That night, Elise dreamed of Earth. She was back in middle school, when the bullying was at its worst. It was before she got braces to cure her buck teeth, and before she started wearing her hair long to hide her ears, and before she hit any major growth spurts to look less like a child. Except she wasn’t in her human form. She was in her rabbit.

Children with faces shrouded in shadow all around her were laughing as she struggled to hold her pencil with her teeth and take notes as the teacher started talking about calculus. She was failing miserably, constantly dropping the pencil, and even when she did manage to hold it correctly, the words and numbers she wrote were illegible. The laughter only got louder when she tried to use {Prehensile Vines}, only to remember that the floor was carpeted concrete and her spell wasn’t strong enough to break through.

“Why?” she asked. “Why am I here? Why am I a rabbit? Why are we learning calculus in middle school?”

The teacher, who was similarly faceless, turned to her and started speaking in the System’s voice.

“It is certainly unusual to be learning calculus in middle school. However there are certain private preparatory schools that prefer to teach their students advanced concepts from a young age to ensure that they are ready for college once they graduate. If you are learning calculus in middle school, it is likely that you are attending one of these institutes.

“If you feel that you are not yet qualified to be taking such a course, the best course of action would be to talk to your parents or your guidance counselor, and inform them of your feelings. While learning advanced concepts at a young age is important, it is more important to make sure that children are content in their learning environment, and don’t feel that they are being left behind.”

“What the heck?” said Elise.

“Elise!” said a voice from behind her.

She turned around to find a woman who felt strangely familiar. She knew she had never actually met her, because she would have remembered meeting someone so stunning, but she couldn’t help but feel like she knew her identity. She had golden hair and golden eyes and an almost literally blinding smile. Her whole body shone like a light, but her teeth were so bright they were difficult to look at.

“Hi!” said the woman.

“Who are-?” Elise started to say.

“-you?” she finished, staring at the wall of her alcove in the Mother tree.

She was awake again, and more confused than ever. She had never remembered a dream so vividly after waking up before, but it was almost more incoherent than the ones she couldn’t remember. She laid still, trying to figure out who the strange woman was, but came up blank. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t remember ever meeting, or even seeing her before. It was frustrating, because she had a gut feeling that the woman was important.

It looked to be Drow dawn, based on the brightness of the fruits above. They were not quite as dim as they had been when she fell asleep, but they were nowhere near their maximum output either. Below, she could see Drow start to emerge from their own alcoves, and descend the tree. They were so far down that they almost looked more like gray insects than people.

She watched them move around for a few minutes, then retreated back into her alcove. It was too early to make any moves yet, and she had nowhere else to go. If she went down, she would have to deal with Jean. If she stayed there, she would have peace and quiet until it was time for her and Naomi to make their move to talk with Queen Salome.

She waited restlessly, trying to take her mind off the impending war. She felt like she needed to be doing something, but there was nothing that she could do. She didn’t fully believe what Naomi had said about Emilia brainwashing all the Drow with her dust, but that seed of doubt had sprouted, and was beginning to grow.

Why did the dwarven and drow accounts of the conflict differ so much? Claudia and Marie had called the dwarves “Invaders” and believed that they had shown up one day and taken the caves. Emilia backed this up by saying that the dwarves were “sadistic and cruel” and that they had poisoned the Sister Tree. And yet, Greta had said that the Dwarves and Drow lived in peace for many years. She also claimed that the Dwarves had not killed the Sister Tree.

Elise couldn’t even begin to figure out which one was true. She was leaning toward the Drow account, given that the only surviving person who had seen the conflict was with them, but something about that didn’t sit right with her. The Dwarves had plenty of reason to falsify the records about poisoning the Sister Tree, but why would they also lie about the years of peace before that? They very well could have been lying about that too, but if they needed justification, couldn’t they have just said that the Drow attacked them as soon as they arrived?

Emilia was the only one who would know the truth, but if she couldn’t be trusted, then what? Who was in the wrong? Did it even matter? It had all happened centuries ago. The conflict was only maintained by a constant cycle of revenge. Why didn’t Emilia see that? What had the dwarves done to her to make her so adamant that they could not be trusted?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a familiar voice calling out her name. She hopped back to the edge of her room and looked down to see Jean flitting in and out of the alcoves below her, calling her name. She considered calling out his name to let him know where she was, but then changed her mind. It was funnier to just watch, and the longer it took for him to find her, the less of him she would have to deal with.

If he just looked up, he would see her peering down on him, giggling silently at his antics. However, he never did. He checked every single hole at his level, then started circling around the trunk until he was out of sight. Ten minutes later, he reappeared on the other side, now a level higher, and repeated the process.

How long has he been doing this? she thought. And how long until he realizes he can just look into them from the outside and save himself some time?

She never got the answer to either question. He circled the Mother tree another six times before finally arriving on her level and finding her.

“Oh, Elise!” he said. “Here you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“Oh, sorry, I was asleep,” she lied.

“That’s okay! Totally okay! But Salome said she wanted to see you as soon as you woke up, so I came to find you and wake you up.”

