by Jake Taylor
Isabella had just fallen asleep beside Haruka, or at least she thought so; now she was standing in an oddly-designed building. She was used to nightmares, but this was very different. There was nothing horrific about where she was; in fact it felt kind of like a school. She noticed people passing her and realized where she was by their dress and symbols: the Black Sun Monastery. Why was she here? Shouldn’t this be Haruka’s dream? Bella had never been here and knew nothing about it.
That would have to mean this wasn’t a normal dream, a fact proven by the younger Haruka she saw walking through the hallway. Isabella ran over to her and wasn’t noticed; she waved her hand in front of her face and hopped around her in a circle, but still nothing. She set a hand on her hip as she watched Haruka pass her. “How rude. Reality Ruki is much nicer than Dream Ruki. Or Past Ruki. Dream Past Ruki? This is kind of complicated.” She decided to follow Haruka, clasping her hands behind her back and humming to herself as they walked.
Haruka seemed much more detached than Bella had ever known her to be. She stared at the floor as she walked and didn’t seem to pay attention to anything, even where she was walking. Physically, she looked similar; she looked younger, a couple of faint scars Bella knew should be there weren’t, and her hair wasn’t waist-length yet but about shoulder-length. She also seemed less confident and certainly less attentive. Even… meek? Could Haruka be meek? She hadn’t known her to be, but she seemed to avoid people as she walked. How long ago was this? Haruka seemed to be about twenty Common Age, so probably about two hundred years ago or so, she figured. “She was pretty already,” Isabella said to herself as they walked. “Will I have more of these dreams? Will I get to see her as a child? I hope so. That’d be so cute!”
As they turned a corner Haruka ran into someone. Isabella blinked as she apologized quietly, keeping her head down; the man she’d run into had shoulder-length blond hair and an irritating smirk that already made Bella dislike him; his friend, who flanked his shoulder, had short, spiky black hair and the grin of a dumb jerk. They both seemed only a little older than Haruka but they acted like she was a child as the blond made himself tall above her. “Whoa, watch where you’re going, Mute.”
“She almost actually hurt someone for once,” the other one chuckled.
Isabella huffed, her glare going unnoticed by the three. Haruka seemed irritated but she made no attempt to respond; she just tried to walk around them. “Wait a minute,” the blond said, grabbing her shoulder. Haruka immediately caught his wrist and turned to catch his shoulder but he spun under her arm, curling his right arm under her extended one and his left arm around her neck. Haruka gasped and struggled but he just tightened his grip, grinning. “Almost. Getting a little fiery there, aren’t you?” It was at that moment that Isabella learned her fists just moved through them without doing anything. She cursed as the blond leaned his head down beside Haruka’s ear. “You still think you can get away with shit by being the boss’s kid?” Haruka shook her head as best as she could and he released her.
She fell to her knees rubbing her throat and staring at the ground. The two men chuckled and walked away, and Isabella, out of pure anger, tried one more time. Her fist smacked the back of the blonde's head and he stumbled forward, rubbing it. “Ow! What the hell?!”
Isabella blinked, then thrust her fist into the air in a cheer. “It worked!”
Both boys turned around to stare at her in surprise, and Haruka had a similar reaction from her spot on the floor. “Who the fuck are you?” the black-haired boy said. “You’re not Black Sun!”
Isabella grinned at them, endlessly excited that she was actually physically there now. She cracked her knuckles. “I’m not, but I’m a friend of Haruka’s.”
The black-haired boy snorted. “She has friends?”
The blond shoved past him. “Who cares? She fucking hit me. I’m kicking her ass.” Being a monk, he wasn’t like any normal bully; the punch he threw was fast and strong. Of course, Isabella wasn’t there to be hit by it anyway. She stepped to the outside and caught his wrist, punching the underside of his bicep to deaden his arm. She then spun under his arm and drove her elbow into his chest, sending him stumbling back into his friend with the breath knocked out of him. “What… What the hell?”
Isabella gave him her sweetest smile, curling her left arm behind her back and lifting her right hand, beckoning him with her fingers. “Just one hand? You look like you need a handicap.”
