The Gift

    The Nightmare Prince, has not left Lacrima's dreamscape since last night. Though he has not quite made himself comfortable. There has been something of a shift in the prince's demeanor since he has been reunited with his heart.
    No longer does he seem to be the cocky, arrogant, young man he's been thus far.
    If anything, he seems haggard, a weight to his movements and under his eyes that says even the bright new regalia he's clad in cannot make him feel any less worse about the weight on his shoulders since last night. He sits, slumped heavily in a chair, chin resting on his knuckles as he... Well. He broods.

Lacrima still had things to do in the waking world. As much as it pained her. She got them done. With quickness. Jiaying, Lamya or Unmei would had gotten a snappy I'M FINE if they asked if something was wrong. (She isn't fine.) and she'd retire to her coffin earlier than usual. The sun was still out. That was okay. Sleep was easy for her.

Lacrima's 'dream castle' is an odd, odd place that is built on the weird, primal memory of Poderoso's castle. The basis for her being.

Things have changed heavily since then. Mamoru's roses still spiral around the central spire. She hasn't moved them. She doesn't want to. Since Poderoso's defeat the 'time of day' seems to be 'later sunset'. Clear peeking night sky. No storm clouds. No dark clouds. No thunder or rain.

Lacrima's dreamscape is a dream but it feels like a place. Like it shouldn't exist in this manner- but it does. A strange facet of Lacrima's unnatural existence as an inhuman. A physical memory of a place that never happened.

Lacrima appears differently in her own dreams. No pale skin, but she's still 'Lacrima'.. but her eyes are blue... but her hair is still tinged violet.

Lacrima appears in the doorway of the never used Guest Room. Like the rest of the castle, it seems old and in disrepair but not neglected.

Lacrima speaks tiredly. "You know." she says bluntly. "The only reason, I'm not spending my night pinning you down. And slapping you in the face repeatedly." she says. "Is due to the fact, I think Ariel would be absolutely mortified at me-- and because I know it's the wrong thing to do... only because of the emotional clarity she gifted me with after your attempt to kill me in the past." she says bluntly.

Then a deep breath. She sits on the bed and crosses her arms as she stares at the Prince from there before she slumps and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"My apologies. I am not my best self at the moment. Dark energy flares worst in situations like this, and I currently do not have a good outlet." she says. "Thank you for respecting my dreamscape while I've been handing things." she says, more quietly.

    The prince barely stirs for a moment as Lacrima appears in the door, but when he does realize she's there and is pulled from the reverie of his own brooding, the rises. A hand slowly swoops in front of himself before he dips into a solemn bow and- remains standing. Prince or not he seems to be a proper one, when not in his own house and he waits for Lacrima to finish speaking without interruptions, as he folds his hands together.
    "I would be a terrible guest if I did not show respect to the manor of my host." He says at first, opting to not react negatively to the whole 'pin down and slap statement.
    "You would not be in the wrong if you chose to do that. I have been... Something of a fool in my heartless state."

Lacrima frowns a little, though it's not at the Prince. She's gonna be frowny, in general. "It's the dark energy that clouds one judgement....erm. Prince? I don't know if you have a proper name. My apologies. What... we know about you. Is through the soliloquy of some book that wrote itself page by page." she says softly.

"But I imagine it's easier to do things like that when you remove your better part from the equation. I... know this. Trust me. My current state is not by my own choice or doing." she says softy.
"I was cursed. By the corruptive prison of a vampire's power. Out of the many choices I've made since, most of them have not been good ones." she admits. "-and my anger and lousiness at my condition didn't help." she says.

"....I...." she says. "I didn't even feel 'true' positive emotion since I was human until Ariel fixed me that day. It was always muddled. And Doubt would always carry with it." she says.

A pause. "Back to you... yes. My apologies. As I said. Inward. Selfish."

"What we know is that ... you lost someone dear. So you cast your heart out." she says.

"I don't think who you lost would had wanted you dying, in some cold dark, alone and heartless." she says somberly.

"I can't claim to know what this person may have thought. But In my experience. People who care about you... want you to be happy."

    "Darkness clouds the judgment, clouds the mind. I have been steeped in it for so long, that I'm surprised I ever had a right state of mind to begin with." The prince admits, slowly settling back down into his seat and propping his chin on knuckles once again. "I more than just removed the better part from myself, I cast it aside and sundered it. Part of me thinks I do not even deserve to have it back after all that I've done. I've been such a fool."
    He certainly is beating himself up a lot, but the prince purses his lips. "I have always simply been the Prince of Dreams. It was all I ever needed to be, when I was first brought into the world so long, long, ago." Said with a nod. "I did lose someone dear. The very person who created me, in fact. It was centuries ago... A young boy who needed a friend. And there was nothing I could do to protect him from the Eater of Dreams." He sighs.
    "You are right, though. I do not think he would have wanted me alone in that place. Then again, thinking on it now, with a clearer head, I do not think he would have wanted me to seek revenge for him, either."

