Tale of an Unexpecting Hero

I ran through the dream, fire licking my heels as I trembled in fear and guilt. “No! It’s not my fault! I didn’t mean for this to happen!” I screamed, the smoke choking me. Hot tears ran down my cheeks as I continued to run, even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to outrun the flames forever. I stumbled over my feet and the flames jumped at me while I laid there defenselessly, waiting for death to take me. Suddenly, I felt a drop of water land on my face and I was surprise to see a silvery rain fall, destroying the flames. I looked up and I watched the light battle out the darkness above me, pushing it away with surprising force. “It’s alright Anna,” a gently voice called to me, “There’s nothing to fear.” I looked up and saw the most beautiful boy I had ever seen staring up at me, his hand outstretched as if to help me. He smiled kindly at me as he waited for me to take it. I hesitantly took his hand, shaking as I did so. It felt rough and warm compared to all the coldness of the dream I was in. As soon as I was up, my legs gave out again and I started crying. Even if it was a dream, it was still horrifying. I cried and cried into my hands, trying to stop myself. But I still felt the fear from earlier and it overpowered me. The boy sat down next to me, hugging me like a mother hugs her child when it is hurt. He stroked my hair, whispering words that seemed to be made of honey. “It’s all right Anna. It’s only a dream, it’s not real.” I still cried and shook though, holding onto him tightly, as if he would keep all of it away. “Don’t let it get me. Please don’t let it get me.” I cried, still feeling the fire surrounding me. “I won’t let it touch you. I promise.” He whispered. We sat like that for a few minutes, me crying while he comforted me. Then it struck me that I didn’t know who this boy was. I pushed him away as the thought came into my head. “Who are you?” I asked him, realizing I didn’t even know his name. He smiled kindly at me as he answered. “My name is Miles. I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself sooner.” He said apologetically.

“Why are you in my dream Miles? How do you know who I am?” I asked, suddenly scared of this strange boy. “Those both have the same answer. I’m here because I need your help. I’ve been watching you for a while now and I decided you will be the person to save me.” He said honestly, looking me hard in the eye. I listened to his words, not believing him. Watching me? That wasn’t possible. I’d been travelling all over for 3 months now. Mira stood guard every night while I slept and she hadn’t heard or seen anyone within 7 miles of this place. How could he have been watching me all this time? Even if he had a dragon, none could keep up with Mira. It just wasn’t possible. “How have you been able to watch me? It’s not possible. No dragon can keep up with Mira. Her senses are perfect too. She can sense someone from 10 miles off.” I said, curious about his answer. “I never said I was following you. I have been watching your progress from my prison. Just like I’m here now from there.” I gaped at him, realizing what he was saying. “You’re a wizard? But how can you be so powerful? Using your powers this much is sure you make you collapse from exhaustion by now.” I said bewilder.

“I have a strong bloodline.” He said as he helped me up. I studied his face. I could see him clearly now, and the more I looked at his face, the more I was fascinated by it. His eyes were large and pale blue, a halo of black lashes surrounding them. His skin was pale white and smooth, as if he’d never had a zit before. He also had a straight nose and a small mouth. His perfect face was completed with a mop of curly blond hair that he was pushing back as he spoke. He looked like a statue brought to life, some piece of art that was meant to be examined by all. I stared at his face, wanting to reach out and touch it to see if it was real and solid. “What wrong?” he asked me, noticing my captivated expression. “N-nothing.” I answered nervously. He had seen me staring at him. “You said something about a prison. What did you mean by that?” I asked, changing the subject. Miles sighed at my question. “I’ve been held prisoner for almost a year now. I can’t possibly get out on my own though. The person that captured me knows all my tricks and the way out of them. He completely sealed my offensive magic and most of my defensive. The only thing he forgot was my skill with visions. I’ve spent about 3 months trying to escape on my own, but to no avail. After my last attempt, I started looking for someone to help me through my vision weaving. The person I was looking for had to be strong both physically and mentally and have some magic ability. I searched for a person like that and after a while, I found you. I got lucky that the person I found was related to the Elfish Dynasty. Your uncle is the 63rd emperor, correct?” I nodded at his question, surprised that he knew about Uncle Damascus. “I watched you for a long time, trying to see if I was right about you. I found out a couple of weeks ago.” He said with a smirk. My eyes widened at his words. A couple of months ago? He saw what happened that night! “When I saw what you did, I knew I had the right person. But watching you nonstop for 3 months made me pass out from overuse of my powers. I woke up a couple of weeks ago and when I went to find you, you had disappeared. I start looking for you and I found you yesterday, heading North on your dragon. I decided it was now or never and now here I am.” He told me this quickly, leaving out nothing. I processed his words, letting it all sink in. “Why do you need my help escaping? Can’t someone else do the jobs?” I asked, wanting nothing to do with it. “No. I already decided it would be you that saved me. I won’t find anyone better before my time is up. I’m running out of time. They are going to do something big soon and I have to be out before then, otherwise everything will change.” He said urgently.

“Ok, suppose I help you. What would I have to do?” Miles smiled, happy that I was willing to help. “You have to get the Lord of Tomapopeii’s daughters, Clarissa, Tatie, and Keara. They were my last students and the best I’ve trained. They will help you. Their Father, Lord Rufus, is a greedy jerk, so he’ll want something in return. Promise him a promising reward from me. He’ll say yes right away. Wizards are known for their great merchandise after all. Go with the girls and take them far north to a fortress in the mountains. That’s where I’m being held. I can get you a way in, so when I sense your presence I’ll tell you where you can safely enter. Don’t fight unless you must though. If you fight unnecessarily, you most definitely not get out alive.” He explained to me. “But the only this in the far north is…..the person holding you hostage is Gilroy Lavarde?” I asked, afraid of his answer. Miles nodded solemnly. “I’m afraid so. This isn’t the first time either, but this time he thought of everything. Even if I manage to get the seal off, if I step foot outside the barrier around the fortress I will collapse. All of you should be fine though. He used a special targeting barrier. You have to use the person’s blood in the spell to make it work, so only I have to worry about that. He’ll be notified though, so we’ll have to leave quickly.” He explains to me again, as I process it all. He continues to explain the fortress lay out and shape and the workers there. Afterwards, he takes hold of my hands, pulling me towards him. “You have to hurry Anna. We don’t have much time.” He tells me. “Wait! There’s still so much I don’t know about! What will happen if we fail?” I shout as he starts to walk away. Miles looks back at me and hugs me close. I can smell his scent, a mixture of cinnamon and pinecones. My voice is muffled in his shirt, so I can’t speak. He stops hugging me after I’m silent. “You’ll be fine.” He tells me reassuringly. “But-” I begin, but again I am silenced. Miles swiftly kisses me on my mouth, making me stop my words in surprise. “Like I said, you’ll be fine. Everything will be ok. Just don’t lose faith.” He tells me while I’m still in shock. He walks off into the distance, waving goodbye. He turns around right before he disappears and shouts, “I’ll be waiting Anna! Oh, make sure to look in your hand when you wake up! Don’t lose it!” then he’s gone and I’m taken back to reality.

When I wake up I can still feel the heat for his mouth on my lips. What did he mean by look in my hand? Don’t lose what? I look down at my hand. I’m shocked to see a necklace in it, sitting there serenely. I pick it up with my other hand and examine it closely. It’s a small necklace with a pendant shaped like a full moon and made out of a crystal that looks like crystallized water, pale blue and glistening. It seemed to move in the light, making waves within the pendant. I stared at it in awe, remembering his words. I put it on my neck carefully, thinking of how beautiful it was. As soon as the necklace touched my skin, I felt a warming presence. It felt like tiny rays of sunshine, warming where it touched. I grabbed it, realizing what lay ahead. “Tomapopeii huh?” said to myself. I looked up at the sky, cloudless skies overhead. “Mira! We’re leaving.” I said to her telepathically. Her reply came back a second later, accompanied by an overhead gust of wind. “Where to Anna?” I jumped on her scaly back, enjoying the coolness of it. “Tomapopeii. Let’s see if we can get there by tomorrow afternoon.” With that final exchange, my unforgettable journey began.

Tomapopeii wasn’t what you’d think of for a town famous for its brutal warriors. People roamed the street happily, twirling parasols and chattering softly with their companions. Dragons were a rare sight for once. I thought for sure they would all be dueling on the streets but I didn’t even see a gun or knife of any kind. Not even a stick. It looked more like the human capital,AzuraTown, with neat building and polite, orderly people. I could see a grand house at the highest point of the town. It was larger then any house I had ever seen, and my uncle is the emperor of theElfishTerritories. It was white and grey, plain colored, with a large garden in the back. I made sure to look it over as I flew by. A giant maze made of what looked like rose bushed took up most of it, with a small orchard and a large pond at one end. I asked Mira to lower, wanting to get more detail, when an arrow narrowly missed me. I had to remember to that my parents and uncle for my good observation skills, because I was able to get away in enough time. I nimbly did a back handspring while I dodged it. “Anna, are you ok?” Mira called back to me.

“Yeah I’m fine. I managed to dodge it.” I said with a smile. Arrows flew all around us, and a black dragon appeared on our left. I turned and saw another on my right, and one last dragon below us. These other two were pink and brown, each having a rider with a weapon. The person with the arrows was two identical looking girls, both with the same flame red hair and freckled faces. The third person was a girl around the age of my brother, with short brown hair and a leather vest full of throwing knives and air bombs. I watched in amazement as the twin girls shot from both sides and the other girl threw air bombs full of illusion magic at us from below. We narrowly missed their shots. “Please stop! We mean no harm!” I yelled at them as I dodged. “Like hell we believe that! How is it that you have a dragon in this country? Only royals and lords have dragons, and you are no royal!” The brown haired girl shouted. She aimed another illusionary bomb at me. It almost hit Mira’s left side. An idea came in my mind. I told Mira and crawled down to her curled claws, jumping down when the girls and her dragon were directly below me. She pulled out a knife and, using it as a dagger, went for my neck. I quickly disarmed her and hit her pressure points, making her arms and legs useless. “What the hell did you do to me!” she shouted at me, motionless on the dragons back. “I asked you to stop, but you failed to do so. This was my only other option. Now, I will take 4 hours for your limbs to work again. I can reverse the attack, but you have to listen to me first.” The girl laid there silently, thinking over her options. “Go on.” She said, defeated. “I need to speak to Lord Rufus’s daughters immediately. It’s of the upmost importance. “Well, today is your lucky day. You found them.” She said with a mocking laugh. I stared at these three girls that surrounded me. Were they really daughters of a lord? “I am Clarissa, eldest of Lord Rufus’s daughter. State your business quickly, or I will lose my temper.” She threatened. “I was ordered to take you with me on a mission. You can accept or decline, but you are coming either way, even if I have to carry you.” Clarissa clenched her jaw, angry to be ordered around. “And who sent you to retrieve us?” I looked her straight in the eye, ready to snap her thin little neck. “Someone by the name of Miles. You requested that I come save him, but he said to bring you and your two sisters along or I’d be sure to fail.”

“You’re lying. Miles is dead. He was taken byGilroyover a year ago. He’s surely dead by now.” I grabbed her hand and put it to my head. “You can use magic, I already know that. Check if you have to, but I don’t lie.” Clarissa stared and me with distrust, but she did as I said. She replayed the whole vision, from my intense fear to the point were Miles faded away. She blushed when she saw him kiss me, and her eyes grew at the heat of the flames. “Miles. So he’s alive. I thought he was dead for sure.”

“Do you understand why I need your help now? I can’t save him alone. Please help me.” I begged, kneeling down by her head. “As much as I don’t like you, Miles is someone important to my sisters and I. We’d do anything for him. Even risk our lives. He thought us how to live for others and its time we do what he taught us.” She said, looking at her sisters. They nodded in agreement from across the clouds.

After a long talk with their father, we all left out on our mission to save Miles. Her father had little to say on the matter, just “If it’s for the good of the land, I have no objections.” His I-don’t-give-a-shit-about-you attitude made me really mad. I wanted to feed him to the fire as soon as he said that. “Just have one survivor come back Tomapopeii. Someone will eventually have to succeed me.” I nearly lost it when he told them that as he waved us away. “What the hell is up with him? Is he screwed up in the head or something?” I shouted as we prepared to leave. Clarissa came and clasped my shoulder, looking at me sadly. “It’s ok. He’s always been like that. He never wanted daughters anyway, he wanted a son to take over. But since he had only daughters, he figures that he’ll just hand it over to one of us and marry off the other two.”

“That’s even more messed up! Isn’t a father suppose to love and care for his children? How can that man be a father? He doesn’t deserve to be called that, the conceited dumbass!” I cussed, by anger intensifying. “Like I said, it’s fine. We have more important things to worry about then Father. We have to concentrate on saving Miles.” Clarissa suddenly smiled. “By the way, how was it being kissed by Miles? Was it fun?” she asked mischievously, my jaw dropping in shock. I had forgotten that she had seen that happen when she read my mind. “What was that? She was kissed by Miles? Go Anna!” Tatie and Keara cheered behind me, grinning mischievously. “I-I-It was nothing! I didn’t feel anything at all!” I cried, my face turning bright red. “That’s not what your face says.” The said teasingly. Clarissa Leaned against her dragon, Mudbath, suddenly serious. “But you know, Miles is actually really good looking if you think about it.” She said seriously. I thought back to that strange boy in my dream. He was good-looking, almost abnormally so. His hair was a light golden blond and his eyes were so pale blue that they were almost white, like glaciers. It amazed me that someone could look that perfect and be a human. His lips were so soft too……no! Can’t get off subject! I shook the thought out of my head and got on Mira’s back. “Let’s go. We need to be in the North as soon as possible.” I said, becoming serious again.

It didn’t take long to get to the far north of the Human Regions. It was smaller then most of the other regions, about a full days flight to the border where it connected with the Elf Regions and the Fairy Regions. Tomapopeii was in the heart of the Human Regions, so we arrived by nightfall the next day. We wasted no time, taking no breaks. As soon as the fortress, a large, colorless, extremely forbidding place, was in sight, I heard a voice come in my head. “Anna, good job. I knew I could count on you! Now, there’s a back entrance. It’s unlocked. I made sure the servant girl left a key for you. I’ll do my part, I just need you to find me as soon as possible. We will have about 5 minutes after we go through the door. If we aren’t out of there by then, we’re screwed, understand? When, I pass out, I can’t help you. I’ll show you the way to my room via telepathy, but make a wrong turn and you’re dead.Gilroyand his men won’t hesitate to kill you or the others. Don’t be seen no matter what.” He warned me, making my fear grow. I listened to him, afraid to do otherwise. He didn’t lie about the back door and the key; they were both just sitting there, as if waiting for us. We walked down the corridor, daggers at the ready in case an army fell from the sky in front of us. Almost to Miles’ room, I heard footsteps from around the corner, like someone was running. I stopped the girls and waited behind the corner, dagger ready to strike. As soon as the footsteps ran past us, I grabbed the person by the neck and pinned them do the ground, raising my dagger to stab their neck. I stopped when I saw the person I was ready to kill. “Anna.” He whispered, surprised to see me. “Miles.” I said, just as surprised. Weren’t we supposed to be saving him? If he could get out all along, why didn’t he just leave? I looked down at him, wondering if I was dreaming. I touched his heart, feeling it beat. I definitely wasn’t dreaming. I set down my dagger slowly, not realizing it. “How-?” I began, but he cut me off. “I told you I’d do my part didn’t I?” I continued to look down at him, shocked to see him for real, not while I was sleeping. He was even better looking in real life. “Hey, Anna, could you get off me? You’re kinda crushing my stomach.” I got up quickly, straightening myself up as I did so. He sat up, rubbing his head. “Are ok Miles? Anna didn’t hurt you did you?” Clarissa asked him, helping him up. “Yeah I’m fine. My head’s a little sore, that’s all.” He told her reassuringly. He looked at us seriously, looking us over. He stopped on me and nodded, telling me what to do. “Let’s go.” I said, heading back the way we came. The others followed silently behind, making no sound and attempting to hide their aura from anyone who passed by. We ran into almost no one, surprising me because it wasn’t even 10 yet. “Everyone in this fortress is nocturnal. They sleep during the day and are active during night. It may only be nightfall to you, but to them it’s dawn. They normally don’t wake up until late morning. But we have to hurry, some of the servants wake up around dawn.” He said, as if reading my mind. We reached the back door shortly after. Miles turned to us. “As soon as we step out this door, I will pass out. After I pass out, I can’t help you. You’ll have about five minutes to get out of here before they come after you. Do whatever it takes to escape. If they are within a shooting range, don’t hesitate to kill them. They can hit you as soon as they are that close. It’s like child’s play for them.” He warned us. We all nodded and stepped out the door. Miles’ eyes widened and he clenched hit side, screaming in pain. Before I could ask what was wrong, he collapsed onto the snow, fidgeting in his sleep. I threw him on my back, his weight crushing me. Lights flicked on in the fortress and I heard a gruff shout, shaking the ground as the yell hit my ears. I whistled, calling Mira, and she appeared a second later, with the other three dragons in a tow. We jumped on our dragons, Miles laying on Mira while I gave her commands. She obeyed willingly, and we flew off at top speed. It didn’t take long for the pursuers to catch up to us. I sensed them before anyone else did. “Here they come!” I shouted to the others. They all readied their weapons, prepared to fight. I strapped my knuckle blades to my hand and made sure my weapons were ready. I closed my eyes and Listened to everything around me. Thank god for my elfish blood, it made my senses ten times better than human senses. There were eight enemies, two per side. Below, above, and both sides of us were covered. I felt a presence next to me and turned, opening my eyes. I was face to face with a corpse, its skin black from rot and decay. I swiftly pulled out a dagger that I had in my boot and slit its throat, the corpse letting out a high pitch scream. Another one flew up from below me; I punched its stomach over and over, the blades easily connecting. I kicked it over the side of Mira, it still clawing and screaming. I watched it fall triumphantly, feeling great despite the fact that I had just killed someone. In my triumph, I had failed to notice another person had appeared behind me. He swiftly grabbed me from behind, pinning me down. I stared up at my attacker, shocked to see his face. He had the same face as Miles, but where Miles had bright blue eyes and blond hair, this boy had dark violet eyes and black hair. He smiled grimly at my surprise, stroking my face. “My, my, what a pretty girl. I could find some use for you.” He said as he traced my jaw line with his cold hand. His other held my right wrist above my head. Oh no. Why am I so stupid? I thought to myself, knowing exactly what he had in mind. His hand moved from my jaw to my leg, tracing the skin, going higher and higher. “Yes, I’ll have some fun with you. Such soft skin.” He said, his hand getting higher up my leg with each word. I smirked at him, laughing at him. As if I’ll let you win so easily. “At least let me help you before you undress me right in the middle of this battle.” I used my other hand and pulled his face forward, wrapping my arms loosely around his neck. He tensed up, and then loosened, his hands on either side of me. My hand now free, I used one hand to reach and grabbed his hand as he came down lower, bringing it to my leg, moving it up my thigh and the other to undo the first two buttons on my shirt, my bra starting to show. He nibbled my bottom lip, asking for entrance, which I agreed to. He completely let his guard down in his fight for dominance, giving me the chance to grab the dagger strapped to the top of my thigh and flip him over on his back. I put my arm on his neck, my other hand stroking his cheek with the dagger, flat side rubbing his cheek. “Men like you are all the same, fazed when a girl kisses you. That’s what makes it easy to defeat you. You’re a womanizing pervert and I should kill you right now. But I think I’ll send back a message toGilroy. Tell him that if he wants us, he’ll have to come and get us.” I said. I smiled at him, stroking his cheek with my hand. I leaned down and kissed him again, his struggling stopping. “So long!” I said cheerfully as I kicked him over the edge of Mira, waving and smiling goodbye. He glared at me with eyes full of revenge and lust, wanting to hurt me and own me all at once. He fell through the cloud bank, and with that his hateful stare disappeared. Sensing the enemy retreat, I figured that the boy was the leader. “That solves that.” I said to myself. The battle had lasted a little over four minutes. “Is that how you always handle those kinds of situations?” someone behind me asked. I turned around quickly, ready to strike. I realized it was Miles, wide awake and sitting cross legged on Mira. “Oh, you’re awake.” I said calmly, straightening my skirt that was up to the top of my thigh, almost to my hips and buttoned my shirt. My hair was also messy and my skin had finger prints showing up from his hand pressure. “Do you always fight like that?” he asked, noting my appearance. I sat down next to him. “Ah, you saw that. How much did you see?” I asked laughing embarrassingly. He looked at me, serious but embarrassed. “Well, I woke up and saw you put your hand around his neck and kissed him. Then I saw you unbutton you shirt and he felt there with one hand while you grabbed his other and made him hike up your skirt. Then you started making out and it escalated and you suddenly grabbed something on you leg and attacked him.” He said without emotion, like he watched people make out everyday. “I have to say though, that was a good way to get the enemy to weaken.” He said. I stopped buttoning my shirt, surprised at his words. Normally, people would freak out if they saw that, but he just complimented me on how I was making out with some guy. I leaned over, bringing my face close to his. He backed away, his face turning red. “I could always use you as a practice dummy if you enjoyed that method so much.” I whispered in his ear, nibbling it ever so slightly. I felt him tense up, a jolt running through his whole body. I brought my face back, smiling at him. “Just kidding.” I said with a laugh. I looked at his face realizing how red and sad it was. “Were you hoping for me to practice on you or something?” I asked, studying his face. He tensed up again. “N-No!” He shouted. I giggled at his embarrassed expression. He sat there clenching his fist, probably trying to calm down. “Don’t worry, I won’t use you to practice seducing people.” He stared at me, surprised to here the words from my mouth. “Why do you use people like that? I mean, you could have killed that guy, but you let him pin you like that and just went along with it.” He asked me, perplexed. I smiled sadly at him. “You didn’t see the whole thing then. He had pinned me and was going to take me back to use as a prostitute. He said so himself. I’ve fought guys like him before, strong and stupid with nothing on their mind but sex. The only way to beat people like that is through seduction. If you do it correctly, you can get their guard down enough to overpower them like I did. It’s not like I did it because I wanted to, but because I had to. I would have been in a worse position if I hadn’t let him do that. I had to gain control again or I would probably be pinned to a bed with some guy raping me. You see what I mean?” I said, explaining the situation to Miles. He nodding grimly, understanding my thinking. “You’ve been in that situation before, haven’t you?” he asked, looking at me sadly. My breath caught in my throat, amazed at how beautiful he was. I nodded, sad to admit it. “Right after I was left alone, I was surrounded by some robbers in the woods. I fought them off but the still got me down. They were going to sell me into slavery, but they decided to keep me for their own purposes. After about a week of it, I decided what I had to do and made advances to them. After the one I had been with that night fell asleep, I took his knife and slit his throat. I had gotten him on the bed before he could remove his weapons. That was all part of the plan. Then I made my way to the other tents, doing whatever it took to get the other thieves to put their guard down. It was easy to break some of them, but some were more difficult and I had to do some things I wish I didn’t. But by morning, they were all dead and I had taken their clothes in replacement for my chains and escaped. I’ve used that method a lot when I have to. But never willingly.” I told him, my eyes downcast. “Are you serious? That must have been tough. I didn’t think someone could do that so calmly.” He said, amazed and shocked at the truth. It wasn’t that hard. I’m use to it. It’s like second nature to me.” I said with a laugh. Miles grabbed my hand, making me stop laughing. “No one should be use to that.” He said, his eyes staring into mine. My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat. He leaned his face forward, his lips getting closer, closer, closer, and I closed my eyes, waiting for them to reach mine. “Anna, are you ok?” Tatie called to me, breaking the trance. I shoved Miles away and turned to Tatie. “Yeah I’m fine! What about everyone else?” I asked, ignoring Miles as much as possible. “No one died or was injured. How about you? Is Miles safe?” She shouted back. I looked at my skin, which was battered and bruised. “I’m a little bruised, but I’m fine. Miles is safe and sound.”

