He floated in total darkness, weightless in body and spirit. The night was welcoming, deep, and soft. He knew he wasn’t dreaming, but this was better than dreams; his dreams were mostly nightmares lately. In the darkness, there was safety. He still remembered Rusick, but the pain was more like a muted melancholy, like for a friend lost a long, long time ago.

“Help!”

He frowned, displeased at the distraction.

“Help!”

Estella’s voice, he thought. Go away, little snitch, I am happy here.

“Help!”

Insistent little bug! I’ll show you! La, la la, la la la la la la. La, la la, la la la la la la. Pam pam, ta ra ra ram… and so on, and so on, and forgot how was the transition and let’s go to the second theme, la la la…

He hummed a Serenade in G major by a human composer whose name was long lost, a trendy piece during the Festival time because it was very merry and could be danced with gallop or lindy hop steps. He went on with all the first part, then listen again.

Silence.

Ha! I’ve won!

“Help!”

Buggers!

He was prepared to repeat the first part of the Serenade because no one cared about the others when he noticed something different in Estella’s voice. Fear. Sorrow. Despair. Tears. And the voice was weak, so weak… Something was wrong.

“I’m coming, Estella. Hang on!”

As he shouted that, weight was there again, and the darkness went away.

A room. Round, in a tower, there were stairs towards the next upper floor in the back. But not the building he had entered, the lighthouse, but a fortress tower, with shooting holes and deep thick walls.

“Hey!” exclaimed someone. “Get a grip. Here!”

It was beauhemian, armed with a rifle and bayonet. He was offering Sirinn the gun.

“For me?” asked Sirinn.

“Well, do you have one?” asked the beauhemian.

“Hm… No?”

“Then yes, for you, mate.”

He took it, trying to not show how little knowledge he had about this kind of weapon. The beauhemian rolled himself a cigarette, light it, and inhaled the smoke avidly.

“Can’t wait to be back on the Realm… This was my last bit of tobacco!”

He finished the cigarette, threw the butt on the floor, and looked around.

“I wonder why I’m still here,” said the beauhemian. He was a funny-looking guy in his thirties.

“Care to elaborate?” asked Sirinn, trying to feel the weight of the gun, to be able to use its bayonet like a spear in case the things were getting sour with the beauhemian. To shoot, it was out of the question; he was too afraid. It was a well known urban myth that guns on the Realm worked very badly and exploded all the time.

“You were not told anything?”

“Nope. Just brought here.”

“Well, obviously, you are my relief, mate. You will guard a prisoner in my place.”

“Help!”

It came from the upper floor, and the cry was so desperate it broke Sirinn’s heart.

“She does this every day at midday. Poor thing. It will not be long now. I would have put her out of her misery myself, if possible.”

Sirinn felt rage, boiling hotter and hotter. He decided to kill the beauhemian and proceed upstairs. At the last moment, the thought of killing someone who had been so friendly to him appalled him, and he changed his mind. Instead of stabbing the other, he just pointed the gun at him, pretending he knew how to cock the mechanism and pull the trigger.

“Don’t move if you want to live!”

“What? Mate, are you insane?”

“Try me! I’m not the relief; I’m here to save her!”

There was silence for a moment.

“Mate,” said the beauhemian. “I don’t care. I only follow orders; I just want to get back home. Please don’t shoot me, I’ll help you with all I can. If you shoot me, you’re dead too anyway, they’ll hear.”

“Who’s they?”

“A bird head and one of those red primates. You have only one shot; the rest of the bullets are on me. I doubt you’ll have the time to get them and recharge before the beast attacks you. And bayonet against that monster is a risky business. Let’s think about it carefully; you need a good plan.”

It was evident that the beauhemian had more interest in saving his skin than dying a fanatic.

“What’s this place? How did you get here? Short version, but all details.”

“A prison, obviously. The Boss made it, I think, for a rival of sorts. Anyway, the story is simple: I was on the mountain, waiting for the tunnel. The moment it began, instead of being transported on the Realm, I got here. And I’ve heard the Boss’ voice in my head. - I need you for an important mission; you will guard a dangerous wizard who can imperil our plans. I’ll send relief in a few days and then will get you on the Realm, I promise.- The other two, the bird and red, appeared with me. We went upstairs, and just in front of us, in a sort of cage, appeared this kid, a girl… It was not what I’ve expected from an evil wizard. And we guard her since then. This is the sixth day.”

Goodness!

“How can you tell the time?”

“Pocketwatch. Want to see it?”

He refused with a nod and considered options.

“Who has the key, the cage’s key?”

“No one. There is no door; it’s a cage made of light. No way in, no way out… and the poor girl is just dying there, no food, no water… it’s terrible.”

The choices were few and slim.

