Disclaimer: I don't own The Riddles of Epsilon.
Thank you to my reviewer: Sakura Hitsugaya
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Jess stared at the rose in confusion. "Where did that come from?" she asked quietly. It would not be good if her mother or father found them conversing in the middle of the night.
"That is your question to answer." Epsilon said, shocking Jess with the fact that he seemed to be struggling to keep his voice down.
"Epsilon, what's up? Are you… ok?" Jess questioned.
"Where did the rose come from, Jess?" he asked again, his voice rising. She knew she had to answer.
"I really don't know. I just- I had this dream and he gave me a rose just like that one and I woke up… I don't know where it came from." She said it all very quickly, becoming more nervous by the second.
Epsilon took a step back, his face expressionless. "Go to the cottage the minute your punishment is over. I will not be there, but you will have your instructions." He began to fade from her sight.
"Instructions- Epsilon, wait!" Jess' eyes widened. But he was gone.
She dropped onto her back, sighing heavily. "What now," she muttered.
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Early the next morning she set out toward the cottage. Her mother, knowing her late arrival was indeed an accident and that something was urgent (due to a note finished with a toppled half feather), had revoked her punishment and sent her on her way with a lunch packed in a paper bag. She sat on the bench when she had reached the halfway point to try to prepare herself for what she would find. With a sigh, she continued up to the cottage. Strangely, it seemed as it had the first few times she had gone there. Creepy. Jess didn't take the time to wonder why and walked into the main room, and then headed up to Epsilon's room and immediately saw the new addition to the desk.
Among a few piles of seemingly blank papers sat a dark brown, leather journal. The cover had a silver word in the center of it. She stepped closer and picked it up to get a better look. It was not a word, she realized, but a name. Her name. She opened the book to find the first page had already been filled out in handwriting she did not recognize. It said:
Jess,
I have left you this journal for your required use. I know the Dreams have started, and your instructions are to record in this journal anything out of the ordinary, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Leave a blank page every two pages. And most importantly, I need you to write everything that happens in your dreams, and anything left behind or kept when you awaken. And please, keep my warning in mind. Pay attention to your surroundings, and be careful.
-Epsilon
The writing made her heart sink and she glanced around the room. It sounded bad, like something terrible was about to happen. And Epsilon had left. Why would he leave? He wasn't going to help her? Maybe he couldn't help her… No, that wasn't possible. Maybe he was tired of helping her. Maybe he truly was abandoning her, and the journal was his way of hiding it.