CHAPTER FOURTEEN - BATTLE AT THE CASTLE

The checkerboard floor stretches out as far as the eye can see, even for miles beyond the castle and the heart-shaped, glittering moat that surrounds it. That sparkling moat– I’d seen it before in my other dream of this place. What an eyesore! It reminds me of the sparkly dove Anton and I saw earlier, which gets me thinking…

“Anton?” I ask.

“What is it now?”

“Do you remember that dove we saw earlier? The one I chased after?”

“I do. What about it?”

“Magdalena seems to like glitter a lot. I mean, look, her castle has a sparkly moat! That dove was also sparkly. If she’s the one who’s created everything here, do you think that she made that dove to lead us to Maggie, who in turn led us here?”

“But of course, every event in this dream has been catered to lead us to her, like ants to sugar. Despite that, however, I think that no matter what actions we took– even if we’d stood completely still– the only outcome would have been Magdalena descending upon us with murderous intent. Her hatred is the only reason why we are here.”

“I guess you’re right. I think we should consider ourselves pretty lucky to have at least made it this far! We had a couple of close calls… but since we’re both alive and kicking despite it all, then we’ve got a pretty good chance of defeating Magdalena and waking up! Gee, I don’t even know why I let all her tough talking get me scared earlier! She doesn’t know who she’s dealing with!”

The corners of Anton’s lips curl into a smirk.

“See, this is exactly what I was trying to explain,” he says.

“You know, I also think that even though she put us through a lot of bullshit, at least we had some fun in this dream… I mean, we could’ve been stuck in an uglier or more boring dream, like being trapped in your old school again, or–” I begin to say, but my voice trails off as he shakes his head.

I look around, and realize the bubble we are in is nearly touching the ground. We are standing at the gates of the castle grounds, and as it bursts we stand up, assuming defensive stances. Magdalena is before us, smiling maniacally.

“Isn’t this place beautiful?” Her grin grows wider and more bloodthirsty, “I made it myself, you know! Surely the journey was worth it; I think it’s a very scenic place to lay down and DIE!”

“The only one that will be dying here is you, lady!” I shout defiantly, “Anton and I have made it through all your stupid trials so far, so what’s one more?”

She narrows her eyes and puts her hands on her hips, her grin fading.

“You’re certainly a tough egg to crack, aren’t you? So headstrong, even after everything you’ve been through– That I put you through! You know, it’s a shame we’re enemies, Hong. I really could use someone as scrappy as you to do my bidding! We’d be a team; we’d get so much done together! We’d rule the world! And I wouldn’t pester you about silly things like ‘respect’. I wouldn’t–”

“Me? Do your bidding? You’re crazy! Who the hell do you think I am?!” I exclaim, extremely offended and a bit taken aback by her offer, “I’m loyal only to Anton and no one else! Anyone who’s enemies with Anton is MY enemy too, which is why you’re going down! We’re going to wake up no matter what, even if that involves burning you to ashes!”

“Burning me to ashes, huh?” Her grin slowly returns, the look in her eyes darker this time, “Don’t make me laugh, chicken boy. You’d be dead if not for your Prince Charming over here, saving your skin all the time!”

She looks towards Anton, who has been silently observing our argument the entire time with a very serious expression on his face.

“And look at him now! He’s just standing there like an idiot!” She turns her gaze back towards me, “Not even bothering to defend you OR himself! Let me guess, he’ll sit back and watch you wear yourself out trying to fight me? He’s the whole reason you’ve gotten tangled up in this mess, and he hasn’t even done so much as to lift a finger to get you out of it!”

“I have remained silent, not from cowardice, but because there is no use arguing with someone as detached from reality as you, Margaret.” Anton interrupts, finally breaking his silence, “And you’ve had nothing of value to say, anyway. Hong is much more intelligent than you give them credit for. They are not an idiot, nor a child— the only two demographics whom your words would be able to sway.”

“I told you my name is Magdalena! I haven’t gone by Margaret in years!” She sneers, conjuring blue magic from her fingertips, “Anyway, you made an excellent point. I think I like you better when you’re silent!”

With a flick of her hands in his direction, he’s turned to stone before my very eyes!

“ANTON!” I yelp, grabbing his arm. He is unmoving and unreacting; a true statue.

I shout his name over and over, to no avail. I wrap my arms around him tightly, pressing my head against his shoulder as I begin to weep. Our plans were in vain, and I don’t know what to do without him. Can I really defeat Magdalena on my own?

