Overture
A bell rings as the door slides open to the old antique shop on the corner of 45th and Willow Ave. a block down the street from where a middle-aged man had just finished his shift at the small town bookstore. Shaking his long brown hair slightly he looked at the cashier as he began to make his way through the store, idly looking at all the small knickknacks across the shelves as a large silver mirror in the corner of the store caught his eye even as he made his way to the counter, small bag as various items held under his arms.“Hello, how are you doing today?” the man asks looking at the young woman behind the counter.“I’m ok, how are you? Looking to sell a few things?” She asks eyeing the bag full of old cards and used electronics.“Yes please, how much for all of this?” The man asks opening the bag as she begins to look through it all, comparing each item with lists of prices on various websites.“I’ll buy everything for $50, is that ok to you?”“Not as much as I was hoping for but that’s how it is sometimes. How much for the mirror in the corner?” The man asks eyeing the large silver framed mirror once again.“That? It came in years ago from an estate sale, nobody’s been interested in it. It’s your’s if you have a way to take it home.”Thanking the cashier the man lifted the heavy silver mirror, hauling it out of the store and into the bed of his old truck. The truck wasn’t anything fancy but it ran which was all he really cared about as he closed the tailgate and climbed into the cab before starting the ignition and heading home.The sun had been setting for awhile now as the man stumbled in through the door of his apartment carrying the heavy mirror. He wasn’t sure what had gone through his mind when he decided to bring the mirror home but it had almost felt like he needed it, like it had called to him somehow.Opening the door to his room he set the mirror down in the corner of his room recoiling in pain as a sharp edge on the back of the mirror poked him, drawing a tiny bit of blood as he spun the mirror, eyeing an inscription carved into the back of the mirror as he read it aloud.Tell me now and tell me true
What is it I can offer you?
The mask you wear is not your own
Yet who but I have ever known?
Your heart seeks truth to answer this
Who but I can offer bliss?
Sing to me dreams long forlorn
Close your eyes and be rebornAs he finished reading the final line a bright light engulfed the room, forcing him to close his eyes. As the light subsided he looked around confused, looking for the source of the bright flash before spinning the mirror back around, staring in misbelief.The reflection in the mirror was not his…Staring back at him was a beautiful woman with long dark purple hair and makeup, slightly tan skin, and a long black fur trimmed dress that accentuated her every curve. What caught him most off guard about her reflection was the long dark fur bunny ears that poked through her hair, twitching and bobbing as if real rather than a costume prop. The woman in the mirror imitated his every action as if it were his own even as the sheer improbability of the situation crept through his mind. The woman was practically a reflection of his dream girl, even down to the bunny ears from a character in one of the games he often played and anime he often watched.As the sun began to set he continued staring at the reflection, moving slightly to watch as it mimicked his movements even as a yawn escaped his lips. As afraid as he was whatever happened wouldn’t be there in the morning his eyes soon got the better of him, and he passed out on his bed.
“Aiden…Aiden…Wake up Aiden…”Opening his eyes Aiden was greeted by a moonlit sky and stars as far as the eye could see, cherry blossoms blowing in the breeze from nearby trees in full bloom, and a softly glowing lake beneath him…lake? Jumping up quickly Aiden looked around in shock, finding himself standing on the shimmering surface of a lake, a white grand piano and the mirror he had purchased earlier floating on the water’s surface as well.“You’re awake I see” A quiet soothing voice echoed from behind him.Turning around Aiden met face to face with the woman from the mirror as she smiled back.“We finally meet, you and I. We’ve met before but we’ve never been able to speak like this, afterall dreams aren’t very stable most of the time. If you’d like you can stay here longer, being your dream I know.” She said with a wink before holding Aiden’s hand in her own.Take my hand and close your eyes
Return before the sun doth rise
For should you wait until the day
Within this dream you’ll ever stay
Locked away in twilight bliss
Sealed deep within this dark abyssAs they held hands Aiden could feel something enter him from her hand, almost an energy of some kind much like a gentle shock. Opening his eyes he looked up to find she had vanished…then looked down to see her reflected into the water’s surface, and finding himself now in her body. Lifting her hands up to see her lightly tanned skinned and tiny hands with their long purple fingernails she stared back in disbelief even as she looked down to see her body wrapped in the black fur-trimmed dress she had seen earlier on the girl in the mirror.He had become her……Aria…Her dream…had come true.He had always thought he had been born the wrong way, never found he could fit in or enjoy the same things the other guys did. He had begun slowly coming out as transgender, had been slowly working toward his goal of saving up to transition someday but this…this was beyond