Once Upon a Winter

by Megan Atwood

  His dads hugged each other, and Olive laid her head on his shoulder. He felt her grab his hand, but his fingertips seemed numb. He flexed his hands.

  Where was he? He finally looked around the room. He was in a hospital bed, and the beeping sound was a heart monitor. He was covered in blankets, and his head felt like it was stuffed with bandages.

  “I have to get back to the cottage,” he said. He must somehow have disappeared into his own world again, after the rock hit him. He needed to make sure that Kai and Lithliel didn’t hurt Genevieve.

  Peter started to sit up, but his dad John said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not so fast, buddy. You’ve had quite a bump on your head and a bit of a night.”

  “I know. The rock hit me. But I feel okay, and I have to get back to the dragon so I can say her name,” Peter said, trying to sit up again. His other dad gently put a hand on him.

  Olive said, “What the heck are you talking about?”

  Sarah whispered loudly to Lizzie, “I think he’s broken.” Lizzie shushed her.

  “I . . .” He looked at everyone staring at him. He wondered if they knew where he’d been. “I was in a different land, through the mirror. And Kai and Lithliel—who looked like you, Sarah—and I had to go fight a dragon. Only I didn’t want to fight it because I knew its name because of the witch, who looked like you, Lizzie . . .” His voice trailed off as he saw everyone’s expression. Their expressions were saying, “You. Are. Nuts.”

  He cleared his throat. Maybe if he asked them what they knew . . . “What happened here?” he asked.

  Albert stood up, wringing his hands. “It was all my fault, Peter,” he said.

  Immediately, John and David said, “No, no, no . . . ,” but before anything else could happen, Sheriff Hadley and Ms. Shirvani walked in. She squealed and the sheriff said, “Holy wow, he’s awake!” He was holding something that smelled like hot chocolate. Peter’s stomach rumbled.

  “Peter just asked what happened,” Tabitha said. “And Albert was saying it was his fault—” But the sheriff jumped in.

  “Albert, I’ve said it a million times. That dang dog lost her head and it was all MY fault—” Sheriff Hadley started.

  But John interrupted firmly. “It was NO ONE’s fault. Things like this happen. And our darling Peter is okay. Our Peter, who braved hours out there.”

  Peter said, “Hours out where?” He thought maybe they somehow knew about Tiar.

  But Ms. Shirvani said, “Here’s what happened, honey. The dog took off—ran all the way back to my apartment. Sebastian was spooked and tore off with you. It seems a branch hit you on your noggin and knocked you off the sleigh. Sebastian ran off into the forest. And you made your way to the crook of a tree and lost consciousness.”

  No one spoke for a moment. Peter saw Olive crying near him, and he gave her a puzzled look. “You could have died, Peter,” she said, tears streaming down her face.

  Peter shook his head, but the movement hurt. All he could muster was “I’m okay.” How could he let her know that he had found the cottage and that his greatest danger had come from almost being eaten by a dragon?

  David wiped his eyes. “You’ll never guess how we found you,” he said. “It was almost magical.”

  John said, “The horse, Sebastian. We’d been in the woods, trying to find you, but the tracks had been covered by the snow. We were yelling and yelling. And then all of a sudden, Sebastian appeared. He’d somehow knocked the harness off and wasn’t pulling the sleigh anymore. He saw us, and we followed him into the forest. He’d go a little way ahead while we followed, until we got to you. Then he stood by you and waited.”

  Peter smiled. “Yes, Samson is a good horse. I rode him,” he said.

  “No, it’s Sebastian, honey,” Tabitha said gently.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Sarah asked loudly.

  Peter huffed in frustration. “That’s not how it happened.”

  No one said anything for a second. Then Lizzie said, “How did it happen, Peter?”

  But even her tone irritated him. He wasn’t crazy. The whole thing HAD happened. He had almost saved the dragon—and she was still in danger. He had to find Kai.

  “I . . . ,” he started. “I found a cottage, and then I saw Kai from school there and we went through . . . a . . . we went through a . . .” He stopped. He realized everything he was going to say after that WOULD sound crazy. He sank back in the bed, disappointed.

