Fablehaven Nightmares

Nightmares

Kendra laid in her bed, the chill of winter making her shiver. She has recently returned from fablehaven, and the betrayal of Vanessa still stung.

"How could I have been so stupid?" She whispered.

She closed her eyes, tears rolling down her face. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep.

Kendra found herself back in the inverted tower. She and Warren walked into the sand room. As they had before, they picked the minotaur to fight. When the monster appeared behind Warren, Kendra tried to warn him, but her voice refused to work. She opened her mouth in a silent scream as the minotaur hit Warren over the head, and he crumpled to the ground, unmoving. Kendra took a step toward her fallen friend, again trying to call for help. She looked down in horror as her foot sunk into the sand. She struggled, but couldn't escape the sand that soon came up to her neck. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as it covered her completely.

Kendra opened her eyes to see that she was locked in a cell in the dungeon. She saw her brother lying on the floor, motionless.

"No!" She screamed. "No, Seth, come on, you can't die..."

A fairy flitted by, illuminating their cell for a brief second.

"Wait!" Kendra called.

The fairy halted and came back to the cell.

"Please, can you help my brother? I don't know what's wrong," Kendra pleaded.

The fairy scoffed. "You're fairykind, why don't you help him?"

"I-I don't know how!"

"Not my problem," the fairy said as she flew away.

Kendra buried her face in her hands, sobbing.

"I'm sorry, Seth."

"Kendra," came the Fairy Queen's voice in her mind. "You have failed me."

"No," Kendra whispered. "No, I'm sorry. I don't know what to do!"

"I should not have spared you."

The walls of the cell started to shake, and cracks appeared in the stone.

"Now... you will die."

The walls collapsed, and Kendra screamed.

Her eyes snapped open, and she struggled to slow her breathing.

"It was just a dream," she whispered, choking on a sob. "Just a dream."

She got out of bed, still shaking, and found the slip of paper Warren had given her.

"Hey, if you ever need anything," he had said, "give me a call."

She hesitated a moment, then typed in the numbers.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Warren," she said, her voice breaking.

"Kendra, is that you?"

"Yeah," she whispered.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

She wanted to answer, but she couldn't find the words.

"Kendra?"

"Do you... ever have nightmares? After a mission...?"

Kendra heard him take a sharp breath.

"Yeah... yeah, I do."

"Warren, I know we got the artifact, and we beat Vanessa, and we saved Fablehaven from the Evening Star... but I feel like a failure. I can't- I can't do anything! I couldn't help you, I couldn't stop Vanessa, I- I failed."

"Kendra, you did not fail," He said. "You've done so much, and you've been through so much. I wouldn't have survived without you. We all need you. Even Seth, even though he might not show it."

"I thought that he had died. I thought I had lost my brother-" her voice caught. "I saw Errol die. You could've died. Does it ever get any easier?"

Warren hesitated. "No, not really. Loss... it's a hard thing to deal with. And seeing someone die... it's not something I would wish on anyone. But Kendra, you need to know... feeling pain doesn't make you weak."

"What do you mean?"

"Being afraid, feeling shame, doubt, or guilt... none of that makes you weak. It makes you human. And the fact that you can be brave despite all that fear... that makes you so strong, Kendra. That's why the Fairy Queen chose to make you Fairykind. That's why the Evening Star is so intent on getting to you. Because you're strong in a way that they will never be."

Tears streamed down Kendra's face.

"Thank you."

"And Kendra?"

"Yeah?"

"It might not get easier, but you will get stronger. And as for nightmares... it helps to talk about it. I'm always here if you need it."

Kendra smiles. "Thanks, Warren."

"Any time, Kendra. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."