Remembrance of a Dream

Vivian sighed mournfully. Her entire life she’d lain bedridden and just when she finally made a friend, Vivienne had left, returned to her own world. Illior, as well as the servants, had done their best to try to cheer her up but she missed her friend dearly.

“Now, Princess,” Illior said when he brought her morning dose of De-Fever. “You know that other Vivian had a home and family to return to. She did not leave without reason.”

“Yes, I know,” a dejected Vivian replied. “Even so, she did not grant me a proper parting.”

Illior smiled sympathetically. “Yes, it is a shame but we must carry on with our lives. Now then, your tonic.” Vivian obediently swallowed the bitter liquid, not at all aided by its viscosity. “I will return after your lunch for your second ministration,” he said, closing the door behind him.

As Illior slunk up to his study, a malicious smile spread across his face as he imagined how the other Vivian must be adapting to her new- and permanent- home.

It seemed an eternity since Vivienne had been brought to this beast’s cave, yet nothing at all changed. She did not age. She remained her current height. Despite the damp and the cold, she never grew ill. Only her hopelessness and her boredom seemed to grow.

She had taken to examining the cave’s treasures, watching the jewels’ reflect what little light managed to penetrate the cave’s opening despite the vast overhang. The dragon seemed unbothered and indeed quite pleased that she had accepted her imprisonment. At last, the phoenixes would know the dragons’ suffering.

One day, when Kaen left the cave for his biannual flight to stretch his wings, Vivienne noticed a rock where he usually lay. She approached it to investigate. There must be a reason for the dragon to hide something so uncomfortable underneath his massive form. There didn’t seem to be anything unusual about it. She tried to push the rock aside. It was an arduous task, the rock having been rolled into a small pit. As she pushed, the rock moved just to the point that she could find decent handholds to lift it out. Tucked deep into the bottom of the hole was a parcel wrapped with paper so ancient and brittle it was likely to disintegrate at the slightest disturbance. Dirt from the cave floor blended perfectly with the ancient brown paper. Vivienne didn’t know if the parcel had always been this color or if it had at one point been white.

Before she could investigate further, Kaen returned early from his flight. ‘Step away’ he quietly but threateningly rumbled. ‘That one is not for you.’

“’That one’? What do you mean?” Vivienne inquired.

‘It is not your concern.’

Down in the castle, Princess Vivian had also ceased aging, though her illness did not improve. Thrice daily, Illior delivered his “De-Fever tonic” to her room. She obediently drank each dose he delivered. Despite Illior’s best efforts, she only felt worse as time went on.

One unsuspecting day, Queen Eleanor came to visit her daughter, her expression grim. She had been avoiding the princess, blaming herself for Vivian’s illness. “Vivian, darling, I believe it is time.”

“Time for what, Mother?” Vivian inquired wearily.

“I’m so sorry, dearest. I assure you it is necessary. We must send you to the mountains.”

“Isn’t that where the dragons are? Why would you send me there?”

“Dear, sweet Vivian. I once suffered as you suffer now. A very long time ago, I was claimed by the dragon Kaen. I spent centuries in his domain, so many years I stopped counting. Your father discovered the cave during a hunt and vowed he would rescue me. He stole me from the cave one day, while Kaen was absent, but I soon fell ill. It was the same illness that caused my parents to send me to the mountains to begin with. I had remained in that cave for 359 years, and still Kaen’s mark remained strong. I know Illior has tried his best to remove the ill effects of the mark, but it seems human magic is no match for the will of a dragon.” She kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “There is a wagon waiting outside” she said, tears in her eyes. “I’ll talk to your father and siblings.”

“I regret that I was unable to do more” Illior told the queen.

“I know, Illior.”

Once the queen left, Illior returned to his tower, beaming at his good fortune. The royal family seemed unaware that his Dragon Fever tonic had in fact done its job perfectly, worsening the effects of the illness. Watching through the arrow slit windows of his study, he saw the princess enter the coach that would carry her to the mountains, and proceeded to inform his master of the princess’ delivery.

Vivian’s legs trembled weakly as she climbed out of the coach. It had taken two weeks to reach the mountains, with as few rest stops as possible. The journey had been long and her hindquarters ached miserably from all the bumps on the road. The horses were not equipped to climb, so she donned her cloak and the warm boots her mother had insisted she wear and began the hike to the mountain’s peak. Despite her poor health, the climb felt easier with each step. When finally she found the cave at the top and stepped inside, her illness left her completely. What she saw, though, stole the breath she had regained after all these years.

