The Realm of Dreams

 

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Short Story Version

The Realm of Dreams

“Talys Atana Endon! I said you can’t, and I mean it! YOU CAN’T!” 

    “Fine!” Talys stormed off to her room, tears streaming down her face.

Her mother stood around in shock for a while, then, anger boiling up in her again, left without a word. Meanwhile, Talys lay on her bed, sobbing. 

A door slammed. Talys figured it was her mother. But she didn’t care, so she let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, and cried herself to sleep.

*****

When she woke up again, there was no sound. Everything was eerily silent. Then there was a knock at the door, startling Talys. Groaning, she rolled out of bed and sleepily walked over to the door. Cautiously she opened it, a creaking moan echoing through the empty house as she did. 

It was a sort of plump woman with blonde hair swept up into a swirly bun and a businesslike aura. She looked up at Talys as if surprised to see her here. 

“Who are you?” Talys said quizzically.

“I am Mrs. Bourg. Please call me Ellen,” she answered confidently.

“And you came here…why?”  

“I….well…” Her professional look dissolved. “I hate to break bad news, but your mother…she—well—she...passed away…last night. My condolences.”

Her sweet brown eyes looked on Talys’ expression, which was a mix of shock, grief, and deep despair. How could this happen to her? 

“Pack your things, dear,” Ellen whispered. 

Talys leaned on the doorframe for a second, her despair so deep it made crying impossible, and then trudged upstairs. She didn’t have many belongings she wanted to keep. Too many of them reminded her of her mom, and though she loved her mom, she didn’t want to remember her. It only brought sadness, especially since their last conversation…hadn’t gone too well. 

Talys came downstairs with her backpack ready, as well as an extra bag, and asked Ellen where they were going. 

“Where you are going, dear. I am staying in London to take care of selling your house and cleaning it out. You are going to live with your uncle on his island. I will drive you to the house of the man who is driving our helicopter. Your uncle is 76 and lonely. You would do him good.” She smiled kindly.

Some great adventure, Talys thought, going to live with some mysterious relative I don’t even know and have never met on a remote island in the middle of the ocean. Fun.

All emotion left her as she climbed into Ellen’s car. 

The drive was long and boring, without conversation. Rain spattered the windows that framed London’s drab, grey streets. In Talys’ opinion, the dullness of the roads was comforting and peaceful, coupled with the softly falling raindrops on the window. But right now, nothing could comfort her. So she stopped staring out the window and started staring at her lap.

When they finally got on the helicopter, Talys just stared at the windows, vacuuming out her mind of all thoughts of her mom. 

Eventually she took a nap and was woken with Ellen’s concerned face hanging over her. Talys sleepily got up at Ellen’s command and stepped off the helicopter onto the soft ground. 

The helicopter left, swirling sand up after its cacophonous propellers. Talys turned to the house, which would actually be classified as a mansion. From the outside, it looked deserted, windows so dusty she couldn’t see through them. So she walked through the colossal doors to see the inside.

Inside, there was a chandelier hanging from the domed ceiling and a spiral staircase twirling down from a balcony somewhere. The whole place was cleaner than it seemed like it should be, considering the grunginess of the outside. On the first floor, there were three halls. To the left of the first hall was a small door, which was probably just a supply closet. No need to go exploring in there.

There was also a man standing in the doorway of the first hall. He had a warm smile and was almost bald. A twinkle in his eyes told Talys that he was the kind of person who might give out random cookies on the street. 

Before Talys had time to evaluate the rest of him, he spoke. “Talys Endon, correct? I am Mr. Linden, but call me Jim.” He chuckled a little.

“I’m taking you on tour,” he added, not giving Talys a chance to reply.

He strode into the first hall and Talys had no choice but to run to catch up to him. Talys watched as her new caretaker introduced the kitchen and dining room, both of which were neat and spotless. He glanced at Talys as if to see if she understood everything, and then moved on to the next hall. That hall, he said, had bedrooms and bathrooms, so it wasn’t very exciting. She would get the ones on the left side. The last room was apparently a closet.

Then, he walked, a little slower it seemed, to the third hallway. This hallway was unique. All the doorframes had beautiful decorations above them, and there were more doors in this hallway than the others. Jim presented the recreation room, study, and theater on the left side, and a classroom, food storage unit, and living room on the right. For some reason, he skipped the room in the middle.