  All of it had felt so real. It had been real, hadn’t it?

  Suddenly he felt like crying. Olive looked at him and said, “I think he’s tired.” The adults nodded, and Lizzie gave him a sympathetic look. He looked away from her.

  Olive whispered, “Do you want everyone to leave?”

  At least she still sort of knew him. He nodded. Olive looked at their dads, and they got the picture.

  “Why don’t we all give Peter some rest? I bet he’s exhausted.” John leaned over and kissed Peter on the cheek. David followed and put his hand on Peter’s cheek, his eyes crinkled and worried. Peter didn’t want to be fawned over. He moved his cheek away.

  He’d gone from someone who could save an entire land to an invalid in minutes. This was not what he wanted.

  One by one, they filed out of his room. Olive lingered a little and mouthed, “Are you okay?” Peter swallowed and nodded.

  Part of him wanted her to stay. He didn’t want to feel alone right at that moment. But another part of him knew she’d never understand.

  As they all left, Peter felt like he knew exactly how Genevieve felt. He let the tears fall down his cheeks and tried to get the feeling back from the land where he had almost been a hero.

  CHAPTER 13

  A Real Pain

  The doctor told Peter he could go home, and that he could even go to school the following Monday. It was Thursday, so the wait was excruciating. Peter wanted to see Kai right away. Because of the accident, his dads had gotten him his own cell phone, but he didn’t even have Kai’s number. So on Sunday night, when his dad David said, “Maybe you should stay home just a couple more days?” Peter thought he might scream.

  He saw his other dad, John, give David a glance. It looked like they had already had this conversation.

  Peter felt the much smaller bandage on his head. He wasn’t looking forward to any attention at school, but he desperately wanted to see Kai.

  Olive looked up from her reading to say, “Peter needs to go to school. He’s getting antsy and cranky.” The she went back to reading her book.

  He frowned. There she was, talking for him again.

  Even if she was right.

  “I’m FINE,” he said, his voice louder than he meant it to be. Everyone looked at him in surprise.

  Having everyone’s attention made Peter’s face burn. But . . . it also made him feel . . . powerful. Like in Tiar, when the dragon had listened to him. And Kai had mostly listened to him. He’d almost saved a dragon and an entire world, after all.

  He said, “I’m going to school tomorrow,” and got up from his chair. It was family reading time, but Peter was done. He was going to storm out, but the hurt look on his dad David’s face made him soften things just a little. “I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.”

  David got up and gave him a hug. He put his hands on Peter’s cheeks and said, “My darling boy. I was so worried about you. Get some sleep.”

  Olive said, “Yeah, try to wake up less cranky!”

  Peter narrowed his eyes at her, and she narrowed her eyes at him. But Peter saw something behind that. There was hurt there. She masked it by crossing her eyes at him, which made him smile. He crossed his eyes back, and then she made a funny face. It was a face that always made him laugh. This felt good. This felt like the old Peter and Olive.

  Except the old Peter and Olive meant that Peter never got to talk. And after Tiar . . . well, he didn’t think he could go back to the way it had been. He gave her a polite smile and went to his room, trying to stifle any guilt he felt.

&n
bsp; After doing all his pre-bed routines, Peter collapsed into bed and stared through his skylight. He could see the stars—one of the coolest things about coming out to the country. He wondered if the land he’d been to was somewhere, somehow, in those stars.

  He closed his eyes. He was going to see Kai tomorrow. At least someone would know what really happened. A new friend—someone to literally go on adventures with. He drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.

  At his locker the next day, Peter craned his neck, looking everywhere for Kai. Olive groaned. “All you do is look somewhere else lately. Who are you looking for?”

  “No one,” Peter mumbled.

  Olive grabbed some books and pushed them into his stomach. He took them without looking, still straining to see down the hall. She closed the locker and snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Hey!” she said.

  “What?” he said, his voice sounding sort of mean even to his own ears.

  Olive’s face made him turn his full attention to her. She looked hurt—like, really hurt. She said to him, “What’s happening with you?”

