Relearning

[Alexandria Miers]

Alex opened her eyes from a dull, dreamless sleep. She was perfectly eager to get up and start doing things but she was still rather tired and she yawned sleepily and stretched in the bed she lay on. She immediately wished she hadn't as her ankle screamed out in pain. A nice stream of cuss words escaped Alex's lips as she immediately stopped trying to move. Once she had used up all the vocabulary she could think of and the pain had faded somewhat, Alex sat up to inspect her ankle. It was wrapped up in a cast, so it was probably broken. Given how much it hurt, this didn't surprise Alex in the least.

What did confuse Alex was why it was broken. What had happened to her ankle? Finally, the event slowly came back to her. Her publisher, or Evil Warlock as Alex called him, had once again forced her to attend a function, all decked out in annoying high heels and an uncomfortable dress. She'd been miserable the whole time but, upon the evil warlock's consistent nagging, she'd borne the whole miserable affair with a smile. Upon finally being released from the dreadful affair she was so happy she ran outside and immediately commenced to climb a tree. Alex was good at such things but... well, not in conforming dresses, and especially not in high heels. She had placed the odd shoe on the tree wrong, slipped, and fallen. She'd managed not to fall on her head but rather her feet. But her ankle had made the tell tale sickening crack of it breaking. The evil warlock had then rushed her to the hospital.

Alex finally looked around her at her surroundings upon this thought and confirmed that she was, in fact, in the dreaded home of the doctors. Joy. However, upon closer inspection, she saw something off about the room. There was somebody in it. Somebody who looked vaguely familiar... but, no. It couldn't be. She'd only ever seen it before in her imagination. So she must be dreaming, she concluded. "Odd, that pain felt pretty darn real to me." Alex muttered to herself before flopping back down on her pillow. After all, dream or not, her ankle hurt to much to actually get up and do something.

[Queen Victory]

Queen Victory had settled onto a chair beside Alexandria's bed reading her magazine - Woodland Weekly. Her perfectly manicured nails tapping against the glossy cover of the magazine as she impatiently waited for Alexandria to wake. Finally when the girl seemed to be showing signs of surfacing Queen Victory rose. Dropping the magazine down on the bedside table she moved over to the window and looked down. Pausing for the briefest of moments before calling down "Lulu, will you stop messing around and get up here. She is coming around and you know perfectly well that I hate people."

While whoever she had spoken to made no appearance yet, Queen Victory turned back into the room. She strode across the room and standing at the foot of the bed surveyed Alexandria with a superior air. She then spoke in a smooth well voiced manor, as though she had been taught to address people properly, but with coldness in her tone "you do not look like anything at all. If you are the saviour of our race then I might as well be writing my own eulogy to save time. As the outcome will be inevitable. But then you may surprise me. People have been known to do so. Like that dratted mirror - declaring someone else the fairest. I mean, please ... talk about a pathetic."

[Alexandria Miers]

Alexandria frowned slightly as she looked up at the woman who seemed all to familiar. Queen Victory. The villain in her book. Once again she reminded herself this was a dream. But the temptation to think it wasn't was so great. Alex had always loved the characters she created, even the villains. She used to go so far as to even pretend that they were real. But they weren't, she reminded herself rather sadly. This was all a dream.

So Alex remained laying down, not bothering to stand up or even sit up to talk to the woman. No, not woman, Alex corrected herself- fictional being. The idea occurred to her that, if this was all a dream, she might as well play. Of course, she couldn't do much with her throbbing ankle, but she could at least converse with Victory. But that would just get her hopes up, she decided. So, instead, she ignored the woman and, after an involuntary yawn escaped her, she commented, "Who knew you could be tired in a dream?"

[Queen Victory]

"Well no-one warned me you were going to be high on drugs or insane. This is not in my job description" Queen Victory declared with a roll of her eyes and a frown. She then continued as thought worrying slightly that Alexandria might need clarification "my job description states I must be beautiful at all times, be prone to fits of jealous rage, and be able to poison those I do not like. But as I am wasting my time being here with you, you might as well at least bother to communicate in something that resembles a sentence which makes sense."

It occurred too her that Alexandria might not be on drugs. She might in fact think that Queen Victory was not real. Now the idea that anyone would believe her to be a figment of their imagination was highly offensive to the vain Queen. So with a hard expression she declared "do not test my patients mortal, I do not want to waste my life on you."

