Sorry, this chapter wasn't meant to be so long, but I'm glad it worked out okay :)

I really hope you guys enjoy, I worked really hard on it. I hope you guys don't get mad that I keep making new stories, I just have a lot of ideas lately, but I promise to make sure all my stories are updated at the right times so you guys don't wait over a month for 1 update. This chapter will probably be one of the longest over 10,000 words. Hurray! A record !

Episode 1 : "FANTASY" - A day dream or illusion; Imagination when unrestrained..

"I love you."

Words I may never say. Words I may never understand the true meaning of. Words I'll never get returned to me. Why can't I say them? It's not too much of a mystery. It's simple.. it's because-

"She will never get a boyfriend."
Oh, yeah. That's why. Because I don't have a boyfriend.

I bit the eraser of my pencil and failed to ignore the gossip behind me. It was really hard to, considering the fact that the gossip was about me. Some of the girls at the school were stupid to talk about someone – literally behind their backs. There was another giggle as Mia and Kimi continued their usual chat about what they thought about me. I tried to listen to my teacher on whatever the heck she was talking about, but my dumb mind gave up after she started explaining geometric translations.

God, I hate geometry.

Sighing, I took my eraser out of my mouth and gazed longingly out of the window at the beautiful day.

The sky was a bright, morning blue, birds flying through it from time to time; pure, white clouds I'd always dreamed of being able to touch and dance or sing atop of glided slowly across it. I looked down from my place on the second floor of the school's building and watched the bright grass as the breeze rippled through it like a gentle ocean wave. I stared as far as I could into the incessant distance and my mind wandered off to more important things, practically shutting myself out of the real world.

And then I was seeing it again.

I'd dreamed of... my very own fantasy world since I was- well, since I can remember. It was a place I'd created so I could escape to in case I was getting tired of Earth and Tokyo, but as I grew older, I found out it was only a dream. I would never possibly get to it, like Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland, I was just a normal human girl. A little part of me still had hope I'd someday get to see this place, though. It was... like a part of me, in a way. Something that was almost impossible to forget.

One thing was for sure, though - this place was absolutely gorgeous.

I closed my eyes and began to imagine it in my mind – accidentally falling asleep in the process.

Everything went white as I arrived at the gates to the new world. They were ceaseless snow white gates that stood tall across the blank space; looking up, they were ceaseless as well. It made you dizzy to try and see if they weren't.

I looked back at the gate and took a deep breath before reaching a hand out to graze the golden lock. It was as tall and wide as an average book. I smiled before mumbling quietly, casting a spell of words I'd made up to summon the key. No sooner after that did bright white light peek out of my closed fist and I opened it to see the growing key. It grew about as long as my hand and was white, like everything, but decorated with sapphires. I let go of the lock to grab it with both hands, supporting it's weight. In order to open the gates, you (most importantly) had to have the key, and the right words to get into the gates.

I created it to be that way so unwanted forces couldn't ruin the land. Just a precaution.

I whispered the words under my breath, sticking the key into the lock, and twisted it. Another bright flash, and the gates parted, slowly, and I threw my arms up to shield my eyes away from the sudden incandescent light.

I was drawn in by the beauty of the world that my eyes now beheld and walked through the gates. They closed behind me with an echoing, slightly creaking crash.

I turned back to this world, never remembering the name.

The edgeless land was separated into multiple sections, organized neatly, beautifully.

In the very center was a white and black temple, built of white wood and decorated with diamonds – REAL diamonds, catching the light of the sun that hung high in the sky. The jewels on the temple lit it with bright colors and made it stand out in the center of the world. But that was in the distance, I had to get a closer look. I bit back a gasp of surprise when a enormous white dragon flew passed me, carrying a bag of stolen jewels, and I watched it fly away with a shriek towards it's cave.

I took a step toward the world, looking at everything while doing so.

There was a path I was walking on that led to the land, coming from the clouds, and was also decorated with diamonds, carrying me across the amethyst lake, encircling the kingdom centered by the temple.

I picked up the pace, getting closer to the land. This was where the dream usually ended. Like there was something I wasn't aloud to see yet.

I raced through the kingdom, passing by villages and the snow covered acres of grass. My eyes were only on the temple. Something was inside that I had to get to before-

"So, you came back."there was a wicked laugh behind me and I spun around. My stomach dropped. My throat was dry. My heart pounded hard against my chest to where it was almost painful. The gates were nowhere to be found in the wild abyss of dark clouds and red lightening as a horrifyingly ate up the progress of my exploration I'd seen. White deer, purple moose, evergreen polar bears, goblins, fairies, mermaids, and all kind of fantasy animals scattered across the city as it was devoured by the unusual cloud.

A single figure stepped out just as it began devouring the animals that were caught, dragged, and stuck to the mist like flies in a web and the figure snickered. I couldn't tell if the figure was male or female, but the voice was definitely from a woman's.

It sounded sickeningly familiar and it made me tremble with fear. Painful, horrifying memories from my relationship with this person threatened to flood into my mind, but they wouldn't return, and I struggled to remember.

"I never would have imagined you're summoning spell would work, you sneaky princess." It spoke again. "You must have forgotten I can only be killed with the Dream Scythe. And you've lost you're memory of where it was... So what are you going to do now?"

My eyes widened and the figure reached out a hand of long nails that began to craze my cheek.

I winced when they created a gash as she tightened her grip and her hand slipped down to close around my neck. I reached up to claw at the hand and tried to get her to loosen the grip that was crushing my windpipe, but she didn't listen. My vision went blurry as the cloud closed around the rest of the world and I felt tears roll down my cheeks.

Who would want to destroy such a beautiful land? It was mine, for god sake! Why couldn't I do anything?

My body went cold as she spoke once more, "I asked you a question, little girl! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?!"

I hung limply in the air before her jaw stretched at an impossible, scary angle and she devoured me as well.

