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[Firenze]: 56.The Darkness of a Mind: Chapter One
Rating: 0.00 Uploaded by: Created: 2008-09-14 23:10:39 Keywords: License:Free for readingOur story begins in our heroes on home, when The Sandman was allowed to live in the mortal realm under the following conditions:
1. He was not allowed to entangle himself in mortal affairs, like politics, warfare, the law or legal matters;
2. He was not allowed to love a mortal or any being for as long as he lived;
3. He was not allowed to tell any mortal who he truly was.
If he were to ever break any of those rulings he would be cast back into the realm of dreams where he belonged and would be punished beyond his wildest dreams. Of course, The Sandman or Emery as he liked to be called obeyed the council’s ruling and found himself a place in a village where he took up a job as a teacher in the local primary school so he could pay for his newly acquired home. As days, weeks and years passed by he obeyed the rulings of council and those of the mortal realms, he travelled the world and met new people, many of whom he made my people give nightmares to and became close friends with them.
One year in the village as he was returning home from a day of teaching he saw a rare beauty, her brown hair glistened in the setting sunlight and her hazel eyes sparkled when she turned to look to cross the street. As she crossed the street she smiled happily until she tripped on the pavement, Emery ran up to her and caught her just before she hit the ground, she looked to him and looked deep into his alluring blue eyes, “Th…th…thank you” she said no being able to tear her eyes away from him.
“It was my pleasure madam, a fine woman such as yourself should never hit the ground and graze such silk like skin” he replied smiling as he helped her to stand upright.
“And does this fine talking stranger have a name?” she asked as she brushed herself off from the dirt.
“Yes my name is Emery and do you have a name?” he asked as he watched her.
“Yes my name is Matilda or Tilda to my friends, you may call me Tilda, um would you like to come for a cup of tea? I have just moved here and would very much like to make a new friend and perhaps learn about this village” she said as she prepared to walk down the road.
“Of course, it would be a pleasure Tilda” he said smiling as she led him to her cottage.
About ten minutes later of walking and talking, they came to a small cottage that was covered in roses and the fragrance of lavender and jasmine wafted throughout the small garden as they walked down the path silently as the Sun set fully, in Emery’s mind he thanked Apollo for setting the Sun swifter than he would normally. Carefully Tilda unlatched and unlocked the door to the sleepy little cottage which emitted a warm and comforting feel when opened, she stood in the doorway and watched him as he looked around her garden, “Are you coming in then?” she asked and quite promptly he turned and nodded as he followed her in. She led him to her kitchen where there were numerous herbs hanging by the window drying out and masses of tarot cards and crystals lying on the table, he raised an eyebrow at this and thought to himself, “Not another scryer, too many have came close to finding me already here” he continued looking around and came across a book opened at a page with a short description of The Sandman and shook his head, “Why are the pretty ones always the one looking for me? It is embarrassing, I should lead them all off in one big dream”. Matilda looked at him looking at the book with a sad expression, “The one of few legendary folk I wish to meet one day, they say The Sandman is a true gentleman but is bound to walk the lonely realm of mortals as an immortal, but lives under three rules set by a great council long ago” she shook her head, “But it is just a silly fairy tale, none of those characters are real but lately I have been beginning to think they are real, especially The Sandman, he is the reason I am here” she said looking down as she blushed.
“I believe he is real too and that he lives on in our dreams, granting those who have been good during the day good dreams and those who have been bad, nightmares” there was slight delight in his tone of voice as he said ‘nightmares’, Emery hated creating pleasant dreams for people as they were no fun in his eyes.
“Oh? By the sounds of things I have met my match when it comes to talking about The Sandman, the only other person I know who knew that was…” and before she could finish her sentence Emery finished it.
“The Sands of Dreams, yes that is my username and you must be Dream Scryer” Emery smiled.
“You’re…you’re
“No, I am just a simple primary school teacher who has many interests and one in particular being dreams” he could tell he had enticed her but he began in those few short moments whilst talking to her a feeling he had never felt before overcame him and he blurted out something he knew he would regret in time to come, “Tilda, I must admit something, from all our time talking over the internet, I…I…I fell in love with you and well I…I was wondering if you felt the same? I mean I have shared some of the most deepest secrets that I have with you except one which you can never know and no it is not that I am married, I have sworn never to marry unless I am sure one hundred per cent” he looked down and awaited her response.
