Alexis and the Puffballs chapter 3

Alexis lay there in a swamp of her own tears for nearly a quarter of an hour. When fourteen years of tears finally dried up, she lay there, pathetic and silent, until dinner. When her mom called for her and her siblings to come eat, she still didn't move. Her mom called again, and when she didn't answer, threatened to come in and drag her out. Alexis hurriedly stood up, but not to come out and eat. She felt she could never eat again. Instead she walked over to the window.

Opening it as quietly as she could and breathing deep, she cried one last tear. She watched it fall until it disappeared. She bit her lip. Get me out of here! She called again with her mind, with all the strength she could muster. Her head throbbed.

She looked down again, and could barely see the dark, wet spot the tear had made on the concrete below. She smiled softly. There was only one way she could free herself. She slowly turned around. She heard her mom start coming down the hall to her room. She sat on the windowsill. The footsteps came closer. She smiled again, wider this time, and tipped backwards. The doorknob turned. She closed her eyes and fell out the window just as she heard the door open.

Her mom's scream echoed in a surreal way down to Alexis. She was falling so fast, it took her breath away, just a couple seconds earlier than she had expected it to go.

Or maybe five. Ten.

How long did it take to fall fifty feet? She waited for the impact with the driveway. It never came. She opened her eyes. She saw nothing unusual, just blue sky. Was she dead already? Was she free? Her eyes watered. It then registered that the wind was no longer blowing from underneath, it was whipping her in the face. That wasn't right. She looked to the side, just in time to see her mom reaching to her from her window. "Alexis!!" She screamed, tears streaming down her face. Alexis looked up again. "Let her go!!" her mom screamed again.

Huh? Her mom wasn't talking to her, was she? A gunshot sounded, her dad. She heard her siblings yelling. Why were they shooting at her?

Up, up they continued. It finally occurred to Alexis to wonder how she was falling up. She carefully craned her neck around, and saw several Giant Puffballs supporting her neck, hed, torso and legs. Her feet were dangling.

Alexis pinched herself. If this was a dream, she wanted out of it before it made her hurt again. She pinched again, harder, then with her nails. She didn't wake up. They sped through the first cloud, and a very wet, cold Alexis on the other side finally decided that this couldn't be any kind of dream she would have.

More upping. And more, and more, for about fifteen minutes. Alexis wondered why they weren't stopping.

"H-hello? Sh-sh-shouldn't we st-top?"

Of course, the Puffballs didn't answer. They just continued farther up.

Miraculously, Alexis fell asleep.

Ten minutes later, she woke up to a dark, cold sky. Night already? No, that wasn't right, she couldn't have slept for that long! Not up here! What were the puffballs going to do? Suck her into outer space and kill her? She bit her lip and tried not to cry.

Still up.

I am going to die!

You will not die.

What?

You will not die.

Well, that stunned her into complete silence. She wasn't talking to herself, was she? Her going crazy would certainly explain a lot....they whumphed through another cloud. Wet, again, and freezing cold.

Suddenly, all went completely dark. The cold was so intense it burned, and she couldn't get any kind of breath. They had taken her to outer space! She closed her eyes and waited for inevitable death...

Thump.

Had she finally woken up? Was she free from this dream? She wished so. Or was she in heaven? She carefully opened her eyes to see a softly lit, warm room paved entirely of rough-looking stone.

Was she actually in heaven?

No. She didn't think so. If she was in heaven, she would be in a white robe, not sitting here wet, cold, and very confused.

She stood up. It seemed slightly difficult, since the water from the last cloud had frozen quite solidly and abrubtly shattered when she straightened out. Minuscule crystals of ice scattered everywhere and quickly melted and collected together into a large puddle in the center of the room. All of a sudden, whispers echoed through the room she was in, confused, excited, awestruck voices that communicated a large number of messages, all referring to the same basic thing:

"She's back!"

"Could it be?"

"So long...."

"She was so miserable down there!"

On and on and on. Alexis's head spun. She stumbled over to the water, in desperate need of a drink. She looked down, and jumped back with a shriek. Abruptly the whispering stopped.

Breathing hard, Alexis looked around. Nothing. She must be going nutso. What other explanation is there? She took a deep breath and walked back over to the pool of liquid. She leaned over the unnaturally still surface. Her breath caught and she froze, staring in silence at the man on the other side of the reflection. She turned around. Nothing, again. Gradually she started to quiver, and she splashed her face into the water, hoping the icy coldness would wake her up enough to think about what she was seeing.

