Sam felt like she was floating in a dark space until she slowly rose until she reached her own body and opened her eyes. After a sleep like that, she half expected to wake back up in the hospital and nothing changed.

She instead woke up beneath a giant oak tree, sunlight filtering through its leaves.

“I was just about to wake you,” Lionheart said gently. “You won’t want to miss this.”

She got up and was shocked to see that the oak was right where the sapling used to be. Halfway up the tree was a hole and within the hole were broken pieces of melting ice. Her eyes followed the hole to the ground where the flower sat; larger than before and thirsty.

The lion walked over to the flower, opened his mouth, and showered it with water that came out like a steady stream.

The flower grew and grew until it was roughly six feet tall. Its roots split to the left and to the right.

The more the flower grew the more it looked familiar...it almost resembled a human. The flower grew petals all over it, including the stem and roots.

Lionheart took in a deep breath and held it in his cheeks until the flower was completely enveloped in petals. He released the breath and blew at the figure causing a storm of greenery and petals. A figure stepped out from the flurry.

Sam choked when she recognized who stepped forth. She shed a tear. The tear fell to the ground and a sapling started to spring up from the dirt. She didn’t think, she just ran towards the man and embraced him with the greatest hug she had given anyone in a long, long time.

“It’s good to see you!” Sam choked between sobs.

“It’s good to see you again, young one.” The Author said, patting her head gently.

“Thank you for carrying me all this way.”

Sam had the same feeling she had with Lionheart, but before the flood of words could break free the Author held up his hand and stopped her.

“Don’t worry, child. Your brother along with all the others is safe. Before my defeat, I was able to send them to a place that Nightmares would never be able to find them. “

“I can’t believe you were defeated.”

The Author hung his head.

“The Nightmares were more formidable than I had foreseen. It was my zeal and my recklessness that endangered everyone else.”

“There is no time now to dwell on these things.”

Lionheart took a seat next to them. He had a stern face, like a teacher ready to give correction.

“The enemy is moving with haste at every opportunity. You are going to have to retrieve the denizens of this world, as well as the other dreamers, in order to conjure any type of pushback. It will not be an easy mission, but it is a good thing that you have such a powerful dreamer in your midst.”

Lionheart looked at Sam fondly.

“I don’t understand. What’s so special about me?” Her voice broke.

“I’ve only got here because people keep giving things up for me. What could I even do?”

The strings in her heart felt like they broke, one by one as she remembered what everyone had done for her. Her chest tightened.

“Yes. It is true that you have had help to get here. A lot of it, in fact.”

That didn’t make her feel any better.

“Many people need help all the time. There are even other strong dreamers in this world right now.”

Sam starred at the lion with her mouth agape. She didn’t expect him to bring her down in this way.

“But,” the lion continued. “It is you who are here right now. It is you that never gave up, even when it was hard. You that had the quick wit to snatch the flower in ice and bring it here, thus bringing the Author back to us.

“I could send you back right now if that is your wish. One breath and you would be back with your family in the hospital room, and not one person would blame you; just say the word and I’ll wake you.

“Alternatively, you could use your strength and perseverance to aid us in this trying time. No one ever will put you down for the choice you make here and now.”

With that Lionheart sat and waited for a reply. He didn’t pressure her or make her seem like she needed to make a decision immediately; he let her wrestle her thoughts and come to her own kind of conclusion.

Sam looked at the Author as if she could find the answer she was supposed to give, but he stood silently and stoically, awaiting her answer with patience.

So much had happened since she was last in the hospital room. She wondered if her parents were finally awake and worrying about her as well. A small pang in her gut tempted her to go back, but when she quelled her storm of thoughts one thing was clear; her decision was made. She couldn’t go back without her brother.

“I’ll do it.” She said quietly. “I’ll help where I can; just tell me what I can do.” She raised her voice.

A spark inside her caught on her dry bones and began to blaze with determination.

“Thank you.” The Author and Lionheart said in unison; smiles on their faces.

The Author stood and straightened his vest and glasses.

“Very well. We need to make our way back to the castle.”

“But Author!” Sam cried with dismay. “The castle was destroyed. I watched it fall into the lake; there’s nothing to go back to.”

“Yes, unfortunately, that is somewhat true. While the castle is in pieces, as long as there are dreamers left in this world it will never be completely destroyed. There is still at least one door still standing, so to speak.”

“Which one is that?”

“My room. It’s where I sent the other children; the safest place they could go. The Nightmares will never find them there. Although, I imagine the door is sitting at the bottom of the lake by now.”

He chuckled.

“You must journey through the Land of the Mermaids then?” Lionheart cut in.

Land of the Mermaids? Sam thought. Are we going to travel underwater?

“It would appear so.” The Author said; a grin never left his face.

“Let’s go, young one, we both have brothers that need saving.”

Time seemed to stand still in the flower field. Sam sat underneath the tree, trying hard to calm her shaking knees. She kept fidgeting as nervousness and excitement swirled inside her.

The Author and Lionheart were a little ways off having their own discussion; apparently, something not meant for her ears.

A slight breeze made the flowers dance. Thoughts raced in Sam’s head. She thought of traveling to see the Mermaids. She wondered if she would see Aster again. She thought of Earl Grey and if he would be okay. She picked at the grass nervously as she thought of Isaac. How long had it been since she had seen him last?

She let out a long sigh and lie on the ground. She closed her eyes and let the breeze blanket her. The sun shone on her face and she meditated in its warmth.

I could lie here forever, she thought.

A figure came and eclipsed that thought.

“Ready to go?” The Author asked.

Sam sat up.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. How are we going to get to the Land of the Mermaids from here?”

“You still question me after all the things you’ve seen?”

She blushed and he smiled.

Lionheart faced the tree and let out a mighty roar. The hole where the ice ball once rested now grew and split until it formed an archway through the bark. A familiar mist swirled in the archway.

Sam hugged Lionheart and didn’t want to let go. The warmth of his mane made her long for her mother's bedtime hugs.

“Will I see you again?” Sam muffled.

“Yes, of course, I will be with you as long as you believe.”

Sam shed a few tears, gripped his mane, and then took a step back. Lionheart licked her face and took the tears with him.

“I will. I promise.”

Lionheart dipped his head and backed away from the pair. The pair let out a heavy sigh in unison and stepped through the portal.