And then I was in the classroom.

I let out a scream and threw my eyes open, standing up abruptly and sweating like I'd just run 5 miles in this all white winter school uniform and my hands slammed against the desk.

Color rushed to my cheeks and my heart began to pound as I realized that I'd just screamed out loud. My classmates and teacher were staring at me like I'd grown 6 extra heads and I heard giggling behind me, coming from Kimi and Mia.

"Geez," I turned around to look at Kimi and she pushed her short dark hair out of her gray eyes.

"Geometry isn't all that bad, Karin." Mia snickered.

Then, the whole class erupted into laughter like the both of them had told some famous joke that they were definitely going to share with everyone in the hallways about, and I bit my lip before bowing to the teacher in apology and taking my seat again. I lay my head on my desk and covered myself up with my arms. I really hated public humiliation.

Well? Who didn't?

Class went on for what seemed like a 4 more hours before the bell rang. As I stood up to leave, there was Mia and Kimi, blocking my way from the door.

Mia's long silver hair was pulled into a braid that hung over her shoulder, the whole thing decorated with pins and sparkly clips I'd never be able to afford. Her make up was perfect as usual, and brought out her silver eyes that were similar to Kimi's.

Kimi's hand was on her left hip as she sided with Mia, who had her hand on her left hip, (both from their point of views) and the both of them were giving me smug smiles.

"So, Karin, you afford to get a new wardrobe yet?"
"We've both seen what you wear outside of school and it's-" the both gave me the up-down- "Horrifying."
I lifted my books from my desk and hugged them tightly to my chest.

"L.. leave me alone." I said quietly. How come I never had anything to say back?

"You know we can't do that. Why would we anyway? You're the girl we're trying to use as an example of a total nerd in class." Kimi reached over to take my circular pink glassed off of my face and I struggled to get them back.

"Stop! Give those back!"

Mia laughed, "Can you even see where we're holding the glasses, Karin?"

I bit back tears. Even though I'd known these girls for 3 years, they always managed to get to me with their words and cruelty.

I reached one last time before the both of them ran off into the hallways with me following after them.

"Mia! Kimi! Give me back my glasses!"

Then they did the 2nd to worse thing they'd ever done to me. Mia crushed my glasses up in her hands, twisting them in funny angles, and then handed it to a boy with shirt, shaggy brown hair, crimson eyes, and a perfect athletic figure before running off, snickering like they were popular girls.

He was my secret crush – Aki Takashi.

I walked up to him slowly and kept my head down, my cheeks flushing from embarrassment.

Reason # 1 of the 1 out of a million chance that I'd get a boyfriend :

I was incredibly shy when it came to talking to boys. Kids, teenagers, or men.

"Uh, ano, um, Takashi-san, can I have my glasses back, please-"

Aki leaned down, hooking a finger under my chin, "You look really cute without glasses, Hanazono-san." his face came into focus and I looked away.

He smiled and our face were just inches apart. I stopped breathing and stared into his crimson eyes.

Then his smile faded before pulling away.

"But, unfortunately, you're a little too... awkward for me. Shy girls are hard to get in bed."

Such charming words, Aki.

I froze and he gave me a brief smile before placing my destroyed glasses in my hand and closing my fist around it. I'd forgotten how much of a jerk he was to everyone.

Well, certain guys will be certain guys.

I walked down the halls to my next class.

Why couldn't I be one of those cute main characters in a story that met some smoking hot boy slightly older than she was, that she shared a mutual, strong, heated love with? Someone brave and strong, and gentle, and.. someone that wasn't always thinking about sex while you were with him? It was so unfair.

You know something else weird about me?

I don't recall anything of my childhood. Nothing. Zilch. NOTHING. I don't even remember having parents. All I know is, I woke up in a hospital around age 12 with a concussion and was sent to live in an orphanage until I was given foster parents... who, 6 years later, disappeared and left me living and supporting myself alone with my pet cat Shii-chan. I wish I could recover my memories... I wondered who my parents were, or how I used to live.

My thoughts suddenly drifted off to me getting a boyfriend again. No one at this school really interested me. The only boy I'd ever liked was that sex addicted Aki. Oh, well, I only liked him because he was super cute... and sometimes funny. He's one of those guys that's only nice to get girls to like him, and then they'll.. you know, yeah..

Why is it the hot guys at my school are rude, selfish jerks, the nerds are.. too nerdy and kiss ups, and the quiet kids are too quiet to get to know? I was beginning to wonder if I was that type of person that was born to NEVER get a boyfriend. Why can't I be one of those Fantasy girls that falls in love with the guy in her wonderland?

UGH. My life isn't even CLOSE to fair.

The last minute bell rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. Groaning, I held my binder and books tighter to my chest as I sprinted down the hallway to my next class.

Later..

I've got it! Why don't I just ask someone out already?! I'd show Kimi and PERFECT idea.. But, who?

I scanned the campus as I leaned against the tree, pushing my notebook away from scribbling down a forest from the world I'd seen in my dreams.

Well, that guy wasn't so cute.. more average looking... Um, wow, he's adorable, but... hmm, maybe him!
I finally settled on a boy I usually talked to named Fujioka Hiroki. He looked really handsome today – his uniform was in check and ironed perfectly as always, but his straight red hair was cut just under his ears today and his bangs were cut so only one side covered one of his dark green eyes.

I'd never asked someone out before, what should I say?

Setting my stuff down , I took a deep breath and walked across the field toward him with flushed cheeks. Him and his friends stopped talking as they looked up at me and scattered.

