a shop, okay? And if anyone asks why Cecilia is selling items and I’m taking the payments on the debit card, we’ll say we’re cousins, and it’s a family account, okay? I don’t expect anyone to question anything, but that’ll be our story.”

The group shopped around a bit, going to different pawn shops and finding out what each shop would pay for each item. After going around a second time to sell off the items Cecilia carried with her, Samuel determined the sisters had enough money to pay for room and board at Sarah’s house for six months. “There’s no way you can get them to host you for half a year, of course. I’m sure you’ll want to buy some outfits so you fit in a little better.”

“What’s wrong with what we have on?” Pinole asked, a bit cross at the remark. She realized her attitude and wanted to correct what she’d said, but Samuel already started to reply.

“I do notice how you’ve three all worn fairly plain and simple outfits, but you and Arle still have fancy outfits which makes you look like young royalty.”

“Aren’t we young royalty?” Again, Pinole realized too late the tone of her voice.

“That depends on your reason for being here and how much you want to stand out,” Samuel told them. “I mean, you could even go around telling people who you are and where you’re from if you wanted to try to get the whole royal treatment, but the only escort you’d be getting would be to the crazy house. No ones gonna’ believe you’re royalty, so you’d best fit in with everyone else.”

An hour had passed since Samuel reached the part, and in that time he watched teenagers hurrying to get to school before the sun peaked up from the east. He relaxed, and enjoyed the crisp, dew-scented morning air. In the next hour, he thought about Aureum and its inhabitants. “Piñole and Bernard are about my age, and Arle and Alfalfa are closer to Sarah’s, I think. Ceciliate has to be in her early twenties. I can’t get over how much Arle’s grown, though. I guess Sarah and I have, too, but it’s amazing what four years can do.”

From his vantage point on the hill, Samuel easily noticed a trio entering the park area. Two had black hair, the older with her hair in a ponytail on either side. The other, the oldest of the three, had blond hair, and she carried a cloth sack on her back, the straps over her shoulders much like Samuels’ backpack. Samuel hurried down the hill to greet them.

“It’s good to see everyone again,” Samuel said as he greeted them.

“I’m here for the jewel,” Piñole said before anything else could be said.

“Stop it, Piñole,” Arle scolded. “I already told you, this is your vacation. The jewels can wait.” She turned to Samuel. “I’m sorry about that. She really does have the best intentions for our home in her heart.”

“I understand. And how are you, Ceciliate?” he asked.

Ceciliate looked down and to the side.

“Is something wrong?” Samuel asked her.

“Slaves are to be seen and not heard,” Piñole explained.

“Nonesense,” Samuel said. He took Ceciliate’s hands in hers. Her hands were cold in the morning compared with Samuel’s warm hands. She looked at him, about to say something, but she stopped herself. She started again to speak, but stopped her self once more, before looking away again. “Here where I live, our position and status in life isn’t tied to our families. It’s tied to each person as an individual. If I say, ‘I’m Samuel Seamair’, probably no one will know who I am. Anyone who does know me, either personally or because they’ve heard of me, will judge me on the things I’ve done, and the reputation that’s gotten for me. The same will be true for the three of you while you are here. You will all be equals during your stay.”

“Do you expect a young queen to truly act as an equal to a slave?” Piñole asked him.

“Have it your way,” Samuel said back, slipping his hands back. He placed his left hand to his side, and his right hand up to his forehead in a salute. “As the acting representative of Earth, and holder of one of the rainbow jewels here on Earth, I demote Queen Piñole to commoner. I demote Princess Arle to commoner. I promote Ceciliate to commoner. None of these demotions or promotions carry over away from the Earth, as I only have jurisdiction here. Tell me, Piñole, do you still have issues?”

“I understand. Ceciliate Medic, as he has stated, we are of equal status here. Nothing you say or do will carry over when we return home.”

“Any words, Ceciliate?” Samuel asked, leaning over to look her in the eyes.

She smiled. “Please, call me Cecilia. It’s less formal, more friendly.”

Samuel took his backpack from his pack, and pulled a small laptop computer from it. “I’ve documented all the places to check on selling things. I’ll keep track of the offers we receive, then we can sell to each place for the best deals.” He looked at the outfits the girls wore. Piñole and Arle wore fancy, multi-layer dresses, Piñole’s looking more like royalty. Ceciliate wore a plain shirt and dress, made out of material common to slaves. “First thing we’ll have to do is get you three some new clothes. You’ll attract a bit of attention, like when I spotted Arle the other day.”

The two walked down to the park. They joined the waiting person at the swings.

“Is that who I think it is?” Sarah asked, looking at the person on the second swing from the end. “Is that Arle?”

Arle looked up, and over at Sarah. “Did you miss me?”

“Is this a dream?” Sarah asked. “Am I asleep?”

“It’s no dream,” Samuel told her. “Arle’s really come to Earth.”

“But how?”

“It’s like this,” Arle started, swinging slightly. “After you two disappeared, my sister knocked Bernard Medic over, and took the jewels from him. The break-up of power left the jewels drained. Only recently they’ve started to regain their power. It seems to be a natural process. That’s what the big issue was a hundred years ago, when the jewels lost their power. It was expected their power would return, but it turns out the real jewels had been hidden away on different planets–as you both know–and fakes were put in the palace in their place. It wasn’t until this drain that we’ve been able to document the recharge process. It’s been four years, and I’ve finally been able to use the yellow jewel in the yellow room to come here.”

“What happened to Bernard?” Samuel asked. “Was he taken into custody?”

“We don’t have jails on Aureum. As punishment, the Medic family has been demoted to slave class. I tried to stop it, but it was out of my hands. To see Ceciliate Medic demoted as well, I’m starting to wonder if this is really the best way to handle such events. It’s always been easiest to track families, rather than individuals.”

“Is he all right?” Sarah asked. “He seemed different when he had all the jewels, somehow.”

Arle pressed her shoes to the ground, stopping her movement. “He…” She took a deep breath before continuing. “Physically he’s all right. His mind isn’t all there. No one knows if there’s any way to fix it. The Lucernes were promoted to attendant class, but Alfalfa Lucerne cares for Bernard. He hopes that when the jewels have reached their original power, that Bernard will be himself again. But let’s talk about something more positive right now. Sarah, there’s a reason I wanted to talk with you. Samuel can be here, too.

“See, Piñole is a queen now. It’s not like being a queen in any Earth royalties, though. What it means is she’s given responsibilities she’ll need to perform as a full-fledged queen one day. It’s the same responsibilities I’ll be taking on in a couple of years, as well. Part of her responsibility is to oversee the jewels. I’m afraid she might become the same as Bernard Medic was. Before, she was collecting the jewels to keep our family safe, and I want to believe she won’t be seduced by the power of the jewels, but I just don’t know… Since she’s been diligent in her duties for the past year, I’d like her to take a vacation. I’d like her to come to Earth, and live life outside of the palace. Not at home where everyone would recognize her, but here on Earth, one of the planets whose dreams she’ll be tasked to protect.”

Arle took some steps back, then lifted her feet, swinging again. “That’s at least part of my reason for coming here. After she’s spent time here, with Sarah, and maybe with Samuel, too, I hope to convince her to separate the power of the jewels. There are six jewels and five planets inhabited by humans. It would be all right or two people to watch over dreams on the same planet.” She stopped swinging abruptly as her shoes pressed against the ground. She looked at the two. “I want to convince Piñole to let you two be the Lucid Dreamers who protect the dreams on Earth. I can handle another planet, and so can Piñole. I think Alfalfa Lucerne could be a Lucid Dreamer, too. He has no ambition for power. Ceciliate Medic would be the last. Of course, the Medic and Lucerne families would have to be promoted above attendant class, but that’ll be within Piñole’s power in a couple of years. If we have Piñole’s support, maybe my parents will help out. They did promote the Lucernes after hearing about how I might not have survived if not for his help.

