One Little Spark: Part 2

Chapter 6

"Thou must telleth more to me of thy strange gent, dragon, and wench, Sir Nigel of the Floridian Plain."

          As they are walking through a gray-grassed valley under a vast sky of storm clouds, Dr. Nigel Channing and Morgan, the Queen of England, discuss their dilemmas. Channing had just arrived into Medieval England upon Morgan in hopes of trying to rid the Dreamfinder and his friends from further pursuing in defeating Nebulus. Though Nigel has explained how threatening they can be in this mission, the position he is in at the presence of a very powerful monarch who can potentially kill him ten-to-one in both strength and brutality without effort has kept him quiet in revealing more about who Nebulus really is and what he is capable of. Granted that he has enough knowledge to outsmart the queen if needed and bravely enough in his bones, he has no armor or any sort of protection at the moment to assure his safety. Especially since he had promised her the position of a goddess that even Nebulus has no power to grant. He can only imagine to dire consequences he'd be facing once Queen Morgan finds out he lied to her. For now, he needs to play this game safely.


"W-w-well, let's start with the Dreamfinder and Figment." said Channing. "That gent and dragon I've mentioned. Th-th-they have the power to conjure up anything they can think of to come to life, and I mean anything! If they'd think of a giant boulder that would be large enough to infiltrate a castle, poof! It can happen. If they can bring about a large ferocious beast to be summoned by their minds, it could tear you limb from limb within seconds! If they would imagine themselves walking on water or on clouds by any means necessary, they can do it! If they can-"


"I get it!" Morgan impatiently shouts. "If it be true those gents art as pow'rful as thou sayeth those gents art, then those gents art by all means the primary targeteth to defeat. Now what about the wench?"


"The wench? Well...I've had a bit of a quarrel with her over the course of time. Her name is Rachel. When she was a child, my working partner had chosen her to help with our experiments and had become the main focus of our work, much to my disappointment. Then shortly afterward, my partner decided to cancel everything we've worked for in favor of her. I got angry and summoned my master to take them both out, but the girl got away and I hadn't seen her for many years. But then recently, she had arrived with the Dreamfinder and Figment in my last workplace, messed up my work once again and got me fired from my job. I almost did away with her then, but she got away before I could catch her again. It's clear that she is trying to get revenge on me for what I had done as I am now trying to get her back for what she did."


"And f'r what reasoneth is th're thy partn'r hadst hath decided to has't h'r joineth thy company and cancel all thee has't w'rk'd f'r?"


"It...it's hard to explain really. That is, my partner never really told me specifically what the matter was, but he said it had plenty to do with Rachel's safety. On one side, it's understandable; despite what I had done recently, children should never have to get hurt by whatever means, especially by us. But, oh, how enraged I was when I heard him say all of this for the first time. After everything we had done, everything we had been through to get so far and for what? Because of a small child who had no business in getting involved with what we were working on? Granted, I may have been selfish but to have my entire life's work and dreams decimated before me, Eli, my partner, he might as well have ripped my whole heart right of me and be done with it. It's all because of her! It's all because of her..."


"It seemeth this wench hast done a lot m're damageth on thee than this Dreamfind'r and Figment p'rsons. If it be true this wench is the main causeth of thy despair, then we shalt has't to taketh her out and punisheth her sev'rely at which hour the lady is high-lone, but only aft'r we taketh out these oth'r two persons."


          There was total silence for a moment. The words that Queen Morgan had said has Channing's nerves completely shaking with both fear and astonishment. Cold and harsh as they sounded, she might just as well be a dictator selfishly spreading vicious terror to the people of England. She probably is. And if so, then imagine if she were doing the same for the people of England in the present time, the modern time period both Channing, Dreamfinder, and Figment are from, then things would have been completely miserable for them all.


          In spite of knowing it was Rachel who had caused most of Dr. Channing's pain one way or another, it seems that Queen Morgan must have more beef going on against the Dreamfinder. But why? Other than losing her within the forest they ran into shortly before she had met with Dr. Channing, the Dreamfinder hasn't done anything wrong to make her totally hate him...has he?


"Y-y-your majesty?" Channing stutters. "Y-you said that the Dreamfinder's face resembles a lot like your brother? Who is he?"


"Mine own broth'r," said Morgan, "who is't bears the visage of thy Dreamfinder's, is Arthur. Bef're I hadst taken ov'r, that gent wast once the king of England. His ambitions of ruling this land w're not of mine own liking. If it be true aught, those rules has't ang'r'd me so deeply. I hadst at each moment did hate mine own broth'r yond I hadst hath sent mine own son to killeth that gent in mine own stead, but that gent hadst did fail and mine own broth'r hadst since did lay wound'd and asleep in mine own owneth kingdom und'r mine own guard. But once I hadst seen thy Dreamfind'r galavanting through the fields moments ago, I bethought Arthur hadst did escape mine own prison. At least I knoweth yond hast not hath happened. Then again, shouldst this Dreamfinder, this Figment, and this Rachel thou speaketh of, somehow findeth mine own broth'r to healeth that gent and bringeth that gent backeth those gents might likely turneth ev'ryone in England against me."


"Th-th-then by all means, we should make our way to find your son and bring him back as q-q-quickly as possible. W-w-where was it exactly he died at?"


"In Camlann. That beeth the deathplace of mine own son. And the landeth across the wat'r is mine own kingdom, Avalon, wh're I keepeth mine own broth'r und'r locketh and key. Nay doubteth yond those gents shall tryeth to bringeth Arthur backeth and then confronteth me f'r mine own coronet. Those gents might not but beest ceased at all did cost. But f'r anon, we wilt traveleth to Camlann and revive mine own son if 't be true we art to succeedeth."


