The Medallion

Nilla: A Realization

"That was way harsh," said Halo.

"I'll say." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. It was a stupid fight, but it hurt more than I thought it would. I still wanted everything to be perfect. I wanted the man I loved and the friends I adored to all be happy and in my life, but it just didn't seem to be going that way.

"Are you alright?" Halo asked.

"I will be."

"I can hear your sadness. I don't like it."

"Don't worry about me."

"I have to worry about you. I love you."

I let out a small laugh. "Thanks."

"Go to bed. Try and rest and don't let any of this get you down. Things will work out the way they were supposed to."

"Night."

"G'night."

I was upset that Allison and I didn't end back up on the same page by the end of the call, but I suppose we know where the other stands.

That night I had another dream. It was like I was a silent observer. My mirror self was bound in ropes and fighting to be released, but Jace pulled the ropes even tighter. I could hear wolves howling behind me and the splashing of water in front of me.

Mirror me tried to pull away from the ropes, but Jace reached out and shoved his hand into her chest and pulled out her still-beating heart. I expected her... us to die, but that's not what happened. He put the heart in a gold box then shrunk it to fit inside his pocket. From then on, she followed him willingly wherever in my dream world he wanted to take her.

Jace and mirror me entered a forest area. The wolves came in for an attack but stopped short.

"We cannot hurt the human," one of them said. "She is innocent."

"We will not attack if she is near," hissed another.

They refused to put mirror me in harm's way. Jace was glad and led her farther into the forest area.

He laid her down on a rock alter and tied her arms above her head. He formed a ball of light in his hands and placed it down into her stomach. The light disappeared and her stomach began to grow. I could feel things moving inside of me too. He smiled as she swelled with his light. The next thing I knew, mirror me had given birth to a small dolphin that cried like a baby. He released her and took the baby before heading back out into the ocean.

I wasn't exactly sure what to make from that one but at least it felt peaceful, but was I still being controlled? I wanted to be with him at that very moment and felt as if I would break if he wasn't there to hold me together. The pain in my heart from being away from him for so long was ripping relentlessly at me. My heart was threatening to abandon me if I didn't take it to him. I waited for it to rip itself out of her body and wander off on its own to find him.

I looked out the window. It was still dark out but I could see the reflection of the waxing crescent moon on the water. As I looked at the bright arc, something occurred to me, the crazy story of the dolphin from when I was a child. In that story, the dolphin only had until sunset on the night of a full moon to accomplish his goals on land. Did Jace have such a restriction? If he did then he must've been feeling very desperate to have tried what he did. I was being disagreeable with him because of my friends, and now his time was nearly up.

I walked over to the wall and looked at the calendar. The full moon would rise in ten days. If he truly only had ten more days then he would be getting incredibly desperate soon. What was he capable of? Would he still be after me or would he go after someone else? He was a very good-looking guy. No doubt someone who had a loose reputation or someone desperately wanting a change would give into him gladly.

My mind went to one of the girls from the beach, that blonde girl. I doubted that girl met the kind and gentle heart requirements, but looks could be deceiving.

I got dressed, grabbed my flashlight from under the bed, and snuck out of the bedroom window. Who knew what Jace was truly capable of, but I had to assume that he was dangerous and that this new girl he was after was in trouble. I had no idea how or even if she could locate the new girl or if there even was one.

I called Allison. I don't know what made me want to call her again after yet another fight, but I knew that when the going gets tough, I needed a tough person at my side, and that tough person was definitely not sweet bubbly Halo.

"Jeez, Nilla, what do you want?" Allison moaned over the phone still groggy from sleep.

"I had another dream and then had a thought when I woke up. What if I'm not the only girl Jace is trying to win over? He's got that powerful medallion and has an agenda of getting a human hybrid to regain power."

Allison was silent for a moment. "I'm proud of you," she said finally. "I'm sure that wasn't an easy thing to say about him since you think you love him so much."

"Well, to be honest, I think some of it is coming from jealousy. I can't stand the thought of him being with someone else. The other part is that in that story, the princess ends up getting eaten by a shark trying to save the dolphin prince and baby she loved so much. She gave up everything for their happiness including her own life. I'm not sure if a sacrifice is part of this whole thing, but I can't take the chance that this girl might die."

"Interesting concept," she said. "You're really putting a lot of thought into this. Why are you still trying to base this whole event on that fictional story, though? The two of you have been together way longer than fifteen days."

"Nothing else to go on I suppose. Something is just telling me I have to. I can feel it inside of me, screaming at me that no one else can be with him. It's just super strange. I don't quite understand it."

"No one period or no one other than you? There is a difference. This isn't some kind of story, you know. This creature is capable of anything."

I laughed a bit. "You sound like the wolves."

There was silence on the other end.

"Allison?"

"Yeah, that's so silly of me, isn't it? Where do you want me to meet you?"

"You know where."

"Of course. The special place you share with your beloved."

I debated on calling Halo. I was in a crisis and wanted my best friend at my side, but Halo was so scatterbrained I didn't think it would do me much good...or perhaps it would. Halo may not have been the most level-headed in the face of danger, but she was my best friend and had a calming effect on me. Even if she didn't keep a very level head, she could calm my stress. I knew I'd be able to pull through with Halo close by.