Matilda looked at him, “You know I have tried hiding my liking for you a long time and I don’t know if I can now that I have actually met you.”
“I am glad you feel the same and you don’t need to hide your emotions from me, just be mine and allow me to be the one and only for you” he said sweetly.
“If you’re asking me out then yes I will go out with you” she went to him and kissed him on the lips deeply, “God I love you” she said kissing him again, “I am yours for now and always” she hugged him tightly as he just smiled, praying that the council would never find out although he knew in time they would but he would have to protect her from them at all costs, even if it meant his life.
“Then let us make a bond that will never end and make a promise that we shall remain true for always and always” Emery said watching her with a playful school boy grin, “No it is not an engagement, it is something more powerful, a crystal bond” he said as she was entranced in his eyes.
“As you wish Emery” she said giggling, as she went and gathered two crystals and a knife from a nearby cupboard and brought them to Emery, in his heart he knew she would be hurt if she found out the man she loved was actually the man she was seeking through dream scrying but would never find. She laid everything carefully on the table. Emery picked up the knife and cut his hand open and Matilda placed the crystal upon his hand uttering a sacred bond of love as the crystal soaked in the blood after a few minutes she took the crystal from his hand and bandaged it up so it would not bleed n more. Emery did the same and smiled at the end, he made the crystals into necklaces that they could both wear.
“It is late and I have a class to teach in the morning, will you meet me after school has ended?” Emery asked as he placed the crystal around her neck as she did his.
“Yes, I will meet you” she said smiling as she kissed his cheek, “I love you Emery, don’t ever leave me, promise” she said looking for reassurance.
“I promise Matilda and if we ever do get separated, you will always find me in your dreams” he said kissing her head and then upon her lips, “I love you and always will” he said smiling as he stood, “I will let myself out” he said as walked to the door and walked out closing the door behind him and headed home.
Emery return to his home beside the school and the lights were on indoors, he grew suspicious as he approached the door as there was no sound not even a breath or a mouse squeaking in the background. He carefully opened the door preparing himself to send them to sleep and invade their dreams but all he found was a small girl sat upon a chair smiling at him as he entered, “Hello Master Creator” she said sweetly, “How fair you in the mortal realm? I have been sent by the great council to aid you in anyway you need” she said bowing and she pulled out a scroll, “They also told me to give you this” she said handing it over to him. Emery took it in one swift action, opened it and began to read it. It read as follows:
Dear Emery,
The council have been reviewing your relationship with the mortal Matilda Ryans and they feel it is getting to close to becoming a full relationship with a mortal, being your friend I have been defending your name and hope that I am right in doing so. I have sent one of your creations to help you keep your mind on what you are meant to be doing and not on this woman, I know in my heart you do have feelings for her as I saw you create a crystal bond with her and I have kept this from the council. Emery please try and keep your relationship quiet and make it look as if you two are just friends otherwise you know what the consequence will be, you will be sent back to the dream realms and will never be able to escape again. Please, I beg you heed what I have said and look after yourself and now the child.
Many Regards
Morpheus
“So I am to care for you, joyous and I thought the council said I was never allowed near any of you again” he shook his head, “I suppose, I had best give you a room to call your own, come” he said heading to the staircase, “What is your name Grimshaw?” he asked as she followed him.
“My name is Alexandra” she said politely, “Creator, what may I call you? I was also told that you must give me a name whilst I am in this realm” she looked to him as they climbed the stairs.
“You can take my surname in this realm if you so wish, you can be called Alexandra Bellum and if anyone asks you are my brothers daughter” he said sternly as he led her to a small room at the end of a dark corridor, “This is the guest room but you can use it, tomorrow we shall get you registered into the school that I work at okay” he watched her as she walked in the room and inspected it.
“Okay but you still didn’t answer one of my questions, what may I call you?” she repeated herself yet again.
