Page 3 of His Winter Wonderland

She tried not to cringe at the sound of her own voice. Though she was in control of her actions now, she was still wounded, weak, defenseless, unsure of herself. It seemed she still embodied the personality of this dream version of herself.

His dark eyes didn’t waver when he answered. “During the day, you’ll be by my side. No one will dare approach you when you’re by my side.”

Winter could feel a blush creeping into her cheeks. And it wasn’t due to the heat of being in the Wastelands. It was because of this man with the dark, slanted eyes and sun-kissed skin. The man she was standing naked before yet, his eyes remained glued to hers respectfully.

“You’re hurt,” he pointed out. “Come with me. I’ll treat your wounds.”

He led the way. And she tried to follow. But dream her was still wounded and weak. A small cry escaped her lips when she tripped on a stone and stumbled. Her protector caught her before she could hit the ground. She bit her lip and ignored the pain she felt when he scooped her up in his arms and held her close.

“Bear with it for a moment,” he told her. Then he sped off. The scenery around her became a blur as he raced through the Wastelands. “Close your eyes,” he instructed.

She did as she was told. But shutting her eyes didn’t shield her from the feel of the sands he kicked up once he neared the sand dunes. The hot sand stung her skin. But it wasn’t a pain that she couldn’t bear. She’d been through worse. Her protector didn’t slow down until he reached the dark caves near River’s Edge.

This was a part of the Wastelands she had rarely ventured to when she lived in this realm. Darkness engulfed them when they entered one of the many caves near River’s Edge. The sudden dramatic temperature change was welcomed. It went from hot as hell to cool within seconds.

Her protector didn’t sit her on her feet until they were deep inside the cave. After he released her, Winter placed her hands on the damp cave wall to keep from falling down. Her feet ached and she still felt weak. Her protector helped her over to a rock. She blinked, eyes adjusting to the darkness. Wait, it wasn’t a rock. It was a chair.

“Have a seat here and rest. I’ll light some candles.”

Her eyes followed him as he moved from one lamp to the next, lighting all of the candles inside the lanterns that hung from the cave wall. When he was done, a dim light filled the room and she could see her surroundings clearly.

“Welcome to my home.”

Despite being located inside a damp cave, his home looked nice. It was scarcely furnished, with only a bed, a crate as a nightstand, and a sword. It was perfect. She wanted to tell him that, but suddenly her body started to feel heavy. She knew what that meant. It meant she was about to wake up. Damn it. Her gaze raised to his. The look of sadness she saw in the depths of his dark gaze was heart-wrenching.

“I’ll see you again soon,” he promised.

She opened her mouth. No words emerged. Darkness engulfed her. The bottom dropped from underneath her, and then she was falling. Her throat ached from her screaming. Still, no sound left her mouth. Somewhere below her, she could hear rushing water. She was going to crash into whatever body of water that was. The sound grew louder and louder. Winter closed her eyes, bracing for impact. Bam!

Winter sat up in bed. Sweat beaded her forehead. Her T-shirt clung to her chest. Her hands were clutching her comforter. Her scream filled the room. It took her a second to realize she was awake and safe. She snapped her lips shut. Chest rising and falling rapidly, she struggled to catch her breath as she tried to calm herself.

She gave herself her usual morning talk. “You’re awake. The nightmare can’t hurt you when you’re awake. You’re alive. You’re safe. You’re in control of…”

Wait. She hadn’t died in the second half of her dream. She’d been saved by her mysterious protector. Did that mean the curse of her recurring nightmare had been broken? There was only one way to find out. Unfortunately, she’d have to wait until tonight to do so. Winter flopped back down onto her pillow.

For the first time since she’d been banished to the Frostlands, she wasn’t dreading the thought of falling asleep. In fact, she was ready to get some shut-eye now to see if she’d pick up where she’d left off with her protector. But if she fell back to sleep right now, there would be no dreams.

She only dreamed at night. And before being banished to this plane, she’d never dreamed at all. This was still new to her, and she didn’t know how it worked. Did all creatures have recurring nightmares, or was it just her? She wanted to ask some of the other cursed creatures in this realm.

That wouldn’t happen anytime soon. Most of the beings here would rather kill and eat her than talk to her. And some of the creatures who wanted to talk to her only did so in order to hear her voice so they could learn to mimic it and use it for nefarious reasons. Damn voice stealing sirens. Winter stared up at her ceiling.

She couldn’t lie in bed all day. She had things to do. She rose, took a shower, and began her daily chores. But today was different. She spent the entire day looking forward to night. When it finally came, she started to grow nervous. Would her dream be a nightmare or something else?

She went to sleep feeling optimistic and was delighted to find that her dream didn’t start with her running from an unknown beast. It began with her fishing in a stream, seated beside her protector. Finally, no more nightmares! It seemed her dream protector had broken her nightmarish dream loop.

And he’d replaced it with something much better. From then on, every night, she went to bed with a smile on her face because she knew she was going to see her handsome protector. No matter how hard her day was or how many creatures tried to kill her, she still looked forward to the events that occurred in her dreams.

And in her dreams, she was in complete control of her actions. However, dream her was still a little shy. Probably because neither real her nor dream her had ever crushed on someone before. Her dream protector not only took her fishing, but he also took her hunting. During one dream, they went camping.

After the suns went down in the Wastelands, they spent the night lying on a blanket and staring up at the stars. During some dreams, they were in the Frostlands. Others, they were in the Wastelands. No matter where they were, they were together, and they were safe. As the months passed, Winter found herself longing for sleep during the day.

She’d rather be asleep than awake. She’d rather be with her dream protector than alone on a cursed plane with no one to talk to. During the day, she fought against the difficulties of living in the Frostlands. At night, she was able to relax and allow her dream protector to watch over her. During the day, she had to be a warrior, a survivor, a killer.

At night, she could simply be a woman. His woman. The woman of the male she now knew as Rhen Fujisaki. She might not know how to love and be loved in reality. But in her dreams, she was great at it. Those dreams were what helped her cope with her banishment. Those dreams were what kept her sane during her darkest days in the Frostlands.

For years, those dreams helped her hold it together. Without those dreams, without Rhen, she could have succumbed to the darkness in her soul. Because of those dreams, because of Rhen, she was able to hold on to the goodness he saw in her. Because of those dreams, Winter fell in love for the first time.

And that was something her creators said she’d never be able to do.