Where am I?

A beeping sound was the first thing Selvina heard. The single beep came every two seconds it seemed without fault, ringing against her ears like a bell. The next sensation was the faint smell of alcohol, mixed in with the scent of sickness, stale air, flowers, and, strangely, coffee. Then came the voices, some faint and somewhat echoing, as if in a hall or chamber, and then one sounding much closer and instantly recognizable.

Mom?

What the hell is she doing in Faeryum?!

Selvina blinked her eyes open and, though her vision was blurry, found herself in a white room with a window on her right side and a partially opened door off to her left. On a table to her right were dozens of vases, all of them filled with flowers of all sorts, the source of the pleasant flowery scent. Cards sat upon the table, partially opened, all wishing for better health and strength through trying times. On her immediate left was a seated woman.

Something dropped on the ground as the woman gasped loudly.

Selvina blinked her eyes several times, chasing away the fog, and met the gaze of a late-thirties woman with blue eyes, a bob of pale blonde hair, and an expression of absolute shock. She was dressed in a black business-type suit, as if she was going or coming from work.

"Sweetie?" the woman asked, fighting to find her voice. "Sweetie? Selvina, do you hear me?"

"M-mom?" Selvina asked, her voice hoarse, as if from lack of use.

"Oh my god," the woman breathed before extending her arms and then pulling them back, extending them once more, pulling them back again, and then settling to place a hand on Selvina's cheek. "It's me, sweetie. It's mom. It's me! I can't believe it. You're back. You're finally back!"

Hearing the chatter, another woman walked in, dressed in hospital scrubs.

A nurse? Selvina wondered in confusion. She glanced to the side to see a clear bag of transparent liquid constantly dripping into a vial that was connected to a long plastic tube which was then attached directly to Selvina's arm.

Her mind, still reeling from what had happened in the pit chamber with Merlin, Accolon, and Iktarosh, raced to make sense of the situation. She clearly was not there anymore. She was in a hospital room, lying on a bed with an IV in her arm, her mother seated directly beside her, and a nurse glaring at her as if she'd just seen a ghost. How? Was this a trick somehow? Was this some spell of the Writer's? Had he somehow twisted her memories and brought them up to confuse her?

But no, this wasn't a memory. Selvina had never been in a hospital bed. She had never stayed overnight at any hospital. This wasn't the past. This was the present. She felt the softness of the bed's minimal padding on her back, the slight discomfort of the IV needle in her arm, the warmth of the heated blanket on her body, and the plushness of the pillow under her head. It all felt real. The sights, the sounds, the smells all felt real as well.

Could it be?

Could she be back to her own world?

The nurse ran out of the room, saying something about getting a doctor, and Selvina shifted her attention to her mother, who was wiping tears with a tissue after recovering her dropped phone. She was smiling ear to ear and though she was crying, Selvina couldn't remember her being any happier.

"I want to hug you so bad, dear," her mother was saying. "You have no idea, sweetie. The doctor said not to move you or touch you too much, something about shocking you or whatever. It doesn't matter anyway. You're awake and that's what matters! How do you feel?"

Selvina temporarily pushed aside the thoughts of Faeryum and focused on her mother. "I feel...ok, I guess. I'm tired and a bit sore but like, ok, I think. What happened, mom? Why am I in a hospital?"

"Selvina, dear," her mother started, "you collapsed on stage! You were walking out as the Snow Queen, all dressed up and beautiful, and then you threw your arms up as if you were blinded by something and fell. You've been in a coma ever since. No one could make any sense of what had happened but you're back! It's a miracle! I prayed every day and finally my prayers were answered!"

Selvina furrowed her brows in thought, reflecting on what her mother had said. She had collapsed into a coma? She remembered that moment on the stage keenly. It had indeed happened how her mother had described. She had walked on, suddenly been flashed by a blinding light, and then appeared in Faeryum at the same time she must have collapsed.

Selvina's heart wrenched and her eyes widened. Did that mean....Did that mean Faeryum didn't exist? Did that mean that nothing she had done there and none of the people she had met were real? Had her adventures and trials in Faeryum simply been a dream? Had Red, Cindy, Belle, Tinkerbelle, Hook, Wendy, Bigbad, and the others been a dream? Had Jack been a dream? Had it all been nothing but a dream?

Her destiny as the shield of Faeryum was false then, was it? It had never been real. But no, how could that be? She had been injured multiple times in Faeryum. You could never be physically hurt in dreams. That's how it worked, isn't it? She had thought Faeryum to be a dream when she had first entered it but it had proven itself to be quite real. It couldn't be a dream...

Selvina looked at the window, gazing outside to a small courtyard where a few trees grew and some empty benches sat unused. Judging by the colour of the leaves on the trees it was still summer.

"How long have I been in a coma?" she asked her mother while she still looked outside.

"Almost three months, dear," her mother replied quietly, still smiling and brushing her hand on her daughter's cheek, neck, and arm, as if assuring herself that she was real.

