Angel - In Dreams

“I’m sorry, sir, but she told me if she didn’t come back to come get you.”

Tony couldn’t believe what he had just been told. Wolf had disappeared, and his daughter had disappeared going to look for him.

“I’m going to the Second Kingdom,” he announced to Wendell who stood nearby and had been waiting for Tony to say this.

“Of course. I will get a horse mounted for you.” (I know it’s not really realistic for him to go alone, but I just want it to be Tony.)

Wolf walked through the forest. He was lost. He couldn’t remember a time in his life when he’d been really lost, but he was now. He tried to catch the scent of something familiar, but found nothing. He still had no idea how he had ended up in the woods. Had he walked in his sleep? That seemed unlikely; he’d never walked in his sleep before. The last thing he remembered was the dream. Had the dream had something to do with it? It had been so strange, almost like it was real, maybe even more so than the others that had recently plagued his sleep.

Suddenly a vaguely familiar scent filled his nose. Where had he smelt that before? Then suddenly he knew. He took off through the trees, going towards the holder of the scent. When he came to a clearing he stopped. It was similar to the one in his dream, but smaller. He wasn’t surprised to see the figure standing in it either. He had expected to see her.

“Why hello, Wolf. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Virginia stopped to rest. She’d been walking for more hours than she could count now. It was too late to go back; the driver would have been long gone by now.

I might as well stop and rest, she thought, and sat down with her back resting against a tree. She knew she probably shouldn’t go to sleep in the woods alone, but she was just too tired. Even though she tried to fight it, she eventually fell asleep.

When she opened her eyes she knew it was a dream. She didn’t know how, she just knew.

“Virginia,” a familiar voice called, but it wasn’t a cold voice; it was a warm, friendly voice.

She turned to see Snow White standing behind her. “Snow White? Is it really you?” Virginia asked, not sure if her mind wasn’t still playing tricks on her.

“Yes, Virginia, it is me. I need to speak with you. You are in great danger.

“What else is new?” she sighed. More adventure wasn’t what she wanted right now. “Is this a dream?”

“Yes, and no. I am speaking to you through your dream, but we must speak briefly. I am having trouble shielding your dream from her.

“Her?”

“An evil woman has been using dreams to terrorize you.”

“You mean those dreams with my mother? Someone was controlling them?”

“Yes and you must hurry before it is too late.”

“Too late for what?”

“You must find her if you want to find Wolf.”

“Wolf? Do you know where he is?” She was getting more frantic now.

“Yes, and it will be revealed to you soon.”

“But, how? I have no idea how to find him or this woman.”

“Do not worry, Virginia. All will be revealed soon. I must leave you now, but I will tell you this. The woman who seeks to hurt you is very powerful, but you must remember that all is not as it seems. She will try to trick you, but you must not give in.” And with that she disappeared.

What do I do now? thought Virginia, but her answer soon came when she felt someone shaking her, and she woke up.

“You’re all right!” Tony exclaimed, clearly relieved.

“Dad? But how did you get here?”

“I rode all night and found you here. You’re only about a mile away from the road.

What? She must have made a circle in the dark and not realized it. Wait? The dark? For the first time she realized it was light. She must have slept all night. “Wolf? Have you seen Wolf?”

“No,” answered Tony with a slight bit of anger in his voice.

“Dad, I don’t think he left on purpose. Remember when I told you about meeting Snow White at Dragon Mountain. Well, she came to me in a dream, and told me about this woman who’s been trying to hurt us through our dreams. I think she knows where Wolf is.”

Dreams? Was that why he’d had all these dreams lately? He decided not to say anything about his own dreams; he didn’t want to worry her. “Why did he just run off like that?”

“Dad, I told you I don’t know, but I have this feeling that something bad has happened to him...”

“You are right about that,” came a voice from behind them before Virginia could finish her sentence.

Virginia and Tony whirled around at the same time. Standing in front of them was...(Drum roll please.) A woman. She was dressed all in black and a hood covered her head. “Were you looking for me?” she said with an evil sneer.

“Who are you?” asked Virginia staring at the strange woman. She couldn’t see her face. It was completely hidden by the dark hood.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” sneered the woman.

Then Virginia understood. “You’re the woman who’s been haunting my dreams.”

“Ahh, so someone told you did they? Maybe a dead queen?”

“How…”

“Oh, I know a lot, Virginia. Much more than you will ever dream of knowing.”

Tony watched all of this, dumfounded. Where had he seen this woman before? Then it hit him. It was the woman he’d seen in the mirror. He hadn’t been imagining it.

“You messed with the Mirror of Truth?!” accused Tony.

“Quite correct. So you aren’t as stupid as you look.”

Virginia thought about all of this. Who was this woman? Wait, she messed with mirrors, and she knew about Snow White!

“Are you Snow White’s stepmother?” asked Virginia, sure she had figured it out.

The woman’s reaction was not at all what Virginia had expected. “You mean Marina? Ha! That puny little witch was nothing compared to me. Do you think she learned to control the mirrors on her own? Who do you think taught her how to use the magic?”

“You mean?” Virginia choked out.

“Yes, she was my apprentice, but she was a fool and her vanity caused her end. She could have been great, but her jealousy of Snow White caused her downfall.”

Virginia was shocked. “But, that would make you...”