“Where to now?” I looked at the stars above me, deciding our destination instantly. “Head south. We’re going to the Elf Regions.” I told her. She nodded and flew off to tell the others. “Why the elf regions?” Miles asked me curiously.

“I have a promise to keep. It’s about time I saw him.” I said, thinking back to how life was before that day.

The Elf Regions were beautiful this time of year. It was fall there, the leaves turning a honey brown. The people looked up, bowing as I flew by. I waved back, smiling happily at them. “He’s up in the house Miss Anna!” One of them, Randy, yelled to me. “Thank you Randy!” I yelled down to him, smiling. He waved as I flew to the great lake, the castle bordering it. Tatie, Clarissa, Keara, and Miles stared at it in amazement. We landed in the great courtyard, dismounting and rubbing our backs after a long time sitting. “Seeker, seeker, come and find me!” I shouted, letting my Uncle and Cousins know it was me. A person came and hugged me from behind, jumping on my back. “Aiwa!” she shouted, laughing happily. “Hello Azalea.” I said, lifting her from my back into my arms. “My, you’ve grown. You look just like your mama.” I said, pinching her nose playfully. She smiled and skipped around the garden, hugging Mira’s leg. “Everyone, Aiwa’s here!” she shouted joyously. A flood of people, servants, ladies, and guards, came to greet me. “Regina, please make my comrades feel welcome. I would like to get cleaned up before I meet uncle.” I told the Head Servant, Reginacalmly. The other three looked at me in shock. I turned back to them, my calmness scary all in it’s self. “This is my Uncle’s house.” I told them. “Uncle Damascus Reventi, 63rd Emperor of the Elfish Territories. He’s is my late mother’s brother and now my legal guardian. Make yourself at home.Regina will show you to your rooms.” I told them, walking off and leaving them withRegina. The rest of the people followed me, telling me how great it was that I had returned and kissing up to me. I dismissed them with a wave of my hand, sending them away. I walked into my room, untouched after 3 months. I had run off after that day, leaving behind everything that I couldn’t carry. My clothes now, ripped and bloodstained, would anger my Uncle and he’d make me stay in this castle, not letting me leave the premises until my death. I got into the bath and scrubbed the mud and blood from my body. I washed out my tangled hair and put healing oils on my wounds, making them disappear instantly. I came out and brought the ivory come through my hair, brushing out the tangles. I put on a dress, emerald green silk with a high neckline and edged in elegant lace. I put back on the necklace Miles gave me and put my hair up on my head with an emerald comb. I looked in the mirror, not recognizing the girl in front of me. She was beautiful and elegant. I couldn’t see me in her at all. I left the room and walked down to the conference room, where uncle stood talking to some strange people. He was listening seriously. It took me a moment to realize that the people were Tatie, Clarissa, Keara, and Miles. Clarissa looked regal in her Red dress similar to mine, while Tatie and Keara looked like ideal princess in matching pale pink dresses and bows in their hair. Miles looked like a fairy tale prince, a loose white shirt, plain black pants, and black leather boots on his feet. His hair wasn’t a dark golden blond at all, but a pale gold color. His face had more color to it then when he first appeared to me in my dream. It wasn’t as deadly pale; it had more life to it. “Ah, here comes my niece. It seems you had some adventure while you were away.” He said, smiling. I curtsied for my uncle, being as calm as I could manage. “It is nice to see you again Uncle. How have you been?” I asked politely. He smiled at me.

“I have been well. We have been hoping for you to come back home for some time now.Willowhas missed you terrible.” As if on cue,Willowcame running through the door. I saw my identical cousin standing there, panting in her beautiful blue dress, looking at me intensely. “Aiwa!” she shouted, running and hugging me. I smiled kindly and rubbed her head as she cried into me. “HelloWillow. It’s been a while.” I told her gently. She sobbed, making me feel awful for leaving. “Why did you leave? You didn’t even say goodbye!” she shouted, punching me. I smiled gently, still stroking her head. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just didn’t want you to hurt.Willow,” I said, lifting her chin up. “How is he?” I asked, scared about her answer. She looked at me grimly. “He hasn’t been doing so well since you left. He can’t even stand up anymore. The fevers just get worse, along with the dreams. His wounds aren’t healing either. I think you should see him as soon as possible.” I nodded, concerned. I looked back. “If I may, I would like to go see him.” My uncle smiled and waved his had, telling me it was ok. I walked off withWillow, the others watching us. “You have to tell me what happened after you left us.” She said excitedly, grabbing onto my arm. “I will. But first I have to see him. I feel responsible.” I said as she led me to the room. It was big and flooded with sunlight, and he was sitting in the bed, deathly pale and sweating. “His fever went down shortly after you arrived. I’ll leave you two alone.” She whispered, closing the door behind me. He turned around at the sound of the door closing, staring at me with sad violet eyes. The widened and seemed to dance when he saw it was me. “Anna?” he said, afraid that I wasn’t really there. “Hey Jacob.” I said, sitting next to him on the bed. He leaned over hand hugged me. “Anna! It is you! I thought I was seeing things again. Anna, I missed you were did you go?” he asked holding my hands. I told him the whole story, leaving out the part about the thieves, Miles kissing me, and the guy that had pinned me during the fight. His eyes widened at my words, and I smiled when he laughed, the sound a blessing in this place. “Wow, my big sis is so amazing!” I ruffled his messy brown hair, laughing. “I’m not that amazing.” I said, embarrassed. It was hard to believe he was 15, just two years younger then me. He still seemed like a little kid, seeing everything in an innocent, positive perspective. Even bedridden and seriously sick, he was still smiling and laughing. He was so much like mom...it kinda hurt to think about it. “Hey Jacob, let me see your back.” I said. He nodded, peeling off his shirt so I could see his scar. It was a huge burn that sat in the middle of his back. I looked worst, more horrifying now. Last time I saw it, it had been larger, but a lighter shade, skin still trying to be rebuilt there. Now, it was smaller, but it looked angry and purple. I touched it gently, tracing my fingers over it. I felt tears form in my eyes, realizing it was all my fault. I had started the fire, I had made it escalate, and I had made the fire attack my brother like that. If only I had known what I was doing…I thought to myself sorrowfully. The tears streamed down my checks, and I felt someone’s hands touch my face. I looked up and saw it was Jacob, wiping away my tears, staring at them in surprise. “Anna…” he said hugging me. I started sobbing, hugging him tightly. He sat there holding me and stroking my hair while I sobbed into him. “I’m sorry Jacob. It’s all my fault. I’m sorry.” I said, my words cut off by my sobs. Jacob just continued to sit there, stroking my hair. “It wasn’t your fault. It was an accident. Mom and Dad wouldn’t blame you for this. I’m sure they’re up in heaven watching over us right now, telling us to do our best.” I sobbed harder at his kind words, wanting to pull out my hair or punch something. Instead I just hugged my brother tighter. “I’m ok Anna. Honest, I’m fine. I’m still alive aren’t I? Now tell me what else is going on. Tell me about these people you brought with you. Who are they? What are they like?” I let him go, wiping my tears away and sniffling. I told him about Miles first. There was so much to say about him. How honest he was, his amazing magic ability, how he reminded me of Jacob with his calming nature, and how I felt like there was something he was keeping from us. Then I told him about Loyal and childish Tatie and Keara, and how Mature and warrior-like Clarissa was. He seemed to be really interested in them, especially Clarissa. After I described her to him, her indifferent and serious nature, her natural leadership skills, her ability to never be caught off guard, he wanted to know more about her. I laughed inwardly, realizing that my brother may have a thing Clarissa. I wonder how he’d react when they met.Willowcame in shortly after I finished telling him about them, telling me it was time for dinner. She looked at me as we walked down the castle corridor to the dining hall. “You’re amazing Anna. As soon as he sees you, he starts looking like he was never close to death at all. I think you’re the best medicine for him. I never got results like that with my best tonics and potions. And I’m one of the best medics in the land.” I smiled at her, glad to be of use. “Do you think he’ll be ok?” I asked, worried about him.

“At the rate he’s going, he’ll be able to get out of that stuffy room tomorrow. Of course, I’ll keep watching him.” She said, laughing. I smiled, happy to hear such good news. We got to the door and I reached to grab the handle, but the door flew open and hit me in the face. I fell on the floor, rubbing my face. “My apologies Lady Willow. I didn’t know you were on the other side of the door.” A voice said to me. My sight came back to me and I saw a boy around our age looking up at me, offering his hand. His eyes widened when he realized I wasn’t my cousin. He was very handsome, with typical elfish traits; shiny black hair, pale skin, and big silver eyes. I took his hand, letting him help me up, still a little dizzy from the door smashing my skull in. “Terribly sorry miss. You look just like Lady Willow. I’m afraid I mistook you for her. My apologies.” He said, bowing to me. My cousin came around, putting her arms around my shoulders, steadying me. “That will be enough apologizing Fredric. Miss Anna is alright.” She told him, examining the bump on my head. Fredric’s eyes grew even bigger at the mention of my name. “Miss Anna? Do you mean Lady Arisa’s daughter? This is her?” he asked, examining me closely. I took my hand off my head, looking at the boy in front of me. He knows who my mother is. “Yes. Miss Anna is Lady Arisa’s daughter and she is also Lord Jacob’s sister and the emperor’s niece.”Willowexplained to him. He bowed to me again, his face bright red. “I’m terribly sorry Miss Anna! It was not my intention to hit you with the door.” He said quickly. “It’s alright. I know you didn’t mean it.” I laughed, making him stand straight. He smiled, revealing straight white teeth. “If you would excuse me, I have to go deliver something for the emperor. Take care Lady Willow. It was nice meeting you Miss Anna, although I wish it was under different circumstances. Farewell!” he said, running off with a scroll in his hand. “Well, that was strange.” I said, watching him leave.Willowlaughed at my puzzled expression. “Yes, but Fredric is a strange one himself.” She said, still laughing. I smiled and we walked into the dining hall. The whole royal family was here now, with our three guests. My Uncle had 7 children. My aunt had died some years ago from childbirth. The order went Damon, Amaria,Willow, Jude,Marina, Nelson, and Azalea. Uncle had recently taken in Jacob and me, but I had run away shortly after he had taken us in. This was the first time I’d been back since then. Now, with Miles, Tatie, Clarissa, and Keara here, all the seats but one had been taken. The only person missing was Jacob. I sat at the left hand side of my Uncle with Miles next to me. Since I was the deceased Empress’s daughter, I sat on the now full Emperor’s left side. It made me feel sad to know I’d taken Mom’s place in this land. Since she and Uncle had been twins, instead of fighting over the throne, they shared ownership. But when my father, a diplomat for the Wizard Regions, came to an interracial ball the Empire was hosting in the name of international peace, she had fallen in love with him. The ball had last a week, and they got to know more about each other and liked each other more. The continued to keep contact even after the ball and my father eventually asked her to marry him. But my dad wasn’t of royal blood, and the council refused her request. So mom decided to run away with him instead. She left her place on the throne and dad gave up his position of diplomat for the Wizard Region, both of them running away to the human regions and starting a family. My Uncle had found out about their marriage shortly after and decided to change the law, making their marriage legal. So in the end, mom was still considered the other half of the empire, going back and forth between the lands, taking Jacob and myself with her. That continued until my parent’s death at our home in the Human Regions. Now, seeing their chairs filled it made me happy yet sad. I was happy because now we had new people in our family. But I was sad because now it seemed like it was official that Mom and Dad were gone. They weren’t going to come through the door, laughing and smiling brightly, mom’s stomach round and full of life while dad beamed down at her, happy to be together. I still thought that as long as their seats were empty, they would come and join us. I’m sure everyone felt the same. I looked over the table, stopping to stare at my new friends. Clarissa was getting into a conversation with Jude about battle strategies, with Tatie and Keara laughed and talked with Marina and Nelson. Miles sat in his seat, moving his food around his plate, a sad look on his face. “Are you ok Miles?” I asked, worried about him. He looked up, nearly knocking over his plate in the process. “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just a little sore.” He said, smiling softly at me. I coaxed my head, examining him closely. “You’re sore? Where at? I could look at it and haveWillowmake something to help.”

“N-No, that’s ok. I’m fine. You don’t have to do anything.” He said nervously.

“Ok.” I said, going back to eating my food. I looked back at Miles and saw the vacant expression on his face, holding his side gently.

I walked to Miles room later that night, the image of him at dinner still stuck in my head. I came to his door and knocked gently, not wanting to alert the house of my presence. Miles opened the door a second later, his eyes widening at the sight of me at his door. “May I come in?” I asked him. Still at loss for words, he nodded, opening the door all the way. I
sat down on his bed. I must have looked strange, it being the middle of the night and me in my nightgown, but it didn’t seem to bother him at all. “What’s going on?” he asked me, sitting down next to me. “I can’t sleep.” I told him, looking up at him sadly. “Oh. So you came down here?” he asked trying to figure out what that had to do with me in his room, sitting on his bed in the middle of the night. “I can’t stop thinking about what you said at dinner, about being sore. You said it was nothing, but your face didn’t really agree with you. Are you really ok?” I asked him, concerned. He was shocked, I could tell that much. I think his thoughts were something along the lines of she-can’t-sleep-because-of-me-I’m-such-a-jerk. “I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me. Just go get some sleep.” He said gently. “You’re lying to me again.” I told him, reading him like a book. His face confirmed my words. “Why won’t you tell me what’s wrong? It’s not like I’m gonna go psycho and kill people to get a cure.” I said sadly.

