She was sure she was still asleep and she knew all of it was a dream.
The environment around her was an empty abyss of black, accentuated by more pitch blackness. She was sort of standing and floating at the same time; hovering. Before her stood a majestic and equally frightening creature with green scales, a large body and a ferocious face, horns adorning its head like a twisted crown. It had sinewy front and hind legs that were decorated with sharp black claws and talons.
April floated, the size of a pinkie finger in front of its glowing green eyes. Despite the absence of light, the creature's green scales emitted a yellowish shine.
"You're not afraid." Adeep reverberating voice echoed from the creature, sending invisible ripples across the abyss.
April shook her head. She replied:
"This is just a dream, isn't it?"
The creature tilted its head at her, its curiosity piqued by her answer.
"And if it is, you surmise it is a reason to act carefree?"
April shrugged.
"I suppose… but in my dreams nothing bad ever happens to me."
The creature set its eyes on the two-tailed girl, staring for a moment before it let out what sounded like a sigh.
"You will be a challenging one."
"Heard that one too many times–are you a dragon?" The girl enquired, extending a hand to the large snout of the creature.
"I am many things; a dragon being one of them." Was the answer.
April squinted, not really sure that answered her query. "So… a dragon hybrid?"
The creature scoffed. "You swish words around like they were a mighty tail. The Beacon would nev–"
It paused and eyed April again, as if it had realized something not even the girl could have.
"But then again… I haven't lived long enough to see everything."
April shook her head. Confusion aside, that was a very dribbling dream. In all her years, she had never had one where she had a conversation with a mythical creature. They mostly always tried to attack her even if she always woke up at the last second.
Problem was, she never knew she was dreaming in those other dreams.
"Okay, dragon hybrid sir… or ma'am… Could you not speak in syllables? I'm kinda new to this whole knowing I'm dreaming thing. So… Uh… You're leaving."
Indeed, the creature was leaving. She watched it turn its gigantic body around, the scales shimmering with every movement as it swam off. Its large tail slicing around, claws kicked to propell its actions and this left April even more confused.
"Okay?"
She watched it disappear into the depths of the abyss, leaving her completely shrouded in darkness. She floated there, her eyes wide, not knowing what would happen next.
But after a while, the ambiance of the empty darkness started to get to her.
"Okay… starting to get scared…" she mumbled.
She floated there for a few more moments, afraid to look around.
"Dragon left me alone. Is this when I wake up?" She complained in her head.
It was already too dark to see more than five meters ahead of her. There were no glowing balls like the last time. But the lingering feeling of a looming presence surrounded her, so much so that she swerved around, panicked.
Terrified and not knowing what to expect, she was just turning around only to see a green flicker and the closing maw of the mighty beast, at the last second, right before she softly gasped out of the dream, her eyes snapping open.
The environment was immediately different. Golden hues filtered into her eyes as they adjusted to the light. She lowered her face to have a look at the weight on her hand and saw the stark white, masculine and slim fingers of the big hand that belonged to the figure besides her bed, holding her hand. She moved her eyes to the owner and saw him - his eyes closed and long white eyelashes flowing down his cheeks - Saka, sitting beside her. He appeared to be in an asleep state, completely still. Only the gentle rise and fall of his chest betrayed the life in him, banishing any thought of him being a statue.
April stared hard at his face, and then moved her eyes to his hand.
"Why is he holding my hand?" Was the thought that crossed her mind.
He had different clothes on; brown, supposedly Chinese tunics, the sleeves visibly ripped off. His unique and gray, left arm was still as enigmatic as ever and his hair was loose, cascading down the sides of his face. If it weren't for the big shoulders and the Adams apple, April would have classified him as a beautiful young lady.
A sleeping beauty.
April took a moment to look around the room. It was golden. Golden walls and golden ceilings with yellow patterns all over. She was on a soft bed with golden, silky sheets and golden, plush pillows, something found in five-star hotels and her imagination.
She turned back around and met with sharp, gray eyes.
"Argh!" She flinched.
Saka's hold on her hand became firm as he frowned at her. She didn't know when he woke up.
"Finally, you open your eyes. Took you long enough." He crowed.
April squinted. For some stupid reason or another, she had thought he would wish her a good morning or something as equally redundant. But it seemed she was hoping for too much. She opened her mouth to ask.
"You're in the Castle of Ancients." Saka replied before she could get the words out. "The same ugly thing you saw from outside."
April's eyes shot up. How did he…
"You were going to ask that." Saka spoke up again before she could finish her thought.
April frowned. Why…
"We're still bound." Saka answered the question before it even formed. "And you've been asleep for a long time."
"Okay! Okay, I get it! Stop that!" April raised her other hand in surrender. "It's really cool that you can answer my questions before I even ask them but it's starting to bug me."
The paper-white young man silently stared down at the raven-blonde girl for a moment before he blinked.
"You're naked." He said and stood up, finally leaving her hand alone as he walked off.
April's eyes went wide as her hands came to clutch the blankets over her chest, her heart skipping a beat. "Did you–"
"Eon changed your clothes." Saka answered. "She stripped you, washed you and put you in bed a week ago.
"Who changed your clothes?" April asked, wanting to know just how deep that went, for obvious reasons.
Saka came back with a folded pile of clothes looking at it and answered:
"I regained my consciousness two days ago and took care of myself but you dragged me back in right after." He stopped by her bedside. "Clothes, food, then we leave. Immediately."
April stared up at him. How was she to know that he truly was asleep all that time that she was? She could feel that he was telling the truth; she was not clothed under the sheets. What if he was awake the whole time? How did he wake up without alerting her? What was the Castle of Ancients? Where were the others? Had he really not taken a peek? How would he know she was…
"You're wasting time." Saka interrupted her thoughts, his voice almost growling. "I have standards."