anything she could have ever dreamed possible.She knew it was a dream, but it was becoming more and more vivid before her eyes, she wanted to stay, she didn’t want to go back to how she was before. Fighting paycheck to paycheck to slowly make the money to work toward her dreams…toward this…and it was here…right here.She couldn’t be happier.She began to dance in excitement on the surface of the lake, slowly twisting and turning to some invisible beat, cheering and laughing as this world seemed so much more alive to her now. She began to make her way across the lake, eyeing a large stone castle against the full moonlight as fireflies danced upon the breeze. Only one thing was missing…She was alone.Though alive with the light of fireflies and beautiful woodland creatures running about she had not come across a single other soul on her walk around the lake, it was as if the dream existed for her alone and beyond the breathtaking views and gorgeous twilight vistas she was alone.Hearing the sound of rustling trees and bushes slowly brought her attention to the treeline of dark forest, and as she looked closer she could see what had appeared for a brief moment to have been someone running into the forest. Without hesitation she began to give chase, the heels of her boots clacking against the stones of the path before she made it to the forest’s edge, running in without a second thought. The deeper she went the thicker the trees grew as she stopped to try to catch her bearings.As she continued to walk through the forest suddenly fireflies began to cast light around her, and grass and trees began to glow with a bioluminescent light casting a beautiful picture of a bright fairy forest. She continued to search for the elusive person that had run away from her into the forest with no success as she came upon a the stump of a tree in a small grass clearing with a book laying on its stump and a wooden staff rested against it. Walking up toward the stump she placed her hand upon the book, moving to pick it up when a power began to course through her, memories of spells and magic welling up within her as her hair and eyes began to glow with a purple iridescent hue. Suddenly the book flew open, page after page showing how to cast so many spells she quickly lost count before the book suddenly slammed shut, suddenly growing small legs from between the bottom of its pages, almost as if living bookmarks with shoes as it scampered about excitedly before coming back to Aria. Though caught off guard at first at the presence of a living spellbook she quickly began to accept it as part of the dream, picking it back up and beginning to read through the pages one by one.“Do you…have a name?” She asked, watching as it shook its body, almost as if saying no.“How about…Libretto?” She asked as the book jumped out of her hand, jumping for joy on the ground as it opened its pages to a blank page, words appearing as if written by an invisible hand “Libretto? Libretto! I am your grimoire, I am Libretto!” It exclaimed before jumping back toward Aria.She had been practicing for awhile now, had learn spells such as lightning, and summoning her spellbook to her hand as a yawn escaped her lips. Looking up she could tell it was still dark outside but thought to begin heading back. As much as she did not want the dream to end she remembered the words that had been spoken earlier before she had changed. “Return before the sun doth rise.” She said to herself as she continued to walk, turning a corner as she was forced to shield her eyes…as sunlight began to bathe its glow through the thinning canopy of trees…panic began to set in as a voice came from behind her.The warning was plain and the terms all too clear
Stay for too long and you’ll lose something dear
Little lost lamb in the forest so dark
Your nightmare was me, right from the startHer heart sank but it was not the words that had been said that caused her panic.The voice was his…HE had said them…Running at full speed through the sunlit world of the dream she began to run across the lake, the water holding each panicked step as she came to the mirror. Looking through the mirror she watched in horror as her old body rose from the bed, a light red glow in his former eyes as he looks back through the mirror, a chill running down her spine as his grin widens.“Farewell. My lost little lamb.”She watches in horror as the mirror falls to the ground, shattering as she’s forced to shield her eyes as the water beneath her gives way slowly dragging her under. Staring up into the sunlight piercing the surface of the water she reaches toward it, trying to swim up to no avail as the water pulls her under.Coughing and sputtering she begins to wake on the nearby beach completely drenched as she looks up to see the sun slowly setting. She could hear that the world around her hand changed, it felt more dangerous as if something were stalking her, waiting for nightfall. Looking up she sees the castle she had come across earlier previously far in the distance now but a short walk away. Making her way to the castle she slowly feels the presence growing closer, howls heard in the distance. Making her way through the main gate of the castle she runs up the stairs, looking back to see a pack of wolves where she had been but minutes before as they spot her and begin to give chase. Opening the door of the castle she runs inside quickly, shutting and locking the door as a thud was heard on the other side.Looking around she found herself in a majestic throne room, a vast red carpet leading from the door up to a set of stairs that lead up to an ornate throne with a massive window behind it, the moon beginning to rise through the window. The torches of the castle were lit despite nobody living there as she explored, finding the library, an alchemy lab, and finally the master bedroom, a massive bed sprawled out with purple bedding and a massive window to let the moonlight in much as behind the throne. Collapsing onto the bed in exhaustion she weaves a spell, her book and staff suddenly appearing on the bed beside her.She could tell her spellbook was shaking, its pages quivering as it opened them weakly.