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Jacin woke in a start. It wasn’t surprising that he was in a cold sweat. It happened whenever he dreamed. Because he was always dreaming of her.
He tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use. The Rampion was cold and dark at night, which reminded him all too much of the menagerie after pretending to kill Winter. Peeking over at the bed beside his, Jacin sighed in relief. Winter appeared to be sleeping peacefully, although he never could quite tell. Her thoughts were unreadable.
When he finally realized she was safe, fatigue entered his brain. He fell asleep again with her radiant face permanent in his thoughts.
***
He was walking through a forest that got more lovely the farther into it he got. It had started simply as a normal forest, with trees and dirt. But the plants got more beautiful and the trees were no longer green. No. Now the trees were shades of pink and purple. There was green moss on the ground that looked so perfect it couldn’t have been real. None of this could have.
Already trembling from the beauty of the forest, Jacin dropped to his knees when he saw the most beautiful thing in the forest.
It was Winter.
She looked just as she had in that tank with letumosis, except much more glowing. He saw hints of letumosis, but they were hardly there. There wasn’t a strand of her hair out of place, and there were flowers braided through it. And what she was wearing was certainly not the dirty dress he had “killed” her in. The style was the same, but this dress was gold.
It was shining brightly and Jacin knew it was the most beautiful he had ever seen her. He saw her chest rising and falling, signaling that she wasn’t dead. Just asleep.
He was tempted to open the case and leave a single kiss to her lips, but he refrained.
All of a sudden, Winter’s chest stopped moving. He rushed to her, but it was too late. She was dead.
Panic surged through his veins. She couldn’t be dead. It was Winter. Quirky, funny, beautiful Winter. He needed her alive. He didn’t want to live without her.
Apparently, the forest didn’t want to live without her either. Slowly but surely, the colors started to fade away. His world was turning black and white.
***
A whimper woke him. He was in a cold sweat again. Like an instinct, Jacin looked over at the bed next to him. Winter was still there. She was still breathing.
Even though she was physically okay, Jacin knew there was something wrong from the moment he looked at her. She was whimpering and tossing in her bed. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to get her back to sleep, but he knew he had to wake her up.
“Winter,” he whispered.
Her eyelids fluttered open, and most would think she looked beautiful, majestic even. But he knew better. She was scared.
“J-jacin?” she was crying now.
He began stroking her hair. “Don’t worry, princess. I’m here.”
Winter started to sob. “It’s the third night. The same dream. Scarlet is killing Aimery, and I’m there with a big smirk on my face, not caring about stopping it. When Aimery dies, I send Scarlet-friend to go kill more Levana supporters,” she choked on her tears, “Am I a monster?”
He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the question. Winter was the most kind, compassionate person he knew, and she was wondering if she was a monster!
“Winter,” he started patiently, “You are not a monster. I know you don’t know who you are right now, but none of us do.” He gazed into beautiful eyes. It felt like she was pulling him into a trance. “Trust me,” he said, placing a single kiss on her lips, “You will be found.”