Had the strangest dream last night, and it won't leave my mind. Most dreams fade within minutes of awakening, but this one has been holding onto me all day.

I was in a castle - a king's palace, actually, a modern palace, the residence of the ruler of a large nation. Everything was very luxurious and opulent.

I was some sort of "page." I was a staffer, with access to every nook and cranny of the huge palace. All of the royal family knew me and they would have me sit to have tea with them. The king allowed me to come into his inner office at will, and everyone else - from the laundry women to the security people - trusted me. I had many duties. I would go through the palace, carrying messages from the king to his family and staff. I wouldn't actually "carry" messages, I would just run around telling everyone what they were supposed to be doing, or telling them that the king wanted to talk to them in his office right away .... stuff like that. If the cook needed more flour, I was the one who told the steward to buy more flour. I was always walking from one part of the palace to the other, delivering messages like that. Sometimes, I would help a laundry lady do the laundry. Sometimes, I would help the little princess get ready for school. Sometimes, I would pour tea for myself and the king's family. I was everywhere, doing all things. I was happy in the palace. I loved being such an integral part of all the goings-on. Sometimes, the king would trust me with important duties that he wouldn't trust anyone else with. I was the only one he trusted completely.

Then, there was a war in the kingdom. It was a short war, and the kingdom's army was quickly defeated. I was very busy then, in the king's private office most of the time. He would talk to me about how the war was going, and tell me how worried he was. He would send me to various parts of the palace, summoning his advisors and captains to his office, and bringing him meals to eat in his office. I tried to comfort him, but there really wasn't much I could say. I wasn't a soldier, and I couldn't do anything to influence the battlefield.

One day, I was walking through the halls on my way to the king's office, when the laundry lady stopped me. She told me the king wanted me RIGHT AWAY. I ran as fast as I could to his office, and when I got there, he was almost in tears. He told me that the war was lost and the other king was going to take over the palace. He told me to tell everyone else to prepare to surrender to the other king. I cried with him for a minute, but then he told me to run - hurry - and spread the word. I ran all over the palace, crying all the time, telling everyone. Everyone else started crying. I told them that the kings said we were to surrender peacefully and with dignity. We were all very sad.

The sounds of war outside stopped. Everything was quiet. The streets around the palace all emptied out. It started to rain, gently.

The king's family left the palace. Most of the staff left also. The king was upset because everyone was leaving him. I told him that I would never leave him, I would stay with him to the end. He patted my shoulder and thanked me. He asked me to run around the castle and find whomever was still there, and bring them to his office. I did that. There were only four or five staff people left in the palace, plus the king and myself.

Everyone was in the king's office, but I was still running around the palace, trying to make sure everything was in order. I wanted to make sure there were no pots burning on the stoves, or unmade beds, or anything that would show that this palace was anything less than perfect. As I ran around, tidying rooms, I saw through the windows that there were big, huge transport trucks pulling up on the streets around the palace. There were beautiful, fancy airplanes taxiing up to the curb on the streets beside the main entrance. The trucks and the airplanes were all the same colour and design, very sleek, glamorous and new. The new king and his entourage were arriving, getting ready to take possession of our palace.

I hurried back to the king, and he said it was time for those of us who were left to greet the conquering king. We stood inside the entrance to the castle, looking out on the grand courtyard in front. My king looked very fine, wearing an old-fashioned kingly robe of scarlet and ermine (like something from a fairy-tale book.) He made me stand beside him, and held his hand on my arm. His hand on my arm helped me take courage, and I stood calmly, not crying like I wanted to do.

The new king's servants walked in first, carrying various things into the palace, and then his family came. The children were accompanied by finely-dressed escorts, and there were other servants walking on either side of them through the courtyard and up the grand staircase into the palace.

I woke up before the new king stepped into view.

All day long, I have felt sad and confused. Just can't shake this feeling.

What on earth can that dream have been about?????