Chapter Three - I'm Living a Nightmare

Uh oh, another ominous title? Then again, the whole theme of the song is ominous. Anyways, I hope yo guys like this chapter! And like I said, hopefully it won't disappoint.

"Wrong choice." Teague hisses, latching onto my ankle again and beginning to pull me downward.

"No! Teague, please, no!" I scream as the darkness surrounds me. My head spins. Is this me being lightheaded? Is Fae magic taking a toll? What's going on with me?

"Mina! Mina, wake up!" I shake, and glance around in confusion. That's Teague speaking. But not the Teague pulling my leg. "Mina!

I squirm, lungs burning. I'm going to die. I'm going to die down here!

"Mina!" Everything's going black. This hurts so much!

Suddenly, I'm lying in a bed. Teague leans over me, looking at me with genuine concern. "Mina, are you alright?"

I stare at him, confused. "What?"

"You were screaming in your sleep..."

"I was...sleeping?" I take a deep breath. "I was just sleeping. That was just a nightmare."

He moves to sitting beside me, fiddling with my hair. "Yes, just a nightmare. You're safe here..."

Mina's POV

I stand up in my room, glancing around. Teague isn't anywhere to be seen, but I can't expect him to watch me all the time. Nor would I want that. No, I need to handle myself. But I want to see him again. I want to talk to him. I just...Well, I just need him.

I walk out of the room, and something in my head, a subtle whispering, begins leading me on.

Mina. Mina, come on. This way. I follow it, confused. Where is this voice coming from? No, who is it coming from? I don't seem to recognize it.

It leads me to a dark wing of the castle, very different from the rest of the castle, which seems bright. This is just gloomy. I shudder slightly, but the voice is still coming from in the wing. There's no one in sight, but this must be Teague's wing. He wouldn't hurt me, so I think it's safe to go in.

On that note, I continue to follow the voice. Come on Mina. Keep going. You're almost there.

Almost where? I complain in my head.

Down the hallway. Go down the hallway, and get your answer.

What? Down the hallway?

I stand there in silence for a few minutes, but the voice is silent. I'm pretty sure it's gone, actually. So, heaving a sigh, I turn the corner and walk a few steps down the hallway. My eyes catch on something hanging on the wall further down, beside a door. A mirror.

My dream comes flying back to me.

There's a cracked mirror. The hallways are dark, so I can't make out the reflection in it.

"Stop!" The frustrated shout rips through the air, shaking me to the core. I turn, fear making my blood run cold, only to come face to face with Teague. The ice-cold grip of fear loosens slightly as I stare into his eyes, but I'm taken aback by the anger there. "Don't do this to me! He'll ruin everything!"

"Ruin everything? What?" I stare, dumbfounded.

"Don't do this to me, Mina! Not again!" He's begging me, and while he's angry, I catch a glint of desperation in his eyes. What is so horrid about a mirror?

I turn slowly away from the distraught Teague, staring into the mirror and trying to make out what it reflects. Teague said he. What's that supposed to mean though? Was he even referring to the mirror? I turn to ask, but he's gone. In fact, the entire hallway is gone, filled with a white void. I turn back, staring at the mirror, which hangs on nothing. I peer into it, but jump back as gray eyes stare back.

"Jared?" My eyes widen slightly. "Is that you?"

Is this the mysterious he Teague was referring to? Did he mean that Jared would mess things up...Maybe even specifically messing things up with us? So many feelings swirl within me.

"Mina." It's like a whisper as I step closer yet again, taunting me.

"You're alive!" A smile tugs at my lips, threatening to pull through.

"Trace a crack from the outer edge to center." Again, it's like a whisper. I stretch out a finger, landing on a crack that stretches all the way to the edge. Slowly, my finger traces the line, all the way to the big crack in the middle.

How was I dreaming of a mirror in a hallway that I didn't even know existed? I'm dumbfounded, but I feel drawn towards the mirror. So, I take a step towards it. And another. And another. And I keep taking slow steps till I'm right in front of it, staring into it. I can't make out anything. It's all dark. Too dark, actually, for a normal mirror. As I peer into it, the darkness begins to almost be wiped away, and reflected back at me is a boy. I've seen his face many times recently...But then I catch sight of the eyes. Or, more specifically, eye color. Grey eyes stare back at me, and his lips move, but I can't make out a word he's saying.

"Jared?" I whisper. "You're...Alive?"

Apparently he can hear me, because he bobs his head.

Then it hits me. He can't be alive. Teague never would let him. "You're not real."

He shakes his head furiously, and his lips move yet again. Nothing.

"You're not actually here!" I grip my head. I don't notice the fact that my voice is raising. "I'm going insane!"

He begins to gesture furiously, trying to convey something. Seeing the fact that I'm not paying attention, he starts moving his hands on the glass. My eyes catch on what he's doing, and the thought crosses through my head that in my dream, I traced a crack to the center. That, of course, didn't end well. It didn't end well at all. But, that was a nightmare. Maybe it's different in reality?

I put a finger to edge of the mirror, on a crack that stretches all the way from the center to the middle. Jared nods his head, and I take a deep breathe. And then, as if in slow motion, I trace the crack to the center.

A bright, white light streams out of the center, blasting me back. I let out a yelp of pain as I hit the wall, but at least I'm not being drawn into the mirror this time. However, I cut my finger when I traced that line, and it bleeds. The pain wells up inside me, probably because I just busted a mirror made of Fae magic. The magic presses in at all times, much like pressure under water, and my head is killing me.

"Mina?" I can't tell who's talking. Jared? Teague? Someone else?

I'm beginning to black out. Not again! Not again!

Someone pulls me into their arms. "Mina?"

All I catch is a glimpse of familiar black hair. But I miss the eye color. The hair is the last thing I see before everything goes black and I fall back out of reality.

Hm, so the dream does have meaning...I'd love to see what you guys think about the other parts of the dream! The dream may be directly showing what will happen, or maybe showing it figuratively. It's up to you to decide what you think it'll be!

Anyways, let me know what you guys think! I hope I didn't disappoint anyone.

~ Dagger