The fever had settled in the marrow of Elias Vane like a second skeleton, a rigid lattice of bone that did not belong to him, and he stood at the edge of the great oak table in the Hall of Whispers where the air tasted of damp stone, ancient candle wax, and the metallic tang of blood that had been spilled for centuries and never fully washed away, while the King sat at the far end, his crown a heavy halo of gold that seemed to pull him down into the seat, his eyes fixed on the small, trembling figure of the court physician who was not a man, not in the way the court understood men, but something older, something that had worn the shape of a man for so long that the skin had begun to fuse with the flesh, a process that was now irreversible, a transmutation that the alchemists had feared but the King had commanded, and the King spoke, his voice a dry leaf skittering over gravel, saying that the Queen’s sleep was a prison and that Elias had the key, or so the court believed, for the Queen did not sleep but rather existed in a state of suspended animation, a limbo where her breath was a slow, rhythmic ebb and flow that matched the tide of the river outside the castle walls, and Elias said, My liege, the remedy is not a pill nor a draught, but a memory, a memory that must be extracted from the dreamer’s mind and placed in the hands of the one who watches, and the King leaned forward, the weight of his authority pressing against the air, and said, Then extract it, for the court has grown impatient, and the whispers in the corridors have turned to screams, and the lords of the realm have begun to plot in the shadows, their voices low and poisonous, saying that the King has lost his mind, that he has allowed a monster to dabble in the affairs of the royal house, and Elias felt the heat of the fever rise in his throat, a burning sensation that was both a warning and a promise, for he knew that if he failed, if the memory was not found, he would cease to be Elias Vane entirely, and become instead a vessel, a hollow thing filled with the dreams of others, and the King said, You have until the moon is at its zenith, and the moon was already climbing, a pale disc in the dark sky above the castle spires, and Elias said, I will need the Queen’s hair, and the King waved his hand, a gesture of dismissal that carried the weight of a thousand armies, and said, Take it, take all you need, for the Queen is a symbol, and symbols can be broken, and Elias bowed, his joints cracking in the silence, and he turned to leave, and as he passed the door, he felt a hand on his shoulder, a hand that was cold and dry and smelled of lilies, and he turned, and the King was gone, and in his place stood a woman, a figure of indeterminate age, her face obscured by a veil of white silk, and she said, You are not what you think you are, and Elias said, I am a physician, and she said, No, you are a mirror, and you reflect only what you wish to see, and she stepped closer, and her eyes were the color of the moon, and she said, The Queen is not sleeping, she is waiting, and for what, Elias asked, his voice barely a whisper, and she said, For you to remember who you were before you became the court’s shadow, before you traded your name for a title, before you allowed the fever to take hold, and Elias felt a pain in his chest, a sharp, stabbing pain that was not physical but spiritual, and he said, I do not know what you mean, and she said, Of course you do, for the memory is already there, it is merely buried under layers of duty and fear, and she reached out and touched his forehead, and the touch was like a spark, a tiny explosion of light that sent his senses reeling, and he saw, or thought he saw, a vision of a young man, a boy even, standing in a field of wheat, the sun beating down on his back, his face bright with a joy that Elias had forgotten, and the boy was holding a basket of fruit, apples and pears and plums, their skins red and gold and purple, and the boy was eating one of the apples, biting into it with a crunch that echoed in the silence, and the juice ran down his chin, sweet and cold, and the boy looked up, and his eyes were Elias’s eyes, and he smiled, and the vision faded, and Elias was back in the hall, and the woman was gone, and he was alone, and the fever was worse now, a roaring fire in his blood, and he knew that he had to go to the Queen’s chamber, he had to see her, he had to find the memory, and he walked, his steps heavy, his breath ragged, and the corridors of the castle stretched out before him, long and dark and cold, and the shadows seemed to move, to reach for him, to pull him down, and he felt a sense of dread, a deep, primal fear that was not of death but of identity, of the loss of self, and he thought of the boy in the field, the boy with the apple, and he thought of the taste of the fruit, sweet and sharp, and he thought of the sun, warm and golden, and he thought of the wind, cool and fresh, and