Where am I?

"Hello, its been a while since we've sat down and talked."

I woke up slowly and rubbed my eyes. Once again, I was here.

The room was immaculate as always. Thick, red curtains hung down, covering the sides of the ginormous windows that lined the hallways that we sat in the middle of. I looked down at the wooden table in front of me, then at the snarky girl that always sat at the other side of the table.

"It has been a while." I picked up a cookie and nibbled on it. Surprisingly, it tasted like mint, which came as a strange shock to me. the cookies here usually tasted like dark chocolate, paired with a tea that I couldn't place the origins of.

Not that I could place the origins of any tea in the first place, but I digress.

"Do you like the cookie? I tried a new recipe this time. I was hoping to get your input, if you actually came one of these days." The girl said, with a hint of anger in her voice, as if she had been waiting for me for a long time.

Nevertheless, I replied. "Sorry, I didn't mean to take such a long time."

The girl seemed to have grown up a little more, which made her look more mature. Her eyes were a little sharper now, baby fat giving away for sharp cheekbones that gave her the look of a villainess. Were her eyes always such a vibrant red? I couldn't remember.

Noticing me spacing out, she waved a delicate hand in front of my face, brows furrowing in annoyance.

"Quickly now, we don't have all day to chat. Do you think I dolled up so expensively for a tea party with you? I have to be somewhere soon." She gave her hair a slight pat, combing down the stray black hairs that were poking out from her elaborate hairdo."

I quietly picked up another cookie and nibbled on it. "The cookies taste nice. Where are you going?"

If she had a tail, it would be swaying furiously in the breeze. Sadly, she didn't, so I had no choice but to picture it behind her as she looked away, a faint blush appearing on her face.

"Well, they weren't made for you, but I'm glad you liked them. I'm going to a party later, my brother's coronation."

"No wonder you're dolled up so prettily."

She frowned slightly. "Yes, that is true but…" she sighed and picked up a cookie, very unelegantly biting down on it. "I wish he didn't have to pick up such a heavy role. It's tough being the emperor of such a huge kingdom, and I'd rather him not be caught up in such matters."

"Unfortunately, he's the only one that is fit for such a role, or he could've become a traveller, just like he wanted."

I stirred my tea in contemplation.

"Well, then how about you become the emperor?"

She looked up at me, as if shocked that I would even ask such a thing of her. Letting out a short, pained laugh, she spoke. "You're kidding right? I could never become the emperor. I don't have the talent for it. Look at me."

She gestured at herself. "I don't even have the talent to socialise with the people in my circle, forcing me to talk to some random person that appears in my room every now and then. What makes you think I'd be able to rule a country?"

"Well…" I mused to myself. "You don't have to be good at socialising to rule, right? You just have to be able to rule. Plus, if you end up as the ruler, you'll be able to save your brother from a lifetime of suffering on the throne. He'll be able to enjoy life, wouldn't he?"

She paused, as if inspecting every single word I said to her with great caution. "I… guess I could. Well, nothing really is stopping me is it. Huh. I've never thought about it that way."

"Then great. Go do it then. Don't let me stop you." I drank some tea and finished a cookie, before standing up and walking to her side. For the first time in all our encounters, I placed a hand on her shoulder.

It was warm and strangely smooth, as though she had never had to work a day in a life.

"I'll be going first then."

What a good excuse to go exploring, isn't it?

Honestly, since a while back, I had been wondering why these dreams were so goddamned realistic. Since she said I was part of her dream, does that mean that I don't exist outside these walls? Or is she part of my dream, and I'm just going crazy?

I don't know, but walking in a random direction is better then staying there and exiting like usual, waking up on my bed with nothing but confusion, the dream slipping from my grasp until the next time I came back here, as if locked away in a box.

These walls where huge, and the windows had nothing but a strange, white void behind them. I bent down to touch the carpeted floor in awe, marvelling at how soft the carpet was.

It'll be so hard to wash this, honestly.

"Hey, wait! Where on earth are you going?"

I turned and looked back, only to see that black haired girl rushing towards me, fingers tightly holding her dress so that she didn't trip on the thick fabric. That cannot be comfortable to wear.

"God, where on earth are you going?" She finally stopped in front of me, panting ever so slightly.

Huh, it seems as though this dream is a lot more realistic then I thought it was.

"Sorry, I'm just exploring."

"God, you don't even know where you are, do you?" She placed her hand on her hips angrily staring at me. "Don't just run off if you don't know where you're going, you could hurt yourself!"

"Sorry." I turned around and examined my surroundings.

While she was right, I had a sinking feeling that this wouldn't be a problem for much longer.

With that, I woke up, jolted out of the dream and into reality.

I sat up and sighed, running a hand through my hair.

I need to get behind these dreams soon, or I'm going to go crazy.

…what was the dream about anyway?