

OUR STORY

Nicole Arias

Copyright Nicole Arias 2011

Published at Smashwords

Prologue

Books. They can be boring or they can be funny. They can make you laugh or they can make you cry- may be because they're really good or really bad. I've learned that books... They can be _so_ meaningless. However, some of them can be super life changing.

I'm not here to convince you that reading my story will make you any brighter or enlighten your life in anyway. I understand, not everything is about me. This is not about my story, no, it's about the story that made my story happen. It's about the knights, the kingdom light, the pirates, and the warlocks. It seems so crazy because I don't even focus on them. Somehow, though, they're the reason I'm even giving this spill. Their story changed my story and, ultimately, my life.

Since I was little, I've always loved books. I especially adored those that seemed to suck me into them. Sometimes, I'd get so immersed in the story, that I forgot what reality is. That was back then, though. I was younger and, although not much of a dreamer, I couldn't get my head out of the clouds. I used to be realistic, but then all the magic and every fairytale got to me. My sister, Mina, she was the real dreamer. She inspired all of this, really, because without her, none of this would've even happened. She was the one who made me stupid enough to believe- even for just a second- that the fictional was real. I actually let myself believe that something which grew from fantasy roots was going to be real for me. I was a fool. Not anymore, though. I learned my lesson.

This isn't the story about the princess in distress or the guy who comes at her rescue. No, this one's about the average girl- average? - who falls in love and then screws it up. Again. And again. And again. And there's no turning back after that.

I won't tell it alone, though. No, I'd probably bore you to tears. Let the other people who were with me, too, share their sides, also. Every single chapter told by someone new and sharing secrets that even we weren't aware of. That's the main benefit here. But, enough of my rambling, it's time for all of us to finally tell our story.

P.S. I'll be starting us off. Oh and if you get lost with all the perspectives, here's a big hint. The character whose name is on the title of the chapter is the one who's in charge of telling the events at that point and... I believe that's it! Enjoy! Or not...

Chapter 1: Lynn is Going Too

[...it's not like I had anyone to say goodbye to.]

"Okay," Mina said. "I think I finally finished all the packing that I'll need." I looked over at my sister's suitcases. We were both in her room, the day before the last day of school.

"Why do you need 4 suitcases- including a complete makeup kit and seven pairs of shoes- for a stay at a cabin?" I asked.

"Forest or not," she started answering, "I still need to look fabulous for Derek." Derek was such a jerk. Her stupid, rich, popular boyfriend invited a bunch of his stupid, rich, popular friends to stay at his family's cabin for a week. It was located deep inside some forest his father owned. Something about the acres not satisfying their needs made his father decide to not cut it down, instead building some fabulous cabin deep inside. It was in the outskirts of Grand Prairie, the town we lived in. Dad had made me research it.

"Mina," I started, "it's just going to be one week!" Even then, I still could not believe our dad would give her permission. He was very overprotective when it came to my sister and me. I later found out that it was because of our mothers.

Mina is really my half-sister. Her full name is Romina Hermione Anderson Smith, but I would always call her Mina because I couldn't say Romina when we were kids. Her mother, Sophia Smith, was a beautiful Irish woman. She had red hair and green eyes, though neither trait shows on Mina. Sophia fell in love with our father, Frank, an Italian man, not to mention handsome, who was in love with my mother, Annabelle Isadora Gutierrez. She was an extremely gorgeous, Mexican woman. Well, her mother was actually American but her father was Mexican and although she didn't look it, I kind of did. Frank says her family was originally from Spain. Maybe that's where the light skin comes from. I was named Lyndis Isabelle Anderson Gutierrez. Lyndis was my paternal grandmother's name, who diseased before my birth. She loved my mother very much. Isabelle is a combination of Annabelle and Isadora. Frank never talked about either of our mothers.

The only thing we knew about them was where they started and where they ended. Frank met my mother first. He was twenty and she was seventeen. He fell in love with her at first sight, everyone says. She, however, had strict rules from her father. Two of them were "career first" and "no boys, they are a distraction", neither of these helping Frank win her over. My mother was a singer. She had the voice of an angel, everyone says. She was an aspiring musician, with dreams of getting into a school that would further her training with the piano and with her vocals. She had to stay focused, using all of her free time to study and practice.

After a couple of months of keeping their distance, Sophia, nineteen then, showed up. She was from Houston, where everything was crazy, unlike calm Grand Prairie. She instantly fell for Frank, who was in love with my mother, still. However, my mom was eighteen now, and all her focus meant she was off to college. She went to Juilliard, all the way in New York. Frank had just graduated from Baylor, in Waco, when he married Sophia. Apparently a romance had begun when my mother left.

Anyways I'm not so sure about the details or what happens next. I do know that somehow, after my mother returned to Grand Prairie, ready to give love a try, she found the man she had left married and expecting a child. And somehow after that she herself also ended pregnant. In the end, though, Sophia left and my mother died. Frank has never told us anything else about them.

Mina is the only one who ever brings them up. In the past, she would claim that Frank loved her mother most because he kept her picture on his nightstand. In fact, there were quite a few of her portraits and photographs around the room. Mina's eyes would light up every time she mentioned this. That is why I've never had the heart to tell her that the only photos of my mother in Frank's possession are kept inside his wallet and under his pillow.

A knock on Mina's door shook me from my thoughts. Mina had been busy trying to close the fourth valise.

"Hello, sweeties!" exclaimed Frank as he walked into Mina's room. The door was now propped open, one of Mina's many pet peeves. "Done packing?"

"Yes, Daddy," answered Mina, tossing her wavy, black hair over her shoulders. "And by the way, Daddy, I think I am going to stay for more than a week." She shot me a look and stuck her tongue out. Frank simply nodded. Why was he so chill about it?

"Lynn, shouldn't you be-"

"Thanks Dad," Mina interrupted. "We really appreciate the permission." She got him out of the room quickly and shut the door.

"We appreciate?" I repeated.

"Lynn," Mina responded sweetly. "Sweet, loving, dear, sister Lyndis."

"Oh no!" I exclaimed. "No way am I going!"

"Please, Lynn!" she begged. "There's no way Dad would let me if someone responsible whom he trusted wasn't there. That's totally you! Come on, Izzy!" Whoa. Mina almost never resorted to calling me Izzy. It was a shortened version of the name of the woman who caused her mother to leave. While I had no feelings towards Sophia, I could tell Mina didn't appreciate whatever it was that my mother did to make hers leave.

I opened the door and started towards my room, with Mina right behind me. When we went in, she took my two suitcases and started putting the clothes I owned that she actually approved of- not to mention I never wore- into one of them. None of what she was putting in there was meant for camping.

"Stop it, M!" I shouted as I tried to take some clothes away from her. "Why would I want to spend a week, maybe more, with you, your obnoxious boyfriend, and your irritable, superficial friends?"

"You don't even know them!" she yelled. Then she lowered her voice and said, "Besides, you don't seem to think that when Max and Derek come over..."

"What?" I asked. I could feel my face get red. Derek and his best friend, Max, were constantly spending time here. Since Derek and Mina wanted alone time, I would always be left to keep Max company. At first I didn't see the point of bringing Max along but I soon started to enjoy his company.

"Don't try to deny it," Mina said. "You totally like him, Lynn. I know you!"

"That's not-" I started to say before being interrupted.

"Come on!" she begged again. "I'll pack everything for you."

I waited. "And?"

"Allowance for a month?" she suggested.

"A month?" I asked.

"Two months?" she asked. She was now turned to the clothes and I was behind her. Whoa. That's a lot of cash. Fifty dollars plus my own makes two hundred dollars. Score, I thought. When I hesitated she added, "Three?"

"Three?" I couldn't believe how badly she wanted this. I was getting ready to accept the awesome offer. She turned when I didn't answer.

"Four!" she exclaimed. "That's as high as I can afford to go! Come on, we're leaving tomorrow. I need to know now!"

"Fine," I said, pretending like I was still the one losing from all of this. "I'll go. But one more thing..."

"What else could you possibly want?" she asked as she continued my packing.

"Two things actually," I started. "First, pack some clothes that I would actually wear."

"Fine," she agreed. "I'll go half and half. This one is chic, girly, and cute. I'll make that one all punk, tomboy, and edgy. What else?" She started putting my type of clothes into the second suitcase.

"Don't say anything," I said. She waited, so I elaborated by saying, "About Max." Then I added, "To anyone."

"I knew it!" she exclaimed.

"Okay, yes, I like him," I said in a hushed voice. "I actually don't mind them all that much. It's Maddie, Macy, and Ricky who annoy me."

"Give them a chance," she said. "Maddie and Macy come off a bit strong at first. I just can't see why you don't like Ricky. He's such a great guy. I actually would have tried to get you with him if he wasn't dating Macy."

The image of the boy came to my head. I thought about that night almost a year ago. The dark alley and the boy in it being kicked down, the blood... I tried shaking those thoughts out of my head.

"Okay, I'll give them a chance," I said.

"Oh and Bells?" she asked. Bells. Yet, another name that she rarely uses and another name for the woman she thought ruined her life.

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you like Derek?"

"I... Well..." I tried to think up an excuse but those images of the boy in the alley kept making their way into my thoughts. "I just don't think any guy is good enough for you."

She smiled, indicating that it had worked. Though this was true, it wasn't the real reason.

"Lynn, don't straighten your hair. I'll fix it up in the morning."

"Why?" I asked. My hair was naturally a really dark- almost black- brown and curly, but I always straightened it.

"You look even prettier when it's natural," she said.

I smiled, and then kicked her out of my room, trusting that I didn't need to give the clothes in the suitcases one last look. Hopefully she had gotten the right bras and underwear. I tossed a journal, a dog-eared copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, and a pen into the hippie tote bag I used as a backpack. Maybe the trip wouldn't be so bad...

The next day went by quickly. We spent the morning cleaning out our lockers. All I had left in mine was my bag with the journal and book, not to mention any last objects I wanted to keep.

At lunch, I sat with my best- and pretty much only- friend, Nate. I was going to miss him.

"So you're really going to spend a week or two with those shallow jerks?" Nate asked as we sat down at our usual table with our lunch trays.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "One of those jerks happens to be my sister!"

"Really, Izzy?" he said. "You're the one who always complains about how... how..."

"How obnoxious, irritable, and superficial your sister's friends are?" said a familiar voice from behind Nate. I looked up to find Max, Derek, and Mina standing there. My face instantly grew hot. Max had said that.

"Actually, I believe she directed the obnoxious part towards me," said Derek. He smiled at me but I didn't return it. He knew what he had done. Or rather, what he hadn't done. How could Mina be with someone like that? Sure, he looked like a younger John Stamos, was the school's star, varsity quarterback since late freshman year- the youngest ever in Grand Prairie history- AND on top of that was an Honor's Students. Still, though... She didn't know what I knew...

"She didn't mean it," said Mina. "She just wanted an excuse not to go. But she found motivation." She winked at me when she said that last part. I turned to look at Nate. He was busying himself by picking at his uneaten beans.

"Mina! Come on!" shouted a girl from Mina's usual table. I think that was Maddie.

"I'll see you guys in a bit," Mina said as she headed towards her friends.

"So you really find me irritable and superficial?" asked Max. He actually looked concerned. Not to mention totally cute... Ugh I was turning into Mina...

"No- I- What I-" I couldn't find the right way to put it. How can a girl say, I like you. I just hate your best friend? Exactly. There's no way.

"Bells..." I turned to find Nate slowly shaking his head. He had a pleading look. Nate didn't even want me talking to them. That's why I never told him about Max.

"Max," Derek said. "She obviously wasn't talking about you. She likes you." There was a pause. Max and I both reddened. Nate stiffened. Derek added, "Oh, no, not like that! I mean she approves."

"Approves?" asked Max.

"You aren't half-bad, dude," Derek said. My stomach settled down a bit.

"Okay?" said Max. "Well, if it makes you feel better, Lynn, Derek's obnoxious self thinks you're very pretty." I felt Nate stiffen again. I nodded at them, got up, and left the cafeteria. I headed towards my old locker and took my bag out. Tossing it over my shoulder, I headed towards the restrooms, where I stayed until the end of the day. I missed assembly and last goodbyes- it's not like I had anyone to say goodbye to.

As I was walking home, alone, I caught Nate coming out of the school. He ran up and joined me, skateboard in hand.

"Hey, where have you been?" he asked.

"I couldn't sit there and act like that night never happened," I said. "It's bad enough that Ricky is rude about the whole thing. Derek acting like it never happened... It just sickens me."

"All of those guys are jerks!" he exclaimed. "Please, don't go. Here's my cell. Call them and tell them not to expect you when they pick up Mina. You can come over and we'll watch movies or something. Okay, Lynn?"

I shook my head. "They aren't all jerks," I replied.

"By 'they' you mean Max," he snapped.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Why don't you just run off to the love of your life already?" he shouted. "I'm sure he's eagerly waiting by now." We had just passed my house. He didn't seem to notice and I was so mad I just kept walking.

"Nate!" I shouted back. "What is wrong with you? Of course I don't-"

"You can cut the act Lyndis," he said calmly. Then he raised his voice and said, "I know about your little crush on him. And it's okay! What I don't like is the fact that my so-called best friend couldn't even tell me this."

"I'm sorry..." I said as I came to a stop.

"He likes you," Nate said calmly.

"What?" I exclaimed.

"Max was acting weird when you walked out. Derek said you were looking good in your curls- by the way I agree. Then Max shot him a look and Derek said, 'Don't worry, dude. Guy code! I love Mina and Lynn is all yours.' They totally forgot I existed. I'm telling you Izzy... They are huge jerks."

"I..." I started.

He pulled me into a hug. "Either way," he started, "I'm happy for you, Lynn. I really am. Have fun this summer, okay?" Summer? He acted like we wouldn't be seeing each other in a while. Then he said it. The words that made my stomach turn. "I love you, Izzy..." I realized he was holding my hand right as he let it go and rode away on his skateboard.

"I didn't know you two were dating," said a voice from behind me once Nate was out of sight.

I turned to find Vanessa Oken, one of Mina's friends who were going on the trip, behind me.

"Oh we aren't," I said.

"He told you he loved you..." she said with a confused look.

"He's my best friend," I said. "It was platonic."

"Oh," she said. "Anyways... Lyndis, right?" she asked. Her dark hair, which was normally down and curly, was made into two pigtails.

"Yeah," I answered. "But call me, Lynn."

"That's so pretty," she said. "I was confused because I heard your friend call you Izzy."

"My middle name is Isabelle," I said.

"Oh..." she replied again. "Anyways..." she repeated. "I'm Vanessa."

"Yeah," I said. "We had English together since the seventh grade."

"Oh," she said a third time. She looked down and I could tell she felt bad. We were already going to be eleventh graders and she still never noticed me there.

"Don't sweat it," I said. "I liked to stay low-key." I think this made her feel better because she looked up with a smile and the guilt from her face had vanished.

"Lynn," she started, "I caught up to you to tell you the plan. I'm on my way to the park because we're all going to meet there instead."

"Why?" I asked.

"We're going to be taking three cars so while some of the guys bought supplies, like food and drinks, the others picked up the entire luggage."

"So I can't stop by my place?" I asked.

"Um... Didn't we pass it?" she asked. We had continued walking and the park was now in view, although still a bit far off.

"Right," I answered. "I just thought I'd... Well I guess I had all I needed either in my suitcases or here in my bag. It's only for a week or two, anyways."

"Mina didn't tell you?" Vanessa asked. "We'll be there for at least a month."

"What?" I asked. "No wonder she packed so much..." We reached the park in no time. I felt the urge to back out but I promised I'd do this for Mina.

"There you guys are!" exclaimed Mina when we reached them. "We're all here now and set to go!"

"Hey, Nessa," said Tony, Max's other best friend, as he hugged his girl and kissed her. It was sweet.

"Hey, Lynn," said Max, startling me. "What's up?"

"Calm down, Romeo," said Derek. Both of our faces got really red. "We have to get to the cabin before it gets dark." I saw Vanessa whisper something to Tony. He nodded and then stepped aside with Ricky and Marcus. They talked for a moment and then returned to the group.

"Alright," said Marcus. "Our cars, so we choose the passengers." I looked around for a moment. Derek had his arm around Mina, who was standing next to me. On Derek's other side was Max, standing there awkwardly, probably because of Derek's comment and because I was now looking at him.

My eyes shifted to my other side. It was Vanessa, Tony's arms wrapped around her waist. After them were Marcus and Maddie, he sitting on the hood of his car, her arm placed to look cool on one of his shoulders. Gwen was next, standing there by herself. She didn't look at all lonely. Instead she had an independent, fierce stance. I admired that. After her was Macy who kept reaching for Ricky's hand. They were dating but he always looked like he wanted out already. I looked up at his face. He was looking right at me. I wasn't sure if his expression was saying, I hate you for knowing my secret or I want you to know I'm sorry or you have let it go. Maybe he was thinking all of them or none.

We were basically staring each other down when Macy noticed and I looked over at Max. He was also looking at us. I wasn't sure if Max knew. Probably not.

"We already picked it all out," said Tony. "I honestly could care less if we're all going to the same place." He and Vanessa were probably my favorites. They were real.

"With me," said Marcus, "will be Mina, Derek, and Maddie." He winked at Maddie, who blew him a kiss. Dang, now I couldn't be with the one person I knew. If I couldn't be with her, maybe Vanessa would be a good alternative.

"Ricky," Marcus continued, "will take Macy and the lovely Gwen." Maddie punched his arm playfully. "The rest go with Tony."

I take it back. I don't want Vanessa's ride. It would mean a one hour car ride with her, Tony, and... Max... Good news is they are the three people besides Mina that I like. Bad news- Vanessa and Tony would be together up front, leaving Max and me alone in the backseat. Gulp...

Chapter 2: Max Has a Crush

_[It was hard not to develop a crush on her.]_

I couldn't believe what jerks my friends were. First, my best friend Derek calls me Romeo, insinuating that Lynn is Juliet, in front of everyone. She blushed, a good sign, but so did I. I mean, she blushed once in English when Gary Jenson told her she had written an amazing poem, so she could just be a blusher. Besides, on our way to the park, Tony, Derek, Mina, and I saw her hugging her... friend. What was his name again?

Then I saw her staring at Ricky. He was looking at her too and they both looked very upset. What was that all about?

Anyways, to make matters worse, my other best friend Tony chose us to ride together to the cabin. I almost suggested that I ride in the passenger seat but Tony would like his girlfriend, Vanessa, up front with him.

"Hey," I said to Lynn once we were both seated in the back of Tony's car. He quickly got on the road and followed Marcus' car. Vanessa quickly engaged him in conversation.

"Hi," she responded. Then, she sighed and turned to the window. Why? She never felt awkward when I was over at her place. I decided not to bother her. Something was wrong with Lynn and I wasn't sure if it was me.

I was about to put on my iPod when Tony turned on the radio. _Sweet Dreams_ by Beyoncé was playing. Tony reached for the seek button but Vanessa stopped him.

"I like this song!" she exclaimed. He looked at her, and then changed the station. It was something about "sparks fly". Then he changed it to a remix of Lil' Wayne's _Lollipop_. He left it there, turning down the volume and then changing his attention to the road.

"Sorry about the Romeo thing," I finally managed to tell Lynn. "Derek, he... talks too much... I'm sorry if it embarrassed you." She smiled. A smile? That's good, right?

"It's okay," she replied. "You can't stop him from talking so much."

I laughed. "That's not exactly what I meant but alright," I said I caught Tony eyeing us from the rear-view mirror so I gave him a look and he stopped. He knew how I felt about her.

It was hard not to develop a crush on her. Just like Mina, the guys and I all thought she was gorgeous, with her small frame and her big brown eyes. Lynn, she... her soul was beautiful. She was a petite girl, but her heart was enormous.

If I had a list of my favorite things about her, it would go something like this: her laugh, her modesty, her humor, her attitude... There was a lot more, of course. I mean, Lynn is super smart on top of being really pretty and nice. The only other one of my friends who has found such a girl is Tony. Maddie is drop-dead gorgeous- blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, high cheekbones. But she's not necessarily the sharpest tack in the pack.

Mina, she's great. She's also beautiful and has a great voice, but she's just not motivated to work hard. She could go far with her singing is what Derek is always saying. She just doesn't want to work. School is no priority either. It's not one for Macy either. Gwen is closer to the Lynn and Vanessa group. The only thing was she made it very clear that she didn't want to date.

"Yeah," Lynn was saying. "I can't believe that I just told you guys that! I had never told that to anyone!" Told what? She seemed embarrassed, while Vanessa was intrigued and Tony had a big goofy smile. Damn it, I missed it...

It was a lot of small talk conversation after that. Unlike talking to Lynn's father, I didn't have to start saying what my plans for college were or ask about his work- he was a doctor. We could be on a friendlier basis. After half an hour, Tony pulled over and suggested that Vanessa and I switch places. "Let's take turns choosing the songs," Vanessa said once we were back in the road. We were trying to find Marcus or Ricky's car up ahead. Tony knew the way but he wanted to make sure there was no chance of getting lost.

"Sure, love," Tony said. I thought it nice how he called her his love. "Sorry about before."

"It's okay," she told him with a smile. "I go first!" She leaned forward and pressed the CD button, then inserted a disc. She gave Lynn a list and asked her to choose.

"'Blah, Blah, Blah'," she answered. Vanessa told Tony to go to number six. Then she started singing along to some upbeat song. Eventually Lynn did the same. Derek had told me that in choir she was always offered the solos with him, which she declined. Mina was also in that class and of course he loved her voice. She never took a moment's hesitation to accept the roles that Lynn said no to. Vanessa was also a pretty good singer. I focused on Lynn's voice, even if it was saying, "I wanna be naked and you wasted."

She blushed when the song ended and she realized that I had been watching her. I couldn't help but smile. We took turns with the radio and Vanessa's many CD's. About five minutes before arriving, Lynn chose a song with Taylor Swift in it. I listened intently until Lynn sang the last line, "Two is better than one..." Tony stopped behind the other two cars.

"We walk from here," said Derek, beginning to unload the cars.

"What?" said Mina. "Why?

"It's right around a couple of trees, babe," said Derek. The rest of us guys started taking what we could. Only Lynn and Vanessa helped out of the girls, Gwen bothering to take only a few of the food and supplies bags. It was enough to get everything there without having to go back.

Derek's 'around a couple of trees' turned out to be another thirty minute of searching for the cabin, with Mina complaining and Maddie whining about everything. We got there when it was almost dark. When we saw the two-story cabin, though, we found that it was worth it.

"Whoa dude," said Marcus and Ricky in unison.

"Welcome to _Adobe de Contreras_ " said Derek. "My family and I had awesome times here. How I missed you, Paradise!" He took out a set of keys and opened the door with a shiny, golden one. We went inside and saw that everything was even better.

"Just put everything down and we'll get settled in tomorrow morning," said Derek. "Just take your luggage and choose a room." We put everything in the living room and started looking around. There were four bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs and two bedrooms and one bathroom downstairs. Everyone chose a room upstairs. Downstairs also included a kitchen, a dining room, a den, a game room- home theatre and game systems included- and a living room.

Mina, Vanessa, and Lynn took the room at the far end opposite from the stairs, which was decorated with some kind of gold-and-white star theme. Somehow, Derek, Tony, and I managed to match it with a blue room- it had those glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. Marcus and Ricky took a room that was neon green with a blue stripe through the middle. Macy, Maddie, and Gwen took the most girlish room, which belonged to Derek's little sister Theresa- it had pink flowers and butterflies everywhere.

The bad part was that we were at the opposite end of the girls we wanted close. As soon as you went up the stairs, the order was: our room, Marcus and Ricky, their girls plus Gwen, and our girls- well maybe, possibly, my future girl.

"I feel like I'm in an episode of ' _The Real World_ '! This pad is crazy sweet!" exclaimed Gwen so loud that we could hear her in the other rooms. It was around nine and we had all agreed to go down in our pajamas. We guys came down super quickly. I had on some ripped jeans and a button up white shirt. Derek was wearing jeans with no shirt. Ricky had on a black version of my shirt with some jeans. Marcus was fully dressed for clubbing, jacket and all. Tony actually was in boxers and no shirt so that Vanessa wouldn't get mad at him. We weren't actually planning on wearing our PJs. We just wanted to trick the girls into doing it.

They all shocked me with what they decided would be their pajamas. And for the first few down, the first thing they said was, "You aren't in PJs!" "I don't think those are pajamas!" someone would tell them. Mina was the first to come down. She wore a corset. It was only as long to cover what her underwear would. It was white and had a little ribbon on the front, around her belly button area. When she came down the stairs Derek freaked out, so she had to put one those transparent robe things over it. She didn't even close it, so I wasn't sure how it made a difference. I will admit she looked really hot.

Next down was Macy. Surprisingly, she just wore booty shorts and a spaghetti strap top. I would have thought she'd be wearing something worse than Mina. Ricky just saw her and shook his head. He was already too drunk to care. As Macy joined us with drinking, Gwen came down. She had her hair in one of those cute, half-bun, half-ponytail things girls like to do. She was wearing something a little more subtle- purple sweat pants and a purple undershirt. After her was Maddie, and of course she went all out. All she had on was underwear and a bra! Of course she looked super sexy in what I heard her say was her new Victoria's Secret lingerie. Marcus immediately took off his jacket and put it over her. She just smiled and kissed him.

Lastly, down came Vanessa and Lynn. First was Vanessa. She wore a purple dress-like thing. The dress was one of those short, sexy ones the Victoria's Secret models wear. She had some fuzzy slippers. Tony immediately stood up. Only a bit after Vanessa had appeared I heard Lynn's voice. I think she was saying that she didn't want to go down. Then I started wondering what kind of crazy thing they made her wear. I had heard that Maddie had bought everyone some 'sexy lingerie'. I knew she hadn't bought anything for Lynn because I overheard her talking in the hallway- our lockers are next to each other's-, saying she wouldn't waste her own money on someone who would probably not even have the guts to wear it. Now that Gwen didn't wear hers- at least I didn't think so- there was a chance that-

"Just come down with me!" Vanessa exclaimed. Oh wow... Lynn was... Whoa...

Lynn came down in an outfit similar to Mina's. It wasn't a full body corset, though. It was more like a corset with matching underwear. They were both black and red, which looked really good with her hair. Her hair was half pinned up, with a butterfly clip she always wears, and the rest was down. Was that all coordinated for Gwen? I looked behind to find all the guys staring at her and whistling, which really pissed me off. As she came down the stairs with Vanessa, all of their eyes remained on her.

They weren't the only ones. Besides Tony, everyone was looking at her. The guys were all checking her out, though all their girlfriends stood right beside them. The girls seemed to have mixed emotions. Maddie and Macy looked jealous and I heard Macy say something like, "Why is she even wearing that? I thought it was for Gwen." Mina and Vanessa seemed like the proudest people in the world. I heard Mina exclaim, "Oh, my little girl is growing up!" Gwen was pretty much a mixture of confused and impressed. "She looks better than I probably would have," she told Maddie and Macy with a grin as Vanessa, Tony, and Lynn made their way toward Mina and Derek on the other side of the room.

"Oh come on," said Macy. "She doesn't look that good. Right, Maddie?"

Maddie looked at Lynn for a couple more seconds. Then she shook her head, said, "Whatever", and headed toward the couch to sit with Marcus.

"What's her deal?" asked Macy.

"Same thing as you," Gwen said. "She's jealous." She grabbed her drink and headed towards Vanessa who was now dancing with Mina by the staircase. I searched for Lynn and found her talking to Tony.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Calm down Maxi," said Derek from behind me. I turned to him and punched his arm. "Whoa I was kidding! But you know as well as I do that she looks really hot. Here." He handed me a cup. I smelled it.

"Vodka?" I asked.

"The best for the best," he said with a smile, drinking from his own cup and signaling for me to do the same.

I shook my head and laughed. "You know it," I said. Then I took one sip of my cup.

"Make your move now, Maxi boy," said Derek as he pointed the hand he was holding the cup in towards Lynn, who was chatting away with Tony and Vanessa now

"Give it a minute," I told him, taking another, bigger, sip from my drink.

"Suit yourself," he said. He walked over to Lynn and handed her his cup, she shook her head but Mina soon joined them, and I could tell she was trying to persuade her. Ricky was soon next to me.

"She knows, you know," he said, his voice sounding just like it always did. Ricky was the master of keeping cool. He was so wasted, but, like always, his voice would not give him away for one second.

My eyes stayed on Lynn, timidly taking a sip from Derek's vodka. "About?" I asked.

"That night..." said Ricky, disgust not completely hidden in his voice.

"Does she really?"

"Not that you were there," he continued. "What she saw was everything after you left."

"What?" I asked, now looking at Ricky. "You mean she actually saw?"

"Yeah," he answered. "I'm the only one who saw her. But she thinks both me and Derek did. Derek actually did but that night he was drunk so he doesn't remember. But Lynn knows all about what we let them do to Corey. And she was never able to see me with anything but disgust after that, even if she tries to mask it."

"Crap," I said. I patted Ricky on the back. The only reason he told me was because he was wasted.

I headed towards Lynn. She had already drunk all of Derek's vodka, plus three other cups that were now on the end table by the staircase.

"Hi!" she exclaimed when she saw me heading towards her. I didn't have time to say hi back, though, because by the time I reached her she had reached for my drink. She started drinking from my cup and because I'm stupid I let her.

"Whoa there, slow down," I told her, helping her hold the cup at her mouth for her. My hand was on top of hers.

"Sorry," she said when she was done. She set the now empty cup next to the others. "It's just so good! Have you tried that yet?"

I laughed. "Yeah," I replied. "That was kind of the one I was drinking from."

"Sorry," she answered. "Again. That stuff just gets to my head. I shouldn't even be drinking this."

A new song began to play on the stereo. "Yo, turn it up," Marcus yelled. Derek followed orders and they all started dancing, except for Macy who was getting drunk in the corner. Ricky seriously needed to start paying attention to that girl.

I heard some gasps, laughter, and gagging. I turned to find that Marcus was puking right next to where Macy was. She didn't even seem to notice.

"You want to go somewhere that's not so loud?" I asked Lynn. She nodded, picked up a cup and a full bottle of vodka, and then followed me upstairs to my room.

"So what are we going to talk about?" she asked. She started pouring herself more vodka, so I took the bottle away.

"Enough of that," I told her.

"Alright," she said. Then she burst out laughing. I couldn't help but smile.

"What's so funny?" I asked her.

She kept laughing. "It's just... The only reason I came was for you!" she exclaimed.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah!" she answered. Then she said in a hushed voice, "There was also a bit of money promised from my big sister. Ha! But of course you were always in the back of my mind."

"Mina paid you to come here?" I asked.

"No, no!" she exclaimed. "Not yet!" Then she burst out laughing and took back the vodka. She started drinking again and when I tried to take it away she just offered it. I shook my head so she got up and tried keeping it away from me. I, being much taller, was able to grab a hold of it right away, but she tugged on it and ended up spilling it over herself. All she did was giggle as she wiped her now wet corset.

"Holy-" I started to say. She put her finger over my mouth.

"Shh," she said. "You hear that?"

I didn't hear anything but the partying downstairs. "What?" I asked her.

"They're drunk down there," she said. Then she started laughing again.

I smiled. "Yeah, they are," I said. "Now let's get you out of those wet clothes." I realized how dirty that sounded and was about to clear things up when she started unbuttoning my shirt.

"What are you doing?" I asked. She finished unbuttoning pretty quickly. I stopped her when she reached the last button.

"I want to put this shirt on!" She exclaimed. Then she giggled. "Oh, relax! I'll go change into it in the closet! Don't be such a sissy!" She unbuttoned the last button and then asked me to please take it off. I did as she asked and let her as she stumble towards the closet, which was only about six feet away. This was a side of Lynn I didn't even know existed.

"I'll be just a second," she said. She left the door slightly ajar as she took of the corset and began putting my shirt on. "Do you have a bra I can put on under this?"

I looked up, not wanting my eyes up there for too long, and saw that she was turned around, only wearing the underwear. Her hair was held up by one hand and my shirt by the other. I could see her bare back.

"No," I said, looking down at my own bare stomach. "I haven't worn one of those in a while."

She laughed another one of her random laughs. Then she said, "You're so funny, Max" and began putting on the shirt. I was reaching for another one of my shirts from a drawer when she came out, wearing nothing but my shirt and her Victoria's secret underwear. I was so tempted to do so many things, but I couldn't even bear to touch her. She looked so little and so delicate that I was afraid I might hurt her. She sat on my bed and patted the spot next to her, so I sat down right there.

"Hi, Max," she said.

"Lynn..." I started. I was going to say, "Lynn... You're drunk. Let me take you back downstairs so nobody tells you tomorrow that I was taking advantage of you." I wasn't able to, though, because she took me by surprise and leaned for a kiss. I held her back and instead said, "Lynn, you're drunk."

She giggled. "No I'm not," she said.

"Yeah, you are," I said. "It'll hit you in the morning. Now look, don't get offended that I won't kiss you." I got up and faced the door. "God knows, Lynn, oh, how bad I want to! It's just... You're drunk... I can't... I've dreamt of kissing you for a couple of months Lyndis... I... I just want you to be aware when it happens, not forget about it in the morning. I want you to remember the first time I kiss you. So please, be patient and let me kiss you when you're sober. Lynn?"

I turned around to find Lynn asleep on the bed. I smiled and walked over to her. Of course she missed everything I said. I picked her up and took her to her room. Marcus and Maddie were making out in front of her room but they stopped when I passed by carrying Lynn.

"Nice, dude!" Marcus shouted.

"Cheap slut," I heard Maddie say as I entered the room. I didn't even care. Maddie was the last person that should be talking of sluts, anyways. I walked over to what I assumed was Lynn's bed- there was a suitcase next to it opened with a purple and black, punk-looking shirt at the top- and set her down in it. After I tucked her in, I kissed her forehead. She opened her eyes.

"Sleep," I told her.

"I'm not drunk," she said one last time before falling asleep. She was going to feel it in the morning.

The next morning, the guys in my room were the first up from the whole house- first it was Tony, then it was me, then finally Derek got up. It was about ten thirty.

"Heard you got some last night," said Derek as soon as he woke up. Tony laughed.

"What makes you say that?" I asked. I looked for a clean shirt through my luggage. I finally pulled out a Hollister shirt and left my jeans from last night on. As I walked into the door that connected our room and the other guys' to the restroom, Derek continued.

"Oh, nothing," he said. "Just the fact that you disappeared upstairs last night... With Lynn... Who was wasted, by the way..." He and Tony headed to the restroom, too, where I was brushing my teeth.

"Yeah, so?" I asked after spitting.

"Come on, dude," said Tony. "Face it. You guys hooked up last night. No biggie! So did Marcus and Maddie- who by the way claim they saw you carrying her to her room."

"We didn't hook up," I said. "She spilled the vodka all over herself and insisted she wear my shirt so I let her go in the closet to change into it. Man, I feel bad. She will have what is surely her first hangover this morning."

"She needed to live a little!" said Derek as he started brushing his teeth. Tony and I were messing around with our hair, fixing it to look perfectly messy like we always did. After his last spit he said, "That's what Mina told me. But I'm also glad you guys didn't hook up. Mina would have killed me."

We all got out of the restroom, Derek pushing us out the doorway and then going back in to pee. "Dudes, we have to do something cool tonight," he said from inside the restroom. Soon there was a flush and an opening of the sink. Then, Derek came out and flopped himself on his bed.

"Like what?" I asked him.

"Umm... Oh I know!" he exclaimed. "We can take everyone down to the basement. There's a lot of old stuff down there, I think, but my mom never let me go in."

"Awesome!" exclaimed Tony, giving him a fist pound. "The girls will be so freaked out!"

"So you guys are planning on scaring them and then comforting them?" I asked. They nodded and smiled. "You are such great boyfriends."

"When are you going to ask out my _cuñada_ , bro?" asked Derek.

"What?" Tony asked him.

"Means 'sister-in-law'," he answered.

"I've got to learn Spanish so that I can actually talk to Nessa's family! Anyways, what do you say, Maximilian?" asked Tony.

"I say... Give it time, guys. Give it time."

Chapter 3: Vanessa Finds the Book

_[When I opened my eyes, I realized where we were.]_

"Look what Derek got me!" exclaimed Mina after we got up. We were all wearing the clothes from yesterday, except we wore some satin robes that Maddie got us. She decided not to give me the extra one for Lynn, who was still asleep. Maddie had told us, after Lynn knocked out, that she saw her wearing Max's shirt after they disappeared upstairs. He was carrying her and they smelled a lot like alcohol.

I walked over to Mina. She lifted a chain and from it hung a pretty little heart that read _Te Amo_.

"' _I love you_ ', huh?" I said. "That's _so_ sweet."

"I'm so glad he speaks Spanish," she said. "It makes things so much easier on me sometimes."

"You don't know Spanish," I said.

" _Exacto_ ," Mina answered. "His parents don't know a word I'm saying."

"That's good?" I asked. "I hate it when Tony gives my parents the ' _no comprendo_ ' look."

"Huh?" Mina said.

"It means, ' _I don't understand_ '," said Lynn. We both turned to look at her. She was sitting up in bed now, a hand to her head. "You should have learned, Mina."

"I know that your mother was Latina, Lynn," said Mina. "But mine was Irish. That's why I asked Dad to teach me Italian but I knew he didn't speak it."

I hated hearing Mina talk about their mothers. Their dad's story was just so complicated, so I decided to change the subject.

"So, Lynn," I started. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah," she said as she tried to stand up. "My head is pounding but I'm alright."

"Wait for it," Mina said.

"Wait for what?" Lynn asked. Before she could answer there was a look on her face and she ran through the door that went to the restroom.

"That," said Mina as we ran after her. Maddie was in there doing her hair, while Gwen brushed her teeth. Macy had just finished puking as Lynn bent over on the toilet.

"There," said Macy over Lynn's gagging. "I think that's enough to make me sober."

"Doubt it," Maddie said. "So how is Miss Slut feeling this morning?"

"Maddie shut up," said Mina as I held back Lynn's hair. "She didn't sleep with him. You didn't, right, Lynn?"

"Of course not, I-" Lynn stopped herself to throw up. "I would never."

"Alright, then," said Maddie. "I can't prove that you didn't just fall asleep like he claimed last night so I guess I should apologize. Sorry. So do you even remember what happened?"

"I don't," said Macy. Then she cursed and ran for the trashcan to throw up inside of it.

"Well," started Lynn, "I remember that I was forced into putting on that lingerie. And I felt really awkward and naked in it. Then Derek offered me some of his... vodka, I think. I denied but Mina insisted that I try it. Then you guys kept giving me more until I had chugged like four or five. Then Max came up to me and so I drank another really fast. After that I don't remember. I just know somehow I ended up wearing this." She looked down at herself.

"Isn't that...?" started Gwen.

"Oh my god, I'm wearing Max's shirt!" she said, realizing what she had woken up in. "I can't believe it! I didn't get naked in front of anyone, right?"

"Not as far as we know," I said.

"And I didn't... You know... Have sex with Max?" she asked timidly before throwing up a bit more.

"No," said Derek as he walked in. "He said no so I would take his word for it."

"She has a hangover, baby," said Mina as she went over to hug him.

"Yeah, we've been hearing her puke for about an hour," he replied.

"Actually that was Macy," said Gwen.

"I just started," said Lynn. "Mock all you like."

"Nah," said Derek. "Wouldn't be right since I got you started."

"Hey, is Tony up?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's been up for about two hours now," he said. "He's downstairs trying to make breakfast with Max and Marcus. I think we should go help before they burn down the place."

Everyone started heading down. I stayed behind to help out Lynn.

"Hey, I'm going to grab my toothbrush real quick, okay?" I asked her. She nodded and leaned in to throw up. I headed for my suitcase and got my toothbrush and personal toothpaste out. I was about to go back in the restroom when I heard somebody else's voice.

"I just want a chance to explain things," I heard someone say.

"Why now?" Lynn said. "The damage has been done. Plus, I'm not the one who you should have explained things to." I could hear her throwing up.

"Here, drink this," the other person said. It was a guy. There was a pause, then a couple of gulps.

"Lyndis," the guy said. It was Ricky. "I'm sorry for not coming to you with this a year ago. I just never knew what to say. You have to stop looking at me like I'm a monster."

"They almost killed him, Ricky!" Lynn exclaimed. "You could have prevented it."

"Lynn," he started. "It's not my fault. You never let me explain. And Derek, he doesn't even know. He was more wasted than you were last night."

"That doesn't justify anything, Ricky," said Lynn. "I appreciate the attempt but you haven't proved anything. Bye." I heard the main bathroom door open and then close. Then I heard Ricky curse and pound his fist on the sink counter. I waited for it to open and close again before going in to brush my teeth. Lynn came back in after a few seconds.

In silence she brushed her teeth. I thought about questioning her about the bizarre conversation she had just had but the poor girl was in her underwear wearing a really hot guy's shirt but couldn't remember how it happened. What else did she need?

We headed downstairs together, still not saying a word. After the nice pancakes that were prepared we went out to the pool in the back.

"Let's go in like this," shouted Derek as he ran into the pool. Everyone was still wearing the clothes from yesterday. I watched as each person jumped in, noticing that only Ricky, Max, and Lynn were left behind.

"Come on, honey," yelled Macy.

"In a bit Mace," Ricky yelled back as he sat on a lounge chair. Lynn was laying on the one next to it.

I jumped into the pool, observing them as I tried to look like I was paying attention to the volleyball game they had started with a beach ball. I couldn't tell what was happening. All I saw was Ricky looking at Lynn and her lying back and ignoring him. Then I saw Max go over to her. He sat down next to her, and then started talking. Soon, Ricky looked away and walked towards the trees.

"If you have to pee there's a restroom inside," yelled Marcus.

"Funny," shouted back Ricky. The game kind of ended quickly, so I went over to Tony. He instantly put his arms around my waist.

"Love, what happened between Ricky and Lynn?" I asked him when we were as far from everyone as possible.

"I'm not sure," he said. Then he scratched his left ear. That's what he did when he was lying.

"Really?" I asked him.

"Well," he said, "I do know that she doesn't like him." He didn't scratch his ear this time, but I still wasn't convinced that he was telling me everything he knew. I decided to leave it alone for now. I looked up and found Ricky smoking pot by a tree.

"Make sure you pick up after yourself," yelled Derek. "I don't want the 'rents finding that!"

"Got it!" yelled Ricky.

"Hey," said Tony. I turned to look at him. He kissed me and it was long, meaning I would reminisce on the moment we met. I don't know what it was about our kisses, but I felt like we were back to the start- like new- every time we had them.

