The darkness surrounded her and her body felt disconnected. She felt warm. And in the distance, she saw a pinprick of light.

The light drew her attention and she felt herself fly toward it, only it wasn't the feeling to which she was accustomed. Here there was no wind to buffet her hair as she traveled; it had been why she started wearing the helmet in the first place. Here she felt nothing but the sense of the light growing closer, expanding, and overtaking the darkness.

She blinked as the light grew brighter and brighter.

When she opened her eyes once more, she was standing in a garden. She looked around at the detailed and well-manicured space. A riot of colors greeted her eyes as every plant seemed to be bursting with blossoms. A cacophony of scents assaulted her nose as each plant's aroma filled the air. Birds and small mammals tweeting and chittering filled her ears, but not so much as to deafen her to the laughter she heard in the distance.

She started moving toward the sound of laughter, curious as to its source. The garden was familiar; she had grown up playing among the leaves and branches and honed her magic on the rose bushes there. But the laughter was not. She couldn't remember the last time she heard laughter in this space.

She shuffled down the path, frustrated as her body would not move as fast as she wished. Her entire being ached with the movements, though she could see no reason why. She turned the corner slowly only to have a young girl with ebony hair latch onto her.

"MOMMY!" The girl laughed, hugging her tightly.

Mommy?

"Come see what Daddy taught me!" The girl tugged at her hand as she tried to skip further into the garden.

Of course, she's my daughter. Everything slowly started to fall into place.

"Slow down, Sweetheart. Mommy can't move that fast."

But why? What's missing?

The girl let go of her hand and skipped forward along the path, humming as she wove through the maze of walkways toward the center of the garden.

When did the garden become a maze?

Charlotte moved sluggishly, almost as if she were floating or trying to walk through water.

The girl turned a corner and when Charlotte followed, the scene which met her made her heart stop.

The girl, so jovial a moment before, stood ready, a stick in her tiny hands and a serious expression on her face.

"That's it." A familiar, deep voice rumbled. "Now watch your stance. Good." The large man positioned the girl's body, moving her feet and her arms in order to bring more power behind the strike she had prepared. His unruly hair-as dark as the girls-blew gently in the wind, and a curl of smoke ran up the side of his face before he straightened.

"Now, strike."

The girl moved with purpose and precision one normally never ascribed to a six-year-old. Charlotte felt herself beaming in pride.

"And now turn." The tall man commanded, the cigarette in on hand and a matching smile on his face. The girl shifted her focus upon command, striking down imaginary enemies left and right. She reached out one hand, shifting the makeshift sword's weight into a single-handed grip, and brought forth a small tangle of vines from the empty patch of dirt to tangle the feet of the would-be assailants. She dropped the sword as the vines erupted from the ground and wove themselves into a tight braid. She bounced up and down, jubilant.

"Daddy! I did it! I did it! Mommy, did you see?"

"You sure did, Doodlebug." The man-her lover, her husband?-lifted his daughter into the air and settled her small form onto his hip.

"I did. That was... wonderful." Charlotte did not quite know what to say to the excited child.

"Oh, I'm sorry Bubby." The girl's focus had shifted again to something Charlotte could not see behind the man's back.

The man's face was shrouded in darkness and his features were not discernible from the distance. He never looked fully at her, not even as she approached. She reached out to touch the girl's head and brush her long black hair from her face.

"I thought the doctor said you should be in bed in your condition." His warm, deep voice echoed in her ears and sent a tingle down her spine. He pressed his hand against her belly. She looked down at his hand and noticed for the first time the swollen, gravid nature of her body.

No wonder it hurt to walk...

"And the midwife said I'm overdue and that walking might help." She placed her hand over his and finally saw his face. He wore a soft half-smile which could turn to a smirk at a moment's notice. His narrow brown eyes held a joy which seemed out of place for him. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles, just as a small child, but not the girl seated on his hip, started to cry.

"It's okay, Bubby." The girl's hand moved up and down behind his head, and Charlotte peeked around his back to see the sleepy toddler strapped to him. She reached out and brushed the young boy's small head, feeling the softness of the dark hair which crowned him.

"None of them are going to look like me, are they?" She brushed the soft hair once more and placed her other hand on her filled belly.

He chuckled as he glanced over his shoulder at the boy as he stirred to waking.

"Probably not."

She met his eyes once more and leaned in to kiss him.

And she was surrounded by the darkness once more.

Charlotte panicked. Her breathing grew erratic and her heart raced. She rubbed her hand over her belly, once so full of life ready to enter the world, only to feel its flat emptiness.

