by Simon Archer
“I appreciate your hospitality, Gale,” I told her as she stepped through the doorway. She glanced at me quickly and nodded before disappearing down the hall without another word.
The door closed in front of me, and I stood there, staring at it. It was mirrored like the doors in the main hall. I had a full-body view of myself, and the room behind me. I was an absolute mess. At that moment, the idea of being some special dragon-person didn’t seem possible for the man reflected back at me. I spun around and headed for the closet. I grabbed a towel and went to take a shower. I’d never looked forward to one so much in my life.
I’d finished showering and slipped on clothes that closely resembled sleepwear that I’d pulled from the closet. The pants were made of a soft canvas-type material, and the t-shirt was typical cotton from what I could tell. Both were extremely comfortable. I wasn’t sure if they were really softer than other clothes, or if I was just enjoying them more because of how grimy I’d been most of the day.
A moment later, there was a tap at the door, and I made my way to the door. I counted to ten before opening it. I poked my head out and looked both directions down the hall. Nobody walked through the halls. Standing directly in front of me was a small tray with several covered plates on it. The domes covering the food were fashioned out of wood and polished to a glass-like finish. I picked the tray up, leaving the stand in the hall, and pushed the door closed with my foot as I backed into my room. A moment later, I had the tray on the dining table and removed the plate lids. As promised, a cheeseburger with every fixing possible was under the largest one. There were two others, and they held French fries, macaroni and cheese, and what looked like apple strudel. If Gale was trying to win my heart through comfort food, she was on the right path!
I tried to control the speed with which I ate so as not to end up with a stomach ache, but the food was so delicious, that it was a difficult feat. In fact, it was the best of each type that I’d ever tasted. Even if Blenwise wasn’t full of amazements like dragons and gorgeous women, the food would’ve been enough to make me want to stay.
When I’d finished everything, I put the covers back on the plates and set the tray back on the stand in the hallway. Once the door was closed again, I turned away from the mirror, and my eyes rested on the bed. It hit me just then that I was more tired than I’d realized.
Crawling in the bed was like encasing myself in a warm cocoon of silk fluff. I couldn’t feel my body on the mattress, it was that comfortable. I was up to my chin in soft blankets, with my head being cradled by a cool pillow, when I realized I had no idea how to darken the room. It turned out I didn’t need to know how because the moment I thought about it, the torches on the walls extinguished themselves, and the place went dark. I let out a deep breath and had one last realization for the day; there was no window. It struck me as odd but not enough to keep me from immediately drifting off to sleep.
7
I sat straight up in my bed and knew something wasn’t right. I moved my eyes slowly around my bedroom, barely breathing so that I could hear if a strange noise caused my uneasy feeling. Everything was supremely silent around me. I swung my feet over the edge of my bed and leaned forward, looking for my socks. That was when I noticed the color of my apartment floor wasn’t right. It was muted, almost greyed out. At that moment, I realized I was dreaming.
Forgetting about my socks, I stood and walked to the nearby window. My tiny apartment only had two windows, but one had a great view of the Arizona mountains that I liked to see first thing every morning. I opened the shade and looked out, but the mountains weren’t there. Instead, there was water for as far as I could see. I knew then that I was on the ocean. The waves were turbulent, but it wasn’t until I watched one roll towards me and disappear below the window that I felt the rocking of the room. I grabbed onto the window seal to keep my balance, and when the wave passed, I slowly slid the window open. There was no screen, and the scent of salty air rushed over my face. I hated that smell, although I didn’t know why.
I blinked, and I was suddenly several feet away from the window, watching myself standing there, cringing against the air. I glanced down at my bare feet, then back up to the other me, and my blood ran cold. The me standing by the window had raised a leg and put it out the window. Holding onto the frame, he lifted himself up and put the other leg through. He took a deep breath, sitting there, halfway out of the window, and I saw his shoulders relax. It wasn’t a sign of relief, however. It was him giving up. He put his palms on the window sill and leaned forward. I tried to lunge towards him and found I couldn’t move. Nor could I yell. Then, for the first time in a dream, I was watching him from afar but also seeing what he saw at the same time.
Terror lurched down my throat and into my chest as he pushed himself forward, out the window. As his body disappeared from my view in the bedroom, I could see the water below him as he fell. Then the two versions of me turned back into one just as my face hit the water and sunk beneath the surface of the ocean. I’d expected to panic but didn’t. I didn’t even try to swim. I simply sank. As I slowly descended under the surface, the currents pushed me around, and the light from above the water faded. Somehow, I knew I didn’t want to die, but I was doing nothing to stop myself from drowning. That was the part of the dream I’d seen before, but it had been a long time, and that is usually where it ended. That time, however, I just kept sinking.
I glanced below myself, and a jolt of fear shot through me. A figure was approaching me, and it was huge. I couldn’t tell what it was, just that it was white, and moving quickly towards my sinking body. The fear left me as quickly as it had come, though, and I relaxed into some sort of resignation of life. I closed my eyes for a moment and prepared myself to attempt taking the breath that my body needed, knowing that my lungs would fill with water instead of air. When I was ready, I opened my eyes. I barely had a chance to focus as the water clouded my vision, but when I did, all I saw was a flash of white before blackness enveloped me.
