Souls Entwined Through Time

Dixie glances around in complete bewilderment. She looks down at herself, baffled and stunned by what she sees. Protruding collar bones, white dress, red hair and very delicate hands.

Who's hands are these? She jolts in shock when the fingers move according to her will.

Why are my hands tied together?

Why are my ankles chained together?

She twists her neck around. What is this? Why is there a log on my back?

She can't fully turn around so she looks straight again. Her breathing grows heavy and she abruptly realizes that she is completely exhausted! How long has she been kneeling here like this? A bead of sweat runs down her temple.

Her eyes widen in shock. She's facing a large number of people staring directly at her. An assembly? Everyone is wearing very strange clothing, like something you would see on the set of a historical movie. On the left hand side, there is a collection of clergymen.

Is this a church or a palace? It looks like the Sistine Chapel without the paintings. Maybe, the Florence Cathedral?

Her eyes continue to roll around wildly until the ache in her knees and shoulders flare up again. She groans and glances to her right. There is a man who's dressed up as a knight in shining armor. Is this cosplay?

"Hey! Hey, bro! Can you take this thing off my shoulders? It's heavy."

The knight looks at her briefly with bland eyes.

"Hello? This log, can you remove it? Dixie blinked, waiting. "Um...can you tell me where am I? What's going on?"

Silence greets her.

He's just gonna ignore me? So much for being a knight in shining armor.

Her eyes move back to the front. Most of the people seated are speaking amongst themselves. Some are staring at her with scorn and disgust, while others look grim.

The mood is quite heavy, Dixie realized.

She's reminded of Harry Potter's trial in Order of the Phoenix. Except this court room consisted of polished white marble instead of polished black marble. And they were in a sunlit room as opposed to deep underground.

The architect was stunningly beautiful!

Wow! Ever since Dad cut us off, we no longer visit beautiful places like this anymore.

Wait, where's Bonnie?!

Dixie brought her gaze back down. Her neck was starting to throb now. She pulled a muscle when she looked up.

If we're both having the same crazy dream, that means she could be here too. And dream or not, I'm---or rather the woman I am in this dream, is obviously in trouble. Hence the chains, the low mood, trial like setup and all the stinky eyes. But what crime did dream me commit? And how wild is this dream going to get? First the book that drums, then we get sucked into a symbol, then I'm running through a white world and now I've lost my body! I've become a redhead in chains. Gosh! I didn't know dreams could even last this long. According to the extractors of Inception, once a dreamer realizes they're dreaming, the dream collapses and they wake up.

Dixie knew her line of reasoning sounded whacky, but she didn't have any other reference to draw upon. This was a scene straight out of Inception. Finding yourself in a certain place and not knowing how you got there.

Also, the surroundings are completely unfamiliar to me. Am I perhaps, in someone else's dream? Ouch! My fucking knees are throbbing so much! How long will I be made to stay like this? When will my trial start? Can I get up then to testify? Where is my lawyer?

She tried to stand up but her body was seriously too weak. The earlier knight noticed her movement and warned her to stay still.

Dixie huffed in annoyance.

"My knees are hurting, my neck is hurting, my back is hurting and my shoulders feel like they're going to break! Can you please take this thing off me? It's not as if I can run away with my feet chained." She squirms some more, trying to ease her pain.

"A dangerous criminal such as yourself must be bound. And the pain you're feeling now is nothing compared to the pain you will soon be facing, my lady."

Dixie swallowed hard. Even though she believed she was dreaming, those threatening words felt all too real. And why did they sound so familiar? She felt as if some one else had said the same thing to her in the past.

"What is my crime?"

The man's eyebrows shot up. "Pretending ignorance? Yes, that is a very common tactic amongst criminals facing execution."

Execution! Crap! What the hell am I in?!