“You can call me Uncle Emery” he said smiling.
“Okay Uncle Emery, what time would you like me up in the morn?” she asked.
“Be up for six o’clock in the morning, I have to prepare for my class for the day as well as make some documents for your safe living in this realm” he said looking weary.
“Okay Uncle Emery, goodnight” she said as he left closing the door behind him. Alexandra climbed into her bed and fell asleep instantly.
Emery sighed and shook his head and opened the door to the dream realm in mid air and stepped in closing the door behind him silently making sure no one could enter behind him. He was not in the mood for unwelcome visitors not even his own creations. As he walked through his realm he noticed a small window with a face in it. Emery had never seen anything like this in the dream realm unless it was of his own creation for another’s dream, he walked up to it cautiously not knowing what to expect. As he got nearer he recognised the face, it was Maltilda, and she was using the blood crystal that he created for her to find him if ever she wanted to talk to him and he would instantly know but that would only work in the mortal realm, he did not know what the signal would be like in the dream realm but now he knew. He smiled that boyish ‘caught with a hand in the cookie jar’ smile of his that could make a girl fall for him instantly as he looked on her ever searching face, he wanted to tell her there and then who he truly was but knew he could never see her again in flesh if he did so. He then remembered he had a job to do and covered the viewing of his realm and made it so she could not find him in the dream realm unless he wished it. Morpheus, he called throughout as he walked defiantly up through the mountains of the dream realm heading towards the Sleep and Dream God who created him, Morpheus.
Morpheus is a pleasant fellow who created The Sandman to be his apprentice in the realms of dream so that he may rest but it seems that Morpheus had created The Sandman to be more powerful than he originally intended but alas that is another story for when we have time, I am just here to document the past of The Sandman and the present and future of young Patrick Jackobe, so I apologise my few fateful who read this sad tale. But for now I must continue to tell what happened that day.
“Morpheus! Morpheus! Morpheus where in the dream world are you?! Where ever you are hiding I will find you! So you had better be in your home” Emery called out, his voice echoing across the mountains until a calm voice answered his calls and he looked in Morpheus’s garden to see him sat smiling happily on a bench.
“Why so angry my dear apprentice?” he said still smiling.
“I thought I was created not to feel love, not to feel all the things I currently feel and I need papers for the Grimshaw girl and last of all why send a Grimshaw, the council said I was never to be within 100 steps of one because of what I can do with them” he said glaring at Morpheus.
“Sit my boy, sit and I shall explain all” Morpheus said as a seat appeared out of nowhere for him to sit upon, Emery did as he was told and sat down, “You were created not to love but it seems that living in the mortal realm has softened you, you are becoming human in a way, yes human” he sighed and looked down, “What is happening to you cannot be undone, nothing that our Father Time weaves can ever be unstitched and rewoven, it just isn’t done, please stay away from the woman you are so in love with, it will only bring pain for you both in the end” he watched the cherry blossoms fall off a tree and stared into a distant gaze, “As for the Grimshaw girl, the papers are in the box by your side and I had hoped she would tempt you back into your old ways, back into the darkness and create the fear you have once again over the dream realm, for you are connected to it and well if you die, it dies to, I melded your soul into this realm and the realm into you, you are one with it, almost a God in your own right” he paused, looked down and then looked to him again, “Emery, the council have called for your return to the Dream Realm when you finish the school year, they say you must terminate everything and if you do not do as they command well the punishment will be unbearable believe me” he looked down.
“Morpheus you are an old fool, to believe I once trusted you, once called you friend, you are a snake in a web of lies and I cannot stand to be around you no longer, you will no longer be known as my friend but as my enemy!” Emery stood and the chair vanished, “As for the council they can rot in hell for all I care and may the Gods of death enjoy the torment they give others!” at that he began to walk away, “You know you have given me one of the greatest weapons you could have given me, a passion and a Grimshaw” then he vanished down the mountainside.
“You will never win Emery, you will never win, not against the councils rule” Morpheus said with a sigh.