“I’m doing all the talking. You both probably want to say something about my request for you to become Lucid Dreamers. Essentially, you’d be a magical girl and magical boy again. The thing is, how can I convince Piñole? How can I convince her to separate the powers, and to let the two of you watch over Earth? But first I have to know, would you two accept such an offer?”

Samuel looked at Sarah. “You’re the holder of the green jewel now, so it’s completely up to you. So long as the blue jewel gives me the power, I’ll do what I can, but the holder of the green jewel is the one who may travel through the mirror.”

“Why do you sound so serious?” Sarah asked. “Of course I’ll do it! If Piñole offers the position, I’ll take it in a heartbeat. Even if she doesn’t offer it, we can still help stop nightmares once the jewels get enough power back, right?”

“To tell the truth,” Arle said, “this is only the reason I wanted to come down here. I’m only here because Piñole sent me here. Her reason isn’t the same as mine. She sent me here to collect the jewels from the two of you. That’s kind of why I’m afraid. She didn’t sent me here to steal them, but she didn’t send me here to ask for them, either.”

“So you want her to stay here for a while,” Samuel interrupted. “And that’ll give her the perfect opportunity to take the jewels for herself.”

“Samuel, I don’t think Arle meant–”

“No, Sarah, I agree with you. Please, Arle, I don’t mean any disrespect, but things like this have to be thought through. What happens if Piñole visits, and the jewels disappear? I prefer to have the jewels locked away safely, rather than suspect that someone took them. That sounds best, right?”

“I agree,” Arle responded. “I wouldn’t want to be a suspect, either, and if someone else took them, Piñole would certainly suspect the two of you. Maybe even me. The only thing we would need is a place to stay while we’re on Earth. I arrived only today, and Piñole expects me return tonight, for an update, but if I can convince her to visit here, I’d like it to be for a longer stay, with no communication going back home.”

“We have a guest room at my house,” Sarah suggested, “but I don’t know if my parents would go for the idea. We’ve always been lower middle class. We get by just fine, but we can’t really afford two more people to feed.”

“I don’t see where that would be a problem,” Samuel said. “I’m sure Arle and Piñole can find some fancy trinkets their family doesn’t need, but could be sold on Earth for a decent price in a pawn shop. Nothing extravagant, but enough to pay for them to stay for a while. If Cecilia comes along, just for the sales, there should be no problem with age when selling in the antique shops.”

“That should be doable,” Arle said. “When I report to my sister tonight, I will suggest to her a vacation on Earth, and will say I even have lodging planned. She might consider this a chance for her to get the jewels in person, so I’ll request that she not mention the jewels until it is time to leave. The jewels are too weak to sense one another, so she won’t be able to use her jewels to find the green and blue jewels.”

“Let me check with my parents first,” Sarah said. “If you can pay for your meals, and a little for rent while staying there, I think my family will be glad to have you stay. I can tell them you’re friends from a foreign country. It wouldn’t even be a lie or anything. We’d better not let them see Arle until a few days after I get permission, though.”

“I understand,” Arle told her. “In the meantime, perhaps Samuel would be kind enough to show Piñole, Ceciliate, and myself to these shops that’ll buy our ‘fancy trinkets’?”

“But I’m sure she attends this school,” the dark-haired teenage girl said back.

“Why don’t you visit her at her house?” the lady suggested. “School’s out in just a few more hours.”

“I don’t know where she lives. That’s why I’m trying to find her at school.”

“Have you checked the white pages?”

“What’s that?” the teenager asked.

“You know, the phone book. Residential listing.”

“I’ll look somewhere else,” the girl said, giving a sigh. She walked out of the room.

The school sat on the edge of the city’s downtown shopping district, and that on the edge of the business district. Cars filled the streets, people the sidewalks. Although the other schools the teenager had checked were filled with a lot of people about her age, she felt the streets had even more people along them. The girl looked up the height of the tall buildings, reaching higher than anything she’d ever seen at home. For her, this was the kind of place one would only see in a dream.

“That’s a very old fashioned style dress,” a teenage boy said as he walked up to the girl.

She looked at him. “Is it? I always wear outfits like this.”

The boy looked at the girl’s face. He stepped back, and looked at her from head to toe.

“Can I help you with something?” the girl asked.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude,” the boy replied. “You remind me of someone else who wore outfits like this one. She’d be about your age now. Same black hair and brown eyes, too.”

“A lot of people around here look the same,” the girl told him. “Look at those men over there. They all look alike.”

The boy looked where she pointed. Three Asian men wearing business suits walked abreast down the sidewalk at the edge of the business district, facing the two. “No, not really. All three have different types of suits on, their heights aren’t very much the same, and their hairstyles all differ.”

“Really?” the girl said, looking more closely. “Maybe you’re used to it. Where I come from, people aren’t so varied in, well, everything. We have different heights and hair colors and styles, but there’s a lot of things similar to us. When I see a lot of people who share a variety unknown to me, isn’t it natural to have trouble recognizing them?”

“I suppose so. Where are you from, anyway? Another country?”

“You could say that. I’m not from around her.”

“Well, where’re you from?” the teenage boy repeated.

“No place you’d know of,” the girl told him.

“Try me. I pride myself on my knowledge of the world. I know every country. If you’re from a city I’ve never heard of, I’ll make it my assignment tonight to learn about it and its people.”

“If you insist,” the girl said, “but in return will you help me find a person I’m looking for? I only know her given name, and these school places won’t tell me anything.”

“Hm, going by only a first name, that sounds like a challenge. If my hunch is right, it might be an easy find. So, you’re from where now?”

“It’s a place you can’t simply read about in a book, but it’s a town called Aureum.”

“Aha, I knew it!” the boy exclaimed. “You are her!”

“Excuse me?”

“Just try and tell me you aren’t Arle Alsike.”

“How do you know my name?” the girl asked, looking from side to side. “The name I’ve been giving people here is Caroline. It’s my real name.”

“You mean you don’t even recognize me?” The boy stepped back a few steps. He spread out his arms. “Come on, look me over. Tell me you don’t know Samuel Montgomery when you see him.”

“Samuel?” Arle looked carefully at his face. “It’s you…” She ran up to him, into his open arms, wrapping her arms around him, holding him close. “It didn’t think I’d find anyone I know here!”

Samuel continued to stand with his arms out. He didn’t expect to invite a hug. As Arle held on to him tight, Samuel decided to hold her close to him. “You really do stand out in that outfit,” he said, her head beside his. “If you weren’t wearing it, I wouldn’t even have approached you. Now, who are you looking for? Is it Sarah?”

Arle nodded. “I’ve checked every ‘high school’ in the entire city. There are lots of them! But I couldn’t get anyone to give me any information. Most wouldn’t tell me anything, but some tried to be helpful. When I said I was looking for Sarah, they asked for her surname. They said there were hundreds of Sarahs in the school. Why would so many people name their child the same name?”

Samuel let Arle back away from him slowly. He put his hands on her shoulders while she looked at the ground. “There’s more than just matching names. A lot of different families have the same surname, so sometimes there’ll be two or more people with the same given and family name. Earth is a big place, and the concept of family isn’t the same as you have back home in Aureum. Let’s walk back to my house. Sarah lives next door.”

