Fractured

Sweet Dreams

Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I travel the world
And the seven seas,
Everybody's looking for something.  

- Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics

Chapter Twenty
Sweet Dreams

Rose opened her eyes, and found she was standing in a jungle clearing. She felt completely calm, despite the unusual situation. She heard movement next to her, and saw Scorpius stepping out from the tree line. He was dressed in his Darth Vader pajamas.

'Nice of you to join me,' he said, drily. His voice echoed strangely around them. 'I think this is the Dream World, by the way.'

'Cool,' Rose shrugged.

She sat down on a fallen log and Scorpius perched next to her. She looked up to the sky, peeking through the leaves. It flickered in a rainbow of colours above them.

A burst of flame lit up the trees. They covered their eyes, flinching away from the light. Once the brightness faded, they saw a phoenix where the fire had been. It cocked its head and fixed a beady eye on the children. They stared back, uncertainly.

'Ah, the siblings arrive at last,' it said, its voice neither male nor female. 'Greetings, I am your Dream Messenger.'

Scorpius nodded, seeming to understand the significance. Rose made a mental note to ask him about it later.

'The headmistress sends her regards,' it said. 'I am here to welcome you to our school.'

'I thought it was a man in charge of the school?' Rose said, frowning.

'Headmaster Ochieng retired this summer.'

'Mum told us that,' Scorpius whispered.

'No, she didn't!' Rose hissed. 'She probably told you twice and forgot to tell me!'

'Names mean a great deal here,' the phoenix continued, ignoring their bickering and drawing their attention back to it. 'They tell a story about their owner. Do you know what story yours tells, Scorpius Hyperion?'

'Um, no?'

'Scorpius, the brightest constellation,' it said, and the leaves peeled back to fully show the night sky. 'In your hemisphere it is barely above the horizon, but it is high and visible in our sky.'

The area around the constellation glowed orange, indicating where it was.

'And Hyperion, Titan of the sun and moon. We shall see great things from you, Bright One, away from the clouds of your family's past.'

Scorpius nodded awkwardly, unsure how to respond.

'Rosemary Minerva. The daughter of two worlds. Your story is one of many contradictions. Named for the rose, you are as beautiful as the flower, yet just as sharp. And Mary, a name said to mean both "rebellious" and "beloved".'

'I just figured it was the herb,' Rose muttered.

'That too,' the phoenix said, seeming to wink at her. 'Minerva, the Goddess of War and Wisdom. Though, as your parents can all attest, there is no wisdom to be found in war.'

The phoenix paused, seeming to think for a moment. The trees rustled in a warm breeze.

'Many paths will be before you in life, Dual One, remember to think before you choose.'

Heatless flames sprung up again, and the phoenix was gone.

'How weird was...Scorp?!'

Rose peered around the clearing. She was alone. When she looked forward again, two seemingly identical paths had appeared in front of her. Each curved off into the jungle, one right and one left.

'How am I supposed to choose the right path without any information?!' Rose grumbled. 'Hellooo! Weird fire-bird? I'm thinking but I don't have much to go on here!'

Her words were met with silence.

'Which is the right path?' She mused, tapping her lip. 'Well, may as well literally choose the right one and hope for the best!'

Rose jumped to her feet and headed down the right-hand path. She still felt calm, though slightly irritated. Riddles were not her favourite.

The path meandered through the trees, until it abruptly ended at a tree stump. The stump was as high as Rose's waist, and it had a smooth stone set on top of it. She reached out and picked it up. There was a fire symbol carved into one side. When she turned it over, there was a water symbol on the other.

'More opposites, great.'

The jungle around her slowly started to fade and spin around her. Feeling increasingly dizzy, Rose squeezed her eyes closed.

She felt the movement stop, and when she opened her eyes she was back in her bed. She looked at her hand and saw she still held the carved stone.

'Weird,' she whispered.

Creeping out of bed, careful not to wake Nova, Rose tip-toed out into the living room. Scorpius was in the kitchen, searching through the cupboards.

'You ok?' Rose asked quietly. She could see through the window it was barely past dawn.

'Yeah,' Scorpius said. 'Just thirsty. How bizarre was that?!'

'Very!'

Scorpius found two glasses and poured them both a glass of milk. They sat at the kitchen table, drinking quietly.

'Did you get a stone?' Rose asked.

Scorpius handed his to her, and she passed him hers. His had the moon and stars carved into his.

'Do you think Albus got a visit?' Scorpius asked, setting the stone on the table. 'Why do you think we were together but he wasn't?'

'Must be a brother-sister thing? The creepy bird did say something about "the siblings arrive at last".'

'True.'

'Which path did you choose?'

'What do you mean?'

'When you all disappeared there was a path with a fork in two directions,' Rose explained, gathering up their empty glasses. 'I went right. What about you?'

'Oh, I didn't have that. A light appeared and I walked towards that, hoping I was dying or anything!'

'They really like to drive their metaphors home, eh?'

'Guess so, Dual One, guess so!'

'Well, I'm off back to bed for an hour or so until Nova wakes up. G'night, Bright One!'

'Sleep tight,' Scorpius yawned, heading back to his room.

'Don't let the flobberworms bite!'