"And how far exactly is Camlann, if I may ask?"


"It shalt taketh us three hours by horseback. Come! Mount on thy h'rse and alloweth's beest off! There is nay time to wasteth!"


"Mount?!" Channing exclaims. "B-b-b-but I don't have a horse!"


"Hmm...so it seems." said Morgan observantly. "Very well. I shalt provideth thee a h'rse to rideth f'r the time being."


          In a split second and with a wave of Queen Morgan's hand, a mist of blackish-green clouds appears, forming together into a dark and large horse-like being before the jittery scientist. Its eyes gleam a brightly high-saturated green curled angrily by the brow and staring down below at the doctor's inferior state. Its body is so black you wouldn't be able to see the curves and lines that would define where its legs start on its torso. The color of the mane and tail on this beast resembles much like the mist the queen had just conjured, flowy and waving like a flag made with dark, long, thick threads of silk. As far as the size goes, it is average sized at best, but it's just large enough for Nigel to mount on and travel without a problem. But since the horse can more or less smell fear, it all depends on whether it will listing to Dr. Channing or not. The horse turns its head to Channing and snorts at him with spite. The breath coming from the horse's mouth is making the poor doctor sweat an oceanful of puddles below him unceasingly. And the worst part is, granted that it's made specially by the Queen of England, it's all his.


"Uhh...thank you." Dr. Channing hesitatantly assures. "He's uhh...he's magnificent-looking."


"Now cometh forth and let us ride in adventure to smiteth our foes!" Queen Morgan shouts with hearty confidence as she trots ahead on her own horse away from Nigel.


          Intimidated by the horse's menacing appearance, the doctor struggles himself to climb onto its back. It's possible that Dr. Channing has never ridden on a horse in a long time, let alone not have ridden one at all. There are hardly any horses to be seen anywhere in Orlando, Florida, nor even the hustling and bustling city of modern-day London. At least, not since the early twentieth century. Back then, the earliest motor cars were on the rise of mass production and horse carriages would still be around to transport people to their destinations. Nowadays, in Nigel's time, everyone relies more on electric vehicles, airplanes, and such to do all of the transportation efficiency. But in this time period, you'd have a super fat chance of finding any sort of transportation car-related in the medieval ages. So for now, in spite of the horse's physical state of hatred in its eyes, Nigel manages to get himself on top of its back and ride forth to catch up to the queen. In his state of regret, fear, and frustration, he mutters under his breath.


"I should have become an arboriculturist."


*********************************************************************


          A golden sunlight pierces through Rachel's eyes. Her hair glistens as some natural golden-brown strands begin to show up, her entire body has been engulfed in its tender coronal warmth, and her skin is being prickled and tickled from an unknown source. She slowly opens her eyes, believing that there may be some sort of feather or splinter poking her from the mattress she was placed in. But looking below she finds that she is no longer laying on a mattress bed, but a bed of fresh green grass and flowers. Surprised, she quickly sits up.


          Instead of sleeping inside a dreary abandoned castle, Rachel finds herself scanning with astonishment at a vast pasture of pure green as summer. The skies above her are very clear and blue. Perhaps the bluest she had ever seen in her life! And whatever incoming clouds that approach into view would easily be mistaken for a bundle of plain-colored cotton candy or a small piece of cotton from a cotton tree. Either way, they look very cotton-like. There are very few trees, birch, fur, cotton, and oak, out and about with most of them scattered like the one Rachel happens to be sitting under. This tree isn't nearly the biggest tree she had seen nor the smallest, but just big enough to be called a tree to provide her enough shade from the sun. She oversees the remainder of this meadow with wide eyes, noticing how far and wide it stretches into forever with some small graded hills playfully pushed up from the main level of the ground. Countless flower beds of wildflowers, much of which that either would not be in season or couldn't possibly exist, have grown into a super bloom to the far west of this land, while a long line of steep, snow-capped mountains in the east that drill the sky and tower over the glade. The birds above are chirping and singing happily as they fly by. No, not birds with extra strange features like horns or fur or an extra pair of legs that screech and hollers like banshees or doppelgangers or unrested ghosts, but real natural birds of the Earth. Confounded, and without knowing, Rachel has found herself in an unimaginable land of paradise!


          But where is she exactly? How did she get here? And where are her friends? Did they already leave the castle in England and continue forth without wanting to wake her up? That couldn't be it. This place looks far too peaceful and cheery for a cursed English soil. The skies would still have to be dull and the life that nature has would have to be almost dead, if not completely. Perhaps they have continued forth into a new world of imagination. Maybe. Then again, they wouldn't have left the current world they are roaming around in without completely solving a difficult problem the local inhabitants have been burdened with. Whatever the case is, she is here all by herself and alone. Or so she thought.


          Rachel suddenly hears an indistinct cluster of laughter in the distance from the shade of her tree. She turns her head and sees a sight she had not expected to see: her kind friend and host, Blair Mercurial the Dreamfinder, with only his white shirt, red-violet dress vest and blue pants, being playfully chased by Figment and, here's the part where it gets strange, two small children! And even more strikingly, they are twins! One of them a girl and the other a boy.


"Figment? Blair?" she gaspingly mutters.


