The Dreamweaver - Chapter One

Bird song filtered through the air as the sun glinted down on the world. It was a beautiful day making everything feel peaceful and good.

Faland winced as he slowly hobbled down the river bank, trying to keep his weight off his bad leg. Pausing by the edge of the water, he gently rubbed his calf through his pants, unable to feel the ugly scars but aware of their presence none the less.

Straightening, he moved into the river, the icy cold water lapping against his ankles, then his knees, then his waist until finally he lifted his feet off the ground and sunk down, the water enveloping him all together. He didn’t know how long he stayed there but when he rose back to the surface, he could feel new energy surging through him. As he waded back towards the shore, joy began to surge through him. He felt like a young man again as he walked confidentially, the pain he’d struggled with for so long finally gone. He let out a whoop as he began to run, feeling the wind brush against his hair...

Aria opened her eyes, staring at the white wall. Her head throbbed and as she rolled over she had to fight a wave of nausea. “Good, you’re awake.” Riae, her handmaiden, smiled as she pulled open the curtains, flooding the room with light. Her auburn hair glinted in the sunlight and her bright green eyes looked especially cheerful.

Wincing, Aria raised a hand to her head to try to block out the light. “How late is it?”

“It’s nearly eight. I’m afraid you’ve missed your morning ride and breakfast.”

Disappointment crashed over her like a tidal wave. She didn’t really care about the breakfast but her ride was something she always looked forward to; she enjoyed spending time with the horses almost more then anything. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Mistress Elvira instructed me not to. I trust the dream went well.”

“It is done.” Aria rose to her feet, sighing slightly. “I wish to wear the blue dress today, Riae.”

“As you wish.” Riae picked out the selected gown made of a pale blue fabric with tiny dark blue flowers stitched around the hem. Normally it was her favourite, matching her eyes almost perfectly. Today, though, with her pale complexion and dull eyes even the dress did little to improve her appearance. “Are you feeling well, miss?” Riae asked, as if reading her thoughts.

“I think I just need to sleep.” Aria sat down at her vanity, watching as Riae pinned up her long blonde hair.

“You can just say no,” Riae said quietly, again seeming to read her thoughts. “Mistress Elvira cannot make you dream.”

“I’m not just saying no to her, though, am I?” Aria gently fiddled with the items on the dresser, feeling tears well up in her eyes. “I want to help them, Riae, I do but how many more dreams must I give?” Taking a deep breathe, Aria shook her head ever so slightly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t say such things. It would be selfish to keep my gift to myself. I’m just tired; I’m sure I’ll feel better tomorrow.”

Rising to her feet, she left her chamber, her hand running over the smooth oak railing as she made her way down the staircase. She had only gone a few steps before she heard her name called, Faland striding towards her with tears in his eyes. “Mistress Aria,” he grasped her hand between both of his, bowing down as he kissed it. “I can never thank you enough, Okiro,” he smiled as he used the term of respect. “When I woke up this morning, my leg was completely healed, just as you said. You have given me my life back. I am only sorry I could not give you more then the requested payment-“

“What payment?”

“Mistress Elvira instructed me that you required two cows in return for your dreams.” He kissed her hands again. “It is nothing compared to the value of your gift, I know but it was all I could give.”

“You're welcome.” She smiled at his happiness. “But I wish for you to go visit Peri. He will give your cows back. They are your livelihood and I cannot take them from you.” He stammered his thanks, tears streaming down his cheeks as he left.

The doors to her right opened with a loud bang as Elvira strode into the foyer, her pretty face tight in an angry frown. It was obvious she had overheard her daughters conversation. “You should not have done that, Aria.”

“What is worth a healed leg if he cannot eat, mother?”

“And what use are your dreams if we cannot earn our living? You have an amazing gift, Aria."

“I will not accept payment from those who can’t afford it!”

“And when those who can afford it demand fair treatment, what do you do then? Not everyone lives with the same ideals as you, Aria.” Elvira walked over to her daughter, sighing slightly as she shook her head. “You have the same thoughts as your father, Aria and they may be beautiful thoughts but they cannot exist in this world.” She reached out, gently touching Aria’s check. “I loved your father very much, Aria, but he trusted people far too much and he let them use him until he died. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

“I know, mother,” Aria started but Elvira shook her head.

