Chapter 58

 Merees woke with a gasp. She sat up, her body slick with cold sweat and her heart pounding against her ribs. Taking a few deep breaths, the Princess looked around the room. The Familiarity of her surroundings made her feel a bit more at ease.

Next to Merees, Risha was waking up as well. The Lynx sat up, yawned and turned to the dragon.

"Something the matter, hon?" She asked, concernedly. "You don't look well. Are you getting sick?"

Merees shook her head.

"No, I just had a nightmare. Sorry if I woke you."

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Risha asked, as she inched herself closer to Merees, laying a compassionate paw on her lover's shoulder. 

"Remember when we first came here to, Tiraliros? Your brother was kidnapped by  Cerewan and his crew."

"I remember" Risha replied.. "But, Mer, everything turned out well in the end: We managed to rescue Leo and the kidnappers were all arrested."

"In my nightmare things ended differently" Merees said, with a grim look on her face. "In it, you and I were both taken aboard Cerewans' ship and then sold into slavery. We...we never saw each other again..."

As she spoke, tears began to stream down Merees' face. Then, she felt Risha's arms around her body.

"It was just a nightmare" the lynx said, soothing the dragon with words and caresses. "It was not real."

"I know, but during the time it lasted it felt real. So real that I was beginning to worry that our happy life together was the dream, not my nightmare."

*****

Zevedo the six-fingered  gazed down at the figure lying on the bed in front of him, with a satisfied smirk on his face.The Figure showed no sign of life, but Zevedo knew that she was not dead, merely in a coma brought about by the potion he had forced down her throat five years ago. 

It had been a challenge, even for a seasoned dream-walker like Zevedo to break down his property's mental defenses. There had been times, when he had emerged from their battles, feeling week as a kitten, but in the end, the superior mind had triumphed. Now, her mind was trapped in a false reality, one made out of her memories and wishes of how her life could have been and there it would remain. At least for another six months. By then, the planets would be in alignment, allowing Zevedo to perform the spell which would allow him to take complete control of this body. The Lemur could hardly wait to cast off his own aging form and step into a new body, one that was still young and would remain young for many, many years to come. Already, he could see himself tearing through the sky on her - no -his - wings, setting fire to his enemies with his breath. 

Of course, he would have preferred it if his new body had belonged to a male dragon, but beggars can't be choosers.