I dedicate this chapter to...the authors of my favorite stories: Legion,
Peace Angel, Siren, Rini, Serpentina, Spark009, Humor Queen Merc, darrenzgurl,
Claidi, Mystic Blossom, EA Simpson, Merri-Wood+Pip-Son, and Jewel. There
are also published authors: Naoko Takeuchi, J.K. Rowling, Gail Carson Levine,
J.R.R. Tolkien, S. Morgenstern (William Goldman actually, because I read the
abridged version), Frances Hodgson Burnett, C.S. Lewis, and Donna Jo Napoli.

Authors note: I just thought you would like to know the time system where they are.
120 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, etc. Everything is the
same except for the number of seconds. And the days of the week, starting with what
represents Sunday, are: Adamday, Maladay, Gypsumday, Kaoliday, Rhyoday,
Titanday, and Periday. And they use military time, so 13:00 would be 1:00 P.M.
according to us.

Chapter 9: The Dream (also titled: Caught)

Adela ran. She was in her Sailor uniform. She kept running toward him. She needed
to help him. But no matter how quickly she ran, no matter how far, no matter how
often she changed direction, the footsteps were always right behind her. And they kept
getting closer. Soon, she couldn't see anything. After that, she couldn't hear anything.
But she could still feel them. They were beside her now.
Finally, she found him. He was lying down on the ground. He was so weak from fighting.
She had to protect him. Everything suddenly became so slow. The figure in the sky started
to form a ball of dark energy. She was going to kill the man! Adela ran to protect him, but her
legs felt like lead. The ball of energy was getting bigger, and kept doing so more quickly.
Adela willed herself to run faster than she had ever run before. It was working! She was so close!
Suddenly, the ball of dark energy hit the man, and the force of the energy hitting the ground
knocked Adela back ten feet! When Adela looked up, there was nothing. There was nothing to do.
Nothing, except the only thing that made sense. She opened her eyes and woke up.
Adela sat up in her bed at three o'clock. She gasped for breath, and tried to make herself believe
that it was just a dream. But she couldn't. She just couldn't. It was so real. The blindness, the
deafness, hitting the ground...even the tears felt real, but her face was dry right now. She tried
to got back to sleep, knowing that she had to meet Kingusha today. After half an hour of tossing
and turning, she fell asleep.

Adela woke up to her alarm. She had set it to go off at eight o'clock. She looked in the mirror.
Perfect! She had a hard time sleeping the night before, so she looked tired enough to be allowed
to go back to bed. She went downstairs, as if getting ready to eat breakfast. Queen Loreina took
one look at her before telling her to go back to bed.
"I'll have Hattie take you your breakfast later, okay?"
"Thank you, Oka-san. I'm not that hungry, though. Maybe I will skip breakfast and have brunch
later. Is that okay?"
"Of course it is, Adela. Go back to bed now."
Adela went to her room, suppressing the urge to jump for joy. When she finally got to her room,
she put a life-size doll under her blankets. It had been given to her by a fairy, and it would grow as
Adela grew. She stood back from the bed, and admired her work. It looked real enough. She was
about to reach for her Pen when she heard a knock at the door.
She ran to the bed, but the doll back on its stand, and jumped in bed. The person knocked on the
door again, and came in. It was Tom.
"Princess," he began, after closing the door.
"Tom, please call me Adela, or Princess Adela, if you absolutely must. But please do not call me
Princess. I hate it when Hattie and the other servants do it, even if it is my rightful title."
"Adela, then." Tom paused before continuing. "I know what you are doing. You ask me to make
a potion to turn you into whatever you want, then I see a young girl on her hisan flying out your
window, then you come and ask me what seven Earth days from now is. You snuck out and met
someone, didn't you?"
Adela was shocked. He wasn't supposed to notice this. Maybe her personal servant, Hattie, but not
a lower servant like him. A handsome one, but still a lower servant.
"Get out."
Tom looked her straight in the eyes. "Fine. I'll get out, but you may want to remember that I could
have made the queen more concerned about your safety before now, and I still can, now that I
know my theory is true."
No! That idiot could reveal everything to her mother! She decided to use a command, which she
didn't do very often. "Tom, I order you not to tell Oka-san. Do you understand?"
Tom looked at her again. "I can tell her if I wish. Even if you order me to, I am allowed to escape
punishment if I was informing authorities of events that concern your personal safety, according
to the law."
How could a man be so persistent? Adela sighed. "Is there any way I could go without you
telling anyone?"
Tom thought for a moment. "Take me with you. To protect you. And you will not go alone again,
no matter how much you want to."
"Deal."

Cliffhanger! Bwa ha ha! Sorry it took so long. Hmmm...*scrolls up* I seem to have written more than normal.
I originally just planned on typing up the dream and having her wake up from it. Then I decided she should go
to the city. Then I wanted Tom to go with her. And it turned into that. And you may be wondering where I
thought of the name "Hattie." Go read "Ella Enchanted," by Gail Carson Levine. And no, Adela's servant
isn't snobby like Hattie in that book.