“I’m fine.” He told me. He was obviously not gonna tell me willingly. I’d just have to find out for myself. “Miles.” I said softly, sadly. I wrapped my hands around his neck and kissed him, gently, sweetly. I felt a jolt go through him and he loosened up after it passed through his body. He put his hands on my waist, bringing me closer to him. He’s loosened up. Time to kick it up a notch. I sat on his lap, intensifying the kiss. I ran my hands through his hair, feeling its softness on my skin. He kept his hold on my waist, pulling me closer to him, so I was pressed against his chest. It still wasn’t enough to get his guard completely down though. He pushed me down onto the bed, so I was underneath him, kissing him more passionately now. He let out a soft moan, his hands in my hair. I nibbled his lip, asking for permission. He agreed, letting me in. We fought for dominance, and finally he won. He explored my mouth, and I wondering when he’d break. I moaned softly as he rubbed my arms. I took his hands and put them on my thigh, making him trace my legs. He rubbed my inner thigh and I let out a soft moan, surprising myself. Why was I enjoying this? I was just trying to find out what he was keeping from me. I started to unbutton his nightshirt while he untied the ribbon on my nightgown. I stopped halfway through the buttons, feeling his warm chest. It was surprisingly hard for a person that has been locked up for almost a year. He moaned again, fumbling with the second ribbon on my nightgown. My breastbone was visible now, and he was trying to untie my second ribbon, the one that was part of the bodice. I finished unbuttoning his shirt and stopped cold as soon as I unbuttoned the last button. The whole lower half of his stomach was black, a poisonous color that let of a forbidding aura. It was like staring death in the eyes. I stopped kissing him and panted, pointing at his stomach. “I figured it out.” I said, nodding to his chest. He looked down and his eyes widened, realizing why I had kissed him. “What the? Dammit Anna!” he said, trying to button up is shirt again. I pinned him down, opening up his shirt and examining his wound. There was no sign of the skin being cut, so I knew it was internal. It looked like some form of poison had been injected in his body. I touched it, surprised about how hot it was. I looked back at Miles, understanding why he had been like that at dinner. “Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked him, shaking with anger and sadness. “I didn’t want you to worry. I knew if I told you, you’d react this way.” He said, looked up at me sadly. “How long has that been there?” I asked him.

“Since we leftGilroy’s Fortress. The shield activated a chemical in my body that he’d injected into me when he made the shield. When I left the fortress, the chemical turned to poison and I passed out while it mixed with my body. It’s meant to spread slowly and eventually kill me. Once it reaches my heart, I’ll be dead. There’s no cure for it, so it’ll happen eventually.” He told me. I cried, my tears hitting the wound. “You’re gonna die?” I asked, afraid to loose someone else. He nodded, smiling sadly. “I’m not gonna accept that.” I told him, serious from my sadness and anger. I closed my eyes and a blue fire appeared on my hands, covering them like gloves. I ran them over Miles’ stomach, making him arch up in pain. “Anna, stop. That hurts!” he cried. I ignored him and pushed harder, my hands fading into his stomach. When they came out again, I had the black liquid in my hands. The fire, now a pale purple, inflated and the liquid disappeared into the air, disintegrating into nothing. Miles stared at me in amazement, a look of awe on his face. “How-?” he asked, awestruck. That was the last thing I heard before I passed out.

I woke up with sunlight streaming through the window. So warm, I thought sleepily. I curled up in the bed, enjoying the warmth. My eyes flew open when I realized there was a hand around my waist, holding me close. I sat up, waking up Miles, who had been sleeping next to me. “What’s up?” he asked sleepily. He was rubbing his eye with one and while the other rested on my leg. “Why am I in your bed?” I asked him, realizing this wasn’t in my room. “Go back to sleep. Well talk later.” He said, falling back to sleep. I hit him with a pillow, waking him up instantly. He jumped up, ready to fight, and then realized it was me. “Oh, you’re up.” He said. Rubbing his eyes again, now awake. “Don’t ‘you’re up’ me. Why am I in your bed?” I demanded. He smiled sleepily.

“Oh that. Well, you came into my room last night wanting to find out what was wrong with me. I wouldn’t tell you and you kinda...um…used that one thing you do to overpower guys that are stronger than you. You eventually found out that I had some poison in my stomach and you extracted it and disintegrated it. Then you passed out and I couldn’t take you too your room without looking like a pervert so I just sat there while you were asleep, but I guess I fell asleep too, because that was all I remember.” He explained quickly. Oh crap. I used that method. “How far did we, you know….” I asked, my face burning.
“What do you…oh! Uh, lets see, you had pinned me down and we were making out and you unbuttoned my shirt and found out.” He said, smiling sheepishly. My face turned beet red as I remembered what had happened last night. “Oh crap! I’m sorry.” I said, embarrassed and mortified. “Hey now, your making me feel like wyou jumped me. It’s ok. It’s not like it was a punishment or something.” He said, laughing. My face heated up even more at that, and I just wanted to run and hide. I looked down at my nightgown. The first ribbon was untied, showing my breast bone and the top of my chest. It was also wrinkled and messy to the extreme. The bed, which was still made, was messed up and you could see where we had laid down. Suddenly, the feelings of the night came back at me. I had been impatient to find out what was going on, which didn’t surprise me, but I had also been excited and felt a wave of bliss when I was using that method against him. I had actually enjoyed kissing him. The thought had me freaking out. “I’m really sorry.” I told him, embarrassed to the max. “I-it’s ok. I kinda went along with it, so I’m to blame too. Besides it’s not like we did it or anything.” He said, turning just as red as me. We sat there on his bed in awkward silence, not speak. “I guess I should go get to my room before they find out I’m not there.” I said, heading for the door. He grabbed my wrist, stopping me. “Hey, thanks for coming to me last night. If you hadn’t come, I’d still be about to die.” He said, smiling at me gently. I nodded, returning his smile. He let go of my wrist and I walked back to my room in a daze.

Breakfast was awkward for me. Everyone was talking and laughing, shouts of “Pass the food” and “Pass the drinks” could be heard all across the table. Miles and I both just sat and stared at our plates, the food on our plates looking fake.Willowwas the only one missing.Reginahad told me she was with Jacob this morning and would be late, but it was taking her a long time. I saw them come in before everyone else.Willowcame through the door helping Jacob walk to the table. I jumped out of my seat, shocked to see my brother downstairs. “Hi Anna.” He said, smiling brightly at me.

“Jacob.” I said. I ran around the tabled and hugged him, knocking that air out of him. “Hey, come on now, I just got over being bedridden and now you’re gonna send me back up there with broken ribs.” He said jokingly. I looked over atWillow, who smiled at me. “When?” I asked, surprised. “He was standing when I came in his room this morning. He said he wanted to each breakfast with you.” I smiled, tears forming. “Jacob you little rascal you!” I said happily, giving him a noogie. He laughed, trying to break away. He looked up, realizing that we weren’t alone. He bowed the uncle politely. “Good morning Uncle.” He said respectfully. My Uncle nodded to him. “Good Morning Jacob. I see you are feeling better.” Jacob nodded enthusiastically, smiling. “Yes, much better. Thank you for your concern.” I looked at Miles, Clarissa, Tatie, and Keara’s confused expressions. I smiled at them. “Miles, Tatie, Clarissa, Keara, Let me introduce my brother Jacob Larzen.” I told them. Jacob nodded, smirking at their shocked faces. “Nice to meetcha. I hope my sister hasn’t given you any trouble.” He said, nudging me. Everyone laughed at this, including me. “Hey now, I’m not that difficult.” I said, joining in on the joking. I called my three friends forward, wanting Jacob to meet them. “Jacob, this is Miles, Tatie, Keara, and Clarissa.” I said, each of them shaking his hands. He stared at Clarissa in amazement, as if I had just told him that she was really a three headed toad in disguise. “It’s nice to meet you Jacob.” She said politely, curtsying for him. Jacob bowed, not taking his eyes off her. I smiled and whispered toWillow. “I think its love at first sight.” I said, watching my brother stare and gape at Clarissa speechlessly while she talked to him. I don’t think she even noticed him gaping at her.Willowgiggled at my comment. “So the person you were talking about was your brother?” he asked me, surprised. I turned and looked at Miles. “Yep. He’s been really sick ever since that day. It wasn’t so much his injuries, more of the shock of it all that made him so sick. Even so, he’s always smiling, even in the worst situations. You wouldn’t believe it by looking at him right now, but less then a week ago, he was one step away from dying. But he’s always more concerned about others than himself, which kinda makes me worry about him. He’s just like Mom, always positive in the worst situations. Dad was constantly freaking out cause she’d always hurt herself and she wouldn’t tell him about, she’d just laugh and say she was alright. I never saw her cry or lose her smile, not once. It’s kind of amazing if you think about it. Jacob’s just like her in that same way, clumsy and positive. He sees the word in an innocent, positive perspective whereas I, like my dad, see the word in a dark perspective, finding little good in people in general and I’m always worried about people close to me. I guess both him and I got something from both our parents. I look just like Mom and act like dad, and Jacob looks just like Dad and has Mom’s attitude.” I said with a laugh, rubbing my head. I looked at my brother. He seemed to be having a good time being with people again. He was laughing and smiling and having fun for the first time since we had gotten here. He talked happily with Tatie, Clarissa, and Keara, smiling widely and leaning on a crutchWillowhad brought for him. I smiled, happy to see my brother well again. He hobbled over to me, his eyes dancing. “Hey Anna?” He asked, smiling broadly.

“Yes?”

“Next time you go on a mission, can I come too?” he asked, giving me puppy dog eyes. I patted his head and smirked. “Sure, but on one condition; you have to be 100% better, understand? If you even have a sniffle I won’t let you come.” I told him, doubting I would have any more missions from now on. I turned back to Miles, and seeing his expression, I stopped dead in my tracks. “What’s wrong?” I asked him. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the room. He dragged me down the corridor, up the stair, and into the tower. He slammed me against the wall, his hands on either side of my head. “W-w-what is it?” I asked, afraid of his sudden change of attitude. He put his head on my chest, and it took me a second to realize he was crying. I stood, there in shock while he cried into me. My shock wore off quickly though, and I held him gently, rubbing his back like my mom use to do when I was upset. “What is it?” I asked him gently. He looked up at me, his face inches from mine, red from crying. Tears were streaming down his face, and he was looking at me in surprise. I smiled gently and wiped away a tear on his cheek, showing it to him. “Why are you crying?” I asked, my voice unrecognizable to me. Just as suddenly as he had dragged me up here, he hugged me, shaking. “M-Miles, what are you-?” I asked, surprised. My words were stopped by his mouth, him suddenly kissing me. I felt myself turn to mush at the sweetness of it. No! I thought, pushing him away. He stood in front of me, wide eyed, shocked at his bluntness. “I-I’m sorry. I got carried away.” I realized I was panting, my hands still on his shoulders. “I-it’s fine. Now, can you tell me what’s wrong?” I asked him, concerned about what could make him like this. “I had a vision. Before I dragged you out, it came to me. It was awful. Anna, I know whatGilroy’s going to do next. He’s making preparations for war. He wants you, and he’ll do anything to take you, even start a war.” He said, shaking. “Me? Why does he want me?” I squeaked, afraid now. Then my stupidity hit me. I had told him to get me! Stupid, stupid, stupid! I beat myself up in my head. “He wants you for the same reason I had asked for your help. Because you’re different from everyone else. You have the Elves ability to heal and you have the Wizards ability to use magic. To add onto that, you have this.” He said, pointing at the necklace he had given me. “What’s wrong with this?” I asked, scared.

“I sealed some of my powers into that. About 40% to be exact. You can use it to amplify you powers to 60 times its maximum. Your ability level is already more powerful then most wizards your age, probably exceeding some masters. You just need to learn to control your powers. If you learned that, you could suppress me in no time at all.”

“Wait, but I don’t even want my powers! They killed my parents! Why would I want them?” I asked, shaking uncontrollable. “Anna, it’s ok. You’ll be-” I pushed him away from me.

“Don’t. Don’t touch me, don’t tell me that it will be ok, and don’t talk to me like you understand!” I shouted at him, running off. My past came rushing back to me. “It’s ok Anna, your powers will develop soon enough.” “You’re just a late bloomer.” “Anna, come help mama in the kitchen!” “I made fire! Mama, did you see?” I ran through my old house in my mind, the fire I had made in my hands not going out. I caught a curtain on fire. “Anna, go get Jacob! We’ll take care of this!” they shouted the flames grew. I nodded and ran for my brother, who was sleeping in his room. I woke him up and he came running instantly. By that time the fire had doubled in size, engulfing the whole living room. “Mama, Dad? Where are you?” I called, waiting for their answer. As soon as I came in the room, I saw them, dead on the floor, their skin peeling in the heat. Jacob saw them from behind me and tried to drag me away. “Come on Anna. There’s nothing we can do.” I screamed in anguish and sorrow, making the flames blow up. The came at me, and I stood there, waiting for my death. “Anna!” Jacob, tackled me down, flinching as the flames whipped his back. He fell to the ground, screaming in pain. His shirt was on fire, burning his back. “Jacob!” I screamed, watching him curl up in pain. I swiftly broke the closest thing to me, a vase, and took a shard and cut the back of his shirt, ripping it off, burning my hands in the process. I picked him up and threw in on my back, carrying him outside as the house started caving in. We just barely made it out alive. I called Mira, who was by the lake and told her to get us to Uncles’ house as fast as she could. “She’s dangerous” they said. “We should lock her up” “she killed the Empress” “Her powers are out of control” “Lock her away and seal her powers” that was all they said when I arrived. It was like that for weeks. Jacob’s wounds weren’t fatal, but the shock of it all made him sick. The castle was suffocating me and one night, I just left. I left a note with two words; I’m Sorry, written on it. Now my powers were being talked about again, and I didn’t want to use this power that had killed my parents. I wanted to get rid of it for good, never use it. Now Miles wanted me to use it. Never. Never! I kept running, my sight clouded over by tears and the image of my parents’ corpses, burning with our home. I was outside when I felt someone grab me. I turned around and saw Miles, panting holding my wrist. “Anna…..stop running dammit!” he said gruffly, breathing heavily. “Let go of me!” I shouted, trying to break free. “No! I won’t let go! And don’t say I don’t understand, because I do, I understand perfectly how you feel! You don’t want anything to do with your powers, I understand that! I don’t want my powers either, but I learned to use them so I don’t hurt someone by accident with them. Stop being so god damn selfish and listen to what I’m say!” he yelled, stunning me into silence. “Why would you not want your powers? They help people! What’s wrong with that? Fire may be destructive, but if also makes new life! Fire can also be used to heal if you use it that way! You healed me with it last night.” He said, shaking me. I kept crying, his words stabbing me like a knife. “I’m not like you! I don’t have amazing powers that can be helpful and useful. I can’t send visions, I can’t see the future, I can’t be one step ahead of my enemies with it! How can you say you don’t want you powers?” I demanded, yelling at the top of my lungs. “I don’t want them because the person I inherited them from is a horrible person. He has powers like mine and he uses them for horrible things. He sees my power and wants me to be like him. Would you want power like this if that was expected of you?” He demanded. I was shocked into silence at his honesty, not able to move. “Who is your father or mother if they are so horrible?” I asked, suddenly afraid of him. “That boy you fought when we were escaping from Gilroy’s fortress, the one you used that method against, he’s my brother.” He admitted, looking me in the eyes. “You’re parents work for Gilroyand Helena?” I said, bewilder. “No. My parents areGilroy and Helena.” He told me, looking down at the ground. I stopped moving, frozen in place by his words. His parents…areGilroy andHelena, the most murderous and evil people known in the land? I lifted up his face, making him look at me. He was shaking, tears forming in his eyes. It all made sense now, how easy it had been to get him out,Gilroy’s need of him, his incredible powers. It was all because he wasGilroy’s son! “Please just don’t look at me like I’m my father. I’ve been trying to get away from him my whole life.” He said, crying now. I did something that shocked even me next; I grabbed him and hugged him tightly. It wasn’t like before, when it was a motherish way. Some unknown feeling rushed into me and made me act. “I won’t think of you as your father. Just don’t think of me as a monster.” I whispered, crying with him. I don’t know how long we stood there, comforting and hugging each other. All I know is nothing was going to be normal again, at least not for a while.Gilroy was preparing for war, and our time was almost up.

I told everyone whatGilroywas planning as soon as I could. They all rushed intoBattlepreparations with me, prepared for an all out war. “I will go as a diplomat to the other Regions, asking them for allegiance in our battle.” I said, seriously. I was nervous and felt like I was going to collapse from stress. Miles grabbed my hand under the table and squeezed it, comforting me silently. He smiled at me reassuringly, telling me it was ok. I nodded, happy to have someone understand. As we prepared to leave, I heard someone call out to me. I turned, surprised to see Jacob panting, leaning against the wall and looking at me sadly. “Anna, you promised.” He huffed. I sighed, sad to tell him he couldn’t come. He still had the horrible scar on his back. As long as it was like that, he couldn’t come with us. “Sorry Jacob, but if your burn is still as bad as yesterday morning…” I began. Jacob ran over to me, taking my hands in his. “That’s just the thing. My back is all better!” he said happily. My eyes widened, understanding what he was saying. “You meanWillow’s medicine worked?” I asked, amazed. He nodded. I turned him around, peeling off his shirt. The girls turned red and looked away quickly. He was right. All that was left of his burn was a little red mark the size of a dime. “All right, you can come. But you have to be able to keep up with us. Since you don’t have a dragon, you can ride with Clarissa.” I said, waving him off to Clarissa. He grinned and ran over to her, his smile lighting up the dark mood. Miles sat next to me on Mira, lying down comfortably on her back. “So what places are we going to?” he asked, closing his eyes.

“We’re going to the Fairy Regions, The Dwarf Regions, and the Mermaid Regions. Uncle is going to send people to the Dragon Regions, the Angel Regions, The Demon Regions, and the Animal Regions. We got those three regions because I know some of the royals there very well. The Princess of the Fairy Regions has been a friend of mine for some time, while my Mom was best Friends with one of the leaders of the Mermaid Regions, and Dad was old friends with the King of the Dwarf Regions. Jacob and I grew up with the daughters of the Fairy and Mermaid Regions, but I’ve never been to the Dwarf Regions. Dad always spoke highly of their King though, so it will be ok.” I explained, surprising Miles with my wide range of friends. “Hey, Head South West! Our first stop is the Fairy Regions!” I yelled back to Tatie, Clarissa, Jacob, and Keara. They all nodded and we set off.

We had been flying for a couple of hours and I was already getting bored. It would take 2 days to get to Sunny’s Palace, and I had nothing to do for those two days. I guess Miles noticed that, because he sat up and grabbed my hand. I turned around, surprised to feel something touch me. Miles smiled softly at me, patting the spot next to him. “Come sit and talk to me.” He said. I smiled happily and sat next to him. “What do you want to talk about?” I asked him.

