The Red Queen's Daughter: Book One

Chapter 18

I wake up. My room is strangely cold. I don't get it, when I went to sleep, my room was perfectly warm. Now it's freezing cold.

I put on a lavender nightgown after realizing my clothes are a bit dirty. I pull on a robe and dare to look outside. I'm blinded by glistening white snow. Snow? What day is it?

I run downstairs to Nick's room. "What day is it today?" I ask when he opens the door.

"It's Tuesday. Are you OK? What happened to your arm today?" he asks.

"Red King mishap. And if today is the day I came back, why is it snowing?" I ask.

"Oh, you know, random Underland weather. But it's weird. Usually we wake up to it, not see it pop up out of nowhere."

"Oh, thanks for telling me."

"Yeah, no problem."

I turn to leave, but not before Nick asks me,"Before you leave, what little mishap with the Red King?"

"Um... Well... We came back from the Upland-" but he cuts me off,"That's where you went? The Upland?" he sounds surprised.

"Yeah... Well... Erin asked Nate and me so... We couldn't say no. But the Red King followed us there. Then he beat us back to Underland, and when I tried to punch him, he grabbed my arm and put a lot of pressure on it and dug his nails into my arm. End of story." I reply. I must sound crazy.

"We'll, that was smart to agree," he says.

"Yes, it was! It was fun for us! For a while, at least..."

"Whatever, Nikki. It wasn't a good idea to agree to go with her," he says,shutting the door.

I leave and sit under the Huge Willow. I like the calmness there. Before I go, I put on some fluffy slippers.

I stare at the dying lavender flowers above my head. I hate the cold. It kills. I shake my head.

Soon, and unexpectedly, all of the petals start getting a black color. I look around. All the plants are black.

"Wha-?" I wonder aloud.

I start walking in the garden. I look at the black roses that have thorns. That's strange, mother always orders the thorns to be cut off.

I look at the base of the plants. The dirt is- could it be? It's fading into a reddish color. Soon, they turn bright crimson. The thorns of the blackened roses start to entwine, blocking my way back into the castle. I step back, the red dirt splashes. Wait, this isn't dirt. I feel the ground. It's blood.

I try to race back to the castle. I jump over the thorns when I realize someone is caught in the thorns.

Nate...

"Nate! How did you get stuck in there?" I ask, bending over, trying to get his hand unstuck. But I soon stop trying to. I look up, his eyes turn a bright crimson, the color of the bloody dirt. "Nate?" I wonder aloud. He stands up, breaking free from the thorns. His wrist is so bloody.

Then he does something that horrifies me. He morphs into the Red King. I run away, the thorns scraping my ankles. I trip over. I look up and see him standing over me. He whispers,"You're mine, now,"

That's when I wake up for real.

***

"Nicole, are you okay?" someone says. I blink my eyes a few times. It was all a dream. Thank god. I rush over to the window. It's still Spring. I sigh with relief.

"Nicole? What's wrong?" the voice says again. I turn around, it's Nate.

"Just a bad dream." I answer.