Kiyora sat up in her bed with a feeling that something was wrong. She looked around her bedroom. Many colorful action figures were standing on her table. The bookcases were spilling, as always. Everything was fine.

Except everything was wrong.

The window was open. Had it been open before? The curtains were drifting in the wind. Kiyora arose and made her way over to the edge to look out of it. With every step, she became more and more afraid. She reached the window and set her hands on it to shut it.

Then she saw Laughing Wraith. He was in front of her, smiling.

She heard herself scream as she shut the window and ran back to the bed in a blind panic, knocking over a table as she did so. Falling into the covers, she pulled them over her head to put something else between him and her.

The door opened, and Mom rushed to her side. Kiyora heard herself sobbing. "Kiyora, what's wrong! Why are you screaming!"

"Look, look out there, Mom!" said Kiyora. "He... he is laughing... he is laughing... he is... no! No!"

"Kiyora, calm down!" said Mom. "There is nothing out there. Look."

She was right. There was nothing outside the window.

"I... he was there. I saw him," said Kiyora.

"I'll get us some sodas," said Mom. "Come downstairs with me if you find it too scary up here."

Kiyora allowed Mom to lead her down the stairs and into the kitchen. Mom quickly took out two sodas and offered one to Kiyora. She fumbled with opening it but got it on her third try, then drank it.

"Now," said Mom, "the first thing you must understand is that you were dreaming, Kiyora. Whatever happened in there can't hurt you."

"I wasn't," said Kiyora. "He wasn't in my dreams; he was real."

"Kiyora, you must understand our family has always had a powerful connection to dreams. It's strong even for our race," said Mom. Sometimes, what we see in them bleeds over into reality. We see things that aren't there. But what you see in the realm of sleep can only cross over if you let it.

"There have been huge numbers of studies done on this subject."

Kiyora sighed. "I was having a good dream until he showed up."

"Who is he?" asked Mom.

"Laughing Wraith," said Kiyora. "He's a monster that me and William-"

"William and I," said Mom absently.

Kiyora felt a twinge of irritation. "-that William and I were chased by. I... I can't describe what he looks like. But he's horrible. Just being in his presence is like living in a nightmare. I thought I'd killed him."

"Then kill him again," said Mom. "Kiyora, our race touches the spirit realm in our sleep. But what lies there cannot affect us unless we let it. Belief in something is what allows it to bleed into our real lives. I'm sure you can fix this."

Kiyora looked at her and then drank her soda. "Thanks, Mom. I uh... wow, look at the time. I have to get ready for school."

"It's only four o'clock," said Mom.

"Oh," said Kiyora.

Kiyora did not end up going back to bed. Her head was still running with thoughts. She'd seen how William had worked. He'd become increasingly exhausted and distant with every person he'd healed. He'd only fixed about half of them, and then he'd gotten this sick smile. That was when Rusara had had him tied up.

It bothered her that he could be affected that way. William was one of the coolest people she knew, even if he wasn't real.

She didn't see Reya on her way to school. But when she reached the front gates, she found Laurus smoking a cigarette by them. He crushed it against the wall as she approached and threw it out.

"Hey, Kiyora. Sleep well?" said Laurus.

"You know that those things can shorten your lifespan by hundreds of years, right?" asked Kiyora. "Humans only get a hundred or so years, but elves smoking them cuts our lives down to a fraction of what we might have."

"What are you, a PSA speaker?" asked Laurus. "Could you answer the damn question?"

"Not at all," admitted Kiyora. "What about you?"

"Fine," said Laurus. "Though my Mom had a boyfriend over." He paused and exited the wall before they began walking into the school. "So I've been thinking about my villain, and I think you may have been right about him. He doesn't have a proper motive. I want to work with you to revamp the concept."

"What do you have in mind?" asked Kiyora.

"Um..." Laurus paused. "I'll tell you and the others at lunch today."

"Alright, sounds good," said Kiyora.

They found Gisora at her desk, looking very distant. "Hey, Gisora."

"Oh, hey," said Gisora.

"What's wrong?" asked Kiyora.

"I uh... the royal family is looking for another wife, Prince Tenius," said Gisora.

"Prince Tenius?" asked Kiyora. "But he's already got four wives as it is."

"He has special genes. They want to use him to breed a new, much more powerful branch of the family or something," said Gisora. "I'm a bit nervous or all. What if I get picked?"

"Relax. You're extended family numbers in the thousands," said Kiyora. "The chances you'll be picked are beyond unlikely. Plus, there isn't anything special about you. So you don't have to worry about becoming breeding stock."

