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“Everything is changing.” Boran uttered quietly, everyone slumbering behind us. “I can’t wait to see where this adventure goes.” Finishing buttoning up his shirt, it still stunned me that he was my husband. Adjusting my hair, his lips kissed mine tenderly. A rosy tint colored my cheeks, his lips brushing the nape of my neck. Clutching me close to his heart, a fun look twinkled in his eyes. A tender blush rose to my cheeks once more, a secret laid buried in his eyes. Narrowing my eyes, something was up. He only acted this weird when he was up to something, a prime example being when he took me ice skating when we were kids. Skating was his favorite hobby in the winter, my clumsy bum doomed to follow him every single time. It did take a bit longer, but eventually my skills matched his.
“What is up with you?” I queried anxiously, knowing full well everything was changing. “Yeah, everything is changing. I am sorry, but what are you getting at?” Lifting up my chin with his fingers, his lips pressed against my hungrily. Melting into his arms, his fingers wrapped around mine. Such tender moments were pearls in everyone's life, the sheer beauty stunning me.
“Today is our date day. Surprise!” He chirped cheerfully, my face falling. “Don’t worry, Darwin and the others are gathering more supplies today. We all thought that you could use a fun day with me. I have the perfect day planned, my little Lottie.” A tender blush rose to my cheeks, Dackworth still slumbering away. Sometimes he was such a lazy eye, a deep sigh pouring from my lips. Somehow in a pleasant mood, his energetic aura was written all over him. Watching him throw a picnic, he hummed the first song we danced to at our wedding. Crossing my hands, he looked so adorable right now. Adjusting his white wool blouse, and emerald green cotton pants, he offered me his hand. My new scarlet wool dress hugged my body, the soft wool kept me warm while feeling nice against my skin. Tugging on the hem of my dress, it was a bit shorter than when I wasn't growing a child in my womb. Sinking further into my train of thought, my hands resting on my growing bump. Sir Acorn tossed an acorn at my head, snapping me back to reality. Accepting it cautiously, he threw me onto his back. His shaggy brown hair had grown longer, now cascading halfway down his back. Jealousy flashed in my eyes, my fingers playing with my hair. Groaning bitterly to myself, he began to draw a circle around him. Drawing strange symbols, he cut his palm. Dripping his blood around the circle, a green light bathed us. A humming noise echoed in my ear, the forest fading to a sea of clear water. White marble stairs folded out in front of us, water splashing over his boots with each step down. Strangely though, water wasn't soaking our outfit the further we got. Still humming our song, his head seemed to be floating in the clouds. My breath hitched at the carbon copy of one of our winters back at home, icicles dripping from the branches. A frozen pond glistened in the distance, Boran setting me down on a wet but clean log. Pulling out a pair of skates, he slid off my boots. Tugging on a pair of skates, he was managing to pull on his own. Excitement buzzed in his face, the smile from his childhood lighting up the winter evening. Gazing up at the sky, a colorful ribbon of lights dancing across the sky. My love for ice skating was still lacking though, the ice becoming friends with my face most of the time. This reminded me of the holiday season at home, his hand dragging me to the ice. Spinning me around, his kind eyes twinkled with joy. Picking up speed, Boran skated after me. Jumping into the air, the cold air lashed at my cheeks as I spun in the air. Landing perfectly, Boran grabbed my hand. Holding me up in the air, our eyes gazed lovingly into each other. Time stopped, my heart falling for him all over again. Ice scraped as he set me down, the bushes rustling. Dackworth woke up, his one eye watching the treeline. Panic gripped my face, the ice cracking underneath us. Gripping his club with conviction, a hole shattered open. Red grass tickled my feet, the black sky throwing me off. The energy of the evil mirror spirit poisoning the land, the sound of familiar boots approaching me. Covering Boran's eye’s, the glitching image of him marched towards us. Cold sweat dripped off of my brow, my rose tattoo glowing brighter. Ripping off my skates, Boran kicked them off blindly. Whispering sleep in his ear, he crashed to the ground. Yanking my scythe from my back, blue flames traveled up my arm. Shivers shot up my spine, his touch sending ice up my arm. We needed to get out of here, my feet drawing a circle. My face paled, her hand stuck on my arm. Drawing random symbols, Boran’s fist slammed into the ice. Ice clattered to the ground, her curse not affecting him. Stumbling back in shock, her form began to shift. Snakes shot from her head, red eyes glowing in our direction. Boran cut my palm, dripping my blood for me. A blue light bathed me, the energy swirling around me. Lowering herself to the ground, the red grass faded to ice. A black hand slapped the ice, the creature pulling itself up. Closing my eyes, this was the real deal. Our powers couldn’t defeat her, the ice stinging the bottom of my bare feet as we barreled back towards our boots. The creature crawled in a jerking manner behind us, an idea striking me. Leaping into the air, pure blue energy swirled over my head. The energy burned my skin, the mass getting harder to control. Hurling it towards the mountain, the snow broke. A loud crack echoed in the air, the snow flying towards us. Boran shot daggers at me, the creature crawling back into the hole. A steady stream of curse words escaped my lips, the hole sealing shut.