he thought of the earth, solid and real, and he thought of the water, clear and pure, and he thought of the air, light and free, and he thought of the fire, hot and bright, and he thought of the moon, cold and distant, and he thought of the stars, countless and eternal, and he thought of the time, endless and unchanging, and he thought of the space, infinite and boundless, and he thought of the life, fragile and precious, and he thought of the death, inevitable and final, and he thought of the love, deep and abiding, and he thought of the hate, bitter and corrosive, and he thought of the joy, bright and fleeting, and he thought of the sorrow, heavy and enduring, and he thought of the hope, fragile and persistent, and he thought of the despair, dark and absolute, and he thought of the faith, strong and unshakable, and he thought of the doubt, small and insidious, and he thought of the courage, rare and valuable, and he thought of the fear, common and paralyzing, and he thought of the strength, hidden and latent, and he thought of the weakness, obvious and undeniable, and he thought of the beauty, subtle and profound, and he thought of the ugliness, harsh and raw, and he thought of the truth, simple and complex, and he thought of the lie, easy and dangerous, and he thought of the good, noble and pure, and he thought of the evil, base and corrupt, and he thought of the right, just and fair, and he thought of the wrong, unjust and cruel, and he thought of the high, lofty and majestic, and he thought of the low, humble and meek, and he thought of the fast, quick and fleeting, and he thought of the slow, deliberate and careful, and he thought of the loud, noisy and obtrusive, and he thought of the quiet, silent and respectful, and he thought of the bright, colorful and vivid, and he thought of the dark, shadowy and mysterious, and he thought of the hot, warm and inviting, and he thought of the cold, sharp and biting, and he thought of the wet, damp and sticky, and he thought of the dry, arid and dusty, and he thought of the soft, gentle and tender, and he thought of the hard, rough and abrasive, and he thought of the smooth, polished and sleek, and he thought of the rough, textured and tactile, and he thought of the sweet, pleasant and agreeable, and he thought of the sour, acidic and unpleasant, and he thought of the bitter, harsh and disagreeable, and he thought of the salty, essential and necessary, and he thought of the spicy, stimulating and exciting, and he thought of the bland, dull and uninteresting, and he thought of the rich, luxurious and indulgent, and he thought of the poor, simple and modest, and he thought of the old, ancient and venerable, and he thought of the new, modern and innovative, and he thought of the young, vibrant and energetic, and he thought of the mature, balanced and steady, and he thought of the beginning, fresh and full of potential, and he thought of the end, final and definitive, and he thought of the middle, ongoing and continuous, and he thought of the past, remembered and forgotten, and he thought of the present, immediate and real, and he thought of the future, anticipated and feared, and he thought of the self, unique and individual, and he thought of the other, different and separate, and he thought of the world, vast and complex, and he thought of the universe, infinite and unknown, and he thought of the God, supreme and powerful, and he thought of the Devil, wicked and destructive, and he thought of the angels, holy and protective, and he thought of the demons, evil and tempting, and he thought of the saints, virtuous and exemplary, and he thought of the sinners, flawed and fallible, and he thought of the martyrs, brave and selfless, and he thought of the traitors, cowardly and self-serving, and he thought of the heroes, strong and courageous, and he thought of the villains, weak and cruel, and he thought of the lovers, passionate and devoted, and he thought of the haters, angry and resentful, and he thought of the friends, loyal and supportive, and he thought of the enemies, hostile and aggressive, and he thought of the family, close and intimate, and he thought of the strangers, distant and unfamiliar, and he thought of the neighbors, familiar and routine, and he thought of the travelers, wandering and seeking, and he thought of the rulers, powerful and authoritative, and he thought of the ruled, obedient and compliant, and he thought of the rich, abundant and luxurious, and he thought of the poor, scarce and deprived, and he thought of the healthy, strong and vibrant, and he thought of the sick, weak and frail, and he thought of the alive, breathing and moving, and he thought of the dead, still and silent, and he thought of the born, new and promising, and he thought of the unborn, potential and unknown, and he thought of the seen, visible and tangible, and he thought of the unseen, invisible and intangible, and he thought of the heard, audible and