Lisa's head didn't hurt any more. For a moment, she just stared blankly up at the unfamiliar ceiling, trying to remember where she was and what happened. That's right... she fainted. Really super embarrassing!

Shivering in the remembrance of that black force relentlessly crushing her consciousness, Lisa decided to swivel her head to the side. She couldn't help but crack a smile at what she saw. Isabel and Yseralin were bunched up in the other bed, sleeping.

On the bedside table was a half empty potion. The one Yseralin had brought. It was supposed to be a really high grade healing potion prepared by her Master for emergencies, and Yseralin had just... she had kind of forced the potion into Lisa's mouth.

The first time she woke, it was still light outside and her head hurt, while her vision was blurry and unfocused. Honestly, she felt like shit. Next thing she knew, Yseralin was there looking worried.

Then she uncorked the healing pot with a pop and forced the greenish liquid down Lisa's throat. After that... things got blurry again. It obviously had a sleeping draft mixed in to make sure the patient got her regenerative sleep. Lisa didn't mind though. She felt much better now.

Still, the room was dark. The only reason she could see Isabel and Yseralin was because a ray of moonlight shone through the drapes and illuminated them.

She supposed it was fitting. Those two people were friends. They'd helped her alot. Gone out of their way for her sake... they deserved to be bathed in such beautiful moonlight, Lisa thought.

When Lisa swept the room a second time, her eyes caught sight of a small shadow leaning against the far wall near the door. She should feel fear, right? Some shadowman was quietly watching her, and how long had he been there?

Ah but it was a smaller shape. Not a man... but a boy? Regardless, he could've stuck a knife through her chest or slit her throat... or worse, taken her as a slave. But instead of fear, Lisa felt an odd sense of comfort as she looked at the unmoving shadow.

Eh? This had to be her imagination.

She chuckled quietly to herself. It seemed like she was still delirious. Perhaps she should drink the rest of Yseralins potion and sleep until morning... but... she could not bring herself to ignore the shadow.

It was a very distinct shadow, with one small horn outlined clearly. Those eyes glowed faintly in the dark aswell. A red orb. A purple orb. Those two diamond like orbs focused solely on her, with such concentration that...

Lisa swallowed audibly before clearing her throat. And in that moment, he stepped forward.

From the shadows, her saviour emerged. He was just as inhumanly beautiful as she remembered, and his eyes bore into her with an intensity that simply made her heart flutter frantically. She just about managed to suppress a quiet whimper. But she still shivered.

”Shu...” Lisa muttered. This... was a dream, right? It had to be a dream.

”Lisa.” He said. His voice... was as she remembered, gentle and solid and beautiful, like a frozen waterfall. The sound of it calmed her fluttering heart and a warm calmness spread from her belly to her whole body.

She smiled. This was a really, really good dream. ”But its too bad..” Lisa muttered, still greedily staring at her Shu. If the dream was going to show her something good for once, who was she to complain?

A crease of worry broke the otherwise perfectly smooth facade of Shu's statuesque face. ”So it's like that... after all.” Shu said. The sadness in his voice was unbearable, and Lisa didn't understand it at all.

”What? I mean... this is just a dream right? There's no way you're real. Yeah, no way. ” Lisa muttered.

The dream Shu shook his head. ”Uhm... I'm real, Lisa.”

”Of course you'd say that if you were in my dream like this.” Lisa replied. Shu was out there doing who knows what. There's no way he could just suddenly appear in her room at night.

She wasn't stupid enough to believe in miracles. That reminded her of... why she had fainted that time in the cafeteria. Oh no, just thinking about it made her stomach do flip-flops. Gosh it was so embarrassing.

The image of her saviour, cocked its' dangerously beautiful head sideways. ”Are you okay Lisa? I was really worried, you know?” Even though she knew this to be a figment of her imagination, she still blushed a little.

