Meeting a beautiful Dream

The White Witch

In the world of Dreams, Charlotte was not alone. During that one time of the day, she could indulge in endless company of characters she loved and adored. And in return, they would love and adore her. In her dreams, she had completely forgotten the burdens of real life. And so they would serve as her sanctuary, the one thing that kept her sane for all these years. Abandoned by her parents right after she was born, she was always alone. A tiny little human life, lying in the crib of an abandoned room. Abandoned house. She was not meant to survive without any care, but she did.

Because someone made sure she would. The Observer. A mysterious figure wearing a black suit and w mask made out of goat’s skull. She never even learned his true name, but here he was. Taking care of the baby clad in white colors, making sure she would not starve and that she could grow into adulthood. Was this done of his own will? Or the will of the puppeteer… a question that she could never possibly find an answer to. But regardless, she was grateful. Grateful to be alive and well at this very moment. With a loud yawn, she would realize that yet another day came to a close.

The Sun would slowly fall beyond the horizon, first dying the skies in crimson red and orange. Golden hues that would form the perfect painting for mortal eyes, only to fade away and let lose the eternal darkness of the Universe. As always, the girl would take a shower, change from her regular clothes to pajamas, brush her teeth and head for her bed. And along the way, a single fleeting thought would enter her mind. Did her life really change so much? Indeed, that it did. Most of her early years, she would spend sleeping. Indulging in that sweet world of her mind. For ten whole years.

Then, at the age of eleven, everything changed. 「Seth」 entered her life. A puppeteer that she belonged to. The way she saw it, humans of this world were nothing more than that. Puppets controlled by the puppeteers that remained in the True Realm. As such, she and everyone else had absolutely no free will. Some would find such story absolutely ridiculous. Others would succumb to it and lose all sense of self, their ego crumbling under the idea of their whole existence being controlled by someone else. But Charlotte did not mind it one bit. She was told she had no free will. And yet, she felt all the same.

Nothing changed for her. If she had no free will to begin with, then there was no point even thinking about it. After all, she knew not how it was to have free will. Or, if it was all a lie, how it was to not have free will. With no way to verify one or the other, there was truly nothing else left for her but to accept what she was told. And she was happy. Because she was alive and could now talk to her puppeteer at any moment. She was no longer alone even in the waking world. And as such, she would no longer spend all of her days sleeping away all her trouble.

Instead, she would stay awake and aware of the reality that was around her. And with the invisible and untouchable stings attached to her, she would eventually start learning how to deal with it all. She would be told of her impressive lineage and the fact that she is quite special, even among the pathetic puppets. She was told that her story would be quite an impressive one, so she should prepare for it. For it would soon start. Those were four more years of her life where she learned how to live like a proper human being. And at the age of fifteen, it all began.

「Seth」 would tell her to join a guild named Black Rose, one that resided in the very same town as she did. It was convenient, and the guild had a great variety of people to meet and work with. At the start, the girl was very timid and shy. She would rarely interact with others, and when she did, she would have great difficulties doing so. This went on for some time, but she started improving eventually. Now, she can talk even to complete strangers. And although she still stutters from time to time, she has come a long way from the beginning of her story.

She made a ton of progress. Perhaps more than was expected by the puppeteer. And now, something was happening. Something almost unaccounted for. Or perhaps it was done on purpose? After all, the puppeteer was supposed to be in the control of everything that happens in this realm. Surely there was no way something outside of their control could happen. Shaking her head, the young White Witch would chase the strange thoughts away as she sat down onto the edge of her bed, all prepared to embrace the night and sleep till the morning would wake her.

“Goodnight, Seth.” The same words she uttered every single day just before she would try to fall asleep. And so she did, slipping beneath the fluffy sheets and making sure she would stay warm throughout the colder night. While the winter holidays were long gone, it would still be a while before the weather outside would warm up again. Charlotte herself did not mind the cold too much, but just like any other human being, she felt much more comfortable in the average temperature one would normally exist in. And with closed eyes, embraced by the warmth and dark, she would drift away.

But in front of her, the hill still stood perfectly still and beautiful as ever. No… a hill? The girl’s body would suddenly jerk, like a person who is falling in their sleep. But instead of remaining in her bed, she just stumbled back and nearly fell over. Surely she closed her eyes in order to fall asleep, so why was she able to see? Why was she standing up instead of laying down? Perhaps she was dreaming already. Lucid dreams did not come easy to her and were far between, but they were not impossible. Realizing that this might have been the case, the young girl grew excited rather quickly.

