"You still have to learn a lot", Mary O'Lein said. "One small sip and already drunk!".
"But I know a great deal more now". Lisabeth answered, feeling relieved.
She struggled upright in her small berth. "And I don't want to leave any more, at least for some time".
"Why not?" Mary asked.
"I won't tell you, but where is this ship leading us?" Lisabeth asked.
"To England, I have to report to my queen", Mary O'Lein answered.
"You'd do better not to", Lisabeth warned. "It's wiser to sail to Vladivostoc".
"All right, Vladivostoc then, but why not just head for Port Arthur?" Mary asked in surprise.
"That wouldn't be so bad, as it's also near Mongolia", Lisabeth replied, refusing to be confused by Mary's mocking words. "So that's where we'll go and everything will turn out fine".
"You're a quaint little girl", Mary O'lein said with a sigh. "And I don't know what to think of you. Are you the real Tsarina?"
"To be honest, Grand Dutches and Tsarina", Lisabeth confirmed with a broad smile.
"In that case, I might do better to take you to Good Ol' England after all", Mary O'Lein muttered toughtfully. "Or shall we still go to Vladivostoc?"
"If you do the latter, I'll proclaim you Admiral of my Imperial Fleet", Lisabeth promised, hoping to have gained enough confidence to persuade Mary O'Lein to change her mind. Mary O'Lein was still in doubt.
"I'll drop my dagger here. If it stays upright in the wood, then we'll do it your way. And if it doesn't, I'll take you to England", she concluded after a fierce struggle with herself.
"A piece of cake", Lisabeth said with relief. "I can make that happen and I have to praise your wisdom in tackling your problems this way."
"We'll see", Mary O'Lein said. She drew her dagger from her waist belt, held it with her outstretched arm and let it fall. The knife stuck in the wood with a vibrating noise.
"I do hope this is the right decision", Mary O'Lein said. "For if it isn't, it will cost me my head".
"Who cares, in a nightmare like this", Lisabeth said resolutely. "After all, things aren't real at all".
"That's what you say", Mary answered dully. "You take a huge risk and I really shouldn't participate in your foolish ideas, for you are dead wrong. This isn't a nightmare, that's to say, not in a literal way. You were brought in after you were found next to the Crystal Castle or whatever remained of it. You were unconscious, but your breathing seemed normal. Here you regained consciousness, but that doesn't prove that you suddenly entered a completely different world".
"What do you know of that?" Lisabeth asked. "You're just a part of my dreams and I'm goin' to put an end to that".
"To what?" Mary O'Lein asked.
"To this ultimate spider's web in which nothing seems to be normal any more", Lisabeth said. "Enough is enough!"
"I must say, you think positively", Mary O'Lein said. "But I'm afraid that I dont get the point exactly".
"Do we have sufficiant supplies to make it to Vladivostoc?" Lisabeth asked.
"Far from that", Mary O'Lein said. "We can load new provisions at Gibraltar, but only enough for the trip to England. More provisions would arouse suspicion.
"Suspicion?", Lisabeth wondered. "So that still exists here".
"Of course that still exists here", Mary O'Lein cried. "Stop talking foolishly and help me for once. This plan is all yours and I don't have to do it all alone!"
In anger, she kicked the dagger which sped away, ending its brief journey vibrating in a table leg. Lisabeth burst into laughter and Mary O'Lein watched in annoyance.
"As a matter of fact, we don't even have to enter port at Gibraltar," she continued unabashed.
"Good news, so if we do it nonetheless, we'll double our stocks. Perhaps we also could get rid of some of the crew?" Lisabeth asked, still smiling.
"Why yes, because threequarters aren't sailors but soldiers," Mary O'Lein said. "It was all about some skirmishes, remember?"
"So in that case we'll survive", Lisabeth estimated. "We'll just let them disembark for a while in Gibraltar".
"But then they'll run away without doubt!" Mary O'Lein said rather shaken, at the same time realizing that this was exactly what Lisabeth's wanted.
"But the First Mate stays on board, every single minute!" Lisabeth said uncomfortably.
"That will be hard to check", Mary O'Lein replied. "We'll be in harbour perhaps for an entire night and then we'll have to play watchman all night long. That is most tiring, you know!".
