Dreams and Nightmares
By Devon Masterson
Part 7
Sae moaned as Sage kissed her neck, his hand strayed to the hem of her shirt and slipped it off. Sae smiled as she ran her hand through his hair. Something didn’t feel right though. This is what she wanted and the way she wanted it, what was wrong?
"What’s wrong?" Sage asked sensing her distraction.
"Nothing, I…"
He tilted her chin upwards and kissed her lightly. "I’m nervous too, " he whispered softly.
"Really?" she asked as she her eyes started to drift shut as he kissed the hollows of her neck again.
"Yes, "he answered. "I want to please you and make it perfect."
"You’re so sweet," she whispered as she started to succumb to his sweet spell of love.
"Everybody’s got to have a hobby. Besides, they calm me…"
Sae shook off the thought as concentrated on Sage. "I’ve wanted this ever since I saw you," she whispered.
"And I’ve dreamt of this," Sage replied softly.
Sae smiled and closed her eyes once more to savor his closeness.
Sage opened his eyes as he heard a familiar voice invading his quiet spot. He hated when people interrupted his meditation. He closed his eyes once more and focused on being one with nature.
"Sage, I want to talk to you about something," Sae called from the bank of the pool of water.
"Can’t a guy have a little privacy?" he asked as he stood on the rock he had been sitting on in the middle of the small lake. He jumped high in the air and landed behind Sae. "What is it?"
Sae smirked. "Daddy, told me how you always come here and you hate it when you’re interrupted."
"I’m all right," he replied as he sat down in the sun and laid back.
"What so special about this place anyway?"
Sage opened his eyes and smoothed back his hair. He motioned for her to come closer so he could let her in on his little secret. Once Sae was close enough, he smiled to himself. "None of your business," he remarked as he lay back down.
Sae squinted her eyes and sat beside him. "Classic symptoms of male inadequacy," she muttered. She looked at him casually as a look of mischief passed over her face. "Did you know that Mercury used to be inhabited by mer people? Of course now over time only the Roy…only some of the original inhabitants of Mercury exist. The Sailor Wars wiped out much of the life on the other planets. That’s why science books say no life existed. The war obliterated everything."
Sage sniffed as though he wasn’t listening. "That’s a whopper if I ever did hear one," he murmured.
"I don’t tell stories," she replied as she stood. "It’s a scientific fact. I’ve personally taught some classes on Mercury history at the university."
"I’m sure," Sage commented as he started chewing on a piece of straw.
"Are you calling me a liar?" she asked angrily as she felt herself ready to pound him. She took a deep breath as she remembered her social graces. A princess and future queen had to sweet tempered and slow to anger. She smiled as she thought of another way to get him. "How long do you think I can hold my breath?"
"Huh?" he asked as he sat up.
Sae jumped into the lake.
"She wouldn’t," he said as he laid back down. After about a minute he became worried and went to the edge. Sae was at the bottom looking up at him as though she were holding her breath. All of a sudden air bubbles rose to the surface as she let go of the carbon dioxide she had been holding. "Oh no," he whispered as his face ashened.
He was about to dive in when she came to the surface and propped her elbows on the bank.
"I guess not long, because I let go and took a breath a couple of times."
Sage picked her up out of the lake. "That was not funny, I thought…" his sentence trailed as he saw her legs were now a tail fin. He placed her down calmly. "Touché. You do realize however that I have to get you back."
"Of course, it’s an a moral imperative," she replied as she pulled herself out of the lake to dry her legs back. "So why do you like this place so much.
Sage laid back casually as though nothing weird had just occurred, like a mercution mermaid talking to him about his favorite place. "It’s the most lighted part of the forest. I love the light. Darkness depresses me, that’s why I can’t get into all that star stuff like you and Rowen. It’s just not my thing."
"It’s not my thing…" Sae heard in her mind as she jerked open her eyes. She pulled away from Sage and called her sub armor. "Nice try," she remarked as she took her defensive stance.
"What’s wrong, Sae?" he asked as the wall near Sae cracked and blew apart.
"Get away from her, Talan?" Sage said in his armor.
