#yandere!morpheus

It wasn’t too hard to find the entrance to the basement, not when someone had graffitied two of the most famous book quotes of all time right across the door and walls in big black letters.

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here & As above, so below

Whoever did it had probably thought that they were being very clever, but in actuality, they really just came off as being very pretentious and lame. If this were a horror movie, it would be beyond the realm of B-rated cheesiness.

You opened it without much hesitation or fanfare and the door swung inward on rusted and squeaking hinges. Shining your flashlight in, you could see that it wasn’t anything special, just a rickety old staircase that led down into what you naturally assumed was just an ordinary and equally as old basement.

You debated turning around and leaving since you would still have to make the trek back up the incredibly long driveway to make it back to the main road and blessed cell service, but you’d already come this far, you silently told yourself, it’s not like a few more minutes of exploring is gonna do you any harm. After all, if Kalvin had been telling the truth during the drive over, then there wasn’t going to be much to see down there anyway. You’d likely be in and out in less time than it was taking you to actually debate this inconsequential task.

With your mind made up, you slowly began making your way down the stairs, being extra careful to watch your step on the way down so as not to fall and hurt yourself. However, when you finally reached the bottom, you were surprised to see that the opening to the space was blocked off by yet another barrier, this one a barred metal gate that reminded you of an old prison cell door. Luckily for you and your now thoroughly peaked curiosity, it wasn’t actually barring the way anymore since it appeared someone had long since taken it right off its hinges and just left it lying on the floor where it fell.

Carefully making your way around the darn thing so you wouldn’t trip over it and possibly twist your ankle, you finally got a look inside the place, and needless to say, it was pretty damn impressive.

“Holy shit…” You exclaimed.

This sure as hell wasn’t what you had been expecting. You had obviously never seen the basement of a mansion before, but you had imagined that it wouldn’t be that much different from any other basement. However, the dinghy space you had been anticipating entering wasn’t at all what you currently found yourself standing inside of.

Instead of a low ceiling full of cobwebs and support beams and a compact dirt or concrete floor, in its place you found a space the size of a small parking lot, complete with a high ceiling to add more openness to the underground space and solid stone flooring that left echoes in the wake of your footsteps. But it was what you saw in the center of the room that made you truly take notice.

There was a section of the floor in the shape of a large square, smack dab in the middle of the room, that appeared to be separated from the rest of it by means of what you could only interpret as a mini trench of some kind surrounding it in an equally shaped outer square. After moving closer to shine your flashlight down into it, you could just barely make out the telltale signs of dried up sludge coating the bottom, indicating that it must have been filled with water at some point.

“So it was a miniature moat or something?” You questioned the empty room as you continued to look around. If you had to hazard a guess, this probably had less to do with interesting architecture and more to do with the cult that had once called this place home back in the day. There was a small pathway that cut through the mini-moat and gave access to the strange spot, and since you were still curious to get a closer look at it you moved towards it.

*scrap scrap*

The faint sound came from behind you and in a whorl of spiked panic, you spun around, and aimed the flashlight in the direction of the scratching noise and prayed to God that it wasn’t the aforementioned axe murderer you had briefly imagined earlier.

At first, you didn’t see anything at all, but upon closer inspection, you noticed the faint outline of a large rodent near one of the alcoves in the wall and relaxed ever so slightly, but as soon as the light touched it, it shrunk back and suddenly skittered down into the ground through an opening of some kind.

You might have been content to simply forget about that and continue on with your snooping now that you knew there was no danger, except for the fact that you remembered that this whole floor was seemingly made out of stone; and there should have been nowhere for that rat to go underneath it all. You weren’t entirely too sure, but you didn’t think that common household rats were known for burrowing in the ground, much less burrowing through solid stone.

Now thoroughly intrigued, you made your way over to inspect the area and realized that this one random section of the floor was made of wooden planks that extended out from the wall by 4ft or so, in fact, this odd wood trimming seemed to run around the entire length of the room. It was like the people who originally lived here were trying to cover the stone with the wood flooring, but stopped midway through the project for some reason.

Angling your light over the spot the rat had disappeared into, you saw that there was a hole in the wood about the size of a baseball and without much more thought, proceeded to get down on your hands and knees to shine the flashlight inside.

You knew this was an incredibly strange and silly thing to be doing, you weren’t going to find anything of real substance or value in a rat nest, but some unseen force (probably the tequila and your damned curiosity) was pushing you to follow through and at least check it out, if only for the sheer madness of it.

But it wasn’t a rat in a small hole that you saw…

Not even close… It was the broken top step of an old wooden ladder.

“The fuck?” You took a second look to see if it was some kind of trick of the light or even just the broken off piece of wood that would have originally filled in the hole, but sure enough, it was a fucking ladder of all things.

Using the sleeve of your jacket to brush away the thick layers of previously undisturbed dust and dirt coating the wood, you soon found what you were looking for in the form of a rectangular seam that didn’t match up with the rest of the wooden floor boards lining. A quick knock on the top even confirmed your suspicions when the sound rang back hollowly.

This was definitely a hatch door, but it had no handles to lift it with or even hinges at the back to help it angle it upward. If you wanted to get it open, you were going to have to take the whole thing off. But that begged the question of whether or not you even wanted to bother with it. It was probably nothing more than a dank and dirty old root-cellar, but still, you couldn’t help but wonder about it, and you knew that you’d keep thinking about it over and over again if you left without even trying.

Mind made up, you set down the flashlight and positioned it to shine where you needed it before pulling out a sturdy switchblade from your pocket that you had been carrying around for years in case of an emergency or accident. This wasn’t the kind of situation you ever thought you’d find yourself to be using it in, but better this than a potential kidnapping.

Over the course of the next half hour, you worked to use the knife as a makeshift crowbar and pry up the hatch. It wasn’t easy since the damn thing was nailed down in a few spots, but with a little bit of time and elbow grease, it eventually became loose enough to lift and toss aside. The smell of stale air wafted up from the opening and you coughed as the scent settled into your lungs, but it didn’t smell like something rotten or anything horrible, so at the very least, if there were any dead bodies down there, they likely weren’t fresh. As you peered down into the hole, you could see that the drop was about 6ft to 7ft down and the floor was concrete, you just hoped the old ladder was strong enough to handle you going down and back up it at least once. The last thing you wanted was to get stuck down there and end up starving to death, because you highly doubted that Gabby and the others were going to come back looking for you.

So, keeping the knife in your hand, just in case, and the flashlight in the other, you slowly and carefully began making your way down.

The wood groaned and creaked under your weight, but not enough to make you believe it was going to give out or break. You still felt incredibly relieved when your feet finally touched the ground though and you turned around to get your first look at the secret space.

However…

…

…

…

That relief was incredibly short lived upon discovering what exactly it was that this odd chamber had truly been hiding.

—————

Morpheus froze in stunned awe as he watched the young woman deceased down the ladder and into the dank darkness of his prison chamber, the flashlight she carried in her hand shining like a beacon from the Silver City itself as it cast eerie shadows all around the space.

If he were mortal and not the true universal embodiment of dreams and the unconscious mind, he might have pinched himself to see if he was dreaming this all up, but such a thing couldn’t be possible, the entrapment circle crafted around his cage had prevented him from dreaming since the moment of his capture.

Which could really only mean one thing…

That this was real.

It was difficult to make out her features from the dim light cast by her flashlight, but right now, he couldn’t care less what she looked like, not when she held the power to help free him just by simply being here. She was the first true living thing he had laid eyes on in… well… he didn’t accurately know how long, but it was long enough that the mere sight of her was enough to make him want to weep.

But as she raised the light to look around, her reaction to seeing him made it clear that he was not at all what she had been expecting to find down here. 

She screamed in surprise and stumbled back onto her rear, gaping at him in shock and disbelief. She stayed still like that for so long that, were it not for the erratic rise and fall of her chest to indicate otherwise, Dream feared she may have passed out or even died of fright right there on the spot.

She eventually seemed to get her bearings about her and he heard her mumbling some rather choice words before coming to a decision and he watched with bated breath as she closed up the knife he just now noticed she carried in her other hand and put it away in her pocket. She began scrambling around the chamber, looking for something, though he knew not what for.

That question was soon answered however when he saw her bend down to pick up a large rock with a jagged end, to which she must have deemed acceptable, because she was suddenly making her way over to him. He nearly smiled in gleeful triumph when he saw her shoes scuff a line through the entrapment circle, weakening its enchantment on the glass and his power.

She set the flashlight down on the ground before turning to face him through the glass, a determined look set upon her rather beautiful face, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he heard another's voice ringing in his ears. He didn’t know if she truly had the voice of an angel, for that’s exactly what it sounded like, or if he was just that desperate for the sound, but he didn’t care. He wanted to beg her to keep talking, to fill his ears with the sweet melody and never stop, but he found his own voice was caught in his throat as the shock that he was finally free settled over him. The long awaited relief washed over him in delightful waves and he slumped against the glass, unable and unwilling to take his eyes off of the beguiling creature standing on the other side of his cage, the rock in her hand raised high and poised to strike.

“Just hang on, I’m going to try and get you out!”

And then she moved.