          The girl looks much more like Rachel given how classically beautiful she looks with her long hair, fair cheeks, and a bright smile. The only difference in that is how much curlier her hair is and gingerly-red it is colored like Dreamfinder' and the girl's eyes are an ocean blue like his. She is wearing a kind of dress that Rachel could easily tell was from the early 1900s where Dreamfinder and Figment had originated from. It's colored in a lightly tender blush pink throughout the full-length draping skirt of her Batiste dress from top to bottom and white on the laces, edges, and linings. A pink bow of the same shade tied behind her head in a playful, but fair ponytail-like bundle. She wore some white leggings underneath but is barefoot to feel the comfort of the grass pressing against her soles with each step. She runs quickly after the Dreamfinder with glee with her supposed brother following behind her.


          The boy looks much like his sister as well, therefore looking much like Rachel but more masculine if one wants to be completely clear and technical about it. His wavy ginger-brunette hair, with a long strand gently sloping upward in a curly fashion that covers his entire forehead, is more or less short that reaches to the tips of his shoulders. His eyes are brown just like Rachel's, but the spark that beams and explodes inside them has come to resemble the exact same spark of energy as the Dreamfinder himself, which is completely insane to believe considering how Dreamfinder is literally the one and only kind of a person Rachel has ever met before in her life. The boy is wearing a Scully boy style of attire with his dress vest of brown, his brown suspenders, his cream coffee long socks, and black shoes with white spats, which he left behind beside Rachel in his desire of feeling the tall prickly grass underneath him as well.


          Both children are chasing the Dreamfinder happily with Figment the dragon laughing heartedly at their sides. Within reach, the boy jumps an incredible distance onto Dreamfinder's back, making the Dreamfinder fall down facing forward into the grass. Dreamfinder rolls a full 180 degrees upon his back when the girl, too, jumps upon his stomach flat down like a wrestler would with Figment flying above them in circles. In unison, the Dreamfinder hugs the children in his arms and they all laugh together continuously without end.


          From where she sits, Rachel has taken pleasure in this gay little sight with a smile and a chuckle. Wherever these children had come from, she nevertheless had ever seen Dreamfinder so happy all at once. To see him like this is enough for Rachel to clutch her heart in hopes of retaining herself from having it melt so much with adoration. That is when she finally notices a change in herself as well. She sees that she is not wearing the usual black shoes, given that she is now completely barefoot as well, her flowy shirt and pants or her sleeveless mahogany jacket anymore, but another lovely dress fit for her size. Like the little girl's dress, her dress is a Batiste dress from the Edwardian Era. But instead of it being short like the child's, Rachel's is a bit longer. It's colored in all white with a faintly blue broach at the center of her collar and some leafy lace embroidery at the hem and both sides of her collar beneath her neck. The sleeves are long and slightly puffy with a lace cap and trim towards the end where it is abruptly cupped by a buttoned cuff. The cotton belt around her waist matches the color of the broach above: sky blue, among Rachel's favorite color shades of blue. And finally, the graceful skirt that reaches from her waist to the floor's length is tiered with trimmed white lace. Her long silky brown hair is cascading down from her head to the back of her knees like a waterfall of milk chocolate that is beautifully decorated with some of the various flowers from white and blue forget-me-nots to pale pink sweet peas. These have to be the most beautiful piece of clothing and flowers Rachel has ever worn, but where did she get them? There was no way she could have imagined them appearing themselves and wearing them at will. That's Dreamfinder's profession. Dreamfinder! Could he possibly have conjured this outfit just for her? Or is this really coming straight from Rachel's imagination?


          Just as she was about to stand up and ask, another incredible sight catches her eye: two more children, along with her sleeping gryphon Algar, are lying below on a large blanket at her feet, one of them another boy and the fourth child in a cradle. They must have had a picnic earlier. The boy himself is sleeping soundly with his head resting upon an opened book. He must have been reading for some time and then dozed off after a while. Rachel can tell the sweet smile on his face indicates a bountiful of sweet dreams are filled up and dancing about within his mind. He has a sort of dreamy expression much like someone she knows. Rachel peers down at the boy's face, noticing how ginger-red his hair is, how round the glasses perch across his nose and over his eyes are, and how closely he looks to resembling Blair in the way his face looks and how he is dressed in his early twentieth-century style of an olive green dress vest and brown pants. In fact, she remembered seeing the Dreamfinder's family portraits in the cabin area way back when she started her journey into imagination with him and Figment. In one of those pictures, she saw a picture of a young boy at the start of his double-digit age with his mother on her lap while she is hugging him. His appearance is almost- no, it's exactly what Blair had looked like way back then. This boy is the spitting image of Blair Mercurial as a boy! But if he is here, then how is Blair out across the field with the other two children. Rachel looks closer at the child's face, carefully removing his glasses and putting them to the side to avoid him from receiving any marks at the sides of his head, and then back at the two children in the distance. After a couple of rounds of compare and contrast, she realizes that all three of these children exactly alike! They aren't single children or twins, they're triplets! And each one of them has an identically distinct feature of both hers and Blair. But surely...no. No way! There's no way she and Dreamfinder are-


"Waaaaahhh!!!"


          All of a sudden the cradle, a dry grass-woven basket, has burst with an eruption of a baby's cry. Rachel's thoughts had been interrupted and she nearly forgot about this child. She leaves the gaze of the third sleeping child and slowly peeks over the basket where she finds a tiny movement of small legs kicking the soft creamy yellow blanket it's covered with. Under the sheet is, as expected, a baby of at least a month old or two. But unlike the rest of the children, aside from their age differences by what, ten years, this child is blessed with a head of albino white hair. The length is pretty long for the baby's age, about four and a half to five inches long! Its eyes are a clear light brown eyes like Rachel's as she watches the baby slowly open its eyes and looks up to her. With a smile on its stops crying and reaches its arms out to Rachel for her embrace. This is nuts, Rachel thought to herself! She had never dealt with this sort of thing before. Most children she had dealt with they we passing by and wanting to draw water art with her back when Rachel had her job at Disney. And even then, she didn't know how to talk to them. Still, that was then and this is now. With these kids and this baby right here, she may as well try.