Jim mentioned the balcony once or twice, but said it was full of knick knacks. Talys couldn’t imagine such an orderly person having knick knacks, and it surprised her a little. But she had no interest in going up to see them. Things like that weren’t really important to her.

But the room he had skipped interested her. She was almost sure it had been on purpose. A person like Jim knew his house too well to forget a room. 

When her tour was finished, her “tour guide” asked if she had any questions. He turned around, probably to make sure everything was perfectly clean, when she answered him.

“Hmmm….let’s see. Ooh. What was that room you skipped?”

He visibly tensed for a half-second. But he turned around calmly and said, “What room, my dear? I know this house like the back of my hand; I couldn’t have skipped one.”

It sounded like his nonchalance was forced, but Talys kept on. “The one in the last hall. At the very end.”

This time he definitely froze, for so long it was pretty noticeable. 

“That…is not something I wanted to bore you with. Nothing really interesting.”

He tried to sound casual, but his words were too rushed. That confirmed it. 

Talys shrugged, playing along. “Take me there, then.”

Jim narrowed his eyes, but turned sharply and walked down the hall, stiff. His hand was just near the doorknob when it twitched, almost too quick to see. But he turned the doorknob all the same. 

It was a library.

Talys frowned, disappointed. Why would he keep a library from her? 

But something drew her towards it, and she didn’t know what it was. All she knew was that she felt a pulling sensation, and she fought it.

Jim, seeing where her gaze was directed, grabbed her hand roughly and practically dragged her out of the library, slamming the door with his foot on the way out.

“Don’t. Read. Any. Of the books. In that library,” he said irately.

Talys just stared back at Jim’s sudden change of mood, aghast.

They ate dinner in silence, and Jim went to bed early. 

This is your chance, a voice in her head told her. Go, now.

Talys got up, looked around, and tiptoed to the library. She let her urges take over, and the pulling sensation came again, this time controlling her hand and directing it towards a book.

She didn’t read it right there. She slipped stealthily back to her new room, closing the door softly behind her. Pulling herself into bed, she opened to a random page, and was about to read when an image caught her eye. She started to get drowsy, but ignored it. 

Those eyes seem bigger than normal

She couldn’t think straight. 

Sleepiness washed over her in waves. 

Are those wings? Her mind blurred the thoughts together.

Talys’ head dropped. 

He had warned her about the book. Now it was too late.

*****

    Talys woke up, the smell of fresh soil spreading throughout her and the babble of birds all around her. 

Wait. Birds?

Talys sat bolt upright. She was in what looked like a jungle, but nothing looked right. The trees were…glowing. 

She had a pack beside her, and looking in it, found a few basic survival supplies, but nothing to give her a clue about where she was. 

The scary thing was, she didn’t think she was even…on Earth, if that was possible. The tree branches curled around themselves and the flowers, she was pretty sure, did not exist.

She got up and walked in a random direction. However, only a few steps into her adventure, she glanced something shiny on the ground. It was a gem, icy blue and perfectly cut.

Spotting a stream nearby, she hiked over to polish her new treasure. Upon dipping it in the water, however, it became as cold as snow. Colder. Talys dropped it with a surprised shriek, and a humanoid shape rose out of a smoke-like light that floated from it. 

The shape started to clear up, and Talys saw a beautiful woman with a silver gossamer dress and an elegant, defined body. But most shocking was her radiant white eyes. They had no pupil or iris, everything was white.

“I am the oracle,” she said in an eerie layered voice. “Welcome to the Realm of Dreams, Talys. Be aware that you are dreaming, but will experience all of the pain of real life. Goodbye. Your trials will begin shortly.”

She blurred and swirled back into the gem. Talys gingerly set a hand on the ground behind her in a shaky attempt to get up, but it landed on something furry. A sharp gasp escaped her. 

Turning around, she saw the most adorable thing ever. It was a ball of fur. Literally. That was all she could see, and the glimmer of huge eyes behind some of it, and tiny feet poking out of the bottom. It made a sound, startling Talys. Then it jumped at her with ferocious teeth that appeared on its ‘front’ from out of nowhere. It stopped suddenly and backed off, retreating. 

