“I was once a Dreamhunter myself,” Charmwill said, dressed in his cloak and walking with his cane. “But that was a long time ago, before I devoted my life to protecting the Book of Beautiful Lies.”
“But how did you enter this Dreamory?” Loki said. “Are you lying next to me and Snow White in the Dream Temple now?”
“Not at all,” Charmwill chuckled, hiding all the secrets Loki wanted to know behind his smile. “Does it matter how I got here?”
“You’re right,” Loki said, stepping out of the bathtub. “Snow White matters.”
Charmwill nodded sneakily as if it was what he’d always wanted to hear Loki say.
“Where is she?” Loki said.
“Carmilla took her, and she has no intention of giving her back to you,” Charmwill explained.
“But the Dreamory might end any moment now,” Loki said. “I can’t wake up without her.”
“Is that what you want to do?” Charmwill asked, his eyes piercing through Loki.
“Of course, it’s what I want to do,” Loki said impatiently. He hated when Charmwill needed confirmation of his words. “I thought you were here to help me save her.”
“You know I am always here for you, but I thought you were here to kill her so you could find your way back home,” Charmwill said.
“I don’t need this kind of talk right now. Time is tight Charmwill,” Loki pleaded. “It doesn’t matter if I go home now,” he hesitated for a moment then said, “I know it’s strange and I have no rational explanation for it, but Snow White is now my home.”
“Why didn’t you say that all along?” Charmwill smiled from ear to ear. “Let’s go save the princess like they do in fairy tales,” he waved his cane at Loki, too enthusiastic for a man his age. “Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“Carmilla has Snow White in her carriage, which is driven by magical wolves,” Charmwill said. “She wants to imprison Snow White in a tower. If you stop talking, we could save your princess.”
“Why imprison her in a tower if all she wants is to kill her?” Loki asked. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“I really need you to stop talking now,” Charmwill said as he hurried through a side door out of the bathhouse and into the Black Forest. A set of horses were lined up in front of them, ready and able.
“I hope you know how to ride horses,” Charmwill said. Pickwick landed on his shoulder after he’d been playing outside.
“You never taught me that. I only know how to drive a car that plays music which doesn’t exist,” Loki said. “I suppose you don’t have any of those in the 19th century.”
“Of course, not,” Charmwill replied. “A princess has to be saved the old fashioned way, on a horse, in a forest or castle, right after you slay the dragon.”
“That’s so text book fairy tale,” Loki said. “I thought this world was all messed-up fairy tales.”
“The characters are messed up indeed, but the heart and soul of love and transcendence never change,” Charmwill said. “Faces change, hearts remain,” he winked at Loki, and Pickwick nodded with approval. “But no worries; get on the horse, and give it a chance. It should be like riding a bicycle. We’re in a dream anyways. Use your Chanta.”
Reluctantly, Loki got on a horse. Once he did, Charmwill tapped it gently. The horse took off and was at full speed within moments.
Loki screamed, hanging onto its neck, unable to control it, doing his best not to fall off.
“This Chanta isn’t working,” Loki yelled, the horse sprinting away into the dark forest.
“That’s because you still don’t believe enough in yourself,” Charmwill said from behind. “Keep trying. Use your imagination.”
“But I crushed Sesame! I got rid of the one thing that was holding me back, and it saved me from drowning. What else should I do?” Loki shouted as he struggled with the speeding horse, arching his back and hugging it like a rodeo cowboy.
“You need to believe in things that you haven’t seen with your own eyes yet,” Charmwill yelled, his sound faint and far away. “Believe it and you will see it.”
“I can’t think straight while I’m on this horse,” Loki said, knowing that Charmwill wouldn’t hear him. He felt exactly like he had in the Candy House when the crow had grabbed him. This wasn’t good. He needed to control the horse to save Snow White. He was wasting precious time. He didn’t even know where he was going, but he assumed the horse was following Carmilla’s wolf-driven carriage. The moon above was the only light guiding his way into the forest while he looked like a clown on the back of a reckless horse. “Loki do this. Loki do that. Loki go kill the princess. Loki don’t kill the princess,” he kept mumbling to himself, almost falling off the horse. “Loki ride the horse. Loki save the princess. Loki use the Chanta. Loki believe in yourself. I’m Loki’s all confused and fed up conscious. I hate this dream.”