"We'll have him in shackles", Lisabeth said smilingly. "He must have got used to it by now".
"Some day I'll really start loving you", Mary said.
Next day, the ship was moored in Gibraltar harbour, the First Mate was in shackles and Lisabeth was thinking:
"Was it true what Mary O'Lein said about her presence aboard the Stormy not being a dream after all?"
She looked out from the porthole, whose lock she had managed to repair and she found things outside looking quite normal.
"A real harbour", she decided, to her own astonishment. "Just like I always imagined a harbour would look like".
This thought made her shiver.
"I hope it doesn't look this way, simply because I want it to look so?" she thought. "It must be real or is it also a dream?"
She began to panic, deviding her attention between her harbour view and the First Mate who was being kept securely in her cabin for a long period. Finally she decided that she would try to imagine other things. Something that wasn't there at the moment, but whose presence would have been logical. All that came up into her mind was her wish that there would be some trains on the quay, with the same thick clouds of smoke she had seen before.
"I must have forgotten that, amid my ideas about a harbour. I'll correct that in a moment." Lisabeth thought in a self-confident way. But no matter how hard she tried, not a single locomotive appeared, not even in a remote spot.
"Then it isn't a dream after all and it must be real", was her conclusion.
"But if it's real, what happened to Anne and Govert then?" Lisabeth couldn't remember any more.
"I must have been unconscious. They must have died in the collapsing Castle and I only dream that I visit them now and then".
But she wasn't very convinced by this explanation.
"The contrary is still possible. I could have fallen from the rocks and dream that I'm here aboard this ship. That wouldn't be impossible, would it?"
Over and over again, she failed to come up with a real satisfactory answer. Angrily, she jumped out of bed and looked for some paper and a pen.
"What are you looking for?" the First Mate asked, who didn't seem to suffer much, being in chains.
"Paper and a pen", Lisabeth murmured. "But I shouldn't speak to you, actually".
"In the upper drawer. At least, it used to be there", the First Mate answered helpfully.
"Are you writing a letter?" he asked, after Lisabeth had found her writing utensils and had installed herself in her berth.
"That's none of your business. But for once I'll tell you, if you promise to shut your mouth after that, for I have to think", Lisabeth said snappily. "I'm going to draw a plan of what is real and what isn't."
The First Mate roared with laughter.
"No way"!" he cried. "You'll keep on turning around in circles. You'll see. That's what nightmares are. There is no exit. That's what makes them so frightening. You are convinced that it's reality and therefore you will never find the exit."
"I'm not convinced that's reality and not long ago Mary said the opposite of what you're saying now. She said there are exits enough and I'm going to find them, nightmare or not", Lisabeth stated firmly.
"You may believe what you want", the First Mate said with a self-confident smile. "But I know you already tried to leave from here twice and you failed twice."
"For a moment I did", Lisabeth said. "But now I'm wondering if it is really so important to know what is reality and what is a dream. You may search for the exit to your dream and the entrance to reality, but what's the use?"
"There ain't no use," the First Mate answered. "But why am I in shackles anyway?"
"Because I want you to be, my dear sir", Lisabeth said without showing much compassion, while her hand moved the pen over the paper, producing a complicated pattern of lines, drawings and small notes.
"You're right", she finally said. "That's to say, partially. This nightmare indeed has no exit, as you told me, except for a tiny one in the upper left-hand corner. One you are likely to overlook. But now I just have to tell Anne and Govert where they can meet me, so that we can leave all together".
"Your friends are dead", the First Mate said. "I've been on land. I carried you in my very own arms from the bomb crater to the sloop and I met no-one except you."
"Your statement is completely confimed by my scheme. But it's good that you make me aware of it, for it isn't very clear yet. I'll emphasize it a bit more", Lisabeth said, drawing some extra lines on her paper.
Mary O'Lein entered without knocking.
"The ropes are loose and I'm in need of his assistance", she said in a hurry.
"Be my guest", Lisabeth answered, casting a last glance at her scheme before tucking it away under her pillow. She then stood up to help Mary liberate the First Mate. Not long after, she was standing on deck, for the first time enjoying the wind which blew her hair over her face, while trying to keep the gradually disappearing coastline in sight.
