Aurelie's eyes shot open a number of times. The first time was in the field. Blurred faces floated above her in a circle, their voices so loud that she could barely make out a word. Her dress was damp on one side, and her skin stung in the center of the wetness. Each shift cut into her stomach and stole away her already weakened breath.
The last time she came to, Aurelie was blind. The air smelled like burnt grass and strangely enough charred meat. It was only when her mind had cleared that she realized that it was her own breath that warmed her lips and felt a light weight on her cheeks. She lifted her arm and threw the material off her face. Aurelie attempted to think of their names and faces but came up with nothing.
She lay over a pool of blood. A drop plopped down. The sound echoed around her as if she had been in a giant empty room. Her eyes wandered over her surroundings, circling the ground. On the one side of the field, green grass grew undisturbed, and on the other, it was charred and covered with brown patches of dried blood.
Aurelie pulled herself up by her arms. "Urg," she growled as the movement roused stabbing pain in her stomach. A tear forced its way out and ran down her cheek. She lay back down with ease, grunting through clenched teeth.
The grass rustled to the left of her. A shadow of a man stuck out from behind a thick tree. He was wearing a dress of sorts and had long, thin, white hair that reached his waist. His shape seemed awfully familiar, so much so that she was sure he was one of those scoundrels who had left her behind.
But who? Who was he?
"Aurelie," voice sounded through the woods. Leaves rustled and wings flapped at the sound. The voice did not fit the figure from behind the tree. In fact, it did not even come from his direction. Her eyes grew heavy and dry. But the voice created an ache in her chestâa longing. She struggled against the pull of sleep. Yawning, she looked toward the shadow once more. It was gone. Aurelie closed her eyes for a second and when she opened them again she stood on a beach.
The castle was covered in an unimaginably large, white cloth. Little blocks of light-colored the cloth yellow in places. The tulips, in the vast fields, sagged their heads and the sky was a deep, dark gray of a coming storm. The Realm appeared to be mourning.
"You should take better care of my grounds," Aurelie told the Keeper, surprising herself at how quickly she recognized the Keeper once she saw the Dream Realm's castle.
"Aurelie," the voice sounded around her again, more desperate this time. The familiarity was astounding. She knew that she's heard it before, but not where or to whom it belonged. Her mind was as cloudy as the angry sky above her. Yet, her hands weakened at how panicked he sounded and her heart ached. "Please, wake up," he pleaded.
"Do you hear that?" she turned to the Keeper.
"Hear what?"
Aurelie narrowed her eyes for a second and then shook her head. "Never mind."
Aurelie replayed the sound of the voice in her mind, trying to remember who it belonged to. Not knowing was getting on her nerves. It was like trying to remember a word and having it stuck on the tip of your tongue, fading into your mind for a split second and out before you could catch it. She focused harder, feeling the back of her head heat up again. The name came with an ache in her heart, that she knew. She cared for this person and he for her. Perhaps it was more than caring. Perhaps she loved him. Kirin! The recollection of him came with hot tears. But why was she dying and why wasn't he with her? Had he been one of the people that left her behind. She couldn't believe that. Something must have happened. Why couldn't she remember?
"Aurelie." The Keeper placed a hand on her shoulder and stroked with his thumb. "Do you know where you are?" he shouted.
Aurelie covered her ears. "Don't shout," she told him and pressed her index finger to her lips. There were questions she needed answered. Trouble was they left her mind as soon as they entered.
"Aurelie, you are dying," the Keeper said.
Dying? How could she be dying? She felt fine, nothing hurt in the Dream Realm. A memory blasted through her thoughts. Pain, there was pain before. She couldn't remember when.
"Why am I dying?" she asked. The ground below her shifted. She levitated in the air, unable to step back down to the ground. The Keeper's hand locked around her arm, and they started to move by floating through the fields. The speed gradually increased until the tulips blurred to her left and her hair pulled backward.
"Because we can't seem to get you to leave the Realm."
"Where are we going?" she asked him. The trees created a painting of greens and browns. The Keeper smiled, his head turning left and the right as he watched their journey. Aurelie wished they'd stayed on the beach. The cool, moist wind near the ocean soothed her boiling skin. It was a shame she noticed it only once they had moved away.
