Destiny Island

Chapter 61

At first, it was dizzying, and Jade just did her best not to throw up. She knew that it was only her mind entering Royce's, but her sense of self, the image of herself, was so clear that it felt as if she was corporeal.

The problem with having such a strong feeling of being corporeal was that she got all the advantages and disadvantages that came with it. The main disadvantage being nausea that she could barely suppress by breathing in deeply and focusing on not throwing up.

Her eyes were closed in concentration even when the spinning subsided. She needed time to ground herself before she could help anyone.

However, feeling the chilly air making goosebumps on her skin, she had to open her eyes and see why it was so cold. It made no sense that it would be cold in Royce's mind since his body was burning up.

Once her eyes adjusted to the bright light of the room she was in, she could see that the whole room was dusted by a thin layer of frozen dew. Also, she could see her breath puffing out of her mouth, and she had no idea what to think.

Was she in Royce's head? Did something go wrong? Did she stray from her path?

As those questions raced through her mind, her eyes frantically searched the place, trying to figure out where she was.

Soon enough, she saw a huge bed in the middle of the room, and a silhouette under the sheets which were also covered in frozen dew. She had a feeling that she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

As she approached the bed, she could see that she was right. The figure whose hair seemed almost white from the frozen dew, and whose sleep didn't look so peaceful, was Royce.

He looked extremely sick with dark rings under his eyes, and Jade couldn't understand what was going on. Was his mind sick? Why was there frozen dew everywhere?

Not knowing what else to do, Jade gently brushed the frozen dew out of his hair and off his cold cheeks.

"Royce," She said softly.

Her hand kept stroking his cheeks with a gentleness that she rarely displayed. It was such a shock to see someone as strong as Royce so completely broken.

"Jade," Royce said in a gruff voice.

"I am here. It's okay. You can come back to us...to me." Jade said.

"No," Royce said.

"What do you mean no? You are going to wake up this instant!" Jade snapped at him.

"You are not real. It's just a dream. Just a wonderful dream that I created to fight off the loneliness. The truth is that I am dying, and I am all alone.

Never in my life had I had friends or had I met you. I was always alone, and I shall die all alone." Royce said.

Jade was stunned. It wasn't what she expected. She thought she would find Royce in his mind, fighting some real-looking monsters. Then, she would help him defeat them, and they would be out.

How did one help anyone defeat their inner demons?

Not being an overly emotional person, or at least trying to shield herself from the emotions made it difficult for Jade to help people deal with their emotional pain. She couldn't help but think that she was the last person who could help Royce.

Still, she was determined not to give up. Royce didn't deserve to be given up on so quickly. She would have to find a way to reach him, a way that was her own.

Suddenly, she slapped him hard. Her hand aching almost as much as her heart.

"You are not leaving. Do you hear me?! Open your eyes right this moment!" She said.

Royce was too shocked to do otherwise, so he forced his eyes open slowly, barely keeping them open. They didn't seem to be able to focus on one thing, especially not on Jade.

"You are not real. You are just a wonderful dream." Royce said.

"Would you dream up a person who would this?!" Jade said, slapping him one more time.

It felt so wrong to her to hurt someone as frail as Royce, especially since that someone was the person she ached for. However, it was obvious that he needed some tough love to escape the clutches of despair that were draining him of his life force, of both his mind and his body.

"No..." Royce said.

His eyes opened completely, and he stared at her in wonder, blinking rapidly. Then, he raised his stiff hand and cupped her face, his thumb gently stroking her face.

"It's you? I am not alone? My whole dream is real?" Royce asked.

"Yes! God, it drives me crazy that you can be so slow sometimes!" Jade said.

"It is you?" Royce said pulling her towards him.

Not expecting him to do that, Jade ended up sprawled across the length of his body.

At first, she wanted to yell at him, but upon feeling the shivers running through his body, she stopped herself. Instead, she pulled herself up only enough to get rid of the frozen sheet and laid back down.

She was hoping that her body heat would provide some warmth to his freezing body.

"You are never alone, so don't you dare die on us, on me. I came into your mind to save you, and that's exactly what I am going to do." Jade whispered in his ear.

"We are in my mind? Why would you come to save me? You don't even like me that much. I am not worth saving." He said, depression still gripping him tightly.

"Yes, we are in your mind. I never said I didn't like you, and that's not the point. Everyone deserves to be saved." Jade said.

"So, you are saying you do like me?" Royce said with a small hopeful smile.

"I am not saying that!" Jade snapped.

It was just a habit she took up to drive people away, but upon seeing Royce's crestfallen expression, she regretted her instincts immediately. She hugged him tightly trying to soothe the hurt she had caused.

"I do like you, but it's so difficult for me to admit that. The more people you have in your life, the more likely they are to hurt you." Jade said.

"Or the more likely they are to love you," Royce said, gently stroking her hair.

"I need you. Please let me help you come back." Jade said.

"Okay," Royce answered, small light shining in his eyes.

Jade lifted herself off of him and helped him get up. He already seemed to be doing better, and Jade was flooded with relief.

"Now what?" Royce asked.

"Now, I need you to want to wake up with me," Jade said.

"I always want to be with you," Royce said.

His words were lost in the whirlwind that overtook them, and Jade was unsure if she had heard him correctly.

Then the whirlwind swept them away.