The Empty World | The Empty World Sequence [complete | rewriting]

Nine (these events are Ten in the revised scene list)

Daniel darted behind a curtain of ivy. Morpheus hurried after him. "Daniel! Where are you?"

The boy was standing up on a swing, butterflies flocking about him madly, a flurry of soft pale things was moving through the air. Morpheus shielded his eyes. He couldn't tell if these were butterflies or flower petals. The flurry didn't stop, but it helped when Morpheus turned his back. They looked like cherry blossoms, reminded him again of the cartoon about the pretty Vampyre princess and the evil doll-faced creature that was trying to steal its pretty human lover. He spun around in dance, hearing Daniel giggle.

The tree were covered with these things, like petals or leaves, and yet as they flew by Morpheus saw they had elegant dancing legs.

"This is nice part of the Al-e-gory," Daniel sang.

"Daniel, did you say you had a friend named Thierry?"

"Oh yes, Dream gives Daniel new friends, Daniel must watch the babies like a good boy and he can play with them. Big Angels! Big Angels come and tell Dream not to give their friend person hurting dreams and Dream says the big Angels can not tell him what to do, but he shows them Daniel. Dream tells them Daniel will go and watch the babies of your friend person, and good little Daniel will tell us if they have bad dreams, and this will never happen again!" Daniel took an enormous breath. "So Daniel gets Caroline and Thierry to play with!"

Morpheus picked a cherry from one of the trees and popped it in his mouth. "Daniel," he started and then stopped and licked at his lips, "Ooooh, they're goood!" he said.

"Ac-quired taste," said Daniel.

Morpheus ate another one.

"They give you dreams."

"I've never heard of a hallucinogenic cherry," said Morpheus.

Daniel nodded gravely as the swing reached its lowest point. He sailed backward in the air. "The roses have no thorns," Daniel sang.

Morpheus sat under the tree and ate another cherry. "So it's that sort of garden, is it?"

"Ssssssh," hissed Daniel and then giggled as the swing carried him backward again.

"Tell me about faeries, Daniel, do you know about faeries?" Morpheus' vision was all out of focus, things looked watercolory.

"Daniel knows the ribbon lady," he said.

"Ribbon?"

"She ties ribbons in everything, pink ones. The cats don't like her. Her father is one of the big Angels who was Dream before Dream was."

"Maeve," Morpheus said. He felt very giddy. "Queen Mab!" he giggled.

"Morpheus Friend, stop eating the cherries!"

"Um...um...what was I going to say?"

Daniel hopped from the swing and came to Morpheus. Morpheus swatted at the soft purple things before his face.

"Faeries! What other faeries are there...oooo, you must know if Thierry does."

"The children people, the pretty dancing people children that kiss and suck candy all day, the children are called faeries. Thierry's father is a faerie, Amadeo is just like the ribbon lady."

"The faerie Queen?"

"Oh yes, Thierry's father is the queen of children who kiss and dance. Amadeo has dreams that hurt him, some person with sharp teeth is giving him bad dreams. Big Angels don't like it."