A very happy trio came into a clothing store.
A young, handsome man with very bright eyes and smile, lightly tanned skin and almost six feet tall, dressed in black from top hat to toe, except for his dark green coat, walked first into the store.
Following in the middle, a disarrayed girl in gray sleepwear, and last, but never least, a very beautiful lady with pink hair and all-black clothing.
Her curvaceous body was hugged by a stylish corset dress that ended up in a skirt a couple of inches over the knee in the front, and almost ankle length in the back.
She was about five feet and three inches, with two additional inches that her black, over-the-ankle boots gave her.
She was also wearing a very tiny top hat, holding from a bunch of her hair on the right side of her head.
To end her image, the same way as her energetic and charismatic husband, she wore a big, genuine smile.
The store was almost directly in front of
"Isn't it the cat got your tongue?" Raquel said innocently, as Myron moved his head sideways to his wife, so she didn't follow on her thought.When Raquel looked at the other two people in the room, she noticed.The air felt tense suddenly. Dominik's tone was obviously not well received by Annabelle, who now was no longer looking at the floor.How was this guy managing to touch the nerves of their just arrived new guest in so little more than a phrase?Why?Yes, he was good looking, but, oh what an attitude.Especially with Abbie, who hated to be always the "Rescued" one."Too much of a nerve for a stranger to say something in that tone. You know nothing. I didn't come to be rescued. I'm not helpless, and unlike you, I don't go defensive and attacking people when I first meet them.This is only my first visit to this place, and they are nice, decent people. Something I can see it's not known for you.Now, if
In front of Abbie, there were all kinds of armor, including knives, swords, guns, and also gun holsters, belts, whips, and a series of gadgets she couldn't make out by just looking at them.On her right, a full rack of trench coats, long, and not so long, hooded, in colors or black, with a slit and without.Annabelle wondered at what kind of place she had arrived, while she watched R looking intently at the wall, and then moving to the rack.Was she just picking her something so she was not cold, but it happened to be close to this little armor shop inside her store?Raquel stood in front of the rack as it drew its circles until one of the coats called her attention.It was brown, matching Annabelle's outfit perfectly.R took it from the rack and handed it over to Abbie."Please try it on, Belle Cat. I want to see if it fits you well."Annabelle went to try it and found herself in the mirror, surprised at the
They were just thrown out of the store, and pretty much forced to go to the city together.Dominik had said he could take her, but Annabelle was not happy with the idea.For her, the guy's changes were too much for her comfort, as one minute he was nice, and the next he was uncomfortable and defensive.Maybe people in that dream was a little crazy. From the start, she could say they were different, even from their clothing.She was not remotely close to London but she was very happy about that. What if they were different? They treated her like a normal human being, not a princess, or a porcelain doll.The guy looked shy now that he was alone with her, and looked almost desperately for something to say, anything, hoping that whatever it was, was not as bad as all the other things he had said before."So... We should start walking, I guess," Abbie said, and you could almost think they were in an awkwardness contest. He was glad sh
The city rose before their eyes.The cobbled paths were decorated with colored smaller and bigger pieces of what seemed to be semiprecious stones, in pink, green, brown, and blue, mixed with polished river stones, giving a beautiful effect, especially where the sun touched the streets.The palace was a huge stone structure with four towers and several thin golden chimneys that let out white steam.The streets beamed with happy, relaxed people that came and went from one store to the next one.The most usual theme was motion and the large gears that moved the machinery which allowed that transit.What surprised Annabelle the most was the toy store.It was the biggest window in downtown. Framed in golden with red thin lines, the glass allowed the passersby a peek of a fantasy world within the fantasy world.Trains in their tracks, toy monkeys, little horses, and small walking teddy bears, all made of tin, and moving around, in met