That’ll teach you, Talys thought, shaking from the surprise of those vicious, razor-sharp teeth that had appeared on the seemingly innocuous creature. 

A hum sounded behind her. She turned slowly….and gasped once more. A very small human-creature stood—well, hovered—before her. It, or she, had dark brown hair styled into two sassy pigtails. She had a turned-up nose and a pink dress that appeared to be silk. And she also had…well…wings. 

“Hi!” she said energetically. “I’m Ronni! This is my pet, Immic,—” here Talys sarcastically thought, real sweet pet you’ve got there. “—and my older sister…” At this point she cast an annoyed glance at a forest nearby. “—is in the village. She’s not really my older sister. She’s a fairy. I’m a pixie. Very different. Who are you?”

Talys stared at Ronni, who had said all of that very fast. “I’m Talys…” she mumbled.

Just then a blond, tall creature-human came out of the forest. She had an arrogant air to her and her hair was braided into a bun. 

“That’s Carisha, the ‘professional’ fairy. And yes, fairies and pixies are different. Pixies are smaller, and—” Ronni growled, rambling on.

Carisha flew over to Talys, ignoring Ronni. She had an irritated expression on her angular face. “Our leader,” she grumbled, “would like to see the new arrival. Something about a trial. Follow me.” 

Hesitating for a second, Talys looked to Ronni, who was already walking behind Carisha towards the forest. She hurried to catch up, and was soon in the forest village. 

Tiny cottages hung in the trees. The sound of wings humming through the air and branches rustling mesmerized Talys, and she stood, turning her head in every direction, trying to see everything at once.

Eventually they got to an extravagantly decorated cottage, and a heavily adorned fairy with ivory-colored wings appeared in the doorway. Seeing Talys, she hurriedly flew down. Smoothing her dress, she said, “I’m Queen Ala Blanca. I see you must be Tally Elton, or whatever your name is—”

Talys cut her off. “Talys Endon, thank you.”

The fairy waved her hand impatiently. “No matter. You are to start your trial immediately.

Confused, Talys rushed after the fairy, entering a smoky cave, the entrance covered in vines. Once they got there, the fairy queen hastily explained, “You are to complete this obstacle course before you can begin your next trial. Good luck!” She fluttered away without another word. 

The smoke cleared, and Talys saw a complicated-looking maze of obstacles. But the first was a thin board. Below it, black water crashed down into some unknown place. Taking a few tentative steps, she tested out the board. Enough to hold her weight, but still very thin.

With a few quick hops, she was over. But her heart was pounding furiously. She wouldn’t be able to take so many chances.

The next one was a rock wall. Easy, or so she thought. As she looked up, she realized it was taller than she had anticipated. She started climbing. After about halfway, her arms began to ache. 

Keep going, keep going, keep going…she told herself, as if that would help. 

She closed her eyes for a second, willed herself to keep going. After what seemed like forever, her arm found the top, and somehow she pulled herself up, lying in the damp stone for a few minutes. 

Why am I doing this?

She slowly dragged herself up with that question in her mind. It was because it might lead to escape, she decided. There was nowhere else to start. 

The next obstacle was also over the same black water. They were thick posts, randomly placed. She jumped nervously from one to another, and before she knew it, she was on the other side. Then there was nothing, just a river of the black water, and off a ways, a ledge.

She was going to have to swim. 

It’s now or never, she thought to herself, almost saying it aloud. Bracing herself, she jumped into the freezing water, limbs so shocked that they swam faster than they ever could have if she was in a normal situation. Her hand scraped painfully against rock, and she was on the other side. Pulling herself up, she curled up, closed her eyes, and shivered, oblivious to her surroundings.

When she finally opened her eyes and saw a glowing ring. Not sure what else to do, she stepped into it. Instantly she felt as if someone was rearranging her body. When she could finally see, she was in an attractive hut with a beautiful woman sitting in the corner, knitting. For a second, she—well, Talys didn’t know how, but—flickered. 

Talys was staring at her until something in her bag (apparently she still had it with her) started glowing. The gem! The oracle started to form, but the woman in the corner took no notice, as if neither Talys or the oracle were there. 

“Welcome to the second trial: Trial of the soul. Time is short, young one. Make haste.”