—————

Finding a naked young man trapped in some kind of creepy glass cage down here was so far down the list of things you hadn’t expected to come across, that it wasn’t ever even an option. But that’s exactly what it was, and you just figured that you could worry about the ‘how’s’ and ‘why’s’ of this incredibly odd turn of events after you had gotten him out of this thing.

For a brief moment, you had thought that the best thing you could do would be to leave and get far enough away to call the police and let them handle this. But you knew they’d likely just think this whole thing was a prank call by some bored teenagers and ignore you, or they’d show up and you’d get arrested for trespassing before losing your scholarship and getting deported. There was also this man’s safety to consider, you admitted to yourself as you thought of what could go wrong if you left him here for even a few hours. You doubted he was down here by choice; what if whoever put him there came back to kill him, or what if he ran out of air or something while you were gone?

He didn’t look hurt or anything as far as you could tell, so he couldn’t have been trapped for very long, you thought, even as your subconscious mind took notice of how there were no human footprints of any kind trailing through the dirt and dust that blanketed the floor, or how there seemed to be no other entrances/exits besides the one you just came through, and that one clearly hadn’t been used in decades.

All of these thoughts piled up in your head faster than you could comprehend or keep track of them, but in the end, it was none of them that made you decide to help him. It was the look on his face, the look that told you something fundamental would shatter inside of him if you turned your back and left him here alone, even if it was only for a short amount of time.

Now here you were, banging on the seemingly indestructible glass with a rock to try and break through, and in your panic, it never even occurred to you to try and see if the damn thing had a door with an outside lock to try and open for him or something.

At first, all it did was scratch the surface and you fears you may actually have to go back up in search of a better tool, like a hammer or something, but after a few more hard strikes in the same spot, spiderwebs and hairline fractures began to splinter outward from the area and you could see that a small hole had been formed. Once the structure was weakened enough, breaking through the rest of it was comparably easy to chip away at, and soon, you had made a hole big enough that he could squeeze through. There were metal pieces wound through the glass and you dragged the rock against both, trying to get rid of as many jagged chunks as you so he wouldn’t seriously hurt himself when climbing out.

“Just… umm, let me brush away some of these shards and pieces before you get out.” You said awkwardly, not entirely too sure how to speak or what to say in a situation like this as you took off your coat and used it to clear away the glass that had fallen inside the cage and then did the same to the floor so he, hopefully, wouldn’t end up slicing the bottoms of his feet to ribbons.

“Give me your hand and I’ll help you out.” You said, trying to remain as calm as you could. He hadn’t said a single word yet as he just kept staring at you with wide eyes and a gobsmacked expression.

You hadn’t bothered to get a really good look at him, not just because of how strange and disturbing this situation was, but also because the man was butt-ass-naked. But now that you were so near to him, you couldn’t not take notice of him and his rather… appealing physique.

Pale skin so white it almost seemed to glow in the dim illumination cast by your flashlight and a messy shock of pitch black hair set over an angular face that you could only describe as being utterly beautiful. With high cheekbones and full pursed lips that were making you think of very sinful and inappropriate things, it really was a miracle you weren’t drooling right now, and that was just what he looked like above the neck.

He didn’t take your outstretched hand though, and instead grabbed the metal portion of the structure and swung himself out with all the ease and grace of a practiced gymnast. His feet touched the ground without a sound and he didn’t even seem bothered by the potential injuries and infection he could sustain from the broken glass and filth ridden floor. He just stood there, stark naked and silently watching you.

As he stood to his full height, you could now see that he was quite a bit taller than you, by at least a couple of inches, if not a whole foot, and you couldn’t help but wonder if you had hit the nail on the head when you thought his movements were as fluid as a gymnast’s, because he certainly had the body of one. He was lean, but even in the crappy light cast by the flashlight, you see that he was sculpted with ropes of solid muscle. He reminded you of those famous statues from Greece, the ones carved from marble to look like the ancient heroes from the epics, like Hercules and Achilles.

But as you looked up to make eye contact with him, you found yourself completely hypnotized by what you found there.

His eyes were the color of raw silver, like dancing silver flames, or the glinting of two bright stars in the deepest and darkest night sky. They were captivating and you found that you were so enraptured with them that you didn’t even realize you had taken a step forward until you heard glass crunching underneath your booted foot and you snapped out of it, jerking back with frightened shock over the momentary loss of your inhibitions.

You really were trying your best not to ogle him, but that was rather hard to accomplish when he was making no move at all to cover himself and you refused to turn your back on him. You might have helped him out of a really bazaar situation, but that didn’t mean you trusted him enough to let your guard down completely with him, he was still a perfect stranger after all.

“Listen,” You started off, trying to find something to say that would help to ease the tension of this incredibly awkward silence. “Now that we got you out of whatever that thing is,” You made a hand motion towards the now destroyed cage. “We should really look at getting out of here before whoever it was that put you in there decides to come back.” You took a step back, opting to put some distance between you and the stranger, but for the first time since you laid eyes on one another, he spoke, and you weren’t entirely certain if it was his words or the haunting raspy sound of his voice that made you freeze, but you did and it cost you.

“They won’t be returning.”

You opened your mouth to ask what the fuck he meant by that, but faster then you could process what was happening, the man’s hand shot out and snagged your wrist. He gave a gentle tug and you went falling into his arms, but before you could even begin to struggle or open your mouth to scream, he opened his other hand and blew something into your face and everything suddenly went dark.

—————

Morpheus caught you in his arms as you went limp against him, the last thing he wanted was to see you get needlessly hurt, especially since he now owed you quite the generous life debt for unknowingly freeing him from what he was beginning to think would be an eternity of confinement.

Looking down at your peaceful expression, he used some of what reminded of his limited power to look into your dreams, trying to find out any information he could in regards to you and the state of the world he was about to re-enter.

Quite often, he was able to glean a lot about a person’s waking life, not just from their dreams, but from the multitude of thoughts that tended to run rampant through their mind in those hazy moments right before sleep truly claimed them. Those moments were often similar to that of waking dreams and he used to use them rather frequently to gather information when it was necessary.

And you were no exception to this trait.

In a matter of moments he knew quite a lot more than he did a few hours ago.

For example, he now knew that he had been imprisoned for well over a century, 106 years to be exact. He also now knew that your name was (Y/N) (L/N), you were 21 years old and attending university here in England despite not being British, he had even learned that you had been fortunate enough to get a single dorm room on campus and that you had been abandoned here after a rather interesting altercation between you and some of your fellow classmates.

With this knowledge in hand, he scooped you up into his arms as gently as he could and found himself marveling at just how soft you felt in his arms. You fidgeted a bit in response to the movement and grumbled something unintelligible before going quiet again, which showed just how weak he truly was, if he was at full power and in possession of his tools, you would have entered into a sleep so deep that only a select few things would have been enough to wake you. That thought was enough to spur him into action once again, and using the knowledge he’d gained from you, he called upon another morsel of his nearly depleted power and brought the both of you to an entirely new location.

Your dorm room was about what anyone could expect of such accommodations and Morpheus was quick to pull back the soft blankets and lay you down on the mediocre bed. 

However, despite knowing he should be leaving right this moment to return to The Dreaming and begin the hunt for his tools of power, he found himself increasingly reluctant to fully release his hold on you. He hadn’t felt skin to skin contact in so long, even before his imprisonment it had been quite a while; but it was one thing to shun such a thing by choice, it was another thing entirely to have the option of it totally stripped away from you by force. Now he was feeling it again with you, and to his touch starved skin, it felt like the most exquisite thing in the world, both waking and dreaming.

Without realizing it, he found himself sitting beside you on the bed and stroking the tips of his fingers down your cheek, you sighed in your sleep and leaned into his touch, as if soothed by it. The simple and unconscious reaction left him with goosebumps prickling his skin and his heart stuttering in his chest as he continued to watch you sleep. He thought about entering your dreams and seeing what such a brave little mortal would conjure up in his realm, but for some inexplicable reason, he found himself unwilling to look away from the peacefulness of your sleeping face here in the waking world.

Eventually though, he knew he had to depart. It was time for him to finally return home, to go back to The Dreaming and assess the damage wrought by his absence over the last century, as well as to begin the search for his tools.

Cupping your face in his hands, he leaned over your sleeping form and pressed his forehead against your own and whispered your name softly to the otherwise silent room.

“You are my savior, my light in the darkness. I don’t believe there is anything I can do that will ever truly be enough to repay you for what you have done for me tonight.” Being this close to you, he couldn’t help but notice your enticing scent and how it made his mouth water, not with the typical hunger one would expect after so long in confinement, but with something that left his cock twitching against his bare leg. However, he ignored that feeling as best he could and continued on. “But this I promise you, my little savior, once I have my tools in my possession again, I will see to it that you spend the rest of your life with nothing but the sweetest and happiest of dreams whenever you enter my realm, even if I have to enter your dreams every evening and craft them by hand myself. I vow that no nightmare will ever intrude and interrupt your sleep ever again.”

There was so much more he wanted to say to you, so much more he wanted to do, but time was of the essence and he needed to leave, before he did something very foolish, something that would surely bring the wrath of the universe down upon his immortal head.

And so, with nothing more than a quick kiss to your brow and another heartfelt exclamation of gratitude, he was gone in a whisp of shadows, as if he had never been there to begin with.