“World is scary,” Libretto wrote before cuddling up in Aria’s arms as she wrapped her’s around the spellbook.“World is scary indeed Libretto,” she responded, a quiver in her voice as she closed her eyes, hoping to wake up in her old bedroom.Waking up with a start to the sound of thunder crashing Aria looks out the window to see the moon an ominous shade of red. Looking around the room her eyes widen in fear to see her former body cast against the darkness of the doorframe, eyes glowing a sinister red.“Thought you were free of me, my lost little lamb? I’m now in control of this dream…and you…are mine.”Aiden says with a callous grin as Aria runs for the door opposite where her former body had been guarding, running through hall after hall, watching them twist and reshape around her as she bursts through a door arriving in the throneroom. Aria looks up to see Aiden lounging across the throne, blood red moon painting his silhouette a crimson hue, eyes glowing a bright red as he stares down at Aria.“There is no escape my dear, this world and everything in it is mine to control…including you.”Vines begin to burst from the ground beneath Aria, ensnaring her as they grow upward, binding her hands and legs, forcing her into the air as purple roses begin to form along the vines. Aiden jumps up from the throne, slowly beginning to make his way down the stairs as he takes Aria’s chin in his hand, looking into her eyes.“You’re nothing but part of a dream now, a part of MY dream. There is no going back. I can make it easy you know, let you live peacefully within the dream. Or I can make it a living nightmare. The choice is your’s for you see I require something in exchange…your memories. Now that you’re here you have no need for what you left behind so why not give up and offer them to me instead?”A fiery defiance begins to well deep within Aria as she cackles staring into his eyes.My warning is plain and my terms all too clear
Take this from me and you’ll learn what is fear
Dreamer you think you can win with your lies
But make no mistake I’m the wolf in disguiseAiden begins to laugh as he turns to walk away back up to the throne as Aria begins to feel a cold creeping sensation enter her feet as they suddenly begin to feel heavier, and harder to move. Sitting on the throne Aiden watches as flesh slowly begins to turn to stone with callous glee.Such defiance I see
From the dream that was me
Yet soon you’ll atone
As you stand there in stone
Your soul shall now sleep
So your memories I’ll keep
My dream it’s been fun
Yet now I have wonAs the stone begins to creep its way up Aria’s neck she smiles in defiance, final words slipping past her grin.“Goodbye, my mirror.”Aiden laughs from upon the throne, jumping up in glee as he walks down to the statue of Aria, looking her in the eyes as he places his hand on her head before memories begin to flash and pulse into Aiden of Aria’s life. Happiness, sadness, joy, depression, longing, terror, acceptance, pain, and fear as he clutches his eye suddenly trying to shut them out as the memories continued to flow up until Aiden and Aria had switched as he cries out in pain, tears now falling from his face as he falls to the floor screaming in anguish looking up at the statue.What is all this madness?
This pain and this sadness?
I thought I had won
Yet what have I done?
These tears that now fall from me
Tell the tale of why I’m free
Was it you who truly lost?
Or was it me that paid the cost?Cracks begin to form through the statue as the stone explosively shatters, freeing Aria as she collapses to the floor alongside Aiden, reaching a hand out to comfort him as the sun begins to shine through the window.You see it now don’t you?
The reason I came?
For now here we are
Both one and the same
I wished for a way to be what’s in me
You sought for a way that you could be free
May the truth of this tale be a comforting dream
Open your eyes, let hope be the theme
I’ll be here whenever you wish to return
So rise now my dreamer to this sunrise nocturne.Looking up at Aria with tears still in his eyes Aiden nods, a newfound hope and kindness in his eyes as Libretto stumbles in through the open door. Aiden begins to rise to his feet, grabbing Libretto as a blue magic glow courses over him, pages flipping quickly as spell after spell fills its enchanted pages before Aiden hands the grimoire back to Aria.“Thank you” Aiden says, slowly vanishing into thin air as he walks through the door of the castle.Picking up Libretto and beginning to look through his pages Aria smiled as she came across a spell called reconstruction, a way to reshape the dream to her desires. Placing him back down onto the ground he picks himself up, following behind Aria as the two walk out of the entrance to the castle into the warm daylight of the dream world.“Let’s have fun Libretto, and give our dreamers a new dream to enjoy.”