“Salome did?”

“Yeah! She said she had something important to talk to you about.”

“Is Emilia with her?”

“Nope! She left a little bit ago.”

“She did?”

Elise had thought that Emilia would be waiting until later in the day. It was still early in the morning, and most of the Drow were still asleep. The only ones moving around were the ones gathering and preparing breakfast for the rest.

“Yup,” said Jean. “She said she had something important to do, so she had to leave early. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, but she goes on trips a lot. I don’t know why, but she was supposed to leave after breakfast this morning, but instead she left early and now she’s gone.”

“I see,” said Elise. “Let’s go then. I don’t want to keep Salome waiting.”

“Okay!”

When they got to the center of the Mother Tree, Salome was laying in the middle of her flower, staring at the intertwined wooden trunks above her with a young girl beside her. Their eyes were glazed over like she was in a trance, and the mana around her gently pulsed like a dying heartbeat. They didn’t seem to notice their arrival until Jean flew up to Salome’s face to announce it. The pulsing stopped, and her eyes regained focus and she turned to Elise and smiled. The girl also looked her way, though with a more neutral expression.

“Lade Elise,” she said. “I’m so glad you came. Jean, thank you for bringing her. You may leave if you wish.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Okay!” said Jean, and then he zipped away

“Jean said you had something important to talk about,” said Elise

“Yes. But first, meet my apprentice Osanne. Osanne, this is Lady Elise.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Elise,” said the girl.

“Likewise,” said Elise.

The girl looked no older than twelve, but the look in her eyes was deep and profound, and she carried herself with a poise and maturity that Elise would not have expected from someone of her age. She used {Inspect} on the girl out of curiosity. She was the queen’s apprentice, so she couldn’t be anyone normal, and her demeanor made her think there was more to her than met the eye.

[Acolyte of the Spirit Tree, lvl 3]

“The reason that I’ve called you is because of a dream that Osanne had last night,” said Salome.

“Was it… a prophecy?” asked Elise.

“No… Not exactly. I will let Osanne tell you in more detail, but it was strange and unclear. Through the Spirit Tree, we have a connection with the gods, and normally, they can send us messages clearly, as Titania did with the prophecy about the Dwarves. However, it was different this time. Osanne?”

The girl took a deep breath and started speaking.

“I was standing on the surface beneath the light of the sun. Somehow, it didn’t burn. It was simply warm, and pleasant, like I was being hugged by the very air around me. In front of me stood Titania, but she was facing away from me. No matter where I walked, I could never see her face. Whenever I spoke, my words came out garbled and meaningless, and she didn’t hear me.

“I grew distressed, and tried to run to her, no matter how fast I ran, I could never get any closer. The sun went down on one side, then rose on the other forty four times, and on the last, I finally heard Titania speak. She only said one word: ‘Elise’, and before I could ask her why she said it, I woke up.”

“My name?” asked Elise.

“Yes,” said Osanne, nodding. “Do you have any idea what it could mean?”

“I d-” She stopped herself when she remembered her own dream. “What does Titania look like?”

“She appears different to everyone,” explained Salome. “To me, she appears as an older Drow woman with long white hair. To my predecessor, she appeared as a young Drow, no older than eight. I have heard that she can appear in any form she desires, though usually chooses ones that the one she is speaking with will be comfortable around. For you, she might appear as a rabbit, for example. However, no matter what form she takes, she always has the same golden eyes.”

“I… also had a strange dream last night,” said Elise. “I met a wo- a rabbit with golden fur and golden eyes. She called my name, and greeted me, and then I woke up.”

“Interesting,” said Salome with a mysterious smile. “Very interesting. So you received a visit from Titania as well. Perhaps that is why Osanne could not see it clearly. It was not entirely meant for her.”

“But what does it mean?” asked Elise.

“I do not know,” said Salome. “What do you think it means?”

“It-” she started.

What did it mean? Why had Titania visited her, only to say ‘Hi’ and nothing else? And what did Salome’s dream mean, with the 44 days and nights? It sounded more like the prophecies she was used to hearing about, full of symbolism and mixed messages. Except she could not even tell what messages were being mixed.

“Maybe that something is going to happen in 44 days?” she guessed.

“Perhaps,” said Salome. “Osanne?”

“Ummm,” said the girl. “Maybe Titania is going to visit Elise again in 44 days?”

“That’s possible,” said Salome. “I had a different thought, though. During those 44 days in my dream, you could do nothing. You simply stood and observed, right?”

“Yes?” said Osanne.

“Perhaps Titania wants me to follow Lady Elise’s advice and do nothing for a time to allow the dwarves to act.”

Elise’s blinked in surprise. “Really?”

“Either that, or it meant that we would be forced to do nothing for 44 days. But I think not. In her dream, she struggled at first, but it was only when she stopped struggling that the days started to pass. Osanne, do you agree?”

The girl’s brow furrowed in concentration. “I think so.”

“Then… you’re really going to call off the attacks?” asked Elise.