Lacrima listens. "I will tell you. That's wrong." she says softly. "Everyone deserves to feel happiness." she says bluntly. She sighs and brushes herself off after listening to the princess. "Excuse me." she says.

She walks out of the room. She's gone for a few moments. She walks back in with a tray. It's a slightly scratched, tarnished but for all effects, 'clean' silver tray, on which a small mountain of immaculate donuts sit, a small pitcher of cold milk. A small pitcher of lemonade. "Here." she says.

"Donut's help me when I feel down." she says, grabing two and just starts sort of... double wielding them. One bite into one... one into the other. Reciprocate. It's kind of silly.

"Revenge never works good." she says quietly.

"You don't have to forgive someone. Or something. For pain they caused you. Especially things like that..." she says quietly. "But actively seeking pain back...." she shakes her head.

"It never works out well." she says quietly.

She sighs. "I think... Dark.. and Light... exists in everyone." she says. "Sometimes the dark is too strong. And it makes us do dumb things. And sometimes it can snuff out the light." she says.

"I'm glad your light hasn't been snuffed out." she says quietly. "....But erm..." she looks up. "Speaking of which I still feel... some pretty heavy dark energy from you. We should... get that looked up. Before it creeps into your heart. Or starts influencing you." she says quietly.

    The Prince gives a nod of his head when Lacrima excuses herself- only to return with donuts and drinks. She is met with a wan smile as the youth sits himself up.
    He accepts a donut rather daintily in gloved fingers and takes a bite. Though he lets silence hang for a moment while chewing, allowing Lacrima to speak freely as she pleases, again, without interruption.
    "Mn. So I have learned. Also not to tangle with things far greater than I, in such folly as well."
    That battle with the Eater of Dreams did not end well for him.
    "Ah yes... Speaking of." He murmurs when the topic changes. "Dark and light must always be together, but in balance. In me, it is wildly out of balance as you can quite plainly tell." He confirms for her. "Which brings me to the gift I spoke of earlier. Now that we have a moment..." Mused as he sets the donut down half eaten.
    "You." He says. "I believe you would be better suited to carrying this darkness now, more than I, now that I have my heart returned to me."

Lacrima's dream donuts taste like a culmination of every good donut Lacrima has ever eaten. They're delicious, moist, vanilla frosted-- but not too much! With chocolate sprinkles that are soft-- not crunchy! You could find donuts like this in the waking world easily. They're just an idealized form of it in the dreamscape.

Then the Prince gets to the gift. Oh... that... that hasn't been on Lacrima's mind since she walked in. Of 'gifts' is not her primary thought. But she remembers it. When he starts talking she looks at the Prince a little bit with a single blink as she opens her mouth and closes it, pursing her lips, as she raises a finger. "One moment. Again. Please." she says.

Lacrima leaves quickly. She returns quickly with a... 'dream polaroid' of sorts.

It's the picture of the mosaic that was at the end of the 'Hidden Temple'. She slides the picture over. "That." she says. "Was taken in one of the places we found one of the heart pieces." she says softly. "I dunno what it means or meant." she says quietly.

She shifts a bit as she sits back down. "....But. You're asking me. To take on dark energy. That's been sitting. Stewing in you. For a specific purpose." she says quietly. "Nightmares..... and dark." she mutters.

"I.. can I get a moment. To think about this?" a pause. "I do not... mean... days. I mean. A few minutes. Please?" she asks. "Between. The... picture and... what I know of dark energy. I need time." she says.

    And good donuts they are, but the prince seems to have had his fill. More can be had later as he folds his hands on his lap and waits for a response.
    Of course she would need time, and when she returns with the image of the mural and passes it to him, he looks nowhere near surprised at the sight of it.
    "I am aware of this. It is an old legend." He says. "'When the Prince of Sleep is brought back to his right mind, he shall pass on the power of Nightmares to another.'" He recites from memory. "The fact that the image in the mural is so strikingly similar to you, well I suppose that cannot be mere coincidence can it?" She adds on with a smirk. It is not smarmy though.
    "I thought as much, though. Please take all the time you need to decide. I will not be going anywhere."

Lacrima blinks. "There's a legend?" she asks bluntly. A pause. And she smacks her head. "Right, you hid the heart pieces, of course you'd had saw that there." she says rolling her eyes. She pinches the bridge of her nose. "I'll need... a moment um. If the dreamscape flickers. I don't think it will. But if it turns off just... patient. Please? It'll be back...." she says as she leaves.

She walks down the stairwell... into the courtyard as she pinches her nosebridge. She walks around the courtyard.

She hadn't chosen the powers she has now. She didn't want to be this. This wasn't what she thought being a magical girl was. She was being given a choice now though.

But it was just... darkness again. She hadn't gauged it's power. She could be more powerful... she could be less powerful... the darkness speaks to her.. "'take it!'"] in her head and she shakes her head. "No...!" she says out loud.