“This is your real life on the line, Hong,” she replies, “If you take my side, you will wake up possessing some of the strongest dream magic. I will bestow my powers upon you! If not… Well, let’s just say your demise won’t be pretty. I’m giving you one final chance, and you’re stupid to not take it! Anton was doomed from the very start. Trying to save him now is useless!”

“NO IT’S NOT!” Tears begin to flow freely from my eyes in anger, “IT’S NOT!”

“Did you not see the way he was just standing there? He didn’t even want to save himself! I’m only doing him a favor; now he can stand there and do nothing forever!”

If I wasn’t holding onto Anton, I would have collapsed to my knees. I feel physically ill with despair as his name escapes my lips once more, very weakly, between sobs.

“Don’t try to be a hero, Hong,” Magdalena says in a cool tone as she steps towards me, “Those days are over now.”

I cling to the statue harder, still sobbing. The stone feels cool against my face, which is burning up with an all too familiar rage. I can feel her getting close; too close. I sniffle, and wipe my face with the back of my hand. My heart is pounding so loudly that it is all I can hear.

“Stay away from me,” I whisper through grit teeth and quivering lips as smoke begins to rise from my fingertips, “Stay away from me or I’ll kill you.”

“So I see you’ve made your decision,” she replies, “I’d like to see you try!”

I let go of Anton, my hands now fully engulfed in red flames. I lunge at her, but she leaps away and I land flat on my face. The fire that I had summoned escaped my fingertips, scorching the ground in front of me briefly. I quickly roll over onto my back as bolts of blue lightning whizz past my head and spark as they hit the ground. I leap to my feet, conjuring more flames with my hands.

I lunge at her again. This time she’s unprepared and I tackle her to the ground. An incredible feat, considering the fact she’s larger than me.

“G-GET OFF OF ME, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!” she shrieks, writhing about, “IT WASN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN LIKE THIS!!”

My blood is boiling at this point, and my vision is all red with anger and adrenaline. All I can think about is Anton, and everything that was left behind in the waking world. It doesn’t even matter to me anymore; waking up, dying, Anton being turned to stone. All that’s on my mind is revenge. I wouldn’t consider myself a vengeful person, or even a violent person. I don’t like hurting people, and I certainly have never thought about killing someone before. But it’s all I can think about right now. Getting revenge for Anton— Getting revenge for this goddamn dream Magdalena’s put me in!

Her awful strangled screaming snaps me out of my thoughts. My trembling, fiery hands are wrapped around her throat, and I can feel her skin charring from the flames. I can’t stand to hear her voice!

“SHUT UP!” I shriek as my hands tighten, my arms spasming from the force I’m exerting, “SHUT UP!!!!”

With each second, I can feel myself getting angrier and angrier as each misfortunate event that had happened in this dream plays in my mind. As this happens, an excruciating pain starts to worm its way through my chest and escapes into my entire body. All my nerves are burning, and as I look down at my hands I find they’re covered in pure white light as is the rest of my body.

I stand up shakily, my heart nearly pounding out my chest. Magdalena is covered in flames, her lifeless body charred nearly beyond recognition. I’m disgusted at the sight and smell of her burning skin and clothes, and I nearly puke. I stagger backwards, a tear rolls down my cheek and dissolves with a sizzling sound. Unsure of what to do, I stumble zombie-like towards the castle to look at my reflection in its sparkling moat. Through the glitter, a hideous, distorted mockery of a person made of fire stares back at me with bloodshot black eyes and a foaming mouth.

“Th-That’s not me,” I utter to myself, my voice hoarse as I tug on my face in a futile attempt to tear it off like a mask, “That’s not me. That’s not me.”

I fall to my knees, not convinced at all by these words. I cry and cry, but the tears evaporate before they can leave my eyes. I was only trying to defend Anton, I think to myself, suppressing the urge to vomit, What else was I supposed to do? Magdalena would’ve done the same to me if I hadn’t defended myself.

After laying on the cool marble ground for what feels like hours stewing in guilt, I hear the click of a pair of high heels approach me. I weakly raise my head towards the source of the noise.

“You made good on your promise,” Magdalena says matter-of-factly as she grabs the back of my head and pulls me away from the water by the roots of my hair, “You burnt me to ashes. How noble of you.”

I can tell the skin on her hand is burning as she drags me to the Anton statue, but she doesn’t seem to care.

“I thought I killed you,” I whisper in a weak voice.

She drops me to the ground, and her damaged skin begins to glitter and heal itself. She shakes her hand a few times and places it upon her hip.

