The Pipe Dream

The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished.

The Royals watched outside the open window, as the Motif River stopped mid flow, spiraled in an odd conch like form, then switched its flow entirely, until its current no longer moved in the direction of the Blood Moon, but the opposite way, towards the Citadel.

"The Queen—her—but there had never been a Queen of the Elphiates before." Patryk spoke up, completely flabberghasted by such a turn of events. He was the Harold of the Reverie—he knew everything of this dreamworld.

“There are secrets that even the gods kept from all of us.” Lulu admitted, realizing the detrimental meaning behind Hazel—a silver child—not only being the Queen of the Elphiates, but missing… again.

“And to think Steele had just found her.” Lulu looked behind her, wondering when Piper would show up. It was only a matter of time that little, scrawny human-dreamer would show up to try and save the day again.

Humans and their pointless acts of heroism, Lulu thought, just as the door to the Orph Ballroom opened, and sure enough, Piper came in, followed by Colik… and Steele.

“Where did she take Porter!” Piper was yelling at Steele, her high-pitched cry hurting Lulu’s eardrums.

“Where have you three been? If you haven’t heard the news…” but Lulu didn’t finish, seeing the look of anger on Steeles face. So, they knew.

“How would I know? I came here for her, came back to this world to be with her again—to bring back the silver age—and then she does this. To ME!” Steeles voice cut the air like a knife.

Colik was silent, looking away from the unraveling of Piper and Steele. He looked out, noticing the change of the rivers flow. The water, once shimmering and even, was now wild, lost in its own way. It was her fault, Pipers, for not telling him of Steele, or Hazel before. Maybe then, this wouldn’t have happened. It was her, who let Hazel free. It was her, who brought Steele back into this world. It was her— a human—falsely living in this dreamworld as a dreamer.

“You wanted to be in this world so bad, Piper, I think it is best if you go find the new Queen.” Colik finally spoke, still looking out at the backwards river, refusing to make eye contact with any of them standing behind him. He had had enough. So many lies, Colik thought, from all of them.

“Fine. I will go.” Piper said as a matter of fact. Colik spun his head around to meet her gaze, not believing she could mean it. But when their eyes met, she shrugged. “I don’t care if Hazel is the new Queen of the Elphiates. She kidnapped Porter, so I am going to go find him.”

“You know your looks really do perceive your stubborn, foolish acts.” Lulu barked, shaking her head at Pipers outburst. There was no way Piper would go to the Elphiates alone. She wouldn’t survive the first dream.

“Hazel has sure closed the gates to the Elphiates.” Patryk whispered, but his words rang through the room. It was true.

“We don’t know which dream she is in, nor if she actually has Porter.” Steele mentioned. He knew she vanished to the Elphiates, deep within its many dream layers, but which one—that was the mystery.

“Which dream she is in? Isn’t the Elphiates one place?” Piper questioned, her ignorance for this world catching up to her again. She had been there… she had only seen one place within one dream.

Lulu cackled, and Colik scoffed. Even Patryk hung his head low, realizing that despite Pipers part in this world now, she still did not know everything.

“What are you not telling me? This is getting ridiculous. I am a human—blah blah—I don’t belong here still, despite being a Royal… tell me!”

“The Elphiates is not just a place, Piper. It has layers, of dreams, that no one—no human or dreamer—dares to find themselves immersing in. Only one of true nightmares—like Hazel—would dare such a life. Porter too—he could survive it, well hopefully, because he is a Shade. She had to know you wouldn’t come looking for her, or him… within the Elphiates dream layers.” Steele explained to her. The more he talked, the more Pipers heart sank. “To enter the layers of dreams of the Elphiates, is to walk a living nightmare.”

“Then why call them dreams?”

This time Colik spoke up: “Haven’t I told you that nightmares are dreams too?” Another shiver ran down Pipers spine. Lulu was looking at her like she was utterly insane, and Patryk with despair in his eyes. They didn’t think she would do it… could do it. Hadn’t she showed them, after everything, she was part of this world too. And if that meant to go to the layers of dreams of the Elphiates to find Hazel, and save Porter, then so be it.