She swallowed hard as her heart broke into a million tiny pieces.

"A dream?" She muttered, and yet she knew she was not awake, not fully, not really. The scene had felt so real, so perfect.

Should have known better than to believe it.

Tears streamed down her face.

"Of course it was a dream. Yami would never..."

A voice cut her off and made her blood run cold. She froze from the familiarity of it.

"Are you so certain?"

Slowly, she turned toward the sound and was met by a pair of eyes, slightly more green than blue, set in a face which mirrored hers. The woman's hair was more white than blonde and she had red swirling tattoos or painted markings on her cheeks. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders, though the braid they shared was still intact. Her pointed ears stuck through the curtains of white framing her face.

"Who are you?" Charlotte's heart raced as she struggled to understand how she was staring at a copy of herself.

"I... I had to use your body for a while. I'm, I'm sorry. Things were not quite as we were promised they would be." The woman who Charlotte could only describe as an elf tried to smile in apology.

"That didn't answer my question." Charlotte's voice hardened. The woman sighed.

"My name is Charla, and I am... you, sort of, from five hundred years ago. We share part of our soul. Forbidden magic was used to bring me and others back from the dead by allowing us to... inhabit the bodies of, well, descendants isn't exactly the right word... incarnations? Perhaps? Anyway, the magic was forced upon all of us, but now, we are choosing to depart, for good. So, I am sorry. For the intrusion."

"I. Don't. Understand." Charlotte narrowed her eyes at the other woman.

"I don't think most people do," Charla answered cryptically. "But, before I leave, I need to tell you something. Two things actually."

"And what could you possibly have to tell me?"

"Your magic. I've unlocked its potential. You should find yourself with a much more nuanced understanding of it when you wake up."

Charlotte blinked. She could do no magic in the dark place. She would have to test this Charla's efforts once she was free from it.

"And the other thing?"

"The human, male, dark hair, dark eyes, incredibly stubborn who refuses to give up, the one I can feel you have strong feelings for... He did everything in his power to save you, to stop me without hurting you. I'm convinced now he could have killed me with his attack had he wanted, but he chose to deflect it so it would not. Because he did not want to hurt you."

Charlotte felt her jaw go slack as Charla spoke.

"You have never told him your feelings?"

Charlotte shook her head.

"How could I? It's just a silly crush. It doesn't mean anything."

"And your dream? It was a beautiful dream. Do you think he might not share it?"

"I... I don't know."

"Then you should ask him how he feels, and tell him how you feel."

"I can't."

"Why not? You both seemed so happy in the dream."

Charlotte knew she was right. She had never seen Yami look quite so happy as she had in the dream. He seemed downright joyful and content when they looked at each other.

"I," Charlotte sighed. "I don't know. I just can't."

"Your fear is going to be your undoing. Just as fear led to our downfall, it will lead to yours."

Charlotte met the elf woman's eyes and was struck by the depths of their sadness.

"I can feel the depths of your affection for him. And I saw the look in his eyes when he realized I wasn't you, or well, that you weren't you."

Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest. She looked out into the darkness before looking back at her doppelganger.

"But what if..."

Charla reached out and placed her hand over Charlotte's heart. Charlotte swallowed hard, knowing, as the other's hand pressed against the slight gap in the metal plating she wore to protect herself-not just from danger, but from the world as well, she could feel the racing of her heart.

"The heart knows what is right and what is true. Trust it."

Charlotte had felt tears welling in her eyes and could no longer hold them back. She squeezed her eyes shut and nodded as the warm, wet tears slid down her cheeks. The pressure against her chest lifted.

"I am going now. But promise me, you will talk to him, and you will listen to him. Not with your ears and mind alone, but with your heart."

Charlotte took a deep steadying breath and nodded as she opened her eyes. Her double faded into the light as the darkness swelled into blinding brightness.

Charlotte blinked her eyes.

"We are not of this time, and we never will be."

"We can return them all, undo the magic binding us here and let the others return."

The conversation went over Yami's head or rather was not interesting enough to hold his attention. Instead, he looked at Charlotte-no, Charla, he corrected himself. Their similarities astounded him, but the elf woman was not Charlotte and the subtle differences bothered him. One of the other elves spoke to her in tones too low to hear. They seemed to be making plans for their next move.

"But we fought so hard for a second chance."

Yami scowled at the speaker. A rage boiled in him as he looked at the man who had formerly been his comrade even if they had never been friends.

"You are in Captain Vangence's body."

