the protector 1

by NightWorld123

a story about a girl who has lived for 3'000 years and her life is falling apart, making her confront long-kept feelings and emotions that should be left well-alone.

Chapter One - Renaissance

Her hair was thick and wavy, soft and silky. It swayed to her waist like a waterfall of blood with natural highlights the colour of autumn. Her eyes, the colour of the gold frame on the Queen of England's crown, seemed to suck you into them like quick-sand and they lasted forever and ever, there was always something new lingering around the corner.

"Why are you so stunning?" Helena asked her best friend, Arabella, enviously. Arabella shot her a warning glance, her golden eyes had a fiery heat to them.

"Sorry, I can't help being jealous." Helena apologized. Arabella grinned mischievously, her sensuous lips making the action deathly to any mortal too careless to look upon her at that moment.

"Don't be sorry! Thank you. I do like being complimented really, it's just you have no reason to be jealous. I may be stunning but you have the looks of an Italian, obviously." Arabella replied confidently. Her voice was husky yet gentle and soothing. She was polite and respectful, this had come from years of always being second best and a protector of monarchs and lords.

Helena turned away, embarrassed. She always felt like Arabella was telling her off. Arabella was wise, and so mature that she was in a league of her own, and that constantly seeped into her voice even when she tried to conceal it.

"When is Dad coming back?" Helena asked changing the subject.

"Soon." I hope! Arabella added silently. She'd dealt with some pretty harsh things herself but to see Helena cry, actually cry, would be heart-wrenching.

"Yeah, but when?"

"I don't know."

"I thought you knew everything!"

"Where did you hear such an absurd notion?"

"I just assumed… you always know what to do. It just seemed like everything was crystal clear to you."

"Nobody knows everything, it's impossible. Let's go back inside, your dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

"But I don't want to. I want to stay here and talk with you more. I've missed you." Helena finished. She gave one of her shy smiles that she knew melted Arabella to the core (and that was like staying alive at 230 degrees Celsius!).

Arabella looked at Helena sideways. She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. She always wondered how Helena was the only creature in all of the worlds who managed to persuade her into doing pretty much anything. The only creature who knew her moods, what made her mad, the looks, the meaning of her words. The only creature who could see through her lies.

I like it, I think. She said to herself and she did… most of the time. It was just the fact that she always had to tell the truth to Helena. And honesty wasn't Arabella's forte.

"So who was your favourite… client?" Helena asked. She said client awkwardly, that was what Arabella called the people she protected.

"Probably your father, but if you mean my favourite time then that would be a different answer."

"Okay then. Favourite time?"

"The renaissance."

"Why? It's so old and the men back then always told their daughters what to do. It was savage."

"I agree, however … it was beautiful. It was the time when a whole continent evolved. And the outfits were just so beautiful. Everyone was so straightforward back then and they used to ride horses everywhere, and you were allowed to carry things like daggers and swords. The men were true romantics and they treated women with respect. A gentlemen meant something back then. You would of loved it!"

Helena let Arabella's words sink in. From what she said everything had changed. Men had, that was for sure, and not in a good way. In history class they had talked about how women were treated in the past, like they were below them. It was the men who went out to work, who brought in the money and they ruled the house. The women, however, were respected, even though they had no privileges they were wooed by the men. As William Shakespeare wrote in "A mid-summer nights dream"- women are meant to be wooed and not made to woo. Well something like that.

Women had doors held open for them, were given jackets when it was cold or raining, were treated low. Helena reminded herself, no she liked her life now. Helena liked wearing jeans and a t-shirt rather than some heavy dress that was done up so tight you could hardly breathe.

"It doesn't appeal to you does it?" Arabella asked her deep red lips curving into a sceptical grin. Helena shook her head apologetically.

"No it most certainly does not." Helena answered not bothering to spare Arabella's feelings. Arabella was constantly trying to steer Helena into liking history but she just didn't like it at all. She didn't see the point in learning it, it was so boring. Who needed to learn about the past when the only thing you need to prepare for was the future.

"Don't think like that. It was Theodore Roosevelt who said "The more you know about the past the better prepared you are for the future."" Arabella snapped repeating a line that she had said to herself and many others over the long and strenuous centuries. Helena turned to stare at her with wide emerald green eyes. It always shocked Helena when Arabella read her thoughts, it was another one of her many talents.

Arabella barked a laugh, well not that you can call it that. It was a cackle that mesmerized everyone even those who were used to it. The foot hounds of Hades didn't sound so deathly eerie yet the most heavenly of all sounds would never sound so pure and sweet.

"Why do you always insist on never listening to a word I say!" Arabella accused only it wasn't a question, and she was furious. Such a temper! Helena thought and then regretted it as soon as she felt Arabella's piercing glare all over her body.

"If you don't calm down then my skin's going to melt!" Helena informed, joking (slightly).

"Why do I bother with you? You need to learn some manners, it will be the end of you when you come to meet people of true importants. Come on it's getting dark and you've already missed your dinner."

Arabella stood and stretched in one quick and smooth motion. Helena stared at her in shock again, how was it that someone who only looked eighteen was filled with knowledge that was impossible to find in someone who was not only twice her age but of a higher status too?

"Experience." Arabella answered Helena's thoughts with ease. Helena stood, her layered black hair twisting in the cool summer wind. Helena shivered, she hated the cold mainly because it meant that there would be rain. She hated rain!

The large manor lingered in the foreground, taunting Helena with the fact that the inside was empty and cold without her father to comfort her. She looked at her bare feet as she and Arabella strolled casually toward the huge home.

When they reached the small side door that lead into the conservatory of tiled floors and tinted glass roofs, Arabella sighed, her eyes were distant and longing but her posture was stiff and extremely cautious. It was an unusual stance but one Helena was not concerned by, Arabella occasionally wondered into her memories and day dreams. Helena regarded her friend checking for any adjustments that would notify if she should run and hide from her friend or just stand there and wait for the world to collapse at her feet. Arabella suddenly shook her head and brought herself back to the world around her. She looked surprised and disoriented, but when she saw Helena she smiled wryly and gave a quick laugh that sounded like a "Ha".

"What?" Helena asked as she opened the small door and strode through into the familiar room that was saved for special occasions and formal teas.

"Nothing, just a thought that amused me." Arabella replied in a sceptical voice.

"Was it about me?"

"Yes, actually it was."

"Oh. What was it about?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with."

"Fine."

"Don't sulk it isn't very ladylike, and it doesn't suit you at all." Arabella's voice rang with finality, the conversation was over. Helena didn't hold all power over her. Just more than what was comfortable. Arabella grinned to herself, it was unusual for her to feel good about winning an argument but she did when the argument was with Helena. Strange how this one young girl with jet black hair and emerald green eyes could have such an enchanting effect over someone who had lived for centuries and killed mercilessly.

A short stump maid scuttled into the room carrying a tray with a teapot and three mugs on it.

"You have a guest." The maid replied in a gruff voice that was short of breath.

"I'll leave you to it." Arabella addressed Helena in a polite tone.

"Oh no, my dear. The guest is for you, or should I say guests. Three extremely handsome, male guests."

"Oh. Well, if you'll excuse me I will go change out of my hunting clothes and into something less savage." Arabella pardoned herself with a slight bow of her head (another habit that she had enlightened over the years).

Five minutes later Arabella was skipping down the wide oak stairs and into the large hallway. Her red hair was swept back into a bun and was held with two violet chopsticks. She wore a long, red skirt, that matched the colour of her hair and swayed silkily to her feet, and a white blouse that enunciated every curve perfectly. She looked stunningly casual, not over-dressed but almost as if there was somewhere very important for her to go.

Arabella sauntered into the living room at the front of the house and froze. Her gold eyes sprang open in horror.

"Hello, Arabella." The tallest of the men whispered a smile in his voice. His voice was soft and had a strange rhythm to it, it was smooth and confident. He was obviously the leader of the men. Arabella swept her glance across the room and let it settle harshly on Helena and the maid who were very curious as to what was to be said.

"Out, both of you. I don't want you to know what they have to say. And, frankly, I'm not sure I want to either." Arabella ordered. Her tone was hard and terrifyingly strong. Helena and the maid scurried out of the room with a disappointed look on their faces but a curiosity in their eyes. The double doors clicked shut behind them leaving Arabella to the mercy of the three beautiful gentlemen.

"Hello, Dartemis. Hello, Riley. Hello, Hunter. What a pleasure it is to see you again." Arabella replied, the last bit aimed mainly at Hunter whom she had become extremely fond of over the millennia. Her tone had lost its cold, hostile edge and was replaced with warmth and gratitude. Dartemis was the oldest of them (even though he looked twenty-two) and had been the one to save Arabella when she was only six years old from, what they called, the shadow moon. Riley was Dartemis's son, he had joined them after Arabella had stopped aging at eighteen, he was also one of the most skilled in physical areas of battle (after Arabella, of course).

Then Hunter. Hunter had joined about the same time as Arabella, except maybe a few years after, and was the easiest to be around. He was hilariously funny and his own sense of humour was remarkable. He was brimming with knowledge and wisdom, his logic and instinct were especially convenient in war and battle. He was also the most experienced in every criteria. And his looks aren't important right now.

"It's a pleasure to see you too. We should visit more often. However, this is a more than serious matter. Iliana has had a vision, well many actually." Dartemis answered gravely.

"The shadow moon?" Arabella asked her voice a whisper on the soft breeze.

No one replied only bowed their heads, looking grim and somewhat angry.

The large living room began to blur and spin around Arabella. The constant pristine white swirled and grey spots dotted over her vision like clouds threatening to unleash their wetness. She was breathing shallow and quick, her ears rang the most horrific noise in all the earths.

She was going to faint and she knew it! But there was nothing she could do. Her body was drowning in surreal waves of fear, horror and, most of all, hatred. The white ceiling receded rapidly and she could sense the white carpet rushing up to cushion her fall. But she never felt the carpet under her back, only something smoother and much more cushiony.

Hunter's arm.

Hunter had caught her before she could hit the floor. He slid his free arm into the crook of her knee and then carried her to the corner sofa, which was of course white. Again! Arabella managed to force her eyes open. She had never fainted before! Then again she'd never been smothered by emotions that she hadn't experienced in over 3'000 years. Shocking!

"Are you alright?" Hunter rushed his voice overcome by a vivid Spanish accent, his eyes seeping with pure worry … no, more than that!