”I... I'm fine. But I don't know what to do. You're just a dream, so it's not like anything I say really matters...” The dream Shu smiled and took a step forward. A step closer. Her heart thump thumped a little faster in her small chest. Yeah, this was a dream Shu for sure .

The real Shu was a bit of a dummy. He wouldn't look at her with eyes like that. As though he wanted to eat her all up like delicious candy. Waaah~ so embarrassing. She was glad this was just a dream... Still, it made her a little sad to realize that. There was no way the real Shu would fall for a flatchested girl like her.

”It's really me, Lisa.” The dream Shu said, taking another step closer.

Even for a dream... this was a bit much. And in the middle of the night too... and with Isabel and Yseralin sleeping right there... Uuuuuu! ”Le-aah... alright then...” Lisa said. ”I know! If... if you're the real Shu, there's no way you would...”

Again he cocked his head. That familiar gesture really threw Lisa off. ”Would what, Lisa?” The dream Shu said with a faint smile. ”There's no way you'd do everything I ordered you to, right?” Lisa said.

”I would, though...” The dream Shu replied. Lisa shook her head.

Then she threw the dream Shu a wicked smile of her own.

Since this was a dream, she might aswell play around a little... like in that other dream she'd had when she had gotten drunk...

What she'd done that time had really embarassed Shu alot. She wanted to see him embarrassed like that again. Just the thought nearly made her giggle.

”Well. I think the real Shu would absolutely not... smell my feet.” Lisa said, grinning smugly at the dream Shu.

”Therefore. I command you to smell my feet. I didn't change my socks today, so they might be a little bit.. Ah, hey hold on! You're really going to do it?”, The dream Shu stepped forward, kneeling at the bedside where she was sitting.

The dream Shu raised his head and looked at Lisa like... he was daring her to continue.

What even was this stupid dream.So embarrassing... it was just like that time when she was drunk.

”Hmpf, fine. Since you're obviously a dream, here~” She said, pulling one of her socked feet from under the blanket and shoving it in the dream Shu's face while her heart beat like a drum in her chest and her face burned red hot.

Lisa had half expected her foot to punch through his face like it was made of smoke, but instead... her small, socked foot struck his face solidly.

She couldn't believe that she was having such a stupid dream... it was so embarrassing she thought she might explode, but thankfully nobody could peer into her dreams.

A vague memory... of that night where she'd been drunk, very drunk. That night aswell, she had done a similar, very embarrassing thing.

Because she was a princess of the forest, of the mistveil tribe with their slightly weird traditions... That stupid instinct was still there. Her old self. Her pre-slave self.

Lisa felt her face flame up as she looked down at the kneeling Dream Shu, and her socked foot on his face. Her toes were lightly scrunched up around his nose...

Why was she having such a weird dream, she wondered. ”The.... it smells... right?” Lisa said, but there was no reply from the dream Shu.

The only sound in the room was her heart beating faster and faster, thrumming a frantic tune. It felt like a dash to the precipice, like throwing herself off a cliff with abandon to pursue that strange, warm feeling.

Lisa swooned slightly, but managed to keep herself still as she waited for a reaction from the stunned dream-Shu.

Ah! Perhaps this was that kind of dream. The kind where you dreamt about stuff you didn't manage to do properly.

Like, if she'd missed study back at the great tree, she'd get scolded. But if her teacher didn't know.. Lisa would get scolded in her own dream.

Sometimes, she forgot to bathe and would dream that she smelled like a skunk and then later something horrible would happen to her in a dream to berate her uncouth habits.

Perhaps this was that kind of dream, and soon Shu would evaporate. Then an evil laugh would resound, telling her that because she smelled bad, she'd never get to see him again.

Perhaps this was that kind of torturous dream, the same kind that had haunted her throughout her childhood?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the dream Shu inhaled slowly and deliberately. Holy gosh, that's so embarrassing! Way way too embarrassing!

Lisa felt the urge to pull her foot back. She could feel the sensation of air being pulled through her sock and it tickled her foot.

