........He dreamed. He was in a strange place, a strange hall, with a cage at one end that had something in it, but he couldn't see what.
........And with him was a girl.
........She looked to be sixteen or even a young seventeen, and was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. She had dark, dark hair, almost but not quite black, and very long. Her figure was slender at the waist and well-formed at bust and hips. Long, delicate hands nervously twitched a lock of hair.
........Her face captured his attention. Exotic, almond-shaped eyes with an upward tilt glowed beneath upswept and delicately arched eyebrows, and a straight, long nose ended above full lips, completing the gothic beauty of the oval face perfectly.
........He now saw that with her was another girl, who must be her sister. This one, while there was a striking resemblance between the two, had a squarer, stockier figure and face, a wider mouth, a flatter nose, and a dark skin tone that contrasted with the pale alabaster of the first's flawless complexion.
........Zelgadis, with an astonishing lack of his usual tact, made a remark on the oddness of the second girl's appearance. She promptly ran away in tears.
........The first girl called, "Anne!" after her, to no avail, so she turned back to Zelgadis. He was taken aback to see her dark eyes snapping with fury.
........"How could you do that?" she demanded. "You of all people should know what it's like to be made fun of because of how you look!"
........It struck a nerve, deep in his mind, and he raised his own voice and began to say, "I was not —"
........She cut him off and ruthlessly ordered, "Think about how you feel when that happens to you! Just think about it now!"
........He snapped his eyes closed, not wanting to hear any more. "Shut up!" he yelled at her. "Shut up!"
........A soft sob made him open his eyes, and he saw tears running silently down over her cheeks, and she turned and ran away the same way her sister had gone.
........It was then that he realized his hand was gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, the engraving cutting into the cloth covering his palm. He let go as though it had burned him.
........"Wait—" he started, then ran after her.
........He found her in another strange room, a small one with everything strewn about so that there was scarcely a place to walk. She was still crying as she struggled with the door, which had broken a hinge. He stepped in and gently helped her put it in place.
........She jerked away from him, sobbing, and he felt a stab of remorse.
........"Look, I'm sorry for doing that. I apologize."
........She turned slowly to face him, sniffling. "You are?"
........"Yes."
........"Well, I suppose I'll have to forgive you, then." And her watery smile lit up her pale face to a degree he would not have believed possible.
........She turned the light on in the room, and the junk on the floor was gone. He sat on the end of the large bed, and took a sip of the milk she offered. Her sister was back as well, and they conferred in whispers, and identical mischievous grins spread over both their faces.
........Before he knew what was going on, the had tackled him from both sides and were hugging him fiercely.
........"Hey, what—" He struggled, to no avail, and finally gave it, a tiny smile of his face as they informed him that they had thought he could use a good hug.
........Pouting cutely, they drew away, claiming it was no fun if he didn't react.
........"Remember," said the beautiful one, "we need you."
........"And we love you," said the other.
........It was all Zelgadis could have wished for: two women who loved him for himself and didn't care about his looks, and were willing to stand up straight and argue with him until he threatened real violence. He winced at the memory. Here was all he could ever want, and yet it felt somehow wrong.
........Something was missing....
........And he woke.
........He sat up, wondering what had woken him, but wondering more what the dream had been meant to tell him.