With that, she disappeared. 

Then the woman in the corner looked. The corners of her mouth turned up, almost mischievously. “Hello, Talys,” she said in a sugary voice. “Nice to meet you. I am Arienne. Shall we begin?”

Suddenly, Talys was swept into a vision, but it became so real, Talys started to believe that it was. 

Was it real?

A landscape materialized in front of her, and then a man. Another person came into view too. The first had dark brown long hair, and the second boy had platinum blonde hair, like Carisha’s. The platinum blonde one had icy blue eyes, and a cruel-looking face. 

“Which of you will die?” he said. “The one who dies shall have to go through immense pain, while the other shall live in paradise. However, one will have to kill the other, and must live in guilt forever." 

Talys hesitated. This was a stranger, so would it really make her guilty? Or would she be guiltier because she never knew him and he could have been a wonderful person. Her thoughts bounced around in her brain, evading her. Finally she made possibly the hardest decision of her life. 

“I will die,” she whispered. Then louder, “I will die.”

The blonde eyed her. 

“Are you sure?”

Talys hesitated. Could she really risk her life to save a random stranger?

“Yes…. yes.”

The brown-haired man looked at her, and for a split-second, there was sadness in his eyes. A knife appeared in his hand, and just as he lunged at Talys, her vision went black. 

The woman in the chair appeared again, frowning. 

“Passed,” she said flatly, her previous voice disappearing.

She looked at a wall unexpectedly, as if staring at some invisible being. Then she smirked, and let out a short, triumphant laugh. Her suddenly cold eyes focused on Talys. She let out a crazed laugh. 

The world vaporized before Talys’ eyes, and this time she emerged in a valley. A road stretched out before her, made of worn bricks covered in moss and lichen. She looked around and saw Ronni, Carisha, and Immic standing behind her. 

For some reason, she fainted.

She blurred into a dream. How odd— a dream within a dream. Her bag was still with her. She took out the gem, which, almost as if in response, glowed and started to freeze so cold that Talys dropped it again. The oracle’s wispy smoke spewed out of it, and the elegant oracle, same as ever, appeared out of the smoke-light. 

“Welcome to the Trial of the Mind, Talys Endon. Good luck.”

And her dream ended, those words swirling around her brain. 

Ronni hovered over her, arguing with Carisha, who glanced down at Talys every second or two. When she realized her eyes were open, she pointed proudly, probably proving a point. 

“See, I told you she was okay. Let’s get going.”

She didn’t seem to care that Talys was okay, just that she herself was correct about it. So Talys got up, irritated, and walked down the road. Eventually the other girls (and Immic) realized she was leaving, and ran to catch up. 

A few times she spotted tall, thin figures gliding in and out of the forest effortlessly. She could see some hiding in trees, their ears pointed. Elves? One whitish-blonde-haired elf snuck up behind her and whispered, “I am Itara. Come to our village and your weariness shall end as an elf.”

It was creepy, but Talys did feel very tired. But when she looked back, the figure was gone, so she kept walking, though her body told her to stop and rest at the village. 

Soon, a familiar dwelling came into view. The residence of Arienne. Uncertainly, Talys knocked on the door.

“Come in!” a cheery voice rang out from inside.

Talys braced herself, and then stepped in. Arienne turned around, observed Talys’ friends, and scowled. At that moment, she seemed to remember that she was supposed to have a sweet disposition, and smiled pleasantly. 

Taking Ronni by the elbow and looking her in the eye, she said, “Oh, dear, you must be tired from your utterly exhausting hike down here. Sit down and relax. Make yourself at home.”

Ronni nodded absentmindedly, apparently in a trance. Carisha stepped forward to protest, but Arienne turned her beautiful eyes towards her innocently, and Carisha fell under the spell. She sat down in a chair and stared at the table. Ronni had already fallen asleep. Carisha just stayed in her daze, looking paralyzed.

Talys glared at Arienne’s shirt, avoiding her enchanting eyes. 

“How dare you,” she snarled.

I won’t use it on you, dear, a voice said. It was Arienne’s voice, Talys realized. In her mind. 

Answer these riddles, solve my puzzle, and find yourself. Only then shall you be free.

Give me food, and I will live; give me water, and I will die. What am I?

