Ohh, I'm so sorry guys! I've been busy at school with my end of the term projects and upcoming tests. My finals are not for another week, so I posted this beforehand so it would not take me longer to get done. The Christmas gift I gave you all was super lame. But, this one is longer and all, so please enjoy!


I was speechless… Is there a word to describe unmovable? Well, I couldn't move, couldn't blink, couldn't breath… He was still standing where the curtain was, I couldn't see his face, it was very dim and dark. All I could see was his tall, slim silhouette.

"I see you found the back room!" He grinned.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Well, that would be a lie because I did mean to wonder in.

"No, I was going to show you!" He walked for me, stilling smiling. "The man before me, my mentor, was studying these old texts he found before he built this place. After he passed, I decided I'll try my best to finish his work." He stood near me as he looked down at the open book.

"Work?" I ask silently, still trying to calm my beating heart. I was for sure he was going to attack me! I guess I had it coming, snooping around where I really shouldn't have been…

"Yeah! See, he wanted to figure out how dreams work. You know when you sleep and you dream and you usually either can't remember, or you can, but its really fuzzy and distant? And why you might dream about certain things?

"Well, this book he found seems to have a lot of information on all of that. You see, this man who wrote the book remembers when he was young and had a strange dream that he could never forget. He has this idea that there is a whole other world somewhere where our dreams occur. Not particular in our heads' but in a different realm. He wrote about what happened when he was fully aware in this other world."

He stepped in front of me and flipped back a few pages then proceed to read aloud: "As I get older, the dream is starting to fade away. But, I remember meeting a strange creature. It was dressed in all purple and wore an outfit much suited of a jester. It had a feminine voice, a strange accent, so it could talk quite well. But, it was always referred to as a 'he' or Knights… Nights, maybe? I never really learned which way his name was spelled by I don't think it really mattered.

"But, back to my dream, there were different doors that lead to different memories. All of them were good ones, at least… But, there were stranger creatures then Nights who roamed them. He told me they were nightmarens and they were destroying my dreams. I suppose that is how I ended up there. I was having a simple dream, I can't remember about what, until these monsters came out of nowhere and attacked me. That is when I ended up at the dream gates. So, me and Nights worked together and be rid of them and collect my Idyea.

"But, after we cleaned out all the nightmarens in one of the dreams, I'd have to face my worst nightmares every time. They were not that bad since I was able to defeat them all. Except my last one was not all that victorious. My biggest fear was death. Nights told me he needed my help to defeat someone- or thing that could end everything. He never explained until I saw it.

"He was too strong for me and I never did defeat him. After he took one of his six hands and threw me aside, I woke up, back where I fell asleep in my room. I never saw Nights again, but my dreams were a bit better, not as scary or frightening and I felt a bit better after that experience. But… I never did go back. I know it sounds silly, like a child's fairy tale, but I swear on my life that it was all real… It had to be…"

He ended there and glanced up at me.

"Hey, wait… Isn't your friends name Nights?" He glanced at me.

"Petal?" I question his name for me.

"Yes, that is true… I suppose we all have strange names in the end, huh?" He skipped ahead a few pages. "But, this man basically dedicated his life to trying to unfold the mystery of dreams and what they mean. It really is interesting… But, my mentor had me collect all these other books on the idea when he was still around." He points to all the books that sat around us.

"What exactly are you trying to find?" I finally asked.

He paused for a moment, then set the book back on the table. "I'm not too sure. My mentor refused to tell me exactly, but I think I figured it out… I'm looking for the answers to this man's work. I think my mentor was friends or related to him, since he took it very personally. So, if I can clear up everything, his dream, the realm, this mysterious purple jester, and nightmares in general, I can make sure this was all for nothing. The question being: Is it just our minds playing tricks or is it really more…"

"So, I suppose you take it personally as well…" I look down.

"Yeah, my mentor was like my father. And, I don't want all his work and studying to die with him, if it really meant something…" He nods slowly as it became silent.

"But, after reading multiple books, I found that one thing is for sure. See this?" He flipped a few pages ahead to a strange drawing of a caped figure that had six large hands with eyes on them, but there was no head or arms or legs… I don't even think there was a body…

"This man… or thing is what is known as Wizeman. There is not a whole lot of information on him but, he is said to be some sort of 'god' or leader. He is said to have created all nightmares and his goal is to conquer with fear… He is quite nerve racking, even I'll admit. These drawings look like a mental patient drew them…" He chuckled to himself.

He looked back down at me who was still silent. I didn't realize I was glaring, my eyes narrowed sharply, at him… I looked away from him, trying to control myself as I felt something tightening around me.

Tightening… Tightening… Suddenly, everything around me faded again. A panic flew over me as I remembered that flashback from the other day with the chair…

"T-Theodore?" I called out, but there was no one around me in the large, black open space… At least there is no padded chair…

I then close my eyes and clench my fists. Don't be frightened, don't be fringed! I thought, feeling my hands get clammy and my body temperature starting to lower. Don't let them scare you!