Please enjoy and let me know what you think of this second chapter! I’m dying to know what you all think is going to go down.

Please forgive any minor potholes or inconsistencies, I tried my best to make the detail changes make sense for the story I wanted to tell while still keeping in line with the original source material. This is mostly based off of the Netflix series, but there are some details about the comics and audio books thrown in for flavor.

Destiny’s gallery was just the same as it had always been for the last 300 years and Dream was grateful to see his elder brother standing there already waiting for him, at least he wouldn’t have to go trying to navigate his way through the maze-like labyrinth to find him.

It wasn’t unusual for any of the Endless to feel uncomfortable when visiting each other’s realm’s, but Destiny’s was always the one that got to him the most. Perhaps because they were so antithetical to one another, with Destiny dealing in the realm of facts and absolutes, and he himself in the realm of hopes and fantasies. These differences often made them butt heads during the few and far between family meetings that were held around the seven sided table. They weren’t close, not in the same way that he and Death were, in fact, Dream would probably go so far as to say that they were practically strangers. They were brothers, but in blood and name only, beyond that, they had no real connection.

In all honesty, he was probably closer to Desire than he was Destiny, and that truly was a sad thing to say.

“Greetings brother.” Destiny’s voice was a deep baritone that reverberated off the walls of his gallery like an echo in a cavern, as if there were many voices speaking all at once from deep within him. “I trust you are well, now that your tools and power have been returned to you, and that your rebuilding of the Dreaming is on track?” He inquired politely.

His gray robes were of the same fashion that he had been wearing for as long as Morpheus could remember, and though he was was blind, even without the monk-like hood covering his sightless eyes, he knew his brother could see more of him than what he was comfortable with, so he didn’t even bother trying to shield himself.

“You know perfectly well how things have gone, my brother.” Dream said, crossing his arms over his lean and muscular chest. He was still feeling rather annoyed and bitter that he had been forced to leave your side. “As I have been free for nearly two months now, if you had wished to inquire about my well-being, we both know you would have done so much sooner. Now, what is this about?”

Destiny was silent for a moment before letting loose a sigh that almost made Dream think that his brother was regretful of that.

“You are right, and I find I must apologize for that.” Destiny said quietly, almost sounding regretful. “I have been remiss in my duties lately as the eldest of our family and I should have checked in on you sooner, but you are very much correct, this matter I wish to discuss with you is about something else altogether.”

Dream nodded. “Well, get on with it, I have things I must attend to back home and I do not wish to be kept from them any longer than what is necessary.”

Destiny regarded him with a calculating stare before speaking. “I know very well what, or rather who, it is that you wish to return to my brother, and she is exactly what we need to speak about.”

Dream’s entire body stiffened all at once, so much so that it was difficult to know if he was even still breathing. He had been wondering who would be the one to finally give him the strongly anticipated lecture on staying away from mortals, but he certainly hadn’t expected it to come from his elder brother of all entities.

“Destiny…” Dream trailed off, already feeling on edge with just the knowledge that even one of his siblings knew of you and how he frequently kept tabs on you. “I have done nothing to violate the unwritten laws of our existence, but surely you must already know how greatly indebted to her I am.” No matter how true the words were, he knew he must sound as if he were grasping at straws to try and justify his actions and he hated himself in no small amount or it, but at least it was easier with Destiny than it would have been with Death. “She’ll spend roughly ⅔’s of what remains of her life in my realm, and the least I can do for her is make her visits there memorable and happy one’s.”

He easily could have kept going, but his brother held up a single pale hand to silence him, the links of the heavy chain that bound his great book to his wrists clicking with the movement. “Peace, my brother.” He said softly. “Though I do feel as if you have been reckless with this matter so far, that is not the reason I have called you here to speak with me about her today.”

Dream blinked owlishly at him for a moment, now thoroughly confused. He thought for certain that he was about to receive an earful regarding the consequences that come when one of them decides to get a little too involved in a mortal's life. Especially since, after his disastrous past with ‘her’, he was considered the prime example for what could happen if they crossed that line. But the fact that that wasn’t the topic that was up for discussion at the moment was both highly intriguing and worrisome for him. It made his mind wander, and the harder he pondered it, the darker his thoughts became.

Could it be possible that Destiny knew of some terrible event waiting for you just around the corner and that he called for this meeting between them in order to warn him about the impending danger? It would be unheard of for his sibling to reveal the path of someone’s fate to them or another, he’d certainly never done so before, not even to prevent the tragedy that befell his son and Eurydice. But if something was wrong, if you were in some kind of danger, then he would find a way to make Destiny reveal it to him, he would not stand for losing you if some threat to your well-being could be avoided.

“If there is some kind of threat to her, then you need to tell me, right now Destiny?” He pressed harshly, his voice going cold as he tried to get the conversation going. The sooner it was over with, the sooner he could get back to you and make sure you were alright. He had yet to feel you enter the Dreaming, so you were most definitely still awake, probably continuing your night out with your friend, but he didn’t want to be late when you did. He still hadn’t given up on finding the perfect dream for you after all and now he had your safety to consider as well.

There was another long pause before Destiny spoke again.

“I am afraid to tell you that I cannot give that information to you.”

That one sentence was enough to make Dream want to throttle his brother from here and on into oblivion. “Stop speaking in damn riddles!” He snapped, his already pale hands squeezing into white-knuckled fists. “You summoned me to speak of her, and now you won’t even tell me what it is about?” He clenched his teeth to stop himself from shouting out a string of profanities. “If something happens to her that could have been easily prevented by you simply telling me, then I shall be holding you personally responsible for it! Now speak plainly, so that I might carry on with my duties.”

If Destiny was taken aback or surprised by his younger brother’s outburst, then he was doing an excellent job of hiding it.

“I speak no riddles, brother mine, but perhaps I did not word my statement correctly, so allow me to reiterate.” He said, his voice just as calm and even as always, like nothing was able to affect him. “What I meant is that, I cannot tell you anything about her fate because I do not know, nearly all mention of her has disappeared from my book since the night she unexpectedly freed you, and I suspect that after you leave my realm today, even those small details will cease to exist.”

Dream froze upon hearing that and his blood ran cold, for he knew that such a thing should not even be possible, but more than that, it was the choice of wording that the other Endless used that threw him off.

“What do you mean, ‘unexpectedly’?” Dream inquired. Nothing should come as a shock to his brother, for he was the embodiment of facts and absolutes.

“I mean, Dream, that she was not meant to save you that night.” His hood shifted ever so slightly as he squeezed the spine of his closed book. “Of all her branching fates and the choices she could have made, that was not meant to be one of them.”

Morpheus, Lord of Dreams, could not believe what he was hearing. It went against all things of logic and order, that Destiny, firstborn of the Endless, should be left in the dark regarding anything, especially the fate of a single mortal girl, even one as brave and kind as you.

“If what you say is true-”

“It is.” Destiny said, cutting him off mid sentence.

Morpheus resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the defensive tone, for such an act would be highly immature and inappropriate, and simply continued on as if he hadn’t heard it. “If what you say is true, then what does it all mean?”

“I do not know for certain, but I…” Destiny paused, as if what he had to say next was somehow blasphemous, and for him and the very nature of his being, it likely was. “I have a… a theory.” He stressed the word as if it were a foreign sensation on his tongue.

Dream could visibly see just how difficult this was for his sibling, so he wisely kept silent and waited as patiently as he was able to for him to continue on.

“As I said before, freeing you was never one of the paths she was supposed to take that night, and though I do not know for certain, I can only suspect that it was the universe itself twisting the strands of fate to work out the way they did.”

“Please, elaborate further.” Dream pressed, eager to hear more. 

Nodding, Destiny continued. “I believe that, due to your absence, the universe and the forces that control it beyond even our understanding, perhaps grew worried when yet another of the Endless went missing and their post was left abandoned. So, when an opportunity for your release was sensed, they altered fate itself to work out in your favor.”

The Dreamlord pondered the words his brother spoke and could only come to the conclusion that what he said made a lot of sense. They, The Endless, were uniquely powerful beings in their own right, but there were other unknown forces out there that were even more powerful. Some that would likely make the power of he and his siblings look like a drop in a bucket by sheer comparison. And if those same forces wished to alter fate and create a new series of events to suit an outcome that they wanted, then he had no doubt that they could wholeheartedly make it so.

“Let us say that your hypothesis is correct, why then, would she be removed from your book? What purpose would it serve?” Dream asked quietly.

Destiny pursed his lips and seemed to weigh his next statement carefully, as if he were debating with himself on whether or not to continue. It made Dream feel as if the other entity was trying to hide something from him, and since that something concerned you and your possible safety, he had every intention of getting the truth from him.

Luckily though, Destiny seemed to realize that it was better to give him the details than to hold out on them and risk starting a feud with one of his more powerful siblings.

“I believe that that detail may have been for your benefit, my brother.” He exclaimed, much to Dream’s obvious confusion.

“And just how and why do you think such a thing would be of benefit to me?” He replied, genuinely curious.

“Because none of our other siblings are aware of her existence, Dream, and even if they were, they could not directly influence her or touch her in any way. That is one of the few things that has been revealed to me in my book.”