[Alexandria Miers]

Despite Alex's best attempts to completely ignore the figure at the foot of her bed she couldn't completely tune out what she was saying and her lips curved up in the semblance of a smile when Victory described her job. It was an amusing one, and that was half the reason, but it also seemed exactly like something she would say. If Alex were to write out this encounter, she would have had Victory say just that. But then, that made sense since this was her own mind. All the same, the idea that Victory might be real kept nudging at her and it made her happier than it should have.

All the same, Alex fought off her smile. Getting her hopes up would get her no were. She would merely wind up with Evil Warlock forcing her to see a psychiatrist again. She'd had enough of that awful woman playing mind games with her. She was determined to keep her feet or, more accurately, her mind planted firmly in reality. No dream was going to change that. So she simply returned to ignoring Victory, not apparently hearing the threat she made. But she did, she merely didn't care. It was a dream and Victory a figment of her imagination. She could do nothing to her. Well, nothing so long as Alex continued to firmly ignore her, that is.

[Queen Victory]

Just as Victory was about to speak again she heard movement by the window. It sounded like her boyfriend was finally going to consent to join her. Maybe he could succeed in getting this girl to listen. Queen Victory considered all the reasons there were to persuade someone they were not dreaming. In the end she went with what always worked for her - physical violence. She moved round to Alexandria's side and sharply pinched her on the arm. Making sure she dug her nails in. Then she moved back to her position at the foot of the bed and spoke "ready to stop sulking and play nice yet?"

[Huntsman Logan]

"I think the better question is are you playing nicely V" Logan carefully commented as he knew whether they were dating or not he still had to tread cautiously with his girlfriend. He had climbed easily up to the window despite the fact it was several stories up and dropped through the open gap. Now brushing himself off in the hospital room. Striding over to stand beside Queen Victory he surveyed the girl before them. "So this is our Author. Well she certainly looks like an Author. But she does not look like the saviour of an entire race. Do you think perhaps the magic mirror made a mistake? I mean it has not been right ever since that spell you put on it which had that disastrous result. Potentially she is not our girl at all."

[Alexandria Miers]

"Hey!" Alex snapped, forgetting her resolution not to so much as speak to Victory when she was pinched. She wasn't generally one to just take that and she was about to try and hit her, in fact, but the movement of trying to sit up to do so hurt her ankle so much she gave up. With a wince she resisted the urge to start cussing again and carefully laid back down so as not to irritate it even more.

Alex then glared up at Victory though it looked rather pathetic since she couldn't so much as sit up without jostling her ankle and winding up hurting it. But she glared all the same, not remotely happy that her dream had stuck her with temptation... and pain, however that worked. However, she found that she had given up on not speaking to her for she now said rather irritably, "I am not sulking. I simply do not want to wind up back with the psychiatrist who insists that I am insane, and the more I let myself hope that this isn't a dream the more likely that is. So it's best not to talk to fictional people."

Alex turned her irritated gaze away from Victory when she heard someone speak at the window. If she had to venture a guess, it sounded like what she had always pictured Logan's voice to sound like. Sure enough, when Alex looked over, she found the kindhearted huntsmen that she'd put in her novel. She hesitated at his words, wondering. Both he and Victory kept saying things about her saving people. But that made no sense. Alex didn't save people. All she did was write. Finally, her curiousity gave way and she asked, "Fine, I'll bite. What the heck are you talking about?"

[Queen Victory]

Queen Victory was not happy. Her beautiful features were set in a small frown. However when she spoke it was with a cold indifference that bordered on boredom. "Well here we have a problem. Because you think that believing in us makes you insane but unless you finish your final book then you are going to be in trouble aren't you. Have you ever thought that you cannot finish your book because you think believing in us makes you insane." She found a certain satisfaction that she had persuaded Alexandria to break her silence.

Alexandria's second question was followed by silence. Queen Victory glanced at her boyfriend before moving across the room. She settled in the chair beside the bed once more. Picking up her magazine she began to read. As though she had no interest in taking any more part in this conversation. In a way it was true. She had lost any interest in talking to this girl. Queen Victory had deemed her beyond help and that was that. She was prone to judging people instantly - and completely.

