“There’s no end to it!”
Shana murmured an agreement to Kathryn’s frustrated outburst. She flew high above the others, gazing out in every direction.
Dreamworld was simply too vast.
“We knew going into it that it would take a long time,” Rae said. She flew closest to Shana, and Brutus flew with her, his huge reddish form surprisingly attentive and focused.
“But you’d think there would be some clue by now!” Ben said. “At least one.”
“I do apologize,” Heart said. She stayed close to Shana, and had been rather silent for quite some time. “I know nothing of this city in the clouds that you seek.”
“It’s okay,” Shana said, smiling at Heart. “The Weavers said you wouldn’t know. There are things in the Dreamworld that are a secret to everyone. And it seems like it’s supposed to be a challenge to find — it would be too easy if you knew.”
“The problem is the Dreamworld’s size,” Shias said. He stood atop a rocky spire, gazing thoughtfully into the distance. “It’s endless, isn’t it? Literally.”
“Yes,” Heart said. “As dreams have limitless form, so does this world have limitless space to accommodate all possibilities.”
“Can’t we dream the city up?” Kathryn asked. She flew up next to Shana and Heart, looking at them hopefully. “I mean, you can do stuff like that, right? Just make stuff happen through imagination. When you’re here, at least.”
“I can do a lot,” Shana said, clouds spinning around her, transforming into glittering silver tops. All of the tops joined together, fusing and then exploding in a burst of cotton fluff, revealing a plush dog bone. Altair flipped up and snatched it out of the sky, and it squeaked in his mouth. “But I can’t make us just appear at a place that isn’t meant to be found.”
“It would be nice if the Weavers explained why it’s not meant to be found,” Kathryn said. “Or why you’re actually supposed to find a city that isn’t meant to be found.” She sighed, turning away. “I promise I’m trying not to be grumpy.”
Shana laughed, partly to reassure Kathryn and partly at Altair, who came soaring up to her with the bone in his mouth, wagging his tail excitedly. “We’ve been at this for three whole nights now,” she said. “I think it’s wearing on all of us.” She plucked the plush bone from Altair’s mouth and tossed it, then watched as Altair flew after it, spinning and barking all the way.
“I know we’re sleeping while we’re here,” Ben said, “but I never feel like I’ve had a proper rest when I wake up.”
“If it were just one night, that would be one thing,” Heart said. “Your bodies and minds protect themselves while you’re in Dreamworld. But there’s a reason most dreams are unconscious and swiftly forgotten. This kind of conscious, intentional dreaming, every night, all night, will begin to take its toll.” She looked at Shana meaningfully. “Even on you, Dreamer.”
“I know,” Shana said. She hadn’t been feeling all that tired lately, but that had been a problem in itself. Even after a full day of exploring Alexandra’s mansion, socializing with everyone, playing games, doing her utmost to wear herself out, she came to bed each night struggling to fall asleep. She was having the exact opposite reaction to Ben. “If we don’t find it today, we’ll probably all need to have a night or two of normal sleep.”
She looked over at Shias, who was still gazing into the distance, deep in thought. He was the only one she’d talked to about what Heart had told her.
“For you, Dreamer, the danger of repeated, extended trips into Dreamworld is most pronounced. Spend too long in here too frequently and you run the risk of losing yourself to Dreams, forgetting and forsaking the Waking World.”
But how does that explain why I’m never tired when I’m in the Waking World? It feels… wrong. Like I’m disconnected. Like…
Like neither world is real.
Like everything’s a…
Shana was pulled out of her reverie by an expectant, tail-wagging dog, hovering right in front of her face. Worries melted away with a smile, and she plucked the toy from Altair and hurled it, laughing as he dashed after it.
Shias sat back, looking at Heart. “Why did the Dream Forge go dark?” he asked.
Everyone looked at him — even Heart, clearly taken aback at his question.
“That’s what you’ve been spending this whole time thinking about?” Kathryn asked. “I thought you were trying to find us a cloud city!”
“His brain’s a master of multi-tasking,” Shana said. “But… why the Dream Forge?”
“It’s been on my mind ever since you told me about it,” Shias said.
“It went dark because the Library of Solitude was invaded in secret,” Heart said. “I do not know all the details. But it’s similar to how the Library’s Light Catcher not only failed to detect the Darkness as it should have, but even cracked once the invasion was complete. That had never happened before then.”
“But wasn’t the Dream Forge supposed to be an added line of defense?” Shias asked. “But it wasn’t damaged, either. It was just… dark. Like the fire had gone out.”
“The Eternal Fire retreated,” Heart said. “The Dream Forge and its Fire is a powerful supportive, assistive force. It was a joint invention of myself and Lady Kodoka. But it cannot serve as a defense on its own. If the Light Catcher falls, the Forge cannot protect the Bastion alone. Hiding the Fire was the only solution — hiding it until the Dreamer and Princesses could come to retrieve it.”
“And that was necessary to show the Fire that there were defenders within the Bastion again, right?” Shana asked. “Light Catchers, Dream Forges, all of it’s helpful, but a Daylight Bastion stands or falls primarily because of the people defending it, right? Without Paladins, or Sub-Paladins, the fall is inevitable, isn’t it?”