"Yes, thank you. I must have just lost my balance. Thank you for catching me though." Arabella swooned. His voice was just too seductive.

"If you say so." Hunter pressed, his carved eyebrows shooting up his forehead. He was still very concerned but there was obvious relief in his expression. Arabella flashed him one of her mortal-killing grins, that didn't quite kill Hunter but made him lose his breathe and stare at her in utter pleasure. It was his favourite smile and Arabella knew it.

Riley cleared his throat rudely behind Hunter. Hunter stood swiftly and offered his hand to help Arabella into a sitting position. She took it but instead of sitting she just stood right up. Her chin was set in a smug grin, no head-rush unlike humans. Hunter chuckled like a devious schoolboy next to her, it amused him when she showed the true potential of her immortality.

"When you two are finished enjoying each others company we do have things to discuss." Riley snapped. This was a man who never smiled, laughed or liked anyone. However, he did enjoy sticking his head up his father's rear end.

Hunter and Arabella shared a knowing glance which lasted for the duration of a nano-second. Arabella raised her sharp eyebrows impatiently at Riley, she loathed him!

"Go on then!" Arabella ordered imitating his snotty, clipped tone.

"We need you to help us. We have assembled an army of the finest, ours and not. Would you help to train them. Of course, you would not be alone. Hunter, Edward and Aonie will all help you." Dartemis replied for his son. He seemed eager and he was far more polite than his son.

"You mean… train soldiers? Only if I get a chance to fight against the shadow moon!" Arabella negotiated. Hunter tensed at her side, an usual phenomenon, nothing made him angry.

"Of course. You will all have your own field: Aonie will specialise in mental aspects; Edward in the physical; Hunter in the statistical and logical; and you will supervise over all fields. You are the most experienced in all aspects and will be able to show them things that the others could never in their entire lifetimes. You will the leader of them all."

"I'm in!"

Chapter two - The Leap

Two hours later the three men left the house, only Hunter shot Arabella a longing look before he dematerialized into thin air. She opened the double doors to reveal Helena sitting in the high-backed leather chair biting her nails anxiously.

"Stop that it's a terrible habit!" Arabella snapped her voice daggers.

"Sorry. That was a bit longwinded." Helena apologized. She smiled wryly her emerald green eyes sad.

"Yes, I know. I was making arrangements."

"You're leaving again!"

"Yes. However-""You won't be as long! It's not the same without you here!"

"Would you not interrupt me mid-sentence, please. I was saying: however, Dartemis has agreed to let you come with me. After all, I can't leave you without your father here. But, don't panic, we'll let him know where you are so that he doesn't worry."

Helena's eyes popped wide open.

"You know where he is?" Helena probed. Her voice was so high it could have been used as a dog whistle.

"If I knew, then I would tell you. I have no idea where he is. What I was going to do was keep the maids here so that if he does return he will be treated if necessary and will be informed of your status." Arabella paused as Helena's face dropped. "We will find your father, Helena" Alive or dead Arabella added silently.

Helena smiled. She was satisfied, if Arabella said that they'd find him then she was confident that they would.

"When are we leaving?"

"Well since you've finished school for the summer then tomorrow if that's okay with you."

"Tomorrow! Yeah that's cool."

"Let's get packing then, we're going to be a long time so I suggest that you bring most of your wardrobe. Well, whatever is manageable to carry." Arabella corrected herself remembering the everlasting expanse of Helena's clothes. Helena giggled grasping the meaning of Arabella's words.

The two girls headed up the stairs to their rooms to pack. It was going to be a long night.

"Come on, Helena!" Arabella shouted from at the top of the wide marble stairs. Arabella had never quite seen the point in those stairs, crystal white marble covered in an even whiter carpet that was cleaned almost every day. Most things in the house were white: the living room; most of the bedrooms; and the stairs. The dining room and ballroom were not white, they both had white marble floors however, but the walls were painted in light colours with large exotic art on them. Arabella's bedroom was the only bedroom in the house that wasn't white: it was painted in a deep violet; the carpet a deep red, the colour of blood.

Arabella had never enjoyed the lightness and purity of white, it was just too full of colour (scientifically speaking she was correct). She loved surrounding herself in dark colours, all her clothes were dark.

"I'm coming!" Helena shouted back even though she was about three feet away. She'd packed two suitcases, a large backpack and another smaller bag full of clothes, underwear, make-up and other useless utensils. It was quite hilarious the sight of Helena dragging her items along behind her.

In front of where Arabella stood was a door. The door was smallish and made of dark Indian oak. Arabella swung the door open but had to shield her eyes from the thick coat of dust that blew out. Helena coughed next to her.

"Why the dust?" Helena asked.

"This door hasn't been opened for thirty-two years. It's bound to be a little on the dusty side." Arabella replied matter-of-factly. Helena blushed, Arabella made it sound like it was beyond obvious and that she should have known.

"Ready?" Arabella asked. Helena hesitated. Arabella gave her a warm encouraging smile. It worked. Helena grinned at her mischievously.

"Good girl." Arabella said not waiting for Helena's answer, she knew was a yes. Arabella took a deep breath and then literally leaped through the door.

"Throw your things through first!" Arabella ordered. Her instruction came to Helena in an echoic and muffled voice. Like in poltergeist when the girl's stuck in the television. Helena did as she was asked and tossed her luggage through the door, she hoped that none of it had hurt Arabella.

And then, copying Arabella, she leaped unaware of what she was to see on the other side. Her feet hit the ground on the other side hard and her body seemed to be drawn to the ground only instead of stopping it kept on going. Helena rolled in every way possible down a steep hill, until the hill ran out of hilliness and she stopped abruptly.

Helena could hear Arabella's heavy footsteps pounding carelessly down the hill behind her but she was laughing too much to even check if she was hurt.

"Helena, are you hurt?" Arabella asked not even breathless.

"No. I'm … fine." Helena gasped between spurts of uncontrollable laughter. Arabella rolled her golden eyes and then helped Helena to her feet.

Helena wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, tears of joy were streaming down her cheek.

"You jumped too hard." Arabella accused. Her voice was stern but you could tell that all she wanted to do was burst out laughing. Helena was now taking long, deep breaths in an attempt to try and calm herself, strangely it was working. Arabella made her way back to the top of the hill with Helena trailing close behind her.

When they reached the top, Helena gasped. She was too busy rolling to notice this before. The sky was beautiful! It was streaked with subtle violets, deep reds, indigos, emerald and teals. No wonder Arabella likes dark colours, she's grown up with them filling her world! Helena thought in amazement. She noticed three circles in the sky above her. They looked like the moon, a harvest moon. They were a yellowy-orange colour and cast eerie beams to the ground below. Helena breathed a sigh of relief when she realised that the ground was fresh green grass.

"I presume it's night here then, you know with the moons and stuff." Helena said her emerald green eyes never once leaving the sky of many colours and three yellow moons.

"No. It's always like this here. Those moons up there are always there, only there are actually twenty-three so some rise and others set. But it's always like this here, we don't have any suns however the moons emanate their own light so they are almost suns. The sky is always those colours when those three moons are up, I suppose it's almost like the aurora borealis." Arabella answered. She said it as if it were the most normal thing in all the worlds.

"That makes no sense. So where are we staying?" Helena asked in a reluctant tone.

"There." Arabella replied. She pointed to a range of mountains that were smothered in snow on every summit.

"In a mountain?" Helena retorted. Everything about her said, I am not staying in a cave.

"No, on the highest peak. There is a building carved into the side. That's where we are staying." Arabella sighed exasperatedly.

"Oh. Now that makes sense."

"Here's our ride." Arabella announced as a coach appeared to the right of them on a path that had only just appeared.

The coach was being pulled by two jet black horses and had a young boy about the age of sixteen leading them from a perch on the front. Another horse trotted to greet them from behind, it was fully saddled and was a shining dun.

"Miss Beaumont. Pleasure to see you again. You must be Miss Facini." The boy greeted them as he hopped down off his perch. He bowed his head and tapped his flat-cap. It was very London in the late Victorian ages, even his cockney accent.

The dun horse nuzzled at Arabella's neck, they were old companions.

"Hello Peter. Thank you for bringing Capricorn, you know me far too well." Arabella answered with a grin as she rubbed the horse in-between it's almond shaped, brown eyes. It began to open and close its mouth and stick out its tongue as if it were eating glorious food. Arabella giggled. The driver, Peter, began to load the luggage into a compartment under the coach.

"Are you going to ride inside?" Peter asked Helena who had just stood there mesmerized by him.

"She's wondering if you'll let her sit next to you?" Arabella answered for her friend. She'd tightened the girth on the horse and was preparing to mount.

"That's fine with me ma'am. I rarely get company up there so it will be nice to have someone to speak to. Here." Peter replied offering Helena his hand. She took it eagerly and then locked with his gaze. He smiled, it was a nice smile, soft, gentle and sincere. Peter helped her up onto the perch and then joined her. Helena shot Arabella a look that had "oh my god" written all over it. Arabella was grinning at her and giving her a knowing look, she was already astride the horse that she called Capricorn.

Arabella turned him around sharply and then urged him on in a speedy gallop. The two black horses started trotting after them in perfect unison, their hooves eating away the ground beneath them eagerly and rhythmically. Peter turned his head to look at Helena assessing her with a burning gaze. Helena was wearing a knee length, pink skirt and a pink blouse that was loose and cool. Only, Helena doubted that people wore that kind of thing here.

She would have to borrow some of Arabella's clothes. Helena grinned at the thought. Arabella had the most amazing clothes, some were from years ago and others were very modern and designer. But, she would be okay for a while, she loved her clothes more and nobody told her what to wear.

Helena looked at Peter, it was her turn to judge him. He wore brown, cotton trousers that fell to his ankles and a brown t-shirt that clung to his skin, highlighting his toned torso. His hair was mousy-brown, it made him look young and innocent. He had light brown eyes that were warm and sensitive. His jaw was strong and chiselled like his nose and he had a very kissable mouth, in Helena's opinion anyway. And he had perfectly tanned skin that looked smooth.

"You should learn to conceal your thoughts, Miss Facini." Peter advised in a soft, caring voice that suited its accent strangely.

"What do you mean?" Helena asked, pretending that she didn't know what he was talking about. Arabella had warned her about how most people here could read thoughts if they really tried and if she were projecting them.

