KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Cora's eyes fluttered open, one eyelid crusted shut from her deep slumber. She blinked several times in her half-awake state, listening for a sound she thought she heard.
But there was nothing.
Cora let out a relieved puff of air and turned over in bed.
Then…
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Cora's eyes were open now, the blood vessels red and irritated from exhaustion. On the third knock, she reluctantly sat up in bed.
"Oh, for Goddess sake," she yelled from the shelter of her covers, "just come in!"
There was a pause at the entrance of her bedroom, and then Maren sheepishly slipped between the doors.
"Good morning, Cora," she said in a nervous sing-song tone.
Cora blinked, the motion slightly asynchronous in both eyes. She inhaled deeply and turned her head toward her single bedroom window. The curtains were drawn but the sky showed no signs of light.
"Maren," Cora said, her voice low, holding back anger, "there better be a damn good reason you're waking me up before the bloody birds are even awake."
"Right," Maren chuckled nervously. "Well, it's about the dream I had."
Cora narrowed her eyes on Maren, inspecting the princess through her dreamy haze of exhaustion. First, she noticed her expression. Calm, and almost cheery.
Cora grimaced.
Then, she noticed Maren's hair and the clothes she was wearing. Her hair was unkempt, as if she hadn't even considered brushing it before she came over, nor did she bother changing out of her nightwear.
"It's my fault for not explicitly telling the nightguards..." Cora muttered to herself, hand to forehead.
Cora took a deep inhale, attempting to find her inner peace. When she exhaled, she gazed back at Maren, her big, blue eyes gleaming in the cover of night like a heavenly beacon. She wore a silk nightgown — the same one she wore the night in the kitchens. She wore an unwrapped robe overtop that came down to her knees, exposing the soft curve of her chest, and thighs. The air was warmer now, but not nearly warm enough for such attire.
Still, Cora thought, letting her eyes wash over Maren, just for a moment. She looks so beautiful.
"Did you…come straight here after your dream?" Cora asked, her rising heart rate waking her up.
Maren picked at her nails, a bad habit, but a cute one, Cora thought. She looked away, not meeting Cora's gaze completely.
"Well," she began, "I tried to stay in bed, but I was so excited I just had to come see you."
Cora released a puff of air, letting her body fall back into her bed.
How could she be mad at that? How could she deny Maren an early morning visit when she approached her with such earnestness. Cora closed her eyes.
With just her presence, Cora could feel that unfamiliar pressure rising within her, causing her mind to wander and her body to struggle against her better judgement.
If only I was like her — pure and earnest, Cora thought. Then her visit wouldn't be so…enticing.
"Cora?" Maren asked, inching toward the bed.
Cora rolled over and tapped the bed with her hand.
"Come sit," she said, her heart racing. "But me not falling back asleep depends on how good this dream really is. If I fall asleep, that's not on me."
Maren shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes. I understand."
Cora moved to one side of the bed, allowing Maren to slip beneath the covers beside her.
"You're not allowed to sleep here," Cora said, closing her eyes, pretending to sleep.
"Anyway," Maren said, ignoring Cora's attitude, which earned a smirk from Cora.
Maren continued. "I think my dream took place before yours did. Like…chronologically."
Cora frowned, opening her eyes to Maren. "That doesn't make sense."
"I agree," Maren said, turning toward Cora in bed. "But I'm quite sure that's the case. In your dream, I remember you told me about the creature that came from her back. She said the word 'echo.' Well, in my dream, that creature was not in her back, but living in her home. It was like a dragon you'd see in books, but more…serpentine. More like a snake than a lizard."
"I cannot believe you're comparing a dragon to a lizard." Cora chuckled with a raised eyebrow.
Maren shot her an amused look and Cora continued. "That doesn't make much sense, though. Why would you dream of something that happened before my dream?"
"I don't know," Maren shrugged. "But I think I'm right. I don't know what her power is, but you said her eyes are purple in color. So, if she is a Princess, she's an amethyst princess. And that would explain her tattoos."
"Tattoos?" Cora asked, confused by Maren's wording. "You mean her marking?"
Maren shook her head. "I didn't see any Starblessed markings on her. She had actual tattoos. A bird on her left arm, and if the sensations from the dream are accurate, she had another on her stomach, and a third on her right thigh." Maren thought for a moment and then said, "I think she has the power to house a spirit in her body."
Cora blinked. "I think you need to sleep some more."
"I'm serious," Maren glared at her. "Think about it. Amethyst Princesses have always been able to commune with spirits. But the extent of a Princess's powers are never fully recorded because it protects us. What if Elena was an extremely powerful Starblessed that learned how to use the full extent of her power?"
