Finding the Seed

"That's impossible!" Both Nic and Sarai seemed upset at the prospect.

"Back up a moment and tell me how you got here…" Noble held her head. 

It was throbbing with all the new information. And she knew that the sudden influx was only getting started.

Sarai fidgeted in her seat. "Can I change first? The armor is not a Memory and is terribly uncomfortable." Her stomach rumbled. "And I'm also rather hungry."

"Of course. I can help you change, but I must tell you that the Queen only ever wore one color." Noble motioned toward Emira's bedroom. "But first. Open the door and yell angrily into the hall that you need food."

The redheaded baker's eyes darted away. "Must it be angry?"

"It will make it believable." Noble pushed her friend to the exit and cracked the door.

Sarai cleared her throat and screamed. "Food! Now!" Slamming the door, the young woman leaned against the wall. "How did I do?"

Patting her friend's shoulder, Noble smiled. "Food will be here before you are done changing."

A short time later, Sarai returned to the sitting room wearing an emerald dress. Noble was a step behind her tying up the sash.

"She wasn't kidding, Laundry," Sarai laughed. "The closet was a sea of green…Laundry?"

The table where Nickel's feet had been was covered in decadent food, but the man in question was gone.

Sarai furrowed her brow. "Where did he go?"

Noble's eyes swirled as she activated her ability. The world shifted into colors for which Noble had no name.

Searching for Nic's—or rather Derik's emotional signature, Noble eventually locked on to the man in question.

"He's behind this door and coming this…" Noble opened the door to let Nickel in.

But suddenly his signature was gone.

"I don't understand. How did he.."

"How did I what?" Nickel dropped from a rafter in the ceiling. "Disappear? A magician never reveals his tricks. And this queen of yours had many tricks. There are at least a dozen doors out of here."

Nickel glanced at the food and rubbed his stomach.

"And more than a dozen reasons to stay right here."

"Help yourself, both of you." Noble passed out the plates.

She had a little herself but her stomach was still in knots from all that had happened that morning.

How was it still morning?!

At last, Sarai was full. She heaved a contented sigh and launched into her tale.

"Your act of heroism made the nightly news. Somehow a camera went on at the exact moment you went in. It was grainy but the image sent my heart into my throat. I knew instantly that it was you. I called Fort. Thankfully, he already knew and was able to calm me. It's not fair in hindsight. I should have been the one comforting him."

Noble's face was wet with tears. Dismissing her gauntlets, she wiped them away with her palm. "That's just like Fort. Helping others even when he is hurting."

Sitting next to her friend, Sarai rubbed Noble's back gently. The redhead nodded.

"I offered to go and help immediately, but Fort said there was a process. I spent the next couple of days finding out what that process was.

"Because of the strange occurrence, the government blocked off a large area of the city to prevent anyone from getting near the gate. With the chancellor's help, that process to conquer the gate was expedited, but it still took time."

It pained Sarai to admit that she had not just jumped the barrier and done what she thought was best, but Fort had assured her that his wife was a survivor. Thankfully, he had been right.

"While we waited, we approached Nickel and asked him to join me."

"All the good people were in Antarctica," Nickel rolled his eyes. "Your options were very limited."

"You know that's not true. You were the best choice both for your skill set and your…specific knowledge." Sarai pursed her lips.

Noble knew what she meant. Fort, Nic, and Sarai were the only ones other than the Chancellor who knew she was Queen Bee.

"I know I should have asked this before, but did anyone else come with you?" Noble watched her friends shake their heads.

"We had another person interested in joining. He claimed to be Queen Bee's biggest fan. But we had to decline after he said he had given you a miniature figurine of himself the one time you met." Nickel sighed. "Why don't I ever get crazed fans?" 

"I will send the next one your way," Noble assured him.

She remembered the insane Awakened who had made a Memory of himself for her to carry around. Based on his fixation on Queen Bee alone, he would have been a liability. 

"After we politely refused your admirer, we left the next morning. The government monitored us when we fell asleep, promising to transport our bodies to a secure location. Not that I supposed they needed to. If we survive this, we will get new bodies anyway." Nickel smirked at the thought. 

"Unlike you, we didn't immediately enter the seed. After what felt like an eternity, we were thrown into the Dream Realm." Sarai shivered. 

"The Dream Realm! That's wonderful, then you know our location. I've been trying to wrap my head around it, but maps are no help." Noble had been dying to know this information since right after entering the Seed.

"I am afraid I am no help. I was thrown underground in a tunnel. Nickel too. We miraculously found each other after searching in the darkness for a few hours. Then it took a few more days to find a tunnel that would lead us to the surface. It was night, but the seed shimmered in the darkness, calling to us." Sarai's gaze became far off as she described the scene. 

"I wanted to wait until morning to make sure there wasn't a second Seed around, but Fireshing here was insistent this was the one and that there was no time to lose." Nickel tapped his fingers on the chair. "Like a fool, I listened."

"I was right, wasn't I?" Sarai motioned up and down at their missing friend.

"More right than you realize." Noble took a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling. 

"What do you mean?" Sarai's voice became soft. 

Noble looked at the other woman. While Emira's face stared back at her, Sarai's kind eyes could not be hidden even in this stranger's body. 

The floating Awakened gave a sad smile. "That meeting that you and I just had. I had made a claim on the throne. That little chat was supposed to be a fight to the death. If you hadn't come when you did...either the Queen or I would be dead right now." 

Noble paused.

"I suppose she is dead now. At least in spirit. What a strange thought." 

If Sarai had entered the Nightmare right at the point that Noble had succeeded, would she have killed her best friend?

'I am so glad that didn't happen!'

Nic tilted his head. "Wait, Noble, did you say that you are trying to take over a kingdom? What kind of Nightmare is this?" 

It was a good question. It was also Noble's turn to do some explaining.