Charlotte

1,078 / 4,500 WC

The White Witch

She tried to image all sort of fun things that could occupy her dream space, ones that would bring her joy while she slept and relax her physical body. But to her surprise, nothing changed. She was not able to summon anything into this place, not change a single thing. Looking around once more, a sudden realization came to her. One that happened so quickly and rashly that she felt almost as if she had hit her head on something solid. Her bare feet stood firmly on a grass-covered land, but it was not too big around her. A cliff-side that quickly grew thinner in front of her until it ended.

But there was no tree, only a moon in the distance. No… it was not a moon? Looking up, she clearly saw what was Earth she was supposed to live on. How come it was up there if she was down here? Looking down, she also quickly realized that she was, in fact, wearing the pajamas she put on. All this would be quite strange, perhaps even for a dream. However, what was strange could quickly change if one were to view the world through eyes of Charlotte. She was here for the very first time now. But at first, the place reminded her of a realm she visited a while back. The Gardens of Eden.

The core of that world consisted of a very similar scenery. A cliff overlooking what appeared to be an endless forest, the ground covered with tall grass and pristine flowers of all different colors. But in the Gardens, there was a tall ivory-white tree at the very tip of the cliff. There was no such thing here. Perhaps one of the two places was created after the other? But then, where was she really? Finally, she would try to walk forward. But even that simple action caused an enormous and vile headache to enter the girl’s head.

Grabbing her pure white hair with her hands for a moment, she would fall to her knees, weep in pain. But before she would even realize it, that feeling was completely gone. As if it had never existed in the first place. When in pain, humans lament. But soon after said pain disappears, they stop being able to recall how exactly they felt when they were in pain. Yes, every pain could be forgotten with enough time. It was the scars that always had to remain. Lifting her pure white and pupil-less orbs to see what was in front of her, few teardrops fell to the ground.

Charlotte was crying. Why was she crying? Ah… there was someone squatting right in front of her. Being the scaredy-cat she was, the witch should have leaped back in shock. But this time, just this time, there was no reaction at all. She simply stared at this small child in front of her, crying ever so lightly. “Why are you crying, Miss? Nothing has even happened yet!” A young and energetic voice came out of the child. A young girl, no older than 10 years she was. With raven black hair and sparkling eyes, this young girl stared back at the White Witch, who was desperately trying to recover.


“No, this is…” What was it? Somehow, Charlotte was unable to find the words she was looking for. No, not just that. She didn’t know why she suddenly felt so sad. Somehow, she felt as if knew this dark-haired girl. But from where? Surely she did not know her. She did not even know this child’s name, after all! So then why? Seth did not tell this doll the truth of her existence. That the girl in front of her was in her place before. A doll controlled by this very puppeteer but replaced by the White Witch. Shaking her head, Charlotte would gather her strength and get back up on her feet, taking in several deep breaths, followed by loud exhales. The other girl would get up as well. Obviously, she was smaller than the white-haired maiden.

“Who are-” “My name is Rose Ambrose! And that over there is the Overseer!” Rather excited and energetic, the young girl managed to answer before Charlotte even finished her question. Rose, that was her name. Adding Ambrose to that was a little odd though, considering it contained her first name as well. But this one was in no position to judge such things either, considering the fact the Black Cross dubbed her Charlotte Whiterose after her guild. And as the White Witch quickly learned, there was also another girl nearby, sitting on the ground. She wore a black dress and had short, silver hair. Apparently, she was the Overseer. No actual name was given, which made her be rather similar to the Observer. A man in a black suit who would appear near the girl from time to time on her adventures.

Almost mesmerized, Charlotte couldn’t help but stare at her for few moments, only for that spacing out to be broken by Rose tugging on her pajamas. In that very moment, the White Witch died herself in a tomato-red color, embarrassment quickly taking a hold of her. She was fine with the attire before, as she had thought it was all just a dream. However, that quickly transformed into a scenario with actual other people around. And for that, her pajamas were just about the least appropriate thing. Rose clearly noticed that and giggled. “It’s fine, super fine~”

Playfully trying to reassure the taller girl, the child would clap her hands together and Charlotte found herself dressed in something completely different. A brown button-up shirt with long and tight sleeves. Added to it was a long black skirt that covered most of her legs, which were also hidden beneath a thin layer of white fabric. Not only her clothes, the messy hair from rolling around in her bad was also gone. And instead of the usual mess of fluff, it formed two neatly managed and extremely long pigtails. It was not exactly a style that the girl herself would normally try, but she kinda liked it.

