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Dream World Mirau by Josephina Mari
Day Three of NaNoWriMo

Karou laughed at me as I marveled at everything we passed by almost like a tourist in the middle of Paris. I halfway expected Karou to make some kind of remark to that effect, but thankfully he remained quiet for the most part of the walk. Once in awhile he would glance over his shoulder to make sure I was still following him. “This is Lady Angela’s house. Please be respectful.” Karou said as he motioned his hand towards a house that looked very similar to all the others. How could people tell their houses apart from the others without taking a peek inside to see if their belongings were there or not? I tried my best to remember my manners as Karou introduced me from the doorway of Angela’s house. “Good afternoon Lady Angela. It’s Karou and I have brought Mariam, the girl I found in the desert, as you requested. Her memory is still a bit fuzzy thought, probably from over exposure to the heat.” As Karou spoke I began to wonder what happened in the two days I was asleep, and also how many people Karou told about me. It felt like I was the only one left out of the loop for Karou’s master plan.

“Bring her in Karou.” I heard a surprisingly young sounding voice instructed Karou. He nodded once to the figure hidden by shadows, and then he held his hand out motioning for me to go inside. “Go ahead Mariam. I am not allowed to go with you, so while you are meeting with Angela I’ll go check on Claria and make sure she is alright. I’ll do my best to convince her to return home. This isn’t the first time she has run off and I’m sure it won’t be the last either.” Karou said before he transformed into the white rabbit I knew him better as. I watched Karou run along the path we took to come here, until he vanished into the distance. Once Karou was gone I remembered why he brought me here and that Angela was waiting for me patiently inside. I peeked my head inside Angela’s house and said “Excuse me...I’m Mariam and Karou said I should meet with you after I woke up. So here I am.” I said as I tried to find Angela in the dimly lit room. At first all that I could see were the outlines of furniture, but no Angela. She had to be in the room somewhere right? I mean I heard her voice, unless maybe Karou was playing a trick on me. If that was the case, it wasn’t very nice of him to do that to the “lost desert girl with amnesia” who he called a friend.

Suddenly out of the shadows a small slender girl with long black hair styled like a Japanese princess emerged. She wore a long sleeved dress under a leather breast plate that looked similar to the one Karou wore. If Angela had to wear armor, did that mean she was a fighter as well? Of course, she had to be a strong fighter to protect her people, after all that was the job of the leader wasn’t it? My speculations were put to an end as Angela spoke to me with a stern voice that seemed unfitting for someone like her. “Welcome human child, Karou has told me about you. He said that you lost your way and memories in the Carson Desert. It can be a very harsh and unforgiving place to those unprepared and unfamiliar with the area. It is very unfortunate what happened to you, but please rest assured that you are welcome to stay as long as you need in our village. We will do what we can to help you in any way that is possible.” Angela said which reminded me of what Karou said about him training me in combative arts. “If it’s possible could I stay with Claria and Karou until I get back on my feet? Maybe some of my memories will come back in the time I spend with them. I don’t feel safe staying by myself right now. Everything is so confusing...” I said honestly as I hoped for the best while deep in the back of my mind fear was beginning to nag at me again. What if Angela said that I couldn’t stay? What would I do then...I couldn’t go back to that forest with the giant wolves, and the desert outside of town didn’t sound very pleasant either.

“Fear not my child. Karou came to me two days ago and requested the very same thing you just did. I will tell you now what I told Karou then when he first told me what happened to you. If it is your wish, I will allow it. I will pray for your quick recovery Mariam.” Angela said much to my relief. I began to wonder why Karou and Angela were so willing to help me. What if the Kageru were right and that humans only brought about misfortune to the people of this world? I didn’t want to believe that. I wanted to believe in Karou’s dream, that somehow I could save this world. “Thank you Lady Angela. If there isn’t anything else you wanted to discuss with me, may I please be excused? I want to help Karou look for Claria. I think something I said might have upset her and I wanted to apologize.” I said lowering my gaze to the floor near my feet, feeling a small bit of shame wash over my face although I still didn’t understand why I felt that way or what I had done wrong in the first place. Whatever it was seemed very grim from the look on Claria’s face before she ran off. I quickly bowed to Angela dismissing myself before I turned to face the door and then as fast as my legs would take me I ran along the path Karou had taken earlier hoping to catch up to him somehow. Meanwhile Karou slowly stepped out of the shadows; once he was for sure Mariam was out of sight, and then he placed a hand over Angela’s shoulder and said “What do you think of her Lady Angela? I would say she’s either very brave or very foolish to run off on her own like that. She might get lost again...wouldn’t you agree?” Karou said sounding sarcastic and at the same time he also sounded a little worried. Angela laughed before she said “Maybe she is both Karou. I’m not worried about her though, because I know a certain someone will be there to help guide her in the right direction. Am I right Karou? Anyways you should get going before she finds Claria first. You wouldn’t be a very good brother if that happened now would you?” Angela said speaking in the same sarcastic tone Karou used earlier, but Angela added a devious smirk at the end of her sentence that reminded Karou who exactly he was dealing with. Angela was on a whole other level then him, and unfortunately for Karou that meant he wouldn’t win this battle of words against her.

“I’m going now Lady Angela. Please excuse me.” Karou said trying to bury the frustration of the loss into the back of his mind while he transformed into his rabbit state. Karou quickly began to run into the village, without looking back, towards where he could sense his sister’s presence just outside of town. That clearing was her favorite spot to go and clear her head, so Karou knew that was the first place he should look. Karou made sure to avoid taking the main roads to make sure Mariam wouldn’t see him along the way. “That’s just great Angela. It’s so like you to lay this guilt trip on me now on top of the lies I already feel bad about. I want to tell her the truth, but I don’t know if she will believe me. She probably would turn on us just like the Kageru did...” Karou thought to himself as he reached Claria’s favorite spot. Thankfully she had decided to come here, like Karou thought she would. Claria was in her human form now picking wild flowers while she hummed a song to herself.