          Rachel hesitantly reaches her arms down to the baby and then carefully lifts it up with its head safely secure upon her left hand. She notices the bed cushion in the basket is pink, so the baby must be a girl. Rachel returns to her spot with the baby in her arms, rocking her tenderly to calm down whatever grunts or cries the baby girl would make. But the baby stayed very silent only to give the impression of feeling safe in Rachel's arms, supposing that it considers Rachel as her mother. The baby smiles big and wide, giggling happily to her heart's content and causing Rachel to laugh and smile along with her. Looking into this child's eyes was looking at herself, Rachel, in a reflection from a mirror. There is so much of Rachel that she can see and feel inside this little infant. The baby may not look exactly like the other three children, but Rachel can definitely sense a striking familiarity in it. And the incredible part Rachel has realized is that in this spot right here, in this world, the baby herself is all hers. She leans down with firm lips and softly presses a kiss on the baby's forehead. There is so much love being poured out between the two of them and Rachel cannot help but feel that there is more to this child than she appears. Someone, perhaps, she finds awfully familiar.


          Before Rachel could think any further about this, she suddenly feels a soft touch of pressure being placed on her. She looks up and finds Dreamfinder smiling down lovingly at her as he places a crown of flowers upon her head. It seems Dreamfinder has left the two children under Figment's care for the time being, while he decided to come to Rachel's side for a little while and take a break from playing. The flowers are made of more of the blue forget-me-nots and pink sweet peas along with some white carnations all tied together with their green vines and stems to hold them in place. Rachel had never seen Dreamfinder forming a smile like this before and she's certainly never seen him giving her all of this treatment. The back of his hand softly caresses Rachel's left cheek as he kneels down and then sits beside her. Well, at least now she can finally ask him some questions now that they are alone. But once again, her ambitions to ask him have been interrupted by a sudden loving gesture. Dreamfinder takes Rachel from the back of her head and with closed eyes he presses his lips against Rachel's, shocking her with her eyes widened and her cheeks one hundred percent flushed pink. She was aware that Dreamfinder had kissed her on the cheek and on the forehead from time to time, but never has he ever come to her and kissed her lips.


"Dreamer?!" Rachel gasps, after she pulls away from Dreamfinder's face.


"Rachel..." said Dreamfinder lovingly, as he wraps his arms around her in comfort, "...my darling love."


          He pays no mind to Rachel's shock or any sort of emotion she seems to acquire. It's as if he is under some kind of spell. Perhaps a very powerful love spell. One where even if Dreamfinder had been fully aware of what is going on inside of him, he would not have minded at all. It's a wonder why Rachel had not given into such frustration and anger by this sudden gesture like she normally does. On the other hand, no one has ever legitimately kissed her before. And to be kissed by someone who has become super close to her for a long while, not only is it shocking but more or less both surprising and comforting. She didn't know what to say. What could she possibly say to the man who can make any material thing appear before his eyes in a flash with his imagination? It's likely he must have made this world, the presence of these children to appear, and perhaps have caused Rachel's sudden change of fashion to his liking, which is to say that Dreamfinder truly has a real fine taste provided that he comes from a different time period. On top of it, after all they have been through together with the yelling and arguing and disagreements, she doesn't want to ruin what he has going on for them all over again. So Rachel decides to stay quiet for a while and keep her remarks to herself.


          As they sit together for a short period of time, they both gaze across the green meadow watching the first two of the four children Rachel had discovered playing together with their purple dragon friend, giggling happily as the minutes of playtime go by. There has not been a wasted second where Dreamfinder had not once frowned or felt sad or pressure come about him. For once, it came upon him pure and legit happiness. And why not? If this isn't what Rachel had imagined, it must have been what Dreamfinder had wanted. And for once, whatever has made Dreamfinder happy made Rachel happy inside, too. They watch the children playing and sleeping and dreaming. It was the ideal vision of the childhood that Rachel had always desired. Something she could have had for a long time had things between her and Eli Finder had gone well in the beginning. She looks back to Dreamfinder, wondering if perhaps he ever had such a childhood like this during his time in the early twentieth, perhaps even during the end of the nineteenth century. If he has, then this scene would explain a lot.


"They're so beautiful, Rachel." said Dreamfinder tenderly. "All of them."


"You...you mean this world, right Dreamfinder?" Rachel shyly stutters.


"I mean the children. They're all far more beautiful than anything I could have ever imagined. And they're all ours."


"Ours?" Rachel gasps.


"Ours." said Dreamfinder in a happy but calm manner, wrapping both of his arms all around her and the baby girl. "Four children raised by the most beautiful girl to ever become a mother, married to the one and only Dreamfinder who simply adores her to death, and living in a peaceful world of imagination in sheer happiness and safety."


"B-Blair, I-"


"Come on, let's go to our special spot for a little bit."


"S-special spot? A while? We can't! I mean, the kids...and I...I don't know what-"


"It's alright, love. They'll be fine." said Dreamfinder with assurance as he stands up. "Figment will take care of Arien and Alora while Algar can look after Junior and Fantasia. You have nothing to worry about at all."


