I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! Enjoy! :o)

My lungs were burning and my eyes were trying to adjust to the smoky air. "Where am I?" I thought to myself, as I looked around the woods. I could hear yelling to my right, so I followed that sound. As I neared the noise, my senses told me something wasn't right. The burning smell was stronger, and the few voices I could hear, didn't sound happy.

I finally broke the cress of the hill, and my stomach flipped over causing me to fall to my knees and start dry heaving. Before me was the remnants of a village that had been burned, and the ground was littered with dead, mangled, bodies. I stared down at the ground before me, trying to steady myself. Finally, I looked back up, taking in the horrific sight in front of me.

In the midst of the chaos, something caught my eye. A small child was wondering around, calling "Momma?"

I jumped to my feet and ran down the hill. I didn't stop until I reached the little girl. She froze when she saw me, so I slowed as I neared her, holding my hands up to show that I wouldn't hurt her. The child couldn't have been more than two, so I knelt down to her height, "Hi there sweetie, are you okay?"

The little girl eyed me and whispered, "momma?"

"I don't know where your momma is, but we'll find her," I tried to reassure the child.

The little girl had taken a step towards me when a voice rang out, "There's no need." An elderly woman appeared from behind one of the burnt buildings. "That's the remains of her family's place, there," the woman indicated to a burnt home, behind the little girl. You could see two adult burnt bodies, in what I assumed was the kitchen, as well as another child.

I was mortified and I felt my stomach start to turn again. The woman walked up and picked up the child, then turned to me with an angry look.

I was taking in the damage, and finally turned to face her. "What happened here?" I asked, my heart breaking for this poor village.

The older woman scoffed, "As if you don't know?!" She growled at me. I gave her a confused look as she continued, "Your mother happened!" She snapped.

"My mother… What are you talking about?" I managed to gasp out. None of this was making sense.

The woman gave me a hard look, "What? Didn't know your mommy was an evil woman?" She mocked me.

"I just.. How… Why would she even do this?" I asked, waving my arm at the damage.

The old woman scoffed again, clearly annoyed at my ignorance. "She demanded we tell her where Snow White was and when we refused… well…" The older woman indicated to the burnt village.

"Snow White? What are you talking about?" I demanded, starting to wonder if the old lady had hit her head or something.

"My dear, you do know your mother is the Evil Queen, correct?" The woman asked, staring straight into my eyes.

Suddenly, I snapped awake. My heart was racing I was covered in a cold sweat. The room was bright, making it hard to figure out where I was. Slowly, my desk and bookshelf came into focus. "Oh thank god… It was just a dream." I thought to myself, trying to calm down. My body was shaking, and my stomach still felt like it wanted to throw-up.

The smell, the smell had seemed so real. The whole dream had felt real. I was still struggling to catch my breath, when my mom entered the room.

"Madelyn, if you don't get up… "She paused at the sight of me, still in bed, and drenched with sweat. "Honey, are you okay?"

I was still very shaky, but wasn't in the mood to talk about it. "I'm fine." I said, throwing off my blankets and getting up out of bed. My pajamas were drenched with sweat, and clinging to my body.

"You don't look fine," mom replied, crossing her arms, indicating that we weren't moving until I talked to her.

"I just had a nightmare," I tried to say casually, but even my voice was shaky. Looking at mom made my mind flashback to the old woman in the dream. The way her eyes bore into me… A shutter went down my body.

"Sweetheart, are you sick?" Mom questioned as she walked towards me. I took a step back, but she quickly closed the distance and her hand went to my forehead. "Madelyn, you're burning up!" Mom said with concern in her voice.

I took another step back, and tried to duck around her. "Mom, really, I'm fine. I just need a quick shower, and I'll be good to go." I stated. I had walked over to my closet, when suddenly a wave of dizziness hit. I tried to steady myself by grabbing the edge of my closet, but I wasn't fast enough and my legs gave out from under me.

"The only place you're going is back to bed. Come on." Mom said, coming over and helping me up.

"What was going on?" I wondered to myself. I'd felt fine just a few hours ago. I suddenly realized we were heading out of my room. "Uh, mom. My bed is back there," I said, pointing over my shoulder.

"I'm well aware, dear, but it's covered in sweat." She explained, leading me into her room. My mom kept a firm grip on both of my arms and led me into her bathroom, walking me over to the toilet and sat me down. She then turned around and started the bath water. When she turned to face me, I raised an eyebrow. "Bathe, and I'll go get you new pajamas. If you get dizzy when you try to get out, please yell for me." She said, giving me a look to make sure I'd understood her.

"Every teenager's dream, for their mother to see them naked." I stated sarcastically as I stood up. "I'm fine, mom."

"I mean it, Madelyn." She called as she walked out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

I quickly bathed and got out. I dried off and put on my mom's bathrobe, since she hadn't brought my pajamas in. Part of me was relieved that I was staying home. I felt miserable, and my head was pounding.

I walked into my mom's bedroom to see her placing a glass of water on the end table. My pajamas were at the end of her lounge chair, so walked over to grab them as she turned around. "I need to get your brother off to school, but get dressed, and lay down," she said, leaving no room for me to argue.

I gave her a small nod, as she turned and walked out of the room. I dressed and hung her bathrobe back in the bathroom. I finally looked at myself in the mirror, and a small gasp escaped my lips when I took in my reflection. I looked terrible. My face was flushed and there were dark circles under my eyes. My lips were ghostly white, and I could now see why mom was concerned. I looked like death.