“You two live next to each other?” Arle asked as they started walking. “Does this mean you two’re married?”

“Married? Ah, no, it’s not like that. I don’t mean our rooms are one door apart, not like that. What I mean is, our houses are next to one another. I know housing’s a bit spread out in Aureum, with the bazaar and such at the center of town in Aureum, and this town’s actually a bit like that, but we’re not spread out. Houses, shops, and business buildings are all packed together as close and tightly as possible here.

“So, why are you on Earth? Are you really here, or are just dreaming? Are the jewels working again? Mine haven’t worked since that incident. Oh, and what became of Bernard, and everything else?”

“I’d rather wait until Sarah can join us. Then I can go over everything all at once. While we walk, please, tell me what life is like here on Earth. I have many questions about it. Like, I learned about these schools where many kids go to learn things, but I couldn’t easily find Sarah at any of them. What should I have done to make it easier to find her?”

“Well, checking the school is something of a dead-end. Sarah doesn’t attend a school.”

“I was told going to school was a requirement here.”

“Kind of,” Samuel said. “There are different kinds of schools. For Sarah and myself, we’re home schooled. Our parents and relatives teach us, and we go on a lot of outings to learn more.”

“Are you on an outing right now?” Arle asked him.

“I’m on the most difficult kind of outing, actually. Sarah’s 16th birthday is in a few months, and I’ve been going all over the place trying to figure out what to get her. I’m completely at a loss. Up until now, it’s always been simple things, home-made gifts. Now I have friends telling me something like that would be too childish. Actually, they say it started being too childish about five years ago, and Sarah’s just too nice to say anything about it.”

“That’s not true,” Arle said. “I mean, I don’t think it is. Where I come from, home-made gifts show more than thoughtfulness. She show time and effort. You see this dress I’m wearing? Piñole learned to sew and made this for me. It wasn’t for a holiday or a special event or anything. She did it just to show how much she cares as my sister.”

“Maybe that’s why I’m having so much trouble. “The home-made gifts were never as extravagant as your dress. How long are you staying? Maybe you can help me think of something.”

“I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, but I’ll go over that when we have a chance to sit down with Sarah and talk it all over. Actually, that’s something I wanted to talk with Sarah about, really. I’d like someone else to spend some time on Earth, as well.”

“What happens if we keep our jewels?” Shamrock asked, looking directly into Macrae’s eyes.

Ceciliate translated the message for her brother. Macrae grimaced. “You want to renege?”

“He wants to know why you’re going back on your word,” Cecilia told Shamrock.

“I’m not going back on anything. I said I wouldn’t give the jewels inside Arle’s dream. I said we’d figure out what to do next here. Clover and I have had these jewels since we were little kids. Why should we hand them over now? What if we don’t want to give them to anybody?”

“That’s right,” Clover said, walking over to Shamrock. “We can use these jewels to help other people. Why should we give them to you?”

“What are they saying, Cecilia? I don’t like this.”

“I just need to convince them,” Cecilia told her brother.

“What’s this all about?” Piñole asked. “What’s this about handing over jewels?”

“By the sound of your voice,” Shamrock said, looking to Piñole standing at the other side of the bed, “you want to know what’s going on. Bernard here–Macrae–wants to take all six jewels, and he plans to use them to his benefit until your family lists work it’s had other families do for it.”

“And he’ll send you and Arle to blue continent in the meantime,” Clover added.

“So, it really is treason,” Piñole said to Macrae with a scowl. “We shouldn’t settle this here. Let’s take it to the back woods. We’ll settle this in the woods behind the palace.”

“Fair enough,” Macrae said. “I’ll see you there.” He waved his arms up into the air, and he vanished in a flash of red and orange.

In the back woods, Macrae appeared. He pulled out the yellow and violet jewels. He gripped them in one hand, squeezing tightly. “The power of these jewels is mine.” Yellow and violets flashed from between his fingers. A glow surrounded his hand, the yellow and violet lights fighting each other as they spread up Macrae’s arm. The yellow spread across his chest, the violet across his back, the colors clashing at they met at his other side. The colors enveloped Macrae. Red and orange glows spread out, joining the yellow, overpowering the violet.

After the light died down, Macrae stood, feeling a bit out of breath from the spreading of the glowing lights. His hair had turned orange with red and yellow streaks, his eyes orange with red and yellow specks. Red and yellow hand-sewn threads held his orange outfit together. A hint of violet appeared at the roots of his hair.

“Macrae!” Shamrock called out as Piñole led the group to him.

Macrae’s eyes moved directly to Clover. He leaped high into the air, landing behind the group. Before anyone could react, the ground split open, a column of dirt pushing out, lifting Clover up high. With another jump, Macrae lifted himself up to the top of the dirt column. Looking down, he could see the others, over two stories distance away.

Clover tried to back away, but the column didn’t allow room for moving around.

While Clover looked back to make sure she wasn’t about to step off the edge, Macrae reached out, grabbing Clover’s brooch. He gave a push, Clover falling back, and the brooch pulling from her shirt. As she started to fall, Macrae’s eyes focused only on the green jewel in his hand.

Falling through the air, Clover became Sarah. A gust of wind briefly slowed her fall, then Shamrock appeared, holding on to her. Shamrock landed on the ground, but stumbled, the two falling over. Arle hurried to them to ensure the two were all right.

“This jewel is now mine,” Macrae said to himself. He squeezed the brooch in his hand as it transformed back into a sole green jewel. The jewel lit up, a green glow spreading out. As the green light spread, red and orange glows extended out from Macrae, engulfing the green, suffocating it. The green glow snuffed out, leaving only a few green roots among the violet in Macrae’s hair. “One more.”

“This isn’t good,” Alfalfa said, looking up the pillar of dirt, unable to see Macrae. “In the past, the Seamróg family ruled with the jewels by giving two to each family withing the palace. They specifically paired certain colors together, and more specifically kept certain colors apart.”

“Why would they keep them apart?” Ceciliate asked.

“Certain colors just don’t go together. Shamrock and Clover worked well as a team because blue and green work together well. So do blue and violet, or green and yellow. And then there’s yellow and orange, orange and red. Red works with violet.”

“It’s red and green,” Shamrock said, holding Sarah in front of him.

“And it’s yellow and violet,” Alfalfa added.

“And orange and blue?” Sarah asked, sitting up in Shamrock’s arms.

“So what happens if he gets the last jewel?” Piñole asked, looking directly at Alfalfa.

Alfalfa started to open his mouth, but he hesitated.

“Never mind about slave versus royalty right now. Speak your information.”

The tall, narrow wall of dirt caved in, falling like the sand through an hour glass. As the top of the dirt reached the ground, Macrae descended, his arms out wide open. “What a glorious day! I see only to take the boy’s earring, and victory is mine. All mine. Never again shall the Medic family act according to the will of the Alsike family. I’ll banish them all to the violet planet.” He looked into Arle’s eyes and smirked. “Every last one of them.”

“I don’t like how he said that,” Sarah said. “Shamrock, we have to do something.”

“Please,” Alfalfa cried out, dropping to his knees before Macrae, “stop this. Please, Master. Your mind is being conflicted by the opposite powers of the jewels. It’s not too late. You can give the jewels back. You’ve made your point. Stop now, and I’m sure Lady Piñole will be very understanding.”

“Go away,” Macrae replied. He pushed out with his hand, and the ground slid away. The ground pulled Alfalfa away with it, holding him by the feet, causing him to fall forward, his body dragging along until the ground stopped by a few distant trees.

