Dominique came back out of the dream state and felt breathless. She also still felt the desire that Rose had felt. Her machine was working. They had been in too long and Post was shutting it down. So the dream hadn't been able to be finished. She looked over at Melissa.
"Well, you've seen one of them. What do you think?"
"Wow. I felt like I was there even though it was just like a vision I was watching. Damn girl. You have a very vivid imagination. Are all of them like that? Was that even the whole thing?"
"No. Some are longer. Some are shorter. Some are kind of rough. But I never get to see that guys face. It's always blurry. And the dreams are so real. I know the girl lusts after him. She thinks he's gorgeous but I can't see him. I can only assume it's because I'm not dreaming about anyone in particular. But when I wake up, I feel the exact same way she did in the dream."
"Hmmm.. Makes you wonder. I guess it's time to go then since you didn't get to finish?"
"Yeah. The test run is over. Back to reality. I guess we ran over the safe time limit since I can feel myself being woken up for a lack of a better phrase."
They closed their eyes and let their minds go blank. When they opened their eyes again, they were looking at the visors of the helmets. They each stepped out of the booth and walked over to Post.
"Well, how did we do?" Dominique asked Post.
"Pretty good actually. Times are getting better as to how long you can stay in and not have a major glitch happen. I'm thinking a few more changes and we should be good to go. They can stay in for the two hour time limit you set. Question is, is two going to be enough?"
"It's going to have to be for now. If it all goes well then I plan on building more. But I don't really have any more money to sink into these things right now. The club is doing well, but you never know how that can go. And if they aren't a success then I would be stuck."
"You know these are going to go over big because you can do whatever you imagine and it'll feel real. And with all the nasty stuff people think of nowadays but may not want to actually do, well, you get the drift," Post said.
"Yeah, I get it. That's why I wanted to create this. So many people want or crave something they can't have. If you can't have it for real, why not have it for a time? Is it better than never having it at all, who knows? Guess we'll find out eventually."
They went down to the club. It was almost time to open. Dominique took pride in her bar. It was two stories and decorated the way she wanted it with a kind of gothic design. The house band consisted of her, Post, and Melissa. Post on the drums, Melissa on the guitar, and Dominique as the singer and keyboard. She wanted a base guitar as well but hadn't auditioned anyone just yet. They also had open mic nights for the people who liked to sing. Most nights they played a mixture of r&b, country, pop, and rock. There was something for everyone.
Post was her maintenance guy when he wasn't playing. Melissa was one of her waitresses. Dominique did a little of everything when it was needed. She was getting ready to have to replace Teddy, her bartender, as she was getting married and her soon to be husband wanted her to stay home. She hated that she was losing her as she was excellent at her job and had such a great personality. But she had also just found out she was pregnant. Dominique couldn't blame her for not wanting to be in this type of environment while pregnant.
Don, her bouncer, was walking through the door as she reached the bar. She waved to him and walked up to the stage. She set the playlist and ran some songs through to make sure everything was working properly. She sat down and sighed as everything was finally ready for opening.
At the end of the night, Dominique sat in her office going over the tallies for the night. It had been a busy night. She was tired from checking on everything and mingling with the guests. She sat back and closed her eyes. Before she knew it, she was asleep. Once again, the dreams started.
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Rose was afraid of what the knight would do but she would not allow him to see it. She lifted her chin and looked him dead in the eye. She knew his look. Many a man had lusted after her body, but none wanted to put up with her sharp tongue or the arrogant way she was.
"I will not let you do anything without a fight. I refuse to be a concubine. Not even to the great Sir Nathaniel. If you wish to punish me for speaking my mind, so be it. I can not stop you, but I will not lay down like a dog and let you," Rose spat at him.
"You really do not understand your place in this world. Or you simply wish to die. I think it will be interesting to have you around no matter what I decide."
He grabbed her arm and started walking towards the small house that she and her father shared. She opened the door and called out to her father. His weak voice broke her heart as he called back out to her. He hobbled out to the front room and the warm smile disappeared as he saw the knight.
"Sir Nathaniel! Welcome to my humble home," her father said as he bowed to the knight.
"Thank you. I came to discuss your daughter," Nathaniel replied.
"Please, have a seat, Sir. What has my daughter done?"
"This afternoon I was riding and I came out of the woods at a speedy pace. Your daughter was knocked down and her tongue had some sharp things to say. When we arrived here, it was no better."
Her father looked at her. This was not the first time something like this had happened. But this time it was much worse as Nathaniel was a knight. Punishment for speaking out of turn to him could mean death. Nobility was very harsh when it came to that. Rose looked back at her aging father and could only plead with her eyes for forgiveness.