The black-haired boy made to move forward, but the blond threw his arm over his friend’s chest. “She’s mine!” He stalked forward angrily, ready to try now. He went down to sweep her leg but she lifted the leg and smashed her knee into his face. He came back with an angry punch and she caught his wrist, yanking him past her and tripping him at the same time so he hit the floor behind her. His friend came forward then, coming at her with a leaping kick. Isabella laughed as she stepped to the side, catching his collar as he flew past. She yanked him back down out of the air and drove her knee into his back, hearing a satisfying rush of air from his lungs. She then drove her other knee into his stomach, then struck his chin with her palm, sending him to the floor.
The blond came at her back in a rush until Haruka’s fist connected with his jaw from the side. Isabella smiled at her as the blond stumbled past her, flattening her hand and striking the back of his neck with the edge. He, too, hit the ground beside his friend, and neither of them made a move to do anything but groan. Haruka looked at Bella quizzically, an expression that just made her laugh again. She grinned at the monk. “Let’s go somewhere else, even near-unconscious they annoy me.”
“O… kay,” Haruka said softly, leading her through the hallway. They ended up in a room full of fountains and miniature waterfalls and rivers.
Isabella smiled, turning in a circle. “Relaxing… This is a very nice room.” She noticed Haruka was still giving her an odd look and giggled at it. “I’m not used to seeing you that confused, Haruka.”
Haruka blinked. “Know me?”
“Yes… But not yet.” Isabella clasped her hands behind her back, tilting her head and studying Haruka. “I know you later, in the future. My name’s Isabella.” She watched Haruka slowly nod and laughed again. “I’m not crazy. Well… I mean… I am, but not about this. I think.” She paused. “Let’s forget all that for now, though. Why did those guys bother you?”
Haruka shrugged. “Easy target. Well-known.”
“It’s not because of the cute way you speak, is it?” Haruka blushed and Bella noted that she wasn’t completely different.
“Partly. Also, my father. And… I don’t fit.”
Isabella took a seat on the edge of a fountain, nodding. “I know what it’s like to be in a place that doesn’t fit you. That just means you haven’t found the place you’re meant for yet.”
Haruka frowned. She tentatively took a seat, studying Isabella. “I’m here.”
“For now.” Bella smiled. “Things change. Besides, you can do well even here if you try.”
Haruka looked down. “Not really. No talent.”
“Aren’t you tired of your situation here? You can change it yourself, you know.”
“I want to.”
“Keep working at it then.” Isabella leaned back on her hands. “You bow to everyone. You act like they’re better. Why?”
“They have… pride,” Haruka said weakly, looking at the older woman. “Skill. Success.”
“You could have pride.”
Haru smirked. “About?”
“You’re pretty. You’re probably smarter than all of them. And you’re fast, aren’t you?”
Haruka sighed. “I can run.”
“Maybe use that?” Isabella tilted her head. She wasn’t getting anywhere; maybe that wasn’t the only reason she was here. “Tell me about yourself; your situation.”
“Why?”
“I just want to learn about you.”
“Really?” Haruka looked skeptical, but she nodded. “Well… Unpopular. No friends; disli
ke everyone anyway. They dislike me.”
“Because of your father?”
“Partly. Believe it’s… unfair.”
“It is,” Bella said, “but it’s unfair to you. They don’t see that?”
“No,” Haruka said in frustration. “They don’t. Higher expectations, so much pressure, no care, anger…” She coughed, rubbing her throat. “Annoyance.”
“I know,” Isabella said softly. “What they think, though, doesn’t matter. And despite everything, what your father thinks doesn’t matter. What matters is you.”
Haruka looked at her. “Not much me. Father’s goals, father’s means, father’s directions.”
“One day, you’re going to get out from under him.” Bella leaned forward. “What do you want that day to be like? What do you want to do, to have? What do you want?”
Haruka looked thoughtful, kicking her feet a little. “Someone who cares?” she suggested. “About me, not my abilities. And… skill. Success. I want that.”