“Why don’t you tell me about your childhood and I’ll tell you about mine.” He said, laughing softly. I told him about how Jacob and I would always wake up to hear someone in the kitchen, the smell of bacon coming into our rooms, about how we’d spend our summers travelling between the Fairy Regions, Uncle Damascus’, and the Mermaid regions while Father either went with us or visited his friend, the king of the Dwarf Territories. I told him about how much fun Jacob and I had swimming in the creek by the house, and how Dad would train us in fighting. “He taught us all kinds of things. Martial Art, Boxing, Gymnastics, Weapon training, archery, he taught it all. He wanted to teach us how to fight with magic, but Jacob was the only one that had any kind of ability with it at that time. Jacob has a rare power that Dad was really proud of. He can take the air and transform it into anything. He can change the whole mood of a room, or he can poison the air in a certain place. Dad had the same ability and taught Jacob how to use it. Jacob has always been able to make even the worst of situations happy, so when Dad told us about Jacob’s power, Mom and I weren’t surprised.” I told him, happy to talk about my family again. Miles began to tell me about his life growing up withGilroy. “My family’s always been strict. Before I could read, my dad made me train for hours a day. I spent days locked in a room with my brother Derek, learning how to destroy things. He taught us how to kill things with our mind, crushing the air out of them. He taught us how to make different poison ten times more deadly, and he taught us how to slowly wear away at someone’s mind, making them insane. I hated the feeling of it all though. He’d capture birds and dogs, making us go into their system and shut down each of their bloodstreams, slowing killing them. I did it though, and my dad was impressed by my skill and emotionless attitude when I killed something. But one day, he brought in a human to practice on. I was around 13, my brother 15. The girl was tiny and delicate, not even 12. She was crying and shaking. ‘I want you to drug this girl so she has no emotion and see how long you can keep the drug working.’ He told us, leaving the room. He locked the girl in with us, and my brother went up to her and pinned her down. He started forcing himself on her and she cried even harder, shaking and trying to get him off. I just stood there and watched, not sure what to do. I had never disobeyed my father, but this just wasn’t right. He stuck his tongue in her mouth and she bit it, making him jump back. She tried to run, but he used his power and grabbed her throat, crushing the air out of it, killing her. He threw her against the wall and sat back down, spitting blood out of his mouth. I just stood there, wide eyed as I looked at the crumpled little girl in front of me. Her eyes were still opened and lifeless, staring up at the world in fear. I reached down and touched her cheek, begging for her to be alive. I sat there and cried over her, and without realizing it, I brought her back to life. She touched my hand and wiped away my tears, smiling dreamily at me. My brother jumped up from his seat, staring at me like a leper. Father rushed in the room and he smacked me and dragged me to a cell and locked me in there. When I got out, I saw my brother with the girl, holding her down on the floor of an abandoned corridor, forcing himself on her. She screamed and I ran over to him, smacking his head with a thing called iron fist. He passed out and I help the girl up from the ground. She was crying and freaking out. That’s when I decide to leave. I took the girl and ran from the place, not looking back. She stayed with me until we got to the south of the Human regions. I found out her name was Armonda and my dad had killed her parents and taken her to our home. She had just turned 11 the day dad gave her to us. ‘You’re not like the other two. You are kind. Why are you with them?’ she asked me. ‘Because they are my family.’ I answered her sadly. She nodded, understanding right away. When we got to the south, I handed her t a family that took her in happily. I decided to start training to become a good person and not someone like my father and brother. I found a person to train me, a man by the name of Arthur. He was from the Wizard Region, looking for students. He was happy to have me. He taught me everything I know. But my dad had been searching for me and he found me shortly after I finished training. He took me back and beat me, then locked me up. I escaped the next day and started teaching people. I was 17 when I was hired to teach Clarissa, Tatie, and Keara offensive magic. Tatie and Keara had little skill with it, but Clarissa is really talented. She was a fast learner and picked things up quickly. But my father took me away after a year and I was locked up until you came and saved me a year later.” He said, telling me his sad story. I looked at him, seeing him in a new light. He had killed before and with no problem, but he hadn’t done it because he enjoyed it, like his brother. He had saved that girl from horrible things, and become a new person. “I think it’s good that you had been raised by you dad. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be Miles. You’d be a different person. That’d make me sad.” I said, looking at my lap. I turned and looked at Miles, surprised to see his expression. He just stared at me, a strange smile on his face. “What?” I asked, a little uncomfortable. “Nothing. I was just thinking about how pretty you are.” He said laughing a little. I felt my face heat up at his remark. “D-don’t say things like that. I’m not pretty at all.” I said, avoiding his eyes. He turned my face towards him, examining me closely. “I’m not lying. You really are pretty, both inside and out.” He said, holding my chin. I tried to look away from him, but I couldn’t. My face heated up even more and he smiled at my face. He stroked my cheek, making me tense up. His eyes seemed to be dancing in the moonlight. He brought his face close to mine and stopped less then an inch from my face, laughing. “Gotcha. That’s payback for last night.” He said, falling on his stomach in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. I felt anger boil my blood, wanting to kill him. I sat on top of him, my face red with anger. He stopped laughing, looking up at me in surprise. I kissed him full on the lips and brought my lips to his eye. “You’re such a jerk.” I whispered to him, getting off him. I turned my back to him, ignoring him. “H-hey now, don’t be mad. I was only messing with you.” He said, putting his hand on my shoulder. I grabbed his hand and twisted it, facing him. “That wasn’t a nice joke.” I said, twisting his arm even more. He smirked and untwisted his arm, pinning me in the process. I stared up at him in shock, surprised at his skill. “If you intend to beat me, you’ll have to do better then that.” He said, his eyes gleaming evilly. Fear spread through my body as he brought down his face and kissed me. I tried to push him away, but it was no use. He was stronger than me. He brought up his face, his expression changing drastically. “You play with people all the time. Do you ever wonder what it feels like?” He asked, the evil look still in his eyes. He kissed me again, more forcefully this time. I closed my eyes, hitting him and screaming silently. He stroked my face, sending a shiver up my spine. No! I won’t give into it! Two can play at that game! I put my arms around his waist, bringing him down closer to me. He complied, grinding his hips into mine. I nibbled his lip, asking for entrance. He granted it and he won the fight for dominance. I won’t let him win that easily! I bit down on his tongue lightly, making him moan softly. I slid my hands up his shirt, feeling his tight stomach. He shivered, and I felt him loosen up. Almost there! His hand, which was stroking my hair, fit perfectly into mine. I grabbed it, leading down to the bottom of my shirt, letting him feel my stomach. His body now completely relaxed, I flipped him on his back with my legs, pinning his shirt sleeves to his bag with a dagger. “Don’t EVER do that again.” I warned him. The evil gleam was gone now, returning him to the old Miles. “I-I-I didn’t mean to.” He said, embarrassed. I glared at him, hating him but pitying him. “Just sit there and think about it.” I said, laying down a few feet away from him and going to sleep.

I woke up the next morning to the sunrise. I felt oddly warm and I found out why shortly. Miles was asleep next to me. His arm was draped around my waist and he was breathing on my neck. It was just like the other night. But instead of waking him up, I curled up into his chest, resting my head against it. I fell back asleep and woke up a while later. “Anna, hey Anna. Wake up. We’re here.” He said, pointing down at something. It took me a minute to realize I was lying on his lap, my thumb next to my mouth. “Huh? What’s going on?” I asked, still half asleep. “We’re here.” He told me, pointing at the landscape below. I looked down and a sense of nostalgia came to me. This was home for me when Jacob and I were younger. The landscape below was full of rolling hill as streams and flowers. It reminded me of a fairy tale land when I was younger. Not too far off was Sunny’s castle. Clarissa appeared, still ruffled up from sleeping. “There it is!” Jacob shouted happily, pointing at the castle. I smiled and nodded. “Hey Miles?” I said, grabbing his shirt. “Yeah?” I leaned against his chest, falling asleep. “Wake me when we land.” I told him, sleep overtaking me.

When I woke up, Miles was carrying me down the hall of the castle. “Miles, where are we going?” I asked, rubbing sleep from my eyes. He looked down at me, smiling softly. “I was going to take you to your room and let you sleep, but I guess you’re awake.” He said. I looked, surprised at how comfortable I was being carried like this. “If you want, I can put you down.” He said, turning red. I closed my eyes and snuggled into his shirt. “No, don’t.” I said, sighing happily. This was how dad would carry me to bed when I fell asleep. I didn’t want that memory or feeling to go away. “Just keep holding me for a few minutes.” I said, leaning against his warm chest. We stood there for a few moments, him holding me while I took in his heat. I opened my eyes and noticed his face was bright red and uncomfortable. He was staring at me intently, like I had sprouted another head. “Umm, I’m ok now. You can put me down.” I told him. He quickly put me down, looking at the ground. I did the same, my face heating up. We were still like that when she came up behind me and hugged me. “Anna! We heard you were here!” Sunny said happily, hugging my back tightly. “Hi Sunny.” I said sheepishly. She looked at me pouting. Her long blond hair curled in loose ringlets at her waist and her sky blue eyes had a laughing look to them. Her wings had grown, even though she was still tiny. She still had her signature pink dress, the ends looking like they had been ripped. She laughed, hugging me again. “We missed you! We heard what happened to your parents! That must have been awful. We’re glad to see that you’re ok. We’ve decided; we’re holding a ball to welcome you back home!” she said energetically. “We’ll have it tonight and you can tell us whatever you need to after the ball. It will be at nightfall.” She said, clapping her hands in excitement. Knowing Sunny, she could have a month long party planned and prepared in 5 minutes. She’s kinda party crazy. “That’s great! I can’t wait. It’s going to be so much fun!” I said with fake enthusiasm. “Huh? Anna, who is this person with you? He looks like fun.” She said, noticing Miles. Miles bowed politely and kissed her hand. “Pleased to meet you your Highness. I’m Miles.” He said, surprising me with his formality. So he did know how to be respectful. Sunny blushed, taking back her hand. “Oh my. We are flattered. Do you have a last name Mr. Miles?” Sunny asked, gushing over him. Uh oh. “Just Miles.” He told her, smiling charmingly.

“Well, you will have to escort us to the Ball, Miles.” She said coyly. He bowed to her again.

“It’d be my pleasure.” He answered. Something in me broke at the sight of seeing them like that. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but it hurt.

The ball was now in full swing. It was around 10’o clock and everyone was drunk and having a good time. Jacob, Sunny, and Miles hadn’t shown up yet. I assumed Jacob was running late like always, and I knew Sunny was always fashionably late. My dress was too pretty to wear. It made me feel too important and I was afraid of spilling wine on it, forever ruining it. It was a long, midnight blue dress with a train that had a million little stars glittering on it. I had my hair up on top of my head in a neat bun, a sapphire band holding it in place. Tatie, Clarissa, and Keara were wearing similar dresses, except Clarissa’s was a deep red, with rubies on the band and Tatie and Keara’s were forest green with emerald bands. Everyone looked amazing in their nice clothes, chatting gaily and dancing in the grand ballroom. I stood talking to Tatie and Clarissa, watching Keara dance with a fairy around her age, beaming happily at us. Jacob came up to us, looking like quite the gentleman in his black tux that all the gentlemen were wearing. “You all look nice.” He said, his eyes on Clarissa. “Thank you.” We said, politely. He bowed to Clarissa then offered his hand. “Would you like to dance?” he asked her, looking at her intently. I smiled, proud of my brother’s courage. Clarissa blushed, something we had never seen her do, and accepted his offer. They went off and joined the group of dancers. My brother couldn’t stop smiling the whole time. “Lucky bastard.” I said, shaking my head.

“Hey now, that’s not how one talks at a ball.” Sunny said, suddenly appearing with Miles on her arm. I almost didn’t recognize him. He was dressed in a black tux like the other men, but his curly hair, which was usually in his eyes, was slicked back, exposing his face. It made you realize how handsome he was. He was standing straight and tall, smiling at us. “Don’t you ladies look nice? I almost didn’t recognize you guys.” He said, laughing jollily. “Wow Miles, you sure look….different.” Tatie said, just as amazed as I was. Sunny was beautiful too, in a creamy white dress and an opal band holding back her hair. “Sunny looks beautiful as always.” I said, laughing. “Of course we look nice. We have a gentleman like Miles as our escort, so we must look good to keep up with him.” She said, laughing good-naturedly. Miles suddenly bowed to me, offering his hand. “Would you like to dance?” he asked, a twinkle in his eyes. Sunny and Tatie stood there in shocked silence, waiting for my answer. I took his hand, smiling happily. “Yes, I’d like that very much.” I said, laughing lightly. He flashed his soft smile at me and led me to the dance floor. A waltz was playing and he took one of my hands in his, placing the other on my waist, and lead me around the room. I put my hand on his shoulder, letting him lead me. We went around her room, chatting casually the whole time. “You’re a pretty good dancer for someone that’s been locked up in a fortress for most of his life.” I told him jokingly.

“That’s probably because when I was Clarissa, Tatie, and Keara’s teacher their father held balls everyone once in a while. Clarissa demanded that I be taught how to dance before the next ball. I think it had to do with the fact that they were making her learn how to dance and she refused to suffer alone.” He said with a laugh. I laughed with him, understanding completely. “My parents did the same thing to Jacob. There was an international ball that we were required to attend and Jacob and I couldn’t dance. I think I was 6 or 7 at the time. Anyway, Jacob refused to learn unless I learned with him, so I had to do dance lessons with him. He got mad one time though because I was the one being led and I caught on quicker then him. I said that he shouldn’t step on his partner’s foot and he got really mad. ‘I’d like to see you dance the men’s part better.’ He told me. So I did. I lead him around the room, making him follow me. The dance instructor got pretty mad though. He yelled at me and hit me over the head. But Jacob didn’t complain about it being hard again.” I said, enjoying the memory. Miles laughed too, trying to picture it. It took me a second to realize the song had changed. I let go of his hand and curtsied. “Thank you for the dance.” I said politely. I started to walk away, but he grabbed my hand, making me stop. “Would you like to go take a walk around the garden with me?” He asked, begging me to come with his eyes. I nodded, not wanting to make him feel bad. We passed by Sunny, Tatie, Keara, Clarissa, and Jacob, who watched us curiously. Sunny looked like she was going to explode from anger. She dragged Jacob to the dance floor, making him dance with her. “Do you think he’s going to tell her?” Keara whispered to Clarissa and Tatie.

“No doubt about it.” Clarissa whispered back.

“I wonder how she’ll react.” Tatie whispered to them. What were they talking about? We were just going for a walk. Miles ignored them, leading me out to the garden. It was beautiful, glowing with lights strung on the fountains and paths. We walked in the moonlight, sitting down at a fountain. “Hey Anna?” Miles asked me, avoiding my eyes. “Yeah?” He looked up at me, suddenly serious. “What do you think of me?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, puzzled.

“What do you think of me? Do you like me? Do you hate me? Are you afraid of me?” He asked, suddenly earnest. I smiled softly, not sure what he was talking about. “I like you a lot.” I said, smiling brightly. Suddenly, Miles was leaning forward. What’s he doing? I thought, freaking out in my mind. He grabbed my shoulders and kissed me, full on the lips, surprising me. What’s going on? Why is he kissing me? What’s going on! He brought back his lips, leaning his head against mine. “Anna, I love you.” He whispered, making me paralyzed from shock. “W-what?” I asked, not even recognizing my own voice. It sounded so nervous and scared, not like me at all. “I love you.” He said, looking at me in the eyes. He was serious! His look said it all. He kissed me again, pulling me closer to him. I don’t understand! Miles…..loves me? I don’t understand at all! I didn’t even notice I was crying. Miles loves me? Why was I so confused about it? I thought back to how kind he had been so far, protecting me, watching over me. Did he love me this whole time? He was so kind and selfless. I wondered, did I love him back? I leaned in, grabbing his shirt and kissing him back, surprising both of us. Do I love him? How do I feel about Miles? He always made me feel weird, making me warm inside and sad all at once. Was that love? I leaned in more, as if kissing him would give me an answer. I put my hands in his hair, feeling it. It was so soft and light. It felt like silk on my fingers. He kept his hands on my waist, pulling me closer. This wasn’t a trick and this wasn’t a lie. I-I loved Miles. I really did. I don’t know when I started to care for him, but I love him. Miles pulled away from me, surprised. “Anna. Do you love me?” he asked, serious. I didn’t get a chance to answer though. “So the little slut’s with my brother, huh?” we turned, surprised to see Miles’ brother standing in front of us. “You sure know how to pick ‘em.” He said, laughing. I got up, realizing my weapon was back in my room. “Just leave her alone Derek. I’ll go with you.” Miles said, looking over at me. No! His brother laughed at this, spitting on him. “Oh, we don’t want you brother. We want her.” He said, pointing at me. I sensed someone behind me. “Miles!” I screamed before he was hit over the head. He crumpled to the ground, his eyes wide in surprise. Derek picked me up and took me away. “You’re gonna pay for humiliating me, little slut. I already have father’s permission to use you as long as I keep you alive.” He said, sending a shiver down my spine. No! He covered my mouth and I struggled as darkness eloped me.
I woke up locked in a room I had never seen before. The only thing in it was a carpet and a bed. I remember what had happened before and fear filled my whole body as ran to the door, pounding on it. It was locked from the outside, giving me no chance of escape. “You’re not going to escape. Only I can open the door.” A voice said behind me. I turned and saw Derek sitting on the bed calmly. He grinned evilly at me. “I told you I’d make you regret humiliating me like that.” He said, walking over to me. I closed my eyes in fear, not wanting to see what would happen next. He came up and stroked my cheek, holding my face in his hands. “You really are quite pretty. I think I’ll enjoy this.” He said, smiling evilly. He grabbed my wrists and slammed them into the wall, making me flinch. “What, not going to fight back?” He said, noticing my steely glare. “That takes some fun out of it, but whatever.” He said, kissing me full on the lips. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the worst. He brought his lips down my neck, lightly kissing as he went, nibbling here and there. No! I don’t want to do this! I shouted in my head, knowing full well I had no choice. He unzipped my dress, feeling my bare back. He slipped it off and I tried not to slap him, remembering what Miles had said he did to the girl that had fought him and won. If I fought him and won, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me. He felt my exposed chest, making me want to attack him even more. He unbuttoned his shirt, sliding me to the ground and laying on top of me as he did so. He went for his pants next, lifting up my skirt as he did so. God, someone help me! I screamed in my head, His hand went up my leg, making me shake from fear. Help me! I screamed in my head, my voice echoing in my mind. Derek suddenly stopped, falling on my chest. I looked up to see who my savior was and I felt tears well up when I saw. It was Miles, panting and glaring down at his brother, a leg from the bed in his hand. “Miles.” I whispered, the dam about to break. He kicked his brother off me, holding out his hands. “Come here.” He said, smiling. I jumped into his arms, crying and knocking him over in the process. “Miles, I thought you weren’t coming.” I sobbed. He sat there, stroking my hair. “Of course I’d come. I told you I love you, didn’t I?” he told me, holding me close. I looked up and noticed his face was bright red. “Um, here.” He said, taking off his shirt and looking away. I looked down and realized I was almost completely naked. My face heated up as I slipped on his shirt. It was like an oversized dress on me. “Is it on?” he asked, still looking away. “Y-yeah.” I said, still shaky. He took my hand and made me follow him to the end of the room then he whispered something I couldn’t comprehend and touched the wall, his hand disappearing through it. “It’s ok.” He said, noting my surprised expression. I followed him, slipping through the wall. We fell from the top of the building, making me scream in fear. “It’s ok!” Miles shouted back to me again, smiling reassuringly. I closed my eyes and the wind was knocked out of me, making me gasp. I opened my eyes and I was on top of Miles, who was on Mira’s back. “See, I told you it’d be ok.” He said, cringing a little bit. “Anna!” I heard familiar voices shout to me. I looked and saw Tatie, Keara, Clarissa, and Jacob, all looking concerned. “Are you ok?” Jacob called to me, worry written on his face. “I’m fine!” I said, shaking a little. I looked back at the place I had been saved from. “What is that place?” I asked Miles, shuddering. “That’s my brother’s home. My Father had the fortress I was taken to made shortly after I was born. That place that you were at is where my brother goes most of the time when he doesn’t want our father to interrupt him.” Miles whispered, sighing. I looked up at him, watching his face sadly. He looked extremely pissed off, like he could destroy a town. Maybe he really does love me. I touched his cheek, making him look at me. “I never got to answer you, did I?” I said, looking at him seriously. “No, you didn’t. My bastard brother interrupted before you could.” He said, mumbling curse words under his breath. I put my hands around his neck and kissed him, still sitting on his lap from the fall and brought back my face, smiling at him. “I love you Miles.” I told him, smiling at him softly. He stared at me speechless for a moment, before he kissed me again, more passionately and hungrier. The others were out of sight below us, going ahead to tell Sunny they got me back. He pushed me down a little, making me lean back on my hands. I closed my eyes, realizing that I really did love him, so much it hurt. Happy tears rolled down my cheek, making him stop. “Anna, I love you. I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you again.” He said, hugging me. I held onto him, not wanting to let go. I eventually fell asleep like that.