She kept on looking until not even a thin line of land was visible any more. That made her feel that the great voyage had really started. With her hair in disorder, she entered the Captain's Cabin.
"Already a bit comfortable aboard?" Mary asked with a faint smile.
"More than that", said Lisabeth. "I'm beginning to like it here. It's just that First Mate of yours. He's a frightening creep".
"Nightmares are usually frightening", Mary answered. Lisabeth felt as if she wanted to be put in her place by Mary O'Lein's remark, but she didn't show her feelings.
"Did he carry me aboard?" she asked.
Mary O'Lein thought for a while as if she wasn't willing to confess he had done so.
"Yes", she finally said. "I was drunk that night. You can't shell a Castle every now and then and you have to celebrate such an event. When I saw you, I at first thought I was dreeming. But the next morning you were still there, so you just had to be real." "Are you starting, too?" Lisabeth asked. "I finally came to a conclusion and now it's you who's starting to cast doubts on what's real and what isn't"
"That's something that is hard to avoid on a ship", Mary said.
"You're living in a different world", Lisabeth added.
"That's just what I wanted to say", Mary O'Lein said.
"I don't believe you", Lisabeth thought in her cabin, late that night. "But don't you worry. I'll manage to find the exit all alone." She felt under her pillow and was relieved being certain that her scheme had really disappeared.
"That's my way to let them wonder endlessly where the dream ends and reality begins", were her last thoughts before she trotted into sleep on her way to Anne-Christine and Govert, as she had promised herself firmly.
"Are you any better now?" Govert Gosseling asked, holding her hand tenderly.
"It depends on what you call better", Lisabeth managed to answer. She looked around to see where she actually was. It was clearly the Crystal Castle in which she had stayed.
"Is the Castle badly damaged?" she asked in surprise.
"One of its wings is completely destroyed. Also my projector and my calculator don't exist any more", Govert replied, visibly touched.
"And the Muscovite Glassware?", Lisabeth wondered.
"Its pieces remain somewhere among the billion others", Anne-Christine answered, entering with a cup of black coffee in her hands. "Here, drink it, because the rum you drank didn't do you much good. All that nonsense you uttered".
"But strange things are happening", Lisabeth defended herself. "I meet Mary O'Lein when I dream. She is aboard a British naval vessel, the Stormy, together with a First Mate, who shows a striking resemblance to Govert. He is only much younger."
"Are you trying to say that you dream of Alexej?" he asked in surprise.
"I don't know what I dream, Govert. Perhaps I'm dreaming right now, while you are dead and Mary O'Lein and Alexej are real," Lisabeth answered somberly. "But they won't get me! We'll get out of this. I'll return to the Stormy in a moment. I don't know exactly what will come next, but you have to take care that you'll arrive in Vladiwostoc on time".
"Do we have to take you with us then?" Anne-Christine asked, knowing that Lisabeth, despite the strong coffee, wouldn't be able to keep her eyes open much longer.
"I don't mind", was all Lisabeth could say, "I'll be there anyway, if you'll just be there in time".
"We'll do what we can", Govert promised, shaking his head to Anne-Christine, while Lisabeth fell asleep.
"Did you have a good night's sleep?" Mary O'Lein asked, after Lisabeth had shown she was an early bird.
"Better than ever before. It's just that my scheme has been stolen, That's what bothers me a bit", she lied.
"Your scheme?" Mary O'lein asked in surprise. "What can that be?"
"Just a description of the present situation. I've almost decided whether this is a nightmare or not, which I proved by placing every detail in its proper order", Lisabeth explained.
"And what was your conclusion then?" Mary asked.
"Well, you see, the main part of it is a dream, though some minor parts are real; but what's more important is that there is a tiny little exit somewhere. The rest I've forgotten."
"Everything has got an exit", Mary O'Lein confirmed, "I've always told you that".
"I hope so. Anne and Govert told me that the Muscovite Glasswork is in smithereens. But I think they're wrong. It must still be somewhere around. I'm convinced of that".
"When did you talk about it with your friends then?" Mary asked astonished.