Hiroki gave me a nervous smile, "Uh, um, hi, Hanazono-san."
"Hi, Fujioka-san.."
"Uh, Hanazono-san, was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"
"I was just saying hi," I laughed a fake laugh, "Isn't it normal for friends to say hi?"
"Uh, Hanazono-san, we don't usually talk outside of biology, I mean... I only really WANT to talk to you when... well... no one knows."
I felt hurt for a second, but shook it off, "Well, why can't we talk in public?"
It was a moment before he answered, "Why? Because you're really-"

I waved my hands in his face, cutting him off before he said something hopefully the BOTH of us would regret, and said, "Never mind that, I did have a reason for.. talking to you right now."
Hiroki rolled his eyes, "Well, yes? Go on, I have... somewhere to be."
I clutched my skirt and bowed to him. Everyone glanced my way and the whole campus silenced.

"H-Hanazono-san-"
"Fujioka Hiroki!" I shut my eyes tight, "Will you please be my boyfriend?!"

Everyone burst into laughter as soon as the words slipped from my mouth, and I was wondering if this was such a good idea after all.

I looked up slowly to face Hiroki and he was flushed and glancing at everyone who was snickering at my stupidity. He was totally embarrassed before his eyes finally settled on me.

A blank look crossed his face as the campus silenced.

"I'm... sorry to say this, Hanazono-san, but... no."
My eyes began to sting and I bit my lip, "W- why not?" my voice shook.

He held up his hands, "I- I mean, It's not that you're not.. cute, or anything, you're a really nice girl, but.. just.. really weird and spacy. You always.. talk about some land above the clouds and it really freaks everyone out."
"YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!" someone shouted, laughing.

"It freaks us all out! You don't go a day without drawing those stupid, creepy pictures!"

"Hey, Hanazono! I hear you escaped from a mental institution when you were 12!"

"Going crazy again?! Hey, guys! Hanazono's a mental patient!"

"Oh, my freaking god, that makes so much sense!"
"Get her out of this schoooool! I don't like her!"
"So annoying!"

Every word they said punctured my heart as if they'd shrunk and began stabbing right through my chest. My cheeks were flooded with tears now, dripping onto the sidewalk, and I slowly stood straight from my bowing position. And then it started to rain. I didn't care that my uniform was soaked. I partly cared that when I went back to my tree, my drawings were soaked from the water and completely ruined. There was no saving them.

I was just happy the rain had sent all of those nasty kids away.

Later...

Never had I been so excited to go to the bathroom. Even though I'm ALWAYS excited to leave all of these jerks. Who would have thought the last year of high school would be so...

BULLY INFESTED?

Walking down the hallways of high school was like walking onto a battlefield.

All you have for a weapon is your books – handy for throwing, but I'm not really that kind of person, now am I?

I speed walked to the bathroom, and a few of the girls there stared at me for a second, and started speaking ever so LOUDLY about my rejection from 3 hours ago. Ignoring them the best I could, I walked over to the mirror to wash my dirty, tear stained, face.

I splashed the water of my face a few times and looked back up at the mirror.

This was me.

An average, really small person who was usually swept and trampled in the hallways by the daily, raging sea of teenagers.

My curly dirty blonde hair was grown and (my decision) perfectly cut in at waist.

My bright green eyes were dull to me at the moment, probably because of my pain, and my cheeks were flushed, contrasting well with my snow white skin. Their was a big black bow at the top of my head, pulling back my bangs and hiding them underneath the ribbon.

I, personally, don't think I'm ugly.

I pulled the gray jacket of my uniform more tightly around my middle and secured it by slipping the button through it's hole. My dark red skirt from my uniform was long enough and I wore lacy black knee socks to go with it.

My eyes wandered to my chest. Okay, so maybe it wasn't to visual that I had breasts, but underneath, I'm a C.

I let out a long, purposely drawn out sigh before gathering my things and heading out.

I almost dropped my books when a familiar voice in my head started speaking. Well, I think it was. This was very common, and I know it's weird, but yes, sometimes, I hear another voice in my head besides my own, it's really creepy. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm crazy, too.

The voice was clear as crystal, and the voice was smooth and vaguely familiar. It belonged to a man.

"I desire you, Althea. Will you never come home?"
It echoed, and I looked down the empty hallways frantically before shaking my head and trying to ignore it.

Home..

I looked up at the small house on top of a large hill, distant from any other neighborhoods that was mine. It was slightly crooked, but very pretty and made of white brick and had a cute pink roof. Every year, Shii-chan and I (mostly me) hang flowers around it.

I saw the curtains move from the window and not a second later, a small cat with brown colored fur bounded out of the tiny dog door and ran toward me, excited.

"Shii-chan!" I smiled and got on a knee as she cautiously climbed me to snuggle into my arms, and I opened the door to the house.

"Home sweet home." I sighed.

Holding Shii chan tightly, I closed the door behind me and hung my bag on a hanger before flopping down to rest on the couch. Shii chan turned in my arms and looked up at me, bright blue eyes questioning.

"Hmmm, I suppose you're asking me how my day was this time?" I plastered a fake smile to my face- Shii-chan was usually the one I talked to about all of my sad school days with, and I learned that showing my depression to her made her feel uncomfortable and depressed as well.

I reached up to gently pat her fluffy head, "It... it was alright today." I said, failing to keep my voice from shaking. Shii-chan's eyes darkened and I shook my head.

"I'm serious. No one bothered me today." I lied again, then my feelings betrayed me as a tear rolled down my cheek. Then another. And another, and then tears flooded down like eternal rivers.

Shii chan snuggled closer to me and I wrapped my arms around her tiny form to crush her into my chest as I continued to sob.

"I'm sorry, Shii-chan. I wasn't supposed to cry... hiccup I didn't want this to happen again. I just... want so many things that I almost feel selfish."
This was one of those times that I'd wish to escape to that world.

I cried for several minutes before wiping my face and sitting back to relax with Shii-chan, who had dozed off in my lap.

Maybe if I was supposed to get a boyfriend, I'd get one in the future. High school isn't just about dating, right? I've got enough life to live.

