Once Upon A Nightmare

- SIX -

- Cindy -

Okay. You got this, Cindy. This isn't going to be that hard. Just go in and ask her. And, hey, she could say yes to letting me go to Azel's house. Just ask her and all will be good.

"Is it okay if I sleep over at a friend's house for the night?" Tremaine looked up at me.

She set her glasses down on her desk and slowly walked over to me. "And which friend would that be?"

"Her name is Azel, she's Ms. Gothel's daughter. We have a project to do and I hoped that if we spent most of time working on it together, we could finish it early."

She nodded and returned to her seat. "I don't see why not. Your sisters have been invited to a party, so they won't be home. It would be nice to have the house to myself. Just make sure you make dinner before you leave."

I thanked her and scurried off to class. Guess who's going to Azel's house? Guess who's going to Azel's house? Me! I am! That's who!

Azel told me she would invite two of her friends and that I could invite some over as well. I asked Bella and she agreed that it would be good for her. We would both become good friends with Yasmine, Matoka, and Azel and grow our small line into a circle.

I rushed to get everything in order before Bella picked me up and we drove to Azel's house. Her house was amazing. It was a large and had these really nice, tinted floor to ceiling windows. And on the inside, the walls of the house were painted with these beautiful colors and, boy, Azel could really paint. The snacks were really great too, apparently Ms. Gothel would only get the best for Azel and allowed her to paint on the walls.

The best part of the house had to be hands down, without a doubt, Azel's room. She had an entire floor to herself! The walls had the most beautiful paintings and with each wall, she told us the story behind them. Her favorite happened to be about a lost princess. The king and queen look day and night for their lost princess, and every year on her birthday the town would hold a beautiful festival in her honor.

It was a beautiful story when she told it and a beautiful painting. We asked her how it ended but she could never really say. Boo, I really wanted to know. She described more stories as I took notes on her. Not only was she talented at painting but she was talented at telling stories. Most of the afternoon went by like that.

Ms. Gothel came upstairs to check up on us and make sure we were alright. We were told that we had about three more hours before it was lights out and used the remainder of the time to watch movies and perform a séance.

Just kidding. No, we did watch movies but we also talked about life, boys, and places we wanted to go to all while painting nails. Before we knew it, it was time to call it a night and go to sleep. We snuggled down into our sleeping bags and one by one we drifted off into the darkness of our dreams.

* * *

I looked at the room around me. Everything looked so familiar but so new; so different. This wasn't my home but, somehow, it felt like it was. The walls were high and elegant, decorated in this beautiful champagne color. The windows were large and rounded at the top and most of which opened up to a balcony. The room looked to be made for a queen.

I walked past a mirror as I explored the room and something caught my eye. Looking back at me was a girl in a white dress. Her hair was pinned up and out of her face as her veil cascaded beautifully down from her hair. Her skin was flawless and her cheeks had a natural blush and glow to it. I couldn't feel anything but happiness for her. She looked so beautiful and oh, so familiar. It was like I've seen her somewhere.

The door behind me opened and in walked another woman. She smiled at me and made some final touches before talking. "All done, my queen. Are you ready to go?"

Without thinking, I nod my head. She walked me down to the altar and we begin the ceremony. I turn and face a man dressed in a prince's attire. The officiator spoke a while and the man next to me smiles and says two simple words.

"I do." His voice was silky and so familiar. It reminded me of someone I knew, but something held me back. Before I could think of anything, the same words slipped my lips and soon our lips touched. Henry.

We pulled away from each other and ran down the aisle, hand in hand. We hopped into a carriage and off we went.

And they lived happily ever after, flashed in my mind. Everything went dark. I felt like I was falling and being pulled up at the same time.

When I opened my eyes, the lights were on and all girls looked at me. "I just had the weirdest dream and you aren't going to believe me."

🔽🔼🔽

► Oh my glob, are they starting to slowly remember? What's going to happen next? ◄