Mervyn lit a cigar. It was Cuban, the best kind, and they didn't get many of those in the Dreaming. He'd been saving it for a special occasion, and he figured that a break from work was as special an occasion as any. Especially with everything he'd been going through the past few decades. Nothing but rain, rain, rain, and Merv had been working non-stop. Re-route this new river. Hang the stars out to dry. Exhausting.

The pumpkin-headed handyman took a deep puff from his well-deserved treat, letting the smoke leak out through the carved holes in his head. He let out a grunt of satisfaction and stared out of the window of the Library of Dreams. The rain still fell in sheets, a perpetual gloom over the expansive view. He shook his orange head. "Hey, Loosh, when do ya think the Boss will finally quit with all this weather? I mean, Jeezus, it's like a friggin' swamp out there! Why, yesterday, I hadda help Abel finish the stilts on his place, and believe you me, it ain't easy raisin' a fifty-foot pole in the mud and gettin' it to stay up." Giving a shallow sigh, Merv let a few gray ashes from his cigar drift to the floor. "Whaddya think?"

Lucien quickly swept up the cinders and handed Merv an ash tray. "I think that perhaps you should find another way to dispose of those ashes." Looking over his spectacles, he gave Merv a quick disapproving look and went back to reshelving the new additions.

Merv smirked slightly and tapped a bit of cigar soot into his newly aquired tray. Noticing the librarian's turned back, he "accidentally" dropped it onto the flawlessly waxed and shined floor. "Whoops," he muttered just low enough for Lucien not to hear, even with ears like his. He decided to further pursue the conversation. "You know what this whole thing is about, dontcha?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do, Mervyn." The tall man joined Mervyn by the window. The smoke from the cigar was sour in his nostrils. "Honestly, Mervyn, must you do that in here?"

"Hey, it's a free universe." He accented his point with a whiff of smoke in Lucien's direction. Lucien deftly took a step away from him. Mervyn grinned slightly and continued. "I haven't seen the Boss like this in a long time."

Lucien sighed in agreement. "Hmm...yes. The last time things were this bad was shortly after Nad-" He stopped himself in mid-sentence, looking suddenly embarrassed. "No use in opening up old wounds, eh?"

There was a moment of silence between them, the interplay of wind and rain the only conversation that could be heard.

"Ya know, Loosh, I just knew the whole Esme thing wouldn't work out. She was a nice kid and all, but it seems like the Boss just ain't very good with dames, if you know what I mean." Sucking out the last musky tobacco smoke from his cigar, Merv turned away from the window and crushed the smoldering end into the ash tray. "Good cigar..."

Unmoving, Lucien continued to examine through the water-beaten panes of glass the bleak place the Dreaming had become. "He really did love her, Mervyn. And I'm certain that she loved him. It really is unfortunate...."

"Unfortunate? Heh. The way he's carrying on, you'd think the world was endin'."

"Perhaps, in a way, his has. Our Lord built a world for himself and young Esme. When she left him, it was utterly destroyed." Lucien looked back at Mervyn, who was preparing to take hold of his wheelbarrow once more. "However, he will re-build it...eventually."

"Yeah, and then some other chick will come along and break his heart, huh? Some things never change...." The pumpkin tightened his worn gloves. "Who needs love, anyway? Every single time the Boss finds a girl he likes, she leaves, and we get this: crappy weather and more work. Love's a buncha crock."

Lucien gave a low, knowing, and rather sad, chuckle. "'It is better to have loved and lost than to-'"

"Save it," Merv cut him off. "I don't wanna hear any more 'meaningful' quotes outta you. I hafta get back to work. Seeya, Loosh." He picked up his wheelbarrow and began to cart some books down to the archives. "Oh, and sorry about the floor," he called back.

The librarian glanced down at the gray ashes scattered by the Mervyn's abandoned perch. Annoyed, he decided to wait a few minutes before cleaning them up. At the moment, he was simply content to watch the drops crash violently against the library windows. Lucien was grateful for his library's high position in the castle. The water level had never gotten so high as to soak any of his books. It would have been a pity to lose even one volume. All of his books were treasures, and he was always greatly distressed when anything happened to them. Why, when his library had disappeared in the former Dream's absence, the shock had nearly killed him, but he'd hung on....

Lucien was jarred out of his thoughts by a sudden realization: the rain was slacking off. The constant clatter of the raindrops against the walls of the castle was lessening. Anxious to see, he hastily wiped off his glasses and positioned them back on his nose. Indeed, the storm clouds had begun to disperse, and something was peeking through. It had been years since Lucien had seen it. Could it be...sunshine?

The Lord of Dreams, stripped of his formal robes, materialized on the still-wet grass. The air around him was still damp from the many years of rain that he had inflicted on his realm. He could feel it through his t-shirt. The ground underneath his bare feet felt like dew at the beginning of a new day.

The sun had come out of its hiding place and was driving the dank away. The Dreaming was almost back to its old self again, if such a concept could even be applied.

Dream walked slowly, silently, to a small structure at the edge of the meadow. The stables. The ones he had created for her. It was simple, having only one stall. He reached out and opened the entrance. A pair of silver-blue eyes examined him from inside.

Reaching out a hand, Dream greeted him. "Hello, Tranquil. I am here at...Esme's request. I made a promise to her, and I intend to honor it." He gave a small smile as Tranquil began to approach him. "I apologize for my neglect. It is at an end, I swear." The unicorn, understanding his words, came close. Careful not to alarm the creature, Dream gently touched the end of his horn. Tranquil simply lowered his head, as if in a bow.

Dream reigned and saddled the unicorn with ease. Usually, he wouldn't have done these things himself, but he was capable, and he felt no need to talk to any servants at the moment. This was a private moment between him and Tranquil.

He mounted and pressed on Tranquil's sides gently. Together, they left the stables behind, almost resembling a spectre. White and silver seeming to glow beneath the now brightly shining sun. Perfect. Flawless. And beautiful.

Tranquil led into a full gallop, his ivory hooves not even bending a blade of grass as he bounded over the green field.

Leaning into the wind, Dream felt the thrill that he knew must have driven Esme on her night rides. It was exhilarating. He felt himself begin to enjoy the ride and focus on it. He felt himself direct the ride in the direction of the castle. And he didn't know why.

To the front doors. Yes. He needed to be there. And quickly. It was...as if he was to meet someone there. Someone he'd wanted to be with for a long while. All he had to do was get there. Somehow, he knew this was the only way. He rode.

And, for the first time in decades, he felt tranquility.

Copyright Diana Marsh, 2000 (Dream and all Sandman characters are the creations of Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg and trademarks of DC Comics and Vertigo. Tethys belongs to The Dreaming comic series. Esme and Tranquil are my creations and not to be used in any stories without my permission. This is a labor of love, and no money is being made off of it. Yadda, yadda, yadda...)

Thanks to queenB and Eden for their help and encouragement on this story. Hi, guys! Also, a huge thanks to the late and great John Lennon and his musical talents.