"I want to go back!" Sweat gathered on her forehead.
The Keeper pushed his beard out of his face with his free hand and tucked it into the collar of his robes. "You're the one leading, princess."
Everything came to a halt near a pond where large stones surrounded it. An isle of sorts stood behind. The trees had fallen over, their roots pulling out the ground. A small leather bag lay close to one of the fallen trees. She walked toward it but was stopped by the Keeper's grip. Why would he not let her have it? It belonged to her. She was certain of it.
"Look," he said. Aurelie turned around.
"At what?" she asked him, her eyes searching the forest. It was quiet, and not even disturbed by the wind.
"On the ground," he replied and dropped down to his knees.
At first, there was nothing. The grass was healthy and the trees were secure, at least, where they stood it was. The place was not disturbed by whatever had destroyed the ground further on.
Aurelie wondered what had caused the damage on the other side. No, it was not a storm. It was fire. She hoped that it wasn't her magic. Aurelie had caused so much trouble before, and she really didn't want to upset Sasha again.
Then she saw it. Far in the distance, way past the pond in the cover of the trees was blood. She turned around and looked at the Keeper for answers. His expression was blank. He wasn't going to say a word. There was no doubt in her mind that he knew. "There's blood there. Someone's hurt."
"Yes, someone is." He nodded, keeping his expression blank. "Who?
"You know, don't you?" she asked him. He was beginning to scare her. His expression was dark and unfeeling. Yet, minutes ago he told her that she was dying.
Aurelie frowned. She snatched her arm from his grip and sprinted toward the blood. Bodies appeared in the corners of her vision. Aurelie stopped and turned to where she saw them. The ground was free of the bodies that she had just seen. Echoes of screams came from the field. Aurelie covered her ears but the screams only grew louder.
When she was near enough she saw a girl. Aurelie turned around to search for the Keeper. What was she doing in the Realm? Only Aurelie should have been able to enter. The Keeper was nowhere to be seen and she found herself feeling relieved for it.
The girl's face was a blur. Aurelie closed her eyes and wiped at them to correct her vision but the face remained the same when she opened her eyes. She lay still as a corpse and soaked the grass with her blood.
Aurelie stood up and took a step back. Her heart hammered. She was no healer! The girl was going to die and she could do nothing about it.
"But you can do something." The Keeper stood behind her once more, his eyes intently focused on the girl.
Aurelie's pulse knocked in her ears. The wind carried the smell of the pond and with it came a memory.
"Who is this? What is happening?" She moved from foot to foot, wondering if she wanted to run away or learn the truth. "This place . . . I've been here before," she said, panic rising in her voice.
The Keeper's mouth curved back in anger, his brow bent down and turned his eyes into thin angry lines. He grabbed Aurelie by her shoulders and pulled her toward him. She met his eyes but all she wanted to do was look away. There was a familiar spark in them. She thought that at any moment they would ignite just like hers could.
"Aurelie, no one can help you if you do not see the past. If I knew you were this weak, I'd neverâ" He stopped himself and turned her around forcefully. His finger grabbed her hair from behind. He pushed her head down to look at the girl on the ground. Aurelie fought him first, having the force that he was using against her, but he pulled harder on her hair and she allowed the push of his hand to bend her head forward.
"What do I need to do?" Tears formed, and her lip quivered. Why couldn't she just tell her?
"Think! Think for yourself for the first time in your damn life!" he screamed, pushing her closer to the girl. Any closer and Aurelie's nose would touch her wound.
"She has no face!" she shrieked back at him. Aurelie tried to wrangle herself out of his grip, but she was too weak.
"That's it! You're dead. Happy now?"
"Whatâ" She was about to ask him something but her thoughts were interrupted by something that caught her eye.
Aurelie's skin was becoming transparent. She could see the grass beneath her arm. The pulse that rocked her mere seconds ago stopped. She sucked in her breath and looked up at the Keeper, bewildered. "No," she said and clasped her mouth with her hand. "Tell me what to do!"