April's jaw dropped in her mind. How… How dare he? The nerve!
She fought against her urge to spit gibberish at him and sighed.
"Alright. But are you gonna stand there and watch me get dressed?"
She made her voice sound displeased as possible, wearing the most displeased look possible. Saka returned her look with a blank look of his. After a moment of silence, April almost breaking, he placed the blue pile in her hand.
And turned around, crossing his arms.
"What the…" April's eyes went wide.
He wasn't going to leave. He stood right there, beside the bed, his back turned to her and eyes facing the door.
[Be quick.] His telepathic reply went, curt and precise.
"This guy…" April growled in her head, aware that he was sure to hear that too.
She sighed heavily and sat up, unfolding the blue clothes. They unfurled and to April's surprise, she met with a long, ceremoniously beautiful, blue dress, wide collar, broad sleeves and no girdle.
"Is this a nightdress?" She frowned. But Saka was still waiting beside her.
She pushed her frustration aside and slid the dress on as quickly as possible, sliding off the bed as soon as she did and stood in front of Saka, who lowered his head considerably in order to look down at her.
"How do I look?" She mumbled, secretly wanting a modest answer and a compliment.
"You wear what is provided." Saka answered flatly, shoving a pair of light sandals in her face.
She wore them, bitterly pouting before a bowl of a familiar food was given to her.
"Mush." She said before a spoon thrust into her mouth.
A few minutes after a tiny struggle due to her fight against being fed, albeit to no avail, April found herself sprinting behind Saka whose strides were like leaps. He was leading her to who-knew-where, cutting across golden halls, corridors and running down stairs.
April was concerned by the furtiveness of their movements, not knowing why they were sneaking around the majestic castle but she was too busy trying to keep up with the elf to ask anything.
They came upon a cross-intersection in the halls. Saka halted and pushed April against the wall, covering the girl's mouth before she retorted. April watched him gazing with a dangerous look towards something. And then she heard it, the simultaneous march of footsteps moving in a synchronized beat to the far right.
She had a hard time seeing who they were but she managed to spot a spear vanishing past. And when at last the footsteps faded off into the distance, Saka removed his hand off April's mouth and sighed. He furtively glanced around.
"Who are we hiding from?" April asked, her voice below a whisper.
"You are." Saka simply answered. "I just have to get you out of here without losing my neck." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to his chest, the little girl clumsily smacking against him.
"Wait! Why am I hiding? From whom?" She asked him from the depths of her mind, her heart racing.
[Not the time.] The elf replied in kind and scooped the girl up and hoisted her on his left shoulder.
"Oi!" April felt the metal shoulder poke her belly.
She was still caught up in the pain when the environment around her blurred. Then she appeared in a different part of the corridors. Saka grunted, his arm securely holding the girl on his shoulder, her two tails gently whisking in front of his face.
April was in a daze. For some reason, she believed she had seen herself in a specific spot and then found herself in another spot in the blink of an eye. She turned her head to look at Saka when they vanished and reappeared again in a different location. Then it was a rapid relocation until they appeared in a wide, spacious room.
"Ack!" Saka fell to a knee and bent over, almost dropping April who squealed on his shoulder.
"Don't drop me!" She demanded.
"Shut up!" Saka growled, almost as if he was scolding her for speaking and not for complaining.
April pouted. How rude.
The young man forced himself to his feet and then jumped into the air, April caught off guard and squealing. Before long, he landed on a hard surface and dropped to both knees. April fell off his shoulder and rolled around on the patch of grass.
"Ow." She could only voice it in her head.
Then she was grabbed by the shoulders and held face-to-face with Saka's pale visage.
"Stay here and don't move."
He commanded as he sat her down at the foot of a tree, shoving a book and a golf-sized crystal ball in her hands.
"I have to get back."
April noticed they were her journal and the dull glowing ball she had gotten from the six color-coordinated merfolk from her Sea of Memories a while back. But she perked up when she heard what Saka had said.
"Wait, you're leaving me here?"
She grabbed his wrist and saw in the blink of an eye as he flicked her hand off.
"I have to get back to the others. I'll be more effective when I'm not worrying about your little behind. You'll stay here for as long as I see fit. Stay here."
He pushed her back down against the tree.
She had no idea what was going on and why he was like… that and she had to ask more questions before he vanished before her eyes.
"What's going on?" She whispered, looking into Saka's storm-gray eyes with worry.
Saka maintained her gaze for a second before answering.
"Safatore and the others are undergoing a disciplinary hearing from the Council. It's not going well. This lone island is designed to keep what's in here and what's out over there. You won't leave the island because only I can come and go. I'll come back at sundown to check on you. You have your book, your ball and your head to keep you company. If something big happens, yell."
He let go of her shoulders but maintained his close proximity, studying her face.
On her hand, April was slowly registering the words. Council, secluded island, sundown, book, ball, Saka leaving. Disciplinary hearing.
"...Am I going to be here alone?" She asked, her voice quiet and small.
Saka slowly took out a blue ribbon out of his pocket and tied his long, pure white hair back into a cascading ponytail and sighed softly. He looked down at April with a frown forming on his face.
"Safatore knew bringing you here was a mistake. It won't be long. And whatever you do, don't play in the water. Everything in that lake will kill you."
April's eyes followed his gray finger pointing out at the silvery waters surrounding the small isle.
"I'll be back tonight."
He stood up and started walking off to the edge of the little island, April gaping. Just when April thought he would step into the water, a rock popped out of the water and acted as his stepping stone, followed by many more that made a path across the lake. He followed it, the rocks behind him vanishing back into the silvery water. He didn't look back, and he didn't slow down. He just kept walking away, further sinking April's heart in confusion and worry.
What a time to wake up and be abandoned. Stranded.
"He left me…" she mumbled.