"Yet, they forget that without the darkness the light cannot shine. And without the light, the darkness has no shadow to cast."
"Opposites cannot live without each other."
~.~
All she did was go for a swim in the ocean.
Then the storm came.
{I know this is Avatar music, but I was listening to it whilst writing this chapter and it just fits well so take it or leave it.}
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Olivia felt the snow crush beneath her feet as she walked aimlessly in the white forest. Snowflakes floated down from the heavens gracefully and she reached out to hold at least one. She felt like a child in a dream. And yet, she felt like she was reliving something.
She didn't feel the cold and if she did it was numb. Not a care came to her though. She was too focused on figuring out why the snow-covered woods seemed so familiar. Snow was rare in southeast Ireland, so she knew she wasn't home.
Where was she even? How did she get here?
She stopped her walking suddenly when a soft orange glow shone above her. It was a street light, a lantern. Within the flames burned in grace.
"The lamppost..." Olivia muttered. Was this the place Lucy spoke of? The Lantern Waste?
"Olivia." A deep voice echoed. Olivia spun around but didn't see the source of who called her.
"Hello?" She rushed away from the lantern, deeper into the woods. "Who's there?"
She came she stopped by a clearing, she caught sight of a canine creature. A grey wolf stood in the open snow. It sniffed the air as if looking for a scent when its eyes stopped on Olivia. Ocean blue met ice blue and to Olivia, it felt as if it were looking into her soul.
She took one step, then another, then another. The wolf didn't move and soon she was about a foot away. The creature was well about her height, which she thought was impossible but she was in Narnia. Slowly she reached out a hand.
"Were you calling me?" she quietly asked, as if scared the wolf would run away.
The wolf looked to her hand, then to her eyes. Olivia sucked in a breath of shock when an aura began to glow around the beast's eyes. It was blue like the iris. She cautiously moved her hand forward. And just like that, the wolf began walking away. Olivia stared at its retreating form and it began to trot. Before entering the brush, it looked back at Olivia. Did it want her to follow?
Olivia went to step, but her foot gave out from under her. She fell in the snow in shock.
"Wha... What?" She couldn't move her legs and all of a sudden, she could feel the cold. Her head began to feel heavy. What was happening to her?
"Olivia!" The same voice echoed. She was now on her knees, head in her hands as she squeezed her eyes shut. A different voice began to ring out, a burst of laughter. The laughter of a maniac. It got louder and louder until everything went black.
She no longer felt the cold. Her head felt normal again. Her body was still, peaceful even.
"Wake up, child."
Olivia gasped as her eyes shot open. She quickly sat up and gawked around the room. She was in bed, in Cair Paravel, in the dark. The moon shone, peeping through the curtains to the balcony. Olivia wiped the sweat from her brow and shakily got out of bed. Her nightgown fluttered slightly as she pulled back the curtain and opened the door.
