It’s all real.

“1, 2, 3,...” my brother Ezra starts counting and I run to find a place to hide. 

The whole house is dark and it’s hard to see where I’m going. I’ve lived here for eight years though and I have this house pretty much memorized. 

He’s reached ten now but still has to count to fifty. I open the closet where the freezers are kept. This is my favourite hiding place, hopefully he won’t remember. 

I climb on top of the smallest freezer and then wedge myself behind the big one. There are cobwebs back here and now they’re in my hair, but if I win it’s worth it. I hear him say thirty and I can still hear other people hiding. It reminds me of Narnia and I smile, too bad none of that is real. Going to a magical world would be great right now. We’ve been staying at home for a month and it’s been that long since I’ve seen my best friend. 

“49, 50, ready or not, here I come.” That’s Ezra. 

The house is deathly quite for a few minutes. Then I hear Megan scream and Ezra’s “Gotcha!” Silence again. Footsteps are coming down the hall. 

Oh no, I forgot to close the closet. Ezra adjusts the door and looks inside. He starts to climb onto the small freezer, he must remember my spot. I close my eyes tight and wait for him to say he found me. But minutes pass and I don’t hear it. 

I open my eyes slowly and am immediately blinded by light. Turning on the lights is cheating, I think, a bit upset. My eyes adjust and I realize that I am no longer wedged between the freezer and the wall. Instead I am between two trees just outside a small town. 

I stand up and brush the leaves and cobwebs out of my hair. None of this makes sense, I’m probably dreaming. If I am this is the best dream I’ve had in a while and I have no wish to wake up. 

I walk along a dirt road towards the town looking around at all the greenery. It’s still the beginning of spring at home and we don’t have any leaves. I miss them and the flowers. I reach the small houses and look for someone to talk to. 

This whole place feels vaguely familiar. Maybe I’ve had this dream before. I can’t remember anything else from it though. A lady walks out from a store and smiles at me. 

“Excuse me ma’am,” I ask before she walks away “what country is this?”

“This is Felecia, the land of the sun.” She answers proudly. 

Felecia. Now I know why it all looks familiar, my sister and I invented Felecia when we were nine and ten. But now that I think about it, maybe we didn’t invent it, just discover it. That’s a neat thought. 

“Where’s the capital city?” I ask. 

I want to see as much of this as I can. 

“About two kilometres,” says the lady “in that direction.” 

I look the way she’s pointing and see the castle keep towering above the trees. I say a quick thank you and then run down the road. Suddenly I realize that my outfit is not going to blend in at all. I look down at it, but instead of jeans and a shirt I am wearing a knee length purple dress. Underneath are black leggings and I have leather sandals on. I guess it’s a dream, so why not. 

I haven’t gone running in a while so it takes longer than usual to run two kilometres. Even though I’m slower I feel less tired and it’s easier to breath. As I reach the outskirts of the city and get closer to the castle I see a familiar figure in front me. She is walking slowly looking at everything around her. She has long blonde hair that falls almost to her waist and a dark green dress. 

“Keri?” I ask. 

She turns around and smiles when she sees me. It is Keri and I run to give her a hug. I stop just before reaching her, we’re supposed to be social distancing. But then again it’s a dream so who cares. She reaches out and I squeeze her tight. 

“It’s so nice to see you again!” I say “Wait, how did you get in here?”

“Alex, Philip, and I were downstairs reading and suddenly we were all here.” She says excited. 

“They’re here too?” I ask. 

“Ya they’re up ahead with Audrey.” Says Keri. 

I wonder how she got here without me seeing her. 

“Let’s go catch up with them.” I say “Where were you all going?” 

“Audrey said this place was called Felecia and she wanted to visit some people.” She says. 

She doesn’t know anyone here, well actually we might know the king and queens. We were going to write their story but it never ended up working. Maybe it’s because they were still alive and they didn’t have a story to write yet. 

Now I’m even more excited to reach the castle. For a now though I’m relishing being with my best friend. It feels like it’s been a long time. 

We walk arm in arm alternating between talking really fast and just enjoying the stillness. In a few minutes I see her brothers and my sister up ahead. 

Alex is walking in front of the others a little and Audrey and Phil are talking. We catch up to the others and Audrey turns to me. 