…

…

…

All the unnecessary air went whooshing out of his lungs, and for once, Dream of The Endless was left completely and utterly speechless in the wake of that statement.

And so Destiny went on speaking, his words and tone carrying an uncharacteristic note of care and familial affection in them.

“Your very existence is to help those who enter your realm experience and achieve their greatest hopes and face their darkest fears, but tell me brother, as the Lord of Dreams, what is your dream? What is it that you have always longed for, but have never been able to gain no matter how many times you’ve tried, the one thing that always seems to slip through your fingers like the sand you carry at your hip?”

The brothers stared at one another for another long moment, one sightless yet not, and the other with flickering stars, and both knew what the answer to that heavy question was without it needing to be said aloud.

“I believe those forces I spoke of previously have given you a boon as payment for your time kept in captivity.” Destiny said quietly. “The opportunity to gain that which you have so long yearned for, without the possibility of our other siblings interfering.” 

It took no effort at all to guess which one of their siblings Destiny was referring to the most, and just the thought of he/she/them getting anywhere near you was enough to make Morpheus see red.

“It is because of that small revelation related to our other family members that I believe this to be the case.” He went on. “When the facts are analyzed as a whole, I can think of no other explanation for what it all could mean.”

So many thoughts were racing through Dream's mind at this time and he was having a hard time focusing on any one of them for too long. If Destiny was correct in his assumptions, then it would go a long way towards explaining why he felt so drawn to you, why Death never brought you up during their last meeting, or even why Desire had yet to try and use you against him. There were so many questions he had that now needed answers, but he had a feeling that Destiny was reaching the limit of what he knew regarding this new revelation, he did say that his information on these events was limited at best. His brother wasn’t usually one to insert himself as a player in the events he oversaw, often preferring to act as an incidental observer and only interfering when it was absolutely required of him. Being this forthcoming with the facts was likely very uncomfortable for him.

“When you say that you and the others are unable to influence her, do you know in what way your book meant?” Dream asked as his final question, the rest he would figure out on his own.

“I mean that we cannot directly impress upon her our specific aspects, you are the only one that can do that now it seems.” Destiny clarified. “For instance, she can still feel desire and despair and perhaps even mania, but only because they are human traits that are woven into the very fabric of who she is, and not because of the twins' and Delirium’s involvement. It’s as if she no longer exists, like she no longer registers on any of our senses.” The hooded entity shook his head now. “I do not know what such a thing could mean for our sister, Death, but I do not think such an opportunity would be made possible, only for you to eventually lose her in a handful of decades to old age and expiration, but I suppose that is just something that you will have to discover in time. I doubt I will be giving anymore information on your involvement with her now that I have revealed what I do know to you.”

Dream nodded his head in acknowledgment of his siblings' words. “I understand, and I thank you for sharing with me your knowledge and thoughts on the matter, my brother. I shall take my leave of you now, as you have given me much to think on.” Dream made to turn on his heels and head back to the Dreaming, but his ears picked up on one last thing his brother said, one last piece of advice for him to mull over.

“Remember, Dream, much of what I have told you is merely my own speculation, do not take my word as gospel.”

—————

The first thing Morpheus did upon his return to the castle was make a quick stop in the library to inform Lucienne that he was not to be disturbed for the rest of the evening for anything less than a literal apocalypse.

“Is everything alright, my Lord?” The librarian asked, giving him a worried once-over and readjusting her spectacles. “You look troubled by something.”

Dream should have known she’d be able to pick up on his shift in mood so quickly. She was far more observant than anyone, himself included, gave her credit for sometimes. She had acted as his right hand and personal assistant long before his imprisonment, but it was only just recently, after the events with Rose Walker, that those titles had become more official. And now he would likely need to rely on her even more over the coming days and weeks while he figured out what he was going to do about the information Destiny had provided him with today.

“Yes, all is well for the time being.” Dream replied, wondering just how much he should reveal to her at this time, but in the end, he decided to be discreet and to keep the details to a minimum for the time being. “I had a meeting with Destiny today and I now require some solitude to think over what he spoke to me about.”

Lucienne was clearly surprised to hear this, but that was to be expected. Save for Desire and Despair, it wasn’t very often that any of the Endless met up with one another.

“I certainly hope it wasn’t bad news that he delivered.” She said, a bit of caution lacing her voice. “We’ve only just recently gotten the rebuilding of the realm on track.”

Dream shook his head. “No, nothing like that.” He confirmed. “It was more of a… personal matter, and now I need to come to a decision on how to handle it, and I will inform you on what will need to be done once I have made said decision, but in the meantime, I simply request that I not be disturbed for a while.”

Lucienne nodded respectfully. “As you wish, Sir. I will see to it that the palace staff knows not to bother you without due cause and to bring any concerns to me for the time being.” It was obvious that she was curious about what this was all about, but luckily, Lucienne knew when it was appropriate to ask questions, and when to leave well enough alone.

“Thank you. Have a good evening, Lucienne.” He said, and swiftly made his way out of the library.

—————

Rather than allow himself to materialize in his private chambers to contemplate this new revelation, Morpheus instead chose to walk the halls and climb the stairs himself, giving him more time to contemplate what he now knew of you.

For so long he’d yearned for someone to share himself with, a mate who would love him as much as he loved her, and he’d tried so many times in the past to find that individual, but after so many failed relationships and broken hearts, he’d genuinely lost hope that he’d ever finding such a being. Now he was once again being given a chance to have that lifelong fantasy fulfilled, and he couldn’t deny that the thought of finally having a partner to share his existence with was a tempting one, especially if Destiny was correct and he wouldn’t have to worry about Desire manipulating either of you into hurting one another or the universe ripping you apart for breaking its unwritten laws.

He wouldn’t have to be alone anymore. He would finally have someone to share the quiet hours of his day with, to go on strolls around the Dreaming with, someone to enjoy a good meal and conversation with and who would give him the companionship he had always craved. He would never again have to wake up to the other half of his bed being cold and empty, because you would be there, wrapped up safe and in his arms. The thought of you in his bed, the bed he didn’t even really need, was also a tempting thought, especially when he thought of what could be done in said bed during the long hours of the night when all was quiet in the castle.

Dream entered his chambers and immediately went to take a seat in his favorite chair by the roaring fireplace and sunk into the plush cushioning. A glass of red wine appeared on the little table beside him and with a heavy sigh, he finally allowed his mind to fully wander over all he had learned today.

This entire situation, everything Destiny had revealed to him, it all just seemed too good to be true, and he knew he should be examining all of this with more scrutiny, but he was finding it harder and harder to do that when his mind couldn’t seem to stop wondering towards thoughts of you and how perfect and seamlessly you would fit into the role of his consort and queen.

He had already admitted to himself a while ago that he found you attractive, the tingling heat that filled his lower belly and the twitching of his cock whenever he watched you was more than proof of that. He knew for a fact just how kind and forgiving you could be, but he had also witnessed firsthand how you were more than capable of putting your foot down and standing up for yourself as well as others, and those were all good traits for a queen to possess.

Given your negative views on the dreams he had been crafting for you, he assumed it was safe to say that you would be more than a little bit frightened by his reappearance in your life, but he was positive that once you calmed down and got to know him better, you would happily fall right into his arms. He would not make the same mistakes with you that he’d made in the past with all his other lovers, he would exercise patience and care as much as he could where you were concerned, and he vowed he would not let his work and duties come between you both and make the relationship a strained and distant one.

That last one had always been a major point of conflict and why so many of his past relationships had failed so miserably, but he would do his best to change that this time around and he would make it a point to set aside time for you each and every day, so that you would never feel as if you were being left on the back burner. Although, unlike the women that littered his past, you would not be a mere lover or fling, you would be his queen, and such a position would naturally permit you to take on a more active role here in the Dreaming with him. You would not be his equal by any means, nor would you rule and make decisions on the same level that he did, but he was sure he could find smaller tasks for you to do that would help you feel as if you had a stronger purpose with him here.

Perhaps he was getting too ahead of himself though… After all, his first order of business should be focused on devising a way to introduce himself to you, properly this time. He hadn’t exactly left you with the best impression of himself when he put you to sleep and left you in your dorm room the night you saved him.

He was well aware about your trip to the physician and your worries about possibly having been taken advantage of by him, but he couldn’t bring himself to hold such a thing against you for very long. He had been mildly insulted by such an assumption at the time, but after reminding himself that you knew absolutely nothing about him or what it was he had done, he later found himself applauding your forward thinking and silently beaming with pride that you were capable of taking such excellent care of yourself. Thankfully though, such a thing wouldn’t be necessary for too much longer, because once you took your place by his side here in the Dreaming, he would be the one taking care of you and seeing to all your needs, as it should be.

But it was because of these less than positive views you had of him that he knew he needed to approach this situation with a bit more tactfulness.

As much as he would like to intercept you in the waking world, where things would be more tangible for you, he knew that he should start where he was at his most confident and where you might feel slightly more open to him revealing himself to you, and that was in your dreams.

Speaking of your dreams, he thought to himself with no small amount of alarm, it was highly unusual that he had yet to feel you enter his realm. Since the moment he returned to his full power, he had been keeping a small portion of his senses locked onto you at all times and had become quite in-tuned with your schedule, and even on your latest of study nights, you were usually drifting off to sleep by now.

