The Dragon of Dreams

She awoke in a forest, her small figure covered in leaves. The little girl had brown hair and huge blue eyes. She wore blue overalls and a yellow shirt with matching yellow rain boots. Her light brown skin shone in the light of the woods. She stood up and brushed the leaves off of her overalls. Her name was Sam, and Sam was only three years old. She had no idea how she ended up in the woods but she did know she should get out of it and head home.

"A human child?" A voice echoed around her curiously. Sam jumped and turned, ready to scurry from the woods as quickly as possible. But when she turned around, it was to come face to face with a massive scaled beast. It had massive purple eyes and its scales were whiter than snow. Its claws glowed red and its teeth looked like glass. Taking some steps back, Sam shuddered.

"S-Sorry to intrude! I didn't mean to-" Sam said, surprised she was able to articulate her words so completely. Normally, she had these sorts of thoughts, but would only manage to say something like; 'Sorry,' and that would be all.

The beast leaned closer and looked at Sam up and down, as he gave a rather frightening smile. "You didn't intrude, child. I am Resigue, the Dragon of Dreams. This world around you, is yours. It is your Dreamscape." Resigue said calmly.

"So then... I am asleep? This is just a dream? Then why aren't you a pony!?" Sam asked before whispering to herself; "I normally dream of ponies..."

"A dreamscape is a place. You are not dreaming, you are transcending a different time and space. Your body rests, your mind sleeps, but your soul is not dreaming. You are really here." Resigue replied almost sarcastically as if he were becoming bored with the conversation. Sam thought about his response and nodded awkwardly. She seemed to want him to believe that she understood, but more obviously, she didn't.

Resigue noted out loud, "You still have not introduced yourself, but I presume you are Sam, the reincarnation of the Dragon Princess Valarie. I have searched the Dreamscapes for so long to find you and I never could... If your conscience called to me, then I believe you are finally old enough to walk and talk in this race and return to your Kingdom leaving behind Earth and its realm?"

"Sam? Sam, wake up." Sam heard a familiar voice and felt warm hands shake her shoulders. Opening her eyes, Sam yawned and stretched. "M-Momma?"

Her mother smiled and hugged Sam tightly, whispering; "You are so beautiful. I love you, sweetie! I made some breakfast, c'mon." Her mom stood up and led Sam towards the dining room. Sam followed slowly, rubbing her eyes. Her little feet pressed into the soft padded carpet as she stomped her way down the stairs. Sam was so tired and she wanted to tell her mom all about the dream she had and Resigue and the things he told her like that she used to be a princess or that her name used to be Valarie. Though, she couldn't tell her mom, yet. As it was, she struggled to even say "bacon" and that was proven as Sam took a seat and smiled tilting her head; "Its Bapum! I wuv bapum! Ann, ann, eggies! Egga-Egga-Bapum!" Sam cheered, as she fell into her own little song about eggs and bacon.

Her mother giggled and nodded as she began to pour the eggs onto her daughter's plate from the frying pan. After that, she added two strips of bacon and poured Sam some orange juice to finish it off. Sam dug in, as if she hadn't eaten in forever, while her mom absent-mindedly watched the news on T.V, eating a single strip of bacon slowly in one hand.

"How could you turn away from your kin like that? This is your Kingdom! It has awaited, dormant for three thousand years. Deserted. The beasts have all turned to stone after the Demon Wars, you died in battle and now you- you turn from your people? And for what!? For.. for... Bapum?" Resigue appeared in the reflection of her orange juice and shook his head in disbelief. "If your Kingdom could see you now... Reduced to a mere human tot."

Sam looked upset at the statement and confused. She couldn't entirely say she understood all of what Resigue was saying at the moment, her mind was still on her song about bacon and eggs- But she could tell that it was something insulting, from his tone and smug look. "Shoo! Shoo!" Sam said loudly, flapping her hands at her glass of orange juice until it tipped over and fell. Those were words she learned from her momma swatting at annoying insects and she imagined that was the appropriate response for the sort of situation.

Though, when her orange juice tipped over and the glass hit the table, Sam could hear her mom gasp in the next room and come running. Just in time to see the juice splash all over Sam. Resigue vanished from the reflection in the glass while Sam began to cry. Sam's mom picked Sam up and rushed to the kitchen to find some paper towels to toss onto the orange mess that now covered Sam's high-chair.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Sam's mom asked, letting the paper towels absorb the mess while she set Sam on the edge of the couch and ran to get pajama pants from the laundry to help Sam. Sam nodded and sniffled her cries to a halt as her mother returned.