“Can you believe we’re actually in Felecia?!” She asks “We might even get to see Charlotte, Izabelle, Ryan, and Skye!”

In our stories they were four siblings who ruled the kingdom together. I smile at her enthusiasm and feel a bubble of excitement inside. 

“I am so confused,” says Philip shaking his head. 

“That’s fine, you don’t have to understand everything.” Audrey says condescendingly. 

“Hi Hallie,” says Alex coming back to walk with us mortals. 

“Hi,” I smile. 

When we reach the castle the guards bow and let us in. 

“Your majesties.” Says one of them before leading us towards the throne room. 

Keri looks at me questioningly but all I can do is shrug. We walk through the door and into a room charged with tension. 

On a small raised platform are four thrones with the queens and king seated on them. A few nobles are in the room along with the royal families. Our escort leaves us at the door and we look at each other, unsure of what to do. 

I hear a growly voice from the direction of the thrones and see what is causing the tension. A creature that looks a little like a cat but with arms and legs like a man. He is wearing a jagged iron crown and a black cape that wraps around him. 

“Well, your highness? Do you accept my challenge?” He says. 

I look at Audrey and she nods we know what this is, but the others are still confused. 

“I do.” Says King Ryan. 

He looks calm but his wife, Lea, seems worried. 

“I’ll meet you tonight in the training field,” says the cat-man before stalking out of the room. 

When he comes closer I see that one of his eyes is red and has a slash across it. He growls slightly at me and says “I will kill your father.”

Now I’m very confused, first the guards let us in without even questioning us and now this beast is threatening me. They must think we’re someone else. 

As I’m thinking the door opens and a boy walks in. He glances at us and I see recognition and confusion on his face. 

“Hey Zachary,” Alex says. 

The boy just looks confused now and keeps walking to the thrones. 

“That’s not the Zachary we know,” I say “we based him off of Zach.” 

Or at least we thought we did. Now that I think about it this all makes a little more sense. I follow Zach to the end of the room and examine the royal family and then my friends. 

Before my musings get too far though Zach starts talking. 

“Are you going to fight?” He asks the king.  

“Yes.” 

“When?”

“Tonight.” Says the king. 

“Who is your second?” Ask Zach. 

King Ryan looks around at his sisters and his family. 

“I’ll have to pick Skye, but I’m not planning on losing,” he says. 

Skye is Ryan’s twin sister and probably the most capable of her sisters. He can’t pick any of his brothers in law because his second has to be of royal blood. His nephews are all under sixteen so that’s not a great idea either. 

The nobles murmur in confusion and a little fear until Ryan sends them all out of the room. Keri and I move to the right of the door and out of the way but the others get caught in the crowd. 

The king and queens notice us for the first time when everyone is gone. Queen Charlotte looks from Keri to her daughter Jane in confusion. I walk closer and realize that Keri looks almost exactly like the crown princess. 

“Who are you?” Queen Izabelle asks. 

“We are uh, from a far land called Ontario.” I say quickly. 

One of the princesses nudges the girl beside her who happens to look a little like me. The girl nods in excitement and turns to the king. 

“Father they’re the people from Jocelyn’s stories.” She says. 

This dream keeps getting stranger. I guess if we write about them why can’t they write about us. 

At that moment the others come back in and we quickly explain everything. 

“Tessa, can you and your cousins take care of our guests and we can learn more from them after tonight,” says Ryan. 

Alex and Philip look confused but Audrey seems to be getting it. Keri is mostly amazed. 

“Does this mean Biatre could be real too?” She whispers. 

“Maybe, it’s all real!” 

That evening just before the sun starts going down we meet everyone at the training field. A few minutes after we arrive about thirty cat-men stalk onto the field. 

A square is cleared and everyone forms around it. We were invited to come with but not before putting on armour. The armour here is different though, it’s not heavy and looks like normal clothes but is strong enough to stop a sword or arrow. It is also easy to disguise. 

Tessa, the kings daughter, also gave me a sword although I hope I won’t need it. The sword is hidden in the folds of my dress and I appear unarmed. Audrey and Keri were also given weapons but the boys are the only ones who seem excited about it. When we first got them I could see them studying every detail so they could replicate it when we go home. 