"So now you’re stooping to tricks, Talan," the unarmored Sage said as he looked at his armored reflection.
Sae looked at both of them and called her armor. She wasn’t sure which was real or whether neither was real and she was trying to be tricked.
"Sae it’s me," the armored Sage pleaded.
"I don’t trust either one of you," she said as she shook her head. She was really getting confused. She held her naginta. "I’ll just have to kill both of you."
"Do what you have to," the unarmored Sage remarked.
Sae started to move towards the unarmored Sage when she activated her Mercury visor. "Wow, I’ve never been use both of them together before."
"You son of a bi…scuit," she finished as she looked at the unarmored Sage. She jumped into the air and landed by the real Sage.
"What took so long?" he asked as dynasty soldiers started to appear in the chambers.
"You know me," she answered as she prepared to face off. "I had to make a fashionable entrance, you know to make me look good."
"Naturally," he replied as he slashed a soldier reducing him to smoke.
"Naturally," she repeated as she flipped a warrior and planted her naginta in its chest. "We got get out of here. We’ll never be able to hold our own here against him."
"Right," Sage replied as he took out another dynasty soldier.
"I’ll get the door," Sae suggested as she twirled her naginta around. "Iron Rock crusher!"
"Not so fast," Talan said as she jumped in front of her attack. "You’re not going anywhere. You’re my guests and I haven’t even offered you any refreshments. So have a seat," he commanded as chairs raised from out of the floor and chained them to the seat.
"When I get out of here," Sage began as he struggled in his chains.
"And you won’t unless hell froze over while we were playing and I doubt that," Talan broke in. "You see you have two things I want my sister and my lady…"
"I’m not your lady!" Sae yelled as she rocked her chair in defiance.
"That’s a matter of opinion," Talan replied as he walked over to her.
"Stay away from her," Sage commanded.
Talan looked at Sage annoyed. "I’m not going to force her Halo. She’s going to give herself to me. You and I both know if I force her she’ll just kill herself or her health will fail and the child would die."
"Then I guess you’re not going to get anywhere then," Sae replied.
Talan shook his head and laughed. "You see that’s where you’re wrong. I tricked you once and that other little episode was just an experiment," he explained. "I have two options either break the spirit I find so entertaining by killing your boyfriend and his band of lost boys or possess you myself."
"You can’t do that," Sae retorted.
"Oh but I can because I’m not human anyway. I and my sister are merely weapons of destruction with a will of our own. I can possess you and no one can stop me."
"We can," a voice commented as large blast went off cracking the dungeon in half. Ryo, Rowen, and the warlords stood ready to fight.
"More guests," he said as he turned around and he waved his hand at them. A purple light washed over everyone and diminished. Ryo and the others were chained up to the wall. "So where’s Xalan hiding? I know she’s close I feel her."
"You’re not getting Mia," Ryo spat as he pulled at his chains.
Talan wrinkled his nose and ran his hands through his dark short hair. "Guess I’ll have to flush her out then." He extended his hand towards Ryo and Ryo started choking. "Come out, Xalan. Come out or I’ll kill him and you know I will."
"Don’t," Mia pleaded as she walked through the hole in the wall. "I’m here, Talan, just don’t hurt him."
"Ok, sense you asked so nicely," Talan replied as he released his hold over Ryo.
Ryo took several gasps of breaths and looked Mia. "You….should…have…stayed."
"You know I couldn’t do that," Mia answered.
"This is all touching but I have an heir to make and worlds to conquer," Talan said as he grabbed Mia and pulled her away from Ryo. "Xalan, I’ll let you have one pet but the rest have to go. You can’t have everything that follows you home."
Mia looked at him. "These are my friends."
"The sounds like you have some choices to make then," Talan replied.
"Please don’t be this way," Mia pleaded as she looked into her twin’s eyes.
Talan took a deep breath and smirked as he rubbed her head affectionately. It seemed uncharacteristic of him to be tender when he seemed to be a glacier of feelings. "You have an hour," he said as he jumped on the bed and put his arms behind his head.
Mia sighed as she looked at her friends helplessly. She had at least bought an hour of time figure out what to do.