I woke up and we were still flying. The others had come back by then, and we were flying in silence. “Aren’t we supposed to be going back to the Fairy Regions?” I asked sleepily. Miles looked down at me and stroked my hair, making me sleepy again. “No love. We’re going to the Mermaid Regions. Sunny agreed to help us after you went missing and I came after you.” He explained softly. I nodded, falling back asleep. I woke up to the roar of the ocean, surprising me. We had only been flying for 2 days that I was aware of. We couldn’t possible be there already. I looked up at Miles, who was still holding me protectively. “Miles, we’re already there?” I asked, bewilder. He nodded, smiling at my baffled look. “You’ve been sleeping for a little over two days. I’m not surprised you don’t remember.” He said laughing. I had been sleep for two days? “When you passed out the night I saved you, you slept for two days and when you fell back asleep, you were asleep for half a day.” He said, ruffling my hair. I looked at him, amazed that I could sleep for so long. “Why didn’t you wake me?” I asked, sitting up quickly. “After what had almost happened to you, I thought sleep would be good for you. Also, you looked so peaceful sleeping on my lap, I just couldn’t wake you.” He told me, smiling happily at me. He really does love me, I thought for the millionth time. He stroked my cheek, making me shiver from the coldness of his hand. I touched it, closing my eyes and smiling. “You’re hand is so cold.” I told him, kissing his fingers softly. He looked at me, blushing at my smiling eyes. “I’m not dreaming am I? You’re really mine?” he said, still not believing it. I smiled at him and brought his face to mine, kissing him softly. “If it is a dream don’t end it.” I said, grinning at him. He laughed, hugging me close. “Well, don’t worry about my hands. You can keep them warm for me.” He said. I had a light bulb worthy idea just then. I took his hands and put his fingers in my mouth, one by one, sucking on them lightly. He laughed, shaking his head. “What are you doing?” he asked me. I looked up at him, smiling. “I’m keeping your fingers warm.” I told him. He laughed again, smiling fondly at me. He stroked my cheek, gazing at me lovingly. “Your cheek seems cold.” He said, kissing it. “So does your jaw.” He said, kissing the side of my mouth. He kissed my mouth next, pulling me into him as he did so. He trailed light kisses down my neck, making me giggle softly, his hair, tickling me. He stopped when he got to my breastbone, seeing my shirt in the way. He frowned, looking at it. He tugged the end of it, looking at me innocently with a less than innocent desire. I laughed at his expression, kissing him on his frowning mouth. I felt him smile into the kiss, sighing. I pulled back, smiling at him flirtatiously. “You’re gonna have to wait for that.” I told him, running my fingers through his soft hair. He frowned playfully, tackling me down. “What if I’m impatient?” he asked, sliding his hand up my knee. I grinned, slipping my arms loosely around his neck. “I’ll just have to stop you then.” I laughed, joking with him. He frowned at me seriously, looking at my face. “I wish you wouldn’t tease me so much.” He said, kissing me gently. “Miles, is Anna awake yet?” a voice called from the clouds. We sat up, blushing furiously. “Y-yeah!” He answered back, his face still reddening. “By the sound of your answer, you guys have been making up for lost time!” Clarissa’s voice called to us, sounding a laugh all around. We blushed even more and then laughed with them, grinning at each other. “We’re almost there!” Tatie called to us, breaking the silence. We all shouted back “ok” and “Finally”, making Tatie laugh. “Not my fault it took forever!” she laughed lightheartedly. Everyone went back to whatever they were doing, the air silent. Miles pulled me onto his lap and I laughed, squirming away playfully. He nuzzled his face into my neck, making me laugh. We sat there, his arms locked around my hips and head resting on my shoulder while I smiled at him happily and ran my fingers through his hair and stroked his arms softly, memorizing every little hair on his arm, every freckle. Eventually, I leaned against his chest and sighed happily. “Anna, I love you.” He said again, making my heart leap. “I love you too.” I told him, not doubting it for a moment. If we could stay like this forever, I’d be the happiest person alive, I thought to myself.

We stayed like that until we got to the ocean; phoenix’s burned in the midday sun while the waves crashed into the large rocks. I got off Mira and stretched my legs, relishing the freedom. I went around to my backpack and looked at Jacob, nodding to him. He nodded back and ran to his backpack. Between the two of us, we had enough Dragonfish venom for all of us and the dragons. I pored out a drop from the amethyst vial (The venom can only be contained in that, as it burns through everything else) and watched it solidify in my palm. I fed it to Mira, watching her Jump into the water. Everyone watched as she popped back up, no longer a dragon but a sleek red sea serpent. She jumped in and out of the water like a dolphin, obviously happy to be back in the big blue ocean. I looked at the others amazed expressions and showed them the vial. The bright pink liquid swished around in the purple vial happily. “This is Dragonfish Venom. It’s deadly when it’s not purified, but it also has the ability to turn you into a merperson. It’s very hard to get, but my family is very close to the leaders of the merpeople, so we use this a lot. Luckily, Jacob and I have just enough left for everyone, including the dragons. You have to swallow it all soon as you get it though, otherwise you could contaminate it. You’ll feel weird at first, but bear with it. You’ll get a tail and you’ll be able to breathe underwater as soon as you hit the water, so don’t be surprised if it happens. The tails will be the color of your aura, not your favorite color, so no complaining.” I said. They all nodded in unison and Jacob and I gave the dragons their venom and watched them jump into the water, joyously leaping to and fro with Mira. I stripped off my shirt, earning a few uncomfortable looks as I did so, and put on a lightweight, waterproof tank top. I looked at the girls in their heavy clothes and weapons, and grabbed them by the hands. I led them to the forest and stripped off their clothes. I took off my pants and well, knowing that they would only mess up the transformation and make it more painful. I handed then each a waterproof shirt and skirt like my own, and I slipped on my skirt. “You should be fine now. Pants make the transformation more painful and if your clothes aren’t waterproof, you’re screwed. The boys know that as well, but they can’t really take off their pants in front of us with out you passing out from shock, so they’re gonna transform before us.” I told them. Jacob ran into the bushes just then, handing me his vial. “Miles and I already took ours, so we’re heading in. See you in a few.” He said as he ran off. We sat in silence as we heard two zippers go down, some rustling, and two splashes. “All clear!” Jacob and Miles yelled from the water. I gave the remaining venom to the girls and we all jumped in, giggling at the thought of a tail. I did a dive, making a little splash in the water, while the others did cannonballs. The transformation took place instantly. I felt a whirlwind of bubbles around my body and my legs began to move as one. I opened my eyes with no problem, like I was wearing goggles over them. Down below us, eels and various plain looking fish swam in and out of the rocks. The water was warm, like a tropical sea, and I looked down at my silvery white tail. It was just how I remembered it, glittering in the water with little rainbows on the scales. It was beautiful, with pearls in some places on it, making it shine brighter. My hair didn’t float up, but stayed like it normally did on land, flat on my back. I look and saw the others staring at their tails; Jacob’s was dark blue, Miles’ was the same blue as the necklace he had given me, Tatie’s was a deep crimson, which surprised me, Keara’s was a light lavender color, and Clarissa’s was a pale pink color, shocking everyone around her. They all looked incredulously at themselves, taking nervous breathes and, finding it was safe, started dancing around in the water, laughing happily. Jacob grinned at me, taking in the sight of the giggling girls around them. I shook my head, laughing myself. Even Miles was swimming around joyously, looking over at me in wonder. “Ok everyone, let’s get moving!” I said, grabbing one of Mira’s whiskers like a rope and she pulled my towards the merpeople’s city.

Merdindoc was a large city, made from coral and sea caves. I found Aunt Rona’s home quickly: It was a large sea cave on the cliffs, where most of the rich nobles and councilmen lived. Aunt Rona had been on the council for 10 years now, since her husband had died and left her the position and three children. I knocked on the driftwood door and I heard a big crash inside. Everyone except Jacob and I flinched at the sound and a second later my aunt answered the door with flour all over her face and her hair struck out all over the place. She looked down at me, realized who I was, broke out in a huge grin, and hugged me, suffocating me with her large chest. “Oh, sorry about that Anna!” she said when she realized I couldn’t breathe. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it looks like she put melons in her shirt. Those aren’t boobs; those are deathtraps, my mom use to joke. I knew for a fact that she was right about that. But all the same, I smiled and hugged her lightly, avoiding her large chest. “I missed you Aunty Rona.” I said happily. She smiled, glad to hear my voice. “We haven’t seen you since after your mom’s death.” She said sadly, letting us in. She had made sure to give Jacob a hug too and looked at everyone else calmly, as if her best friend’s children appear at her door everyday with a bunch of strangers. We sat down in the parlor while Aunty ran off and came back with a tray of cookies. We all took a cookie off the tray and nibbled it nervously. Aunt set down the tea she was drinking and looked at us curiously. “What brings you here Anna? You must have a reason.” She said, reading my thoughts. “We’re going into war and we need allies. We were hoping the merpeople would be willing to help us in this fight.” I told her calmly. She stared at me in surprise and curiosity and laughed suddenly, making the others jump. “You’re Arisa’s daughter all right.” She said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. The mention of my mothers name surprised me. I’m like my mother? I thought Jacob was the one like her. “You’re just as determined and stubborn as she was, but unlike her, you’re level headed like your father.” She said when she noticed my confused expression. “Of course we’ll help. I’ll have to ask the other councilmen, but I’m positive that they’ll agree. If it’s to help our allies, the merpeople would risk our lives with no second thought.” She said, winking at us. Just then the door opened and we heard yells of “Mom” and “we’re home” The merpeople swam into the parlor and noticed us right away. “Jacob!” I shrill voice screamed and a mermaid knock Jacob over with a hug. I didn’t even have to see her face to know if was Ruby, Aunt Rona’s second daughter. She was extremely obsessed with Jacob and hopeless in love with him. She was about half a year younger than him and extremely beautiful. She was tiny and thin, with fair skin, a perfect complexion, red-blond hair, and blue eyes that looked like the sky. Jacob was the only boy she liked though, and for some reason, he couldn’t stand her. She kissed him on his lips, earning a look of shock from Tatie, Clarissa, Keara, and Miles. Of course, Jacob and I, along with our Aunt weren’t surprised at it. She always kissed him like that, ever since she figured out what kissing was. “Hi Ruby.” Jacob said, trying to get away from her. Of course, she put her arms around his neck and hugged him, kissing him again after that. Jacob learned not to fight her long ago, when she had first kissed him and he pushed her away. She just clobbered him over the head and kissed him again. He kind quit fighting her since then. Even though she was only about 100 pounds, she could hit really hard. So the others just stared in shock as she sat on Jacob’s lap and hugged him, while Jacob looked bored and annoyed at her closeness. I stole a look at Clarissa, and I saw her give them a look that screamed murder. The next person to enter the room wasPearl, my beautiful best friend, holding her little sister Opal’s hand. “Anna! Jacob!” Opal shouted, hugged me. Jacob seemed a little occupied at the moment. “Hi Opal. How’s my favorite little mermaid?” I said, tickling her. She giggled and squirmed out of my hands. “She’s great. But this mermaid has been waiting a long time for you to come visit us.”Pearlsaid, smiling shyly at me. I got up and swam over to my friend, hugging her. She was still beautiful as always: pearly white skin, long white hair, and aqua blue eyes. Her name suited her well; you could tell that by looking at her. But she was very introverted, which also made her name all the more perfect. She closed herself up to most people, showing her true beauty when she opened up to you. I looked at her fondly, happy to see her again. I lovedPearldearly. She was the best friend I ever had, and I hated those times I wasn’t with her. We were opposite for sure, but I guess that’s why we got along so well. “I missed you so much.” I told her as I hugged her again. She patted my head, and I didn’t even have to look at her to tell she was smiling. She looked over at Jacob and Ruby, who was kissing him happily and touching his chest, trying to convince him to take off his shirt. “I see Ruby found Jacob.” She said, laughing at them. I grinned, looking at Jacob trying not to flip out at her. “Yeah, they seem to be having fun.” I agreed and we laughed together, happy to see each other again. “Who are your friends?”Pearlasked, motioning to the others, who were watching Jacob and Ruby uncomfortably. “That’s Tatie, Clarissa, Keara, and Miles. They’re traveling with us.” I explained toPearl. “Everyone, this isPearland her sisters Ruby and Opal. My aunt decided to name her daughters after stones, don’t ask why.” I said, grinning atPearl. I looked over atPearland my friends. “Why don’t we show you around Merdindoc?”Pearlsaid, leading us to the door. Jacob tried to follow us, but Ruby held him back. “You already know your way around here. Besides, I want to show you some new things I’ve learned.” She said, giggling. Jacob cast us (by us I mean Clarissa) a pleading look, but Clarissa just glared at him. “I hope you two have fun.” She said angrily and she turned away and walked out the door. A look of shock passed over his face. “Wait, Clarissa!” He yelled as he tried to follow her, but Ruby grabbed his arm. “Come on Jacob.” She said, pulling him the other way. She glared at Clarissa with so much hostility it’d make a grown man cry for his mommy. Jacob tried to pull away, but Ruby tightened her grip, making him yelp in pain. We all filed out of the house, Aunt Rona included. “I have to go to the store and then talk to the councilmen.” She explained. I think everyone knew she just didn’t want to be there when Ruby showed Jacob the new things she learned. I think we all knew what that meant.Pearlled us through the city, telling us about every place she showed up. After a few hours, we went back to the house. Jacob and Ruby were upstairs (poor Jacob) but it was quiet in the house. They must have been either done, asleep, or they were in a soundproof room. I thought it was most likely the last. Clarissa’s anger had subsided a little, but I was afraid of what would happen when Jacob came downstairs. We sat in the parlor and laughed,Pearland I telling stories of when we were younger. “Did you know Anna once punched a shark in the face for crashing into her?”Pearllaughed and told the story. The others grinned and laughed at the story. After a while, there was a sound upstairs and someone came down the stairs. A second later Jacob appeared, his hair messy and his shirt nowhere to be seen. “Oh, hey guys.” He said, noticing us staring at him. If we didn’t know what they were doing before, we knew now by Jacob’s appearance. Of course, he looked at us like he always did. Clarissa’s anger came back all at once, and everyone watched for her reaction. Jacob looked at her curiously. “Clarissa, are you ok?” he asked her, trying to figure out why she was red with rage. She jumped up, swam the short length between us and him, and slapped him across the face, the sound echoing in the silence. Then she swam off, tears welling up in her eyes. Jacob stood there in shock, wondering what the heck he did wrong. We all sat there in silence, waiting to see what would happen next. The shock wore off quickly and Jacob swam after her, realizing how much a dick he’d been. We sat there in silence, wondering if we should follow. We decided to follow. We all swam off after them, our curiosity making us swim fast. Jacob wasn’t that far ahead of us, following Clarissa, who wasn’t as fast as him. He caught her by the old sea caves, and we hid in one and listened. “Clarissa wait!” he said as he spun her around. She tried to get out of his grip but he held on. “Let go of me damn it!” she yelled, still crying. “No! Not until you listen to me!” he shouted at her just as stubbornly. She punched his chest, trying to get him to let go. “No! Why don’t you just go back to you girlfriend back there? I’m sure she’d be happy to see you!” she spat out the words with venom, making Jacob flinch. “She’s not my girlfriend! I don’t even like her as a person!” he yelled at her. Great, now he was angry, I thought to myself. “Then why did you let her kiss you and sleep with you?” she said hoarsely.