The next thing I knew, my body hit something hard and started rolling. I got my eyes open just enough to figure out that I was rolling out of the water, over sand and rocks. I must’ve rolled for twenty yards, feeling every cut and bruise along the way. When I stopped, I was lying on my back, and I took the breath I’d planned on taking underwater, but my lungs got the air they wanted instead. I weakly turned my head in the direction I’d come from just in time to see an enormous splash about thirty feet out in the water as something dove in. As the thundering crack from the displaced water faded, I squeezed my eyes shut to clear my vision. When I opened them again, I was staring at a see-through, chiffon curtain, draped around four bedposts.
When I sat up that time, I knew I was truly awake. My breath came in as I gasped heavily. I looked frantically around me, trying to figure out where I was. It only took a moment for the previous day’s events to flood back to mind. Once I determined that I was at the Academy, in the bed Gale had turned down for me, the surge of sadness washed over me. I closed my eyes once again and tried with all my might to get back to the place where I was watching something disappear into the ocean. I wanted to know what it was. With each second that passed, each moment I couldn’t get myself back to that place, the sadness decreased, replaced with longing. I wanted to be with the white figure I’d seen approaching me in the water. I knew, somehow, it had saved me from myself.
Several minutes passed before I opened my eyes again, resigning to the realization that I was unable to reenter my dream. By then, I was wide awake, so I looked around. I flipped the covers back and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, once again looking down for the socks I’d left on the floor. It was a habit I’d gotten into as a child to avoid my feet from having to touch a cold floor. My socks were lying there, but there was a bright strip of light running over them. Turning my head to the left, looking for the light source, I saw a large window with silver drapes tied back on each side. The window had not been there the night before, and a chi
ll ran down my spine. I threw my socks on and hurried to the window, looking out while shielding my eyes from the brightness with my hand.
The view was breathtaking. I could see for miles over green flats, flower-covered hills, all the way to a massive mountain range in the distance. The sky was an electric blue, and there was a shine to everything. I figured I was looking out a window facing the outside the Academy because, glancing up, I didn’t see the glass walkways I’d seen when Aron flew me in. I’d completely missed the beauty of the land when we’d come here, I’d been so enthralled by riding another dragon. I noticed a small river curving down out of the mountains and was reminded of the longing I’d felt just a moment prior. It was still there, but had faded to the background of my mind. I didn’t have time to think about it any longer, however, as a knock on my room door distracted my attention.
8
I stood frozen for a moment, wondering if I should answer the door. Or, perhaps I was to wait ten seconds and then answer, as I had done with dinner the night before. Before I could make up my mind about the best plan of action, there was another knock, only this time a voice accompanied it.
“Hey there, let me in! I’ve got to get to breakfast!” Whoever the voice belonged to was male, and in a hurry but trying to be quiet. When I didn’t say anything, he continued. “My name is Fitz. Let me in. Don’t worry about Ms. Gale. She… um… knows I’m here.”
The voice sounded like the person it belonged to was about my age, but it was easy to tell he was lying about anybody knowing he was at my door. His lie made me roll my eyes to myself. However, this Fitz person knew I was here, so I didn’t figure it would hurt to find out what he wanted. After all, I hadn’t revealed myself. He had found me. I walked to the door and turned the handle, pulling it open a few inches. I peered out, directly into a smiling face.
“Oh, good! I wasn’t sure you were going to answer,” Fitz said as he pushed his way in. I backed up as he stepped to the side and closed the door behind him. When he turned to me, a huge smile crossed his face. He threw out his arm and grabbed my hand, shaking it vigorously. “I’m Fitz! It’s nice to meet you!”
It took me a moment to get my bearings on the situation, but I had absolutely no indication that this guy was a threat.
“I wouldn’t say we’ve actually met. Nobody should know I’m here,” I replied, cocking my head to the side, waiting for him to explain himself. He let go of my hand and wandered further into my room.
“Yeah, Ms. Gale must think all of us actually go to sleep when we should,” he chuckled. “I heard her rush you in here last night.”
“Are you staying in a nearby room?” The hall had seemed abandoned the night before. I’d gotten the feeling nobody was in any of the adjoining rooms.
“Not really,” Fitz said. “Very few people have ever been in this hall. At least not for a long time, anyway.”
“Then how did you hear?” I watched as he looked around the room curiously.
“I can’t do much magic, but the one spell I am good at has to do with listening. I spelled this hallway two years ago so that I would hear if anyone came here. I figured if it was off-limits, then when something did happen here, it would be pretty special. Now you are here. You must be special. Although, I can say I am surprised you are male.” Fitz plopped down in a chair next to the small dining table.
“Why is that?” I asked, rooted in my position close to the door. It reminded me of the feeling little kids get when they know they are about to get in trouble for something they didn’t do.
“No guy is special. The most one can hope for is to be a little better than the others at some skill, or intellect. What’s different about you?” He was still smiling and looked completely relaxed. For some reason, I instantly trusted him.
“I’m not from here,” I said, not sure how to explain my appearance in Blenwise.