I just hate it here. Do I even belong on Earth? Why the heck can I not remember anything? It's not fair, dammit! Why can't some hot, adorable, sweet, mysterious boy just waltz into my life and make me forget all of this pain?

If I could escape... I would. Leave this whole world behind. Maybe I should just stop going to school. No one's making me go, anyway. I don't have a family. Or friends. Yes. I'll just stop going. Spare myself from regretting anymore days of my life. From thinking one day I was going to be a normal person. Maybe I should give Shii-chan away to a better owner. If things get too worse after that, I should just go ahead and-

I was snapped out of my thoughts at a sudden uneasy, yet exciting feeling, and Shii-chan and I jumped at the same time. I looked down at her and she twisted in my arms to glance up at me.

"Something wrong?" I stared deeply into her eyes and she looked away for a moment, and we both relaxed again.

Then, there was that feeling again. Only stronger. As if something were close.

I stood up and began pacing around, chills running up my spine from the sudden sensation and I glanced at Shii-chan. She was standing next to the window, her back arched, and was staring intently out of it, meowing.

"Shii-chan?"

She began to pace around, too, as if she had to use the bathroom, so I walked over and unlocked the back door that led to the wide open space and the forest that was my backyard.

As soon as there was enough room, Shii-chan slipped through the door, tore down the field, and disappeared into the forest without a sound.

Grabbing my coat and a flashlight, I ran outside into the forest, wincing as vines clawed at my skin, and continued on. I shone my flash light at animals with glowing eyes as my own darted nervously around the bushes and trees. Where was she?

"Shii-chan. It's really cold out here, and it's raining. Please come back..."

No answer. Not much rustling.

"Shii-chan!" I cupped my hands over my mouth and called.

A cat meowed somewhere in the forest and I took off running. I pushed my way through a few trees and was standing on the edge a cliff. I had to balance myself to keep from falling as I let out a shriek of terror.

Where the heck did that come from?!

A cat meowed beside me and I looked down to see Shii-chan staring up at me with serious blue eyes.

Sitting on my knees, I carefully looked to see how far down the fall would have been and my heart beat quickened. I snatched Shii-chan in my arms and scowled at her before turning to walk off, but then Shii-chan began to struggle.

"Shii-chan, stop it! Stop, you're going to make me-"
She escaped out of my arms before I could finish and caught herself before she could fall off the edge.

She looked down at the river just under the cliff and I peeked at it.

Just a normal river. Was she trying to tell me something? Jump off? I hope not.

Then, the water suddenly began to bubble, to my amazement, and glowed pink, then purple, then white, then, blue, and green, and...

"Holy..."
Waves from the bubbling water began to crash around, almost violently, and I watched the water sparkle.

"Is it a light show, Shii-chan?" I asked, amazed, almost entranced. It was so beautiful. Like a portal.

The uneasy, excited feeling was crashing around in my body, just like those waves, only worse.

Shii-chan rolled her eyes before..

Diving off the cliff.

Without hesitation, I dived after her, falling down, down down.

"Shii-chaaaan!" Everything was a blur as I threw my arms out to grab her. Crushing her to my chest, I shut my eyes and prepared for the impact – the one that would lead to my death.

Maybe Shii-chan found it better this way. That's why she jumped in, so it would be the both of us, and I wouldn't have to be alone – even like this.

I held her as tight as I could, feeling my body drop even more quickly.

And then we fell through the water.

A moment later, I found I was still breathing, and slowly opened my eyes. My clothes weren't wet. I wasn't even in water. I was floating around in a dark abyss.

I looked down at Shii-chan, who pulled away from me to look into my eyes.

I didn't say anything for a moment, and no meow's escaped her mouth, either.

"Are we already dead?" I asked, looking up.

There it was, the pink sea, just above our heads. Looking down, I noticed a small white light, that was getting bigger as we sank lower.

I twisted in the dark abyss so that I was facing it, and swam toward it.

" I guess this is it, huh, Shii-chan? That's the light? Let's go together, then."
I swam at a not too fast, or too slow pace. There it was.

I reached out a hand to it, clinging tightly to Shii-chan, and then we fell through it.

I fell on my back, on something fluffy, and bouncy. Opening my eyes, I was staring up at a blank, blue sky. I glanced around and gaped at what I saw.

I was surrounded by nothing but clouds.

I let out a long, drawn out gasp as I stood up slowly. Fluffy white clouds were spread throughout the entire sky. There was nothing else up here but clouds. I couldn't see where they stopped, or where they started. It was so exciting.

Almost like a reaction to my arrival, I heard that same voice from earlier.

"I feel you near, Althea. Have you finally come back to me – to us? Hurry. I can't live any longer without you. I need my princess!"

Then I suddenly remembered Shii-chan, and before I could turn around, there was a groan behind me, it sounded like a boy's voice.

Gasping, I turned to see a boy with long, curly brown hair and the same, bright blue eyes as Shii-chan.

He was a little taller than me, about the same age, and wore black jeans with a white chambray shirt. He sat up, just as I was backing away. No way. This couldn't be Shii-chan. Nuh-uh. Shii-chan was a girl, wasn't she? So why is this guy here with me, looking like a human version?!

"Man, that hurt. Especially transforming before that fall." he muttered. Then, his eyes met mine.

I took a few steps back, "Wh-who are you?"
The strange boy put his hands up, trying to calm be down as he got to his feet without taking his widened eyes off of me.

"Look, Karin-chan, you weren't supposed to see this.. So calm down and let me explain."
"You- you can't be.. Shii-chan, can you? That's just... That's crazy..? Do animals turn into humans when they die?"
"Shii-chan" rolled his eyes, "We're not dead! Is that what you thought, that I would support such a decision for you to kill yourself? Why do you think I'm living with you? I'm your guardian!"
I paused, staring at him. "Then.. you.. you really are... Shii-chan?! But- Shii-chan is a girl!"
He smacked his hand against his forehead, "I was male this whole time, Karin-chan."

