[002] Dreamscape
It is the same dream as always. Arthur, beloved Arthur of Wales, is there. The garden is lush and vibrant. It bears fruit and flower in abundance, even the ensalada, salad vegetables he once promised she could plant. She, Katherine, is dressed in the Moorish garb they used to wear in the Alhambra, that she had shown Arthur just once, that one night she decided to allow him to see Catalina instead of Katherine.
Arthur is so much more important than the garden's productivity. She runs to him and he crowns her with a wreath of summer blossoms, pure white. On her head, they become the royal crown of England, which he also intended for her to have.
"I will keep my promise," she tells him. "You will see. You will watch how I live our promise every day. I will be Queen of England and give England its son, Arthur."
"I know you will, love," he tells her. Then he tugs at her hand. "Come to bed."
But she cannot, this time. This cannot end like the thousand and one nights that were cut to a handful by his illness and death.
"They are calling for me," she says suddenly, and turns away from him so very reluctantly, to the watcher, the intruder in this private moment, the new person in the constant dream.
Arthur is so much more important than the garden's productivity. She runs to him and he crowns her with a wreath of summer blossoms, pure white. On her head, they become the royal crown of England, which he also intended for her to have.
"I will keep my promise," she tells him. "You will see. You will watch how I live our promise every day. I will be Queen of England and give England its son, Arthur."
"I know you will, love," he tells her. Then he tugs at her hand. "Come to bed."
But she cannot, this time. This cannot end like the thousand and one nights that were cut to a handful by his illness and death.
"They are calling for me," she says suddenly, and turns away from him so very reluctantly, to the watcher, the intruder in this private moment, the new person in the constant dream.