[Huntsman Logan]

Logan realized at this point that it was up to him. So with a nervous smile he folded his muscular arms over his chest and looked down at Alexandria. Trying to come up with just what to say. He was not very good with words. So he was struggling. But he finally came up with some sort of speech "you never finished your last book. Do you remember what happened in the beginning of that book?" That was the best prompt he could come up with. He then added "assuming all yours books are real, which they must be considering I am standing here, then your last book is real as well. But the problem is ... it has no end."

[Alexandria Miers]

"Huh?" Was all Alex could say to Victory, not understanding what she was saying. For a moment she puzzled over it before informing her, though there really was no point since it would appear that Victory was now ignoring her, "Writing doesn't make me insane. Believing in what I write does. I've simply stopped writing because my muse has run out." This was a rare occurrence and it was the first time Alex had experienced it. But, for the first time in her career, she simply could not think of what to write.

Having given her pointless explanation, Alex turned her attention to Logan and nodded slightly. Of course she remembered what the beginning of her own novel was about. The end of the fairy tale world. But why would that- Oh. So they were saying that the fairytale world was falling apart in real life and she had to write them a happy ending. Except they weren't real. "So the moral of the dream is to keep writing," Alex said. "Alright, if I agree does this dream go away?" Alex wasn't sure why she bothered asking- the people in her dream surely couldn't answer that.

[Huntsman Logan]

"And they say I am not intelligent" Logan commented under his breath as Queen V continued to ignore them both "you seem to be some kind of delusional. But seriously this is not about writing anymore. You cannot just put pen to paper and expect it to make a difference. The fairy world has been left alone to long. There is too little left un-destroyed. Now were going to have to do something far more drastic. Your going to have to come with us to the FTALCR Head Quarters. As soon as possible."

[Alexandria Miers]

Alex frowned as she listened to him. Well, so much for dispelling the dream by agreeing to write. But she still wasn't willing to believe this. Not if it meant the stupid shrink again. So, after a moment of thought, she managed to think up several objections to the plan, all of which seemed perfectly legitimate to her, though she somehow doubted that Logan would accept any of them. "Just a few problems with that theory: One, my ankle is broken and I can't feasibly go anywhere. Two, what would I be able to do even if I could go? And three, this isn't real."

[Huntsman Logan]

"This is real, and we do not know what you would be able to do. We only know you are the answer. So you will just have to work it out. But the broken Ankle thing we can fix. If we can only get you back to the FTALC Headquarters, then the fairy girls can deal with your Ankle. You do remember creating the fairy girls right?" Logan replied dismissively as though it was obvious really which he thought it was.

[Alexandria Miers]

Alex had to admit that it was rather odd that the dream kept going even after she had acknowledged that ti was a dream. Normally that made you either wake up or switch dreams. Plus, the pain from her ankle and from Victory pinching her did seem very real. And she felt a smile fluttering on her lips at the thought of the fairies. She did want to see them- they had always been some of her favorite characters. "Of course I remember the fairies," She said in the same tone as Logan- as though it should be obvious. How could she not remember them?

Alex shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts. She couldn't afford to actually believe any of this. She shouldn't want to see the made-up characters, and play "save the world" like some five year old. So she objected, "But how ca this not be a dream? Plus, how am I supposed to do anything when I don't even know what I'm trying to do?! And, as I said, how am I going to get to FTALC Headquarters with a broken ankle?"

[Huntsman Logan]

"Well if you will not accept this is not a dream, then we are going to have to work with that" Logan replied with a shrug "you are going to have to accept it sooner or later. And as for how to get there? Well I just planned to carry you ..."

"I could just give her a potion" Victory suggested from behind her magazine.

"I am not going back to prison for anyone" Logan firmly replied with a shake of his head "you are not exactly known for your skills for healing - more destroying."

"I am sorry but can we not bring my different parenting style into this. Have you ever seen Snow White? A girl that pale was going to die anyway" Victory snapped clearly not appreciating that comment "I have skills, many skills, which extend beyond aiding young girls to their own doom."

Logan merely shook his head and turning back to Alexandria announced "we should get going."

[Alexandria Miers]

Alex had to resist the urge to laugh with amusement at their debate. However, when Logan turned back to her she shook her head adimently. "I am not going to be carried like some damsel in distress!" She objected vehemently. The idea of actually being carried anywhere by anyone did not seem remotely appealing to her, and not just because she didn't want to go. Actually, she was starting to decide that she would go. She still believed it was just a dream, so why not have fun in it? So long as the evil warlock didn't find out. But she was not going to be carried there!