          Arien? Alora? Junior? Junior, as in Blarion Mercurial Jr.? And Fantasia? Wait. FANTASIA?! Not the same Fantasia that is living inside her body right now, right? The one who keeps taking hold of her body and soul for a short period of time like it has been recently in Medieval England? That Fantasia?! This baby? No way! There is no possible way that Fantasia could be her daughter? That little baby sleeping in Rachel's arms right now? That's impossible! And a special place? As if this place doesn't look special enough? Where could he possibly take her out of all places than here? Surely, there can't be a more beautiful looking world than this one.


          Now Rachel is really puzzled. Why is Dreamfinder acting like this? Why is he doing this for her? He couldn't possibly love her, like really love her. They haven't known each other for that long yet. Though given the children's ages, it seems like she and Dreamfinder would have known each other for a good long while...in her dreams, at least. Maybe years! But right now this doesn't feel right. There has never been any mention of her and Dreamfinder getting married at all during their journey into the realms of imagination. That's never been in the original agreement. Though Dreamfinder did offer Rachel to stay with him and Figment for as long as she desired, even forever if she wanted to. Perhaps she's been with them long enough for this to happen. But has time really gone by so quickly? Like super quickly? There are so many questions about all of this to ask that poor Rachel could not pick which one to ask first.


          In a state of her own shock, Rachel had not realized that Dreamfinder had kissed her on the cheek and took the baby back from her and carefully returned it to its little basket with a soft fatherly kiss on its forehead. After a couple of pets on the infant's head, confirming that it's finally asleep again, he takes Rachel alone in his arms, he lifts her up to her feet and leads her away from the shade under the tree and the children with Figment and Algar. They quickly make their way across the glade with Dreamfinder having his arms securely wrapped around Rachel's shoulders, guiding her away to what seems to him a much grander spot. Rachel cannot keep up. They are going so fast she can hardly tell if they are running off and gliding right over the ground. She had to admit, this is pretty exhilarating. There has never been a time when she ever decided to run by choice of fancy. Dreamfinder laughs heartedly along the way, having the time of his life with his beloved girl at his side. To witness, no- to live in this moment has given him a much greater need for constant pleasantry. He continues not to notice Rachel's distress, but how could he? His mind must be swirling and roaring ferociously in a strong whirlwind of bliss.


          They reach a pair of fir trees standing side by side and abruptly stop, much to Rachel's confusion. There is nothing in between these trees but the long, beautiful, continuous view of the valley stretching far across the horizon without end. As it is, there are fir trees scattered across the land just miles away from these two particular trees with large patches of wildflowers sitting under a vast blue sky. Being as they are, there can't be anything that could make these trees any more special. Standing together they allow the gentle winds of this land to whistle through their tiny thick bristles, waving tenderly in small circles without will.


          Alone and frightened to a degree beside her host, Rachel stares across the distance wondering why Dreamfinder would bring her to such a spot. It was already weird enough to sit beside their supposed but unknown children playing together like they have popped out of thin air, but seeing these two trees all by themselves has left Rachel's mind completely blank of any ideas. Dreamfinder, however, with his beaming smile, his heart beating vigorously and his arm comfortably wrapped around Rachel's shoulder, thinks otherwise. He presses forward with Rachel in his grasp, but Rachel flinches. She finally frees herself from Dreamfinder's arm, running off toward the side of one of the two trees. For Dreamfinder to watch Rachel hiding shyly behind a tree like that is contrastingly both amusingly adorable and somewhat concerning.


"What's wrong, love?" Dreamfinder asks with his voice sounding more and more British than normal. "You look as if you don't want to spend some time alone."


          There is nothing Rachel can say. As whimsical of a man Dreamfinder really is, this far beyond what Rachel can comprehend. Her shoulders tense up as her hands and fingers are firmly planted in the crevasses of the tree bark. Her hair reacts the same as the skirt of her dress, swaying along with the wind the bristles are flowing within gaping patterns: soft wind, no wind, soft, none, soft, none, and so forth. Her eyes grow big with innocence and fear, tearing up into puddles at the lower levels of her eyelids. This new light Rachel is seeing in Dreamfinder is far beyond what she had imagined. He couldn't, I mean really, possibly be having this feeling for Rachel. Not after everything they have been through together...could he? Dreamfinder slowly walks up to Rachel, but Rachel quickly hides her face back behind the tree, denying her dear friend the pleasure of seeing whatever degree of beauty he believes she possesses.


"I-I-I don't want to go." Rachel stutters.


"What? Why not?" said Dreamfinder with confusion.


"This place, I mean...w-w-what if it's d-d-dangerous?"


"Darling, we've entered here over hundreds of times already." Dreamfinder heartedly chuckles. "Nothing bad has ever happened in there. That's how we wanted it, right? Besides, I thought you love going in there with me?"


"I...I..."


"Rachel?"


"I...I don't remember."


"Don't remember?"


"I don't remember anything about this place. I don't remember coming here however many times you say we may have. I don't remember being married to you. I don't even remember having any kids! I mean, I kinda do and I kinda don't want to have any kids. Mostly because of the process of child-making and childbearing and then later childbirth, you know, lady stuff. But really, I just...I just...well, that's beside the point."


"I don't see where you're getting at, dearest."


"Blair...Blair, why are you doing this to me?" Rachel asks.


"Doing what?" Dreamfinder asks back with a slight twinge of surprise in his eyes.


"This! This place! This valley! These kids! And quite possibly this dress! Why are you being so weirdly nice to me? I know you're a nice person in general- heck, probably the best person I've ever met- but not this much. Whatever happened to you and me having problems against each other. You know, me talking about Yuna and then you'd get angry at me and not believe a word I'd say about it like my dad would have? What happened to that?!"