“Brother, you’ve never done such a thing to Alfalfa before. You must stop this,” Ceciliate implored. “Alfalfa has always been like a younger brother to you. You’ve always been such good friends, no matter what. Are you really willing to let all that go? Are you really going to give it all up?”

The ground pulled down from under Ceciliate’s feet. It sank, Ceciliate falling with it, until she was too far down to see anything but the funnel of dirt leading to the visible sky outside.

“Who’s next?” Bernard asked. “You, other Lucid Dreamer, how about taking me on?”

Shamrock stood. “Go with Arle and Piñole,” he told Sarah, his voice stern, his eyes not leaving Macrae. “The three of you go to Alfalfa.” He lifted an arm, and Ceciliate lifted out from the hole. She set down beside it. “Take her, too, and go to Alfalfa.”

Although reluctant to agree, Sarah didn’t argue or hesitate. She and Arle helped Ceciliate walk over to Alfalfa.

“You, too, Piñole. You’re in on condition to fight him, not without a jewel.”

Piñole backed a few steps, then turned and headed toward the others.

“Time for fight?” Macrae asked.

Shamrock touched his thumb and finger tips to his jewel.

“You are on,” Macrae said, placing a hand on his necklace. He lowered his hand back down a little as he watched Shamrock lift the earring into the air.

The earring sparkled in the light of the setting sun as Shamrock held it out. He dropped it to the grassy ground. “It’s yours.”

“You are wise fool.” Macrae told him as he lifted a hand, pulling the jeweled earring into his grip.

“Wise, indeed,” Shamrock said as he transformed back into Samuel. “At least, I hope so.” He turned and sprinted toward the rest of the group, as they watched in wonder at what he had just done.

Holding the blue jewel in his palm, Macrae concentrated on its pulse. The light of the jewel lifted from the jewel, wrapping itself around Macrae’s body. The orange light from within Macrae appeared, pushing away at the blue, but the green light joined the blue. Red and yellow surrounded Macrae, with violet adding to the mix.

“What’s happening to him?” Arle asked as Samuel reached the group.

Samuel looked back. “I don’t know. Whatever’s happening, I only hope the resolve is good for us.” He looked at Alfalfa sitting beside the tree. Samuel kneeled down beside him. “How are you feeling?”

“Like my best friend’s about to be torn in two. Don’t mistake my words, as I don’t blame you. I just can’t believe this is happening.”

Macrae looked around. His eyes, growing a rainbow of alternating colors, focused on the group. Wind blew his rainbow of hair in different directions and Macrae lifted a few inches off the ground, then pushed through the air, landed on the ground beside the others. “Now this is power. I cannot be stopped.” His neck tilted, and his eyes took turns twitching. One of Macrae’s knees jerked a leg to the side, then back in place. “The power. I feel it flowing through me completely.”

“Alfalfa.” Samuel kneeled beside the boy. “What happens now?”

“I don’t know, but I think the jewels will fight one another until they’re pushed out all opposing jewels. I have no idea what will become of my Master in the process.”

Macrae started laughing hysterically. “No one can stand in the way of the Medic family now!”

“Listen,” Samuel whispered next to Alfalfa’s ear. “If I can take two of the jewels from him, blue and green, maybe he’ll be thrown off balance as the other others rush against the violet. That’ll be your chance. You’ll have to rush him, and take the other jewels.”

“Rush my master? I could never do such a thing!” Alfalfa cried out.

“I’ll do it,” Piñole said. “Just tell me when.”

Samuel took Sarah’s hand in his. “We don’t know what will happen next,” he said to her. “Bernard may be hurt by the jewels. He may not be. If he isn’t, he may hurt others. We’ve already seen him attack a friend and a family member. I hoped having the final jewel would overload him and he’d pass out or something, but that didn’t happen.”

The laughter stopped. “Why isn’t anyone laughing with me?” He watched as Samuel walked by, leading Sarah behind him. “Where are they going? Do they thing it’s all over? They should have given me their jewels sooner. They must punished!”

As Macrae turned to follow the two with his eyes, Samuel stopped walking, and Sarah stopped beside him. The two faced back at Macrae.

“You want to punished us?” Samuel asked. He tightened his hold of Sarah’s hand.

Sarah breathed deep, then out slowly.

“Then punish us,” Samuel said, looking directly into the color-changing eyes. “Are you ready Piñole? You’d better get ready now. Tell him to take us out for our insolence. Tell him we mock him, and the only way to stop us is to end our lives, one quick motion.”

“I can’t say something like that,” Piñole said.

“Do it!” Samuel demanded, still watching Macrae.

“How fascinating,” Macrae said, a wide, goofy smile across his face. “The more I hear, the more I understand. All the words I’ve ever heard of this language are coming back to me. I think I understand. I fulfill your request.”

Lights glowing all colors of the rainbow surrounded Macrae’s arms. He lifted his elbows, and pulled his arms back. Sarah leaned against Samuel, squeezing his hand harder back. Macrae thrust his hands out forward, rainbow-colored beams of light flashing out from his hands.

The lights filled the whole area, causing everyone watching to close their eyes, covering their hands over their eyes, and even then they could see colors flashing. When the lights stopped, hands went down slowly, and eyes carefully opened, blurry vision obstructing the view of everyone by the tree.

As her vision started to clear, Piñole could see Macrae standing, huffing and puffing. A few trees in his line of sight had disintegrated in the attack. Sarah and Samuel were gone.

“I think you’re supposed to attack me now,” Macrae spoke in perfect English. He tilted his head to one side as he looked over at her. “Are you going to risk–ah… Grr…” Macrae dropped to his knees. He grabbed his arm with his other hand. Green lights flashed around the gripped arm, then blue lights around his chest and stomach.

Without giving a thought, Piñole sprinted, then lunged, knocking into Macrae, and he cried out from the pain in his arm and chest. Piñole held Macrae down as he screamed, the pain moving around through his body. Piñole took hold of the necklace, giving it a tug, breaking the clasp on the back, and freeing it from around Macrae’s neck. Piñole lifted the necklace to throw it. For a brief moment, she could see six jewel. In a blur, the green and blue jewels vanished. Piñole threw the necklace as far as she could, and the necklace broke into four jewels as it hit the ground.

The lights withing Macrae left his body, returning to the jewels.

“I’m not Melilot anymore,” Sweet said as Macrae reached the bottom of the hill, still walking toward the group. “My name’s Sweet now.”

“And I’m going by Chelia,” Macrae’s sister said.

“Sweet and Chelia. Fair enough. Please address me as Macrae.” He looked at Clover and Shamrock. “My name is Macrae.” He turned back to the other two. “I might not know their language, but I’ve picked up a few words and phrases along the way. I trust they’ll be given line-by-line translations of anything worthwhile I have to say. The first order of business is for you to give me your jewels.”

“Shamrock, what are the talking about?” Clover asked.

Chelia replied, “He wants our jewels. Bernard–Macrae, rather–why are you doing this? What do you hope to achieve?”

“I hope for nothing more than our family’s revenge against the Alsike family.”

“And you need all side jewels for this?” Chelia asked.

“One jewel or six, the number of jewels doesn’t seem to affect my power in any significant way. For this reason, I must ensure Piñole doesn’t get a single jewel. So long as any one of you has a jewel in your possession, you may give it to Piñole, or she may take it from you. I will not allow that to happen. If you truly are a member of the miserable Medic family, then hand me your jewel, and step aside.”

“‘Miserable’? You call our family ‘miserable’? You’re projecting your own feelings onto the whole family.”

