Dreamscape: Saving Alex by Kirstin Pulioff Read Free Book Online Page A

“Forgive
you?” I repeated, watching him grovel on the ground.
    “We didn’t know it was you,” the taller man said,
pressing his hood back and bowing at the waist.
    “Good grief man, show some respect,” Deakon said,
knocking out the back of the taller man’s knees. “She’s not royalty,
she’s…she’s…” Every time his eyes darted to me, they sped back towards the
ground.
    His friend fell with a grunt and shook his head,
regaining composure before he looked at me and joined his friend with his
forehead to the ground. “I meant no disrespect, my lady. We just didn’t
expect—”
    “Didn’t expect what?” I asked, afraid of their
response. Who or what did they think I was? I ran through the list of
characters in my mind, holding my breath. Was I the princess, a rogue, another
juggler—
    “The Golden Hero.”
    An image of the game’s opening sequence popped
into my mind, a little green man shooting an arrow. The Golden Hero, of course.
Why would I think I could go through this world unnoticed?
    “Of course. Yes, I’m here,” I said, pulling my
shirt straight and brushing away the dust while I tried to settle my mind.
“Please, there’s no need for that.” I pointed to their prolonged bowing and
then flipped my hand over, gesturing for help up. If they thought I was the
Golden Hero, I was going to work it to my advantage.
    The taller man scrambled to his feet and helped me
up. “My lady.” He bowed again.
    “Thank you…” I stalled and raised an eyebrow in
question.
    “Pipes, my lady. My name’s Pipes, and this here is
Deakon. And we’re humbly at your service.” As a quieter aside to his friend, he
said, “Can you believe it? She’s here. She’s really here. Do you know what this
means?” His eyes lit up.
    Deakon turned to his friend and opened his mouth
to speak.
    “What does this mean?” I interrupted their private
conversation.
    “Nothing,” Deakon answered softly.
    “Nothing?” Pipes cried, his excitement
overflowing. “Deakon, this means everything! Everything we saw done is no
longer a waste. King Helio’s death can be avenged, and Queen Elin can be saved!
The rebellion has a chance.”
    I smiled in reassurance, desperately trying to
figure out what he meant. For playing this game my whole life, I felt like this
was my first time. Nothing made sense. None of these names were familiar, but
Queen Elin had to be the pink princess the hero always saved.
    “There’s a chance now, right, my lady?” Pipes
asked again. The hope in his eyes was palpable. My heart raced again. Smashing
his hopes would be almost as bad as trampling the bird.
    “Yes,” I mumbled, avoiding his eyes. “Of course
there’s a chance now. That’s why I’m here.” I brushed the last bits of dust off
my shirt and unhooked the box from my wrist. Indentations marked my forearm
where the corner had hit me during my fall.
    Pipes inhaled sharply. “That…you…box…” he
stammered, pointing to the broken box in my hand.
    “This?” I asked, walking closer to him. “What do
you know about these boxes?”
    “That the prophecy is true,” he whispered, biting
down on a fist. Deakon dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the
ground again.
    I rolled my eyes. This was going to take more
finesse than I’d thought. I had to change directions. “Deakon?” I asked
sweetly. “Do you think I can borrow your glass?”
    “Of course, my lady, whatever I can do to help.”
He fumbled around the ground in front of him where it had dropped and handed it
to me.
    “Thank you, my friends. You surprised me, and I
dropped most of the coins from the box. Do you think you could help me find
them? I will of course pay you for your efforts. I think that’ll help the
cause, right?” I asked innocently.
    Deakon scratched his forehead. “We can’t take that
money, my lady. We need to make sure it gets to where it’s needed.”
    “W-well, of course I’ll get the money where it’s
needed. I just