          Rachel peeks her head back out from behind the tree. But in her shock, she finds that the Dreamfinder had disappeared. Where did he go, she thought? Was he not listening to her? Did he get angry at her words like before during their adventures? Did Rachel break his heart? God forbid, no! That would tear her apart inside and she'd deserve that big time. But just as Rachel is about to cry at this confusing circumstance, she gasps at this sudden soft-but-firm embrace coming to her from behind, binding both of her arms with one arm, while the other one gently grabs hold of her entire waist. Rachel quickly turns her head where behind her she sees Dreamfinder with his chin perched onto her left shoulder. His half-closed eyes look to her blushed cheeks and brown eyes with an ironic solemn expression in spite of his burning passion beating within the walls of his heart. Rachel's frightened nerves are vibrating from her skin all the way through Dreamfinder's shirt, giving him the higher anticipation to hold her even closer than he is now.


"Blair!" she gasps.


"We are far beyond what we've been through, my love." said Dreamfinder in a benevolent volume. "You know we have already ended our quarrels when we escaped the events of the Doubt Monster back in Epcot. And you've been in great pain for far longer than enough. It has never been my intention to harm you in any way at all when I brought you along with me and Figment for the first time. And yet, I've let you down for the most part back then."


"Blarion..."


          Before Rachel could say anything, Dreamfinder had already buried his face into her neck, placing multiple kisses and tickling her with the ginger-brown bristles of his beard upon her soft skin from the neck down to her shoulder and back up again. Rachel's temperature rose higher as her nerves within that potential weak spot grew more intense.


"You have no idea how much I have always loved you since the beginning," breathed Dreamfinder, continuously kissing Rachel's neck, "how badly I wanted to have you in my grasp to do whatever I wanted to do with you. Call me selfish, but the further our adventures had taken us where every villain and potential lover could have easily taken you from me, the more I couldn't let anyone else have you. Not if I had anything to say about it. You've been mine since I first brought you with me."


"Blarion, please..." Rachel whimpers.


"Rachel. If you're afraid to love, don't be. If you're afraid you'll make me mad, don't be, even though that would sound courteous of you. If you're afraid of what the future holds for you, for me, or for the both us together, just take my hand, look me in the eye and tell me. I've kept you at my side for this long. And I don't intend on letting you go despite what you think."


"Doesn't that sound a...ahhh...a little too possessive...even for you?"


"Perhaps. But it's only because I love and care about you very much. I love you far more than anything I have imagined in my life. You know how as the Dreamfinder, whatever I do helps inspire everyone to follow their dreams? Well since the beginning, you have been for me. You inspire me to love you. I love you so much until every one of my senses is filled with you; until every thought that comes into my mind is filled with your face. I always dream of being with you forever, even after our marriage and bearing kids. I wanted to bring you away from everything that's made you unhappy. I wanted to bring you home to London, my London, to show you to my family and behold you at second of your presence. I want to make all your dreams become a reality. You are everything to me. You are my girl, my dreamlover, my dream come true...my Dream Girl."


          At the sound of the term "Dream Girl," Dreamfinder's face is completely consuming every inch of every fiber of Rachel's neck. Groaning loudly, Rachel tries to wriggle her way free, but can't. She is caught helplessly at her lover's mercy with no way out. Tears are pouring from the poor girl's, but Rachel could not tell whether they are tears of fear or of joy. In common sense, she wouldn't anyone to come at her so unexpectedly, be it at the right moment or not. Especially when it comes to someone she knows or not. Dreamfinder, in this case, is more or less both. Except for what this particular moment makes her believe, she has only known him for about a couple of months. Perhaps even a year if she has been gone with Dreamfinder and Figment for that long, which contradicts much of what she stands for. She always believed that if by chance Rachel would actually find someone to love her who could potentially be her future husband, she would wait a full year for her to at least gain enough trust from the loving man.


          This way of Dreamfinder feeling for Rachel from his heart is not what Rachel had wanted. She wanted him to stop, but she cannot find the words or the heart to say it. As Rachel stands there paralyzed, her thoughts and fears have fleeted elsewhere. But only one thought remained: the thought of living a moment of love. When was the last she had ever dreamed of such a moment? She had always been busy living her life in fear, being emotionally and physically abused by her family, completely isolated from the world, and even herself, and fearing of the monsters and demons would likely come before her and do her harm when she least expects it. Rachel has seen this sort of predicament in movies, on gifs, and all throughout the internet when she should be sleeping. But this is different. For once, Rachel is actually living it! And the more Dreamfinder is doing this, the more comfortable she is becoming. And the more comfortable she is feeling, the more she wants it. Maybe Rachel does want this. The poor thing, she must be craving for it. Starving for it! Longing for even a little taste of it. A sample. A crumb. A drop of it! One teeny tiny drop to amount to even a quarter of a centimeter. Something! Anything!


          She looks back to Dreamfinder, who is still chewing and kissing out her neck and shoulder like an animal and places a hand upon his head, wanting him to continue more and quench her thirst for a much-desired lust. Rachel's mind has become a totally blank slate of gray, a touch of light out of innocence and a touch of darkness for this unprecedented sin.


"Blair..." Rachel gasps aloud in her breath.


"Yes?" Dreamfinder answers, finally ceasing from furthering the passionate continuation of his brushing lips to hear from Rachel's.


"That special place you mentioned..."


"..."


"...Take me." she said. "Please take me there now."


"As you wish." Dreamfinder said with a warm smile.


