Ascendance // a DreamNotFound fanfiction WITH AN UNSATISFYING ENDING

Chapter 2: Job Opportunity

Approaching the house's front door, my eyes fixed upon the narrow brick pathway snaking from the road to the front porch. Carefully I scanned each step for booby traps, a common defense mechanism for Tejan houses. Only when I looked closely at the waving grasses could I discern the hidden outlines of patiently waiting metal jaws: bear traps, intended to catch human trespassers.

Skirting the final bear trap laying in wait at the base of the front porch's steps, I climbed to reach the door. Initially I hesitated, worrying about my appearance. Like most Orlanian families, mine could not afford clothes; instead, talented residents of our community sewed outfits from rags. However, glancing down at my rags would impede my confidence in the possibility of negotiation. Ironically, financial help was most attainable when one dressed in clothing which implied they did not need any financial help whatsoever.

Lifting a fist, I knocked on the polished spruce door in a codified series of sharp raps, two heavy knocks midway up the door, then a vertical strip of five lighter knocks traveling upwards. Visually, the locations I knocked upon the wood formed the vague shape of human male reproductive anatomy. After the knocks, I called my childhood friend's name, "Sapnap! It's Dream!"

First, I heard nothing. Then, from inside the house, rapid footsteps thumped in my direction. Hooking my stone knife and water canteen into my twine belt, I felt my heart thrum with nervous excitement to witness my best friend for the first time in months.

Near the front door, dull orange light spilled from the glass window as someone parted a lacy white curtain to peek out. I met the person's gaze; their shaded eyes widened and thick eyebrows lifted with surprise. Immediately they unlocked the front door from the inside, then pulled it open.

"Dream, you're okay!" Slightly shorter than me but no less physically powerful, my childhood friend Sapnap launched himself toward me. We embraced. I clutched his shoulder blades, burying my face into his neatly brushed hair as he rested his chin upon my shoulder. I tried to ignore how gingerly he held me because of the scratchiness of my rags, but the admiration in his sparkling blue eyes did not falter when he receded from the hug. My friend rambled in a low voice, "I saw weird clouds in the valley for hours! What were they?"

"Locusts," I sighed heavily. "They ate our neighborhood's barley crops. They ate everything."

Sapnap swallowed, unsure of how to respond until he muttered empathetically, "I can't imagine what that must've been like." Glancing over one shoulder at the empty living area behind him, he ushered, "Here, come inside." Stepping back to allow my entry, Sapnap alerted the house, "Visitor!"

While my friend closed the front door, I cautiously shuffled into the house, purposely taking short, controlled steps and intertwining my fingers before my waist to appear less threatening when the rest of the family inevitably noticed my presence. Standing before the expansive living and dining areas, I could not suppress the astonished parting of my lips at the house's wealth.

A spacious interior reflected the house's rich exterior: decorated spruce doors, glass windows, closets upon every wall, a massive kitchen, carved wooden tables with tablecloths, high ceilings, framed oil paintings hung upon white walls, ornate bookshelves, and meticulously dusted furniture. I had never stepped foot in the kingdom's castle, so to me, this appeared the life of royalty.

"Who's visiting?" When heavy, booted footsteps and an aggressively deep voice indicated the arrival of Sapnap's father, Sir Ernling, I faced the floor with downturned eyes to express submission.

"He's with me," Sapnap explained, protectively stepping in front of me. "It's Dream. You remember him, right?"

"Your ragged little beggar friend is back?" Sapnap's father raised a disapproving eyebrow. "Pity. I thought you had grown apart."