Chapter 6: Dreams

"We could have woken ourselves up long ago Chelise. We know this. Is suppressing our hate and agony all we can do? How long do we think we've waited on this moment. We know. There is not a thing we don't know."

Chelise hears the voice which is her own. She's standing on a field of flowers alone in the sun, the breeze lifts her hair and touches her skin. She looks around but there is no-one to be seen in the distant blue. The voice doesn't reach her ears, it's inside of her.

"Did we suffer enough for those foolish humans? Are we happy with our choice? We know we're not. We want them to pay for their foolishness."

"No. No! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh we think we know. Stop supressing our own emotions, we know we want to remember."

"Remember what?"

"We know this."

"I don't remember anything! Who are you?"

"We know us."

"Stop this..."

Her head starts to ache and she falls down on her knees in the grass.

"Stop trying to supress ourselves."

"I'm not supressing anything!"

"Realize our foolishness. This is not what we are. We are more than this."

"I am not who you think I am!"

"We know the word."

"What word?"

"We know this. We are the wielder."

Her head starts pulsing.

"Do we not remember? Are we that stupid? Do we not want their pain to be seen by us?"

She raises her head towards the sky where the sun should be but instead it's covered in darkness. The wind has turned to tornadoes around her, ripping the ground from it's place.

"Say the word."

A black crystal appears in the sky, swallowing all the light.

"SAY IT!"

Chelise wakes up in a haste, her head aches and she breathes heavily. It's pitch black in her room. What was that? A dream? It felt so surreal... Like I've been on that field before... She clenches her fist in hope it will ease her headache but it doesn't. The pain is coming from her forehead, pulsing backwards. It was all just a dream, calm down Chelise.

It takes a few minutes before the headache dissipates and slowly fades away, leaving her almost numb where the pain originated from. I need to wash my face off.

She puts on the clothes she had during the day and opens the door, walking towards the bathroom. The lights are shining faintly at night, only enough as a guiding light. She reaches the bathroom and stops in front of a sink which she uses to wash her face and drink some water. What word? Is it my memories talking to me in my dreams? My own voice using such a sinister tone. It scares me.

A woman enters the bathroom and looks at Chelise who hasn't had time to dry the water off her face.

"You scared me. I didn't think there was anyone here."

"Oh, sorry. I couldn't sleep."

"Me neither... It's my first night here."

"Your first?"

"Yes, I got my room today. I'm one of the new recruits for The Keepers."

"Oh, I see."

Chelise turns to the woman who seems very young now that she gets a closer look. She doesn't know who I am right? Wait... Am I speaking Japanese?

"I'm Ririka, Terasaki Ririka."

"Chelise. Uh, Winters."

"Pleased to meet you Chelise."

"And you Ririka."

"I'm just so nervous, my training classes starts tomorrow and I don't know if I'll be good enough."

"I'm sure you'll do fine."

"How long have you been in The Keepers?"

"I.. I'm also new I guess."

"Oh! Did you also arrive today?"

"I think I got here yesterday."

"You think?"

Chelise nods and dryes her face off with a towel and looks at herself in the mirror. Something feels off... Wait, what happened to my hair? How did it become brown?

The realization that her hair has already changed colour sends a chill down her spine.

"Are you ok? You look a bit pale."

"I.. I'm fine, I'll go back to bed..."

"Ok... Sleep well Chelise. Maybe we'll see each other tomorrow?"

Chelise rushes out the door after having one more look in the mirror to be sure of what she saw. My hair really turned brown on it's own... How? Why? Is someone messing with me? When did I learn Japanese? This can't be happening.

She opens the door to her room, lunges herself on the bed and hides under the blanket.

Chelise opens her eyes and meets a room that is no longer dark. It looks like I didn't dream again. Somehow the sun seems to light up her room even though there are no windows. She gets up and notices she still has her clothes on that she put on before she went to the bathroom. My forehead isn't hurting at least. I should check if my hair really is brown or if it was just my mind playing me. She takes a black dress from the drawer that's labeled with a K. It looks like the dresses the other women had yesterday. Must be some kind of uniform. She takes it with her and hurries to the bathroom again.

It's still brown and I understand Japanese. I didn't even open the books Haru gave me so how did I learn it?

She enters the shower room, it seems she's not the only one who went there in the morning.