“Because if I push her away she clobbers me senseless!” he yelled at her, his temper not calming down. “W-what do you mean?” Clarissa asked, hiccupping from all the crying she had just been doing. Jacob sighed, looking down at the ground. “She’s been like that for as long as I can remember. I tried to push her away once, but for a tiny person, she can hit really hard. I learned if I fought her, she’d just clobber me then do it. If I have to do it anyways, I’d rather not get a black eye or a headache out of it.” He said, his temper back to normal. Clarissa looked at him, understanding what he meant. “So you don’t like her?” she said, her brow knitting together. “No! Didn’t I just say that?” he said, his temper rising again. “I like you!” he shouted, shocking Clarissa. “It’s about time he said it.” I whispered to myself, the others looking at me in alarm. “Oh come on, it’s so obvious.” I said to them in a whisper. “W-what?” Clarissa said, wide eyed. Jacob pulled her to him and kissed her mouth, surprising all over us. There was a squeak from Clarissa and then she put her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. We watched them kiss for a minute, trying not to jump out from our hiding spots and congratulate them. “Way to go Jacob.” I said under my breath, trying not to laugh. They separated and stared at each other wide eyed. “I like you.” Jacob repeated, his face turning red. Clarissa’s face matched his: bright red from embarrassment. We grinned and before I could stop myself, I jump out of the cave and started clapping. “Way to go Jacob and Clarissa!” I shouted. I was quickly joined by the others, who laughed and joined in with the cheering. Jacob and Clarissa’s faces turned brick red and they avoid each others eyes. I looked at Tatie and Keara and grinned. “You two just need to find guys and we could all go on a group date.” I laughed. Miles took my hand and smiled at me and I laughed even more at his timing.Pearllooked at me and Miles questioningly and grinned. We all headed back, Jacob and Clarissa hand in hand and smiling at each other shyly. Ruby was still asleep when we got back, so we sat and talked some more, Clarissa sitting in front of Jacob and leaning on his chest while he resting his chin on her head, kissing it every once in a while. I sat on Miles lap (or tail I guess) and laughed as he whispered things to me. Aunt Rona walked in and gave us all a questioning look, shook her head, and went into the kitchen to make us something to eat. After she brought it out, Ruby came downstairs, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Her top of drooped off one of her slender shoulders and her hair was extremely messy. Clarissa tense up, her anger returning, must Jacob whispered something in her ear and she looked up at him, surprised. He smiled and kissed her lovingly, earning a glare from Ruby. “Jacob? What’s going on.” She asked, her rage overflowing. “Why are you with her?” she said, pointing at Clarissa. Jacob looked at Ruby, his fear showing. “I’m sorry Ruby, but I’m not going to let you do what you want withme.” He said, trying not to run away in fear. Her eyes could have shot lasers at that moment. “Why is that! You know I love you! So why won’t you love me too!” she demanded. Jacob looked at Clarissa and she squeezed his hand, trying to reassure him. “Because I love Clarissa.” Jacob told her, looking Ruby in the eyes. Ruby’s skin paled, and she picked up the closest thing and threw it at Clarissa in rage. That thing just happened to be the teapot. Jacob jumped in front of it, taking the hit for Clarissa. The teapot shattered against his back, cutting it. “I hate you!” she screamed as she left the room crying.Pearlswam after her sister silently. Jacob panted and looked at Clarissa. “Are you ok?’ he asked, not caring about himself. “Yeah, I’m fine. But you got hurt Jacob.” She said, touching his back gingerly. He flinched when it made contact and grabbed her hand. “I’ll be fine. It’s nothing.” He told her, not convincing any of us. Clarissa nodded and put her hand to his cheek, smiling at him. “Goodness! What happened here?” Aunt Rona asked, suddenly appearing. We told her the whole story and she nodded understanding. She brought Jacob some bandages and cleaned his back up. “As you can see Ruby has a little crush on Jacob. She gets like this when he doesn’t return those feelings. Of course, she’s known that he doesn’t like her the same way, but that hasn’t ever stopped her. I think seeing you two together sent her over the edge.” Aunt Rona explained.Pearlcame back a little bit later, shaking her head sadly. “She’s gone. But she’ll be home soon.” She told us. I got up and walked to her. “We have to leave soon anyways.” I said, looking back at the others.Pearllooked at me sadly, like she had just found out I’d never be back again. Her face suddenly lit up and she turned to her mom. “Mom, can I go with them?” she asked, her expression hopeful. Her mom looked at me. “Only if it’s ok with Anna.” She said with a sigh, not wanting to make another daughter sad.Pearllooked at me expectantly. “Pearl I don’t think….Damn…ok fine.” I said reluctantly.Pearljumped for joy and ran to her room to pack some clothes. We waited, deciding to leave as soon asPearlfinished packing. Her mom gave Jacob and I more Dragonfish Venom andPearlcame down the stairs with a small backpack on her back. We waved goodbye to Aunt Rona and Opal and headed to the surface where we left our clothes. When we got up, us girls went first, changing our clothes while the boys put their back on. I gavePearlsome of my clothes. They were a little big considering she’s taller and bigger-chested than I am. She wore them happily, examining her slender white legs. She took a few steps, getting use to the feeling as much as she could manage in such a short period of time. “All clear!” the guys shouted and we each got on our dragons,Pearlgoing with Keara. “I guess the only place left now is the Dwarf Regions.” I yelled to them, heading northeast. The others followed happily and we were on our way to another adventure.

When we woke up the next morning, we could see mountains. They were beginning to rise, getting larger and larger. I remembered the directions dad had given me when I asked about the Dwarf Region. There are mountains everywhere, he had said. Look for the tallest one. At the base of the mountain is the entrance to Sibania, the Dwarf’s capital. I silently searched for the mountain he had told me about. I didn’t have to look long though. The mountain went into the clouds, its summit impossible to see. “Go to the base of that mountain!” I shouted to the others. We flew to the base, amazed at what we found. There’s a large door at the base. Go through it to enter their city. Mira could easily fit in the door, so it’s kind of hard to miss. The door was just as he said; large enough to easily fit Mira and made out of silver and diamonds. We stared at it incredulously, amazed at the grand door. Don’t try to open the whole door though. There’s a smaller door built into it. Go though that one. If you open the larger door, a series of alarms will go off and you’ll be attacked by the dwarf’s, which is not a pleasant thing. I looked back at the others and felt the large door for a smaller one. I found it a second later, built into the center of the door, nearly invisible. I pushed it open, motioning for the others to file in with me. The dragons began to follow, but I stopped them. “You guys have to stay here. Make sure you’re well hidden.” I told them, turning and going through the door, shutting it behind me. There was no fire and the tunnel was pit black. “How do we know where were going?” the others asked fearfully, not sure of what would be waiting for them in the dark cave. Miles suddenly sent out a light, making his body glow and he glanced at Clarissa and me. “Can you guys help me out?” he asked us, grinning at our amazed expression. I nodded, letting fire leap from my hands. Miles had taught me how to control the flames, something I had learned quickly. I knew that the fire wasn’t my fault and my parents didn’t blame me for their deaths, even though I still felt bad about it. Clarissa closed her eyes and a light escaped her body, floating in front of us. Now the tunnel was well lit, making everything visible. We all walked down the narrow tunnel, following its path. After an hour we saw a foreign light at the end of the tunnel and we put out our lights, following the glow. It led out to a large city, with trams and other things traveling over the buildings. Everything was made of metal: the houses, the trams, even the light had a metallic glow to it. I looked and saw a great castle on the far side of the city, gleaming in the dim light. It was made entirely out of metal, making it look like a scrap metal creation instead of a grand castle. “How are we going to get there?” Keara asked, noticing the huge drop from were we stood and the castle. I pointed to the tram station by us. “How else would we get anywhere?” I asked her.

The tram ride was short. Within minutes we were at the gates of the metal castle, the guards looking at us warily. Like most dwarfs, they were shorter then humans, with coarse beards and beady eyes. They pointed metal spears at us, the blade of the spear cackling with electricity. I stepped forward, glaring down at them and pointing the spear away with my finger. “Tell King Demwald that Lord Darius’ daughter is here to see him.” I told one of them, eyeing them coldly. They tensed up at the mention of my father and exchanged glances. “Well get on with it!” I said impatiently. One of the guards bowed politely and ran off, going through the gate quickly. I looked at the others, my good mood spoiled by the dirt walls around us and the guard’s rudeness towards us. Didn’t uncle send a message to them? The guard scampered back a second later, bowing to me again. “My apologies Lady Empress.” He told me in a gruff voice, letting us enter. “Yes, thank you.” I said, walking past him with the others trailing behind me. I rubbed my temples, walking to the door of the castle where a girl waited for us. She curtsied when she saw me, looking at me with sad, shy eyes. “Good Day Lady Empress. I am King Demwald’s daughter, Sky. My father told me to bring you to him immediately.” She said, curtsying again. I helped her up, not wanting this girl to be so formal. “That’s alright. But please just call me Anna.” I said, smiling kindly at her. She gazed at my face in wonder, examining me like I was an angel coming down from the heavens. “Yes, if you will follow me, I’ll take you to my father.” She said, her face flushed. I smiled at her and let her lead the way. We walked down a long hallway to a large metal door and into a throne room. The man sitting at the throne looked too young to be king of the Dwarfs. He was short and round, like most dwarfs, with bright red hair and laughing blue eyes. His eyes smiled with his mouth, making him seem younger then he probably was. “So this is Darius and Arisa’s lovely daughter! I’m so glad to finally meet you!” he said, hugging me while he laughed. He looked at Jacob and froze. “That must be Jacob! My, he’s the spitting image of his father. He’s just missing his serious face.” He said, hugging Jacob. He looked at both of us, smiling broadly. “Of course, you have the same attitude as your father, little Anna. Your brother seems more like your mother then Darius though, just like he said.” He laughed at his words, his eyes dancing. He took note of Jacob’s arm around Clarissa’s waist instantly. “He’s just as smooth as his father too!” he said with booming laughter. Jacob and Clarissa blushed at his words, making the king laugh even more. “Have your brother beat you in the game of love, Little Anna? Or do you have some unknown suitor?” he asked me, his eyes dancing mischievously. Before I could answer, Miles put his arm around my waist and pulled my close to him. “I’m afraid she’s mine, your majesty.” Miles said happily, his eyes daring the king to challenge him. The king boomed with laughter, examining Miles. “I like this one. Anna, if you ever break his heart I will have to take him as a councilman.” The king joked, making me smile. I could understand why my father enjoyed being with this man so much. He was so kind and happy. He looked at me curiously, trying to read my thoughts. ‘What brings you here Anna? You’ve never visited before, so I assume something has happened on the surface?” he asked, his face still laughing silently. I nodded, looking at him gravely. “I’m afraid so. We are going into war on the surface, and we were wondering if our underground friends would help us in our fight.” I told him sadly. He looked at me, his smile gone. “Yes, my informants on the surface have told me aboutGilroyand his recent doings. I have no love for war and misery, but I do have a hate for men like this Gilroy.” He said, thinking it over. He looked up at me, clasping my shoulders. “Ok, we will help in everyway we can.” He said decidedly, smiling at me. I nodded, bowing for him. “Thank you your majesty.” I said gratefully. He took my face in his hands and examined me closely. “You have your mothers face, but I can see your father when I look at you. You are very special Anna. People are willing to fight because of you. Don’t let that greed change you.” He told me, hugging me close to him. I hugged him back, feeling fatherly love and affection for the first time in months. ‘Thank you.” I whispered to him.

We left right after that. Human couldn’t stay in the dwarf’s city too long without going mad, and I worried about Tatie, Clarissa, and Keara, the only humans among us. After we got out of the tunnel and breathed in the fresh air, we decided to head back to the Elf Regions to tell Uncle of our success. I slept the whole journey, which took half a day. Miles gently woke me up, whispering softly in my ear. “Anna, we’re back. Time to wake up.” He said and I reluctantly did so. I met with uncle as soon as I cleaned up from the journey, telling him of our success. “Good job Anna.” He said, hugging me quickly.

“Uncle, when do we go at war?” I asked him, afraid of his answer. “We go at battle noonday the day after tomorrow. Our allies are meeting us at our base camp.” He told me, not meeting my eyes.

“So soon?” I said sadly, not wanting to go fight so quickly. He nodded. “The dwarf’s and the merpeople will meet us tomorrow night, but the fairies, Angels, Demon, and humans will meet us there at noonday.” He told me sadly, not wanting this war as much as I did. I nodded and headed to my room. I got changed and laid down on my bed, trying to sleep. But the fear and anxiety built up inside and I felt like crying. I need to see Miles, I thought to myself. Just seeing him would make me feel better. I took a candle and walked to his room, the moon hanging high in the sky. When I got to his room, I knocked on it lightly, waiting for an answer. Miles opened it a minute later, the sight of him making my heart soar. He was wearing a loose white nightshirt and pants, his hair messy from sleep. His eyes widened when he saw me, then he smiled softly at me. “Hi.” He said quietly, as if speaking any louder would wake some unknown being. “Hi. Can I come in?” I asked him. He nodded, moving out of the way for me. I examined his room silently, surprised at how bare it was then sat down on his bed, setting the candle down on a dresser of some sort. He sat next to me, staring at me in dazed amazement. I looked up at him and blushed at his gaze. “Miles? Are you alright?” I asked him worriedly. His eyes widened and he leapt forward and kissed me with such urgency I was paralyzed. I let out a surprised squeak, not sure what to do. He broke apart from me and stroked my cheek, staring at me lovingly. I sat there, wide eyed and shocked, as he kissed me again, his kiss less urgent and hungrier. I felt like I had been frozen by him, unable to move or say anything. All I could do was kiss him back as tears ran down my cheeks. He pushed me day on the bed ever so gently, leaning over me with that loving smile on his face. What’s going on? Why can’t I move? I laid there in silence as he expertly slid off my nightgown and threw it on the floor, not breaking the kiss as he did so. “Miles I-Nngg!” My words were broken by a loud moan as he pushed down on my chest, sending blissful pain through my body. Miles trailed light kisses down my neck, licking and biting as he went. “Miles-” I started, but was again cut off as he bit down on my soft spot, making my body arch up in enjoyable pain. He brought his body down with mine, and I moan in agreement as the pain filled my whole being. Panting loudly, I looked up at him. “Miles, I wanted to-NNGGG!” I gasped he kneaded my chest with his hands, the feeling of it enough to drive me wild. “Miles,” I started again as he began licking and sucking my collarbone, sliding his cold hands up my sides as he did so. “I came to-nngg! I came to tell you we leave the day after tomorrow. Before then we should-NNNggg- make sure the others are prepared.” I panted the words out between moans, the ecstasy of his hands on me cutting off my words. He nodded, not stopping for a second. His hands went behind my back and he threw off my bra. Miles, are you-NNNNGGGG!” I cried out in pleasure as he pushed down on my chest with his whole body. He came back to my lips and began kissing me again, pulling my body up to him. His hand slid down my body and touched my underwear and my eyes widened as he started pulling them down. I shoved him off the bed and pulled the blanket over me, my eyes filling with tears. He looked at me in shock, surprised at both of our actions. The tears overflowed and I wrapped the blanket around me like a dress and ran out of the room, hoping he hadn’t seen my tears.

I hate this! Why did I run away like that? I wanted to be with him tonight. I wanted him to hold me and kiss me. And I screwed it up! I leaned against the wall of the corridor, tears making my vision blurry. I was surprised when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. “Anna?” Please God! Please let it be anyone but him! I turned to face the person and saw Miles looking at me. “Are you ok?” he asked me, looking me in the eyes worriedly. I looked at his face, amazed at how blue his eyes were, how blond his hair was. “I just spoke to uncle a while ago. We leave for war tomorrow.” I told him. He rubbed my cheek and they heated up in embarrassment. “I’m so scared Miles. I wasn’t afraid before, but now that we’re leaving, I realized how scared I am. I don’t know if I can do it.” I cried. He pulled me into his chest, stroking my hair while I cried. I sobbed, telling myself to stop but I couldn’t. “Shh, it’s ok Anna. I promise everything will be ok.” He soothed, making my fears lessen. “How do you know?” I asked him, looking at his face. He smiled, wiping my eyes with his hand. “Because if I could have someone like you here with me, then anything is possible.” He whispered huskily to me. I felt my face heat up at his remark. “I’m sorry.” He said, and seeing my red face, pulled away from me. “What are you apologizing for?” I asked him. “I forced myself on you like that. I’m really sorry.” He said, avoiding my gaze. He thought I couldn’t stand him! I touched his cheek softly. Miles looked up at me in surprise. “I want you with me tonight.” I whispered to him. He looked at me, his eyes wide, and pulled me into a deep kiss. I wrapped my arms around him, taking in his love. He picked me up and carried me back to his room, where we spent the night together, not as two separate people, but one.

I laid against Miles later that night, sighing happily. He played with my hair, rubbing it between his fingers. “Hey Anna?” he said, looking at me nervous as a little boy. “Yeah.” I answered him, taking in the warmth from his chest. “After this battle, could you see us getting married?” he asked, his voice soft in my ear. I looked at him, surprised by his question. “Huh?” I asked, not sure if I heard right. He twisted the strand of hair around his finger and untwisted it, not looking at me. “Can you see us getting married someday?” he asked again. I turned on my back with my face buried in his pillow. He lightly rubbed my back while I thought about his question. Was he asking me to marry him? Or was he just teasing me. I looked at his face closely, not sure how to answer him. He looked completely serious, tracing the skin pattern on my back lightly. I smiled softly, knowing the answer right away. “Yeah, I could see that.” I said calmly, trying not to smile. Miles looked up at me in surprise, staring at my face in shock. I sat up and touched his cheek, smiling softly. “But only if you promise to be the sweetest, kindest, most patient husband in the world.” I told him, stroking his cheek. He grinned and kissed me sweetly on the lips, stroking my hair. “Since when I have I not been the sweetest, kindest, most patient person in the world?” he asked, laughing happily. I grinned, happy to hear his laugh. “Well then, I guess I will marry you.” I told him teasingly and he scooped me up onto his lap and kissed me happily. I pushed him away and leaned against his chest, falling asleep while he stroked my hair.

Someone knocked on the door and I was surprised when Tatie, Keara, andPearl’s heads popped in the room. They grinned when they saw Miles and I sleeping next to each other, his arm around me protectively while I cuddled into his chest, smiling in my sleep. “Awww, look at the little lovebirds.” Keara laughed, waking us up. “What are you guys doing in here?” I screeched, covering myself with Miles’ blanket. Miles sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “What’s going on?” he asked, still half asleep. His eyes widened when he saw the three girls looking at us. “What are you guys doing in here?” he asked, calmer about it then I was. The girls laughed at our state, their laughter mocking. “Well, we were supposed to wake you up Miles, but by the looks of it, you guys were up all night.” Tatie laughed, nodding to the messy bed and our appearances: messy hair, no clothes, and bright red faces. “We’re leaving in an hour, so meet us on at the lake when you’re ready.”Pearlsaid, moving the other two towards the door. They stopped two rooms down at Jacob’s room and a shrill cry came out, followed by hysterical laughter. “Looks like Clarissa and Jacob had the same idea.” I said, grinning at Miles as I grabbed my nightgown. I put it over my head, but I realized the ribbon to tie it was gone. I looked at Miles, who was buckling his belt across the room. He saw the missing ribbon and laughed. “Here, take this.” He said, throwing me a shirt from his bag. I put it over my head and looked at how long and baggy it was on me. It stopped at my knees and hug on my like a limp rag. I smiled at Miles, who was grinning at my appearance. “I think if your uncle had walked in instead of those three, he would have shot me right there and then.” He said, pulling me close to him. I grinned at him and kissed him softly, stroking his cheek. He looked at me with a mixture of love and happiness and we walked out of the room, arm in arm.

