"Gabriel!" a young girl calls for me as she runs towards me in a field of goldenrods, her white dress with pink cherry blossoms on it swooshing around her knees and her brown hair falling down to the middle of her back as she beams at me.
I smile back at her from the oak tree that I'm sitting next to, a tire swing hanging off of one of the branches and rocking gently back and forth with the occasional wind.
"Gabriel," the girl repeats my name once she finally reaches me and she bends down, placing her hands on her knees, "I thought I lost you!"
"No," I smile tiredly at her, "you could never lose me. I just went for a walk. Sorry if I scared you."
"Geez," the girl sighs, flopping down next to me and leaning her head against my shoulder, "what a pain."
"Sorry, your highness," I snicker and she rolls her eyes.
"Don't call me that," she frowns and I smile, knowing full well that she doesn't like that nickname I gave her, "I'm not actually royalty, you know."
"I know," I continue smiling, "but you should be."
Her breath hitches as she sits next to me and she claps her fingers in her lap, looking down at them as she twiddles them together and shifts around slightly.
"You really think so?" she asks.
"Of course," I glance over at her and she meets my gaze, "you'd make a great leader."
"I'm glad you think so," she laughs as she moves away from me and lies down in the field, resting her arms behind her head, "I know I'm perfectly capable of it, but I feel like I'd fail them when it matters most. I don't know. It's just always been a worry of mine."
"Failing people?" I ask and she hums, nodding her head.
"Yeah," she pauses for a moment, "I guess so. Hey, Gabriel?"
"Yeah?" I look down at her and raise an eyebrow softly.
"You'll never leave me, right?" she whispers out.
"Of course not," I frown, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion as my eyes scan over her face, "why would I ever leave you?"
"Good," she smiles softly, "I couldn't lose my best friend."
"Don't worry," I smile back at her, placing my hand on her arm, "you won't."
"Gabriel?" the girl's voice calls out to me.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"Gabriel!" the same voice insists, "Gabriel, wake up!"
I gasp as I sit upright with a start, my eyes adjusting to the lighting in the room as Reine stands in front of me, peering down at me worriedly. As my eyes adjust, I notice that I'm lying on my bed and we're in my room with Nathan and Melantha sitting on the floor looking worried.
"Oh, thank God," Reine sighs in relief and I blink in confusion.
"What happened?" I ask, unsure of what's going on.
"I brought you back here after you were knocked out," Reine explains, "I brought Nathaniel and Melantha with me as well. And do not worry, nobody else knows that anything out of the ordinary happened. I made sure of that by magically closing off the area while Kione fought with me. The magical field has been lifted now that the situation has passed and your family is perfectly fine and unaware."
"What happened to Kione though?" I ask, wondering what all happened after I blacked out.
"She fled," Reine purses her lips together, "and yes, I know I must explain everything to the three of you. Besides, even if I did not wish to, you are all entitled to know the truth."
"Entitled?" Nathan asks, "how are we entitled to know?"
"I'll be explaining that," Reine sighs, "for now, though, I wish to examine Gabriel and make sure he is okay. Your siblings should be home soon, by the way, Gabriel. School has recently ended."
"Right, good idea," I nod, blinking a few times and holding my head as I grimace, "Nathan, could you tell my mom that you're staying over with Melantha and a...new friend...from school? She should be home from work soon."
"Yeah," Nathan nods, his eyes flickering between me and Reine, "sure thing, man."
With that, Nathan heads out of my room and jogs downstairs to wait for my mom in the kitchen while Melantha worriedly looks over at me and Reine.
"Is he going to be okay?" Melantha chews on her bottom lip anxiously.
"I don't think there is any permanent brain damage," Reine says as she reaches out a hand and lifts my chin, looking into my eyes and over my face, "and he does not appear to have any broken bones or malfunctioning vital organs. I examined him earlier but simply want to follow up with him. At the very least, he has a concussion and may have some severe bruising in multiple places on his body. I think he will be okay."
"Lovely," I groan and fall backwards on my bed, splaying my arms out behind me.
As I lie on my bed, my dream plays throughout my mind and I can't help but think how familiar the girl felt to me. It was almost as if I actually grew up with her, but how can that be possible? Then again, who knows what's possible now. This morning, I never would've expected things to turn out like, well, this.
Ugh, why are things so complicated? When I told myself that I love complex things, nearly dying twice in one day was not on my list.