“Vivienne?!” Why was she here? Hadn’t she returned home?

“Princess?!” Vivienne was equally surprised. Princess Vivian was supposed to be back at the castle. “Nooo…” she moaned. Lonely though she was, she had hoped her friend would be released from the dragon’s mark since he had marked Vivienne.

“It’s alright, Vivienne. I can breathe better now than I have in my entire life.” Glad though she was for Princess Vivian’s restored health, Vivienne lamented their shared loss of freedom. She was glad she would have a friend now but hated herself for her selfishness.

Days, months, years came and went. Vivienne had lost all hope of returning to her family long ago. As decades passed unnoticed, Vivian and Vivienne passed their days with scavenger hunts and stories, pausing only to entertain the beast that held them captive.

One night, as the dragon slept, Vivian told the story of when the phoenixes left. “…Once this world was at peace once more, the phoenixes sensed a disruption elsewhere in the fabric of the universe. They left to bring peace to a new world. No one knows where they are now.”

“Before I woke up here, I had a dream about a phoenix. She told me her name- oh… what was it? Kaen said something about a phoenix when I woke up, too. He seemed to be implying something but I didn’t understand.”

They were up all night, contemplating what it all meant: that the phoenixes travelled to another world, that Vivienne herself had come from another world, that Vivienne had dreamt about a phoenix who even told her its name, that their captor saw something of the phoenixes in Vivienne. Sometime in the early hours of the morning, sleep claimed them.

That morning, while his human pets slept, Kaen slipped through a tunnel to the portal to the dragon home world. He crept inside, reveling in the freedom of unabashed flight. Even so, he did not wish to breathe this toxic air any longer than was necessary. As he burst forth into the land of his birth, he veered North to the enchanted gem fields. He scrutinized countless gems but none were quite right for the phoenix girl. Then his bloodred gaze landed on the perfect stone. The brilliant red gem glowed with an inner fire. He snatched it and returned to the human realm.

Back in the cave, Kaen’s pets were awake. They peppered him with questions about where he’d gone and requests to go with him the next time he left the cave, but to allow that he would have to remove his mark from them. It would be simple enough to re-mark them, but he did not approve of promoting hope. Such a vile, positive emotion. He chose not to validate such needless requests with an answer. The enchantment trapping him in this icy tundra weakened only every six months, and only lasted 24 hours before the Phredatopes arrived to strengthen it again. He would not waste his one day of freedom entertaining his pets’ fantasies of ever regaining their freedom. He had business to attend to.

Kaen made his way to a dense wood near a village where an esteemed jeweler resided. He took note of the sun’s position as he completed the transformation. He could only hold this form for a couple hours. He quickly made his way to the jeweler’s shop, shoving the worthless humans that dared cross his path.

When he entered the shop, he violently shoved his way to the front. “I require the services of the master jeweler” he demanded.

A quail of a man stepped forward. “How may I assist you, sir?”

Kaen studied the man for a moment. This was the master jeweler? “I need a necklace made with this gem.” He produced the fire opal he had chosen, a fitting gem for a phoenix.

“It will require some time to create high quality jewelry.”

“How long?” Kaen demanded. He was intimidating no matter his form. His formfitting tunic accentuated his broad, muscular chest and bulging arms and the red of his eyes inspired fear in the bravest of men.

“At least eight months, depending on the complexity of the piece.”

“Make it six” the draconian man ordered, throwing a massive sack of gold on the counter.

“Of course, sir.”

Exactly six months later, Kaen returned to the jeweler to retrieve the necklace he had commissioned.

“Ah, you’re right on time. I’ve just finished.”

“Show it to me.”

“Of course. This piece is some of my finest work.”

Kaen examined the intricate leaf design, showcasing the gem as a magnificent burning rose. “Yes, this will do nicely.” He threw two large sacks of gold on the counter and left.

The humans were asleep when Kaen returned. The time was fast approaching. They had borne his mark for 897 years. Very soon they would be his forever. He added the new package to the hole concealing the first. Barely more than a century remained. So long as the phoenix girl remained unaware of the power her frail human form concealed, nothing should interfere this time.

“Verene” Vivienne mumbled. The phoenix from her fever dream had visited once again.