Prelude

Arcadia surveyed the hall, watching for signs of the other members of the Council. Surely they will come, she reasoned. They do not know of this meeting's purpose. There is no reason for them to turn their backs.

Shivers raced down her spine. But will they when I tell them?

"I'm here." Andromeda's soft-spoken voice filled the hall, and Arcadia couldn't help breathe a small sigh of relief as the old mermaid heaved herself up onto her rock. "What is your purpose for calling us tonight, Arcadia?"

"Yes, please enlighten us," Cedric said, his deep, booming bass echoing in the shadowy cavern. His hooves made clicking noises on the floor as he padded up to the side of the pool.

"I do not appreciate this interruption," Hathor's raspy screech exclaimed, as he swooped dramatically down to convene with the others. "I do hope this is not an immense waste of my time."

"Silly old bat, you've got nothing but time," Andromeda laughed. Cedric chuckled, and for a moment Arcadia's muscles relaxed.

It didn't last, though, as Cedric soon turned his gaze back to the fairy of the Golden Kingdom. "We are all here, Arcadia. Now tell us. Why have you called us here tonight?"

Arcadia took a deep breath. "Friends, elders, it has come to my attention that there is a soul petitioning for a reincarnation." Andromeda inhaled sharply. "As you know, such a gift has not been bestowed in over two hundred years. I do not take this decision lightly, and neither should you."

"Why have we been called to make this decision? Aren't there others that deal with this sort of thing?" Cedric asked. Hathor's eyes flickered like he agreed.

"This soul is a very… special case. I was asked personally to take this case on, and thought it right to include all of you in this monumental decision, for the choice we make tonight may shape the future of the world as we know it."

"Who is this person?" Hathor asked. "Anyone we might know?"

"You have heard of him, seen the destruction he caused in his first life. We were asked to intervene, when things became truly too difficult for the rest of the magical dimension to handle on their own. Search your memories; I know that it is there."

Andromeda's eyes lit up, then narrowed in disbelief. "Surely you don't mean…" When Arcadia nodded, the mermaid's stare grew even colder. "Arcadia, how could you even think of giving him a second chance? You said it yourself, this is not a gift to be taken lightly. Would you truly bear the responsibility of causing something like that to happen again?"

"Why are we even still talking about this?" Cedric declared, slamming his hand against a piece of the railing. Arcadia flinched, trying hard not to lose her composure. "I will never vote to give him another life with which to wreak that kind of destruction. If that is all, Arcadia, I am leaving." He turned around as if to start down the hallway at a gallop, his wings outstretched and poised to take off at a second's notice.

"Stay, Cedric," Hathor commanded, his voice intimidating despite its scratchiness. "Arcadia was not finished."

"Thank you, Hathor." She tipped her head slightly in his direction, but he only rewarded her with a thin smile.

Cedric's nostrils flared, but he folded up his wings. "Continue," he said tightly, his contempt barely veiled.

"He has done great wrongs in his first life, that is true. But the hand he was dealt was not a particularly good one. And…" She hesitated, unsure if this next tidbit would sway or dissuade the others to her side. "There is a girl."

"Cold-blooded murderer wants to go back and be with his precious sweetheart?" Cedric sneered. "Never mind the fact that his own feelings were never acknowledged nor returned. Arcadia, why you insist upon wasting our time with this garbage, I will never understand."

"Silence!" the council leader snapped. "Kindly refrain from interrupting me, Cedric, or I will snip off your wings and feed them to the dragons." His face paled considerably, and Arcadia let out a soft sigh. She and Cedric rarely, if ever, saw eye to eye, and he was no stranger to voicing his opinions – loudly. She hated using her power as leader in times like this, but sometimes it was necessary.

"His insolence aside, Cedric does have a point." Andromeda stretched herself out on the rock. "Will you really turn a blind eye to everything he's done, for some silly little romance? How do you know this is real, and not just a lie told to persuade us to let him loose again?"

"I have been to see the girl in question," she started. "She is one of us, yet she turns away from her past and lives as a mortal on Earth. Something is troubling her; I could sense that much even without slipping into her mind. She has suffered much hardship, and now has become quite isolated from the rest of the magical dimension. And she is a good and pure soul, the very definition of selflessness. I believe this is worth considering; if not for him, then for her. She is much deserving of a reward, after everything that she has done."

"Was she one of the group that came to us?" Hathor asked.

"She could not at the time. Her powers were incomplete; still are incomplete, because of the tragedy of her past." Seeing that she had their full attention, Arcadia knew it was time to end this soon, and come to a decision. "They are connected by something deeper than any bond created in the mortal world. I believe that she is capable of bringing him out of the darkness that sheltered him in his first life. And in return, I believe he may be a great help in her struggles to come."

"Are you on about that again?" Cedric's voice was still cold, but had the bare minimum of respect that would keep an argument at bay. "We've seen what will happen; the girl is fine on her own. She doesn't need someone there to hold her hand."

"But keep in mind, we are not the only creatures to exist outside of time. If we've seen it, have they as well?"

