The Urn

Chapter 7: Dreams and Reality

Ariana fell into a restless sleep. Images floated into her mind, people she recognized as friends surrounded her and laughed cruelly at her. She felt an overripe fruit hit her in the back and turned around.

Their evil-natured teasing terrified her and she ran, trying to escape their cruelty. A cave offered her protection from them and the pain her heart felt. Why did she come back? They didn't want her to return, and she had known she was now unnatural.

As she walked deeper into the caves, holding her head in shame, the light faded out and darkness surrounded her. A coldness enveloped her body, as if someone were embracing her, but she couldn't see anyone. She turned, and there she saw her reflection in a mirror. The reflection's eyes were red, and malevolence dripped from her very posture.

"Different, something's different." Ariana whispered to herself as she stared at the image. Thoughts ran through her mind as she tried to understand what was wrong. As she continued to study the reflection before her, it begans to change before her eyes. Her lower half returned to normal, a long crimson skirt flowing with gold embroidery appearing as well.

Smiling, she believed that she was back to 'normal' at last. She was pleased with the way she looked and didn't notice what was there in front of her. There were intermittent symbols of death and darkness that ran the length of the skirt, and her blouse.

Suddenly the mirror glowed, but only for a second. Her attention was away from the mirror, and more on what she had seen. "The reflection!" Ariana thought at last, "it isn't me!" But then she realized that the reflection is her; not the physical reflection, but that of the darkness within her. The feeling of being torn from her body encompassed Ariana.

The reflection reached out to touch her, then she screamed as it grabbed her arm and and pulled her into the mirror. It was quite a feat, fact being she was a centaur.

Ariana heard a haunting laughter that chilled her to the core. She was held by something inhumanly strong, that was cold as death. Then a voice came from the air. "Welcome home Ariana."

She struggled to escape the presence and started to run. Not knowing where to go and knowing there is no place to hide, Ariana stopped to confront her shadow. When she turned, the shadow was just behind her.

The shadow touched Ariana and smiled. "You try to walk in the light and now look where it has put you. With the darkness, and me, Lilith. This is your path, this is where you belong. This is who you are." She moved around Ariana and whisperd to her as she moved. "Don't you see? No one wants you as you are now. No one knows you better than me. Come with me, and I shall give you all that you will ever desire. I can make people listen to you; I can stop all the pain and loneliness. I can bring you what others have promised you. You crave freedom and strength, and I will give that to you and more."

Ariana was lost in the words being spoken, her mind confused and she still felt alone. Lilith moved close to her, and she reached out to touch her hand. Her mind was swirling with many thoughts and fears, and darkness filled Ariana with promises of revenge and satisfaction.

Confused and feeling alone, Ariana fell to the ground as Lilith moved back a little, just out of reach. Kneeling on the ground with her arms stretched out, she called to Lilith "Help me, save me, protect me!"

Lilith looked eagerly at Ariana and gave her other self a cold smile. "That's it Ariana. Ask and I shall do it all for you. I will be the one who loves you and only me. No one else will love you or care for you, as I will. No one else can do what I want to do for you. Let me and all will be, as it should. We are meant to be together. Embrace me and together we shall be that which no man or beast can enslave ever again."

Hearing the soothing words and loving melody, Ariana got up again, taking a step towards her shadow-self. She heard only the whispers of the darkness, and they were loud and clear. She could feel Lilith move as if she was inside of her. She stepped closer, wanting that love and acceptance which only those who love her can give.

Eyeing Ariana eagerly the shadow spoke again. "Yes, that's it, come to me Ariana. I am the only one here and I am the only one who matters now. Come to me my dear and let us be one . . . forever."Lilith started to move and dance around Ariana, stopping only as Ariana came closer and opened her arms to embrace her willing victim.

Ariana stopped and looked into the darkness of her own soul. She realized what she was about to do, and she withdrew her hand. With an effort, she takes a step backwards and cleared her mind of the song haunting her. She looked at her shadow, and said, "no one can have my soul or my heart, I know this. You can't have what my heart has and feels. Nothing is real here. You can't give me what I seek. I already have it. I am not part of your darkness. You are not and never will be who I am."

