Darkly Dreaming

Darkly Dreaming
this story is copyrighted 2008
Dreamwriters@lillyasiaproductions

Episode ix

Darkness settled in the room, like a thick blanket. It smothered the sleeping occupants, pushing them further into unconsciousness. Then into the darkness she danced. In her long black dress, and her tiny black heels laced to the knees. It was her hour. It was her room. Tonight she had company. The men she ignored, but the female - the one with the pretty long black hair - she detested. With a flick of her hand she summoned the light. In her hand it glowed like a ball of lightning. She floated about the room, searching.

Raven wasn't sure what woke her, but something was calling her from the darkness. She opened her eyes. I must be dreaming she thought to herself. Not daring to breathe, she watched the woman float towards the empty fireplace. Dressed in old fashioned mourning black, a glowing ball of light in her hand, the woman moved from one end of the fireplace to other. Searching. Then suddenly as if sensing herself being watched she turned. There was a flash of light, as she hurled the light directly at Raven. Then oblivion.

Raven woke to the sound of the pounding rain as it hit the tin roof. She needed to go. She was desperate for a pee. But the cold held her back. She moved her body closer to Ranger, who lay snoring gently beside her. Wrapping her arms around his sleeping form, she snuggled in deeper. He was burning hot. A thought occurred to her, maybe the hot water bottle was stuck somewhere in between them. With her eyes closed she fumbled about in the dark trying find it. Success, then she realised she was patting Ranger's soft bottom. The heat was coming from him.

She really needed to pee now. Raven opened her eyes slowly. There was a soft glowing light coming from outside the window. Strange she thought to herself sleepily, we didn't leave any lights on. Then from the shadows outside something moved closer to the window. Raven stiffled a gasp, willing herself not to move a single muscle. Staring intently into the dark room, her faced pressed against the glass window, the woman waited. The rain only fuelled her anger. With a knife in her hand, she watched the room like a prison guard and waited. Raven squeezed her eyes closed against the apparation, willing sleep to reclaim her.

She must have dozed, because the next time she awoke it was daylight. With daylight came the sense of relief. It must be late, she thought to herself rolling onto her side to face the empty bunk bed across the room. The boys had left her to sleep, she could hear their voices outside. Now she could pee. Raven swung her legs off the bed. With a half yawn she made her way to the door. Her steps were slow and lumberous. She swung open the door. Wow, it was beautiful outside. The air was fresh and crisp with just a hint of moisture. They had arrived at the homestead in the late evening. In the darkness it was difficult to appreciate the beauty and isolation of the landscape surrounding the house. Raven took a few moments to take in the sight before her.

Something was wrong. She could hear Marcus and Ranger talking, their voices close by. But where were they? Then she saw her. Calmly, with the hem of her black dress dragging silently behind her, the woman glided towards Raven, hands hidden behind her back. Rooted to the spot in fear, Raven could only watch as the woman came to within whispering distance.
"I'm going to murder you," she whispered in Raven's ear as she plunged the knife into her heart.

With a gasp, Raven woke. She was surrounded by darkness still. Shit, she thought to herself, placing a hand on her chest close to her pounding heart. She was dripping wet with sweat and exhausted. She needed to pee. This time the feeling was urgent. With shaking hands she reached out to Ranger and shook him awake.

The Dream Writers

The Dream Writers

this story is copyrighted 2008
Dreamwriters@lillyasiaproductions

There is a world beyond our dreams, existing on the edges of our imagination but not very far from where we are. It is not very far at all. In fact is is only just a porthole away...

CHAPTER 1

"At the tone, it will be twenty strokes before the dream porthole closes."
"Hoot, hoot, hoo-"
There was a loud bang as the alarm owl narrowly dodged a blast from Wexland Dreamer's pen.
"Ahem, at the tone, it will be nineteen and three quarters strokes before the dream porthole closes," the suicidal alarm owl continued.
"Hoot, hoot, hoo-"

This time, the bang was followed by a shower of feathers accompanied by the smell of burnt chicken. Wexland's stomach responded by letting out a loud rumble. Surprising it was the rumbling of his stomach that woke him up.
"Hoo...huh..." puffed the alarm owl, before it fainted dead away. There was a thud as it fell from its perch and onto the floor.

With his eyes still closed, Wexland tried to unglue his face from the pile of paper he had fallen asleep upon. He almost succeeded. With his right cheek still firmly attached to a piece of paper Wexland dragged himself to the kitchen and stuck his head in the fridge. The blast of cold air on his face finally managed to peel the last of the sleep from his mind. He pulled himself out of the fridge, but not before grabbing a slice of rhubarb and cherry pie.

