Dream King by Elise Knight

17

The next morning was like nothing had happened. And yet, as he packed up what little we had, I couldn’t deny that something had. He was efficient, tramping down the fire that had kept us warm all night. Or at least it had kept me warm. I’d slept through the night and woken to find Dream already awake. God only knew if he’d slept at all. He didn’t even look my way as he ordered me to eat an animal he’d overcooked on the fire.

My heart ached as I remembered last night. How I’d told him my life story. A life story that he already knew. And I’d still not told him about my mother being in a sleep-induced coma. He already knew about it, of course. He must have, but he didn’t know how much it broke my heart. How I’d not visited her once since she’d been in the hospital, leaving all the emotional grunt work to my sister as I always had. He didn’t know the shame I felt for that one. I’d unloaded enough shame-inducing shit on him already, and when he’d taken me in his arms, it was almost as if I could forget it all. And then he’d run away from me.

I looked up as he kicked over the campfire, then hid it beneath the leaves.

“It’s best that the wolveries don’t know we’ve been here,” he explained. His tone was almost cold, his expression stony.

Whatever had happened between us last night had already faded, and he was back to business. He turned and called Raven, who flew from a tree branch to his shoulder. Without waiting for me, they took off into the forest. I had to run to keep up with them.

A warm breeze filtered through the trees, making the leaves rustle and fall down around our ears like confetti at a goth wedding. The light had changed slightly from the pale blue it normally was. It now had hints of pink, warming the forest slightly.

“You never did tell me who taught you that song,” I began, wanting to see some reaction from him, anything to know that I didn’t just dream the almost-kiss between us.

He scowled without even looking my way. A far cry from last night when he’d held me like we were the last two people in the whole world. A week or so ago, I’d have been surprised by this sudden change, but I was getting used to it. A weather reporter would have a field day reporting his ever-changing moods.

Icy with a touch of disinterest after last night’s unexpected warmth. But don’t get used to it folks, the weather around these parts is changeable. Ready yourself for an ice storm or burning heat...

Burning heat. What was I thinking?Last night had been about comfort, nothing more. Sure, I’d spent the entire night in a state of unsatiated arousal, but that was only because I was hug-starved...and he was so bloody hot, it hurt. Damn. I didn’t like the way my thoughts were leading...again.

A quick look at Dream made it clear he wasn’t in the mood for talking.

Above us, Raven flew through the branches, occasionally going higher above the trees then floating back down.

I envied his freedom. Sure, he had some inexplicable connection with Dream, but he could fly above it all.

It was hours before we got back to the doors and more hours still that we walked between the two parallel lines of them to get back to the red door. To Dream’s home, if that’s what you could call a small clearing in the forest.

“Did you get any meat?”

“Not likely,” I answered too quickly before I realized he was referring to the charred animal he’d thrown at me hours earlier and not his dick slipped between my legs the night before.

I felt my cheeks redden at the way my mind worked. “It was too burnt. I had to throw it away,” I mumbled.

“Sit down. I’ll bring you some food.”

I looked around the forest, suddenly nervous. It had been here that the wolveries had first attacked.

“Raven, keep an eye on her.”

That was it? A bird was going to keep me safe? How in all that was holy, was a bird going to defend me from the monsters in the forest? It wasn’t. But it was too late. Dream had already skipped through the red door. I could have chased him, but knowing my luck, I’d have ended up somewhere else. I didn’t trust it not to spit me out in the middle of Antarctica or somewhere ala Monster’s, Inc.

Dream came back, his arms laden with food. Real food. It looked like he’d hijacked a fast-food restaurant, which he probably had. My stomach rumbled at the sight of it. I picked up a burger and shoved it into my mouth, not caring how ladylike I looked. Who wanted to look like a lady anyway when she could look like a ravenous beast, which is pretty close to how I was.

“It’s ok?” Dream asked, not touching it. How he could keep from ramming the whole lot down his throat was beyond me. It smelled heavenly, salty, and a bit greasy like all good fast food should. To summarise, it was hard to resist, but Dream didn’t seem to be affected. He was pretty good at resisting things, I thought wryly.

“For fuck’s sake. Eat a bloody burger, will you? You’re putting me right off my food staring at me like that.”

His lips turned up at the corners, followed by his eyes. Glad to see my hunger was so amusing to him.

“The wolveries have nothing on you, do they?” he said. With that small quip, I knew he’d gone back to his normal self, whatever normal was for him. If last night bothered him, he’d gotten over it quickly enough. I’d have thrown a packet of fries at him if they weren’t so damned good.