"So be it." Lilith screamed. Suddenly Ariana was picked up and tossed to the edge of a chasm. She was hanging on with her hands and trying to not fall. Her hooves scraped against hard rock, unable to find a grip.

The shadow came to the edge and again smiled. "Who will help you now Ariana?" Ariana's grip began to loosen and she could no longer hold on. She let go and fell . . . screams escaped her throat as she fell into a pit of darkness. All around her she heard laughter and could feel the embrace of evil about her body as she continued to fall.

Lilith's voice warned her, "Nothing can save you from me. You will be mine, I will have you. Even if you must die!" With a final jolt and scream, Ariana awakened.

Ariana's arms were flinging around, trying to hold on to anything they could grasp. A scream left her mouth, waking up those around her. She could not see at first, the dream lingered in her mind. She still felt the darkness around her. She was trying to catch herself from falling when Simon walked in the room.

Simon stood there frozen for a moment not sure of what had happened. Seeing Ariana moving about he went to her to help her up.

"Yes I am fine. It's just a dream." Ariana stopped moving and was calming down now. It was more than that, however, and he knew it.

"Can you tell me of this dream?" Simon asked her as she rubbed her head.

"I was walking and everyone was laughing at me so I ran away. Then I saw myself as I used to be. Next, darkness came, covering me within its cloudiness. I heard the strange music like that I heard the first time I struggled with The Lady of the Night."

Ariana looked at Simon, sighing. "I fear that I too have a divide to myself like you do. There was someone in the darkness . . . something of me that has torn away. A familiar voice but yet . . ." She trailed off as she saw the light of understanding in his eyes.

Timat poked her head into the room. "What was that scream . . . Ariana?" The mercury dragoness frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Change of plans, Ti." Simon stood slowly. "We get going now, or as soon as possible." He had a grim look. "Our enemy got the drop on us and now another problem is rising." He walked toward the door, and Timat backed away, becoming a little smaller to accomidate him.

"Oh, but why?" She looked up as Ilth and Maiya came bounding from their room, joining them with silent but questioning looks. Ariana had stood up and moved to the door to see everyone standing there, confusion turning to a sense of awe as Dreamspinner came as well, followed by Aurous. All this just for her?

The blue dragon saw a quick signal from Simon, and spoke quickly. "I think this means our time is running short. Get whatever you have with you and be back at the main chamber. We're leaving to end this." The dragon turned and left.

Timat sighed, and looked at Maiya. She shrugged and nodded. Ilth looked at both mercury dragons with confusion, then sighed. The three of them walked back towards their rooms, leaving only Simon, Aurous, and Ariana at the door.

Aurous looked at Ariana, then at Simon. "You aren't going to tell me what this is about, are you?"

"Not yet. Maybe afterwards." Simon shrugged apologetically and walked off with the gold dragon, pausing to turn around at the next door. "Will you be fine, Ariana?"

No, I'll never be fine again! I'll be this monstrous centaur instead of myself, and you can't do anything about it. Ariana closed her eyes against the internal whirlwind of emotions, and nodded once with a reassuring smile she didn't feel. "Just go on, Simon. I'll be there in a little bit." She turned and walked into her room, placing a hand on a table and leaning on it, feeling weak for a moment. When the table creaked and brought her back to reality, she blinked and walked to where she had laid the sword Dreamspinner had given her.

What was unnerving her so much? The nightmare? This strange woman claiming to be her twin, though Ariana knew it was true? She shook her head and shivered; it was all this strangeness which decided to enter her life. She'd never paid much attention to all the magic around her, just taken it for granted. Now, of course . . . now she was becoming a part in it, and it burned her mind to even think of it.

Ariana grabbed the sword and put the belt around her waist with a determined look. She'd find the answers, and hopefully after she did, she could go back to her normal life and never deal with this again.