In middle school, I moved from Phoenix, Arizona. I was in the 6th grade and I didn't know anybody. To me, making friends was not hard at all. I'm a very friendly person. Tony used to live around here, but family business had him gone for all of middle school, leaving right before I arrived. He returned from Minnesota in 9th grade.

The moment I laid eyes on him I knew he was for me. I had been sitting with random people in lunch for years, moving through different crowds, trying to find my people. Never, though, did I interact with any of the "it" kids. That is until freshman year. He spoke to me for the first time in the library but I had heard he was a cool kid and those I knew would break my heart. I decided that I wouldn't let him near me. However I couldn't stay away. Somehow we always ended up crossing paths. From that first day in the library, he would skip seventh period every day- he had photography- just to go and talk to me.

By the end of the month he had forced a kiss out of me, bugged me until I said yes to a date, and then he finally asked me to be his girlfriend. It wasn't long before I met all of his friends, who I thought were for the most part great people. I realized I was wrong about the cool kids. They were nice and so not fake like others made them out to be.

"Derek's got awesome plans for us tonight," said Tony. "We're all going to have a blast."

He was right. We played games in the game room, and watched movies until dark. We watched: _300, Halloween, Interview with the Vampire,_ and _Inkheart_. The war movie was picked by Tony and Marcus since they both were super war movie maniacs. Figures. The scary movie was chosen by Gwen, who we all know has a thing for the freaky. No joke. Actually I am kidding. The vampire movie was a choice by Maddie because she likes Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. _Inkheart_ was my choice because I know of a book where people get sucked into. Literally. That's what _Inkheart_ is relatively about.

By the time we finished, everyone who had a hangover felt better and it was dark outside.

"Check this out," said Derek as we all got up from the couches. I noticed Lynn and Max were sitting by themselves on a recliner. They weren't really touching although very close to, making them look like they really wanted to. I bet they did...

Derek and Ricky moved the big, round carpet that was in the center of the living room and pushed it off to the side. It revealed a door on the floor.

"Basement!" exclaimed Derek. Mina grasped onto his arm and shrieked.

"Here goes," said Marcus. He opened the door and reached for a staircase.

"There is none," Derek told him. "Mom didn't want me down there." Derek jumped down, making Mina shriek again. He held out his arms, signaling her to jump into them, and she did so slowly and carefully.

Marcus and Maddie repeated their scene. Then Ricky went down and caught both Macy and Gwen. Next Max went down and offered to catch Lynn.

"No thanks," she said, jumping down and sticking a better landing then all the boys.

"She's a professional," joked Mina.

"Yeah," said Lynn. "A lot of experience comes from tree climbing."

"Ugh," I heard someone say. It was Macy, jealous of her like she had been since we arrived.

"Can I try?" I asked Tony. He kissed me and told me to go ahead so I took a deep breath and jumped. It was a pretty high distance, but I was able to stick the landing. Tony came down quickly afterwards.

"Is there a light in here?" I heard Maddie ask.

"No," said Derek. "That's why the door is open."

We moved around and looked through everything, except for Mina, Macy, and Maddie who all stayed under the light. After crashing into countless cobwebs, I began getting sick of being there.

"Hey, Vanessa," Lynn called out to me. I saw the light of her iPod and followed it. Tony was right behind me.

"Books," he said when he saw what the light was pointing at.

"Very ancient books," I told him. I read over the titles of them. Some rang a bell but there were many that I hadn't even heard of. Lynn was amazed by them. It seemed like every book caught her attention because she would pick it up and read the synopsis.

"This is just like _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ ," she said as she read the back of one. She handed it to me.

"All it says is, 'Humans have a way of always finding love in the wrong places'," I read aloud. Lynn nodded.

Max popped out of nowhere and said, "That's basically what Shakespeare is trying to say in the comedy that she's referring to."

"You've read it?" she asked him.

"Yeah, in 9th grade for English."

"Oh, my class had _Romeo and Juliet,_ " she said.

I heard Derek laugh from somewhere nearby. For just an instance, the light in Lynn's iPod illuminated their faces enough to show the pink in their cheeks. Tony randomly put his arms around my waist. My heart started beating faster and I couldn't help but smile. I turned back to kiss his neck, then his cheek, then his lips.

"Alright, let's see what we find here," he said as he let me go and read over the books. I turned to Max and Lynn. They had found a Shakespeare collection and seemed to be in their sanctum.

"Hey, Nessa," said Tony. I turned my attention back to him. "You remember that book that you read about in the internet? The one nobody has a copy of?"

"Yeah," I answered. "It's _Avalon's Secrets_. Why?"

"It's right here!" he exclaimed. I rushed toward him and grabbed the book. Lynn pointed her light to the cover and I ran my finger through the spine. This was it! The lost book! Finally found and it was by my boyfriend! I had read some parts of it online but nobody knew what truly was in there.

"I must read it!" I exclaimed. I turned the cover over. Suddenly the room started spinning. The door shut close, then opened, and kept bouncing back and forth. It was as if a black hole was sucking everything in. It had first appeared by the door, finally shutting it close.

"What's happening?" said Derek.

The hole grew bigger and bigger, taking in Mina, Maddie, and Macy. Marcus reached for Maddie at the same time that Derek reached for Mina, but the hole took all of them in. Then it took Gwen and Ricky. Then it took Max. Then it had Lynn. Then in went Tony. Tony! I reached for his hand, letting go of the book and being pulled into it. We were spinning in a swirl for a couple of seconds and then finally we fell in a pile, in the order we went in.

Black out. When I opened my eyes, I realized where we were. The villages, the Inn, the drunk officers... We were in Avalon.

Chapter 4: Mina and Her Friends

_[They were the type of stuff that peasants wore. Gross.]_

What in the world? Where am I? I could see a castle in the far distance.

_What just happened?_ a voice in my head asked. I turned around. Oh, it was Macy who said it.

"Oh, no," said Vanessa. "No, no, no, no, no!" Three weird looking guys came toward us.

"Shouldn't you kids be in bed," one of them said.

"Yeah," said another. They were drunk.

"Why... Why dressed so weirdly?" the third asked. "Oh I get it! Don, these are whores being transferred to a new whore house!" Say, what?

"Excuse me, we are not-" I started to protest.

"Officers always get it free," said the second one. "Come here." He grabbed me and tried to kiss me.

"Hey, leave her alone," said Derek. He was about to push him away before the third one kicked him in the stomach.

"Derek!" I screamed. The officer that was grabbing me was still trying to kiss me but I managed to resist. I couldn't push him away much longer. The other two officers where beating up Derek.

"Do something!" yelled Macy. Ricky stood back while the others started helping him fight. "Ricky!" she yelled at him. He stood there, frozen.

Lynn, who was behind him, shook her head and said, "Don't expect him to step up to any injustice." She pushed him aside and ran towards me. "Leave my sister alone!" she yelled. Then she punched him right in the face.

"You whore!" he yelled. He let go of me and slapped her across the face.

"Izzy!" I yelled.

Max turned around and, seeing Lynn holding her hand to her face, went up to the officer and punched him in the face, so hard his nose started bleeding. "Aw!" he yelled. Max shook his hand in the air.

"Run!" Vanessa yelled. We followed her, running through a couple of buildings until we reached the tallest one, which was visible from the fountain we had landed by. We ran into a building with a sign that read, 'Ilene's Inn' and finally managed to lose the officers.

I was then startled by an arm around me. I turned to find Derek, with only a cut on his lip. Oh, Derek! He fought to defend my honor! I put my arms around him and closed my eyes. What was going on?

Vanessa told us to stay put and then walked to the front desk. A tanned girl, who looked to be probably a senior or college freshman, was there reading what looked like a book. She didn't look up until Vanessa spoke.

"Ilene?" asked Vanessa.

"That's me," she responded in a squeaky, yet monotone and indifferent voice. How did Vanessa know this girl?

"We need rooms," said Vanessa. "Eleven people."

"You can't share rooms," said Ilene. "All the rooms left are for one person only. Our economy isn't exactly at its best."

"Well," started Vanessa, "we don't exactly have money."

"No money, no service," said the girl. She looked back down at her book. Vanessa turned around and stared at the wall.

No, not staring at the wall. It was at a couch. No, staring at the boy lying on the couch. Who was the boy looking at? I followed his gaze and... He's staring at Lynn? Attracted to my sister, huh? Oh, did he have that love at first sight thing? I like it! Cute. Oh, focus.

Vanessa said, "Eliot!" I think.

This startled him. He probably hadn't thought he had been noticed.

"Yes?" he asked. He sounded like he had just woken up.

"Help?" she asked. Everyone else was so confused. I could tell.

"Um..." he looked at Lynn again. This time she noticed because she did that shy/look down thing of hers. Eliot looked back at Vanessa then at the Ilene chick.

"Give them each a room, Ilene," he said.

"No money, no service," she told him.

"Look, sis," he said. Oh, I see the resemblance so clearly now! "We could use the extra help around here and I'm sure they would be willing to work off the rooms."

"Whatever," she said. "It's my shift."

"Ilene..." he begged the way I did to Lynn all the time.

"Fine, just take care of everything on your own," she said, just like Lynn would have. She took out about a dozen keys and Eliot passed them to us. Then he opened a door and said, "Rolf, come show them to their rooms."

Then very randomly an elf came out. Everyone was startled and a few of us jumped back.

"What, you've never seen an elf before?" Eliot asked with a soft chuckle. "Good night." He walked into that same room and closed the door. Then we followed Rolf up a couple of stairs. We all wanted to ask Vanessa many things but felt uncomfortable with an elf there. So we let him take us to our rooms and tried to go to sleep, or at least that was how I felt.

The next morning I woke to find clothes laid out for me. They were the type of stuff that peasants wore. Gross.

I put it on either way and found at the kitchen table that so had everyone else.

"Okay, Nessa, what's up?" asked Tony while Rolf served us breakfast.

"That book..." said Lynn. "Are we..."

"In it?" completed Eliot as he walked in.

"Um..." started Vanessa. "What? How do you-"

"Ever since I could remember, foreigners come here claiming that they came from another world and that this is a book," he answered. "Judging from the odd clothes you were wearing, I'd say you all fall under that group."

"Do you believe it?" she asked.

"My sister, Ilene, and I," he said as he sat on a counter, "promised that if another person came with the same story, it was time to believe them."

"Well, there are eleven of us," said Macy, her tone compassionate for once.

"That's Macy," said Vanessa. "I'm Vanessa. That's Tony, Derek, Max, Ricky, Maddie, Gwen, Marcus, Mina, and Lynn." He had to look at Lynn longest since she was last. I smiled.

"That is a lot of proof," he said. "I guess we never wanted to believe it."

"Sorry," said Vanessa. "Nobody ever got to read it because the book pops everyone in distance into it when it's opened."

"So the ones who made it back updated everyone about what goes on in this book?" he asked.

"Yeah," Vanessa answered. "Of course, nobody really believes it. For years this book has been a myth."

"Wait," said Tony, "People have died in here?"

"Of course," answered Eliot. "They weren't any of them immortal and throughout the past decade, Avalon has not been a very safe country."

"I just realized something," I said. "We're working off the rooms?"

"Yes," he answered. "First task is to finish eating and go across the street to Flower's Clothing. Get my orders from Ophelia. Not all of you have to go. Vanessa, you, you, you, Macy, and Lynn go. The rest stay and clean up." He got up and walked out. I had to work? He had pointed at Vanessa, Max, Me, Derek, Macy, and Lynn. And what a shock, he remembered Lynn's name! I would have to tease her about her candidate later. It didn't really seem like she paid any attention to him, though.

We ate and then walked across the road into a small shop. There was a pretty woman there with three beautiful girls.

"Oh customers," said the woman. "Violet, go ahead and take Lillian and Rosalie to the back. Hi, I'm Ophelia." The girl, who seemed to be around seventeen and who I assumed was Violet, picked up the baby girl and grabbed the other child's hand with her free hand. Then they disappeared through a door in the back.

"How may I help you?" said Ophelia.

"We came for Eliot's orders," I said. Derek looked at me weird. Oh but he was so cute! Oh, right, focus!

"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed. "Eliot! Yes, he sent word about you kids earlier this morning."

Violet reappeared. "Eliot?"

Ophelia laughed. "He sent them, Violet. He's not here." She blushed, and then went back through the door. Ophelia took a couple of packets from behind her desk and set them out for us. We all grabbed a couple.

"Say hello to Eliot and Ilene," she said as we headed out. "It's from both Ophelia and his girlfriend, Violet."

"Mom, don't say that!" Violet's voice exclaimed. I giggled as we exited the shop. It didn't take much longer to get back to the inn because we now knew the way.

"What's that on your hair, Lynn?" asked Max when we walked in. She pulled her side ponytail towards her face. "Is it some kind of dragonfly?"

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Ilene. "That's a fairy!"

"See," said Eliot from the doorway of his room. "I told you she was good luck." Lynn blushed and Max eyed Eliot. So interesting! So he had been discussing her with his sister? I knew it!

"Anything else boss?" I asked.

"No that's all I have for you today," he said. "Rest up, though. Tomorrow will be very tough." Why? I hate hard work so much! I walked over to Derek, who instantly took my hand.

"I want to explore," said Vanessa. "Can we?"

"Sure," said Eliot. "But don't go too far and never stay alone. Foreigners are easy targets for bandits." He looked back at Lynn, this time staring at the fairy, and then walked out of the inn.

After a few minutes, so did most of our group. Four of us stayed back. Only one would take the surprise of a life time. Maybe.

Chapter 5: Lynn Feels the Magic

_[No matter what I've seen in the past two days, magic wasn't real.]_

I walked up to our floor with Max, Mina, and Derek. So many weird things had happened in the last twelve hours. For starters, I was inside a book and had a fairy clung to my hair.

Her own hair was red and straight, her skin very pale. She was about the size of my index finger.

"What's your name?" Max asked her when we were in front of my room.

"Elincia," she said to him. By the tone of her voice, she didn't seem to like him very much.

"I'm Max," he said sweetly. "It's very nice to meet you."

Elincia looked at him scornfully and then flew into my hair.

"You already met me," she said from inside my hair.

"Have I?" he asked her. "When?"

"A long time ago," she said. "I was born here. But somebody took me with them to the other world."

"So somebody got you back over there?" I asked her. "Whoa, so they made it back? Who?"

"I don't remember," she said, her eyes tearing up.

"Where were you all that time?" Derek said, becoming intrigued by the conversation.

"Who brought you back here?" I asked her.

"You did, Lynn," she said. "I was with you. That hairclip with the butterfly you always wore... That was me!"

"What?" I asked. "No wonder when I woke up I thought I was missing something. But how..."

"Somehow I turned into that clip when I went to that world," she answered. "I don't think fairies can live there. You have to tell me how you got me! That way I can find my true owner!"

"Didn't your mom leave that for you?" asked Mina.

"Yeah," I said. "But... She's dead... Sorry Elincia." Elincia went back into my hair and didn't say another word. "I'm just curious as to how she got it..." I murmured.

"So umm..." started Max.

"Oh, sorry," said Derek. I had forgotten he and Mina were still there. He took Mina's hand, gave her a kiss, and then pulled her into his room. Once the door was shut, Max began again.

"Lynn," he took my hand in both of his. What was he doing?

"I'm not sure how to say this but," he started to say. He kept at it a couple of times but was never able to say anything. Come on, Max! Before I said anything he leaned into me and I did the same. His lips were about to touch mine when Elincia flew out of my hair and put her fragile little body between us.

"Nice try," she said with her squeaky voice. I smiled, said bye, and went into my room. Poor Max. Poor me! Oh, Elincia...

I was about to scold her for it when I noticed what she was doing. She took my underwear and Max's shirt, which were now clean, and made a nest for herself. It was so cute that I couldn't possibly yell at her now.

"Lynn?" said a voice from outside, along with a knock. "It's Eliot. Can I come in?" Eliot? Why?

"Yeah," I said as I took a seat on the bed. "Go ahead." The door opened slowly and in came Eliot with his elf, Rolf.

"Hi," he said. "Rolf has never seen a fairy before. May I?" He pointed at the spot next to me on the bed. I nodded and he sat down, while Rolf messed with Elincia by her new nest.

"Eliot, what's it like here?" I asked. "I mean, what's your form of order?"

He laughed. "What's our form of what?"

"Like government..." I said.

"Oh, you mean King Marmaduke?" he asked. "It's like a tyranny sometimes."

"So if you say he rules a tyranny," I said, "then life here must be pretty hard." I thought about it for a moment- the officers who had tried to rape Mina when we first landed here.

"Yeah," he said. "It's pretty tough." There was an awkward silence so I told him all about the officers.

"Those jerks hit you?" he asked.

"I got a pretty good hit but we managed to get away safely," I told him.

"I am so sorry," he said in a soft voice. Then he said, "Like I said before, Avalon has not been a very safe country lately, and Mirevus is one of the many villages affected by the cruelty." After a while there was another pause.

"So what's your favorite color?" I asked him.

"Really?" he asked with a laugh.

I smiled. "Really."

"Green. You?"

"Red."

"Cool."

"Yeah..." It got awkward again. So I started asking questions about his world. I found out that the king was mean and brutal, but his wife Gabrielle and daughter Neimi were noble and kind. I also learned a bit about his personal life and he about mine. After telling them the story of _Sleeping Beauty_ , one of my favorite fairytales, Rolf and Elincia fell asleep. It was already pretty dark outside. Eliot had brought us dinner- a tray of who-knows-what- that tasted really good. It was some kind of meat and bread.

"So your half-sister is Mina?" he asked between bites. I had just told him everything I knew about our mothers.

"Yeah," I said. "After my mom died and her mom walked out on her, Dad just did his best to raise us both. We aren't perfect but... I think he did a great job. What about your folks?"

"My parents died when I was nine," he said. "They were invited to a dinner at the castle. They left very excitedly but... on their way to the feast some bandits..."

"I'm sorry..." I whispered when he didn't finish his sentence.

"They left the inn to Ilene and me," he said after a moment. "She thinks it's more hers because they named it after her." He laughed. "I wasn't born yet when they started it. And when they died... She was eleven... I was only nine. I knew I had to help but... Ophelia. She was such a great help. And Violet's company helped, too. We've been best friends since we were kids."

"Oh, she's crazy about you," I said without thinking.

"Everyone's always expected us to get married some day," he said. "But after knowing her for nine years, I still see her as only a friend. We started hunting and gathering together." I started feeling uncomfortable again. My tongue felt really dry so I reached for a cup of water. I didn't see the cup right and accidently knocked it down... All over Eliot's shirt.

"Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed. "I am so sorry!"

"It's okay, Lynn," he said. "Accidents happen." He started unbuttoning his shirt.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" I asked.

"If I leave the wet shirt on I'll catch a cold!" he exclaimed.

I grabbed a small blanket from under the pillows and started patting him dry. Then he still took his shirt off. And wow was that a show! Wait, I can't be thinking this. Max... But Eliot was kind of cute... Okay he was smoking hot. Nine years of hunting certainly did his muscles some good.

"Here let me..." I started patting his skin dry after seeing that the water had completely soaked through his shirt. Pat. Pat. Pat. Wait. Why was he so close to me?

"Lynn," he said as I stopped patting. "You asked a lot today. Now I have a question."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Would you ever fall in love with a fictional character?"

What? Who asks that?

Eliot took my face in one smooth hand and grabbed the back of my head with the other. He tilted my chin up and leaned in.

"Stop!" I heard Elincia shriek. She was too late. Our lips were pressed together. He kissed me. And I kissed back. He stopped for a moment to say sorry. I shook my head and put my arms around him. Then I kissed him too. It lasted for at least ten seconds. I didn't think I could stop until a yank on my hair forced me to pull away.

"Elincia!" I yelled when I saw her body flying away from my head.

"That'll teach you to be kissing any boys!" she exclaimed. "I stopped that Max guy a couple of hours ago and I'll stop this one if he ever tries again!"

"Wait, some other guy was trying to kiss you?" he asked. Eliot wasn't smiling anymore.

"Well," I started mumbling, "yeah but he's not my... He and I aren't... He never asked me to be his girlfriend or anything." What help did that do?

"Oh, but you wanted it?" he replied. "You know what Lynn? You could have told me there was someone else before having me falling for you like an idiot. You could have not kissed me back." He got up and headed for the door. Rolf got up and followed him.

"Eliot!" I exclaimed when he opened the door.

"Save it, Lyndis," Eliot said.

"But-"

"You know," he said, "for what it was worth, I really enjoyed kissing you." With that, he turned and left, slamming the door behind him and Rolf.

What was that? If only he knew the truth, that Max and I weren't actually a couple, I would have a chance. Have a chance to do what? Have a chance to kiss him again? He said it himself- he's just a fictional character, as in not real. I was better off just liking Max- only Max- and letting Violet have him.

There was no way I could just fall for a guy from a book. Eliot just... He seemed so real... And how could I think his kiss wasn't real? No matter what, that kiss was real! It was full of warmth and passion and- and magic. No, magic isn't real. No matter what I've seen in the past two days, magic wasn't real. The kiss... No. Max is the right way to go. Now being stuck in this world would be so much easier... Yeah, right.

Chapter 6: Eliot is Heart Broken

_[It seemed like everyone was running into me and spilling water today.]_

I walked downstairs, infuriated. Everyone had just had dinner; everyone except for Lynn. I took it to her. I made it for her! I bet she was probably thinking of that Max guy, after I spent all day arranging for them to get essential materials tomorrow. Was he that blonde guy? Or was he the one that was slimmer? No, he was Marcus. He told me that he wanted an elf, too. So maybe he was the blonde one. I couldn't remember what any of the other three looked like.

I went straight into the kitchen, where the other ten were cleaning up.

"Hey," I said to Vanessa. There were only two girls, other than Lynn, who had black hair. I could remember Vanessa because she knew about the book I lived in and she acted as the advocate for the group. The other one had to be Mina, Lynn's half-sister.

"What's up?" she said with a smile. She was clearing the table while the others washed the dishes, dried them, put them up, and goofed off all at the same time.

"What's up?" I repeated. What did that even mean? "What is up where?"

She giggled and said, "That is so cute. In our world people say 'what's up' casually, like saying, 'how's it going' or 'what's going on'. You know that one right?"

I laughed. "Yeah, I do," I answered.

"Hey, Nessa, what's going on?" said the blonde guy. We both laughed and he put his arm her. He kissed her cheek and I started to think maybe he wasn't Max.

"I'm sorry," I started. "What's your name again?"

"Tony," he said. Oh, okay! I didn't have to hate this guy who apparently was going steady with Vanessa. Or I guess they use the terms boyfriend and girlfriend more in the real world.

"Who's Max?" I asked without thinking.

"He's my best friend," said Tony. "The one with the dark hair."

"Which one?" I asked. There were four guys there with dark hair. One of them was Marcus, so I crossed him out.

"Curly," he said. That crossed out the one with the blue eyes.

"Long or short?" I asked.

"Short," said Tony.

"Oh for crying out loud!" said Vanessa. "He's there drying the dishes! Hey, Max!" The guy with the dark, curly, short hair turned around. "Good job!" she shouted at him. He smiled, nodded, and then turned back to drying the dishes.

"Why?" asked Tony.

"Just asking," I said. I looked at the guy. He was smiling at something the blonde girl was saying. I couldn't help hating him.

I looked back at Vanessa and Tony. They were eyeing me suspiciously. Vanessa took a piece of bread and popped it into her mouth. They were still looking at me. I shook my head and then walked out. Why was I so rude?

I opened the door to go back and apologize and accidently bumped into someone. It was Mina.

"Oops," she said. "I'm sorry, Eli. That was my bad."

"It's Eliot," I said. We both took a few steps into the kitchen.

"It's just a nickna-" she said. "Wow! Look at you! Your body man... You're hot!" This got the attention of a couple people, including the other guy with black hair who I assumed was her boyfriend Derek. This was not a line I wanted to cross.

"Hot?" I asked.

"Sorry," she said. "Hot is like... really good looking. Sexy..." She smiled and did the weirdest thing. She started poking my stomach.

"Umm..." I started.

"Look at your abs!" she exclaimed. "You would put those boys back home to shame! Just look at you!" I was starting to feel really embarrassed, but even though I was mad at Lynn, I didn't want to be rude to her sister.

"Hey, I would appreciate it if you weren't half-naked with my girl's hands all over you!" said Derek. That's when I realized I had left my shirt in Lynn's room.

"Sorry," I started. "I-" Mina removed her hands from my stomach.

"Hey, no, I'm sorry, dude," he apologized. "That was impulsive. I guess I overreacted." He gave her a squeeze and then kissed her forehead. Then he turned and went back to where Max was. Then they both turned. I think everyone had finished the dishes because they had all stopped and turned to look at me.

I served myself some water from a jar and turned to leave. It seemed like everyone was running into me and spilling water today.

"Lynn," I managed to say. "Sorry I-"

"No, it's-" she was finding it hard to say something, too. "I guess now we're even," she said. Behind me, I heard to find a girl laughing. I turned to find it was the blonde girl.

"Maddie, shut up," Mina said. Maddie rolled her eyes and cuddled onto Marcus.

"I don't think I can take my shirt off like you but," Lynn said. She didn't finish that sentence. Instead she just started drying what she could.

"You'll get sick," I said.

"In our world we have stronger immune systems," said Mina. "She'll be fine."

"Yeah, it's no big deal," said Lynn. She walked over to the sink and pressed out the water. Max, who was standing next to her, just looked at her and smiled. When she looked up and noticed she smiled back. It only lasted a few seconds, though, because she turned to look at me and her smile faded.

"What's wrong?" I heard him ask her. He had now gotten her close enough that he was whispering things right into her ear.

I tried to look down but no matter how hard I tried I kept finding myself observing them. Who knows what he was telling her? She just kept giggling. I turned my attention- or at least tried- to the other people.

"Not right now," the guy with the blue eyes said.

"Why not?" said the girl with the brown, curly hair. What was her name again? "You never show me any affection!"

"Macy," the boy said. Right, it was Macy! "I just don't like the personal displays of affection."

Lynn and Max separated themselves a bit and looked up blushing.

"Oh, come on!" she exclaimed, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "I've seen you with girls who aren't even your girlfriend. You've even given Gwen some amorous hugs!"

"That's not true!" exclaimed the other girl with even curlier, brown hair. "Ricky and I are just friends! You're always trying to catch us in something that we're not in!"

"Oh, come on!" she exclaimed again. "I know he's just using me to get you jealous. Why else is he so cold to me but so nice to you?"

"Enough," said Ricky. "I'm tired of going through this every day. You're constantly jealous and I'm sick of it! I can't take it anymore. We're done!" He walked past all of us and got out. I waited for the steps on the staircase but instead heard the front door slam. I opened the kitchen door and saw that Ilene was already going after him.

Macy was close to tears and it was evident to everyone. She put her hand to her face and stormed out. Gwen was about to follow her but I stopped her and offered to go. She nodded and sat down, with Maddie starting to comfort her. I had to get out of there anyways. Max had started whispering to Lynn again and I think he was holding her hand.

I followed Macy upstairs. She walked into her room and slammed the door so I had to knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I heard a voice say between sobs.

"Eliot," I answered. I didn't hear anything so I was about to turn when I heard footsteps. Soon enough, the door opened, a red-eyed Macy standing there.

"Go ahead," she said. "Come in." She took a seat at the end of her bed and I did the same. It was getting close to midnight. I could tell just by looking out at the moon. So much for everyone getting some rest...

"It's going to be the seventeen," I said out loud. I didn't mean to say it.

"What?" said Macy. She wiped her eyes.

"Nothing," I started. "It's just tomorrow..."

"Friday, May 17," she said. "Assuming that we have the same time... Why?"

"Nothing," I said again. "Forget I mentioned it. So what's going on? That scene downstairs, want to talk about it?"

Chapter 7: Ilene Sees the Sincerity

_[He was definitely the best-looking guy in the group.]_

I saw him run out the kitchen and rush out the front door. Out of impulse, I followed him outside, letting Rolf take the front desk responsibility. Not that it was my responsibility to help the boy; I just did not want my other guests- the ones who actually pay- to be disturbed. When I reached him, he was next to the entrance, sitting on a small bench that was placed by the doors. I let the door shut softly, afraid to disrupt everyone who was inside like this guy had.

"Hi," I said as I took a seat next to him. He stayed quiet for a few seconds. I was getting ready to give up and go back inside when he finally answered.

"Hey," he said in a soft voice. "You're Ilene, right?"

"Yes," I answered. "I'm sorry but I don't think I know your name."

"Richard," he told me. "My friends all call me Ricky."

"Ricky, huh?" I replied. "You want to tell me what is making you so upset?"

"I just... Nothing..."

"Really?" I asked him. "It sure does seem like something is bothering you. I find that it is always best to discuss the matters that are troubling you with someone else."

"To be honest with you," he started. "It is my girlfriend. Well, she was my girlfriend."

"Did you two have an argument?" I asked him.

"Yes," he told me. "It was so bad that she and I aren't going out anymore."

"Oh," I said. I am going to guess that not "going out" means that they are not together anymore.

"Do you mind hearing my story for a bit?" he suddenly asked. His story?

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"I just need someone to listen to me," he answered. "I need someone who doesn't know me to pay attention and not judge me."

"Then, I guess I am your gal," I told him.

"Great," he said. "Now where do I start? Oh, I got it. I'm going to take you all the way down to when I was growing up. I guess I'll start by telling you that when I was younger my family and I would move around. I was always the new kid that didn't have any friends." He looked down and I could tell that those brief childhood memories brought pain to him. Were the other children cruel to him?

"I can't complain about money," he said. "All of us, we come from pretty good families. Not all of us are millionaires, but we always had enough to live happy lives. I didn't meet any of these people until late in my freshman year."

"What is a freshman year?" I asked him. "Sorry but you are going to need to use more relative terms. I can only assume I know the meaning of some of your colloquialism."

"Sorry, it's the ninth year of school," he said before continuing. "When I moved to the small town called Grand Prairie, where we're from, I really didn't expect to make any friends. I was wrong though. I met a girl there."

"Your girlfriend?" I asked him. "I mean the girl who you were just..?"

"No," he told me. "Her cousin, Gwen, was the first person I met. She introduced me to Macy, the girl I just broke up with, and that's when I joined this group. They were the most popular kids in school, and I became a part of them. After I became one of them- one of the guys with the most friends- the only people who still weren't with us were Maddie and Lynn. Lynn wasn't the popular type; she had, like, one friend. Maddie moved there about a year ago. She was super gorgeous, the tall, blonde girl, and well, we all thought she was good-looking enough to be let around us immediately."

I watched him as he talked. He was definitely the best-looking guy in the group. He had shiny, pitch-black hair and beautiful, blue eyes. Of course, he was also right about Maddie. She was for sure the prettiest of the girls.

"Marcus," he was saying, "had become my best friend. We first met Maddie at a party and they absolutely hit it off." He looked at my confused look towards this strange colloquialism. "I'm sorry. I meant they were attracted to each other and... Sparks flew?" I nodded and he continued. "On that night he made love to her for the first time... It may seem weird for me to share this about my best friend but I actually think everyone knows this back home. Anyways, he wasn't the only one. I was in my car with her, with Macy. And she... We... Well, the same thing happened. I was only fifteen... But I was just so happy that I even had someone. I needed to feel loved. Turns out she cheated on me the next month. I resorted to alcohol and drugs and all these other things that I shouldn't have... And she promised me when I found out that she would never do it again. I believe her. I still do. But she can't stand it when I even talk to another girl."

I was lost in his story for a lot of the time. All the stuff about being sixteen and drugs confused me, but I was kind of beginning to understand him. He gave up a lot for this Macy person, and she wasn't true to his heart. I believe that she is also a very jealous girl.

"So, today," he said, "when we were in the kitchen she suddenly wanted me to start kissing her and what not. I didn't want to, not at that moment. She accused me of having some sort of... thing going on with Gwen and that's when I reached that point in which I said, 'Enough is enough' to myself. I told her I was through with her accusations and her jealousy and I walked out here."

"So, that's why you're like this?" I told him after comprehending everything.

"Yes," he told me. "That's really all I needed to let out. Now that we're here, though, I'd also like to tell you about someone I met when I was out in the forest exploring."

"Of course," I told him. Normally, I'd be annoyed at all this talking, but I found that I enjoyed Ricky's company very much. That is why I urged him to tell me what he wanted.

"I followed a tiny hare past some bushes and got away from my friends for a moment," Ricky said. "I was about to catch it when I heard some voices. Whoever was coming my way scared the hare away. I waited a couple seconds until a girl said from behind me, 'Are you just going to stand there or will you follow it?' I turned to find a young girl with long, brown hair standing there alone. She was super beautiful. I noticed that she wore a black cloak with the hood on, as if attempting to hide herself."

"Did you say anything?" I asked him. I know a lot of girls around this village with brown hair but not many are able to grow it too long. My own black hair only grew a little under my chest before I was forced by the soldiers to cut it. Rumor has it that Princess Neimi often snuck out and disguised herself as a peasant in the neighboring villages near the kingdom, so she was forced to grow out her hair to her waist to avoid any blending in.

"Yes," said Richard. "I said, 'If I go after it, I would remain curious about you.' She smiled and said, 'I'm Ne...' She hesitated at telling me her name. Then she said, 'I'm Nerida. What may I call you, sir?' I was surprised by the sudden change in formality, but I told her, 'I'm Richard. What brings a pretty girl like you to the woods alone? Are you lost?' Then she told me that she wasn't alone and that's when an older guy, maybe a few years older than you, appeared. I think she called him Aldwin. She told him that it was okay, that I wasn't one of 'them'. I'm not sure who she was talking about but I think they were being followed."

"What makes you think that?" I asked. I was starting to put a lot of this together.

"He told her that they would be spotted soon if she didn't hurry and follow him," Ricky said. "He didn't seem to be rude or mean to her. In fact, it looked like she trusted him a lot. He started to pull her away and she just said bye to me. They put their cloaks on to cover up their faces completely and before I knew it they were gone."

"Ricky," I told him. "I'm going to be honest here. I think that she was lying to you about her name."

He laughed. "Yeah," he said. "I was pretty sure of that myself."

"No, Ricky," I said to him. "I think her name is really Neimi."

"What?" he asked. I had really confused him. "How would you know?"

"Ricky, how long was her hair?"

"I'm not sure her cloak mostly covered it," he said. "Why?"

"Was it past her chest, possibly?" I asked him.

"Probably," he answered. "What's going on?"

"I think you met the princess of Avalon today."
Chapter 8: Violet Meets the Group

_[They either looked like they did not want to talk to me or they had other things in mind.]_

Today I woke up with one thought only. It's Eliot's birthday! I couldn't wait to show up at the inn with his present. My mom had a very yummy breakfast prepared for him- eggs and a special pig meat called bacon. It was really hard to get ahold of these things, so my mother was very serious in the morning as she explained the caution I had to take when crossing a road that I had passed almost daily for the past couple of years. Of course I had planned this for a while. He gets up at around eight o'clock- Eliot is extremely punctual- and I would be there about ten minutes earlier, ready to make his day amazing.

I ran down the road with my basket of goodies. When I walked into the inn, I saw that Ilene was asleep at the front desk. It was very weird for her to be asleep; she must have been up all night doing who knows what. I was about to tap her shoulder when I got a better idea. Why not set up breakfast for the three of us in the kitchen? I walked towards the kitchen, stopping briefly at Eliot's bedroom to make sure he was not awake. When I opened the door, I found him asleep on his small bed. He must have also been up late. I closed the door and made my way to the kitchen. When I began setting up for breakfast, a moving figure startled me.

"Rolf!" I exclaimed. "You scared me!"

"Hello, Violet," he told me. "You need help?" I shook my head but he still started to help me.

"Thanks," I said after about ten minutes. "You really helped me get everything done faster.

The door suddenly opened. Eliot walked in sleepily with Ilene behind him.

"Happy birthday!" I exclaimed as I ran up to hug him. Rolf did the same. I was mad at myself for missing Ilene's congratulations outside because I wanted to be there when he woke up.

"I cannot believe my baby brother is eighteen!" Ilene exclaimed.

"Ilene," said Eliot, "you've been saying this for every birthday since I turned fourteen. I feel so old!" She hugged him again and that's when he noticed the food. "What's all this?" he asked.

"I made you a special birthday breakfast!" I told him. He smiled as we all took a seat and he started eating right away. I sat in front of him. He absolutely loved the bacon, even more than the ham which was preciously his favorite meat. My mother had definitely outdone herself. It was delicious.

"You should probably let Ophelia know as soon as possible," said Eliot as he was finishing up both his breakfast and our conversation, about thirty minutes later.

"So it is true then?" I asked. "All of those stories that the travelers told are real?"  
Ilene nodded as she stood up and began to clean up. "Rolf, why don't you go and wake them all up?" Rolf got up and did as she said. "The thing about Princess Neimi is what scares me the most," she said. "If Ricky really did see her, then something serious must be going on in the castle. Or something is happening outside of it... Maybe both..."

"Is there a possibility that she was just out and about?" I asked when he was out of the room.

"I highly doubt it," said Eliot. "She must have been doing something important to risk leaving the castle."

"So what happens now?" I asked him. "We are all fully prepared for anything, but your visitors... They hold an important piece of information that we've been seeking. We have to protect them." For many years, we had tried to discover the truth about the other world. It was essential that we not lose sight of this large group.

"Today they will start to settle in," said Eliot.

"You mean, get their own helpers and weapons?" I asked him.

"Exactly," he told me. "We need to take them to Bernadine and then later to Calvert. I'm even thinking of finding them their own place to live."

"You're going to Bernadine's?" asked Ilene from the sink where she was washing some plates. "I am so going with you!" She got very excited at the thought of seeing her boyfriend, Bernadine, who worked at the place where people were assigned their helpers. "Of course I want to go see how Fay is doing," she added. "Maybe I can bring her home after the longest recovery ever." Ilene's elf, Fay, had been sick for some time so Bernadine was caring for her at the center.

"Well that's a lot of trouble to go through for strangers," I replied. "But yes, I understand. I would like to join you when you visit Bernadine if you do not mind. I am thinking of getting another elf..."

"Really?" he asked me. "That's great!"

"Yes," I answered. "My mother feels that it is time I recover from the loss of Misty, since it was so many years ago that she died. It's time to adopt a new helper into the family."

"I'm really proud of you," he told me with a sincere smile. I smiled back and at that moment the door opened. Rolf walked in with the group of kids that they were housing. There was about a dozen, so I guess I had only seen about half of them before.

"Good morning," said Ilene to the group. I automatically got up from the table, as did Eliot. When they had all walked in and said their hellos to Ilene and Eliot, Ilene introduced me properly.

"This is Violet," said Ilene. "She is Ophelia's daughter, from across the street. I believe some of you have met her. You'll be seeing a lot of her so it's about time you all properly meet. She's not only our neighbor but also Eliot's best friend so I'm sure you'll love her." After she introduced me, they all, one by one, told me there names and introduced me to someone new. My good memory allowed me to remember all of them by name and a specific difference among them and something I noticed about them. It may seem weird, but I like to observe people very closely.

First there was Vanessa, the girl tallest of the dark-haired girls. She was very happy, smiling and giggling as we talked. She introduced me to Tony, the guy with the blonde hair. He was the only blonde guy who was always looking over at Vanessa and smiling at her. He introduced me to Max, the guy with short, dark hair. He was the one with the dark, curly hair who was always humming something. Max took me with Lynn. She was the shortest of the dark-haired girls and there were some weird red locks towards the bottom. Lynn was the type who did not look me in the eye while we spoke. She led me to Mina, the middle height of the dark-haired girls. Like Max, I often found myself hearing Mina humming as we chatted. She took me to Derek, the guy with the dark hair that was a bit longer than the other guys with the same color. He was always patting his leg with his hand, as if making a beat.

Derek introduced me to Gwen, one of the two girls with brown hair. She was upset about something, though she was trying to hide it with a smile. Gwen took me to a girl named Madeline, who was the only blonde in the group. She was always twirling her hair as we spoke. I asked Madeline to introduce me to the last girl, whose name turned out to be Macy. She had brown hair and blue like Gwen, but I think she was taller. She was even more upset, but she wasn't even trying to hide it. She directed me towards Marcus, a muscular guy with short brown hair. He was always looking at Madeline. He finally took me to Ricky, the guy who saw Princess Neimi. He had dark hair and gorgeous blue eyes. There was something in them though, sorrow, that made me wonder what was happening inside of him.

When Ricky didn't say much to me, I walked over to Ilene and Eliot who were by the sink.

"How'd you like them?" Ilene asked me.

"They were for the most part friendly," I said. "There were three of them, however, that no matter how welcoming I tried to be, weren't responding to my call of friendship. They either looked like they did not want to talk to me or they had other things in mind. Some of them seemed to at least be trying but these three just did not want to. I could tell."

"Really?" asked Ilene. "Who were they?"

"Well," I told them in a hushed voice. "There was that girl over there, Macy, who seemed to want me to get away as soon as possible. Then that guy Ricky who didn't even listen to me or seem to care. Also, the Lynn girl did not even want to look me in the eye. Did I not make the proper impression on your guests?"

Ilene responded, "Of course you did! To tell you the truth, Macy and Ricky ended their love affair last night; something about another girl from the group always causing Macy to doubt Ricky's loyalty. Lynn, though, I cannot tell you anything about. I have not gotten to know her yet. Eliot can probably tell you what is happening there. He spent some time with her yesterday."

I looked over at Eliot who just looked at Lynn, then at Ilene, and finally at me. He shrugged and told Ilene to tell them the plan for the day while he took care of some monetary business. The next thing I knew, he was out the door.

"What was that about?" I asked Ilene. She said she did not know and then called the attention of the group who had been eating breakfast.

"Today we have a special treat for you," Ilene told them. "So you have all seen Rolf, correct?" Everyone said they had, nodded, or smiled.

"Rolf is an elf, a species that we call 'helpers'," I informed them. "Traditionally, every person gets their own helper when they turn eleven."  
"I have an elf myself," said Ilene. "I adopted her when I turned eleven, like everyone else. Her name is Fay."

"Why isn't Fay around like Rolf?" asked Madeline.

"Fay was sick for a while but I'm sure she has recovered now," she told her. "Today we are going to visit her at a special place where my... friend... Bernadine works with people in finding the right elf. You are all going to possibly have your own elf in just a matter of hours."

"That's the sh-" said Marcus.

"What are we doing after that?" asked Derek.