"Why would I take this!?" she says. "I..if he wants it gone, we can just... purify it?..."

"Nightmares are a natural thing that happens thou." the more reasonable part of her says. "- if it isn't you. It could just be someone else who has worse intentions. What about Icela?" this causes her to cringe. Icela, who without being some sort of .... Nightmare... Dream Royalty already sees herself as 'sacrosanct'- and wants to hurt people and others on whims and her own twisted beliefs.

"We could end anyone who'd hurt you again! Poderoso again?... bam! This Eater of Dreams... everyone! At our feet...!" she frowns. "Nrg... no. I said no..." she says. "Not.. for that reason... I refuse...!" she yells out. "Prophecies... be darned!" she huffs.

"...Don't you remember one of our fondest wishes....? says the more Norie-ish part of her...

"....Yeah...." she says as she stops and bites her lip as she pinches her nose.

~~~~~~~~@~~~~~~~~

Lacrima appears at the doorway of the Guest Room after about twenty minutes of what seems like talking to herself and pacing in the courtyard.

"....for the longest time..." she says quietly. "I've been this dark thing. Rooted in dark energy, rooted in a place I don't like." she starts off to the prince. "-and this unicorn... this being rooted in.. in actual dreams. And hope. And brightness..." she says. "Loves me regardless." she says softly. "Of these facts." she says. "Loves me... so much that... she.. she fights. When she dislikes it so much. Because she's afraid. She'll lose me." she says softly.

"I already came to terms. A long while ago. That I'm always just going to be living in dark." she says quietly. "But I made a promise to myself. That I wouldn't... wouldn't... 'seek power'." she says. Her speech is stilted.

"But... if there's a way to be a part of.. of her world. Where she comes from. From these dreams." she says.

"I'll accept. For those reasons. Not for power. or position." she says softly.

    Once again the Prince waits, patient and understanding as Lacrima takes the time she needs to come to terms with herself and her desires. Again he nods his head as she steps out and into the courtyard where he cannot see her nor her internal debate.
    And he is still there, waiting, when she returns. He drums his fingers as he listens once again to her and her reasoning.
    "Unicorns, to my memory, were always gentle creatures. Timid by nature, and as fleeting and hard to pin down as the wind. The fact that you have one that loves you is something to be cherished." He says before letting her continue. "To be part of her world, yes, the world of dreams and myth, well that can be done." He states, holding his hand out.
    "I will give you the power I once had. The power over Nightmares and their ilk. For every dream there is always a nightmare, just as there is darkness for all there is light. They are but two sides of a coin. All you need but do is take my hand."

Lacrima shifts. "I know what you're offering." she says quietly. She shifts. "Besides. You can't be a Prince of Dreams if you're filled with the power to rule nightmares." she gives as much as a 'wink' as she's able to at the moment.

She doesn't hold out her hand yet. "One. Last thing." she says sternly. "I... don't want you. To disappear. When this is over. Ariel... deserves to see you. Like this. To talk to you. There's other people. That would like to know that... you're going to be okay." she says.

"People willing to help you, and ease worries and pain." she says.

Lacrima mutters. "What I'm saying is... no one... hates you. Over here. As far as I know. We've spent... months. All this time following a book, to put your heart together... to help you. You know...?" she says.

"Just... you know?..." she mutters.

With that said... she does offer her hand out, carefully.

    And then a hand is held out. Though the Prince doesn't take Lacrima's hand just yet. He still has something to say before actally doing this, evidenced by how he gently shakes his head.
    "I have much to atone for. Everything I've done up to this point, I must be held accountable for. I have no intention to disappear. And there are those indeed who I would very much like to see, as well."
    "I know what you have all done. What you have all gone through up to this point. Know that it was not for nothing."
    And with that, the Prince of Dreams takes Lacrima's hand in his own, letting the outflow of his power over nightmares begin.

Lacrima's hand takes in the first bit into her being. This isn't much different than draining dark energy... at the start. Her hand slowly begins to shake, though, as more and more enters.

Things begin to jump, and shift around the dreamscape. Like glitches, the more she takes in. This wouldn't be unexpected.... parts of her magical heart are being rewritten... changed... or removed all together, after all. She doesn't remove her hand though.

Not even once.

"I..If everything...goes dark I'm just...rebooting... in a way... I..I think..." she mutters. "I..I'll be fine." she says through gritted teeth.

Yeah... yeah this is taking much out of her to accept this. She's gonna need a bit when all is said and done to rest, and let the dust settle around her.

    It's a process that takes little time yet feels like forever. The span of a few seconds stretch out into long moments of that energy flowing from the prince to Lacrima. But her resolve holds true and she does not release his hand.
    When it is done, he draws back, looking visibly drained of strength and breathing heavily. But he will recover just fine, he will simply need rest as well, after coronating the new Princess of Nightmares in such a way.
    "For what it's worth. I am sorry."