A Month of Midnights

XV

I was trudging through something cold and wet, probably snow. The wind was pressing my short hair against my cheek. My hair. I looked at the strands flying by my face. They were not black or red. My hair was boring old brown. How I had missed boring old brown. I kept walking farther, but the wind was picking up and beginning to sting my eyes. The blizzard bared down on me, and I could see no further than a few inches in front of me. That's why when I saw him in front of me, I couldn't be sure if he was there or not.

The man had long, thin hair that fluttered in the gusts of wintry air. The hair was white with gleaming silver streaks that still managed to shine without the sun. His face was almost as pale as his hair, but he looked strong and healthy. He looked powerful.

I must be dead, I thought surely. Only the dead can see people like this man.

"You are far from death, Ms. Bannon," said the man calmly. He had a gentle smile on his lips that oddly comforted me.

"I believe you," I said, absolutely entranced with the man. He nodded congenially.

"I'm glad you do. It'll make the transition easier," he spoke. I cocked my head.

"What am I transitioning to?" I asked.

"Something important." Suddenly, I could feel the bite of the wind again.

"Where will I go?" I persisted. The man looked somewhere to his left.

"Somewhere secluded. You must practice first," he said.

"Will I be able to visit my-"

"Your friends? No, but-"

"Then I don't want to go!" I cried. The man did not break emotion.

"It seems I'll have to explain later, when you've calmed yourself from this frenzy." With the next gust of wind, the man disappeared, and I was left looking at white again.

"No! Come back!" I pleaded. "Please, come back!" The snow turned grey, and I could no longer feel the ground beneath me. I was crying out into blackness.

"Blyss, be careful!" I heard Rudy say. With a gasp, I was awake and soon aware of the fresh gush of blood trickling from my wound. I found Rudy's hand by mine, and I gripped it immediately. I noticed I was dressed in loose fitting pants and an old shirt rolled up just high enough past my stomach to reveal the white bandage wrapped around my torso. I shuddered to think about who put me in these new clothes.

"You said the wound would be healed," Rudy growled.

"It will, it will! Just let me finish!" the Writer insisted. I managed to roll my head over and see him crunched over a desk, writing something furiously in a book. Putting basic pieces together, I discovered I was lying on a mountain of cushions, and my head was resting on Rudy's lap. Sitting by my feet was Upright, whose eyes were trained directly on me, and perching on Rudy's shoulder was a very anxious Minnie. In the corner of the room was the Writer sitting over his desk. We must have been in the the Sleeping Beauty room where the Writer could finalize my fate change.

"What time is it?" I croaked.

"Little after midnight," Upright answered me. "We got slowed down trying to make sure you didn't die of blood loss before we got you in here."

"Which normally doesn't happen, except he stabbed you a bit deeper than expected," the Writer finished.

"Where is Dane?" I asked as I craned my neck to see if he was standing somewhere I could not see.

"He left a while ago," said Rudy with an undeniable tone of disgust. "Stayed long enough to make sure you weren't dead, and then he took off. I don't even think he knows where to go."