"I- I just thought- you know... you were a girl because you're thingy was-"
"Stop! Stop!" he waved his hands in front of my now flushed face.

"So, Shii-chan was boy this whole time...?"

I was so embarrassed, "B-But, we even took bath's together, h-how..?"
His pale skin flushed to a smiliar red, "I.. I tried not to look."

How perverted... but.. if he's still Shii-chan... he's still my best friend- like my brother now, in a way.

"What do you mean, we're not dead? And how are you a human now?"

He stopped blushing and looked at me seriously, "You know that world you've been dreaming about since the day you woke up in that hospital? We just arrived halfway to the gates of it."
My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat. "It- it's real?"
"Yes. In fact. But we need to hurry. There's a reason why the portal has opened. Queen Elowen's dark forces have entered the kingdom, but we aren't aware of who's possessing such darkness at the moment."
"Queen Elowen?" it sounded familiar, but something I couldn't remember.

Shii-chan grabbed my hand and pulled me toward something in the distance.

"There's no time to explain. We need to hurry to the Wish Empire and tell them the news. Man, is Prince Apollo going to be glad to see you!"

"Prince Apollo? Who's that?"

Shii-chan ran his fingers through his dark brown hair and sighed.

"You know – the voice you keep hearing in your head at random times? Your-" he coughed once-"Boyfriend..?"

"Boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend."
"Oh, Riiight. He's going to be angry when he realizes you've lost your memory, too. Poor guy."

"I lost my memory? Shii-cha-" A second later, we were soaring above the clouds. I gasped and held onto Shii-chan tightly. I felt uneasy about flying at first, but when I realized it was really no danger at all, I let him carry me off into the distance.

We flew for about 10 minutes before landing on a mass of clouds that resembled a hill. Shii-chan gently pulled me along with him and we walked over the "hill."

When we reached to the top, I gasped. In front of us was the gate to the world from my dreams.

It was absolutely perfect – the exact same gate from my dreams – the pure white bars standing tall and endless from both length and width going upwards.

"Shii-chan... is that... is that.. ?" I found my voice only moments after my shock and my sort of new friend turned to grin at me, bright baby blue eyes glowing with excitement.

"Yes, Karin-chan. The gates to Lucasta."
"L-Lucasta?"

Where had I heard that before? It sounded all to familiar, but I struggled to remember – it made my head hurt like it usually did when I wanted to remember just ONE little thing from my past.

"What's.. Lucasta?"
Shii-chan sighed, "The Fantasy world you always think about. The place you can't remember. The world the both of us are from. The world we were both born in. The world you rule more than half of."

I whirled around to face him, my green eyes widening in shock again.

"Wh- what? Did you just say we were born here? What are you talking about? I rule the half of this Lucasta place? I haven't even been here before."
"For the first 12 years of your life, yes.. but you lost your memory when you crashed on Earth."

I frowned, "This is confusing. Is there something you're trying to tell me? This is a pretty weird dream. Can't wait to wake up, however."

"You're not dreaming, Karin-chan. This is all real. You're here, I'm here... Now, if you could just say the words to open the gates, I'll have a chance to reunite you with your family- err, well.. friends."

"What are you talking abo-" before I could answer, Shii-chan grabbed my wrist and gently pulled me toward the gates.

"Let me go – I need to wake up, or something... Yeah, I need to wake up!"

"Trust me, this is reality, and you'll be really happy with me taking you back to your REAL home in the future. Lucasta is where you belong – not on Earth."

Okay, THAT made more sense to me, of course, but this was still a lot to take in.

Yeah, so maybe I DID know this was definitely way too REAL to be a dream, and that the clouds I was walking on where actually real, and that wherever I was was actually REAL, so there was actually no point in arguing with him – I was going to have to take this in as slow as I could.

We were finally standing about a meter away from the gate before we stopped. I blinked before looking up at the gate for the end.

Ceaseless.

I felt dizzy – like in my dreams- when I tried to see the end of it. Turning my head left and right, I saw they were ceaseless both ways. Of course.

I reached a hand out to caress the golden lock and felt my lips curl into a slight smile.

I was finally here. "Lucasta" was just beyond these gates.

Shii-chan whispered something and he held out his now glowing palm. I had to shield my eyes from the light it produced seconds later and when it stopped, I gasped at the large key from my dreams that was now laying in his hand.

So far, the first few minutes of my dream are actually real, but I couldn't say my entire dream was real until I saw my dream WORLD.

"Everyone who was born in this world can summon the key. However, Princess Althea is the only one who can open the gates with it. There's a protective barrier that made that so. It keeps unwanted forces out and only beings Althea chooses can enter." Shii-chan explained.

Unwanted forces? I wonder what those could be.

I cocked my head to the side, staring at the key, "Where's this Princess Althea, then? I really want to see beyond these gates."

Shii-chan laughed once before handing me the large, yet feather light key.

"Well.. she's right in front of me. You're Princess Althea, Karin-chan."

My heart skipped a beat as I looked from him to the key over and over.

"I am? But..."
He put a finger to my lips, "Just remember the words... It'll be proof enough if you open the gates. I should be able to explain everything later."
"Later? Why can't you explain NOW? I'm so confused, Shii-chan."
"Because, Karin-chan. We're going to be separated as soon as the gates open."

"But why?"

"The Illusion Empire Gods put a spell on the gates so that when they opened, they showed the traveler's true form. Lots of beings from different worlds often disguise themselves as creatures from this world in order to get in and wreak havoc.. You'll take your true form, and I'll take mine, but someone is bound to notice the Princess has come back, of course, so they will take you to the Illusion Empire to see the Gods and get their reward for discovering you. I'll turn back into a fairy, but I'll be by your side the whole time, alright?"
I started to say something else, but Shii-chan gave me the "no-no" sign.