“You’re not a Wanderer, though. So, where are you from? I’ve never heard of anyone living south of the mountains. Are you from there somehow?”
“No,” I answered, finally moving toward him. I pulled out a chair across the room and sat down. “I’m from Arizona.” Fitz’s eyebrows raised.
“I don’t know where that is, but it sounds interesting. How long did it take you to get here?” He seemed genuinely interested in my travels, and I had nothing to tell him but the truth.
“I fell through a portal a little way from town, out by one of the dragon landing circles,” I replied. His eyes went wide, and he slapped his knee, smiling even bigger.
“You don’t say! Those things are real? My grandfather used to tell me stories about portals. He said there was only one, but that it was like a rip in the sky!” Fitz was getting more excited by the moment, and it surprised me that he wasn’t more cautious.
“I don’t know much about it either, just that it was there, and I fell through it yesterday,” I told him. “You are only the fifth person I’ve met since doing so. Well, I met three, and one just opened a door, so really, I guess technically you are the fourth.”
“Wow! How did you survive the fall? My grandfather said the person he heard about forever-ago had fallen to the ground and died!” Fitz’s eyes were wide open and staring at me.
“Prenna caught me,” I told him, chuckling slightly at his awe.
“She must be just living it up right now!” Fitz yelled, hopping out of his seat with happiness for the dragon. “All the other dragons are going to be jealous!”
“Deyla said something similar to that,” I replied. “I’m just happy she was there.”
“I’d say you should be!” He started heading for the door, then looked back to me. “You coming?” His sudden change of topic threw me off guard.
“Coming where?” I asked, glancing down at myself. I was still in the clothes I’d slept in.
“You need to eat, don’t you? The mess hall is serving breakfast,” he answered happily.
“I’m not even dressed, I’m not going anywhere yet,” I told him. I didn’t feel like having a mess hall full of people staring at me in my pajamas.
“Oh, alright, I’ll hang for a few minutes while you change,” he agreed without me asking him to.
“I’m going to shower too. You may just want to go on ahead without me. I’m not even sure I’m supposed to leave the room,” I replied.
“Make the shower quick. I’ll wait. If Gale didn’t tell you not to go get breakfast, then what’s the worry?” There was a mischievous tone to Fitz’s voice.
“The worry is that she instructed me to stay out of sight, and here you are, already being someone who has seen me.” The more I told him, the more uneasy I felt about leaving the room. I wasn’t in a position to piss off the headmistress of the only place I had to stay at the moment.
“That isn’t your fault,” Fitz argued. “I heard you. There’s nothing you could’ve done about it!” He sat back down in the chair he’d vacated only moments before.
“How about this,” I started. “Let’s have them send the food up here, like they did with dinner last night. Then, once I’m cleared, I’ll go to the mess hall with you… tomorrow, maybe?”
Fitz cocked his head to the side and grinned.
“That’s a fine plan, but how is it you order food from here?” he asked.
I looked around the room for a phone of some sort and didn’t see one. Gale had ordered my food the night before after she’d left. I had no way of ordering anything, that I was aware of, anyway.
Fitz watched the realization cross my face. “Ready to go with me yet?”
I took another moment to think about it and decided to go. After all, all Gale would’ve needed to do was give me a tad more information, and I’d know the reason I was being hidden, and why it was so important no one saw me. As it stood, I was indeed hungry, and I had someone to show me around who seemed very willing to part with knowledge, even if it was limited. He still knew more than I did.
“Alright, I’ll go. Give me five minutes,” I answered Fitz
.
He instantly smiled and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head. I grabbed some clothes and towels out of the closet and headed for the bathroom. I wasn’t positive I was making the right decision, but at least I’d made one.
Five minutes later, I stood up from tying my shoes and looked at Fitz. My shower had been as hot as I could stand it, and I finally felt fully clean after being grimy the entire previous day. Even my shower the night before, which helped, didn’t quite give me that sterilized feeling I liked.
“I’m ready,” I told Fitz. He jumped out of his chair with a smile.
“Let’s go! You are going to love the food here!” As he headed to the door, I noticed how tall he was. He was almost as tall as I was, although he had a thinner frame. He had a tuft of blond, curly hair on the top of his head, and he’d shaved the sides, giving him both a tough look and a nerdy look all at the same time.
“I’m starving. Let’s do this before I change my mind!” I told him jokingly, joining him by the door. I turned the handle and pulled, ready to follow Fitz out. He didn’t walk through the door, however. Instead, his face turned white, and the smile fell from his face.
9
“Apparently, I need to start doing magic checks in the halls again, don’t I, gentlemen?” Gale’s voice rang into the room. I pulled the door open further and looked out. She was standing in the middle of the hallway, tapping her foot impatiently. Her brow wrinkled when she saw me, but she didn’t look particularly mad.
“Hello, Ms. Gale!” Fitz greeted her, showing no fear. “Will you come to breakfast with us?” I looked at him like he just may have gone crazy.
“Good morning, Fitz,” she replied, then stared at him momentarily. She looked back at me and grinned. “Yes. I will go to breakfast with you.”