“I see. So, that’s how it is. No one cared when Alfalfa and I were gone for five whole entire years. Our struggle is not the struggle of our families. An attendant and his slave were sent away for five years, and nobody cared.”

“No… That’s not–”

“An attendant and his slave were promised promotions for their families, then the promiser extended the conditions of the promise. ‘Chelia’, was it? Listen to me well: The Alsike family doesn’t care one bit about us. If we don’t stick together as a family, then we have nothing. Absolutely nothing.” Macrae held out a hand. “Whose side are you on? The side of the Medics and the Lucernes, or the side of Piñole, and the Alsike family.”

“I understand.” Chelia slid the ring off her fingers. Clover and Shamrock let out a combined gasp as Chelia held the ring over Macrae’s open and waiting hand. “What would you do to the Alsike family?”

“I intend no harm. I will bring no harm to Arle, either. I must think of a suitable punishment. I’m thinking the entire Alsike family should own up to all the underhanded deeds they’ve performed through other families. Until they do so, Piñole will be help responsible in some manner. Perhaps I’ll send her to the orange continent. Maybe she’ll find a suitable escort–from within the Alsike family–to keep her company while running away from the beasts there.”

Chelia set the ring on her younger brother’s palm. “Not the orange lands. Maybe blue, but not orange.”

“What’s going on?” Clover asked, “What’s going on?”

“They’re going to send my sister away,” Sweet told her. “They want to send her away to the blue continent.”

“That won’t happen,” Chelia said with a smile. “Once the royal family hears these conditions, they’ll outline everything they’ve hired families to do for them, right? Then Lady Piñole will not have to go to the blue continent.”

“Are you crazy or something?” Sweet exclaimed. “There’s no way they’ll talk about anything! They’ll let Piñole be sent off, because they still have me to be the princess. If Piñole is set away to the blue continent, then I have to be her escort. Maybe they’ll at least think about it…”

“I’ll go with the two of you,” Chelia said to Sweet, speaking Aureumi so her brother would understand as well. She looked him in the eyes. “If they won’t talk, you’ll have to think of something else. If you never see the Alsike princesses again, then you won’t see me again.”

Sweet kneeled down and removed her anklet. “I trust you. If you’re with us, I know we’ll be all right.” She placed the anklet next to the ring on Macrae’s open palm. She turned to Clover and Shamrock. “Please, give him your jewels.”

“Not here,” Shamrock said in a stern voice. “Let’s meet outside of Arle’s dream. Once she’s awake, we can figure out what to do next.”

“Right here,” Shamrock said, patting his side pocket. “Now we need to find Arle.”

“We have to be careful,” Clover warned. “There’re two of her. One of them is a bad version, and I think she’ll try to hurt Arle. We have to get the jewel to Arle so she can become a magical girl again, and defeat the other Melilot.”

“You’re not going to find her,” the dark Melilot said, appearing in the air overhead. “This world is my playground, and Arle is merely one of my toys. She’s been put away, out of sight, may as well be out of mind.”

“What should we do?” Chelia asked. “I don’t have any experience with this.”

“Just step back and watch us,” Shamrock told her. He smiled at her. “I have enough experience to handle this.” He pulled the yellow jewel from his pocket. He handed it to Clover. “Go look for Arle. We’ll handle things here.”

Clover took the jewel. She looked at the grassy hills and sparse trees. Down the hill, she noticed a beat-up old wood house. “I saw her near that last time. Maybe she’s inside.” She hurried down the hill.

Chelia’s eyes followed Clover down the hill, then shift to the old house.

“Watch what I do,” Shamrock instructed, causing Chelia to abruptly turn back toward him. “She hasn’t made any moves yet. If she doesn’t attack, we shouldn’t attack. If we provoke a fight, there’s a chance of getting hurt that might not happen otherwise.”

“Oh, I’m not looking for a fight,” the dark Melilot said from up above. “I’m just here to watch and see what happens.”

“So now what?” Chelia asked. “Do we just stand here and wait?”

“We do need to keep an eye on her. If we let her out of our sight, she might appear as Arle to Clover, and take the yellow jewel.”

Melilot smiled as she looked down on the two. “Watch me as long as you want. I enjoy the attention.”

At the old house down the hill, Clover pushed the old door open. She looked around, seeing dust all over. She stepped in, the wooden floor boards creaking under her shoes. “Arle? Are you in here?”

“Is that you, Clover?” a voice asked.

“Arle?”

A closet door shook, then pushed open. Arle stepped out from the closet. “I was afraid, and didn’t know what to do, so I hid in here. Is that other me gone?”

“Not yet. We need your help to stop her.”

“But, what can I do?” Arle asked as Clover walked up to her.

Clover took Arle’s hand in hers. She placed the yellow jewel on Arle’s palm. “You’re the real Melilot. You can’t let that fake intimidate you. You must confront her, or you’ll never be free.”

“I understand,” Arle said. She lifted the jewel in her fingers. “With this jewel, I am a Lucid Dreamer. I am Melilot.” The jewel flashed, and Arle became Melilot.

Outside, Melilot fell back, a flash of light returning her to Arle. Shamrock jumped into the air, a gust of wind lifted him, and slowing Arle’s fall. She slowly sank into Shamrock’s open arms, and the two descended to the ground.

“Are you all right?” Shamrock asked.

Arle looked around. “Where’d she go? Where’s the other me?”

Chelia walked over to the two. “Aren’t you the one who hid her?”

“Hid her? I was the one hiding. The other me found me, and I became her, and she became me. I don’t know what happened next. But now I’m here.”

“Wait, if you’re really Arle,” Chelia started, looking at Arle, then at the bottom of the hill, “does that mean the fake one is down there with Clover?”

“Is Clover here, too?” Arle asked. She struggled to get down from Shamrock’s arms, prompting him to set her on her feet. “If Clover and Samuel are both here, maybe I can do something.” She looked at Chelia. “Are you are..?”

“My name is Chelia, but certainly you recognize me by another name, Lady Alsike?”

“You do look familiar. Are you…? Yes, you are. You’re Cecilia. You’re Ceciliate Medic. I apologize. My mind is a bit foggy right now.”

“It is understandable, Lady Alsike. Please, rest here. Shamrock and I can check on Clover.”

“Not a good idea,” Shamrock said. “We need to stick together. Arle, even if you need to rest, you’ll have to come with us.”

“I wouldn’t stay even if you told me to,” Arle responded. “A lot of bad things have happened because I told my sister about you and Clover. I want to do everything I can to help out.”

Inside the house, Melilot looked out a dusty broken window.

“What’s happening?” Clover asked. “Did that other Melilot just fall? I couldn’t see it very well.”

“She fell, and Shamrock caught her. He’s certainly good at what he does.”

“Yeah, he’s a lot more experienced than me at being a magical kid. She we go meet them now, so you can prove once and for all who the real Arle is?”

“I suppose I should. It’ll probably be too late by then, however. They probably know about the switch already.”

“What switch?” Clover asked.

“You haven’t figured it out yet?” Melilot asked, looking back at Clover. “Don’t look down.”

“Down?” Clover looked down. The boards vanished from underneath her feet, Clover falling into the basement.

“I told you not to look down,” Melilot said, looking at Clover from the first floor. The boards re-appeared, leaving Clover in darkness.

The front door opened. Shamrock entered, followed by Arle, then Chelia. The three looked around the room, their eyes stopping on Melilot.

“Where’s Clover?” Shamrock asked.

“Who?” Melilot said back.

“Don’t play games with me,” Shamrock told her.