“No more today, honey. You look ill, you should ask the cook to make you some breakfast. You’ll need your strength for tonight.” Elvira swept towards the staircase when Aria called after her,

“Tonight?”

“Yes, dear, don’t you remember? We have the gala for charity to attend and after that we have a new request by Cyrus. His wife has been having trouble with her pregnancy. I’ll have her painting delivered to your room - please make sure you spend that extra bit of time studying it. Cyrus is very wealthy and with your act this morning, we can't afford to make a mistake.” With that Elvira swept up the stairs.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“What do you mean, the positions been filled?” Kira ducked underneath a row of dried herbs hanging from the ceiling as he followed the cook to the other side of the bustling kitchen. “I was told the job was going to be held for me.”

“I know, but it’s the mistresses nephew. I’m sorry but it’s out of my hand. Finer, finer!” The last part was directed to an apprentice who was chopping an onion nearby.

“Please, I need a job. There has to be a position here.”

“The only position here is on the cleaning staff.” The chef said in exasperation. “And if you want it, go around the back to servants quarters and see Luig. Tell ‘im Mar sent you.”

Picking up his bag and swinging it over his shoulder, Kira headed back outside. Kicking at the dust, he sighed as he turned to look at the house he’d just left. Well, house hardly did it justice – it was more of a mansion made of grey stone and surrounded by a large, posh garden. He would have liked working here but cleaning staff? That was the sort of thing only woman or old people did! He was only just twenty. He really couldn’t...

As he paused at the top of the extensive driveway, he couldn’t resist another glance at the house behind him. He wasn’t naive about his prospects. He could probably find work in the village, doing some sort of hard labour, but for who? Some inn keep or farmer? Nothing like this. Cleaning staff was just the beginning; once he got his foot in the door, he would have chances at opportunities he could not get in the village.

His mind made up, he swallowed his pride as he shifted his bag to the other shoulder and strode towards the back of the house. The servants quarters where small and modest houses, grouped together to form a sort of large block. Walking over to the plain wooden door, Kira rapped on it sharply, asking the small thin boy who answered for Lugi. After a few minutes an old man answered, dressed neatly in a black suit. His white hair, thinned considerable in his age, was combed to the side and his shoes, although old, were polished brightly. Upon seeing Kira, Lugi raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“I heard there was a position on the cleaning staff. Mar sent me,” he added hastily as Lugi’s mouth tightened in a frown.

“Yes, there is a position on the cleaning staff. I will give you a small tour and explain what will be expected of you; if at the end of it you choose to stay, payment is lodgings, food and three circaos a week. This way.”

Lugi led him into the lodgings, stopping before an open doorway. A quick glance inside showed many beds with jumbles of clothes, shoes and various odds and ends scattered across them. “These are the boys quarters, where you will be staying. It’s meant to look considerably neater but you’ll find it only becomes so when an inspection nears. Inspections are once a week and let me assure you, failure is not an option if you wish to keep this job.” They left the quarters and entered the house through a small wooden door in the middle of the vegetable and herb gardens.

They were standing in a thin hallway lined with cupboards. Lugi pointed out the one with the cleaning supplies and instructed him not to open the others.

“As cleaning staff, you will be working primarily at night. Your day starts at roughly ten, when Mistress Elvira goes to bed – Mistress Aria will be in bed at nine on most nights – but if for whatever reason Mistress Elvira is delayed in that time you will not start until she has entered her chambers. Work will finish at strictly six, before Mistress Aria gets up for her morning ride. If either Mistress Elvira or Mistress Aria sees you for whatever reason, you will be fired.”

“I’m sorry?” Kira frowned in bewilderment. “Just because they see me?” He would be the first to admit he had little experience on cleaning staff but surely that wasn’t the usual practice.

“That is our policy, yes. Your duties will be to sweep and mop the floors, clean the windows and dust the chandeliers. Under no circumstances are you to enter the Mistresses’ bedrooms; the maids will clean them. Once a month you will be expected to clean the gutters of the house. Any questions?”

