Pandora didn't get much sleep that night and was grateful that her nap and been enough rest to keep her from being tired. She had a terrible dream about being attacked by two rats while she was alone and defenseless. Why should she be scared of them anymore? Pandora knew she could come to expect having nightmares from now on.
While everyone was still asleep and the Palace was quiet, Pandora moved down to the Overlander Museum. She jotted down her latest dream, as well as the one about Sandwich, before getting started with reorganizing the shelves. Two and a half shelves had already been cleaned out, and Pandora's goal was to get the third one completely finished before breakfast.
Vikus had invited Pandora, as well as Nerissa, Ripred, Hazard, Luxa, Aurora, Nike, and Pan to eat breakfast in a cozy room somewhere in the High Hall. Only Nike turned down the offer. Luxa sat opposite of Vikus, her arm in a sling to keep it immobilized while her wound healed.
Pandora met Vikus' bond Euripedes for the first time, who was the largest bat she had ever seen. When she complimented Euripedes on his size, which seem to please him, he commented, "If you had seen Ares, you would not think so."
Ares... did Pandora know a bat by that name? She tried to think of everyone she had met and who they were bonded with. Pandora knew Gregor had had a bond while in the Underland, but she didn't know much about him... or her, other than they died during a battle. Could Gregor have been bonded to Ares? "Was Ares Gregor's bond?"
"Yes," Euripedes answered. "He was so powerful he could carry Ripred on his back and single-handedly lift one half of an entire ship out of the Waterway."
"I can see why he would choose to be the warrior's bond. A powerful fighter needs an equally powerful flier," Pandora said.
"Ares didn't choose to be Gregor's bond," Luxa said, her face unreadable. "Gregor bonded with him to save his life."
"What do you mean?" Pandora asked. Why would Ares' life be in danger, and why could it have been saved through a bonding ceremony?
"He was on trial for breaking his former bond," Vikus explained.
"My brother, you see," Nerissa spoke up. "He turned against the humans. It was ultimately Ares' decision whether he lived or died."
Vikus finished the story. "The council was deliberating how best to handle the case, and they decided on execution. Gregor bonded with Ares to nullify the decision."
"In Ares' defense, Henry would have died anyway. The council would have executed him for treason." Pandora realized how dark the conversation had turned.
"Sorry for bringing up such an inappropriate table conversation," she said. The group quickly forgave her, and they went on to eating.
The table seemed incomplete to Pandora, although all of the seats were full. The realization that Howard wasn't there hit her like a ton of bricks. She felt like crying but kept her composure. It was fortunate that a silence had settled over the group as they ate, for she knew her voice would give away her upset mood.
Pan had brought his "that was easy" button with him to show the others. He could speak briefly and in whispers, so he refrained from speaking except when questions were directed at him. The wrapping on his head was much smaller than it once was, and he no longer had to keep his wing propped up.
When Pandora asked him what happened to his wing, he answered, "Dislocated." She asked how the tear in his wing was healing, and he said, "Good." He unfurled his wing to show that the line of stitches had been removed, a jagged scar defacing the smooth surface of the skin.
She caught Nerissa as she was leaving the High Hall after their meal. "I'm going to let you in on a secret."
"What is it?' Nerissa asked, looking up and down the hall to ensure no one was in it.
"You're not going to believe it!" Pandora said excitedly.
"Believe what, Pandora?"
"The most incredible dream ever," Pandora answered. She was stalling on purpose to spark Nerissa's curiosity.
"Which would be...?"
"I met... Sandwich."
"You... what?"
"I had a dream of the past, and I met Sandwich," Pandora said. "Not just met him but talked to him! He was having a vision of the future and could see me, and I was having a dream of the past and could see him. We couldn't touch each other though, because we technically weren't on the same plane."
"Plane?" Nerissa asked. Pandora could tell by the look on her face that she wholeheartedly believed her.
"Yeah, he said that visons occur when we can see into a different worldly plane, one that's in the future. There are also planes of the past, which is what I see when I have dreams."
"What else did he tell you?"
"He told me that other people naturally think we're a little insane for claiming to see into the future, but he said the only way to change what people think is to show them that what we say is true."
"He said that?"
"Well, not in those exact words," Pandora said. "And then my dream ended. I didn't really get a chance to learn anything about Sandwich. So many of my questions were left unanswered."
"Do not worry, Pandora," Nerissa put a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps you will encounter Sandwich again in another dream."
"Maybe," Pandora said. "But I highly doubt that. I guess I'm going to have to find it all out all by myself."
"Not all by yourself," Nerissa said encouragingly. "I will always be by your side, my friend." Pandora flashed a smile that was the biggest she had been able to conjure up in days.
Pandora attempted to talk to Nike, but after exchanging a few quiet words with the bat, she knew the best thing she could do for Nike was to leave her alone.
While in the Overland Museum that night, Pandora paused while moving a handful of action figures and other toys. A strange feeling passed over her, and she set the toys down to massage her temples. She felt a bit queasy and knelt beside them.
Suddenly, she felt as if her eyes weren't closed, even though they were. She was viewing a scene in front of her taking place in a part of the Palace that she hadn't been to yet. It was furnished lavishly, with purple and red curtains hanging on the walls and oil lamps set on tables. There was even some wooden furniture, which would be extremely rare for Underlanders to have. She figured she must be in a royal chamber of the Palace.
A servant had a tray of food in front of her, where she had set it down on a table to retrieve something from the inside of her shirt. She pulled the stopper off the top of a small glass vial and poured the dark contents into the cup on the tray. Swirling the cup to dissolve the substance in the wine, the woman then picked up the tray and carried it to the adjoining room. She set it before Luxa...
Pandora knew what she saw was an attempt to kill the queen. It was going to happen soon, too, while Luxa still had her arm in the sling. Unfortunately, it wasn't the sort of vision she could share with anyone, not even Nerissa. It was for her eyes only, so she wrote it down in her private notebook.
Although she couldn't inform anyone of her vison, she wasn't going to let the knowledge go to waste. She started mentally preparing herself for the encounter that could very well save Luxa's life. What better way to follow Sandwich's advice? She now had an opportunity to show people that her visions were real and useful.