"Open the gates, Karin-chan. You know the words."
Hesitantly, I lifted the key to the gates and slipped it into the lock. The place where the key met the lock began to glow and I closed my eyes to concentrate.

I DID know these words. I said them in my dream all the time.. but... I can't remember!

I bit my lip and thought harder. What was it? What was it? Darn.. What WAS it?!

Words formed in my mind and came together.

I gasped. That was it.

My lips parted and I whispered the "magic words."

"Tromperie de l'oeil."

I gasped when the key disappeared from my hands and the gates made a loud clicking noise that echoed through the blank space Shii-chan and I were in and when I opened my eyes, the light engulfed the obth of us and I let out a surprised shriek before finally laying my eyes upon my dream world.

Now my dream was real.

Everything about my dream world was exact from my dream. It was as gorgeous as always.

The humongous temple in the center's diamonds glowed from the wonderful sunlight, and when I looked up, I saw all kinds of dragons flying through the baby blue sky – dragons breathing fire, dragons covered in everlasting ice, dragons that were decorated in what looked like flowers, dragons covered in jewels and crystals, dragons covered in symbols..

In the distance, I could see 3 beautiful, pure white moons in the sky, and when I looked down, I saw the pathway that led to a huge, busy town centered by the Diamond Temple. I took a hesitant step forward before being engulfed by yet another light.

I gasped when I felt my clothes leave my body, but soon after that, I was covered in something much heavier.

When the light disappeared, I looked down at myself and my eyes widened.

My school uniform had disappeared and replacing it was an white kimono sprinkled with hot pink cherry blossom petals. A band was tied around my mid section the same hot pink as the cherry blossom print, and the bottom of the kimono was cut off a few inches below my waist, making me flush in embarrassment. I'd never worn anything this short.

The sides of the skirt were cut from below the band to the hem of it so they revealed my hips – thankfully I had a pair of fluffy white boy shorts underneath. My legs were covered in white thigh high socks and on my feet were a pair of pink platform sandals. The top of my kimono ended in wide sleeves that covered my entire arms and hands.

I looked over at the glistening hair on my shoulder and gasped again at the new color.

My once dirty blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail topped with a humongous white bow and was now a much lighter, paler shade – a whiter blonde, and fell in curls all the way down to my ANKLES.

Who was I?!

"Pretty cool, isn't it?" said a tiny voice beside my ear that was almost inaudible. I felt a tiny new weight on my shoulder and turned to see a 3 inch tall Shii-chan – glowing blue with humming black butterfly wings.

I bit back another gasp.

"Shii-chan – you're a...a .. a FAIRY!"

Shii-chan laughed, "And you're a very beautiful princess. Now get going – I'm sure they already sense you near."
I took a deep breath before proceeding toward the city.

Later...

The familiar voice was speaking to me again.

"Althea, my love, I feel you've come closer. I can hear your heartbeat now. It's all too real. Have you come back to me, my sweet?"
I wanted to speak back, but I wasn't sure if I could actually speak to this person. Whoever they were, they were more than likely in Lucasta.

"Althea, the gates have opened... That could only mean that it really IS you. Please, come find me, my princess."
I bit my lip at the eagerness in the voice – it sounded pained, yet hopeful. I had to see this person, or it'd drive us both crazy, so I asked in my head :

Where are you?

"You answered?! Oh, Althea... You're voice is so beautiful. I've been waiting for you in our garden, of course. Hurry."

I quit scanning Lucasta and my gaze fell on the diamond temple. My heart began to pound against my chest and without thinking, I picked up the pace.

Soon, the pathway stopped and I was standing in the middle of a city full of all kinds of different creatures – bustling about and setting up stands to sell things.

I was invisible at first – but then a small white goblin with glowing gold eyes stopped in it's tracks to stare at me. Then it's eyes widened in surprise. It pointed a shaking finger at me and looked speechless.

One by one, creatures of all different kinds noticed me as well and the clamor ceased suddenly. I looked around at everyone, now circling around me. I felt my cheeks burn from all of the attention and tried to back away from everyone shyly. Thousands of jewel paired eyes were on me.

Some pointed at me and others shook their heads in disbelief. Others began showering me with jewels and flowers, and others seemed to think I was some sort of illusion.

"Are you princess Althea?" one said in the crowd. They all fixated their eyes on me, waiting for my answer. Shii-chan nodded, "The one and only." he said, regarding me. The eyes blinked a few times before I was surrounded by beautiful, stunning creatures, lifting me high into the air and kissing my hands. They all cheered and paraded around knowing their princess had finally come home. Me?

I just sat there, flushed and looking around frantically. They didn't seem to notice- they were.. just so happy.

"Princess Althea has come home!"

"We must tell the Gods!"

"Throw a party!"

"It should end after the week is done! Party in her favor! Princess Althea!"
The parading continued for another moment before lighting suddenly struck an elf girl with purple skin that was planting kisses at my feet. She fell to the ground, eyes rolling back into her head before twitching and immediately, everyone backed away from me, screaming as they pointed to the sky.

"It's a witch!" they yelled, scattering.

I heard a cackling in the sky just as the elf who had been struck suddenly woke again and screamed before running away. I gasped at the woman dressed in black rode toward me on a broomstick.

The figure took off it's hood to reveal an old woman with short, straight white hair and bright silver eyes. She smiled greedily at me before reaching out a hand and nodding at me expectantly.

"Take her hand." Shii-chan whispered, "She needs evidence."

Evidence?

I cautiously reached up to slide my hand into hers and she peeled my wide kimono sleeve back to look at something on my wrist. A few fairies – the same size as Shii-chan now- flew closer to look at my wrist. The witch turned my hand over and I almost couldn't believe what I saw.