"We are taking you over to the big stadium in order to find you the right weapon or weapons for you," Ilene told them. "Every person works best with a certain type of weapon and so today our friend Calvert will be assisting in the search for each of yours."

Vanessa looked at Ilene suspiciously. "Why all the sudden need for protection?" she asked her. "Weapons, helpers, what's next? Armory?"

Ilene sighed and told her, "If you have any questions please ask Eliot. I do not have any more details than what I have given you." Nice way of answering her question indirectly.

When everyone had finished their food, we headed outside. There was a small barn out in the back of the inn. Eliot and Ilene had about twenty horses there; nothing but horses. Eliot was in love with them since he was a child and Ilene used them as a way to distract him- and herself, if you ask me- from the tragic murder of their parents.

Eliot was waiting for us outside the barn with seven horses ready to go.

"Do any of you know anything about riding horses?" he asked the group. I looked around. Only four of them raised their hands. "You four, go to a horse," he said. "It doesn't matter which one, just choose one and stand by it. We have to make this quick."

"Should Violet and I do this also?" Ilene asked Eliot.

He thought about it for a second. "Yes," he said. "It would actually complete everything. Let's see, there's four of them there, plus us three, that makes seven. Great, we can just hop on and be on our way." Eliot went to stand by his horse, Silvermist, a beautiful gray female. Ilene went to her horse, a male who she had named Centaur for his peculiar behavior of a human, and I stood by the remaining horse, a female named Bunny. Next to me was Ricky who was brushing his horse, Snow, with his hand. She seemed to like him very much, which was weird because Eliot had the hardest time with her.

"Everyone else," said Eliot, "chose one of the people here and be their partner. We don't have time to waste." The people who had raised their hands before were Ricky, Tony, Madeline, and Mina. Automatically, Marcus went to Madeline, and I understood that they were courting. Also, Derek went to Mina at the same time that Tony was helping Vanessa get on the horse. They were all cautiously hopping onto their horses when we noticed that none of the other people were getting on their horses.

"For crying out loud," said Eliot. "People, we do not have time for indecision." I was not too sure of what was going on in Eliot's head at the moment. It was his birthday yet he was acting so rude, a word that was almost never a part of his existence.

Lynn looked down, while Max hopped on Ilene's horse. Only Gwen, Lynn, and Macy were left. Macy and Lynn had not been very nice to me so I was really hoping for Gwen to join me. I was about to invite her over when she herself walked over to me. She smiled and I helped her onto Bunny. Lynn and Macy stood there awkwardly.

That is when I remembered what Ilene had told me. Ricky was left there, and Macy would probably not want to join him. Lynn, I knew nothing about so I was not sure whether her decision would be towards Ricky or Eliot. I knew from that small comment from Ilene that she had spent some time with Eliot but she may be close to Ricky, for all I knew.

Eliot stepped in. "Macy," he said, his voice sounding compassionate towards them for the first time this morning. "Why not join me? Silvermist is a great horse, especially if it is your first time on one." Macy smiled and headed towards Eliot who helped her get on.

Lynn made her way toward Ricky, and something about the way she looked at him told me she was dreading this ride. I hopped onto Bunny as quickly as I could. Ricky offered to help Lynn but she did not even look at him. She hopped onto Snow on her own.

"I'm really sorry," I heard Ricky tell her as he got on the horse. Eliot began moving and so did everyone else. When I noticed that Ricky had not started moving I asked if everything was alright. Lynn did not say anything again. Ricky just shook his head and started moving.

Was Lynn the girl who had caused Macy and Ricky's relationship to end? I thought. It was possible. It would certainly explain the awkward vibe that was around the three. I told myself I'd keep an eye on this Lynn girl before she made our task difficult. I also made a note of keeping an eye on Macy, who I could see from the distance holding onto Eliot tightly. For all I knew, she had shifted her romantic interest to Eliot now that she was no longer attached to Ricky.

Either way, I had a feeling there would be some trouble ahead if those two were let alone with someone else's man.

Chapter 9: Maddie Has a Secret

_[Of course any girl would die to be me.]_

I shouldn't have admitted to riding horses. Sure, it was my hidden passion, but now Marcus would be questioning what other things he didn't know about me. Truth is, ever since I was little, I've always loved horses. Riding was always my way of getting away from it all. Normally I wouldn't have let the possibility be known, but at the moment, my impulses wanted to be helpful. I raised my hand when Eliot asked who knew anything about riding because for once I would feel useful- more than just to the pleasure of the opposite sex.

We were riding for a while. I was following behind Mina's horse. She, of course, told everyone about her hobby. She had no shame in telling people that she loved the sensation of being on such a beautiful creature, of riding through fields, of the nasty helmet hair she had afterwards. I, on the other hand, couldn't help but want it to be a secret. I'm not sure what it is exactly that kept me from telling people. I guess I just wanted a secret to have that was all mine.

That is not a valid reason, though, considering how many secrets I have. In one year I became the prima girl of the school, it girl of the whole town. I surpassed the popularity of Mina Anderson and took her place as queen bee. Of course any girl would die to be me. Wouldn't they? On the surface, yes, they would. That's only because they don't know everything. Only Vanessa knew what I had been hiding. Why I chose to tell her, I'm not sure. I guess she seemed like the most capable of keeping such a huge secret. I could have told Macy or Gwen, who I felt that I was closest to in the group. I could have told Mina, who I was sure would be the most capable of helping me. But all I needed was to know that someone else knew and that they wouldn't tell. I had to admit, I was frightened of what Marcus would do if he knew.

"What's on your mind, babe?" he asked from behind me. _Babe_... There was a part of me that secretly had always wished for him to call me Love, Beautiful, or any of those other nicknames that I've heard Tony use on Vanessa so many times before. But he never did.

"Nothing," I told him. "I love you." Of course, I loved him. There and then, it was the first time I had ever said it to him, though. No, it was not the first time. I told him almost three months ago, when he was making love to him. He told me he loved me too, but how could I know if he really meant it? We were having sex; he could have been lying to me. A lot of things have happened since.

"I..." he hesitated for a moment. I knew it. I couldn't look back at him because I was riding but before he had a chance to redeem himself, we started slowing down. We came to a stop in front of a large building, the place where we would be getting our helpers.

"Here we are," said Eliot as we all started to get off. "Tie your horses down there while I go and get us started. Wait here for a second." He tied down his horse- I think it was Silvermist- and went inside. All the riders quickly tied down their horses while we waited.

I looked around for a moment. Ricky was standing awkwardly by Lynn. There was always something that bugged me about those two. I had them for one class, chemistry, and she was his lab partner at some point. I sat behind them with my partner, a girl named Natalie who ended up switching schools at the beginning of the year, and during those six weeks, I don't think I ever saw them even look at each other.

Next to Ricky, who had just attempted to talk to her and was rejected for even the slightest contact, was Marcus. I would have thought he'd be trying to talk to me but I guess the "I love you" shook him off a little. He was talking to Tony and Derek, probably telling them about me, and I could see that they were trying to help with some advice. Ilene and Violet were by the door, talking quietly. On the other side of the door I found Gwen talking to Vanessa, who was trying to console her, most likely. I should be there with her. She and Macy are my best friends, I'd have to say, and this is the kind of situation in which I should be there for her. The whole thing with Ricky was not well, but I'm afraid of Macy thinking that I was taking sides since yesterday I consoled Gwen.

Speaking of Macy, the girl was over by Max and Mina. It was weird to see them all there, because I hardly ever saw them together, other than when someone else from the group was there. Max and Macy where listening to Mina tell them something. Hey, I just noticed they all have names that start with the same letter. If Marcus and I were there it would be cooler.

I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Mina was doing all the talking. After a couple of minutes, Mina looked over at Ricky who was now in a conversation with Lynn. She said something that made Macy and Max look over as well. Those two I could actually hear. I was so involved in trying to understand what Mina was saying that I did not notice that Lynn had finally let Ricky talk to her. I turned to face a tree behind Mina, but I paid attention to what was happening next to me.

"So are you finally going to let me talk to you?" said Ricky. "It's been a while now, and I really do think it's time to let it go."

"Really?" said Lynn. "Ricky, it's not that simple. You didn't just take someone's chips here. You took something much more important that cannot be given back."

"What is that?" asked Ricky. I was tempted to turn and look at them closely.

"Innocence," said Lynn. "You took life away and you know how. If it wasn't for you-" She stopped talking. I turned to see her and she was looking over at Max, Mina, and Macy. Macy was so jealous, I could tell. The same thing was happening with Max, I bet. Mina looked concerned, though I wasn't sure for whom.

"If it wasn't for me what, Lynn?" asked Ricky. He didn't seem to care about what Macy was thinking. Asshole.

"You already know," said Lynn. She walked away from him and went over to the horse that they had ridden. The horse was a beautiful, white female.

I heard Ricky sigh so I looked back at him. I went over to him for a second.

"What was that about?" I asked him. I had startled him.

"What?" he asked me.

"Don't act dumb, Rick," I said.

"It was nothing," he told me.

"Sure did sound like something," I said. "It actually sounded like a lot. Whose innocence did you take away? Did you take someone's virginity? Oh my god! Was it Lynn?" The realization that I had come to made me happy for some reason. The perfect little girl who Mina, Max, and Vanessa loved so much and protected wasn't so perfect anymore. She had sex with Ricky. Surely, this meant she had probably had sex with Max on that first night in the cabin also.

"Maddie," said Ricky. "Don't be so stupid. I don't even know her."

"You don't have to know someone to bang them," I told him. I finally had something over that bitch. Somehow, though, once I thought about what he possibly had done to her, I didn't feel any better.

"You should know," he said. Excuse me?

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked him. He may not have any nerve, but I don't either. I always had hated this kid's guts. I put up with them because he was Marcus' best friend and my best friend's boyfriend.

"Come on," he said. "You had sex with Marcus when you had just met him. And I'm sure that you didn't know Sean Martin too well when you cheated on Marcus with him two months ago."

I slapped him. "Where the hell did you get that from?" He didn't answer me so I was about to slap him again but he caught my hand this time.

"Sean told Marcus himself," he told me before releasing my hand. "Don't feel bad, though. Although I doubt a snake like you has a conscious, you should know that Marcus doesn't slow down. So what if you were involved with one of his teammates? He did your ex-lab partner." I slapped him again. He didn't stop this one. There was no way Marcus had cheated on me with Natalie. That was Max's cousin; he hardly ever talked to her.

"Don't believe me?" said Ricky, as if he could read my mind. His cheek had turned red. "Why do you think he wasn't there on your birthday the week after? Where do you think he was? Certainly he wasn't visiting his family who very suddenly started living somewhere else." Oh my god. His words made sense. No... He wasn't there but he could have been doing anything. He said his family would be going to San Antonio to visit his Aunt Clara that weekend. How could I be so stupid? His Aunt Clara was from New York; I met her before.

"Perfect way to get revenge, huh? You think because you're so hot, nobody will ever leave you. You're wrong, though. Your bitchy self is soon going to end up with nobody. All your friends, the ones who you treat like shit, they are going to leave you sooner or later. I'm surprised Marcus has had enough pity towards you to not dump you yet. He probably wants to tap your ass a few more times before finally throwing you to the trash where you belonged."  
Never had someone been so cruel to me. Nobody had ever said those things to me. I wasn't used to being looked down on for once. The hatred in Ricky's eyes when he said those things... Did he mean it? I looked around. Mina, Macy, Max, Lynn... They were all looking at me. Had they heard any of that? Marcus was still in his conversation so nobody else had heard.

"Had enough yet?" said Ricky. "Have you finally realized that you have nobody? You're just a little whore that thinks you can sleep around with everyone because of how you look on the outside and they will all still love you. Well, you're wrong. Everyone hates you and sadly for you, it's true that what's on the inside is what counts."

I felt like I was about to cry. What had brought out all this anger in Ricky, I did not know. But he must have truly believed in all those things. Marcus didn't love me... None of my friends did. They weren't even my friends. A tear started forming in my eye when Lynn appeared again.

"Oh, no you don't," she said softly when she saw my face.

"You?" I asked, my voice sounding weaker than I had expected.

"How dare you talk to someone like that?" she said. She said to Ricky.

"Lynn, please don't-" Ricky's expression changed.

"You are nobody to be telling people about what's right and wrong," she said to him. Then she walked towards me. Now everybody was looking. Everyone saw my eyes get watery and everyone saw that Lynn had defended me. I, who always tormented her, was being defended by Lynn.

"Lynn," said Ricky, his voice getting louder. "Why are you defending this bitch who has never done anything nice for you or anyone else but herself?"

"Don't talk to her like that!" I heard Marcus shout. Why did he even care? Out of the corner of my eye I saw that he was making his way over here.

"Because," said Lynn, "I will never see anyone else be hurt by you, Ricky." I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me, thanking her, before getting to where my face was right in front of Ricky's.

"You," I said, noting that Marcus was just about to get there, "and he can rot in hell."

The front door opened and out came Eliot with another guy who was really cute. I took Lynn's hand again and started walking towards them when Marcus stopped me.

"Babe," he said. "What's wrong?" I let go of Lynn to slap him across the face. He didn't see it coming, for his face was full of shock. Eliot and the other guy were startled and shocked along with many expressions that I could see on the others' faces.

"Don't ever call me that again," I told him. "We're so beyond over you asshole."

He stood there, speechless, while I went to stand with Macy, Mina, and Max. Lynn followed me, and we quietly got some presses of the shoulder from the rest. Ricky went over to Marcus who was still quiet. Derek and Tony went over to them with questioning looks. Gwen and Vanessa looked over at the group, obviously wondering what in the world was going on.

Eliot cleared his throat. Nobody else had realized his presence yet. Ilene turned and at the sight of them ran over to the other guy.

"Bern!" she exclaimed as she jumped on him and hugged him. The happiness in his eyes when he saw her... it was the look that I saw on Tony and on Derek when they saw Vanessa and Mina. Never did I see it on Marcus. Figures...

"Ilene," said the other guy. So this was Bernadine. They were so going out. "You don't know how I've missed you, love." He kissed her before turning his attention to the rest of the group. When he saw Violet, he hugged her and kissed her forehead. "Look at you!" he said. "You've grown so much, kid!"

"This is Bernadine," said Eliot. "He will be asking you a couple of questions in order to get you paired up with your helpers. Bernadine, if you will."

"Sure," he said. He smiled once more at Ilene, who looked like the happiest person on Earth, and then took a step forward. "Violet, why don't you join them," he said. Violet took a couple of steps until she was standing in the middle. Everyone else was either towards the left or the right of the entrance- I was on the left. Bernadine had us all move to the middle.

"I'm going to ask you a couple of questions," he said. "The answer will either be 'yes' or 'no'. If you say 'yes', step to the left side." He pointed to where I had recently been standing. "If not, then step to the right. Let's get started."
Chapter 10: Tony Plays With Fire

_[The question was ironic, considering the circumstances.]_

I started wondering why everyone seemed to be breaking up. I understood why Ricky broke up with Macy; she had a trust issue. What I didn't get was why Maddie dumped Marcus like that, in front of everyone. They seemed so great for each other. I doubt it was because Marcus didn't say he loved her. If it was then it can be fixed; Marcus had just told Derek and me that he really did love her, he was just scared to say it again. I don't think that was it though. She seemed to know something that he didn't know. Something like that was happening.

As we were moving to the center of the entrance, I caught up to Vanessa. Luckily, she and I had no secrets.

"Love, what happened?" I asked her. "Why did Maddie just do that?"

She stayed quiet then looked at me. Then she just said, "I don't know." She looked down and said, "I'm not sure what's up with her lately." She was lying to me. I never lied to her. When I did she could tell, I think. Sometimes I forget that. I can tell when she lies also, though, because she won't look me in the eye. Ilene told something to Lynn. She nodded and stepped out of the group. I saw that Lynn went to stand near Eliot, who then retreated inside.

"First question," Bernadine was saying now. "Do you consider yourself an adventurous person?" Vanessa, Gwen, Marcus, and Derek moved to the left. The rest of us went right. I noticed that Eliot was leading a group of elves outside. There were eleven of them, I counted; one for all of us, if you include Violet and exclude Lynn. They weren't all how I expected them to be, though. Some of them were small like Rolf and others were as tall as us.

"Please keep your attention on the questions," said Bernadine. "If you answered no could you please step to the side for a moment? And when your answer is yes, stay in the middle." We did as he requested and then he continued with the four that were left. He asked, "Second question; would you like for your helper to be the same gender as you?" Everyone stayed where they were.

"Third question," he asked them. "Do you like to cook and clean for yourself?" The guys stepped aside.

"Do you consider yourself to be a leader?" he asked. Gwen moved to the side.

"Can I get your full name?" Bernadine asked Vanessa, who was the only one left.

"Vanessa Marisol Oken," she told him. He wrote it down on a clipboard that Ilene handed to him and then he said, "Harley, this one's for you." A little elf, female, stepped forward. "Go ahead and step to the back together and don't be shy with each other." Vanessa merrily stepped by Lynn followed by Harley. They hugged instead of shaking hand and I could instantly tell this match-making was good.

"Okay everyone back to the center," said Bernadine. When we all were together he asked, "Are you a morning person?" Mina, Maddie, Marcus, and Ricky moved to the side. I noticed that Maddie put a big distance between herself and the guys.

"Do you prefer animals as pets?" he asked us. Macy and Derek stepped aside.

"I prefer to dance, rather than to sing," he said. Everyone except for Gwen moved. The girl did always love to dance. She was awesome at it, too.

"Name?" he asked her.

"Gwendolyn Odette Summers," she said in a low voice. She hated her name.

"Nissa," he called out. A little, friendly-looking elf stepped forward. Gwen stepped away to meet her and they started to talk. Bernadine wrote it down and continued once everyone had come together again.

"I prefer hotter temperatures," he said. I think he was switching to statements now. Mina, Macy, Derek, Marcus, Ricky Violet, and I all moved. Max, Maddie, and Ricky remained.

"Do you have any siblings?" he asked. Max stayed while Ricky and Maddie walked away. I had almost forgotten about little Susan.

"Name?" Bernadine asked Max.

"Maximillian Cornell," he told him. I wanted to laugh. Every time any of us heard him say his full name, we had the urge to vow down to him. He sounded like royalty. Bernadine called over an elf named Jamison who I thought looked a lot like Eliot, just much smaller. They stepped back with the rest of the group.

Again, when we were all back, Bernadine asked, "Do you believe in true love?" The question was ironic, considering the circumstances. Mina and Derek smiled at each other when neither of them left. Macy and Maddie moved aside together. Ricky, at seeing them, also moved out of the center. I stayed and so did Violet. Surprisingly, Marcus stayed even after what had just happened.

"I like fire more than ice," he said. These questions seemed more and more irrelevant. Violet, Derek, and Marcus moved. Only Mina and I remained.

"Do you have any fighting experience whatsoever?" he asked. Mina left, of course. I did boxing so I stayed.

"What's your name?" Bernadine asked me.

"Anthony Damon Preston," I told him. He called over an elf whose name was Cedric and together we stepped off to the rest of the group.

"I'm Anthony," I told him. "But you can call me Tony." Back with the other group, I could hear Bernadine starting to ask questions again.

"Hello, Tony," he told me. "I'm Cedric and I will be your new helper. I am highly skilled in cooking and cleaning, but I'm also good with wars. Let me ask you something, Tony. Are you a warrior or old enough to be drafted into a war? Would you fight with the kingdom or the village if there were to be a civil war?" I wasn't sure what to say. Cedric was an odd little guy. He was pale and had red hair, but despite his childish appearance he was very articulate.

"That depends," I answered. "What age do you qualify to be drafted?"

"Twelve," he told me. You get drafted at twelve?

"Then, yes," I told him. "I qualify for being drafted. I guess I would fight with the village but I doubt that I'll be here long enough to be a part of a war."

"You never know," he said. "Stranger things have happened. These wars can start from nothing."

"Macy Murray," I heard Macy say.

"Donella," Bernadine called out. The first of the elves that wasn't little came out. Actually, she was probably as tall as Lynn, who was pretty much the smallest of our group. She looked like she could be Macy's little sister. She had reddish-brownish hair and paler skin than Macy but that's because Macy tanned.

"Tony," said Vanessa as Macy joined us with Donella and Bernadine got started again. "Come meet Harley!" I went over to Vanessa who was sitting down on a bench with Harley and Lynn. We talked for a bit, as we watched more people being taken out of the center. Mina had gotten some girl, a small one, named Ellette. Derek was assigned to a helper boy who was also small and named Bassett.

"So, Lynn," I started. "Why aren't you getting an elf?"

"It has something to do with Elincia," she said.

"So it's probably because you have a fairy?" Vanessa asked. Lynn nodded.

"Name?" asked Bernadine. We looked up to find that Marcus was the only person left.

"Marcus Nicholas Hales," he answered.

"Darwin," Bernadine called out. An elf stepped forward. He was almost as tall as Marcus. His hair was long and curly, almost covering his long, pointy ears.

The next person to be called out was Maddie.

"Madeline Estelle Baker," we heard her say.

"Sunny," Bernadine said. An elf that was the height of a middle school kid, just like Macy's elf and Lynn, stepped forward. She had brown hair that fell right below her chin. Maddie and Sunny went to stand next to Macy and her elf. Neither of them said a word, they just looked down.

"So are you going to tell me what you know or are you going to keep lying to me?" I asked Vanessa.

"I don't know why they broke up," she told me, looking me straight in the eye.

"But you do know something, right?" I asked.

"Tony," she replied. "I promised I wouldn't tell anybody. Please don't try to force it out of me." Lynn stood up and walked over to Maddie and Macy. Macy left at the sight of her but Maddie smiled and they started talking.

"You promised that we wouldn't keep any secrets," I said to her. "Where did that promise go, Vanessa?"

I heard Violet say, "Hello, Tatiana!" I looked up to find her hugging a small elf, with short, blonde hair.

"The last one is yours," said Bernadine to Ricky. "What is your name?"

"Richard Alexander Ashford," he said. He was introduced to an elf named Kolby, who was about the same height as him and had the same dark hair. He looked like a mix of Ricky and Marcus, who already looked a lot alike.

"Alright, before you all get going to Calvert's stadium," said Bernadine. "I have something I need to get. Wait here patiently please." Bernadine disappeared inside. Everyone was chatting with each other or with their new helpers.

"It's not fair," said Vanessa, "for you to try to use that promise against me. You lied to me when I asked you about Ricky and Lynn. You know something that I don't. Now you expect me to tell you what Maddie is hiding? I don't think that's fair at all, Tony." She got up and walked over to Maddie and Lynn.

What was she talking about? That's when I remembered the Cory incident. There was a guy that we kind of used to hang out with. One day, we were at a party in a club that we had sneaked into. When we left, Derek, Ricky, and Cory stayed back. I'm not sure what went on exactly, but some guys assaulted them. Derek was almost intoxicated, and Ricky didn't know what to do. He just stood there to the side while the guys beat up Cory, the only one who had tried sticking up for himself. They left him alone and Cory has been in a coma ever since. Nobody else knows what happened to him. Nobody other than Lynn and her friend, some guy she had been out with at a nearby restaurant that night. She can't stand the sight of Ricky.

I had never told Vanessa; none of the girls knew. We were afraid of their judgment because they didn't even know we were out on that night. It was a year ago, and we were hoping that it could all blow over. But it hadn't...

Bernadine came out with another elf behind him. She was little and adorable.

"Fay!" Ilene exclaimed. She ran up to hug the elf. Then she hugged Bernadine and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Thanks for helping her recover," she told him. After Eliot, Ilene, and Violet discussed something privately with Bernadine, we finally said our goodbyes and thanks. Bernadine said he would have all of the elves taken to the inn by the time we got home. We got back on our horses and made our leave. This time, Vanessa did not say a word to me as we made our way. Gwen hopped on with us because Violet would not be joining us and Eliot had allowed her to ride her horse back home.

When we arrived, we entered what looked more like an arena than a stadium. There was an older guy; early twenty's maybe. He was standing there with five boxes on the floor in front of him. There were also about twenty yellow dummies standing behind him.

"This is my good buddy, Calvert," said Eliot. "He usually helps me with all the hunting and now he's here to teach you all about weapons and choosing your comfort weapon. Calvert, the floor is all yours."

Eliot stepped to the side. Calvert said, "There's really not much else that I can think of so let's get you started. These five boxes hold your future saviors. The first box is filled with swords, knives, rapiers. You know; all your basic daggers. The second box has all the different types of axes that you can think. Those are usually more for the physically stronger folk. The third box contains lances and spears, all types, while the fourth has bows and arrows."

"What's the fifth box for?" I asked him.

"That's a special one," he told us. "I do not think that any of you will need it, but I brought it out just in case. It is for magic wielders. There are some people in this world who are just magnificently special. They have the power to control an element, although they do not get to choose which one. In this box are books with spells. Memorize a couple of them, work on them, and soon you'll be bending water, fire, or something at your will. Of course, you can't just wish for it. It's a trait that is handed down. If multiple elements are passed down your blood line, then you could potentially learn more than one type. I've only once met a woman who has these skills."

Everyone stared in awe at the box with the books.

"Let's go ahead and get started," said Eliot. "Choose a weapon and see what damage you can get on those dummies. Please be careful and do not hurt each other. Calvert, Ilene, and I will all be floating around if you need our help."

"I suggest that you try all the weapons," said Ilene, "before going crazy over the spell books. If you find a weapon that's right for you, trust me, you'll know it. As long as it's in the same box it will still work for you. You can be picky and choose which one appeals the most to you as long as it's within that box. If none of them show themselves to be yours, then you can go for the books."

I made my way to the third box, which I was closest to. Derek and Mina were there. Both of them started to try out different types of lances. First it was Mina. She grabbed what seemed to be a spear and from a distance threw it towards the dummy. It landed a few feet from her only. Derek went next. When he picked up a spear and threw it, landing it right into the dummy's chest, he looked like he had been doing that all his life.

"You see that great skill?" said Calvert who was standing beside me. "This is his type. But that specific spear is not the one that belongs to him. Can you call him over here, please?"

"Derek!" I shouted at him as he removed the spear from the dummy. He ran up to us and put the spear down.

"How did that feel?" asked Calvert.

"It felt like I was an expert in this," he responded excitedly.

"Interesting," Calvert said. "Everyone, can you gather here quickly?" The group moved closer to the third box and paid attention.

"What's going on?" said Derek.

"I want them to see how they can know which weapon belongs to them," said Calvert. "Derek, can you throw that spear at the dummy again?" Derek lifted the spear from the ground and threw it at the dummy, landing it exactly where it had before. People cheered for him and beamed on how awesome it looked.

"Eliot, Ilene, can either of you tell the group what happened here?" asked Calvert.

"It's definitely the right weapon for him," said Eliot.

"It's just not the one that belongs to him," Ilene finished. "Why don't you try just lifting some of the others?" Derek seemed as confused as the rest of us, but he followed orders and started picking other weapons up, carefully putting them back in the box. It didn't take long before he picked up a jousting lance; the type that knights used. When he touched it, the lance started to glow.

"How do you feel?" asked Calvert as everyone else stayed quiet.

"It's hard to explain," answered Derek. "With the other weapons I felt at ease, but with this one is more than just that. I feel as if this is my weapon."

"Perfect," said Ilene. "Try throwing it or hurling it into the dummy." Derek took a few seconds to look at his lance and then he ran towards the dummy. When he was just a few feet away he threw it at the dummy and it landed on its head with so much power that it fell off.

"Congratulations, Derek," said Calvert. "This is your weapon. Thanks for listening folks, get back to where you were and keep searching." Everyone went back to where they were and Derek went to sit on the floor and watch with his lance laid out next to him. Mina skipped her way towards the first box. I decided to try out the spear that Derek had first used. When I threw it, something similar to what happened to Mina occurred. Nothing.

I saw Vanessa and Macy walking toward the second box so I joined them. Although Vanessa wasn't talking to me, I still wanted to be there for her. When I got there Vanessa was lifting one of the axes. I think it was more of a hatchet. She walked toward the dummy and started to gain speed as she went to it. However, when she was getting closer she started to lose that speed and she stopped right in front of it. She turned back, shaking her head.

"This just isn't me," she said. "I think I'm going to try that first box. Good luck, Mace." She handed the hatchet to Macy who started to do the same thing she had just done. When she saw me, she looked down and then left. Macy was doing well, she hadn't stopped running. That's when I noticed that the hatchet was glowing in her hands, a detail I hadn't paid attention to because it was Vanessa who had given it to her.

"Ilene," Macy started when she got back with the hatchet. "Are they always going to glow like this?"

"Good question," she said. "No, they won't. By the time you go sit down and start watching, the glow will stop, and it will never return. You won't need the hatchet to tell you that it is yours anymore. I have to admit, not many girls have the physical strength required to fight with a hatchet. Congratulations." Macy smiled and walked towards Derek with her hatchet in hand. She took a seat next to him. I picked up one of the axes. I didn't even feel comfortable lifting it, so I put it back down. It just didn't feel right.

I made my way to the fourth box, the bows and arrows, and I saw Maddie on my way past the third box. She was smiling and holding a javelin, which was long and sharp, not to mention glowing brightly. She took a seat next to Macy.

"Here to try the bows?" asked Gwen when I got to the fourth box. We were the only ones there. I nodded and she said, "I couldn't even figure out how to get the arrow on there. Eliot told me that it was tricky and if I didn't do it naturally, the bow wasn't for me." She shrugged and walked towards the second box, where Marcus was holding a glowing axe. I saw that when she tried to pick one up, she looked as uncomfortable as I had felt.

I tried to pick up one of the bows, unsure of what would happen. When I picked up an arrow and tried to put it in its place, I realized I had no clue what I was doing. I didn't even want to try any longer, so I put it down and went to the first box. Vanessa was there, fencing the dummy with a rapier. It was glowing, of course. There were a lot of people trying things out in the first box. I guess a lot of them had found their comfort zone there and now they were searching for the weapon that belonged to them.

"Stupid knife," said Ricky. I looked over at him. He was holding a knife and it was faintly glowing.

"That's a special case," said Calvert. "When a weapon is only glowing a bit, it means that you have two weapons, and this is your secondary one. Have you tried all the others that are in this box?"

"Yes," Ricky replied. "They all feel nice, but this is the only one that glowed even a little."

"You don't think..." I looked behind me. Eliot was standing there, watching.

"It could be," said Calvert. "The guy who brought it with him... He was also from the other world." Calvert knew about the real world? If he knew, I bet so did Bernadine. Why were they all so willing to help us?

Calvert and Eliot disappeared, so Ilene told us to keep going. She also told Ricky to stay put with her. Five minutes had passed. I was thinking about what could possibly be taking Eliot and Calvert so long. Max had found his blade. It was a rapier like Vanessa's. Mina got a longsword and Lynn was the first to master the bow and arrows. Only Gwen and I were left. We tried everything but nothing happened.

"What is going on?" I asked Ilene. "Nothing has worked for us."

"Some people just cannot fight," she told us. "But... I guess you... Let's wait for Eliot and Calvert. Oh, look here they come." There was a look of uncertainty on Eliot as the two made their way towards the group who was still standing. They were holding a long, brown sword case.

"Is that for Ricky?" asked Ilene. "Do you think..."

"It's worth a try," said Calvert.

"I highly suggest that-" Eliot didn't seem to want this.

"Eliot," said Calvert. "You may not believe in the prophecy but this could prove everything to be true. In that case, we need to find him before Marmaduke or anyone else who's searching does." Prophecy? Marmaduke? I really wished I had been more interested in the book and researched it like Vanessa did.

"What's going on?" asked Ricky. "I already tried swords. I tried every single sword in here."

"Not this kind," said Calvert. He and Eliot set the case down and carefully opened it. Inside was a sword like I had never seen before. Not even the movies had a sword like this.

"A katana?" asked Gwen. We all looked over at her. She and I were the only ones standing, besides Ricky, Ilene, Eliot, and Calvert.

"You've seen this before?" asked Calvert.

"Not that specific one," she replied. "That's a Japanese katana, or sword. It's from a whole different country than where we're from. How'd you get that?"

"A man that came in here, in the way that you all came, had it with him," said Eliot. "Five hundred years ago, he claimed to be a warrior from another world. He was the first person, I believe, to have ever done that. He was also arrogant, though, and a very peculiar sight. He became a person of interest to King Cornelius, the king in charge of Avalon at the time. His sword was found after his death. He was killed by the king himself. The king was possessed by something dark, something evil and- Well, I won't get into too much detail in that part. What you need to know is this... The oracle's prophecy is that a young man, his reincarnation, will be the wielder of this very sword. And that boy will be the savior of Avalon, with the help of four friends." This was not at all how I remembered Avalon being. Wasn't it just a little island where King Arthur was buried? Suddenly it's a whole kingdom with prophecies and

"You have to try it," said Calvert. "You could be the prophecy in the flesh, standing here in front of us."

"So," said Gwen, "Ricky is potentially the reincarnation of a Japanese Samurai?"

"Samurai!" exclaimed Ilene. "That's what he claimed to be, a samurai!" She walked over to Ricky and put her hand on his shoulder. "You should at least try," she told him. "You could be a hero. This is your chance to be someone who you're proud of." What in the world... How did Ilene know anything about Ricky?

Ricky looked at her and then picked up the katana. Instantly, it glowed. The sword was glowing more than any of the other weapons had, and I could've sworn that Ricky was glowing too. It also stopped glowing sooner than the others.

"I still haven't found anything," said Gwen, breaking the silence. "Neither has Tony. What do we do?"

"You have to try the magic books," said Ilene. "If two of you use magic... then..." She looked at Calvert and Eliot and they all seemed to know what each other's thoughts were. We all rushed to the fifth box. Ricky stayed behind and silently stared at the weapon he was holding.

"Try this," said Calvert, tossing us blue books with ' _Water_ ' written on them. We tried reciting random phrases from pages that we turned to. Nothing was working, and I could feel the anxiety growing in Calvert, Eliot, and Ilene as they passed more and more books to us.

" _Agua_ ," we said. " _Neblina_ ", " _Tierra_ ", " _Piedra_ ", nothing was working. We didn't know what to do. Finally, the fire book was given to me. " _Lumbre_ ," I read. A small spark of fire came out of my hand, leaving a mark on the book. I understood what belonging meant.

Chapter 11: Lynn Makes Her Choice

_[...we owe it all to Vanessa for getting us stuck in here.]_

I held a tight grip to my crossbow. It meant protection. Not just for me, but for those who I love, as well.

"Would you mind if I held your bow?" asked Mina. I looked back at her. Maddie and I had been talking before we all grew silent during Ricky's finding of the katana.

"Sure," I said. Gwen and Tony were going crazy through the magic books. I started to hand the bow to Mina when I noticed something. My shoelace was untied. It may have seemed unimportant but I didn't like it untied, so I set the bow down and started tying it. Mina reached for the bow. As soon as she touched it, the glow reappeared, though only slightly, and when she let it go it disappeared again.

"Whoa," we both said. Tony had just made fire appear, according to Maddie. She turned to see the look in our faces.

"Did it glow for her, too?" she asked. We nodded.

"Why don't you try holding her sword, Lynn?" suggested Maddie. Mina closed her eyes and then opened them. She lifted her sword and held it out to me. I was hesitant to touch it, but finally decided to put my finger on it. Right when I was going to touch the blade, I heard a thunder followed by a cheer.

"I think Gwen just made thunder appear," said Maddie with a smile.

The rest of the group joined us with an announcement.

"All signs point to this group being the one mentioned by the prophecy," said Calvert to Eliot and Ilene.

"It cannot be," Eliot told him. "They are but mere mortals like us. Besides, the prophecy talks about their friends, too. Specifically, it mentions friends who are special as well. Maybe the katana responded to his touch, but what about the rest of them?"

"Eliot, why are you fighting this?" Ilene asked him. I don't think we were supposed to be listening. They had become unaware of our presence momentarily.

"You have a group of eleven youths," said Calvert, "who show up and say that they are from another world. You admitted to the amount of evidence finally proving that this really is a book like the warrior said."

Eliot didn't say anything as the two talked. Ilene said, "You knew from the second that you saw that girl. You knew it inside of you; otherwise you wouldn't have wanted to help them."

I looked up from my bow, which I had been running my fingers through. Eliot and Ilene were looking at me. "Is that the fairy girl?" asked Calvert. Had they told him about Elincia? Eliot didn't answer but Ilene nodded. They turned away from me.

"A fairy hung onto her, you say?" Calvert asked Eliot. "How more obvious can this get? A fairy does not hang around humans too long unless they can feed off of their magic and you know that. And what do you say of the two magic wielders? Not even Violet has yet been able to acquire this yet, despite Ophelia's attempts at training. The fire guy; he naturally did it!"

"Gwen did not," Eliot said, speaking for the first time. "You know well that the little thunder was a response to the energy she possesses, not to any ability."

"What?" asked Gwen. "I thought I had finally gotten it!"

"No," said Calvert. "We do not know for sure. There is still dark magic."

"Dark magic?" Gwen asked.

"There are many options left for her," Ilene responded. "Eliot, do not pretend that the truth is not here. What more proof do you need? We cannot waste time doubting them, we have to help them blend in or they will become people of interest and Marmaduke will target them!"

Eliot responded in a calm voice, "Fine. You win. Show me the next part of the prophecy right now, and that will convince me. Did you see any of them have a calling for two types? Did you see two of these kids, other than Ricky, hold so much power within them that more than one god wanted to lend them their power?"

God? Mental note, I need to ask him about that later. Oh, wait, he probably will never talk to me again. Wait; did he say someone who has a calling for two types?

"I'm right here," Mina spoke up. I was about to tell her to shut up, but I couldn't get myself to let a sound out of my mouth.

"Excuse me?" Calvert asked as everyone shifted their attention to her.

"My new sword," Mina started, "was glowing a lot. When everyone's attention was on Ricky and the magic books, we saw that Lynn's bow slightly glowed at my touch. I'm sure if she touched my sword the same thing would happen. That would make two people, wouldn't it Eliot?"

She said this with such fierce attitude that Eliot was surprised. What was up with him anyways? Why didn't he want us to be the saviors of his kingdom? Wasn't it a good thing to have found us?

I had told Mina and Vanessa about Eliot. Last night after Eliot left my room and I went downstairs, Ricky's breakup with Macy led to the dispersing of everyone. Mina asked if I was okay. Of course I wanted to lie to her but she could tell so easily. She walked me to my room and we went inside. When I was about to start telling her Vanessa knocked and asked to come in. She wanted to know why Eliot was suddenly so interested in Max and why he watched us when we talked. Vanessa seemed to already have guessed it. Either way, I ended up retelling every single detail.

"Let's see it, then," said Ilene. Mina held her sword out to me once more. I was afraid of the result, so I was hesitant of touching it. I slowly raised my hand and extended my arm to touch it. When my finger touched the tip of the blade, nothing happened. I was about to take it away when it glowed so fervently hot that my finger burned. Mina and I let out a shriek and she took it away, letting go of the sword and allowing it to land on the ground beside us.

"Did it just burn you both?" asked Eliot, rushing to our sides. Calvert, Ilene, and Derek also came to us.

"Yeah," I said. I held out my hand in front of me. It was burnt badly. Derek was holding Mina's hand which was the same.

Eliot grabbed my hand and said, "We need to do something about this." He gently let go of it and ran off with Calvert.

Before I knew it, Max had taken his place. Max... I hadn't talked to him much lately.

"Are you alright?" he asked me.

"It's just a burn," I answered. "I'll survive. I guess he believes we're the group from the prophecy now."

"Yeah," Max said. "I'm still kind of fuzzy on that whole thing." He laughed a bit and said, "I always thought you were brave. Any other person would not be this calm after being burned by a sword in this way, especially if it happened inside of a book like it did right now." He took the burned hand the way Eliot had and carefully closed his hand around it.

"Max, you're brave, too," I told him. "Every single person here has sustained their sanity no matter how crazy all of this is. Could it be that none of this is real?"

"I don't know," he said. "I guess there are a billion possibilities on what could be going on and what's going to happen next. I don't want to think about the future though. Let's focus on right now." As he said this, I looked up at his brown eyes. He had some of the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen.

"So what's right now?" I asked him, my voice suddenly shaky.

"Right now is a decision," he said. "You get to choose whether you want to spend our time here as friends or as more than that. It's your choice. I'd really like for us to be together, though. It's something I've been wanting since I first got to know you when Derek and Mina introduced us so long ago."

"Yeah," I said after a couple of seconds. "That would be... Perfect... Yes, Max." I was so happy and so speechless that I couldn't find what else to say. Luckily I didn't have to say anything else.

"Great!" said Max. He seemed happy, too. He added, "Now that you're officially my girlfriend and your fairy isn't around..." He did it. He leaned into me and kissed me softly. I couldn't help but compare it to the way Eliot had kissed me. There was so much passion in Eliot's first kiss. It lasted way longer. Max's, however, was gentle and quick. I couldn't decide which one I liked best. When he stopped kissing me, I could hear the cheering and the teasing of everyone else. I could hear Maddie cheer the most. After I defended her from Ricky, she finally seemed to like me.

"I really hope this isn't all a dream," Max told me. He smiled.

I smiled back and replied, "I think it's real."

"Umm, Lynn?" I heard from Vanessa. I looked up to find her looking at me. She shifted her eyes to behind us. I turned to find that Eliot and Calvert were walking in with something to heal the burns. He looked upset, so I was sure that he had seen us kiss.

"Here's the medicine," he told Ilene. She took it from him and started to heal my hand. She rubbed some brown thing on it- I think mud- and did the same for Mina.

"Everyone," said Eliot. "Take your weapons along with the equipment to carry it, which is right over there, and head to the horses. We need to get back to the inn before it gets dark outside. Ricky, leave your katana right here. I'll make sure it gets taken back with us. Hurry, everyone." He stepped to the side to talk about a few things with Calvert while we all made our way outside. Now he would never talk to me again.

The ride back was the most awkward it had ever been. I was still with Ricky. On the way to the Bernadine's, he looked sorry. On the way to Calvert's, he was either frustrated or confused. Now he looked upset. I guess the events of the week were finally hitting him.

Upon our arrival, we took care of everything in the barn. We put the horses back in their places and left our weapons in a large chest that Eliot had hidden in the back. Everyone went into the kitchen to have their supper-dinner for the day. They were so hungry from not eating all day, but I wasn't. I told them that I needed rest and after declining a lot and having them insist that I not go to sleep in an empty stomach, I finally headed to my room. I found a note on my bed. It was written in perfect, neat handwriting, so I didn't expect it to be from him.

