I return to my room by ten- the time my parents head to bed. When I arrive, I notice Xalale lying down. He appears to be asleep, but when I approach closer his attention drifts to me.

"Hey." I ease into my bed, crawling underneath the covers. "I thought you were asleep."

Closing his eyes again, he doesn't comment.

"So," I begin. "Seems like we need a new game plan since the portal thing isn't working. Got any ideas?"

Truth be told, I'm completely at a lose of how to deal with this. Grant it I wasn't prepared for anything in the past, but at least there was some gleam of hope.

His eyes remain close, a single sigh the unifying answer between us. I lie down, leaning over to turn off the lights, then rest on my side.

"Goodnight," I whisper through the dense silence surrounding us like the dark.

Light from the moon creeps through the blinds, illuminating half his face. His eyes remain close and his breathing steady.

Turning onto my back- this time- I'm the one staring up at the ceiling wondering how on earth to handle this situation. Eventually, though, my mind tires and I drift off into a deep sleep.

"Can you...I hope she...this isn't working, try..."

Voices- no, a voice...now I'm not entirely sure. Someone is speaking and I can hear them- well partially for that matter. Their voice keeps fading in and out like a bad cellphone signal in the mountains.

Straining, I focus, trying to hear the voice again.

Then, a light. Forming in front of me. Not really a light, but a scene, a room that appears like a painting at first- dripping down the sides of my vision- but then forms into something more. Now it blots out again like when water drops on a wet painting.

"Mallory? Can you..."

This is turning out to be a strange dream. It's like I'm fully conscious of what's going on around me yet my brain feels submerged under water.

"Mallory?"

This time I answer.

"Yes?"

"You can hear..."

"Um, not fully. You're kind of fading in and out."

I'm not entirely, 100% sure, but the voice trying to call out to me sounds vaguely familiar. Like a great aunt you met once or twice at a family gathering when you were younger then happen to hear her voice in the store years later.

The voice- which I determine to be originating from a female- disappears, leaving me stranded in eerie silence until a figure begins to materialize in front of me.

"Can you hear me clearer now?" The emerging figure asks.

Suddenly, it hits me. The voice does belong to someone I know.

"Sephora?" I squint, trying to make out her milky outline.

Becoming a solid form of herself, she lets out a relieved breath.

"You see me, right?"

"Yeah." I breathe a sigh of relief myself. Instinctively, I rush over to her in attempt to give her a hug, though the only thing I accomplish is warping my arms around thin air.

She chuckles warmly. "A cunning illusion, is it not. I'm overjoyed to finally see you again as well. But we must be quick, there are many factors to be aware of."

Stepping back, I frown. "There's a lot to sort out."

"Agreed. Let us start with a pressing matter first."

"How do we determine that?" I think.

"Where are you would be a good start." She says.

"I'm back in my universe."

"Really?" She replies slightly surprised at the response. "How? I mean, I'm partly aware of how, but-"

"What do you mean?"

She gives me a worried look I've seen countless times on her face, but this one seemed different- more worrisome, in a way, if that's possible.

"Another question I suspect I know the answer to; is the king with you?"

I make a glum face of my own. "Unfortunately, yes."

Taking a calming breath, she mutters something to herself before I interrupt with a pressing matter of my own.

"Just to fill you in on what's going on. We're trying to find a way for Xalale to return, but the portal that sent me to your world, it's gone. I don't know where it went or how to summon it again. Now we're at a dead-end. Plus, there's no magic in my world- at least none that can send somebody to a different universe safely- so I'm stumped."

Thoughtfully, she puts a finger on her chin and doesn't open her eyes, becoming stilled for a few moments.

"We're also kind of in a hurry- or at least he is- to get back," I continue. "His mother is back, Aelita. She's the one who sent us back to my world."

"I know." She says, still in deep concentration.

"So what are we gonna do about this?"

Finally, she opens her eyes with the same worrisome expression. "This is quite a perplexing situation. Allow me to fill you in on what's been occurring here."

I'm interested in this part.

"As you've said before, the queen has returned," I notice the shallow swallow she did. "And she has returned with quite the vengeance. She's regained control of the kingdom and is implementing her laws to the harshest extent. No one defies her- no one would even think to. In one day, it seems, she's returned the kingdom to the way she ruled it before."

This new information only adds a heavier weight to the already grave situation. It's like an ever increasing yoke upon my neck.

