And we're back again! Man, I want to thank all of y'all for keeping up the awesome reviews. It is because of them that I update every few days, not every few months like I have before. I feel like I'm letting people down if I wait longer than three days. I mean, c'mon, over seventy reviews! It took my three months to get SEVEN on my other stories(though they aren't RotG, as I said in chapter one. This is my first.), and I haven't updated any of them since the end of May.
And now, on to those amazing reviews!
PCM- Yeah, shit's getting VERY real. So I did keep it up, and now... we need a new level of real, because, though last chapter may have been interesting because we find out who this crazy bitch is, there is a lot of drama in this one, which is about to make the plot a bit more complicated for me to write, but it will be interesting all the same.
sassysaw- Well, thou wait is over, because here it is.
Fellowship of Avengers- You think that's bad? Just wait until things REALLY start to escalate.
KikaKatTIOI- Why thank you. I see the same is going for WoE. (I TOLD YOU SO MARY. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PRIDE GETS IN THE WAY.) Now that I have updated, you should, too, because you kind of just left us hanging. NEED UPDATE. *grabby hands*
MoonGirl1155- (to both reviews) Yes, her light is blue, and if you've paid as close attention as Fluffythorne has, that is very significant.(By the way, congrats, FT, for making that connection before the Guardians did.) Yes, Willow will eventually find out, which is what is going to make this thing so much harder to write, because Willow is extremely stubborn and will not take to kindly to having her book rifled through.
Snow-Nightshade- Well, I must have done something right, because you favorited and followed this story. I hope I don't disappoint.
Fluffythorne- Oh, yes, quite disturbed. She has just gotten pretty good at hiding it. She kept that book, for the same reason I kept mine. A reminder, except mine doesn't have a razor blade taped in it, just drawings, creepy ass poems and journal-esque entires. And, in case you didn't see(though I'm sure you did), she still uses it, and it would do her no good to have been thrown away. And she would draw other things besides the stuff in that book, but it's a nightmare journal, so they have no place in that book. Stephanie is actually the name of someone who tried to bully me in junior high, and failed miserably when I put her in her place(almost leading to me shoving her down a flight of stairs, because she knew I would, regardless of the repercussions.), and it's Stephanie Meyer, not Meyers (though the would-be bully's last name was Heck). Actually, her cousin is of little significance. I just needed a reason for her to go to an asylum, where, logically, Insanity would dwell, thus her first encounter with Hysterium. And, no, Willow is the only person in her family to have ever been bothered by Hysterium. And, if someone is drowning in that pond, I doubt they'll end up all that concerned over some scratches, in place of their lungs slowly filling with water. I'm thinking the water is the bigger hazard. I'm glad to have sparked your interest once more, and there is some good drama in this chapter (so I think), and things start to get interesting.
Wow, my longest reply is almost always to FT. But then again, if any of y'all have read her reviews, I have quite a lot to reply to. But anyways, onto the chapter!
Brisk winds whispered quietly in the black night through Burgess. To most, it was only a light breeze. There was, however, one person who knew something was wrong.
Trails of the golden dreamsand arced through the air, their journey hurried that night as the rushed to their destination.
That alone was enough to tell Jamie there was something wrong.
Usually, the dreamsand would loop and curl in dizzying spirals, seeming to fall from heaven itself, but not tonight. Tonight, the trails were strait and rigid as they settled into the homes, the usual grace gone.
A thick tendril of sand neared the young man, and his hand stretched out to touch the sparkling comet. His fingertips passed through the fluttering grains and small figures pulled away, but Jamie only pushed his hand in farther, trying to convey his urgency through the sand. It whirled around his arm, climbing to the middle of his upper arm, before retreating back into the thick of the stream.