Charlotte

2,103 / 4,500 WC

The White Witch

It looked like an older style of clothing she would see in the illustration of books portraying events of the not so distant past. In a way, she felt a little bit older while wearing them, too. Well… her body was old plenty. Whole 18 years of age. However, her mind was still of the age fifteen, as those extra three years happened during her journey across different worlds with Seth. It was a display of her powers that warped time and space itself, changing the girl’s body while she didn’t even realize it. At the end of it, her physical appearance matured ever so slightly while her mental state remained unchanged.

And so she became the childish young adult she was now. She didn’t mind her body being those few years older than before, as she did not actually see any real difference in it all. In the end, those changes were not even all that extensive, surprisingly. Despite her age, she still looked younger than she actually was. Was that because of her magic as well? Or perhaps it was the will of Seth who controlled seemingly every aspect of her life. The girl figured she would not arrive at a satisfying answer by pondering about it all right now, so she simply just looked down at Rose again and smiled, still blushing lightly.

“Thank you, this is much better!” To that, the raven-haired girl would nod with a big grin on her face. “Right?! I knew this would fit you the moment you came here, hehe~” Whoever this girl was, she was friendly and easily excitable. A very good mix for someone like Charlotte, who could easily get lost in the vastness of the world. But she still had absolutely no idea where she actually was. What was this place and what purpose did it serve? Why was she brought here? There was no answer, only a stare of those sparkling eyes from Rose.

The White Witch got little too used to the likes of Observer, who were able to read the thoughts of those around him and answer to people’s questions before they would actually ask. Letting out a small, barely audible sigh, the girl looked around once again. “Rose, do you know where we are? I went to sleep and suddenly found myself here.” The younger girl giggled again and started running off to the edge of the cliff, near the Overseer who was too focused on whatever she was doing to notice what was going on around her. There, she would stop and turn around, still smiling.

“That’s because you’re on the border of reality and dreaming, Miss! You can get here only if you are a dreamer, or have a help of someone from the True Realm. I’m a dreamer who got here a few months ago. And you?” Charlotte tilted her head to the side, processing all that information for a bit. “I think Seth probably brought me here, then. They are my puppeteer from the True Realm.” Rose looked quite surprised for few seconds. “That’s amazing! I’ve never seen someone who would be connected to people from the True Realm like that!”

Whether that was but a mere observation or an actual compliment, the White Witch blushed lightly and smiled, walking toward Rose slowly while looking to the side and observing the Overseer from behind. There was still no reaction at all from her, which was making the girl rather curious about this individual. “Rose, do you know why we’re here? Even if Seth was the one to bring mere here, they didn’t tell me anything. Even now, they are completely silent.” The girl would be silent and only look at the Overseer as well.

“I’ve come here on my own through dreaming. I don’t know what you are supposed to do here, but it probably has something to do with her.” With that, Rose would run off again and this time position herself next to the kneeling silver-haired girl in a black dress, making a hand gesture that was saying ‘come closer’. And so Charlotte did. She was careful to make sure she would not interrupt the Overseer, but the younger girl only shook her head. “Her work requires so much attention that she won’t pay you any mind no matter how loud you are.”

“What is she doing?” A question of curiosity that would start it all. “I dunno~” Rose would exclaim happily as if she was looking forward to finding out more than actually having the answer. Perhaps some children were like that, seeing everything as a game. More curious than ever, the White Witch would fixate her gaze at the Overseer and start slowly approaching. The silver-haired girl was kneeling down on a black plate of strange metal that was pulsing with blue energy, countless white paths leading from where she was outward like an intricate spider web.


Extending her hand forward, she was close enough to touch this unknown and mysterious female. But something happened before she could. Charlotte wasn’t exactly able to process what. But all of a sudden, her view shifted around and fell to the ground. Without any control over anything, she would see the skies, then the ground and then the skies again before she would catch a glimpse of her headless body still standing up before falling down onto the ground, her vision finally blacking out completely. Then, her eyes opened again and she was sitting few meters away from where she just was, completely unharmed.

