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Months had passed since the silver-painted Dreamer princess had woken from her prolonged period of sleep to find that her life had been turned upside down by a single accident. The young Marino had not been capable of handling the situation that had presented itself to her. She had turned first to hopelessness, sadness taking over every fiber of her body. There had been the lingering guilt of Denali’s absence, weighing heavily upon her soul. Anger had quickly replaced the guilt and the pain, influenced heavily by the confession of murder by the woman who had joined the ranks of the Dreamers after murdering Denali. Artemis had lashed out at anyone who came near her, aggression so foreign to her dominating everything she said and did. Most had been verbal, and most had been within Crimson Dreams. She had not been proud, and she had not wanted to lash out. It had simply happened, something completely out of her control.
Sleep had not come to her easily in the months that had followed her tragic accident and Denali’s death. Now, the young Dreaming princess tossed fitfully in her bed, the moon shining brightly through the window onto her unseeing features. The soft blue gaze of the princess was hidden behind lids and lashes, focused instead on the world in her mind. The lake spread out before her in the way it always had. It was where she had been spending all of her time lately, and she the girl turned away from its comforting waters, she found herself facing the toy shop she had visited with Denali in the winter. Though it was not supposed to be there, but shop's presence did not startle her. She fingered the thick scarf around her neck, wondering why she was wearing it now in the summer. Silvery white flakes of snow began to fall, and Artemis shuddered. It was not very cold, but the dream land seemed somehow eerie.
Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach as she saw him. How could she not expect to see him here, of all places? Artemis took a faulty step towards the shop, steadying herself. Though she had seen him in her dreams many times, she had avoided him. It was painful to see him so often, but now, she was taking a step towards the edge and she knew it was dangerous. She could fall. She could get hurt. Inhaling deeply, she pushed weakly against the door until it opened and she entered, hearing the rusty sound of the bell above the door. "Denali," she whispered, feeling a tingling sensation in her skin.
He looked up from the box he'd been opening, pulling at the tape with the fingers he had so envied of her the last time they had come here. He did not seem surprised to see her. Rather, her brother and best friend looked as if he had been waiting for her there. "Hey, Missa," he said, and the simple words jolted her into complete awareness. She removed the scarf from her neck, folding it neatly and placing it on the counter so that she would not forget it when she left. It took a moment for her to will herself to approach him, but she knelt on the floor beside him, focusing on the box he held in his hands. Fleetingly, she noticed that his tail was present. Hadn't it been given to her mother by the woman who had claimed to murder Denali? Artemis remembered that, but then, this was a dream, she knew. It did not have to make sense.
He turned to her and opened his mouth to speak, but she spoke instead. "It's true... Isn't it." Her tone was defeated, all the fight taken out of her now. Denali nodded, gently reaching out to touch her arm. In her dream world, he could. "It is. Your fall scared me and I ran off... I felt like it was my fault. And then I trusted someone I shouldn't. Please be careful, Missa. And don't feel guilty," he added, though she did. She wished her dream Denali could tell her more, but those were the only details she knew. A dream figure could tell her nothing she did not already know unless it was a story made up to apease her. She would likely always feel a touch of guilt over his death, but now she knew she needed to accept it. Her dream Denali would not lie to her. He truly had died.
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