"Dere was a... a... dagoon in ma cup!" Sam said, and her mother stared in disbelief, so Sam continued to explain, "It was talkem to me and tellem me I has a Kingsom and.. an... I swat em!" Sam said, moving her arms through the air to motion her swatting. Sam's mother watched, nodding slowly and as Sam finished explaining, Sam's mother erupted in laughter. "Is that so?" Her mother asked.

Sam nodded and got changed into her new pajama pants. After Sam was changed and warm, her mother kissed her forehead and paused, pressing her hand against Sam's head to verify before whispering softly, "Are you feeling okay? You have a massive fever... let me check and go get you some medicine." Sam's mom said, getting up and grabbing a thermometer and medicine. When Sam's mom returned, she had a big smile on her face as she cheerfully announced. "I think, if today is a sick day, today should be a snuggly day too, full of movies and blankets! What do you think?"

Sam nodded quickly, giving a happy "Mhm!" As affirmation, while her mother put the thermometer in her mouth and nodded, muttering; "That's a hundred and one."

Sam's mom gave her some medicine. Then her mom began to set up a movie and wrap Sam in fluffy blankets and surround her with pillows. Meanwhile, Sam couldn't help but imagine what life would have been like as a Dragon Princess. Was she a strong Princess? She must have been, Resigue said she fought in the Demon Wars- but what were those? What was war? Was she a hero too? What if she was sick? Would the Dragons of her Kingdom help her feel better, like her momma did? What if they were sick? Sam would have to find pillows to surround them in! What kind of pillow would be big enough for a Dragon? Sam's mind raced with questions while she envisioned a large Dragon, sneezing and wheezing all over a Dragon village before Sam approached in a beautiful frilly dress with a pillow larger than her house, floating behind her. When the Dragon touched the pillow, he was cured of his sneezes!

Sam smiled and snuggled into her pillow, happily thinking to herself, "Pillows cure everything..."

Soon her mother was finished setting up their movie and had popcorn in a bowl for them to share. Then her mother climbed onto the couch and snuggled with Sam, while Sam slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Are you ready to leave behind Earth and return to your Kingdom?" Resigue asked once more. Sam woke in the forest again, watching Resigue steadily before shaking her head.

"I want to see the Dragon Kingdom First." Sam said, relieved that she could properly express her own thoughts in the Dreamscape. Resigue stiffened and gave her an almost irritated look before offering a bow and agreeing softly. "Very well, Princess."

The Dreamscape turned and swirled around them while the colors of the Dreamscape clashed and refused to blend with the Dreamscape any longer. The scene reminded Sam of something like oil on water... When everything settled, the whole reality was different. There was a massive castle glowing with vibrant blues, purples and pinks. The glass reflected in the sunlight and catching her stare, Resigue whispered; "It's your castle, made of the finest Dragon-Glass. Forged from the strongest flames of our kind- the glass is virtually indestructible."

Sam nodded, absent-mindedly, while her gaze continued to trickle over the view before her. Beneath the Dragon-Glass Castle were billions of homes made inside massive black oak trees. There were more Dragons than she could count, roaming the roads in between, walking on their hind legs and visibly making conversation with each other. Beyond the Kingdom's homes were fields, forests and mountains framing the scene. The sky was bright as day with even brighter stars visible through the sapphire sky. Sam herself, stood at a cliffside with Resigue behind her. Her body was gone, if it was ever in the Dreamscape to begin with... Instead, she stood as a phantasmal entity as if from some kind of fictitious dream. Sam took in a sharp breath, admiring the hauntingly beautiful scene before her. She was unaware that as she drew that sharp breath in the Dragon Kingdom, her heart stopped back on Earth and her body began to run cold.

Feeling her daughter get cold suddenly, Sam's mother, back on Earth, began to panic and shake Sam's shoulders over and over before calling 911 and rushing Sam to the emergency room. Meanwhile, in the Dragon Kingdom, Sam would sigh, releasing the breath she took and turn back to Resigue. "This... this is all my Kingdom? This is my past life? This is my future?"

"Of the past, yes. Of your future or even of your present, is up to you." Resigue nodded. Even Resigue looked a little different here, in the Dragon Kingdom. While he did keep his physical appearance and his body as far as Sam could tell, Resigue did seem to suddenly hold more ethereal qualities. His glass-like teeth were almost transparent here, his white scales glowed with a divine beauty. His red claws softened in vibrancy and his purple eyes deepened like pools into his own soul.

"How are you able to take me here? How do you keep your form?" Sam asked and Resigue gave her a knowing smile.