Dreamspinner waited patiently to see Ariana coming, and smiled when he saw her at last. "Now we can go." He reached out and brought a foreclaw down through the air, creating a portal which flickered with all sorts of colors. "That's one of the few powers I retain . . . and it's aboutthe most powerful, I'm afraid."

Simon shrugged, and looked at Aurous. "It will have to do, Dream." He turned to Ariana. "You look . . . preoccupied in thought."

"I'm fine, Simon." She swallowed, and Simon caught an impression of some secret thoughts he was missing. He nodded and walked through the portal with Aurous, the dragon casting a glance at Ariana. Dreamspinner nodded to Timat.

Timat sighed. "Here we go again." She winked at Maiya and walked through the portal. Maiya giggled and Ilth rolled his eyes. The red dragon followed Timat, but Ariana reached out and tugged gently on Maiya's wing to get her attention.

"What was that all about?"

"You could call it an inside joke . . ." Maiya said gently. "My mother hasn't exactly been well-recieved through portals." She smiled and walked through the portal. Ariana looked puzzled, wondering whether Maiya was young or old as dragons went; sometimes she acted like a wise woman, the other times like a little girl trying to snatch a cookie from a plate.

Ariana let these thoughts follow her as she walked through the portal, followed by Dreamspinner and Derrintha. Derrintha turned around and looked around the cave, feeling something was wrong. After nothing turned up, she poked her head back through the portal.

She missed a shadow which detached itself and moved quickly out of the room, eyes glowing a harsh crimson. The shadow flew like a mist, headed towards the place which it would spring a trap. Ariana would never know exactly what was happening, until it was too late.

Ariana cleared her head by coughing , turning aside and feeling slightly sick from the travelling she had through the portal. Simon stood nearby, just to her right. "It happens sometimes; you get used to it after a year or so." He handed her a cloth to wipe her forehead with; she'd broken out in cold sweat as well.

Do I even have a year? "Thank you, Simon." She started to hand it back, but he shook his head. Instead, she tucked it into one of the pouches on the sword's belt. "So what now?"

Dreamspinner shrugged in the pre-dawn light. "Here is our objective." He gestured with a wing at a hill next to him which rose over the trees. On top was a white stone wall, and inside that was a fortress. He looked up, and smiled a little. "Dragonroost, now only seventeen years old."

Ariana looked up, and frowned. "You didn't say we were breaking into a fortress!" She felt her distress begin to awaken the power inside her, and she beat it down with a firm hand. She did not need it activating itself yet.

"WE aren't . . . I am." He looked at Aurous. "I'll have help. Dreamer is already in place, and Aurous will be the third attacker." He looked at Simon. "Objections?"

"Just keep him alive, Dream." Simon tried to sound angry, but to Ariana he sounded more worried. Why? She looked at Aurous, who was stretching his wings. The gold dragon should be able to defend himself . . . then she recalled Gevillan, all too vividly, and worried as well.

"I will." Dreamspinner kicked aside a large stone and nodded. "This is an entrance to the tunnels below the fortress, where most of the dragons who live here put their rooms. All I want you to do is find whatever support Gevillan has and get rid of it . . . I can handle him alone, but if he has help, I'm going to lose." Silence fell at that proclimation, and the blue dragon nodded to Aurous. They took off and rose towards the fortress. Derrintha smiled at Simon and took off after the two dragons, intent on keeping them safe.

Simon smiled, and walked to the entrance. "Come on . . . here." He snapped his fingers and a small light appeared in his hand. "Let's move quickly, and they'll never know we're here." Everyone followed, Ariana a little nervously. They walked on until there was a fork in the tunnel. Simon looked at one and the other, and at last he sighed. "We'll have to split up."

Timat spoke up. "I'll go this way with Ilth and Maiya." She smiled and the three dragons walked on down the passage.

Ariana looked at Simon, who shrugged and shook his head. "Well?"

"We go this way."