“And all of us left,” Annabelle said. She’d been silent, far off in the distance, searching, but slowly drifted back as the conversation turned to the Dream Forge. “That was Darkness’ invasion. Dullan — or someone, we aren’t completely certain it was him, but it is likely — took my sisters, one by one. When it was just Mari, Isabelle, and me, Mother took us all with her to find them. Because she knew the same thing — if the Library is devoid of defenders, the Library cannot stand. And leaving us alone while she went to find the others wouldn’t work to protect us, since the other Princesses were able to be taken. Even though we found Sarabelle… it’s likely that the others truly are lost forever.” She frowned, her brow creasing with worry. “We got Sarabelle back because she was Contracted to the Radiant King. But when she disappeared, the Radiant King didn’t even exist — Leon hadn’t even been born, yet. She went through so much under her Contract that it’s been a lot just to talk about that. She… still won’t say anything about what happened to her before the Radiant King found her.”
“The Darkness struck at the Library’s defenders one by one, secretly, carefully,” Shias said. “Then, only when they were all gone, could they slowly work on undermining the Light Catcher. It was a slow process, right?”
“From what Merric says, yeah,” Shana said. “He was the last one remaining when the others got there before we did.”
Altair came back with the bone, and Rae came up beside Shana, watching the dog with a smile. Shana gestured to her, and after a moment’s hesitation, Rae took the toy this time and threw it, laughing softly as Altair zipped after it.
“So ultimately, people are the most important part of the puzzle,” Shias said, nodding thoughtfully.
“What’s this all about, though?” Ben asked. “You lost me.”
“The Endless Night is coming,” Shias said. “Darkness, swallowing everything. Delilah talked about the Key of the World, but thinking back on the Dream Forge, on other Bastions falling, just got me thinking… the Key alone might not be enough. Or…” He shook his head. “Never mind. I haven’t quite sorted it all out, yet.”
“People are the most important part,” Shana said with a smile. “I get it. We should be working on finding important tools, thinking about weapons and devices and things, but in the end, we can’t forget what’s most important —” she looked around at all her friends, “each other.”
Altair came back with the toy, bringing it straight to Rae this time. She happily took it, but after a moment’s hesitation, passed it over to Brutus. With just a simple flick of his massive wrist, the hulking Summon sent the toy flying farther than ever, and Altair became a speck in the distance as he barked and barked, chasing after it.
“I appreciate the sentiment,” Shias said, “and you’re right. But there’s more than that. I… no. Like I said, I haven’t sorted it all out, yet.”
“So do we even know what the city we’re looking for is called?” Ben asked.
“The Palette in the Clouds,” Heart said. “That much I know, for I remember when it existed in the Waking World. When it disappeared, I was as surprised as anyone else at the time. It has since largely faded from memory — it has been so long since it vanished from the Waking World that most who lived back then are no longer among us.”
“Palette in the Clouds…” Shana murmured. She floated on her back in the sky, drifting with light kicks as if she were in water. She felt warm, and slightly light-headed, but floating around like this helped. “It makes sense. From what I saw, the place was full of artists.”
“So where the heck did they hide a whole city full of artists?” Kathryn asked.
“Can Nocta help us?” Shana asked.
“She is focused on watching over Midnight Bridge while Mister Midnight travels,” Heart said. “But even so, it’s clear that the city is in Dreamworld, not in Nightmares. This isn’t her domain, so there isn’t much that she can do to aid us.”
“She’s got, like, super eyesight, though, right?” Kathryn asked. “Being an owl and all.”
“She’s a Summon, though,” Ben said. “Does she get all the same abilities as regular owls?”
“Why not?” Kathryn asked. “You’ve seen her eyes. She doesn’t miss a thing.”
“Be that as it may,” Heart said, laughing lightly, “She cannot help us in this endeavor. In fact, I’m starting to think that, perhaps, searching with our eyes is not the right way to go about it.”
“Now she tells us,” Ben muttered.
“What do we search with instead?” Kathryn asked.
“Our hearts?” Rae asked.
“That’s it,” Heart said, nodding. “The Dreamworld isn’t physical, though you can see and touch it as if it were. And there are a great many things — including the greatest of all things — that we can only see with our hearts.”
“Our hearts…” Shana murmured. She felt warmer, like her face was flushed. She sat up, sitting cross-legged in the air, but that only made her dizzier. Why did she feel so strange? She closed her eyes, taking slow, deep breaths. She heard a few barks, and felt Altair zip past her, saw his faint blue light through her shut eyelids, and smiled. Rae laughed, and a moment later Shana heard the toy go flying, and Altair chase after it.
“You okay?” Shias asked.
Shana felt his presence beside her before he asked the question, but she didn’t speak until he did. Having her twin close to her helped, a bit, but she still…
“I feel… feverish, I guess,” Shana said slowly. “Oh.” She swayed. Speaking made everything seem so much worse. Her voice came out muddled in her ears, and when she opened her eyes, the world seemed hazy, blurred. “What…?”
“Shana,” Shias said urgently, and she felt his hands on her face.