She resisted the urge to giggle aswell, since it tickled.

This sensation... was too real. Too real to be a dream. No... way. No fucking way!

With a yelp, Lisa pulled her foot back under the sheets and turned to stare at the dream Shu, her mouth hanging open and her face so hot that steam was surely rising from it.

There was a lazy, almost smug smile on the dream Shu's face as he continued to kneel there.

”I guess that means I'm a dream, right Lisa? Or am I real? What do you think?” Lisa's face was burning so hot, and she thought she might explode.

This was really incredibly embarrassing... and the thought entered her.

What if... what if this was the real Shu?

If he was real, then she had just made him... she had just made him...Lisa hid her face in her hands, remaining quiet.

Wait, what had he said again? ”Dre-dream?” Lisa said, finally looking up from her hands.

Shu still knelt at the foot of her bed like before. He cocked his head to the side and smiled.

”Nngh. A dream. That's right! It's just a dream.” Lisa said, relief flooding her. She chanced a glance over at Isabel and Yseralin, but they slept so soundly. In-fact, it was as if time had stopped.

Like, was the moon even moving? Did the stars shine? Did the moonlight flutter? Did the drapes sway from the gentle night breeze that should've been coming through the half-open window?

Lisa sighed audibly, and her spine tingled wonderfully at the realization that this was indeed just a dream.She hadn't embarrassed herself infront of her demon prince after all.

”Alright then.” Lisa said, licking her lips.”Kiss my toenail!” she commanded, grinning at the still kneeling Shu. The self-confident smile he wore, faltered for a moment.

”Wh-what?” He asked. Jeez, why was the dream shu so uncomfortable all of a sudden. She just repeated that thing she'd dreamed about when she'd been super drunk and Shu had refused.. or rather, been too stunned to act.

She shrugged. It didn't matter anyway. If this was a dream, she could... she could reclaim her old self, atleast partially.

”This pru...pre-princess commands you, kiss my toenail!” Lisa said, once more sticking out a socked foot. This time, Lisa didn't kick him squarely in the face. The dream shu would have to do the work himself.

Lisa was grinning and enjoying the look of shock on the dream Shu's face. Then, tentatively and with slightly shaking hands... he took her socked foot in both of his hands and gently kissed the top of her big toe.

Lisa couldn't help but blush at how gently and carefully the dream Shu was handling her proffered foot, as if he thought it was the greatest of treasures.

That stupid idiot... Even in dreams, that idiot was an idiot.

Shu gently lowered her foot and stood. The look on his face... was strangely serious? But.. but... those pale white cheeks that she had never seen colored in before, were slightly pink.

The dream Shu cleared his throat and his beautiful hands fidgeted nervously with a lapel-button on his extremely exquisite black doublet. Then he nodded to himself. A gesture which made Lisa doubt her previous judgment that this was a dream. That self-affirming nod was so Shu-like.

Then he moved towards her. His knees hit the bedside, and he crawled over to her. Lisa couldn't deal with this, her face was super hot right now, probably flushed bright red. So she threw herself back on the bed, closing her eyes.

She couldn't move. Dared not move.

When she opened her eyes, she saw his face hovering just above. Their noses were close enough that they'd touch if he moved a hairs-width closer, and he stared into her eyes. She stared back.

“This is a dream, Lisa.”He whispered. She... couldn't reply. She just swallowed audibly and nodded weakly in response.

“Remember, this is just a dream. Got it?” Shu said, moving closer.

Was he?! Was he going to kiss her?!

Lisa squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her small hands as she shook slightly. Despite her excitement, she couldn't help but feel nervous. Then a moment later, there was a strange whooshing sensation, and she felt like she was floating. So shocked was she at this strange feeling, that she opened her eyes wide.

The next thing she noticed was that she was being held in a princess carry by Shu. It felt nice and snug, and strangely comfortable despite his size. He wasn't that much larger than her, after all. She still felt a little out of it, and leant her head against his chest as the dizzy spell passed. Then her eyes widened as she saw the strangest thing.