"Well, it can be dangerous sometimes. But, thank you. I'm just a helper around here so it's very rare that someone really looks at me. You see Arabella rescued me a few years ago, she brought me back here and taught me how to use powers. I liked it here and didn't want to leave but I wanted to stay loyal to Miss Beaumont, so I work in the palace for her when she's here and when she's not I just make sure that her horses are cared for and help look after Hunter."

"Hunter, is that the guy Arabella's got a crush on?" Helena asked grinning at the memory.

"It's a bit more than a crush. When Miss Beaumont arrived she was only six, Hunter arrived one year later and he was eight. There was only one years difference so they got along well from the start. They began to train together and learned to cope with each other. When Hunter reached eighteen he decided to stop aging, this pleased Miss Beaumont because that was when she'd decided to stop also and Hunter knew this. By this point they were extremely good friends, if you understand my meaning."

"Oh."

"Miss Beaumont was given an assignment as soon as she stopped aging. She was to protect a pharaoh during a fierce battle, this was at the beginning of Egyptian times. Miss Beaumont did not return for fifty years, however, when she did come back Hunter was not here. He had been sent on a mission to watch over this royal family in another realm.

"Many decades passed, in which Hunter and Miss Beaumont were separated and were not able to see each other. Fortunately, on one mission they were both in the same country, Spain. Hunter had been assigned the Spanish royal family until the line died out or was rebelled against. Miss Beaumont was on a mission which involved her being near the royals. Well, one day Miss Beaumont accompanied the person she was protecting to visit the royal family and she saw Hunter. She didn't know he was there so it was a true shock for her.

"They met most evenings in secret and talked about what they had been up to, the people they had met, the lives they had saved. That was how Hunter got his accent, from spending so much time around Spaniards. It suited him, and Miss Beaumont said that she liked it, so he made sure he kept it."

"Yeah, Arabella's always had a thing for the Spanish, especially their accent. That explains it then." Helena informed Peter. They sat in silence for a moment caught up in their memories of Arabella.

Helena was the first to break the silence.

"So are you from earth… or some other realm?" She asked unsure of even why she'd asked it.

"You know about the other realms?" Peter asked shocked. He turned his attention back to Helena again.

"Yeah … well, most of them. Arabella explained some to me but she said that I wouldn't want to know about the others."

"That's probably for the best, some of them are pretty gruesome. But to answer your earlier question, I am from earth. London to be specific. Although, you could probably tell that. What about you?"

"Earth. I'm from Hampshire, the New Forest."

"Oh. Miss Beaumont says that it's nice up there."

"She does? I didn't think she liked it, or maybe it's just our house. Well, our house is painted in mainly white, the only place that isn't is her room. I can tell why she likes dark colours." Helena informed Peter gesturing to the abstract sky above their heads.

"We're nearly there now, Miss Facini. Just around this corner." Peter reported as he manoeuvred the coach up the track that had been carved into the mountainside.

"Could you please not call me that, call me Helena. That went quick, it looked years away back there." Helena ordered.

"Okay, sorry. Yes, these horses can travel quickly when they want to, and they want to say hello to Miss Beaumont."

"Animals seem to really like her."

"It's because they sense her wisdom and purity."

"Purity, Arabella. That's quite funny, actually."

"What do you mean?"

Helena looked at Peter. He was looking confused, and very cute. Helena added for her own satisfaction. Peter blushed slightly and she realised that he had heard her.

"Well, Arabella practically invented sexiness. You don't expect me to believe that she …" Helena cut off as she assessed the look on Peter's chiselled face. He was telling the truth.

"No way, are you telling me that I'm more experienced than Arabella?" Helena laughed at the concept. No wonder Arabella never liked to talk about that kind of thing. Peter's eyebrows shot halfway up his forehead and he grinned wickedly.

"That's interesting." Peter grinned. Helena turned tomato red and her teeth automatically clenched together.

"Does Miss Beaumont know about your little antics?" Peter asked as the coach turned around the corner and left Helena awestruck as she saw the magnificent palace up close.

"No, she'd kill him if she did. And my father would go ballistic if he found. Especially the fact that I was underage when I did it." Helena replied. Every moment of this conversation was becoming easier, which was incredibly peculiar. "Well, what about you? You can't let me be the only one to spill my deepest secrets. Your turn"

"Fine. Twice." Peter admitted reluctantly.

"Twice! Is that it?"

"You've done it more than twice?"

"No. Well, kind of."

"You mean, you have but it was with the same person."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." Helena answered, she'd only just realised how intimate this was getting.

The conversation ended just as Peter stopped the coach. They had arrived at their destination. Peter dismounted and then jogged around the front of the horses to help Helena down. Helena stood as Peter grinned at her, the conversation had brought them closer. He placed his hands on either side of her waist and then supported her weight as she jumped down. Helena landed in front of him, her eyes staring straight at his lips. Not on purpose, he was just taller than her. She craned her neck so that she was looking into his warm brown eyes.

Peter dropped his hands from her waist, then turned to get the luggage out of the compartment under the coach. Helena breathed out a sigh of in a way relief. She tugged her dark hair out of the cream bobble and then shook it so it fell to shoulders in a straight veil. He will be mine! Helena thought to herself. Then regretted it as Peter looked up at her.

"I'm looking forward to it." He said in an arrogant tone that made Helena's heart flutter in her chest. Peter grinned a grin of pure mischief and bliss.

"What are you two laughing about?" Arabella asked as she rode up behind Peter and made them both jump.

"Nothing." They answered in unison. The two black horses nickered to their owner. Arabella dismounted Capricorn and then smacked him on the hindquarters. The dun galloped off toward a barn which was obviously his home.

"I'll sort him out in a moment. Now, we all know that that wasn't nothing. You two like each other don't you?" Arabella taunted as she pulled off a pair of black leather gloves.

"Yeah, so?" Helena replied, her voice seeping with attitude.

"No problem here. It's nice, you'll compliment each other. Anyway, must go." Arabella trilled. She skipped off to the barn following her horse.

"She's happy. That's good. I didn't really want an argument because she doesn't approve of us being friends. I'll go after her. Thanks for the chat." Helena said gleefully. She ran after Arabella, leaving Peter alone and very hurt. He knew what Arabella had meant but Helena didn't. He also knew that Helena meant what she thought before Arabella had turned, and he'd meant what he'd said. Arabella approved but Helena didn't understand. Then why did he feel like he'd just been trampled on?

Peter left it and carried on unpacking the luggage from the compartment. When he had finished he moved to the horses and undid all the tack before it got too heavy for them. Side-by-side they trotted off to the barn and to nuzzle Arabella. He walked after them slowly, it was rather difficult carrying two saddles and bridles. The tack room was just to the left of the entrance to the barn so he put the tack away before going inside to check on Arabella and Helena.

Chapter Three- Clothes, Shoes and Herbs

The inside of the palace was immaculate. The ceilings were mainly domes that were painted with art so real it was surreal. Most of the furniture was antique and made of expensive looking wood. Arabella had her own quarters, that she was to share with Helena, and they suited Arabella perfectly.

Helena stood gaping at the huge living room in front of her. The living room was the main chamber that had all of Arabella's rooms leading off down hallways. The living room was decorated in scarlet and terracotta, it was a strange combination but it was warm and so a like the colours of fire. I can see why she picked those colours, thought Helena when she knew Arabella's concentration was lapsed. Arabella had always loved fire, she would go outside nearly every night and make a bonfire. The furniture was old, there were two corner sofas and a three-seater in between the corners and it had no arms so that the three different sofas merged together to create an odd "U" shape. They were all deep red, like Arabella's lips, so they all matched.

The rest of the room was plastered with golden coffee tables, that had different plants and other things resting on top of them, and breathtaking excuses of art. Arabella stood at the other end of the room in front of a wall that was the only wall without a hallway leading off of it. She was talking intently to a young girl, about fourteen, filling her in on what to do with Helena. They finished their conversation and then the girl walked off down the hall to her right, to prepare one of the guest rooms for Helena.

Arabella spotted Helena grinning at her from the main entrance.

"What? Is there something that amuses you?" Arabella asked she already knew what Helena was grinning at but also knew that she didn't like it when people read her thoughts.

"Yeah, the fact that you always care for me even though you're not meant to." Helena replied with a slight laugh. She liked this place, it made her feel comfortable and safe.

"Well, I am actually supposed to be protecting your father until he's supposed to go, but if anything happened to you… well, I'll leave you to use your imagination. Helena, why don't you go to your room and unpack your things, have a bath and then we'll go to dinner. However, don't worry we have got more than three hours but I know what you're like."

"Okay. Will you show me the way?"

Arabella nodded once. She walked slowly and gracefully down the hallway that the young girl had gone down. Arabella stopped at red double doors that looked heavy and thick. Arabella opened them, revealing a room just slightly smaller than the main chamber, it was painted in lavender and rose. The bed was the most stunning in existence, it was a king-sized four-poster and the sheets were lilac and white.

"Wow!" Helena exclaimed hardly able to contain her awe for the magnificent room that would be her home for who knows how long.

"Do you like it?" Arabella asked even though the answer was clearly sprawled across Helena's face.

"I love it! How did you know I would be coming? I mean, you'd never have a room like this in your own private chambers. How'd you know I'd say that I'd come?" Helena probed practically screaming with excitement.

"I just did. Let's call it a very detailed premonition."

"You had a vision?"

"Yes, well Hunter did actually. He was just standing there while we were wondering what to do with you and then smack," Arabella made an explosion gesture with her hands. "It hit him. We all saw it and instantly loved it."

"Oh. Well, that Hunter is very resourceful isn't he?"

"Yes he is. You'll like him." Arabella finished. Her eyes began to glaze slightly and she swooned but recovered rapidly before Helena could even see a change in position. She scanned Helena's mind for any trace that she saw what had happened but there was nothing.

"I'll leave you to it. Oh, forgive me. This is Eloise, she will tend to your every need while you stay here. Enjoy." Arabella changed the subject rapidly, gesturing to the young girl she had been talking to earlier. She left through the double doors with a pleasant smile to Helena. Arabella closed the doors behind her with a quiet click and then walked slowly down the hallway toward the main chamber.