“Huh…?” Still not exactly sure what just happened, the girl was extremely confused. “Waah, you’re back! That surprised me… I forgot to mention that you shouldn’t approach her because she has some sort of automatic self defense system, but couldn’t stop you in time!” Rose was sitting next to her, wearing an expression of slight discomfort. So what happened few moments ago was real? She showed this young girl something so gruesome? But she was alright now, felt no pain or discomfort herself. “Because this place is on the border of reality and dreaming, you can’t actually die here, at least not by the normal means. But it still startled me…”

Charlotte

3,139 / 4,500 WC

The White Witch

“S…sorry…” So she died just then? But her body somehow got back together and now she was completely fine. She didn’t even notice what did the deed until now. Looking back at the Overseer who appeared to be just as preoccupied as before, there were countless crimson red ribbons floating around her. While they didn’t look like much on the outside, Charlotte knew very well that magic could turn anything into anything. Meaning even such thin and fine looking fabric could become a deadly weapon if exposed to the correct use of ethernano, the particles of magical energy.

The unfortunate part of it all, the girl did not get any answers she desired from the encounter at all. She still didn’t really know why she was here and what she was supposed to do. Why was Seth so silent? Did they want for the White Witch to figure it out on her own? Was all this entertaining for them? Or were they perhaps stalling for time, trying to fulfill some sort of other invisible requirements that Charlotte didn’t know about? When it came down to the puppeteer, everything and anything was possible. No stone could be left unturned as they swirled this world to their whim.

“I’ve been here for a while, but not once I managed to talk to the Overseer. I don’t know if she can even talk at all.” Rose admitted as her worried expression soften a little bit, not sure that her newly found friend was truly alright even after getting so gruesomely decapitated. They would both get up from the ground and look at the silver-haired girl sitting atop the black desk, drawing new lines away. Maybe they could figure out what she was doing even if they didn’t speak to her directly? They were both indeed quite curious, so they would approach once more.

It seemed that the ribbons would not attack them until they showed actual hostility or got too close. Moving around, Charlotte squatted down right next to the desk without touching it and observed. It looked like it was made from some sort of dark metal, but it had so much concentrated magic inside of it, that it could not have been any metal existing in the reality. No… it was not that it was filled with concentrated magic. It was brimming with some sort of power, yes. But now that the girl felt it for a slightly longer time, it was actually not magic. It was something else. Something more.

A power that she could not identify. How could that be? Well, Rose did say they were on the border of dreaming and reality. Anything could go in a place like this, surely. After all, she herself died not too long ago and was just fine right now. But was that so different from her usual life? Perhaps not all that much. Letting out a gentle “hmm”, the White With would try to touch the desk in hopes of understanding it a little bit more. But before her hand could reach it, one of the red ribbons started moving again. And suddenly, the girl’s vision faded into black once more as her heart was pierced by the hardened fabric.

Waking up the same way as before, she would sigh. Not only the Overseer herself, but the desk she was working on was off limits as well then. Whatever she was doing, it was important enough to protect from those who were not meant to touch it. But one thing that Charlotte did notice was the lack of pain she would feel when being killed by those ribbons. Perhaps the defensive mechanism wasn’t so cruel as to actually make those who got too close without any actual malicious intent suffer. Looking around, she noticed that Rose wasn’t anywhere near the Overseer and instead stood at the edge of the cliff again.

And she was doing something, too. Waving her hands around, a table with two chairs suddenly popped out of nowhere. And atop it, a tea set with steaming water and some rose tea. “Over here, Miss!” Waving at Charlotte, the white-haired child would nod and approach. Rose did mention that she was here for quite some time. With only one other being here, one that could not talk, she probably got a fair bit lonely. So sitting down with her and drinking some tea was the least she could do. And so she did. And for the first few minutes, the raven-haired girl only stared at the Witch.

Tilting her head to the side and smiling, she would easily notice it and react. “Is there something on my face?” “I don’t know how to call you other than Miss…” Sounding somewhat sad and rather disappointed with the current situation, she quickly made the other girl realize she hasn’t even introduced herself yet. “Ah, I’m sorry! I’m Charlotte. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rose!” And so, the two officially knew one another. But at that very moment, Rose giggled and then laughed, as if her prank just went successfully through.