_Lynn,_

_I would be lying if I told you that I do not feel terrible. I talked to Violet today. After you told me she was crazy about me, I realized something. I did not like her as anything more than a sister and I never would. So I told her this, and she wanted to know if I had known about her feelings for a while. She was disappointed to know that I had and I let her know that I had feelings for someone else. Violet did not ask who it was, nor did she deny my friendship. She said the other girl was lucky and that I should not let her slip away if I truly felt that way about her. I hope you know that the girl I am interested in is you, Lyndis. I felt really bad after your burn. If I had not insisted on proof of the prophecy, it would not have happened. When I got back with medicine and saw you kissing that boy who you are interested in... I have to admit, it felt as if I had been stabbed in the chest. No other event, besides the death of my parents, had brought me such pain. I could not help but think that the kiss you shared with him belonged to me. I realize that you feel strongly for that boy, though, and what I feel for you could be nothing more than a mere infatuation. I will not hold your decision against you or your companions, though. I will do what is in my power to help you while you remain in this world. You have made your choice and it was not me. I shall accept this and assist you in making your way back to your world before you face what is coming ahead for Avalon. Lastly, I admit that I wish I could have one last kiss._

_Best Regards,_

_Eliot._

My eyes filled with tears. Such formality made me feel the cold void that was now between us. Had I really broken his heart that much? That's a stupid question; the answer is in front of my eyes. The worst thing is that I wish I could kiss him, too. My palms suddenly felt sweaty and my head hot. I started feeling dizzy, just like I had when I had a hangover at the cabin. My stomach growled as I let go of the note. I wasn't hungry. I was so many things right now, but hungry wasn't one of them. Tired was, though. My eyes slowly start to close shut.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

_I wake up in the middle of a forest. How did I get here? Where did everyone go? Am I alone? I get up and start running. I reach a stop by the water, where I find a girl crying. She looks up and sees me. Wait a minute; that's me. The other girl, me, is not looking at me. She's looking behind me. She can't even see me. I turn and find that a boy is behind me. He is a handsome prince, while she is a lonesome girl, coiled up with puffy eyes. I take a closer look at the prince. Suddenly, I recognize him. I know those blue eyes. He is the hero spoken of in the prophecy; the great decedent of the warrior who has come to save the kingdom. Right now, he has come to save this girl. I'm expecting a happy ending. Wait, why is Ricky kissing her? That girl is me! He cannot be kissing her! I rush towards them. It is a picture perfect moment; the damsel in distress is being rescued by the prince. When I'm about to reach them, they become distant. Where are they moving to? It's a trap! He's not really who he seemed to be. This is not Ricky. He turns and looks me, not the other girl who he was just kissing, in the eye. He starts to laugh as his face morphs into another guy's. Could this be the man that they all fear? Is this King Marmaduke? Wow. He's handsome but in a very frightening way. The girl who looked like me does not look like me anymore. It is... my mother! Mom! Mom, it's me! She starts laughing, too. They call me silly. I've fallen for their trick. I'm weak. I'll never save my friends. They aren't even my friends. They don't care. I can't make Max happy. I can't heal Eliot's wounded heart. I can't help Ricky see the wrong of his ways. I can't do anything. Something else is appearing. A baby has appeared? Who is this holding the baby? A blonde, tall-_  
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

"Lynn, wake up!" someone exclaimed. The person made their way towards me. I felt a hand on my forehead. "Your face is burning up!" I tried opening my eyes. A blurred image of Mina was in front of me. I felt the sweat on my forehead.

"It is my entire fault," Elincia was saying. "If I knew how to open doors or windows, this wouldn't be such a problem."

"How did this happen?" Mina asked.

"Last night," she started, "that boy that kissed her, Eliot, came in here. He left a note. After reading it, Lyndis started crying and fell asleep. She dropped it, but I picked it up and it's right over there on that nightstand. I tried to wake her up earlier but all she said was that it was cold. She could be getting sick."

"I think she is sick," said Mina. "Maybe I can find something for the heat." She got up and left the room. I tried closing my eyes again.

"Where am I?" I mumbled after a couple of minutes of sleep.

"In your room, in the inn," said Elincia.

Moments later, Mina was back. She said, "The elves are all down there in the kitchen but they're eating so I don't want to bother them. They all said 'hello' but I didn't answer. All I could think of was getting this." I flinched as she put a wet cloth on my forehead. I was instantly reminded of the days when I would skip school to take care of her. Those days, Frank had to work at the hospital- being a doctor is not easy, and you don't have time to even care for your own sick children. Those days, we needed a mother- we had two moms, yet we couldn't even have one stay. Those days, make me really miss home now.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"They went to the market," Mina answered. "I think they went hunting now, though. I was waiting for you downstairs so we could catch up to you, but when you never woke up I got a bit worried. I walked in here to find you sick." I tried sitting up. When I was finally sitting up, we heard the front door close.

"Ilene had gone to visit Ophelia," said Mina. "Maybe she's back and can help you." Soon, we heard the steps reach closer; this person was upstairs. "I'll go tell her," said Mina, who hadn't noticed the proximity of the footsteps. I apparently was the only one to realize that the steps were upstairs. Before I could say anything, Mina got up and walked out the door.

"Eliot!" I heard her exclaim. Oh no...

"Yes," he responded. "That is my name..."

"I'm so glad you're here," she said. "Wait, what are you doing here?"

"I needed more coins..." he said. "I can't find the key to the safe, and now I can't find Ilene. Have you seen her up here by any chance?"

"No," said Mina. "Where's everyone else?"

"At the market," he answered. "I told them that if I took too long, they were to walk to the woods and begin hunting. I want to see what they can do without me there. By the way, your boyfriend wants to know what's taking you so long."

I know that Mina had smiled. "He does?" she asked. Mina, focus! I lied back down and felt the sweat start to fill my head again.

"So," Eliot said. He had softened his voice so much that I could barely hear it. "Is sleeping beauty up, yet?" he asked.

"Huh?" asked Mina. Mina... Why did Derek make her lose so many of her brain cells?

"Lyndis," said Eliot. "Your sister; her boyfriend wants her, too..." I felt a large pain in my chest when I heard him say that.

"Oh," said Mina, her tone compassionate. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I almost forgot! She's super sick! Quick, she's in here." The door opened and soon they were in my room.

"What happened?" I heard Eliot say. I opened my eyes a bit to see him kneeling next to me.

"She has a high fever," said Mina. "I don't know what to do. Please, you have to help her!" I felt the cloth being taken from my forehead.

"All right," said Eliot. "I'm going to need another wet cloth to cool her down. Elincia, carefully go downstairs and tell Fay to make that soup that she prepares when Ilene or I gets sick." I opened my eyes a bit. It was still blurry, but I could see the tiny body fly out of through the open door and disappear down the hallway.

"I'll go for the cloth," said Mina. She left and closed the door behind her.

Eliot wiped the sweat off my forehead. I tried not to but I groaned from the pain and the pulsing of my head.

"It's okay," he told me. "I have you..." I calmed down at the sound of his voice. It was somewhat soothing to me. I tried to roll over but Eliot was sitting at the edge of the bed now.

He lifted my head onto his lap and positioned me so that I could rest better. As I tried to fall asleep, I could feel him stroking my face. I opened my eyes right on time to see that Mina came into the room with the wet cloth but Eliot still didn't get his hand off of me.

"She sure does bring meaning to Sleeping Beauty, huh?" asked Mina as she handed him the cloth. I saw him slowly nod as he replaced the old cloth. I closed my eyes for a second, but forced myself to open them again. I couldn't see very well. I felt nauseous, dizzy, and everything was blurry and fuzzy. I fell asleep. When I woke up I wasn't sure what time it was. It felt a lot darker, but still not dark. Immediately I started wondering whether Eliot went back to the people hunting or not. Were they back yet? I could see that Mina was still there, but I couldn't make out the other figure standing next to her. I was about to ask who it was when my eyes started to shut again. I was once again asleep.

I'm not sure if this next part was another dream, so whether it is true or not, I do not know. The front door opened and Mina said, "They're back! I'll go let them know about Lynn." She was gone in a flash because the room was silent again. Then, I felt I light press against my lips. This is the part that makes me feel as if I dreamt it all. I tried opening my eyes but I couldn't see very right. I could tell it was dark now, but not who kissed me.

"Go back to sleep now," someone said, "my sleeping beauty..." Without figuring out who was there, I felt my eyes close again.

When I opened them again, I felt amazing. What day was it? I had lost track of time while I was here. All I could remember right now was that Fay, Elincia, and Mina had fed me a delicious soup about an hour ago. It certainly made me feel better.

I got up from my bed and used the showers. I noticed something different from the last time I had used it. This time, the water was cold, whereas before, Eliot and Ilene had made sure that their guests would have nice, warm water.

When I got out of the shower, I went down to the kitchen. Everyone was there, other than Eliot, Ilene, and the couple of other random guests that I never seemed to see. They were eating dinner.

I sat down next to Mina, like I had before. They tried to pass me a plate. It was some kind of meat.

"We actually caught this deer," said Maddie. "Try it, it's actually pretty good."

"No, thanks," I told her. "Fay already fed me a lot in the past hour."

"Did you all know it was Eliot's birthday today?" asked Tony. "I would have never guessed if I hadn't heard Fay telling my little Cedric about it earlier. Did any of you know?"

Everyone shook their heads. I couldn't even get myself to respond. On his birthday, Eliot has felt so horrible because of me. How could I sleep knowing that?

"You feeling better?" asked Vanessa. "Are you better about everything?" I wasn't sure what the answer was but the way she said this made me remember that she and Mina knew all about Eliot. It also made me remember that Max and I were finally together. I looked over at him. His face was serious, but when he saw me looking at him, he smiled sincerely. He got up with his plate and put it in the sink. Then he signaled me to go outside with him. I excused myself as I got up and followed him out to the lobby. Ilene was there now, writing some things down. She looked up at us for only a moment, not smiling, and looked back down. I had a feeling that Vanessa and Mina weren't the only ones who knew about Eliot and me.

"Let's go outside," said Eliot. "It's a full moon tonight, so how about a moonlit stroll?"

I smiled at him and nodded. "Sounds like you had this planned out perfectly," I told him as we went outside.

"Yeah, it's the type of smooth guy I am," he answered. We were outside now and we had started walking out. I laughed at the way he said that he was smooth and turned to look at him. He was everything I had ever wanted- smart, cute, sweet, funny... He was perfect. So why was it that I also kept thinking about Eliot?

"Tell me," said Max. "How is it that I ended up here, on May 17, standing outside of an inn that is made up inside a fictional story taking place in medieval days? And most importantly how is it that inside that story, on May 17, I ended up with the most beautiful girl taking a moonlit walk?" I smiled.

"Maybe," I said, "we owe it all to Vanessa for getting us stuck in here."

"Or to Derek," said Max, "for having the cabin trip to begin with. Maybe even to Marcus and Ricky for the awesome sitting arrangements that they made before we even got to the cabin."

I had to laugh. "We definitely owe Derek for getting me drunk."

He smiled and looked at me, grabbing my hand and locking it with his. Then he said, "I'm pretty sure that you owe irony for that one."

"Irony," I asked. "How so?"

"Well," he said with a smile that made me think this would lead to no good. "I seem to remember you singing a song in Tony's car. How did it go? Let me remember... 'I'm gonna be naked and you wasted'? And how did we end up? You were wasted while I... well you were naked too." I laughed when he said this, remembering what I woke up in.

"That's not my fault!" I exclaimed. "I was not the one who forced me to drink that stupid vodka. I didn't even like it! How did I even end up in your shirt?"

"It's hilarious that you don't remember," he said with a laugh. "Okay, I tried to take away the bottle of vodka from you because you were chugging it, and you poured it all over yourself. Then you insisted on wearing my shirt. Don't worry; you changed from your sexy little number into my shirt inside the closet."

I blushed. "Good," I said. "Maddie had kind of assumed that we, uh, had... yeah..."

"That was actually her," he said. "With Marcus... I guess she had something against you but since you defended her from Ricky she sees you in a totally different way."

"Yeah," I said. "I never expected all of this, you know."

"What?" he asked me as we came to a stop. He turned and looked right at me. We had rounded the village square and were now standing in front of Violet's shop, which I had found out was also where she lived. She, her mother, and her two little sisters had a little house that was connected to the back of the store.

"I never expected to become friends with people like Maddie, Vanessa, and Tony," I responded. He held both of my hands in his. Then I looked up at him and said, "I actually like them more than I ever thought I would."

"They're good people," he told me. "I know that you haven't really gotten a chance to get to know the others but I beg you to give them all a chance. You'll like them, Lynn. Plus, they're my best friends and I wouldn't want you to not like them."

"I know," I told him. "I'm going to try my best to talk to them all. I mean, they may surprise me like Maddie did, right? She's actually not as superficial as I thought, so why not all the others?"

"Exactly," he said. He took a step closer to me. "The only one I wouldn't dare to ask you to become closer to is Ricky. I know that you know the whole thing about Cory and them."

I let go of his hands and turned around. "You know about that, too?" I asked, not looking at him.

"Lynn, I-" he started. "Yes, Lynn, I do. I wouldn't blame you if you thought I was horrible for never saying anything. I just didn't think I was in any position to say anything since I wasn't even there. Please, Lynn, let it go. I know that he has asked you to let it go. And I know that it struck you hard that someone would do that. I'm also not going to beg you to be all good and close buddies with Ricky. I just want you to please forget about that night. It's for the best."

He went around me and put grabbed my shoulders, looking down at me.

"Anyone else," I said, "I wouldn't listen. For you, though, I will." He smiled and I smiled back. Then he grabbed my hands again and kissed me.

"On one condition," I said.

"And that is?" he asked.

"My friend," I told him. "Nate... He... When we get back home, you can't expect me to be a part of your group now. I'm still going to be back with Nate and I want the two of you to get to know each other." Nate... I hadn't thought much about him lately. What was he doing right now? I suddenly missed him a lot.

"Lynn..." said Max. "That's... I understand that you want to be with your friend but..."

"But?" I asked. "There's a problem with that?"

"Yeah," he answered. "As much as I want to say there isn't, there is. For as long as I've known you, I've thought you and he had a... thing... for each other. Now I know that's not true but... it just seems like it... and I don't want to feel like you're best friend who you've know longer and better than me is a threat..."

I smiled and looked at him again. "You have nothing to worry about," I said. "You'll love him. He's a great guy. And apparently, he predicted that you and I would be together by the end of our trip..."

"Really?" he asked me. "I think I like him more already."

"He'll be happy for us," I said with a smile. "He's a great friend." Max looked into my eyes for a moment before leaning in and kissing me lightly. When he pulled away he looked up at the moon and then back at me.

"Let's dance," he said.

"Dance?" I asked. "But there's no music."

"Then I'll hum it," he said. "How about singing that Kesha song again? 'I'm gonna be naked-'" I punched his arm playfully and smiled. Never again would I let him hear me sing that song.

He looked at me seriously for a second and then wrapped one hand around my waist. He grabbed my hand with the other. I placed my free hand gently on his shoulder. He actually started to hum a rhythm.

"You're voice is..." I said as we danced. "It's quite lovely."

"Thanks," he said. He continued humming. I lay my head on his chest as he hummed and allowed myself to listen to only that hum and his heartbeat. Then I noticed what song he was humming.

"You like country music?" I asked him, taking my face away from his chest to look at him.

"Huh?" he asked. I had taken him by surprise.

"That song," I told him. "It's Jason Aldean, right?"

He smiled at me when I looked up at him. I was right. The song was _Big Green Tractor_ by Jason Aldean.

I put my face back to his chest for a moment. We kept dancing and he kept humming the song. I was enjoying the moment, until the few people who were still outside started to go inside. I hadn't even noticed them. It was pretty dark outside, I guess.

"We should-" started Max as he let go of me.

"Yeah," I said. He took my hand again as we made our way back. It was silent for a moment, until we came to a stop near the inn.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"It's been bugging me," he told me. "I saw... You were sick today."

"Yeah," I said. "What of it?"

"When we got back home," said Max, "Mina rushed down telling us you were sick. I quickly ran up to see you. The door to your room was opened and I... I saw Eliot... He... I... He kissed you?"

I looked down and then back at him. Then I finally got myself to say, "We... I guess we had a moment, last night, and well... He kissed me then, too. We had been talking in my room, Max, and I don't know what happened. But soon after, he found out about you and me, Max, I swear! The kiss he gave me today, I'm not even sure how it happened and-"

He smiled and said, "Lynn I'm not blaming you for anything. This is not an accusation. I just wanted to let you know that I was aware of that. I don't want you feeling guilty for anything that may have happened before. He kissed you when you were weak and couldn't do anything about it. And well, yesterday... I hadn't claimed you as my girlfriend yet, so I'm to blame for that one. I know I have nothing to fear. The fact that you're here with me, right now, lets me know that you chose me, Lynn."

I smiled. Then he reached down and kissed me. It wasn't as soft as his last kisses. This one had some passion in it; it actually lasted for some time. When he finally let go, we heard some laughter. We turned to find the door swinging open. It was Ilene and Eliot.

My smile quickly faded away, as did Max's, Ilene's, and Eliot's. Eliot... Ah!

"I'll go get them and..." Ilene didn't even bother saying anything else. The awkward moment had her heading to her destination before anyone could say anything. Now it was just me with Eliot and Max. Max held a tighter grip of my hand. Then he turned to me and smiled.

"I'll let the two of you talk," he told me. He reached down and kissed me lightly on the cheek. I felt like this kiss was so wrong yet so right. He did it in front of Eliot, but he was my boyfriend; he had the right to!

Max let go of me and went inside. It was silent for a moment. I decided to sit down in the small bench that was next to the door. After a moment, Eliot took a seat next to me.

"Happy birthday," I managed to say after a bit. "Sorry if I made it rotten..."

"It was fine," he said. "Eighteen, no big deal."

There was another moment of awkward silence.

"Thanks for taking care of me today," I said to him.

"Lynn..."

"Can I talk this time?" I asked. "Eliot, this wouldn't have happened if you had listened to me last night."

"You mean you wouldn't be going stead- the girlfriend of another guy?" he asked

"I mean I could have been yours!" I blurted out. My face felt hot and I could see that his face had reddened too.

"So when Max asked you to be his girlfriend you would have told him you kissed a fantasy character?" he asked.

"Eliot, no," I answered. "I would have told him that I was confused. Then maybe, after a couple of days, I could have let him know about you and there's a chance that my choice would be you?"

"It could be me?" he asked. "There could be a 'you and me'?" What was he trying to do?

"Do you want there to be?" I asked. What was I doing? He was silent for a moment. I was about to take it back when he started leaning in for another kiss. I wanted it so bad!

"Eliot," I said. "I can't."

"Why can you not?" he asked me. "Did you not just say-"

"No," I started. "I meant that if you would have let me talk instead of just walking out that day, there could have been a-"

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "I didn't know that-"

"Regardless," I replied. "Now I can't."

I got up and started walking into the inn. He followed behind me and pulled me back. He pulled me into a kiss, but it was quick unlike the others, not to mention forced. I pulled away and did the first thing I could think of. I slapped him super hard across the face, maybe a little harder that I'd meant to.

"What was that for?" he exclaimed, his hand holding the cheek that I'd reddened with my palm.

"Don't do that again," I said as I turned and walked in. I wasn't sure what had made me angrier- the fact that he had forced a kiss out of me after I told him not to, or the fact that I wanted more.

Before I realized it I was in the kitchen again. Max was there, too, I saw. My eyes were stinging from the tears that I was holding back. I went to stand by the sink- everyone was all over the place because the elves were also in there- and Max went over to me. He put his arm around me.

"How did that go?" he asked.

"I hope you don't mind but I don't really want to talk about it right now," I said. He pulled me in closer and I rested my head on his shoulder for a moment. I looked at Maddie, who was talking to Vanessa. She looked sad. I knew something was up with her. She was so upset lately, but I noticed it since before her breakup with Marcus.

Max's elf broke my train of thought. I couldn't help but notice how much he and Eliot looked alike.

"Jamison," said Max. "Hey, you've met my girlfriend, Lynn, haven't you?"

Chapter 12: Max Has Some Competition

_[It wasn't until now that I noticed how many of us there were.]_

When I saw Eliot kissing my girlfriend, I wasn't sure what to do. I hardly ever spoke to the guy, let alone knew that he liked Lynn. The way he talked to her as she slept... I... He was in love with her. I'm glad I took her on that walk just now, though. It made me almost sure that she loved me as much as I love her. That's right... I'm in love with Lyndis. I had never felt that way before.

Now, as I hold her in my arms, I'm wondering what went on when I let her outside to sort things out with Eliot. Did she tell him that she loved me? Did she even love me? Maybe she told him that it was he who she really loved. My insecurities were starting to rise up. Luckily, when Eliot went into the kitchen, everything was clear.

"Does anybody else see a red mark on his cheek?" I heard Macy ask when Eliot entered, followed by Ophelia, Violet, and the two little girls. Eliot must have heard because he turned his head slightly, trying to avoid his red cheek being spotted by anyone else. Lynn raised her head and at the sight of him stiffened. She had slapped him! I was her choice!

"Max, I don't want to be in here," Lynn whispered to me. I completely understood her.

"Alright, let's get out," I responded. I took her hand in mine and started to walk. The kitchen was a little too crowded so it was hard to make our way out. When we were reaching the door, I almost crashed into someone.

"Sorry, Calvert," I said when he walked in. He didn't even respond.

"Eliot!" he exclaimed. "We have to get them out now! I had to go get Bernadine, Raven, and Raymond. They're out in the barn waiting. It won't be long before-"

We heard screams. Tony ran towards the window.

"Fire everywhere!" he shouted. "The villagers are running around! The soldiers are killing people and setting buildings on fire! What's going on?"

"Oh no!" exclaimed Eliot. I watched as he started looking through cabinets frantically.

"No time to explain," said Calvert. Everyone became worried. I grasped a tighter grip of Lynn's hand. She looked at me and there was as much anguish in her expression as what I felt.

"Everybody, out of the building!" yelled Ilene. "The village is under attack! Run as fast as you can through the back exit!"

"Everyone, head to the barn," said Calvert. We all ran out to the lobby. When we were about to go through the back exit, Lynn suddenly stopped.

She tried to head downstairs but I stopped her and said, "Lynn, come on, we can't waste any time!"

"But I have to let Elincia out!" she shouted back at me through all the commotion.

"I'll get her," someone said. It was Eliot. I looked at Lynn. Was this seriously happening? I should be the one risking my life for her, not Eliot.

"Are you sure?" asked Lynn.

"Yeah," he told her. He sounded kind of timid. "I have to run up for something. Head outside with everyone, quickly!" He ran up the stairs quickly. Lynn watched him until he was out of sight.

"Let's go," I said to her, grabbing her hand and making my way to the barn. The horses were all there, tied up. Would we really ride the few horses to get away? I didn't think so. It was evident that I was right when Calvert started letting them go free. Then he took a blonde girl's hand and left, followed by Ophelia, Violet, the two little girls that they carried, and a boy with black hair. Where were Ilene and Bernadine? Before I could say anything, Eliot appeared.

"Why are the horses still here?" he asked. "Bunny, Stripes, Dashing, Flo, come on, get out quickly, escape!" The four horses on the side that he shooed slowly walked past us and then started to sprint once they saw the fire outside. I was getting anxious.

"Centaur, I'm sure Ilene will miss you," said Eliot as he led one of the horses who had stayed behind out. The horse caught up to the others.

The more the two last horses waited, the more anxious I got.

"Start getting your weapons," Eliot ordered.

We did as he said. After a bit, Ilene and Bernadine were in there and Ilene went for her things which were also stored there.

"Did you get it?" asked Ilene. Eliot nodded. I wasn't really sure what they were talking about. While everyone got all of their things together, I watched Eliot carefully. He was with the grey horse.

"Silvermist," he was telling her. "I'll really miss you, girl. I'm sure we'll be reunited soon." He kissed her head and shooed her after the others. Then he said, "Snow won't-"

I turned to look at the last horse. Ricky was by it petting it.

"Come on girl," he said to the white horse. "Make your way out now! Go!"

The horse actually did as he said. Did he have the magic touch around here now or what?

"How did you-" Eliot started to ask. "Never mind..." The elves started to move out. Did they know where they were going? Eliot signaled us to be quiet and follow him. He went ahead of the elves and ran towards the woods. We followed after him. My rapier was carefully put in its... bag, satchel? I'm not even sure what the thing it was stored in is called.

I suddenly remembered that Lynn was supposed to be with me. I wanted to protect her no matter what. Those officers had been perverted idiots that first day.

I looked back and tried to find her. Where was she? It wasn't until now that I noticed how many of us there were. I finally spotted her walking with Maddie at the very end. Maddie was talking to her with a serious expression. Most of us were quiet and quick as we escaped the fire. However, those two were hiding something as they trailed behind. What was Maddie telling her? I watched as Lynn put her hand to her mouth. She was shocked by what Maddie had told her. Maddie looked like she wanted to cry. Nobody else noticed that they were at the back talking. Everybody was too busy running away, everyone but me.

We reached the depths of the forest in no time. It reminded me of the first day at the cabin, when we were searching for it through the woods. We finally stopped running.

We were stopped at a tree that was completely surrounded by strawberry bushes. Apparently this was the emergency meeting spot.

"Where's Ilene?" asked Gwen.

"She should be here," answered Eliot. "We agreed to meet here."

"You knew this would happen?" asked Macy.

"We're here," said Ilene. She came through with Bernadine, Ophelia, and her three daughters. Fay was also there and she soon joined all the other elves.

"Where's Calvert?" asked Eliot, looking around.

"Right here," said a voice. Calvert walked through the woods, followed by the blonde girl and the guy with the black hair.

"Is that everyone?" asked Ilene.

"Everyone that we can afford to save," said Calvert. "Here's the plan. We split up into smaller groups and move out towards Granville Desert. The soldiers will definitely not go as far as that. We all take different routes and meet there. It'll take most of us about four days, not including tonight. Once at the desert, I'll explain the reason behind the attack on the village."

"How did you-" Eliot started to ask. "Never mind..." The elves started to move out. Did they know where they were going? Eliot signaled us to be quiet and follow him. He went ahead of the elves and ran towards the woods. We followed after him. My rapier was carefully put in its... bag, satchel? I'm not even sure what the thing it was stored in is called.

I suddenly remembered that Lynn was supposed to be with me. I wanted to protect her no matter what. Those officers had been perverted idiots that first day.

I looked back and tried to find her. Where was she? It wasn't until now that I noticed how many of us there were. I finally spotted her walking with Maddie at the very end. Maddie was talking to her with a serious expression. Most of us were quiet and quick as we escaped the fire. However, those two were hiding something as they trailed behind. What was Maddie telling her? I watched as Lynn put her hand to her mouth. She was shocked by what Maddie had told her. Maddie looked like she wanted to cry. Nobody else noticed that they were at the back talking. Everybody was too busy running away, everyone but me.

We reached the depths of the forest in no time. It reminded me of the first day at the cabin, when we were searching for it through the woods. We finally stopped running.

We were stopped at a tree that was completely surrounded by strawberry bushes. Apparently this was the emergency meeting spot.

"Where's Ilene?" asked Gwen.

"She should be here," answered Eliot. "We agreed to meet here."

"You knew this would happen?" asked Macy.

"We're here," said Ilene. She came through with Bernadine, Ophelia, and her three daughters. Fay was also there and she soon joined all the other elves.

"Where's Calvert?" asked Eliot, looking around.

"Right here," said a voice. Calvert walked through the woods, followed by the blonde girl and the guy with the black hair.

"Is that everyone?" asked Ilene.

"Everyone that we can afford to save," said Calvert. "Here's the plan. We split up into smaller groups and move out towards Granville Desert. The soldiers will definitely not go as far as that. We all take different routes and meet there. It'll take most of us about four days, not including tonight. Once at the desert, I'll explain the reason behind the attack on the village."

"Why do we have to split up?" asked Mina.

"It'll be harder for us to be spotted," answered Bernadine.

"Where's Elincia?" asked Lynn. She was now standing between Eliot and me. Elincia flew out of Eliot's pocket and onto Lynn's hair which was flowing down.

"Okay, let me see your weapons," ordered Calvert. We all laid out our weapons, except for Tony, Gwen, and Ophelia, who took out spell books. So Ophelia was the other magic wielder that Calvert told us about... I tried to read the cover of her book. It was blue. Water...

"There is no time for goodbyes," said Calvert. "As soon as I call out your group, you must leave. I know you newbies don't know where to go, so there will be at least one person in each group who will know. And please, don't forget your helpers."

We all nodded and waited silently as he looked over our weapons.

"You, you, Bernadine, Ilene, and Ophelia," said Calvert. He had pointed at Derek and Macy.

"What about my children?" asked Ophelia.

He sighed. "Sorry, but they're going to be split apart from you. I've seen the little ones with you, Ophelia. Sorry but when they have you around they don't feel shy and are so loud that we will be caught. Choose someone to care for each of them quickly and you can move out." Ophelia nodded her head but hesitated. I thought I saw her eyes get watery but those little details are not that clear in my head. I just know that she went to Violet with the child and handed the toddler to Eliot. Both of their faces looked terrified without their mother.

"Okay, let's make this quick," he said. "Bernadine, take them through the northern path until you're in Sacaton Village. You can move onto Petnon. Then there's Jemon Trail. Please, Bern, watch out for the bandits. After that you'll be able to reach Granville Desert pretty easily. Okay, go ahead now." Ophelia tried to go back to Violet and the little one, but she couldn't get past Ilene without being hurried along. Ilene gave one last look back before they disappeared through the trees.

"Next, I need you, Violet, Lillian, Raven, you, you, Raymond, and you to go with me," said Calvert. "Eliot, you take the rest of them. I'll take my group straight out and through Kymis Valley. From there our best bet is to go through the outskirts of Maynon and follow through until we reach Granville desert. You, though, have to take them all the way through the very end of the western part of here. I think you'll have to spend the night in the forest so stop when you think it's far enough. Then take them along the Salton River. Go all the way along the river until you reach Hassing Spring. Luckily, this means lots of water for your group. From there you'll get to go through Petnon and then Jemon Trail. You'll be the second group to get there. Mine will be last. I wish you the best of luck. Let's move out."

It was me, Violet, her sister, the blonde girl, Gwen, Marcus, the guy, and Mina with Calvert. That meant Eliot was to be with Lynn. Why the hell... I was too pissed to even look at her before we left. I really regret that.

We were out of the forest before I knew it. It was still pitch black when we started to really get tired. The walking was filled with inconsequential events not worth mentioning. Pretty much, it was just small talk.

"Okay," said Calvert after walking through a space surrounded by mountains, which I assumed was the Kymis Valley. "We can rest here. Tomorrow we will reach the outskirts of Maynon pretty soon, so I will enter the town and buy us some things. Violet, I understand that Lillian must be hungry. Please do your best to keep her calm and healthy. All right, we can get some sleep now. We have a long way to go." Everyone settled down for a bit. We found some soft ground and all spread out across it.

Calvert and Raven were the farthest apart and the first to fall asleep. He had wrapped his arms around her, indicating that they were a couple. Her little brother, Raymond, introduced himself to us when they had fallen asleep.

"I'm going to sleep now," said Gwen once we had gotten to know him a bit. She got up from where we were all seated.

"I'll walk with you," said Raymond. She half-smiled and denied his offer, but he insisted and they moved to a secluded spot.

"I'm going to go supervise that," said Marcus. "We don't know this kid." He got up and followed after them. It was just Mina and I now. Violet was on my other side and had just managed to get Lillian to fall asleep. She had refused to be away from her.

"I think I'm done for the day," said Mina. "Goodnight Max." She lied down on the soil and ignored the fact that she was touching dirt.

"Goodnight Mina," I said. I watched as she closed her eyes slowly.

"Are the two of you courting?" asked Violet, startling me.

"Excuse me?" I asked as I turned to her. I could hear Mina's breathing starting to settle down, so I knew she had fallen asleep.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking down. "It's none of my business."

"No," I told her. "It's just that I didn't understand what you meant. You mean are we in a relationship?"

"Yes?" she responded with a smile. "I mean, in a non-platonic love. Sorry, I'm not too sure how your people say this."

I smiled back. "I should be the one apologizing. This is your world and I'm technically the one who should be adjusting. But yes, I understand. You mean is she my girlfriend? No. I do love her. That is, as a sister. She's actually my best friend's girlfriend. Her sister is my girlfriend."

"Oh that's nice," she said with a sincere smile. "Oh, that's right! She's Mina, who is girlfriend of Derek!"

I laughed. "Yes, good memory. But you can just say that she is dating him."

"Oh, okay, I comprehend," she replied. "She's very beautiful and so is he. I do recall that a lot of you are dating each other. Did I use that right?"

"Yes, you did," I told her. "And yes, it's true."

"Is your girlfriend here?" she asked me.

"Yes," I told her. "Well, she's in another group."

"Really?" she asked with a smile. "I just love it when people are in love! You do love her don't you?"

I smiled and looked up at the sky. "Yes," I told her. "I really do."

"That's great!" she said. "So, who is she?" She sounded excited, even though our voices were low. I looked over at Gwen and Marcus. It was a funny sight. Raymond was obviously interested in Gwen, who was doing her best to ignore him and go to sleep. Marcus was on the other side, bothering Raymond about who knows what.

"Her name is Lyndis," I told her. "I introduced you to her, remember?"

"Lynn?" she asked. She sounded surprised. "Oh..."

"Is something the matter?" I asked her.

"No," she said. "It's just... you're so friendly and she's so... not... I do not mean to offend you; I hardly know either of you. It's just that honestly, she did not leave a great impression when we met. She seemed to be somewhat cold. But I'm sure she is a great girl."

"She is," I told her. "I think she was having a bad time because of something that I'm not sure I want to get into."

"How is she now?" she asked me.

"Oh she's doing well, I hope," I said. "The bad thing is she's closer to her problem. Or I guess to my problem..." I stopped myself. I remembered that Violet had feelings for Eliot, something that her mother had made clear the day we met her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked when I was silent for a while. Gwen, Marcus, and Raymond had settled down and were falling asleep already.

"No, it's just..." I didn't know what to say to her.

"You seem worried," she said. She scooted a bit closer to me.

"Yeah," I said.

"Is it for her or for you, though?" she asked. What did that mean?

I think she noticed the confusion on my face because she said, "I know that Eliot loves her. He didn't tell me it was her but when we're all together, he just looks at her. I asked Rolf and... he confirmed it... But he told me that Eliot is sure she doesn't love him back. I don't like that he's unhappy, but I do understand that this is good for you and her. So I am happy for you two. Goodnight."

She lied herself down and turned away without another word. That was... weird?

"Goodnight, Violet," I said. I lied down too, facing up so that I could look at the sky before falling asleep. What was Lynn up to at this time?

Chapter 16: Ricky Knows Too Much

[Every look I've ever gotten from her had made me feel like the worst human alive.]

As we started walking through the forest, I felt a sting somewhere in me. I wanted to throw up every time I saw Maddie- the pain in her eyes when she looked at me. I had been so cold to her. I thought all women were the same. I thought she had truly broken my best friend's heart. He forgot to mention the fact that the accusations weren't true, though. And now they all saw me as some asshole that broke them apart. At least Marcus was the asshole that cheated on her.

The only thing worse than that was the disappointment I saw in Lynn. I don't know why this girl that I hardly even know had caused such commotion around my group of friends in such short time. Every look I've ever gotten from her had made me feel like the worst human alive.

"Okay," said Eliot after we had walked for what seemed like hours in awkward silence. All of our elves were already falling asleep. "We stop here. I need for you all to pick up some wood so that we can start a fire."

"Sure thing," said Vanessa. We all started to pick up wood, except for the elves, who knocked out on the ground as soon as we stopped. I couldn't find anything big, so all I got were sticks. I took him to Eliot, who was awkwardly passing the baby to Maddie.

"Are you sure?" said Maddie. "I don't want to... hurt her... in any way."

"No, Rosie is very good with people," said Eliot. Then he laughed, "Anyone but her mother. She cannot be calm for too long around her own mother, isn't that something?"

Maddie smiled as she positioned the little girl on herself.

"Oh, well isn't she a cutie?" said Vanessa as she, Lynn, and Tony came to stop by us.

"That's one of Ophelia's daughters for you," said Eliot. "All beautiful, right Rosie?" He leaned towards the kid and smiled at her.

"Yeah," said Tony. "I bet." I looked at him and smiled. He and Derek were good at instigating at all the wrong moments. Now he was bringing up Violet without needing to say a thing.

Eliot looked up at Tony and said, "Well, Mr. Fire Breather. I'm not sure what you mean by that but I do know that what you all have there is not going to make us a fire." I looked around. Everyone had around two to three little branches. It was ridiculous. We were in a damn forest with no freaking wood? Really?

"Okay, I see," said Tony. "Put all of those sticks down somewhere and I'll show you a fire breather!"

"Alright," said Eliot. He indicated a spot for us to put the sticks down. We put them down and Eliot said, "Tony, are you sure you can handle this?"

Tony chuckled and said, "Oh, don't make me laugh!" He snapped his fingers and a flame floated over his hands. With a smirk he started making it dance above him for a few seconds and then stopped.

"Someone's had some practice," said Maddie.

"No life," said Vanessa. He smiled and then rubbed his hands together. Then he said something that sounded like Spanish, a language I am not familiar with, and aimed at the sticks. Before I knew it, we had ourselves a little bonfire.

"Now we're talking," said Eliot.

"I taught him that expression," said Vanessa. She had her hands on her hips and held her head proud and high as she said this.

At that moment I noticed that Lynn was now holding Rosie and that she was seated quietly away from everyone. Like me, she had sat on a rock and was staying out of the conversation. The baby had a blanket wrapped around her but I still felt sorry for her, although she was probably warmer than the rest of us.

"Okay, let's just go to sleep now," said Eliot. "It's going to be rough for the next few days.

"Sure," said Maddie. "I'm tired as hell."

"Hey!" exclaimed Vanessa. "Language! There's a child here."

"Sorry..." mumbled Maddie to the offended Vanessa as they both lied down a few yards away from the fire. "I mean, I'm tired as fudge. Better?"

"Thank you," said Vanessa as Tony went to lie down next to her. I lied down where I was already at. I'm not sure how long I fell asleep for before waking up to some noises around me. It was still dark out, so I don't think I fell asleep for more than an hour.

"Is she asleep?" I heard someone ask. I carefully and quietly angled myself to see the others, while still appearing to be asleep. I could see Tony with his arms around Vanessa. They were asleep. Maddie was next to her and was also knocked out. I changed my direction towards the fire which should have faded out but hadn't, indicating that it hadn't been too long since I fell asleep. Lynn was there, sitting down with Rosie asleep on her lap. Eliot was starting to take a seat next to her. He was the one that had spoken.

"Yes," Lynn replied. "She finally settled down."

"That's good," he responded. They were silent for a couple of moments. Then Eliot said, "I'm sorry... about earlier... I didn't mean to force you into anything or..."

"Eliot, it's alright," she told him. "I didn't think you meant any harm. It's just... It was a long day and I was so confused about everything. You and Max were just another problem."

"Sorry," he said.

"No, I didn't mean it that way," she quickly replied. "I mean, it was a lot to deal with and you-"

"Made it harder?" he completed. What were they talking about?

"I don't want you to feel like I never..." she stopped in the middle of her sentence.

"It's hard to phrase things, is it not?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

"We don't have to talk about it," he said.

"I kind of want to," she told him. "I just don't know what exactly I have to say. You mind being the one to talk this time?"

"Not at all," he said. "Alright, Lyndis, things changed when I saw you. I don't know why, but I wanted to reach out and help your group when I saw you. There was a certain light, a certain fire inside of you. I was absolutely right. You happen to be very intellectual and humorous, not to mention beautiful. That night we were talking, there was a lot more I wanted to say. But I couldn't let my guard down so easily with a girl I had just met. However, I could not resist. My body felt like it needed you. I don't know what this means, Lynn. I have never felt it before. That instant connection? That is why I kissed you. I wanted to know what it was going to be like. It was like magic." They kissed? When did all of this happen? What the hell?

"I can honestly say," said Lynn, finally, "that my instant thought was magic, as well."

"Why did you let it happen, though?" he asked her. "There was Max all along. I don't know him. I want to hate him for holding your heart but I cannot."

"I'm glad you don't hate him," she responded. "I don't want you to. I think if you two knew each other you would really get along. And about letting it happen... I don't think I did... it sort of just... happened..."

"I don't really blame you," said Eliot. "I'm glad it happened, no matter what followed it. That fairy of yours sure is pesky, though."

She laughed and said, "Turns out she was just looking out for me." Lynn turned around. The elves and her fairy were all sleeping by me, so I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep.

"It's like Ilene all over again," responded Eliot. "You know she cares, you just get annoyed by it."

"She and you seemed more worried than the rest as we were leaving," said Lynn. "Must be hard, leaving it all behind."

"It is," said Eliot. "But we all believe that your party is worth the risk."

"Speaking of risks," said Lynn, "I should probably thank you for going back for Elincia. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't go get her during the fire."

"Don't mention it," Eliot responded. "I had something to retrieve, either way. That reminds me..."

"Yes?" asked Lynn.

"I asked Ilene what she thought of this," said Eliot. "She wasn't too sure it was best, but she did respect my decision."

"What decision?" she asked him.

"To give you this," he answered. I opened my eyes to see what he was doing. He pulled out a long chain necklace from his pocket. At the end of the chain was a pendant. It was bright and green.

"A heart-shaped necklace!" she exclaimed. "It's beautiful. Is this what you went back for?"

"Yes," he said with a nod. "It belonged to our mother. I cannot say it does you justice, but I think one beauty deserves another."

"Eliot..." started Lynn. "I can't accept this. I just... I couldn't."

"Please, do," said Eliot. She was about to protest again when he moved her hair to the side and started putting it around her neck. Even from a distance I could tell it looked beautiful. She held the pendant in her hand and pressed it into her palm. Then she put it under her shirt and put her hand to her chest, probably pressing on the spot where the heart was.

"I love it," said Lynn.

"I love-" Eliot stopped himself and looked down at the fire. I think we all know what the rest of that was going to be, though. They were both silent for a couple of awkward seconds. Then she made the move. She scooted a bit closer to him and he looked up at her. She was careful not to wake Rosie as she put her head on his shoulder. After a couple of seconds he took the baby from her and carefully laid her down on top of the blanket that she had around her.

When he was sure that Rosie was comfortably asleep, he turned and immediately leaned into Lynn. She didn't move away or push back in any way. She just let it happened. They kissed. I looked away. For some reason, I felt really uncomfortable and I didn't like the fact that he was kissing her.