“Just eat,” I ordered, ignoring the pit of sadness welling in my stomach, which was threatening to eject the french fries. Fuck, I didn’t need this. I was heartbroken over David, Not Dream. Who gave a shit if he didn’t want to kiss me? If I was so easy to get over, a man could do it before anything really started. It wasn’t like I wanted anything to happen anyway. Our situations hadn’t changed just because we’d both seen each other naked.

He gingerly took a French fry and looked at it as though it was going to leap out of his hand and eat him instead of the other way around.

“It’s not poison, you know,” I said curtly, pissed off that it bothered me so much. “It’s potato.”

He gave me a withering look and popped it into his mouth. I couldn’t help the satisfaction I felt as his eyes closed in pure bliss, the way someone’s eyes should behave after trying cheap French fries for the first time...or kissing someone for the first time. Fuck. Get a grip, girl!

“Told ya,” I said, taking a handful of fries myself and cramming as many as humanly possible into my mouth. The salty goodness was all-consuming. Dream chewed on his one fry as I chomped mine all down and swallowed. He finally swallowed and licked the salt from his lips. A tightness spread across my stomach as he savored the taste on his tongue, and I imagined it somewhere else. I wondered what his expression would be after tasting me for the first time. The thought popped out of nowhere, just like all the other thoughts that threatened to take over me. I needed to concentrate. Back to the burger.

“Try this.” I handed him the burger and watched as he ate it painfully slowly, taking small bites and savoring each one. I had to turn away to eat my own burger. Watching him was both excruciating and maddening.

After the meal, he stood up and collected the discarded wrappers and boxes and the two cups he’d brought that were now empty of cola. I imagined him conjuring up a bin to put them all into, but instead, he just made it all disappear. What I wouldn’t give for his ability to make crap disappear from my own life.

“Stay here. I’m going to find someone to babysit you while I go back to work.”

“Babysit me? I asked, affronted. “Am I a child to you?”

He stroked his chin, but as always, didn’t dignify me with an answer. “I won’t be long. Do. Not. Move.”

Fat chance, I wanted to say, but I was too late. He’d already disappeared into the forest.

“I thought you were my babysitter?” I grunted at Raven, who flew down and landed on my knee to grab a fry I’d saved for him.

He squawked and then grabbed the fry straight from my hand.

Unlike his master, he had no trouble with wolfing down all the leftover food.

As he ate, I looked over to the doors. I’d never seen them still for so long. I wondered what happened to people’s dreams if they didn’t move. It would have been so easy to go and have another peek, or to step through the red door and see something that wasn’t darkness. As long as I didn’t go through it, surely there was no harm. I ached to see light and color again. Anything other than this never-ending darkness.

The itch was there, but I knew scratching it would make it worse. If I saw the beauty of the world again, I knew I’d be tempted to go back there, and going back would put an end to everything. My mother would be lost to me for good. I’d fucked up with her so many times. Now was my chance to make it right.

“Hello again,”

I turned my head away from the doors to see Aethelu coming out of the forest, Dream at her side and Tour flying above their heads. Their beauty together was magnetizing. They were both stunning apart, but together, it was compounded so that they practically shone with it.

Ignoring the unjustified jealousy that was beginning to rear its ugly head, I stood up and greeted Aethelu. It wasn’t her fault that she was the most divine creature I’d ever laid eyes on... except for the man beside her. And just because they looked incredible together didn’t mean they were together.

“I’m guessing you are my babysitter?”

She laughed, her voice melodic... just like Dream’s. What was it about these impossibly perfect people around here? Couldn’t I meet just one ugly person...just to feel better about myself?

“I’m not here to be your babysitter. His Majesty asked if I would come and sit with you for a while as he works.”

“Like a babysitter would,” I countered.

I didn’t know why I was being snappy with her. I actually liked the idea of getting to know her. There was something about her that made me trust her. It had been an awfully long time since I’d had any girl talk.

“Aethelu is just an extra pair of eyes in case there are more wolveries,” Dream grunted. If there is trouble and I’m in one of the dreams, she can carry you to safety. She can run as quickly as I do.”

I wanted to point out that running quickly hadn’t saved us the last time the wolveries had attacked, but I knew it was pointless. I’d saved us then. I could do it again...probably.

“My dress looks nice on you,” Aethelu said as Dream headed to the doors.

I’d completely forgotten about the dress Dream had gotten for me. It was from Aethelu? Once again, I felt the bite of jealousy stab me in the ass. Why was it she was always nearby?

“Thank you for lending it to me. I was almost completely naked before Dream brought it to me.”