Shadow smiled and leaned back in the chair. "So, you understand now why I wanted to separate you from Ariana?"

The woman across from him nodded, and looked down at herself. "Yes. I must admit, I never thought being truly alive and in your own body could be so . . . interesting."

"I assure you, Lilith, that you will find that simply being alive is only half of what I am prepared to do for you." Shadow leaned foreward slightly. "For instance, I can teach you how to find your other-self, and how to use her to draw power from. You split from her with a great deal of your own power."

"I noticed." She brought up a hand and looked at it, concentrating. A flash of fire travelled up her palm to her fingertips and died out. "That is another thing I like so much; now I don't have to work around Ariana's concious mind to use this wondrous power she has."

Shadow nodded. "Of course, now that you are alive, there are things you have to know."

"Such as?" She called forth the fire again and willed it to linger a little longer on her fingertips. She let a small smile cross her face. What could the drawbacks of such an existence be?

"Such as that you are now subject to all the rules of the living." Shadow paused meaningfully. "The same ones Ariana had to conform to. You can die, and you can be touched by disease."

"A shame."

"Not only that, but while you exist, Ariana has the ability to destroy you entirely."

Lilith's fire sputtered out immediately. "What?"

"It's a drawback of being only part of a person." Shadow explained calmly.

"I'm not a part of a person, I AM a person!"

Shadow shook his head. "You are bound to Ariana, as I am bound to Simon . . . you can't get free of her until you kill her."

Lilith thought on this, and at last had an idea. She smiled and stood up. "I'll make sure she dies, then." She walked out of the room, leaving the door open, and cloaked herself in shadows, sneaking down a passage and moving ahead of a group. She looked at them; three dragons. Not Ariana, but they would do . . . if she kept them from reaching Ariana, it would be easier to overtake Ariana's feeble defenses. But how to do it . . . she remembered something Shadow had mentioned earlier about traps, and smiled. Now she knew!

Lilith changed her shape in a blink of an eye, becoming a centaur and changing her eye color to blue. Waiting for Timat and the others, she hoped to catch them off guard and remove them from the picture. She ran screaming down a corridor, apparently aimlessly. Timat bumped into her, then backed up and took a good look at what had run into her. "Ariana, is everything alright? Aren't you supposed to be with Simon?"

Lilith let her smile stay inside her mind, and began gasping for breath. After she had thouroughly entranced Timat into thinking she was really Ariana, she began to speak.

Timat listened carefully as Ariana spoke slowly and carefully. "Its horrible Timat! Simon and the others ran into some kind of trap and warned me to stay away. I left to find help." Ariana looked around as if in fear. Timat looked around as well, and didn't see anyone.

"Okay, where are they? Can you show us?" Timat looked over her wing at Ilth and Maiya, who were trying to look around Timat's wings. The two of them would be safe enough with her. She shifted one wing uncomfortably; that sword was starting to irritate her. It kept getting in the way!

"I think I can." Ariana said, smiling as a solution presented itself. "Follow me." She made her way back down the narrow path, followed by Timat and the others. The path wound itself so that no one could keep track of where they were. Timat noticed she kept moving faster as if trying to lose them.

"Slow down Ariana. We can't lose you."

"It's just up ahead I need to hurry and get you there. Simon's in trouble!" She walked into a small cave and seemed to disappear into the darkness. Timat and the others came in and looked quite puzzled. Before they could turn around, a barrier surrounded them and they heard laughter echo all around them.

"You are such fools. This was easier than I thought. Enjoy your stay, it may be a long one." Laughter rang out and disappeared into the wind.

Ilth turned and looked around, finding only the barrier of magic. "It's a trap!"

"No, really?" Timat said to him, and threw herself against the barrier. There was a sound of crackling energy, and she fell to the ground, unconcious. Then Maiya fell as well, looking at Ilth with fearful eyes.

Ilth tried to shout, but his voice was caught in his throat as a sudden paralysis gripped him. He felt himself falling, and wondered why Ariana would do such a thing.