“Whe-where?” She asked, her eyes wide as she took in the sight before her.

It looked like they were standing underwater. Right before her eyes there was a huge purple dome. On the other side of the glowing purple dome, there was a massive body of water, deep and dark enough that her eyes did not penetrate, though she did spot flickering lights in the darkness and wondered what it could be.

Suddenly, Lisa felt a crazy amount of mana flicker into existence before immediately disappearing. It sent a tingle down her spine and gave her goosebumps.

“Aaand.... let there be light.” Shu said, smiling warmly. Suddenly, the dark underwater sea was lit up magnificently.

For many many miles all around, as far as her eye could see, there was light! Lisa gasped. “What? What's this what's this what's this! Wow!” She said. It was simply unbelievable. The sea was filled with strange, fantastical creatures.

There had to be thousands of fish and she could see all of this clearly because of the incredible light. Never in her life, even at the festival of the lifegiver in the great forest, which she'd once attended with her family as a sort of pilgrimage or rite of passage... even that ancient elven festival could not compare with this beautiful sight. Lisa felt herself being squeezed by Shu.

He hugged her tightly even as he was carrying her like a princess... and Lisa felt warm and comfortable and safe, truly safe, for the first time since he left.

She couldn't fight the tears that sprung forth from her eyes then, and she buried her head in his chest. “Thank you, thank you... thank...” Lisa muttered, crying shamefully into the Dream Shu's immaculate doublet.

He only squeezed her tighter.

This had to be a dream. For once, a dream that wasn't about her being abused as a slave, or her parents being dismembered before her very eyes, splattering blood on her face.

Back in her room, it looked like time had stopped, and now this dream Shu was carrying her... holding her like it was no problem. Like he was superhumanly strong. And this crazy place! There was no way it was real.

This realization that it was only a dream made Lisa feel a tad sad, and she looked up at dream Shu who was still carrying her with no care in the world except, it seemed, her.

Since it was a dream, why should she look away?

“My princess is beautiful, even when she cries.” Shu said. Then he lowered Lisa to the ground. She placed her two socked feet onto the oddly warm black stone pavement. She got a sudden urge to look behind her. If she did, she might see something amazing like the strange and unbelievable bubble of deep ocean.

But Shu was here, infront of her, and she couldn't for the life of her, tear her eyes away from him.

He held her gaze with his own.

“Best dream ever.” Lisa muttered, staring at the image of her saviour just as he stared back at her.

“I concur.” Shu said, stepping close to her with a smile that made her heart flutter wildly.

Lisa felt herself being wrapped up in something warm, then her blurry vision cleared.

“Good morning!” Isabel said. “Wha-what?” Lisa said, her voice was hoarse and dry. She was in her room and morning sunlight bathed her face.

“Are you alright now?” Isabel said.

Lisa nodded, still very confused at what was happening. “Mooou I was real worried you know? I'm so glad you're alright Lisa. Our first class is today and I wouldn't want you to miss it!”

“Th-that's right!” Another voice called and Lisa saw Yseralin standing in the door opening, her arms crossed over her non-existent peaks. Well, perhaps stiff nipples could be considered tiny hills in the landscape of a body? Pfft. Her brain was addled from the dream, she was super confused and felt very groggy.

“Get your butt out of bed already. We'll be late if you don't get a move on.” Yseralin said, then she coughed conspicuously.

Lisa cocked her head in question, even though she knew that Yseralin had come rushing yesterday. “Wh-what? What're you staring at? It's not like I came here to help... you...Ugh.”

Yseralin flailed about in the door opening wearing a flustered expression as she explained in no uncertain terms how she was definitely not here because she was worried.

Lisa smiled at her two friends as she dressed for the day. Though she did pause for a moment when she changed her socks.

She couldn't help the blush, really she couldn't! Jeez...