The Dreamfarer

28

Mae wiped her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time since she left Vivienne's dream. She could not stop crying; her emotions were like ticking bombs, setting her off at the slightest touch or nudge. 

She saw, as she sat curled up on the bed, that nobody had bothered to clean up the rest of the mess her lunch had made from the floor while she had been knocked out. Of course, that was not the only mess in the room.

Sado's body was lying in a bloody puddle a few feet from the door. It was enough to prevent her from trying to run away, though she knew that the door would be locked with enchantments anyway.

After she had woken up, Dael had carried her to the bed and promised her that she would be fine, that he would make sure that nobody else harmed her. He had apparently healed her finger as well, because physically, at least, she felt better now. 

Sado had been beating himself up, chittering anxiously and attempting to blend in with the wall. Once she had opened her eyes and acknowledged the fact that her father was speaking with a venomous glare she reserved solely for him, Dael had smiled and whipped around. His arm had moved, and something silver had left his hand so fast that Mae was barely able to register what had happened.

That was, until the throwing star had embedded itself into Sado's small body, some of the spikes sticking out of his back. The little creature had gurgled, blood running out of its mouth and down its chin as it seemed to choke on its own blood. Sado had fallen forward into the small pool of the stuff that his body was releasing and he moved no more.

After that, Dael had tried to talk to her, ask her if she was okay, but of course she would not respond to him. She was horrified by the murder he had just committed, while he did not seem bothered by it in the slightest. His expression had been blank, as it usually was, and his voice when he spoke to her had that smooth, false sweetness that she had quickly come to despise. 

However, he had not asked her anything about Dreamfaring, and she hoped that meant he did not know she had been capable of traveling while the poison was in her veins. She did not know how much her father already knew about her powers; clearly, he knew that she should not be sleeping, so she wondered why he would not be more concerned by the fact that she had lost consciousness. She did not, however, want to know that answer badly enough to bring her powers to the forefront of his attention. If he did not want to question her, that was fine by her; hopefully it meant she would be able to Dreamfare again soon.

When it had become clear that she was not going to speak to him, Dael had just laughed softly and told her he would be back to check on her later. He had walked right past Sado's corpse and out the door, a visible aura of power surrounding him.

That was when Mae had first started to cry; when she realized that there was nobody to face her father. How could a man so powerful be defeated? How could she get away from him? How could she stop him from doing whatever he wanted to do? It seemed an impossible task, and that terrified her. Sado had been right; if her father chose to name himself king, over whomever he might want, there would be nobody to tell him no.

Mae let out a scream of aggravation and jumped off the bed. She could not take the sight of the dead gremlin any longer. It had not been good to her, but that did not made her feel any better about the way it had died. She refused to feel personally guilty for her father's actions, but she was not about to stare at the once-breathing body of one of his victims all day. Not after a night of poison eating away at her insides and her sister screaming to her for help. Not after waking up in the morning to a murder rather than the sound of birds chirping.

She stomped into the bathroom and grabbed the entire stack of towels that had been left for her. Upon reaching Sado, she scrunched her nose and drew a raspy breath. You've got this, Mae, she reminded herself silently. She sucked in one more deep breath before holding it and leaning in.