Jamie pulled his arm back, a tingling sensation coursing through it at it fell to his side. His head tilted backwards, warm brown strands of hair teasing his forehead and waving in front of his eyes as they studied the blackened sky. He did not have to wait long, before a star-like dot grew to the cloud of sand of which the Guardian he wanted to see was perched on. His look of extreme annoyance faded when he saw the one meddling with the dreamsand, was, the one and only, Jamie Bennet. His face shifted to a grin and he waved.
"Hey, Sandy. Long time to see." he said casually, waving back. The peaks of the little man's hair bobbed as he nodded.
"I noticed the dreamsand seemed a bit rushed. Is something wrong?" he asked, not even bothering with the usual small talk. Sandy's expression shifted to something more serious, and he nodded once more. Images moved above his head, in an attempt to explain what was happening.
"Um, a woman... messing with the dreams... she has a partner? No, that's a girl's she's after, right? Wait, why does she look so familiar... oh my god, that's Willow, isn't it? Jack's friend? She's the one this crazy lady is after?" he asked, still rather confused over the big picture. Sandy nodded, more images taking shape to tell that Willow was a target, and was now being kept at the North Pole, so they could keep an eye on her.
"Okay, so you guys have her up North to keep her safe. But why the rush? She's safe, right?" Sandy nodded, then shook his head in realization that he still didn't get the whole story.
"Wait, so she's not safe? No offense, but talking to you isn't helping me at all. It's not your fault, I just have a hard time understanding the sand images." Jamie sighed in frustration as Sandy's images dissolved, the little Guardian realizing they were futile.
"Well, thanks anyways. If you get the chance, can you ask Jack to stop by? I'm thinking he might be able to fill me in better, especially since he's friends with her." He was about to walk away, before Sandy held up his hands with an idea. A long rod of sand solidified in his hand, and he began to write on the snow, but the words were a bit disjointed in his rush. The rod vanished, and Sandy tapped his wrist, saying he needed to go, and was already slipping behind. Jamie waved farewell as a cloud of sand billowed around his feet and lifted the Sandman back into the night.
Jamie stepped forward to examine the snow where he had written. Only five words were written.
Stay away from blue mist.
(*)
Hysterium watched from the distance as the Guardian of Dreams finally left the Workshop where the girl was being watched. There was no doubt in her mind that he would try to stop her if she invaded the girl's mind again, despite her warning. It was much simpler to wait until he was no longer an issue.
She moved toward the bright structure no color spared from the outside of the building, the cold passing through her intangible body and she felt nothing. She peered unseen through the windows, finding the girl in front of the fire as she always was. The boy was nearby, also the standard, and to be expected after her visit. They were talking about what the girl knew about her, though it wasn't much. The girl only knew what Hysterium chose to reveal to her, and that was little enough that it made no difference whatsoever.
The girl rose from her spot on the floor, abandoning the sketchbook that was now visible, and spoke to the boy in a hushed tone.
Better make use of the Dream Guardian's absence. It would be a shame to squander an opportunity.
The warmth of the room was felt no more than the cold on the opposite side of the wall, and Hysterium settled nearby the girl, hearing only the last of their conversation.
"... what if she comes back? Sandy is gone, and I don't think I can fight her off. I couldn't before."
"Don't say that! You're only as strong as you make yourself to be, and you'll never beat her if that's what you think!" he told her.
Even if she thinks she can, it's too late now. Nothing can stop me. She thought as she pushed into the girl's mind once more.
(*)
"It's not that I don't think I'm strong, but be realistic, Jack! This is a powerful spirit we're talking about! That's not the kind of thing your typical human can force away through sheer willpower!" she said, exasperated.
"Well, you're not a typical human! Not everyone endures constant abuse from their mother, and still plaster on a smile the next day despite what happened! That takes a lot of strength!" he replied.
"But that still isn't going to keep something like this at bay! Who knows how long she's been waiting to strike? Didn't North say that Pitch waited until he had the power to make himself known? What if she did the same!"
"Even if she did, you have to believe in yourself. I know that sounds corny, but I was pretty lost until I did." he said, his voice softening.
