After my time with Casey, I returned to my realm just for some peace and quiet knowing that Dream was still in the mortal realm. I wasn't going to spy on him, he had his own affairs to attend too. But then again this is me, and I'm a nosey bitch.

I was sitting on my throne, still in the outfit I was in, in the mortal realm. I flicked my hand over the other, using my index finger as the red energy leapt from my fingertip and began to produce a shape. The shape was of a book, and the red energy soon faded and the Darkhold appeared. It was already opened, and on the right page of what spell I was thinking. It floated inches in front of my eye level, and upon this open page was a symbol, and in this symbol was an eye. As if it knew I wanted it, the etching of the symbol came alive and produced a glow of red.

I fluttered my eyes close, and for a moment I felt a breeze brush past me. I reopened my eyes, to be met with Darkness, and a chill that ran down my spine. Suddenly, a light shined from above, it was a spotlight effect but it was red. A deep unsettling one, and I knew straight away where I was.

"Lady Chaos," a voice bellows from around me, no clue where it originated from. "You have been brought before your creators," one by one giant red diamond cubes appeared, and she felt their 'eyes' upon her. There were four in total. "You line yourself with one of the Endless!" He bellowed, I felt the ground under me shake at his anger. "Line yourself with those who would see us destroyed!" My time with Dream, and never have I heard him say he wanted to destroy the Lords of Chaos.

"I align myself with Dream of the Endless for the fact that he is useful," the room was silent with my words, as if they were discussing among themselves. "My Lords, how would I commune or gain intelligence if I was to be locked away in my realm for centuries. Him doing this, coming to my behalf is good. I never asked him too," I continued, wanting them to listen to me. "Does that not tell you, he trusts me?" I pondered the question freely. The air was silent.

"This is enlightening news," he finally spoke in his monotone voice. I always knew what to say to my creators to bring them to reason. "Having one of the Endless bending to our will, will indeed be useful. Spy on him, and report back to us," it was an order she had no choice in the matter. "If you fail us, we will end you," that was a threat, and for sure they meant it this time.

"As you wish, my Lords," I bowed my head for a moment, and raised it back up to see that I was back in my throne room. I let out a shaky breath, every time I was in that place I always came out fearful for my life. They were not beings to mess with. They will indeed destroy me. Once again, I was being ruled over, never truly free from the will of my creators...

..............................

I was wearing my formal - royalty attire that I always wear when visiting other realms - which were governed by monarchs. A red portal snapped open in front of me, it was swirling like a vortex, before the centre of it cleared and the Dreaming appeared. I walked through the portal, and came to the twisting staircase, descending down them like I owed them myself. The portal behind me snapped closed, and my eyes scanned the ground to see no sign of Dream.

"Lady Chaos," his deep monotone voice rang from behind.

"Dream," a smile etched onto my face, as I stopped descending down the stone steps, spinning around to see him up a few - staring down at me. "Just here to check in. See how the realm is coming," my eyes shifted from his and roamed around the throne room. "Look better than the last time I was here," I remarked, finding that he rebuilt his realm nicely.

"I imagine this is no social call?" He questioned taking each step with care.

"Knowing you. You'll already know," I replied, as Dream was always one step ahead, at knowing things. He only smirks at my comment as he passes me on the stairs.

"About the vortex, you are right," he states, as I followed a step or two behind him, as I could just see the smug expression on his face - though I only saw the back of his head. "I am handling it," was all he spoke, as we came to the end of the stairs and out onto the ground.

"Dream. You and I both know that Vortex's are messy, and complex," I explained, as we both stopped in our tracks and he turned to face me. "Deal with it now before it's too late," I was stern with him, because I didn't want to see this blow up in his face. He suddenly perked up, and turned on the spot, making me roll my eyes at him.

"I have completed the census you requested, Lord Morpheus," Lucienne's voice came loud and clear as she walked closer to us. She acknowledged Dream first, before her eyes shifted on over to me.

"Good. And?"

"I have accounted for eleven-thousand-and-sixty-two of them," Lucienne states, she was afterall Dream right-hand woman.

"Wow. Someone's been busy," Matthew's voice came from lower down due to the fact he was a bird.

"Yes, well," Luicenne was proud of what she had done, as she wore a big smile on her face. Dream had got the book from her, and took a look inside, seeing the records behind held within. "There are a handful of new entities,"

"That is to be expected," Dream spoke quickly at the back end of Lucienne's comment as he flicked to the next page of the book.

"But... Three of the Major Arcana are gone," Lucienne didn't want to present this to Dream as it was troubling news for him. I noticed him look up and through his eyelashes. Could this man get any hotter?

"Name them," his tone darkened.

"The first is Gault," as if the name struck a chord in the throne room, the windows behind Dream's throne began to shift, and change colour. "A nightmare who I must say, I never trusted," the window matched the depiction of the nightmare who went missing.