For whatever he was, William would never have challenged Julius. He would have never forced his hand, and he would never have killed him. Blood boiled in Yami's ears and he missed the remainder of the conversation. Not that he really cared.

"It's decided then?"

All those possessed by the elves closed their eyes and they all seemed to glow briefly before the light coalesced and flew off into who knows where. Everything took only a moment and the human hosts were back to normal upon opening their eyes.

Except for Charlotte.

The markings of the elven inhabitant had faded-the pointed ears and the facial markings, but she did not open her eyes like the others. Instead, her knees buckled under the weight of her and she fell. She would have hit the ground had Yami been too slow to catch her. He sensed the fall before seeing it and had sprung into action.

She looked serene in his arms, as Julius had when he had fallen, only without the tell-tale signs of combat. Her breathing was shallow and slow as if her lungs had stopped working right.

"No. no. no." Panic flooded through him. He had too much to say, too many questions to ask. He couldn't lose her now. Not now, not after Julius. Not when he had just realized...

"What's wrong with her?" Another voice asked, panic also coloring the tone. He couldn't tell who had asked.

Yami patted her cheek, trying to get a response.

"Come on, Charlotte. You're stronger than this." He breathed, his voice barely above a whisper for fear it would break. As it was, he couldn't stop the tears as everything-Julius, everyone gone wacky, and now this-crashed down upon him.

Her breathing stopped.

Yami placed his hand over her heart, only to feel it racing beneath the armor she wore to protect herself. From what, he wondered.

He could feel her slipping away, her ki weakening.

"I swear, I can't do this today. Not again." He pulled her against his chest and her head lolled to one side.

"She's not coming back? Why isn't she waking up?" The voices around him chattered like birds, but the presences of the people around him had fallen away as his focus fell squarely on Charlotte's still body. He laid her down on the ground, gently, carefully as he had straightened Julius' body what felt like days but was only hours ago. Her hair was still loose and he brushed it away from her face. She looked every bit like a storybook princess from one of the books Julius had used to teach him to read.

But this wasn't a story and she was slipping away.

He shook his head.

"Not going to let you go, not like this." He leaned over her and kissed her forehead.

And heard a small gasp of air.

Her lips were parted slightly as if she had taken a breath.

"But maybe it is a story." His mind raced as he recalled everything he knew of her curse. The details were sketchy at best. Julius had told him what he had known after he had apparently broken the curse or at least lifted part of it. Yami had thought it seemed far too similar to one of those stories he had read to be real.

But now he had little choice left.

He had never taken much stock in fate, choosing to make his own, to live his own way. But somehow, he had been in the right place at the right time to rescue her so many years ago. And somehow he had finally put two and two together with how she felt-at least he thought so.

And he finally realized how he felt after being faced with the idea of losing her.

He slipped his hand around the back of her head and leaned over her once more.

"You really shouldn't move her while I'm trying to heal her."

He ignored the panicked voice and he pressed his lips against hers.

If this works...

Part of him couldn't believe he was even trying something so ridiculous.

The pressure against his lips was light, but it was alive. Once, twice, three times, before he sat back on his heels and pulled her against him once more. He buried his head against her neck, or rather against the gorget she wore. He sighed in relief as he heard her take a deep breath and then a second one. She pressed her hands against his back and laid her head against his shoulder.

"Yami?" Her voice was a whisper that rang in his head like a church bell.

He grunted his acknowledgment of the question in her voice. She spread her fingers wide and pressed them more deeply against him as if she were bracing herself for something.

"I love you."

He couldn't stop the sharp intake of air, despite his hope to one day hear such feelings from her. A million sarcastic jokes passed through his head vying to get out, but none of them were very funny and certainly, none fit the mood.

"I meant what I said, ya know."

She lifted her head and looked at him suspiciously as if she had expected him to joke with her feelings and his response confused her.

"I like strong women." He brushed the hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. "And you're the strongest woman I've ever met."

She closed her eyes and released a sigh of disbelief as she shook her head. He noticed, not for the first time, the flush of red on her cheeks which always seemed to show up when he talked to her, which she always tried to hide before. A small smile graced her lips before he kissed them once more.

"I can't believe you had to save me again," Charlotte said with mock frustration.

"Nah. This time you saved me too."

"That was... her."

"You remember all that? What happened when she was...?"

Charlotte nodded.

"Yeah, I remember. I wonder if I can still use recovery magic now? You're not hurt so I can test it?"

Yami's eyes grew wide.

"No. But that wasn't what I was talking about." A dark cloud passed over his face as he thought back to the start of his day and the events which kicked everything off. "But we'll talk about it later."