" - right. Uh. There's - probably money in Draconis's dream, or mine, but we'd have to backtrack a lot - "

"There actually isn't money in the tower, we don't use it internally. There's probably stuff we could sell."

Fazil looks appraisingly at their clothes, which mostly look atrocious and smell of smoke.

"Maybe we can go to the Dome and explain how we know him and they might pass the message along?"

"Might as well try."

The area around the Dome is expensive-looking, full of state museums and upscale restaurants and city offices. They get some glares. They reach the Dome.

"We have an urgent message for the Prince Telcar," Fazil says, bowing. "We are his companions from the adventures he goes on secretly."

      The guard laughs. "The Prince Telcar."

"Is he not here?"

     "The Pharaoh, like his brother before him, took the name of Khemet. I'd ask where you've been but the answer is obvious."

"- Abadar," says Fazil. "May his reign be long and prosperous. I didn't know. That makes this message more urgent. It concerns his safety."

     "I'll get my boss," says the guard after a second.

"Well."

     "- do you think it's the part where this means his family died or the part where he's pharaoh that's the core of the nightmare?" asks Madhi.

"I don't know," Fazil says. "Doesn't matter, probably. At least he's not in danger."

"Yeah. Could be worse. For us, if not for him. At least if they actually let us see him long enough to explain."

The guard comes back with his superior.

His superior is lighter than the other Osirians, nearer Aria's shade than anyone else's. He smiles at her. It is not a nice expression. 

"We're going to need the four of you to stay for questioning, to discuss this danger to the Pharaoh. Most of you, anyway. I expect that he'll have other uses for the girl."

- why is he here. He's not supposed to be here. What the fuck is he doing in Hagan's nightmare.

She - cannot actually get herself to say anything about this but the others might notice that she is really really really upset.

"- she's for the prince of Ferelden," says Mahdi.

Fazil elbows him. "She can see him? Then that's fine."

     "Sure, she can see him. Once she gets cleaned up. If that's all right with you."

She tries to say anything useful about the situation and can't. She needs to say 'that's the man who killed my husband'. Needs to communicate that he shouldn't be here. "I - "

     "Well, do you want to see him?"

"I - yes."

     He grabs her hand, harder than should be entirely possible, and tugs her off towards the palace.

She looks back at her friends and tries to - telepathically communicate with them, or something, she doesn't even know.

They're being walked away by the guards.

Something's not right, Fazil says with hand signals. Since when is the head of the guard Taldor?

        It's a dream.

- so -

     Not illegal to flee, but then she won't make to Hagan.

Last time we played along -

    Yes, I know.

They're ushered into a building.

They recognize this prison cell. They woke up in it a day ago.

Mahdi tries something and realizes he's not a wizard at all.

The guard pulls her into the palace and hands her off to a group of people who are at least more plausibly Osirian. "She's for the Pharaoh. Make sure she looks nice."

And he leaves.

She still can't make words.

"Calm emotions," a man says coolly in her direction.

She - doesn't feel scared anymore. She doesn't really feel anything.

There, see, that's better. Now, those clothes are covered in...blood? Why don't they get her a bath.

Yeah, that makes sense, sure.

The bath is the same one as last time. A whole crowd of people follow her in this time to stare, though. A woman not wearing much of anything starts to comb oils through her hair.

The spell wears off.

AAAAAAAAAAAAA FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK.

She tries to - it's a dream, it's a dream, it's a dream, nothing really bad ever happens in dreams - except that the rule doesn't hold because right now she can't wake up - they're not making any sign that they want to attack her but they could, and she's naked and alone and weaponless and - and they're supposed to be taking her to Hagan (aaaaa!!!!) but the guard captain was the wrong captain and what if they're taking her to someone else instead (AAAAAAAA!!!!!) - 

She sits still and trembles and doesn't try to stop the people doing things to her hair.

They finish up her hair and do her skin, and paint her face with sparkly things, and tell her that she looks very pretty, and should pick out a dress.

There's a lot of options she rejected last time for being too skimpy, and then there's her wedding dress, still soaked with blood. Dripping on the floor a bit.

She closes her eyes and grits her teeth and digs her nails into her palms and counts backwards from ten.

She picks her wedding dress. It's familiar.

They help her put it on. They tell her she looks very nice.