She giggled. “Your fingers are cold,” she said, fidgeting at his touch.
“You’re burning up,” Shias said, his voice sounding so distant now. Altair barked somewhere… but it wasn’t in play. It wasn’t a warning, either. That sound…
“We’re not going anywhere, silly,” Shana said, waving a hand. She felt giddy, fuzzy inside, but there was also an uncomfortable sense of vertigo. What was happening? Like she was torn between two worlds, between two…
Pop!
It was a light sound. Like a cork coming out of a bottle, just a simple, silly sound that made Shana giggle. But with that sound came a sudden change in… everything.
Shana wasn’t sitting in the sky, but instead on a fluffy, solid surface. The world came back into focus, quickly, and her feverish, dizzied feeling faded startlingly fast, until she felt cold, terribly so, but only for a moment. Like she’d overcorrected from her earlier state, she then bounced back from frigidity to a proper equilibrium.
Her vision returned — or the world became solid again — she couldn’t tell the difference.
But she wasn’t where she’d been.
She shot to her feet with a start, turning in a swift circle.
“Shias? Rae! Ben? Kathryn! Annabelle!”
She called their names, but she heard no reply.
And she didn’t see them anywhere.
There were plenty of people here, though. Tons of people, actually. It was a rather crowded…
Shana’s eyes went wide, staring.
…city.
“Did I… find it?” she asked softly, gaping. But there was no question. This was the place. She’d seen it in the Weaving of Dreams, and she saw it the same now, like she was standing in the exact same place. Artists went by, only giving her polite glances and swift smiles on their way, not giving her any more attention than that.
“But… I’m alone,” she said, her head dropping.
“You’re never alone,” came the voice of Heart. She appeared before Shana, smiling. “I’m in your heart, Shana. Where you go, I go.”
Shana beamed, but her smile didn’t last long. “But where’d everyone else go?”
Heart looked around, both in wonder and thoughtful curiosity. “I don’t think they went anywhere, Shana. We’re the ones who travelled.”
Shana quickly pulled out her bookmark Talisman, calling forth Altair. He leapt from a portal into Shana’s arms, happily wagging his tail and licking her face. Shana buried her face in his fur, relishing in his warmth and softness, in the truth that she could never be separated from her faithful companion.
“I can’t believe this place is here,” Heart said. “It’s… so beautiful. I never realized. And I… don’t know at all how we got here.”
“I felt all weird and stuff,” Shana said. “Feverish, dizzy, but also kind of light, silly. And then… I was here.” She pulled away from Altair, and he hopped from her arms, flying lazy circles around her and Heart. “I don’t understand, either. Why only us? What about the others?” Altair barked, and Shana turned around. “What about that?”
Heart stared with her. There, floating in the air in front of Shana, was a hand mirror. It had an elegant silver handle and frame, but — aside from it floating in midair — the most puzzling aspect was the glass itself. Because the glass wasn’t reflecting Shana, or Heart, or Altair, or the Palette in the Clouds. It was showing something different. A dark room. Were those mosaics on the walls? It was hard to make out. The glass was somewhat murky. Shana started to reach out to wipe it clean…
And then stepped suddenly back. The glass had cleared itself, and in the glass Shana saw…
“Fae?” She leaned forward, gazing in amazement at the face of her sister. “Fae, can you see me? Can you hear me?” She paused, a deep pain pulsing in her heart. “Is it… really you?”
“I… I can,” Fae said, and Shana’s heart leapt within her. “Shana… where are you? How is this…?”
“You should step back, Shana,” Heart said. She placed a gentle hand on Shana’s shoulder, coaxing her backward. “I do believe their time has finally come.”
“Um, okay,” Shana said, following Heart’s lead. Altair came floating into her arms and she petted him while she waited. “So…” She shook her head, staring at Heart. “Wait, what do you mean?”
“I mean they’ll join you momentarily,” Heart said.
“Join you?” Fae asked.
And then…
Well, Shana didn’t really catch what happened. One moment, Fae’s face was peering at her from within the mirror. The next moment, she was standing on the clouds before Shana, and to either side of her were Olivia and Sonya. All three were here — here, right here, really here, in front of Shana.
Fae blinked at the brightness — so the place she’d come from really had been dark — and looked around, taking it all in. But Shana couldn’t wait for that. Her heart was soaring, tears flooding her eyes. She darted forward, hugging Fae tightly.
“It’s really you!” she cried, pressing her cheek against Fae’s. Her skin was warm, just like it should be. “I can touch you, I can see you, it’s you!” She knew she was probably hugging her too tightly, that Fae was probably rather fragile right now, but she couldn’t stop. Altair squirmed between the sisters, lifting his head to lick Fae’s face.
All of a sudden, Fae crumbled. Shana dropped to her knees with her, holding Fae close, because she couldn’t believe what was happening.
Fae was crying. Weeping, loudly and openly, burying her face in Shana’s shoulder. And that only broke the dams over Shana’s own tears, so she wept right with her, there on the cloud-street, in a brand new place, surrounded by passing crowds.
Her sister was here. Really, really here.
Everything was going to be all right.