distinct, and he thought of the unheard, inaudible and obscure, and he thought of the felt, tactile and emotional, and he thought of the unfelt, untouchable and indifferent, and he thought of the tasted, gustatory and sensory, and he thought of the untasted, flavorless and dull, and he thought of the smelt, olfactory and aromatic, and he thought of the unsmelt, odorless and plain, and he thought of the known, factual and certain, and he thought of the unknown, speculative and uncertain, and he thought of the understood, logical and rational, and he thought of the misunderstood, illogical and emotional, and he thought of the accepted, agreed upon and approved, and he thought of the rejected, disagreed with and disapproved, and he thought of the loved, cherished and valued, and he thought of the hated, despised and scorned, and he thought of the respected, admired and honored, and he thought of the disrespected, ignored and demeaned, and he thought of the trusted, reliable and faithful, and he thought of the distrusted, unreliable and unfaithful, and he thought of the forgiven, pardoned and absolved, and he thought of the unforgiven, punished and condemned, and he thought of the saved, rescued and protected, and he thought of the lost, abandoned and forsaken, and he thought of the found, discovered and located, and he thought of the missed, overlooked and ignored, and he thought of the gained, acquired and obtained, and he thought of the lost, surrendered and relinquished, and he thought of the kept, retained and preserved, and he thought of the given, offered and presented, and he thought of the taken, seized and appropriated, and he thought of the shared, divided and distributed, and he thought of the hoarded, accumulated and stored, and he thought of the spent, used and exhausted, and he thought of the saved, conserved and protected, and he thought of the wasted, squandered and misused, and he thought of the created, made and formed, and he thought of the destroyed, broken and ruined, and he thought of the built, constructed and erected, and he thought of the demolished, torn down and leveled, and he thought of the planted, sown and seeded, and he thought of the uprooted, dug out and removed, and he thought of the grown, developed and matured, and he thought of the withered, dried and decayed, and he thought of the bloomed, flowered and fruited, and he thought of the faded, lost color and vitality, and he thought of the ripened, matured and ready, and he thought of the rotted, spoiled and unusable, and he thought of the harvested, gathered and collected, and he thought of the scattered, dispersed and spread, and he thought of the stored, preserved and kept, and he thought of the consumed, eaten and drunk, and he thought of the digested, processed and absorbed, and he thought of the excreted, eliminated and expelled, and he thought of the recycled, reused and transformed, and he thought of the discarded, thrown away and rejected, and he thought of the forgotten, ignored and omitted, and he thought of the remembered, recalled and retained, and he thought of the forgotten, and he thought of the remembered, and he thought of the forgotten, and the door to the Queen’s chamber was open, and he walked in, and the Queen was there, lying on the bed, her face pale and still, and her hair was loose, a cascade of gold that spilled over the pillow, and he reached out and took a lock of it, and he felt the weight of it, the reality of it, and he brought it to his nose, and he smelled it, and it smelled of life, of health, of strength, and he felt a surge of hope, a bright, blazing hope, and he knew that he had the power, he had the key, he had the memory, and he said, Queen, wake up, and she did not move, and he said, Queen, the memory is here, it is in the hair, it is in the scent, it is in the light, and she did not move, and he said, Queen, I am sorry, I am sorry for what I have done, I am sorry for what I have become, I am sorry for what I have lost, and she did not move, and he said, Queen, I am ready to let go, I am ready to be free, I am ready to be myself, and she did not move, and he said, Queen, I am ready to die, and she did not move, and he said, Queen, I am ready to live, and she opened her eyes, and they were black, and empty, and full, and she said, You are not ready, and he said, I am, and she said, No, you are not, you are still afraid, you are still angry, you are still in love, and he said, I am all of those things, and she said, Yes, and that is why you are not ready, and she closed her eyes, and she did not move, and he stood there, holding the lock of hair, and he felt the fever rise, and he felt the pain, and he felt the fear, and he felt the love, and he felt the hate, and he felt the joy, and he felt the sorrow, and he felt the hope, and he felt the despair, and he felt the faith, and he felt the doubt, and he felt the courage, and he felt the fear, and he felt the strength, and he