*Xander*
I realized quite suddenly that sothing was off about this place. I’d been following the orbs of light through the forest for what felt like ages. At first, I daydread. I went over my argunt with Lena on the beach and the storm that had co out of nowhere.
I was going to ask her to marry , but not there. Had her demonic little cousin not ratted out for having a ring, I would have waited until the perfect mont and gotten down on one knee.
But I’d thought, at least at the ti, that a discussion beforehand was the right thing to do given the situation. She knew I had the ring, so why not make my intentions clear and give us both a chance to talk about a probable future instead of just springing the question on her?
That conversation needed to happen regardless. The idea of being separated was the only thing keeping us apart, and I hadn’t had the chance to sit Lena down and explain to her that it was likely we’d be apart for a very long ti, and not because we were ruling different kingdoms, no.
War was coming. War was already happening in Crimson Creek. War was threatening both of our realms if I didn’t stop it.
Her grandfather had passed a note on the day of the wedding. He’d stared at during the ceremony, no doubt trying to catch a glimpse of my answer in my eyes. When I’d gone to see him in Winter Forest, I’d told him everything I knew, warning him of what I believed was to co. I’d left to find Gideon and only found ruin.
And his note during the wedding? A simple question. “When?”
The longer I walked through the forest, the more ti I had to wonder how the hell Rowan had been able to ship off to Goddess knows where without having had a chance to answer to the patriarch of the family first.
It didn’t make sense, but neither did the trees and flowers I passed that looked nearly identical. Neither was the strange vacuum of silence in the forest, not a bird nor rustle of leaves to be heard. The sky remained a pale pinkish violet, never once fading or brightening to show the changing of the hour, yet my legs were growing faint from hours upon hours of walking.
I paused, letting the orbs carry on without , and gazed at a rock formation I could’ve sworn I’d seen before, just a few hours ago, actually. White roses blood from throned vines that snaked around the top of the rock, like a crown.
These vines weren’t even connected to the soil–
I whirled around, peering closely at the trees around .
Perfect–everything was too perfect to be real.
I dropped to my knees and ripped at the grass, which was plush, blemishless, and as soft as cashre.
Wrong, wrong! Everything was wrong!
“Where the fuck am I?!” I scread with my fists clenched to my sides. Laughter ripped through the silence, fading away as the orbs disappeared from view.
“It’s not far now,” said the voice, but I shook my head, breathing heavily as I whirled around again.
“What are you? Who are you?”
“You’ve already asked that question. I don’t know. I just am.”
“This place isn’t real, is it? I’m dreaming? I’m dead?” I looked down at the ground. I’d just torn several fist-sized patches from the earth. I’d held them in my hands, felt the deep brown soil falling between my fingers. But now? The grass was untouched, long, green, and dappled with dew. “Fuck –”
“You’re not dead,” the voice said as though whoever or whatever was speaking was standing right behind . It snickered into my ear. I punched the air wildly, which elicited more laughing.
“Then where am I?”
“The Builder’s realm,” said the voice with an air of pride.
“Who is the Builder?”
“The Goddess. You should be grateful she granted you entry to this place.”
The Goddess?
I chewed my cheek, staring blankly through the trees as reality crashed down on .
“No way,” I said with a little laugh, shaking my head. “Hm, no. Nope. No, No–”
The answer should have been clear from the beginning when I opened my eyes to this place for the first ti and realized I had no mory of leaving the beach. One minute I’d been standing in front of Lena, begging her to listen to , and the next?
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding !” I exclaid, throwing my hands in the air in surrender. “What the fuck? What exactly did she do to ?”
“Who?” asked the voice, and this ti its reply was not followed by mocking laughter.
“Lena, the motherfucking Moon Goddess, that’s who. She zapped here–”
“Zap?”
“She tossed into this realm, however it works. Sucked in. Does she know that I’m here? How do I get out?”
There was no answer.
So, I lost my mind. I started running, turning in random directions and sprinting as fast as I could into trees and bushes, wondering if I could break out of this place. I hurt myself over and over, my face bruised and skin torn from my attempts to climb trees and reach the top of the canopy that sheltered the forest floor, but every ti I reached the upper branches, the tree would simply bend, dumping back on the ground.
“LENA!” I scread, but it was no use. She’d trapped here.
“So, you know the Builder personally?” said the voice.
