Caeweth and her sisters frolicked in a bed of white glow flowers. White flower petals surrounded them, suspended in the air as if attached to invisible strands of spider silk. All four children ran and laughed through the dark landscape. Suddenly, the forest turned white, leaving the flowers as the only patch of color. Everybody was caught off guard by the sudden change.
“What… what is going on?” Caeweth stammered.
Ingle turned around, shrugging and shaking her head. Levin pawed at the blank ground, while Frasil buried her face in Caeweth’s stomach.
“Well I see you mastered the basics of dream sharing,” came a familiar voice.
“You guessed correctly,” Castor appeared right in front of the young sisters, “I must say I’m impressed. This kind of magic took me a while to master.”
“How can you tell?” Caeweth cocked her head, staring at Castor quizzically.
“Your streams of consciousness have connected to one singular point, like strings being joined together at one central knot…” Castor explained, only to be met with four confused looks from the young sisters, “Er, all four of you are sharing the same dream right now, and as a result, I am too.”
“But how did you get into my, uh, our dream?”
“Dream walking,” Castor stated, “which is the next lesson I had planned for another night, but since you already know how to dream share with your sisters, let’s try a little dream walking.”
Caeweth looked at her dragon sisters, then back to Castor, “Can they come too?”
Ingle, Frasil, and Levin chirped excitedly, hoping for a new adventure in the realm of dreams.
“Not now,” Castor said sternly, hiding his heartbreak as the hopeful looks turned to disheartened frowns.
“Why not?” Caeweth pleaded, “They are really powerful, so…”
“Not powerful enough,” Castor said, “At least not now. They were only born a fortnight ago. They have yet to master their own powers, let alone something so unknown.”
Ingle growled in protest, smoke rising from her nostrils.
“Look little one,” Castor said gently, kneeling down to the tiny whelpling’s level, “I can only teach you when you get bigger and stronger. For now you must master your element.”
All let out a resigned sigh.
“Alright,” Caeweth said reluctantly, “I’ll see you in the morning.”
With that, the dragon whelps returned to their own dreams.
“Now,” said Castor, “Let’s begin shall we?”
Caeweth nodded excitedly as Castor opened a portal. She peered through, gazing at a lovely, sunny, green field surrounded by trees. Blue tinted mountains rose in the distance, closing the distance between earth and sky. Her eyes grew wide with wonder, taking in the foreign colors, and strange brightness. In the sky above, a young looking Arvak soared, blue scales glinting in the sunlight. Caeweth tentatively stepped through the portal, holding tightly to Castor’s hand, which promptly vanished behind them.
“It’s hard to believe this is a dream,” Castor said quietly, “It feels so real, doesn’t it?”
“Does Arvak know about this?” Caeweth said, still holding tight to her mentor’s hand, “Does she know we are here?”
“If dream walking is done correctly, than no she is not aware of our presence.”
“I wanna see more dreams,” Caeweth stated, emboldened by the majestic scene surrounding both of them, “What about Estelle’s dreams? Or even Ragnar? What about Ava? What do they remember? What are they thinking?”
Castor chuckled, “In due time.”
He opened another portal, looking through to see Estelle in the form of a seductive looking human female, completely nude, in the arms of an equally naked, and rather well endowed, mortal man. Before Caeweth could look through the portal, he closed it. His pale face turned a deep shade of red.
“Let’s not bother Estelle tonight,” He stated, “I will try another dream.”
He opened the next portal. On they traveled from dream to dream, gazing at surreal landscapes, pointing out subtle intricacies, and looking at symbolism. Caeweth proved to be quite the charming little chatterbox, with an insatiable curiosity to boot. She even managed to open a portal, albeit with a little help from Castor. The night flew by, and soon it was time to part. Caeweth’s young mind needed to rest, and her magical abilities were reaching their limit. Despite her exhaustion, she begged for Castor to stay and teach her more.
“Come on, Please?” she pleaded.
“Another night,” Castor said, his voice stern, “I don’t want you to strain yourself.”
She huffed and begged for more lessons despite her exhaustion. By the time she finished her whining, she was back in her own dreams. Castor bid farewell with a little hug, and left. Caeweth awoke, feeling groggy from her little adventure in the dream world. Her sisters still slept peacefully next to her. She hunkered down into the soft straw, listening to her sisters heavy snoring, and closed her eyes, hoping to get back to sleep quickly.
Meanwhile, Castor awoke in Ariadne’s beautifully furnished room. A cat sized ogre spider snoozed happily at the foot of the bed, long spindly legs out stretched, nearly taking up a good quarter of the king sized bed, while a dainty, rat sized white lady spider sat on the window sill, weaving a small tapestry out of her own silk. He felt relief wash over him, as Ariadne still slept soundly next to him. He looked at the ogre spider, it’s eyes covered with a thin, chitinous shield, and stroked it’s soft, short, grey fur. It’s long abdomen wiggled joyously in response.
Castor looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost time to prepare breakfast. The white lady spider turned to look at him, greeting him with a small squeak as she skittered across the dark marble floor. She gazed at Castor with her 8 tiny eyes, chittering happily as he scratched her head.
“Good to see you too Selene,” he whispered quietly.
