"M'lady?" a wolf asked gently. "Are you alright?"
The woman focused hazy eyes on her. "I...don't know. What happened? How'd I
get here?
What year is it?" Suddenly the memories slammed into her mind, and
the woman convulsed as though to be sick. Her pupils contracted, and her skin
bleached from mahogany to white.
"Lady, maybe you ought..." the elf began, but the woman ripped the covers back from her bed and jumped out of it, then staggered and fell to one knee.
"M'lady!" A white unicorn mare was at her side immediately.
"What year is it, Atlanta?" she repeated tightly, pushing herself to her feet.
The unicorn's eyes softened. "It's been nearly one thousand years, m'lady."
"No!!" Her painstaking cry echoed throughout the giant palace. She stayed like that for a moment, then looked up, tear-filled eyes searching. "Who's there?" The watcher shrank back, uncertain. The action seemed to draw her presence away, for the woman asked no more as tears spilt from her eyes.
Rini awoke with a start, clutching her sheets as she sat up. "Another one," she whispered, having a sudden cold chill. The woman had seen her, or at least felt her. The little girl sighed; she didn't mean to spy, but she couldn't stop dreaming that same dream. Glancing at her clock, she saw that it was only six o' clock in the morning, and she had school. Puzzled, the little sailor got out of bed and crept to her desk. She turned on the light and opened a journal.
The girl read over her previous entries. Her dreams of recent had been of this woman, but before she had been asleep. Now she was awake. Did it mean anything at all? Was she just dream, or was she a real person? Usually a young girl with brunette hair and amber eyes talked aloud, as though talking to her, but tonight she was not there. Was she alright?
The pink-haired one picked up a pen and turned to a fresh page. "Dear...DreamJournal," she murmured aloud. "The dreams keep coming. Tonight Ia woke up. She was upset. It's been close to a thousand years since something happened - maybe whatever put her into this sleep." She paused. "The young girl wasn't there tonight. The elf, yellow wolf, and white unicorn were, though. The white unicorn's name is Atlanta." Rini paused again and started a new paragraph. "Ia has more status than I originally thought. They kept calling her 'm'lady' and 'lady,' like she was royalty. Ia has a pretty voice, one that you could listen to for hours and not get tired up. She stood up for a moment, and she was very tall - I'd say six or more feet. She didn't seem very strong, but I don't suppose I would be either if I'd slept for a thousand years. She felt me near and almost caught me. She doesn't seem dangerous, but she could be the kind of person that you don't want to anger. Gotta run. Rini."
As she brushed her hair, she couldn't help from wonder where the girl was. She was the one who (Rini guessed at this) allowed her to watch, even talked to her when she was the only one there, though she never said what was happening, who she was, or anything. She never said the woman's name, only mentioned that she was a relative. Rini took to calling her 'Ia.' The girl looked to be around Serena's age, but she seemed so much older. It seemed that whatever questions Rini thought of, the girl could hear and sometimes answered them. When she had asked the girl her name, she said it would be best to wait.
"But it's been nearly two weeks," Rini said softly, pulling her hair up into her traditional rabbit-ear like positions. She stared at the drawing she had made of the girl on the first night. "What aren't you telling me?"
She looked up as her alarm clock went off. It was six thirty already! She got dressed into her school uniform and sat back down at her desk. Rini picked up her pencil and began to sketch a picture of Ia. A few seconds later, it seemed like a hand had closed around hers and was steadying her drawing. Her eyes widened. With incredible speed, a completely accurate figure of Ia appeared on the paper.
There was a sudden misty apparition beside her, and Rini gasped. A girl around Serena's age stood beside her with brunette hair and amber eyes. She smiled, palms out to show peace. "It's not a dream, Rini. She-" she gestured at the paper, "and I both as real as you. Someday we'll come to earth to stay."
"Wait-" But the girl was gone. Something about her intrigued Rini. Luna suddenly scratched open the latch to her bedroom and rushed in, frowning. "Luna! What's wrong?"
The cat looked around urgently, trotted into the center of her room, sniffed the air. "Rini...was there anyone else in here?"
Rini crossed her fingers behind her back. "No, Luna. Why?"
Luna shook her head. "Nothing. I just thought I felt something." She hurried back towards the walkway and paused. The feline frowned and looked at the girl. "Rini, watch out for yourself." She disappeared down the stairs.
Rini touched the perfectly detailed picture of Ia. A thought occurred to her. Was the girl dangerous? She doubted it; Raye had been teaching how to detect good and evil auras, and there was nothing off about her. "Be careful, stranger. I don't think Luna likes you." She folded up the two pictures and tucked them in her backpack. There was one person she could count on, at least.
"Puu!" she called, running towards her guardian. "Puu, wait up!"
"Small Lady!" Trista exclaimed in surprise, turning around. "Don't you have school?"
"Yes, but I need to talk to you," the smaller girl panted, digging through her backpack. "It's very important. The last two weeks I've been having strange dreams about a girl and a relative of hers. I drew one picture the first night of the girl -she won't tell me her name-, and I started this one this morning. After I'd started, it felt like someone was guiding my hand and drew the picture with me. Then the girl appeared beside me. She said she and her relative were real. She also said they'd come to earth to stay. Then she disappeared and Luna ran into my room and acted perturbed. But I think she's harmless. She's very nice."
"Let me see the pictures, Small Lady," Trista said in a tight voice. Rini realized her face was paler than usual, and her hand shook as she took the pictures. She frowned a little at the one of the girl. "If...that is her...." She looked at the next one and gasped. "Oh my God..." She closed her eyes, and Rini saw tears form at their edges. "Oh my God. I can't believe it."
"Are you okay, Puu? Is there something wrong?" Rini asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, Small Lady; absolutely fine. There's nothing wrong ." She smiled and looked, surprisingly, genuinely happy. "You've just made me happier in a way you may never realize."