In the main chamber Arabella slumped onto the middle sofa of the "U" and sighed heavily. Thinking about Hunter and keeping herself under control was hard work, that was why she tried her hardest not to. But, when she was with him… it was easier not to get swept away. Well, it wasn't that she didn't get swept away or that her emotions spun out of control, because she did, but it was more like that she was too distracted by him to actually think about him. Arabella groaned, thinking about this made her head hurt.

"Why do you torture me so, Goddess? Have I ever wronged you? If so, tell me how to make amends. I will do them willingly, anything is better than this pain I feel when I am not with him." Arabella cried to the ceiling of fierce warriors. She stared at the ceiling with fiery gold eyes and willed the knowledge of the deities to seep through her every perfect pore.

The renaissance clock on the mantelpiece chimed five times, the clock was beautiful: mahogany panelling; gold hands and numbers; marble face. Arabella had rescued it from when she had protected a kind man that wasn't of much importance but still, the need for protection was still present. It was one of her favourite items from the past, apart from her outfits and her memories. Every time she looked at it she was flooded with memories of a beautiful time that was her favourite period. Arabella grinned, two hours until she would see Hunter. Until Helena would meet Hunter, that was going to be interesting.

Arabella stood carefully, she never got head rush but she never liked the feeling of standing too fast. She felt the presence of someone behind and turned sharply. To her annoyance it was not Hunter, but Aonie. Now Aonie was a peculiar girl: she had come from a dark land, a place of not evil but not exactly goodness; her hair was an electric blue (naturally); and her eyes were an almost orange colour (again, completely natural).

"I've missed you. How are you?" Aonie greeted Arabella, her voice was deep and seeped with arrogance.

"I've missed you too. I'm the same as usual after a long separation. How are you?" Arabella replied with a huge grin. Aonie adored Arabella, she respected Arabella mainly because of her power but also because of her background and courage.

"I'm great. Hunter has told me that you'll be watching over us while we teach the new volunteers." Aonie cackled. Really cackled, if you could picture a witch cackling then it would be a Siren's song compared to this.

"Yes I am. And apparently you're leading the psychic squadron. Congratulations. I know you've always wanted to be a trainer and now you've got something even better, and on your favourite subject too."

"I know. I can't wait to get started. Oh, before I came to see you, I checked out the dining hall. It goes: you; then Helena; then me. Where is she actually? I want to meet her."

"Having a bath hopefully. She fell down the hill."

Aonie laughed at that.

"Thanks, tell my embarrassing news to the world why don't you?" Helena demanded as she came into the main chamber. Her eyes fell on Aonie and she paused, as did every one. Aonie wasn't your every day, seventeen year girl ( obviously she wasn't seventeen, she just appeared it).

"Hi, I'm Aonie. You must be Helena. It's a pleasure." Aonie introduced herself as she extended a long slender arm that was perfectly toned. Helena gripped Aonie's hand and then shook it vigorously.

"Nice grip. Maybe you should be one of us." Aonie commented after recovering from Helena's nervous hand shake.

The colour drained from Helena's face. She'd never considered becoming a protector, and from what Arabella had told her it didn't sound too appealing.

"I was kidding. Arabella would never let you anyway. But obviously if you want to … we're dining with the head honcho tonight. Wow is that the time? I better go, I said that I'd be there early. Bye-d-bye." Aonie said before she disappeared into thin air (literally).

"She was kidding wasn't she?" Helena whispered as if Aonie would reappear any second and overhear her.

"Sort of. I've always said that you would be a good protector." Arabella answered casually.

"Well, I don't want a bath right now so I'll have one after I've sorted out what to wear. So, is this… formal, or casual?" Helena asked.

"A bit of both. I'll help you find something appropriate." Arabella replied as she slumped down once more on the sofa. Helena sat next to her looking at her as if she wanted to ask something but didn't quite know how to phrase it.

"Aonie is a very good friend of mine." Arabella started for her, Helena wasn't that keen on Arabella's mind reading powers, but occasionally she loved them. "She's from another realm, thus the peculiar hair and eyes. Aonie's realm is one that is neither good nor bad, it's neutral. However, they have very strong powers. Their psychic skills are extraordinary, psychic skills can prove very valuable during battles.

"Aonie was nine when she volunteered to become a protector. It was quite young for a volunteer but as her kind are usually older than their actual age we decided to let her join. This was probably about … 1'300 years ago. A long time, I know. But she was worth it. I have no idea what we would have done if we hadn't had her elusion skills in a battle we had a few hundred years ago, well … we probably would of lost. She has proved very loyal over the years and her skills have improved tremendously. You really shouldn't judge her just by her hair and eyes. We have found a way to cover that while she's on earth, the other realms are used to weird people, but Aonie prefers to be in her original state here.

"I promise you, Helena, if you sit down and get to know Aonie then you'll find that you like her. She is so funny, she can levitate things with her mind so you would love to see her at a very formal party."

"Yeah, you're probably right. She just shocked me that's all. I'll talk to her at dinner … while you catch up with that Hunter. Peter told me how much you two are in love, childhood sweethearts kind of. I'm looking forward to meeting him."

"Excuse me, that's enough of talk about Hunter and I. Come on and help me find you some fitting clothes for dinner. Oh, and before you say anything … you'll take what I give you and like it!"

Helena giggled, this was beginning to feel like a sleepover Helena used to have with her girlfriends back home in Hampshire. Arabella and Helena stood at the same time which made them both laugh uncontrollably (as most girls find ironic things like that hilarious). They walked, arm-in-arm, down the hall to Helena's room still giggling like six year olds who had just stole the cookie jar.

Arabella unlocked arms with Helena and then strode over to her walk-in wardrobe that was at the opposite side of the room to where the double doors were. Arabella threw open the single door then froze, the suitcases were lying in a neat pile on the floor … empty, all of the clothes, shoes, accessories and make-up lined the walls in its assigned places.

"I didn't do this." Helena admitted stunned.

"I know, it was Eloise. You must thank her the next time you see her." Arabella answered Helena's unspoken question.

Arabella surveyed the large range of clothes that stood to attention on both sides of her. She ran her hand a long the familiar fabrics as she strode down the aisle like she was on a catwalk. Arabella's hands froze on a certain fabric; a silky smooth, cotton, black blouse. She tugged it off the hanger and then threw it at Helena with perfect aim even though she was already searching for matching items of clothing. Arabella's golden eyes paused on a pair of trousers. Perfect, she thought as she slid them off the hanger and threw them once again at Helena. They were black, wide legged, suit trousers. Arabella found a pair of black boots that had a small heel and placed them at Helena's feet. She walked out of the wardrobe leaving Helena to try the outfit on.

"Did I ever tell you how great your sense of style is?" Helena asked as she emerged from the wardrobe looking not too casual but not too formal either, just right. Arabella smiled to herself, another job well done.

"Yes, but thank you anyway. Now, take that off and go get in the bath, Eloise is running it now. Through the double doors then first door on your right." Arabella ordered.

"Okay. How long have I got?"

"An hour and a half. I'll sort out your hair and Eloise will show you where the shampoo and things are."

"Cool. See you in a minute."

Helena walked out the room and followed the directions that Arabella had given her. The first door on her right was a single, red, pine door with golden detail. Helena pushed her way through and then froze at the scent that drifted up her nose. It smelled like a mixture of lavenders, roses, vanilla and cocoa, strange but relaxing. A pearl white Jacuzzi bath sat in one corner, the water line was just below the rim of the bath and had rivers of steam coming off of it.

Eloise stood with her back to the door as she added a mixture to the water in the bath. Eloise's light brown hair trailed down her back in a long ponytail and made her look very old-fashioned with her long, Victorian dress.

"There is a robe on the hook by the changing room. If you get undressed and slip that on then I'll show you where the things are and leave you to it." Eloise announced still with her back to Helena. Eloise had a high, soothing voice that made her seem much younger than she really was and the age fourteen (the age that she looked).

"Okay. Oh, I just wanted to say thank you for arranging my things, it would have taken me days. So … thanks." Helena said to Eloise as she made her way to the right side of the room where there was a small room with a bench and a half door that exposed your calves and above your shoulders.

"That's fine. It's my job. Besides, I hate things to be untidy." Eloise replied.

"So… why did you become a protector?" Helena finally asked. Since meeting Arabella thirteen years ago, Helena had become fascinated when listening to the life stories of other people. Helena un-zipped her skirt and let it fall to her feet, and then took off her top. She reached for the robe and her hands gripped a warm silk. She yanked slightly and felt the material fall off its hook. Helena swung the robe over the door then slipped her arms through. Doing up the sash, she looked over the tip of the door at Eloise who had finally turned to face Helena in the changing room.

Helena pushed her way through the door and then gave Eloise an encouraging smile. Eloise grinned back at her, blushing slightly.

"I was thirteen when I joined and stopped aging." Eloise began looking off into the distance as her memories came tumbling back to her. "My family, well my mum and dad, were both protectors. I remember when I used to be so proud of them, I still am. I stayed here and was cared for by my mother while father went out on missions. He was always given the shorter ones so that he wouldn't be away too long, but we were fine when he was away. We stayed in the servants quarters and they took very good care of me and my mother." Eloise paused as she helped Helena into the bath, turning her head away as Helena let the bubbles smother her body.

"But then my mother fell ill, neither she nor my father had stopped aging because the realm that we were from didn't age the same as humans, it's complicated. Nobody knew what was wrong with her exactly but she was loosing a lot of weight and she looked very pale. When I was nine she passed mercifully in her sleep. My father came back from his successful mission and then declined the life of a protector in order to protect me. He took me back to his home realm but I missed my life here too much. Father agreed that I could come back here if I was only a servant and never went on a mission. He made a deal with Arabella that I would cater to her needs and those of her guests. I stopped aging at thirteen and I haven't regretted coming back. Arabella treats me like a sister, an equal … not like a servant at all. And I owe her for that."

Eloise finished with a deep sigh and smiled at Helena. She handed Helena a tall bottle of shampoo that Helena took eagerly.

"Well … I'll leave you to it. Call me when you're finished." Eloise offered. She walked dreamily to the door and then closed it behind her silently. Helena sank deeper into the bubbles letting them swarm over her head in an attempt to wet her hair. When she emerged, suddy water trickled down her long neck and back into the water at her shoulders. Helena sighed heavily as she rubbed in the flowery shampoo.

