I dreamed I was taking a nice relaxing bath. My drain stopper didn't work, so I was using a purple dishtowel to stop it up. I opened my eyes and noticed something purple floating on top of the water. I thought it must just be bits of fuzz from the cloth, so I scooped it out. It was hard to the touch. I examined it and saw that it was wax. Suddenly a huge ball of wax fell into the water from above. I looked up and the entire ceiling was like the top of an upside down candle. Where the light fixture had been in the center was now a flame shooting downward. Drops of wax fell everywhere. I went to get up, but found that I couldn't move. Most of the water in the bathtub had been displaced by wax, and I was stuck in it. The bathroom started to fill with melted wax, and soon it was up to my neck. Surprisingly, it wasn't too hot, and it did not burn my skin like melted wax usually does. I was panicking anyway. The wax was almost above my head. Suddenly, the candle flame in the ceiling snuffed out, and I felt the bottom of the bathtub move downward, away from me. I screamed and fought against the wax as I sunk deeper into it. Soon it was above my head, and I lost consciousness.
I awoke as I hit the ground. Apparently I had been falling. My whole body felt like one massive bruise, and I lay there moaning for a while before I opened my eyes. When I did I saw I was in a large room, with a fireplace in one corner and several ornate windows lining the walls. I remember the windows had wooden designs of celtic knots across the glass. I lay in the center of the room, still not wearing any clothing. Just as I was starting to pick myself up, I heard a small door in the corner of the room open. Before I could do anything, a man came in and caught sight of me.
"Good Lord!" he yelled and ran out of the room. I could hear him calling for someone. I saw a woolen blanket laying across a wide, wooden chair nearby. I snatched it and wrapped it around myself. Just as I got myself covered a woman entered. She smiled at me and dipped a small curtsy.
"This way mistress. Let's get you something to wear," she said gently. She led me into a small chamber adjoining the large room. In it was a large basin with water, and a tall freestanding screen to dress behind.
I heard movement in the next room, and the man called out. "I'm very sorry about this! All will be explained! You are perfectly safe, young woman!"
The girl, who said very little, handed me a dress made out of soft white cotton on the inside, and white and purple silk as the outermost layers. The dress was complicated looking and I gazed at it dubiously before the girl smiled at me and helped me put it on.
All this time I was panicking inwardly. I half-believed I was dreaming or hallucinating -perhaps I had slipped and hit my head getting out of the bath?
The girl brushed my hair as I fidgeted impatiently and asked her questions. Where am I? How did I get here? Who are you, and who was that man? Her only reply was that the master would see me as soon as we were done, and he would answer my questions.
She eventually led me to another small room that had the same ornate windows, and a matching beautiful wooden table. There was another fireplace in here. I sat down at the table, and the girl left the room. A boy came in, and set some soup in front of me. I tried to say hello, but he gave me a terrified look and practically ran from the room.
Soon the man I had first seen came in.
"I'm terribly sorry about what you had to go through," he said. "I have been trying for years to invent a less abrupt method of time transport. But this seems to be the only way, alas. For now, I can only apologize for the alarming nature of your arrival"
As I ate my soup, (having found that I was suddenly extremely hungry), the man explained to me that he was the king's sorcerer. "Sorcerer, wizard, mage, magician, call it what you will. It means nothing to me. All the king knows is that I have studied the magic arts, and all he cares about is what that can do for him and his kingdom."
He told me that the kingdom was at war with several barbarian tribes from the north. Apparently the tribes have banned together under one leader: Childrik. Chrildrik and his army posed a real threat to the kindom with their terrorist strategies. They apparently liked to capture enemies, skin them alive and send their severed heads back with one survivor as a message. If the kingdom and it's outlying areas were overrun with these barbarians, noone would be spared.
I wondered what this could have to do with me. My mind was boggling anyway at the whole thing. Time travel? Barbarians? Magic?
The sorcerer asked me to come with him, and we returned to the room in which I had first arrived. He went over to a table on which sat many strange objects: a hawks claw mounted on a stick, a deck of cards with strange colorful pictures on them, old books bound in very dark red-leather. He picked up a blue silk bag and came back to where I was standing.
"Hold out your hands" he said. I did so.
Out of the bag he took a small glass sphere. It was extremely delicate looking, and he handled it with much care. He placed it into my hands, and I nearly dropped it. It was much heavier than it looked. It felt very solid, and as if it was made of a very heavy metal, not glass. The sorcerer looked surprised when he saw how I handled it. We both stared at this glass ball, me wondering what was going on, he looking more and more disappointed.
Then suddenly, a tiny light appeared in the center of the ball. The sorcerer cried out as it grew brighter and brighter, until it was dazzling, and we could no longer look at it. I had to turn my face away -it was as if I was holding a tiny sun.
The sorcerer reached for the ball, and as soon as it left my hands, the light winked out abruptly. He placed it back in the bag, placed the bag on the table, and turned to look at me again with an extreme intensity in his eyes.
"You are she. It is confirmed." he said. "I have seen you. In my visions, I have seen you leading the armies of this kingdom. I have seen you riding before our enemies with this glass bauble shining in your hands. I have seen you face evil, and I have seen you trample it. I was right to bring you here. You will save us all."
Then I woke up. I wish my dreams would play themselves out so I can find out what happens. It's very frustrating.
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