“Games? Who’s playing games?” Melilot looked around. “I don’t see anyone named Clover here. How is it a game?”

“I’ll look around for Clover outside,” Chelia suggested.

“No,” Shamrock said, grabbing Chelia’s hand. “She wants us to split up.”

“No offense, Shamrock, but I think I’m old enough to handle myself. I’ll be all right. I’m just going to go look for Clover, okay?” She pulled her hand from his loose grip, then she headed outside, closing the door behind her.

“Is Clover outside?” Melilot asked. “Somehow I don’t think she is. She’s probably lost in the dark somewhere, crying because she doesn’t know her way out.”

Shamrock gritted his teeth. “I’ll ask you again: Where is Clover?”

“I assure you, she’s perfect safe wherever she is. Maybe a few cuts or bruises, but otherwise unharmed.”

Shamrock took a few steps closer to Melilot. “Where is she?” he demanded.

“I dare you to take another step,” Melilot said to him.

“Fine.” Shamrock stepped forward. As he foot lifted, the boards started to shake underneath him. He stepped down to find the floor vanishing from below his feet. Shamrock fell forward, into the dark of the basement. As he disappeared below, the boards returned.

The door opened again, Chelia returning. “I went all the way around the house, but I didn’t see Clover anywhere.” She looked a the girls standing on either side of the room. “Where’s Shamrock?”

“Melilot dropped him under the floor,” Arle explained. “We’ll probably be next! What should we do?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never done this sort of thing before. I don’t know where to begin with a Rainbow Jewel.”

“Just think of something, and it’ll happen,” Arle told her. “It really is that simple.”

“Think, think,” Chelia whispered to herself. She closed her eyes. “Think, think. Just imagine it.”

Melilot smiled. The flood boards vanished from under Chelia, dropping her into the darkness. The boards reappeared. “Are you ready to concede defeat, other me?”

Arle stepped back a few steps. She dropped to her knees, and started pounding a fist on the wood floor, the repeated impact padded by the layers of dust. “Clover, are you down there? Can you hear me? Shamrock, what should I do? Someone, please help me!”

“You can do anything,” Clover’s voice called from below. Arle blew away dust, then put her ear to the wood. She listened to Clover’s words. “This is your dream. You have complete control over it, even if you don’t have a magical jewel. You can do anything if you can imagine it.”

“My dream?” She sat up. “Is this a dream? I’m dreaming? And I can do anything?” She lifted herself to her feet. “If this is really my dream, then I don’t want to be Melilot anymore. Melilot is a bad person who does bad things. I don’t want to allow her to do anything else bad.”

“This is who you are,” Melilot told her. “I am who you are.”

“No. You’re wrong. You’re Melilot, but I’m not. From now on, I am a new magical girl.” Yellow lights shimmered around Arle. “I’ll be a sweet magical girl, just like Clover said I could.” Her black hair turned yellow. “I am no longer Melilot.” The brown of her eyes became yellow. “From now on,” yellow took over as the hue of her clothes, “my name is Sweet.” The anklet with the yellow jewel vanished from Melilot’s ankle. It appeared on Sweet’s ankle.

“This can’t be,” Melilot said. “You weren’t supposed to be able to control your dream like this.” Melilot faded away.

Sweet waved a hand out, the floor vanishing before her. A staircase of wood appeared.

Chelia from the darkness below first. She hurried over to Sweet. “You did it, Lady Alsike,” Chelia said, taking the girl’s hands into her own. “Rather, Lady Sweet,” she corrected. “You have faced your inner foe, and you came out victorious.”

Clover and Shamrock reached the top of the stairs. Shamrock gave a thumb’s up pose, and Clover giggled to see it.

The entire house shook for a moment. The blue sky outside turned red-orange.

“Thank you all for waiting for me,” Macrae called out. The wooden house vanished, leaving those inside standing on dirt. They looked to see Macrae walking down the hill toward them. “Thank you for keeping my jewels all in one place for me.”

Bernard stood from the grass. He walked around under the trees. “No birds, no fish, no animals at all. After being in dreams on the red planet for so long, the Aureumi woods are too quiet.” He lifted a fist, holding the two jewels in his grasp. “Let’s liven things up a little here. With these jewels, I will be a Lucid Dreamer, able to will the world around me, be it within a dream or within Aureum.” Red and orange lights flashed around Bernard. His blond hair turned orange with red streaks, and red with orange streaks. His eyes became orange with specks of red, and red with specs of orange. His outfit turned shades of the two colors. “I can do this name thing, too. I will be called Macrae, Lucid Dreamer.”

The silver necklace at Bernard’s chest housed the two jewels. He took the necklace in one hand, and waved his other through the air. “Let’s see some birds.” The two jewels flashed their lights, and a few birds appeared on the lower tree branches above. “Not too bad. Not too bad at all. But it’ll take more than birds to get back at the Alsike family.” He called up to the birds. “Hey, you, start chirping or something! It’s too quiet otherwise.” He looked again at the setting sun. “The sky is turning red and orange. I think I’m growing fond of these colors.

“How ironic. So long ago, the Alsike family used the Medic family, allowing the Alsike family to rise to power. And yet, it will be that same Medic family who takes that power.” He looked to the side. “Rabbit.” A red and orange flash produced a rabbit near the roots of a tree. “So, tell me little one: am I creating life, or am I kidnapping it from another world and bringing it here?” He waved a hand, and the rabbit vanished. By waving his other hand through the air, the birds in the tree vanished. “No one should be taken from their home. Anyone who sends others away from home should be punished. The Alsike family took charge in exiling the Seamróg family, and they disrupted the lives of Alfalfa and myself.

“I think it’s time I visited the palace.”

As Bernard took his first steps south, Piñole continued to sit beside her resting sister.

“Won’t you wake and be better, Arle? What terrible things have those Clover and Shamrock done? In what way do they trouble your mind and your sleep? As soon as Bernard returns with the red and orange jewels, I will use their powers to cleanse the yellow jewel of whatever has been done to it. You’ll recover soon, so please, hang in there.”

A knock at the door started Piñole. “Come in,” she said. She watched the door open, and a person step in, closing the door behind him. “It’s you. How dare you present yourself before royalty, and with the cursed jewel in your possession, at that.”

“Do as you will to me and my family,” Alfalfa said back, walking over to the bed where Arle slept, and Piñole sat. “I do not have the yellow jewel with me. All I ask is for a short audience with the elder princess. I believe it to be important enough for me to risk my family’s name.”

“Very well, speak. Have your say. I’m not going anywhere. I expect you’ll tell me the whereabouts of the yellow jewel while you’re at it.”

“Aye, that is part of it. I’ll start there. Shamrock gave Bernard the orange jewel in exchange for the yellow jewel.”

“It’s true, then. He is the one who poisoned it.”

“That is false information, Lady Alsike.”

Her nose wrinkled a little as her eye brows pushed closer together. “You defy me the same as your master. Perhaps both families should be punished.”

“I have no intention of countering the words of Lady Alsike, but the truth must be known. My master filled the yellow jewel with darkness as a plot toward revenge against the Alsike family.”

Piñole stood from the bed. “A slave dares speak against his master in such a way? And to the future ruler of Aureum at that? I no longer care to hear your words. Get out. Leave this room right now.”

“I couldn’t start to see Lady Arle being harmed by the jewel, so I’ve helped Shamrock and Clover reach the Forbidden Rooms. They’re there right now, with the yellow jewel in their possession, and they’re going to help Lady Arle from here, so please support them.”