"But what if it's not enough? What if..." she trailed off, and Jack looked at her curiously.
"Willow? Is everything alright?" he asked warily.
She glanced down at her hands. "I-I don't..." she tried to step forward as she spoke, but didn't get far in either. Her eyes slid closed and she fell forward upon her knees buckling. She would have collapsed onto the floor, had Jack not stepped forward in alarm and grabbed her around the waist. Her head rested lightly against his shoulder as he set her gently onto the chair.
When he left the room to get the others, the blue mist curled away from her body, swirling until the features of a woman were visible.
Hysterium opened her eyes to look at the girl.
"Don't worry, my dear. You won't be needed for much longer." and with that, all traces of her vanished, her eyes dissipating like a reverse Cheshire Cat.
(*)
"Wait, so what happened?" Tooth asked when they were all back in the room where Willow was.
"We were talking about that woman in her head, and fighting her off, when she kind of just... stopped. She tried to take a step, but couldn't and almost hit the floor. I grabbed her before she could, and now she's unconscious." A short story, but there wasn't anything else to tell.
"So ya didn't see anything? Just talking and then she suddenly collapses? I don't buy it." said Bunny.
"Was there blue mist? Seems to be around when things like this happen." North pointed out.
"No, nothing. By the look on her face, she knew something was wrong, but only as it was happening. Until she wakes up, there isn't really much more to tell." said Jack, running his fingers through his hair.
Before he left, Bunny told him, "If I didn't know any better, I would think this girl is almost more trouble than she's worth."
"Except, you do know better."
"Which is exactly why I'm still here, mate."
(*)
At first, she could see nothing but the same pair of eyes floating in the darkness. Cold, pale blue eyes, that seemed to radiate panic. Voiced chattered incessantly in her ears, but she was only ever able to make out one full sentence.
He's hiding something from you.
She ignored the throbbing pain in her head as her eyes wheeled wildly around, trying to find to find the source of the noise.
Then, the eyes closed and vanished.
The shadows around her seemed to melt, until she was left standing in the forest back home. It was late summer, a warm breeze teasing the springy curls that hung just past her shoulders.
Her hand went to her hair, looking at the coiled ends in confusion. She hadn't worn her hair this curled or short since...
She began to walk forward, no longer in control of her actions. It took her a moment to realize she was seeing the world as she had three years ago.
The small pond soon came into view, and she stopped at its edge. The water caressed the shoreline, having risen with the summer rain. Her hand slipped into her pocket and her fingertips were met with the harsh metal of her razors. She pulled them from her pocket, only a few casting about reflections. The others were too stained to catch any light.
Holding the blades with her thumb, her other fingers stroked the thin scars clustered around the crease of her arm. She never cut farther than halfway down her forearm, so the incisions could not be seen by chance if her sleeve were to slide up. Fortunately, they were rather difficult to see anyhow, since they matched her skin tone very closely.
Her grip tightened unconsciously around the cold steel, their edges slicing into her palm without mercy. Damn. She threw the handful of razor into the water, the thin metal breaking the surface with a soft splash. She brought her palm to her face, seeing several thin lines across it. Those would be harder to hide, because the scars would stay red since they were on her palm.
She simply stared at the low ripples in the water as blood dripped from her hand, drop by crimson drop falling into the pond and mingling seamlessly with the crystal water.
The only difference, was the ripples from her hand were tinged in red.
(*)
Pain still throbbed in Willow's head as she stirred, the pounding wail increasing every second and spiking even more if she so much as twitched. The only thing she could hear was the snapping hiss of the fire and soft footfalls.
Gritting her teeth, she opened her eyes, fighting to ignore the hammering in her skull. Unsurprisingly, the latter noise was sourced from Jack's nervous pacing. Though she didn't know it, she had been unconscious for hours and he was beginning to worry there was something seriously wrong with her.
