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"Why did you come to me." Trix said. It wasn't a question, Edmund knew that much.

"I..." he trailed off, unsure what to say. Edmund could see her in his mind. Maybe her arms were crossed, or maybe her hands were poised on her hips.

She had dragged him inside her castle, pushed him into a chair, and gone off for a full five minutes before returning. There was something in her hands, rattling with every step she took.

Edmund felt a drop of blood trickle down his cheek, forgetting until then that he had attacked Trix instead of the masked man, and she had clawed at his face to get him to let go.

He wondered what he looked like, disheveled and bleeding, scars marking his eyes, cloudy white irises.

"You?"

She was right in front of him. The shadows of his vision were darker right there. He heard something wooden opening.

"I didn't know where else to go." He mumbled, feeling a cloth wiping off his face.

He fell silent, allowed her to clean, and then bandage, the scratches on his face.

"So you came to me?" Trix finally spoke again. "The person you've been fighting with for almost a year now."

"Like I said... didn't know where else to go."

He heard her move away, close whatever container had the medical supplies in it.

"You ran a big risk, Edmund. I could have killed you on the spot. You're weak, disabled. You wouldn't be able to stop a punch, let alone a killing blow."

"But you didn't." He replied softly, rubbing his eyes. The feeling of the dips and curves of the scars were jarring. He hadn't tried to feel them before, and now that he had, he wondered just how disfigured he looked. "You could have, but you didn't."

"It's not as fun to fight when you can't defend yourself," was Trix's reply, but he thought there was something else, something below that.

Maybe he had been right, and their was some kind of connection between them. They had bonded, all through hurling weapons and hits at each other.

What were they even fighting for? Trix had never explicitly stated she was trying to take over the world, she had never actually showed anything.

Edmund started to wonder if they were fighting just to be near each other. He didn't know anybody else but Trix and the masked man in this world. Only her robots and stray animals in the trees, birds and squirrels.

Nobody but them lived in Dreamscape, the name they had given their world.

He was about to voice his thoughts when the floor beneath him shook.

"He's back," Trix said.

Edmund felt her hand on his, pulling him to his feet.

"I will tell you what to do, where to go, and when to swing." She continued. He felt her press something cold and metal into his palm.

He dragged one finger along it, recognizing one sharp end to a very thin piece of iron. A dagger. She had given him a dagger.

All Edmund could do was nod.

It seemed his enemy had become his ally. That was the strangest thing he would experience today, not even close.

-

Edmund opened his eyes, drowsy, when he heard the knocking again. He saw his mother unlock the front door, smiling at whoever was on the other side.

Slowly, he sat up. A midday nap on the couch might not have been the best idea, but it was Sunday, and they weren't doing anything except maybe late spring cleaning, even though it was well into summer.

"Come on in!" He heard his mother chirp.

In came the blonde girl from nextdoor, the one he had been seeing for the past few days.

"Edmund! Ed, come meet our new neighbor."

He got up, rubbing his eyes and reaching for his glasses. Once he had them on, he stopped dead.

"It's no worry, ma'am," the blonde girl was saying. "I don't mean to be a bother, but our power went out, and my father isn't the best with this kind of stuff. We could use some help."

Edmund recognized her voice. It was too dark in the living room, he couldn't see her eyes, but he noted sharp cheekbones, neat eyebrows, and a couple of ear piercings.

"Of course, dear." Edmund's mother called for his father.

The man came sliding down the stairs.

Before Edmund could even bring himself to speak, the blonde girl was gone again. And so was his bet chance at learning her name.

-

Stuff gets intense next chapter, but first, what do you think about this one?

It's amping up the story a bit, i hope?

What do you think is going to happen to Edmund, being blind, when the masked man comes? Do you trust Trix like he does?

Make sure to vote and comment your thoughts!

~Victoria

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