It was likely that you were simply caught up in your evening with Evelyn and hadn’t gone to bed yet, but after everything he had learned today, all he desired now at the end of it was to gaze upon you and see for himself that you were safe and well.

With a wave of his hand and a small swirling cyclone of sand, a mirror suddenly materialized before him. It appeared to be nothing more than a simple cheval mirror with an intricately carved frame, similar to the gates of horn and ivory, but this was no ordinary mirror that stood before him now, for it was in fact, a scrying glass. He had received it as a payment for a bargain he struck long long ago, but never had much of a need for it until just recently. All he had to do was think of you and it would show him precisely where you were and what you were doing, and thankfully, it wasn’t only limited to just showing him your physical and waking form, but your dream self as well. It was how he had been keeping an eye on you in the waking world when he or Matthew could not, and also how he had been watching you in the dreaming.

He thought of your smile first, the one you wore in the dreams he created for you and the one he so desperately wanted to see grace your face in the waking world. Then he pictured the iron resolve that had filled your beautiful (e/c) eyes the night you shattered his cage, and from there, an image began to take shape in the reflection of the oval glass.

However, as the picture solidified and became as clear as the waters of the Dreaming, it wasn’t joy or contentment that he felt upon seeing you…

But pure and all consuming rage.

And outside, the Dreaming reacted in kind to its ruler’s emotions.

Angry bolts of lightning flashed consecutively across the now pitch black and starless sky, while deafening blows of thunder followed in their wake.

Because there you were, naked as the day you were born and straddling the waist of some unknown mortal boy he’d never seen around you before. You were moving above him like a goddess, your head thrown back in wild abandon and your fingers digging into his chest like that was the only thing keeping you tethered to this plain of existence.

Morpheus was torn between wanting to keep his eyes on you, because your naked form was even more lovely than what he had ever allowed himself to imagine, and wanting to go there right this second and yank you off of the unworthy vermin and shake some sense back into you, before dragging you back to this chamber to give you very long and pleasurable demonstration on just how thoroughly you belonged to him.

You were meant to be his, so why were you in someone else’s bed making love to them?!

He had no idea how long he sat there, watching the scene unfold and listening to the horrible sounds you and he were making together, but he was so consumed with his angry thoughts and trying to contain the shattering of his heart that he nearly missed what unfolded next.

Dream watched as you suddenly stopped and heaved a frustrated groan. “I’m sorry, this just isn’t working.” You said, your brow pinching with a look of annoyance.

The mortal male responded with a cheeky grin and ran his big meaty hands down your back to grab at your ass. “You wanna switch positions or something, love?” He asked, and a tremor strong enough to rattle the walls and windows of the castle shook the realm when Morpheus heard that disgusting term of endearment. He most certainly had no right whatsoever to call you anything of the sort. “I don’t mind taking over for a bit.” He said suggestively.

But the man’s confident smile dropped into a look of unadulterated shock when you shook your head and proceeded to climb off of him and gather up your clothes. “No, I meant that the sex in general isn’t working.” You replied, tugging on your shirt, pants and shoes before shoving your undergarments and socks into the pockets of your coat. “I can already tell I’m not going to be getting an orgasm out of this, so I see no reason to keep going.” You finished getting dressed and began looking around for your purse.

The pathetic creature blinked in confusion a few times before gaining back some of his wits. “Are you fucking serious?!” He asked, anger now beginning to take over his features and Morpheus was fully prepared to intervene if he so much as twitched his fingers in your direction. “You’re just gonna leave me here like this!” He said, and gestured to his still erect member wrapped in a condom like it was some great monument. “You’re not even going to suck me off before you leave, or finish me with a hand job?!”

If Morpheus wasn’t feeling so on edge still, he might have actually laughed upon seeing the disgusted look that crossed your face at the vile suggestion.

“And why exactly should you be allowed to get off if I don’t get to, hmm?” You responded, reaching for the door knob.

Apparently, the fool hadn’t been expecting such a straightforward and logical response, and as such, he had no comment to counter your argument with and simply sat there on the bed in speechless silence, his mouth hanging open like a fish out of water.

“Yeah, my point exactly.” You said, opening the door and stepping into the hallway before making your way out of the building.

Morpheus watched as you silently made your way across the university’s campus and back to your own familiar dorm room, and while he was still livid with you for unknowingly betraying him this evening, he also knew at the same time that directing his anger towards you wasn’t entirely fair. You weren’t yet aware of the facts that he was now privy to, at least, not in a way you were consciously aware of. He hoped that your inability to find satisfaction with that pathetic mortal was because you knew on some fundamental level that he was the one meant to bring your mind and body the pleasure it craved, him and no one else. So perhaps you were simply trying to fill a void that now existed inside of you, one you were unaware couldn’t be replaced by anyone but himself. That was truly the only conclusion he could reach that came close to explaining why you would willingly seek out the bed of another, and he supposed he couldn’t blame you too much for that. 

Meanwhile, he continued to watch with what remained of his weakened self restraint as you took a brief shower to wash away what little evidence there was of your infidelity, and regardless of whether there had been protection or not, he thanked the universe that you hadn’t allowed the filthy swine to spend himself inside of you. That, he firmly promised himself, was an honor only he would ever know the unparalleled bliss of.

With his anger now reduced to nothing more than a dull ache in his heart, he continued to watch as you silently brushed your teeth before crawling naked into your bed under the mountain of blankets you seemed intent on hoarding.

You looked so terribly exhausted as you quickly drifted off into slumber, and while it hurt his pride a bit to admit this rather minor defeat, he couldn’t ignore the fact that, no matter how good his intentions were, the dreams he’d been sending you weren’t helping you rest as peacefully as he had hoped they would. So, at least until he’d settled on how and when to approach you in the Dreaming, he would endeavor to no longer interfere in your dreams for the time being. Such a decision might be for the best though, he realized, especially since the coming days and weeks were going to be hectic enough when he considered that he was going to have to keep up on his regular duties while also planning for your eventual relocation and move here to the Dreaming to be with him.

Such changes and details weren’t something he wanted to rush or put lackluster effort into. He wanted you to see that you were going to be a priority that was equally to, if not greater, than his responsibility to the Dreaming and its inhabitants.

With that motivational thought now in his mind, Morpheus sent one last longing look at your image in the scrying glass and stroked the smooth surface with the tips of his fingers, right over your cheek.

“Sleep well, my little one. We’ll be together soon, I promise.”

I know that there was was a lot to unpack in this chapter, but I hope it sufficiently makes up for the uninteresting tone of the last one. Please enjoy and feel free to share your thoughts and feelings with me!

On a quick side note, I'm probably going to take some time to try and work on a few of my other fics over the next week or two, so please don't get your hopes up for another quick update to this one right away.

Thank you all for your awesome support!

Please forgive any minor potholes or inconsistencies, I tried my best to make the detail changes make sense for the story I wanted to tell while still keeping in line with the original source material. This is mostly based off of the Netflix series, but there are some details about the comics and audio books thrown in for flavor.

As soon as you heard the word ‘initiation’, you knew you should have noped right the fuck out of the situation and said screw the consequences.

When you arrived in England to attend school at the University of Sussex, you had, due to some minor paperwork issues regarding your student visa and passport, unintentionally arrived a few weeks later than planned, and thus, had also missed the chaos of those initial first weeks. It was a tad bit embarrassing to arrive so late, and many of the people in your classes took notice of your unexpected arrival and obviously had questions, but you figured that the slight faux pas would mend itself in time as you grew more accustomed to your new surroundings and the cultural differences of the country. It was hard being so far away from your friends and family, but it was no less exciting.

That’s why you had initially been so thrilled when the group you were-… had been with, had approached you in the cafeteria last week and invited you to eat and study with them. You recognized a few of them from some of your classes and hadn’t given it a second thought. They had seemed nice enough, and when they once again invited you to hang out, this time to go and do something fun, you immediately agreed.

It had been fun at first; going out and experiencing the local nightlife and bar scene in a new country with people who you thought were going to be new friends.

But…

Things had started to turn sour when one of the girls, a tall and immaculately beautiful brunette by the name of Gabby, had suggested that you all should go and explore the ‘famed’,  Fawney Rig; a supposedly haunted mansion that was once the home of a cult known as the Order of the Ancient Mysteries, back during WW2.

The idea wasn’t all that appealing in your opinion, not because you lacked any sense of adventure, but because if the authorities were to get involved for some reason or another, you could potentially lose your full ride scholarship and be sent home. But, the last thing you wanted was to be seen as a boring old stick in the mud, so you had feigned excitement and agreed to tag along.

During the half hour drive, Gabby had enthusiastically given you a quick rundown on the supposed ‘legend’ surrounding the manor’s history. You pretended to act interested, but had only managed to retain a few slivers of the heavily embellished information. Something about a man named Roderick Burgess who founded a dark magic cult and who was rumored to have the Devil trapped in his basement. He eventually died of old age and his son disbanded the Order and left, leaving the once beautiful home to fall into disrepair and the rumors to spread that spoke of it being haunted by ghosts and demons.