I had a dream- yesterday, I think. I had seen myself running through similar woods. I was chasing after a guy, though I didn't know who. I didn't see his face until he came to a stop next to a girl. The guy was me. The craziest part is that the girl was Lynn. A lot of weird stuff happened after that and well...

I looked back at Lynn and Eliot. She had just pulled away.

"Eliot..." she said.

"I know," he said. "Max..."

"That's not the worst thing," she told him. "I think that... I... Eliot, I... I love you."

He smiled. I didn't. He said, "I love you, too, Lynn. But I also think you are in love with Max. It pains me to say it, but I see the way you look at him. You love him, too.

"That's just it," she said in a low voice. "How am I supposed to know which way to go?"

"Let's not try to cross that bridge yet," he said. "Let's talk about different matters for now."

"How about the matters of state?" she questioned. "Is a war going to start?"

"Lyndis," he started, "I'm not sure if you noticed, but I think that attack was a declaration of war. The king wants something and he will not stop until he gets it, even if that means his kingdom will be destroyed."

"But then what's the point?" she asked. "Wouldn't his power be gone?"

"Apparently what he is after is much more powerful and completely worth the mass destruction of Avalon," said Eliot. "I wish I knew what it was. I'm positive that Calvert knows much more and will inform us once we are all reunited."

"Are we going to be okay?" asked Lynn.

"Yes," he said firmly.

"How can you be so sure?" she asked.

"Because," he said. "It's you and me." He put his arm around her and pulled her into him. This is the last thing I remember before falling asleep.

My dream repeated itself this night. It was the exact same thing. I was again running, chasing after myself. When the other me found Lynn, he did the same thing as he had before. He kissed her... It was not something I had expected the first time or the second. The weirdest thing happened next. The guy, me, started morphing into an older guy. I felt fear when I saw him. Also, Lynn morphed into some woman I did not recognize. They laughed. They told me that I was a fool to believe in that prophecy. They put so many thoughts in my head. I would never be able to save anything. I was always going to be a coward. Lynn? Not going to happen. Why am I even infatuated with her? She obviously has her boyfriend and this secret lover. Even without those two, there's always that guy she left back home. I shouldn't be the hero. This prophecy should be about her. Who was I to call myself a savior when I couldn't even help out a friend? I couldn't stop Macy's heart from breaking. I couldn't wish my own best friend to try to be happy with Maddie. I couldn't even say I was sorry when it needed to be said. I was nobody.

I woke up with breakfast ready. Vanessa had found some bird's eggs and cooked them with some help from Tony. Maddie had picked strawberries and grapes for us to snack on. Lynn was caring for Rosie. Eliot... was helping her feed her.

"Didn't the birds attack you when you took their babies?" asked Eliot as we all ate.

"No," said Vanessa. "There was a bird there, but it seemed to want me to take them."

"Weird," said Eliot. "It is like Ricky handling those horses yesterday. I do not know how you did that."

I realized he was talking to me and said, "Oh, the horses? I don't know. That one horse just seemed to really understand what I was saying to her."

"Snow," he said.

"Lovely name," said Lynn. "Beautiful creature she is."

"I didn't know Maddie rode," said Vanessa. "But she was a master out there."

"Just a hobby," said Maddie.

"We should get going," said Eliot as he stood up. We were all finishing up.

"Where do we go next?" asked Rolf.

"You heard Calvert's orders," answered Eliot. "We head towards the exit and make our way along the Salton River. We will be there by dark tonight and it may be where we will spend our next night. Let's head out."

We followed his directions and left after making sure we were not leaving a trail behind. We walked for hours and finally stopped at a clearing in the forest. We were to eat, rest, and take care of our facilities for a couple of minutes. I chose to go with the third option first.

I went behind a couple of bushes, making sure my backsword was with me and ready for use. When I was done, I headed back to the group. I stopped about halfway when I heard Maddie's voice. She was talking to Lynn and Vanessa. I hid behind a tree, where they couldn't see me. I was sneaking around a lot lately.

"I still don't know what I'm going to do," Maddie was saying.

"Are you keeping it?" Lynn asked.

"I don't think I have a choice," she responded. "I don't want to even consider abortion." What the..? Maddie was pregnant?

"Well, you could have it and give it up for adoption," said Vanessa.

"I don't know," said Maddie. "Marcus... I'm scared of his reaction. That's why I haven't told him about it. It's been almost three months... I..."

"Wait, didn't you two do it in the cabin?" asked Lynn. "Couldn't that have affected the pregnancy? And then all that drinking..."

"I hope not," said Maddie. "Marcus may not have truly loved me, but I want this child. I don't want to be responsible for destroying life..."

I didn't want to hear anymore, so I made my presence known. I walked away and came back, this time making a lot of noise for them to know I was coming. Just as I hoped, they pretended like they hadn't been talking about it. I felt horrible now. I destroyed the love that Marcus and Maddie had... I separated the family that the poor child could have had...

"Okay, let's keep going," said Eliot. We all followed after him and silently were on our way again. All I could think of for the next few hours before we reached the river was the baby inside of Maddie. Is that why my dream had ended with a blonde holding a baby? I thought it was Rosie, maybe...

"Here we are," said Eliot. "Salton River."
Chapter 14: Ilene Loses a Fight

[There was no way that we could have gotten away without running for our lives.]

When we left the forest that first night, I was honestly terrified. I have this thing with pride, so when Bernadine asked if I was afraid, I denied it. I told him I believe in our strength and in our might. I don't think he believed that I wasn't scared, although all the other things were true. I didn't want to lose my brother like I lost my parents. I didn't want to lose all my friends and I didn't want to lose the man I was in love with.

It took absolutely no time until we were out of the forest. I was even afraid that the proximity to Sacaton would have us discovered soon. Luckily, we were a small group. That is most likely why Calvert gave us the most dangerous path, although it was the quickest and most obvious.

"There are the outskirts," Bernadine said from in front. We were walking out of the forest and down a hill, from which you could clearly see Sacaton. "Just a few more minutes and we will be in the town square. We should be reaching the inn pretty quickly."

"How quickly?" cried Macy. "I'm exhausted and it's really dark. I bet there are bugs and snakes just waiting until we finally give into our exhaustion so that they can crawl up and... and..."  
"Calm down, Mace," said Derek. "If you don't think about those things, they won't scare you."

"Bernadine," I started, "are you sure we will make it to the town inn on time?"

"On time for what?" asked Bernadine. We were getting so close. I made sure nobody else could hear us.

"To not be caught up to by the big goons who are coming from behind us!" I whispered.

Bernadine turned around and saw them, careful not to let Ophelia, Derek, or Macy's attention switch to behind us. "They will not make it in time," said Bernadine.

"It is night time," I told him. "Does it really matter how fast they catch up?"

"Do not worry," he told me. "Not one of those rogues will be here-"

"Oh my god!" cried Macy. "Some shady guys are running this way!"

I turned my head to find that she was correct. The guys were speeding up and now the rest of the group was noticing. There were five of them and five of us. Not good.

"Alright, we can calmly get out of this," said Bernadine. "We just have to-"

"Run!" I panicked. "Let's go into the closest building!"

"What?" asked Bernadine. He was probably now very mad at me.

We started to run further down the hill and Bernadine had no choice but to go with us. I had to give those orders. There was no way that we could have gotten away without running for our lives. With fear as our motivation, we were at Sacaton in no time. The bandits were right behind us when we reached the first public building and ran inside.

The first thing I noticed was the men. They were everywhere. They were drunk.

"Ale feast, tonight, lads!" exclaimed a men as we walked in, putting his arm around Bernadine. That's when they noticed the three women behind the two guys.

"Who do we have here?" said another man in a loud voice. The noise stopped and everyone turned to look at us. We were at a pub.

"It's not ladies night," said another guy. "It was going to be just us men."

"We enjoy the company," said the first man. "Isn't that right?"

"Hoorah!" the crowd all shouted. I looked around and saw what the majority was wearing. Bernadine reached for my hand. I know Sacaton is close to the coast... But pirates? Why now? I turned to my side. Macy's eyes were watery and she was hiding behind Derek. Ophelia took a step closer to us, too.

"Actually, we were looking for a place to stay right now," said Bernadine.

"You have a problem with us?" asked a hooligan who was much bigger than any of the other men. He took a big step towards Bernadine as he said this.

"Not at all," said Bernadine. "We would love to join you, just not today."

"Look, that one's got a lance!" some other voice shouted.

"Yes, they all have weapons!" shouted another.

"Are you some sort of knight?" said the big one. He was probably the leader; they all quieted down when he spoke up.

"They have been sent for us!" yelled the first guy who had talked to us.

"No, that is not what we're here for," said Bernadine.

"Do you bite your tongue at me?" he responded.

"He is simply-" I started.

"Enough of you, you crook-pated fie!" he yelled at me. "Do not you know who I am?"

"Do not speak to a virtuous woman in such way!" Bernadine exclaimed. No, Bernadine!

"Go to!" yelled back the man. "You fool! Get rid of them!" What? Why? Stupid, stupid, stupid! I had to open up my mouth. They were definitely foreign. Almost nobody talked in such ways anymore. It was far too formal around here.

Two goons came towards us. We tried to turn and run out the door but we were confronted by the five hoodlums from before. They were holding our elves, with blades at their throats.

"What do we do?" asked Derek.

"We fight," said Bernadine, drawing out his sword. I also pulled out my sword. Derek was already in a fierce stance with his lance as Macy started to reach for her hatchet. Ophelia stood prepared. She would be our secret weapon.

We stood in a circle type of thing. There were pirates surrounding us completely, every one of them holding some kind of cutlass. Could we possibly survive?

"You craven fools are going to rue the day you insulted Pete the Mighty!" yelled the big guy. We never insulted him! And he called me crook-pated? He is the one with no brains here!

The men all hurled toward us at the same time. I started fighting as soon as they did. There were probably a hundred of them there, crowded and leaving no chance for escape. No matter how many times I hoped a plan would come to me, our mutiny would be no match for their fortification. There were too many.

"Bernadine!" I shouted. "We will not make it much longer!"

"Yes!" he shouted back. "We will! Just focus!"

"I can't keep fighting!" yelled Macy. I wanted to turn and look but I couldn't take my eyes off my enemy. I slashed one of them and he fell to the ground, knocking over two and tripping one. I took this as an opportunity to look back. Ophelia was in the middle of us and not fighting yet. She was unfortunately not able to use her power without water to start off with. That is why Tony's ability to make fire appear was so impressing. Macy was doing her best, I could tell, but she was inexperienced and soon looked like she was ready to give. I had one more second before my enemies got back up and would be charging at me. In that one second, I saw Macy sob as she dropped her hatchet. A scrawny one took advantage of this and went for her. He grabbed her by the neck and put his cutlass to her throat.

"Macy!" I heard Derek yell as I turned back to my enemies. I slashed one of them without holding back this time. A wound to the liver, he fell on the ground, blood gushing out of him. This was the first person I had ever murdered. The other three men took a moment to tend to him, probably to find out if he was dead or not. It was three seconds in which I turned to see the scrawny guy walking out with Macy, cutlass still to her throat. To make matters worse, now Ophelia was vulnerable to attack. I saw her be carried off before I turned back to my three men. I slashed another one, this time missing any major organ and wounding the arm.

"Ophelia was taken!" Bernadine shouted at me. I didn't respond. I had to focus if I wanted to go after them. I could see out of the corner of my eyes that Bernadine and Derek had killed many. There were tons of dead bodies lying everywhere. And I had only killed one...

"Derek!" I heard Bernadine shout. I looked back for a moment and one guy had wounded Derek in his leg. Derek dropped to the ground and three of them lifted him away. Where were they being taken?

It was just Bernadine and I now. How could we have lost so fast? The wounded man charged at me and I stabbed him in his gut. I pulled my sword out of his body and he fell to the ground. The other two ran towards me at the same time. I slashed one, killing him with one swing of my sword. The other, however, was able to make a cut on my arm. I screamed from the pain.

"Ilene!" I heard from Bernadine. He was now in front of me, behind my last opponent. He turned at my scream and that was the end of him. The man he was fighting put his blade through his stomach and Bernadine fell to the ground with a cry. I wanted to run to him. I wanted to go and help him whichever way I could. However, the man I was fighting was still trying to attack. I blocked all of his attacks. With one more blow, I slashed his throat. I had killed my fourth man. I searched for the man who stabbed Bernadine, who was bleeding on the ground. I found the man not too far away. There were only about ten men left. The first to come at me was a big man but I slashed him as if he were a puny maggot. I did the same to the next six men, until one of them sneaked up behind me.

"You whore!" he yelled as he attacked. I did not even have to block his attack. I was able to easily dodge it and circle my sword around him, forcing it into his stomach. When I pulled out the sword I noticed that there were two men left- the leader and Bernadine's murderer. I charged at the latter. He was going to pay for the life he destroyed. When I reached him I felt no mercy. He was a small guy, physically. Not only that, but he looked younger in age than me. I did not care of that as I slit his throat with my sword. It was full of blood as I charged towards the final guy. I felt the power and I wanted revenge.

When I finally reached him, he held his cutlass out and stopped my attack so strongly that I was even bumped back. I fell to the ground and hit my head with the hard floor. I tried lifting up just a bit. He was standing over me now, his weapon held out in front of me. This whole time, he had just been watching as everyone fought, as everyone destroyed each other. And now, he was ready to destroy me.

"Eliot..." I murmured before my eyes shut close. "I'm sorry..."
Chapter 15: Mina is Not Selfish

[You can always count on Taylor Swift to have a song to fit every occasion.]

Why did I wake up thinking I needed to both thank and slap Max? Oh, that's right. I wasn't really asleep when he thought I was. I am a master at faking sleep, even controlling the steady pace of my breathing. So I heard everything. I should thank Max first. I mean, he did compliment my sister and I. He talked wonderful things about Lynn. I should also slap him, though. Who does he think he is, talking about my sister's intimate matters with Eliot, to this Violet girl? She was competition to Lynn! Of course, he only saw her as the sweet girl. Violet was another victim hurt in this big web of wrong love and lust. That didn't mean he had to share all of that with her. I decided not to mention anything, though. This was to be his freebie.

We had been walking for hours now. The sun was out and it was hot, which was also an issue at night even without the sunlight. Was it the valley? Wait, are valleys hot or cold? In the middle they're... Ugh, whatever! We would reach the outsides of Maynon- or something like that- in no time and things would get better! I think.

As we reached the end of the valley I started to get really hungry. I mean, really, really hungry! I was so hungry that when we were walking out of the valley, my stomach growled loudly and everyone turned to look at me.

"Sorry," I said. "But in my defense it's been like... I don't know how many hours since I had my last meal."

"Only a few more minutes now," said Calvert. "See that tree over there? I'll leave all of you there for a bit while I go get food. I will load up as best as I can so that you will not have to worry your pretty little head any longer." Oh, that was sweet! Ooh but not that nasty look I got from his girlfriend, Raven. She was also pretty. Blonde hair, tall, nice little mole by her mouth... Cute couple... Wonder when she and her brother showed up... Why didn't I notice?

Speaking of her brother; Raymond has been awfully close to Gwen lately. He follows her around like a little dog. It's kind of cute.

"Are you sure you do not wish for me to carry that?" asked Raymond when we were approaching the tree.

"Raymond," she responded, "it's just a book. I think I can carry it on my own."

"I have an apple," he replied. "Would you like a bite?"

"Calvert just said he would get us food in a moment," she said, sounding annoyed.

"Would you like a-" he was even annoying me and evidently we weren't the only ones. Raven interrupted him.

"Raymond, let her be," she said with a sigh as we started taking our seats under the tree. She moved her hair out of her face. The wind was blowing awfully hard and she had super long hair. Lillian asked if she could sit next to her and Raven nodded. Soon, she was already braiding the little girl's hair.

I sat down a little bit further than everyone else and started daydreaming. Calvert had just left and gone off into the little village in front of us. Some elves went with him but they mostly just kept to themselves. I felt bad because we hardly had a chance to interact with them.

I wonder what Derek was up to... He was in no doubt being a hero somehow. Oh, how I dearly missed him! I wanted to see him so bad but... Would I ever see him again? Of course I would! We're in love; there's no way anything could break us apart!

My thoughts were interrupted by laughter. I turned to find that Max was also sitting away from the rest, but he wasn't alone. He was with Violet. He was talking, saying who knows what, and she was giggling after every stinking thing. Who does he think he is? Why would he be talking to this girl who he just met? Then again, Lynn did talk to Eliot when they had first met and fallen in love. Oops, I forgot she never said she loved him. I wonder if she loved Max. I always thought she did.

"What 'cha doin' gorgeous?" asked Marcus as he took a seat next to me.

"Hey, stupid," I said. I always called him that. I didn't take my eyes off of Max and Violet, not even for a second.

"Why are you staring at them like that?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Gwen as she sat on my other side. "Why?"

"Because!" I exclaimed. I realized I was a little too loud and lowered my voice. "Don't

you see how wrong this is?"

"How wrong what is, Mina?" asked Gwen.

"That," I answered as I pointed at them. "They can't be talking to each other! It's not good for those two to learn more than they already do!"

"Huh?" was all that either of them said.

"Ugh!" I grunted as I put my head in between my knees.

"What's bothering you Romina?" asked Marcus. I hated when he called me that. He was the only person who did.

"Nothing," I said. "Nothing that you guys should know about."

I lifted up my sword and put it on my lap. I didn't want to say anything, but my burns had started hurting again. It made me wonder about how Lynn was doing. For one thing, she was with Eliot and Max wasn't around. That couldn't be good... Also, since we both had like, twin burns or something, she could also be in pain, like me. I wanted to bring it up but I decided to keep it to myself. I didn't want to make this about me. Not this time...

"I do not know what you are talking about," said Raven, loudly so that we all heard.

"Raven," responded Raymond, "you know what I mean; the non-existent catastrophe that you claim to have been through with Calvert. He loves you. You know that. Stop pretending like he did something horrible. He has not done anything. He and Ilene are just friends. Why would you still have any doubts? You have to start being normal again. Normal for you... It is to love him, and loving everyone. Please, here he comes."

"Hello," said Calvert as he approached us. "Here is your food. Eat up. We will be taking some extra food with us for our trip around the village, which should not take very long. It is pretty big on the outside once you get closer but we should be there by tomorrow morning at the latest. It has taken less time than I had anticipated. I bet Bernadine's group is already there or at least close to getting there."

"Derek..." I murmured. Gwen put her hand on my shoulder and Marcus gave me a quick pat as we started to eat. After about an hour of eating and resting up for the big walk, we finally headed out.

I walked next to Marcus the whole time. Max and Violet- who was holding her little sister's hand- were too busy socializing to even talk to us. At some point, Gwen was with us. Later, though, I think she got tired of Raymond and decided to finally give him the time of day, so she drifted away and started talking to him. The elves were all walking to the front of the group, following behind Calvert and Raven. I also noticed that Raven and Calvert had started talking to each other a lot and they were even holding hands. Now that I think of it, they did seem a little too friendly when we were in the valley and they went to sleep with each other. The next morning she wouldn't even look at him. Weird...

"So how excited are you to see your boy toy?" asked Marcus as we walked.

I laughed. "He's my eye candy, not boy toy." He laughed too.

"Whatever, same whipped man we're talking about," he responded.

"He's not a whipped man!" I replied. "He's a whipped boy..." I smiled and then said, "I'm thrilled that we will finally be reunited. You can't imagine how much I miss him, Marcus!" Then I remembered... He and Maddie probably could imagine.

"I bet..." he responded.

"Marcus," I said, "I'm sorry... I bet you miss her..."

"Like crazy," he admitted. "More than I ever thought I would..."

"Well," I said, careful when choosing my words, "have you maybe thought that this could possibly be your fault?"

"I know it's my fault," he told me. "I just wish I hadn't been so stupid! I believed what stupid Sean had to say. Why? Because I was so furious! He had just taken back my position in the team. I had earned it. He had lost it. And then he took it back. To make matters worse, he hit me where it would hurt. He told me all these lies about Maddie, and I- being the dumbass that I am- believed them. How could I have lost trust so easily? I can't believe I was dumb enough to cheat on her. How could I have possibly thought it would make me feel better? It was Natalie, Max's cousin..." Natalie? Sweet, innocent Natalie? She was so nice! She knew that Maddie was with Marcus. Why didn't she respect that?

"Natalie?" I asked. "Oh, Marcus..."

"I know," he said. "It was stupid... But I love Maddie! I really do!"

"I believe you," I told him. I heard the honesty in his voice. He really did love her.

"I don't know how to make it up to her, though," he said. "I can't... I can't get myself to sleep... Because I don't want to live another day without her... But she'll never take me back now, Mina... She hates me."

"Maddie loves you," I said. "She always has, Marcus. Don't ever doubt it."

"But then-" he was interrupted by a voice.

"Alright, you can start seeing the desert from here," he said. "Is it not amazing?" He stopped addressing the whole group and directed his attention back to Raven. That's when I felt a very bad sting on my burn.

"Aw!" I shrieked.

"Are you alright?" asked Marcus.

"Yeah," I said. "It's just that my stupid burn started hurting in the middle of the night and it was hurting earlier. This is hurting badly..."

"Is there something I could do?" he asked. "Should I tell Calvert?"

"No, no, no," I said. "No need for that!"

"Are you sure?" he asked. I could finally see what Calvert was talking about. The desert could be seen below the horizon. It was a bright orange-yellow and I could tell that I was going to be super tired. Did we even have water? What kind of plan was this?

"Yes, I'm sure," I said. Then I ran up to Calvert and said, "Hey, do we have water for later?"

"Do not worry about that," he responded. "You will be fine."

I nodded and went back to Marcus who shrugged and just kept walking by my side. The rest of the hours were filled with small talk. I'm not even sure what most of it was about. Nothing personal, not anymore, at least, was discussed. We just talked casual until we were right by the desert.

It was dark now, proving Calvert's original time prediction wrong. We had made it in 24 hours, not 72. It was really cold this time around.

"Welcome to Granville Desert!" exclaimed Calvert as we were starting to walk through the sand. "It's a rare desert because it's actually really home to our-"

"Calvert, I'm so glad you're here!" someone yelled. I looked around. I couldn't see anyone. Were the hallucinations happening already? After a few more turns of the head I finally spotted the voice. It was Ophelia. She was running towards us. We ran towards her too until we finally caught up with each other.

"Ophelia, what happened?" asked Calvert. I noticed that she had blood on her clothes. I wasn't the only one.

"Mother, are you well?" asked Violet as she ran up to hug her mother. Lillian also ran up with her.

"I am fine but..." she replied. "You all have to come now! It's urgent!" Calvert told her to lead the way and indicated for us to follow. We ran through the sand with great difficulty until we reached an unexpected little hut. It was so... perfect-looking... Like if it was taken straight from Snow White's story.... Just like the house with the seven dwarfs... So cute... Oh, right, the emergency.

"I am not sure who is responsible, but somebody did a great job getting us here," said Ophelia as we walked into the hut. "But now I don't know how to keep them here... Alive!" When we stepped further into the hut we found that there was a little room with four bunk beds (that's eight beds total). The first thing I noticed was the massive amount of blood on the sheets. The second thing I noticed was that there was a body lying on three of the bottom bunks. The third thing I noticed was-

"Derek!" I cried as I ran up to the bed where he was. He had a large cut on his leg. "Baby, what happened to you?" I started sobbing, putting my head down next to him. He didn't even move. Was he dead?

"Bernadine!" Raymond exclaimed as he stepped towards him.

"Poor Mace..." said Marcus as he went over to her. All three were badly injured.

"Macy!" exclaimed Gwen as she ran over to her cousin.

Max walked over to me and I tried to put my head back down but I couldn't help looking at Derek. He was lying there, maybe dead, and I couldn't do anything to help him. I started sobbing again. Max rubbed my back like they did to people at funerals...

"They are all lucky to be alive," said Ophelia. "These three should recover in a few days. I didn't take as much damage so I am fine. It's just..." I looked over at her. She got all teary and turned around.

"What?" asked Calvert. "Ophelia how did this... How... Ophelia! Where the hell is Ilene?" That's when I noticed that there was one person missing.

"She..." Ophelia tried to talk but she wasn't able to get out the words without crying.

"Mother..." murmured Violet. She had her hands on Lillian's ears. Poor little girl looked terrified. Lucky child; she had no idea how bad the conditions of these people were.

"Take Lilly to another room," said Ophelia. Violet did as she was told.

"Ophelia," started Calvert once Violet and Lilly were out. "Where the hell is Ilene?" He had shouted this and startled all of us.

Raven put her hand on his shoulder and said, "Calm down."

"Shut up, shut up!" he exclaimed, shaking her off. "I want to know where Ilene is at!" Raven looked at him for a few seconds and then ran out the room. Raymond chased after her.

Ophelia then said, "She... She was taken..."

"By who?" asked Calvert, his voice not getting any calmer.

"I... I don't know..." said Ophelia. "We were attacked and the elves were held hostage... and then they took that young girl... and they were harsh and... then they took me too... and... they... they brought that man over there, too, all cut up and wounded... Then Bernadine and Ilene never came back... When I woke up we were all here except for her... and the elves... I'm trying my best but I don't know what else I can do!" As she ended this, she collapsed onto the ground and tears ran down her face. Calvert put his fist into the wall and the wall decorations, dream catchers and metal stuff, bounced. He looked around the room and then got out. Max got up for a moment, not knowing what to do.

I grabbed Derek's hand and gripped it tight. He opened his eyes.

"Derek!" I exclaimed. "You're alive!"

"Mi... Min...a?" he tried to say. Max looked over and kneeled down next to me again.

"Sh," I said. "Don't talk. You're going to be fine! You're strong!"

"Hey, buddy," Max said. "You're doing great, bro. Just hold on."

"I... I..." he let go of my hand. It was so loose that it fell and I grabbed it frantically, not wanting to let go.

His eyes started to shut again. "No, Derek!" I cried. "Don't give up! Don't close your eyes! Derek!" His eyes were closed and I felt like shaking him but I couldn't stop shaking myself. I started to cry.

"Mina, calm down!" said Max. "He's alive. He's just beat up and needs the rest to recover. Come on, let's let him be." He stood up and tried to help me up but I shook him off and shook my head.

"I want to stay here next to him," I said. "Let me be with him, please!" Max waited a couple of seconds and then nodded. He made his way towards the entrance, tapping Marcus' shoulder on the way. Marcus patted Gwen's back and got up, following after Max.

"Aren't we a sorry group?" asked Gwen after a couple of minutes of lonesome crying. Her eyes were puffy from all the tears and her face was red.

I tried to smile and said, "They'll be fine, won't they?"

"Yes," said Ophelia before Gwen could. "You should have seen the way they were fighting... They... They truly are heroes..." Ophelia wiped her face, got up, and walked out the door.

"Heroes," I repeated. I ran my fingers across Derek's face, tracing every detail I could. Then, without thinking I started singing a song about heroes.

I wiped away my tears as I sang this. You can always count on Taylor Swift to have a song to fit every occasion. Then Gwen started singing along.

We stopped singing at the same time. And I believe it was the same moment in which they both opened their eyes.

"Derek!" I cried as she said between sobs, "Macy..."

After a couple of silent moments, Derek smiled. I smiled back and put my hand on his cheek. His hand reached for me and I took hold of it with my free hand. Kissing his hand, I scooted closer to him.

"I love you, Derek," I told him.

"I love... you..." he said before letting his eyes shut close again.

Chapter 16: Lynn Has Many Options

[I tried to protest but he had grabbed my hand before I could. And just like that it stopped hurting.]

I'm not sure how long we had been walking by the stupid river. But it was such a long walk that my feet were giving in before it even got dark.

"Can we stop?" asked Maddie. "I'm tired." Walking so much could really hurt the baby she was going to have. I had high doubts that she even had the baby after so much that had happened to us. There were no signs of her losing the baby, though, so we were hoping for the best. If the baby had survived all that, I'm sure he or she is going to be a little badass.

"Actually, we can," said Eliot. "I believe this is the perfect place to stop. What's great about this spot is that this tree right here has a rope. Does anybody know what that means?"

"We won't get lost?" asked Harley, Vanessa's elf. Elincia was on my shoulder and I just knew she had rolled her eyes.

"No," said Eliot. "Have any of you ever thrown yourself into a river?"

This is exactly what they did. I was one of the few who didn't try. Eliot went first. Then Tony and Vanessa threw themselves. Maddie looked like she wanted to, but she knew she couldn't risk her child's life, so she sat by the edge of the water, her feet soaking in there. They seemed to be having fun but I wasn't really in the mood for it. Ricky didn't go either. We sat in silence by a tree. We could see the others, but they couldn't see us. Elincia was flying around, who knows where, and the five elves were running around playing some sort of game. Rosie was at my feet, playing with the rocks and the leaves.

Around fifteen minutes passed. We still didn't talk. Surprisingly, he was the one that broke the silence.

"So, how are you this morning?" he asked, so suddenly that I was startled.

"I'm... fine?" I managed to say. "Why are we talking?"

"Lynn, I don't want to have this whole awkwardness between us," he told me as he made

his way to sit next to me. "Please, can we have a fresh start?"

"I..." I was going to protest, to say something witty or resentful... But then I remembered what I had told Max. I would try to forget that for him. I would give his friends- every single one of them- a chance.

"What do you say Lynn?" he asked. He extended his hand in front of me and said, "Friends?"

I hesitated and finally took his hand. "Friends," I agreed.

"So, I'm going to tell you something weird," he said after an awkwardly long hand shake.

"Go ahead," I said uncertainly.

"I had a dream last night," he said. "And it was about-"

"Aw!" I cried. The burn on my hand started stinging and it hurt me.

"Are you okay?" Ricky asked, getting even closer to me.

"Yes," I said, although my voice was shaky. "The burn... It just hurts a little."

"Doesn't seem like just 'a little'," he replied. "Let me have a look."

I tried to protest but he had grabbed my hand before I could. And just like that it stopped hurting.

"Whoa," was all I could say.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said. "It just... stopped hurting suddenly... It was weird."

He didn't let go of my hand, though I had expected it. It was extremely awkward. I tried looking around for a bit, everyone now out of sight. Somehow, my gaze kept returning to him. And I could just stare forever into his haunting, deep blue eyes... Stop it, Lynn!

"So, Ricky," I started, finally pulling myself away from him. "That dream..."

"Oh, right," he said. Had he been as caught up in the moment as I was?

"What were you going to tell me?" I asked.  
"This dream I had, it was about you," he said. This shocked me. I had a dream about him, too. I had it two nights in a row.

"Really?" I asked. "And what happened?"

"I actually had it two nights in a row," he said. "It was the exact same both nights and... it was really weird so it may be awkward to talk about right now." Should I tell him that I have the exact same experience? Maybe we had similar dreams!

"So then what can you tell me about it?" I asked him, trying to find out more before confessing that I had dreamt about him, too.

"I can tell you," he said, "that for some reason I haven't been able to get you out of my head since then." At that moment, everything I had ever thought about Ricky changed. Maybe he could be sweet. Maybe I hadn't been giving him a fair chance to prove that he was a nice guy. After all, I judged him after just one incident, which while big, could have happened to anyone.

"To be honest with you, Ricky," I started, "two nights ago I-" I was cut off by a voice. It was a girl's voice.

"I told you it was this way!" she was saying.

"My lady," said a guy's voice. "Can you not hear the running water? You are directing us towards the river!"

"Aldwin, I know what I'm doing," said the girl. The footsteps got closer.

"Aldwin, that's..." murmured Ricky. I looked at him and saw that he was deep in thought. When he finally looked up it was because someone had entered our little space. I looked up also and found a girl wearing a black cloak. I couldn't see her face, or the face of the guy behind her, who was also wearing a cloak.

"It's you again?" I heard from Ricky. I turned to look at him for just a second before turning back to the two people, who were removing the hoods from their heads.

"Richard?" said the girl. I saw her face now. She pulled her hair out from under her cloak and I saw that it was super long- it hit around her waist- and a beautiful shade of brown.

"Neimi," Ricky responded.

"Fancy meeting you here," said Neimi. Then she thought about it for a moment and gasped. "Wait!" she exclaimed. "I didn't tell you my name was Neimi? In fact, I think I told you something else!"

"You said Nerida," responded Ricky, getting up from his seat.

"So how did you find out about me?" asked Neimi. Neimi... I had a sudden recollection of my first night with Eliot, the night he told me about the royal family. Was this the princess?

"Wait, is this...?" Before I could truly ask, the guy- Aldwin? - interrupted.

"Madam," he said, "should we really trust these-"

She cut him off with, "Aldwin, please, I told you already. I see him to be trustworthy."

"But-" started Aldwin. She put her hand to his face.

"So how did you discover my identity?" she asked him again.

"A little bird told me," he said. Then he added, "I asked a friend is she knew anything about a girl named Nerida. After describing you, she got to thinking it could be Princess Neimi. And here you are again!" Why was he so changed now that she was here? We were just having a moment- not that I was hoping we could still have it- and now it's like I turned invisible.

"You asked about me?" she asked him. The guy, Aldwin, took a step closer to us as did Neimi. He was kind of cute... Really cute, actually...

"Well, yeah," he said, his face suddenly flustered. "I hadn't stopped thinking about you since I saw you so..." Wait, isn't this pretty much what he had just told me? Jackass...

"How beautiful to my ears!" she exclaimed. "Now you have to please promise that you will not let anyone know we are here!"

"I promise not to tell," he said.

"Tell what?" I heard from behind me. Everyone was regrouping and Eliot was soon next to me. It was he who had asked.

"Eliot, this..." Ricky started.

That's when he noticed the Princess. "Are you..?"

"Not more people," said Aldwin put his hand to his face.

"I am assuming this is your party?" Neimi asked Ricky.

"Yes," he answered. "They are loyal and trustworthy."

"Princess," started Eliot. "My name is Eliot. May I ask why you are here in our presence?"

"You may," she answered. "My companion and most loyal servant, Aldwin, and I are here because we search for a place to hide for a while. We are searching for answers that will help us with a certain royal issue." Everyone, even the elves, was here now and listening silently.

"Ah, yes, please have a seat," Eliot replied. She did as he said, taking a seat on a rock carefully, but Aldwin just stood there. Then Eliot said, "The kingdom is at great conflict at the moment. My fair lady, we have also embarked on our journey to make our way to a secret camp. Our village, Mirevus, was attacked last night by kingdom officers. We are searching for... answers as well. Our party is much bigger and we are to regroup by tomorrow night at our refuge. May I please bestow upon you that you join us? We could offer you great protection and possibly could be a missing link to your search."

"I believe..." she started. She looked back at Aldwin, who was shaking his head. As she turned back to face us, she rolled her eyes. Then she said, "It would be a splendid adventure, but to be honest, I am not sure whether I would fit in with the rest of the group. My companion and I are clearly not dressed like your group, but my hair would give my identity away so it cannot be exposed."

"May I ask what route you are planning to take and where your refuge is located?" asked Aldwin.

"Sure," responded Eliot. "We are going to Hassing Spring next. We will spend the night and then head to Sacaton Village, which is not too far. From there, we will go through Jemon Trails and onto Granville Desert. That is where the refuge is located."

"Wait, did you say Sacaton Village?" asked Princess Neimi.

"Yes," Eliot responded. "Is there a problem, milady?"

"Why, yes, there is!" she exclaimed. "I heard a pirate ship was docked there for a week now and there is turmoil caused by them everywhere. I simply refuse to go there."

"Even during the day?" asked Eliot. "Would it not be safe in daylight?"

"Actually," Aldwin spoke up, "it would, Princess. The problem with this whole thing is not where we're going, but how we're going."

"Oh, right," said Neimi. "We must get rid of these clothes and cut my hair. Under the cloak, there are clothes like what you all wear but something must be done about my hair."

"Neimi, you cannot cut it!" exclaimed Aldwin. "If you do and you are discovered your father would have you punished and me killed."

"Fine, then what shall I do?" she asked.

"You could buy a bonnet," offered Vanessa. "We have hair ties and can put one on you to make your hair stay up and hidden under the hat."

"What an excellent idea!" Neimi exclaimed. "But tell me, what is a hair tie?"

"It is a piece of material that is convenient for keeping hair together in one place," answered Vanessa. "I have one here on my wrist and would be glad to help you once you get the bonnet."

"Great," said Eliot. "Now if there are no more questions, we were just about to go look for food."

"Really?" asked the princess. "Why, I'm starving! I will aid you in your search for food."

"Are you sure?" asked Aldwin.

"I am positive," she said. "Come, Aldwin. Let's look that way."

"Vanessa," said Tony. "Can we go look together?"

"Um," she said, "I think I'm going with Maddie." She got up and signaled Maddie to follow after her. They soon disappeared into the trees, as did Neimi and Aldwin. Was she still upset about her argument with Tony? She said she asked what I had against Ricky. I, of course, chose not to tell her anything, claiming that I didn't have any problem with Ricky. I'm not sure if she believed me, but she was obviously ticked off about Tony not telling her the truth.

"Come on, fire-breather," said Eliot. "I think I know where to find food." The defeated Tony followed after Eliot and disappeared through the trees.

I got up and walked through the trees, on my own, in no general direction. I wasn't even looking for food like I was supposed to, just kind of walking. I walked for about five minutes without noticing that someone was behind me. It wasn't until he stepped on a branch that I felt his presence and turned around.

"Ricky, what are you doing?" I asked, startled by him walking up behind me.

"Thought you'd want some help," he said. "Although, I don't think you're doing a very good job." He smiled but I didn't smile back.

"Whatever," I mumbled as I walked past him, again in no general direction.

He grabbed my arm and turned me around. Then he said, "What happened to starting over? Why are you being like this?"

I pulled loose from his grip and he let go of my arm without a fight. Then I asked, "What happened to 'I haven't been able to get you out of my head'?" I put my hands at my hips and looked straight at him. What had changed in me? I normally would not have been so straightforward with a confrontation like this.

"What do you mean?" he asked me. "Did it upset you?"

"At first, no," I told him. "Until Mrs. Princess showed up and you were all, 'I hadn't stopped thinking about you' and you totally forgot I was there!"

He smiled. Why was he smiling? This was not a smiling matter.

"Why are you smiling?" I asked him.

"You..." he said.

"I what?" I asked him. He was really frustrating me.

"Lyndis, is it just me or..." he started.

"Or what, Ricky?" I asked.

"Are you jealous?" he finally asked me. What? Why would I be jealous? That's crazy talk. I felt my face flush.

"What?" I finally managed to say. "I have no reason to be jealous."

"Then why are you mad about me being interested in Neimi?" he asked, a grin on his face. I could tell he was enjoying this.

"I'm not mad about your interest in that girl," I said, looking away from him now. "I am mad at the fact that you told me one thing and then pretty much said the same to her." I turned back to look at him.

"It wasn't the same," he said, the stupid, cute grin gone.

"No?" I said.

"No," he responded.

"How so?" I asked.

"When I said I couldn't stop thinking about her I did mean that I had an interest," he said. "But the interest was strictly in the fact that Ilene told me she was the princess of Avalon."

"And?" I asked.

"With you," he said, taking a few steps towards me, already close enough that I felt uncomfortably comfortable, "it was that I couldn't get you out my head in the sense that you have been all I think about. In the dream... I found you crying, Lynn. I saw myself finding you, actually, and then I saw myself... doing this..."

He leaned into me and I knew what was about to happen. Two other guys had surprised me with that for the past few days, and this time it was surprisingly different, but still the same. I hadn't wanted this from the start. But now I didn't want it to not happen. However, it was just too much.

Right when I was going to pull away, he beat me to it.

"Sorry," he said. "I... I can't..."

I stayed quiet, not daring to look at him. He was looking at me, though, I could feel it.

"Max... is my friend..." he finally said. "And I'm sure you already have a lot to worry about... with, that guy. Bye, Lynn." He walked past me and left. What guy was he- Oh, no...

"Hey, Lynn," said Eliot. Why was he always showing up at the worst moments?

"Eliot... that wasn't..." I started.

"Lynn, I..." he started too.

"It wasn't like that," I said.

"Is it ever?" Eliot asked. "First, it was Max. You never told me about this, though."

"That's because there's nothing here," I said. Was there? How did Ricky know about Eliot? Clearly, he knew a lot.

"Then what was that?" asked Eliot. The change from his way of speaking when we met to now was starting to be noticeable.

"I'm not sure what that was," I said. "A couple days ago, I wouldn't have seen this coming. Not even a couple minutes ago. I don't love him, Eliot. I don't. And I wasn't going to let it happen. It didn't happen."

"He was the one who pulled away," Eliot mentioned.

"He was the one who leaned in," I told him.

"Lynn, what is going on with you?" asked Eliot.

"I don't know!" I exclaimed. "For as long as I can remember, I had liked Max; I liked him a lot. I never thought he would like me back though. But he did! Simultaneously, I thought I hated Ricky. I didn't think he would have tried to kiss me. But he did! Then I meet you, who I never thought I'd get so close to in one night. But we did... And you kissed me and it was wonderful and... It was magic, Eliot... But... It didn't change how I felt about Max. We have history. You and I... We can't try to make this work because I chose Max, okay? I chose him. Ricky, that's... I'm not even sure what that was but I will never let that get even remotely close to happening. And you... I wish the circumstances would have been different, Eliot..." I looked at him what last time, the hurt in his eyes. I had to do it, though. I loved Max, I really did. I couldn't risk what I had. Already, I had kissed Eliot and told him I loved him. I wasn't lying, but I shouldn't have said it. Max deserved better. I had to remain faithful and my choice would be Max.

Ricky... I thought about how honest he had seemed to be today as I walked back to everyone else. They were all waiting with food, so I grabbed an apple I found on the ground by a fruitless tree. It was a sad picture. And I think it was the final blow. Ricky... I wouldn't even attempt to cross that bridge. It was just out of the question.

When I got back with my pitiful apple and saw how much fruit the rest had found, I felt like dropping it to the ground, where it belonged. But I didn't. Instead, I walked to the big stack of food and placed it there, all bruised up and full of dirt.

"Nice one," said Vanessa when she saw me putting it down.

"No luck?" asked Maddie as I took a seat next to them.

"You could say that," I responded, looking over at Ricky who was merrily chatting with Princess Neimi despite everything that happened and then turning my gaze towards Eliot who had just entered.

That's when I realized that Maddie made a point. That was what I should have told Eliot. That's who I was; bad luck. I never had anyone other than Nate and Mina. Suddenly, once the guy of my dream is mine, I have to fall for another guy. But does that mean I forgot about Max? No, of course not. In fact, I loved Max more than ever. And now I dare say that... I was falling for Ricky... Even worse, now that I mentioned Nate to myself I miss him so much.