“Where did you plan to go?” Boran growled sarcastically, a nervous grin dancing across my lips. “The stairs are too far away. Whatever. Get underneath me. Avalanches occurred to me all of the time growing up.” That seemed like a lie, the words sounding foreign to the landscape. Covering me with his body, the snow shoved us further into the forest. Our boots rested in my hands, that being one good thing occurring. Tossing me into the air, a large branch caught me. Hanging off of the branch, Dackworth laughed maniacally.
“Way to go, dummy.” He teased cruelly, Boran climbing up the tree. “In this realm, one like you can’t control your magic.” Gritting my teeth, his disrespect really wasn’t necessary. Boran sat next to me, sliding on my boots. Tying his boots, he grumbled under his breath.
“I really ought to kill you right now.” He cursed bitterly, resting his hand on his knees. “You can’t do shit like that here. This is the other side of a reflection pool. The landscape changes every half hour, while looking the same. Not to mention, I am frigid now.” Shivering next to him, Dackworth rolled his one eye.
“How about I help you all out?” He suggested in a fatherly tone, thick black leather cloaks appearing over our shoulders. “Now that you are a bit warmer, let’s figure the way out before that memory of hers comes back through the ice. You just visited the last physical memories of hers. Trust me, it wasn't that pretty.” Brushing the yak fur tickling my skin, Boran ruffled my hair. His irritated look faded to his genuine smile, his arms embracing me tightly. My breath hitched, his touch feeling new every single time. Tingles danced on my skin, golden light catching my attention on the other side of the mountains I had just destroyed. Wincing in pain, an ivory tip stuck out of his arm. Blood poured from the wound, guilt eating at me. Hiding it under his cloak, surprise widened my eyes when I snatched it out from underneath his cloak. Attempting to heal it, nothing happened. Trying again resulted in the same result, a scream of frustration exploded from my lips. All I wanted to do was help him, my instincts betraying me.
“You can’t heal things here.” He explained calmly, gritting his teeth in pain. “It doesn’t hurt at all, so don’t worry.” Swallowing the lump in my throat, my fingers snapped to larger branches from above my head. Passing him a piece of leather, sweat drenched his skin until the bone was pushed back into place. Placing the branches on either side, disgruntled whines escaped his lips as I wrapped his arm with the ripped hem of my dress. Kissing the top of his hand, we didn’t have too long before the stairs moved again. Setting my scythe on my lap, Dackworth watched me intensely.
“Can you create a horse or something?” I pleaded with exhaustion dripping in my voice, his one eye blinking once. “It would be too dangerous for us to walk.” A whirring sound blended with the blustery wind, a wave of green energy transforming into a bird. Hopping on, Dackworth swore tiredly. We just needed him to get over the mountains, his energy beginning to drain slightly. The bird flipped in the wind, the two of us coming to the stairs. The green energy flickered, a nervous gasp escaping my lips the moments we were flying back towards the ground. Boran wrapped his arms around me, bracing for impact. Surprise rounded out our eyes, invisible hands helping us down. A green circle spun above us, the two of us crashing through it. The snow faded to the forest where our day began, something off about the entire situation. Our companions were all tied to trees, bandits attempting to empty our wagons. Curious at how this happened, my throat cleared. The ten bandits in worn black robes charged at me, my friends shook their heads. Demonic energy swirled off of them, Darwin popping up behind me. Horror widened my eyes, these people felt like the townsfolk that I angered a while back. Darwin shivered behind me, Boran collapsing into a heap. Somehow they had died, and come back as demons. Testing a theory, my finger poked the air. Terror widened my eyes, the energy field waving. We didn’t make it out of the snowy realm, heart sinking to the bottom of my stomach. Flakes of snow fluttered about, the bandits shifting to the creature’s snake haired form. How do you kill a physical memory? Cold sweat dripped off of my brow, my hair sticking to the side of my face. Raising my scythe in the attack position, the creature shifted to a copy of myself. The details were flawless, the curse not having an effect on me anymore. Raising her hand, the two of us were standing next to each other. Boran stirred awake, his wide eyes darting between the two of us. Panic gripped his face, my carbon copy speaking up first. Attempting to move, her spell had bound me in that spot. Great, it was now up to Boran to figure out the mystery of which one of us was real.
“Kill that one.” She begged brokenly, waving her finger in my direction. “She has copied me!” Boran’s head kept flipping between the two of us, his club dangling by his side. Scratching his chin, the sound of him scratching his stubble irritated me. The idea of him growing a beard poisoned my mind, my face falling at the prospect of that. Scarlet burned my cheeks, her cheeks flushing to the same tone.