          Wishing to do far more than good for his supposed dream bride, the Dreamfinder immediately picks Rachel up in his arms with Rachel's face tucked safely within his neck and her cheeks upon his chest. Her arms are wrapped around Dreamfinder's shoulders, locking together hand in hand. Both Rachel's hair and dress drape down below, caressed by the gentle Zephyrus winds. The wind is gentle in itself, but somehow it possesses such a firmness that can make anything float in its path. As Dreamfinder starts walking back in between the two fir trees, it is as if the wind had decided to lull Rachel senseless and then carry her away into eternity. A tender song is singing gingerly into her ears by the voice of an angel, warm and beautiful like the sun. Safe at last, she now fully commits herself to her lover, the Dreamfinder.


          Dreamfinder approaches the two fir trees again, this time with Rachel safely in his arms, as if almost asleep. Filled with confidence, the Dreamfinder finally steps forward and walks straight in between the trees. One would think that nothing would happen if someone would just plainly walk through the clearing of those trees, but knowing the Dreamfinder there is always a speck of surprise waiting to pop up anywhere. For Dreamfinder, as if by magic, has carried Rachel through an unlikely portal. Invisible to the naked eye, but definitely there. The portal ripples like a wall of water as they enter with a frame of bright light engulfing them and trailing behind them as they disappeared from this beautiful place.


          True to Dreamfinder's word, this place really is special. He brings Rachel safely through the portal into a confined enclosure of tall, fresh, green forest trees surrounding them in a circle. A dark starry sky towers high above them with each star watching over them with a flicker and a twinkle in them all. Another large bed of wildflowers, much like the size in the bounty from the previous world that Figment, Algar, and the children are in, cover the entire grassy ground untouched and crisp. Floating in the air are tiny orbs of aura-like light sprites, much like the little sparks of imagination from Eli Finder's lab in Epcot, giving warmth and light to the lovers as they pass by gracefully without interrupting their beings. This is a place of pure tranquility. Not a single sight of monsters or demons or darkness can be seen other than the starry sky above. Yet, even the sky is displaying a vast valley of light twinkling furiously, which upon first sight would bear the visual equivalence of hundreds of pictures of outer space taken by satellite cameras.


          Gently, the Dreamfinder lowers down on his knees and places Rachel down upon the flower bed. Each strand of grass and flower stem are tickling Rachel's cheeks as she lies down almost lifeless. The way Rachel is posed with long hair spread out in all directions and her white dress swaddling across her body with few lines defining where her legs and other such parts are located has Dreamfinder beholding her from above like a goddess who had come solely to Dreamfinder alone in her own blessing to do his bidding however he wishes. Whoever thought the Dreamfinder could act so romantic? He carefully crawls over Rachel's body in his dominance staving both of his arms and hands at both sides of Rachel's face to the ground. He looks to her with such loving eyes. It has been expressed so many times, but more than usual has Rachel gazed into her lover's deep blue eyes, twinkling like a liquid pool of pure sapphires. If Rachel would gaze into them long enough, she may just as well be drowning within them. Dreamfinder lowers himself down deeper with his face right against Rachel's.


"Rachel..." he murmurs.


"Blair...?" Rachel whispers faintly with drooping lustful eyes.


"You're home. You're finally home."


          Dreamfinder kisses her again with great passion ready to pleasure the dear thing to his heart's content. Their lips intermingle together to the point where an extra muscle from both sides within them have interceded in their love. Rachel's arms are tightly wrapped around Dreamfinder's shoulders. Dreamfinder's hands trail everywhere throughout Rachel's body in her pleasure with one moving around her upper chest and the other around her waist. Rachel's body temperature is soaring higher and higher to near fever heat, making her hot and faint by this lustful scene. They could be going in all the way. They could be becoming intimate with each other. A position like this may explain how the children have been made.


          It all seems so real. This is everything Rachel had always dreamed of: a kind and handsome man to come across her and love her to pieces. If this were a dream, she did not want it to end. She had lived her life suffering with nightmares in her sleep nonstop and for once, she can finally enjoy a moment of pure bliss in her slumber. Then again, if this is real, much to Rachel's hopes, this whole thing is a dream come true. All of this has become a reality under Dreamfinder's responsibility.


"Rachel..." said Dreamfinder gingerly, "...I love you."


"I love you..." Rachel sighs happily, "...Blair...Blarion."


          But somewhere in each of their desires to love each other even further, Rachel slowly closes her eyes as if swooning. She swoons into her unconsciousness as she allows Dreamfinder to continue his kissing upon her face, her neck, and ever so fervidly, her lips. For once in such a long time, Rachel's dreams have lived on without any shred of darkness to consume her again. For once, she is safe.

*********************************************************************


          The sun outside the castle is seeping through the skinny window. The rain has stopped, the sun has risen, it's a new and fresh day in Medieval England.


          Cuddling in her pillows and sheets, Rachel's body wiggles around, tossing and turning as in synchronized to whatever in her dreams is making her do this. She moans and groans and giggles happily, silently calling Dreamfinder's name, his real name, as if he already by her side and on top of her in reality. Perhaps he is. In her anticipation and excitement to see for herself, Rachel finally opens her eyes. They are greeted by the bright shining light of the sun, blinding her harshly but made self-aware of this golden haze. But something is different here. There is no vast wild-flowered meadow, there are no children involved, and there is no secret portal. Rachel had just woken back up into the real world...well, real as it gets considering the recent events of her journey into imagination.


          Rubbing her eyes open, she is startled by the sudden sound of Algar yelping and panting cheerfully as he greets the morning to her. But how did Algar get here? Where is she? And what happened to Dreamfinder and Figment? They're gone!