  Peter swallowed. He hated seeing her upset. This was the second time in two days something he’d said or done had made her feel bad. Maybe if he told her some things, she might understand. She always had—she was his twin. They knew each other better than anyone. They had always been each other’s best friends. At least, they used to be.

  He was about to say something when there was a commotion at the end of the hall. Kai was laughing hard at something. Peter smiled too, even though he had no idea what Kai was laughing at, and even though there was no way Kai could see him.

  “I gotta go,” Peter said to Olive. He caught the look of disappointment on her face, but he ignored it. He had to talk to Kai. Had to talk to someone who understood him and listened to him.

  He saw Kai laughing with some friends and noticed a kid whose books had spilled all over the floor. If Peter didn’t know better, he’d think Kai was laughing at the kid. But that seemed unlikely. After all, Peter didn’t agree with Kai’s methods with the dragon, but Kai had gone there to save a world. That meant something. The kid picked up all his books before Peter got there, and then the first bell rang. Kai and Peter had language arts, so Peter followed Kai and got to his seat just seconds after him. Today Kai had decided to sit in a desk right next to Peter. The kid who normally sat there came in, furrowed his eyebrows, and sat behind Kai. Peter couldn’t wait to ask Kai some questions.

  The girl sitting in front of Peter said, “Whoa, what happened to you?” She pointed to his bandage. He put his hand up self-consciously. He’d forgotten it was there.

  “Um . . . ,” he said.

  Then Kai’s voice piped up. “You have no idea how he got that. And you wouldn’t believe him if he told you.” He looked straight at Peter, then winked. “Right?” he asked, his voice full of knowing.

  Peter’s heart soared.

  It was real. His whole adventure had been real.

  HE KNEW IT.

  Before he could respond, the second bell rang and Mr. Moreau breezed in. He took a look at where Kai was sitting and seemed to make a note of it. The class didn’t have assigned seats—but most kids always sat in the same place. Not Kai. And Mr. Moreau always seemed to keep an eye on him.

  Mr. Moreau began talking, and Peter gathered his nerve. He couldn’t wait; he had to ask Kai now. He whispered to Kai, “So . . . you know the land in Elf Mirror?”

  Kai grinned. “You know I do.”

  Peter grinned back. He did. He did know Tiar well.

  “What happened with the dragon?” Peter asked.

  Before Kai could respond, Mr. Moreau said, “Peter. I’m talking now; you can talk later.”

  Peter sat back. But instead of being humiliated that he’d gotten into trouble, he felt angry. He had to talk to Kai. And even though talking back wasn’t like him at all, he decided to talk back. “I’m not done, though. I still have things to say,” he said.

  Kai snickered. Peter looked at him, and Kai gave him a thumbs-up. Peter grinned. That thumbs-up must mean Kai needed to talk to Peter, too. Finally he could talk to someone about Genevieve.

  “Peter . . . ,” Mr. Moreau started. He had that same disappointed look that Olive had lately. “This isn’t the time for you to talk.”

  Peter couldn’t help himself. He said, “It’s never the time for me to talk!”

  Mr. Moreau gave him a confused look and continued with his lecture as if Peter hadn’t said anything at all. Peter fumed at his desk. Kai leaned over and said, “Pssst,” then passed him a note. It said, “We need to hang out and talk more about Elf Mirror.”

  Peter felt his tension release. He smiled and folded up the note and put it in his pocket. He looked at Kai and nodded.

  Finally. Finally he could talk to his new friend about this world when no one else believed them. Peter had things to say.

  CHAPTER 14

  Hanging Out

  After the bell rang to end class, Kai leaned into Peter as they walked out and said, “Hey, let’s blow off school early, huh?”

  Peter’s stomach twisted. He’d never cut school before. But the idea of talking to Kai about Tiar was too tempting. Plus, Kai was a new friend—one he’d made on his own—and pretty much the coolest guy in school. It would be dumb for Peter to say no, right?

  He nodded.

  “Sweet. Okay, meet me at the front doors. Want to go to the skate park?” Kai said, chewing gum loudly.

