Page 102 of Barbie: Dreamscape

But then she says, voice so quiet within the storm that I barely hear the words: “We didn’t make this world for ourselves.”

The shadows and storm continue to rage. Still, Robin’s expression turns softer, and I wonder if part of her is trying to fight it. If that’s why the fell magic is fighting back…

“Barbie, this entire world… was built for you,” Robin finally says. “Shaped in a heart… with you at the center of it.”

The words I was about to say die in my throat.

Swancrest is at the center of Heartland. And my room is at the center of the school…

My eyes burn with tears, at the fact that someone—two someones, Robin and my mother—loved me enough to create a whole land.

I was loved.

I am loved.

My mother might not have witnessed my childhood, but I always felt her love, through the gaps of every floorboard, through the light that poured through every pane of stained glass, through every piece of fabric she stitched for me.

And Robin made sure of that.

Robin, who was grieving just the same. But fought the darkness for all those years…

For me.

“If that’s true,” I say, raising my voice to a shout to be heard over the roiling tempest, “then let me live. Really live. Let me see all that I can be. Let me make mistakes. Let me fail.”

Robin’s eyes flash with fear. “But—but your mother.”

“Magic killed her,” I say. “I know. But I’m… I’m not my mother.” Tears finally fall, sliding down my cheeks. “I didn’t know her, but I know she would have hated this.”

Robin winces. I’m right, aren’t I?

When she speaks, her voice is tight with pain. “Magic did kill your mother. Though not how you think. The wicked creatures we fled eventually found us here, in Heartland. Your mother never agreed with cutting ourselves off from the rest of the world. We let people in from other lands, allowed them to come and go freely, because of her wishes. That was her mistake. It was eventually how that evil came here and surrounded us. I told her that we should use our magic to put up a wall. But she was concerned about the other lands… we might be safe, but what about them?

“So she drew those villainous creatures to Heartland on purpose, to destroy them once and for all. And when they arrived, as she knew they would, instead of fleeing… she confronted them. She walked out to meet them, alone… and before I could reach her, she emptied herself of her magic.” Her voice quivers. “She gave all of herself to keep us—you—protected. Until every last creature was gone… and none of her was left.”

Another tear slips down my cheek. I knew my mother sacrificed her life to defend our land. But I thought she died in battle with her sword. I didn’t know she drained herself of magic to keep us all safe.

“I vowed never to put you in danger again.” I see it in my mind, as if she’s projecting the image onto me. That cloud that used to follow her around… it dispersed and spread, becoming the mist that surrounds Heartland. Cutting it off from the rest of the world.

Keeping us safe.

Keeping us isolated.

It all makes sense now.

“Robin,” I whisper. “I understand why you did it. But your protection has turned into a prison. It’s time to let go of your hold on magic. Let go of controlling everything, including fate, thinking it’s the only way to keep me—all of us—safe. Let go of your regrets and your hurt and your sadness. This is not… it’s not the way your best friend would want you to live. She gave up her life for Heartland… and now… now you’re destroying it.”

Her eyes burn fiercely, the black pupils lighting as though from within, my words hitting their mark.

Still, the storm strengthens. The metal around my skin wraps tighter still, forcing me down even lower, toward the floor, now puddled with rising rainwater.

I can see in Robin’s face that she wants to fight the shadows. But the darkness has its hooks in her. She’s so far deep she can’t see a way out of it.

She’s drowning in the shadows. They want her to forget who she is and who she loves. They want to turn her magic completely fell and use it to destroy all of Heartland.

They want her to just give up and give in.

I remember Posey’s words, from Anyland, when we were sitting in the depths of Rock Bottom.