Cora stopped for a moment, and thought about it, her eyes widening when she realized. "Would that mean that we could become more powerful?"
"I think so!" Maren nodded, then stopped, looking away from Cora. "I just don't know how though."
"The dream didn't show how?" Cora asked.
"No," Maren replied. "We need to keep dreaming so that we can learn from her. I…don't want to be some exalted commoner forever. I want to be useful to our people."
Cora gazed at Maren for a long moment, her chest warming ever so slightly. Cora had felt exactly the same way. She wanted people to see her as a true leader — someone they could rely on. Not a random child chosen by a Goddess nobody had ever seen.
"What else happened?" Cora asked, suddenly feeling relaxed.
Maren filled her in on the details. She told her exactly what happened, and where Elena lived, and who she lived with. Eventually, Cora stopped her, scratching her head.
"That can't be right," she said. "I'm from Garyn, and I've never heard of a town called Frogswallow."
"Well, maybe Frogswallow isn't in Garyn."
Cora shook her head. "I would've heard of a swamp called Frogswallow, even if it was in Macon."
"What about Danseltown?" Maren asked.
"I don't know that one either."
The girls blinked ahead, both searching their minds for any tiny detail they were forgetting, but none came.
"What about the Darkwood King?" Maren asked. "I've never heard that name before."
"I can't give you a good answer," Cora replied, dumbfounded. "I don't know any of this. Or about a witch named Nemaine. It's like it was all erased from history."
Maren sat there for a moment, considering what their next steps should be, fitting pieces together like a puzzle. Then, she decided to speak aloud.
"This is what I'm thinking," she said, sitting up, crossing her legs. "First, you had that dream about Elena and those men in Vermis Library. "
"Right," Cora replied, squinting her eyes, under where Maren was going with this.
"Then, I went to see if that book was in the library and-"
"You did WHAT!?" Cora exclaimed, eyes wide. "You went there even after I told you what I saw inside?"
Maren waved her off. "Don't worry, I didn't even get to go inside."
Cora gave her an incredulous stare but kept her mouth shut and listened.
"The doors were locked, but Princess Selma was there," Maren said.
Cora's frown deepened, but Maren pressed on. "She told me she thinks she has what I was looking for, and that I should meet her behind the roses the night of the dinner party."
Cora lifted a hand, stopping her. "How does Selma even know about the book? I don't even know what the book looks like or what it's called and I'm the one that had the dream."
Maren shook her head. "I don't know. But after what we overheard in the garden — Queen Victoria, the Stranger, the Darkspirit — it can't be a coincidence. I think Selma's knowledge is tied to all of this."
Silence fell between them as Cora stared at the sheets beneath them, her thoughts colliding, and entangling. None of it made sense to her. She didn't understand why the Queen was speaking to a man without a name or why she and Maren were seeing different visions. Or why Selma of all people, knew about a book she only learned about from a magic rock and a dream.
"I wonder…" Maren murmured, staring off into nothing. "What if Elena is a Starblessed, but not a Princess?"
Cora looked up.
"In my dream," Maren continued, "she wore men's clothing, and ran barefoot in a nameless everglade. A Princess could never move like that or even be allowed to think about going outside like that."
She turned fully toward Cora, eyes bright from the way her mind stirred.
"In history we're taught that the first Starblessed Princess was Veranda of Gold," Maren said. "But what if she's only the first Starblessed who was made a princess?"
Cora locked eyes with Maren, her theory sinking deep into Cora's psyche.
"In my dream," Maren went on, a hand at her chest, "Elena lived in a subspace with a witch. What if that 'curtain' the witch spoke of was meant to hide Elena from the world? To keep her powers from being controlled."
Cora inhaled, biting her lip.
"Then…" Cora began, realization hitting her like a brick to the head, "that would mean our history doesn't begin with Veranda. It goes back further than seven hundred years."
Maren locked eyes with Cora, excitement flickering in her eyes like starlight.
"That means we have direct access to a history nobody else knows," she said.
Cora wanted to share her thrill. But instead, something cold settled deep into her chest. Cora's smile faltered.
"No, you're forgetting something," she said quietly.
Maren turned her head slightly in question.
"The Queen," Cora said, her tone sharp. "In the garden — she didn't say Starblessed Princesses. She referred to us as the Starblessed. She said the Darkspirits came from a time before them. That means-"
Maren's breath tightened, her hand flying to her chest, her mouth opening before Cora could finish.
"-the Queen knows."