[Huntsman Logan]

"Well that leaves one solution. We are going to have to call the faries here and that is an awful lot of work. Considering right now I think they are distracting your doctor. Emily mentioned she planned to take them down to do something like that" Logan replied slightly frustrated. He had a bad feeling about going and attempting to find the young faries. where ever they happened to be right now.

[Alexandria Miers]

Alex nodded slightly at this conclusion, deciding that it was good enough. Since she still believed this was all a dream she didn't see the danger in distracting the fairies from their quest of distracting the doctors. It might give the doctors a heart attack to see fictional beings in Alex's room, but it wouldn't matter since it was a dream. They would have a heart attack, and maybe die, but they'd still be perfectly fine when they woke up. So Alex announced, "Well, that's better than being carried, at least."

[Huntsman Logan]

"You know you are highly annoying" Logan informed her before swiveling around and disappearing out the door. He then headed down the corridor. Keeping his eyes out for people. Knowing he could not be seen. It would make things a whole lot harder if he was. It was with much relief he returned a short while later and joined then in the hospital room "right Queen V and I will headed out, and the girls will join you soon."

[Alexandria Miers]

Alex instinctively opened her mouth to make some clever retort to Logan's insult, but he was already gone. So she rolled her eyes and closed her mouth, deciding not to waist her breath when nobody was listening to her. Well, Victory might be though she was pretending not to, but Alex suspected that she wasn't. Anyways, if she was writing this, she wouldn't have her listening- she was to... well, stubborn, kind of. Or maybe she just stuck to her decisions and had already decided Alex wasn't worth her time. The latter seemed more likely. And so far both Victory and Logan seemed to be doing just about everything Alex expected them to do. But that made sense, seeing as how it was all in her head.

Alex was torn out of these thoughts by Logan's reappearance. She nodded slightly. "Fair enough," She agreed. But then she hesitated and asked, "Just out of curiosity, why do you and Victory have to leave for them to come?" Alex was more than willing to go along with this and just follow the flow of the dream, but she was curious as to why this was.

[Misty-Emily-Flix-Bobbie]

Flix was perfectly excited to finally get to meet the Author. Of course, she wanted to make a good first impression. And good, in her mind, meant a good prank of an entrance. So, as she approached the room, she wore a mischievous grin as she debated what she could do. Really, it was a pain that she couldn't use her magic...

Misty flew a little ways away from Flix. Her flight was rather erratic as though she wasn't really paying attention to were she was going... which she wasn't. She was wondering what Alexandria would be like and not paying the slightest bit of attention to her surroundings.

[Huntsman Logan]

Logan did not reply. Merely shrugged and strode over to the window. Climbing out he dropped down and disappeared. Victory gracefully rose and shot Alexandria a knowing, smug, smirk. She then turned and followed her boyfriend out of the window. It was best to be heading home before the fairies arrived. Alexandria would find out the reason for that all by herself. Soon enough as it was.

[Misty-Emily-Flix-Bobbie]

Just as Logan was leaving, Flix lead the way into the room. She automatically tried to make the door open with magic but, of course, that didn't work. So, instead, she flew threw the space between the door and the floor. She kept low down there to avoid being seen and only flew upwards when she was behind Alexandria. She then flew up to her ear and temporarily landed on it, taking the form of an incredibly small girl. She then shouted as loud as she possibly could, "BOO!" Flix then flew back a little, looking just like a small green light, before landing on the chair and taking on her miniature human form once again, out of Alexandria's reach... just in case.

Misty followed Flix in and dreamily flew over towards the Author. Not really focusing on her, she sat down on the bed, switching from a small blue light into a tiny girl. She began humming, apparently oblivious to what Flix had done and to the fact that she was meeting her Author for the first time.

[Misty-Emily-Flix-Bobbie]

A small blob of pink light floated into the room by the same route that Flix had entered. It darted through the air just liked a little lantern for a few moments. Before it finally settled on the bed side table and turned from particles of light into the miniature frame of a small girl. A small girl looking very stern "Flix if I have to warn you one more time about making loud noises when we are meant to be undercover."

A bright yellow light had followed the pink one and landed beside it. It too became a small girl but this one looked much happier. She smiled brightly and nodded "well this little darling looks such a treasure. Don't you think? Oh I did so hope that our Author was a lil darlin' but you never know. Sometimes they turn out to be right monsters. Like that human who tried to hoover Misty up when we were surveying the perimeter."

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