Chapter Text
“Woooooo hoooooo!” Jed let out a joyful cheer as Gault swooped through the sky. The wind whipped through his hair and made his eyes sting, but her dragon hide was warm under his knees as he clung tightly to her neck. They had been patrolling, but all was quiet in the Dreaming tonight and he was going to take a break and visit with Rose and Ara for a bit. His stomach leaped as Gault plunged downward again before levelling out to come in for a soft landing near the apple tree in Fiddler’s Green.
“Jed! Gault!” Rose jumped up to hug them as Gault transformed, and Jed ran into her arms. He’d just seen her in the Waking, she’d tucked him into bed as usual, but he never got tired of her hugs. As Rose hugged Gault next, Jed walked over to Martin Tenbones, who was curled under the tree with Rose and Ara nestled against him.
“Hi Ara,” he nodded. “Hi Martin Tenbones.” He stroked the mammoth-sized dog behind his ears, just where he knew he liked it. “Inspire any stories lately?”
Martin chuckled. He was still so thrilled about being a Story-Inspiring Dream now. “Actually your friend Joe was troubled by old dreams about Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street. I talked to the nightmare, and we worked it out so that he will write a story starring yours truly, to finally face the fear of missing out that the dream signified for him.”
“Missing out?” Jed wondered. He had Sesame Street on YouTube and had been able to watch Snuffleupagus any time he liked, even though the characters besides Big Bird did seem to always miss him.
“Yes, well, friendships can be complicated, you know. But the story will help.”
“Cool!” Jed made a mental note to check on Joe. Everyone could use a friend, and now that he had a stable, happy home, he could actually be a friend to people. It was so fun!
“So, what have you been up to today, Jed?” Rose asked as she settled back in beside Ara.
“Oh, not much. It’s been quiet today.” Jed trailed off as Uncle Morpheus suddenly appeared beside them in a swirl of sand.
“Rose. Jed. Gault. Ara. Martin Tenbones.” He nodded at each of them in the circle. “I’m afraid I’ve come to take some of you away. Lucienne has requested a Dreaming family meeting, and I’m here to collect you, Rose, Jed and Gault.”
“Gault?” Jed wondered. “Why Gault and not Ara?”
“It is true that Ara is family, but she is not involved in this issue in the way that Gault is. Ara, you may come as well if you and Rose wish it.” Rose and Ara exchanged one of those telepathic glances Jed could never figure out, and Rose nodded.
“Yes, I think it will be better if she comes.”
“Excellent. Then I hope you will excuse us, Martin Tenbones and Fiddler’s Green?”
“Of course, my Lord,” Martin answered as a gentle breeze swirled around them. Morpheus waited for them to stand, then let his sand swirl around the group of them.
When they arrived at Unity’s cottage, Aunty Lucienne, Nana Unity and Gran Desire were waiting for them. Jed noticed how Gran Desire and Uncle Morpheus seemed a little stiffer than usual around each other, but they seemed kind of okay with it even though he’d never seen them together before. Maybe they were learning to be friends as well as siblings. It would be good for them to have a friend, he thought. Family should be your safe place.
“Nana! Gran!” he shouted, running to hug them both. Even Rose’s hugs weren’t as good as being squished between Nana and Gran.
“Come in, come in, everyone,” Nana Unity invited.
As they all settled around the unexpectedly larger than usual table in her kitchen, Jed dove straight into the little sandwiches Nana had served. She was the best cook. Besides, he was pretty sure the grown-up talk wouldn’t have anything to do with him.
“Thank you all for coming,” Uncle Morpheus said, looking around the table. “We are gathered here today because of a situation Lucienne and Gault have brought to my attention. It concerns Jed, and presumably Rose as well.” Jed’s head snapped up, his half-finished sandwich forgotten in his hand. What was this? He looked worriedly over at Gault, but she just gave him a reassuring smile. That wasn’t going to work!