The blurred mask on the girl's face cleared. It was her! The girl on the ground was her. "It cannot be," she whispered. A sudden pain cut into her chest. She cried out and wrapped her hands around herself. Blood seeped into her dress and rips formed in the skirt.
The Keeper opened her clasped hand and put a scolding hot vile into it. "Drink it, you stupid girl, before you waste everything I've worked for."
Aurelie did not question him. She swallowed the fire that was in the vile and closed her eyes as it burned her insides. "Argggg," she cried out.
"Why did you do that?" Kirin's voice echoed through the forest, as if he stood just behind her, scolding her for saving his life. "Why did you do that?" She turned around, but he wasn't there and neither was the Keeper. She was alone.
Shades of gray and dark blue filled the sky. There were thunder and lightning and soon drops of rain landed on her face. Aurelie no longer knew if she was alive or dead, in a dream or awake. The world was silent. The sky faded into the ceiling of the Keeper's castle, the grass beneath her body turned into a carpet.
"Aurelie!" his voice rang around the room, his footsteps near her.
The Keeper's cat rubbed against her body, purring. He pushed his muzzle to her cheek, his breath light against her skin. She wanted to pat him, to scratch his back, but her hands would not move.
"Where have you been?" The Keeper asked, his voice was tense and full of fear, filled with the compassion that she had thought he was missing before.
"Where you left me, on the field," she whispered through clenched teeth. Speaking hurt. Each word sent sharp pains throughout her body. Aurelie inhaled and turned onto her side so that she could see him.
"No!" He shook his head and narrowed his eyes in confusion. "You're with the boy in Redayrah."
"You just left me on the field with my body. Why couldn't you just tell me what happened?" she raised her voice, breathing heavily through the pain.
"Aurelie, I don't know what you'reâ"
The Keeper looked genuinely confused but she couldn't waste any more time explaining what had happened. Whoever was with her earlier said that she was dying and whether it was the Keeper, an apparition of him that the Realm created, or someone else, it didn't matter because he said she was dying and if ever came a time that she believed that, it was now. Her vision was getting darker, the pain worse but duller, and she saw herself becoming physically transparent before she drank from that bloody vial.
"I thought I controlled the Dream Realm." It was as if her lungs were filled with shattered glass, tearing at her with each breath. "Why can't I fix the pain?"
"You do. What is it? You shouldn't be in pain here. Are you losing your control?" he asked and dropped down to her side. "What do you feel?"
"Pain," she cried out. Her eyes were tired. She closed them, sinking into the carpet as if it had been the most comfortable bed that she had ever slept on. The Keeper slapped her cheek and shook her shoulders. What else would she be feeling? She was shot with an arrow!
"Wake up! Aurelie, wake up." He left her side and rushed towards his table. Papers flew from the table as he searched. The cat jumped up, excited by the commotion. He followed the Keeper's hands with his eyes, trying to catch his hand with his tiny paws. "Not now," he warned the cat and continued to search until his table stood completely empty.
"Where have you put it? Stupid old fool! The damned vial is gone."
"You already gave it to be on the field." Comfort filled her for the briefest of moments ending as soon as she had to take another breath. She groaned again.
Make it stop!" she cried out, placed her hand over her wound and cried louder.
"Aurelie, I've been here the whole time." He stood frozen in fear. "What did I say to you there?"
"Does it matter?" she shrieked. She wasn't a state to answer all these damned questions.
"As long as you remember that it wasn't me who was with you. It's this realm. It's turning against me!" His eyes moved around the room like those of a crow. He rubbed his fingers together and walked to her side. "Don't worry, child. If you drank the vile, another will appear when you awake. Drink that and it'll reverse the damage."
The Keeper grabbed the neckline of her dress and pulled her upwards. She shrieked, her voice echoing from every corner of the room. The thin scab around the wound ripped open with the motion. The piercing of a hundred arrows could not compare to her pain. "Stop!"
"Leave!" he said, and let go of her dress. She gasped and fell backward, holding her breath and waited for the stroke of pain to electrocute her body as she reached the ground. Instead, the floor turned into a pool of water. She closed her eyes and let the cold swallow her.