They were standing right in front of the exit of that weird and scary metallic box that took them downstairs. Annabelle looked around her as she listened to Dominik.There were big containers in front of her, almost floor to ceiling tin cylinders surrounded by thick metallic hoses."The cylinders on the right are water containers, the ones on the left are converted energy containers.They both go all the way following the wall to the end of the room, where the energy is distributed into other mechanisms, that power the city.Basically, the water transforms in steam, and move the machines that collect energy from Earth's dreamers, and visitors.Then that energy is moved and stored as needed to keep the City afloat and power it up. Everything, including the mirrors, is powered up from that energy.""Every time you mention those mirrors I get more curious.""There's no way to know what you could see there. The first time at least,
Annabelle and Dominik followed The King all the way from the steam room, where they had met the Monarch, to the hidden terrace of the Palace.Most of the walk was in silence, except when the things she saw were too interesting not to gasp for them. At some point, she was curious and had to ask Domi."I didn't believe much of what you said when you said you could bring me into the Palace. How did you meet The King!!!?""The story doesn't go that way exactly, he met me and invited me, I was still a teenager and used to work at the store, but was always walking around.I have to admit that this place never stops surprising me. So one day, I was standing in front of a portal.It wasn't my first time, but I had a difficult day, so I hesitated. He was walking around over there too and then saw me.He said, "That is not the right mood to get in, you know, right? Why don't you come with me now? It's tea time, and tea can't wait.Later y
"Really!? I almost can't believe we'll go there.""Yes, I will take you there, but we're not entering the mirror.""Why not?""Because they are... Dangerous places if you're not in the right mood, or...""Or?""Come on, follow me."Dominik starts walking faster than the pace he's had for the entire day. It seems like he was rushed now, to do something, or go somewhere he doesn't want to. "What changed his mood? Was it something I said?" The girl thought, trying to catch up with her guide.The fact that he had some mood swings since they've met at the store, and has bothered her, slightly enraged her, and tried her patience was, of course, something she kept in her mind.He had been nice for the last couple of hours, especially with the King and the Queen. Now he was not even talking. His latest phrase got caught up in his throat.Abbie wondered if it was a good idea to try and push him to say whatever he wanted to say, or if it was better just to keep walking for now and see how thing
The portal closed right when he was getting there, and a new one took its place. Immediately, Dominik raced in the opposite direction, way back to the palace, in hopes that the portal could be accessed, and he could go in to help her. The way she reacted, he kept thinking, was because she was not used to the energy of the mirrors, more so because they were calling for her to enter.For her to go in and be "fixed."Dominik kept saying that the mirrors were tamed energy. It really was an easy-to-say definition of what they really were. Still, there was a little more to them that he usually didn't say.He didn't expect people to run straight to one of the portals and disappear without him. He usually went with people that wanted a guide. The portals, or gates, were the passageway of energy that directed people straight to their own inner dimensions.Yes, they could be directed in other ways, with a couple of changes on the energy flow that was supplied to them.If that variation happen
It all came down to this moment. Annabelle had been unconscious for almost an hour when Dominik and her family arrived at the clinic, and he quickly met with the parents to get their consent for the intervention, that now was a matter of saving her life or not.“Your daughter seems to have been born with a small hole in her heart. If you try with the stethoscope, you can hear the peculiar sound it makes, very characteristic to the illness. As she grew older, the small hole got bigger, and at the point that we are, if it grows any more, it will be fatal. Besides that, her body is weakening by the minute, so the surgery is a very urgent matter now. We need to operate swiftly and carefully.”He explained the parents, and they, as the last chance, agreed, knowing that if they didn’t accept, their daughter would die any minute, if not that da
“Oh it’s true… For some reason, I thought I told you before. My name is Annabelle Archer, pleasure to meet you, Mr. Dominik Stoev,” she said, giggling and still trying to swing to the edge. “I believe, though, that we should still try to get to the edge. Do you mind if we leave the presentations for later and get out of the mirror?” Dom couldn’t believe it… And wasn’t sure if the present news was good or not. He was on the ship and less than a day away to possibly save the girl’s life. Fear was, at least for the moment, transforming into great, big hopes, and Dom was shining bright, excited and with renewed strength. “Know what? Yes, let’s try your plan, suddenly I have a feeling that it will work.” His smile
