I couldn't move. I could only look around.
There was a blinding light hanging from the ceiling, illuminating the small room I was in. My glasses only made it that much worse. I tried to move my hands, but I couldn't. I could feel the scratching against my skin. Rope. I was trapped here. I noticed the red eyes in the darkness, staring at me. I blinked.
"Vampire?" I whispered.
Topaz stepped out from the darkness. She hadn't changed. She stepped toward the table in the middle of the room. Suddenly, I noticed what was on the table. Lapis was there, unmoving. I nearly screamed. I was squirming, anxious to escape and save her.
"Calm, you fool," Topaz taunted. "She's alive."
She was right. The flush of blood was still there in her cheeks.
Then Topaz's companion was revealed. Jasper.
But we killed her! I know we did!
Her eyes were as dark as a jet stone. She was hungry. Very hungry. She stepped toward Lapis, playing with her hair, only causing me to feel even more angry.
"Come on," Jasper purred, twirling a strand of Lapis's hair. "It's almost time."
"...for what?" I asked quietly.
Jasper turned to me, looking me straight in the eyes. She grinned the evilest grin I'd ever seen. I felt a sense of terror in my gut. What was happening? Lapis woke up and looked over at Jasper. I could see fear in her eyes as she did. Her gaze moved from Jasper to me. She was scared. Very scared.
"Are you ready?" Jasper asked, leaning towards Lapis.
Lapis was still looking at me. She mouthed something to me. I could barely make out the word "Peridot."
She wanted me.
Suddenly, she threw herself flat onto the table and let out an ear-piercing screech. Everything started to move very fast. I forced myself onto my feet, only to fall over again. Jasper laughed a very throaty laugh and grinned at me as Lapis screamed. Then there was blood. Blood everywhere. I looked down at my hands. They were covered in it. I looked up.
No.
Lapis was still on the table, laying flat as before, covered in blood like the rest of us. Her stomach looked as if it had been mauled by an animal. I felt a tear fall down my face then as I looked at her face. The flush of blood was gone. She was dead.
Not her.
I could only let out a sniffle.
Not her!
I sat up, breathing hard and gripping the sheets. My face was wet with tears. I had been crying, indeed. I immediately looked to my left. Lapis was there, fast asleep. Her body moved steadily up and down with the rhythm of her breathing. She was okay. I wrapped my arms around her and held her close to my chest. I buried my nose in her hair, inhaling her floral scent. I continued my crying. She was okay. She was here in my arms. She was okay.
I didn't sleep for the rest of the night, as expected. When Lapis awoke that morning, she was still in my arms. She looked up at me with a curious expression as I kissed her cheek.
"What are you doing?" She asked mid-yawn. "Did you sleep at all?"
"For a couple of hours," I answered.
"Peridot," Lapis scolded, laying her head on my chest again.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, kissing her head. "I had a nightmare, and I couldn't get back to bed."
"Do you want me to get you anything?" Lapis asked.
"No!" I exclaimed. "Absolutely not! You just rest and take care of yourself."
"But Peri—"
"I'm fine. You're the one that's pregnant," I said. "I can handle myself."
I walked out of the room, looking back every few steps to make sure Lapis wasn't following me. I walked down the stairs and tripped down the last few. I landed on the downstairs floor with a thud! I stood up, very confused.
"Peri?" I heard Lapis's concerned voice from my room.
"I'm fine!" I shouted.
I stumbled into the kitchen. Mom clearly noticed when I grabbed the counter for balance. I immediately walked to the coffee machine and made the strongest coffee I could find in the kitchen. I needed as much caffeine as I could get.
"Peridot?" Mom asked.
I turned around. "Yes?" I replied.
"Whoa," Mom said, her eyes widening. "Peridot, the skin under your eyes is dark! Didn't you sleep?!"
I poured my coffee. "Only a couple of hours."
"Peridot!" Mom cried. "Why didn't you sleep?!"
"I had a nightmare!" I exclaimed. "I couldn't get back to bed. I was too worried."
Mom sighed. "Please take care of yourself," she said. "You need to eventually get to sleep."
"I know," I replied. "I wish I could."
I took a large gulp of my coffee and leaned back against the kitchen island. Mom was eyeing me. There was an awkward silence between us. Neither of us knew what to say. I was able to finish my entire cup of coffee in complete silence. I proceeded to make myself breakfast. Just a simple toasted waffle would do today. I wasn't in the condition to make an intricate breakfast for myself. Mom watched me as I stumbled through the kitchen, grabbing the wrong items until I had my hands on the waffles. I placed one in the toaster and pulled the lever, letting it cook.
"Not doing so well today, are you?" Mom asked.
"You know I didn't sleep," I answered. "Of course I'm not doing well."
"I understand nightmares waking you up, but staying up the entire rest of the night?" Mom asked. "That's a long time, Peridot. How could you have been awake that long after a bad dream?"
"I was just guarding Lapis," I answered.
That silenced Mom again. I looked over at her, curious. She appeared to be deep in thought, trying to figure out why. As if she was asking myself what would have pushed me to spend my night guarding Lapis when I hadn't slept the day before. When I had woken up from a nightmare.
I sighed. She didn't understand. She had never imprinted. She never got to feel the things I felt. The constant anxiety that something was going to go wrong. The protectiveness I felt. Every werewolf knew I would fight for Lapis. I had fought Jasper for her. Jasper was a challenge. A true challenge. It was only Lapis that pushed me to stop her. I wouldn't let anyone hurt Lapis. Never. I couldn't. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Once again, I sighed. These were the feelings that my mom had never felt. They were always there, keeping me up all night or with Lapis all day.
