Everything was slow and hazy, like walking in a fog with no sense of direction. Even as I opened my eyes, I thought I was still in the mist and no escape route presented itself clearly.

Then, slowly, the colours came to me. The ceiling was the colour of ivory, there was a gentle warmth of sunlight, casted from the windows, and a breeze fluttered through the air, and I felt the hair around my forehead shift.

I moved my hand, the bedsheet against my bare skin was soft like cotton.

I turned my head, and what I saw next made me jump.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Marty said, looking guilt-ridden. He came close and carefully sat down at the edge of the bed. "Are you feeling better?"

"Marty?" I strained my back. I wanted to sit up, but a sudden strike of pain forced a groan from my throat.

"Does it pain you?" Marty got up from the bed. "The healers have healed you. Your pain should be better..."

"I feel so much better-"

For some reason, that made him angry, and the slight narrow in his usually gentle gaze confirmed it.

"You're not!" He said, raising his voice.

I stared quietly at him, and his expression slowly loosened.

"Sorry. You... really scared me. You looked dead when I found you."

I closed my eyes as a throbbing headache threatened to surface. "I'm alive, though. I want to know what happened."

He slowly sat down on the bed again, with a more rigid stance than before. I wanted to chuckle at his cautiousness, and at the same time, touched by the small, subtle gesture to do his best to minimise my pain – even if it was by a little.

"You must know?"

"Absolutely. Must." I winced.

He sighed, "if it brings you peace, then. Ted and Will came to find me after they sent you off. I searched around the forest where the Mirror Palace was located. Normally there would be staff here during the Mirror Palace Challenge Season, but this was not in season! You can imagine how shocked I was to hear that you were there."

I licked my dry lips and Marty noticed. He got up and poured a cup of tea. "Eventually, I did find you. You looked terrible."

I briefly imagined how I terrible I looked, but it must have been bad, given Marty's expression. And why would Ted and Will go look for Marty? Marty wasn't even our troop leader.

"I carried you to the nearest medical centre," he reached out his hand, adjusting the pillows as I made an effort to sit up. I winced, cupping my hands around the cup. "Healers are understaffed. They'll rest up and come heal you later."

I sipped carefully, "thank you so much, Marty. I didn't know what would have happened if no one found me. It's terrifying to imagine."

"It's all over now," he gave me a smile. "Kristen's here too."

I raised my brows in surprise.

"She had watched over you the whole time. The person you should really be thanking is her."

There was a knock on the door that drew both of our attention. "That must be Kristen," Marty got up, looking at me with a grin. "I'll let Ted and Will know you're alright."

"You're leaving?" I blurted and then closed my mouth. "I mean, of course, you can leave... you've done so much for me already. I wasn't asking for more, I swear."

Marty chuckled, "if you did, I assure you I will do my best."

He opened the door to reveal Kristen standing at the door. I stared with weary eyes as the two exchanged a few words before Marty left.

Kristen closed the door and sat down next to me. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," I smiled, "just tired."

She nodded, "I'll leave you to rest. I'll come back when the healers have healed you, alright?"

"Does my parents know?" I asked quickly. "Don't tell them."

Kristen gave me a knowing smile, "they don't know. As you know injuries are so common, the school usually notifies when the situation is serious and... the patient normally doesn't come to."

I stiffly placed my tea down, "y-yeah."

Kristen gave a gentle squeeze on my shoulder and helped me lay down on my back before she went away.

After all that has happened, I still thought of it as a dream. Except, these wounds were real and the pain... it hurt like hell.

Tracy.

We'll never be on good terms again, I thought. But when Marty's dark eyes and comforting words surfaced in my mind, Tracy's scowl and threat were thrown behind me. Marty was caring and kind, and I couldn't help but...

I blushed and covered the bed sheets over my head.

***

My sleep had mostly been peaceful, except I awoke from a nightmare. It felt distant, and the moment I opened my eyes – panting and sweating – I had forgotten what it was.

I sat up, a sudden chill that embracing me.

I sighed and sat up. The sudden coldness that I thought didn't exist embraced me tightly. I had no headache and no pain in my wound. The healers had healed me!

I let out a deep sigh of relief. Despite it, my body felt heavy and I was still exhausted. There was a click and turn of a knob.

"Who's there!" I asked in the dark.

The light flickered on, and Kristen was staring at me warily. "Did I wake you?"

"I'm sorry," I apologised, sighing in relief. "I've been tense."

"I can understand. That place is horrible." Kristen admitted. She placed a stool by my bed and flopped down.

"You've been there too?"

Kristen pulled up her long sleeve, and twirling on her upper arm, near her elbow, was a crest in the colour of rosé. "Everyone gets a Mirror Crest if they've been there and completed the challenge set for you."

I pulled up my own sleeve and gasped. The crest was the colour of ice, leaves of frost surrounded my arm in a ring. I turned my arm to get a better look at it, smoothened my fingers over it, only to see that the crest was part of my skin.

"Each crest is a bit different, depending on your powers." Kristen shrugged. "I'm not sure why mine is pink."

"Wow," I gasped again. "I didn't understand what I needed to find at the Mirror Castle though?"

Kristen shrugged, "it has a lot of meanings. Find out your worst fears. Find the exit. Find a solution."

"Yeah..." I sighed.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yes! So much better!" I gave a stretch.

Kristen grinned, sighing in deep relied. "Phew! Marty was quite anxious."

"Well, you can tell him not to worry now." I grinned back, looking at her light blue eyes.

"He's all kind and nice like that," Kristen said, pushing her hair back.

I leaned close to her slyly, "do you..."

Kristen tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ears, "do I?"

"Do you like him?"

She paused, "no..."

"Yes."

"No," she was blushing now, and tucking another piece of hair behind her ears.

I laughed, "Marty's a good guy to have a crush on."

Hearing that, Kristen's smile bloomed. "Alright, I do have a tiny crush on him."

"And your secret is safe with me." I winked and Kristen laughed.

"Marty came to check on you too," Kristen added, "just before you woke up."

I could feel a tiny flutter, but with Kristen having a crush on Marty, it didn't seem right to acknowledge anything I was feeling. Whatever I was feeling.

"I want to thank you both."

Kristen shook her head, "we're just glad you're alright! I don't understand why a junior would be at the Mirror Palace though!"

"Tracy. Sound familiar?"

"I've heard she's strict."

I relayed everything to her about how Tracy forced me to go to the Mirror Palace. Kristen slammed her palms on the bed. "How could she!"

"I don't know what set her off," I replied. "I had a feeling it started when I saved a girl from a neon monster."

"Seriously? Her jealousy is excessive."

"Jealousy?" I spluttered, a bit surprised. "Tracy? Jealous of me?"

"You can't be that oblivious, right?" Kristen inched closer. "There are people who admire others for their abilities, but they never act it out, and then there are those who hate the fact they don't have them."

"But Tracy has good skills! I've seen her fight!"

"Yeah, but some people are blind to what they have. They're always looking outside the window for something else." Kristen sighed, slumped back onto the chair. "Marty said he will go and talk to Julian about this. I'm sure Julian will do something about it. He's the leader after all."

I opened my mouth, only to hear my stomach give a loud and embarrassing growl.

Kristen laughed. "I guess that's a good sign! I'll get you some food."

"Just trying to impress you with my whale sounds, Kristen." I joked, giggling with Kristen as she walked out the door.

***

A/N

Wow! Raise your hands and announce your ships, peeps!

L