“Yes, I believe so.” She shot Elise a knowing smile. “Though it’s been a long time since I had to, I trained for most of my early years to interpret dreams like these to the best of my ability. And Osanne is training to do the same. The dwarves may be our mortal enemy, but that does not mean we must fight to the death. If there is a chance at peaceful resolution, I would like to make an attempt at it. I was not convinced yesterday when we first spoke, but I did see the merit in your proposal. Now, with the blessing of Titania, I believe it is best that we try your plan.”

Elise was speechless. She had no idea how to respond. She had thought she and Naomi would need to argue for a long time with Salome to make their point, and yet, here Salome was, agreeing to their idea without a word from either of them.

“I- that would be- that would be perfect!” said Elise. “Are you sure though? You aren’t just saying that?”

“Why are you trying to make me doubt a decision that benefits you?” asked Salome with a smile. “To answer your question, no I am not sure, but I have a hunch, and I have long since learned to trust my hunches.”

She clapped her hands loudly and two young Drow entered so quickly it was like they appeared from thin air. They were a boy and girl pair, and looked like twins, with the same white hair and pale brown eyes.

“Go fetch Naomi for me, please,” said Salome.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said the twins in unison before going back out.

They sat in silence as they waited for Naomi to arrive until Salome cocked her head at Elise.

“Is something troubling you?” she asked.

“No,” said Elise. “Well, yes, actually. I think the thing with the 44 days makes sense… but why did she say my name?”

“That, I cannot make a guess,” said Salome.

“Why not?”

“Well, she wasn’t talking to me. She was talking to you. It is up to you to discover what she meant.”

“How do I do that?”

“There is a possibility that you cannot. Sometimes, the meaning behind prophetic dreams only becomes apparent once the prophesied events have already come to pass. If you want to take a guess, you will have to try to remember the other details surrounding your meeting. Perhaps they will give you a hint.”

Elise went silent again. Salome’s words did not help at all. What did calculus have to do with the goddess of the Fey? Until she showed up, everything that had happened could be attributed to ordinary dream nonsense, and no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t find any connections between the first half of the dream, and Titania’s appearance. It was more like Titania had just suddenly intruded on her original dream than anything else.

But that couldn’t be it. She was a goddess. She had better things to do than visit random Fey’s dreams and confuse them. Was it even Titania she had seen? What if it was just a wild coincidence, and she had conjured up the golden woman from her own mind?

Naomi’s arrival put an end to Elise’s train of thought.

“Greetings, Queen Salome, Lady Osanne” said Naomi, bowing. “Lady Elise might already have mentioned, but I have some important information to give you that will-”

“Enough,” said Salome. “I called you here to tell you to command your scouts to cease their efforts against the Dwarves.”

“Huh?” asked Naomi.

She glanced over at Elise, but all Elise could do was shrug. Actually, she couldn’t shrug, since she was a rabbit, but she made her best attempt at it.

“No more attacks, or whatever else you’ve been doing,” continued Salome. “Return to simple observation, but keep safety as the top priority. I will have no more Drow dying being reckless.”

“Uhhhh, yes Queen Salome,” said Naomi giving an awkward salute. “I’ll get right on that.”

“Lady Elise, would you mind assisting her?” asked Salome. “You can recruit Jean as well. There are many different scout missions happening right now. I believe it would be faster if you two helped.”

“Absolutely,” said Elise.

“Excellent,” said Salome.

“Let’s get going now, then,” said Naomi. “We shouldn’t waste any more time.”

“I agree,” said Elise. “Thank you Salome.”

“Good luck,” she replied.

Naomi and Elise moved at a polite speed out of the tree, but as soon as they were out of the queen’s site, they accelerated. Jean was playing tag with a group of children in a nearby field, but a few words from Elise and the promise of excitement was enough to lure him away. They made it back to Naomi’s hut a few minutes later, and Naomi ran inside, and emerged a moment later with a map.

“Here’s all the missions we have ongoing right now,” she said.

She gestured toward the map with her good hand. When Elise looked closer, she saw that there were small black dots on the map, each with a tiny name above it in Fey, and they moved slowly through what looked like narrow tunnels.

“We are here,” said Naomi pointing to a spot in the middle of the large cavern. “Elise, you’re the slowest of us three, so you’ll be going to the closer mission sites. Jean and I will go to the furthest ones. I’ll have Nicole divide the rest between the scouts that are still here. For now, Elise, can you read a map?”

“Yes.”

“Then you know where this mission is?”

Elise looked where she was pointing. There were six labeled dots all roughly stationary at the end of a tunnel that seemed to start on the wall to the south.

“Yeah, that’s over this way, right?” she said flying over in the direction.

“Correct,” said Naomi, nodding. “It’s a small tunnel hidden behind some vines. It’s marked with a branch with a red stripe sticking out of it. You should go now. I’ll fill in the others while you travel.”

“Right!” said Elise.

“Nicole will be back here when you return, so if there are any more missions to stop, she’ll tell you where to go.”

“Alright. I’ll get going now then.”

“Good luck.”