Kira shook his head. “Uh, no... well, I guess, how do I avoid the Mistresses’ without knowing what they look like? Unless of course I get to meet them-“

“Under no circumstances will you be meeting either of them. Provided you stay within the hours I allotted you, you should have no problems with running into either of them. So,” Lugi looked at Kira expectantly. “do you wish to accept the job?”

“Uh...” Kira run a hand through his hair. “Uh, yeah, I guess so.”

“Good. You’ll start tonight.” Luigi waved a hand at the door and after a moment of hesitation Kira walked back to the servants quarters, placing his pack down on the only spare bed. Sitting down, he sighed as he looked around the room. He’d spent his life moving from village to village with his father, taking any jobs they could find for a season before moving on again. After his father had died he’d decided to come to the city but this was nothing like he’d imagined it to be. Still, it’s just the first step. After all, he had a job at the richest family in town. Sure, it wasn’t the type of job he’d ever really thought of himself doing but surely it was still better than anything he’d done so far.

After he’d finished unpacking he still had a few hours to spare so he took a walk. The gardens were even larger than he thought they were, thick green grass with expensive-looking statues covering the grounds. There was a big pond – although, he thought ruefully, it was more of a small lake – filled with colourful fish he’d never seen before. The grounds themselves were surrounded by a large forest and towards the back of the mansion was the largest stables he’d ever seen. Pausing by the fence, he surveyed the many horses grazing in a field. He’d had to sell his horse last winter; perhaps he would be allowed to ride one of these. Maybe if he stuck around for long enough he’d be able to become a stable hand. 

The next few weeks passed quickly. The work was easy but boring and he found he was able to do everything relatively easily. The other people on the cleaning staff seemed to use gossip to quench the boredom and it wasn’t long before he knew far more about each person then he would have liked; it would seem the majority of people where either sleeping or fighting with each other. The only person he didn’t mind hearing about was Aria. She was, he was told on third night, a Dream weaver. It was a surprise he had never expected and a pleasant one at that. He’d heard of Dream weavers, everyone had; people with the amazing ability to control their dreams and through them, change reality. But he’d never met one before and he’d certainly never been this close to one before. It was an even more amazing opportunity then he ever would have believed.

He adapted to keeping out of sight quite well, ducking behind statues, diving into bushes and one time even leaping into the pond to avoid being seen by the Mistresses’' on his daily walks in the forest. Keeping out of sight an night was considerably easier; except for one night where Mistress Elvira didn’t go to bed until almost one and he’d only realized moments before entering the foyer, he hadn’t come close to them.

Or at least he hadn’t, until that night. He’d only been working there for almost five weeks and he’d been in the middle of moping the floors. It was his least favourite chore and he was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t hear the door at the top of the stairs open, a sound he normally kept an ear out for. It was only when something moved out of the corner of his eye that he stirred from his imagination, turning his head slightly just in time to see a lady he could only presume was Aria start down the stairs. She was pretty, even in her nightdress, but he’d seen far lovelier ladies before. Yet when she caught his eye, his pulse seemed to quicken.

Her lips curved upwards and just like that he realized what was happening. Without another thought he dropped the mop and ran from the room, knocking over the bucket of soap suds in the process. As the door slammed behind him he kept running, into the servants quarters and into the bedroom. As he sunk down onto his bed he groaned, flopping over backwards. He had just made the biggest fool of himself in front of a Dream weaver. Not that it matters, anyway, he thought glumly. Ignoring the absolute embarrassment of the situation, he’d just broken the number one rule about being seen.

After nearly an hour he deemed it safe and went back inside, slowly up righting the bucket and picking the mop back up. He paused for a moment, looking up the stairs to the darkened door he could just make out, then shook his head and set about cleaning up the mess he’d made.

Much to his surprise, Luigi never approached him. He could only presume Aria hadn’t said anything to him; although it was possible the older man had decided to be lenient, he didn’t really think it would have happened. No, the more about it the more he became convinced that he still had his job because Aria had protected him and the thought made him smile.

During his spare time he began to spend more and more time around the horses. It was a difficult place to be; Aria loved them dearly and although she only seemed to ride them in the morning she was often in the stables. There weren’t many places to hide but the stable hands wandered around freely so after a little while he came to realize that as long as Luigi didn’t see him he could move freely without Aria being any the wiser.

