Through the Rainbow #BattleTheBeast

Glimmering rays of sunlight filtered through the curtains, waking Quentin. His eyelids fluttered open. He stood and slogged to the window, gazing down at the grounds of Brakebills. It was a golden dawn, with that hazy glow after a warm night's rain.

"Look, Penny, a rainbow!" Quentin exclaimed to his roommate.

Penny didn't stir, his snoring uninterrupted.

Quentin admired the view. Rainbows always made him think of Fillory. That type of beauty was usually reserved for fairytales, almost too magical for this world. As he was looking at the rainbow, he could've sworn he saw it wiggle. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. It must've been sleepiness.

Shifting his gaze to the ground below, Quentin recognized a human figure outside, also admiring the rainbow. It was his friend, Elliot. Quentin quickly dressed and went down to greet him.

"Maybe it's a gay thing," Elliot said, "But I swear I felt this rainbow calling to me."

"Yeah, that's definitely a gay thing," Quentin said jokingly.

Elliot faced him, serious. "I mean it. There's something weird about this rainbow."

"It's probably the leprechaun taunting you to find its pot of gold," Quentin scoffed.

"I need to get closer," Elliot said, darting off into the woods.

Quentin hastily followed. "I hate to break it to you," he said, "But that isn't how rainbows work."

He was in the middle of explaining to Elliot that rainbows are nothing more than an illusion when they both came to a sudden stop in a small clearing. They saw the rainbow touching the ground in front of them.

"That's not possible," Quentin said.

Elliot approached the rainbow, mesmerized. He kept walking toward it until he disappeared. Quentin panicked. He searched the clearing for his friend, careful not to get too close to the rainbow. He was at a loss, Elliot was gone.

Then, Quentin had a thought. "Alice," he whispered, and ran to the library.

If anyone could figure out this rainbow, it would be Alice. She was a brilliant phosphormancer. He found her sitting at a table alone, studying an old spellbook.

"Quentin, is everything alright?" she asked, worried.

"You have to come, quick!" he said between breaths. "Elliot's gone!"

Without another word, Quentin lead Alice through the Brakebills campus all the way to the small clearing in the woods. She couldn't believe it. Her eyes followed the path of the rainbow from the ground in front of them to the sky above them.

She looked at Quentin. "How is this possible?" she asked. "It's the kind of rainbow you'd see in paintings or children's storybooks."

"Or Fillory," Quentin said, hopeful.

Alice moved forward to investigate.

"Careful," Quentin said, "That's how Elliot disappeared."

From where Quentin was standing, the images of Alice and the rainbow blurred into one. Then, she vanished. Once again, Quentin was alone in the clearing. He frantically paced in circles, contemplating if he should tell Dean Fogg.

Suddenly, a hand reached through the rainbow. Startled, he jumped back. The hand turned over, palm up, inviting him to grab it. He didn't want to, but he had to find his friends.

Quentin closed his eyes and clasped the hand, walking forward. When he opened his eyes, he was standing in the kitchen of a small cottage, holding Alice's hand. He quickly let go, embarrassed.