-

Edmund had never felt as tense as he was at that exact moment.

Trix's hand held his wrist gently, letting go after a few moments, knowing he wouldn't move.

"Fix him." He heard her say.

Below, he heard the voice of the masked man. "I am unable to fix what is not broken."

Edmund heard him squeak, then Trix speak again, "I'll break your other ankle, too, if I have to. Fix him."

The masked man grunted. Edmund felt one hand close around his ankle. Against all instinct, he stayed perfectly still.

Very, very slowly, he realized that the blackness that was his vision was lightening, becoming more gray. He looked around. Gray became color, and color became shapes. Shapes became people.

Edmund didn't know what he was expecting. All he knew of Trix were her eyes, sharp cloudy sky blue.

Her hood had slipped off during that fight. Blood dripped down her forehead, down her cheekbone. And her hair, it was startling.

Pale, pale blonde, soft peachy skin.

She glanced over. "What are you staring at?"

Edmund shook his head, tearing his eyes away. He focused, instead, on the masked man. Only, he wasn't masked anymore.

It rode up to his nose. After a moment of thought, Edmund tore the mask off.

The man had very dark hair, dark, dark brown eyes. His jawline was something Edmund rivaled. But he realized that the man was actually a man. He wasn't as young as Edmund had begun to think.

He had to be in his late thirties, early forties, maybe.

"You're a rat." The man spat. "You know that, Beatrix? A horrible, filthy rat. Betraying your own father."

Trix only shrugged. "You shouldn't have pitted me against you, then."

Edmund shuffled a few steps back. Father? He looked from Trix to the man, back and forth. They didn't look alike. Maybe their noses were kind of similar. They both had very big eyes and sharp features.

Beatrix? He focused back on Trix. "Your name is Beatrix?"

"Did you think it was just Trix?"

"Kind of..."

She shook her head, opening her mouth to reply, but all he heard was a rumble so loud it shook the floor beneath him.

"What?" He asked.

The man opened his mouth this time, the same rumble.

"Wake up, Edmund." Trix said. "It's time to wake up."

-

Edmund bolted up on the couch from a third thunder strike. He blinked a few times, rubbed his eyes, then felt around for his glasses.

A flash of light, a few seconds later, thunder.

He got up, rummaging around the dark living room until he found the wall, then dragged his fingers along until he hit the window sill.

Edmund moved the curtains, looking outside.

The sky was dark and quiet, except for another flash of lightning and the thunder that followed afterwards.

Rain was coming. Rain! He had been aching for rain since the start of summer.

And then he saw a flash of pale against the dark grass nextdoor.

The blonde girl. She was sitting on her lawn, head tilted upwards, eyes closed. In her hands, a book. The pages were flipping wildly from the wind.

He had to go out there. He didn't know if there was any other chance before the start of school next week that he'd get to talk to her.

Edmund ran to the door, flinging it open and rushing outside.

He trailed to the fence, stopping when he made it there, and took a deep breath.

"Hey!" He called out.

The blonde girl opened her eyes, looking over at him.

Edmund waved.

She rose to her feet, closing her book and coming over.

"Hi." Edmund said, a friendly smile on his face.

"Hello." The blonde girl replied. He recognized her voice. More than her coming by earlier, something deeper. Something ingrained in his mind.

"You just moved here, right?" He asked, earning a nod. "Are you going to school next week?" Another nod.

He reached over the fence, holding out his hand. "I'm Edmund."

"I know."

He stepped back, surprised. "You do? What's your name."

"Beatrix."

Edmund was stunned into silence. "It's nice to meet you Beatrix."

"It's nice to meet you, too." She smiled. "Please, call me Trix. Only my father calls me Bee."

He nodded slightly, shaking her hand.

When she pulled away, he took a glance at her face. He could see her eyes, finally. Cloudy sky blue.

"Bee!" They both turned to the man's voice. He was standing on the porch, waving at them. "Come inside, it's going to storm."

Edmund's mouth fell open. Dark hair, dark eyes. The Masked Man.

He looked back at Beatrix. At Trix.

She was already looking at him, though, a wide, wild smile on her face.

"Took you long enough." She said.

Edmund didn't know how to react. He didn't know what to say.

"Give me a moment." She turned towards her house, yelling back at her father. "I'll be in in a minute!"

He waved at them, and went back inside. Edmund noticed he had a limp.

Trix focused back on Edmund. "Where were we? Ah, right. I broke his ankle, you got your sight back. I think you saw my face for the first time."

Edmund nodded slightly, gaping. "You... you know my..."

"Dreams?" She tilted her head to one side. He was captivated by her eyes. "Who ever said they were only dreams."

He stared. That's all he could do.

"Get to sleep early tonight. I have a feeling something else is on its way." Was the last thing she said to him that day.

A flash of lightning and a crack of thunder sent both of them sprawling for inside.

Edmund stopped on his porch, as did Trix on hers.

She waved.

Just as both doors closed, the clouds let open. It rained for the rest of the day, long into the night.

But it didn't matter for the two of them. They were in another world entirely.

-

GASP!

Could it be?

Unanswered questions?
How does she know?
Who is she?
IS THIS A DREAM IN A DREAM?

Probably not, i haven't thought that far.

But! That leaves room for sequels, doesn't it?

Hm. I dunno, i'm pretty bad about staying on top of writing stuff, so...

Maybe!

What did you think? Did i end it too early? Did i leave something unanswered that you wanted to know so badly you're going to die if you don't learn the answer? Am i asking too many questions?

Make sure to vote, and leave your thoughts in the comments!

I hope you enjoyed, because that is a wrap on See No Evil!...

...

...

...for now...

~Victoria

-