He was on his way back to the house one late afternoon when he heard a yell. Turning, he had just enough time to dive out of the way as a horse came barrelling past, knocking over an unfortunate stable hand who didn’t react as quickly. Without thinking, Kira went after the horse who had slowed down to a halt, it’s nostrils flaring as it whinnied nervously. Approaching slowly, Kira held his hands out carefully as he made soothing noises in an attempt to calm the animal down.

Moving closer, he gently reached out to hold the horses bridle, still trying to calm down the frighten horse. Tobias, the stable manager, approached carefully. Even though he was tall he was still a few inches shorter than Kira and today his normal happy-go-lucky attitude had vanished beneath a thunderous frown.  “Thanks,” he said shortly as he took the horse off Kira, leading him back to the stable. Another stable hand was gathered by the man lying on the ground, whose name was Jones, and as Kira approached it was obvious the Jones’ leg was broken, sticking away from him at an awkward angle. After making a make-do splint, between the two of them they managed to help the man to the servants quarters.

Luigi took over immediately, sending the other stable hand to fetch a doctor and firmly informing Kira he would just get in the way if he stayed. So instead Kira headed back to the stables, looking over at the top of the stall door to the horse that had escaped. It was a beautiful thing, that was for sure; a grey thoroughbred with deep, intelligent eyes. “His name is Sorrow,” Tobias said as he ran his hand down the horse’s leg. Satisfied it was okay, he moved onto the next one. “and he belongs to Aria.” He glanced over his shoulder at Kira, frowning slightly. “Good job out there, by the way. You obviously know your way around a horse.”

“I used to own one; had him since I could walk.”

“Used to?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t afford him anymore.” Kira’s jaw tightened. He’d lost everything, all at once; both his father and his horse. He missed them both, terribly.

“I’m sorry. I’ve seen you around a fair bit; where do you work?”

“I’m uh, cleaning staff.”

Tobias looked up again, his bright green eyes sweeping over Kira before he elegantly arched a brow. “Ah.”

“Why is he named Sorrow?” Kira asked after a moment and Tobias shrugged.

“You’d have to ask Mistress Aria that one. ‘Tis an ususal name for a horse, especially a fine one like this but I’m sure she had her reasons.”

There was silence for the next few minutes until Kira turned to leave at which point Tobias said quietly, “I can’t offer you anything glamorous. Aria is very particular about who works with the horses directly. So you’ll be mucking out the stalls, cleaning the tack and feeding them, at least for the first few months.”

“I’m okay with that,” Kira replied quickly. Was Tobias really offering him a job?

Straightening, Tobias left the stall, sliding the bolt back into place. “In that case, I’ll talk to Luigi. In the meantime, you can start on the food. Do you know where the tack area is?” Kira nodded and Tobias continued, “Good. You’ll find the food mix in barrels there; there’s a list on the wall telling you how much of each. Sorrow has a special diet so be careful to pay attention to what you're doing. If you make a mistake, fine but I don’t give second chances when it comes to the horses, so I expect you to treat them with the respect they deserve.”

“I understand.” He wandered down to the tack room with a grin. He’d been hoping for this but he hadn’t expected it to happen, let alone so quickly. He supposed it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

He whistled as he mixed up the horses food then started to take it to each one, leaving Sorrow’s food until last. He was extremely careful to follow the instructions to the latter and was confident Tobias wouldn’t find fault with it. After placing it in the food bin inside Sorrow’s stall, he couldn’t resist the urge to stroke the gelding’s neck, admiring the strong muscles rippling beneath his hand. He really was a beautiful creature and for a moment Kira found himself picturing what he’d be like to ride...

He heard footsteps moments before a feminine voice said, “Jones, I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow...” Aria trailed off as he glanced up, her frown perplexed.“You're not... what are you doing here?”

“Uh, I’m a new stable hand.” Kira said slowly. It felt strange not having to hide from her. He didn’t have to hide from her, did he? For a second he felt a wash of panic but he quickly dismissed it. None of the other stable hands hid from her; he was fairly certain the absurd rule had applied on to the cleaning staff.