What grows as more is taken from it?

Until I am measured I am not known, yet how you miss me when I have flown.

Some try to hide, some try to cheat, but time will show; we always will meet. Try as you might, to guess my name, I promise you’ll know, when you I do claim.

Talys shivered. Having a voice in her head was unnerving enough, but having to answer riddles was really not her strong point. 

“The first one….” She racked her brain. An answer, origin unknown, popped into her head. “The first one is fire.”

Correct. 

“The second one is a hole,” she said, gaining confidence.

Next, the voice said, all the sudden impatient. Was it angry?

“Third is easier; time.”

Humph. Correct…

The last one’s answer avoided her. She had absolutely no clue what it could be. A master? A boss? 

Arienne’s laugh rang out, chilling as death itself. 

Death! That was the answer to the last riddle!

“The answer to the last one,” she said smugly, “is death.”

Arienne let out an enraged roar in Talys’ mind, which was cut off abruptly. 

“Well done,” she said, regaining her arrogance. “On to the next one. Solve my puzzle.”

Talys, eyes involuntarily closing, saw a puzzle, made of colored blocks which were oddly shaped and hopelessly entangled. 

“These pieces are intertwined. Undo them.”

Talys imagined Arienne smiling haughtily, and that set her to work. At first, she just rattled the pieces back and forth, but she figured out one, and got it out. The rest was easily undone after that. 

Arienne let out breath, trying to control herself, which trembled, betraying her emotions. 

“One. More. Sadly this will not be a test, but something meant to trouble you and break you.”

Talys knew it before Arienne said it. She was supposed to find herself. But how?

Then a whirlwind of emotions, images, and memories came flooding to Talys. Information overflowed into her mind, clogging up her ability to think clearly. Everything she didn’t know about herself flooded through her.

She was willing to let herself die for a complete stranger. She knew that, and it was good, but not exactly comforting. She would steal something or lie if it benefitted her. She would do terrible things…. Talys almost started crying, when a thought came out of nowhere, away from the evil of these invasive truths of Arienne’s.

It is your nature. You can’t change it, and not all of it will affect your life in any way. Ever. 

Talys didn’t know where it came from, but it soothed her, and the buzzing in her brain stopped. She took every piece and calmly evaluated it, and made sure to change when she came back to consciousness. 

Then it ended. Talys let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, and met Arienne’s infuriated gaze. It burned to her soul, but made her want to stay.

What a nice place, Talys thought. I could stay here, away from the worries of the world. I don’t know why I’m in such a hurry anyway…

Just then, Arienne’s spell was ended by the door bursting open. Another woman, with frizzy brown hair rushed in. She seemed a little unsure of herself, but she took a deep breath and, fuming, directed her gaze at Arienne.

“You don’t deserve the powers of a witch. The girl is mine now.”

Talys felt a slight twinge of annoyance at being called a girl by her odd rescuer, since she was, after all, 16, but she let things fall into place.

After finding out that her “brave” rescuer’s name was Arra, she was once again teleported.

When she came to, she found herself in a normal-sized modern house with Arra, who was fidgeting. 

“The last person to go through with this failed and was cursed by the book. I couldn’t let that happen, so I—well—I sent thoughts to you. It wasn’t right, but I couldn’t just—”

Talys held up her hand. 

“It’s okay,” she reassured her, realizing how kind Arra really was. 

Arra nodded. 

“But I have to get you back home.”

She took Talys’ gem out of her bag and held it in both hands. Whispering an enchantment, she turned the crystal into a gorgeous ring, and placed it on Talys’ finger.

“This will send you home. Once home, it will keep you from the power of the book. I hope you’ve learned your lesson, young one.”

With a smile, Arra’s image faded, and Talys woke up. She glanced at the book, to see vines quickly retreating, and then closed the book instantly, not wanting to see its power ever again. Time must’ve slowed down to an impossible rate while she was in The Realm. She looked at her watch, and it was the morning of the night that she had started to read the book, a regret that she made sure would never happen again.

She had learned her lesson, and as she heard footsteps approaching her door, she hid the book under the bed, and vowed to hide it on the balcony some time and never look at it again.

She answered a knock at her door with a cheery, “coming!” and left the room where her fateful journey had begun and ended in a single night.

 

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