"Ha ha," said Gisora. "I'm concerned BECAUSE I'm special, Kiyora."

"Not to get us off the subject of spineless weaklings," said Laurus, who had been listening until now. "But did you guys hear about the presentation?"

"What presentation?" asked Kiyora.

"We've got a speaker coming in to educate the dangers of interracial breeding," said Laurus. "I hope you drank plenty of caffeine this morning."

"Oh, Alchara, not this again," said Kiyora. "Why are they beating us over the head with it?"

"Mom says that the Ministry of Bloodlines is afraid of diluting the race," said Gisora.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Kiyora. "Emperor Ictargo holds lotteries. Lotteries determine which one of his granddaughters will be a wife to a foreign power. And he's sending someone here to preach about the dangers of blood impurity?"

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"Well, that's different," said Gisora.

"How?" asked Kiyora.

"When a Dreamer Princess marries a King, she improves his bloodline," said Gisora. "She ensures his descendants will be of better stock. She's also tying that Kingdom to the Dreamer Empire. It's a sacrifice for the betterment of the world as a whole. As long as their children are kept out of society, it's fine.

"But if we started letting commoners marry other races, it would degrade the race."

"Yeah, we might not be an evolutionary nightmare anymore," muttered Kiyora.

"You read too much human philosophy," said Gisora. "Alchara chose to make it, so there were five females for every male, and she's our goddess, so it can't be wrong."

"It isn't philosophy. It is science," said Kiyora.

"Those are the same thing," said Gisora.

"No, they aren't!" said Kiyora.

"Still, no Reya." mused Laurus. "Did you see her on her way here, Kiyora?"

"No," admitted Kiyora. "Think she'll be late?"

The teacher, Ms. Everard, then appeared. "Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning." Everyone echoed in an insincere fashion.

At that moment, Reya rushed in through the door, bag trailing behind her. "I'm sorry I'm late; I overslept!"

"Impeccable timing, Reya," said Ms. Everard, "I was about to mark you tardy."

There was a bit of laughing at Reya as she sat down. Of course, Kiyora did not join in, nor did Laurus or Gisora. Even so, Reya looked awful as she sat down.

The school continued as usual until they were thirty minutes away from lunch. At that point, Kiyora looked up to see something strange. Vines were growing up on the side of the school's walls. They were very thin and had only just begun to sprout leaves.

What was Actovosh thinking? Why would he grow plants up here like this?

The vines were crawling up the window now. Murmurs of surprise came from the class as they suddenly bulged outward. The windows cracked and then shattered!

The vines fell and began to crawl across the floor. Cries of surprise came from the other kids as the vines snaked around the desks. Soon, everyone had crowded up against the side of the wall.

"Actovosh, what are you doing?" asked Kiyora.

But there was yet to be a response. Kiyora tried to sense Actovosh but sensed only darkness. Then she felt Him. The others perceived it as well, and soon they all fled. Where were Laurus and Gisora?

"Attention! May I have your attention, please!" said a voice. "An emergency has been detected in the building! Please proceed calmly to the exits!"

"Come on, Kiyora, we've got to go," said Reya, the only one who had stayed.

"Right," said Kiyora.

They turned and fled out the door, shutting it behind them even as the vines began to crawl up it. Beyond, they found that vines and roots had grown through the ceiling. The lights on the hall above flickered and then went out.

Everything was dark for a moment. Then, there was a sphere of green light as Reya illuminated their surroundings. Kiyora did the same, creating a blue light.

"What is going on?" asked Reya as they walked through the school.

"Something must have happened to disturb Actovosh," said Kiyora, already knowing the answer. "I've never seen spirits act this way before, though. Where are Gisora and Laurus?"

"I think Gisora went to the bathroom," said Reya. "I don't know about Laurus, though."

The vines were filling the floor now. They were soon having to be careful not to trip over them. Sometimes, they heard the voices of other students as they walked, but they never saw anything. Then they saw Gisora. She was lying on the floor, and her eyes were bright white.

"Gisora!" cried Kiyora, running forward to kneel by her.

"He is laughing!" said Gisora with an unnatural smile. "He is laughing! He is laughing!"

"Gisora, you have to calm down," said Kiyora, gripping her. "Look at me. Look at me." She put forth her will as she had as the Dreaming Goddess a thousand times before. And it worked. Gisora's eyes returned to normal, and she sat up with a start.

"Kiyora?" she said. "Is the nightmare over?"

"Yes, but we've got to get out of here now," said Kiyora.

Then she sensed it. That same presence had been outside her window. Looking up, she saw a shadow, darker than pitch black, creeping through the light toward them. "He's coming! Come on!"