Helena finished washing and cleansing her hair, stood up slowly and grinned as she felt the ton of water stream off her body in waterfalls. She fumbled for the towel, in the hazy water vapour it was hard to see anything. Finally, Helena found it and dabbed it across her flushed face. She stepped out of the bath and dried herself vigorously. Helena slipped into the robe once more, in awe at the softness of the fabric as it swayed and tickled at her knees.

The hallway was quiet as Helena made her way back to her room. She opened the doors and made her way over to her four-poster bed on which were her clothes laid out, prepared and pristine.

"Good bath?" Arabella asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, where did Eloise learn to make such amazing combinations?" Helena replied as she began tugging on her clothes.

"Servant quarters. I over-heard her telling you her story, when she was younger she used to help the other servants and they showed her a lot of herbal remedies. I let her grow her own things out back so she can experiment."

"I bet her and Peter get bored when you're not here. It must be weird not having someone around for ages and then they're suddenly there again."

"I doubt that they miss me too much. They always have the other servants to help or talk to. Oh, I don't tell them to help the others … they do it on their own accords. Sit down at the dressing table and I'll do your hair for you."

"But it's still wet."

"Surely you know me better than that by now."

Arabella stood behind Helena who sat on a mahogany stool with a rose velvet cushion pinned to the top. Arabella held up Helena's hair so that it didn't fall on her back then lifted up her other long, slender hand. A tropical breeze began to whip at Helena's hair, it was white hot yet Helena still felt at a normal temperature.

After two or three minutes of the breeze it stopped just as abruptly as it had came and left Helena's dark hair dry.

"Cool. Thanks." Helena said as she tried to stand, but Arabella shoved her back down.

"I'm not finished, I was just drying it." Arabella snapped. She began to brush through Helena's thick locks with a heavy, wooden brush that was from the 1800's. The long, rhythmical strokes began to relax Arabella and Helena, uncoiling their muscles and slowing their breathes. Funny, isn't it, how such a mundane thing as brushing your hair can feel so good and natural.

"Now I'm finished. You can look now." Arabella announced as she revealed a tall, mahogany mirror that influenced Helena's appearance beautifully. Helena turned her head so that she could see the back and then gasped. Her dark brown hair was piled up into a tight ponytail that sat neatly on the top of her head. It was held in place with small grips that had a small red lily on the ends, and the ends of her hair were curled so tightly that you couldn't even tell where they ended.

"Wow! How d'ya make it so curly?" Helena exclaimed in awe. Her hair had never looked so beautiful.

"Magic. Now … you're ready so let's go. We have twenty minutes to get there. Put your shoes on and we're off."

Chapter Four- Dinner is served

In the centre of the room was a very long table. It was made of polished, Indian oak, it even smelled Indian ( or that might have been the food). On the table, every six seats, was a magnificent flower arrangement: made up of a dozen white roses; and three candles poked out at the top. Right in the centre of the table was the main table piece: It was once again made up of roses, but instead of white they were black; and six candles poked out instead of three. Two rows of chairs were placed on either side and there were two at the heads of the table. In the rows there must have been about twenty chairs (exclusive the heads).

"Well, you certainly know how to dine. But black roses, I never even knew they existed." Helena whispered to Arabella as they walked into the frantic room, arm-in-arm.

"This is the only realm to home them. That's why we have them, because they are sacred to us. Beautiful aren't they?" Arabella replied her voice seeping with wisdom. And, even though Helena didn't see it that well, they were beautiful. They were a mixture of sun and moon, light and dark, good and bad. They're like Arabella, Helena said silently and then remembered that probably everyone in the room had heard her thoughts.

"I don't know about the others, but I certainly did." Blurted a very handsome boy, with a seductive Spanish accent, who looked eighteen years of age. His hair was very Titanic, Leonardo DeCaprio except that instead of dark blonde it was black, and his eyes were a smoky grey. His eyes were the fog that you wanted to get lost in, the misty day that you had dreamed of. His sumptuous red lips curved into a smile aimed at mainly Arabella, his breath-taking smile shimmered as his pearl-white teeth caught the faint candle glow. "And I completely agree." He continued still grinning at Arabella.

"Helena, this is Hunter Glenn. You know the one Peter told you about." Arabella introduced the boy never once taking her eyes off of him.

"Pleasure. Arabella thinks very highly of you. What're your tactics, I've been friends with her for a long time now and even I haven't earned her approval." Hunter greeted as he thrust forward a hand that just screamed strong and masculine. Helena met his grip and was even more surprised to find his had warm and smooth against hers.

"Hunter, you have definitely got Arabella's approval. She, like, talks about you constantly. It's nice to meet you though" Helena replied.

"Oh, so I do have your approval do I?"

"You know you do. You just like hearing it." Arabella scolded. She was grinning like a Cheshire cat, all excited and jittery.

"That's true. So … how are you settling in, Helena?" Hunter asked as if only now remembering her. He let his hand drop to his side and his eyes warmed considerably.

"Great. The sky is a tad freaky but as long as I stay inside then I'll be just swell." Helena replied.

Hunter laughed a laugh that made it unbearable not to laugh along. It was a kind laugh that sounded like a higher version of Santa Clause's, all full of joy and pure glee. He took a deep breathe and then carried on the conversation, "Most are like that when they first come here, it's natural. Do you like Arabella's quarters?"

"I love them. Especially my room, it's very me."

"Arabella said that you'd love it. Apparently you like pastels."

"Yeah I do, they're just so … easy to look at, you know."

"Yes. Well, I hope that you like chicken. That's what we're eating, obviously."

Hunter led the way to the table just as a small bell rang quietly from the doorway.

"Dinner is ready, please be seated." Announced a stout man from where the bell had rang. It was very official! Everyone surveyed the name plates in front of the seats and then sat in their assigned seats. Just as Aonie had said: Aonie sat nearest to the left, with Helena on her right and then Arabella nearest to Dartemis who sat at the head of the table.

Opposite Arabella sat Riley, his cropped, brown hair was slicked back with gel and his pale blue eyes were as cold as usual. Arabella smiled at him sarcastically, but Riley just scowled. Pleasant, Arabella thought aiming it pointedly at him. Hunter snorted a laugh next to Riley but then quickly covered it with a fake cough. Aonie grinned, it always amused her watching Riley and Arabella have a civilized fight. Dartemis shot all of them a warning look. In return, they all grinned at him pleasantly (all except Riley). Helena over-looked this with a confused expression.

"What's the deal with the bloke?" Helena whispered to Aonie.

"First, there are two blokes. The one at the head is Dartemis, he started this place. The one arguing with Arabella is his son, Riley. Riley's hobbies are kissing up to his father and looking extremely ugly. I have only ever seen him smile once. His issue with Arabella though is that she was the first to join, her, Hunter and a few others came along before he was even conceived. However, Dartemis has always adored Arabella and Riley can't seem to get over himself long enough to get a life." Aonie replied in full gossip mode. Helena laughed quietly.

"So, Hunter. How are you?" A young boy, who looked the same age as Hunter, asked. The boy sat on the other side of Hunter, opposite Aonie. His hair was a perfect white and had a flicked up fringe. His eyes were a dark violet and, even though he was sitting down, you could tell he was quite tall and very strong. His accent was Australian.

"I am fine thank you, Edward. How are you? You're working with us aren't you." Hunter replied, his Spanish accent increased his politeness to a level of its own.

"Yes, I most certainly am. You must be Arabella, it's an honour to finally meet you. Your reputation does you no favours, meaning that you look far better in person than you do in the stories." Edward greeted, turning his violet gaze to Arabella.

"Why thank you, Edward. It's a pleasure to meet you, too. I look forward to seeing your skills in battle, Dartemis seems to think they are quite magnificent." Arabella replied automatically switching to social mode. She smiled warmly at Edward and his face melted. Arabella noticed Hunter tense slightly, she grinned to herself but pretended that she hadn't noticed. She would ask him about it later when they had some time to themselves.

"Oh yes, his physical skills are immaculate. I would enjoy to see a fight between the two of you actually, it would be interesting to see who would win." Dartemis answered as a plate with a silver lid on top was placed in front of him.

"I put my money on Edward. Arabella doesn't stand a chance against someone of his ability and experience." Riley blurted. His nose was wrinkled in distaste as he surveyed Arabella, his lips were pursed as if he were considering something. A fire of pure hatred burned maliciously in Arabella's chest, her ferocious eyes suddenly changed colour. They changed from a calm gold to an angry, blood-thirsty red. Her whole body seemed to coil up beneath her as if she were a hungry cheetah who had been chasing her prey for days and had finally received her opportunity, and she was going to cease it.

"Stay calm, both of you." Dartemis ordered, but it didn't help. Arabella leaned down her head getting closer to the table, her red eyes never once leaving Riley's that were petrified. Riley slowly began to back away. Arabella's lips (that now matched her eyes) curved into a savage grin. This was all very much how you would picture a vampire taunting his dinner.

Very savage!

Very terrifying!

"I'm going to hurt you. And I will enjoy every second of it." Arabella whispered. Her voice a million daggers of fear spread through the whole room and dripped down everyone's spines right into their souls. Arabella bent her elbows and gathered beneath herself preparing to leap.

And then she did!

Arabella pushed herself up from her seat and her feet left the ground. She catapulted across the wide table and landed on top of Riley who fell backward, his chair following him. There was a loud smash an bang as they hit the granite floor along with several plates of food.

Riley screamed. His arms were flailing trying to push Arabella off or at least hit her. Arabella grasped his idea and pinned his strong arms to the cold ground beneath him.

"Arabella, stop!" Dartemis shouted as he scrambled to his feet. Hunter put a hand on Dartemis's chest to stop him going any farther. He was the only one who had seen Arabella do this before, and he knew that no one could stop her from doing what she had to. Arabella's eyes were focused on Riley his entire body was in her sight and her head was taking over her body.

Riley became very still. His eyes glazed over but still seemed focused on Arabella, his mouth lolled open. The enormous room around them turned icy, the fire died out instantly. A harsh wind picked up, it caught everyone up in it like a hurricane but everyone stayed on the ground.

"Riley, if you ever talk to me like that again … I will kill you. Slowly and very, very painfully. Do you understand?" Arabella asked, only it didn't sound like Arabella. Her voice was deeper than usual and it sounded powerful and very angry. Riley just nodded his head, it was all his body would let him do.