She didn’t seem like the giggling type, but her face softened into an expression of amusement. “I wonder what His Majesty made of that?”

“Not much, really,” I said, trying not to sound too disappointed.

“Hmmm. Interesting.”

Interesting? I’d had vague thoughts about Dream’s love life, but for all intents and purposes, he didn’t seem to have one. He didn’t even have a relationship with his own right hand or hadn’t while I’d been awake. No wonder the guy was so pent up all the time.

“What makes you say that?”

She shook her head slightly, and her cheeks colored, deepening from the pale grey to a slight pink, much like the sky had earlier, though it had gone back to the same blue hours earlier.

“Come on...What is it that you know? He’s a weird kink freak? He’s been married three times? He has a harem? Don’t tell me he’s gay?”

I refused to believe that. With all his indifference to my naked body, I had felt something the night before when he’d held me. Maybe I’d been reading too much into it.

“None of that.”

“So what then?” I asked, impatient now.

“Literally none of that...or anything else. You have to remember I barely know him. I’ve seen him more in the last week than I have in months, years if you count talking to him. He is the King of the Dream Court. I am but a villager.”

I turned this over in my mind. It looked like she was telling me the truth, but it was very convenient that she always happened to be around when she was needed.

“If you don’t know him, why has he picked you to babysit? Why borrow your dress? I’m guessing there are other women in your village?”

She laughed. “Of course, there are. The day I met you for the first time, he made it very clear that I should keep your appearance here a secret. When he borrowed my dress, and just now, he summoned me.”

“Summoned you?”

“Only he has the power to summon his people. I have no such power to...teleport, I think your word is. I can only come to him when he calls. I brought Tour with me because I don’t like to leave her alone. She came to me quite recently, and I don’t want her getting lost without me.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You are telling me that he called you and you..what? Just appeared?” I’d wondered why she’d managed to get here so quickly. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to the weird magic around here.

She nodded. “I heard him calling for me. Again. Telepathy isn’t something I have the power to do, but I heard his voice as clear as day in my head. I heeded the call, both times.” She paused. “But I came here for you more than for him. I wanted to make sure you were alright. Something about him tying you up doesn’t sit right with me. He wouldn’t explain why you are here, and until now, I’ve never heard of him being with anyone.”

“What exactly are you saying?”

“I’ve never seen him with another woman. He is a painfully lonely man. I really think you are the first he’s spent any amount of time with at all.

I swallowed hard, trying to comprehend what she was telling me. “You mean he’s never had a girlfriend? Like ever?”

“I can’t speak out of turn. He is my king, and I don’t want to incur his wrath, but I’ve never heard of one. Of course, I’m by no means an expert on him. Nor do I follow what he does. I can only say with great certainty, he leads a lonely life.”

Never had a girlfriend. It was a travesty that someone so hot could never have known intimacy...sex. “Oh, my god! He’s a virgin?”

Dream rounded one of the doors as soon as I’d blurted it out. Fuck! Had he heard?

“Everything ok here?” he asked.

Both Aethelu and I nodded in unison, me blushing bright as a beet. He made no notice of having heard me, but then he made very little notice most of the time about anything. His being a virgin explained a lot. Like his general grumpy attitude.

He nodded, then retreated to go through another door. “No wonder he’s such a miserable git. I’ve not had any for months, and I’m practically chomping at the bit for some.”

Aethelu narrowed her eyes in confusion. For a polyglot or whatever it was that she called herself, she didn’t understand me at all.

“Horny!” I clarified. “All the time.”

Usually, I wouldn’t admit that to a complete stranger, but I’d literally only had an emotionally stunted virgin and his pet bird to speak to for the last few weeks.

“I hear you, girl.” she replied, surprising me with her candor. I expected her to change the subject. Then I realized she was using her translation skills on me and trying to speak my language.

“You mentioned the Dream Court before. What is it exactly?”

Her eyes darted toward the doors, and I knew what she was thinking. We’d almost been caught talking about things we shouldn’t once already. And there was no telling how long he’d spend behind each door. Sometimes it was only minutes. Sometimes he was gone half an hour or longer.

She leaned into me, her long lilac hair brushing against my leg. “The Dream Court has stood empty for a long time. Longer than I remember. I am much younger than Dream. I only know stories of it. It is a place I have never ventured. They say it is overgrown now. Well, technically, this forest and my village are part of the Dream court, but the court itself is derelict.”

“But what exactly is it?” A court? The only courts I knew were the ones on criminal investigation TV shows. I had a feeling that wasn’t exactly what she meant.

