I sat in a room completely unfamiliar from everything I had known and gotten used to. Despite the heaps of blankets I was piled under and the warm and well-fitting period clothing that I had managed to find in the dressers in this room, goosebumps dotted my skin. I'm not sure whether they were because I was cold or because I was afraid.

Shapes were starting to form in the darkness as my brain misconstrued the outline of simple things such as the dresser and the desk. It was beginning to seem that sleeping was an impossible thing to grasp, as it kept evading me as I lied there in the bed, tossing and turning.

I bit down on my tongue to choke back the tears that were burning my eyes and throat.

Finally, I came to the conclusion that I couldn't take it anymore, so I kicked off the blankets and swung my legs out of bed. I ripped the curtains back to see the moon hovering in the sky, casting a glow upon the land below.

"Why don't clocks exist in this damn dimension?" I hissed to myself. I closed my eyes and held my head in my hands, taking many deep breaths in a fruitless effort to calm myself down.

I want to go home. This was such a horrible idea. Why did I stay here in Perriterra? I want to go home. I want to go home. I want to—

My thoughts were interrupted by a delicate peck on the window. My head shot up to see a tiny, familiar gray bird sitting on my windowsill.

"Belletra," I mumbled, more to myself than to the bird. I slid the window pane up, not enjoying the blast of cold air that followed the bird into the room. She landed on the desk sitting against the wall and began to preen her feathers. I walked over to where she was sitting. "What are you doing here?"

The bird gave me one of her signature flat glares that somehow conveyed so much emotion despite being a bird.

"I can't read minds," I shot at her. "Or can I? Is that a thing I could do?"

The bird, being an animal that could not speak English despite magic and monsters and other fantasies, did not respond except for a single chirp.

I tried to hide my frustration by taking a deep breath. "Do you know where Thomas is?"

Belletra let out another chirp, this one seeming more positive than the previous one.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes. Can you lead me to him?"

The bird flared her gray wings and took to the sky. I followed her as she left the bedroom and flew steadily down the hall, slowly as if she was waiting for me to catch up. She led me up a flight of stairs and down another hallway.

"Do you even know where you're going?"

I'm sure she would've pecked my eyes out if she could have, just for asking that question.

Finally, Belletra stopped at a closed door and settled on my shoulder, her body warm against the thin fabric of my shirt.

I hesitated for a moment, unsure of if I really wanted Thomas to see me like this. Belletra seemed to notice my pause and seemed to grow very aggravated at it, for she let out a horrid screech.

"I told you not to fly out that damned window, but did you listen to me?" came Thomas' voice from inside. "No! You didn't!"

Before the bird could scream again, I knocked on the door gently.

Thomas paused for a moment before gently saying, "come in."

I let my hand slide to the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Thomas was inside, sitting on his bed. His eyes met mine and he smiled warmly. Belletra rose to the air and joined Thomas, settling herself down on his shoulder.

A sudden blast of cold air hit my body. It didn't take me long to identify the source of the chill: an open door leading to what I presumed to be a balcony.

When Thomas noticed the way I crossed my arms and pressed them tightly to my body in an effort to warm myself up, he apologized quickly and the door shut on its own, as seamlessly as if it had done it itself.

"So what's up?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, distracted. When I turned back to him, he was sitting on the bed, legs folded. Honestly, the position looked rather cute when done by him. Not that I'd ever say that out loud. "Nothing's fine!" I said, then facepalmed. "I mean: nothing! I'm fine."

Thomas didn't seemed too convinced. He swung his legs over the bed. "Well obviously that's not true. Is everything okay?"

"I don't know," I said, staring elsewhere. I wish this shirt had pockets. I didn't know what do do with my hands. "I guess... I guess I just feel a little bit homesick."

"Oh, I know that feeling," Thomas responded. His smile was so calming that it made me relax a little bit.

"You do?"

"Of course! Earth wasn't exactly the most familiar place to me the first time I went there. But after a while, you get used to it."

I wasn't satisfied with that answer, and I think Thomas quickly realized that too.

"Come on," he said, standing up and crossing over to me. He scooped Belletra up carefully in his hands and set her down on one of the many plants hang from the ceiling. I smiled when I saw them; they reminded me of home.

"Are we going to see more statues?"

Thomas shook his head. "We have a library. Wanna see it?"

"That sounds normal."

"Very normal."

"Yeah," I said, grinning. "Let's go."

Thomas led me through the castle, this time going up instead of down. Paintings depicting nature scenery along with the same light blue banners and flowers decorated the hallways, a stark contrast to the bleakness of the dungeon he had taken me down earlier today.

Instead of walking up a spiraling staircase that led to what I assumed to be the top of the castle, Thomas outstretched his wings. "What?" he asked at my critical look. "I haven't gotten the chance to fly at all today! Give me a break, will you?"

"No judgement is being passed here!" I exclaimed.

I followed the flying Thomas up the spiraling staircase. It led to a landing with an old wooden door built in. Thomas opened the door for me to let me pass through after his feet touched the ground and he folded his wings in.

"Hmm," I said, upon seeing the room I was presented with. "Not bad."

"Not bad?" Thomas asked, incredulous. "That's all you have to say?"

I shrugged and took a deep breath of the air. It smelled of mint and the sweet flowers that resided everywhere in this castle. There was a light breeze, no doubt coming from the opposite wall, which was left open to the world outside. The only barrier was a metal railing. The room was spherical and rather big, a maze of bookshelves occupying most of the space. There were a couple of couches sitting near the wall open to the world. Overall, it seemed rather cozy despite its size.

"Don't you ever get cold?" I asked.

"No. Magic."

I snorted at his explanation—or lack thereof. Before I could even move my arms to hug my body in an attempt to warm myself up, Thomas placed his left palm against my arm.