“Where’s Jones?”

“There was an accident – Sorrow bolted and knocked him over. He broke his leg.” 

Aria paled. “Why wasn’t I informed of this?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know, miss,” Kira said after a moment. “But he’s fine, he’s in the servants quarters and last I heard a doctor was on his way.”

She nodded, her gaze shifting to her horse as she looked him over.

“He’s fine too,” Kira said quickly. “Tobias has already checked him out.”

Her relief was visible. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“No problem.” There was awkward silence for a moment before she turned away, disappearing from sight quickly. He watched her go, then turned back to the horse. The work in the stables wasn’t particularly interesting either but he enjoyed the physical aspect to it and he got to be around the horses, even if he couldn’t ride them yet.

By far the biggest bonus was Aria. She generally said hello to most stable hands and he was no exception; a few times he made sure he was cleaning Sorrow’s stall when she came to ride and on those occasions she generally made small talk while waiting for someone to saddle Sorrow for her. She was witty, Kira quickly discovered, and very intelligent. He was still incredibly curious about her gift – the day after Jones' leg had been broken it had been healed, although all he ever said when Kira asked him was that ‘Mistress Aria was generous indeed.’ Still, he didn’t ask about her gift and she didn’t say anything about it, so for the time being he had to simply push the curiosity aside.

One night after he’d finished feeding the horses he went for a walk, enjoying the crisp night air. He found himself walking over to the pond, taking a seat by a statue and studying the colourful fish below. After a few minutes he slipped off his shoes and let his feet dangle in the cool water, tipping his head back to look at the stars.

He heard a twig crack behind him and he turned his head, seeing Aria approach. Scrambling to his feet, he fumbled for his shoes. “My apologies, ma’am,” he tipped his head and started to move away when her soft voice stopped him,

“Don’t go. If I make you uncomfortable, I’ll leave.”

“You don’t make me uncomfortable,” he replied bluntly as he looked at her then coloured slightly, dropping his gaze. “But if you’ll excuse me-“

“I’m glad I don’t make you uncomfortable,” Aria laughed quietly, walking towards him. As she neared he felt his throat constrict and he shifted his shoes nervously from one arm to the other. “Please stay,” she said softly.

He risked another glance at her face and saw nothing but sincerity. He knew he should go; surely it wasn’t appropriate for him to be with her alone, more so by the fact he was still essentially her servant. And yet he found himself nodding in acquiescence, sitting back down and placing his feet back into the water. She took a seat a few feet away, her dress spread around her like a halo as she stared down at the fish. They didn’t talk but rather just sat there in silence, Kira resuming his star gazing while Aria traced aimless shapes in the water.

“Thank you,” she said softly as she rose to her feet to go. “I know it wasn’t proper.”

“Thank you for not firing me,” he blurted suddenly and she looked at him quizzically.

“I’m sorry?”

“I used to be on the cleaning staff and one day you saw me. Thank you for not firing me.”

She looked at him for a few moments quizzically before the confusion cleared. “That’s right, I remember you. You spilt the bucket.” Her laugh was musical and he felt embarrassment flood his cheeks as she continued, “And I suppose you are talking about my mothers absurd rule.” She smiled sadly, looking away. “She means well but I’m afraid we have very different ideas about what it is I need. I hope you don’t believe that I...” She trailed off as if remembering who she was talking to. “But you’re welcome, at any rate.”

She turned to leave and he scrambled to his feet, finding himself saying, “Sorrow really is a beautiful horse, you must be very proud of him. He’s got a very unusual name, though.”

There was a long pause. He had just been incredibly rude, he realized and he was just about to apologize and leave when she said in a voice so low he had to strain to hear it, “My father gave him to me a few days before he died. It seem appropriate at the time.” She looked at him. “Strange that you would be the first one to ask.” And with that she was gone, leaving him by the pond.

Over the next few weeks he tried his hardest to run into her again, sometimes successfully but for the most part his interaction with her was minimal, at best. He’d been there for almost six months in total when it happened. The fact Aria missed her morning ride wasn’t in itself unusual - a few times she had been sick, or simply overslept – but the fact she didn’t visit at all that day was. What really concerned him, though, was Tobias. He’d never seen him so upset before; except for when someone did something wrong with the horses, Tobias rarely showed emotion. That day, however, he moved around the stables as if his best friend had died. Luigi was much the same, although when pressed neither admitted to anything upsetting.  At some point in the night the secret seemed to get out because when Kira awoke the next day everyone was talking.