“You want those things, even though some are what your father wants?”
“Yes.” Haruka looked at her. “But for me, not him.”
Bella smiled. “That’s all you need. Look, working to please your father or the others here isn’t going to do much for you but disappoint. Work for yourself. Become better than them, but do it because it’s what you want.”
“It’s… that simple?”
“It can be.”
“Well, I’ll… try.”
“And succeed. I know it.”
Haruka looked at her as she stood up. “…Thanks.”
IXH
Isabella and Haruka awoke at the same time. They glanced at each other and then away, sitting up in bed. “I think I had your dream,” Bella said, looking back over.
Haruka blinked, meeting her gaze. “I had your dream. Or, I mean, dreamed about you.” She paused and blushed. “Not like that, although I’m not saying-“
“Relax, Haruka. Man, you spent forever barely talking and now you won’t shut up,” she said playfully, receiving a glare from Haruka. “Okay, calm down.”
Haruka sighed. “Is someone messing with us?”
“I don’t think so. Or if they are they’re not doing a very good job of it. You were adorable.”
Haruka blinked. “Ador… What did you see?”
“You were like… twenty, I think? You were very different, but not entirely different.”
“I… Ah.” Haruka ran a hand through her hair. “Twenty…? Seems like so long ago…”
“Well it’s two hundred years, so… yeah.”
“Thanks for the reminder.”
Isabella grinned, leaning on her shoulder. “You don’t look old.”
Haruka looked at her, thinking. “Maybe we were supposed to see bad versions of each other? And whoever did this didn’t know we’d just accept it?”
Bella tilted her head. “Why? Did you see…?”
“Well, I… don’t know the exact timeline. Whenever it was, you were the other you.”
“Oh,” Isabella said softly, looking off and pulling away only to be pulled back into Haruka’s arms as she hugged her from behind.
“You were different,” Haruka said, “but interesting. Some of the you I know, was in there. You actually thanked me.”
Isabella blinked. “That doesn’t sound like me.”
“I think it’s because I tried. No one tried with you; you had to deal with all of that alone and you couldn’t.” Haruka sighed, resting her chin on Bella’s shoulder. “The downside is that I now know for sure I could’ve helped if I’d met you then.”
Isabella looked at her, laying a hand on one of hers. “It’s not your fault you weren’t. It means just as much to me that you would be willing to try.”
“I would.” Haruka assured her. “You forget I’m not a normal person, Bella. I’m attracted to that version of you, too.”
Bella’s eyes glinted as she smiled. “Really now?”
Haruka grinned. “You’re hot in all forms.”
Laughing, Isabella lowered her head. “Well I’m glad you seem to appreciate my insanity.”
“What can I say, it’s an attractive quality. Plus, I hear crazy girls are good in bed.”
“Ruki!”
“Are you denying it?”
“I’m… I just… Aren’t you easily embarrassed?”
Haruka gave another grin. “Yes, but you’d be surprised how motivating your reactions can be.”
“If you bug me too much, you might not get to test that rumor.”
Haruka chuckled. “I’ll try.”
IXH
Freya waved to the two women as they came up on deck, from her position at the tiller. They were back out to sea and once more on their way south, but she had a stop in mind as she gestured for them to come up to her. “Mornin’, beauties. Sleep well?”
Isabella smiled as she ran a hand through her thick hair. “More or less.”
“Aye, I know th’ feelin’.” She leaned on the tiller, looking at them. “Listen, there’s a sorta… stop I wanna make.”
Haruka raised an eyebrow. “A stop? What port?”
“Well, not a port so much as a ship I ‘eard was in th’ area.”
Isabella folded her arms. “We’re not helping you take out some merchant vessel.”