“Yes,” Gault began at Uncle Morpheus’ nod. “The other day when we were adventuring, I noticed Jed’s eyes glint gold like my Lord-Lady Desire’s, and then the person he was talking to was influenced to behave according to his desires.”
“Presumably this would apply to Rose as well,” Lucienne added.
“Yes,” Morpheus confirmed. “I have seen Rose do this as well. In her case, I am not concerned since she is a mature adult who has been the Dream Vortex. She understands and is responsible for the consequences of her actions. In Jed’s case, however…”
Desire stirred in their chair. “Of course my grandchildren can influence desire,” they said, looking dotingly on Rose and Jed. “Look at how they want. They are all mine.”
“Of course I am, Gran, your blood runs in my veins.” Rose smiled deeply at them, though Jed thought Uncle Morpheus might look a little worried about how close they were.
“What about me?” he asked.
Desire stroked his cheek. “You, Jed, want love and attention, as all children do. Gault is good for you.”
“Thank you, Lord-Lady,” Gault said with a serious nod. “However, this doesn’t solve the problem of Jed influencing people as he goes about his life.”
“Hmmm,” Unity said. “It’s true that children should not be able to get everything they want. In the Waking, I’m sure Rose can withstand him but what about their housemates? His teachers? And what about Gault and those they encounter in the Dreaming?”
“I won’t have this taken away from him,” Desire stated firmly. Jed was pretty sure he saw Uncle Morpheus roll his eyes at that, though he certainly didn’t want it taken away either.
“Some control then, at least, for a time?” Uncle Morpheus suggested.
“Perhaps, and this is only a suggestion,” Lucienne began, “it could be limited in the Waking, and in the Dreaming the group of us could be protected. That way he can practice here under Gault’s supervision, while not being able to harm bystanders in the Waking.”
“Good, but it’s not quite there yet,” Rose declared. “What if something happens? He needs to be able to protect himself in the Waking even if none of us are around.”
Jed didn’t much like being talked about as if he wasn’t there, but on the other hand they weren’t saying anything too bad yet. He liked the idea of being able to practice in the Dreaming. He didn’t mind his family being exceptions to his mind-control superpower. (That’s what it was, wasn’t it? He was going with that! So cool!)
“Maybe only in really bad situations, like if someone is bullying me?” he suggested. “Or, maybe I can just want one of you to come really bad and you will, so you can rescue me?” Nana Unity started nodding, and then the rest of them joined in. It was looking good! “And then when I’m grown up, like 14 or something, I can have the full power back?” Oh no, they were looking at him like he was cute. Ara almost laughed, even.
“How about at 17 you can influence those your age or younger, at 19 anyone who is not in authority, and at 25 anyone at all?” Rose said.
“No! No! That’s forever away!” Jed protested. Rose wasn’t even 25 yet!
“He has a point,” Lucienne said. “Perhaps we should watch how his responsibility level grows? If Gault monitors here and Rose at home, we should be able to get an accurate idea of how he should progress? Maybe we can discuss it again in a year, and so on going forward?”
“Yes,” Desire said, suddenly joining the conversation again. “I can support that plan. Come, Jed, lovey.” They put their warm hands on his cheeks and stared into his eyes for a moment. Nothing felt any different. Well, he could always give it a try.
“I’d really like some cake, Nana Unity,” he said, wanting it as hard as possible. Everyone laughed. (He wasn’t trying to be funny! Why were they laughing?)
“Actually I have biscuits for pudding, not cake, today, but thank you for the demonstration.” She smiled fondly at him as he translated her proper British English into regular American – cookies for dessert, okay, that was good.
“Oh, that sounds good too! And thank you for helping me, Gran. I didn’t really want to be in control of everyone and not just my own destiny. That sounds like a lot of pressure for a fun guy like me!” Gran Desire ruffled his hair, and now he saw that everyone was looking kind of proud of him. Even Uncle Morpheus. Gault even maybe had tears in her eyes. Cool. Jed felt kind of like a hero, but he was okay with having less power and less responsibility, at least until he was done with middle school.