Mistress Aria, it seemed, had gone to sleep and had not woken up. No one knew why; the doctor had come for her yesterday morning and announced that it was if she had been injured, although there was nothing physically wrong with her. Now a number of physicians had gathered, Kira was told by one of the maids, but none could discern why she was unconscious.

Everyone’s mood was grim through out the day. From the whispers around him, it was obvious that although most people were concerned for Aria they were all concerned about their jobs, as well. If Mistress Aria died, many things would change, especially when it came to the horses; it was doubtful Mistress Elevera would keep them around.

Even though it would result in him losing his job, Kira couldn’t allow himself to think about Aria’s death, let alone plan a contingency plan. Somehow the thought horrified him, as if contemplating it could lead to its eventuality.

A week passed and nothing changed. The servants had since resumed to talking about other things and life continued as if everything had not changed. Every time Kira passed by Sorrow’s stall he was reminded that she was missing. He hadn’t known her as well as he would have liked but there was something about her that seemed to consume his thoughts, even more so now that he knew she was... sick.

There had to be something he could do, he thought glumly as he swallowed the last of his beer. He had never been much of a drinker but the stable hands liked nothing better than to come down the village tavern every weekend and he’d taken to joining them as a way of unwinding. “More, love?” A bar maid had appeared by his chair almost instantly, jug in hand.

He looked down at his mug for a second then shrugged slightly, holding it out to her.

“You work for the Dream weaver, eh?” She remarked casually. “Everyone is saying that she’s dying.”

“I wouldn’t say that. They’re not sure what’s wrong with her but the doctor said she’s fine, physically.”

“Well something’s stopping her from waking up, ain’t it? I’d wager it’s her power. Things always seem to be a bit strange for ‘em who have the gift. Pity Marcus lives so far away, or else I’d ask him. Still, I’m sure they’ll think of something.” The maid turned away but Kira stopped her.

“Marcus? Who’s Marcus?”

“A Dream weaver, of course. Marcus? Marcus Ceriec? You really haven’t heard of him?”

“No. Where does he live?”

“A village a few days walk from here, called Miro.”

Kira frowned. Miro... he’d spent an autumn working harvests in that area and he’d never heard of a Dream weaver living there. Although he had never really gone into the village, except for the occasional supplies. “Miro? You’re sure?”

“Course I’m sure, love. I came from there and I was back to visit just a month ago. If it’s because of her ability that this is happening, Marcus might know.” With that the bar maid disappeared and Kira turned back to his drink, thinking hard. It was worth a mention to someone, maybe... Luigi? Yes. He would tell Luigi and hopefully he would tell Elevera.

The next day he had his chance when he ran into Luigi while on his way out of the servants quarters. The older man was less than receptive to his idea, however, telling him on no uncertain terms that mentioning Marcus to Elevera was a very big mistake and would get him fired.

I have to try, Kira thought stubbornly, shoving his hands into his pockets. If he was fired, so be it but he couldn’t believe that he would be. This was her daughter, surely Elevera would be willing to do anything to help Aria!

He showered, shaved and put on his best suit of clothes before carefully making his way up to the house. It was a daunting task; he knew full well that servants, or even stable hands, did not simply approach the lady of the house and tell her what she should be doing with her daughter. He had never even met Elevera before – except for a glimpse at her from a distance, back when he was on cleaning staff, which had required him to promptly dive into a bush. From what he had heard of her, she was the spitting image of her daughter but far more ill-tempered. It made him incredibly nervous but the thought of Aria lying in her bedroom spurned him on.

He entered the house, squaring his shoulders. Much to his relief the foyer was empty and after a quick glance at the time piece on the wall he headed to the dinning room, where he knew she would most likely be eating her supper.

Sure enough, as the door opened both Elevera and a number of servants looked at him. He swallowed hard as he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him as a servant stepped forward, blocking out the view of the table. “I’m sorry, we weren’t expecting company-“

“I’ve come to talk to Elevera.”

