Chapter 22 Dreamscape
DREAMSCAPE
ALICE
I’m flying.
The air is brisk on my cheeks, and I sniffle to keep the snot from dripping out of my nose. They all convinced me I’d be able to handle it. They said it’d be worth it, even if I look like Rudolf when I come back down to earth.
It’s worth it. Definitely worth it.
I eek and yelp and scream and laugh as we soar through the clouds. I don’t dare lift my hands from Ori’s scaled back—I don’t want to fall—but I’m tempted.
I technically can’t fall, since I’m strapped into a harness made for this kind of stuff.
Ori said it might be uncomfortable to wear, but it’s better to be safe.
I don’t disagree with him. The harness digs tightly into my thighs and around my stomach, but it keeps me securely fastened between his mighty wings.
Ori roars.
The vibration shakes me, pulling a crazed giggle from my throat. It’s like a roller coaster ride, the cart rumbling as it rolls over the tracks. The peaks and valleys are the same, but the view is better.
Woods stretch on for miles below us, fall foliage in full bloom. I’ve been in Arcadia for over a month now, and the crisp air is refreshing after getting so many extra summer days after my birthday.
My stomach swoops as Ori carries us high, lets gravity plumet us through the air, then spreads his wings to glide low above the flora.
When the rush wears off, a calm washes over me.
I hug Ori’s neck tightly and rest my cheek on his scales.
They’re smooth, and warm, like the heater pad my mom runs in the microwave and puts on her back when she’s sick.
Sometimes she lets me use it on my neck, but only after it’s cooled off.
Ori’s dragon has that same temperature, and it makes me want to nap.
He must sense my lethargy, because we break through the lowest layer of clouds and circle over a clearing.
His dragon huffs a warning, and I hang on impossibly tighter as we drop, his wings fanning out to stop our momentum. His taloned feet hit the grass, singing the green with his unnatural heat.
I unclip the harness like Ori showed me and slide down his scales. When my shoes hit the ground, I stumble on wobbly legs, but a pair of strong arms catch me.
Jessa’s got the strongest muscles of all of us—I know because we had a flexing competition the other day and the bump on her arm was the biggest. Harley and I were the same, and Ori was somewhere in between. He was bummed out afterward and challenged Jessa to see who could climb a tree the fastest.
Ori’s kind of a sore loser, but he won their race and that brightened his mood. Jessa doesn’t care about winning so much as having fun.
“Did you like it?” she asks.
“It was crazy,” I croon, and laughter leaks out of her wide smile. “Why aren’t you guys making him take you up there all the time?”
“Because it’s technically breaking the rules,” Harley says, sidling next to me. His freckled nose scrunches, causing his round glasses to hitch. “And the one time I did go, I dropped my glasses. I had to lie to Jessa’s parents about how I lost them in the woods. I was terrified.”
“You technically weren’t lying,” Ori says, having shifted back into his human form. “You did lose them in the Wandering Woods.”
Jessa snorts. “Yeah, while he was a hundred feet above them, hurtling through the sky.”
Ori untangles himself from his harness—the leather drapes over his human frame in oversized loops, but it fits his massive dragon perfectly.
Before we got in the air, he said that as he gets older and taller his dragon will grow too.
That was crazy to hear, because he’s already way bigger than a moose. And those things are big.
“Wait, why is it breaking the rules for you guys to fly with him?” I ask, my brain catching up with Harley’s words as Ori joins our huddle.
“Only fated Champions are supposed to fly on dragon-back,” Harley answers.
“It’s a pride thing,” Ori says, shrugging. “But I don’t really care. If I like you well enough, you can join me in the air. I’m cool like that.”
“Stick it to our parents and their stupid rules,” Jessa calls out, lifting her fist to the sky. Her dad is the head of Ori’s parents’ guard. One day, she’ll be a knight too. “But before we do that, let’s go get lunch. I’m starving. Do you think the bakery will have croissants?”
She throws an arm around Harley’s shoulders and holds her other one out for me. I tuck myself into the fold, and she starts leading us back to the footpath. But when I glance back at Ori, expecting him to be on our heels, he’s still in the clearing, watching us with a tilted head and a frown.
I keep my hold around Jessa’s waist as I dig my heels in the grass, bringing us to a stop.
“C’mon, Ori,” I call out, holding out my free hand for him. “What are you waiting for?”
His frown quickly morphs into a defensive scowl. “Nothing.”
He stomps forward but doesn’t join our embrace.