“The Dream Court, of which Dream is king, covers a quarter of this land. Another quarter is taken by the Nightmare Court and half by the Dark Court.

She whispered the last two words as if saying them out loud would somehow hurt her. She flicked her eyes back to the doors, but Dream was still gone,

“It is said that many years ago, the Dream Court was a happy place. Of course, it wasn’t called the Dream Court then. That changed much later.”

“Later than what?”

“Later than...I’m not sure I should tell you this. If His Majesty wants you to know, he’ll tell you.”

Wishful thinking. He never told me anything. “He’s a vault of secrets, that one, and I don’t have the key.”

She shrugged. “Perhaps it’s better that way. You probably don’t want to know the state of our world. You’d never go to sleep again in yours if you knew....talking of which, why don’t you leave?” She nodded her head to the red door only feet from where we were sitting. The implication clear.

“I can’t,” I replied, knowing how pathetic it sounded. “It’s not Stockholm Syndrome or anything like that,” I added abruptly.

She cocked her head to the side. “I don’t think I quite follow. Some words are lost in translation, I’m afraid.”

“Stockholm Syndrome. It’s named after some Swedish thing that happened a bazillion years ago when some guys took people hostage, and the hostages bonded with them. It means that the captive develops feelings for the captor and doesn’t want to be let go.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And you’ve not developed feelings such as these for the king?”

“No,” I said way too quickly, a dead giveaway. However much I hated the thought of it and even more so having to admit it, I was horny for the guy. I wouldn’t be a hot-blooded woman if I wasn’t. I couldn’t pretend to be blind to him. “Ok, He’s hot,” I finally admitted. “But that’s all there is to it. “He’s also an asshole and a jerk, and though asshole and jerk seem to be my type, I’m making changes. From now on, I’m only going to date sweet, sensitive types.”

She nodded, though I could see that she wasn’t convinced.

“So, why don’t you go through the door then if you don’t have feelings beyond a small crush?”

A small crush. It sounded weird. Whatever I felt for Dream was not a crush at all, but I couldn’t explain that to her. I didn’t have the words to even explain it to myself.

“He’s not the reason I’m staying,” I admitted.

“Surely it’s not for the weather or scenery?” she joked, extending her hand around her.

I smirked. “No. I’m here because...” I hesitated. She knew Dream. Probably more than she let on. She was the one he had gone to when he wanted to bring me a dress. I couldn’t imagine a King asking a commoner that he hardly knew for a dress, no matter what she’d told me. He’d ask a friend or a sister if he had any. He might even ask his mother. I was pretty sure he had one of those despite his quietness on the subject. I decided to tell her anyway, at least part of the story.

“My mother is sick. I think Dream has something to do with it.”

She pursed her lips, and a strange expression I couldn’t read descended on her face. “I’ve heard rumors,” she said. “I don’t think you are blaming the right person.”

“What?”

“I’ve said too much.” She stood. “I really can’t stay here. I have things to do. If you are not going to run away, I think it will be fine to leave you here. Come on Tour.” The bird flew down from its branch and rested on her shoulder.

“But what about the wolveries?” I moaned. “That’s why you are here.”

“I think we both know that’s not why Dream asked me to babysit you. If the wolveries came here, they’d rip me limb from limb. I’m no stronger than you are.”

Huh. She looked like some badass warrior. I’d have bet everything I owned, which, granted, was not a lot, that she could kick a wolveries ass.

So he was basically making sure I didn’t run away. I wasn’t surprised. Annoyed as fuck, but not surprised. If the wolveries did come again, I could run through any of the doors to escape in a way I couldn’t last time because then I’d been tied up.

Aethelu headed back into the woods at the same time that the row of doors moved. Dream must have come out of one of them. I waited for him to stick his head around one of the doors and see me there alone, but he didn’t. The sound of a door closing told me that he’d already gone in through another one.

I looked back and saw that Aethelu had already disappeared into the darkness and a sense of sadness took over me. I would miss her. She was the only person I could talk to in this weird place and a sort of ally against Dream. I’d never had a female friend before, and although she knew a lot more than she was letting on, she was fun to be around and despite her ethereal appearance, being around her felt like a small piece of normality.

A wave of anticipation made my fingers tingle. I was free. Dream was in one of the dream doors, Aethelu had left, and Raven was not really able to stop me from doing anything.

I tapped my fingers together, nervous energy running through me. I’d made the decision not to go through the red door, but the others...the others were fair game as far as I could see. Maybe it was about time I stepped through one and saw what it was that Dream actually did in there.

I headed to the nearest door and slowly opened it.