The hour went by quickly. I left Miles by my room, changed into some travel clothes, and filled my bag with necessary items. After checking my reflection again, I walked out the door and into the courtyard. Jacob and Clarissa were already there, flushed with embarrassment and happiness Miles waited for me by Mira. His arm wrapped around mine and an image entered my head: me sleeping happily in his arms last night, smiling in my sleep. The image had an emotion with it, a warm, happy feeling that made my heart flutter: love. I looked at Miles in amazement and kissed him gently. “Thank you.” I told him, smiling softly at him. Someone behind us cleared their throat and I saw Uncle looking at Miles and me curiously. “I haven’t seen looks like that since your father met you mother.” He said, grinning at us. I looked at my uncle in surprise, my hand on Miles’ chest. “What do you mean?” I asked him, not sure if that was a good thing. “The way you two are looking at each other is exactly the way you Father use to look at your mother. Even when they first met, he was looking at her like that. I didn’t learn what the look meant until after they ran away together. The look he gave her was love itself. He looked at her with so much love that it made everyone turn to look at them. Don’t ever let go of that feeling. It’s very rare indeed.” He told us, placing his hand on our shoulders. Miles looked down at me, smiling happily and I returned his smile. “I just wish we didn’t have to fight this war. It’s going to be ugly, I can tell you that.” He said shaking his head. He mounted his dragon without a problem and then looked down at us coolly. “Oh, and I know you guys are in love and everything, but lets not do anything until after your married, or at least engaged.” He said, winking at us. Our faces heated up and he laughed, his dragon flying off the ground. “Let’s get moving!” he said, and we got on our dragons, happy to leave. I recognized one of the people coming with us and I turned to face him, surprised. “Fredric?” I said his name so it sounded like he was a flying elephant and not a person going into battle with us. He turned to me, his eyes still as strangely happy as the last time I saw him. “Oh, Lady Anna, nice to see you again.” He said, giving me his strange smile. I looked at him, wondering what a peace messenger like him was doing going to a battlefield. “Fredric, what are you doing here? I thought you’d stay at the palace likeWillow.” I said, suddenly wishing my level-headed cousin was here. He gave me a strange look, a mixture of sadness and joy, and smiled at me happily, like we were going to a tea party at another king’s palace. “I want to stay beside the Emperors side. Besides, what kind of elf would I be if I didn’t fight for my home?” he said, revealing those perfect teeth. I looked at him curiously, nodding as I did. “I-I see.” I said, turning to avoid his look. He was really strange, I’d give him that. “By the way, have you seen Lady Willow lately?” He asked me curiously, his words barely recognizable over the wind. I looked over at him, surprised to hear my cousin’s name. But one glance made me realized why he was so curious. His face was flushed red and he was avoiding my look, telling me everything. “I’m afraid I haven’t seen her since dinner yesterday night.” I told him. Fredric looked at the scales of his dragon, not looking at me. “She said she wasn’t allowed to come, so I was sure she’d come wish everyone luck. But she never showed up this morning.” He said quietly. Miles looked at me, understanding how Fredric felt. “You really care about her, don’t you?” I rested my chin on my hand and smiled at him. He glanced over at me in surprise, like it was a big secret that he liked her. “Have you told her?” I asked him, a coy smile playing on my lips. He flushed at the question, uncomfortable all of the sudden. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He nodded instead. “Did she answer you?” I asked, curious about her answer. His face burned even more, and I already knew the answer. “So she said yes.” I said, grinning at this information. “Well, she does seem to be really fond of you.” I told him, the smile on my face understanding as a mother’s. He looked at me pleading me, begging me not to tell. I waved him off, letting him know he was safe. It was one thing if you loved a noble like my mom did, but it was another if you loved a servant. Even if you could legally be married, no one would accept your marriage altogether. I suppose that’s why he was fighting. If he became a hero, he could be with her openly, instead of in secret. I thought about this and how my cousin must have felt, loving someone she couldn’t be with. I wonder if mom felt the same. I looked at Miles, leaning into his chest. What if I couldn’t be with him like this? How would I live with the fact that I could never be with him without fear of being hated by everyone I loved? PoorWillow. She must have been going through a lot. As soon as we get back, I’m changing that damn law for good, I thought to myself. I am the new Empress now, after all. Uncle decided that as soon as I showed up with Jacob that night. I just never accepted it until now. Miles interrupted my thoughts, brushing hair from my face. “What’s the matter?” he asked, seeing my serious expression. “I was just thinking.” I muttered.

“About what?”

“About what I would be doing right now if you hadn’t sent me that vision.” Miles smiled and looked up at the sky. It was crystal clear, unlike the dark atmosphere surrounding us. “I know I’d probably still be locked up like an animal, wondering how I’d escape.” He looked at me suddenly, kissing my forehead lightly. “And If I was still locked up, I wouldn’t have met you.” He told me softly and I smiled, my sadness decreasing. “Just promise me that you won’t ever leaveme.” He said into my hair, making my heart flutter. I nodded, letting him hug me, taking in his warmth. “I promise.” I whispered, the words seeming forbidden and right all at once. “I love you Anna. I love you so much.” He whispered into my hair. Even though he had said it a million times, my heart still leapt at the words. “I love you too.” I said, my smile growing slowly.

We arrived at the border shortly. Sunny and the other fairies were waiting for us there, their camp hung in the shade of the woods. She grinned when she saw Miles and me, his arm around me protectively, as if the world was dangerous. “Anna! We’re glad you’re ok. When we heard that you were kidnapped, we were frantic. Luckily, Miles knew where you were.” She said, her slight body nearly taking me down with a hug. “We see that he told you how he feels.” She said, noting his happy look at my reunion with my old friend. “Of course, you said yes. We knew he liked you from the beginning, but we wanted you to realize your feeling. We are sorry if we hurt you in the process.” She told me, taking her hands in mine. “We wish you the best of luck.” She whispered, making my face heat up. She laughed at my embarrassed expression and looked over at Miles. “Don’t ever let her go, do you understand us? You won’t find anyone else this amazing.” She shouted over to him and he laughed, placing him hand on my shoulder. “About that, we already decided something.” He said, looking at me happily. Sunny’s curiosity went from 1 to 10 at his words and she looked at us, wanting to know what he meant. He looked at me, asking my permission and seeing Sunny’s face, I reluctantly let him tell her, knowing I’d get no peace until he did. “You’re the first to hear about this, so don’t freak out. After this war is over, Anna and I are planning to get married sometime.” He told her, grinning at me. I smiled back at him, a little nervous on how Sunny would react. Her eyes widened at his words and she jumped up and down, clapping her hands happily. “Oh, congratulations you two! We’re throwing a party to celebrate as soon as we can! Oh, we just knew that you two were meant for each other. We’re so happy for you!” she said, hugging us both. We laughed, hugging her back. “Keep quiet about it for now. We don’t want everyone to be thinking about a wedding instead of the war in front of us.” We told her, but she just went on happily chattering about the preparations for the wedding and the celebration party she was going to throw for us. Man, she’s hopeless as ever, I thought to myself. Luckily, someone called her to a meeting about the battle preparations or something and she left, waving goodbye to us happily. I let out a sigh of relief when I could no longer see her and laughed, not stopping until my sides started hurting. “I think I should go to my tent.” I told Miles, noticing how dark it was starting to get. He nodded, putting his hand to my cheek. I kissed it happily, looking at him lovingly. “I’ll see you later.” I told him, my plan to see him later that night already going through my head. He nodded, sensing my thoughts, and smiled, leaning down to kiss me. I met him halfway, rising on my toes to meet him. “See you later.” He whispered to me. Then he left me in the dark. I walked into my tent and my hand immediately went to the sword on my belt. “No, don’t!” the strange person said and I hesitated, recognizing their voice. The person took off his helmet and I saw myself looking at myself. “Willow?” I said, the shock evident in my voice. She nodded grimly, her face serious. Her hair, which was once beautiful and long, was now cut short, parts of it curling around her face. She had bound her chest too, making her look like a boy. “What are you doing here?” I asked, already knowing the answer. If Miles went away to fight in a war, I’d follow him too, even if I had to disguise myself. “Anna, I’m sorry. I-I’m in love with Fredric, but he left to fight here so we could at least have a chance together. I tried to get him to stay, but he wouldn’t hear it. So I decided to follow him here. He doesn’t know that I’m here. If I told him he’d be mad. But please try to understand Anna. I don’t want to never be able to see him again. Even if I didn’t speak to him, I wanted to at least be near him. Do you understand how I feel cousin? Do you?” she asked, her tears overflowing. I hugged her tightly, patting her head calmly. “I understand perfectlyWillow. I already knew about you and Fredric. He seemed really worried when you didn’t show up to wish everyone luck. He’s already told me everything.” I told her, my voice barely louder than a whisper.Willowcried even more at my words, clinging to me sadly. I looked at her face, examining it closely. We really were the mirror image of each other. Even her fear matched mine, fear of losing someone else, fear of the unknown, of death. I’ve lived with those feelings since my parents’ death, and it made me sad to see my brave cousin like that. “I’m going to see Miles now. You should go see Fredric. He’s probably still worried about you.” I told her, my smile gentle. She nodded, wiping the tears from her face. She left the tent, her face determined as she set out to find her loved one.

I laid down by Miles, letting my head rest on his chest. I had told him all aboutWillowand her fear earlier that night after things had calmed down a little. He had sat and listened, taking in my every word like a treasure that must be kept under careful consideration. “Willow’s a lot like you.” He whispered to me suddenly, rubbing my hair between his fingers like fine gold. “That’s one of the best things about you though. You know how to deal with things most people would never imagine and you’re stronger because of that.” I smiled at him, taking his face in my hands. “You’re the same though.” I told him and kissed him softly, my lips just barely brushing his. He sighed, not liking to be reminded about his father. “Yes, but you didn’t deserve what happened to you. None of you did.” He told me sadly, stroking my cheek. My heart seemed to break at the sight of his sad face. “You didn’t deserve what happened to you either. You deserve better than that. You shouldn’t have to have that man as your father. You should have had a good childhood, full of laughter, not pain and misery.” I told him, my rage building. He smiled softly, stroking my cheek sweetly. “Don’t get so mad. What happened in the past stays there.” He told me calmly, and I suddenly felt my anger disappear. “You right,” I said with a sigh. “It’s all in the past.” I said as I laid my head back on his chest. He stroked my hair, and I could tell he was smiling at me. “Tell me Miles, why do you love me so much? What is it that you love about me?” I asked him, looking up at him curiously. He smiled happily, glad to tell me. “I love a lot of things about you Anna. I love your confidence and how wise you are, even though you’re still really young. I love how you can make people follow you by walking in a room and I love the way your eyes dance when you get an idea in your head. I love your smile and how you coax your head to the side when you look at someone and how small you are. But I think what I love most are the small, unnoticeable things the best: How big your heart is, how you can be calm in the worst of situations, and how you seem to know exactly who you are.” He told me, kissing my forehead. “Why do you love me?” he asked, pushing the hair from my eyes. I smiled at his, thinking it over. “I love how you always look at me like I’m something irreplaceable, and how you’re eyes always seem to dance when you’re happy. I really love how innocent you are, despite the fact that you were raised so horrible and I love how kind you are, not just to me, but everyone around you. I love how I feel when I’m around you, and I love moments like this, when everything’s peaceful and perfect. I wouldn’t give moments like this away for all the money in the world.” I told him, lying back down on his chest. He lifted my face to his, kissing me softly. I melted into his body, taking everything in: his warmth, his love, his words. This was bliss, and I didn’t want it to end. He pulled away from me looked at my face. “I love moments like this.” He said, reading my thoughts. Then I melted into him again, the night speeding by.

I rubbed sleep from my eyes, trying to wake up. The meeting to plan the battle was starting, and the positions had mostly been decided; the elves would take up most of the archer unit, while the Dwarf’s would be in charge of the cannons and catapults that they had provided for the battle. The rest of us would take up the battlefront. That meant the merpeople, fairies, wizards, humans, demons, and animals would make up the battlefront while the dragons and the angels took up the aerial part of the war. Of course, Miles, Tatie, Keara, Jacob,Willow, Clarissa,Pearland I would be in the battlefront with them. I felt a slight pressure on my hand and I looked up to see Miles smiling down at me. “Don’t think about it too hard. What’s all our hard work been for anyways?” he whispered to me, and my fear and worry disappeared. That’s right; everything would be ok in the end. At least I hoped it would. “So what is our position in the war? How much progress hasGilroymade so far?” King Demwald asked curiously, his face still as happy as the day I met him. Uncle looked at him seriously, not fully approving of his happy attitude. “Gilroywas last seen sacking a town in the human regions about thirty miles away from the border. He reportedly killed most of the men, women, and children, but he spared a few young girls and boys to take with him as soldiers and servants. He’s making his way down here quickly, so it’s very likely that by sunrise tomorrow, we’ll be fighting.” Uncle told us grimly, and I felt Miles tense at the mention of the people his father took. I could tell he was thinking of the girl he had saved all those years ago. “She’ll be fine.” I whispered to him, and he looked at me in surprise, worry plain on his face. He squeezed my hand, smiling softly at me as he did. “And how big is his army?” a merman asked, still not quite use to his feet yet. “KnowingGilroy, he probably wouldn’t even leave his fortress without at least 50 soldiers accompanying him. For something like this, he most likely has at least 1000,000 soldiers ready for the battlefront, while he probably makes more to make up for the lot soldiers.” Miles said, surprising everyone around us. “How would you know how many soldiers he has so well?” the merman asked, glaring at Miles distrustfully. “I’ve been captured by him more then once. I think I knowGilroybetter than anyone here.” He told the merman, his glare icy and menacing. The merman, at loss for words, said nothing. “Tell me this, how many of you have even seenGilroy?” he asked, looking over the crowd, daring them to answer. Even I couldn’t raise my hand. I’d only seen his two sons. Miles smirked, looking at the silent group. “If none of you have even seen him, how do you expect to separate him from the others? That’s one of the ways he manages to trick people. If you can’t find the puppet master, how do you expect to kill all the puppets? I think you guys should at least know who you’re dealing with. If you think you’re dealing with some old nut-job wizard, you couldn’t be more wrong.Gilroyis actually really young and if you didn’t know who he was, you’d think he was just a normal person, the only noticeably different thing about him is how handsome he is. That’s what he likes to use to his advantage: ignorance.” Miles said, looking coldly at the others around us. “How do you know so much about him? He hardly ever sees his prisoners from what I heard. He leaves them to his son and his wife.” Someone said, not believing that Miles had seen him. Miles leaned over the table and looked at the man, glaring evilly. “Isn’t it a father’s job to make his son feel welcome at home?” Miles said bitterly, making everyone freeze at his words. No one said anything, not even Miles, who sat next to me looking so bitter I thought he’d die from it. “Y-you’reGilroy’s son?” the man said fearfully, breaking the silence. Miles looked at him, smiling bitterly. “Son and heir, unfortunately.” He said, laughing bitterly. I put my hand on his arm and he took it, smiling sadly at me. “If you’re his son, how do we know you’re not planning to go back to him after this?” someone said, fear showing in his voice. “If he was planning to go back, why did he go through all that trouble to escape in the first place!” I yelled at him, knocking my chair back as I stood up. “He can’t help who his father is! At least he’s trying to be different from him.” I shouted at them, making them stop talking. Everyone stared at me in shock, including Miles. I could see why; I almost never lost my temper like that. “He wants to change, can’t you see that? Why else would he have warned us aboutGilroy’s plan? Most of you have seen him around. Does he seem like the kind of person that’d betray us?” I asked them, trying to calm down. No one said anything at my words, and I felt my anger well up again. I was about to shout again when Miles grabbed my hand, making me silent. “It’s ok Anna.” He told me quietly and my anger decreased. I picked up my chair and sat back down, trying to calm down again. “I guess we should end the meeting. Be ready to fight at any moment.” My uncle said as he exited the tent. The others followed him until it was just the original group: Me, Miles, Tatie, Clarissa, Keara, Jacob, andPearl. They silently passed us, not looking at me or Miles as they did so. I sat next to him, clenching my fists in anger. After all we’d been through, how could they just leave him like that? Miles gripped my hand tightly, making me look at him. “It’s alright Anna. I knew I would have to tell them sooner or later. They’ll come around eventually.” He told me, smiling encouragingly. I nodded, looking at him careful. He’s right, everything will be fine.

We silently left the tent, feeling the glares of everyone as we passed. Miles just put his arm around me protectively, as if that would keep the hate from their glares away from me. I silently followed him, not letting them get to me. We walked out of the camp, into the woods on the opposite side of the base. We walked until we could no longer feel their glares or sense their deadly thoughts. We stopped at a clearing, sitting down silently. It’s then that I finally gave into my emotions and cried; for Miles, for myself. I hated their hateful looks; I detested their angry glances, like it was Miles that had killed all those people, notGilroy. When they saw him walking by, they sawGilroyinstead. Miles soothed me, holding me close while I cried. “It’s alright Anna.” He whispered over and over as he stroked my hair. “But you didn’t do anything wrong! You couldn’t help being his son. It’s not like you chose the same path he did; you’re trying to change! Why are they treating you like him?” I asked, crying into him. I could hardly remember what it was like without him. Those times before him were like bad dreams; something unreal that you eventually woke up from. I knew that he had saved me that day, and I wanted to do the same for him. He lifted my face, wiping the tears from my eyes silently. “There, now smile. You’re so much prettier when you smile” He told me with a smile. I smiled for him, and he tweaked my nose. “Now that’s the Anna I love.” He told me, kissing my head softly. “Just keep smiling, and everything will be alright.” He told me, stroking my cheek. I nodded, trying to keep the smile on my face. “As long as your smiling, I’ll have the courage to go on.” He said, his smile dazzling. I stared up at him in amazement, wondering if this was all a dream that I would wake up from. I hugged him tightly, not wanting to let him go. “It’s alright. I’ll follow you wherever you go, I promise you that.” His voice was soft and sweet in my ears. “You promise?” I said, not sure he was telling the truth. “Yes, I promise. I just got you, I’m not about to let you go.” He said as he ruffled my hair. I looked up at him, not liking being treated like a dog or a little kid. His face suddenly became serious, like he had read my thoughts, and he kissed me gently, making me melt in his arms. “I promise.” He whispered to me, and he kissed me again.

We returned to the camp later, and the soldier’s hostile stares boring a hole in our heads as we walked to our tents. I left Miles at his tent and went to my own, not wanting to leave his side. I was surprised to see two men at my tent waiting for me when I got there. “So you’ve returned. Tell me, where is your Dark prince? Planning on ways to sell us out?” one of them, the merman from earlier asked. I ignored him and tried to walk into my tent, but he blocked the way. “You may be Empress Arisa’s daughter, but you are nothing more then a little slut who is more focused on pleasures from men than the well-being of your people.” He jeered at me, his face so close I could smell the stink on his breath. “Move aside.” I said emotionlessly, trying to get past him. He slapped me, the contact from it making me fall to the ground. I touched my lip and saw blood on my hand when I looked at it. I wiped it way and stood up, my head still spinning a little from the fore of his slap. He hit me again, making me fall back. His friend laughed at my defenseless state, encouraging his friend to continue. I suppressed screams of pain as he kicked me, his hard shoes contacting with my ribs and my face. I gasped as the wind rushed out of me, not letting him hear me cry out in pain. “Come on you slut! Beg for mercy!” he shouted, kicking me harder and more angrily. I tried standing up again, but he hit me, striking me down in one hard blow. I saw his fist rise again and my being filled with hatred, so much of it that it burned my skin. I glared at him as he brought his fist down again, not letting him see my pain. Without thinking, I kicked his knees, making them buckle. The movement was so natural, I couldn’t stop it. Just as quickly as I had kicked him, I was up, twisting his arm behind his back so far that I heard it snap, making him cry out. He reached for his knife, but I was quicker, grabbing it from his belt before he could reach it. I brought it to his neck, smiling sweetly at him. “Rot in hell you piece of shit.” I told him and in one sound movement, I stabbed the knife deep into his leg, knowing full well that someone could easily heal him. He fell to the ground and I looked at his friend, who watched the exchange of power in shock. “Well, what are you standing there for you worthless follower? Go get a healer for his injuries!” I snapped at him, and he ran off towards the main part of the camp, not looking back at me. I leaned over the merman, lifting him up by the collar. “Don’t ever touch me again, do you understand?” I said menacingly, making him shaking in fear. Then I threw him to the ground and went into my tent, not caring if he lived or died. I heard a commotion outside my tent andPearlcame in and sat across from me a moment later. “So you injured one of my country’s men. Why?” she asked, looking at me curiously.