"Wow. Moving glass. Original," I rolled my eyes, and spoke the words under my breath.

"She is a shape-changer. It is not in her nature to be trustworthy," that got to sting. At times, Dream could be cold and a bitch. "Who else?" He asked, genuinely concerned.

"The Corinthian," as the words fell from Lucienne's lips, Dream cast his head to the middle section, and noticed that the window began to shift, and change. The window shaped out a man with a pair of glasses and a hat.

"I assumed as much," Dream states, taking his gaze over to the window. "Still feeding on the dreamers he was meant to serve,"

"Yes," Lucienne agreed with her master's definition of the Corinthian.

"The last?" Dream turned his attention back to his servant.

"The last is Fiddler's Green," I could tell by Lucienne's expression, that this entity was out of the ordinary to do something like this.

"Fiddler's Green?" Dream too was concerned in the fact that this entity had gone missing. "That is passing strange," my eyes went to the last window to see it change to a shades of green, and show a place. "He is after all, vavasor of his own dominion and always so reliable," in the past this Fiddler's Green had been a consort of sorts to Dream.

"Maybe he had a reason," I announced, eyes drifting over to Dream.

"This is my fault. Had I been here, fulfilling my function–"

"It was not your fault, my lord," Lucienne interjects Dream before he could finish his sentence.

"No? Then whose?" Dream pondered the questions to her, but Lucienne remained silent, head drifting to look at the ground.

"I'm afraid there is yet more news. Gossip really, but-"

"Go on,"

"There are rumours among the dream folk... Of a vortex. Perhaps you might wish to investigate," Lucienne was delivering the fashionably late news that Dream and I already knew. Dream closes the book he was holding, his eyes never leaving Lucienne.

"The rumours are quite true. There is a vortex. A true annulet. The first of this era," in a way Dream was fascinated by the vortex, and what it all means.

"Then you must hunt for it, sir. It must be controlled," Lucienne almost begged Dream to stop it before it begins. Dream turned from us, and took a few steps out, his head staring up to look at the ceiling - which was this galaxy.

"The vortex is a she, Lucienne. Not an 'it'," while Dream spoke, the galaxy above took the shape of a woman's face. "And the Endless are forbidden from taking action against any mortal who is not an active threat," Dream explains, even powerful cosmic beings had a code.

"Yes, but should the threat become active?" Lucienne states, marching forward, her eyes drilled into her Master.

"Then perhaps one of our problems may prove a solution to the other three,"

"Ooo, bait. Clever," I remarked, swaying my hips forward, coming to the other side of Dream.

"She is a vortex, after all," he states, head flicking to either side effortlessly to meet our gazes. "Sooner or later, she will draw the stray dreams to her," he brought his head back to look at the three windows.

"Is that not risky, Lord?" Lucienne held her concerns for this plan. "She could destroy the Dreaming. And the waking world in the process,"

"I'm watching her," he states, eyes locked onto the female's head.

"Yes, but only when she sleeps," Lucienne quickly states, finding that he can only watch her when she sleeps. "Perhaps one of us should surveil her in the waking world," her eyes briefly met mine, as if I would babysit.

"I think it best I not leave the Dreaming unattended for now," Dream still had a lot to do here in his own realm, and leaving it wouldn't be the best.

"And I don't babysit mortals," I shot at Lucienne, but she knew I would reply with a remark.

"I could go," Matthew states, making the three of us meet the bird's gaze.

"Very well. Lucienne will tell you what to look for, Matthew," Dream states, raising his head back up to look at the woman in the galaxy. "And what you see, I too will see," my eyes flicked back up to the image, to see the girl's eyes open, and another woman calling her name - which was Rose.

The image faded, and the woman disappeared. Lucienne nodded to Dream, before walking away, Matthew took flight and followed her. Leaving Dream and I alone within his throne room.

"Guess there's work to be done," I state, breaking the silence between us. "I shall leave you to attend your domain," a smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. I effortlessly flicked my right wrist out, allowing strands of red chaos energy to sprout outwards. Quickly, forming together a circle, and creating a portal to my own realm.

"I suspect to see you soon, Lady Chaos," Dream sounded so sure I would return here to offer my aid of some kind. My eyes met with him, and noticed a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips - though it was barely even a smirk. Without another word, I stepped through the portal, returning to my baron realm. But the only thing playing on my mind was. Was I actually going to help Dream when the time comes?

Though it was not the chaos way...

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A/N

Soooo, an update after how many months...
I'm glad I got to write for Calliope once again, and still love her to this day! That being said, I could technically skip to the last few episodes of Sandman and just have her help with the final bit of Rose's storyline. I feel like that's more of her character, and her style. Of course, I would do some flashback chapters, to fill in the gaps. But thank you all for sticking around this long! (I'm sorry!)