“W…what is it?” “Haha, sorry! I already knew your name. Because I’m a dreamer. My dreams can be turned into reality, and I dream about a lot of people. Especially people from Black Rose. Because my big sis is from there as well!” Now, there was quite a surprise to Charlotte. “You have a sister in Black Rose? Who?” “Not telling! She doesn’t quite know about me right now, so I want to keep myself secret for a bit longer.” Saying that, there was still a certain black-haired canine that came to Charlotte’s mind. The color scheme would certainly fit.

“I also lied about not knowing what the Overseer is doing. I wanted to see if you could figure it out on your own! You’re not mad… are you…?” Sounding genuinely worried at the end, Charlotte could only smile. Of course she wasn’t worried. Even though she died twice because of it, she was still here and perfectly fine. So all was forgiven. Not to mention that Rose was but a small child. The older girl could easily understand the desire to play. She understood how painful solitude could be. No matter the place. Here and her empty bedroom could very well be the same.

Charlotte

4,194 / 4,500 WC

The White Witch

But now that Charlotte knew the answer was sitting right in front of her, she just had to ask. “Then… will you tell me everything?” Rose nodded and took a sip of her tea before quickly retracting, as it was clearly still far too hot for her taste. “This world is special compared to all the other ones. It’s not here, nor there. It does not exist, yet it exist in everything. This world is the core of our Earthland. Here, the Overseer sees to everything. That desk she sits on, it’s a device that controls the future and how it unfolds.”

It was almost like she was a puppeteer’s attempt at making the process of writing world’s story automatized. “Right now, and ever since I arrived here, she is looking for the best route. The one path of our world that would allow Earthland to survive and move into the future. You see, every path she discovers seems to lead to an imminent destruction of everything, the whole world. So she is trying to figure out what to change in order to allow humanity to continue. And I’m helping her!” Proudly hopping off of her chair and standing her small self tall, she would start walking toward the Overseer.

Charlotte followed and quietly observed it all. They now stood next to the black desk and watched the third girl work restlessly, the red ribbons still dancing all around her. Rose then pointed at all the white lines that formed an intricate web on the desk. “That is the World Theory. An attempt at making the world survive and the opposite to Phreta Theory, something that is trying to destroy everything. Every while line you see is a different version of Earthland where different decisions were made. A new route.” There were countless. Millions, if not billions of routes.

And all of them ended in the unfortunate demise. Rose looked up at Charlotte with a serious expression for once. “If you’re here, then you’re probably meant to help somehow, too. Maybe you’re connected to the World Theory. Or maybe you could stop the Phreta theory from coming to fruition. I don’t know… I dream a lot, but whenever I dream about a future of the world, it’s all dark and too foggy to see.” Despite her very young appearance, Rose was actually rather mature it seemed. Perhaps it was this place. Or the fact she would dream about so many people and their thoughts all the time.

Smiling, Charlotte would clench her fists and nod. “I understand! No matter what, I will do my best to help in any way I can!” Those words alone managed to make Rose smile brightly again. And the both of them suddenly noticed it. The Overseer was looking at them. Her gaze was no longer fixed at the desk beneath her. Did she hear them? Her expression was completely unreadable and in few seconds, she returned to her World Theory. At that moment, a white rift opened up behind them. “There probably isn’t anything you can do to help in this place. Now that you know, you can leave and try to change things from a different point of view!”

So that’s how it was. Charlotte was quite unique in terms of her being and her abilities. She could visit almost any world she wanted in the vast Universe and Omniverse. So perhaps she had to visit other worlds to see if anything could be done from there. “Will I see you again, Rose?” The question was met with a second of silence before the raven-haired girl grinned. “Of course! We’re friends now, after all! It’s a promise!” And so the two of them swore to meet each other again, as the White Witch entered the rift of white color and closed her eyes.

She left this new and curious world that was above it all behind for now. She learned about the Overseer and a young dreaming girl called Rose. She made friends with her and now she opened her eyes again, as the Sun peered into the room through a window with broken blindfolds. The sheets felt heavy on her body, but she managed to move them and seat herself at the edge of her bed. It was morning and she was back in her room. But she knew that it wasn’t just a dream. Or rather, she knew that it was all real precisely because it was a dream. So she smiled and stretched, ready to begin her new quest, her new story!

Charlotte

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