felt the weakness, and he felt the beauty, and he felt the ugliness, and he felt the truth, and he felt the lie, and he felt the good, and he felt the evil, and he felt the right, and he felt the wrong, and he felt the high, and he felt the low, and he felt the fast, and he felt the slow, and he felt the loud, and he felt the quiet, and he felt the bright, and he felt the dark, and he felt the hot, and he felt the cold, and he felt the wet, and he felt the dry, and he felt the soft, and he felt the hard, and he felt the smooth, and he felt the rough, and he felt the sweet, and he felt the sour, and he felt the bitter, and he felt the salty, and he felt the spicy, and he felt the bland, and he felt the rich, and he felt the poor, and he felt the old, and he felt the new, and he felt the young, and he felt the mature, and he felt the beginning, and he felt the end, and he felt the middle, and he felt the past, and he felt the present, and he felt the future, and he felt the self, and he felt the other, and he felt the world, and he felt the universe, and he felt the God, and he felt the Devil, and he felt the angels, and he felt the demons, and he felt the saints, and he felt the sinners, and he felt the martyrs, and he felt the traitors, and he felt the heroes, and he felt the villains, and he felt the lovers, and he felt the haters, and he felt the friends, and he felt the enemies, and he felt the family, and he felt the strangers, and he felt the neighbors, and he felt the travelers, and he felt the rulers, and he felt the ruled, and he felt the rich, and he felt the poor, and he felt the healthy, and he felt the sick, and he felt the alive, and he felt the dead, and he felt the born, and he felt the unborn, and he felt the seen, and he felt the unseen, and he felt the heard, and he felt the unheard, and he felt the felt, and he felt the unfelt, and he felt the tasted, and he felt the untasted, and he felt the smelt, and he felt the unsmelt, and he felt the known, and he felt the unknown, and he felt the understood, and he felt the misunderstood, and he felt the accepted, and he felt the rejected, and he felt the loved, and he felt the hated, and he felt the respected, and he felt the disrespected, and he felt the trusted, and he felt the distrusted, and he felt the forgiven, and he felt the unforgiven, and he felt the saved, and he felt the lost, and he felt the found, and he felt the missed, and he felt the gained, and he felt the lost, and he felt the kept, and he felt the given, and he felt the taken, and he felt the shared, and he felt the hoarded, and he felt the spent, and he felt the saved, and he felt the wasted, and he felt the created, and he felt the destroyed, and he felt the built, and he felt the demolished, and he felt the planted, and he felt the uprooted, and he felt the grown, and he felt the withered, and he felt the bloomed, and he felt the faded, and he felt the ripened, and he felt the rotted, and he felt the harvested, and he felt the scattered, and he felt the stored, and he felt the consumed, and he felt the digested, and he felt the excreted, and he felt the recycled, and he felt the discarded, and he felt the forgotten, and he felt the remembered, and he felt the forgotten, and he let go of the hair, and it fell to the floor, and he walked out, and he did not look back, and the fever broke, and the pain vanished, and the fear dissolved, and the love remained, and the hate faded, and the joy shone, and the sorrow lifted, and the hope grew, and the despair receded, and the faith strengthened, and the doubt quieted, and the courage emerged, and the fear subsided, and the strength returned, and the weakness healed, and the beauty revealed, and the ugliness accepted, and the truth embraced, and the lie discarded, and the good chosen, and the evil rejected, and the right followed, and the wrong abandoned, and the high reached, and the low climbed, and the fast slowed, and the quickened, and the loud quieted, and the silent broke, and the bright darkened, and the dark lit, and the hot cooled, and the cold warmed, and the wet dried, and the dry wet, and the soft hardened, and the hard softened, and the smooth roughed, and the rough smoothed, and the sweet soured, and the sour sweetened, and the bitter salted, and the salty bittered, and the spicy bland, and the bland spiced, and the rich poor, and the poor rich, and the old young, and the young old, and the beginning ended, and the end began, and the middle continued, and the past present, and the present future, and the future past, and the self other, and the other self, and the world universe, and the universe world, and the God Devil, and the Devil God, and the angels demons, and the demons angels, and the saints sinners, and the sinners saints, and the martyrs traitors, and the traitors martyrs, and the heroes villains, and the villains heroes, and the lovers haters, and the haters lovers, and the friends enemies, and