“I will win in the most unexpected way you can think of Morpheus, a seed can be planted and it will grow, think on that” Emery replied in Morpheus’s mind at that he knew a plan was being hatched and will take action soon whether the council ruled it or not.
“As the Fates said, a love and immense passion will fuel his desire and cause the destruction of a balance but what the balance is to be broken is unknown even to us and we know all and see all but this one thing is hidden from us” he shook his head, “I need to find out what the balance is that is to be broken” with that he retired into his home.
Meanwhile Emery ran from the mountains to the gateway into the mortal realm with Alexandra’s papers in hand, ignoring all the people who needed dreams that night, he was not in the mood for creating dreams for people as his were about to be shattered by a group of Gods and Goddesses who were jealous of him and made the rules so that he could not live like a normal human and he was sure that they were up to something when they made those rules. He reached the gateway and opened it without hesitation and closed it as quick as he opened it when in the mortal realm, “I will never return to my old ways, I swear it!” he said under his breath as he retired to his room for the night.
The night passed swiftly as always and dawn rose silently across the hills, Alexandra rose with the Sun and looked at the time, it was not the time she was told to wake, so she crept down the stairs and into the kitchen and began to prepare breakfast for them both as a thanks for being kind to her as she had heard many stories from her elders about The Sandman and many of the stories are true. She feared him, she feared that if she did not do the right thing he would damn her into a world which would destroy her, he had done that to her father who was wary of letting her go and stay with him. The Sandman had sent her father to a realm which made him transform into a monster at his command. As I have said before, The Sandman tormented my people when he had free reign over us well we were miserable to the extent of suicide which he made impossible for us as he made us to be reborn again if we killed ourselves. Anyway the less known about the Grimshaw Clan the better as the council says, our young Alexandra finished making a beautiful breakfast of fresh fruit, cereal, milk and freshly squeezed orange juice for them both when the clock struck 6 o’clock. She smiled and went up the stairs and knocked on the door, “Uncle Emery it is time to get up” she said from behind the door. Emery stirred and sat up with a sigh, “Okay Alexandra, I hope you are ready for school” he called back sleepily.
“Yes I am Uncle Emery and I have also prepared breakfast for us both which I hope you will enjoy when you come downstairs” she said with the door closed still.
“Okay, I will be down in a moment, go ahead and begin eating without me” he said and waited for her to leave.
“As you wish Uncle Emery” she said and headed on down the stairs. Emery shook his head as she left and thought silently to himself, “Parenting is going to be harder than I thought, maybe Tilda can help me” with that he got out of bed and began to get dressed. The Sun peered in and glistened on his slender body through the curtains as he carefully slipped on a white shirt and done the buttons up, then placed around his neck a blood red tie and tied it in a Windsor knot. He smiled as he went and grabbed his trousers off the back of the chair and put them on as he walked down the staircase. Alexandra just laughed lightly at him as he tumbled into the kitchen. Emery raised his eyebrow as he looked at her and she went quiet, “I am sorry” she said quietly, “I should not have laughed at you” she said nodding her head as she placed a glass of orange juice at his placement on the table.
“How old are you? What generation of Grimshaw are you?” Emery asked as he sat down and surveyed his breakfast before he took an apple and began to eat it.
“I am 11 mortal years old and I am a third generation Grimshaw” She replied courteously and smiled, “Do you like the spread?” she asked.
“Yes it is marvellous and looks divine, you have out done yourself Grimshaw” he said with a smile.
“If you please Sir, call me Alexandra or Alex” she said as she cut up some banana, apple and a few grapes into a bowl.
“Yes, I guess it would be best if I did call you by your name as you are meant to be my niece” he said with slight disdain at how low he was being driven into having to look after the children of the people he created.
“Indeed also I have heard mortal schools don’t let the student call their teachers by there name, they must call them by their second name is this true?” she asked innocently.
“Yes it is true, during school hours you must call me Mister Bellum but any other time you can call me Uncle Emery” he said politely as he took a bite out of his apple. Alexandra just nodded and come seven o’clock they had both finished breakfast and began to clean up. Swiftly everything was put away and the table was cleared.
Emery left the table silently and walked into the hall and up the stairs to get his shoes.