But my choice would always be Max. Something just made me have my heart set on it. And that is how I would have to remain- in love with Max, even if I couldn't forget about the others. My boyfriend would always be Max and that meant he was my choice. Max... Oh, Mina, where are you when I need you the most?

Chapter 17: Gwen Really is Different

[I stayed quiet and he understood completely.]

Why did it have to be Macy? She wasn't a bad person. Sure, she was mean. She didn't mean harm, though. Now, she was lying on a blood-stained bed, all beat up. The only thing I noticed was not harmed was her face. Was it because they thought she was pretty and had spared her face the cuts and bruises? Oh my god, had they..? No, they couldn't have done anything worse than make her skin bleed and bruise up. I just didn't believe it.

"They didn't," said Ophelia when I asked her. "Her face is unscarred and it is because they thought she was a beauty. They thought we both were. The reason why we are hurt is that we were fighting some of their comrades. Or, I guess they were, not me. You should have seen them. It was amazing. Bernadine had been practicing with Calvert and Eliot for a while. Ilene did not tend to do so as much, but she did have some experience. That young man over there, though, had he ever fought before? Ever held a weapon for actual combat?" She pointed at Derek, who had finally opened his eyes this morning when we all woke up and had breakfast. Mina had not moved from his side since.

"I don't believe he had," Mina answered. She smiled at Derek and he smiled back. He was still in need of bed rest so we didn't allow him to get up, no matter how many excuses he made. Only once did Mina let him go to the bathroom, but she forced Max to go with him. Talk about awkward.

"No," said Derek. "I hadn't..." She shushed him and made him put his head back down. For hours she would be shutting him up while she talked, claiming that he needed the rest so she would do all the talking.

"You were a warrior out there," said Ophelia. "You're lucky to be alive, though. I wonder what happened." At that moment Calvert walked in.

"We went to Sacaton," said Calvert as he walked into the room with Max and Marcus. He desperately was trying to find Ilene. Violet, Raven, and Raymond had gone shopping for the week, which looking at the situation, we would pass here.

"Any luck yet?" asked Ophelia. She and Calvert were at odds right now. I don't think it was her fault, but he made it seem like that, mainly because he didn't have anyone else to blame. Bernadine didn't know that Ilene was gone yet, but Ophelia said it was because he had a wound to the stomach that had put him close to death.

"No," said Max when Calvert didn't answer. "Everyone is talking about the pirates that were found dead in a pub, but nobody knows anything about the people who killed them."

"So there's no word?" asked Mina.

"No," said Max. "And there are no signs of the last group being close yet. We went into town and took the route that they would have taken from there to here. And nothing..."

"Something must be holding them down," said Calvert. "Just what we needed..."

"Maybe it's not that bad," said Mina.

"How so?" asked Calvert.

"If something is holding them up," said Mina, "then it could buy you some time to find Ilene and Eliot will not be worried. You can have her back here before he even knows she's gone."

Calvert thought about it for a minute. Then he said, "I have to find her." He looked at Bernadine for a moment and then walked out. Right when he was out, Bernadine opened his eyes.

"Bernadine?" asked Ophelia as she moved next to him. "O, what a gracious miracle!"

Bernadine didn't answer. He just grunted and then closed his eyes again.

"You will be fine," she said to him. Then she turned to us and said, "His wounds were horrible. It will take him days before he can even move. Maybe he will be here for more than a week." She replaced the piece of cloth on everyone's foreheads and left.

"What do you think the other group is up to?" asked Max.

"It could be anything," said Mina. "Looking at who we're missing, that final group was the largest."

"I heard they had the longest route," I offered.

"They did," said Max. He stopped for a moment and thought to himself. Then he shook his head and left.

"Why don't I..." started Marcus.

"No, let me," I told him. "I need to get out of here for a minute. Stay with Mina." I got up and Marcus took my place next to Macy, who would soon be recovering just like Derek was. I walked out the door to find Ophelia, Raymond, Raven, and Violet sitting at a round, wooden table. The little girl, Lillian, was sitting on the ground, playing with a little wooden doll.

"Did Max just pass by?" I asked them.

"Yes," Violet answered. "I asked if he needed something but he just kept walking. Is he okay?"

"I don't know," I mumbled.

"Maybe I should..." she started getting up. I remembered that Mina was upset about the two of them talking so I stopped her.

"No, no," I said. "I will go. Is he outside?"

"Yes," she said. "He just stepped out." I nodded and walked away as she sat back down. When I reached the door, I noticed how big this place was. There were other rooms, probably similar to the one we had been in the whole time, but when I went outside it didn't look that way. I remembered hearing something about some stairs, but I didn't see another floor when I walked outside.

"Hey, Max!" I shouted after him when I saw him walking around in the distance. It was daytime and it was hot. Of course, we were in a desert so I had been careful about drinking as much water as I could.

Max stopped walking and turned around. I caught up to him and we started walking together.

"So is Macy alright?" he finally asked.

"She's been better," I said. "She'll make it, though. Are you okay?"

"I'm doing great," he said with such uncertainty in his voice. Then with a hint of sarcasm he said, "Why would I not be okay?"

"Max, seriously," I said. "What's troubling you?"

"I..." he hesitated before continuing. "Why don't you tell me what's troubling you? I know that it must have been rough to see Macy like that, especially after she accused Ricky of cheating on her with you and stopped talking to most of us. You want to tell me what's on your mind?"

"Is there really anything for me to say?" I asked him. "Anything, at all?"

"How about Raymond?" he asked me with a nudge. "He seems pretty interested."

"He's a fictional character," I said.

"You wouldn't be the first," he mumbled. I decided to not let it confuse me and just ignore it. Was he interested in Violet? It seemed like it according to how Mina was acting before.

"And... Never mind..." I said.

"You can tell me," he said. I thought about it for a couple of seconds. Would this be a confession?

"Okay," I finally told him. "I'll tell you something about me if you let me know what is going on with you. You can't lie."

He thought about this deal and finally nodded. "Deal," he said slowly. "But you go first."

"No," I told him. "I can't go first. I don't even know where to start. You go first."

"How will I know if what you have to say will be worth it?" he asked me.

"Good question," I told him. "How will I know that there's much to know with you?"

"Touché," he replied with a smile. "Alright, I'll go first."

"The floor is open," I responded.

"So, I found out," he started, hesitantly, "that Eliot is in love with Lynn. And she had some feelings towards him, too. But she chose me, so I shouldn't worry, right?"

"Wow..." was all I could say at first. Then I added, "I'm guessing you are still worrying because they are together."

"Pretty much," he said. "But it was just one day in which they developed a... thing... right? I mean, she and I had feelings for each other for so much longer. She chose me, didn't she?"

"I don't know what to tell you," I told him honestly. "I don't really know her, so I wouldn't know..."

"How about you tell me your story?" he suggested. "Maybe why you don't date even though guys always hit on you?"

"Well..." I started, getting super nervous. "I don't know if I can say this... I never have... I don't..."

"Don't tell me you just don't like guys, period?" he said with a little laugh. I stayed quiet and he understood completely.

Chapter 18- Ilene is Helped Out

[Every path we took, the rest seemed perpetual.]

They took me to their ship. I was not sure what to make out of it. It was big, enormous. The many pirates that we defeated before, they were not even a fourth of the many that were left. The man who appeared to be their leader, he was not. He was the leader of the crew that was with him in the pub. It was daytime now and I woke up with a headache, a couple of cuts, and bandaged arms. There was no more of that pain I had fallen asleep with. The only thing that remained was the headache.

"Rise and shine," said a woman's voice. It was indeed a woman; I saw when I sat up on my chair. She was beautiful; light blue, haunting eyes, long, wavy, black hair, and the most noticeable trait- her big, wide smile. With great beauty that she contained, something was weird about her. As I looked her over a couple of times, I noticed what the difference was. She was dressed like the pirates.

"Are you not going to say anything?" she asked when I was just staring at her. "It is rather odd for you to stare at me like that." She smiled as she said this, a warm smile that made me feel comfortable.

"Sorry," I finally said. "It is just that you seem..."

"Like a pirate?" she finished for me. "Well, honey, I do not speak like one, do I?"

She was right, I noticed. She did not have that odd, foreign way of the tongue that the other pirates had. "I guess not," I told her.

"That was just one group you met," she said. "They speak in that way, God only knows why. As for the rest of us, we do not follow Pete's commands. He made a foolish decision, getting in a fight last night. From what I hear, you killed most of his men. He had his own crew but put them in danger and now the few men that he had left, made off. He is now at the bottom of the heap. Luckily, he was found trying to make off with you, so the captain put him to good use."

"Good use?" I asked.

"Shark food!" she exclaimed with laughter. Then I think she saw my horrified face because she added, "It was a joke! Do you not see me laughing? Ha, ha, ha! But really, he is just going to be on kitchen and cleaning duty now that he has nobody to fulfill his own orders. It is what he deserves for what his crew did to you. Look at you, poor lass."

"But... you are still wearing what they do," I pointed out.

"Well, then I guess I would be considered a pirate then, would not I?" she laughed as she said this and this time I smiled back.

"Where are my companions?" I finally asked.

"They..." she started, her face suddenly expressing gloominess, "I am afraid the rest of his craven group took off with them. I do not think they would survive much longer with the few five or six that have them. I am terribly sorry."

"But, you have to have some idea where they went!" I said, a little louder than I intended. "You have to know where they would go. I have to find them!"

"Calm down," she told me, stepping forward and putting a hand on my shoulder. "Let me take you to the captain, or at least the lieutenant. They will have more answers than I will." She helped me up. That is when I noticed what I was wearing. I had on a loose blouse, which was teal, much lighter than my skin. The blouse was cut up so that my shoulders were bare and it continued back on my arm. Over that blouse was a brown corset with laces in every row crossing diagonally. They were pretty firmly tied and the corset felt slightly tight around me, a reason why I did not understand women wearing that across the other kingdoms. The bottoms I wore were black and not as tight, much like what pirates tended to wear. Finally, there were the boots. She handed them to me and helped me tie the diagonal laces. They were long and brown, reaching just a bit above my knees. Now I saw that I was dressed much like her, other than the color of the clothes.

"Who is your leader?" I asked her. "Is he responsible for my treatment?"

"Why, yes, he is," she told me. "His name is Edward. He is a kind man, you should know. Please, do not approach him with fear. He had saved many people, like you. It is most preferable that you show appreciation with candor and not wariness. First, you will probably have to meet his lieutenant, Matthew, though. Do not be alarmed, I see that look in your face. Matthew is probably not much older than you, himself. He is a handsome young man, and almost as loving as Sir Edward. Though not royalty, we tend to address them as lords and what not. Or at least I do, for that is what they are to me. But enough talking, let us head towards his quarters."

Like I said, the ship was huge. This is when I first noticed. This woman seemed to know a lot about the ship, so she knew just which way to go. I, however, felt myself being lost by just passing the seemingly endless hallways. Just when I thought it was about to end, we would come across stairs or make turns into more everlasting hallways. Every path we took, the rest seemed perpetual. If something else was weird, it was the emptiness. There were hundreds of doors everywhere but nobody was to be found, besides the two of us.

"Why is it so empty?" I finally asked after coming through yet another set of stairs.

"We just went through the living quarters," she answered. "I woke you later than the rest; Captain's orders. He thought you would need your rest. Everyone else is either cleaning up in the Mess Hall or fulfilling their chores out on the deck. We are embarking to sea pretty soon, so the ship must be in impeccable order."

"We're embarking?" I asked.

"Yes," she told me. "We cannot stay in Luplin forever!"

"Luplin?" I asked. Luplin was a town not too far from the kingdom. It was probably four villages past Sacaton. "We are not in Sacaton anymore?"

"No," she answered. "We are docked in Luplin, sweetheart. You were harassed in Sacaton, yes, but you were found in a neighboring village, Methios, and brought over here in Luplin."

"I cannot leave with you people!" I cried. "I have to find my friends. My little brother, I have to find his group, too! They were going to be at our refuge, and that is where I must go. Please, you have to help me find them all!" I noticed that I was grabbing her shoulders. I did not want to freak out, but thinking about leaving and never seeing everyone again... No, I had to find my way back!

"Please, do not panic," she told me. "You can discuss these matters with the captain. He will not order the ship to embark until later this afternoon, and by then you will already have spoken to him. Now follow me, we are just outside his quarters." She led me up a flight of stairs and opened a door. We were outside now, on a different wing of the ship, most likely. We were also very high up and facing away from the shore. I wondered how many floors we had gone up. There must have been at least five because I could see much of the ocean. This is not considering that I could have started off in a higher floor.

"This way," she said when I was frozen in awe. I turned to her and followed again. We went around the ship, passing a couple of portholes. I was careful not to get too close to the railings, afraid that one misstep would have me falling into the water. Finally, we reached gray double-doors and she led me through them. "This is the final floor," she told me. "The captain and lieutenant share this whole floor. We are now in the right wing. This door is the lieutenant's office. Across from it is the lieutenant's bathroom and dressing area." We walked a bit further until we reached the next door.

"This is his bedroom," she told me. "Across is the library of the ship," she added. "It is possibly the captain's favorite area of the ship, not to mention the lieutenant's." Both of the doors, the lieutenant's bedroom and the library doors were double-doors unlike the other two. They did not have windows or portholes like the other double-doors we had come across. They were both wooden; although the library doors were brown and the bedroom doors were black. They both had two golden handles, shiny and elegant. I did not expect any of this from a pirate ship.

This here is the captain's bedroom," she said to me, with a nudge. I turned my attention to two beautiful doors. They were red and wooden, with brown handles and a brown frame. They were similar to the other two double-doors in format but something about these made them much more stunning. My thoughts were interrupted by her voice.

"His bathroom is right across," she was saying, pointing to a dull by comparison door on the other side of the hallway. "That is his office at the end," she added. This was also double-doors, although they were brown, just like the library. "He and his lieutenant are waiting for you inside," she said. Then she knocked on the door. I was scared of what they would say, who they would see in me. But I had to present myself well if I wanted to win their affection. They had to help me find everyone. They had to...

"Come in," said a male's voice. It was soft and inviting. She opened one of the doors and signaled me to go inside. I did as she said and she followed behind me. The first thing I noticed was the walls. They were like the rest of the ship, brown and wooden. The other walls, though, were decorated with objects like swords and other weapons, but these had portraits spread out. I found myself examining one of them. It was of two boys, and I felt like I recognized one of them. They were posing together, their arms around each other. They looked similar in features but there were some obvious differences. The hair, for one thing, was blonde on the second man. He also looked much younger, unlike the man who I felt like I knew. He had dark hair and brown eyes.

"Have a seat," the man who had first spoken said. He was sitting on a chair, behind a wooden desk. I was hesitantly walking towards the two chairs that were in front of his desk while I looked at him. He was relatively young, maybe around thirty years of age, at the most. He was the blonde one in the portrait, I realized as I took a seat in front of him.

"Captain, shall I exit?" asked the young boy who I had not noticed was standing next to the captain. He must be the lieutenant. I looked at the boy now. He was not much of a boy, though as the woman had told me, he did appear to be young. He was probably in his early twenty's, just a bit older than me. His hair was blonde and his eyes brown, just like the captain's. I could not help but notice something else that the woman had told me. He was breathtakingly handsome.

"No, Matthew," answered the captain. "Please stay here. You can exit, however." He directed the last part at the woman who had brought me here, the woman who had made me feel comfortable.

"Please, let her stay," I found myself saying. I realized my voice was shaky.

He looked at me for a second and then nodded at her, "Have a seat next to her, then." The woman did as he ordered and quickly took the chair that was next to mine. She gave me a warm smile before turning her attention to the man, as did I.

"Now, before we get started," he said, "let me introduce myself. I am Edward Simmons, the captain of this beautiful ship. This is my lieutenant, Matthew Norman. He is to be trusted with just about everything I am."

"Nice to meet you," said Matthew for the first time. His voice was not warm and inviting. In fact, it seemed cold and restricting. However, it was still beautiful and resembled wind chimes, the little metal tubes that some vendors hang by their doors to alarm themselves of intruders.

I nodded and Edward asked, "May I ask what your name is?"

"Ilene," I managed to say. "Ilene Cortez."

"Cortez," he repeated. "That's quite the coincidence." I stayed quiet and he added, "That used to be my surname. I had it changed, though. I did not want it anymore. It fits you well, though." I thought about this for a moment. The man in the picture standing next to Edward... No, it could not be... He... No way...

"Captain," said Matthew, "we must make this quick. The ship is scheduled to board and leave in two hours."

"Of course," said Edward. "Thank you, Matthew. Now, Ilene, tell me your story. Are you a native of Sacaton? Are you even a native of Avalon? You were found wearing clothes that the typical peasant woman would not be wearing."

"No," I told him, starting to feel a bit more at ease. When I spoke to Edward I felt more comfortable. However, I felt on edge whenever Matthew spoke up. "I am not from Sacaton," I continued. "I am however from Avalon. I live... lived... in the village of Mirevus. It was not close to the kingdom, therefore not as renowned as the other villages. Last night it was attacked and most probably destroyed by kingdom officers."

"Mirevus," he repeated. "Interesting..."

"Sir?"

"How did you end up in Sacaton?" Edward prompted me to continue.

"My companions and I met up at the forest that was left unharmed as far as I know by the attackers," I told him. "From there we split up into three groups, I believe. We have a refuge home in Granville Desert. I have never been there but our friend Calvert, who was leading us, knew. He was in one of the other groups, though. The one to find for me... is Bernadine. He was with me last night at the pub... He..." I could not keep talking. I was trying hard to be strong and continue. Hoping to be able to hold back the tears, I looked down for a moment. The woman, whose name I really needed to ask later, rubbed my back for a moment until I looked back up.

"Please, can you carry on?" asked Edward. He seemed concerned. I could not tell what Matthew was feeling, so I did not look at him for more than just a glance.

"Yes, sir," I responded. "You see, my brother, Eliot, and I run and inn. Our parents were killed and we took on the business for us. A group of foreigners arrived one day and my brother felt we were apt to help them find their way back home. They were only a bit over fifteen and had no idea what was happening or why they were there. We housed them, helped them find their weapons, and much more. Last night, when the village was attacked, we took them with us. That is why we had to split up; there were far too many of us. I believe that we were a few over twenty."

"That is a lot if you want to travel without being seen," he agreed. "Do you know why your village was targeted?"

"I do not, sir," I told him. "Calvert knew and we were going to discuss it at the refuge. I do know that King Marmaduke is looking for something and it is definitely worth the destruction of Avalon itself."

"That is not good," he said. "I myself live out in the sea and many of my men are from the neighboring kingdoms, Basil and Vitamil. I do have to admit, though, that my native land is Avalon, and I do not like hearing of such destruction. I left because of the King. I never agreed with him and hated this kingdom. But, that is enough about that. Please tell me about your encounter with that lowlife Pete."

I swallowed and said, "My group was the smallest. We only had five people and our route was the shortest, I think. We were out of the forest pretty soon and there was only a hill between us and Sacaton. When we were reaching the outskirts of Sacaton, I noticed that a shady group of men were following us. I told this to Bernadine, the leader of our group, and he thought we should act like they were not. However, one of the new people, a girl named Macy, noticed them and freaked out. Bernadine wanted us to remain calm but I did not see this as an option, since they had started charging at us. I ordered the group to run and they did, despite Bernadine's wishes. We went into the first building we could and unfortunately that was the pub."

"Pete says you were armed and trying to attack," he said finally. "Is this true?"

"Of course not," I said. "Not at first, at least. We were armed, but we were not trying to fight. Bernadine was trying to explain that after they insisted on having us join them. We were two men and three women, and honestly that was a group of pigs. The men were defensive over us, and your men saw this as a threat. They pointed out the fact that we were all armed and accused us of being kingdom knights. I tried to speak up, but the big one, Pete, he shut me up, calling me a..."

"What did he call you?" asked Edward after I did not continue.

"I am not sure what it meant," I told him. "He called me a 'crook-patted fie' and Bernadine knew what it meant. He told him that it was no way to speak to a lady and everyone thought we wanted to fight them. They all took out cutlasses and we tried to run. We were walking out when we were stopped by the first group that was following us. They had our helpers with blades at their necks and-"

"I am sorry, helpers?" he asked.

"Elves," I told him. "In Mirevus we-"

"Yes," he stopped me. "I am aware of the Mirevus tradition. I just did not know they were now called helpers. Continue with you tale."

"They had them hostage," I told him. "Ophelia, the woman in our group who is, I believe twenty-seven... She does not fight with weapons. She is a rare..."

"Yes?" he asked.

I decided I could trust him with this too, since I had already revealed a lot. "She is a magic wielder," I told him. "She uses water and she bends it at her favor."

"Really," he said.

"Macy was the first one to give in," I said. "She was not up to fighting and was carried off by one of your men. Ophelia had been kept secure in the center but once Macy was taken, Ophelia was easily taken, as well. We fought and fought until Derek, one of the foreign guys was taken. Then, Bernadine and I were left. He had killed many of them already, while I had too, but suddenly one man cut my arm. This distracted Bernadine... he was my..."

"Wooer?" finished Matthew. I was surprised that he had been the one to speak up.

"Yes," I slowly confirmed. "He was caught by surprise while worried about me and a man stabbed him in the stomach." That is when I remembered that Bernadine was dead.

"Did he survive?" Edward asked me.

"He was dead," I said coldly. Besides me, the woman gasped and put her hand to her mouth. "I knew I had to avenge his death. I fought around ten men in a row, slashing every one of them and not leaving any alive. Once I reached the man who killed Bernadine... I had no mercy..." My eyes were teary but I did not let not one drop fall.

"So that is when Pete said he was the last one," said Edward. "According to him you charged at him like crazy but you could not even touch him. He stopped your sword and you fell down, he said. He claims he did not attack you, though."

I focused, trying to remember what had happened. I instinctively put my hand on my head; the spot that I remember hit the ground. Then I said, "Yes, that is true, I believe. He did not attack me. It was I who made the move against him. He took my sword?"

"Yes," said Edward. "It was Matthew who found him trying to make his way to his men with you and your sword. He has it in his possession and he will keep it while you are with us."

"While I am with you?" I asked. "I am not going to leave with you."

"You are not?" he asked. "Do you not wish to find your companions?"

"I will not find them if I let you make off with me," I said.

"Good point," he said. "I will make you an offer."

"What is this offer?" I asked.

"We will not go back to Sacaton," he said. "However, I will send my men to this Granville Desert and find the rest of your party."

"They will not let you approach them," I said firmly.

"No?" he asked.

"No," I said. "They are a hostile group, the ones who know about bandits. The group that approaches us looked like bandits. They will not let them live very long."

Matthew and Edward laughed. Then Matthew said, "You really think it will be our men who will not survive?"

"We managed to kill a lot of them last night with only one men having real combat experience," I said.

"That was a sorry group," said Matthew. "Pete was in charge of the lowest ranking members of our crew, and yet you could not even strike him. Our men are highly trained, foolish girl."

"I am not foolish," I replied, taking a stand from the chair. Who did he think he was, underestimating my group?

"Matthew, Ilene, please," said Edward. "Okay, Ilene, you win. You will be allowed to approve of the way our group moves. I assume you can write?"

"Yes," I said as I took my seat again, crossing my arms.

"Write them a letter to send with them," he said. "Tell them that we are going to help you all, but we first must meet here. They must follow my men to the ship where you will be reunited with them, yes?"

"I have a few conditions, in that case," I said.

"Conditions?" asked Matthew. "Captain, she cannot be serious!"

"Matthew, let her speak," said Edward.

"If I write this letter and they do come," I said, "we get to decide where and when we leave. We will not be here to work for you or help you with your ship. We will make our own choices and will be allowed to leave the ship once we find the people your men took."

"Of course not!" cried Matthew. "We cannot allow-"

"Yes," said Edward. "I agree to these conditions."

"Captain, you cannot be serious!" cried Matthew.

"Anything else?" asked Edward.

"One more thing," I said. "When we find your men... You let me kill them."

"She is crazy," said Matthew. "Normally, I would not find this so weird, but of a woman, that is just uncanny."

"Matthew," said Edward.

"I just do not think-" started Matthew.

"That's enough," said Edward. "Matthew, take her into your office. That is where she will be until she writes this letter." Matthew made a reproachful face but sighed and nodded. Then Edward turned his attention to the woman and said, "You will be there with her in case she needs anything. Matthew, you shall see to that she is comfortable and take her under your wing, as they say."

"Yes sir," said the woman and Matthew together.

"Now, leave, I have other business to attend to," he said. Matthew started making his way towards the door and so did the woman, so I followed them. They led me towards the first door and Matthew unlocked it.

"There, sit down at that desk and start writing," he said. That was rude... I followed his orders either way and sat down at a small table that had scroll paper on it. There was a little bottle of ink, which had a feather sticking out of it. What would I put in the letter?

"Shall I remain here?" asked the woman.

"Yes," said Matthew. "I will be back in a couple of minutes. I have to speak with the captain. Make sure she does not leave." He turned to me one more time and then left the room.

"What is his issue?" I asked her a few seconds after the door had closed.

"He did not like the way you took control back there," she told me.

"Should I be concerned?" I asked her.

"Not too much," she answered. "The important thing is that you have won over the captain. See, I did not know, for as long as I have been here with him, that he was an Avalon native. He may even be from Mirevus! I did know that he had changed his surname but I did not know it was originally Cortez. Is that not such a coincidence?" She smiled and I smiled back, unsure of what to say. The boy in the portrait standing next to Edward... He had reminded me of my father, who looked a lot like Eliot. For Edward to say his surname used to be Cortez and that he was aware of the customs of Mirevus... Could he be related to my father?

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. It was Matthew who walked in as soon as he had knocked.

"There really is no reason for me to knock while coming into my own office," he remarked as he stood by the door. "The captain has informed me that it is my men who shall look for your group. I will find them and see that they are dressed appropriately. The captain thinks that it would be proper for you to oversee our clothing and approve it before we go out and find your group."

"What you are wearing is fine," I said to him. "Are your men dressed like you or Pete's group?"

"I am lieutenant and therefore do not dress like the rest," he said, his voice soft for once. "I will have them dress like me, though. Please, have your letter ready in half an hour." He turned and left, closing the door behind him.

"Guess you better start writing now," said the woman. I nodded and started writing.

Dear Eliot,

I hope this letter finds you well and at the refuge with everyone else. By the time it gets to you, it will probably have been two or three days since I last saw you, little brother.

"That is nice penmanship," the woman told me. "Will they know it really is from you?"

"I believe so," I told her. "I am having it be for my brother, Eliot. He will know it is from me."

"That is good," she said. "I hope all goes well."

"I am sorry, I do not know you name yet," I told her. "What is it?"

"Annabelle," she said with that warm smile. "Annabelle Isadora Gutierrez."

Chapter 19: Eliot Makes His Way

[They kissed and I felt a stab in my heart.]

"We are almost reaching Sacaton Village," said I as we headed down a path. We could see the town buildings so I did not think it was necessary for me to announce our arrival, but I did so anyways. I had to keep in mind that my group was filled with people unfamiliar with the land around us.

"Is that not the dangerous town?" asked Princess Neimi.

"No," said Aldwin. "The pirates should be gone by now."

"It is daytime, regardless," I said. It was our second day of traveling. We had just come out of Hassing Springs, which was filled with uneventful moments.

"Yes!" cried Maddie when we were walking into Sacaton. We had just passed the first building when she added, "No more walking!"

"Actually, I would like to be in the town square before we stopped for a rest," I told her.

The group grunted. Vanessa asked, "Where is that at?"

"Right over there," I said as we made our way through town and I pointed at a fountain surrounded by people socializing and selling their produce. Then I pointed at the opposite direction. "My sister's group should have come in through here two nights ago. It will not take us much longer to reach them, depending on how long we take here." We continued walking until we reached the fountain. There were people everywhere. Some were laughing, some were crying, but everyone seemed to be busy.

"You are free to do as you please for now," I told them. "Just make sure that you do not leave this area. We will leave in only twenty minutes, so do what you have to do."

They nodded and dispersed through the market. I noticed a vendor who was selling berries so I took out a few coins and headed towards her.

"Precious child!" she cried as she saw me approach her carrying Rosie.

"Thank you," I said.

"How may I help you?" she asked. She was young and dressed oddly, like a gypsy.

"Strawberries, please," I told her.

"Oh, I am sorry," she said as I handed her money. "They are priced slightly higher than that."

"Really?" I asked. "That is a little expensive, no?"

"Yes," she said. Then she added, "To tell you the truth, prices did change today. You see, there was an incident just two nights ago. A group of around five or six were seen enter a pub on the other side of town over there. They were travelers, I believe, not from here. It was filled with pirates and it got ugly, I hear. There was some sort of strife between them. Yesterday morning, there were dead pirates everywhere. Almost a hundred bodies in there, from what I know." Ilene's group was here two nights ago...

"And the foreigners?" I asked. "What happened to them?"

"They were not there," she told me. "They were just gone by morning. But..." She got closer to me. "My friend says she saw a big man walking right out of town carrying a young girl away. He was a pirate, by the looks of it."

"You don't say," I responded.

"But anyways, that is that," she said. "Now, how many strawberries did you want?" I took more coins out of my pocket and handed them to her. In return she gave me a small bag of strawberries. I thanked her and walked back to the fountain. I had to find everyone and head to the refuge home as soon as possible. After a few minutes of looking around, I finally found Tony and Ricky talking to a couple of ladies by the vegetable stand. Their elves were with them, along with Rolf and somebody else's elves.

"Tony!" I shouted as I made my way towards them "We have to leave," I told them once I reached them.

"Okay?" he said as they followed me. I spotted Vanessa and Aldwin talking by the other side of the fountain.

"I know," she was telling him, her voice full of laughter, "it was so weird!"

"We must leave, now," I said.

"Why?" she asked, her face suddenly serious.

"Is something the matter?" asked Aldwin.

"No time to explain," he said. "Where is everyone else?"

"There is Neimi," said Ricky, "I will go bring her over here." He headed towards a fruit stand and I spotted Neimi as he caught up to her. Lynn and Maddie saw us all together and headed towards us. Lynn had Elincia in her pocket- I saw her poking out her head- and Maddie's elf was following after her. Ricky and Neimi joined us soon and I looked around at everyone as we regrouped.

"Okay," I said. "Now that we're all here we have to go to Jemon Trail. Follow me, quickly." We walked through the crowd and I fed a strawberry to Rosie. She held it in her hand as she took little bites. Soon we were out of the town square and heading towards the outskirts. The grassy ground was turning into plain dirt.

"No more green," said Vanessa, pointing this out.

"This is Jemon Trail," I told her as we started walking out of the town and into the soil.  
We walked for about an hour longer. It was not very exciting and I kept getting questions about why we had left so soon. When we started walking near the desert sand, I finally started telling them about my encounter with the gypsy merchant.

"And now I have to find them well at the refuge," I finally ended. We were almost at the refuge by this time.

"Is that it?" asked Aldwin as we reached the outside of the house. It was dark but I could see the house perfectly.

"That is the second floor," I told him. "The first is underground. The lights are on, so I am assuming that they are there already here, fortunately. Follow me inside." I led them towards the entrance and opened the door. There were people everywhere, and from the look of it, everybody was back. I could not find anybody from Ilene's group, but I was comforted by the sight of Ophelia at the kitchen table. I looked around but only noticed that Calvert, Ilene, Raven, Derek, Mina, Bernadine, and Macy were not there. They were probably in a different room.

"Oh, thank goodness!" exclaimed Ophelia as we walked inside. Everybody was either at the kitchen or sitting in the main parlour, which was at the entrance. They all turned when Ophelia spoke up.

"Eliot!" cried Violet when she saw me. She ran up and hugged me, while Ophelia took Rosie from me and kissed her many times. I walked in, shaking hands and getting hugs while Tony and Maddie came in after me.

"Maddie!" exclaimed Marcus.

"Marcus..." she answered, coldly. From what I knew they were at odds with each other. She moved from the entrance and was received by Gwen, who hugged her. Then, Vanessa came in, and she also went to hug them. Ricky was next to come in. He was awkwardly hugged by Gwen as Lynn came in.

"Lynn!" exclaimed Max as he ran up to the door. He picked her up and spun her around. Then it happened again. They kissed and I felt a stab in my heart.

"Max," she said, "I'm so glad to see you!" I turned my attention to Neimi and Aldwin, who had just started walking in.

"Who are they?" asked Calvert who was walking out of a room.

"Everybody," I said, quieting everyone else, "this is Princess Neimi and her escort Aldwin. They have decided to join us."

"Greetings to everyone," said Neimi. "I am excited to get to know everybody here." She took off the bonnet and her hair fell down. She pulled off the little elastic band that Maddie and Vanessa had helped her with and some people gasped.

"It really is Princess Neimi!" exclaimed Violet.

"Welcome, my dear!" Ophelia greeted her. "I know it must be rough for you, with the way the kingdom is right now, but please do know that we are here for you."

"Thank you," said Neimi with a smile. "I really appreciate that."

"Where is Ilene?" I asked. "I have so much to tell her." Everybody quieted down.

"Eliot..." Ophelia started. "There is something you should know." Calvert walked across the room and left, slamming the door behind him.

"What is his problem?" I heard Maddie ask. Gwen shook her head and got up. She went into the room Calvert had come out of.

"What is going on?" I asked. "Why is everyone acting so weird? Where is my sister?"

"She..." started Ophelia. "She did not make it here..."

"What?" I asked, feeling myself getting sick.

"What happened?" asked Ricky, getting up from where he was seated.

"She was taken by pirates," said Ophelia, her eyes filling with tears. "We all were. I woke and we were all here but her. Derek and Macy are recovering. Bernadine... He was close to death and still has not opened his eyes..."

"Ilene..." I said. "She is gone?"

"I am so sorry..." Ophelia said softly. The room was quiet.

"Eliot..." started Violet. She reached out for me but I shook her off and went outside. I could see Calvert off to the distance.

"Where are you going?" I managed to shout out to him.

"Looking for her," said Calvert. "This time I intend to be back with her."

He disappeared into the distance. I was alone for a couple of minutes. When the door opened and somebody walked up to me, it was who I least expected.

"Hey," said Max as he took a seat next to me in the sand.

"Max?" I asked. "You're here?"

"I just thought I would finally talk to you," he said. "Lynn has wanted us to be friends."

"Do you honestly think that is going to happen?" I asked him.

He waited a moment. "No," he finally said. "But it could."

"I..." I was not sure what I would tell him. "I guess, I should say that I am happy for her. I just wish..." I could not finish.

"I see..." he said.

"It hurts, okay," I finally told him. "It hurts because I know that no matter what, she is going to love you. I want to change it, but she loves you. You are lucky."

He smiled but it quickly faded. "I know I am," he said.

"She also loves me, though," I said quickly. "She knows it and I know it."

"I see..." he said again. "She chose me."

"I know," I said. "That is the worst part. Now though, all that matters is finding my sister."

"I am sorry," he told me. "I truly am."

"I believe you," I said. And I did believe him.

"I know she will turn up, man," he told me. He patted my back and added, "You just can't lose hope."

"She is the only person I have left," I said. "If I lost her, I do not know what I would do."

"Don't think like that Eliot," said Max. "Keep thinking positive. She will be found. Calvert has been going out to look for her. He said some people saw a suspicious guy taking a woman to a town called Luplin."

"Max?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks," I told him. "I really appreciate this. Really."

He smiled and said, "You're welcome. Now if you excuse me, I have a girlfriend to go talk to." He got up and headed to the door.

"Really?" I said. "We just made a step towards friendship and you say that?" I smiled and he laughed.

"You have to step up your game, then," he said, turning around to look at me.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Become better at wooing her," he replied. "Bestow her favors; win her affection, eh..."

"Okay I get it now," I told him.

He laughed and said, "You're going to be just fine, Eliot."

"Thanks," I said again.

"And you are not so bad after all," he said. He turned around and went into the house.

"You are not that bad either, Max," I said once I was alone. I sighed, got up, and went inside.

The next morning, we were all up early.

"Calvert is not back!" Violet shouted.

"Bernadine, you're up!" exclaimed Macy.

"Derek, why are you out of your bed?" asked Mina.

"Macy is out already," Gwen said.

"Love," Tony was saying. "Please, talk to me now. It's killing me!"

"Would you like some eggs, Princess?" asked Ophelia.

So much was being said as I got up and went into the kitchen. Everybody was awake and doing something. There was too much activity going on for what I liked...

We were seated down at the table- we being Neimi, Derek, Bernadine, Max, and I. Everybody else had already had breakfast and was busy doing other things.

"The Princess?" asked Bernadine. He had finally woken up this morning and despite the begging of everyone, had insisted on being up.

"She joined us," said Max. "She will be with us from now on. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Nice to meet you," said Neimi.

"Where is Calvert?" he asked when we were done eating. None of us had told him about Ilene, yet.

"I am here," said Calvert as he walked inside.

"Hey, man," said Bernadine. "Where were you?"

"He does not know yet?" asked Calvert.

"Know what?" asked Bernadine. "Can somebody please inform me on what is going on?"

"Bernadine..." I started. "The thing is that-"

"Some guys are coming!" cried Violet as she closed the window curtains.

"Who?" asked Calvert. He ran up to the door and opened it. Then he closed it back.

"Who is it?" asked Bernadine.

"Some guys," answered Calvert. "They are not bandits, I do not think. But I do not know whether I can trust them."

"We should go outside and investigate," said Bernadine, getting up from his chair. He let out a grunt and put his hand to his stomach, where he had been injured.

"No you don't," said Vanessa as she helped him sit back down.

"We shall go," said Calvert, nodding to me and indicating me to follow him outside. "Have your sword ready," he said as he opened the door. I grabbed my sword, which I had left resting by the door.

"Greetings," said a young man who was standing in front of the group.

"Hello?" I replied. "Who are you?"

"We are looking for Eliot," said the guy. "Eliot Cortez?"

"That is me," I said. "Who are you?"

"My name is Matthew Norman," said the guy. "Please, do not be alarmed. I am from a pirate ship. Yes, some of our men attacked your sister and her companions." Calvert took a firm stepped forward but I pulled him back and stepped in front of him.

"Why are you here?" I asked him.

"I do not blame you for being angry," said Matthew. "I am pleased to tell you that that scoundrel group is almost completely terminated. Their leader has been extremely punished. Your sister is currently living in our ship; she has been there since the night of the attack. I do not know what had happened to the rest of her party, I am afraid. I am the lieutenant. Yesterday she told us her tale and we were sent by our captain to deliver this letter from her. Do not hesitate to take this and go inside. We will wait outside." He signaled one of the men to give us something. The man stepped forward with a letter.

"Thank you," I said as I took it. "We will take this inside with the rest of our group. Calvert, shall we?" Calvert looked at Matthew for a moment and then we went inside.

"Who was that?" asked Violet.

"Pirates," said Calvert with resent.

"They have Ilene," said I.

"What?" asked Bernadine. "Ilene is not here?"

"No, Bernadine," said Ophelia. "She is not."

"What did they want?" asked Violet. "Did they bring her?"

"No," I said. "They sent a letter from her. They claimed that they did not know where Bernadine, Ophelia, Macy, and Derek were. At least that made sense."

"What does the letter say?" asked Max. He smiled and I knew what he was thinking. He was right.

"Read it out loud," said Bernadine. Everybody was excited and urged me to read it. I unfolded it carefully and held it in front of me. Then I read it out loud:

Dear Eliot,

I hope this letter finds you well and at the refuge with everyone else. By the time it gets to you, it will probably have been two or three days since I last saw you, little brother. I should let you know that my group was attacked by bandits upon arriving at Sacaton. They turned out to be pirates. I did not think they were good people, until I was separated by the leader of the group and later found by the lieutenant of their ship. The captain is very nice, a man named Edward, and I strongly suspect that he has some sort of ties to our father. In fact, while at his office I saw a portrait of him younger, standing next to a man who resembled you. I believe that was our father, Eliot!

"Wow," said Violet. "Your father! That is exciting!" I continued reading out loud.

Anyways, I am writing to let you know that I myself am well, although I do not have such good tidings about the rest of my group. I witnessed our elves, Ophelia, Macy, and Derek being taken, although still breathing. It breaks my heart to inform you that Bernadine was badly wounded, and as far as I know he was killed.

"She thinks I am dead?" asked Bernadine. I looked up and saw Ophelia shrugging. Vanessa patted Bernadine's back and then I continued,

A group of men took off with him- and the other three- and Edward does not know where they are. His lieutenant, Matthew, is not as kind, although I am sitting in his office at this moment. However, he has agreed to find you and hand you my letter. I ask that you are not unfriendly and follow them to their ship. I will meet you here, where I will inform you more on the details.

I cannot wait for us to be reunited once again. Again, I hope you are well and I dearly miss you. We will see each other soon.

Best regards,

Ilene

"Do you honestly believe that she wrote that?" asked Calvert. "They could have made that all up!"

"It seems like something she would write," said Bernadine.

"It is her handwriting!" I exclaimed.

"It is definitely from her," said Violet.

"Okay, so then what?" asked Calvert. "We have to follow them to the ship now?"

"Yes," I said. "Start cleaning up and getting ready so that we can leave as soon as possible." Everybody got up and started cleaning up. People were getting their elves to help them pack their weapons and other little belongings. Suddenly, Calvert came up to me. Bernadine followed him.

"I have my doubts," declared Calvert. "It could be a trap."

"What could they do?" I asked. "Our numbers are much more than theirs?"

"They have a lieutenant's crew," said Calvert. "I do not think you have ever battled anybody who was even remotely close in skill. Please, do not underestimate them. I refuse to put us in danger. Do not let yourself be vulnerable."

"Calvert," said Bernadine from behind us. "I will not allow you to ruin this. We have to go with them. I have to find Ilene. I love her!"

"I love her too!" cried Calvert, so suddenly that everyone appeared to have frozen. "I do not want to lose anybody else." Bernadine got close to Calvert. He was in his face.

"If you love her, you would risk it all," said Bernadine. "I already risked my life for her once. I am still alive. Now I am going to find her." They looked at each other for a moment. Then, Bernadine broke the stare by turning and going into the room he had been in for most of his time here.

"I knew it," said Raven, breaking the silence. "I knew you loved her, but you promised me you did not!" She ran out of the house.

"Wait, the pirates are there!" shouted Raymond, who went after her.

"Let's go," said Vanessa. She and Gwen were done getting everything ready, so they walked outside. They were not the only ones. Soon, everybody was outside. Matthew introduced himself briefly and we headed out.