She hasn't come right out and said it, but I can't tell from her expression and tone that Aelita has more of an iron fist than Xalale did; which is hard to imagine seeing how he ruled.

"What about Elle and Coxen?" I ask, suddenly breathless.

"They've escaped."

I breathe a short sigh of relief knowing they're out of harm's way- at least the immediate danger.

"Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for me and Olivos."

The panic I released a second ago now returns in full force.

"What!? Have you tried to escape?" Though I already know they would've if they could.

She hangs her head in defeat. "We have, but it seems the queen has a purpose for us." Looking up again, her eyes bore into mine. "That's another thing. The queen is searching for something; she has another motive other than regaining her crown."

Confusion is apparent on my face. "Searching? Searching for what?" What more could she possibly be looking for? She has her crown she so coveted. What more is there?

"I'm not fully certain, but she's looking for more than one thing from the sound of it. Almost like pieces to a puzzle."

"Pieces to a puzzle?" I mutter to myself in thought.

"Yes, I can't begin to imagine what-" Suddenly, she's interrupted by something I can't see or hear, her head turning in the direction of the noise.

"Sephora, what's-"

"I'm sorry Mallory, we must disconnect from this discussion." She looks back at me with fear evident in her eyes. "We will talk again at another appointed time. I'm sorry."

"Wait! Sephora! Are you going to be okay?" I'm not ready for this conversation to be over. There are still pressing matters that need to be addressed.

But as quickly as I had slipped into the dream, I was beginning to fade out of it. Eventually, I let myself be washed away with the darkening vision.

I'm only in a light, fragile sleeping state as I emerge from whatever that was. My mind is beginning to clear as I slowly open my eyes. The room is dark except for the small sliver of silvery beams emitting from the moon, reaching in.

There are so many muffled thoughts running through my mind from that vision. But before I can concentrate on anything, my thoughts are interrupted by a strange noise.

Not really a strange noise as I listen to it again, but laughter. Laughter that's coming from in this room.

"What the hell!?" Panic fills my mind.

Leaning over the edge to alert Xalale to the strange laughter, I stop.

Turns out, there's no reason to wake him to investigate, I've found the cause of the laughter. He's still asleep from what I can tell, but he's laughing as if he were awake.

I'm taken aback by this sight. First of all, I've never seen someone laugh while they were dead asleep, and secondly, I've never seen him laugh- ever! I've seen him smirk and scoff, but I've never heard his laugh before (to be honest, I assumed he was physically incapable of laughing).

So for a minute or so I just have to watch in amazement at this rare spectacle. He has a better laugh than I do, that's for sure. I wonder what he's dreaming about to cause such a humorous reaction.

Finally, the shock wears off and I realize that it's probably best if my parents don't hear laughter coming from my room in the middle of the night.

I pick up one of the pillows off my bed and pellet him on the head with it.

"Xalale!" I hiss.

He jerks awake and his once good mood is replaced by his usual, foul one in an instant.

"What are you doing?" I whisper.

Sitting up and glaring, he snaps back, "What are talking about? Why did you wake me?"

I retrieve my pillow and clutch it to my chest.

"You sound like a madman laughing in your sleep. You never told me you do weird things in your sleep."

"What nonsense are you sprouting?"

"You talk and laugh in your sleep."

He's pissed at being woken so suddenly, but I can tell there's a bit of confusion mixed in his expression.

"Please don't tell me you sleepwalk as well." I moan.

"I talk in my sleep?"

"More like mumble incomplete, incoherent thoughts. Like last night you were going on about something- I can't remember- and you went on for a few minutes."

There's no response on his part about that, so I continue.

"If you're going to laugh, try not to be so loud. My parents are in the house and these walls are paper thin."

He lies back down without saying anything still so I lie back down as well, staring up at the ceiling. We lay in silence for a few minutes before I speak up.

"You know, this is the first time I've heard you laugh."

"Hm."

In my mind, I'm debating whether or not I should tell him about the dream with Sephora. It would be useful to tell him, but in the end, I decide to keep silent. I don't feel like any answers were given to me- and that's what we need right now. Plus, any mention of his mother causes his defensive side to emerge and the news about what she's doing now would send him through the roof.

"Xalale."

"What?" Annoyance is painfully clear in his voice.

"What were you dreaming about to make you laugh like that?"

I hear him turn to a different sleeping position.

"Nothing. Go to sleep."

"Fine."