The wind stopped abruptly and the fire came back to life. The room's temperature returned back to normal as Arabella stood up. She turned to look at Hunter, her eyes were full of sorrow and shame. What am I becoming?, she asked Hunter silently, knowing that no one else would be able to hear. Hunter opened his mouth to reply but snapped it shut with an audible snap. He rushed over to Arabella who had ended up about five metres away from the table with Riley lying on the floor at her feet. Hunter picked Arabella up in his arms, not concerned by the people staring behind him, and rushed out of the closest door.

Hunter was taking her to the mountain side. The only place they could truly be alone, away from everyone. He thrust his way through the door that led outside, Arabella was still curled up in his arms as they finally reached the grass. Hunter knelt down with Arabella still in his arms. He locked his arms around her waist so that they looked like they were carved out of stone. They looked natural, as they clung to each other desperately, in the moonlight and the abstract sky that spanned out for miles behind them. Arabella sobbed as Hunter stroked her red hair and cooed soothing and loving nonsense.

After an hour of just crying, Arabella calmed herself but stayed with her arms wound tightly around Hunter's neck.

"I don't know what happened. I've been able to bottle it down for millennia but then … just with one snide remark. I almost tore out his soul. I could picture me doing it in my head, picture it, and him, screaming as I did it. I couldn't even help it, it was like it just took over and I had no control. I didn't even want to hurt Riley." Arabella stammered. Her eyes were frantic as she stared into Hunter's foggy and warm eyes. Her breath began to shallow as his thoughts and feelings tumbled into her head on a roller coaster ride.

"Riley knows now that he shouldn't mess with you. What you did … shocked everyone, but you being effected by the Shadow Moon's radiation will be an advantage that we have over them. We have too many different people in our squadrons for them to know about, and they can't study the realms they've already conquered because they're already either dead or … mutated. Remember, for every door that closes, another two open." Hunter whispered, he was slowly caressing Arabella's cheeks and wiping away the tears.

Arabella smiled at him wryly. She knew what he had said was true, that she should see this as an opportunity. She knew more about how the shadow moons worked, their innermost hates and fears. She knew how to destroy them. How every time they conquer another realm, their army grows bigger. The others all thought that it was reproduction, and in a way it was, but really it was just like a virus, a plague.

The memories of great soldiers, doctors, scientists, people who have, are, and are going to help destroy the shadow moon swarmed though Arabella's head. The people who were seen in visions, in prophesies. All their methods and techniques are contributing to how they were going to win the final battle. Things that most of them did just by accident, not one of them knowing how important they are until a protector shows up to keep them safe until they have fulfilled their destinies. Not knowing that even in death they would save earth and hopefully other realms to follow.

That was a strong fear of Arabella's. She knew well how intelligent and quick the leaders of the shadow moon were. She was afraid that if any were left after the battle, and they tried to overtake another world, then they would know how to defeat the protectors. What if they suddenly attacked before anyone could see? What if they fooled them once again and managed to take earth?

The people on earth would much rather become something else than die. Most mortal humans feared death, feared the unknown. It scared them that something out there was higher up than them. It scared them to know that if they did die then something that was far beyond their comprehension and power would occur.

"What are you thinking about? Your heads a jumble at the minute, and I can't really get that much when you're focusing on your thoughts." Hunter asked making Arabella jump slightly at the sound of his dazing, gentle voice.

"About … everything. About how that maybe they could attack at any time. About how that even if we are prepared, they will still come. Nothing will change that, I know, but it will never sink in. I just keep seeing the wave of darkness. Those creatures that sucked the souls out of the ones who wouldn't join them, the other ones would start mutating. I guess I just got too close during a radiation sweep and it effected me too. All these memories of so long ago when I was only a child. It's awful, isn't it, how your brain only remembers the bad things and never the good things. How the harder you try to remember, the harder it is to see the memory." Arabella mumbled.

Hunter still had his arms rapped around Arabella but she was shaking from head to foot, but not with cold. He tightened his grip on her and she began to feel much safer. She could feel his toned chest rising and falling against her back, feel his arms around her waist, feel his entire essence behind her. Arabella leaned her head back so that her crown was just scraping his chin. Hunter sighed as he breathed in the bold scent of Arabella's hair.

"Why is it that you drive me crazy?" Hunter blurted sweetly.

Arabella turned her head and tilted it so that she could see his face more clearly. Hunter wasn't looking at her though, his gaze was on his favourite moon, the one that was a blood red (the colour of Arabella's hair and lips).

"I drive you crazy? Oh good, I thought it would never be mutual." Arabella whispered into his long, elegant neck.

"I can't stand it when we're away from each other for a month let alone centuries. I miss seeing your whole beautiful face lighting up when I walk in the room. Miss your laugh, how scary it is yet I would die just to hear it one more time. Miss that you melt when you hear my voice, and I melt when I hear yours. And I'm jealous of the fact that, when we're apart, someone else is basking in your beauty, your elegance, your wisdom. I count away the seconds until we might just see each other again. It never seems to work out though."

"Hunter … I always knew that you were hiding something! Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I didn't tell you before because I didn't fully realise what I felt until I saw you crying. When I saw you afraid, everything just clicked into place. Strange, people always say that you don't fully appreciate what you've got until it's gone. I've always known what they meant somehow … but I didn't fully know. You know when you have something festering at the back of your mind? Well it was kind of like that but it took me far too long to figure it out."

Hunter laughed shortly, at his lack of better wording. His whole body had become uncharacteristically tense. His jaw was set in a hard line of unpleasantness, his hands were clenched into angry fists at Arabella's sides. He'd always hated feeling confused about himself, and that was exactly what he was feeling at that moment. Arabella needed him and he wasn't able to sort himself out to take care of her. He took a deep breath made a move to uncoil his muscles and relax.

It took him only two minutes to calm himself, but he could sense that something was still wrong. Behind them, voices began to scream calling for them or anyone to help.

Chapter Five-Headless Chicken

Helena sat in a large armchair in the corner of the dining room as people rushed about, screaming and panicking. She watched as Edward and Dartemis calmly tried to sooth everyone, but it wasn't working. Aonie was sitting on the floor, her orange eyes shut tight as she attempted to meditate and block out the panicked people around her, again, it wasn't working. Helena could see Aonie getting angry, droplets of sweat were breaking out on her brow as her temper and control began to reach their limits.

After a few more minutes of trying to calm herself, Aonie cracked. Helena could see it, it was like a steam train going off inside her head, horn and all. Aonie's eyes shot open then focused and narrowed on the wall on the opposite side of the room. Somehow, the large table with all its chairs had ended up slammed against a wall. Aonie stood slowly annunciating every movement with staccato. She filled her lungs and, to Helena's appal, prepared to scream the world to shreds.

"Be quiet!" Aonie screamed. She sounded like a spoiled six-year-old who wasn't getting her way.

Every single living thing in the room froze. Obviously, Aonie in a rage was a common thing and a dreaded one at that. Helena shot her a respectful glance, Aonie certainly wasn't what she was expecting. Aonie felt her gaze and gave her a look that was only passed between close friends. It filled Helena with warmth and pride. Aonie wasn't finished though, she turned back to the silent room in front of her and glared at them again.

"One silly, little inkling has you all hyped up, something that isn't even going to happen. You are all so pathetic, a human girl with no awakened powers asks one question in the wrong way and all of a sudden you're all running around like headless chickens." Aonie snapped. Her voice was only quiet but as she spoke, her audience's hearts filled with fear. Aonie had a strong reputation for her temper-tantrums. It was a thing that she always lived up to, and loved doing so. Helena ducked her head, she wasn't to know that she was the cause of this fracas.

Before anymore could be said, Arabella came rushing through the double doors with Hunter hot on her tail. They both looked flushed and curiously nervous.

"What's going on in here. Is someone dying?" Arabella questioned, her sentences had been jokily made but she was deeply serious.

"Helena asked a question and everyone started screaming and jumping to conclusions. Nothing's wrong though, I've sorted it." Aonie replied with a smug grin. Arabella didn't ask anything else, she didn't need to. She knew that any second people would remember what she had done to Riley and begin backing away and looking at her like she was some sort of monster.

Hunter came up behind her and laid a long, strong hand on her shoulder. "No one's going to do anything." Hunter promised, his voice just a soft whisper in her ear. But afterwards everything seemed alright.

Riley went off to his quarters, he was rather shaken by your little outburst. But don't fret, no one will judge. You have my word, my dear. Dartemis's voice came bounding through Arabella's head. She looked at him and he smiled warmly at her. He'd never thought Riley's antics with Arabella had been appropriate, he knew that Riley deserved what she had just done (as did the entire room, including Helena and Hunter).

Arabella made her way over to where Helena was sitting in the high-backed, leather armchair. Arabella offered her hand to Helena and she took it, eager to get away from the multicoloured people that surrounded her.

"Ready to go? We'll have some dinner sent to the room, so we can pig out while we watch a movie of your choice." Arabella offered as Helena stood. Helena grinned wildly, Arabella was always fabulous to watch films with.

"Wait, can Aonie come too?" Helena asked eagerly. She put on one of her Arabella melting smiles.

"Okay. Aonie, are you coming?" Arabella caved. It was obvious that she would of let Aonie come even if Helena hadn't pulled the melting trick on her.

"Definitely." Aonie exclaimed. She skipped over to Arabella and the three of them strode out of the room, arm-in-arm, leaving the room behind them full of gaping on-watchers. They carried on through the winding hallways until they got to the end one, the one that led to Arabella's chambers. A large, old key appeared in Arabella's right hand and she bent down to open the enormous double doors that seemed to be plastered all over the building only in different colours. Helena wondered if the key that Arabella held would open all the other double doors.

Arabella led the way through the doors and into the entrance hall.

"Take you shoes and coats off and leave them in here. Helena I brought the DVD collection, it's in my room on the shelves. Chose as many as you want and I'll be in in a minute, I've just got to order junk food and goodies." Arabella instructed as she slipped out of her shoes and cloak.

"Can we wear pyjamas, please?" Helena asked. He voice was higher than usual in her excitement.

"Of course go through and get changed. Aonie you have your own don't you?"

"Yes, I'll go help Helena while you order din-dins." Aonie replied with a hungry grin. Helena and Aonie strolled down the hallway laughing at something that Arabella knew nothing about.

