"Have you heard their confessions before? The cruel, awful things they do within the dream. Outside of it. They use this beautiful, perfect dream to escape the harshness of reality."
Sunday looks at her, expression pained.
"If someone wishes to escape a loveless marriage, while I may not personally approve, who am I to step in and tell them no? If someone has lost their family, their homeland, and they can escape that crushing emptiness, through the Dream, should I stop them? Where does the line begin and end, Fool?"
He's not asking because he wants to know her thoughts on it. He's asking because he doesn't know the answer himself.
If the Dreamchasers were perfectly happy with how things currently were in the Dream, were they not? Why else would they remain? It had everything they needed. Everything they desired. Reality was painful, difficult. The Dream was simple, easy. Near perfect.
It would be perfect, when he had his way. He'd been guided in this direction for nearly his entire life. If his father believed... If so many others within the Oak Family also believed... surely, this was the correct way forward, wasn't it?
He had to believe in it. An outsider like Sparkle, a Fool... she could never understand. The years he spent, sitting in a confessional, hearing every awful thing someone had done. And asking them to recite prayers, and choose to do good deeds, to be forgiven in the eyes of the Harmony. How many times he'd been sick, had lost sleep, had become anxious and fearful at the thought of staining his soul the way they had solely through thought. Quiet prayers and trembling hands, begging forgiveness, mercy.
But then she asks of his sister, and her desires, singing Robin's song in her own voice. How she doesn't wish to live in a cage. He thinks of that little dove, dying outside of her window, how he'd wished to rush out and cradle it, and nearly had, when a firm hand had gripped his shoulder.
It was a lesson that had taken years for Sunday to learn, internalize. All living things needed to be safely contained. Robin wouldn't understand, but he knew it was best for her. For everyone under his wing.
It needed to be best.
"I have no need for other Aeons' approval, either. I sought an answer, and was guided to a final, proper conclusion. Nothing more, nothing less."
He closes his eyes, turning away from Sparkle. Facing the balcony once more. He wanted his sister to live, no matter what. She may be unhappy... but her safety. It was paramount.
"As long as she's safe... That's all that matters to me."
Their grief would be mild, in comparison to the absolute security of those within the Dreamscape. He had to focus on the bigger picture. This was their dream, wasn't it? Didn't she want this, too?
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Sunday looks at her, expression pained.
"If someone wishes to escape a loveless marriage, while I may not personally approve, who am I to step in and tell them no? If someone has lost their family, their homeland, and they can escape that crushing emptiness, through the Dream, should I stop them? Where does the line begin and end, Fool?"
He's not asking because he wants to know her thoughts on it. He's asking because he doesn't know the answer himself.
If the Dreamchasers were perfectly happy with how things currently were in the Dream, were they not? Why else would they remain? It had everything they needed. Everything they desired. Reality was painful, difficult. The Dream was simple, easy. Near perfect.
It would be perfect, when he had his way. He'd been guided in this direction for nearly his entire life. If his father believed... If so many others within the Oak Family also believed... surely, this was the correct way forward, wasn't it?
He had to believe in it. An outsider like Sparkle, a Fool... she could never understand. The years he spent, sitting in a confessional, hearing every awful thing someone had done. And asking them to recite prayers, and choose to do good deeds, to be forgiven in the eyes of the Harmony. How many times he'd been sick, had lost sleep, had become anxious and fearful at the thought of staining his soul the way they had solely through thought. Quiet prayers and trembling hands, begging forgiveness, mercy.
But then she asks of his sister, and her desires, singing Robin's song in her own voice. How she doesn't wish to live in a cage. He thinks of that little dove, dying outside of her window, how he'd wished to rush out and cradle it, and nearly had, when a firm hand had gripped his shoulder.
It was a lesson that had taken years for Sunday to learn, internalize. All living things needed to be safely contained. Robin wouldn't understand, but he knew it was best for her. For everyone under his wing.
It needed to be best.
"I have no need for other Aeons' approval, either. I sought an answer, and was guided to a final, proper conclusion. Nothing more, nothing less."
He closes his eyes, turning away from Sparkle. Facing the balcony once more. He wanted his sister to live, no matter what. She may be unhappy... but her safety. It was paramount.
"As long as she's safe... That's all that matters to me."
Their grief would be mild, in comparison to the absolute security of those within the Dreamscape. He had to focus on the bigger picture. This was their dream, wasn't it? Didn't she want this, too?