Fragments of a dream - Miriam and Dara
A Dark Tower in Dream
Fragment 1
Miriam pauses when she catches sight of that dark place, her forehead wrinkling. There's been a lot in Dream that's dark these days. She hesitates, but that door draws her in. Curious, she makes her way to it, then hesitates again before she knocks.
The door inches open just ahead of Miriam's knock, and within there is a winding staircase. The flaw that manifests there is simple. Random stairs are missing, hard to make out in the dimly lit interior, making climbing them a challenge.
There's more hesitating as the door opens, but it isn't long. She seldom really feels afraid in Dream. She takes in the stairs, lips pursed, then she heads for and up them. She's very careful, though. She doesn't need to risk falling and waking, and then having to find this place again. She calls ahead of her "Hello?"
The lights brighten, one by one, as Miriam ascends and dim when she has passed, beckoning her up. A voice from above says, "Ah. I've been waiting for you." It is Dara's voice. Light, friendly, and there she is, silhouetted against the doorway ahead. "Come in, Princess of Tir."
Miriam's eyebrows rise a little that she's been waited for and when she's greeted. She smiles though, and finishes her climb just as carefully as she started it. "Thank you." she replies to the voice as she follows it to be sure the face matches that voice. One can never assume that here.
The face and the voice match precisely ... down to the last freckle. It seems that Dara has a very clear sense of her shape, and her self, even in the dreaming. There are windows to either side of her. One looks out onto the ruins of a fallen Amber. The other, to a flourishing Banyan. "How do you fare?"
Miriam's eyes move from one window to the other, then settle on her hostess. "I'm as well as possible, I think. My people are safe in Rebma, and I've been welcomed there by Queen Moire. And you? How are you faring?"
Dara sits down in the delicate ebony chair, and gestures to the empty one for Miriam. "I am glad that Rebma has welcomed you and your people. Sisters in calamity, I suppose -- at the hands of Amber. I find myself coming to a crossroads..."
Fragment 2
Miriam thinks about that. "I don't really know much about Corwin. What course's he been taking?" she asks.
Dara says, "When I saw him last, he had naught but contempt and commands for me. We parted ..." She looks thoughtful, and then with slightly sad look, "When we parted, I believe I had carried the point. But no doubt we will debate it again."
Miriam hms quietly. "I still wouldn't want to see you take any chances that will put you against Corwin. Unless you're really ready to be against Corwin. That seems like a very dangerous place to be. (...)"
Something subtle in Dara's expression, some vague hint of darkness, implies that against her is also a dangerous place to be.
Fragment 1
Miriam pauses when she catches sight of that dark place, her forehead wrinkling. There's been a lot in Dream that's dark these days. She hesitates, but that door draws her in. Curious, she makes her way to it, then hesitates again before she knocks.
The door inches open just ahead of Miriam's knock, and within there is a winding staircase. The flaw that manifests there is simple. Random stairs are missing, hard to make out in the dimly lit interior, making climbing them a challenge.
There's more hesitating as the door opens, but it isn't long. She seldom really feels afraid in Dream. She takes in the stairs, lips pursed, then she heads for and up them. She's very careful, though. She doesn't need to risk falling and waking, and then having to find this place again. She calls ahead of her "Hello?"
The lights brighten, one by one, as Miriam ascends and dim when she has passed, beckoning her up. A voice from above says, "Ah. I've been waiting for you." It is Dara's voice. Light, friendly, and there she is, silhouetted against the doorway ahead. "Come in, Princess of Tir."
Miriam's eyebrows rise a little that she's been waited for and when she's greeted. She smiles though, and finishes her climb just as carefully as she started it. "Thank you." she replies to the voice as she follows it to be sure the face matches that voice. One can never assume that here.
The face and the voice match precisely ... down to the last freckle. It seems that Dara has a very clear sense of her shape, and her self, even in the dreaming. There are windows to either side of her. One looks out onto the ruins of a fallen Amber. The other, to a flourishing Banyan. "How do you fare?"
Miriam's eyes move from one window to the other, then settle on her hostess. "I'm as well as possible, I think. My people are safe in Rebma, and I've been welcomed there by Queen Moire. And you? How are you faring?"
Dara sits down in the delicate ebony chair, and gestures to the empty one for Miriam. "I am glad that Rebma has welcomed you and your people. Sisters in calamity, I suppose -- at the hands of Amber. I find myself coming to a crossroads..."
Fragment 2
Miriam thinks about that. "I don't really know much about Corwin. What course's he been taking?" she asks.
Dara says, "When I saw him last, he had naught but contempt and commands for me. We parted ..." She looks thoughtful, and then with slightly sad look, "When we parted, I believe I had carried the point. But no doubt we will debate it again."
Miriam hms quietly. "I still wouldn't want to see you take any chances that will put you against Corwin. Unless you're really ready to be against Corwin. That seems like a very dangerous place to be. (...)"
Something subtle in Dara's expression, some vague hint of darkness, implies that against her is also a dangerous place to be.