i

The morning seemed to drag on forever. Ophelia had her head resting on her hand as her professor droned on about a book she couldn't care to read. She had just looked up the basic idea of it and that was that. Although many people rushed to finish the book, Ophelia had her mind somewhere else.

Lately, Ophelia's dreams have become stranger and stranger. She dreams of a group of people. Each one staring at her, bowing as her feet drug her to a place she couldn't remember. Although her subconsciousness knew this place as home, Ophelia couldn't put a finger on why she continues to dream of this dark, towering castle.

"As we conclude this semester, a test will be given before your final. Please make sure you are prepared for it." The professor spoke loudly, causing Ophelia to jump slightly. Oh, I must've been daydreaming again. Ophelia sighed through her nose as she shoved the book into the over-the-shoulder bag.

People filed out of the classroom, bumping into one another. Ophelia barely walked through the door when she felt a foot hook around her ankle.

"Oh! Ophelia, be much more careful next time, 'kay?"

Looking over her shoulder, Ophelia saw Bora and her goons walking away, laughing among one another. Bora had transferred from Korea when they were freshmen. Ever since, she's made it a goal to make Ophelia's life a living hell.

"Dammit." Ophelia growled out before pushing herself off of the floor. She wiped her hand and leaned down to pick up her bag, which was hanging off the hand of a lean man.

"This yours?" He cocked his head to the side and gave a lopsided smile. Something about him was familiar, but Ophelia couldn't put a finger onto it.

"Uh, thanks." Giving the familiar stranger a tight lipped smile, Ophelia's fingers brushed over his as she grabbed the bag and she jolted. The man reached to steady her. "Are you alright?"

Ophelia looked up at him, knitting her eyebrows together. "I...I know you." She whispered so lowly, it would've been hard for anybody to hear what she had said. But he did. Tensing, the man looked away and turned from Ophelia, taking long stride after long stride. Ophelia ran to keep up with him.

"Who are you? How do I know you?" Ophelia followed him, but he ignored her questions. She quickly became fed up with this and Ophelia grabbed his elbow and spun him around. "<i>I'm talking to you!"</i>

"I'm nobody!" The man answered. "I...it's complicated. You can't know anything just yet." The man avoided eye contact with Ophelia.

"Tell me your name, at least." Ophelia tried to look into his eyes, but couldn't. "Look, Ophelia. I know you. You know me. It's just not time for you to know the whole story."

He tried to walk away but Ophelia walked in front of him. "Wait. You know my name? Yet I have no idea who you are. How is that fair?"

The man sighed, exasperated. "The name's Caspian. Better?"

Although Ophelia's questions weren't resolved, she nodded and took what he was willing to give up.. "Okay, Caspian. Tell me. How do you know me?" Ophelia crossed her arms over her chest as Caspian sighed through his nose once again.

"I can't tell you, it's not something you'll be able to understand with one short telling." Caspian responded, his eyes pleading with her to drop it. Ophelia met his eyes, and a harsh tug made her reach around and touch the back of her head.

She turned around and looked, positive that someone had just yanked on her hair. Caspian rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand and wrote a number onto it in a black sharpie.

"Text me later on tonight and I'll send you an address. I'll tell you everything then." Caspian pushed the cap back onto the sharpie and shoved it into his pocket. He stared at Ophelia for a moment before turning and walking away.

Ophelia looked down at her hand and studied the number he had written. Is he actually going to answer all of my questions? She turned and looked back the way Caspian had walked away, but he had disappeared.

People bustled around Ophelia as she slowly walked towards her apartment. Ever since she had talked to Caspian, a migraine caused her vision to blur a bit around the edges. Ophelia pulled her sunglasses out of her bag and put them over her eyes, hoping that it would help with the throbbing.

Luckily, her apartment wasn't far from the campus. Ophelia quickly unlocked her door and went into the apartment. She locked the door and left all of the lights off.

Ophelia dropped her bag and stumbled towards her bedroom. She was going to take a nap, maybe that'll help with the migraine. Ophelia didn't bother to take her shoes off as she laid on her bed and put the pillow over her head to help keep the light from her window off of her face.

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. The dream was just strange.

Ophelia was walking towards the same large, dark castle. A red, soft formal dress swished around her legs as she walked. Ophelia looked down at her outfit. The sleeves flared out around her hands and there was a red satin belt tied around her waist.

People watched as Ophelia slowly walked through them, everyone she passed, bowed. What's going on? Why are they bowing? Ophelia couldn't ask out loud, though. It was as if her mouth and her brain weren't connected.

Once at the end of the large group of people, she saw Caspian and another familiar face. She couldn't put her finger on it. Why was that man familiar?

"Ophelia, you look beautiful." Caspian reaches his elbow towards her. Ophelia laces her arm through his and lets Caspian lead her the rest of the way.

"Abraxas, Ophelia's here." Caspian motions towards Ophelia, who looked between Caspian and the man named Abraxas.

"Ophelia, it's been so long." Abraxas leans over and wraps her into a hug. Ophelia, although confused about how this man knew her, hugged him back. "How are you?" Ophelia pulled away as Abraxas smiled at her.

"I've been okay. Just suffering from headaches."

Ophelia felt a jolt and she sat up, back in her bedroom. She looked around and noticed that the sun had gone down. How did she not hear her alarm? Ophelia reached for her phone and noticed the number scrawled onto the back of her hand.

How could she forget to contact Caspian? "Shit!" Ophelia gripped her phone and dialed the number. It rang a few times before the familiar voice of Caspian answered.

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't call, Ophelia." Even through the phone, Ophelia heard the smirk on his voice.

"I'm sorry! I fell asleep. You said that you were going to tell me an address?" Ophelia reminded him, running her free hand through her hair.

Caspian hummed in agreement. "I didn't forget. Meet me on campus. The courtyard in front of the Literary Arts building. In 20 minutes."

Ophelia looked up at the clock hanging on the wall above the tv in the living room. That'll be about 9:30. "Alright. I'll meet you there. You promise to tell me everything?" Ophelia rested her phone between her ear and shoulder while she slipped the converse onto her feet and tied them.

"I promise." Caspian chuckled into the phone before hanging up. Ophelia looked at the screen on her phone before shaking her head and locking it, shoving it into her pocket. Walking into the kitchen, Ophelia grabbed her keys and the small backpack that held her important things and left her apartment.

---

Foot traffic was light as Ophelia walked towards the campus. She hoped that Caspian wasn't messing with her about everything, she hoped that he'd give her actual answers, not riddles. Ophelia checked the time on her phone when she made her way into the courtyard. She made it there with a few minutes to spare.

Ophelia sat on the picnic table and waited. She rested her hands on her lap, picking at her nails to help keep her nerves under control. She had been sitting there for about 10 minutes when Caspian came up.

Ophelia stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. "What took you so long?" But the large shadow didn't say anything, nor did it move. "Caspian?" Ophelia backed up slightly, reaching down slowly to grab her bag.

The shadows started to advance, causing Ophelia to turn and run, only to run face first into a strong chest. Ophelia backed away from the man and looked at him.

"Professor Dalton?"