"I am Resigue, the Dragon of Dreams. This is known. This was said. Though being a Dragon of Dreams, my particular skill is to transcend the Dreamscapes through times and realities like another may walk the halls of a dorm and open doors to new rooms- I walk the fabrics in reality and open dimensional rifts to the homes of worlds. All of reality is or has a Dreamscape so there is no such land, I, Resigue, cannot reach." He mused. Sam listened and nodded, still able to understand him far better in the Dreamscape and Dragon Kingdom than she could back on Earth, back in her toddler body with her small but ever growing mind.

Gusts of wind began to tear up the mountain side and through the trees. Sam suddenly had the overwhelming feeling that she would fall off the cliff and in a moment of fear, she vanished. Waking to the sound of beeping and machines as well as Nurses muttering with notepads, Sam looked alarmed. "Sam!" Her mother gasped, quickly holding Sam's hand a little tighter. "Are you okay?"

"Patient is awake, go get Doctor Ziel." A nurse whispered to another nurse as she rushed forward and looked at Sam. "Is there anything you think you may want? Maybe water? Blankets? Are you cold?" The nurse didn't wait for Sam to nod or shake her head, the nurse just smiled and left the room to go retrieve a blanket and water. Not long after the nurse left, a doctor came into the room and nodded looking over paperwork before looking at Sam's mom and noting out loud. "We believe she has temporary heart failure. This could have a few causes, but overall we are going to have to request that you stay at least another twenty-four hours so we can run some tests, unless this persists, then... we may need longer."

Sam's mom nodded in agreement, still holding Sam's hand. "Yes, anything to help Sam feel better." She said quickly. Sam was honestly confused as to why she had suddenly been woken up and why she was in a hospital bed. Who was that man in a cloak and why did tests need to be run? What was heart failure? Did that mean her heart wasn't working? Sam looked puzzled while her mother assured her that everything would be okay. Eventually the nurse returned, leaving water on a tray near Sam's bed and covering Sam in more comfortable hospital blankets.

"Sam, how do you feel?" Sam's mom asked, as soon as they were alone again. Sam smiled and excitedly did her best to retell how the dragon in her orange juice took her to a Kingdom of Dragons, where she was supposed to rule. Though she was concerned, Sam's mom forced herself to smile and nod, while muttering, "Wow, that's... amazing! It sounds like a wonderful dream..."

Hours later, the sun began to set. Sam and her mother ate mashed potatoes and thin steak slices provided by the hospital and eventually Sam and her mother both fell asleep together. Sam was excited to see the Dragons again and return to her Dragon Kingdom as she fell into a deep sleep. Meanwhile, Sam's mother was so terrified she may be the only one to wake back up, she opened her eyes again and watched as Sam slept, refusing to sleep herself.

"If you cannot let Earth go in your heart, your soul will never completely reside here, in the Dragon Kingdom." Resigue warned as Sam found herself swaying back and forth on layers of little stones. At least she thought they were stones at first... in reality it was the scales of Resigue's back as he carried her between the Tree-homes she saw before from above.

"I will." Sam said in a voice filled with determination. "You must if you are to lead the Dragonkin once more. Look around yourself..." Resigue said, his voice reverberating through Sam's soul as she lay on his back. Sam peered over the edges of his wings to see the tree homes deteriorating to rot and the land beneath seemed dead. None of the Dragonkin seemed to take notice of Sam but they all continued to move as they did when she looked down on them. Only now, as she saw them closer, they looked sadder and more distraught.

"The land withers without its leaders. Your parents of your last life had passed and now our land is without any rightful rulers. If you choose to return, you must return completely, Sam. You must step up to be our Queen. Reignite the flames of your Kingdom and rule your people once again, but this time, you could rule as one of us."

Sam thought it over, memories starting to restore as she looked around herself and listened to Resigue. Soon, she nodded again. "I will let go of Earth and return here to lead the Dragonkin under one condition..."

Resigue set her down and held Sam's gaze, to show he was listening intently. "I demand that my mother, back on Earth, may join in this life."

Resigue seemed to think this over and agreed. Excited, Sam grinned and then eyed Resigue before muttering, "So... now what?"

Resigue began to pat his hands against the ground, swaying his tail and bopping his head up and down. A rhythm began to emanate from the atmosphere around him. A soft beat that made the whole world blur. Sam could feel her soul want to tug towards Earth again and this time, she cut the line. Determined to stay here in the Dragon Kingdom and now in its stretch of time. When the world settled and the blur stopped all was silent. Sam was almost afraid she had gone deaf. There was simply no noise, but there were millions of Dragons surrounding Sam. one stomped as Resigue just had and in moments all of the Dragons were dancing as he was. The music returned and got louder and louder, she could feel the sound move through her soul.

