The Other Side - A Jamilton Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty

The biting cold tore at my flesh like a sharp knife, but I was so used to it by now that I barely noticed. My eyes fell open, taking in the world around me.

I had expected the same forest, the same absence of any hint of light.

Instead, I was in a garden. Early morning light shined through the leaves of a few nearby trees. I blinked and looked down, studying the shape and colors of all the different kinds of flowers planted in straight, narrow lines. They were perfect to a tee. There was a gravel path stretching up the length of the garden and leading to a nearby castle.

At first, I had assumed it was the castle we were all living in, but upon further inspection, I realized that it was bigger, newer, grander. It was completely devoid of the long tendrils of ivy that snaked up the side of Washington's castle. It didn't have any of the wear.

I stared at the palace in the distance for a moment before I turned around.

There was a gazebo sitting at the other end of the path, flowers lining the sides. The gentle crunch of my steps against the gravel filled my ears as I made my way down to where it was.

The garden, though beautiful, was surreal and somehow foreboding. Maybe it was due to how perfect everything seemed.

"Ahh. There you are."

I flinched back in surprise. There was movement in the gazebo, and I saw a man stand up and walk down the steps with all the regality and carefully practiced authoritativeness of a prince.

Or a king.

"You can understand me, correct?"

His words were direct and perfectly clear despite the distance between us. He could've been right in front of me and I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

He smiled when I stepped away from him in surprise, my mouth falling open in pure disbelief. It wasn't mocking or taunting; his smile was rather pleasant.

"I should take that as a yes, then?"

I turned and ran as far away as I could. Funny, how in every dream I have now, I'm running. Even in a place that was peaceful for the most part, I was still running.

But I couldn't escape him.

He instantly appeared in front of me. I dug my heels into the gravel so that I wouldn't run into him.

"You don't have to run, you know," Fredericks said as he clucked his tongue. "We can be civil and talk about this like gentlemen, can't we? I promise I won't hurt you."

"Stay away from me," I hissed.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Not when you have something I need."

"And what's that?"

"Well, we can communicate like this. It makes things much easier." He added emphasis to this by rolling his eyes up towards the perfectly blue sky devoid of any clouds.

"I don't want anything to do with you."

"You have questions though. Questions I can answer. And Thomas has questions too, I'm sure." He paused for a moment, bending down to pick a flower. Fredericks admired the flower as he continued, "I happened to notice that you took great interest in watching my men take down the dragon."

I tried to hide the rush of horror I felt racing through my body. He had seen us, or he had known we were there.

"I'm sure you want to know why I have it. Well, you aren't going to find the answers in any books. You're really just going to have to come find out for yourselves." He flashed me another pleasant smile and turned on his heel before walking down the path. He took a few steps before stopping and turning back to me. "Are you coming or what?"