The sound of the lever popping back up on the toaster startled me. I used plastic tongs to take my warm waffles out of the toaster and place them on a plate. I covered them in as much syrup as the plate could hold. Then I took a seat at the kitchen bar. Mom was still watching me confusedly.
"Did you really need that much syrup?" She asked.
"Don't question me," I answered. "Sorry. I don't mean to sound rude. It's just what I'm feeling today."
Mom blinked, stroking her chin in thought. "A dream," she said. "A dream caused this."
I nodded.
"You're a completely different person today, Peridot."
I slowly ate my food, enjoying the sweet syrup and crunchy waffles. Mom let me eat in silence. It was nice. I got up and put my plate in the dishwasher when I was done. Mom looked at the dripping syrup in disapproval. Then she turned to me, her expression hardening.
"What happened in your nightmare?" Mom asked.
My stomach began to hurt. "I don't exactly know the backstory," I answered. "But I know what happened in it. Topaz and Jasper were there. They had trapped me. They had Lapis on a table for some reason. Jasper was asking her if she was ready for something. It was strange."
"Ready for something?" Mom asked.
"Yeah," I answered.
"Laying on a table..." Mom stroked her chin in thought again.
"Then there was blood just everywhere. All over me, all over Jasper, all over Topaz, all over Lapis," I said, turning my hands from side to side.
Mom's eyes had widened. "Oh," she responded under her breath.
"I looked at Lapis, and..." I breathed out. "She was dead. Her stomach looked like it had been torn apart. I was terrified." I sighed. "That's when I woke up. Luckily, Lapis was still alive. Still asleep next to me. That's when I began to guard her for the rest of the night. It's a protective instinct."
"I understand," Mom said. "I see now why you would stay up the rest of the night with her. I'm guessing that's an imprint thing."
I nodded. Mom smiled a little at her correct assumption. Her eyes narrowed suddenly.
"You said you didn't know the backstory," she said.
"Right," I replied.
"...I think I have it figured out," Mom said.
"You do?" I asked. "Please explain it to me. I'm just so terrified and tired. I can't think straight."
"Remember what Jasper wanted from Lapis?" Mom asked.
"Yeah," I answered.
"I think that's what Jasper got in your nightmare."
I gasped.
"It all matches up," Mom said. "Jasper asking if Lapis was ready. The blood everywhere. Lapis's stomach appearing mauled. Lapis dead." The emphasis on "dead" made me wince. "That's exactly how vampire-human births work."
"Have you seen one?" I asked.
"I've heard of one before," Mom answered. "From Liliac Sapphire. She described it to me. You know. The baby rips itself out, killing the mother unless she's immediately transformed."
I nodded. "Yeah," I said.
I felt a tear fall down my face. Was the dream supposed to be an omen? Was the baby going to kill Lapis? More tears began to fall until they were shooting down onto the floor. Mom stayed silent, letting me handle my emotions.
Not her. Please, not her!
I began to sob again. I covered my eyes with my hand. I felt so angry. Lapis couldn't die. She couldn't! She couldn't go! I wouldn't let her!
"Peridot!" Mom cried. "Calm down! You're phasing!"
I didn't care about the extra hair I could feel appearing on my arms. I was too angry. I just wanted to break something. I threw myself against the kitchen counter and pounded it with my fists. Mom backed away, terrified. I looked at the counter. It wasn't cracked. I growled. Why wasn't anything going my way? Even a stupid counter couldn't follow my orders! All I wanted was for the stupid thing to break! I hit it again, and, once again, it stayed intact. I stomped away and let out an angry scream. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Mom was terrified. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and looked towards them. There was Lapis, hurrying down. She jumped onto the floor when she reached the last step and ran into the kitchen. I backed away. I didn't want to accidently hurt her.
"What happened?!" She asked, rushing to my mom.
"She's upset about her nightmare," Mom answered. "She's terrified."
Lapis turned to me, and, before I was even aware of it, her arms had wrapped around me. My sobs turned to sniffles. I wiped my extra tears.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"It's okay," Lapis replied. "I love you. You're okay. I'm right here."
I felt the baby's little kicks with Lapis's stomach against mine. I smiled. It appeared she had woken up to try to help.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Mom ran to it and opened it. Royal Blue was there with a basket.
"I made cookies," she said. "I figured you would like some." She looked over at Lapis and I. "Whoa. Did I come at the wrong time?"
"Oh, no," Mom replied. "Peridot's just scared about Lapis. She had a nightmare and couldn't get back to bed."
"Lapis?" Royal Blue asked. "What about her?"
"Her fate," I answered quietly. "She could die."
Royal Blue laughed. It was too throaty to match her pixie-like stature.
"She's not going to die," she said. "She'll be just fine."
"Really?" Lapis and I asked at the same time.
"Yeah," Royal Blue answered. "Future vision proven." She grinned proudly and then waved. "Ta-ta!" She danced away from the house without her basket.
I picked Lapis up carefully and spun around, laughing happily. Lapis laughed her lovely little laugh and wrapped her arms around my neck as I set her down.
"I love you, I love you, I love you!" I exclaimed. "You're gonna be okay!"
"Yeah!" Lapis responded.
I held her head against my chest and smiled. My Lapis was going to be okay.
"Can I get anything for you?" She asked.
"Lapis, please—" I thought about how she had wanted to help me earlier. I hadn't let her. "Alright. If you insist."
Lapis smiled her sweet smile and ran off to make me a more intricate breakfast. I smiled.
"Geez," I said as Mom came to my side. "How did I end up with someone as great as her?"
"The universe thinks you deserve it," Mom replied.
I smiled even more. Thanks, universe.