Hauling Gisora to her feet, they fled through the halls. Coming to the stairs, they began to scale down them, flight after flight. Gisora looked at her. "Where is Laurus?"

"Laurus can take care of himself," said Kiyora. "He's probably already gotten out."

But the stairs just kept on going. They went down flight after flight, but no matter how many they ran down, they never reached the bottom.

"What is going on?" gasped Reya. "We should have found the exit by now!"

"Just keep running," said Kiyora.

As they ran, she began to count the numbers on the doors. Four, three, two, four. And all the while, the shadow got closer. She stopped at two. "In through here, quickly!"

"What?" said Gisora. "But that's not the bottom floor!"

"We're stuck in a loop!" said Kiyora. "Quickly!"

She opened the door, and they ran through. Then, they stopped and found themselves on precisely the same staircase. And the shadow was all around them now. Reya and Gisora huddled around them as vines grew down the stairs, tearing them apart.

Actovosh was the supreme natural spirit of the capital. Nothing happened without his will. Laughing Wraith couldn't just override that, could he? It was impossible!

And there he was. Just beyond sight, rising out of the darkness.

"What is that thing?!" screamed Gisora.

"Laughing Wraith," said Kiyora, stepping forward.

She wouldn't let him hurt her friends. She had beaten Laughing Wraith once before. She'd do it again in the real world if she had to. Her vision was suddenly clouded, and then-

"Ictargo," said Reya, "Ictargo, help us, please!"

There was a flash of orange light that shot down from above. The darkness was broken. So were the stairs on either side of them. They cracked beneath the force of the onslaught. There was a scream of unbearable agony and rage, and then all was silent. Emperor Ictargo was always watching.

They were standing with both the ways up and down broken. One floor up.

"Maybe we should check the elevator?" asked Reya.

"I want out now," snapped Gisora before kneeling by one of the vines. "Excuse me, I'm a Princess of the Dreamer Empire, and I need your help. Grow down your roots so we don't get eaten alive. Now would be good; we don't have all day."

Kiyora didn't sense any evil from the roots again. Soon, they grew down into the form of a ladder of sorts. Kiyora urged Reya first.

"Reya, you first," Kiyora said. "Climb down."

"But I can't!" said Reya. "I'm terrible at physical-"

"If you don't climb, we'll be eaten alive!" said Kiyora. "Now, come on!"

Reya began to scale down, followed by Gisora and then Kiyora. Reya struggled to stay on the vines and could hardly move from fear. Eventually, she halted utterly. "Kiyora, I... I'm scared."

"Yeah, join the damn club and move!" snapped Kiyora.

Reya started moving with her eyes closed, groping too quickly for the roots. Suddenly, she slipped and fell backward. Gisora reached out and grabbed her hand, holding her in place.

"Don't worry; I've got you!" Gisora said.

Reya and Gisora's eyes met, and Reya calmed down. Getting back on the vines, she managed to scale the rest of the way down.

Once they were all down, they sprinted through the rest of the school. Wherever they walked, they saw broken-down doors and walls and ruined classrooms. Chairs were being warped and crushed into metal balls by the vines and roots. Yet they were no longer moving.

Without Laughing Wraith, the plants were safe.

The three of them rushed out the front door, or rather the shattered remnants of it. They found crowds of people waiting. Laurus saw them and ran toward them. "Where have you guys been? I was worried to death!"

"You've had it easy, Laurus," said Kiyora.

"I don't know," said Gisora. "But I think we'd better cancel the club meeting for today."

Then Kiyora saw the police trying to enforce the order. "Screw that!" she snapped. "I'm going to tell the police there is an eldritch abomination trying to eat us! Officer! Officer, I need to talk to you!"

"What is it?" asked the officer.

"While we were evacuating the school, we got separated from the main body," said Kiyora. "We tried to leave, but a monster chased and tried to kill us."

"Are you joking?" asked the police officer.

"No, I'm not joking; it's a being from the darkest nightmares of the elven mind!" said Kiyora.

"Kid, I don't have time for this." said the officer.

"Excuse me, Officer, I'm Princess Gisora," said Gisora, approaching. "I must apologize for my friend's conduct; she has been under a lot of stress. While in that school, I was assaulted by something I did not understand. We need your help meeting with the Department of Spiritual Defense."

"Of course. I'll call it in right away," said the guard.

"That's not fair," said Kiyora. "Why should he believe you and not me?"

"Well, I am a Princess," said Gisora. "It wouldn't be much of a position if it didn't have its perks."

Typical really.