“There’s nothing in the basement though.” The driver of the van, Kalvin, said in a cryptic tone. “People have been looking down in that place for decades, but no one’s ever found anything remotely interesting. Most of the occult stuff was either sold during the early estate sales, or picked off by looters and the like over the years.” He continued on. “We’ve been there before and the place is full of more dust and cobwebs than anything else these days.”

You were just about to make a comment when one of the others loudly shouted out that you had arrived at the destination, and you looked out the window at the dark and foreboding structure that seemed to rise up over the ground like a monster borne from hell itself. You weren’t all that surprised to find that it fit the bill perfectly for almost every trope filled gothic horror movie mansion in literary and cinematic history. All it needed to complete the ambiance was a flash of ominous lightning and a dangling window shutter blowing in the howling wind to set the stage. And since neither of those things took place, you didn’t feel all that hesitant about entering.

Until Gabby spoke again and you felt a tightening in your gut that told you this night likely wasn’t going to end well for you.

“I have an idea.” She said excitedly, and turned her ‘not so friendly any longer’ gaze on you. “How about we let (Y/N) explore by herself for the first few minutes, then we follow in afterwards.”

“And why exactly would I do that?” You asked, making sure to keep your voice as flat and even toned as possible, despite how nervous you were feeling. Girls like Gabby could smell fear and skittishness like sharks with blood in the ocean, and the last thing you wanted was to give her what she probably wanted.

“Because it would be fun. Just think of it as a kind of initiation to join our little circle.” She said, sounding just a tad too defensive to be convincing. Whether that was because you weren’t giving her the nervous scaredy-cat reaction she was likely hoping for, or because of something else, you didn’t know, either way, she obviously didn’t like being questioned.

“It almost sounds like you don’t trust us.” She went on, faking a sad attempt at a pout.

“Maybe because I’ve seen one too many bad horror movies and I know that this sort of thing is as cliché a set up for one as you can possibly get.” You shot back, actually getting bored with conversation now that you could see her feathers were starting to get ruffled. “Let me guess; you expected me to go in there, scared out of my wits because of your little ghost story, then you slam the door and lock me in until I’m screaming and crying and begging to be let out while you all have a good laugh at my expense.” You shoved your hands into the deep pockets of your coat and gave them all a bright but condescending smile. “Am I on track, or do I need to keep going?”

They all stared at you with fidgety expressions and you knew right then that this had likely been their plan from the beginning, and you felt your heart sink a bit at the loss of what you had originally hoped would be the start of a decant friendship with some of them. You did feel a slight modicum of satisfaction though when you noticed that Gabby in particular looked very put off over her plan being foiled by your reliance on nothing more than pure common sense.

“Hay now…” Kalvin spoke up, raising his hands up in the universal gesture of ‘calm down, we’re all friends here’. “It’s not like we were planning on hurting you or anything, it was just going to be a joke.”

“Doesn’t sound like a very funny joke to me, asshole.”

“Maybe if you weren’t such a buzzkill it could have been.” You heard Gabby mumble under her breath, making her sound more and more like a petulant child.

You let out a humorless laugh. “Oh yes, it’s such a crying shame that I won’t allow myself to be humiliated and harassed by you all.” You sent them all another smile, this one full of teeth, and set your eyes on the obvious ringleader. “Gabby, I’m gonna guess that this bright idea was yours, right? That must explain why its attempted execution was so sad and pathetic.”

The indignant screech she let out next sounded like something a severely wounded animal would make and you knew that if looks could kill, you’d be dead ten times over by now, but you refused to let them and this harmless little attempt at cruelty get the better of you.

“Now don’t go getting your panties in a twist.” You said, rolling your eyes at her childish behavior and turned back to the others who were all staring at you with wide eyes and gaping mouths. “I’ll still go in there by myself if it’ll make the whining little princess over there end her bitch-fit, just don’t expect to get the reaction you were hoping for.”

Okay… in hindsight, maybe common sense wasn’t your strong suit after all…

Not only did you quite willingly walk right into the situation you now found yourself in, but you also didn’t do yourself any favors by antagonizing the already agitated bitch queen. But you’d already made your decision, and you sure as hell weren’t about to back down now and look like a fool. So with squared shoulders, you quickly made your way over to one of the others who held a flashlight and snatched it from his slackened grip.

“Hay! You can’t-” Gabby started, but you cut her off.

“I’m not stepping one foot inside that place with just my phone's flashlight, and if you try and take it from me, I’m gonna shove it so far up your bony little ass that your stomachs gonna glow from the inside out.” You threatened her, and you must have come across as pretty damn intimidating, because her already pale skin grew a few shades lighter in the flashlights glow and she immediately took a step back.

You typically tried to be a nice person, but with a good amount of tequila running through your system and a chip on your shoulder because of this whole situation, you were done playing around. Growing up in a rather rough neighborhood back home had taught you early on that push-back was one of the best ways to get a bully to back down, and Gabby was stereotypical bully 101.

“Well?” You said, looking at two of the guys expectantly. “You gonna lift that plank away from the door for me or not? I’d like to get home to my bed sooner rather than later.”

Oddly enough, they immediately rushed to do as you said, probably still too stunned by the situation going further off the rails then what they had been expecting. It was obvious that none of them had anticipated your reaction to their little prank and you were able to use that to your advantage a bit.

Once the huge double doors were opened, you made your way inside, but not without getting one last dig in on Gabby, because as you made to walk past her, you flashed her a saucy wink and then proceeded to spit in her general direction. You took great satisfaction when the wad of saliva landed directly on the tip of one of her pretty shoes and she screamed in outrage, shouting profanities and curses at you all the while..

You stepped inside, and despite its decrepit interior and the mediocre illumination of your flashlight showing you glimpses of the ripped up wallpaper and graffiti streaked across every surface, it was clear that the place was still an impressive sight to behold. You could only imagine how beautiful it must have been in its hay-day, when it would have been filled with furniture and everything would have been clean and polished, all nice and pretty.

You only slightly flinched when the door was intentionally slammed shut behind you and you really weren’t all that surprised to hear the muffled sounds of your one-time-only friends rushing back to the vehicle and driving away. They probably thought that leaving you alone in such a frightening place would terrify you and be a good punishment for spoiling their fun. Too bad for them, you weren’t so easily frightened by rumors and urban legends of ghosts and the things that go bump in the night. 

Letting out a heavy sigh, you leaned back against the door and pulled out your phone. You had absolutely no service out here, but you at least had a full battery. You remembered that you’d had service up until the turn-off that led down to the mansion, and it would probably take an hour or so for you to walk back up to the main road and call for a ride.

You knew you should walk out and start making your way back, it was already so late after all, but a part of you was now curious to explore the dilapidated structure of Fawney Rig and get a look at its mysterious basement. It was probably a bad idea, and even with the flashlight helping to guide your way, there were a number of things that could go wrong; you could slip and badly hurt yourself, you could step on a rusty nail or something and get tetanus, hell, there could even be a crazed axe murderer lurking around the place just waiting for you to be their next victim.

That one was honestly more plausible than a ghost or demon jumping out to scare you.

The morbid thought somehow left you feeling strangely relaxed and you couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled up out of your throat. The lack of fear or caution was likely helped by the alcohol still buzzing about inside of you, but you also knew that this was nothing new for you. All your life, you’d never been the type of person who was easily scared. As a little girl, you had the normal and irrational fear that any child has at those ages, but once you were old enough to know better, to know that there wasn’t anything lurking in the dark or a monster hiding in your closet and under your bed, you quickly outgrew those phases.

In your experience, real people were far more frightening than superstitions and make-believe stories.

And with that disturbingly comforting thought, you set off to explore a bit. Perhaps you’d even be lucky enough to find something to drop at Gabby’s feet the next time you saw her and her little group of assholes, you thought with a wicked smile. A big ass spider to drop into her lap would be both hilarious and satisfying, but then she wouldn’t know if it had truly come from the mansion or not. Maybe a candelabra, or even some other small trinket, if there were any to be found in this bare-bones place.

You would just have to keep your eyes peeled for anything of interest.

—————

How long had it been since he’d been left alone down here in the darkness?

Too long, he thought to himself, with no outside light or living thing coming and going, there was no true passage of time, just the same nothingness moment after moment.

He could sometimes hear the scurrying of mice and rats as they moved about the chamber, and he would even occasionally catch the muffled sounds of the people who would break into the abandoned mansion above, but not much more than that.

When Alex Burgess fled Fawney Rig after the long awaited death of his father, he’d had his prison moved into a secret chamber below the basement, and the entrapment circle reapplied with something, he wasn’t entirely sure what, that wouldn’t be so easily shifted as sand or washed away like ordinary paint. When last he saw the boy, he’d actually had the nerve to apologize to him and try to justify his actions and reasons for doing what he was doing in continuing to keep him held prisoner. Before his father’s death, he did not hold the boy accountable for anything except the death of poor Jessamy, and even that was more his father’s doing than his own, but that all changed the moment Roderick Burgess met his end and he still refused to free him.

After that, the mortal had every right to fear him all the more.

He was likely dead by this point anyway, and Morpheus silently lamented that he would never be able to exact his vengeance, should he ever find himself fortunate enough to be freed from this horrid cage.