Just below my palm was a tiny black heart outlined in gold. I cocked my head in confusion and the fairies had put their hands to their red cheeks in surprise before whispering something to each other, their eyes widening. Their voices were too small to hear. They turned to the crowd, nodding excitedly.

I looked back at the witch. Her silver eyes were bright and a wicked smile was on her lips.

"Allow me to take you back to Prince Apollo and the other Gods."
Before I could take my hand away, the witch and I had teleported directly in front of the Temple.

It looked even more beautiful up close. I looked around. Surrounding the temple was a huge circle of gorgeous ever green grass and crystal flowers.

Then I remembered I'd been taken here by a witch and turned to glare at her.
"I didn't ask you to do that." I said quietly, afraid if I said something too harsh she'd turn me into a pumpkin, or something. She merely smiled.

"Oh, but, Princess Althea, you must understand. You've been gone for 6 years and the Gods have set a reward on whoever could find you. I had to take action. I need the gold, of course. Aren't you happy? I will take you back to your home."
Someone was going to be given a reward for finding me? This witch seemed too selfish to get anything. I backed away slowly. Where was Shii-chan?

"I think you should take me back. I don't know the Gods, or this Prince Apollo..."

She didn't seem to care,"First I will take you to your love Prince Apollo. He will be delighted to see you...!" she said eagerly.
I shook my head. I needed to find Shii-chan. I was getting frightened. What if the Gods became angry that I'd lost my memory? Would they kill me for it? Or Shii-chan, who explained he was my guardian..?
The witch sighed before she thrust a hand out and her magic engulfed me in a black smoke. I inhaled it without thinking and found my body growing heavier. My eyelids lowered and my legs gave out.

I hit my head as I fell to the ground and wanted to fight the spell, but I was growing weak by the second. My vision blurred and then everything went black.

Later on...

I woke up, but I struggled to open my eyes. I was in an uncomfortable position – slung over someone's shoulder. I was being carried somewhere.

I tried to speak, but could only manage a small groan.

"Uhhh... I think she's waking up." said a low voice.

"Then let's hurry to Apollo's garden, you slowpoke." that was the witch's voice.

I wanted to attack her right about now. How dare she put a spell on me because I didn't want to go with her!

A moment later, I heard the sound of footsteps on grass and guessed we were in this garden they were talking about. I found my body feeling heavy as I tried to break through the spell and move on my own.

The person holding me finally set me down in something soft. I was able to pull myself up on my hands and knees, but still continued to regain my strength.

I slowly opened my eyes and bit back a gasp. I was sitting in the prettiest field I'd ever been in.

The field was full of the most gorgeous, sparkling flowers of foreign colors that were definitely not from planet Earth.

Most of the flowers looked to be overlapped with other kinds – similar to lily petals. They had patterns like dots on some of the layers and the stems and leaves were a pure silver. The grass itself was silver.

The 3 moons were off in the distance and from here, it looked like the sky was white.

I saw someone else off in the distance, as well.

Their back was turned to me, but I saw this person was dressed in white and aluminum emperor like robes and had a silver crown topped on his head of shoulder length snow white hair. He had broad shoulders and sitting down from a distance, he looked tall.

I continued to stare at the person when I heard the voice in my head again.

"Althea..."

My eyes widened and the man finally turned around to face me, a gust of wind blowing the snow white hair from his gorgeous face.

He was so handsome, my heart skipped a beat as his sapphire eyes locked with mine, and butterflies fluttered around in my stomach. He was looking at me with a soft smile on his lips. His skin was a creamy white and his eyelashes were long. He had the cutest , perfectnose, too...

So this was Prince Apollo. The one Shii-chan and everyone else in Lucasta had been talking about me reuniting with.

And then I was seeing something – for a very brief moment.

It was a boy, turning around to look at me with the same expression, the same hair, the same eyes.

It was him.

But he looked to be younger.

I blinked and the image was gone. What was that...? My head began to throb for a second, but I was still staring at this person, and he was looking at me.

His smile widened when he saw me, and his lips moved.

"Althea. It is you."

I failed to bite back a gasp. It was the very voice that had been speaking in my mind, sharing his thoughts. Then I began to blush.

"Prince Apollo."

The witch spoke and I struggled to break away from the handsome, godlike prince's eyes to look up at the woman who had captured me, then at her companion – the one who more than likely had been carrying me – a tall goblin with snow white skin, long, pointy ears, and amethyst eyes.

I glared at the witch, who had barely seemed to notice.

"You have brought her to me." the prince said in his beautiful, smooth, crystal clear voice.

The witch bowed, "She is well... Though I had to put a sleeping spell on her to get her here without problems."
I glanced back at the prince. His smile had faded and he was glaring icy sapphire daggers in her direction.

Oh! Even his angry expression was gorgeous...

"You dared to put a spell on my Althea, you witch?" his tone was no longer soft – it was cold and it rose with anger.

The witch stood up straight, and a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead, but she had a blank expression on her face. I took notice that she only looked like a regular old woman at this point- not your average witch from a fairytale, or something like that.

"Your highness, you must understand, " her voice shook in the teeniest bit, " I only wanted to bring her as soon as possible."
Prince Apollo was silent for a moment, still glaring at her; then his expression changed back into a smile as his eyes met mine again, making my heart flutter and my cheeks burn in embarrassment again.

I'd never blushed just because someone merely looked at me... rarely even with Aki.

My heart thudded in my chest and I'm almost sure he heard it because his smile grew wider.

"Very well, then. You've brought her to me, and she seems alright. But just know, If I find out later on that you've done anything else to go against her wishes for your own selfish reasons, I will cut out all 12 of your hearts and feed it to the crows." His voice was dark as he spoke to the witch, and I think we could both tell by the tone in his voice that he meant every word.

"Yes your highness." she managed to keep her tone even.

"Go to my brothers and sisters for your reward. Leave us, the both of you."
Without another word, the witch disappeared with the goblin.