A clash of swords brings me back to the present and I see that the duel has started. The king and the Cat strike each other’s blades three times and then launch into the battle. Their blades fly too fast for me to tell who is winning. The Cat backs up and then feints leaving his chest unprotected. Ryan slashes at him but he bends over almost ninety degrees backwards. Ryan’s sword hits nothing but air and the Cat cuts his arm while he is recovering. A tiny thread of blood appears on his arm but he doesn’t seem to notice it. 

Ryan retreats a little ways, eyeing the Cat, then darts towards him and slices his leg. The Cat howls in pain and anger and attacks again. The clanging of steel fills the air as they fight. Ryan seems to be winning and the Cat is in retreat. 

Out of the corner of my eye I see something moving into the square. Before anyone has time to register what it is, it stabs Ryan. Everything is suddenly in an uproar. The cat-men are cheering over their victory and and the Felecian’s are in shock. 

Queen Skye pulls out her sword and charges at the Cat king yelling in anger and grief. Hidden swords appear from everywhere and within a minute a battle is raging. 

Keri is standing back to back with Audrey barely holding their ground but still holding it. Philip who is a lot shorter than the cat-men uses his height to his advantage and slices at legs. Alex seems to be fighting a captain and winning. And I’m standing here in confusion.

But I don’t have long before I’m caught up as well. Someone pulls on my hair dragging me backwards and I hear the hiss of a cat. I yank out my sword and swing it blindly in a circle hoping to hit something. My hair is released and I sigh in relief but in the next instant I’m fighting again. 

My fear threatens to paralyze me so I try to pretend it’s a game. The worst game I’ve ever played where losing means dying but at least now I can move. 

Around me both sides are falling but in the centre of it all I see the dying or dead king.  I fight my way towards him hoping he is still alive. 

I fall on my knees and place my hand above his mouth. He is breathing. The fighting is still going on around me but here I feel more comfortable. He’s laying on his back but his wound goes just above his heart and starts at his back. He’s not dead but he will be if he bleeds for much longer. I manage to roll him over after a bit but don’t have any better idea of what to do now. 

I hear a swish above me and then a clash almost on top of my head. I look up and see Tessa holding a sword and blocking the sword of a cat. A boy joins her and soon they are employed in keeping me and the king safe. 

I turn back to the king, still unsure. I grab his over shirt and cut it up to form a bandage. Before I got any farther I feel someone on their knees beside me. 

“Here. I’ll hold him. You wrap.” Says Alex. 

I sigh in relief at having at least a little help and we make quick work of bandaging him. We lay him back down and Alex stands up ready to join the fight again but it’s mostly stopped. 

A few Felecian’s are on the ground but most of the injured and dead are cat-men. A woman rushes towards us and stoops to the king. She mumbles a quick thank you before directing some soldiers to carry him to the castle. 

Everyone starts leaving to tend to their injured. Tessa looks back at me. 

“I guess we’ll have to talk some other time,” she says “Thank you for helping my father.”

“You’re welcome, thanks for protecting me.” I respond. 

Her and the boy nod and leave with the others. I look around and see Keri and Philip kneeling by a tree. Alex and I walk over to them and see Audrey sitting at the base of it. 

A dagger is sticking out of her abdomen but it doesn’t look the pain has reached her, she’s still in shock. 

“We’ve got to get her home.” I say. 

“Don’t worry,” she says “this is great writing experience!” 

Of course she would say that. 

We all help to support her and bring her back to the two trees where I came in. I turn around, give Keri one last hug and say goodbye to the boys before walking through. 

My alarm starts ringing and I turn it off as quickly as possible. After the grogginess leaves I remember last night and throw Audrey’s blankets off to check on her. She’s fine.

Of course, it was a dream. 

Audrey opens her eyes “I had the craziest dream.” She mumbles. 

“Me too,” 

She tells me and I realize that we had the same dream. That’s strange. 

I should text Keri about it. Even if it was a dream it will make a good story. 

I open my phone and see the three dots that means she is already messaging. 

“I had a really strange dream,” I type quickly. 

“That’s what I was going to say,” she types back. 

“I’m starting to think it wasn’t a dream after all.”