He placed the spider on his shoulder, and headed down the hallway of the modestly sized castle to the kitchen. The castle was already bustling with activity. Maids, servants, clothiers, seamstresses, and weavers, everybody was getting ready for the daily routines under Ariadne’s rule. They all rushed past Castor, without a hello, or even a smile. Everything had to be perfect, for if even the tiniest flaw was discovered, all hell would break loose.
The large spiders scurried after their masters, while smaller spiders rode on their master’s shoulders. Castor stopped to pet the head of a pony sized tarantula who’s fur was a lovely blue, which clacked it’s fangs as if to say ‘thank you’. He reached the kitchen, where a 6 foot tall american possum was preparing breakfast.
“Hello Aaron,” Castor said loudly to be heard against the din of clanging pots and pans.
“Ah, hello Castor,” He turned around, a bit frazzled, “Does the Queen want her breakfast already? I am almost finished with the eggs, but the porridge needs a little bit more time to settle.”
“I assure you she’s in a heavy sleep,” Castor replied, “She drank herself silly last night, so she’s going to be in bed for quite a while. Take your time.”
Aaron scooped up a boiled egg, placing it neatly in a holder.
“So, rumor has it a fledgeling star has been found alive outside the child garden?” He said, turning back to the stove where sausages sizzled in a pan, “I don’t quite see how it was possible, but at least it’s a bit of good news. That’s been quite rare now-a-days.”
“I agree,” Castor said, leaning on the counter, “News about random disappearances has reached far and wide, and nobody knows what to do. It is as if fae of all kinds just vanished into thin air.”
“Can we speak of the young fae now?” Aaron said with a shudder, “What kind of powers does it have?”
“Well it’s a she, and from what I’ve heard, light magic,” Castor replied.
“Oh goodness,” Aaron whipped around to face Castor, “A girl? Oh my, Ariadne won’t like the sound of that… Did you bring her? You know how jealous she would get.”
“I didn’t bring her. She was already in the care of a female Mega Brown Bat, and a protective one at that,” Castor said flatly, “I didn’t want to get my head ripped off. Besides, she looked happy.”
“Come on Castor, I know you.”
Castor shifted uncomfortably.
“Ok, but you need to promise not to tell ANYBODY.”
Ariadne stirred awake, her head throbbed, and her mouth felt terribly dry. She looked behind her to Castor’s side of the bed. There was nothing but ruffled, empty sheets. She tried to sit up, but the dizzying pain made her plop back on to her favorite silk pillow. The ogre spider shifted, still sleeping at the foot of the bed. She nudged it with her foot, earning an irritated click from the spider’s fangs.
“Orinar,” She said quietly.
“Orinar,” she said, nudging him harder.
The spider let out a quiet hiss as if to say, “More time please.”
“Orinar, you lazy arachnid,” She growled giving him a rather forceful kick, “Get up. I need you to get Castor.”
At this, the ogre spider’s chitin eyelids shot open, revealing black, abyssal eyes. The cat sized spider leaped to the floor, hissing back at his mistress as if to say, Get him yourself you lazy slattern!
“Don’t you back talk me, you useless insect.”
Orinar raised a spindly leg to it’s ‘forehead’, Oh your words wound me so.
“Enough of the sarcasm, you little wretch,” Ariadne spat, “Go get Castor! He needs to fulfill his promise.”
Orinar left the room, chittering angrily and slamming the door on his way out, causing Ariadne to wince in pain. He scuttled down the corridor to the kitchen, where he heard Castor’s voice drifting out.
“So that little Night Fae, her name is Caeweth.”
Orinar scuttled in, greeting Castor with a clicking sound as if to say, What were you talking about?
Castor, Selene, and Aaron all looked at Orinar with a mix of confusion and nervousness.
Orinar let out a gust of air, similar to a sigh, You can let me know, I won’t tell that lazy little slattern, His spidery language seemed to say.
“Alright, but we must all swear that this conversation never happened,” Castor said, “Promise me that you won’t tell anybody, not even your closest confidant.”
Orinar and Selene both chittered in agreement. Orinar closed the door, blocking any potential evesdroppers.
“Alright,” Castor began, “So the little fae’s name is Caeweth. I agreed to teach her everything about being a night fae. Last night, I taught her dream walking.”
“That’s risky business, my friend,” Aaron said, finally setting the final plates on the breakfast tray.
“That is why this must remain a secret between us. For all everyone else is concerned, the little night fae lives elsewhere, and is fully independent, agreed?” Castor said.
“Agreed,” Aaron said, adding the final garnishes to the luxurious breakfast spread out on the tray.
Both spiders chirped in agreement.
“Good,” Castor said, grabbing the tray, “Now if you will all excuse me.”
As soon as Castor entered the door way, Ariadne’s angry voice greeted him.
“Where were you?” she hissed.
“Getting your breakfast, my lady,” Castor said.
“Hmph,” Ariadne reached for a buttery piece of toast, “Well, was your little excursion yesterday worth it?”
“I found the location of the wayward fae, my queen,” He replied, “They are actually, perfectly fine. Living with an adopted family.”
“I knew it was a waste of time,” Ariadne grumbled, her cheeks stuffed with toast and scrambled eggs, “You still owe me that promise.”
“I will fulfill my promise once you feel better,” Castor said, “After you get some rest, and rid yourself of that hangover.”
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