Episode Three: . . . Into an Ocean of Dreams
"I will speak to Lady Marchaun alone, please," Kieme said. Kreis moved forward to protest, but Faradine shook her head.
"It’ll be all right," she said. "You and Triana can go and clean up, eat—do whatever you need to do."
Neither Triana nor Kreis wanted to leave Faradine alone with Kieme, but while they might not have trusted the latter, they trusted the former, and decided it would be best to comply with her wishes.
"It’s good to be back in Norana, even if she is here," Kreis sighed. "Now what?"
"Practice what you preach," Triana replied with a wicked grin. "Don’t worry about it."
Kreis frowned. "Why don’t you go look for your player friends?"
Triana stuck out her tongue at him. "And what if I do?" she challenged. Kreis shrugged.
"What makes you think I care?" he replied.
"You cared enough to ask…oh, forget it. Right now, I just want to take a bath."
Kreis sniffed and wrinkled his nose. "It’s about time."
Triana made an indignant noise and spun to walk away.
*
So…this is it, the beautiful town of Norana, Kieme thought. The Abbess led Kieme into her office, shutting the door to ensure the privacy of their conversation. And its matron, the Abbess Faradine Marchaun. She claims to support peace, but maintains the independence of Norana by pitting the neighboring Lords and Ladies against each other and letting them fight. I wonder if anyone else realizes that?
Kieme was several inches taller than the older woman, whose age she estimated in the mid-fifties. They had never met face-to-face before, but Kieme had heard much about the Abbess of the Crane. Faradine was not afraid to meet her eyes, and couldn’t help but think that this girl reminded her of someone—though she couldn’t place who it was.
"What do you want with us?" she asked.
"The queen will not interfere with you, so long as you do not interrupt her greater plans. Resistance, however, will be considered grounds for the destruction of your Abbey and extermination of your order..."
*
All explained, it gave Faradine a headache.
She sighed. "How long do I have to make this decision?"
"I have been appointed to travel with Kreis and Triana to Thaliron, where Aradinea’s palace is. I will return here with them for your answer. Until I do, no army will touch Norana. Messengers have been sent to the rulers of the surrounding land as well, giving them the same choice; Aradinea’s rule or war. The law of the Queen’s empire, however, will end warfare between provinces."
Faradine nodded. "I understand your terms."
"Thank you for your time. I will return when I am able." Faradine had heard someone speak those words before, seventeen years ago. Suddenly it snapped—she knew who this girl reminded her of.
Kreis’s mother.
Faradine shook her head and opened the door to let Kieme out of her office. She them shut the door, sitting back down at her desk to think.
Kieme was waiting in the entrance hall of the Abbey of the Crane when Kreis was on his way out, after bathing, changing his clothing, and eating. She looked up at him emotionlessly.
"There are entertainers in the village," she said. "Your friend went to go see them. Shall we go as well?"
"What did you talk to Faradine about?" Kreis asked.
"If I wanted you to know, I would not have asked that you leave," Kieme replied smoothly. "We certainly cannot depart for Thaliron tonight. Unless you have other obligations, I assumed you would like to stay close to Triana."
Kreis felt his cheeks go warm, but didn’t argue. "Where are they performing?" he wondered.
*
Where would I find a group of players, anyway? Triana thought as she walked through the town. I guess they could give a performance at the little stage inside the inn, or maybe—Her train of thought halted as someone caught her arm, and she let out a surprised sound.
"I knew our paths would cross again, Triana Mayfey," Gregan greeted her.
"You?" Triana whispered.
"The one and only," he replied, grinning. He was still wearing the cape, but at least he’d gotten rid of the hat.
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she scolded him, catching her breath after the shock. "What are you doing?"
"Just taking a short walk before the big show," he replied. "Come on, I’ll introduce you to everybody." Gregan led her to an open area in the town—Triana knew of it, a place where she and Kreis had often played as children. There, the players who had come to Norana with Gregan were setting up for the show.
If this is a trick, it’s a pretty elaborate one, Triana thought, watching the players rush around in preparation. Suddenly, a name caught her attention.
"Kieme!"
Triana spun.
"What?" Gregan followed her gaze to where an actor and an actress were rehearsing. Triana blushed.