It was silent in the hall for a moment. "Would we leave him his powers?" Andromeda arched one eyebrow, and Arcadia could see that she had the mermaid on her side, despite her question. "Surely that would be a recipe for disaster."

"I agree. Binding his powers is the most logical thing to do. They may be returned with time, if he can prove himself."

Hathor sighed. "This reminds me why you are our fearless leader, Arcadia. Because you are willing to argue for these lost causes. Very well then; you've got me convinced."

Arcadia smiled. "Cedric?" She turned towards the centaur.

"Does it matter what I think? You've got your majority vote."

"I would prefer this to be unanimous."

The centaur sighed. "You make a compelling argument. But I must insist on one condition. Someone must check in on him regularly, to make sure this isn't a mistake or trick of some sort."

"If that is what you wish, it can be done." She bit back the wide grin that threatened to spread across her face. "So it is decided. We will grant him a second chance."

"One more chance," Cedric was quick to add. "And if there is even the slightest hint of a backslide, I will personally revoke his life and cast the spirit down into the deepest pits of darkness."

Andromeda winced. "Must you be so dramatic, Cedric?"

"The council is dismissed," Arcadia declared, clapping her hands three times. The golden railing started to sink back into the pool.

"Hmph," Cedric huffed, spreading his wings and taking off. Hathor was quick to follow, and Andromeda dropped back down into the pool, leaving Arcadia alone with her thoughts in the great hall.

She inhaled sharply. You have no idea the lengths I've gone to for you now. You had better not make me regret doing this.

Julius Osborne was used to odd requests.

Being in the tattoo business for eight years now, it never ceased to amaze him how stupid people could be sometimes. Putting faces of children on an arm; giving a couple a matching heart, only to have one of them come in a few months later with a request to cover the name with a differ ent one; or giving a too-young child some half-assed symbol like a heart while their parents, covered head-to-toe in ink, looked on and gave an encouraging thumbs-up. His boss called it good business.

Julius called it the fall of society.

But still, despite all of the requests he'd had, all of the Michael Jackson quotes he'd written on the inside of people's wrists, there was something odd about the girl who sat in his chair now.

It wasn't her appearance, per se; she looked like a lot of normal girls who came in on their eighteenth birthdays, intent on defying their parents' many scoldings of how one ink would make you look like a hooligan. Her red hair was up in a messy bun, and she was dressed in a blue and yellow crop top and jeans. Her phone rested in her lap, and she tapped a finger against it, waiting for him to speak.

But it was her demeanor that struck him as odd. She wasn't overly giddy, nor was she scared stiff as she stared at the tools resting on his desk. She didn't even have any friends with her – unless you counted the small rabbit that peeked out of her purse every now and then. There were two pink suitcases propped against the door, obviously full. This girl was either going back home or running away from something. He suspected a little of both.

"Can you do it?" Her voice surprised him; it was much softer than he'd imagined.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he glanced at the piece of paper in his hand again. (Actually, it was a napkin, from some place called the Magix Coffee House. He wondered if it was any good. "I can," Julius said slowly, and in fact he could. There had been many a time people had come to him with personal drawings or designs they wanted him to tattoo – and he'd seen far worse ones than what this girl had come up with. He turned back to her. "You sure you're eighteen?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Did you see my ID?"

He had – five times, actually. And he'd read her 1992 birthdate over and over again to make sure it was correct. But something about it seemed odd; there was a tickle in the back of his head every time he looked at it, as though his brain was trying to tell him it wasn't right.

"Hurry it up, Julius!" his boss yelled from down the hall. "Busy, busy day!"

He sighed. "Alright, better get started then. Now, this your first time getting a tattoo?" She nodded. "And you know the back of your neck is one of the most painful places to get inked, right?"

"I don't want it that big," she insisted.

"I understand that. But big or small, it's gonna sting, and it's going to take time to heal. Okay?"

"Got it."

He didn't know what he expected – some explanation, maybe. Most people were overly eager to share whatever life-changing experience had inspired them to get a tattoo. But this girl was eerily silent. Another thing that set him off about her.

Julius finally gave up. "Hold onto this," he said, tossing her a stress ball he kept for first-timers. "And lean your head forward." She obliged, and he looked at the drawing again. "This isn't bad, kid," he said, picking up a tattoo gun. "Did you come up with this yourself?"

She chuckled, but something about it sounded off. "Oh, if only. If only…"

We're baaaack...

Yes, I said we! After all of the awesome feedback from Leap of Faith, Authoress-In-Training and I are back for another fantastic collaboration! I hope you guys are as excited as we are!

Now, I'm sure this prelude has given you a basic idea of the insanity to come, and we promise updates are coming soon! I know school starting back up is a drag, but we have a plan, and it shall be so epic!

However, it isn't just our opinions that matter here; it's yours! And there's only one way to voice that opinion, and it's right below this! Let us know in your review what you think is going to happen, what you're excited for, and all of that awesome stuff. And if you've got questions, drop either me or Authoress a PM (remember; we're both writing this, so don't be afraid to go talk to her too. She doesn't bite - I promise ;-) ).

Well guys, that's all for now. As said earlier, updates will be soon, so we'll see you then!

ember & Authoress