“There is no precedent for your level of impertinence. No punishment yet exists for all that you have done today. I will call for Ceciliate to watch over Arle, and I’ll head to the Forbidden Rooms myself, with more guards than necessary for rounding up two kids.”

“Master Ceciliate is with them in the Forbidden Rooms. I do not believe she knows what Master Bernard plans to do. She wants only to see a safe recovery for Lady Arle.”

The door opened without a knock.

“Bernard,” Piñole said under her breath.

“It’s Macrae now,” the boy in red-orange corrected. “I’ve come for the other jewels.”

“They aren’t here,” Piñole replied quickly.

“You can say that, but I have an extra strong sense of their location now.” He placed a tight grip around the end of his necklace. “Yes, they’re in here.” His eyes looked from side to side, then stopped looking at Arle sleeping under the covers on the bed. “This makes no sense. They’re… Are they inside of her?”

“They must be directly in her mind as she sleeps,” Alfalfa suggested. “After what happened with the yellow jewel, this may be the only way to help her.”

“By the way,” Macrae said, placing a hand on Alfalfa’s shoulder, “why are you here? Why do you say Shamrock and his friend have the jewels with them inside Arle’s mind? Just what do you know?”

“I have been working to the assistance of Master Ceciliate, as she takes action toward the recovery of Lady Arle’s mind.”

“In other words, you’ve betrayed me.” A flash of light surrounded Alfalfa, tight ropes appearing around his body. Alfalfa lost his balance, falling to the ground.

“What are you–” Piñole started, but her words cut short as a second red and orange flash left ropes tightly around her, as well, from shoulder to knees. She lost her balance, and fell over. “Bernard Medic, this is nothing less than treason!”

“Didn’t I say it’s Macrae now? Someone had better tell me how to get into Arle’s mind,” said, looking at Alfalfa lying on the ground, “or I’m going to try all methods I can think of until one of them works.”

“The Forbidden Rooms,” Piñole cried out. “You can find them from there. Just please, whatever you do, please, do not hurt my sister!”

“I have no intention of harming her, not even from the inside.” Macrae told her. “She’s not my target. Once I have all six jewels, I trust you know who my target will be.”

“You look lost,” a familiar voice said. Sarah turned to see Alfalfa. “Funny thing,” he said, “For some reason, I thought you were already inside the palace. I just took your friend in, so I suppose I should take you in, too. I was really hoping to get back to Bernard, but I’m sure he’s fine, wherever he is. Follow me. We’ll stop by my place and get you a disguise. I imagine you’ll want to use your jewel as soon as possible, but please wait until we reach the inside of the palace. In case we cross paths with Lady Piñole, I’ll find you a very concealing outfit.”

“Your name is Alfalfa Lucerne, right?”

“Yes. As a member of my family, I am a slave to the Medic family, and I report directly to Cecilia and Bernard Medic.”

“How come your great-great-something-grandfather knew about where the jewels were? How did he know the blue jewel was on Earth, and not on the blue planet?”

“I was only five green land years old when my great-great-great-grandfather died. I don’t remember him very well. It wasn’t even a few years later when I was sent to accompany Master Bernard on a journey across the red continent, in search of the red jewel. During the five year search that followed, Master Bernard and I were away from our families. After things settle down, I’ll probably ask my great-great-grandfather and my great-grandfather the jewels, and find out what they know about his knowledge.”

“I can’t imagine being away from my family for five years. Did Piñole send you to find the jewel?”

“Aye. She heard about you and Mister Samuel using the jewels.”

“Wait, it’s because of us that you were sent away for all that time?”

“It’s not your fault, Miss Sarah. She feared what you two might be planning.”

“What would we be planning? We were only little kids back then. I’m still a kid!”

“A long time ago, there was a different ruling family of Aureum. It was believed they used all the power of the jewels, and they were exiled for their frivolity. My great-great-great-grandfather talked about how the jewels were really taken to different planets. Either way, the Seamróg family let it happen, and they were exiled, and the Alsike family game into power. Piñole probably feared you and Samuel were related to the Seamróg family in some way, and hoped to reclaim the throne. Here, families are single entities, so an act of self-preservation by Piñole is to protect the entire Alsike family’s well-being.”

“I’ve never heard of this Seamróg family before. I’m a Cloverfield, and Samuel’s a Seamair. We didn’t even know that Aureum existed until after you and Bernard entered my dreams. If we can talk things over with Piñole, I’m sure we can come to an understanding.”

“Here is my house. We can borrow an outfit from my cousin to get you inside.”

“Her room is over that way, right?” Sarah asked, pointing in a direction of the house after the two were inside.

“Yes, but how did you know?”

“I actually already went through this with Cecilia. But I’ll still need help to get back in there again.”

“Aye, we don’t want Lady Piñole to find you before Lady Alsike is well again.” Alfalfa knocked on his cousin’s room door. Hearing no response, he opened the door. He looked around inside the room, finding no one inside. “Follow me.” Alfalfa picked out an outfit for Sarah to wear over her clothes. “There’s a hood which’ll cover your hair, but you mustn’t transform here. When I provided a disguise for Shamrock, the outfit turned a shade of blue no slave would be seen wearing. He had to transform back into Samuel before travel, and it’ll be the same for you.”

“I understand. Like I said, I’ve been through this once, already. I realize I’ll be safe. I feel I can trust you. I don’t think you want to see anything bad happen.”

After Sarah put on the outfit, Alfalfa took her to the palace. He guided her through a different set of paths from those Cecilia took Sarah through. He stopped not too far from the entrance to the hall of rainbow-colored rooms.

“Just keep down this hall, and you’ll find it again,” Alfalfa instructed. “Any questions?”

“What’s your cousin’s name?”

“That’s a strange question to ask, and at a time like this of all times.”

“I’ve borrowed her clothing twice now. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to get in here, and I wouldn’t be able to help Arle. I’d like to at least know her name.”

“It’s Hayden. After we have peace again, I’ll introduce you to her.”

“I’d like that.” Sarah watched as Alfalfa turned and headed away. She turned, herself, and followed the path toward the rainbow-colored rooms.

Upon entering the round hall, Sarah immediately noticed Shamrock leaning against the green door. “Shamrock? Oh!” Sarah took out her own jewel. In a green glow, she became Clover. “I’m here to help. Arle’s in trouble, and we need to fix that yellow jewel if we want to be able to help her.”

“Is that you, Clover?” Chelia asked through the door.

“It’s her,” Shamrock said back. “We now have the green jewel here. We don’t know if green and blue will be enough, so please try your best with the violet jewel.”

“I will,” Chelia said through the door.

“We need to concentrate our feelings to this jewel,” Shamrock said to Clover, opening a hand and revealing the yellow jewel, with its dark aura surrounding it. “I don’t think we should be putting any specific feelings into it. Just our feelings. Just put who you are into it. Put your real self into it. I believe in the jewel to understand who we are, and what we want to achieve.” Shamrock set the yellow jewel on the ground near the green door. “Clover, you stand on that side. I’ll stand here.”

“And I’m ready right here by the door,” Chelia added. “I can feel your two jewels, but I can also feel the yellow jewel. I know where it is.”

The three touched their own jewels. They focused their thoughts, their feelings, their selves, and their jewels glowed and glittered, sparkling with the essence of the holders. Blue and green glows pulsed against the yellow jewel. Violet lights worked their way through the door, filtering through the green, and appearing as a faint red glow through the other side. The three colors seeped into the yellow jewel. The black aura surrounding the jewel faded out.

“I think that did it,” Shamrock said.