I roll my eyes and grab his billowy white shirt, forcing him to my side. He yelps his surprise, and his eyebrows jump into the mop of black waves that hang on his forehead. My hand settles on his waist, a match to my other on Jessa’s.
“There. Now we’re all the same,” I preen with a smug smile.
Ori’s cheeks pinken. They’ve been doing that a lot this week. It makes him look silly.
I’ve never met anyone with my birthday before. In Arcadia, lots of people have the same birthday. Ori’s parents do. And so do we—all four of us. Ori, me, Ori’s twin brother, and Maven. Maven’s a human girl too, but she’s been here a lot longer.
Apparently, when humans come here, it means we’re special.
Ori’s parents explained it as being kind of like one of my storybooks, or a movie. Arcadia chose us because we have magic inside, and when we grow up we’ll be Champions of the realm.
I’m still confused as to how that works, but I’m trying not to think about it too hard. Yesterday was really long, and today’s our birthday. I don’t want to ruin it by asking too many questions.
“I want to have a tea party with the flowers,” Maven says, tucking a piece of her dark red hair behind her ear.
“Then go do that,” Ori says. “Enzo will go with you, won’t you, Enz?”
“Of course,” Ori’s twin brother says with enthusiasm. Enzo’s got the same hair as Ori, black and wavy, but different eyes. His are a yellowy hazel where Ori’s are deep blue. “I love tea. And the flowers aren’t too mean when you’re around, Mave.”
Maven stomps her foot with a frustrated growl. I only met her this morning while we all ate breakfast, but I can already tell she acts like the mean kids at school.
Enzo’s super sweet. He showed me around the castle last night. Ori’s a little scarier, but it reminds me of how my friend Erica’s older brother acts when I go over to hang out. He puffs out his chest and explains to us the rules of games we already know how to play.
Bossy—that’s the word.
Maven is bossy too, but in a different way.
“It’s supposed to be a birthday party. You can’t have a party with only two people,” she says.
Enzo’s smile falters, and he glances around at the rest of us for help. Harley, the boy with white hair, looks slightly terrified. Jessa seems more concerned with picking the dirt out from underneath her fingernails; she said she was up early training with her dad.
I stay quiet; I’m the new kid, I don’t think I get a say.
“It’s all our birthdays. We all get an equal say,” Ori says, as if he can read my mind. “If you want it to be a group event, then let’s vote. I want to go to the Lake. What about you, Alice?”
“What? Me?” I squeak.
“Yes, you.”
Ori stares at me expectantly, black brows raised high above his navy eyes. They’re really pretty eyes.
“What do you want to do today?” the prince presses.
“Um… I don’t know, I haven’t been to the Lake yet,” I say, tentatively. “It could be fun. But I’ll do whatever. I don’t really care.”
Ori turns back to Maven with his arms crossed over his chest. “See? Two votes for the Lake. Enzo, what do you want to do?”
Enzo’s hand scratches his neck, and he looks even more uncomfortable than before. In a quiet, timid voice he says, “I kind of wanted to swim today.”
Maven throws her hands up in the air with another growl of annoyance. “Fine. We’ll go to the freaking Lake.”
“Can’t we combine it all?” I ask. It doesn’t seem fair to make her unhappy on her birthday. “Have some tea and swim?”
“It’ll be a hassle,” Ori says. “But if you’re offering to carry the kettle and cups up the ladder, then sure.”
“Why do you need a ladder to get to the Lake?” I ask.
“It’s the one in the sky,” Harley chirps.
“Oh, you did mention that yesterday,” I say, nodding.
My head is starting to spin. There are too many new things to keep track of, and everything is strange—but only strange enough that it still makes sense when you think about it.
“It’s not the same,” Maven pouts. Then she twirls around, flicking her long red hair over her shoulder. “Whatever. We’ll do what the new girl wants.”
“Alice, dear!”
Ori’s mom’s twinkling voice halts my skipping. I spin, searching for her in the busy cobblestone square.
There. Sitting at the edge of the fountain is the queen.
She’s in a casual frock today, similar to my own cotton dress, which is suited for the surprise heat wave.
Harley explained to me that the seasons here work how they do back home, so we’re through the worst of it since we’re deep into September.
“Come here, I have someone I want you to meet,” the queen calls across the square. No one pays her any mind, the townsfolk hustling on with their day. I pad over, my dirtied shoes squeaking over the worn stones.
“Hi,” I say, suddenly shy.
She’s so pretty, it’s intimidating. Her hair is long and curly like mine, but black in color like Ori’s. It’s shiny and flows freely down her back, making her look like a princess. Which I guess she is, except more important, because a queen is more important than a princess.