The Dream Thief
Sonja was the most skilled dream thief in the kingdom.
At seventeen, she could bring down a group of men single-handedly. Sonja could outwit a sorcerer’s poison and find a remedy within seconds. She could scale buildings fifty feet up to their steeples in one breath.
But today, the dream thief sat in a small office feeling suffocated.
She combed her blonde hair with gloved fingers and tried to ignore the heat of summer pulsing from the window. She could see the city below with buildings stacked against one another, carriages pulling jeweled maidens, and children running naked through the streets.
Beads of sweat dripped down her back, soaking her cloak with each passing second.
“Ah, Sonja!”
Finally. “Sir Elwynn, good to see you.”
The king’s counselor huffed a breath before saying, “Apologies for my tardiness! Trouble with the horses.”
He trumped across the room, and the floorboards creaked under his weight. He sat on a velvet chair with its seams tearing at the edges. His green cloak was strapped tight against his neck, the buckle lost underneath his skin.
“Please, tell me how you’ve been!” he said.
“Sir Elwynn, I’m here for payment.” Insufferable fool! How dare he waste her time. She wanted to knock him out of his chair and see him flail around the floor like a fish.
“Yes, right to business.” He let out a belly laugh that jostled a few gold buttons splayed precariously against his white tunic. “Big earnings this week!”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her green eyes. She looked down to play with the black stitching on her leather pants.
Sir Elwynn retrieved a red book from his desk and rifled through the pages, squinting as he made notes with his quill.
“A barber, one bard, and a philosopher. Excellent, Sonja.”
Every good deed has a price, it seems. “Thank you.” She forced a grin and felt her fingertips go numb as she wrapped a loose thread around them.
“Have you considered my offer?” The king’s counselor peered up at her.
She took a steadying breath before replying, “I will have to pass on your offer for now, Sir Elwynn.” She bowed her head, hiding her frustration.
“I hope you’ll reconsider.” He closed the book, placed it on the desk, and retrieved a small black purse from the drawer. She could hear the soft jingle of coins as he offered it to her.
The philosopher’s face from the night before flashed across her mind. She could still see his face contorted in pain as she peeled away his dreams, letting them flow from her wand and into a glass jar. She hadn’t been able to sleep and still wore the same clothes from the day before.
Despite the king’s reassurance that dream thieves only stole dreams from those who committed treason against the kingdom, Sonja didn’t trust him.
Sonja was brought in as a dream thief at a young age and did her job dutifully. She never questioned the assignments and delivered the dreams directly to the king. She neither questioned the night she saw him ingest the dreams nor asked about the green aura that surrounded him and cracked like electricity.
Sonja eventually realized the people she stole dreams from were innocent and not ‘just left sleeping’ as the counselor informed her. She could see their lives flash before her as the dreams flowed into jars–they lost hope and love, along with pain–and their spirit would slowly leave their eyes.
“Your skill sets are unmatched. We’d give you a fair price for housing. A girl of your talent shouldn’t live on the streets. We can take care of you and–.”
“I don’t need to be taken care of.” Her voice rang against the walls. She cleared her throat before continuing, “Thank you for your kindness, however.”
The king and his councilmen had been trying to recruit her to the Guild of Dream Thieves. She rejected his proposals repeatedly but worried how many more times she could say no. Even if her financial situation forced her into this line of work, she refused to bow to the king’s wishes indefinitely. The king’s power was growing from the dreams–she knew that much–and she could feel danger on the horizon.
Sir Elwynn clicked his tongue. “Of course. Well, let’s discuss your next assignment.”
He smirked as he said, “The king has tasked you with retrieving a dream from your mother.”
Her heart sank. She felt a chill run up her neck, and her ears flooded with the sound of rushing blood. “What?”
“It is not my place to question the king’s motives. I’m sure you understand.” The chair squeaked as he rose from his desk and walked toward the door.
“Sir Elwynn, wait!” She jumped from her chair and rushed after him. “My mother is not a criminal!”
Her mother was kind and lived alone in a wooden house outside the city. Sonja had hoped to save enough money one day so they could both flee the kingdom forever. Perhaps that day had already come.
“Sonja, a word of advice?,” the king’s counselor called behind his shoulder. “Secrets always have a way of revealing themselves.”
Anger boiled within her. “This is a mistake, Sir Elwynn. Please!”
He paused at the door and said, “Your duty is that of a dream thief. You will be rewarded thrice the amount you received today. I trust you’ll do the right thing.”
Right and wrong no longer exist in Agleon.
She watched him trot down the narrow hallway. He called over his shoulder, “Don’t worry, Sonja! It’s just a little dream.”
He slammed the door, and she stood in deafening silence. With that amount of gold, she would have enough to escape. But her mother may die at her hands.
Sonja ran out of Sir Elwynn’s office and sprinted toward the gates, letting the bustling city swallow her whole.