Chapter 20: Max Loves His Girl

[You know, you don't always have to look out for everyone.]

"How much longer do you think it is going to take?" asked Lynn from behind me. We had been walking through towns for two days and had not seen a port yet. We were supposed to be going through about three towns before reaching Luplin, where Ilene was at. As far as what I had counted, this was the third town we were in. Shouldn't we be able to see part of the ocean now? I honestly had no idea what's going on. What I did know was that something happened with Lynn while we were separated.

"Max?" she asked.

I realized her question was for me. "Sorry, what?" I asked her.

"Never mind," she said. She looked away and then started to walk ahead. I'm an idiot.

"Lynn, wait, wait," I called out. I caught up to her and grabbed her hand, locking my fingers with hers.

She smiled for a second. Then she frowned and said, "There's something I have to tell you about."

"What?" I asked. Then I added, "Oh, no, you're not having any doubts are you?"

"Max, no, that's not it," she told me. "Something happened. I think you should know about it. But not right now. I just want you to know there are things we have to talk about."

"Okay?" I said. It didn't sound so good.

"Don't freak out, please!" she told me, squeezing my hand. "It just makes me freak out."

"Okay, then," I told her. "Let's talk about something else."

"What do we talk about?" she asked me.

"How was your little journey?" I asked her.

"Awkward," she told me slowly.

"Oh, right," I said. "I feel bad for him now."

"Bad for who?" she asked. "For..." She looked around until she spotted Eliot, who was walking to the front, worriedly trying to speed everyone up.

"Yeah," I said. "He lost his sister. I told him he would get her back as long as he kept hope. Now he has his chance to get her back."

"So why do you feel bad?" she asked.

I gripped her hand tighter and said, "I just think that it would have been easier for him if he had you."

"Really," she said.

"I'm not saying I want him to have you!" I quickly replied. "I'm just saying that's his misfortune. I had a pretty nice talk with him last night. He's not that bad."

She smiled and gave my fingers a little tug, saying, "I saw the two of you. I'm really glad you reached out to him, Max. It really means a lot."

"It wasn't a big deal," I said. "I thought it would be, but he wasn't hard to talk to. I also told him..." I decided not to tell her what I had ended the conversation with.

"What?" she asked. "What did you say?"

I laughed and then said, "I basically told him to step up his game if he wanted to change your mind, not that it would happen."

"Let's change the subject," she said suddenly. I wasn't sure what that was about but I also wasn't too ready to find out.

"Okay what do you want-" I was going to ask what she wanted to talk about when I heard Calvert yell.

"Why is she even with you rotten pirates to begin with?" he shouted at the main dude who had talked to us.

"Calvert, Matthew is of great aid by leading us toward Ilene," I thought I heard Eliot respond. We were still walking and I could not hear them very well, except for Calvert who was raising his voice. It seemed to me like he had anger issues.

"I do not believe any of that!" he cried out. "Why would they be helping her in the first place?"

"They want to make up for the pirate attack?" I heard Bernadine offer. Many times now, Ophelia had begged him to let us take a break. We were all tired from all the walking and he was injured, but he insisted on not stopping until he was with Ilene again. Ophelia says we were lucky that he even let us rest at night when we were passing through one of the towns.

"They are the ones who attacked you in the first place!" exclaimed Calvert.

"Do not hold us accountable for the actions of lowly men who are not even part of our crew anymore," said Matthew. "They were scoundrels and we are all content at their self-removal from our staff that subsequently-"

"I do not care what you have to say," said Calvert, walking away from them. Raven had been crying on the way here, being comforted by Violet and Raymond, because Calvert had claimed he loved Ilene in front of everyone. She was his girlfriend so of course she was now depressed. Did this mean they weren't going out anymore?

"Is that Luplin?" cried out Ophelia so suddenly that I saw a couple of people jump. She was quiet anytime that Calvert spoke. I think she was scared of him or something.

"Ilene!" Bernadine exclaimed. His face was immediately lit up. Finally I could see other people in a town. As big as they all were, there were not many people out in the villages. It seemed too strange, since in Mirevus you could always find someone outside Ilene's Inn or the other businesses around. The next thing I noticed was that there was indeed an ocean touching the end. There were no ports; the ship was enormous and docked at the shore. It was starting to get dark- the sun had just began to set- so I couldn't get many of the details, but it was amazing and beautiful from what I could see of it.

"Come on, everyone!" Bernadine started again. "We have to speed up to make it to Ilene on time!"

"Calm down," said Eliot. I could see that he was also anxious, though.

"The ship is not going anywhere," said Matthew. "Everyone is awaiting your arrival."

"Great!" said Mina, who had been carefully walking by Derek, not wanting him to get hurt again. She was still worried about his health and I could understand it. Nobody had received any bad bruises- their faces still looked the same- but they had a couple of cuts, although all the scarring ones were hidden by clothes.

"And your arrival will certainly be honored, milady," Matthew told Neimi. I still found it incredible that we were traveling with royalty.

"I have full gratefulness to you, good sir," she responded with a small bow of the head. She had put on the bonnet that she was wearing when I first saw her walk in with the group. We were passing tons of people who could not take their eyes away. It was a busy town from the looks of it, but I did not see a single person who did not turn in our direction. We were a group of about 35 or 40 people, depending on how many pirates there were. Of course, we did attract some attention. Eliot had brought this up, but Matthew insisted that any officers who we ran into would not be a problem. There were no attacks reported in this area, yet, so we were to trust in his word.

"Here she is," said Matthew once we were leaving the main buildings behind and had once again stepped on sand. Luckily, this was not as hard to walk through as the desert sand. In fact, I'm not sure if it's the fact that it was now night time, but it felt much cooler, too. It was probably because of the water.

As soon as we were closer to the ship, I saw that the pirates looked relieved. They had been walking for a long time, trying to follow orders and keep us happy. They seemed to be thankful that they were back in the ship, where they didn't always have to be taking care of us. When we finally reached the ship, they immediately started going up the platform to get on board. We, however, were all hesitant except for Bernadine and all of the elves. He had already started going up behind the pirates when he noticed that nobody else was following and turned around.

"Do you want to see Ilene or not?" asked Bernadine. Everyone stayed quiet and Matthew noticed that we were all still on land. He turned and headed back to us.

"Ilene is just inside," said Matthew. "If you do not trust me, I could bring her back out here."

"No," said Bernadine. "We will go to her." Matthew nodded and headed back towards the main deck. Bernadine followed, as did Eliot and Ophelia. Then Violet and Raymond started to force Raven into going up with them. Neimi and her escort, Aldwin, also started walking up the platform. I held onto Lynn's hand as we walked up together. I turned back around and saw that everyone else was coming up. Finally, I saw Calvert shake his head and start up the ship.

"Where is she?" asked Eliot as we went down a set of stairs. We were inside the ship, now. All of the pirates had dispersed and the only one that was still with us was Matthew. I could tell how excited some people were and how frightened others were.

"She should be in my office still," Matthew said. "That is where I last saw her and as far as I know where she was to remain. Luckily, that is on this floor. We just need to go to the other wing. Follow me." He led us through a couple of doors. We were in and outdoors a lot until finally we reached a room with many huge double doors. They were breathtakingly beautiful, the designs that is.

"Is this where she is at?" asked Bernadine.

"Yes, the girl you are all searching for is here," said Matthew. "She probably heard you because we are standing in front of the door where she is in. Although the hallways are very wide, however, I do not wish to disturb the captain, who is in his office at the end over there. He wishes to meet all of you later, but right now, I would like to lead you all to the rooms where you are welcome to stay for as long as you are with us. Decide among yourselves who will stay here to greet her. I do believe that some of you are foreigners that she was helping, so I would advise that to be the group that does not crowd up my office. You have ten seconds to decide, while I make your presence known." He opened a door and disappeared inside, shutting it behind him. I could not hear the voices inside, though that was probably going to be Ilene chiming excitedly.

"I say we do as he said," said Eliot. "New people, follow him to your room. People from here can go inside with her. Any problems?"

"I wish to meet your sister," said Neimi. "May I also stay?"

"Of course, Princess," said Eliot.

"And I would like to ask for two people to remain with me," she added. "It would make me feel most secure."

"Two people?" asked Eliot. "Of course. Who would that be?"

"Aldwin and Richard," she told him. Ricky? How did he have any ties to her? Did they tell her about the prophecy or something?

"As you wish," said Eliot. "Are there any other concerns?"

"I have no interest in going inside with her," said Raven.

"Now is not the time-" said Raymond.

"I do not care," she interrupted him. "I do not want to see her and have to pretend to be pleased." She did not say this very loud, but I was able to hear it.

"I guess I will not either," said Raymond.

"I understand," said Eliot, though I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

The door opened and Matthew stepped outside, carrying some kind of box or crate. "You may now enter," he said. "Everyone else, follow me." He walked to the back and we all turned to follow him. The last thing I saw was Bernadine take a deep breath before reaching for the door.

We followed Matthew down many stairs, too many to count. I believe it was around five but I was so tired that I wasn't too sure. We also had to do a lot of walking across the different wings and I was not sure which wing it was either. We finally came to a stop in the middle of a somewhat narrow hallway. It was long and had many doors. It seemed to go on forever, like all the other hallways did at some point.

"This was the headquarters of that crew that we just lost," he said. "They had the worst rooms because they were the bottom men of the ship. However, as we did want you to be comfortable, we have had the rooms be rearranged as much as possible to look amazing. The rooms themselves were not the problem. It was the furniture. We have replaced the bunk beds with two beds in each room, and placed other furniture and decorations that we hope you will enjoy. Ilene did inform me that there was a woman with two children so we have prepared a room for her with two cribs."

"That's Ophelia," said Raven. "I am wondering how we will be able to distinguish the rooms. They all seem so alike, I mean, how will we know which one is whose?"

"Very good question," he said. He put down the container he had gotten from his rooms and pulled out what looked like a sign with a hanger made of rope. "Who is Macy?" he asked. The injured Macy raised her hand.

"Here," he told her, handing her the sign. "We have placed two nails in every door. Once you find the person who you want to share rooms with, you shall place each of your signs on the door so that there is no confusion."

"That is brilliant!" exclaimed Raymond.

"It was Ilene's idea," said Matthew. "She thought this would be an issue so she made every one of these signs. I believe she just did not know what to do with her time here. The only ones who she did not have signs for were herself and all of the elves. She said she could not remember most of their names and would rather have them doing what they do best; work. They will be on a separate wing, without complaints, and will help us with crew work. It is just what we needed and she has agreed to this as part of our deal."

"Deal?" asked Macy. "Wait, where will she be staying?"

"She has asked to stay with the servant who has been tending to her needs during her time here," answered Matthew. "They have become very close and she wishes to spend whatever time she can with her. I do not know anything else, as I am just arriving. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to meet with the captain. He has asked for all of you to go inside your rooms and get ready for dinner. It will be an elegant affair and clothes have been left out for each of you in the rooms. If you wish to make this simple, the men's rooms have been prepared to your left and women to your right. Please be ready in two hours. I will have someone come to you at that time and lead you to the dining hall. I bid my leave now." He turned and left through a door at the end of the hallway.

"They really need elevators," said Mina. "That was tiring."

"Okay, so how do we arrange the rooms?" asked Vanessa. "We have to stay quiet while doing this, especially since some people aren't here and we have to stay with someone in our gender to make this work smoothly."

"I will be with Violet," said Raven, digging into the box and searching for their signs. She took them both out and walked away. I saw her finally look around at a couple of rooms until she stopped at one door, placing the signs and disappearing inside.

"I apologize for my sister's behavior," said Raymond. "She is not well because of Calvert and being back with Ilene has made this harder on her."

"We understand," said Vanessa. "Do you all mind if I lead this?" Everybody shook their heads or told her to go ahead. She nodded and started pulling names out of the box. Then she said, "Marcus? Who will you like to share a room with?"

"I would choose Ricky but he's not here right now," he answered. "I guess he could be with that guy over there, Aldwin or whatever. I choose Tony. Is that cool with you?" He turned to Tony, who nodded and went over to the box to search for his name.

"We need to talk, Nessa," I heard Tony say once he found his sign. She winced as he said this. Tony turned and followed Marcus inside one of the rooms.

"Next," said Vanessa, recovering from that small interaction, "is Ricky. Perfect. I guess we can just put this here and then let Aldwin know." She put his sign on a random door. "Now that that's done," she continued as she read from another sign, "Gwen?"

"I want to be with Gwen," Macy said. I guess they weren't fighting anymore.

"Really?" I heard Gwen ask.

"Yes," said Macy as she went for Gwen's sign. "I'm sorry," I heard her say as they walked to a door together. They disappeared inside.

"Now," said Vanessa, "we have Ray-"

Gwen and Macy came out and took their signs off the doors. "That is the one with the cribs," said Gwen as they placed their signs on a different door and went inside.

Vanessa searched through the signs and finally pulled one out. "Can somebody put this on the one they were just in?" she asked, holding out Ophelia's sign. Raymond took it and quickly placed it on the door. Then he came back and Vanessa asked, "Who do you want to be paired up with?"

He took his sign as he said, "Put me with Calvert." Vanessa reached into the box and took out Calvert's sign. She handed it to him and he headed for a door.

"So then do we put Eliot and Bernadine together?" asked Vanessa. Nobody answered but she took their signs either way and put them on a random door. Then she continued, "Mina?"

"My sis!" she said with a smile. She turned to Derek and gave him a bunch of quick kisses before heading for the signs. Lynn let go of my hand and started to walk away.

"Hey!" I called out. She turned and I quickly pulled her into a kiss. "I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

She smiled and nodded, following Mina into an empty room. "Maddie?" Vanessa continued. "I'm guessing you and I will be together?" Maddie nodded and took both of their signs, going into a room. Vanessa looked into the box. Only Derek and I were still out here. It was obvious who we were going to be with.

"What's the holdup Vanessa?" asked Derek. "You can't decide who to call next?" I laughed at the joke and Derek grinned at her but she didn't really smile.

"Who will Neimi be with?" she asked as she pulled out our signs. "She doesn't have a sign but she's probably the most important person here."

"Well, then they will help her out," said Derek. He took the signs from her and went up to a door, putting them on. He disappeared inside.

"Don't worry, Vanessa," I told her. "You know, you don't always have to look out for everyone. Sometimes the one who you have to be trying to help is yourself." She stayed quiet and I shrugged. She still didn't say anything as I disappeared into my room.

Chapter 21: Neimi Discovers Family Secrets

[I could not believe all of this had happened and I had never had a clue of it.]

There was an awkward silence when we walked into the room. Everybody was speechless. Ilene was standing up. She had beautiful black hair and big brown eyes. She resembled Eliot in many ways. I noticed one other thing about her. She was alone. I thought somebody was going to be there but I guess not. I wondered how long we would all be standing there before somebody broke the silence. It was not very long.

"Ilene!" Bernadine finally cried out. He ran up to her and held her face in his hands. Everyone else got closer to her but she was silent. Bernadine stepped away from her when she did not speak. Was she mute? He was upset that she had not hugged him back. I would have been too if I was her suitor.

"Ilene, what is the matter?" Eliot asked her as he gave her a hug.

"Are you not glad to see us?" asked one of the girls, Violet.

"Of course I am," she finally said. Smiling, she hugged Violet and then the woman Ophelia. Calvert, who had been a mad man as we made our arrival here, did not speak to her as she reached for a hug. She looked at him with confusion but then turned to Bernadine. She took a couple of steps towards him, examining him as if she did not know anything about him.

"Why are you not happy to see me?" he asked her. She looked down and I thought I heard her start to cry.

"I thought you were dead," she finally said in a soft voice, close to a whisper. It was so silent that I could still hear her. And when she turned I could see there were indeed tears running from her eyes.

"Oh, Ilene," said Eliot as he pulled her into his arms.

"Of course I am glad to see you, Bernadine," she said as she turned to him. "I am just confused. All this time I thought I had lost you. How is it that you are still breathing?"

"I do not know," he said with a smile. He took a step towards her, wiping the tears from her face. "Somebody somehow saved us. That is not important, though. What matters now is that we are once again together."

"But you were wounded!" she exclaimed. "I saw that measly coward stab you. You were dead on the ground. How is it that you are perfect again?"

"I would not say perfect," he told her with a laugh. "Look at this." He unbuttoned his shirt and showed his stomach. It had bandages wrapped around it and was slightly red from the blood stains. Ilene gasped.

"You are really here!" she cried to him. She was careful as she hugged him. It was more of an embrace, really. She cried even more and kissed him for a couple of seconds. I turned to look at Calvert. Just as I had thought he would be, he was looking away, disgust in his face. He loved this girl. I learned this within the first hour of knowing him. Actually, it was less.

"All right, you two," said Eliot. "Do not make me barf up my last meal."

They laughed and Ilene went over to him. "I missed you little brother!" she exclaimed as she hugged him. Then she turned to Richard.

"Hey, I-" he started.

"Ricky!" she exclaimed. "I had not seen you there!" She went up to him and squeezed him. Then she saw Aldwin and me standing there. "Who... are...?"

"Remember how I told you about the girl I bumped into?" asked Richard.

"Not possible..." she said slowly. I looked at her and then decided to take my bonnet off once again. She gasped lightly and then said, "Princess Neimi! Wow, what an honor! Ricky has certainly told me about the impression you left on your first encounter with him!" She did a quick curtsy and then looked up at me.

"Thank you," I said with a smile. Richard was red of the face. I added, "This is my escort, Aldwin."

"Nice to meet you," she told him.

"It is my pleasure milady," he responded.

"Eliot I have to-" Ilene started. She was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in!" she called out.

"Ilene, I do not mean to bother you," said a woman as she walked in with two other servants. I was shocked by who I saw. She continued, "Edward wants your guests to go on and start getting ready for the feast."

"Mother?" I asked. I could not help myself and had to say it.

"Excuse me?" she responded. She looked right at me but there was no sign of recognition in her expression.

"Annabelle, you know her?" asked Ilene.

"Annabelle?" I asked. "Your name is Gabrielle! You are my mother!"

"Neimi," said Aldwin, "maybe this is not her."

"Aldwin look at her!" I exclaimed.

"I know but..." he stopped in the middle of his sentence. "We would like to be led to our rooms."

"Aldwin, I-" I started to protest but he did not let me.

"Please, just trust me," said Aldwin. "I will take care of this." I nodded and allowed one of the servants to lead us out.

"I will go now, too," said Bernadine as he walked out, Calvert following behind.

"Violet and Ricky," I heard Ilene say. "Do you mind leaving? I have to speak with Eliot and Ophelia."

When they came outside, the two servants started to lead us out of that hallway, through a door. I was walking down another hallway when Ilene suddenly ran through a door.

"Princess!" she cried out. We all stopped and turned.

"Yes?" I asked when she had reached us.

"Will you please join us?" she asked me. "I would like you to be in our discussion. Aldwin can join us too, but that is it."

"Of course," I answered. I signaled Aldwin to come with us and waved goodbye to Richard. Ilene led us back to the lieutenant's office. Eliot, Ophelia, and the woman that looked like my mother were still there.

"Have a seat, please," said Ilene. She pointed at one of the four chairs that were in front of a desk. Eliot, Ophelia, and this Annabelle person were sitting on two others. I left a seat between Annabelle and myself. Ilene sat on the seat on the other side of the desk.

"I am going to be honest, Princess," said Ilene as she offered Aldwin to take a seat as well. He shook his head and she continued, "This is not your mother. You are mistaking her for somebody else."

"She has to be my mother!" I cried out. "How do you not recognize me, mother? Have you lost your memory?"

"I actually have," said the woman. "But there was a strange little card with my name on it. It was some sort of license, I believe. In it, my name was stated to be Annabelle Isadora Gutierrez."

"What?" Eliot blurted out.

"Is there something wrong brother?" asked Ilene.

"Please, continue, Annabelle," said Eliot. "Allow me to collect my thoughts meanwhile."

"There must be some mistake," said I. "Your name is Gabrielle Aldora of Avalon. You went away only a couple of weeks ago. You... disappeared... Someone could have brainwashed you, mother! You have to believe me!"

"Princess, please do not..." started Aldwin.

"It has to be!" I continued. "We can find the truth. I need answers people!"

"That cannot be," said Annabelle, Gabrielle, whatever her name was.

"Yes, it can," I said. "You already know that rumors have been circulating about-"

"It cannot be because," she said, "I lost my memory almost sixteen years ago."

"Sixteen?" asked Eliot. "I am sorry. I was thinking out loud again. Go on."

"I lost it sixteen years ago," she said.

"What?" I asked. "That cannot be... I... Look!" I pulled out my locket necklace. Before my father started going crazy for power, when I was around five, he had gotten me this locket. He had the best blacksmith make it for me, and inside he placed a picture of himself on one side and of my mother on the other. They were painted by the best artists in town. I opened the locket and showed it to her. She gasped.

"That cannot be me," she said. "That is not me. I never had my picture painted. This man, however, he looks so familiar! But it is not me."

"Then what?" I asked. "Looks just like you!"

"She is not Gabrielle," said Aldwin.

"No?" I asked, turning to him.

"Gabrielle and Annabelle showed up," started Aldwin, "Sixteen years ago. Annabelle did not remember anything, according to your father. I was only one back then, but my mother told me what she knew. Annabelle was sent away; she was left to die. Gabrielle remembered it all; she had unlimited knowledge of another dimension and would be of great use to your grandfather's wishes. He wanted to solve the prophecy. I don't know much about this other world, but Gabrielle and Annabelle are not from here. Your grandfather wanted to find out more about this other world, he wanted to expand his kingship to other places but he needed to know more about the land. He had your father marry Gabrielle. They truly did love each other at some point, but now that your father has gone mad, searching for the great talisman that Gabrielle told him about..."

"Talisman?" asked Ilene.

"Another world?" asked Eliot.

"Gabrielle?" asked Annabelle.

"Please," said I, "this is a lot of information. I do not know what to do with it. Is this why she left the palace?"

"I believe she was searching for her sister," said Aldwin.

"Me?" asked Annabelle. "I do not... I do not remember any of this. I do not remember my family."

"You are..." I started. I walked over to this woman. She was beautiful, just like my mother. And yes, they were identical twins. I hardly ever met twins. It was rare for a woman to have two identical children in one birth.

"This is your aunt," said Aldwin. At this point, there were tears in my eyes. Annabelle's eyes were also this way.

"You are that much closer to finding your family," said Ilene with a smile.

"I just do not know why I cannot remember any of them," said Annabelle. "I do remember meeting a man. He said he had seen me before but I did not remember. Then he said he must have been confusing me with another woman... That is the man on your locket!"

"Yes," said Aldwin. "King Marmaduke met Gabrielle first. He bumped into her while visiting Basil, the northeastern kingdom and was instantly infatuated. Soon, he met with Annabelle, who he thought was the same woman. He told your grandfather about them. King George thought this could be his new inamorata. Marmaduke was not old, but it was soon going to be time for him to take on the throne and find a new queen. I believe when he met Gabrielle he thought she was perfect. She told them about her sister and her lost memory. She confided in them all about the world. Soon they married and you were born only a year later, Princess."

"Why did they not save Annabelle from starvation and poverty?" Ilene asked.

"They could not have," said Aldwin. "King George had forbidden it. He did not want her to intervene with his plans. He had to focus on this new world."

"And then?" I asked. I could not believe all of this had happened and I had never had a clue of it.

"Your father and grandfather," said Aldwin, "spent years trying to discover a passage to the other world. They finally found their answer. You were probably about six, maybe seven years old. This was around nine years ago."

"What happened?" asked Ophelia. This was the first time in a while I had heard her speak up.

"They heard about a couple," said Aldwin. "A prophet revealed another part of the ancient oracle to them. Are you all familiar with the prophecy of the warrior's descendant?"

I looked around and everyone nodded. "We know all about it," said Ilene. Eliot, Ophelia, and her looked at each other for a moment. They knew more than what they were telling.

"The second part," continued Aldwin, "was the key to opening the portal between the worlds. This couple had a talisman. It was the sacred stone that fit the puzzle piece. There is a temple in Vitamil. They have a sacred book. It is said that if somebody with enough magic in them were to open it, it would uncover a little slate with a hole. The hole is heart-shaped, just like the pendant. Once you insert the pendant inside the hole, the portal is opened."

"So they searched for this couple?" I asked.

"No," said Aldwin. "They did not. Instead, they hosted a big feast in the castle and invited that couple to it. They would not go to the couple; the couple would come to them. Unfortunately, they were assassinated on the way to the feast by villainous rogues."

"No..." I heard Ilene say. "It cannot be... Mother's pendant... No..."

"What happened then?" asked Eliot. He was walking over to Ilene, who looked like she was going to burst into tears soon.

"For the last nine years," said Aldwin. "Marmaduke has been searching for the pendant. His father died two years after the feast. It was tragic news, which you probably already know about. His last wish was for Marmaduke to fulfill his dreams and find the key to the portal. Marmaduke spent almost a decade trying to find this stone."

"I cannot believe my poor mother and father..." Ilene cried. She was sobbing now onto Eliot's chest.

"I do not understand," Annabelle said. "What is it, Ilene?"

"What did this pendant look like?" asked Ophelia.

"I believe it was green," said Aldwin. "Other than that and the fact it is heart-shaped, I do not know much about it."

"Is that why it was so important to her, Ophelia?" asked Ilene.

"What is it that you speak of?" I finally asked her.

Ophelia answered, "Irene and Elias Cortez were the couple who had the pendant. They were the couple who was killed when on their way to the kingdom for a feast."

"How do you know this?" I asked her.

"I know because," started Ophelia, "Ilene and Eliot Cortez are the children that they left behind."

Chapter 23: Mina Wants Her Mommy

[Boy, was that an ironic thing to say!]

"Ricky?" I asked. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Yes!" exclaimed Lynn. We were in our room and had Maddie and Vanessa over to get ready for the feast. It was elegant and fancy, which we could tell by the looks of the dresses that were left for us.

"I did not see that one coming!" exclaimed Maddie.

"I did," said Vanessa. "Kind of... Okay, not at all! Whoa... I thought you hated him!"

"I don't hate him," said Lynn. "I don't love him either. I didn't want to have that moment with him but it did piss me off that I sort of..."

"You so liked it!" exclaimed Maddie.

"What about Eliot?" asked Vanessa. "You had a moment with him, too, let's not forget that!"

"Forget both of them!" I said. "She has Max! They are absolutely perfect for each other!"

"But Ricky has that whole bad boy mystery," said Maddie. She bit her lip and looked up. "That could go so well with you, Lynn. I mean, people think they have both of you so figured out, but they have to admit at some point that they know nothing. Okay, so I hate Ricky and would not like anybody to end up with him. But knowing you, you could turn him around and make him see the wrong of his ways!"

"Eliot is the one for her," said Vanessa. "So what if he was created in fantasy fiction? He had the whole love at first sight thing... and there's the passion there! The spontaneity would be great for Lynn!"

"Both of you stop filling her mind with ideas!" I exclaimed. "Think about it! Who has always loved her? Who has always been by her side? Who is her boyfriend, for goodness sake! Can you not see how perfect Max is for her? He truly loves her. He has loved her all this time. He is cute, he is smart, he is sweet, and he is kind... I mean, he is like, just so perfect for her. He is the perfect guy. Right, Lynn? You know what, I am so Team Max!"

"Why are you all fighting about this?" asked Lynn. She threw herself onto her bed and put a pillow to her face. She grunted into it and then sat back up.

"Okay, Lynn," I said as I took a seat next to her. "Intervention time. What is the thing you like the most from each of them?"

"Ricky first!" exclaimed Maddie. Gah! No, Ricky! I had always wanted to hook them up, but never could because of Macy. Then, I noticed how much she and Max seemed to hit it off and decided that should be her future husband.

"Okay?" started Lynn. "I guess with Ricky I like... his laugh... I hardly ever hear it but I have heard it. And I think it's great... And his eyes are absolutely to die for! I could... get lost in them... forever... hypnotized... I thought I had control, you know. There was Max and then there was Eliot, but I was just starting to sort things out in my head. Then Ricky came along with his smooth words and... I slipped. We almost kissed. I just... I didn't know what to do... He was just so spellbinding..."

"Enough of that!" exclaimed Vanessa. "What about Eliot?"

"Oh, well him," started Lynn. "There's a lot more there. He confides in me. I just... when I'm with him, my heart won't settle down. And I don't want to let go when we're together. I feel like... I don't know, like, scared..."

"Scared?" asked Maddie. "What do you mean?"

"Like," she started again. "Like terrified of what he's going to do next because I know it's going to make my stomach churn like crazy and I won't be able to do anything about it. But anytime he comes even remotely close to me... it's like I just want to come undone... I can't keep myself from floating away..."

"And Max?" I asked.

"I know we would talk sometimes before but," said Lynn, "I always hated being just friends. Even with that, though, I was afraid of it not lasting forever if we ever gave it a try. I never thought he'd see me that way. He was so popular and I was always invisible. Just another wide-eyed girl who only saw him when he was around... He was so untouchable, you know? Well, to you girls, that's not a known concept. But to me it was a first... Kissing him was like having a little taste of heaven... Like paradise. Now every time I see him I just completely lose my focus. I can't stop thinking about him and when we're alone I'm entirely mesmerized by him. His smile... it's full of light. He has this sparkle in his eyes. And the way he talks... it's his voice... Yeah, his voice, it's like a melody. The harmony is absolutely beautiful."

"His voice, huh?" I asked. "You ever hear him sing?"

"He hummed a song once," she answered. "Since that moment, I knew that I wouldn't want to miss a single note, though."

"So you thought it was beautiful when he hummed?" asked Vanessa.

"Well, yes," she said. "It made my heart beat so much faster... but yet so much slower... and then stop altogether... I don't know..."

"Sweetheart," said Maddie, "if you feel like that just from humming... You will know what love is when you hear him sing."

"Really?" Lynn asked.

"And not car ride singing," said Vanessa with a stern look. "Wait, until he sings to you, and I mean really sings to you..."

"Everything you thought you could have felt for the other two will disappear," I told her.

"All I know is that the one thing they all are to me is very, very frustrating..." said Lynn.

"Let me see the necklace again!" exclaimed Maddie, breaking the mood with her peppiness.

"Okay," said Lynn. She took out the necklace from under her shirt. It was so breathtakingly beautiful.

"I can't believe he let you have it," said Vanessa. "And I can't believe he told you he loves you!"

"Well..." said Lynn.

"Oh god!" exclaimed Maddie. "Did you... You said you loved him too, didn't you?"

"I said it first!" said Lynn. "I just... I felt it inside... I do love him. That's what is so confusing."

"Yes!" exclaimed Vanessa. "Why is it so confusing? You love him! Then he should be your choice!"

"No," said Lynn. "I love Max, too... Ugh!"

"I knew it!" said Mina. "It's no surprise to me. I can see it from the look in your eye when you're with him or even now that you were talking about him. He is real Bells! Come on. You know he was the right choice for you. Don't worry about that."

"Wait," said Maddie, "what about Ricky?"

"What about him?" asked Macy, who was walking inside with Gwen. They brought the dresses that they had chosen. Lynn quickly shoved the necklace back under her shirt

"Nothing," said Vanessa. "We were just wondering if it was right to just assume he would get along with Aldwin. But that's that... Let us see your dresses!"

"Oh my gosh, they are so..." started Macy.

"Beautiful!" finished Gwen. They both extended their dresses next to ours on the beds.

"That one is the one I am going to wear," said Macy. She pointed at a beige dress. It was long, just like all the other ones. The material was smooth, making it closer to the modern, real world dresses. The middle was cut off to reveal the bottom layer that had a pattern of flowers.

"That's gorgeous!" exclaimed Maddie. "Look at this beauty!" She lifted up her dress and held it out in front of her. It was a very pale green and made from what looked to be organza fabric. According to Vanessa's theories, not the entire book is too far off from the real world.

"And here's mine!" I exclaimed. I pulled up my gown, which was a pink long dress. It was not puffy, either, but it was still beautiful. It was like a nylon-organza thing. I loved it because of the top part, which was the nylon part. It had a Sabrina neckline and fit me perfectly. The bottom part was nylon with an organza layer over it.

"Look at Lynn's!" said Maddie. She lifted up Lynn's dress, which was a satin green dress. It would look great on her, especially if she were to wear the necklace Eliot gave her with it. It was long and puffy from the bottom. It was completely satin and had a portrait neckline. She would look beautiful in it.

"Mine is this one," said Gwen, holding out her blue dress in front of us. It was a strapless, ruffled gown made of some kind of lace. It was beautiful, especially because of her eye color. It really brought them out.

"Can't wait to see you in that, Gwen!" I exclaimed. "Although, I admit that I think Vanessa's is the most beautiful. You have to see her in it, though! Go put it on, V!"

"Okay, fine!" she said. She ran into the closet, where she had left her dress. It was like a walk-in closet, although there really weren't many clothes. I don't know what the person who made this book up was thinking. Everything is so odd and out of place, even if it was a different century.

"Here it is," she said as she came out. She was wearing the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. It was black organza and had two spaghetti straps that wrapped around her neck. There were so many layers, yet it was not puffy. They just flowed, like if the wind was trying to make her float up with them. Ah! I was just so obsessed with it! Maddie had wanted to fight Vanessa for it, but there was no fight because it was her size.

"That's beautiful!" exclaimed Gwen as Macy whistled.

"Did you see the shoes?" asked Lynn.

"Ugh," said Macy. "I know. Luckily, all the dresses are long enough to hide those."

"What shoes did you get?" I asked. She lifted them up. They were a Cromwell type of shoe. They weren't necessarily hideous, but compared to the stilettos that most of us are used to...

"Just change," said Vanessa. "The amazing gowns will make up for the shoes. Plus, it's just one night. What else could happen?"

Boy, was that an ironic thing to say!

We were escorted to the dining room. All of our hairs were down because we had nobody to do them for us. They didn't look bad since we all either had curly or straight hair. You would think we had some stylists...

"Wow," the guys said when we walked in. We had gotten ready kind of late, so everyone was there, except for Neimi, Ilene, Ricky, Aldwin, and us. They were all still standing, probably waiting for everyone to arrive so that we could mix the sitting. The first thing I looked at was Violet, who was talking to Raven. She was wearing a one-shoulder, silver dress, silk, that was very long. It was probably odd for them, wearing dresses that were so revealing from the top. I later found out that Vanessa was indeed correct, and the ways of people from this kingdom were way different than those of the people of other kingdoms. Next, I looked at Raven. She was so breathtakingly beautiful. I think she just about matched Maddie in beauty. She wore a very tight, if you ask me, red dress that was also long enough to cover whatever shoes she wore. The neckline was very Sabrina, and it looked great on her, especially with such nice cleavage. Her blonde hair was completely curly like always and her lips looked red and full of life.

Of course all the guys had already checked them out.

"Mina," said Derek as he took my hand. The guys were all pretty much wearing similar suits. They either were wearing variations of those sexy, flowing, pirate shirts, or early 1900's fashion. Derek was wearing a white shirt with suspenders and a bow tie. This was definitely the second one.

"You look nice," I told him. He did. He looked very... Titanic.

"You look beautiful," he said as he kissed me and led me to a seat. Soon enough, Lynn was taking the seat next to me, with Max by his side. He was also wearing an outfit like Derek's.

"Wow, Lynn," said Derek. "You look great. What has Max had to say so far, eh?"

She turned to face Max. He just looked at her. Then he blinked and said, "Whoa..."

"Pretty much just that," Lynn said with a smile.

"I'm sorry," Max finally said. "I just can't think of the perfect adjective for you. Other than perfect, but saying that seems too cliché."

"This whole thing is cliché," said Tony as he took a seat next to Max. He was also wearing the 1900's outfit.

"Tony, I know you don't like the outfit but..." started Vanessa, sitting next to him.

"That's an understatement love," said Tony. "I hate this."

"You two are talking again?" I asked. They smiled and nodded.

"He hates his little number," said Vanessa.

"Why?" I asked. "I think the three of you look sexy."

"Really?" asked Tony. "Because I thought you would have liked to see us all in those puffy pirate shirts."

"Well, those are nice, too," said Vanessa. "It's just something about this whole look the three of you have that..."

"Makes them look adorable?" asked Violet from behind us. We all turned to her. She looked at Lynn and Max with a smile.

"Hey," said Max, "you look amazing!" I could feel the tension in Lynn as she heard him say that. Violet bent down a bit to hug him.

"I didn't know the two of you talked," said Vanessa. She looked at Lynn and I. Ugh! I had forgotten to tell them about their little talk in the valley and after that. I widened my eyes and nodded slightly to show them that they did and it was not a good thing.

"Yes, we have become very close," said Violet. "You look great, Max. You really do." She waved goodbye and walked around the table to a seat between Eliot and Raven.

"Wow," I said without thinking. "Look at him."

"He should totally be a pirate," said Macy as she passed behind us. "That boy is super sexy." She smiled and went over to the seat next to Maddie, who had just sat next to Derek. Gwen took the next seat, which was the final seat before reaching the end.

I looked over at Lynn. She and Max were both looking at Eliot, if only for just a second because Vanessa did her best to break that stare.

"So, Max," she said, making them both look at her. "I was thinking, you should really sing a song or something."

He smiled and said, "No thanks. That's Derek and Mina's territory."

"If you say so," she said. "But I really think it would give Lynn a lot to think about."

"Speaking of a lot to think about," I said, as I saw who was walking through the door. Princess Neimi, Aldwin, and Ricky walked in together. Neimi looked beautiful. She was wearing what Vanessa later called a true Elizabethan gown. It was beige and puffy, with a line of flowers through the satin opening of the top layer, the bottom layers were lace. The neckline was straight up Empire and she looked absolutely amazing.

"She looks great," said Vanessa. "Like a..."

"Princess?" asked Lynn.

"Look at her nice little escorts, too," I said. "Ricky surely did get on her good side."

"What can you expect?" said Derek. "He is the descendant of a great prophetic hero or whatever." I saw Marcus, who was wearing the 1900 bowtie thing take a seat next to Vanessa. He did one of those handshake greetings that guys do for some reason and then looked over at Ricky. Ricky saw us all on that side of the table, so he walked over to the corner and took the final seat at the corner. Neimi sat next to him, at the single end of the table and Aldwin sat across him. They were both wearing the pirate shirts.

"Who are we waiting on?" asked Max.

"Her," said Vanessa. We looked at the entrance yet again, and in walked Ilene. She was clearly taking the stage with her dress. It was not the most beautiful one, but it looked great on her. It was a cream, almost pale pink dress. The material was pretty much organza in the bottom and nylon on top. She was followed by a woman whose face I couldn't clearly see because of the bad lighting in the room. It was somewhat dim. However, I did see that they took a seat at the very end of the opposite side, Ilene sitting between Eliot and Bernadine. The woman sat next to Bernadine, leaving one last spot before the end seat was reached. The two spots were taken by two men wearing the pirate shirts. One of them was Matthew, I realized a moment later. He took that final seat next to the woman. The other man took the end seat, opposite from Neimi at the other end. Ophelia had also sat down, placing the baby, Rosie, on the chair next to Raven. On her other side, she told Lilly, the child, to sit down. Next to Lilly was Raymond, and finally on the other side was Calvert.

"This is Captain Edward," said Matthew after standing up and getting us all to quiet down. He sat back down and in turn, Edward stood up.

"Welcome to the great ship Infatuación," said Edward. "You all look great, may I add before continuing. I was warned by Ilene that the majority of the group was young but I am still shocked to see the juvenility in your faces. Now, there are many of you, but luckily I am good with names and faces. This may seem silly, but I would like you all to stand up and state your name- this could be a moniker or whatever you prefer to go by- and... we will go with... If you had to describe yourself using three words, it would be... Okay, I'll start and we can work our way around that way." He pointed at Gwen and then thought for a moment.

"Ice breakers?" Derek asked. "That's an odd little game for a pirate."

"He is trying to be friendly?" I offered.

"My name is Edward Simmons," started the Captain. "Three words that describe me are friendly, hard-working, and open." He took a seat and then signaled Gwen to go. She asked if she had to stand up, I think. He shook his head and said, "Do you all know what this was?"

"A way to get to know each other?" asked Macy.

"A way to stall while the food arrived," he said with a laugh. Everybody else let out soft laughs, giggles, or chuckles. Then Edward said, "Everything is slow since our head chef was invited to the feast. Why not give a round of applause for her; she's right here next to Matthew." We all clapped and the woman looked down. I couldn't tell whether she looked happy or not because of the distance, but I think she was smiling.

"Maybe we should go around after all," said Eliot. "I think we all should hear each other's names, at least." He looked at Lynn and did the wide-eyed thing I had done just a moment ago when Violet was talking to Max. I turned to my sister who had a confused expression.

What? she mouthed to him. He put his hand up, palm facing her, and signaled her to wait.

"I think he wants you to pay attention to something here," said Max. Lynn looked over at him and I could tell she had smiled. Max was starting to accept the fact that he had competition, but he was confident that he would end up winning. I believed in him too, so I knew he was making all the right choices here.

"What an excellent idea," Edward replied to Eliot after thinking about it for a moment. "Lovely lady in the blue, we will start with you. Just go ahead and state your name. And then the next person can go, and so on. We're going with full first name. No epithets here, please."

"Gwendolyn."

"Macy."

"Madeline."

"Derek."

"Romina." I saw the cook woman look up all of a sudden. It was weird. She probably thought it was weird because she shook her head and looked back down.

"Lyndis." The woman looked up again, in the same way. What was up with her? I just wish I could see her face.

"Maximillian."

"Anthony."

"Vanessa."

"Marcus."

"Richard."

"Aldwin."

"Neimi."

"Ah, Princess Neimi, I believe?" said Captain Edward.

"Yes, sir," she answered him.

"We have much to discuss your grace," he said. "For now, let us continue."

"Calvert."

"Raymond."

"That's Lillian," said Ophelia. "I am Ophelia and this is Rosalie."

"Raven."

"Violet."

"Eliot."

"Ilene."

"Annabelle." The name echoed in my head. Was that the reason why Eliot had been making those faces at Lynn? Did he know who this woman was? I looked at Lynn. She was trying to communicate with him through mouthing things but I don't think it was working out.

"Great," said Edward. "Now we can begin the feast. You all must be starving." Waiter-looking pirates put plates in front of all of us. Then Edward said, "Can we get some candles lit? It is entirely too dark in here." Some servants started running around, lighting the candles that were all over the walls. Once they were lit, I got a better look at Annabelle. It was her. It was the woman whose picture my father kept under his pillow and nobody thought I knew about. It was the woman who had caused my mother to leave me. It was my father's mistress and my sister's mother.