“Can you call the little red thing to come down here? Then, can you grab him and…”

“I will not harm him, mate. He’s like a friend to me, we stayed together all those days… If you want to shoot me, shoot me!”

“Just grab him for a second and take his mind control device off. It’s a small metal piece on its head, under the fur. It can be either disabled or pulled. We did the same with a few reds, and they seemed quite happy to switch camp. Without the device, your queen has no power over them.”

“Hide behind the staircase and let me try.”

The beauhemian called up. The red primate name was something like Dit’s. When it came down the stairs, the beauhemian took him in his arms.

“Who’s a good boy? Who wants a little head-scratching?”

It was apparent it was not the first time. Feeling the button, the soldier took it off gently. The little red creature froze.

“Put me down, primitive,” he asked.

“It speaks!”

The beauhemian jumped up and let his fellow guard fell on the ground. Fortunately, Dit’s was as agile as a cat. Sirinn explained as fast as he could about Khit’s and the others, the pact they’ve made, and so on. Dit's listened carefully.’

“I’ll help! What do you want from me?”

“Well, the other red people we saved are knowledgeable. Can you come with a plan to get rid of that big guy up there?”

Dit’s jumped up the stairs so fast they didn’t have the time to react. A loud crackling noise, then his voice: “Come!”

“You stay here!” said Sirinn to the beauhemian while going up.

A few moments later, he reached the upper floor. Just in front of him, a smoking carcass, the warbeast.

“Fulgurator,” the red imp showed him a torch-like object. “Very effective.”

But Sirinn’s mind was not into admiring exotic weapons. In the back of the room, dug in stone, a tiny cell. Its door was made from light; the beauhemian had been right. Inside, Estella was a sight he never thought he’d see. Her hair disheveled, her clothes and skin dirty, and thin. So thin…

“Hello, Sirinn,” she whispered. “I’m happy you came.”

“How can I get you out?” he asked. “Is there a switch or something?”

“No switch. Death Trap! Plasma in a force field, impossible to breakthrough. We can only dig the stone.”

It was Dit’s voice explaining.

“Sirinn… listen,” asked Estella. “It’s not… doable… I will not last until you break the stone. Listen, please. Please…”

He approached the cell and kneeled near it, tears flowing.

“This is not… the real world, Sirinn. It’s a pocket universe, a trap, made especially for me. We underestimated Alienor; after all, we beat her so easily in the village. But she’s more powerful than I’ve expected; she can do a very dangerous thing: project her powers very far, from a planet to another. She did it when she kidnapped us, and she did it again, anticipating we will go here. She just missed one thing: she did not get me, only a part of me. It’s hard to explain, but just believe me, the Estella you see is just a fraction of the real Estella. When I’ll… go… you’ll be transported to the Realm. Tell the others, tell me, how dangerous is Alienor. If she can do spells at a distance, no one is safe. Now… go downstairs... Sirinn. I do not wish you to see me… when …”

He rosed slowly.

“If you’d be out of that cage, what would happen?” he asked.

“This pocket universe would collapse, and we’d be transported on the Realm, as it’s intended. We are inside the tunnel now; this will just be a dream. She’ll be healed.”

It was Dit’s again.

“Go, Sirinn. There is no hope.”

He sighed.

“That night, Estella, you know what one, I’ve lost not one, but two friends. Not only Rusick but you too. I was looking forward to the nights you came to the Rhits. You were so pretty, with your big head and curly hair. Like a doll… at first, then a real lady, a real princess, growing up. We had so many talks about games, chances, the people you helped… I’ve thought we were friends. And suddenly, you looked at me with such hatred, such aversion… That’s not what friends do. Friends forgive. And I am lonely now; those two friends I’ve lost were the only two I had. Get back, please. Away from the door.”

“What are you doing?” she asked. “Don’t even think about it; it’s impossible. You have to warn the others; it’s an order!”

“I don’t care. My indenture time finished yesterday when we were still in the town: seven years, day for day. You don’t give me orders anymore. Get back! And hurry when it will be the time to hurry!”

Slowly, it looked like his skin was bleeding through every pore, or like thousands of little red ants were crawling all over him, covering every spot, a bluish light accompanying them. He bent down, face forward, touching the floor with his hands, then walked sideways on all four into the light door. His body was diverting the light and was burning little by little, but underneath, a safe space was created.

“COME!” shouted Dit’s.

As fast as her weak body was able, Estella crossed the threshold.

Sirinn smiled. He prepared to let himself engulfed by the heat when she thrust her hand, grabbed his collar, and pulled him towards her. They were both on the floor, eye to eye. One almost skeletal from hunger and thirst, the other with his back burnt to a crisp.

“Tell Hi to the others,” he managed to whisper.

“Tell them yourself, Sirinn," she whispered back. "This is just a dream, remember?

The walls began to fade away.