But, as I opened my eyes to see the room was still black, a loud sound started to rattle and shake the space. Then, out of nowhere, four white walls started to come at me. Every way I turned, there was no escape. The walls came so close until they were pressed up against me. They were padded and soft… But, they were too soft and kept closing in on me, squeezing my body together.

Suddenly, I couldn't breath and everything started to get dark as I could no longer feel the floor under my feet and the walls were extending over head. No matter which way I pushed, pushing the wall in front of me away, the walls to my sides slammed into me. And, when I tried to push the walls at my sides away, the ones in front of me and behind me would crash into me, forcing me to let go of the other walls.

And, slowly, calmly, the walls took me in in one bite, swallowing me whole until there was nothing but darkness again.


"What did you do?! You imbecile! Why should I have ever trusted you?!"

"Did you do something to her?!"

"Maybe she was just tired and fell asleep?"

"JACKLE!" Two angry voices said at once.

"OW! Don't hit me! I was just putting out a possibility!"

"Shut up already!"

One voice after another spoke in a fast pace, panicked voices above me.

"Geez, what kind of town doesn't have a doctor!?" Followed by the low mumble of, "Humans…" Said the voice in a disappointed tone.

"Just help me carry her!"

"Oh, come on! She is not that heavy! Look at her!"

"JACKLE!" The two voices yell again.

"OW! Okay, okay! I'm sorry, I'll help, just stop with the hitting!"

"You guys should probably not speak so loudly, she might have a head injury…" A low, quiet voice spoke.

"Oh, and I should listen to you, let alone believe you?"

"Reala, he was the one who was there when it happened!"

"Yeah, the only one. He could have done something to harm Sakura and we wouldn't know! So, you! Stay out of this! We have had enough help from you."

"Sakura?"

"That is her name!"

"Are we still on this?"

"Yes, because her name is not Sakura!"

"You know, she does not look like a Sakura…"

"Will you two be quiet! That is her name because I. Said. So!"

When I opened my eyes, a loud pitched screeching filled my head and all I saw was the distorted look of wood. I lifted my hand up to my face and rubbed my eyes, trying to get the room to stop lightly swaying.

Once the room stopped moving and the buzzing stopped, I was able to ask aloud, "Where am I?"

"Earth… Sadly…" Mumbled Reala as his face came into view over mine as he looked at me. "Are you okay? What did that idiot do to you?" He glares slightly.

"What idiot?" I try moving my head around.

"Stay still… You hit your head severely. That orange haired simpleton, that is the idiot I am referring to. He claims that you seemed to be in some sort of trance and when he tried to touch your shoulder, you started to scream and panicking, then you passed out and hit your head on the corner of a table. You are still bleeding a little, but its gone down now…"

"What happened?" NiGHTS poked her head into my sights as well.

"Get back!" Reala pushed NiGHTS away. There then was a crashing sound and NiGHTS complaining in a muffled voice afterwards.

"I don't remember… We were talking about… These books and… Then, I was no where, but somewhere at the same time and it was cold and dark and then I couldn't breath and… white walls inclosing me… crushing me…"

"Oh…" Reala slowly averted his eyes away as he rubbed a painful spot somewhere on the back of my head. "You must be… having, uh…" Reala quickly tried to find an explanation. "It is probably… just… your mind… You know… playing tricks on you?"

"If you are going to lie to her, at least make it good," NiGHTS said from somewhere in the room.

"Will you…" Reala looked up and glared in NiGHT's direction.

Right before Reala and NiGHTS started to argue, there was light knocking at the door. I couldn't look up, but I heard the voice say, "A traveler has just came into the inn and-"

"Why are you telling this to us?" Reala asks as politely as he could, but it sounded no different than his usual attitude.

"B-because, they mentioned that they are a doctor. I thought you'd like a professional view, just to make sure she is okay…"

"Fine, fine, I don't care. He will just tell me her head is bleeding. But, you can still send him in here…" He looks back down towards me and slightly rolls his dark crystal blue eyes as the door was closed, signaling whomever was there was now gone.

A few minutes of silence passed as Reala cleaned the blood, applying pressure every now and then. And finally, the door was opened again and all I could hear was the sound of heavy boots hitting the wooden floor.

"Well, well… You must be the girl everyone is talking about…" A (for once) calming voice approached me.

A new man's face came into my view. His skin was slightly tanned, he had hazel eyes (just like my own) and long, brown hair that rested just past his shoulders. Reala, who was also still looking down at me, quickly glanced at the stranger with uncertain eyes and slowly looked back at me.

"So, can you tell me how you got such a large gash in the back of your head?" He asks as he slips off one of his silk white gloves and reaches over to the spot that was still throbbing.

"I fell…"

He chuckled under his breath before asking, "And what might you have fell on hard enough to cause so much skin to rip open?"