"Last night, in my dream", Lisabeth said. "I had promised myself really hard that I would dream of them and I managed to do so", she said brightly.
"You still are a real landlubber," Mary O'Lein stated, turning away while she raised her shoulders.
Lisabeth couldn't care less. She watched the waves, which were all alike yet different at the same time. After a few hours, she placed herself, with a small piece of hemp rope, at the lower end of the stairs, which led to the wheel. She partially untwisted the twinings, hoping to transform it into something like a turkish knot.
Here she perceived words like "two points to port" and "take the wind in the sails", words that were spoken by the First Mate to the helmsman.
The helmsman answered with a monotonous "aye aye", or he repeated the order exactly. Somewhat later, Lisabeth heard Mary O'Lein's voice while she talked to the First Mate.
"Is she nuts after all or isn't she?" Mary O'Lein asked.
The First Mate didn't answer in a direct way.
"We have to watch her very carefully, as she knows more than we do", he said. "She can travel in her own way. I didn't reckon with that. I've learned otherwise and I estimated that her mind wouldn't resist those forces."
"She told me she returned last night", said Mary O'Lein. "Do you think it is possible that she has?"
"Keep the wind in the sails. We don't need an unforseen gybe", the First Mate cried out, but continued calmly: "Tonight it's the full moon. I may find out something then to show you that I am a capable person too, after all".
"That looks very improbable to me", Mary said. "I'll have to see that before I'll believe my own eyes."
The First Mate kept silent. Lisabeth heard Mary O'Lein walking away and felt good.
"Won't you tell me yet another story?" Mary O'Lein asked at dinner.
"No", Lisabeth said. "First I want to know more about this First Mate. "Is he good?"
"Good at what?" Mary asked with a laugh.
"I don't mind. Just tell me something", Lisabeth said.
"Only if you drink some more rum", Mary O'Lein said.
Lisabeth put the glass which was already filled for her to her lips and drank a little sip.
"Do I really have to, each time?" she asked. "I'll never like it".
"I don't care," Mary O'Lein said. "It is just a part of it".
"Part of what?" Lisabeth asked in surprise.
"Part of my story, of course!" Mary answered. "There's nothing else to be a part of".
For the second time that day, Lisabeth was made to feel uncomfortable by Mary O'Leins' words.
"My First Mate isn't British. He comes from eastern Europe", she continued, but Lisabeth interrupted her.
"And his name is Alexej de Gosselingue or Alex Gosseling, according to the way you see it".
"You seem to know everything", Mary replied. "We already thought we couldn't keep things covered up for you".
"He looks too much like Govert", Lisabeth said. "It's not his fault, but that's the way it is".
"I hired him because he might have been an ally," Mary O'Lein confessed. "But sometimes this constant sorrow is too much for me to bear."
"Especially when you get drunk every now and then. Then he has a free hand," Lisabeth added.
"I also have my weak moments and he knows how to handle me then", Mary O'Lein said guiltily.
"Those Gosselings accept virtually everything if only they can lay their hands on that Crystal. It seems to be their only purpose in life". Lisabeth said.
"By the way, Mary. Do we have a full moon tonight?" Lisabeth asked after remaining silent for a while.
"Yes, we have. My Mate also spoke about it". Mary answered.
"And the First Mate is on duty this night?" Lisabeth contiued.
"Right again", Mary said. "But why are you asking me all those questions?"
"Oh no reason. Just in case", Lisabeth said. "I am a bit tired now and I'm going to sleep", she aded, standing up.
Back in her cabin, she found her sheme again under her pillow. She had to smile, looking at her own work. In the upper left-hand corner she saw a tiny sketch that could mean only one thing: a broad smiling full moon. The clock next to it showed 12 o'clock. Both sketches were related to Mary's O'Lein's tombstone, with the inscription "There was a young maiden, she headed out to sea".
Exactly at midnight, Lisabeth could hear the First Mate singing his disgusting song. He tried very hard to sing it as loudly as he could, to reach the goal that was promised him by the scheme. Lisabeth herself had intended a different purpose for it: "There will be yet another party for those two and then I will be left alone for a while", she thought.
With this knowledge, she comfortably crept under her blankets to inspect, in her dream, the damage that had been done to her Crystal Castle.