“No, no, nothin’ like that.” Freya winked at them. “Wouldn’t be good manners doin’ that with guests aboard. No, it’s an enemy o’ mine, up-an’-comers thinkin’ they can work in my seas without a deal. Thing is I don’t really stand fer that.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“Not completely. Y’see, they’re a bit more violent than I like – like t’ kill all their targets. That’s an amateur move, bad fer business, makes th’ rest skittish an’ means that vessel won’t be back. Can also get attention from th’ Empire an’ I don’t fancy that. I wanna take ‘em out.” She raised a hand. “Now I ain’t gonna force you t’ participate. If you don’t want to, we’ll jus’ keep goin’ an’ I’ll come back for ‘em later.”
Isabella shared a look with Haruka before nodding. “You’ve helped us out a lot, and they sound bad enough that I’d like to deal with them anyway.”
Haruka nodded. “We’ll do it.” She rolled a shoulder. “It’s been awhile since my last fight anyway.”
Freya grinned at them. “That’s th’ spirit! An’ it’s a good thing you agreed ‘cause we’re already headin’ that way.”
Haruka blinked. “You just assumed we’d agree?”
Freya raised both hands. “Hey now, I jus’ figured you two were good friends an’ wouldn’t let me down. I’d ‘ave turned around if you wanted!”
“Uh-huh.”
Freya gave another grin. “Fortunately you don’t ‘ave to test that theory ‘cause ya did agree.”
Isabella looked at Haruka. “You ever get the feeling we’re being played?”
“Only every day.”
IXH
Night had fallen on the Black Wake and no sight had been seen of the other ship. The ship sailed through the dim light lit by the partially-obscured moon; reflections off the water were difficult to see because of the heavy fog that had set in. Freya remained at the tiller, steering the ship through the fog with a sense of unease. Isabella and Haruka sat on the deck nearby talking to each other. “Foggy night, eh?” she remarked during a break in their conversation, sweeping her eyes over the ocean. “Don’t usually see it like this out from th’ coast…”
Isabella looked over, leaning back on her hands. “Is this really unusual?”
“Kinda. Th’ water’s really still, which is kinda odd on th’ ocean at any time. But th’ weather jus’ feels a bit off. It’s like-“
“Ship ahoy! Southeast!”
Freya jerked her head forward at the lookout’s words, peering at the area. Sure enough there was a dark speck along the horizon, barely visible but there for practiced eyes to see. She steered the Wake towards it, keeping a steady speed. As it
grew closer the lookout yelled down, “That’s the ship, Captain! Flag matches the description!”
“Somethin’ ain’t right,” Freya muttered to herself.
Haruka stood up and walked over, with Isabella right behind her. “What’s not right?” she asked as she peered in the direction, spotting the ship.
“It ain’t movin’,” the pirate said in a serious tone. “It’s not runnin’ from us, but it ain’t movin’ in any direction, either.”
“Could it be a trap?”
“Odd trap. We’ll see.” After minutes of quiet travel they finally neared the ship. “All hands on deck,” the captain yelled out. “Furl th’ sails an’ run guns out th’ starboard side! Keep watch in all directions! Boardin’ party, meet near th’ bow!” As her crew jumped to and worked quickly she expertly brought the galleon alongside the much smaller ship. Someone else then took the tiller as she headed to the boarding party with Isabella and Haruka behind her. She stood at the railing, looking over, but no one was visible on the deck at all. “Maybe an ambush or… somethin’ worse. No point in standin’ around thinkin’ about it, though.” She slid one foot back and looked over her men before ending her gaze on the knight and monk. “Hope you two are ready; t’night may be excitin’ after all.”
IXH
West of the Black Wake… West of the coast, west of the plains, west of the cities, west of the rock plain of Mithlain, west of the Dead Forest, west of the mountain range past that… Thousands of miles away, in the land of Areya, something was stirring. Upon a worn throne sat a young man, a teenager by appearance. His skin was ashen as he rarely left the keep he sat in; an old sword rested against the throne, rarely touched. An advisor sat nearby speaking with others; the young king rarely spoke with anyone.
No one noticed him looking down at his lap. No one noticed his lips moving slightly, whispered words escaping them. No one noticed the odd white spider on his leg. And no one noticed when the corner of his lips lifted in the slightest of smiles.
Chapter 9: Through a Nightmare