Just about the same length of time I've been in Faeryum, Selvina thought worriedly. It matched all too perfectly. Could it truly have been just a dream? The sensations, the feelings, the pain, the happiness, the love....

Had it all been nothing?

An image of Jack appeared in her mind, clear as day. Her heart warmed and she felt a pleasant tingle rush up her body at the memory of the young man she loved. Love couldn't be faked in a dream. Jack was real. He simply was.

He had to be...

The doctor suddenly rushed into the room, his eyes wide for a moment before he smiled and introduced himself. He asked Selvina how she was doing and she answered absentmindedly, her thoughts preoccupied.

"Can you tell me your name?" the doctor asked.

"Selvina Katarina Whitier," she replied flatly.

"How old are you, Selvina?"

"Sixteen..."

"What is your mother's name?"

"Sofia Whitier. Her maiden name is Alexeev."

"And your father's name?"

Selvina sighed, growing annoyed. "Allan Whitier. Are you done?"

"Do you know what day it is?" the doctor asked, ignoring her question.

"No, I have no idea. I just woke up!"

"Very good," the doctor said as he wrote things on a clipboard. "I will be right back." He then left the room, taking the nurse from before with him.

"Where's dad?" Selvina asked her mother, suddenly wondering if something had happened to him during her absence.

"I texted him, sweetie," she replied. "He's on his way right now. He'll be here soon. He's going to be so happy. He's been so heartbroken since this all happened—we both were. I still can't believe you're back. I hope they let you out today. I can't stand coming back here."

"Did anything happen while I was in a coma?" Selvina asked. "Like, did I do anything weird or say something?"

"Well, there were times where your heart rate would go up a little bit but other than that no; you just looked asleep."

Selvina's heart was breaking. Jack couldn't be a dream. He was real! HE WAS REAL! "I don't think I really was," she muttered more to herself than anyone else.

"What?" her mother asked, not hearing her.

"Nothing," Selvina replied, shaking her head. "It's nothing..."

"Selvina, dear, if you need to say something, just say it. Please! I haven't heard your voice for months, sweetie. I would love nothing more than to talk!"

Mom, I'm not supposed to be here. I need to go back to Faeryum. People there need me. I need to stop the Writer. I need to see Red, Cindy, and everyone else again. I NEED to see Jack. I need him. I can't stay here.

She wanted to say all of that but she didn't. She couldn't. Selvina had to somehow figure out if Faeryum had all been a dream. Somehow, she had to discover if it had ever been real. Somehow, she had to find out if she had ever truly fallen in love with Jack or just some figment of her imagination. She had to make sense of it all but she had no idea where to begin and she had no idea if she ever could.

Minutes passed in relative silence, Selvina's mother chatting on and off, until the sound of pounding footsteps were heard down the hall. Moments later in burst Selvina's father, his bald head beaded with sweat, closely followed by the doctor. He saw his daughter sitting up in her bed, alive, awake, and well, and beamed. Ignoring what the doctor was telling him, he rushed up to her and hugged her as tightly as she could. Her mother joined in, the doctor protesting uselessly all the while. Selvina, still confused about everything, felt the embrace of her loving parents and, with tears building, hugged back. Whatever the case, whether Faeryum had been real or not, she was back in her world.

She was home again.

*This is actually not the end of the series but unfortunately, the last book will not be posted on Wattpad. I have been doing some edits on the other books, with the help of a fantastic editor, and the way the story begins has been changed and thus the ensuing books in the series will also be altered and what I had planned for book 5 now doesn't work. Instead of writing two book 5's (one for Wattpad's storyline, and one for the new and edited storyline) I've decided to put my full attention on the newer one, since that will be the one I will try to get published for real. 

I know this leaves MANY unanswered questions and leaves this story quite unfinished but this has always been the rough draft and it wasn't an easy decision on my part. I really wanted to give you amazing readers the epic conclusion to the series but that will, unfortunately, have to wait. The new and edited series will be similar to this Wattpad series except for book 3 and maybe book 4 as I have big changes planned for those ones, especially book 3. 

I know this really sucks for you all as you've devoted your time and patience to reading my series, which is just amazing, and were eager to discover how it ended but as I said, it'll have to wait until the edited series gets published for real (hopefully). Maybe one day you'll find yourselves reading the published series and remember how things used to be and know that you were there when the "old" version was the only version. I do hope that, if ever the new series gets published, that you enjoy the new changes and edits and that you'll hopefully understand why I had to do this. 

I apologize sincerely for this, I really really do, and I hope you can forgive me for having to do it. Writing stories is a passion of mine and I absolutely love it and sometimes, despite not wanting to, in order to improve the story sacrifices must be made. I truly am sorry.

I just want to end this with a thank you to you readers that have stuck by throughout the whole series. You guys are awesome and it makes me smile to know that you're there reading this story of mine. You helped it keep it going and gave life to it with your passion of reading. I'm not putting any blame on you at all when I say this but it's because of your love of my story that I've decided to do what I had to. I want to give you guys the best story I can give you and so that is what I'm determined to do. Keep being awesome! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!*

GreatGustav