Heavy, pale mist wound through the trees and lay like a blanket over a glassy lake. A small yellow duck sat among the reeds at the edge of the water. All was quiet and calm.
Out of the mist came a figure, seeming to float over the lake. The duck's dark eyes lifted to focus curiously on the figure, and as she watched, it became clear that the figure was a human boy with pale skin, long limbs, a dark brown mop of hair, and empty green eyes.
Quack?
The boy lifted an arm and began to dance on the surface of the lake, his movements graceful and slow. He was ethereal, otherworldly, and beautiful. But his eyes remained blank and devoid of feeling.
I want to dance too. I want to dance with him… with the prince.
The duck ruffled her feathers.
But I'm only a duck. Ducks can't dance.
Sighing faintly, the bird continued to observe the boy. His empty eyes, to her, seemed lonely and desolate.
Why? Why does he look so lonely?
The boy continued his dance, and the duck longed to join him.
If only I could dance with you, my prince. Then maybe you wouldn't be so lonely.
The fog thickened, obscuring the duck's view of the boy. She rose, straining to see through the mist, but the lake's water darkening before her caught her attention.
"You want to dance with the prince?"
She tensed in alarm as the loud voice echoed through the trees.
Quack?
"A little duck like you?"
A huge face, a laughing, grinning face, appeared in the water before her ––
–– Gasping in shock, Clara Oswald sat up straight in her bunk, dark eyes huge as she clutched her blanket to her chest.