“I made a clone of myself; you weren’t supposed to be able to kill it that easily. Maybe it was defective like Maggie…” She looks me over as I rise to my feet slowly, “You look strange. Like your anger has consumed you.”

I walk towards her slowly, and she takes a step back.

“Ooh, you wanna go again?! Are you sure you have the energy for round two? Not too psychologically damaged yet? Because if you somehow manage to defeat me, then you’re killing the REAL me, not a clone like last time! Not like that’ll happen, though~ You just got lucky last time!”

“I don’t want to have to kill you. What I really want is for Anton to be okay, and I want us to be able to wake up and return to our normal lives,” I mutter, “That shouldn’t be too much to ask for, but you’re too hung up on getting revenge and you don’t care about anyone but yourself. That’s what I’ve figured out about you.”

“You haven’t figured anything out about me!” Her voice changes into something defensive and she is no longer jovial.

“I’ve figured out that you’re hurt, deep inside, and you’re angry at the whole world. You want everyone to feel the same pain you do,” I continue, “You’re mad at everyone and everything, not just Anton. He’s your scapegoat, and killing him won’t fill the empty void in your chest where your heart’s supposed to be.”

“You don’t even know what he did to me! You know NOTHING about me!”

“I don’t need to know what he did. And I know everything about you. You don’t have to talk anymore. All the things I’ve said are true because you reveal them with your actions.”

“SH-SHUT UP!” She screams, dark storm clouds forming all around her as she grows angrier, “WHY CAN’T YOU DIE ALREADY?!”

I can hear thunder booming in the distance as those same storm clouds begin to fill the sky. Magdalena is lifted into the air by the clouds beneath her feet, and I take out my feathers and follow her into the heavens. The static in the air is making my hair stand on end.

“A BATTLE IN THE SKY?” I shout through the wind, “PRETTY CINEMATIC, BUT I’M IN MY ELEMENT NOW! THERE’S NO STOPPING ME!”

“HMPH. I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT,” She yells back, “YOU MAY BE ABLE TO FLY THROUGH STRONG WINDS, BUT WE’LL SEE IF YOU’RE ABLE TO SURVIVE A LIGHTNING STORM! HAHAHA!!!”

Just as those words leave her mouth, she summons a huge blue lightning bolt and throws it in my direction, just narrowly missing! This reminds me of when I fought that dragon… I have to be careful! I can’t afford to get hurt again since Anton and Maggie aren’t here to heal me. This is the real deal this time!

I fly a huge circle around Magdalena as she continues to throw lightning at me. She misses every time; I’m way too fast for her!

“KINDA HARD TO HIT A MOVING TARGET, HUH?!” I exclaim victoriously, revelling in her frustrated expression.

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!” Is all she can say in response.

I stick my tongue out at her defiantly as I begin to think of a plan to defeat her (for real this time)! With all the storm clouds that surround her, I know it’s too risky to get too close. I have to keep my distance! And those clouds also seem to be forming a shield around her, too, as they rotate around her. I briefly look at the ground beneath us, and to my shock it’s turned into a bottomless void! The pieces are all connecting now! That’s the bottomless pit that this dream always ends in! The dream I’d been having truly was Magdalena’s this entire time!

I look back towards Magdalena and begin to summon some fire from my hands, but just as I do, it begins to rain. Damnit! Of course she’d pull something like that!

“IT’S RAINING, IT’S POURING~” She sings obnoxiously as her makeup begins to run, “LOOK, NOW YOU’RE ALL POWERLESS! HAHAHA!!”

“NOT AT ALL! I’VE GOT A FEW TRICKS UP MY SLEEVE!”

Which is a lie, I honestly have no clue what I’m going to do now! I don’t think she believes my lie, but I can’t admit she’s got me cornered! I can’t give up yet… Even when the odds are stacked against me. The odds have been stacked against me before, and I’ve made the best of them regardless. If I’ve already narrowly escaped death once, who’s to say I can’t do it again?!

As I look at the clouds surrounding Magdalena, avoiding each lightning bolt she throws at me, I realize that the only thing keeping her in the air is the one little cloud beneath her feet. A wily plot enters my brain— one that Anton would probably call “birdbrained” and caution me against doing— but at this point it’s my only hope. I fly towards her at breakneck speed, which catches her off guard. She clumsily throws her lightning bolts at me, but I’m undeterred.

“WHAT ARE YOU—??!” She has no time to react as I careen into the cloud beneath her feet.

It dissipates, and she falls backwards into the pit beneath us, but not before she’s able to throw one last lightning bolt that hits me square in the forehead.