“He was beating me down.” I said silently, not looking at her. I was glad it was dark in there, so she couldn’t see my bruised body or the blood coming from my lip and a spot on my forehead. I didn’t want anyone to see me like this. “You could have made him stop without stabbing him. Why did you go so far?” she asked, making me face her. “Was it because of what he said earlier in the meeting?” she asked, and I flinched at her trusting look. “The meeting has nothing to do with it. He was telling me to bow down to him and beg for mercy. I didn’t care about that. He called me a slut, I didn’t care about that. But he brought mom into it along with Miles and I gotmad.” I said, trying to look away from her.Pearlnodded solemnly, understanding why I had hurt him so much. To say bad things about me is one thing, but to insult my family like that is another. “After his injuries heal, I’ll make sure to tell him what his mistake was. But in the mean time, don’t hurt anyone unnecessarily like that. When you act like that you’re no better then the man we’re fighting against.”Pearltold me, and she silently left me alone with her words.

The night seemed to go on forever. I had been trying to sleep for what seemed like hours when the alarms sounded, telling us to assemble for battle. I jumped up and grabbed my weapons: a sword, throwing knives, poison darts, and 3 daggers that I kept hidden on me. I ran out, my shirt half buttoned and still putting on my boots as I joined the crowd. We met like we were suppose to, and I immediately spotted the others. They were all prepared for a long battle, chattering nervously to each other. I was the only one that was remotely calm as I walked up to them. “Anna, did you here?Gilroy’s men have just arrived at the border.” Keara said, her eyes full of fear and anxiety as she spoke. I nodded, my face as grim as my emotions. I felt a hand on my shoulder and saw Miles standing next to me, his expression just as grim as my own. “Well, he does move fast. His army is made up of the undead and demons. They don’t have to stop to rest like the other races do.” He told them, smiling softly at his words. He seemed unnaturally calm, like we were going to the store instead of into a battle that would be full of death and misery. “Well, it’s still hard to believe that we’re going into war officially.” Keara said. “What have we all gathered together for if not a war?” Clarissa said with a harsh laugh. Keara’s reply was cut off by six leaders of the regions; King Demwald, ruler of the Dwarf, Uncle Damascus, ruler of the Elves, Lord Rufus, Tatie, Clarissa, and Keara’s father, Phoebus Remogi, a councilmen of the merpeople, King Follen, Sunny’s father, and Ambassador Reaves, the person representing the wizards. “Everyone,Gilroy’s men are near. We may all have our differences, but for us to be gathered like this, for one cause, is truly incredible. Even if this war brings misery and suffering for many people, one good thing has come from this war so far: Love. Love for your friends, your country, your fellow man, it’s such an important and beautiful thing. Without it, there’d be no peace and happiness. When we emerge from this war victorious, I promise that we will have peace at last between all of us; elves, angels, animals, wizards, dwarfs, merpeople, fairies, and humans alike. It will be a time of prosperity and brotherhood, a time that will go down in history, along with all of you that fought for it. All that’s left to say is victory for the idealists!” Uncle Damascus proclaimed, earning a cheer from the crowd around him. With those inspiring words, we went into battle.

The sun was high in the sky before I knew it. The heat from it mixed with the stench of blood made my head light, but I couldn’t concentrate on that. With a grunt, I brought down my sword on my enemy, striking him down as I did so. As soon as he fell one of his comrades came up to me, and I defended myself against him, not caring that I had just killed someone. All that mattered right now was surviving. I met his blade, the sound of metal hitting metal hurting my ears along with the screams of the dying. People fought all around me in an endless dance, moving from person to person like someone changed dance partners. I swiftly brought my blade through the man’s neck, his blood landing on my face as I removed my blade. I sensed some behind me and I met their blow halfway, stopping it above my head. I turned and saw that my opponent was a girl this time. I felt a wave of pity for her, but I continued to fight, knowing that she didn’t have the same feeling as I did about killing her. We engaged in a long dance, her speed and reflexes almost matching my own. She was able to cut me light a few times while I was able to do the same, but I soon found a weakness. She failed to guard her legs properly, so when our blades met again, I swiftly kicked her knee. She fell down in surprise, looking up at me as I brought down the blade on her skull, killing her instantly. Her tiny body crumpled to the ground and no one approached me, engaged in battle elsewhere at the moment. I saw Tatie near me struggling with a person, so I ran to help her. The person knocked her down and she rolled over as the brought down the blade. He brought it down again, trapping her with his foot. I saw her cringe as the blade came down, waiting for her death. Just before it hit her, I stopped the blade with mine, and threw it back, making the person stumble for a moment before regaining his balance. He charged back at me and I glanced over at Tatie, who was staring out in space in shock. “Are you just going to stand there or are you gonna help?” I yelled at her, bring her back to earth. She jumped up and grabbed her sword from the ground and joined me. After a few minutes, we were able to kill him. “Thanks.” She said breathlessly, looking at his crumbled body. “No problem, but now’s not a good time to chat.” I said, pointing to the three men that were running towards us. We met their weapons, two swords and an axe, with sudden energy, throwing them back a few feet as we did so. The man with the axe and I fought while Tatie took care of the two swordsmen, cutting one of them down quickly. The axeman, about two feet taller then me and a hundred pounds heavier, took most of my concentration. After struggling for a few minutes, he threw my sword somewhere behind him, bringing down his axe as he did, I dodged it, sly as a fox and pulled out one of my daggers, stabbing him in the back with it, making him double over to my height. I took another and put it in his chest, making him drop his axe in shock. I picked it up and cut him down with it, throwing it down next to him. I pulled my daggers out of him and picked up a sword that was lying next to its dead owner. Tatie was still having some problems with one of the swordsmen and I slid one of my throwing knives out of my sleeve and threw it at the man, watching it pierce his spine, making him hesitate in surprise. While he paused in surprise, Tatie sliced him throw his chest and finished him off. She saw me watching her and saluted me, running off to find another person to fight. I went over and took out my knife out of the man, then ran and found another opponent. They were dying like flies. I think for every one of us that they killed, we killed four of them. But it didn’t matter how many we killed, becauseGilroycould just make more while we slept. With this thought, I fought another man with all my might.

The battles had been going on everyday for almost 2 months now. My days became repetitive: Wake up, go fight, come back when the enemy retreated (they always retreated once the lost too many people and we left afterwards too, taking that chance to sleep), and either check onWillowand the others or spend the night with Miles. It was becoming second nature for me to kill people that weren’t that much older than me. It was as natural as breathing by now.Willowstill hated the feeling of destroying a life, and she’d go off and cry in secret when I’d find her. For the past a while now, I’d been feeling strange though. I felt sick a lot of the time, with waves of nausea and chills a daily accuracy. I didn’t tell Miles about it, and when he asked I just told him I was just a little sick from the fighting earlier. So I wasn’t surprised when I was throwing up later that night. “You know you’re not really sick, right?” a familiar voice said behind me, and I turned to seeWillowleaning against a tree behind me, examining me curiously. Her voice was deeper than normal, a habit developed from pretending to be a man all the time. She didn’t even speak normally to me. “What do you mean?” I asked, wiping throw up from the corners of my mouth and spitting on the ground, like it would get rid of the foul taste. “You’re not sick.” She said, walking towards me. She placed her hands on my stomach and pulled down on it, making me squeak a little from the pressure. “I’ve seen this before with your mom and my mom, and I can tell you right now that you’re not sick.” She told me, taking her hands off my stomach. I looked at her, not understanding what she meant. She turned back at me, giving me an annoyed look. “Look, I didn’t notice until about a week ago. One of the reasons my healer is better than most is because I have a better sensory level than most people. I can sense the aura around a person, which tells me if the person is sick or health. I can even find out if they are getting a cold of if they have a tumor. I looked at yours last week though and I noticed something different. Your aura is normally white when you’re not sick, but I could also see a faint red aura coming from you. I was curios about it, so I tried harder to find out what it was. It was coming from here.” She said, tapping my stomach. I still didn’t know what she meant. She sighed, amazed at my stupidity. “You’re not sick, you’re just pregnant.” She told me, her patience leaving her. “Man, how oblivious are you? By the looks of it, you’re already a little less than two months. How did you not notice it?” she asked, staring at me incredulously. I looked at my stomach, my face red. I was pregnant? I touched my stomach, finding it hard to believe that a little person was sitting inside there, safe from the taint of the world. “Wha-what do I do?” I asked her, a new sense of fear gripping at me. “What can you do? You’re gonna have a baby in less than a year. Just don’t get stabbed in the stomach or die between then.” She said with a grin, turning to leave. I grabbed her hand, not sure what to do. “Willow, please. I don’t know what to do! I don’t know anything about having a baby. For one thing, how can I tell Miles without him demanding that I stop fighting?” I asked, Miles face in my mind. That’s right, if I was having a child, it was also his. I had to tell him about it. “I don’t know the answer to that one. But I’ll be with you when it comes, so don’t worry about a thing.” She said, patting my hand encouragingly. Then just as soon as she appears, she disappeared into the darkness, leaving me with her words. I silently found my way to Miles tent, afraid of the silence around me. He welcomed me and then, seeing my expression, led me in silently. “What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting on the ground next to me. I cried into my hands, not knowing how to tell him. “I-I-I just finished talking toWillow. She told me why I haven’t been feeling well.” I sobbed, feeling his concern. “Is it serious?” he asked, his worry showing on his face. I shook my head, making him even more puzzled. “Then why are you crying?” I looked up at him, and I could tell he saw my fear. His eyes widened and he looked down at my stomach the same way I had, then back at me, wondering if he was right. “I’m gonna have a baby.” I whispered the words like they were forbidden, and his eyes widened in surprise. “Really?” He asked me, not believing it. I nodded, unable to answer. I cried into my hands afraid of his reaction. I was surprised when he hugged me, laughing happily. “Anna, that’s great!” he told me, his smile lighting up the dark tent. “Y-you’re not mad?” I asked in amazement, not sure about how to react. “Why would I be mad about that? We’re having a baby!” he said, laughing happily as he hugged me tighter. I stared at him in amazement, to sure what to do. After a moment, I hugged him back, laughing with him happily.

I remember that day as being the hottest day of my life. This battle was worse than any we had been in before. I hacked through bodies endlessly, making sure I kept my baby safe from harm as I did so. As I finished killing my current opponent, I heard a shout go up from somewhere in the battlefield. “It’s him! It’sGilroy!” I turned towards the voices and time seemed to freeze as I looked at the man that had caused this war. He was surprisingly young, with black hair and cold amber eyes that seemed to freeze your soul. But other than that, he had Miles face, the only difference was that it was thinner and more mature than Miles. He looked over at me and I saw a cruel smile play over his thin mouth. He mouthed something to some of his men and came towards me, sword ready to strike. Moving swiftly, I picked up mine and met his blow half on, my arm throbbing under his incredible strength. “So you’re Anna.” He said, his voice as slippery as a snake’s. He brought down his sword again and I blocked it, being pushed back as I did so. “That’s me.” I said, swinging at him with a smirk that almost matched his own. He laughed at my face, blocking my blow. “You fight surprisingly well for a woman. After I kill you, I’ll be sure to bring you back and make you a soldier forme.” He jeered, his comment making my anger flare. We pulled back, and I grinned evilly at him. “Well, don’t hold back then.” I said, surrounding my blade with a black fire that seemed to be born from my hate.Gilroygrinned back at me, the smile just as evil as its owner. “May the best man win.” He said, emphasizing on the word man. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, they had changed to a blood-red color. When I looked at his blade, I saw that it was surrounded by some type of lightning. He lunged forward and I dodged his attack, bring my blade to his back as I jumped behind him. He deflected it quickly and smirked at me. “You’re quick.” He said, seemingly surprised. I smiled and brought my blade down again, just barely grazing his arm. He flinched at the heat from the blade, and backed away. Then, looking from his wound to me, he let out an evil laugh. “Well done. I expected no less from someone who killed her own parents so easily.” He taunted me, making me flinch. “It was easy to kill all those men, wasn’t it? I bet their children and wives and friends will mourn their deaths.” He told me and I hesitated at his words. “You roasted your own parents alive and when your brother tried to stop you, you almost killed him. How is it that you can be so calm when you kill people like that? First your parents, then those robbers, now all those soldiers.” He told me mockingly, slamming me in the head with the hilt of his sword. I tumble backwards and I touched my head. When I pulled back, my hand was red from blood. I looked atGilroyand I saw all of those moments at once: my parents bodies crumpled on the ground, peeling in the heat. The robbers as they forced me down night after night, Derek pinning me down in the dark room before Miles came to save me, the faces of all the people I killed, the girl looking up at me helplessly. I saw all of it at once and I fell to the ground, pulling at my hair and crying. Make it stop! God damn it, make it stop! Just as I though those words, I felt all the air leave my body and I returned to the real world in time to seeGilroysmiling down at me evilly. I felt immense pain in my chest, like someone was crushing my heart. I looked down and sawGilroy’s blade in my chest, the end of it coming out of my back, stained red in my blood. I looked up at him in shock, realizing that the pain was numbing and the world around me was growing darker. “Anna!” someone shouted from the sidelines of the battle, and I turned to see Miles running towards me, everyone else around us watching the scene unfold.Gilroysmirked and twisted the blade in my chest, the pain of it making me scream out. He took the blade out of my chest and hit me upside the head with the hilt, and my world went black.

I wondered in darkness. I had no idea how I had come to be here, or where here was for that matter. My head hurt when I tried to think about what had happened. “Anna.” A voice called from the dark, and I turned towards it, following the sound. Before me stood a light, so pure and bright that I couldn’t see what it was. “Anna, come tome.” My eyes adjusted and I saw my mother and Father standing in front, smiling at me warmly. “Anna, we missed you.” Mom said, opening her arms to me. I ran into them, tears forming in my eyes. “Mama!” I cried into her arms like a child. She patiently sat and stroked my hair, kissing my head softly. Mama was still as warm as I remembered her. Dad looked down at me and smiled, his face just as happy as my mother’s. “How are you Anna?” he asked, his voice comforting me. “Papa, I missed you both so much!” I said, hugging him tightly. We sat there, a happy family again, until my mother looked at the sky worriedly. “Anna, we must go soon. Would you come with us?” she asked, stroking my cheek. The feeling of happiness welled up inside of me, and I was about to nod when I heard a voice behind us. “Anna, where are you?” the person called, and I turned to seePearlwondering around in the dark. “I’m over here.” I called out to her, and I turned to see my parents frowning.Pearlran up and grabbed my hands, pulling me towards her. “Anna, please don’t go! They still need you down there.”Pearlsaid, crying as she hugged me. I looked at her, not understanding.Pearlpointed down and I saw something below us. It was Miles, hugging what looked like a dead body close to him. After looking closer, I recognized the person. It was me. I took a step backwards, not sure what to do. It looked like he was crying. I could see his shoulders shaking and Tatie and Keara trying to comfort him. Clarissa was crying into Jacob, shaking just as much as Miles. He slapped Tatie’s hand away from him and shook me, trying to wake me up. “Miles.” I said softly. How could I forget about him? “Please go back Anna. They need you down there. Miles needs you.” She said, looking at me sadly. I looked moved away from her and ran, listening for their voices. “Anna.” Someone said faintly, and I followed the sound, being brought back to the dream when I had met Miles. I could see myself, running in fear as he watched over me, smiling softly at me. He helped me up calmly and told me how to help him and save myself. “Anna, come back.” His voice whispered, and I ran towards it, eloped in light.

I could feel warm tears on my cheek when I opened my eyes. “Miles.” I said faintly, my voice foreign to myself. Miles looked at me in surprise, his face streaked with tears. “Why are you crying?” I asked him, wiping away one of his tears. He cried again and hugged me close, making a flood of pain come over my body. “Anna!” I heard people shout, and I looked around to see all my friends smiling down at me, wiping tears from their eyes. “Hi guys. Where’sPearl?” I asked, noticing that my savoir was the only one missing. Everyone grew quick, not looking at me. “Where is she?” I demanded, looking for her. The looked next to me and I turned to see a crumpled body next to me. When I examined closer, I saw pale skin and white hair….. “No. No!” I screamed, looking at my dead friend. “Anna.” Miles said, placing his hand on my shoulder as I stared crying. “What happened to her? I just saw her a while ago.” I shouted frantic, making everyone aground me cringe. “She did it before we could stop her. She gave herself up in place of you.” Miles said, his voice no louder than a whisper. I felt so many emotions come out of me all at once; anger, fear, grief, guilt. But none of that would bring her back. “Why did she do it? Why.” I cried, touching her lifeless body. Its purity was stained red with her blood. “Pearl.” I sobbed quietly, looking at the body of my dead friend. She was always there laughing and listening to my problems. It was hard to believe she was dead. Miles lifted me up from the ground, carrying me off the battlefield with everyone else following. “What about the battle?” I asked, examining the ground around us. “The battles over.” Miles said, smiling down at me.

“How?” I asked him incredulously.

“Gilroyis dead, along with Helena.” He said, unmoving. “How is he dead?” I asked, shocked to find out the war was over. “I killed him.” He told me, his face emotionless. We walked the rest of the way back to camp in silence.

It was a month after the final battle when the day came. “Anna, you look beautiful.”Willowtold me, adjusting my veil. I looked at my reflection in the mirror: tan skin, long black hair piled on my head, a long white gown that hid the baby growing inside me, my face flushed with a happy glow. “I’d hope so.” I said, smoothing my dress out. A knock on the door announced the arrival of Uncle Damascus. He looked at me andWillow, who smiled happily at him. “Anna, you look beautiful.” He said, offering me his arm. I picked up my bouquet and put my arm through his, letting him lead me down the hallway. Inside the room I could hear music and lively chatter, making me nervous. Music played loudly andWillowwalked in the door, followed by the other bridesmaids, Sunny, Clarissa, Tatie, and Keara. Everyone hushed when they walked in the room, and the music sounded again, announcing my entrance. I walked in the room led by Uncle Damascus, Smiling shyly at everyone. All the people who had fought in the war with us were here for the ceremony. I saw King Demwald and Aunt Rona crying into handkerchiefs next to each other, smiling happily at me. Lord Rufus was trying to hold back a smile that was playing on the corners of his mouth, and Everyone was looking at me happily. I examined my friends at the alter one by one: Brave Tatie, Simple Keara, Kind Clarissa, and Strong Willow, who had changed the law after the war. Now she was engaged to Fredric, who couldn’t keep his eyes off her. I looked at my Brother Jacob, who smiled excitedly at me, giving me strength with his smile. Last of all, I looked at Miles, my love, my strength. He watched me walk up to him, his face spellbound as I looked at him happily. He held out his hand like he did that day and I took it, stepping up with him at the alter. Just like that, we were married in the company of our friends, who wished us a happy life together.

“Mama, Mama!” Ophelia’s little voice called to me. I turned to look at my daughter, who was looking up at me sleepily. Miles and I exchanged glances, knowing what she wanted. “What’s wrong sweetie?” Miles asked, lifting our daughter onto his lap. She had everything that I loved in Miles: his bright blue eyes and happy mouth that smiled so kindly at me, along with his pale skin. From me, she had inherited her chubby cheeks, dark eyelashes, and little nose. The one thing that was a mystery was her hair; it was snow white and in the firelight, it looked silver. “I can’t sleep.” She said in her little voice. I smiled, kissing her forehead. “Do you want to hear another story?” I asked her, smiling softly at her. She nodded. “Which one.” I asked, knowing what one she wanted to hear. “Tell me the story about you and daddy.” She said, and we began to tell her our story.

The End