Congratulations. You have reached level 23

Kalli’s level came as a complete surprise to us both. I immediately fell, twitching all over, riding the wave that was usually reserved for the beginning of the dream.

Kalli, on the other hand, was in the middle of her biggest spell of the evening, surrounded by ten fireballs while she attempted the flame thrower spell at the same time.

Her knees buckled and she dropped to the ground, her fireballs scattering in every direction. She spun as she fell, turning her flame on me. I was fortunate that pain wasn’t a feature of dreams because I was engulfed in fire and not the good kind.

It felt like my consciousness rose above my dream body and I watched the flames incinerate it. The residual feeling of leveling up still clung to my being as I watched Kalli writhe on the ground, unaware of the fact that she had just nuked dream me.

Forming another body was easy enough. I just imagined myself next to Kalli and there I was. She slowly sat up and whimpered, “That was great. Can you imagine what would happen if we leveled up while we were awake?”

I laughed, envisioning an image of Kalli destroying a town like Charlie from Firestarter due to a leveling malfunction. I laughed and informed her, “It’s probably best that all leveling be restricted to dreamland.”

Kalli gave me a confused look, yawning. “That’s strange. I don’t think I’ve ever been tired in a dream before. Not even when we did…stuff.”

I smiled as an image of stuff formed in my head. “You never used mana in your dream before. Not as much as you did tonight. I wonder if you’ll go somewhere like I did if you fall asleep in here?”

She yawned again, giving me a weak smile. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to find out.”

Kalli lay down next to me and rested her head in my lap. She closed her eyes and didn’t complain when I gently stroked her hair. After a while, she began to snore.

I chuckled to myself at both the idea that she was snoring in her dream and that she needed to breathe in the first place. Moments later I began to see flashes of Kalli with her master. I felt the blood rise to her cheeks as he held her hands and showed her how to use her first spell to make a wisp of light.

Even though she was right there in my arms, I doubted that the Kalli in the dream would hear me if I spoke. However, I had a special form of communication that I knew she was sure to hear.

Are you having a pleasant dream?

Dream Kalli jumped, looking around for the source of my voice. It took her a moment to realize she was having a dream before she replied. Melvin! Where are you? Why can’t I see you?

The dream in my vision seemed to have paused, the master hovered over Kalli while she looked up at the ceiling talking to me.

I’m holding you while you sleep. You are dreaming in your dream.

She considered what I said for a moment. Wait, why can you talk to me in here? I couldn’t talk to you when you fell asleep. Did my body disappear too?

Nope. Your body is right here in my arms.

I smiled when I felt Kalli’s excitement at our connection through the dreams. You finally get to meet my master. Watch this.

Kalli turned to her frozen master, trying to get his attention. As dreams are apt to do, the interrupted dream faded, reforming into a new scene. A couple ran through the darkness on a stormy night.

At first, I didn’t see Kalli in the dream. I knew she had to be there because it was her dream. Then I saw it. Neatly tucked away in a bundle, locks of red hair were visible in a tightly wrapped blanket cradled in the woman’s arms.

They were running at a reckless pace, constantly slipping on the muddy path. It soon became apparent to me that something was chasing the couple.

Kalli said nothing as she experienced what was turning out to be a nightmare. I watched in stunned silence as the pursuit continued. For a while, all I could see or hear was the young couple.

Whatever it was that was chasing them was losing ground. Just when I thought the dream would have a happy ending, the woman slipped again. That time, something awful happened. She cried out in silent agony, clutching at her leg.

The man, who had pulled away from the woman stopped and turned back, reaching out for her. She tried to rise but her ankle was unable to support her weight.

The man suddenly looked up, alerted to something in the distance that I couldn’t see. The look of terror on his face was evidence that whatever stalked him meant to kill him.

Kneeling before the woman, the man whispered something to her and kissed her before taking the Kalli-laden bundle out of her arms. He then ran off, leaving her behind. Running some distance ahead, the man stopped in front of a massive tree.

With powerful arms, he climbed until he was about ten feet off of the ground. He wedged the bundle into a hole in the tree before jumping back to the ground. Then he ran off back in the direction that he had come.

The bundle shifted in the tree, a tiny head peeking over the edge, peering out into the darkness. The rain pelted her head, matting her vibrant red hair to her forehead. Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the distance but there were no signs of life otherwise.

Suddenly, there was movement down below. A familiar face wearing armor with a flowing cloak poked a gnarled staff in bushes as they stomped past.

Kalli shuddered and screamed, Melvin, I don’t want to be here. Wake me up now! Please!

Shaking her did nothing so pushed my mana into her, following the link between her dream core and her real core, giving it a jolt of mana. I felt it lurch as the dream bubble burst. The next thing I knew we were both gasping for air next to each other in bed. Sunlight flooded the room we were in. It was morning.