          Then she remembered. They had come to Medieval England through dream power to find this missing king, it was raining last night, they needed shelter to sleep in, they found this castle, and just before Rachel had drifted off into her sweet slumber she had listened to Dreamfinder tell her a bedtime story upon her request. Rachel looks to Algar and smiles. She reaches out to pick up her gryphon like a puppy in a little child's bed.


"Bark! Bark!" said Algar with a cheerful greeting.


"Algar..." Rachel mutters in her morning tone, picking Algar up and saying, "...I just had the most beautiful dream."


"Yruu?" Algar said, as if saying, "You?"


"I know right? You were there, Figment was there, and Dreamfinder...wait. What if it was...? Algar, you didn't happen to see any children around, have you? Or even a large vast meadow of wildflowers?"


"Uh-uh."


"Oh...well, I figured this was too good to be true." Rachel sighed with a shrug. "But still, if you had seen what I had seen last night, you wouldn't deny how amazing it was. I couldn't even believe it myself! I was minding myself, you were sleeping beside me, Figment was off playing, and Blair...oh, Blair. He was something. I mean...Algar, do you think Dreamfinder likes me in some way?"


"I roe row." said Algar saying, "I don't know."


"Hmm...I guess it's probably best not to ask about that. I wouldn't want to make things awkward as it felt, all the same. Where are Figment and Dreamfinder anyway?"


"Bark-bark bark-bark bark bark bark bark-bark-bark."


"Oh, went off to exploring to find food and water, huh?"


"Mm-hmm." he nodded.


"We should go help them then. It'll cover more ground if all four of us look together...separately...I think."


"Uh-uh! Bark bark bark-bark-bark bark bark bark."


"Dreamfinder didn't want to wake me up because he wanted me to feel comfortable?" Rachel guesses.


"Mm-hmm." Algar replies with another nod.


"That Dreamfinder...always trying to do something for me. It never ends does it? In fact...call me crazy, but...I think he...I think he loves me!"


"Rove?"


"Yeah, love."


"BLECH!"


"Oooh! Who asked you?" Rachel laughs. "You're probably too young to understand anyway. Besides, how could he anyway? I've already treated him like crap as it is."


"Aww...barkk wakka-wak bark bark wak, bark bark?"


"Well, yeah, he forgave me for it. He always has. And now I've come to respect him even more than I have. And who knows, he might feel the same with me after what happened a few days ago."


"Bark bark." Algar said, saying, "That's true."


"Come on." said Rachel. "Let's go find the others.


          Rachel and Algar both jump off of bed together and search for their friends throughout the halls. Thankfully, with the sun brightening up the place, the inside of the castle doesn't look so scary as it did last night. Still, with no regard, it is still scary to some degree. As they tread down these halls, they notice how completely run down this place is. The rocks are growing mold, the floors are so dusty, the tapestries are eaten and ripped to shreds, the metals they find like food utensils, weapons, pots, vases, and plates are all rusted, and to makes things even creepier, there is not a single soul around to come and clean this place up. Nothing in this castle could possibly be sustainable to live in. It's a wonder how they managed to spend one night in all of this.


"Not the best looking place I've ever seen." said Rachel. "Though it could be worse."


"Arrrr..." Poor Algar is whimpering at this still environment. There is something in this place that must really be getting on his nerves in a very fearful way.


"I mean, perhaps with a woman's touch, this place could become the next Shangri-La for even the greatest kings and queens on Earth. Or maybe even a god! I'd certainly like to live here myself. That is, if this was still livable."


"HELP!"


          Suddenly, a loud shriek echoed through the castle and into Rachel and Algar's ear. A rattle of falling metal clashes against the ground upon their sight as they see a purple creature dashing around the corner towards Rachel and the gryphon in a frenzy.


"Figment!" Rachel shouts.


          But Figment ignores her. Normally, when a problem rises up, he usually alerts his friends about what is happening. But this time, much to his apparent fear, he didn't. Something is wrong. He must be running, or in Figment's case flying, from something or someone who must really have some horrible intentions to do him harm.


          Now Dreamfinder comes into view with fear written in his eyes. So much for a calm loving appearance. He struggles a hard right turn into the same hall Figment had flown into where his other two friends are standing. Anticipating to keep Rachel safe, he grabs her by the wrist and abruptly pulls her away from whatever danger is here with Algar quickly following them. They cut through different halls, making sharp turns at ever corner they come across.


"Blair! What is going on here?" Rachel shouts.


"BOAR!" Dreamfinder yells.


"Dude! Not cool! I don't know what this is about, but that doesn't give you a reason to insult me for...whatever reason you must have!"


"No! I mean 'boar!' As in 'pig' kind of boar!"

"That's worse, Dreamfinder!"

"Not you! A real boar! It's chasing right after us!"


"What?!"


          Rachel turns her head around to look back and sure enough, there is a boar running behind them! And quite possibly the most gruesome looking boar Rachel had ever seen. Its body reveals continuous lumps on both sides of his midsection formed by his ribcage. The toothy tusks it wields are jagged and sharp as well as broken by some other previous predicament. Its eyes angrily narrow down towards its prey as they desperately try to scramble away from it with great haste.


          What could a boar be doing in an abandoned castle, Rachel thought? What could it possibly want in this desolate place? But now is not the time for questions. One minute, Rachel is dreamy of love passion with Dreamfinder. The next thing she knew, she's running away with him from some carnivorous animal.


                                       So much for a peaceful morning.