Helena made a stop at her own room to collect pyjamas and undo her hair. It swung down to her shoulders as soon as it came out of its holder and, instantly, the curls undid into her usual straight hair. Picking up her cosiest, fluffy pyjamas, Helena skipped out of her room and joined Aonie back in the long, echoing hall.

"If you cut through here, you can go straight through to Arabella's chamber." Aonie informed Helena as she changed direction and headed straight for the wall.

Aonie ran her fingers horizontally across the sandstone wall until she found an invisible crack. A door creaked open, the door was made out of a metal that was exactly the same colour as the powdery sandstone that surrounded it. Aonie strode through into the darkness and Helena trustingly followed. She would have to remember this door in case of emergencies. Helena stumbled forward in the darkness following the light of Aonie's luminescent hair. There was a slight draught coming from another hidden doorway.

"There's another door that leads to the outside. In case anything ever happens and something unwanted gets into here, Arabella can get out quickly and, hopefully, safely. You know that if anything ever happened she would be the only one who could probably survive. I mean, Dartemis is probably stronger than her but he's growing weak from years of loneliness, he has Riley but he wants a woman, someone that he loves. After him, Arabella is the strongest and she has no problems with loneliness, especially with Hunter around.

"That's why everyone flipped at your question, if Arabella dies then they know that we're done for. If Arabella's gone, and Dartemis, then there'll be no one to take over. Hunter can't, he'd be too distraught over Arabella to even consider leading us. Riley is unworthy of even being a protector, he deserved far more than what Arabella did to him earlier. And Edward and I are nowhere near experienced enough to run this, neither of us want to either. Arabella is the only one capable of running this if Dartemis goes, which I prey he doesn't." Aonie stated as they emerged on the other side of another in, supposedly, Arabella's room.

The room was remarkable, with lack of better wording. The first thing that caught Helena's attention was the floor, it was made of a magnificent stone that looked like black onyx. Helena swept her eyes up the room, she found a romantic, gigantic four poster at the far wall in the centre. A crimson, opaque veil hung down from the posts making the bed look mysterious and alluring. The sheets looked heavy and a shimmering violet (Arabella's favourite colour). Two sets of long windows spread across the walls on either side of Helena, the outside world was obstructed by a thick, heavy, shimmering violet material, the same one as the cover on the bed.

The walls were painted in a fiery orange that matched Aonie's eyes, a strange colour but one that suited Arabella impeccably. Now the ceiling … well the ceiling was a dome that led to … the only way to describe it was oblivion. The dome was rimmed with platinum that reflected the rainbow of dark colours below it. Inside the platinum rimming was a moving picture, the picture was made up abstract colours and precarious shapes that were nothingness to anyone but Arabella probably. The colours were thick greys and blacks, heavy purples and deep blues (the colours of storms). Behind the stormy clouds was a sky of curious colours that showed the true obscurity of the painting, the sky was made up of deep reds, oranges, yellows, red-browns, hot pinks.

As Helena gazed into the picture, the clouds seemed to evaporate and the sky cleared showing a thick band of ugly green. Something began to emerge through the acidic green but Helena wasn't going to stay to find out what it was. She dragged her eyes away from the moving picture and stared at Aonie, appalled at what she had just seen and that Aonie had let her see it.

"It's okay. It shows you what you truly desire, what even you don't know that you want. Your hearts desire. Corny isn't it?" Aonie commented reading Helena's expression.

"Wow, everything's so real here. I better pick a movie to watch." Helena mumbled. She scuffled over to the right hand side of the four poster where three long shelves filled with DVDs lined the orange wall. Arabella had ordered the films in alphabetical order, typical. Helena caught sight of a title, a film she hadn't watched in many years, not since it was playing on film4. She tugged the case out of its carefully chosen position on the shelf and turned back to Aonie. Helena dropped the films on the bed and began to change out of her clothes, into her fluffy Pjs. Aonie had considerately turned her back to Helena, a sudden set of pyjamas in her hands. As Helena had done, Aonie changed. Her pyjamas were a white velvet. They looked carefully woven and somehow looked just as comfortable as Helena's.

"All ready and changed? Have you picked a film?" Arabella exclaimed as she came in through the main entrance. Arabella's hair fell to her waist and glimmered softly in the candlelight. She was wearing Pyjamas that were almost identical to Helena's only they were a deep magenta and had no design on them.

"Yes, an interview with a vampire. I know it's your favourite, and I love it too. Besides we haven't seen it in about four years." Helena answered with a cheesy grin. Arabella chuckled at how close Helena and herself had become over the years.

"I'll sort it out then, Eloise is bringing in the food any second. You two sit down on the bed or sofa and get comfy. I'll just be messing around with this." Arabella insisted as she took the DVD from Helena. She strode over to the wall with the secret entrance and pressed a button that was camouflaged so well that Helena couldn't even see it after Arabella had pressed it. A plate slid out and Arabella placed the DVD on top of it. She ran back to the bed and leaped onto it next to both Aonie and Helena who had lounged on the bed waiting for something unexpected to happen.

A shiny, white cinema screen rolled down from the ceiling and created a board for the film to produce itself on. Eloise scuttled into the room with three other young girls and placed a selection of junk food in front of the girls. Arabella thanked them and they left as quickly as they had come. The trailers began to flicker across the cinema screen, Aonie giggled as Arabella tapped her repeatedly with her foot. Helena shushed them angrily but then snorted at her own impatience. After a second all three girls were giggling hysterically.

They all breathed calmly as the film began. Helena reached for food, and soon the other two did the same. The sound of voices came from hidden speakers around the room and the acoustics were incredible. Helena had picked a good film, the echoes highlighted its eeriness. The film began to get interesting and the girls left their food, too absorbed to bother about anything. Arabella, Aonie and Helena all cried at the end, when it showed you Brad Pitt crying over the dead Kirsten Dunst who he had thought of as a daughter. They sniffed and laughed at their own patheticness. The film stopped and the girls cheered and clapped. Helena stood to collect another film.

The night continued with movies blaring, odd occasions where the girls would eat or laugh or cry. It was seven hours later when all three of them fell unconscious and the film ended with a final note of music.

Chapter Six-The flashback

Riley sat on a long, burgundy, leather sofa in his study. The walls were painted in a forest green. Riley focused his gaze on the book in front of him.

"This is ridiculous! How can she read this gibberish?" Riley exclaimed. Arabella had recommended this book to him over fifty years ago. He'd never thought about reading it until this evening.

Riley had never quite understood why Arabella had joined the protectors. Dartemis had never told him about the story of how she came to be in the position that she was in. He'd always wanted to hear it, hear if it was just as ridiculous as Arabella herself. However, after the stunt Arabella had pulled at dinner, Riley was having second thoughts about her. He'd wondered when Arabella would crack when she would start having a go at him for all the snide remarks and rude gestures he'd made toward her and her friends but he'd never expected to try and kill him. It scared him when he thought back and remembered how barbaric Arabella had looked across from him.

Arabella was one of those people that kept herself to herself and hated 3rd party members getting involved in absolutely anything, well it was more like everyone not just 3rd party members. Riley, however, was the complete opposite. He loved telling people about how hard life was on him, how unfair and cruel the gods were being on him. Riley never had any thoughts about anyone except himself. It didn't upset him when people called him selfish or self-indulgent, he was used to it. Not much upset Riley, but then again not much made him happy either. He could sit for weeks on end, just wallowing in self-pity.

Tap, tap, came a knock at the door to his study.

"Come in." Riley answered not bothering to open the door himself. The door opened and a head of thick red hair popped through the to reveal itself to Riley.

"What are you doing here? Come to cause me more havoc?" Riley snapped as Arabella's full body came into view. She wore black jeans and a tight, black t-shirt.

"No … I came to say that I'm sorry for what I did to you at dinner. I didn't mean to, you must believe me there. I don't know what came over me." Arabella apologised looking sincere and incredibly upset. Riley thought she was on the verge of crying, but he knew better.

"You know exactly what came over you. Don't lie to me, you know you can't. However, your apology is accepted. Now, you know where the door is, don't' let it hit you on the way out." Riley ordered picking up the recommended book trying to look absorbed.

"I see that you're finally taking in my advice, well some of it anyway. I must be so stupid Riley, I believed that maybe what I did earlier was a turning point for us but I guess I was wrong. Really, though, you're the stupid one. You see you can call my friends and I what you like, but know this what you throw at me, I can throw back ten times harder. I have been alive much longer than you, Riley, and I have grasped more insults than you could ever even comprehend."

"You think that you're everything don't you? You just come along and expect everyone to worship the ground you walk on. It doesn't work like that though Arabella, you have to earn respect from the people in here. It's not just served to you on a plate." Riley snapped again. His voice was sharper than usual at even at the mention of Arabella, but know that they were alone he couldn't handle it.

"You are so hypercritical. Do you listen to what you say or does it just come out in a blur of nonsense. Riley, I was just thinking the same about you.

"You were born a wonderful boy. I was there, your hair was a sandy blond and your eyes were as blue as the earth sky. I could tell, as could everyone, that you would be amazing. But as soon as you reached nine you never smiled again, and you turned into something so rank I couldn't stand it. You especially turned horrible to me, the reason of which I don't quite know."

"Father always focused more on you when you were around. As I reached the age of nine, he began to pay less attention to me. He always focused on you, his masterpiece. You weren't even his kin, but he still loved you more than I. You, with your skill and experience and beauty. It made me jealous, why should you constantly have the spotlight? What have you done to deserve his praise? What have I done wrong?"

"Riley, he does love you, I see it in his eyes. You mean more than all the moons to him. He just doesn't want to believe that you've become something that is so far from what his very essence emanates. He showed you everything that he knows, yet you still didn't want to know. I could tell that you got bored of learning valid skills, your father saw it too. It hurt him, but he didn't want to force you to become something that you weren't. So, he left your training at its peak and focused on training new volunteers. It wasn't that he didn't love you he just got carried away with others who were passionate about it."

Riley let this new information sink into his head. Arabella stood in the doorway looking at him sympathetically. Riley looked up at her from under his eyelashes. He wasn't giving in just like that though. He shot up his to glare at her, his eyes icy daggers. Although it didn't effect Arabella he still felt much better.

"I don't care. I want you to leave. You have no business being in my private quarters. Leave!" Riley ordered. Arabella sighed exasperatedly. She turned on her heel, with her arms crossed, and stormed out of the room in an angry state. That would be the last time she ever try to make things up with Riley.