“Well, I want someone to take me there.” Piper said abruptly. All eyes fell on her.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Lulu said.

“I wouldn’t even know what layer she is in.” Steele started. Piper turned her attention to him.

“But you do know the layers, and how to get to them—through them?” She eyed him carefully while she spoke, reading his expression. She wanted to know how much he truly thought of the layers. It was Steele after all—the one who sacrificed children to get back to the dreamworld, to see Hazel again. “I know you want to find Hazel as much as I want to save Porter.” She added, slowly.

Colik looked between Piper and Steele, observing, contemplating what was to come if they in fact, went through with this. The path of the layers of dreams… it was not a death wish; it was a dreamless act.

“Fine. I will take you.” Steele agreed, nodding his head at her. He wanted to find his vanished Queen as much as the human wanted to find her lost Shade. Now, that should be fun, he thought. His smile was devious, the same smile Piper saw when she found the truth about him back in her world. But she didn’t care. She needed him to find Porter, and she would do what she needed.

“A damsel saving her damned. What a story that will make.” Lulu commented, her smile sly, but her eyes carrying a tint of worry.

“Piper, a Shade is not worth saving. Even Porter has told you that.” Colik spoke up, looking at her, his eyes pleading.

“We will see who the damsel is when we get down there. Who knows, maybe the damsel is the Queen, and the damned, the one doing the kidnapping.” Piper suggested, looking at Steele. She knew Hazel as much as Steele did. Why did she just vanish? Piper wondered, and the way that Steele was looking at her, he was thinking the same thing.

“Fine, I will be going too.” Colik said. Lulu gasped.

“No, you will not be going into the layers of dreams!” She cried out. Patryk winced at the thought of two of the Royals going to such a dark and chaotic place.

“I don’t trust Steele.” Colik admitted, still looking at Piper.

“She is going there to save her Shade. She has clearly chosen him… over you.” Lulu spat out, hoping to cut her Royal deep. It did. Colik winced, but shook his head, standing firm with his choice.

“I have made my choice, as Piper and Steele have. It has been done.” Lulu shook her head at Colik. “You have let the human control you too much. I warned you.” This time Colik spoke with anger, his words fighting back: “Like you chose a human over Blaze?” He looked over at Steele and then at Lulu, then back at Steele. Lulus heart dropped.

“What happened to Blaze…and what about you and Piper…” but she couldn’t get her words out. She lowered her eyes and fell silent.

There was a long silence before anyone spoke again.

“The layers of dreams of the Elphiates… what exactly are they? How many?” Piper asked, looking at Steele. Colik was clearly in his own head, wrapping around the repercussions that could come from the choice he had just made. Steele smiled hard.

“There were seven layers, each created by the original six Guilds of Dreamers. You will live within each dream turned into a waking nightmare. There is the Emers tragedy of exposure, the Vixens intimate seasons, the Cabras flying labyrinth, the Cryos lost box, the Scirges playground, the Routs chasing arrows and the Shades mirror of nightmares.” He paused. “But now there are eight.”

“And the eighth?” Piper knew there were only seven Guilds of Dreamers.

“The eighth… the a new dream layer… and the most dangerous dream layer of all.” Steele whispered, his words echoing in the room. Everyone was silent again, holding their breaths like there was another secret that Piper knew nothing of.

“What? What is the eighth layer?” She pressed. Why was no one looking at her?

“The eighth layer of dreams—the deepest and darkest layer of dreams within the Elphiates is the dream of the Oneiroi brothers…” Still, he did not say.

“What are you not telling me!” Piper yelled. She was getting frustrated now. What could be so much worse than any other layer?

“Pipe...” Colik started, but Steele put a hand up to stop him.

“It is the gates of dreams… or in whispers among the Reverie… it is called the pipe dream.”