“Over two hundred years old? Oh, I am much older than that.”

Virginia didn’t know what to say. She was utterly shocked. How could she face someone that was more powerful than the original Evil Queen? She wondered if Wolf knew about the queen’s teacher. Wolf! She had completely forgotten about him. “Where’s Wolf?” Virginia asked the woman, trying to sound threatening.

“Oh, don’t worry, the father of your child is still alive, for now.”

“What!?” yelled out Tony, who Virginia had nearly forgotten was there. “The father of your child?!” Tony stared at his daughter, both angry and hurt.

Oh, no, thought Virginia.

“Ooops. Have I said too much?” said the woman with a smile.

“Tell me where my husband is!” Virginia yelled at the woman, now very angry.

“Why should I tell you? Wouldn’t that ruin the fun of having you look for him?”

Virginia was stunned. The woman did kind of have a point no matter how cruel. She had to give the woman a reason to tell her. “Well, um, if you don’t at least give me a hint, then we’ll never find him and you’ll get tired of, um, waiting,” Virginia replied uncertainly.

“I suppose. Well, he’s in the Second Kingdom.”

“What!? That’s it? We’ll never find him!” Virginia yelled clearly irritated. The trolls had nearly made her dance in hot slippers, and her mother had tried to kill her, but at least they hadn’t irritated her!

“What did you expect? A rhyme? Whether you can find him or not is not my problem,” And with that she vanished. There was no puff of smoke, no lights, she just was gone. Virginia blinked to make sure had seen what she thought she’d seen. “Now what do we do? We’ll never find Wolf!”

“Was what she said true?” asked Tony. He hadn’t said anything because he had been thinking about that statement.

Virginia licked her dry lips and turned to face her father. She should have told him earlier. Why hadn’t she? She’d never planned for him to find out this way. All she could do was nod. The woman had known what she was doing, but how?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Tony asked, his voice steady, cold.

“I wasn’t sure how you’d react,” she replied. “Look are you okay with this?”

“Uh, yeah,” Tony said clearly lying. Virginia knew he was, but they didn’t have time for this now. They could talk later.

“Let’s go find Wolf.” She started to walk out of the forest, with Tony reluctantly following.

Wolf howled at the moon through his barred window. He had been in this room for what seemed like forever. His blood was hot; he needed to run, to hunt.

“It’s not fair is it?” he heard a female voice ask from behind him.

“No,” he growled/said back. He didn’t need to turn. He knew her scent now.

“Would you like to be free?” she asked.

“You know the answer to that.”

Suddenly he was in an open field. He howled at the moon again and ran into the trees. His prey was near. He could smell her.

“You must kill her,” said the voice again.

“No!!” he screamed and stopped. What was he doing? He’d never hurt Virginia.

“The Evil Queen let you go for the same reason.”

“I know, but I didn’t kill her.” Wolf felt like he was talking to himself, since he couldn’t see anyone else. But he knew she was there; he could smell her.

“Why?”

“Because I love her! She is my mate!” he growled back.

“But you killed her now.”

“What?! No!”

“You don’t believe me? Look at your hands.”

He did and found blood. He looked at the ground, but knew what he would find. Virginia lay there dead.

“You see? You killed her for me.”

“Noooo! I would never harm her! Nooo!”

When Wolf woke up he found himself in a dark room. He tried to move, but found he was chained to the wall. He knew she was coming long before he heard the footsteps. Her scent told him of her approach.

“Well, good morning, Wolfy.” She was dressed like before in black with a hood that covered her face.

“Why do you do this?” he asked, expecting no real answer.

“Because I enjoy it, of course.” She smiled as she looked at Wolf. “I understand why Christine chose you.” (hey, I do.)

“I will never do anything for you. You can’t make me hurt her.”

“On the contrary, my little wolf, you killed her in your dreams, did you not?”

“Those were dreams, not reality.” He knew she must have been causing his nightmares, but he didn’t know how.

“But dreams are an exaggerated reflection of reality, Wolfy. With a little push, who knows what could happen?”

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I am the true master of the mirrors. Maybe you’ve heard of my apprentice, Marina.”

“Snow White’s stepmother? But you would be hundreds of years old."

“Actually, I’m 435 to be exact.” As she said this she removed her hood. “Do I look it?”

Wolf stared at the woman before him. His look was one of total shock. She couldn’t be that old. Her hair was raven black, and her eyes were a shade of green he’d never seen; that he couldn’t describe.

“Guess not,” she replied with a smile.

Virginia and Tony had walked for hours before they came to a small village. Tony watched his daughter. He couldn’t believe she was going to have a baby. He hadn’t meant to be so cold, it was just that he hadn’t expected it. He thought Wolf had been joking when he'd called him Grandpa. Hey it was Wolf! Tony just couldn’t shake the feeling that Virginia had ruined her life by marrying a guy that she'd just met about two months earlier. What if she had just married him because she was pregnant? He didn’t want her to throw away her life.

“Virginia, I think we need to talk.”

“How can you be 435 years old?” asked Wolf.

“Now, now Wolfy. Why should I give away all of my secrets?”

“Cripes! What does it matter? You’re just going to kill me soon anyway.”

She walked up to Wolf so that they were face to face and smiled. “Who said I was going to kill you right away? I’m having way to much fun.”