She lifted her hand to shove her hair from her eyes, and Jack caught the movement from the corner of his eye.
"Thank god, you're awake." he breathed, his pacing coming to a stop. "I was beginning to think you'd slipped into a coma, or something."
She groaned quietly and placed one hand on her head. "At this point, I wish I was. Maybe then I wouldn't feel like someone set off a stick of dynamite in my head. Or worse, one of the elves did."
Jack cracked a small grin at her comment, but it faded quickly in concern. Her face was slightly twisted from the pain in her head. "Are you alright?"
Willow dropped her hand and gave him a million dollar poker face. "Yes, Jack, I am perfectly fine. I drop unconscious and wake up with a headache like murder on a regular basis. No problems here."
"Alright, fine. That was a pretty stupid question." he admitted, holding his hands up.
"Really? I hadn't noticed." she said dryly. Then, she gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that. You're just trying to help. Though, in my defense, I'd rather be locked in a six foot cell with my mother for an hour that have to live through this." she muttered, rubbing her temples a bit.
Jack cringed inwardly at the mere thought of all the damage that woman could do in ten minutes, let alone an hour. Willow must have been in some considerable pain to make that kind of comparison.
"I don't blame you. It must be pretty bad, if you would prefer to be beaten without mercy over a headache." he said lightly, trying to take some of the tension from the air.
"You say that as if the 'headache' is already a form of mercy." she grumbled.
Jack was quiet for a few minutes, before asking, "So, do you know what happened?"
She considered his question, knowing it was coming sooner or later. "I don't really know how to explain it. It was like, I could feel the cold again, but, physically, I wasn't cold. More like I was cold in my mind, but I didn't know why. Then, there was a pressure at the back of my head. That's when I knew something was wrong, and I tried to tell you, but my knees just gave out. but I didn't feel weak, either. It was as if I was no longer in control of my actions." she sighed. "I'm not making any sense to you, am I?"
"Not really. The only thing I'm getting out of any of this, is that you're the only one who can tell when this is happening. There's no way for any of us to know what's going on." he said.
Her eyes unfocused slightly as she recollected on what happened. "I think that strange shadow woman is the reason I passed out. When I tried to tell you there was something wrong, it's like my voice simply refused to work. I think she knocked me out so I couldn't tell you what was going on until it was too late."
"Did she do anything to you while you were unconscious?" he asked carefully.
"Not really. All I could see were, what I would assume, were her eyes. Actually, I'm not completely sure if they were, because their color was remarkably close to yours, and she might have just been doing that to mess with me. That, and there was a lot of talking, but I couldn't make out almost anything it said." she paused, and turned slowly to look at him. "The only thing I could understand, was He's hiding something from you."
Jack inwardly cringed at what she said.
"Why would she say that, Jack?" her head tilted to the side and one eyebrow rose to a high arch, suspicion coloring her tone.
"I don't know! Did she say anything else?" she asked, changing the subject a little too quickly.
"I already told that was the only thing to understand. Why do you seem so concerned over what she said? Are you hiding something?" Her tone had an edge to it.
"Willow, I-" he began, but she cut him off.
"Are you hiding something?! It is a simple yes or no question." she repeated, anger rising in her tone.
"Just let me-"
"Goddamnit Jack, answer the question!" Her voice sliced through the air like a knife, having risen is volume and pitch.
"No!" he answered. He immediately regretted his answer, but he was afraid she would react just like Hysterium predicted if he told the truth, but that didn't make him feel any better about lying.
There was a moment of silence and neither of them moved. Willow broke the spell by turning away from him.
"I hope not. It would be a shame if you turned out like everyone else, and lied to me whenever it suited you." Her words were cold, but the anger had dwindled.
Jack sighed and closed his eyes, leaning against his staff.
What had he just done?
Oh, Jack, you shouldn't have done that. Now what will you do when she finds out? Nothing good will come of this, I promise. *evil grin*