"I’m sorry," she said. "What are they rehearsing?"
Gregan blinked at her in surprise. "You don’t recognize it?" Triana shook her head. "Weird. Well, you’ll see it tonight."
They’re from inside the Queen’s realm, Triana thought. It may just be a coincidence, but people do like to write stories about heroes, and if Kieme is famous within the Queen’s territory she might be—
"It’s a really old story, so old nobody knows the origin," Gregan continued. "My sister wrote up a new version for us to perform—just finished it up a couple months ago, and we’ve only done it a couple of times. I play Adrinic, the hero—of course."
"Bragging again?" a dry voice intoned.
"Only about your skills, my dear sister," Gregan replied smoothly. Beside him stood the blue-haired young woman who had spoken that morning. "Triana, this is my older sister, Cetolyn Rosalis. Cetolyn, I present Lady Triana Mayfey."
"Don’t get too attached to my brother, he’s always like this around girls," Cetolyn said, shaking Triana’s hand. "And everyone calls me Ceto."
"Nice to meet you, Ceto," Triana replied politely. "So, you really wrote this play?"
"Ceto writes all of our plays," Gregan began, before his sister could get a word in edgewise. She cleared her throat.
"Not quite," she said. "Greg helps, sometimes. Once in a while, he comes up with something decent and presentable. He wrote the introduction to our performances. It’s all right, but not nearly as great as he thinks it is." Gregan kicked her, and she shook her head.
"Ceto’s also in charge of making sure Alesa and Jarrin play in tune," he continued, and introduced Triana to the two musicians. There were also two other actors, two actresses, and two people in charge of setting the stage and making sure everything ran smoothly. One of those, Shan, awed Triana with his ability to keep the stage lit with his magic. None of them seemed to be much older than twenty, and Triana envied their happiness and closeness to each other. She thought of her friends back at the Abbey, and how she seemed to fit in better with these complete strangers than with the girls at home.
Of course, if these people knew I saw the future in my dreams, they’d probably fear me, too. Like everyone at the Abbey…even Faradine, though she tried to hide it. Everyone but Kreis treated me like I was strange after that… She sighed, then forced a smile onto her face. She had no intention of telling them about the dreams, and what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them--or her.
Neither did they seem to have any connection with the Queen of Shadows or Kieme Aemonstane. As far as Triana could tell, it was only coincidence that they had met on the same day.
*
Kreis and Kieme spoke to each other as little as possible as they walked through the streets of Norana. A wry grin tugged at the corners of Kieme’s lips, but she suppressed it with practiced ease at controlling her emotions.
Who’s following who? she thought with ironic sarcasm. Neither of us trusts the other out of our sight—we’d certainly be happier on our own, but we don’t have a choice.
It’s going to be like this all the way to Thaliron, Kreis thought. Just me, Triana, and this quiet shadow who stares at us when she thinks we won’t notice—but we can’t let her out of our sight, either. There’s no telling what she’s got in mind for us, and I’d just as soon not find out.
"You could always kill me when we reach Thaliron," Kieme said softly. Kreis jerked—he had not expected her to speak. "Yes. That would be an end to all your problems, wouldn’t it? You’d be where you wanted to be, and you’d be rid of your chaperon."
"If we killed you, we wouldn’t live for long afterwards, even if we were able to succeed. There are too many problems. Why don’t you kill us? I don’t believe that you will—your Queen could’ve had us dead long before this if she wanted it—but instead, she sent you after us. I don’t suppose you’ll tell me why, but I’m sure there is a reason."
"You know what you are," Kieme replied, "you and Triana. That’s reason enough, isn’t it?" Kreis stared at her. "I believe we’ve reached our destination."
Kreis looked beyond her to see a place where people were gathering, and a bright light shone against the darkness of dusk. He followed Kieme Aemonstane towards that light, where a single man stood on a raised platform. Kreis recognized him as the young man Triana had been speaking to that morning.
"For a moment, fall away from yourself," he spoke out clearly, and the crowd hushed. "For a moment, forget about reality. Fall away from your troubles, from your worries...and listen, and believe. Fall away from the waking world...
"And plunge down, into an ocean of dreams."