Winter's Wings (Book 1 of the Winter's Series)

Chapter Twenty: A Dream or a Nightmare

The night air caresses my body as I soar in the sky. The mist from the clouds that I fly through roll off my skin like soft beads, but rendering my white nightgown no longer dry. I stretch my wings out as far as they will go, taking up as much of the sky as I can. I climb higher into the night until the air is too thin even for me to breathe. I love the feeling of weightlessness that I feel as I come back down to meet the earth.

I let myself drift on wind currents, not caring where it takes me. It's peaceful here. Silent. Balanced. Free of war. I slowly drift down until my toes touch the soft grassy earth. Trees blow gently in the wind. A soft violin song is carried on the breeze, drawing my attention. I follow the melody to a small cottage, not too far from where I landed. I let the tips of my wings drag along the cool moist stones leading to the door of the cottage.

I peek inside the windows, trying to see where the music is coming from. The cottage is empty, but lamps are lit inside. I gently knock on the door and I see a shadow flicker on the walls inside. The door unlocks and creaks at the hinges as it opens. I meet the steel grey eyes of a very handsome man. The edges of his lips pull up slightly into a small smile.

"Welcome home Eden." He says. His voice is like the smoothest brandy. It warms me up inside, in a comforting way.

"Home?" I ask slightly dazed. His slight smile turns into one of a lopsided grin.

"Come inside. Your clothes are wet." He says, opening the door wide enough for me to enter. He closes the door once I'm inside and I take the opportunity to take him in. His brown shoulder length hair is slightly wavy. His stubble lined chin turns into a five o'clock shadow. He has quite the set of broad shoulders, and I follow his arms down to his hands. They're strong and callused, he must work with his hands regularly. His body is muscular but lean, he's athletic. My eyes travel back up to his face. His small but full lips are a pastel pink. He seems so familiar to me, almost like I've known him for a lifetime. He's exquisite. Everything about him is beautiful, inviting, familiar, safe.

"Who... are you?" I ask, tilting my head. I could admire him for eternity if only I had the opportunity.

"James." He answers simply. "You can call me Bucky though, we've known each other long enough." James... Why can't I remember you? Surely I could not forget someone such as you.

"Do I... Live here?" I ask, pointing to him. "With you?"

"Yes." He replies, raising a brow at my questions. His eyebrows sit so beautifully on his face. He looks like a painting.

"Am I... Dreaming?"

"Yes." He says with a chuckle. "Joking. Where were you all night?" Am I dreaming? Is this real? Everything is so vivid, the smells, the feel of the wind, the mist, the earth and now the wooden floor beneath my feet.

"I was flying." I answer, eliciting another chuckle from him. What's so funny?

"Right." He says clearing his throat. "You must have been sleep-walking." Huh? Does he not see my- what?! I look behind me only to see my wings are gone. I try to pull them out but nothing happens. What's going on? What is this? This can't be real.

"Sleep-walking? Do I do that?"

"It would seem so, if you think you were flying." He says, studying me intently. "Come on let's go back to bed."

"I'm sorry what? Sleep... with you... in the same bed."

"Naturally." He responds, taking my hand. I look down at our conjoined hands in confusion. He leads me to the back of the house where the bedroom lies. The room is dark but I can see the bed, it's rather small. For us to both fit, we would be touching. He lets go of my and pulls back the covers before getting in. He pauses and looks back up at me. "Aren't you coming?"

"I... uh... yeah." I go over to the bed and get in next to him. He lifts the covers so that it's easy for me to get under them. After he places the covers back down, he wraps his arms around me. I stiffen slightly at the contact, and he pulls me into him. His warmth, his scent are both intoxicating and comforting. I snuggle my face into his leather and sandalwood scented chest so that every breath I take is filled with him. I feel safe, loved even. I close my eyes and enjoy the feeling.

"Are you cold?" His chest vibrates with every word that his deep voice makes.

"No." I reply simply. I don't want to wake up if this is a dream. I want to stay here, in this life. With him.

The music starts to skip and repeat notes erratically. I open my eyes and the scene in front of me glitches like a bad movie. A distorted face flickers with each glitch. A man with a mask, and he same steel grey eyes as the man who greeted me at the door. His cold metal arm attempts to reach me. He's angry, and I don't know why. I want to get away, I want to run. I NEED to get away. I try to move but I'm trapped. The metal arm gets closer to me with each glitch. I try to scream but no sound comes out. I can't move my body, it's like I'm paralyzed. I feel like my heart is going to explode from panic.

I sit up, gasping for air. A sheen of sweat lies on my skin. It was a dream, it was just a dream. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest like a drum.

"Eden? Are you awake? It's time to go, so get dressed, we're going after Jasper today." Steve says, startling me. "Are you okay?" he continues concerned.

"I.. yeah, just a bad dream is all. Give me a few minutes and I'll be outside. Just let me change clothes."

"Alright. See you outside then." He says, leaving me alone again. After I calm down, I trade the shorts for a pair of skinny jeans and tuck the shirt in. I look through the closet for any shoes in my size before finding a pair of combat boots. I tightly lace the boots, and grab a black leather jacket hanging up above the shoes on a rack. I pull the jacket on as I head out of the bedroom and outside of the trailer.