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When Lucienne walked into the private reading room, she immediately noticed that something was wrong. For as long as she could remember, that room was forbidden to anyone but her and Dream, a treasure of some special books that it would be dangerous to let out of those walls. It was one of the places where Dream liked to lock himself away when he had sensitive issues to resolve, and that time too she would find him there, alone. It surprised her greatly to see two figures sitting at the table in the center of the room, and even more so when she realized who Dream was talking to.
Next to his Lord was the Corinthian, and they seemed busy with very important matters. The desk was filled with books, papers, crumpled old scrolls. One glance was enough for her to recognize on some of them the elegant handwriting of Dream and, in contrast, the chaotic and almost illegible handwriting of the Nightmare. Both were speaking a strange language that Lucienne did not immediately understand, because it was very difficult for it to be used within those walls: it was the ancient language of nightmares, which Morpheus had banished immediately after the betrayal of the First Corinthian.
Lucienne moved from the darkness of the door to the center of the room, and finally the two stopped talking. She clearly saw the Corinthian's hand, brazenly resting on Dream's chair, dangerously close to the shoulder left uncovered by the robe his lord wore. No one in the entire kingdom would ever have been allowed such confidence, but then again, the Corinthian had always been given a preferential treatment, and with Daniel this was even more evident. Dream greeted her with a smile; the Corinthian, on the other hand, was unmistakably annoyed at being interrupted.
- Lucienne -
- Forgive me my Lord, I didn’t know you were here -
- Do you need to tell me something? -
Lucienne was almost about to say no, turn on her heels and leave. But then she thought it was time to deal with that once and for all.
- Yes, my Lord. Would it be possible to have a few words with you in private? -
- Certainly -
The Corinthian seemed even more irritated by that unplanned intrusion, but a nod of Dream's head was enough to make him move. Getting up, he touched Daniel's shoulder with what could not have been mistaken for anything but a caress. The Nightmare's hand lingered on that bare white skin, without her Lord being surprised or annoyed, as if he were accustomed to that kind of physical contact.
We are already at this point thought Lucienne and wondered if she should have spoken up long before, if it was not too late now.
- Lucienne -
- Corinthian -
And the door closed behind her.
Lucienne took her usual seat, facing him. Her eyes fell again on the books scattered on the table, on the papers, written all in the nightmares’ language. Why had they started speaking that language again? What was going on there?
- Tell me, Lucienne -
- My Lord, I am worried -
- For whom? -
- For you -
He smiled kindly, as if those words were but the result of Lucienne's usual apprehension for him.
- Why are you worried about me? -
- May I speak freely? -
The question was asked with all possible caution and gentleness: many things had changed but certainly not Dream's touchiness, although it that moment he was clearly intrigued by that request.
- Always -
- Well, it’s about the Corinthian -
- What would he have done?-
- Nothing and that's the problem-
If Dream was intrigued, now he was puzzled, and with a wave of his hand he invited her to continue.
- He attends human dreams less and less. He barely performs his duties, while here in the palace he's constantly present. During hearings, diplomatic meetings, even here in this room! –
She paused, to see how far she could still go. Daniel's smile had disappeared and, on the contrary, dark clouds were beginning to gather from the large window that lit the room, a sign that he was getting angry. But she took courage: this time she had to go all the way!
- Why was he here, my Lord? -
- These are things that concern me and the Corinthian -
- You were speaking the language of nightmares. A language that you yourself had banished...-
Dream's eyes glowed with rage
- I wasn't the one who banned it! -
A thunder resounded and made the glass shake vigorously. In the room the temperature dropped as if a cold wind had entered through the cracks in the walls. The emerald glowed with a sinister light but Lucienne was not afraid: she loved her Lord too much to stop that conversation.
- I know. Just as I know how dear the Corinthian is to you. And that’s precisely why I could not help but notice...- but Dream did not let her finish the sentence. He stood up abruptly, and Lucienne thought he would either dismiss her rudely or leave without adding anything else. Instead, he approached the large window, from which by now a strong smell of rain was beginning to waft into the room.
She saw him bring his face closer to the glass with a wistful expression. Among the shadows, his body remained the only, pale source of light. He sat on the step below the window, like a white cloud on the gray stone.
- He understands me like no one else. That's why he was here today. That's why he is always by my side. This is something you cannot understand and it's something that doesn't concern you -
- But concerns the kingdom! You have entrusted a Nightmare with some of the most important roles, he now follows you as if he were an advisor, or worse, a consort! You speak a language that had been forbidden...-
- I AM the King of Nightmares, Lucienne! -
- And also of Dreams, my Lord, but since the Corinthian is by your side you seem to have forgotten this -
Dream turned to look at her, saddened by her words. The light from the stone went out, as did the flashes of lightning outside the window. He seemed to be thinking about how to react without being too harsh.
- Do you consider me so weak as to be influenced by anyone? -
- By nobody, my Lord, but him, because you love him –
He smiled at her again. A sad, sweet smile that made him look more like a human than one of the Endless.
Lucienne rose in turn to sit beside him. In a burst of boldness she had not counted on having that day, she reached out her hand and placed it on Dream's, cradling it between her own. And immediately she reminded another hand she had held, and a long-awaited return, years and years ago. Daniel looked at their joined hands, perhaps finding the echo of that same moment in a memory only partly his own.
- I am and am not at the same time, Lucienne. I need to find a way to always be me -
- And it’s in a Nightmare that you will find yourself? -
Daniel nodded, squeezing her hand, a gesture that was meant to be reassuring. But her heart trembled at the thought of what those words meant.
Maybe it's not too late, maybe it's not too late....
- You cannot put the pieces together with someone who is already broken –
Those words seemed to hurt him, as if he did not expect them, not from her. Or maybe because he expected them but hoped she would not say, at least in that special moment they were sharing. That vague, indefinite sweet sadness that had embraced them was now giving place to something cruel that wanted to keep her away.
- We don't want to put pieces together. We want to destroy every single fragment-
Outside the window the rain had begun to fall with a renewed intensity. Daniel withdrew his hand from Lucienne's and slowly rose to return to his work. In his eyes was a determined look. That conversation, for him, was over.
And maybe everything, everything that was there before, was over too.
- My Lord ...-
-Leave me alone now, Lucienne- he told her as he resumed his seat at the table -and please tell the Corinthian that he can come back here-