If he were anything less than endless, he probably would have been driven to insanity after being confined in the dark for so long, but unfortunately, time did not move any faster for a being such as him, it was merely the way he and his siblings processed those oh so long stretches of time that differentiated them from other beings, both mortal and immortal. Most creatures were simply not equipped to withstand centuries and eons of time and life, and he had seen time and time again how badly it could affect those lesser creatures.

Oh, they certainly viewed immortality as a blessing for a few hundred years or so, but it usually always went one of two ways for those who became cursed with it; they either went mad after a while and ended up begging for death after realizing that an eternity of life was not at all what they had been expecting, or they grew cold and apathetic to everything around them.

Well, not all of them anyway, he thought with a bittersweet smile, there was still one he knew for certain would never lose his lust for life and the joys and misfortunes to be found in it.

Hob Gadling…

He often thought of the immortal human during the last century, or however long it had been, and he regretted how their last meeting had gone. The man was right to have said he met with him every century, not to test his theory, but because he was lonely and wanted some kind of companionship, though he wasn’t sure he’d ever be willing to admit that out loud to anyone but himself.

Even as the King of Dreams, with all the power he had at his fingertips and the wonders that dwelled within his realm, he could speak from personal experience and admit that after so long, apathy was an emotion he knew all too well. Life, even an endless one of magic and otherworldly wonders, lost its luster after so long. He had long been on that path before his capture, but now? Now he would give anything to see something of beauty and life, familiar or unfamiliar, it didn’t matter, anything would be better than this blasted darkness.

He would even be willing to set aside past grudges and see Desire at this point, that is how desperate he was for any kind of relief from this solitude.

—————

Sometime later, it was the muffled sound of a door slamming and the creaking of floorboards that drew his attention away from his morose thoughts.

Someone must be up there, moving about the manor, he thought to himself. Strange though that it only sounds like one individual, normally it was always a group.

In the silent darkness, Morpheus sat as still as he could, soaking in the sounds created by that of another living being. He knew it wouldn’t do anything to change his situation, but he would take whatever small reprieves he could get at this point.

His curiosity peaked however, when he heard the soft footfalls getting closer and closer to the upper door that led down into the basement.

Over the years, he had more or less pieced together the rumor about the Devil supposedly being locked in the mansion’s basement from the bits of conversation he’d managed to hear throughout the decades. It took no effort at all on his part to deduce that the ‘Devil’ the rumor spoke of was none other than himself, and he couldn’t help but imagine that Lucifer Morningstar would take much amusement in hearing such a ridiculous thing. It was one of the few things that brought him even a modicum of respite from his loneliness.

As the steps drew closer, he really did try not to, but somehow he always managed to get his hopes up in these rare moments. Every time someone entered the basement, he found himself near praying that they would somehow find him and set him free at long last.

It was wishful thinking that did him no favors, but considering his situation, there was little else he could do.

But what Morpheus could have never predicted, what even his elder brother, Destiny, had never seen coming, was the unexpected appearance of a single mortal girl who would go on to forever reshape and change the very fabric of the Dreamlord’s endless existence.

I hope you all enjoyed this opening chapter to my newest fic! This is an entirely new fandom for me, so please, let me know what you think of it!

Please forgive any minor potholes or inconsistencies, I tried my best to make the detail changes make sense for the story I wanted to tell while still keeping in line with the original source material. This is mostly based off of the Netflix series, but there are some details about the comics and audio books thrown in for flavor.

2 Months Later

“Thanks for coming out with me tonight Evelyn, I really needed this.” You exclaimed, hoping she wouldn’t pick up on how fidgety you were while sitting across from her at the high top table of the pub.

“It’s no problem.” She happily returned the sentiment, seemingly completely oblivious to your strange behavior… or maybe she just thought it was normal for you. “I’ve been working on designs for our upcoming amateurs winter line for what feels like days, and I was in serious need of a pick-me-up before I keeled over at my desk.” She said, happily shoving a piece of buttery garlic bread between her perfect bow-shaped lips.

Evelyn was studying and majoring in fashion design, so you could just imagine how cross-eyed she was going after spending so many days and hours hunched over her sketchbooks and other such necessities of the trade.

You shared a few classes together and she had approached you one day, not long after ‘that night’, to ask if you were alright.

Apparently she and Gabby used to go to high school together and somehow, rather unfortunately, ended up in the same university together. She’d overheard her and her friends griping about what a bitch you were for spoiling their fun, and knowing just what kind of childish shit she had a tendency of pulling, she had wanted to check in and make sure you were doing alright.

Evelyn had been a godsend these last few months and the two of you had become fast friends. She had even invited you to go back to Birmingham with her for the winter holidays when they rolled around. You seriously didn’t know what you would have done without her.

Ever since that night in Fawney Rig, you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, and controlling your paranoia over what happened that night wasn’t getting any better or easier to handle.

Waking up in your bed with zero memory of how you got there was terrifying all on its own, but when compounded with what you do remember having taken place, it was something that was close to driving you mad. You wanted so very badly to convince yourself that you had just imagined the whole thing and somehow didn’t recall how exactly you made it back to campus because of how drunk and tired you had been, but your subconscious couldn’t bring itself to agree with that idea. You kept replaying that last hour over and over again in your head and couldn’t think of any sort of rational explanation, because the whole thing was just way too crystal clear in your memory to ever be considered a dream or hallucination.

All of the belongings that you’d had with you that night had been placed very neatly on your desk for you to find in the morning, all but one; your jacket was still missing.

A part of you wanted to go back to the dilapidated mansion and see for yourself if it was all true; if there really was a secret chamber underneath the basement with a now shattered glass cage inside of it, along with the jacket you had used to brush away shards for the beautiful man trapped inside.

But it was too much to consider, and in all actuality, you weren’t entirely too certain you could handle it if and/or when it turned out to be more than just an incredibly realistic fever dream.

Just the mere thought of such a possibility was too mind numbing to fully comprehend, and going back to investigate would probably only leave you with more questions and too few answers.

Like how and why the man ended up being locked away in such a place? Or how long had he actually been down there in that place? Because as far as you could remember, it looked as if that entrance hadn’t been used in at least a few decades, nor did there seem to be any others down there. It could simply be possible that in your shock and panic induced state, you just hadn’t seen them, but upon a closer inspection of your memories, you could recall that the chamber was relatively small and it would have been hard not to notice a door or an opening in one of the walls.

Then there was the even more terrifying question of what it was he’d blown in your face to make you blackout so hard that he somehow managed to get you all the way back to your dorm room, and there was also the matter of how he knew to take you there specifically, all without you waking up or anyone noticing a fully grown and naked man carrying you there.

Horrifically, but not unexpectedly, your first instinct upon waking up and getting your wits about you had been to check for any signs of assault. It hadn’t felt as if your body had been subjected to anything sexual, you’d still been wearing your dirty clothes from the night before, and the space between your legs didn’t feel wet with fluids or sore. But all the same, you had immediately gone to the clinic to get some tests done, just to be safe. Even if the events you remembered were a fabrication of your mind, the fact remained that you still had no idea how you ended up back in your dorm room and you needed to cover all your bases.

Thankfully, all the tests had come back negative and you were written off with a clean bill of health.

That was one small blessing at least.

The worst of it though, hadn’t started until a few days later, and hadn’t let up since…

“(Y/N)? Are you listening?”

Snapping yourself out of your worrisome thoughts, you looked up just in time to see Evelyn shooting you a concerned look.

“Are you doing okay? You seemed really out of it for a bit.” She said, genuine concern for you lacing her tone.

You released the heavy breath you only just now realized you were holding in and met her eyes with a smile you could only hope was convincing enough to pass for real.

“Sorry! I guess I’m just tired, that's all.” You replied, taking a sip of wine to avoid having to elaborate. It wasn’t an outright lie though, so you didn’t feel too bad about it.

She gave you a pitying look. “Is it the dreams still?”

“Yeah, just the weird dreams…” You trailed off, hoping she’d drop the subject, because you just didn’t want to get into it right now. You just wanted to enjoy a night out with your friend; to drink some wine, eat some good food, and maybe partake in a bit of girlish gossip.

To ignore the uncomfortable feeling that you were being watched…

It had been an ongoing issue for the last couple of weeks, and you couldn’t explain how, but you knew deep down in your gut that it had something to do with that night.

And it had all started with these weird fucking dreams.

Up until a month and a half ago, your dreams had always been the normal kind as far as dreams went. They were just what dreams were supposed to be by definition; a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep. Just a way for the brain to store and organize knowledge and memories. People and places from your everyday life, both past and present would leak into them, stress from school/work and such would also sometimes play a part, you might even have the occasionally random dream of flying or falling from some great height. But all the same, they were ordinary and so fuzzy by the time you would wake up that you almost wouldn’t be able to remember them at all, save for a few hazy recollections every now and then.

Not anymore though…

Now, every time you went to sleep your dreams were full of uncharacteristic light and dancing colors, and so incredibly vivid that they almost seemed real and solid long after you woke up.

One night, you dreamed you were dancing alone on a lake full of the blackest night and glittering stars, stars that reminded you of the haunting eyes of the man in the glass cage, all while a kaleidoscope of colorful galaxies swirled overhead and lit up the sky like a series of never fading fireworks. 

