Project ZEAL

Scene 20 - Burning Minds (Aitrus)

The first thing that Aias noticed was that the walls were different. The palace didn't used to be this grey, he thought. Then he remembered. He was in the dream again. Each time he had been here came flooding back, in a way that he had never gotten within the dream itself. He stepped back and bumped into the wall. That's when he saw the puzzled expression on Sessimine's face. "Not quite what you expected?" he asked, covering up his own disorientation with a smirk.

"Not quite," she said. She shook her head, and then smiled back at him. She was about to say something when sh stopped and frowned slightly, listening. "What was that?" she asked. "It sounded like a --"

"Scream," Aias broke in. "It was. Happens every time, and it gets me to walk down this hallway." He stepped from the wall and looked down the corridor off to his right. "Don't worry, it's just a dream, remember?" He smiled at her and offered his hand. "Shall we?" She took it, admiring the charm even if it didn't work on her. Strong woman, he thought. I like that.

They stepped around the corner and the scene suddenly changed. They were no longer in the tranquil palace they had left behind. This was a palace in chaos, fire leaping from tapestry to tapestry, wall to wall. People ran through the flames, either trying to save precious heirlooms or documents, or just trying to save their own skins. "Is this closer?"

Sessimine just stood there. "No," she said distantly. "What's going on here?"

"Just what it seems like," he replied. "The Royal Palace is going up in flames." He pressed on, pushing his way through the fleeing mob of historians and royal attendants, courtiers and servants.

She rushed, trying to keep up with him. "You're heading towards the throne room, aren't you?" Sessimine asked. He nodded. "Your parents' lives are threatened, aren't they." Again, he nodded, pushing people out of his way. She kept peppering him with questions, but he ignored them.

Finally, he pushed his way into the old quarter, and set off at a run for the throne room, jumping over fallen stonework, burning rugs, and toppled bookcases. He stopped on the landing outside the throne room itself, gathering himself to throw the burning doors open, when he remembered Sessimine. "Come on!" he shouted, watching as she ran around the obstacles he had leaped. When she finally arrived, breathing heavily, she sent him a glare that would have cowered many men. "We have to hurry inside," he said. "You'll see why."

"You know," she said as he pulled his gloves tighter, "most people don't make me work so hard in their dreams. If you were any other person, I'd --"

She was cut short by Aias throwing the flaming doors open. He immediately ran through, and she followed. "This confirm anything for you," he asked as he looked on the scene before him, sorrow in his eyes. The room, just like the rest of the palace, was fully engulfed in flames. However, no one was fleeing this room. The twin thrones in the center were still occupied, but were cut off from the door by the flames. Tears building in his eyes, he looked at Sessimine, wondering how she was reacting.

She wasn't looking at the thrones. She was looking off to one side, where there were five gaps in the blanket of flames. "Who are they?" she asked, pointing towards the five black figures who occupied those spots.

The tears dried, and not just from the flames. "I don't know," he said in a bit of shock. "I've never noticed them before now."

They can't be, he thought. Could this all just be about the Council? I would have thought there was more to it than that. However, he couldn't mention any of this to her. After all, even he wasn't supposed to know anything about the Council itself, much less her. Of course everyone has heard of it, but only the Council was supposed to know what the Council was. Her aving that knowledge would be a risk he wouldn't take.

"This is where my dream usually ends, with me trapped in here and watching my parents die. I normally don't even notice those people over there." He looked back at her and sighed. "Fairly confusing dream, huh?"

She shrugged. "Not as difficult as some I've seen, although this one is the most intense. Obviously, the source of the dream has something to do with those people over there. Are you sure you have no idea who they could be?" He shook his head. She didn't looked convinced, but nodded anyway. "Anyway, you consider them a threat not only to you, but to the royal family. Deal with them, and your problem will be solved." She chanted a quick spell, and he woke up.

He looked up at her, still laying on her lap. "Thank you, Provostia. You've been a wonderful help, and this was a most... interesting experience." He sat up and waded over to the edge of the pillows. "Shall I send that assistant back in here for you?" He smiled at her as he stood.

"No," she declined, "that won't be neccessary. I was about to leave for the evening, my prince. If you have that dream again and wish to speak of it, please, drop by again." She gave him one of her famous smiles. "Or any other time, for that matter."

"Another time, Sessimine," he said with a smile. He spun on his heels and strode through the door. "Another time."

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