***
“Jake,” Kate shouted at him. “Wake up.”
As he tried to figure out where he was, Jake felt a pair of hands shaking his shoulders. This couldn’t have still been a dream, could it? He knew he was bobbing around in his subconscious state, but how close was he to reality? The hands must’ve been in reality. Maybe if he opened his eyes, he would know the truth. But he didn’t want to. Opening his eyes meant dealing with frigid temperatures.
“Come on, Jake,” continued Kate’s voice. “They’re taking us to photograph the icecaps today. Wake up.”
Jake opened his eyes to see what looked like an image of Kate coming into focus. But his mind was so fuzzy that he couldn’t say for sure. He thought he was looking at a live-action Disney princess.
“Is that you, Kate?”
“Of course it’s me. Get up, get dressed, and get on the helicopter.”
Jake closed his eyes again.
“Five more minutes,” he mumbled.
“That’s what you said a half an hour ago. Get up. They won’t wait much longer.”
Jake’s mind began to clear, but he didn’t want it to. He reopened his eyes anyway. Kate’s image came more into focus. Why couldn’t she just go away and let him sleep in today? She grabbed his arms and pulled him out of the chair. Immediately, the rush of freezing air chilled his skin. He felt his nipples harden.
“Okay, I’m up already,” he said. “If you want me to be functional, too, I’d suggest you bring me some coffee.”
“Not likely, Jake,” she said. “The hotel manager has a thing about keeping his drink containers from melting. There’s a six-pack of Coke on the helicopter. Get your stuff and meet me out there.”
Kate jogged out of the room. Jake collapsed on the floor.
“Only if you drag me,” he said.
He reached for the fur blanket with his feet and pulled it down from the chair to his level. He wrapped himself up and went back to sleep. The darkness from the back of his eyelids soon transformed into a field of rolling hills.
His past as a warrior for a British kingdom had not been fully remembered since he thought he was an American from Arizona, but the toothless peasants in the countryside kept regarding him as a hero for saving them from the breath of the scaly dragon, so he decided not to second-guess it. He also figured he wouldn’t second-guess the fact that everything in the kingdom was mostly absent of color, with the occasional shades of purple and silver, because this was reality, and no one was going to tell him otherwise. After all, he had slain a dragon, and the peasants thought he was a hero for that.
The suit of armor he wore was remarkably light, even though it felt like it should have been as heavy as a boulder. Since the weight was not a hindrance to his movement, he decided to run toward the castle because he was anxious to meet the beautiful princess. When he reached the castle, he knocked the guards out of the way, figuring that they had better places to be than in his path. After a long dash up a spiral staircase, he found himself in the doorway of the princess’s chambers, where her handmaiden was braiding her hair.
“Good day to you, noble knight,” she said, as she smiled at him. “What brings you to bask in my presence?”
“I have conquered many things, Your Highness,” he said, placing his hand over his heart. “But there is still one thing I have yet to win.”
“And what is that, sir?”
“Your heart, my lady; the most treasured of all in the kingdom.”
The princess waved her handmaiden away.
“Enter my chambers, young knight,” she said.
He stepped a few feet through the door. She beckoned him to come closer, so he did. Soon, he stood right in front of her. She placed her hand on his cheek.
“Your Highness?” he said.
“You are a brave knight and warrior,” she said, “who has conquered many trials in the name of this kingdom. You have come to conquer one last trial, and I believe you can succeed. However, there is just one thing you must do before you can even face the possibility of winning this goal.”
“What’s that, my lady?”
She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck, and brought his face close to hers. All of a sudden, her pale, yet beautiful complexion turned fiercely red, and the breath he never knew she had grew incredibly steamy.
“You must wake up before I strip you down to your underwear and bury you out in the snow,” she yelled.
As she grabbed for his shoulders and shook him, he quickly opened his eyes. The nice brick interior of the princess’s chambers transformed into the pale white interior of his icy hotel room. The fiery face of the princess turned into the fiery face of Kate.
“We’ve got one minute before the helicopter leaves without us,” she said. “Please get up, Jake. This is the only chance we have to go out there.”
Jake sat up and rubbed his eyes.
“Did you ever have a dream where you’re a hero?” he asked.
“Not lately, Jake, but if you get on the helicopter with me right now, you’ll be my hero. Okay? Let’s get going.”
She found his camera case in the corner next to his briefcase, and put it on her shoulder. Before Jake could demand that she hand it over to him, she reached out for his wrists and pulled him to his feet.
“I can’t believe I’m up,” he said. “What time is it?”
“Never mind that. Just walk to the helicopter with me. I promise, once you’re on, I’ll let you go back to sleep.”
She tugged on his wrists and pulled him toward the door. He lumbered on unwillingly. Where did she say she was kidnapping him to? He was too tired to think about it any further.