"A table corner…?" I almost ask, trying to remember what I was told had happened.

He asked me a few more questions, I would answer vaguely, he would laugh and smile and then ask the next question.

"Does it still hurt?"

"Can't you feel the throbbing?" I ask, almost in a serious way.

"Just adorable." He smiles as he takes his hand away that had a few drops of dry blood stained on his fingers.

"So?" Reala, who had waited very patiently, finally spoke.

"She quite possibly has a concussion." He wipes his hand clean of my blood.

"Quite possibly? Does she or does she not?!" Reala raised his voice, causing the throbbing to speed up slightly and causing myself to groan.

"Well, the symptoms might not take full effect for a few hours, maybe even days… I might be here for a few days anyways, so I can check up on her tomorrow, if you would like." He slipped his glove back on.

"Uhh… I feel like I might throw up…" I announced, just in case I might actually throw up right well they are talking… Which I sure hope won't happen…

"And that is another symptom. Just to be safe, don't move around too much and keep resting. It will take time to recover if you do have a concussion. So, take it easy…" He grins down at me again.

"Understood…" I felt like I had to nod my head 'yes', but I kept still as he told me.

"Good." His smile grew even wider. "My name is Marion, by the way." He mentioned before leaving the room, closing the door behind.

"Marion… That sounds like a female's name…" NiGHTS commented in the background and Reala nods in agreement.


"You know, I never did catch your name yesterday…" He points out before sitting down in the chair near the bed.

"Oh… Its Petal…" Wow, that felt really strange to say…

"You are just overflowing with sheer adorableness, if that is even a word."

Even though the others were not very welcoming of Marion, even being hostile towards him from time to time, I had become very fond of him. Maybe it was because I had to spend a lot of time with him or he was just very pleasant to be around but, he was very nice to me.

He would come in when everyone else was out and ask me questions of my head injury and perform small tests, mainly ones that relate to memory or my vision. Then, we would simply talk. I did not have much to talk about but, I did have much to learn about.

He would talk about medical things, how to treat certain injuries, plants that are nice to use, things like that. I simply listened and would ask questions every now and then. I was going to read a medical book when I was in the library, but I never did get the chance.

I'd ask Theodore to bring me some books, but Marion said that I should not read much of anything. And when I thought about it, I had not seen or heard from Theodore. Because my strange blackout occurred when I was with him, Reala probably told him to stay away from me. Even though he had nothing to do with this, since it happened before and nothing seems to really trigger it.

I even asked Marion about the blackout and what had happened well I was 'away'. He told me that it was most likely caused by some past event that traumatized me in some way. He said it was normal for a lot of people to go through new, scary experiences and think they never would get hurt emotionally. And, because of said event, I was somehow remaking a scary experience in my head to equal to what really happened and there are triggers that cause it, it rarely happens randomly.

But… You'd think that it would resemble what had really happened, right? The only thing about both blackouts was that they had that uncomforting white color surrounding me… But, the problem is that it is suggesting it had something to do with where I was before. I never had a bad experience there. The only bad experience was when Reala scared me half to death and when I hurt all those men when I escaped…

I wonder though… Is it trying to tell me something? Something I don't know? If it is, I wish it would be more specific on what it is trying to tell me or remind me of. Heh, that almost sounds like I am wishing for it to happen again or something… I really don't want it to happen again, it is confusing and scary… But, maybe I can put it together and figure out what is causing this exactly. Maybe then I can overcome it somehow…?


So? What did ya think? I got you, didn't I? Hehe, you guys thought he was gonna be made at her? Yeah, no. That's why I love cliffhangers. You think something might happen, but you are not really sure...

So, I really wanna say how sorry I am for posting a lot at the end of 2014 and then it kind of stopped for a bit. The reason why I have not been able to write sooner was because I'm working on this other story that is not meant for . And what that means is that I am starting from scratch with this new story/world/plot of mine and its going to take me a very, very long time to write. Its a personal project to get me to start writing my own stories. But, I love you guys sooo much, that I am going to keep writing this story as well as my other story at the same time.

So, please be patient (Sorry for telling you what to do) and hang in there for me! I'm starting new classes after this coming week and I'm writing this other story, so I won't be able to post so often. Now, don't think I won't post for like months or something. I will try and keep up to every other week? I can't promise anything right now, but please help me out here! If I am to not post for a while, please don't hesitate to message me about it, because chances are I completely forgot.

I hope you guys are still liking this story though! I love writing it for you and getting all the love and support that keeps me going. It makes me wanna write another NiGHTS fic, which I am thinking about doing after I finish this story. No promises, but I'd love to write another NiGHTS story (may or may not be based off this one) if you guys really do like this.

So, I hope you guys are still reading (Yesss, even all this bold text) and are still loving it. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your life to read a story by a girl with no life XD But really, it is great to write something I love, you love and I can improve from. Thanks everyone!