Another night was a trip through a carnival straight out of a fantasy version of Venice, Italy. It had been full of wonderful smelling food stalls, swinging and dancing acrobats in colorfully eccentric costumes and masks, and everywhere you turned there had been something new and beautiful to look at as you traversed the interconnected causeways and platforms along the canals of the floating city.

But as wondrous as they were, these weren’t normal dreams, these were the kind of dreams that the lead characters in a fantasy movie/book had, and the suddenness of them truly scared you. They were nothing at all like any dreams you’d ever had before, and despite them being the furthest thing from any nightmare you’d ever had or heard of before, they were enough to leave you paralyzed with fear every time you woke up from them. You were powerless to do anything in these dreams but go with the flow until your eventual awakening, where you couldn’t help but lay in bed and remember the uncomfortable feeling of eyes following your every movement. You could never seem to acknowledge the sensation while asleep, but it was unavoidable once your mind was free from the grip of unconsciousness.

At first, the feeling would ease and dissipate after you would get up and start your day, but soon after the dreams started, the feeling became an ever present awareness that you couldn’t shake no matter how hard you tried. You were even starting to wonder if you were losing your mind, if maybe, you were developing some sort of mental illness and that night in the manor had just been the catalyst to start it. You had looked it up, and you were getting close to hitting the right age for early to onset schizophrenia. No one in your family, as far as you knew, had ever been diagnosed with the condition, but that didn’t mean the possibility was completely out of the question.

You were planning on making an appointment soon to see a sleep specialist and get their opinion first, but if they couldn’t be of help, then you would need to move on from there and potentially seek the aid of a psychiatrist or a shrink of some kind.

You hoped it wasn’t anything serious like what your mind was conjuring up, but you really didn’t want to leave anything up to chance and risk letting it get worse, especially if a trip to the doctors could potentially help fix the issue altogether.

For now though, you just wanted to enjoy your night and have some fun.

—————

Unseen by all the mortal eyes around him, the Dreamlord watched you from a few seats away in the quiet pub as you ate, drank, and conversed with your friend.

He knew he shouldn’t be doing this, watching over you in the waking world, but he just couldn’t bring himself to stay away now that he actually had the time to focus on you. He trusted Lucienne to look after the affairs of the realm well enough in his short absence, but he still knew this was pushing the boundaries of what he was limited from doing.

It took him less time than he expected to get back his tools, and just when he thought that the rebuilding of his realm and his existence could finally get back on track, the issue of the former dream vortex known as Rose Walker, his great niece of all things, had arisen and thrown another curve-ball at him.

Desire and their petty games were an ever present thorn in his side, and now that their latest little scheme had failed so spectacularly, he worried that his sibling may turn their vengeful eyes on you and try to use his… interest in you against him. He was certain that the other Endless must know of your existence by this point, there was no way they hadn’t felt his presence return to the world the moment he was set free, and that also meant there was no way they hadn’t learned exactly how such a thing had taken place.

All the Endless seemed to be unintentionally and annoyingly aware of what went on in each other’s lives(?), all except for their prodigal brother who seems to have vanished entirely from every plane of existence.

So it had genuinely surprised him when Death hadn’t brought it up when they last met. Given his past with… he couldn’t even bring himself to say or think ‘her’ name, not after his most recent and painful reminder of her while traversing through Hell. Dream had expected to receive a lengthy lecture from his elder sibling on the importance of staying out of the lives of mortals except to do his duties.

But this need he had to look after you wasn’t the same as all those other times, or so he tried to tell himself. You had done far more than just grant him his freedom when you broke him out of his prison, in doing so, you had also inadvertently saved his entire realm and its denizens from complete and utter ruination because of his forced absence. You were the Dreaming’s true savior, and simply looking after your dreams every night seemed like a piss-poor way to express the immensity of his gratitude, especially if your current state was of any indication.

You looked as if you hadn’t had a decent night's sleep in ages, and he couldn’t understand why.

He made sure that you were getting an adequate amount of rest when you slept, he doubted that anyone in the history of humankind had ever slept as soundly as you these nights, and he personally saw to it each and every evening that your dreams reflected that restful state. He poured all of his power and creativity into giving you the most splendid of dreams, ensuring that you were shown nothing but the very best his realm had to offer. You were always so lively and full of awe while experiencing the dreams he crafted for you, and yet it did not seem to reflect your condition in the waking world.

He had expected you to wake up each day with a stretch of contentment and a sleepy smile, perhaps with even an attempt to roll over and return to his realm and the beautiful world he’d crafted for you for just a bit longer, but instead, you awoke every morning with a solemn expression on your lovely face and a dimness in your eyes that he wished he could erase as easily as he could his own creations.

He wanted so very badly to speak to you, to thank you for what you did and to ask what he could do to make you truly happy, and he had come so close to doing just that so many times when you entered his domain.

The night he sent you dancing alone on his starlit lake was the hardest so far. Watching you laugh and twirl about on the glittering black surface, he had longed with all his being to step out of the shadows and join you as your partner and lead you in an epic waltz across the rippling night sky.

But he knew that such a thing could only bring disaster down upon you both.

That’s why he was here so often these days, silently watching as you went about your life in the waking world. He wanted to gain some insight into who you truly were as an individual, so as to better serve you in the Dreaming, but so far, his efforts were not proving to be as fruitful as he had originally hoped them to be.

He had learned much about you over the weeks; like how your tongue was just as sharp and cunning as your wit when dealing with those you took offense to, or how you tended to procrastinate on items for school subjects that didn’t interest you as much as others, yet still somehow managed to pull through with an impressive score by the end of it. You were also very intelligent and resourceful, often proving yourself to be far more mature than many of your peers, but you also had a tendency to act a bit childishly from time to time. As shown when he watched you gleefully jump in a few muddy rain puddles while on your way back to the dorm one late evening after spending too long in the library.

That same night, he’d crafted a dream for you in which you were left to wander through a cloudless rainstorm contained within a brilliant blue sky. Where each shining individual droplet of water was filled with all the colors of the rainbow and each puddle your lovely bare feet splashed in sent up waves of colorful liquid, until you, dressed in a lovely white sundress, looked as if you’d jumped right off the tip of an artist’s paintbrush.

Given your playfulness when doing so while awake, he thought that that particular scenario would finally be the one to make you smile for him in the waking world, but alas, it had not. You awoke with the same exhausted expression as all the other times, and in seeing that, his own mood had soured enough that the Dreaming had been plagued with hurricane force winds for the next two days straight as a result.

And now his mood was dropping yet again as he picked up on your conversation with your friend and was coming to the realization that it was the dreams themselves that were making you so unhappy, that you thought they were somehow the sign of an imbalance in your mental state. It was a concept he just couldn’t seem to grasp. All he was trying to do was express his gratitude in the only way he could, to thank you for what you had so selflessly done for him, and he couldn’t understand why it was backfiring on him so spectacularly.

Was it not his function, his very purpose, to craft dreams and nightmares for humanity? To give them dreams that would inspire them and bring them joy, wonder, and even terror, beyond any they could ever hope to experience outside of his realm? 

And yet, he could not seem to do so with you.

If only he could speak to you and get to know you as more than just a simple observer, maybe then he could finally craft the perfect dream world for you, and at long last earn that elusive smile of yours, that smile that would be for him and him alone.

But he knew that such an act would be a grave mistake, knew that if he took that leap and made contact with you, he might never be willing to sever it and let you go when the time finally came. Already he could feel himself growing painfully attached to you, and to allow himself to get too close to you would only end in bringing the both of you untold amounts of pain and suffering, possibly even death for one or both of you. And while another aspect would have to take up his role and his memories were he to ‘die’, you would simply be dead and gone, and that was a concept he did not think he was capable of bearing at the moment. It was a concept he might never be able to come to terms with, even as every day that passed brought you closer and closer to the day you would eventually enter the realm of his sister.

Dream might have continued to brood on this issue for far longer than what was strictly healthy for his mind, but there came an unexpected tug on his conscience, and with it, the feeling of one of siblings calling on him, and it was enough to pull him out of those thoughts for the time being.

“Dream?” Sounded Destiny’s familiar voice in his mind. “I stand in my gallery and I hold your sigil; come and speak to me my brother, there is something we must discuss and I have put it off for long enough.”

Sighing, Dream sent one last longing look your way and made a silent promise to return as soon as he was able to do so. He didn’t want to go, he didn’t want to leave you just yet, but Destiny never called on any of them unless the situation was an urgent one, and unfortunately, he knew that whatever it was, it was best not to avoid it.

Just as no one took notice of his presence while in the pub, they also never took notice of his sudden departure either, though it would have broken his heart just that much more had he witnessed the way you visibly relaxed, as if you could somehow sense his leaving and were taking comfort in it.

I know this was a pretty short and uninteresting chapter, but I promise you that things are really going to pick up in the next one and shit is going to get REAL juicy.

Please let me know your thoughts and potential theories on what the brothers are going to be discussing! I would love to know what you all think is going to go down.

Please forgive any minor potholes or inconsistencies, I tried my best to make the detail changes make sense for the story I wanted to tell while still keeping in line with the original source material. This is mostly based off of the Netflix series, but there are some details about the comics and audio books thrown in for flavor.