She felt nothing. Not even her head hitting the floor. In fact, she could swear she felt a slight breeze. Had she plunged through the puddle? Was there another side?

Hello, Alexis.

She jerked her head back, flailing to regain her balance instead landing hard on her bottom.

Alexis' head was whirling. She was positive she wasn't going crazy, someone was definitely talking to her. But who?

If her head went through the puddle, maybe the rest of her would, too. Should she, though? It seemed kind fo scary, and more than just kind of stupid to go jumping into puddles that might lead to another place she had no idea where was. Well, she guessed if she didn't, she would be stuck in this room until she starved to death. Taking another deep breath, she jumped into the puddle.

She found herself sliding along another floor, this one smooth and slippery. And cold. She lay there for a moment, recovering from the shock of the gravity transition.

You have returned at last.

Alexa snapped her head up. That voice again! She looked around. There was one person in the room with her, and he was looking at her with the most intense gaze...wow, his eyes were the brightest green she had ever seen.

"C-can you hea-h-ear that voice?"

This seemed to startle the man. At the sound of her voice his eyes grew wide and seemed to glow brighter. He took a step back, his dark brown hair shifting slightly.

You speak aloud?

Duh, she imagined herself saying to that darned voice. She opened her mouth to speak again, but the voice intruded on her thoughts again.

Why do you do this, instead of–

Alexis broke in, sitting up tall and covering her ears. Shut up! I hate this voice in my head! Get out! I am trying to figure out what's going on! I'm trying to figure out who this guy is!

The man looked startled again for a moment, then relaxed. He smiled softly

He had dimples!

Of course, dearest Majesty. I will retreat. But I warn you, I am the only one who can give you any information about what's happening, and I am the only one who can tell you who I am....

She gaped at the man in front of her. Was he the one talking to her through her thoughts? It was definitely better than going insane, but she didn't like the idea of this man, no matter how extremely good looking, intruding into her mind. She hesitated, then spoke.

Can you hear me?

Yes, your most gracious Majesty.

Okay, now that we've established that, what–

Alexis was interrupted, this time by a sudden pain at the back of her head. She winced and instantly the man was on his feet.

Is there something wrong, Majesty?

Alexis scowled at the man, rubbing the nape of her neck.

I think you're giving me a headache.

The man relaxed again and sat back down.

I am not the one causing pain, Majesty. It is quite apparent that you have not practiced mind-speaking in many years.

Mind-speaking? As far as I know, I have never mind-spoke—mind-spoken? How would you say that?

Mind-spoken, came the humor-edged reply. And it would make sense for you not to remember. I wouldn't expect you to—Majesty.

Another thing–more headache, growing gradually all the time–what's with this ‘majesty' stuff?

The man looked at her again. His eyes almost seemed darker, probably the light. But the walls seemed to light themselves, there didn't seem to be a specific light source. The whole room seemed evenly lit. Weird.

Alexis–you don't mind me calling you that, do you?

Rather that than Majesty.

Alright. Alexis, I should probably start at the beginning, or nothing will make sense.

That's always a good place, Alexis replied sarcastically.

The man looked at her, this time with a bit of annoyance in his gaze.

You are heir to the throne of this kingdom.

Come again?

You are a princess, and the one true heir to this throne.

Alexis blinked stupidly.

Yes, it probably comes as a surprise–

A surprise? You think this is just a surprise? This day has been the strangest ever. I get carried away by a bunch of fluff and end up in a room just off the edge of the atmosphere, then I find out I'm a princess...

Sorry, Majesty–Alexis.

Alexis glared at him.

Sorry doesn't cut it. I am exhausted, and–

Her stomach growled.

And I haven't had anything to eat in, like, forever! I am cold and wet, and don't know anything about what's going on, and–

She looked at him hard.

If you are so willing to take the blame and say sorry for all of this, and I really am supposed to be such a powerful person as a princess, maybe I will just have to punish you. It would certainly make me feel better.... she trailed off, with a migraine coming on fast.

The guy looked at her, this time with unmistakable sadness. His eyes almost looked black. Her own vision was darkening. She almost didn't feel herself hit the ground.