My skin crawled at the idea of so unseen entity watching my every move, but so far it, whatever it was, was the only other being around to converse with. I straightened my shirt, the sa one I’d been wearing the morning I’d asked Lena’s parents for their blessing, and examined the cuts and bruises on my hands that healed right before my eyes.
“She’s my mate.”
“Ah, so you ARE the man.”
“I don’t understand a fucking word you say,” I mumbled, picking a few twigs from my hair and flopping to the ground, my arms and legs outstretched. I was exhausted. I felt like I’d been up for days. I had no concept of ti anymore. I closed my eyes and heard an annoyed sigh drift in the silent breeze that ruffled my hair, but didn’t touch the trees or foliage around , of course.
“We’re not far–”
“Not far from what?”
“The Builder’s garden–”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m tired.”
Silence. I opened one eye, watching for those strange white orbs, but saw nothing.
“I’ll go to this garden if you explain to what you are. You’re so kind of spirit, right? Or are you a manifestation of Lena’s subconscious sent here to torture ?”
“The Builder, you an–”
“Yes, for the love of the Goddess. What is this place? Am I... am I dream dancing right now? Is that what she calls it?”
The voice let out a low laugh, and I imagined it shaking its head at .
“No. Are you familiar with the story of Leto?”
“Of course. Who isn’t?” I griped, knitting my hands over my chest and looking up into the canopy, watching the leaves. This place looked and felt like I was inside of a painting. The colors were vivid, dreamlike. If what the voice was saying was correct, Lena had made this place.
“Leto, the original Moon Goddess and the mother of your false God Lycaon–”
“False God?” I said with a little laugh.
“And Morrighan, the first White Queen. Leto and her children could build realms, but Morrighan never tapped into those gifts. Lycaon built your ho realm as a final gift to his most devoted followers, those who followed him through the southern pass. Thus, your realm was born, and the White Queens remained in the realm Leto built when she separated from the realm of the Gods to be with her mate.”
“Is that where I am now? In the realm of the gods?”
The voice laughed, loud and boisterous.
“No, you’re not. Even the builder cannot enter that realm–not until she returns to them to rule as the Moon Goddess. But she has the powers of those gods. She doesn’t use them, not outside of this place.”
“She cos here?”
“Not often. Only once in the last five years–”
“Damnit,” I groaned, running my hands over my face. “Does she know I’m here?”
“It’s unlikely.”
“Why? How could she not know? This place has to be an extension of her mind!”
“Co to the Garden,” the voice urged.
I exhaled, then stood up and crossed my arms over my chest. “How long is this going to take?” I growled, looking around for the direction of the voice.
The trees rustled again, and then the orbs reappeared, showing the way.
***
The only variance in the realm Lena had created was settled before in a glen of sorts. There was an easy decline, and then a clearing was visible through a thicket of wide, weeping willow trees. A pond sat in the center of the clearing, and a gentle waterfall trickled down over a far hill covered in white, smooth rocks I couldn’t na. It was beautiful. It honestly took my breath away.
Specks of white light zood through the willow branches that hung so low they floated on top of the water.
I stepped into the clearing, and for the first ti since I’d woken up in the forest, saw the sun shining above , the rays warming my skin. There was a little blue building near the pond, and through the windows, I could see shelving filled with paint cans.
Did Lena paint? She’d never ntioned it. Curiosity got the best of the feelings of unease currently tying my stomach into knots as I walked forward and opened the door to the building. It was a shop, a studio, and slled strongly of acrylic paint and dried flowers.
Canvases were propped up against a far wall, and a sketchpad was sitting on a worktable next to a multi-pane window.
I held up one of the canvases, tilting my head to try to make sense of what exactly she’d been painting.
“She’s not very good,” the voice deadpanned, and I smirked.
If I ever got out of the prison she was keeping in, well, I’d make her paint sothing to make up for it, and I’d hang it in the foyer of whatever castle we ended up living in.
I spent so ti rifling through the building but found nothing of substance to help get out of the situation. All I really wanted to do was sleep.
So, I lay in the shelter of a willow tree, watching the branches dance across the water. The waterfall lulled into a ditative stupor, but just as I closed my eyes....
“Adrian?” I whispered, opening my eyes to the voice that had suddenly filled my mind, frantic and confused.
But I was alone.
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