After cleaning up and visiting the magic commode, Kalli and I made our way downstairs. She clung to me, still traumatized by her dream. I am telling you, I don’t remember anything except for the fact that it was a nightmare.

I was secretly happy that she forgot. The image of her childhood dream was forever etched in my brain. What could only have been Kalli’s parents had likely met their end on that dark stormy night.

Coming into the living room, our private conversation was cut short when we noticed a newcomer sitting with Kiki and Crypian. Kiki noticed us first and said, “Good morning sleepyheads. I trust you didn’t stay up all night fooling around. Of course, you can’t fool around unless you want to start a family. Isn’t that right, Crypian?”

I took that moment to glare at the prophet, the memory of what he said still fresh in my mind. Kalli blushed and did her best to ignore him. The third person in the room was a middle-aged woman wearing a maid’s outfit.

Noticing that we were looking at her, Kiki introduced us. “This is Edith. She is a maid in the royal house and has some costumes that will get us into the castle.”

Kalli greeted the maid before me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Edith. We appreciate you helping us.”

Edith rose and nodded politely to Kalli. “It is my pleasure to help the… Alariel. I will do everything in my power to help you liberate your young friend.”

“Who exactly is ‘The Alariel’?” I asked, catching the slip.

Kiki waved the maid off. “You don’t have to answer that. Not relevant, Melvin.”

I turned to stare at Kiki in disbelief. “It isn’t? Why do you have to keep secrets from me? Can’t you trust me the same way I’ve trusted you after the incident back on Earth?”

She winced at my words, causing me to feel some regret. “I can’t tell you about that. I’m very sorry. If the two of you want, I can go in alone and get Wendy. I have faith in Alariel’s plan. She won’t betray us.”

Heaving a sigh, I said, “That’s enough for me. I just wish you could be honest with me. Going into this with things like this hanging over our heads makes me worry that something is about to go very wrong.”

Kiki lowered her head and apologized again. “I’m sorry, Melvin. It’s not my truth to tell. She will tell you, I’m sure. It’s just…personal.”

Kalli squeezed my hand and assured Kiki. “Don’t worry. We’re going with you.”

“Thanks,” Kiki said in a tiny voice.

Edith smiled at us. “Okay, now that that’s sorted, here are your uniforms.”

I looked down at the plain brown outfits. “What are we supposed to be? Handymen?”

Crypian laughed. “Oh, no. We are several stations below carpentry. By an order of magnitude.”

“You will be entering the palace as newly hired chambermaids,” Edith informed us.

“Chambermaids?” I asked, giving Kalli a confused look.

With a straight face, Edith continued. “The official job of a chambermaid is to muck out chamber pots.”

“Don’t you have magical ones?” Kalli asked hopefully. “Like the one in this house?”

Edith shook her head. “No, Miss. While the royal family and some of the nobles do have them, the castle is a very large place and some portions of it are quite antiquated.”

Crypian recoiled in his chair. “Do we have to actually do any of the mucking?”

Edith threw him a withering glare. “They know who you are. Unfortunately, you will not be allowed to come. Alariel requested these three specifically.”

The prophet stood suddenly, looking frantic. “But I must come. How can I right the wrongs I have created if I am not there to do so?”

I huffed at the old man. “You could start by not making any more prophecies. If you want to fix something, why don’t you start with the one you made last night?”

Crypian folded his arms and sat back down, muttering, “Nobody ever appreciates when I try to do a good thing. Yours even came out better than usual. What could possibly be better than starting a family?”

Kalli made the prophet sink into his chair as she glared at him. “How about starting it when we are good and ready?”

Kiki laughed at us. “You know, you could always wait to do that until you are ready to start a family?”

I snickered at Kiki, turning to Crypian. “It sounds like Kiki would like a prophecy for herself. How about you make yourself useful and give her one?”

Crypian rubbed his hands together but Kiki announced, “One word out of you and I’ll punch you in the face.”

The prophet thought better of it and sat down, scowling.

Once we settled down, Edith stood and said, “Are you ready to depart? Time is of the essence. Even as we speak, Miss Alariel is doing what she can to distract people in the palace so you can rescue your friend.”

Edith frog marched the three of us to the castle wearing itchy brown uniforms. I tugged at the collar and asked, “Why do these have such high collars? And why are they such an ugly shade of brown?”

Kiki giggled at me. “Why do you think?”

Kalli also giggled, informing me. “It’s because you might get poo on you! The kids from the orphanage sometimes got this job. It was disgusting.”

I was happy that I didn’t eat breakfast as we approached the massive castle gate because I just might be sick. We didn’t go in through the main entrance. Edith led us to the back of the castle, where she rapped on a small wooden door.

A panel slid open and the door quickly swung open when the man inside saw that it was Edith. We walked inside, unsure of what we would encounter.