Then one by one, the scales of the dragons began to shudder and shake. The buzz of a hive surrounded Sam and one by one, loose scales shot off of the Dragons, soaring through the air like millions of magic spells and the scales all landed on Sam's soul. The scales of every Dragon type, every Dragon form, fell on Sam and made her a body of armor, designed by Dragon scales and with the endless abilities of every Dragon in the universe. Sam's eyes opened as the age of her soul hit completely and her beautiful blue eyes of a toddler turned to the trickling gold eyes of the ancients.

"I thank you all, for your scales and your faith. I will lead us back from the depths of which our land has fallen. My first move as Queen will be to appoint Resigue, the Dragon of Dreams as my direct advisor. My next move is to have my human mother returned to me and finally we will restore the land from the rot the bodies of the demons have left behind and undo the stone prisons our fellow beasts are now trapped in." Sam, now known as Queen Valarie of the Kingdom of Dragons, announced. Her voice reaching even the furthest reaches of the Kingdom.

As Valarie gained a body in the Kingdom of Dragons... Sam's body back on earth failed.

Sam's mom kept her hand on her daughters, at her daughter's bedside. Sam hadn't moved since she woke last and that must have been hours ago. They had been in the hospital for days now, and Sam's mom didn't sleep through any of those days, completely running on stress and adrenaline. But the same could not be said of tonight...

Sam's mom blinked, each time she opened her eyes from her blinks, they took longer and longer to open. Over and over... until she stopped opening them. She fought sleep for so long but now her body was giving out and forcing her to sleep. She slept for only a minute, maybe ten, at least that's all she thought she did when she suddenly woke to the loudest sound ever.

A sound that she only heard in her nightmarish thoughts... a sound that had her shouting for the nurses and demanding, screaming, begging for them to save Sam. The sound of a flat line.

"Please, no. Not like this, not now! Fix it, make it stop! Please..." She felt the words shriek and echo in her mind, but she couldn't feel her body. Couldn't tell if she said it out loud. She just saw nurses run to her and hold her shoulders, trying to calm her down, trying to tell her something... something she couldn't hear. Couldn't comprehend over her fear and sudden pain. A doctor and more nurses swarmed her daughter's bed. She could hear a feint buzz and shock, a hard jolt. As she focused on the buzz, she started to hear words again- "Clear!" and the shock followed by the jolting of the bed and a body. She couldn't tell how many times she heard it. She didn't remember when the nurses left the room. She knew she refused to leave herself. She sat in a chair by the window, completely still. Her eyes stared wide at the floor, her hands clutching her hair on either side of her head.

Her whole body shook and when she could finally feel the tears she watched hit the floor, slide down her chin- she tipped her head back and let out a scream that shook the very souls of anyone who heard it. Her pain reverberated through the hospital like the wolves howl effortlessly found every corner of the forest. A nurse burst back into the room and stood in the doorway, refusing to step closer as she recognized it wouldn't help. She knew why Sam's mom screamed the way she did and she knew there was no pain that could ever match such a crumbling and suffocating feeling. The nurse turned away to get water for Sam's mom and Sam's mom resigned to stare out the window as she was once again, left alone. The pain was consuming, overwhelming. She clutched her chest and closed her eyes tight to bear the pain.

When she opened her eyes, she expected to look out to see the stars of the night sky and the moon, or perhaps just darkness while the moon peered out from behind the only cloud in the sky. But instead she saw her body slumped over in the chair, dead. She saw the reflection of her own spirit over her own body and she found huge purple eyes staring at her through the glass as a voice deeper and more intent than any human voice she had ever heard in her whole life, echoed in her ears.

"The Queen of the Dragon Kingdom has had her soul restored and though her majesty is far older than any human on this land today- Her most recent body was born of your blood only three years, seven months, and twenty-six days ago. The Queen, Valarie, known here last as Sam, wishes that I return you to her, to live on, in our realm." Resigue pressed his hand against the glass, his massive claws leaving scratches and threatening to shatter the glass, just by touching it. "If you agree to come with me, press your own hand against this reflection. As strange as this may be, I must insist that you-"

Sam's mother pressed her hand against the glass the moment he said she could, not allowing him to ever complete his sentence. If she could see Sam again, she would do anything.

She could have slept after touching the glass, like she went unconscious or maybe she blinked and didn't realize. All she knew was that when she opened her eyes again, she stood beside a woman made of dragon scales. The woman's gaze befell Sam’s mom and she smiled softly.

“Resigue kept his word, I see. Though, as many other magical transactions, it comes at a price. It seems, you have become a cat…” Valarie said, lifting the cat, who used to be her mother on Earth, up into her arms. “Call me selfish, but I prefer you like this than to not have you at all.”

The cat nodded and purred, nuzzling against Valerie's scales. There was a relief in hearing her daughters voice again, feeling her spirit and there was a deeper pride in seeing how grown her daughter was now.

The End