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It was afternoon by the time Edmund saw the blonde girl again.

The day felt more like summer, the sun high and ripe, the sky as blue as blue could be, not a single cloud in sight.

There was a nice breeze sweeping through the town, promising that summer would never end.

But it would. In just over a month, it was town for school again. Edmund wondered if the blonde girl next door would go to school with him.

She was on the porch, sitting on the swing and reading a worn paperback book, deeply entranced in the story.

The dark-haired man appeared at the door. The inside one was open, the screen one was closed, allowed in the nice weather while also blocking out bugs. Edmund's mother was doing the same, though they didn't as good a breeze as next door probably did.

That house faced the wind, Edmund's was halfway turned from it. The only room that got the air was his bedroom upstairs.

He blinked his eyes, realizing he had gotten caught in his thoughts.

The man was saying something. The girl didn't even look up from her book as she nodded at him. After a moment, the man disappeared back inside.

Edmund could see his shadow in the back left window. That was probably where they kitchen was. His kitchen was on the back right. Maybe their houses were mirror images. If so, then the room he had first seen the blonde girl in was a bedroom, connected to a bathroom just behind it.

In fact, he could know the entire layout of that house, including how far from the corner the back door was and the distance from the window in the dining room to the fireplace in the den.

He watched the blonde girl, as entranced by her as she was with her book. He wondered what her name was. Something unique, something beautiful, like.. Astrid. Or, Marionette. Maybe it was something simple but sweet: Jane, Sarah, or Maria.

Whatever it was, he bet it matched her perfectly.

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Edmund stumbled through the trees, lurching from trunk to trunk. Everything was blurry, but he wasn't sure why.

All he could see where fuzzy shapes and colors. But he could feel the rough bark of the trees around him. He could sense the shadows and the shafts of light that broke through the roof of the forest.

He could also hear. Somewhere, not too far off, he could hear the soft song of someone humming. A person. It had to be.

Or maybe it was an Imitator. Maybe he was being drawn in by a horrible beast that wished to devour his soul and he couldn't even see where he was.

But Edmund beat down those thoughts. He needed help. Trix was the most powerful person he knew, second to the strange masked person now. Had their constant battle been enough to make them bond? Was it enough to warrant her help?

He continued to stumble forward. The sound of a stick breaking echoed around him, and the humming cut out, replaced by robotic clicking and whirring.

Realization struck Edmund like lightning. The only robots in this land were Trix's minions.

"Hello!" He called, hoping to draw the beeps and clicking towards him. "It's me, Edmund! Take me to Trix, please!"

The mechanical noises grew closer until he could hear the sound of wheels on the dirt beneath him.

He felt waves of cold air wafting past him, front only a few feet ahead of his hands.

Then, he felt cool metal clasp down on his arms, raising him above its head, and speeding through the trees.

Misty air became thick clouds and frigid wind.

Edmund could hear the soft heat of the mountain's heart deep beneath him. They were here. Trix was near. He felt hope, but it twisted in his gut as he was swung up smooth marble stairs.

He knew where he was, even if he couldn't see it now. The number of times he had dashed up these stairs to find Trix only moments away from awakening the old giant she had turned into her home base had provided him a familiar sense of his surroundings.

The big quartz doors swung open, illuminating the dark stone room with a soft silver light.

"Bring him to me," Edmund heard Trix's voice command. He was pushed forward by the robot behind him, hearing its wheels whir on the smooth floor.

He was thrown down, his hands landing on in the bottom of the staircase that lead to her throne. Three or four steps, he was pretty sure, was how far he was from Trix.

"Trix?" Edmund asked, bowing his head slightly.

Her voice came from right beside him, her lips brushing his left ear. "What do you want now?"

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And now we meet Trix!

She's a great character, i love her, and i can't wait for y'all to see more of her!

I know it was kind of a slow chapter, but it speeds up soon, i promise!

What do you think is going to happen next?

Don't forget to vote, and make sure you comment what you think of the story so far!

~Victoria

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