FreeWrites

Jessalyn

We were flying. I tried to get my bearings but both the sky and the forest below were dark. I could see the the stars but Matthew's arm around my waist made it hard to concentrate enough to make out any constellations.

As if he knew what I was thinking, and wanted to muddle me more, he pulled me closer to him and whispered in my ear.

"Do you like the stars?" He said, "I had them put in just for you." His breath tickled me, his warmth soothed me, and his smell mesmerized me. Had he not been holding me, I'm sure I would have fallen. I wanted to ask what cologne he was wearing, I couldn't get enough, but I thought it was a weird question so instead I asked where we were going.

"Don't worry, you'll love it." He said

"What about it will I love?" He never tells me anything about anything. At least not directly.

He smiled then shook his head. "We're going to go see a friend of mine."

"Matt, I hardly ever like any of your friends."

"You'll like this one, she absolutely hates me."

"Oh, well then. What's her status?"

"Status? Since when do you care about status?"

"I don't." I said shoving him aside. "I just want to know if I have to curtsy and bow to her."

"Oh. No, you don't. But just so you know, she's the queen."

"Queen?!" I almost dropped then and there. "Matt, you can't take me to the Queen!"

"Why not?"

"The reason I'm even alive is against the rules. You tell me that almost everyday."

"Ah, but you see, the Queen won't care. Or rather, she won't notice."

"What? Why?"

"Well, the Queen is just like you. Not completely Nether." My brain seemed to malfunction. The Queen not fully Nether?

"How?"

"Well, technically, she is I guess. She was born a quarter human, from a royal Nether line, and when the old Queen died, she kind of became Queen."

"Then isn't she three quarters Nether?"

"No." He said. "Because the old Queen Miranda, she kind of possessed Josephine. The way I heard it, the two get along just fine. Isaac says they're practically the same person."

"Oh." I don't really know what to say to that, but even if she's supposedly okay, I'm still afraid she might not like me. Of all the Nethers I met, no one's really liked me before.

Some plain out hate me, some can barely tolerate me, and some don't even acknowledge my existence. I'm stuck in this Nether world whether I intended it or not. If I am here for eternity, like Matthew said, I at least want to make a friend.

When we got to the castle, it was, in fact, the most amazing structure I have ever seen, I was beside myself with nervousness. A guard came to show us to Queen Josephine. I didn't expect them to let us in, there was a mile long line outside the door, but it turns out that Matthew has some connection to the person with the Queen right now.

When we got to the room, the guard bowed and left. Matthew waited until the guard had left then opened the door. I don't know what I was prepared for, but it definitely wasn't what I saw.

The woman who I assumed was the Queen was running around in a beautiful, alive, black dress hiding behind various pieces of furniture throwing, marshmallows?