Into the Unknown- Book II of the Journey Series

Chapter 32

===Jack===

I see her again. Beautiful, elegant, and flawless. A goddess of winter, indeed. I see her, smiling and having fun. The bowels of evergreen covered in frost all over what looked to be the inside of a castle. The ringing of bells and carlos filling the air. The warm smiles on the faces of everyone around her despite the chilly weather. It was Christmas.

Her dress a vibrant dark blue with sparkles on her bodice and white faux fur with mistletoe berries behind her that sways when she moves. A sheer cape the same colors of her dress embedded with smaller sparkles forming a symmetrical snowflake pattern. As a finishing touch, a barrette of a frosted mistletoe in her plantinum blonde french braided hair. She looked like a christmas angel, and yet had this air of regal confidence and grace that leaves anyone whom she walks by breathless.

It was nighttime, and she was in the middle of a frozen lake with a pretty red head, a blonde dude with a reindeer and.... a live snowman? That's a new one.

A lot of people were gathered arouns her as she and the red head sang. Suddenly, she stepped on the ice, and a Christmas Tree made out of ice shaped like snowflakes. A flurry of glowing blue snowflakes magically appeared from her fingertips as it lifted lanterns from everyone's hands and she hung them on the tree.

Lastly, the red head -who I'm assuming by now is her sister given the resemblance -gives her a snowman made from straw. And what she does is, from it, a star made of ice is formed around it. The flurry of magical snowflakes appears again and she uses it to lift the magical snowman for him to place on top of the tree. She sets him back down safely and he lands on the reindeer's head as they stare at the tree happily.

The dream shifts from something so heartwarming to something a little more troubling.

It's her again, wearing the icy blue dress. She was standing in the middlenof yellow-glowing ice, surrounded by men who looked like they were threatening to attack her. Her hands were up in front of her, ready to protect herself.

And she did, using her powers to protect herself in the form of deadly icicles. Soon, she wasn't just defending herself anymore. She was furious. She started attacking them first. It got to the point where she used a wall of ice to push someone off the balcony of her chamber, and it looked like he wasn't gonna survive that drop.

Until a man with side-burns managed to stop her. I couldn't hear what he was saying clearly, but it made her stop. Suddenly, a large ice chandelier came crashing down, and she ran to get away from it but she tripped, and the world turned black.

And I woke up, breathing heavily as if it were real.

Wait, I was asleep? That's the second time that this happened. What's the matter with me?

Luckily when I woke up, I saw that everyone is still asleep. So I was able to think in the silence. From the crater above, it looked like it was already sunrise.

All the thinking just left me confused on how I fell asleep and dreamt about that. And it wasn't a dream, it was a memory - a memory that I knew was hers.

The first memory, I saw her good side. The second is her bad side. And all it did was make me wanna know her more -make me more eager to find her. And made me more eager to get to the River of Memories to meet her.

Why did this happen to me?

Why did I dream of her?

What does she have to do with me and my 'greater destiny'?

"You're up early. Or you're up all night." Heather's voice came from behind me.

"Just thinking about the River of Memories." I told her.

"What about it?"

"What I'm gonna find there."

"A little scary, isn't it?" She said after a beat.

"Yeah." I sighed as I saw from my peripheral her sitting next to me.

"There's also something else about it that got me thinking." I began.

Might as well get this off my chest.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I've been getting visions lately. Visions of the River's Keeper - the Fifth Spirit of Nature. I keep seeing her face and her memories, and I don't know why. And all that I can think of is getting there as soon as possible to finally get some answers. It's been driving me crazy not knowing what it means." I ranted to her.

And what she said almost made me snap my staff that I was playing with in half.

"She wouldn't happen to have platinum blondr hair, sapphire blue eyes, snow white skin, and has winter magic like yours, now would she?"

"How.... did.... you.... know?" I barely asked her.

"Because I just dreamed about her last night. I may have only seen her once, but her face is not easy to forget." She just said.

"I know, right?" I agreed to her last sentence.

"So, she's the one we are supposed to find besided the magical river?" She clarified.

"Seems like it." I nodded.

"So, you're really leaving?" She asked me.

"Yeah. The moment I know which direction North is, I'll fly straight there and begin my journey to the River of Memories, again."

"Why don't we come with you?" She innocently asked, looking everywhere but me

"What?" Come with me?

"Yeah. Since we're going to the same place anyway, and we can't go back home because we don't know the way from here, why not we come with you since the three of us have come a long way to turn back now." She explained.

She makes a valid point.

"What do you say?" Her green eyes were hopeful.

I thought about it, and the way she said it makes so much sense to me. You don't get far in a journey only to turn back. And technically, I wouldn't be turning back. I'll just get a glimpse of the pole, then I'll now which way to go.

Really, there was no reason for me to refuse.

"Then we leave after lunch. And make sure you gets get heavy coats. You guys might not take the cold up there." I just told her.

"Thanks. And since it's so cold up there, is there any place we could recuperate after the journey? I feel like it's gonna be a long one and it might be tiring for us and the dragons." She added.

Here I thought it was just a quick stop. Didn't think for a second it was a layover. Then again, they aren't immortal and semi-corporeal spirits that don't really get cold, tired or hungry after long journeys like I am. My only concern is that they can see it like they can see me, that North doesn't mind bringing in dragons and human adults in the workshop and that they can somehow survive the freezing cold up there.

"As a matter of fact it is -it's the home of the Guardian of Wonder. I just hope that he doesn't mind and that you can see him." I said as she smiled.

"Thanks Jack." I just gave her a smile in return.