"JESSE!" screamed Leslie, as she watched him fly across the meadow and slam his body against a tree trunk with such force even she had to wince. He lay at the bottom of the tree body limp. The faded brown shirt he wore was ripped at the shoulder nevertheless she struggled to her feet the woods she knew so well danced around her. The hideous creatures that morphed out of nightmares surrounded her in a circle of four. They had attacked while she and Jesse had been walking around Terabithia. Such creatures dwelled at the borders of Terabithian gates waiting for a perfect moment to strike against the King. Leslie had simply gotten in their way, for a Queen was of little use to them.

"Kneel to me little one."

Her head throbbed but she refused to kneel for them, the leader of the group growled.

"Now, now don't make a fuss"

He approached her, his milk white eyes staring at her taking in her form. Licking his lips he twisted her wrist back causing arrows of pain to shoot up to her shoulder. She struggled against his hold it only brought more pain. Panic flickered onto her features as the fear the creature carried inside him took hold of her. Her eyes were wide open and she knew that she was in the Terabithian woods but the dark magic soaked her mind.

Suddenly Leslie was standing by a cliff watching Jesse dangling off the edge, his fingers bloody from the effort of holding on. Her body reacted and she ran to him, her heart felt ready to come out of her mouth and hot tears burned her skin as they ran down her cheeks. "Help me Leslie please!"

Then after only a few feet away from him her legs and hands became bound with rope, she faintly wondered where they had come from. Her shoulders hit the hard dirt echoing the pain in her heart as she lay there watching her husband call out her name. Leslie had never known such desperation, it took hold of her and the more she tried to struggle against the rope the tighter it became. "JESSE HOLD ON PLEASE DON'T LET GO!" she screamed while drowning in her own tears. She couldn't catch her breath and didn't even try. Nothing mattered but helping him. His eyes caught her own and she saw the survival in him flicker once, twice before disappearing. Her entire body stiffened every cell froze as she watched him tumble back to the sharp rocks below. A scream ripped the air apart, and wouldn't stop even as she blacked out. No one was around to tell her that it was her screams. It was her worst nightmare come to life.

When she awoke her whole body convulsed violently, bile rose up in her throat and she threw up into the grass in front of her. The salt from her tears had dried making her skin feel stretched too thin, much like her mind at the moment. It took her a minute to realize that she was in the woods once again, and another to realize that there were hands helping her lay back down away from the vomit. Exhausted from spilling out the dark magic she closed her eyes and slept never once looking at the pair of hands that belonged to Jesse.

---

Jesse picked up Leslie carrying her back into the tree house, inside he lay her down onto a make-shift mattress made of pillows and blankets stacked on top of each other. Worry made his hands sweaty as he cleaned his face of caked on blood with a damp cloth. After he had fixed himself up as best he could, he turned to Leslie. Her face was still pale although the fairies had told him her color would return in a few hours. Already he paced impatient for her to wake up and know he was well. He had defeated the four hideous nightmare creatures careful to keep them distracted from Leslie's limp body as the fairies dragged her away to safety. After the small battle he followed them deep into the woods as they explained the grave dangers of nightmares.

"My King you must be more cautious in protecting her Majesty. She's very lucky you come to and let the leader of the Nightmare Clan become distracted. The Queen though of no use to them, is a pawn in their game to get to you. One must never touch the skin of a Nightmare creature or get to close for all they create inside us is misery, terror and such fear that a mind like Leslie's so young and in love will shatter."

Jesse hung his head down ashamed at his foolishness for letting Leslie fight in the attack, he should have told her to run. Midnight the one fairy that they were fond of examined Leslie.

"Her color will come back. The King mustn't wake her until she's expelled all of that dark magic. Slowly she'll regain consciousness and her own body will know what to do, your only job is to watch and comfort her because only heart beating against heart will replace life and laughter into her veins." Midnight's musical voice helped soothe him.

Just then Leslie stirred, her breathing became unsteady as her mind threw back heavy sleep. Her eyes flew open and she screamed, the sound bouncing off the thin wood walls of the tree house. Immediately he was at her side, burying her head into his shoulder and smoothing down her hair. She hiccupped in shock as the familiar smell of Jesse reached her nose. Letting out a sigh she relaxed against him completely. He was safe, and that was all that mattered.