It wasn't until his stomach was full (this required polishing off the rest of the pie as well as a pumpkin and five peas) that he noticed the smell.
"Fiddle cakes!" he cried.
With a little panicked hop, Wexland launched himself into the air and attempted to fly. There was a few seconds of triumph before he hit the floor with thud. For a stunned moment, Wexland lay on the floor. After the brief moment of confusion, Wexland realised that his wings had been confiscated (for violating section 13, that is flying while operating a mobile pigeon phone) . Picking himself up, he ran into his room and tripped over the fallen alarm owl. At exactly ten strokes to the dream porthole closes, Wexland's nose, followed by the rest of him, came to a skidding halt in front of the pigeon phone.
"You have a message," the pigeon phone announced despondently.
"Umph," Wexland grunted in reply.
"Press one, if you would like to listen to the message. Huh...two if you...well you know the drill."
From his position on the floor, Wexland reached up and pressed one. There was an unhappy sqwark as the pigeon phone squeezed out a message egg. The egg fell through the air and landed with a messy splat on the floor.
"Message received at eighty two strokes before the dream porthole closes. This is Dreamwriters Central, you have been reassigned to Billy Kramer, aged eight. His file will be faxed to you following this message."

Princess Rainbow Light and the Curra Moors Trail

Written by @lillyasia and Princess Rainbow Light

Photos (stolen with permission) by Ranger Falls
this story is copyrighted 2008
Dreamwriters@lillyasiaproductions

Once upon a time, there was a very beautiful princess. Her name was Princess Rainbow Light. Princess Rainbow Light lived in a castle in the sky above Black Mountain. The princess was a very special girl because she had magical rainbow coloured hair.

One day Princess Rainbow Light, Queen Magnificent, King Matsuba, the servant and cook went on an adventure. They set off to find the Magical Pinky-Purple Rose of the Enchanted Royal Forest.

To find the Magical Pinky-Purple Rose they first had to follow the Curra Moors Trail to the edge of Eagle Rock. Along the way, it started to rain.

It rained and rained for days but Princess Rainbow Light and her friends did not get wet. This was because the Princess had used her magical rainbow hair to shelter everyone from the rain.

However the rain made the trail very slippery and dangerous. So the Princess plucked one of her magical rainbow hair and chanted, “Rain, rain go away. Come again another day.”
Princess Rainbow Light’s friends all cheered and clapped when it stopped raining.

The next day, they came upon a babbling brook.
“It is too deep here. We have to swim to the other side,” said the cook.
“Oh no, I cannot swim!” cried Queen Magnificent.
“Babble babble dibble dabble,” said the brook.
“Dibble dabble babble jibble,” Princess Rainbow Light answered, for no-one else could understand the brook.
“It’s all right the brook said that we can use the stepping stones to get to the other side. Follow me,” said Princess Rainbow Light.

Next they came upon the haunted bush of Curra Moors. The trees were so tall they blocked out the sunlight. Princess Rainbow Light’s friends were all scared of the dark.
“It’s okay. I will shine my magical light upon everyone, so we could all see where we are going,” said Princess Rainbow Light.

A few hours later they left the haunted bush of Curra Moors behind them.
“Look it’s Eagle Rock!” shouted the cook excitedly.
However they first had to pass the waterfall.
“How do we cross the waterfall?” asked King Matsuba and the servant.
“I will build a bridge with my magical rainbow hair,” answered the Princess.

Not long after, they arrived at Eagle Rock where they encountered the Tadpole People.
“Halt. Who dares go here?” asked the king of the Tadpole People.

“It is I – Princess Rainbow Light – and my friends, Queen Magnificent, King Matsuba, the cook and servant. We’ve come to find the Magical Pinky-Purple Rose of the Enchanted Royal Forest,” the Princess bravely replied.
“I will show you the way but first you must answer this riddle. Many call me the Magical Pinky-Purple Rose of the Enchanted Royal Forest but I am known by two other names. What are they?” said the king of the Tadpole People.
“Um…” said the servent.
“Ooh…” said Queen Magnificent.
“Ahh…” said King Matsuba.
“Urgh…” said the cook.
“I know,” said Princess Rainbow Light.

“The Magical Pinky-Purple Rose of the Enchanted Royal Forest is also called the Native Rose or Boronia serrulata,” answered the Princess.

“You are correct. To find the Magical Pinky-Purple Rose of the Enchanted Royal Forest, you must enter the Hidden Caves and then climb the Cliff To Nowhere,” said the king.
So they set off to the Hidden Caves at the edge of Curra Moors. It was very dangerous for one wrong step could send them tumbling down into the sea.

Next they had to climb the Cliff To Nowhere. However the climb was very steep and slippery. So the Princess used her magical rainbow hair to make a ladder. And there on top of the cliff they found the Magical Pinky-Purple Rose of the Enchanted Royal Forest.

Now Princess Rainbow Light and her friends smell like roses. Except the cook, he still smells like dead fish.