All of the coldness in my body disappeared almost immediately, and a nice warmth was left in return. I sighed happily at the feat of magic.

"Better?"

"Much."

My friend disappeared behind a bookshelf while I went to the railing to gaze out at the world below.

I was looking out of the highest point of the castle. I leaned against the railing, not feeling the coolness of the metal due to Thomas' spell. It seemed like I could see miles and miles of forest, and though it seemed dull, it was actually quite beautiful. Some trees towered far above the tip of the tower, while some were relatively close to the ground.

I could hear the chatter of birds in the trees, the distant gurgle of rushing water, and the sounds of a breeze rustling through the leaves.

When I closed my eyes, I felt at peace. Maybe that's why Thomas took me up here in the first place.

I felt his clothing brush against mine, and I let my eyes fall open. He was holding a pair of books. His smile spoke volumes as he handed me one of them.

I recognized the cover almost immediately and looked up at him. "Not a bad choice."

"Just a touch of Earth. Humans have a very good selection in books and forms of entertainment!"

I laughed as I ran my fingers down the dustjacket of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, unarguably the best book in the series. I plumped down on one of the nearby couches and flipped the book open to the first page, falling into a familiar activity reminiscent of Earth.

I had been reading for a while when I felt something on my arm. I looked over to see Thomas resting his head against my body, pouring over the pages of a leather bound book.

It was such a minimal gesture. It didn't mean anything to him; it was something he did without even thinking.

I could feel the heat rising to my face as I tried to focus on the book I was reading. But his touch was so prevalent. I couldn't focus. Did his hair smell like sweet vanilla, or were those the flowers that sat in a glass vase on the nearby table.

"Alex? Is everything okay?" He drew away from me, gaining the look of someone who had forgotten something important. He sat against the opposite side of the couch. I'm not sure if I was more relieved or disappointed that he had withdrawn and moved away.

"Yeah."

"Really?" he said in a flat, unconvinced tone, drawing away from me.

"I'm fine. It's fine, okay?"

"I'm sorry," he said earnestly, his eyes meeting mine. "I forgot. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Forgot what?" I'll admit that I wasn't thinking straight in the moment.

Thomas closed his book with a thud. I watched as it levitated and set itself down on a vacant spot on the side table.

"You've been on Earth for a while."

"Yeah? So?"

"Well... men on Earth aren't exactly... touchy-feely with each other. I'm sorry, Alexander. I really, really didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's fine," I mumbled quickly. My fingers tapped against the cover of the book in my hands, falling into a rhythm. "And I'm assuming it's different here?"

"We're not as hesitant, but we don't have the same ideas that Earth has regarding those sorts of things."

When I stared at him questioningly, raising my gaze from the book, he continued.

"We don't use the same terms, like homosexual, or bisexual, or anything else. We just kinda... are. You know?"

"No."

Thomas opened his mouth to speak, then closed it in a grin. "Never mind. It's not important."

The minutes seemed to tick by far too quickly, and I had grown much more comfortable. I enjoyed this. I enjoyed relaxing here in this alien place with Thomas.

"Why do I keep having those horrible nightmares?" I asked out of the blue.

Thomas looked up at me, his eyes confused as if he didn't understand the question. He set the book that he had been reading down on a side table. "The one about the cold?"

"Yes."

Thomas bit on his lip and sat back. His fingers tapped against his arm as he pondered my question. Finally, his strange eyes met mine and held my gaze.

"I believe it's the last memory you had before, well, before they were erased. I can't say for certain, but if I had a guess."

"And does this mean that all the things I do remember never happened?"

"I believe so."

"So everything I know was ripped away from me and replaced with something that was nothing more than a story created for someone's amusement?"

Thomas' voice was quieter. "I believe so."

I didn't know what to do with this tidbit of information. It was like everything I knew—or thought I knew—was shattered right in front of my eyes. The crushing reality that I didn't even know who I was hit me hard.

"Hey," Thomas said softly. He didn't move closer to me, but I still felt a flush of new warmth spread through my veins. "It's going to be alright, Alexander."

I didn't respond.

"I promise you."

It was so silly, to make a promise that you had no control over keeping or not. There was no sure-fire way Thomas could possibly make this seem alright to me, but he promised anyway. I reached out to him, desperate for touch.

Thomas took my hand in his, and for a brief moment, everything seemed to fade away.

I remembered myself a few moments later and let my hand fall to my side. I could feel Thomas' eyes on me, but he didn't say anything.

"What are you reading?" I asked, trying to diffuse the silence.

"I think you'll remember it." He lifted it from the table and handed it over to me. I recognized the leather cover with the golden symbols and flipped the book open.

Same strange runes.

"The one I'm not supposed to be able to read."

"I put a charm on it," Thomas said. "So that you wouldn't be able to make sense of it. To read it. But you somehow broke that charm and read it anyway."

"I did?"

Thomas nodded. "And I'm glad you could. Because that means that somewhere deep inside of you hides your energy. Your magic. And I can teach it to you and you can remaster it once more."

"Why couldn't any other human have broken it?"

"Humans are the least powerful creatures in the entire multiverse, when it comes to magic. Their energy levels are so low that they wouldn't be able to complete even the simplest of spells without dying or turning into a Tenebrie."

"So I'm not human then." I felt sick at the pile of discoveries I had made today. My entire life never happened up until I moved to New York.

The only noise for a while was that of the crickets signing their songs on the ground far below.

"I should get some sleep."

"You can sleep up here if you want. I do it all the time."

I handed Thomas his book back and set mine down on the table. I relaxed against the couch and closed my eyes, barely aware of the world around me anymore.

Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow morning, and this will all just be a bad dream.

Strangely, I found myself dreading the thought a little.