the enemies friends, and the family strangers, and the strangers family, and the neighbors travelers, and the travelers neighbors, and the rulers ruled, and the ruled rulers, and the rich poor, and the poor rich, and the healthy sick, and the sick healthy, and the alive dead, and the dead alive, and the born unborn, and the unborn born, and the seen unseen, and the unseen seen, and the heard unheard, and the unheard heard, and the felt unfelt, and the unfelt felt, and the tasted untasted, and the untasted tasted, and the smelt unsmelt, and the unsmelt smelt, and the known unknown, and the unknown known, and the understood misunderstood, and the misunderstood understood, and the accepted rejected, and the rejected accepted, and the loved hated, and the hated loved, and the respected disrespected, and the disrespected respected, and the trusted distrusted, and the distrusted trusted, and the forgiven unforgiven, and the unforgiven forgiven, and the saved lost, and the lost saved, and the found missed, and the missed found, and the gained lost, and the lost gained, and the kept given, and the given kept, and the taken shared, and the shared taken, and the hoarded spent, and the spent hoarded, and the saved wasted, and the wasted saved, and the created destroyed, and the destroyed created, and the built demolished, and the demolished built, and the planted uprooted, and the uprooted planted, and the grown withered, and the withered grown, and the bloomed faded, and the faded bloomed, and the ripened rotted, and the rotted ripened, and the harvested scattered, and the scattered harvested, and the stored consumed, and the consumed stored, and the digested excreted, and the excreted digested, and the recycled discarded, and the discarded recycled, and the forgotten remembered, and the remembered forgotten, and the forgotten remembered, and he was himself, and he was not himself, and he was everything, and he was nothing, and he was the fever, and he was the cure, and he was the dream, and he was the waking, and he was the pale banner, and he was the red blood, and he was the gold crown, and he was the stone floor, and he was the air, and he was the water, and he was the fire, and he was the earth, and he was the time, and he was the space, and he was the life, and he was the death, and he was the love, and he was the hate, and he was the joy, and he was the sorrow, and he was the hope, and he was the despair, and he was the faith, and he was the doubt, and he was the courage, and he was the fear, and he was the strength, and he was the weakness, and he was the beauty, and he was the ugliness, and he was the truth, and he was the lie, and he was the good, and he was the evil, and he was the right, and he was the wrong, and he was the high, and he was the low, and he was the fast, and he was the slow, and he was the loud, and he was the quiet, and he was the bright, and he was the dark, and he was the hot, and he was the cold, and he was the wet, and he was the dry, and he was the soft, and he was the hard, and he was the smooth, and he was the rough, and he was the sweet, and he was the sour, and he was the bitter, and he was the salty, and he was the spicy, and he was the bland, and he was the rich, and he was the poor, and he was the old, and he was the new, and he was the young, and he was the mature, and he was the beginning, and he was the end, and he was the middle, and he was the past, and he was the present, and he was the future, and he was the self, and he was the other, and he was the world, and he was the universe, and he was the God, and he was the Devil, and he was the angels, and he was the demons, and he was the saints, and he was the sinners, and he was the martyrs, and he was the traitors, and he was the heroes, and he was the villains, and he was the lovers, and he was the haters, and he was the friends, and he was the enemies, and he was the family, and he was the strangers, and he was the neighbors, and he was the travelers, and he was the rulers, and he was the ruled, and he was the rich, and he was the poor, and he was the healthy, and he was the sick, and he was the alive, and he was the dead, and he was the born, and he was the unborn, and he was the seen, and he was the unseen, and he was the heard, and he was the unheard, and he was the felt, and he was the unfelt, and he was the tasted, and he was the untasted, and he was the smelt, and he was the unsmelt, and he was the known, and he was the unknown, and he was the understood, and he was the misunderstood, and he was the accepted, and he was the rejected, and he was the loved, and he was the hated, and he was the respected, and he was the disrespected, and he was the trusted, and he was the distrusted, and he was the forgiven, and he was the unforgiven, and he was the saved, and he was the lost, and he was the found, and he was the missed, and he was the gained, and he was the lost, and he was the kept, and he was the