  Peter was confused. Why would they go there? He cleared his throat. “Um, how about the Garrison Orchard?” If they went to the orchard, though Peter didn’t say this, and they wanted to find the cottage again, they’d be right there.

  Kai’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! That’s a great idea. I’ve heard they have some awesome things to do there.” He winked at Peter. Peter smiled.

  They sure did. Like going to a different world to save it from a menacing dragon. Or, now, going to make sure Genevieve was okay. Peter wanted to talk to Kai about the sleeping powder, too. Like why he had thrown it at the dragon when Peter had almost broken through to her. He assumed Kai had had a good reason. Maybe if they strategized, they could find a way to make Genevieve trust them again. And then she’d turn back into a witch.

  “Okay, Petey, let’s meet before lunch. Then we’re outta here.” Kai blew a bubble and punched Peter lightly on the shoulder. “See ya later,” he said.

  Peter smiled widely before he could stop himself. Kai disappeared down the hall, and a cold, clammy feeling came over him. It was like the light had followed Kai and left Peter alone. But then he realized—his stomach was trying to tell him something. Something . . . bad.

  There was no time to listen, though. None at all. He needed to talk about Tiar with Kai. He’d finally made a friend on his own, too, and he wasn’t going to let that get away.

  Normally before lunch, Peter met with Lizzie and Sarah and Olive, but today he went straight from class toward the front doors. Suddenly, he wondered if he and Kai would get caught—could they really just walk out the doors?

  Just as he rounded the corner to the front hallway, he saw a commotion. A small kid had fallen somehow, and his books had spilled all over the floor. It was the second time in just a few hours that that had happened. Peter wondered if there was some epidemic or something.

  People helped the kid up, but Peter looked down at the floor and kept going. He made sure not to look at anyone, which might get their attention. Except he saw that Lizzie was there, trying to gather the kid’s things. Which was just like Lizzie. Peter tried to walk by without catching her eye, but just as he went to turn his head, she looked up. Her face grew quizzical, and for a second, Peter’s stomach flipped. This would be a good chance to turn back. But before he could say anything, the kid started to cry loudly, and from out of nowhere Kai appeared and put his arm around Peter.

  “There’s a diversion, you see. So we can get out of here.” He led Peter to the doors, and no one seemed to
notice as they opened them. All the teachers were busy helping the kid. Peter wanted to see if Lizzie was watching, but Kai walked them out too fast.

  The air was pretty warm for winter when they got outside—nothing like the night Peter had been knocked unconscious. They hurried from the school and turned down the road. It seemed they’d gotten away with it and that no one was following them. Still, it was a pretty long walk to the orchard. Peter wished he’d thought a little more about the plan.

  “Dude, don’t worry! You look so worried,” Kai said. “My older brother is going to give us a ride. I texted him. We just need to get to the end of the road.”

  Peter cleared his throat. “How old is your brother?” he asked.

  Kai said, “Seventeen,” as he typed on his phone. Suddenly, something occurred to Peter.

  His new phone. He pulled it out of his pocket, and there was a text from Lizzie: Is everything okay?

  He knew that meant, “Where were you going?”

  But worse, he knew that his dads or Olive could track him on the tracking app they all had. He chewed his lip and thought about it.

  He made a decision. “Uh, hold on,” he said to Kai. Peter ran as fast as he could back to the school, ducking to make sure no one would see him. His heart pounded wildly—he felt just like he had when he’d faced Genevieve. He stuffed his cell phone into his backpack and tossed the pack to the side of the school. Then he turned around and sprinted back to Kai as fast as he could.

  It wasn’t that far, but Peter was winded. Being scared took his breath away.

  Kai laughed. “DUDE! That was awesome! You could have gotten caught. You’re crazy. I think we’re going to make a great team!” He grabbed Peter’s arm and said, “Come on, my brother’s here. We need to make it down the road.”

  They ran the rest of the way to the intersection, where a beat-up car sat, idling. A boy who looked a lot like Kai sat in the car, smoking. “Get in, loser,” the guy said. Kai got in the front and punched his brother hard. “You’re a loser,” he said.