Chapter 3
When Edmund awoke, the room was darker than the stars' cradle of space, and every sound he made echoed, bouncing off the icy walls. His dreams had haunted his slumber and forced him to wake in a pool of his own sweat. Though he eagerly attempted to put the memories out of his thoughts, he couldn't stop them from coming.
A large boy with blonde-brown hair and piercing blue eyes chases him down the hall of a huge house, carrying a paddle with many sharp spikes sticking out of it. The house itself seems familiar to Edmund, but he has little time to think of a reason why as his fear compels him to run faster and faster away from the boy. "Come back here, Traitor! You'll never get away from me," the boy shouts from behind. "Where ever you go, I'll find you." He frantically searches for a place to hide, or something to defend himself with, but finds nothing in sight. Finally, when it seems he wouldn't be able to run any longer, a door at the end of the long hall opens to reveal a man. He's young, but much older than Edmund, and slightly resembles the boy who's chasing him. Such love shines through this man's face that Edmund has no trouble at all running into his outstretched arms. The man sends the other boy away and takes Ed into a snug room with a cozy fireplace and wonderful paintings on the walls. One thought rings throughout his mind: "Dad will protect me." For the first time in a long time, he's able to breathe a sigh of contentment and relief as he falls asleep in his father's loving arms…
A loud noise roused the boy from his sleep. He jumped up quickly…too quickly, for the room began to swirl before his eyes. He gasped as a hand clamped over his mouth and another gently pushed him back down to the bed. Because of the darkness in the room, the figure before him seemed quite threatening, almost as alarming as finding out you were woken by your own shadow.
A voice softly spoke in his ear. "Edmund? Don't be afraid. It's me, Lena." With that, she removed her hand from over his mouth.
He sighed, relieved. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you bring a light?"
"Because I don't feel like being caught. It would mean being 'branded' again by that stupid dwarf's blade," she said. Edmund's eyes adjusted to the darkness in the room, and that was when he noticed the cuts that ran along her arms, still red and puffy. She followed his gaze. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'm fine. But I've been ordered not to speak to you again…which, of course, I find a terrible thing to do on their part, considering I'm your nurse." She smiled. "Just don't let anyone know I've been here. Sound good?"
"Of course," he agreed. Honestly, it was nice to see her again, and he hoped there would be more meetings like this in the future. With that, he made a mental note not to do or say anything that would mess up his chances of seeing Lena.
"So," she stated, attempting to break the awkward silence. "Um…are you feeling all right?"
He nodded, adding, "I feel great." He gulped. Something wasn't right. Why would that nice woman he'd met the day before do something so horrible to his nurse? Just for speaking to him...
There was a knock on the door.
"Prince Edmund? Are you awake?"
It was /her/.
Fear stormed within Lena's chest, and she quickly dashed under the bed. She did so just in time, for at that moment, the Ice Queen decided to open the door and walk in.