I spring upwards, gasping for air. My heart is pumping frantically and my bedroom is hazy around me, I am unable to focus on anything. Panting, I attempt to move, only to realize that my blankets are encased in thick coats of ice. I anxiously scratch the hardened pellicule of ice with the tips of my fingers, quickly turning to my powers to melt it. I finally can brutally toss the navy sheets away from me. They fall into an untidy pile on the floor, and I slowly recover a normal breathing rhythm. My heart rate is slowing down steadily, I bite off pieces of dead skin from my lips and clench my hands into trembling fists.

What just happened? I know I was dreaming about something, there is no doubt about it. But about what? Or, rather, about who? I cannot really remember anything, except how terrified I felt before I woke up... I wasn't myself, too, I was someone else. Who was I? Telepaths generally can earn the ability to see into others' dreams, not only by living them after the fact with a simple intrusion of their psyche. Skilled mind-readers, with practice and experience, will often master the techniques necessary to access another being's dream, sometimes modifying and controlling it entirely, while they're at it. I've never heard of anyone doing such things without meaning to, though.

I swallow, glancing around my dorm, then at my alarm clock: 4 AM. Fantastic. If I'm going to be up early, I should use this as an opportunity to retrieve my cellphone. I hop out of my large bed, slipping into my black silk bathrobe. It covers up my pyjamas to perfection and fits my figure much better than the school-issued beige robes. Personally, I always thought they were too short and although I don't mind a fluffy dressing gown, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing something so... Homey. Overly comfortable is not my style, it always makes me feel uneasy. I make sure I'm minimally presentable and silently leave my room, heading for the nearest communal washrooms.

They're wonderfully empty and I hurry into a shower room. Individual shower rooms line the back wall of every restroom, which themselves are humongous compared to regular Earth high school bathrooms, considering what I've seen from television shows and movies. I drop my hygiene backpack on one of the two rounded benches that follow the curve of the ovale room. Once the door is safely locked and my self-care supplies are ready to use, aligned on one of the multiple marble shelves built into the shower's walls, I take off my clothes and hang them on the golden hooks that are provided. I cross the threshold into the section of the room where the shower head's flow reaches the floor. Turquoise, green and blue tiles signal this change, differing from the beige, cream and grey ones of the entrance. I twist the water temperature knob all the way to the right, distractedly watching the ring of light that encircles it become a pale bright blue instead of white. I instinctively wipe a smudge off the clear plastic that covers the circular band of light bulbs, immediately regretting it, but rapidly reminding myself that I am going to clean my hands in a second anyway.

The unnaturally cold water should hit my skin like a collection of whiplashes, however, it barely feels inconvenient. I can feel my eyelids open up wider, my stomach retreating away from the freezing water, my toes curling against the ground...  And I suddenly recall something from my dream.

It isn't an extremely vivid memory, but it's definitely helpful: the Crystal Kingdom. I don't know what part of it was involved with my dream, nor why or how, that would be way too accommodating. All I know is that the Crystal Kingdom was crucial to the story that unfolded under my eyes last night.

With my hair dried and a simple outfit on, I gather my things and leave the washroom. As soon as my bag is stored back in its place, I pull Lucifer down from his hideout and wake him up. The teddy bear yawns, rubbing his sewn-on diamond eyes with his small black and navy plush paws.

     " G o o d  m o r n i n g,  D i a m o n d. "

     " Hey, there, little buddy. Want to help me find my cellphone at this fine hour? "

     " Y o u r  w i s h e s  a r e  m y  c o m m a n d ! " he squeals, spreading his short furry arms out into what appears to be an invitation for hugging.

I smile tenderly and poke at his nose with my index finger, startling my favorite toy. He slides off my bed, landing face first on the floor. I snicker and wait for my small companion to heave his small rounded body upwards, before following him out.

Lucifer jogs on his wobbly legs, stopping in front of Ace's bedroom door. He presses his right paw to the wooden panel, then excitedly whispers:

     " I t  i s  i n  h e r e ! "

I scope the room beyond us with my mind, trying to detect Azzoxan's presence. Luckily for our mission, yet surprisingly enough, the demon doesn't seem to be sleeping, or even in his dorm. There isn't time to ponder over that, though. I'm not exactly keen to have him discover me snooping around his room, so I pat my stuffed animal's head and order him:

     " Bring me to my phone as fast as you can, okay? "

My teddy bear runs straight forward, slamming into the door and bouncing off of it to fall on his back. I stifle a laugh and generate a long icicle in the center of my left palm. I help my plush up by grabbing him behind the head, timely proceeding to jam the spike of ice into the lock under the golden doorknob. A loud crunching sound indicates that either my tool or the lock has been successfully crushed. I pull the rod of frozen water out of the hole it was inserted in, relieved to behold its nearly undamaged tip.

We enter as quietly as possible and I cannot resist the temptation to inspect his bedroom. It has the layout of literally every other dorm room of The Forest's Earthly Academy, of course, but it still bears many traces of its inhabitant. My eyes skim the darkness, which is thankfully broken up by the light that flows in through the partly uncovered windows. The sheets of his king size bed are undone and the color of coal. There is a distinct smell in the air, something very similar to body spray tangled with the pungent stench of nicotine-loaded smoke. There actually is a ripped open pack of cigarettes resting on his right bedside table, next to a sealed can of beer.

Lucifer, meanwhile, has been skipping in the direction of a massive closet. I join him and open up the broad doors, stepping aside to let my accomplice show me the way to my possession. He jumps up onto a shoe box and, once he's recovered his balance, points at one of the various dark-colored jackets that are hanging inside the wardrobe. The element of furniture is roughly ten feet deep, but the denim jacket is not dangling too far into it. Maybe eight or nine feet away..? Yeah, that isn't exactly promising. I should hurry.

     " Lucifer, start getting back to my room, okay? I'll take it from here, " I whisper, already inching among Ace's clothes.

My fingertips brush a nearby shirt, which I instantly recognize as the one he wore when he attempted to kill me... And we kissed for the first time. Honestly, I prefer to remember that particular encounter as the time I single-handedly defeated a demon, not the time I ended up making out with Satan's son in a flooded dorm room.

I stretch out my legs, careful not to squash any of the boxes aligned on the ground, or knock over any of the piles of dark clothing surrounding my legs. I unexpectedly feel fabric under my sole and abruptly stare at the floor. The sight of a pair of grey boxer shorts with thin black and white stripes stuns me. I pinch my lips, suppressing any laughter. Nothing to worry about here... I continue my heedful travel through the relatively gigantic wardrobe. The light is diming with the distance, but I finally attain the scuffed navy blue jean jacket. I slip my hand into the closest pocket, thrilled to feel the familiar touch of a slightly cold and hard rectangular object. I pull my cellphone out, making sure the screen is still spotless, and shove it into one of my own pockets for safe-keeping.

I stride out of the closet, whirling around to shut its doors close. I gently grab the two panels of the double door, ready to silently hinge them back into place, as if I had never set foot in here. Except a hand lands on my right shoulder, firm and determined in its grasp. A wisp of cologne singes the inside of my nose and I feel warm lips approaching my ear. His hot breath grazes my neck and I can perfectly smell the lingering scent of smoke that envelops him, then me.

     " Hey, good-looking. "