Interlude

The place between worlds

Rose

I am flying. I'm falling upwards, being pulled to the sky. A little girl is far below, watching me with her gold eyes, and as I touch the surface I see it all at once, all the realms. The First, the Second, and this place, the Under .

It is like this every time, and because it is, I know that I am about to forget it all again. Time passes differently here, and I linger in this place between worlds for a moment, observing, enjoying this small patch of time when I understand it all, when I know where I've been trapped, when I understand who has done this to me.

When I know what I am, and what I may become.

But the little girl's magic is as insistent as ever, and I understand why; she's just as desperate to escape this place as I am. I don't know why she cannot try to free herself; there must be something that keeps her here.

She pushes me further, until I can see the world I am from. The house I once lived in, the garden I loved so much, now so overgrown.

I see a handsome green giant of a man, with pointed tusks and the world's kindest eyes. My Zak. My love.

There's others here today. Some that I've met before. Men — brothers — with gold eyes like the girl. Wolves. They've brought more of their kind to my house.

They promised to save me.

Wait! I want to tell them that I met a little girl like them, that she's right there , but the veil is the same as always, sucking every thought from my mind as I am pushed through, and then I cannot remember what it was that I had to say.