The dress is a perfect fit, looking at herself in the mirror she looks like a different person with this haircolor. I think it fits me, just like Haru said. She stares at herself in the mirror for a while thinking about that dream she had. In my dream I told myself that I knew the words didn't i? Then why can't I remember anything?

"Chel!"

Chelise turns around and sees Haru and Tanaka entering her room in a haste.

"What is it? Did something happen?"

Haru looks at her hair with a surprised expression on her face. I guess she's just as shocked as I am.

"Chelise, we need to leave right now. It seems The Guardians have sent men to all the other organizations located in each country. They have requested to search this place and we have no means to stop them from doing it. Tanaka will send us to our apartment, luckily it's already been rented in my new name."

"We have to leave at once?"

"I'm afraid so. Tanaka, please."

Tanaka creates another one of those shining pictures she saw while being rescued. This time the picture looks different. This must be some sort of magical travel. Haru takes Chelise's hand and they walk through the circle. They step into a completely different room that looks less dull, this room is actually colorful. Feels much more like a home. She turns around and the shining circle closes quickly.

"I'm sorry to have to drag you around like this Chelise. I really am. This is not how we planned this whole thing but I guess it doesn't always work out like we hope."

"It's fine, really. It's not like you're taking me away against my will. I don't want to get caught."

"It pleases me to hear you say that. I hope you will like it here, this is our new home."

"To be honest I like it much more than the other place already."

Haru laughs at her answer, she did not expect those words. Chelise smiles and looks around their new home in awe. There are three rooms for living, one kitchen and one for hygiene. It feels smaller than it actually is.

"Which room do you want?"

"I can choose?"

Haru smiles gently at her and nods.

"You can choose between these two. The other one is the living room, that's where we can sit down together and enjoy our free time."

"Oh, I like that. So one of these two rooms then."

She takes a closer look on the two rooms as they both have adorable furniture and cute decorations. There are only slight differences but one of them appeals more to her. There is a bed furthest away in the room, on the opposite side of the window. Below the window is a desk with a comfortable looking chair. There are plants all around the room and pillows in an array of colors. The curtains are white with pictures of birds on it that looks like baby owls. There is a carpet on the floor that is too soft to be true. I love it, this is so beautiful. Chelise walks over to the bed and lies down with all the pillows and soft small animals.

"You seem to have chosen this room Chel."

"This is perfect!"

"It's your room now. We can go shopping in the coming days. We still need to learn you Japanese before you attend school though."

"Oh, Japanese. I seem to have learned it while sleeping last night."

Haru looks at her with skepticism.

"It's true." says Chelise in fluent Japanese which leaves Haru stunned.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" she asks with a shocked expression.

"It's like I've known it all along now. I noticed it in the middle of the night when I met a new recruit in the bathroom."

"You never stop to amaze me Chel." says Haru and smiles gently at her.

"I was shocked too. I also seem to have dyed my hair in sleep somehow."

"That shocked both me and Tanaka when we saw you."

"I couldn't really believe what I saw in the mirror."

"I can imagine. Either way, this makes it alot easier for us both. You'll be able to attend school whenever you feel ready."

"Do I really need to go to school?"

"Well, there is still alot of things in this world you need to see and experience. I think the easiest way to do that is to be put into society and be part of it. You'll meet people your age and learn the way we're living nowadays."

"I'm a bit shy around new people though."

"I can assure you that everyone feels insecure and shy during first meetings. I was scared when I met you for the first time."

"Really? You didn't seem scared at all."

"I was actually shaking before I entered your room the first time. But don't tell Rei that."

Chelise laughs and nods. I didn't think Haru would be scared of anything. She seems so stable and confident.

"I have something for you." she hands over a cell phone.

"For me?"

"Yes, this is yours. All young people nowadays have one. That's how they keep in touch with their friends. You'd be shocked how people would react if you didn't have one."

"I thought it was a rare thing."

All of a sudden the cell phone starts making a sound and numbers start showing up on the screen which scared Chelise and nearly made her drop it.

"What's happening with it?"

"I'm calling you, that's my number." Haru laughs at her reaction and sits down at the bed.

"So we can talk wherever we are with these now?"

"Correct, I'll show you how this works. Come over here."

Author's Note

If you have anything to say about the story so far, please do :). I like the pacing myself but it may look like a slow start for many.