I bit my lip and tried not to make eye contact with the prince, but I was already flushing again. Did I look alright? Was my kimono wrinkled? Did I have something on my face? Was I presentable?

"Don't be shy, Althea. Look at me, my love."
When I obeyed, his sapphire eyes were staring deeply into mine. Then he shifted and got into a crawling position, walking toward me on his hands and knees.

"I've missed you so much that my heart aches at the memory of the day you left and never came back."

I blushed when he was getting closer and backed away a little.
"Uhhh.. ummm, I..."
"Don't speak, yet. I want to savor this moment." when he was only a meter away, he reached out to me and ran his fingers through my hair. His hand slipped down to touch my cheek and I shivered at the sudden touch. His hands felt warm and somewhat comforting.

I made a surprised noise when he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him, closing the distance between us. He leaned in so our faces were just inches apart and he peered into my eyes before cupping both my cheeks.

I scanned his eyes, wondering what he was thinking and what he was about to do.

All I saw was a look that no boy had ever given me before.

It was like love,lust, and passion mixed together.

Then his eyelids lowered and Prince Apollo's lips were pressed against mine.

Warmth spread throughout my body and the hands that were gripping his shirt gripped tightly as I melted into the kiss. My eyelids lowered slightly and I leaned into him, placing a hand on his knee to support my weight.

I never knew a KISS would drive me crazy and give me such embarrassing new feelings.

My heart was pounding so much, I was starting to get worried. I shut my eyes tightly and deepened the kiss again before moaning once.

The princes hands slid into my hair, crushing me further against him as he leaned in, too.

Now my whole body felt hot. I groaned softly in my throat and I got on my knees.

I don't know how long we were kissing, but pulling away was far from my mind. My arms wrapped around his neck and his hands lowered to grab my sides, just over my hips.

A moment later, I had pushed the prince down on his back without thinking. I kissed him hungrily, eagerly, all my shyness from before had disappeared. Apollo slid his fingers in my hair and I pulled away, the both of us gasping for air.

I was panting and looked down at him.

He was staring up at me lovingly with half lidded, lust filled sapphire blue eyes watching my every move. There was a soft smile on his lips and his cheeks were slightly flushed.

"Althea.." he panted, "I don't remember you being so brave. Do you really want to make love to me here?" he laughed once.

I snapped out of my lusty trance to stare at him with wide eyes. Suddenly remembering what the both of us were doing, what this was going to lead to, my entire face went red and I jumped up and stepped away from him.

The prince looked surprised. He sat up, staring at my embarrassed expression. Then he looked worried as I placed both of my hands over my mouth.

"Althea? Did I scare yo-"

I had to cut him off, but I wasn't sure how he'd react once I told him this..

"I'm very sorry, your highness, but I don't think we've met before!" I exclaimed.

The entire garden was silent after I spoke... for a long while. All you could hear was the sound of the breeze. I finally gathered my courage to look at him.

His eyes were wide in shock and he was looking right at me. I don't think he was breathing, either.

It was at least 4 minutes before he said something.

"Althea." he smiled, "Stop playing around and come here."
I shook my head, "I'm being honest, Prince Apollo!"

The prince's face went paler than he was already and he seemed frozen, half lying on the ground, still watching me in shock.

Then a horrified look crossed his face, and I began to feel bad for not remembering him at all. I'm not sure what kind of relationship Althe- I mean... I used to have with him, but I'm sure it was something really strong.

"Althea. You're supposed to call me Kazune, remember?" he looked fearful, "Why aren't you calling me Kazune? Only my subjects call me by my God name!" he jumped to his feet.

"I... I'm sorry, Prince Apo- I mean... Kazune.. I mean... ahhhh... I'm so sorry, I didn't-"
"NO." he said, cutting me off. He started glaring at me, raising his hands to cover his ears. "No!" he yelled again. "No! NO! NOO! This can't be true! NO! This isn't fair! No!" He grunted in rage.

All of a sudden, he stopped screaming and walked over to me quickly.

Afraid, I backed away from him, my eyes wide in fear, but he grabbed my shoulder and gripped my wrist painfully. I gasped and searched his sapphire daggers and I only saw anger and the coldness of his rage.

"You're lying! You're not saying you lost your memory! You're lying. Right now - tell me something, so I can be sure. Only my Althea would know this."
I prepared myself for the question and coming up with the best answer possible.

"Tell me what you said the day you moved into the temple. When I ran away from you because both you and my parents were killed by Elowen. When it was just my brothers and sisters that loved you, but I hated you. I was angry and upset. Remember?! Tell me what you said – those words that started our relationship! When you kept trying your best to get me to like you, because you were explaining that you had loved me already. Tell me, right now!" he yelled at me.

I winced, and searched my mind.

I didn't work, I couldn't come up with anything.

"I'm so sorry.." I finally said, tears pouring down my cheeks.

Prince Apollo stared at me another moment before pulling away from me and stepping back.

"Don't do this to me. Don't. I've waited for you for 6 years. I don't want this, Althea. I've been through enough of this pain. Please."
I reached my hands up to cover my face, sobbing. I barely even knew why I was crying. Was I scared? Was I sad for him?

Did I just want to hurry up and remember?

Yes, I did.

"If you're not my Althea, then, who are you?!" he yelled.

"My... my name's Karin Hanazono. I'm... I'm 18 years old... and I... I... I don't remember anything of the first 12 years of my life..." my voice shook.

That was enough for him. He disappeared without another word, leaving a cold wind behind him, teleporting to who knows where.

He left me alone as I sank to my knees, sobbing loudly to myself, all the warmth I'd felt moments ago – gone. Just like those memories I wanted so badly to recover.

I had to look up the phrase in french - the one's that open the gates to Lucasta.

They mean "Trick of the Eye." in french, isnt' that cool? I was so excited it worked out! I'll be working on chapter 2 soon, okay?