“And why would I want to talk to you?” He heard her say. The servant stepped aside and she was once more revealed. She had the same hair, same eyes, even the same voice as Aria. Her tone, though, was far more judgemental and eyebrow delicately arched at his audacity at approaching her, a lady. “Am I correct in assuming you work for me?” She waved her hand at him as if by explanation and his face reddened as he looked down at his clothes. Here, under her gaze, he realized how poor he must look to her.

“Yes, ma’am.” He said after a moment and her gaze hardened.

“Then why would you believe you could just come into my house, unannounced and uninvited, and demand to talk to me?”

“It’s about your daughter, ma’am.”

She paused for a moment, eyes narrowed, then picked up her cup and took a sip. “Continue.”

“I heard from a...” he paused awkwardly, trying to find an alternative to ‘bar maid’ before continuing lamely, “friend that in the village of Miro, just a few days from here, is another Dream weaver called Marcus-“

“-Ceriec, yes, I’m familiar with him.” She was frowning again and Kira hastily continued,

“Well, Aria-“ her frown deepened and he quickly correct himself, “Mistress Aria hasn’t shown any improvement in a week, ma’am. My understanding is that the doctor doesn’t know what it wrong with her. Isn’t there a chance that its her ability? Some sort of side effect, perhaps? And if it is her ability, who better to ask then another Dream weaver?”

“I’ll stop you there,” Elevera said coldly, taking another sip from her glass. “My doctors have informed me that Aria has simply gone into a deep sleep in order to recover from... an incident that happened shortly before these unfortunate events. I have been told that she will wake on her own, given time. That said, I do not need or appreciate a servant both inquiring into our business and then trying to interfere with it. Marcus Ceriec is not someone I will have any dealings with and Aria would agree with me if she was able to do so.”

“But-“

“I will speak no more on the matter.” She waved her hand and a servant stepped forward, ushering him towards the door.

“You’re making a mistake!” Kira said desperately. “He can help her.”

“The only mistake I made was hiring you and I believe your termination will fix that. Pack your things immediately.”

The next hour passed in a blur. He was escorted back to the servants quarters, where he packed his things. Once he was done he couldn’t resist going back to the stables to say goodbye to Sorrow and the other horses. As he brushed his hand along Sorrow’s velvety nose he felt sadness wash over him. Sadness because he was leaving, even though he had come to like it here; sadness because he was convinced Marcus could help Aria and he had not been able to persuade her mother. “I know you're sad, too, boy. You must miss her,” he whispered.

Hearing footsteps, he turned his head to watch Tobias near. “I heard you were fired,” Tobias said flatly, eyeing the pack over Kira’s shoulder. “Luigi told me you were talking about Marcus Ceriec earlier. You tried to talk to Mistress Elevera about him, didn’t you? Even when Luigi told you not to?”

“I had to try,” Kira replied simply. “he can help Aria, I’m sure of it.”

“Because he’s a Dream weaver?” When Kira nodded, Tobias shook his head and sighed. “You’re not the only one to believe Aria’s gift is part of the problem. I’d say even Mistress Elevera knows it, even if she would never admit it.”

“Even if it meant her daughters life?”

“This is a world you don’t understand, Kira. I know it must be hard for you but it’s not any easier for the rest of us. You might not think so but Mistress Elevera will be hurting from it too.”

“I’m sure she is, I just...” Kira left the stall, glancing back at Sorrow as he did. “I just wish there was something else I can do.”

“You mean like go to Marcus yourself?” Tobias shoved his hands into his pockets. “She said no, Kira but you don’t work for her anymore.”

“If she really hates this Marcus guy that much, why would she listen? I mean, I could go to him, find out to cure Aria and then what?”

“Guess thats up to you. You were good, Kira and I’m sorry to see you go.” Tobias held out his hand and Kira shook it.

“Thanks, Tobias. See you.”

After he’d finished saying his goodbyes, Kira walked down the path. Why couldn’t he just go to Miro? He had nothing to stay for here. So if it turned out Marcus couldn’t help Aria, well, Miro was as good as any place to try to find a job.