“I will ask one question.” He mused playfully, wincing in pain because of his arm. “What is my nickname?” The carbon copy of me glitched, my hand raising like I was in school again. The two of them raised their brows, nervous laughter escaping my lips.
“Tusks!” I yelled triumphantly, her spell breaking. Sprinting away from her, a blast of energy tossed me into the tree. Rolling to the feet of my friends, black scales tickled my skin. Black snakes slithered around my feet, one of my biggest fears being snakes. Nausea wracked me, my friends were melting into piles of snow. Struggling to my feet, Boran was holding his own. My feet pounded towards him, a horrific thought claiming my composure. Launching into the air, none of my spells would really work that well. Focus a bit better, I yelled at myself. Just find a solution to the problem, nothing really came to mind. I guess whacking her a million times would work, Boran falling to his face. A crack appeared in the sky, Somata landing in front of me. My vision blurred, his blade spinning in his palm. The snow fell harder, the atmosphere not affecting him at all. Chucking evilly to himself, his bangs hid eyes. A dark cloud hung over his head, his hand pressing against his forehead.
“I can’t allow you to kill my little sis.” He taunted cruelly, bending forward with his hands on his hips. “For harming her, your sentence is death. May you find it becoming.” Mouthing a silent spell, a blast of snow knocked us back into the right realm. Banging on the ground, the crack sealed shut. Not knowing gnawed at me, my powers surging back to full strength. The real Darwin leapt into my arms, Boran still laying unconscious. His hair tickled my chin, a tear growing in the ground. Somata pulled himself out, a barbed quill quivering in his stomach. Red painted his white cotton shirt, his black silk pants all torn up from the unseen battle. Tears welled up in my eyes, the creature fading to a pile of black ash. Darwin sprinted towards the wagon, my palms burning away as I tugged at the quill. A steady stream of curse words flooded from my lips, the damn thing not budging. Grass filled my mouth, my body tumbling back the moment it came out. Not today, I screamed at myself. The poison on the quill dyed my veins black, Darwin coming out with three cups of tea. Snatching one from his hands, electrical jolts of pain shocked my muscles. Ignoring the raw burning sensation, my quaking hands pulled him onto my lap. Checking his pulse, a tiny whine escaped my lips. He was barely hanging on, the beating of his heartbeat fading by the second. Opening his lips, the tea poured down his throat. Waiting with bated breath, my teardrops splattered all over his face.
“Don’t die on me, big brother!” I cried out desperately, coughing up blood. “I need you to live, and tease me everyday. Stay with us. We all need you.” The rest of our companions gathered around us, tears welled up in their eyes. A purple light blinded me, the wound sealing shut. The light died down, Somata jerked awake. Taking a deep breath, his arms wrapping around my neck. A strange tightness plagued my throat, the walls swelling up. Falling over to my side, Darwin rushed up with the tea. Wheezes squeezed their way out, Darwin dumping the whole cup down my throat. The warm bitter liquid coated my throat, the walls shrinking back down to their normal size. Glancing at my palms, the pale skin was growing back. Somata and I simply lay still, Boran stirring awake. Hot vomit flew up his throat, Darwin skipping over with a fresh cup of his special tea.
“Your son is amazing.” Somata whispered huskily, facing me. “I am so happy we are all okay.” Rage seethed in my eyes, his calm smile falling. The tea paralyzed us in our spots, my lips the only thing that could move. Darwin and Boran played with each other, the two of them smiling over at us.
“Don’t you ever do that again.” I ordered hotly, confusion dawning on his face. “I could have helped you, but you just sent me away. We solve things together, not alone! I would have distracted her if you would have permitted me, but you decided to do things yourself. You nearly died, and I can’t imagine a life without you.” Surprise widened his eyes, his hands struggling to reach mine. Curse these side effects, I screamed internally. Frustration really seemed to be a common theme in my head, the process never ending.
“I didn’t know you cared.” He wheezed, coughing up a bunch of dried up blood. “This is going to be irritating. Thank you for caring. I thought everyone had given up on me.” Everyone towered over us, the two of us shooting daggers at them with our eyes. Running off, a fit of laughter burst from our lips. Granted the laughter was a little bit wheezy, but he seemed to get the message.
“Of course I care. Who else is going to bother me all of the time?” I joked lightly, his grin growing wider. “I do only have one brother after all, and you are it. You’re stuck with me and you don’t get a choice.” Able to move our torsos, his arms clutched me close to his chest. He smelled like jasmine, a subtle but sweet scent. Pressing our foreheads together, his brotherly love was clearly evident.
“I promise to bother you for the rest of your life.” He whispered softly so that no one could hear. “Most importantly, I know that I am not alone. I am so tired.” He yawned groggily, sweet slumber taking him first. Yawning loudly, she swept me away next. Somata, don’t be such a fool next time.
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