“Captain Nankov, I found him!” Lazar yelled from one side of the ship’s deck, near the stern.In front of him was Dominik, sleeping like a log, in a half-sitting position.“I don’t know how he does it. The last few days, he sleeps wherever he falls, and not even an hour later he’s walking around again… Come on guys, I think this is the good one, let’s take him back to the cabin!”“Do you think this time he’ll sleep for longer?” Lazar asked, looking at the man deeply breathing, and now frowning.“I believe so. And I hope, because we’re soon to arrive at our destination, and what he said he had to do, will need him to be awake and ready. He’s saving a girl’s life yo
The Man From Hell finally appeared near Belle. He was standing right next to her body, intently looking at her, while Dom looked at him as if saying “I’ll kill you if you do anything to her,” and, as if he knew, the Man looked up and smiled widely, showing all of his needle-like teeth. “Calm down a little, my dear, it is still good that we can see him. I tell you again, he is not what people think he is…” Onia reassured Dom, who took a seat and watched, compass still in hand. “I’ll just feel better when she’s out of that place.” “I believe that she will be very soon. Although, remember, he might be protecting her from something else, so when she’s out there, make sure that her condition hasn’t worsened.” Onia’s words hit Dom hard. He really wanted to go look for her
Belle knew that the intentions of the Wishmaster couldn’ have been for her to die trying. If anything it was part of her test.Finally it was looking like a trial, and she kind of regretted not taking her weapons with her, but maybe she was not supposed to kill the creature that was now moving fast towards her.Then, she felt something grabbing her and pulling her strongly, just in time to get her out of the water.Her body slammed against the floor as the force used to take her out of the pool was that much, and right after she fell, she saw the white-rainbowy scales of the large, round monster that closed its mouth with a loud snap up in the air and fell back to the water.“I have to say, I am impressed,” the Wishmaster said, and the smile on his face
“Possibilities and fears don’t make life. Life is made of choices,” suddenly Annabelle said.“True… Partially.”As the very, very big, white fish swam slightly closer, a white mist could be seen swimming, or maybe, more like floating, around the young woman, that could easily go unnoticed. It had not been noticed by Annabelle herself, since it was not exactly physical, but…Could a shadow be white?“But you can’t tell me, that I have known you for so long that you don’t want to take what has been offered to you. Make your family happy, and be happy yourself,” the voice said once more, and then, Belle noticed something very interesting…That thing that
Belle closed her eyes. It was not the first time that she heard the voice in her head telling her all the things that could go wrong.But now, she didn’t care much about what could happen, mistakes were made and trouble happened as part of life. Her new life in Onerea had taught her that, and, maybe her physical heart was getting weaker, but her will and character were getting stronger.An image started showing up in front of her eyes.“Do you remember, dear, when we were kids, and you met the son of our governess? I remember you liking the boy, and that boy liked you too. It took a lot from you to forget about that, even if you were just a kid.”Annabelle sat in one of the chairs of the library, where she was taught every day by her governess, a
Belle was sleeping. Her breathing was deep and calm. Her chest raised often enough, and not even the disturbances around her, people talking or even accidentally moving her, thinking that she was awake, had changed that.It was many, many hours already too, that she had been asleep. More than twelve. Almost a day, actually, of continuous sleeping, and she didn’t seem to be close to waking up. A few days before, her father received a telegram from Dr. Stoev, letting him know that, if everything went well, he’d be arriving in a week and a half to two weeks, from the day he sent the note, that was about three, four days before.Being too optimistic, in a week the doctor, specialized in his daughter’s disease, would arrive…But was it possible that she resisted for that long?
Belle felt herself falling, and falling, for quite a while. Around her, growling could be heard, but nothing could be seen. The pitch black space that surrounded her made her unsure about the speed in which she precipitated, and where she was precipitating into.“Remember what I said,” he told her, and she remembered indeed.“Eyes wide open, be ready for whatever it is,”she said to herself. “Weapons,” she remembered, checking the different places where she got the holsters, back then at the store.Happy to see that everything was in place, she wondered if that was a mirror.“He said it would be a trial… and to remember what I believe in… cryptic crazy guy… I like him haha.”