There was really no mistaking. She had the same colored hair, the same blue eyes, the same pale skin. Had Lynn noticed this?

I turned back to Lynn. She looked like she had just seen a ghost. Her face was paler than usual and her mouth was slightly opened. She had noticed.

"Lynn?" asked Max. I looked over at Eliot, who was just staring at Lynn, worry all over his face.

"Bells," I said. "Stop looking at her. It couldn't be her. I know this is..."

"What's going on?" asked Derek.

"Look at her," I told him, nodding over to Annabelle. Derek examined her for a moment and then his eyes widened.

"No way," he said.

"What's going on?" asked Max. I reached around Lynn and whispered to him who we thought that was.

I told him, "Her name is Annabelle, which is Lynn's mom's name, and she looks just like her. What does that tell us?"

"There's just no possibility," said Max. "Lynn, are you okay?"

"She's not here anymore," I said. "She's in shock."

"Has this happened before?" he asked.

"Once," I told him.

"Lyndis Isabelle Anderson Gutierrez!" I said in a voice that was now, in the room full of chatter, above a whisper. "Snap out of it!"

"It's her," said Lynn. She didn't blink or look away, but at least she was talking.

"No, no it isn't," I said. I believed it was her myself but I had to get her to calm down.

"Yes it is," said Lynn. "I have to talk to her." She got up and walked around the table. A couple of people looked at her but they did not pay her much attention. Max, Derek, and I got up and followed after her. The table was long. When she reached around Edward, Matthew looked up at her.

"Where are you going?" I heard him ask her as we were reaching her.

"Nowhere," I answered for her.

"Yes," she said. "I have to speak to my mother."

Chapter 23: Vanessa Decides For Everyone

[It was so quiet that I could hear even the softest of murmurs.]

First I saw Lynn freeze. Then I saw her get up and walk- definitely with a purpose- to the other side of the table. Max, Derek, and Mina followed after her, so I figured, why not I?

"Stay here," I told Tony. He nodded, not wanting to get into any more arguments with me, and I rushed after them.

"Where are you going?" Matthew asked her when she approached him. They did not notice that I had caught up to them.

Mina didn't let her answer. She stepped in by saying, "Nowhere."

"Yes," Lynn said. "I have to speak to my mother."

Her mother... Was this the same mother who had died soon after giving birth to her? Was she delusional?

"Who is your mother?" asked Matthew.

"She's a little woozy," said Mina as she and Max started pulling her away.

"Let go of me," complained Lynn as they dragged her out of the room. We were in the empty hallway.

"What was that?" I asked once we were outside.

"Is it her?" asked Eliot as he joined us outside. "Does she look like that?" Derek nodded.

"How did you know?" asked Mina.

"She said that her name was Annabelle Isadora Gutierrez," said Eliot. "I remember about Lynn telling me all about her and I figured it was her."

"It is her!" exclaimed Lynn. "Why aren't you all letting me talk to her?"

"It's not that, Lynn," said Max.

"Then?" asked Lynn.

"We cannot let you do anything hasty right now," said Eliot. "Luckily, she has not seen you yet."

"Her mother is here?" I asked.

"Yes," said Eliot.

"Wait," said Mina. "For sure, it's her?"

"Yes," said Eliot. "After you all left Matthew's office, those who remained had a conversation. Apparently-" He stopped and looked around. "Why not go somewhere a little more private?"

"How about my office?" offered Captain Edward. He had appeared at the door with his lieutenant by his side.

"No thank you," Eliot responded. "I do not think this is an appropriate discussion to have in front of strangers before having in front of the people it affects."

"Oh, I beg to differ," said Edward. "It involves one of my workers. It involves the world I live in, does it not? Let us all go into my office, the whole two dozens of your group."

"Are you sure, Captain?" asked Matthew as Edward ordered for the feast to be stopped by a servant.

"Why yes," answered Edward. "I know not about you, but I am curious about what it is that ties us all together here. Are not you?"

At that moment, the rest of the group came out.

"Annabelle would like to know if this applies to her," said Ilene when she stepped out.

"Yes," said Lynn before anybody else could intervene. "I have to know," she told Max and Mina who were about to protest.

"Could you please have her join us a little later?" asked Eliot. "It does apply to her, but I would like to state a few things before she joins us. Maybe delay her for a moment and then have her wait outside until she is called on?"

"It is as you wish," said Edward. "Come now, everybody, we have much to discuss." He started walking and took the lead. Matthew was right at his corner and the rest of us followed behind. When we arrived at his office, I saw how huge it was. We all fit in there very comfortably.

I started to look around, as did other people. I noticed that Ilene directed Eliot towards a certain picture. It was of two young guys. One of them was a blonde. He looked a lot like Captain Edward, so I'm assuming that's who it was. He had the same blue eyes, the same cheery smile. The other man was the one that Eliot was staring it. He well... he looked just like Eliot.

"What is this?" asked Eliot to the captain, who was now seated at the desk towards the end of the room. Matthew was standing faithfully behind him.

"Ah, yes," said Edward. "Everybody please, settle down. Here are some chairs on which I invite two of you to sit."

"I would like to stand," said Eliot. "Princess, why not take one of those seats? Bernadine, you are still somewhat injured and you look like you will pass out anytime soon. Have a seat, man." They did as Eliot said and then everyone else kind of leaned against the nearest walls or stood, forming somewhat of a half-circle around the desk.

"Okay, now what shall we discuss first?" asked Edward. "Eliot, you seem to know most around here. How about you lead us here?"

"We have to talk about our parents," said Ilene.

Eliot looked over at Lynn. "No," he said. "We need to talk about this Annabelle woman."

"But, Eliot..." said Ilene pleadingly.

"Talk about your parents..." said Lynn. Her voice was trembling and she did not sound too sure but she tried saying this confidently.

"Are you sure?" asked Eliot. She just nodded and did her best not to look up for too long. People were staring at her.

"All right, then," started Eliot. "Since before I arrived, Ilene had let me know about suspicions that you have some tie to our parents. Now that I see this room, I hold those thoughts too. I would like to know why there is a portrait of my father on your wall. What do you know about him?"

"So you are telling me that Elias and Irene Cortez are your parents," restated Edward. "Very well, then. I shall tell you this. Elias was my brother."

"I knew it!" cried Ilene. She put her hands to her face and then added, "I knew it since the moment you told me your original surname was Cortez. And then you said you were originally from Avalon and that you knew all about the Mirevus tradition of having helpers. You knew it too when I first introduced myself, did you not? So why did you not tell me anything?"

"Did I not tell you enough," started Edward after a long moment of silence, "when I decided to help your group? When have you ever heard of pirates just helping people out? You murdered a quarter of my crew and I still rewarded you for it. I knew you were my niece. I also knew you had been orphaned. Who I am is who I say. Ophelia knows it better than I do."

"Shut up!" Ophelia said so abruptly that I jumped up, startled. She marched forward and stopped at the desk. "I did not recognize you until we came into this room. Oh, Edward, have you changed so much! A life of piracy? Tormenting the seas? Is that what your life has come to?"

"Ophelia, you cannot still be angry?" held Edward. "I left Avalon, not because I didn't love my friends, but because I hated what that young girl's family had done with our home."

"I would beg you not to speak of my family in that way, sir," Neimi spoke up. She did not sound mad, more upset instead. "I have my own tale to tell. Aldwin, if you would please tell them about the talisman." Aldwin stepped forward and told us about the king and his father's strive for power. He talked about the couple with the sacred stone that would open the portal to the other world. He mentioned the fact that the queen was from this other dimension, not missing any detail about Gabrielle and Annabelle. With every word about the queen and her twin sister, Neimi and Lynn seemed to get more and more upset.

"Is this Annabelle, our ship's Annabelle?" asked Edward when he was done.

"Yes," said Eliot. "If you could please ask her to come in, now."

"Matthew, go ahead," ordered Edward. Matthew nodded and headed for the door. Lynn's mother was waiting on the other side.

"So this other world," started Edward. "Is it existent?"

"Yes," answered Eliot. "Half of our group is from there. One of them proved them to be the group from the great prophecy."

"Really?" asked Neimi. "Who is the one?"

"None other than Ricky," said Eliot.

Neimi gasped and smiled at Ricky. Then she said, "It was truly fate that brought us to meet so many days ago in that forest, then!"

"Hmm..." said Edward. "I do have one other concern, Eliot. If it was Elias and Irene who held this powerful talisman, then you must know where it is."

"Yes," said Eliot. "In fact, it is in this very room." I looked around, as did many others. The key to the portal- our way home- it was only feet away from me. At that moment, Matthew and Annabelle walked in. She joined us and I could see that Max and Derek were holding Lynn down. However, all that Lyndis could do was look at her. Annabelle did not notice, instead joining Ilene and Eliot by the desk and looking at Edward, who was just about to speak.

"Well, where is the stone?" asked Edward.

"I gave it to Annabelle's daughter," said Eliot. I could already imagine what people were thinking. What? The necklace that Lynn was wearing? It was his?

"Daughter?" asked Annabelle. "I thought we had cleared up the fact that the Princess's mother was not I, but my sister, Gabrielle."

"Yes, Annabelle," said Eliot. "But you do indeed have a daughter, and she is in this room." I could see tears forming on Lynn's eyes once again. The shock was gone, but the emotions were still on her face, expressed clearly.

"What?" asked Edward, Annabelle, and Neimi all at once.

"Your daughter is Lyndis Isabelle Anderson Gutierrez," Eliot announced, pointing softly at Lynn. He had planned this out perfectly. The moment left everybody speechless. People were all looking at Lynn, but she was only looking at Annabelle.

"Whoa," said Marcus finally, breaking the silence.

"Mom?" I heard Lynn murmur as she stepped closer to Annabelle. "Do you not know me?" Annabelle remained silent, only looking at Lynn.

"She did lose her memory almost sixteen years ago," said Eliot. "That is perfect timing for Lynn to have only been a couple of months old. Let us remember that she is from the same world as Lynn. Lynn was told that her mother died while she was only a few months old. But I believe that she just disappeared and Lynn was lied to. The signs are all there. If we could simply find Gabrielle, everything would be clarified. "

"So this girl..." started Neimi as she got up and stood next to Lynn, "She and I are like... Cousins or something?"

"Yes," said Eliot. "Now it's up to them whether they want to take the stone to the temple in Vitamil and return back home." He sounded upset when he said this last part. Well, why wouldn't he be? He loved Lynn, yet he felt compelled to help her leave him forever!

"My mother is in Basil," Neimi declared. "I just know she is. I can feel it in my soul. She probably left us to go search for Annabelle. That has to be the reason."

"I remember now..." murmured Annabelle. It was soft but we all turned and looked at her.

"Mom?" cried Lynn. She took another step towards Annabelle.

"Frank," said Annabelle. Mina stood up and put her hand to her chest. Lynn started crying. Annabelle said, "He left me!" Annabelle also started crying.

"No you left him!" Mina suddenly cried. "You were too busy with your college and your career! He found love in Sophia! He was happily married and then you had to step in!"

"Mina!" exclaimed Derek. "Don't do this, babe, please!"

"I have to!" cried Mina. "You think I am not hurt by the fact that my mother left me? She left me because this woman showed up and had an affair with daddy! Mom was so hurt... She couldn't..."

"Sophia..." murmured Annabelle. "We had become best friends."

"What?" asked Mina and Lynn together.

"She betrayed me," said Annabelle. "When I left to college she seduced the man I loved. She became pregnant just as soon as she heard I had returned. Little Romina was born only two months before my Lyndis."

"Mom," said Lynn. "That's us! I never had you, mom. Now you're here! I've needed you in my life so much! You've been here... all along..."

"My dear child!" Annabelle suddenly cried. She reached for her with open arms and it was the most beautiful embrace that I had ever seen. Mina was crying in Derek's arms.

"Lynn," said Eliot. Lynn took a few more moments before separating from her mother.

"Thank you so much!" she said to him. She went towards him and held him in a hug too. I looked over at Max, who was standing there awkwardly.

"Lynn, you have to realize that now you have to leave," I heard Eliot whisper to her. It was so quiet that I could hear even the softest of murmurs.

Lynn unwrapped herself from Eliot. Then she took off the necklace he had given her. She walked over to me and handed it to me, saying, "Here, Vanessa. It's all your choice. Whatever you trust is best for us to do next, I will follow."

"Really?" was all I could manage to say. I held the little stone in my hand and then squeezed it hard.

"Well, then," said Edward for the first time in a while, "shall we embark to Basil or Vitamil?"

"Let's go to Basil first," I said. "Maybe some of your men can search for Gabrielle?"

"Yes," said Edward. "I will have us embark as soon as possible. Matthew, tell the men we are leaving Avalon immediately and heading for Basil."

"Yes, sir," said Matthew. He headed for the door, opened it and then stood there patiently.

"Really?" asked Neimi. "I will forever hold gratitude towards all of you."

"It is our pleasure, Your Highness," said Edward. "Now, I think you would all agree that it would be best for us to finish our feast now, no? I'm sure the food is still waiting for us! Let us head back to the dining hall. We have new acquaintances and relationships to build now. Lead the way, Matthew."

Chapter 24- Eliot Sacrifices His Heart

[If I know it is in my power to do this, I will not stop until I do.]

"Here's a toast to finally finding a way out of this mess," I heard from Macy. They were happy. Every single one of them was excitedly chatting about what they would do when they arrived back in their world. I do not think I would have cared much if it was not for the fact that Lynn was also happy to be leaving.

"Is that your boyfriend?" I heard Annabelle ask Lynn. They were standing up with their ale glasses, drinking away and getting to know each other. I happened to be sitting in the right spot to be able to hear them but not be too close that it was obvious.

"Yes," said Lynn. "His name is Max."

"How great is he?" asked Annabelle.

"Oh, mom, he's amazing!" exclaimed Lynn. "I love everything about him."

"That makes me so happy, Lyndis," said Annabelle. "But there is something that I'm wondering about." Already, Annabelle was sounding like they did. I bet it was because she remembered everything about her own life when I said her daughter's name.

"What is it?" asked Lynn.

"I've spent a lot of my time here with Ilene," said Annabelle. "She has told me some things that I'm not sure what to make of now. She told me about you and her little brother, Lynn."

"Mom..." started Lynn. I almost turned and looked in their direction to gage her expression but I did not want them to know I was eavesdropping.

"Lynn, I am not scolding you or anything like that," said Annabelle. "Sadly, I do not feel like I know you enough to do that."

"But?" asked Lynn.

"But I want to warn you," said Annabelle. "Do not play with his emotions. Do not love one guy and then tell another that you love him, too. Trust me, it hurts on both ends."

"Mom, I'm not doing that," said Lynn. "I care for Eliot. I really do. But Max is who I want to be and I already made that clear to both of them. I had a thing with Eliot but it never should have happened. We're going to forget about each other because we belong to totally different worlds."

"My sister and the king did too," said Annabelle. "But they loved each other regardless. And look at the beautiful child they had. Neimi grew up well, until her grandfather died and-"

"Yeah," interrupted Lynn. "Sorry, I just, I know the story about their endeavor for power or whatever."

"I'm just letting you know, Lynn," said Annabelle. "There's more than one choice here. Don't make your choice based on who's from your world and who's not. Maybe the love of your life is Eliot after all. This may not be true but I feel like the fact that he is from here is influencing your decision. But either way, it's yours and nobody else's to make. Just make sure it's the one you think is the right one."

There was a silence. I wanted to turn, to see if the conversation had ended, but before I could do anything, Vanessa took the seat next to me.

"Hey!" she beamed.

"Hey..." I responded.

"Eliot, why do you look so down?" she asked. "Are you upset that we're going to be leaving soon?"

I hesitated for a moment but then decided to nod. Then I said, "I'll never see any of you again."

"But more specifically," she replied, "you won't see a certain girl again?"

"Yes," I said. "I cannot even picture life without being able to see her."

"Well, think about it this way," said Vanessa. "Would you rather have her stay and be with Max all the time? Or would you want her to leave so that you can at least attempt to forget about her?"

"I don't think I'll ever get over her," I said.

"Eliot, do you realize how much more you're sounding like us every day?" she asked me. "You use contractions now, I've noticed."

"Contractions?" I asked.

"It's when you put two words together," she told me. "You used to not use them very often, but now you do."

"I'm not catching on," I told her. "But I guess I do talk more like you guys. Too bad it doesn't come in handy in this world."

"I wish you could just come with us," she said as the bards started playing their song. "If only things were that simple..."

"I don't know if I could leave everyone behind," I said. "By the way, I've spoken with Edward about your helpers.

"Oh, really?" she asked. "What did your uncle have to say  
about them?" I wasn't too sure if I was comfortable with her calling him my uncle. I know that he technically was an uncle to me, but it was all so new to me. Unlike Lynn, I wasn't able to call him my uncle. She was easily able to talk to her mother because she's known about her existence her whole life. I hadn't.

"He decided he would let them stay here and live on the ship once you all leave," said Eliot. "It is a shame, though, that we weren't able to find those measly cowards who attacked my sister's group. I wish I could save the elves that they took."

"Eliot, don't feel bad," said Vanessa. "I mean, look at all you've done for us already. You have to know you're a good person. Now you're even going to help Neimi find her mother. And to top it all off, you're getting us home, knowing that it means you will lose Lynn."

"I wouldn't feel right if I didn't help," I told her. "My uncle told Ilene he was doing all of this to make up for not being there for us when our parents died. We have great influence here now. I want to use all of that to get you home."

"We really appreciate it," said Vanessa. "It really says something that you're giving up your mother's most prized possession for us."

"I already had," I said. "I had given it to Lynn and it's her choice whether she takes it to the temple or not. But I would have given it up either way. I will get you all home. If I know it is in my power to do this, I will not stop until I do."

"You're a great guy, Eliot," she told me as she got up. "It's a crying shame she didn't meet you first." With that she turned and left, heading towards Tony who was waiting for her with open arms.

"Yeah," I said, although I knew she couldn't hear me. "It really is."

I got up from my seat and started walking around. Almost nobody was sitting down anymore; most of them were up and dancing to the marimbas and guitars. I kept walking until I saw the princess dancing with Ricky. They were happily talking while they slow danced and they seemed to really have been taken with each other.

"Doesn't it make you happy that he's out of the way now?" asked a voice from behind me. I turned to find Madeline there, holding her glass of ale in one hand. She took a sip and waited for me to answer.

"Excuse me?" was all I said.

"I know you know about his little try at Lynn," she told me. "I would have liked her to fall for him to be perfectly honest. Although I'm not a big fan of him- he ruined my life you know- I do think they would have been good for each other. But whatever, she insists on Max. I guess she made a good choice, considering how easily Ricky seems to have moved on."

Was she drunk? I looked down at her. The first thing I noticed was that she looked beautiful. The second thing I noticed was that she had taken of her shoes. The third thing I noticed was her stomach. She was tall and lean, but at the same time, her stomach appeared abnormally bloated right now. She didn't look fat she... She looked like Ophelia when she was pregnant with Lillian and with Rosalie.

"What?" asked Maddie. "Why are you staring at my stomach like that?"

"Sorry, I just-" I started.

"Whatever, Eliot," I said. "I can't believe I'm still here. I just want to go home and soak in the hot tub for hours... But they'll probably find out about my kid and make me do so many things to get ready for it that... Hey, Vanessa! Wait, up!" Okay, so she was drunk and she was pregnant. Wow.

Just when I thought I was finally alone Marcus shows up.

"Were you just talking to Maddie?" he asked me.

"Uh, yeah, I was," I said.

"Did she seem upset?" he asked me. "Was she mad?"

I thought about it and then told him, "Actually yes, she did."

"Crap," he said before patting my shoulder and leaving my sight. I walked a bit further before being confronted by Raymond.

"Nice job over there," said Raymond when he blocked my way.

"Thanks man," I told him, trying to make my way around him.

He kept getting in my way, so I finally stopped and gave him a chance to talk. "No, really," he said. "I thought the way you put out all of the information was brilliant. I loved it."

"Thanks," I said again. I managed to lose him when a couple of pirates passed between us.

"Eliot!" I heard a voice exclaim. I found Mina waving at me. She was standing next to Derek.

"Hey," I told her as I made my way to them.

"You were great back there," she told me.

"Mina went a little crazy on Annabelle, but we're all still thankful that you discovered the truth and informed us on it," said Derek.

"I'm sorry I freaked out," said Mina. "It was a lot to take in. But I know that Lynn really appreciates what you did for her. I know it was all for her."

"Yeah," I said. "I guess it was. I just didn't want to stand back and not do anything to help her, even though I knew all about it. I'm glad I could be of use for all of you."

"Eliot!" Ilene called out to me. She was standing with her arm around Bernadine's.

"I have to go," I told them. I waved goodbye and headed towards my sister. "What's going on?"

"I am going to walk him to his room," said Ilene. "He is still injured so I insisted that he take a break already."

"That's also my room," I said. "I can take him."

"Do you know the way?" she asked me. I shook my head and she said with a laugh, "I do. Who do you think helped prepare your rooms? I'll be fine, Eliot. Take care and have fun for the rest of the night." She and Bernadine said goodbye and headed out of the dining hall. I turned around and bumped into someone.

"Eliot..." she said. Finally, the one person I wanted to talk to.

"Lynn," I responded. "In about a week you will be back home."

"I know..." she told me. "I owe it all to you."

I stayed quiet for a second. She looked around for a moment and then said, "Can we talk privately?"

"Is the hallway private enough?" I asked her. She nodded and I led her out to the dark hallway, away from all the noise. We walked and took a seat at the end of a nearby set of stairs, almost directly in front of the dining hall door. It was super dark, but we still chose that spot.

"I wanted to thank you," she said after a few minutes of silence, "for all you've done for us. I know it was you who convinced everyone to do everything they've done so far. And I also know it was for me. We are definitely in debt."

"Lynn..." I started. "There's no need to thank me. I did what I did because I wanted to. Don't feel like you owe me anything, please."

She was about to say something else when the door opened. Vanessa came storming out and Tony was following after her.

"Vanessa, come on," said Tony. "Not this again. I hate being ignored by you."

"Then stop lying to me!" she exclaimed. "I don't know when this dishonesty thing started, but it has to stop!"

"Nessa, come on," he begged her again.

"No," she said firmly. "Please, just leave me alone." I waited a couple of seconds but neither of them budged. Finally, Tony gave in and went back into the hall. Only a couple of seconds later, Aldwin came out. He almost walked right by her without noticing her. Almost.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"Aldwin, right?" she said as she wiped her face.

"Yes," he said. "I am sorry. I do not know your name."

"Vanessa," she told him. "I'm Vanessa."

"We talked before, did we not?" he asked. "At a market when we-"

"Right, right!" she exclaimed. "I told you about the-"

"And the-" he continued.

"Yeah!" she beamed. Then her smile faded away again. "I'm sorry. I'm just not at my greatest right now."

"Well, Vanessa," said Aldwin, "I am sorry that you are not well."

"I'm fine," said Vanessa. "I'll get over it. Thanks though."

"Anything for such a lovely lady," said Aldwin before disappearing down the hallway. Where was he going? Vanessa smiled for just a second and then went back into the hall. In exchange, Mina came out.

"Aldwin!" she called out. "Wait up!" She quickly disappeared down the hallway.

"Ilene, listen to me," Calvert was saying as she and Ilene emerged from the shadows.

"Calvert," Ilene started, "she hates me now! She was my best friend growing up. Now she thinks we have something going on."

"I said I loved you and she heard," he told her.

"What?" she murmured.

"And I do," he said. "Okay, I do. I never admitted it before. When they had taken you, I completely lost it, Ilene. And it's because I love you."

"No, you don't," she told him. I knew that would be it. She is a stubborn girl.

"Ilene, I am telling you I do!" he cried.

"You cannot," she declared. "I love Bernadine, okay! I love him to death and nothing will ever change that."

"Ilene..." Calvert murmured.

"That is it, Calvert," she said. "I'm sorry." After a few seconds, I heard a couple of steps. I peeked out my head and saw that they were gone.

"That was..." started Lynn.

"Awkward," I finished.

"Yes," she said.

And that was it. We didn't keep talking. We just sat there until later that night when the celebrations were done and everybody had gone to bed. When I woke up, it was as if none of those encounters had occurred. Two mornings later, we were already in Basil. I offered myself as one of the men that would be searching for Gabrielle. She couldn't have gone too far. From what Edward told us, Basil was small so if she really was there, it wouldn't be too hard to find her. He was right. The first place we looked is where Gabrielle was.

"Why don't we try the shrine?" Matthew had asked when we were on land.

"Would she be there?" I had asked.

"That is where I would have gone," he told me. So I listened to him and we went to the shrine. It was a monumental statue of an angel that sat on a big ring. The ring was filled with water, almost like a fountain, but something about it was different. I decided not to pay attention to it. It didn't take long before I saw her.

"Gabrielle!" I yelled out when I saw her, sitting by the shrine with parchment on her lap and a quill and ink next to her.

When I called her name, I startled her. She looked up and spotted me frantically running towards her. She must have thought I was from Avalon and coming to get her from the kingdom because she got up and started running. I went after her but soon lost track and bumped into Matthew instead.

"What happened?" asked Matthew.

"She's here," I said to him, still looking around.

"Where?" he asked. He also started to turn his head.

"I don't know," I replied. "I managed to chase her away."

"There she is!" one of the other men called out.

"After her!" ordered Matthew.

It didn't take long before three pirates were able to catch her and bring her back to us. People stared as we walked back to the ship with her, but despite all her protesting and pleading for us to have mercy on her, nobody did anything.

"I demand you to let me go at this instance!" she exclaimed when we were boarding the ship with her.

"And if we do not?" asked Matthew.

"You obviously know who I am," said Gabrielle. "What do you want? Are you after ransom money? Just know, when I get back home, I will have you all decapitated!"

"Is that any way to talk to the people who are trying to help you?" asked Matthew as we carried her onto the main deck.

"Help me?" she asked. She laughed and with a scornful look said, "You measly demons of the sea do not help anybody. What good thing could you possibly be doing for me?"

"Demons of the sea?" repeated Matthew dramatically. "That is painful!" He laughed as he held his hand to his heart, pretending to be stabbed. Then he said, "I guess if you do not want to see Neimi or Annabelle again, I will just throw you off the ship and we will never see each other again.

"What?" she asked. "Where do you have them? Tell me!"

"Come," said Matthew. He led her to the dining hall, where everybody was having supper. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I walked into the room and smelled all the food. Everybody's eyes shifted over to us. There was only one face that Gabrielle's eyes drifted to, though.

"Mother!" Neimi exclaimed. She ran up to us and hugged Gabrielle. Their eyes filled with tears, just like they had when Lynn and Annabelle encountered each other yesterday. Annabelle ran up to her, too, with Lynn and Mina trailing right behind her.

"Anna!" cried Gabrielle. "You're here, too! Oh, I've missed you. Wait; do you know who I am?"

"I remember everything now, Gabby," Annabelle told her as they hugged. "I owe it all to this beautiful girl." She put her hand out to Lynn, who grabbed it and stepped forward.

"Who is this?" asked Gabrielle.

"This is Lyndis!" exclaimed Annabelle. "This is the daughter I lived without for so long because of the magic in that book. She is here now, too. But we're going to be leaving soon."

"Leaving?" asked Gabrielle. "Did somebody find out about the stone?"

"Yes," said Annabelle. "Now all we need is to travel to the temple because we have the stone."

"Then I must leave with you, sister," said Gabrielle.

"Mother?" Neimi spoke up. "You would leave our whole life behind? But father, he..."

"I know, Neimi," Gabrielle replied. "There is nothing else we can do there, though. I want us to go back to the land I am from. We can start over there, Neimi!"

"Mom, I-" started Neimi.

"Lynn..." murmured Mina. "Your mother is coming back with us?"

"Of course!" Lynn told her. "I finally have her back, M! Why would I lose her again?"  
Mina stayed quiet. She looked down and Annabelle said, "Gabrielle, this is Romina."

"Yes?" replied Gabrielle.

"She is Sophia and Frank's daughter," Annabelle said.

"Really?" asked Gabrielle.

"Yes," said Annabelle with a soft smile. "But let's not talk about it now. Why don't we tell your daughter about our version of Earth, Gabby? The ship will be sailing for Vitamil any time now so we must convince her to come with us!"

Chapter 25: Lynn Says Goodbye Indefinitely

_[As I made my way across, I realized the trade I was making here.]_

I wasn't too sure how to deal with Neimi while they were searching for her mother. She had insisted so much on going but everyone thought it was too dangerous. Sure, Gabrielle or Neimi alone in a foreign country wouldn't be as weird- not many of them were very familiar with other kingdoms. But two of them around would definitely raise suspicions.

So instead, Neimi stayed with my mother and me. After her mother was finally on the ship, I left the three of them alone to go talk to Mina, who had seemed really weird all morning.

"Derek really pissed me off," she told me when we were in our room talking about it.

"Why?" I asked her.

"He told me to calm down!" she exclaimed.

"And?" I responded.

She gasped. "Lynn!" she cried. "How can you just say that? He told me to calm down!"

"I'm sorry!" I told her. "I just don't see what the big deal is."

"Lyndis, Lyndis, Lyndis," she started with a shake of her head. "You just don't get it, do you? Don't worry. Wait until the first time Max tells you to calm down. You will feel the rage. It just makes everything worse for some reason."

"If you say so," I responded. "So why were you freaking out in the first place?"

"Because Lynn!" she exclaimed. "I know this is the happiest time of your life. Why wouldn't it be? Your mom is alive and she's here with you! But that's the worst time for me! She's going back with us, Lynn! And I'm afraid that..."

"She's not going to treat you badly, Mina," I told her. "She's very candid and she told me that she was looking forward to getting to know us, not just me. You'll love her as much as I already do."

"It's not that simple, Lynn," she said. "I just don't know how I'll feel when dad sees her again, for the first time in almost sixteen years."

The thought made me smile. I told her, "I assume he will still love her. He may be confused but not too confused since he always knew she was alive. But no matter what, I'm sure their love will still-"

"That's what I don't want, Lynn!" she cried. "I know that it would be perfect for you if she joined the family and everybody's happy. But not me! I don't want that! I have my own mother I want him to love. Don't you understand? And you... You... what happens to your hopes if he's not that happy to see her. Will he be wondering what the hell she's doing?" She started to tear up.

"When we tell him everything-" I started.

"We can't tell him everything!" she interrupted again. "I know he has to know some things but..."

"Mina, there's no other way to explain things," I told her. "When we show up at home again with my mother, my aunt, and my cousin, he's going to need to know how-"

"They are for sure going, too?" asked Mina. "Well, this just gets better and better, doesn't it? What next, are the court jesters coming with us too? May as well bring back home the King himself! Maybe he can run for president. Won't that be a lot of fun for America?"

"Mina, please don't be like this," I said. "They want to stay together. And I don't want to leave them behind."

"Why do we have to put up with three people we never knew before who suddenly appear in our lives?" asked Mina.

"Actually..." I started. "Neimi's condition is... Aldwin comes with us..."

"Well, at least that's one person I want in my life," she replied.

"Mina, seriously?" I asked. "I'm glad you're comfortable with him and all, but you're really starting to offend me. I know that they don't mean anything to you, but these people are the only family I have. I can't have them taken away from me already. I want them close."

"Only family, huh?" she said. "Nice to know I've meant nothing to you all your freaking life!"

"Mina, that's not what I meant," I tried telling her.

"Forget you and your stupid new family then!" she shouted. "I hope you're happy with them and forget all about me and dad. Just don't think that everyone's going to be happy to let you and your soon-to-be-bestie cousin into our group. You can go and try to be normal, but you two will never fit in." Ouch.

"Mina, what's your problem?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.

"I don't want to share my life with strangers!" she shouted, turning around, leaving the room, and slamming the door shut in the process. I knew that's what it was.

I threw myself on my bed, still wearing my little night gown, and started to sob into my pillow. I wasn't prepared to lose my best friend- my freaking sister! This was supposed to be a time when I had everyone I loved with me for once. Not the time when I lost the most important person to me.

Four days passed and nothing changed. Mina still wasn't talking to me, except to make hurtful comments. On the fifth day, she actually left me on my bed crying again.

"Knock, knock," somebody said from outside that morning. Max was knocking on my door. I sat up and tried to put myself together.

"Come in!" I called out. The door opened and in a second I was confronted by the one person who I knew would make everything better.

"Nice outfit," he said with a smile. He was joking, I knew, but he when he saw my face the smile wore off.

"I haven't had a chance to change yet," I murmured. I was wearing that lame night gown.

"Lynn..." he started as he went over to me. He took a seat next to me and said, "What's wrong, Izzy?" Izzy... Nobody called me Izzy except for Nate- and rarely Mina- and now, hearing it from him was so strange for me.

"Nothing..." I said, even though I knew he wouldn't believe me.

"Lynn, please don't lie to me," he said. "I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but don't lie to me."

"I'm sorry," I told him. "You're right. And I need to talk about it." So I did. I told him everything that had been happening.

He hugged me. Then he said, "Oh, Lynn, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," I said. "I know that it's no one's fault. I just don't know what I'm going to do now. Mina won't talk to me. And... everyone seems to be going back home with a problem."

"Derek isn't doing too well, either," he said. "He didn't want to talk to me about it, but I guess now I know why he was like that."

"And Vanessa and Tony are fighting still," I said. I remembered seeing them in the dark hallway a couple of nights ago.

"Marcus is still moping around about Maddie," he said.

"I know..." I responded.

"And you knew that she was expecting," he said. What? I was speechless. How did he find out? After a quiet moment he told me, "That's what I thought. Lynn, I'm not blaming you for not saying anything. I'm glad you never did. But by your reaction, I'm guessing I'm right."

"How did you know?" was all I asked.

"How could I not know?" he asked in response. "I think everyone could tell with that dress she had on during the feast. How far in is she? Four months?"

"Three," I told him. Oh, Maddie! Had Marcus noticed? Did he already know?

"Don't worry," he said, as if reading my mind. "I don't think he knows much about it. Either way, he's going to try his best to get her back. I know that much."

"I wish them the best," I said.

"Now, Macy and Ricky," he started. "Those two won't be working anything out, anytime soon."

"No?" I asked. Why in the world did that make me want to smile? I instantly became serious.

"I doubt it," he told me. "She still had obvious feelings for him but it's like he never did. I guess only time will tell what's going to happen with them."

"Max," I started, "you know how I told you I needed to talk to you about something?"

"Yeah," he responded.

"It's about Ricky and..."

"Yes?"

"I don't know how you're going to take this."

"What happened?"

I told him everything that happened with Eliot that night and the next morning with Ricky, as well. When I was done, he didn't speak. He just got up and started walking away.

"Max!" I called out after him. He didn't turn around, so I got up and followed him out into the hallway. He just kept walking. "Max!" I kept shouting. "Wait!" He kept walking for a while and then finally turned.

"What?" he asked.

"Don't be mad at me," I begged him. "Please!"

"Do you know how much patience I've had, Lynn?" he asked. "I don't know what your thinking is here, but you can't just go around with all my friends and expect me to be happy with it."

"Max," I started.

"I can't believe you would let that happen!" he exclaimed. "I mean, really? First Eliot and then Ricky- of all people, the guy who you always criticized! If you hadn't realized it, I love you. I have no doubts. I don't know how long it's going to take for you to see that. Whatever your choice is, let me know soon. I just don't want to spend all this time waiting just to find out it's not me."

He turned again and kept walking until he reached his room and marched in there. Max, it's you! I wanted to shout at him. I chose you! But did I really choose him? I knew it wasn't Ricky or Eliot. Things were just too complicated there. I needed Max with me. He was the one. Now, how did I prove it to him?

Before I knew it, I was on the ground, sobbing into my knees. What was I going to do? I had my mother now- not to mention an actual aunt and a cousin- but what about the others? Mina didn't want to see me. Max was losing his patience. I would never see Eliot again once I returned.

"Lynn?" I heard a voice. "Lynn?" I had been there crying for a while. There had been nobody around. Everyone had either been out on the main deck while the ship traveled or was hanging out somewhere else.

I looked up to find Matthew and Edward standing above me. I quickly wiped my face as best I could. All that was left for me was Edward's hand stretched out in front of me.

"Take it," he said. "It will not bite you."

"Thanks," I managed to say as I took it. He helped me up and Matthew stood there. I saw the guy smile warmly, although slightly, for the first time since I'd been here.

"You should get back into your clothes," the captain told me. "We are officially in Vitamil and the temple is only a few miles away now. You are going home soon."

Home. How dearly I had missed it! It was hard to believe what had happened this past two or three weeks. Now, I was only hours away from my own home. Away from Eliot...

"Thank you," I told the captain as I went into my room. I changed into a set of clothes that was offered to me. When I looked in the porthole, I saw that it was already dark. How long had I been on the ground crying? Somebody had to have passed by me and seen me.

I looked like a pirate with the new clothes. Would we be arriving in the cabin again? Was there any way to really know? Wherever we would, I'm sure the clothes would look just as weird. I scratched those thoughts off my head and headed outside. Everyone was out there and changed now. Once everyone awkwardly stood there outside, the captain nodded and started leading us away. We were on the main deck after a couple of minutes and I saw my mother with her sister, Neimi, and Ilene there as well. The only thing that everyone had brought with them was their weapon. The elves would be staying behind, although I had secretly hidden Elincia inside my pocket. I wouldn't let my mother see her yet. It would be a homecoming surprise.

"This is it," said Maddie as she stepped next to me. I nodded and only looked forward as the platform came down for us to walk through. Only the captain and the lieutenant would be coming with us, unlike the other times that we walked through villages. Other than them- not to mention, Ilene, Eliot, and the others who we had met here- everybody stayed in the ship, getting ready to depart as soon as they got back.

We walked for what seemed like only ten minutes to a temple, although I'm sure it was much longer. It was pitch black outside, but the white temple was completely lit up. There were lights everywhere, brighter than the sun. When we stepped inside, it was beautiful. There were pews all over the place, like a church, but squat down the middle there was a small podium with a book on it. The sacred book, I bet. That was it. This was the moment when we returned home, never to see this place again.

"Gabrielle," started Aldwin, "please lead the way." The queen- my aunt- stepped forward and we followed.

"If you will all please stand inside the pillars if you will be going back to the real world," she said. There were about ten pillars surrounding the book, only about eight meters away from the podium. She added, "Everyone else, you must stay behind them or you will be sucked right into the portal with us." The other people, the ones who belonged here, stepped back as we stepped forward. As I made my way across, I realized the trade I was making here. I had my mother. No more Eliot. I had my aunt and cousin. No more Mina. Somehow, no more Max. We hadn't broken up. Hopefully, we wouldn't. I just didn't want us to not be talking either.

"Here is the stone," said Vanessa as she stepped forward with my necklace. No, it was not my necklace anymore.

"Thank you," responded Gabrielle as she took the stone. She opened the book and landed on the right page immediately. I could see it slightly from where I stood, my bow hanging around my shoulder. It was a small little panel, with an indentation shaped just like the heart. It was the perfect fit.

"And now?" asked Aldwin.

"We go home," said Gabrielle. She was smiling, but tears filled her eyes. They were tears of joy. After almost sixteen years, she would be going home at last.

"Then let us do it now," said Aldwin. I wondered who he was leaving behind. He must have had some family here.

Gabrielle took the heart-shaped pendant and held it up, her tears starting to flow down her face. Neimi, who was standing across from me, started to cry as well. The life she had known forever was soon going to drastically change. She would never see her father again. Did he look for her after she left? Did he care about her?

"I just remembered," said Gabrielle. "I cannot do this. All the time I have spent here... I do not have the magic power in me anymore. Please, darling, you must do this. I shall tell you what to do." She was talking to Vanessa, who simply nodded and switched spots with her. She held the stone up and waited for more instructions.

"Do I just put it in here?" she asked.

I heard Derek, Tony, and Ricky snicker. "Not the time," Maddie told them. Perverts.

"Yes," said Gabrielle. "But you must leave it there for only a few moments. As soon as you see the portal appear and start opening, you must take it off. The universe was not meant to take some people across the worlds and it could possibly transfer someone outside the pillar area if this is not done right.

Vanessa nodded and slowly started placing the heart in its spot. I became anxious. In just a few seconds, there was that swirl again. It didn't appear as abruptly as before- this time it was calm and slow. The portal opened and I saw Vanessa trying to take the pendant out. What is happening? Was it stuck?

"Take it out!" exclaimed Gabrielle as the portal started sucking us in. There was such power in the air that it seemed like wind was trying to push us up into the air.

"I can't!" shouted Vanessa. Tony, Derek, Ricky, Mina, and Marcus were sucked up into the portal. "It won't come off!"

Gabrielle ran up to her while Macy, Gwen, and Max were sucked up. She pulled and pulled with her. I couldn't see anyone past the pillars. As the portal took me, my mother, Neimi, and the rest of us up, all I could see of Eliot and his people was a blur with a golden outline. Light blinded me from them and before I knew it, I had blacked out, once more.

When I opened my eyes and looked around, I was in a room with actual lighting. The walls and the floors were wooden. There was a carpet, messed up on the floor, and a couch. I looked around, seeing all the familiar faces, even the new ones- my mother, Gabrielle, Neimi, and Aldwin- look around. I saw a huge television, a table full of beer, and the decorations that seemed so distant in my memories.

I was finally home.

Epilogue

I can't say I regret everything that happened that first time in Avalon. It shaped me and opened my eyes to what could've been and what actually was. Yes, I was somewhat royalty there. My aunt married the king, which made me some type of noble right? Well, they didn't even want to stay there and I hadn't realized what life could be like if I stayed. Besides, I don't think I would want to. I had the guy I wanted to love to go back with. I had my father, not knowing any of this had even happened, awaiting my return back in our world. I couldn't stay, even if very deep down there was a part of me that wanted to.

Don't get me wrong, most of me wanted to leave. I couldn't take the confusion that being there created. Being around that guy... It clouded my thinking. But he wasn't the only one who did that to me. I would be going back and only one of three guys would be out of the question. I tried not to think about Ricky or what he was going to do to me. I realize now I shouldn't have done that. I should've thought every possible outcome that would come from any future encounter with him through and decided what I would do if it came to that. But I didn't. I let it be spontaneous and unpredictable events. That's what took me a step closer to ruin.

Now, all I'm left with is memories and wishful thinking. I want to go back and make some things different, but I can't, right? What's done is done and I can't change anything now. Our story has been written and I can't erase what's on those pages this far into it. Maybe if we had a little magic on our sides, we could make things better.
