Perhaps, she could forget her dreams of taking her kingdom back–of completing the Arrozan objective of conquering the world. Perhaps she didn’t have to crush the world to make a mark on it. Perhaps she just needed to make a mark on another person.

But, as she drifted into deeper sleep, she remembered that crushing the world was more than a selfish goal. She thought of her beheaded family, of all the people in the world wallowing in squalor, going hungry, and recognized that she had the power to change all of that. Right now, she no longer had the powers of an Arrozan, she didn’t even have the height of one, but she knew she had the sheer determination to change the world. 

She wouldn’t crush the world, she would reshape it, so that it not only bent to her will, but was fairer to all the peoples who inhabited it. 

Taylor realized she had sunk into a deep sleep, and began manipulating the Dream Plains the way she planned to manipulate the world she lived in. At first, her surroundings were black, then, she imagined herself leaving her corporeal body and drifting into the body of the creature sleeping next to her. 

She dropped into a strange place. A place of fire and brimstone that smelled like sulfur. Her surroundings bloomed to life around her, and a volcano belched smoke in the distance when she landed on scorched, dead earth. 

She searched her surroundings for the Blackened Lady. She saw nothing, but heard the sounds of heavy weeping in the distance. She pursued the sound, her feet scuffing across the barren earth until she spotted a woman clutching the body of a man in the distance. 

Taylor approached cautiously. She knew that the Dream Plains could be dangerous, if the person knew how to use them. 

The girl clutching the body didn’t see her as she approached. Her face was buried in the man’s chest. When Taylor was a yard away, the crying abruptly ceased. The girl rose her head, her eyes zeroing in on Taylor. 

Taylor stood her ground. She kept marched closer, despite the fact that the girl bared her sharp fangs. 

In the dream plains, Taylor could see the girl’s true appearance. Her skin was paler than snow, her eyes blacker than night, with no discernible sclera nor pupil. The girl appeared to be completely feral as she put aside the body of the man, and growled, baring her sharpened teeth again. 

Taylor paused, holding up her hands. “Naomi? Is that your name?”

The woman’s nails, long and sharp, glinted under the sun. Her facial expression momentarily changed from one of anger to confusion, but then anger returned. 

“I don’t want to fight you, but I will if you so desire it.” Taylor said. “That corpse there… it used to be your husband, no? You climbed inside his body, and you wear it as a shield now.” 

Naomi roared like a lion at Taylor’s words. Taylor’s face remained calm and placid. She crossed her arms, waiting for the creature before her to calm down. Naomi walked on all-fours, approaching Taylor like a lion stalking its prey. 

Taylor crouched a little, pointing her palms downwards. “I know. He was the love of your life, wasn’t he? You would have laid down your life for him. But your uncontrollable spirit took over your body. I can related, the Arrozan spirit is quite strong, and it took control of me early on. The thing is, is that I have integrated it inside of me, so that I can control it to do what I want to do. But this wild and frenzied spirit can’t be completely tamed. I have the innate desire to conquer this world, to make it run the way it should be run. I think you can help me. You were a banshee, correct?”

The monster before her stopped for a moment. At the mention of banshees, her expression once again changed–this time to one of thoughtfulness. After a pause, the banshee began moving again. 

Taylor was ready to defend herself, but continued talking nonetheless. “You were married off to a human prince all those years ago, weren’t you? You hated him at first, but grew to love him. You valued him and your children above all other things–you were never permitted to have dreams of your own, were you? With me, you could have all the dreams you want. You can have any man you want, you can rule this world and free all its people from drudgery.”

The monster was close enough to pounce, and it did so. It pinned Taylor to the ground, digging its teeth into her arm. Taylor scowled. 

Disgust! 

Disgust!

Disgust!

Black fire roared to life in her hand and she threw a punch at the banshee’s head. The banshee hissed in pain, patting the black fire on her head until it went out. Taylor took the opportunity to climb to her feet, and continued to hold the feeling of disgust in her heart. 

She launched fireball after fireball at the banshee, who was incredibly fast on all-fours. But Taylor’s mind began to wander. It wandered to Tock, and she thought of how he had been there with her in the dream plains… had wanted to help her, and the feelings escaped her.

The black fire in her hands evaporated. Taylor squeaked in dismay. 

The banshee shrieked and took this opportunity to strike Taylor repeatedly, dragging her sharp nails across Taylor’s arms and legs. Taylor howled in pain, and the feeling returned to her when she thought of how she had become a prisoner in her own body. When she remembered her brother being beheaded before her eyes. When she thought of how Eory had stolen everything from her.