“Let’s show Chelia,” Clover said. She took the brooch from her chest and lifted it to the indentation on the door, causing the door to open.

With the door open, Chelia and Shamrock both looked at the door, then at each other.

“It must have been the yellow jewel,” Chelia said. “The doors locked when you tried to use it to open one of them, right? Maybe this means the jewel has really been purified. We should each go into our own room, now. Clover, you take green. Shamrock, you go into the blue room. I’ll take violet. I expect every room to have a giant Dream Mirror. Let’s all meet up in Lady Alsike’s dream. Just because the yellow jewel is purified doesn’t mean she’ll be better yet.”

Clover hurried into the green room. She looked at the mirror, and placed her hands on the glass. Her hand touched the hands of her own reflection.

“Welcome back,” the reflection said, her mouth a sly grin. “Long time, no see.”

“Something… …familiar.” Clover looked into the mirror as her reflection moved back a step.

“Oh come on, don’t tell me you don’t even remember your own reflection. Has it been that long since you last saw yourself? I guess dreams don’t really reflect images very well, so it’s understandable if you don’t remember exactly what you look like. You at least know I’m you, right? See the green hair? And look, we’re wearing the same green outfit.”

“You’re…me?” Clover asked slowly.

“You really don’t remember, huh? I guess you did leave for a long time after the farm incident.”

“What farm incident?”

“You don’t remember that, either?” the reflection of Clover, with a slightly darker hue of green to her colors, asked. “Wasn’t that why you quit being Clover in the first place? Wasn’t it because he died in a dream trying to stop the storm you created.”

“I… I think I remember that. A little…” Clover lowered to the ground, sitting on the side of one leg, and putting her hands on the ground for support. “But, what happened next?”

“What happened next, indeed. Can’t you recall what happened after you woke up?”

“I can’t remember when I wake up.” She looked at the ground. “I don’t remember ever being awake.”

“Oh, too bad for you,” the dark Clover in the reflection said. “It certainly for the better that you don’t know, I suppose. I’d hate for you to remember how Samuel almost dying because of your actions in the dream.”

“He almost died?” She looked up at the reflection looking down on her. “No. You’re lying. You’re lying! There’s no way he almost died.”

“You may not remember now, but one day something special will happen, and you will remember your waking life while you’re dreaming. All your mistakes and failures will come back to you all at once, all in a single rush. You might not be able to contain all your feelings over what you’ve done when that happens. And to continue on now as if it never happened. You’ll regret it for sure.”

“No.” Clover stood back up. “No. I won’t be defeated by your words. You’re trying to keep me here, so I can’t help Arle.”

“Suit yourself,” the dark Clover said. She waved an arm, and Arle’s dream reflected in the mirror. “Just don’t think you’ve seen the last of me.” She faded away.

In reply, a knock echoed off the door.

“Who’s there?” Chelia asked.

“Is that you, Ceciliate?” a voice called in through the door. “I can’t get any of these doors to open.”

“Shamrock?” Chelia hurried to the door with her ring. She placed the ring’s jewel in the jewel hole, the door giving no reaction. “Try placing the blue jewel into the opening on the blue door,” Chelia suggested.

Following the request, Shamrock lifted his earring to the marking on the doorway. The door failed to react. He next tried the yellow jewel at the yellow door. The jewel glowed yellow, then black. The indentation on the door vanished, followed by the indentations on the other doors vanishing.

“What just happened?” Shamrock asked through the green door. “The openings on the doors all went away.”

“It’s the same in here,” Chelia said, feeling her hand over the smooth flat material where the indentation had been. “Why did it go away?”

“We can’t worry about it right now,” Shamrock said. “I have the yellow jewel with me. We need to purify it quickly. Is Sarah still in Arle’s dream?”

“I’ll check where she is right now,” Chelia said through the door. She hurried across the room, but stopped to find the mirror reflecting only the room. She hurried up to the mirror, and she placed her hands on the glass. “Clover? Clover, are you in there? Clover, I can’t see you!”

“Is she in there?” Shamrock’s voice called in.

“The mirror stopped working!” Chelia called back.

“Mirror?” Shamrock said to himself. He called through the door, “Is it a mirror that shows dreams?”

“Yes,” Chelia replied, back beside the door. “But it stopped working.” She leaned her back against the door. “I get it now.” Chelia slid down. until she reached the ground. “This is the green room. Green has an affinity with yellow and blue. Both should be sufficient enough to at least view through the mirror, but the darkness in the yellow jewel is disrupting things.”

“Maybe the two of us can purify it right now,” Shamrock suggested.

“We can try, but blue and violet have a bad affinity with yellow. Clover has the green jewel, which is a good match. You have the orange jewel?”

“No. I traded it to Bernard for the yellow jewel.”

“Then perhaps has has returned with it, and presented it to lady Alsike. With the high affinity of the orange jewel, and the low affinity of the blue and red jewels, it should be enough to purify the jewel. I hope…”

“What about you? I can’t just leave you behind while I search for Piñole. Alfalfa guided me here, but he left at a certain point, saying he would be allowed to go in no farther. I’m not sure if I can even find my way out of here, let alone fine Piñole. I think we should try to purify it, first.”

“It would be a waste of energy,” Chelia said. “The yellow and violet jewels has opposing affinity. You’d get further trying to purify it without my jewel than you would with.”

As the two discussed their options on either side of the door, Clover continued to stand between Arle and Melilot. Clover took Arle’s hand in her grip, and started to run away from Melilot, Arle following behind, moving swiftly to keep up with Clover’s pace. “We have to get you away from here, away from her.”

The two went around the corner, Clover bumping into someone who fell to the ground on impact. “Sorry,” Clover said in haste, letting go of Arle’s hand to help up the person she’d knocked over.

“Watch where you’re going,” the person now sitting on the ground said.

Clover looked down to see Melilot. “How did you get here so fast?”

“I’m a Lucid Dreamer,” Melilot explained. Her body lifted up into the air. “I can do anything and everything.” She reached down with her legs, her feet carefully touching the ground. “Inside a dream, I’m nowhere and I’m everywhere. There’s nowhere to run to, nowhere to escape to.”

“Why am I running, anyway?” Clover asked herself. “I’m a magical girl, too. I have magical powers.”

“Are things finally going to get interesting?” Melilot asked. Her eyes glowed, and a circle of bars of solid rock shot out of the ground near Arle, reaching up into the air, and then bending together over her head. “Your move, green lander.”

“No problem,” Clover said back. She placed a hand over her brooch. “Let’s just turn that rock into sand.” The green jewel flashed, but the stone cage remained the same.

“Oh, I may have forgotten to mention one little detail,” Melilot said. “Your friend brought the yellow jewel, and he now stands close enough for its power to feed my control. In this dream, you no longer have any power. I have complete control over everything. All you can do is run around, as if you could actually do something.”

“If Shamrock is out there, it means he’s going to purify the jewel. When he does that, Arle should get all the magic.”

“It’s not going to happen. I can hear everything being said outside of this dream, thanks to the Dream Mirror. Your green jewel is a vital resource necessary to purify the yellow jewel. Without it, they don’t stand a chance. What will you do now, Clover?”

Arle tapped at Clover’s shoulder. “You can wake up,” she said in her flat voice. “Wake up from my dream. Wake up on your own bed.”

Sarah’s eyes opened. She sat up in her dark room. The clock glowed 1:44 AM in red numbers. “If I go back to sleep,” Sarah said to herself in a low voice, “where will the dream continue from?” She closed her eyes, and slowly tilted back, her head resting against her pillow.