Aonie rubbed her orange eyes as she awoke from her refreshing slumber. As her vision focused on her surroundings she remembered the films, food and giggles of the previous evening. Her vision cleared, she recognised Arabella's bedroom and moaned. Through the violet curtains she could just make out a hot pink sky with streaks of furious greens stroked through it. About ten-thirty in the morning.

She jumped out of the large bed to find Arabella fully dressed and sifting through a variety of antique notebooks.

"Morning, good sleep?" Arabella mumbled as Aonie made her way over to her.

"Yes thank you. Was yours good?" Aonie asked. She fell into a lotus position on the floor next to Arabella.

"Superb." Arabella replied, her usually calm voice was clipped and slightly furious.

"Helena still asleep?" Aonie asked trying to change the conversation.

"Obviously." Arabella retorted. Aonie's brows knitted, Arabella never used sarcasm. Only when in a funny way, anyway.

"Okay, something is seriously wrong with you. Are you going to tell me?"

"Riley. I went to apologize for yesterday. He took my apology only when I tried to make a truce with him he threw back in my face."

"Silly mistake. Never apologize to Riley. Also, Riley is a complete moron, you can do so much better than him."

Arabella smiled, not really wanting to but knowing that Aonie would force it out of her anyway. Aonie slung her toned arms around Arabella's neck in a complicated embrace. Arabella giggled at the intimacy, the two of them had become so close. She remembered how the young girls acted back on earth and her relationship seemed similar to the earthling girls'.

Aonie was a full-on girl who was extremely amiable. Over the missions Aonie had become more into herself. Knowing more about her background and lifestyle. Arabella had helped her to find her feet and learn all the things she knew. Aonie owed a lot to Arabella, however, Arabella never seemed to want anything. She was such a giving person that Aonie just wanted to shake her and say "will you please just think about yourself for once?". But she'd never been able to. Aonie had tried hinting at it with comments and questions, but Arabella still wouldn't think about herself.

"What I do is nothing to do with you. You shouldn't worry yourself with my welfare. I'm really not that important. Yes, when Dartemis dies, I'll be the one to takeover. But if I go too then there are other people who eligible for the leadership position. Like you for example, either you or Hunter could take over and this place would function just as smoothly." Arabella announced, her gold eyes were distant and staring dreamily at the onyx floor. Arabella was focusing her attention on one single slab, focusing on the molecules. She focused on the compact grains and forced them apart from each other.

"Are you trying to melt the floor? Look." Aonie exclaimed at Arabella from a distant land. Arabella's mind instantly pulled back and maximized to the size of her room. She glanced at the floor below that she had forced apart and saw that there was a large hole in the onyx that led straight down into ground below.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." Arabella explained but Aonie just looked at her knowingly. With the amount of times she had been upset and distracted … no one could compare.

"Arabella, I know you don't want to talk, but I want you to listen. So either you tell me what's upsetting you or I'll get it out of you by force. Now, what's wrong?" Aonie ordered. She was what Arabella needed to keep her head above water.

"Hunter, Riley, me. Everything! Riley, well I'll sort him out later. Me: I don't know if I can take what I'm becoming, a monster, even if I don't want to. Hunter: I don't want him to see what I'm becoming, but he's the only one that knows. Aonie, before you say anything, I would tell you only I don't want you to be hurt because of what I am." Arabella answered her voice grave and sharp.

"Don't worry about me, you've already done that enough in this life. It's my turn now. Tell me what it is. Let me fight my own battles and help to fight yours."

"Not yet, I can't risk Helena hearing. She'd never trust me if she found out. But I promise that I will tell you. You have my word."

"Okay. When you're ready just tell me and I'll make time, if I have to, just to listen."

"Thank you. You're a true friend." Arabella hugged Aonie. Arabella could feel hot tears threatening to spill over as she tightened her grip on Aonie. When they pulled away they both smiled at each other and Arabella continued searching through the piles of old notebooks.

Aonie looked at her quizzically, but thought best not to persevere. Aonie stood and looked back at the bed but Helena hadn't stirred. So she decided to explore Arabella's chambers. As she walked over to the door, she lost her breath and fell to the ground.

A piercing noise shrieked in her ears and echoed through her head. Her vision began to blur in a swarm of black mass. Something was happening, in the back of her mind a picture was forming. It zoomed forwards at super-sonic speed. Two seconds gone and the picture disappeared becoming just another memory.

"Aonie, are you all right? Was it a vision?" Arabella asked from Aonie's side. She helped Aonie into a standing position and then pushed Aonie's electric blue bangs out of her orange eyes.

"No, and yes." Aonie replied as she massaged her temples.

Arabella put her hands on Aonie's shoulders and shook her slightly becoming panicked.

"What did you see?" Arabella asked.

"I don't know. I need a few minutes to process. Let me meditate and call on it and then I'll be able to tell you." Aonie answered pushing Arabella's hands away, she could feel Arabella's anxiety running into her with her pulse. Aonie made her way over to a long sofa in front of one of the windows. When she sat down she could feel the knots in her stomach tightening at the unknown of what she was about to see.

Aonie pulled up her legs and crossed them into a lotus position. Her breathing automatically slowed and deepened, she was so used to doing this she could do it unconsciously (literally). Aonie inhaled until she felt it at the bottom of her lungs, breathing in all the calm vibes and soothing scents that emanated from Arabella in front of her, then she exhaled until she almost coughed, letting all the anxiety and curiosity leave her body. As she repeated this process, her muscles began to loosen and her pulse slowed until it was a rhythmic thrumming throughout her whole body.

She let herself sink. Sink into the dark of her abyss that was the labyrinth of her subconscious. Aonie had already explored her memories that her conscious body knew nothing of, so every corner was as familiar as her own hand. As Aonie travelled the different levels, she picked up on glimpses of things that were not there before.

These were her dreams and experiences of the last six or seven months. She saw Arabella sitting on the floor, looking through leather notebooks. Helena sat in a armchair looking puzzled and a bit scared to her right. Arabella leaping onto Riley. Arabella, Helena and Peter coming up the mountainside toward the castles entrance. Edward grinning at a lame joke that she had cracked, Aonie lingered on that image for a minute. Daydream later, Arabella's harsh tone reverberated through the many corridors and instantly moved Aonie on.

Aonie carried on down another corridor that belonged to the recent dreams. She hated looking at her dreams, nightmares that she had forgotten always crept up on her. In an extract to her left she saw Arabella perched on a high, green hill, with two, large, petrifying, snow leopards. Aonie scurried down the hallway, her eyes closed in an attempt to block out the other images, some nice, others not so nice. At the end of the hall she picked out a corner bending precariously to the right.

Around the corner was a dead-end. Aonie knew this was the place. It was a bad vision, one that carried horrific news. The walls in this corridor were violet, the colour of Arabella's aura, and it was icy cold. Aonie hugged her arms around herself, she'd always hated the cold. As she tiptoed toward the end of the corridor, whispers began to echo along the walls, making the pictures she was about to see even more unwanted. Finally, she reached the end wall.

She gasped and froze.

The corridor around her morphed into an enormous clearing. The sky above was a sickly green, it looked like acid clouds had swarmed out both the sun and moon. Before Aonie stood an army of the most ghastly smelling and looking creatures she had ever seen. Aonie believed these were the shadows from the stories Arabella had told.

At the bare feet of Aonie lay dozens of soulless bodies. Their eyes were charcoal black with flashing embers lingering in dispersed positions. These were the people who had died, they chose not to join the Shadows. Others were on all fours crying out in agony, their screams were improved when the sky darkened. The people writhing in pain were the ones who chose to join! The green was the radiation, this was a radiation sweep!

Where were the protectors?

Were these some of them?

Were they all dead?

Aonie had no clue. But she knew that this wasn't a vision of the future. This was a vision of the past. She was seeing what had happened to another realm. It sickened her to see the people who had chose to become a Shadower! It just made her want to cry when she saw that there were more on the ground dead than there were people writhing in pain, it made almost happy.

Oh my goddess, Aonie … this is my realm! These are the people that I grew up with! My friends and family, neighbours and enemies. Turn around I am cowering behind a rock, Arabella's voice echoed once more. This time her tone wasn't sharp, it was filled with sorrow at the sight of her past, and shame that she was cowering. Aonie did as she was told and turned to see a perfect example of cuteness.

A short, frail girl poked out from behind a rock. The girl had but long, wheat coloured hair. Her eyes were a silvery-blue that stopped you in your tracks. Her body was shivering from head to toe, her face contorted in agony. Aonie reached her hand toward the vulnerable girl but she couldn't move any more.

Aonie's time here was over.

Arabella regarded Aonie anxiously as her eyes opened and she slumped her shoulders. During the meditation, Arabella had gotten Eloise to prepare a special tea for Aonie that was especially for post-meditation, it helped to revive the system and bring you back to reality.

"Enjoy that?" Arabella asked from halfway across the room. Her face was set in grim lines and her nose was wrinkled as if she'd smelled the most putrid of smells. Aonie had never seen her like this, it made Arabella look frightened: a concept that made Aonie want to cry and laugh at the same time

"Not really. Why didn't you ever tell anyone? I suppose that Dartemis and Hunter are the only ones that know?" Aonie replied with a slurring voice. The room was silent around the two girls, accept for Helena breathing lightly on the bed.

"They're the only ones. Well - you know now obviously! Aonie listen, people would hate me if they knew what I really was. They can never find out. Please, Aonie, will you stand with me still? I know their mind and their actions. I can help everyone to understand them better! With me at your aid you might stand a chance of winning. Aonie, what you don't realise is that without my radiation I would never be able to do all the things that I'm meant to. I can sense those who the Shadows fell worthy of attacking. You see the council elders only see the people who might get hurt, I tell them who will be hurt. I can see things in people that others can't even dream about! But everything I've ever done is to get back at the Shadow moon for taking my entire life away from me. This may be destiny, but destiny isn't always your favourite option."

"Arabella, no matter what you were, are, or will be … I will always stand by you. You saved my life and I know that I owe you nothing but without you I am dead again physically and … well, who would I get to make my tea for me? You can always lean on me for a bit of support if ever you need it, and even if I fell that you're wrong. We're friends and friends never give up on one another!" Aonie stated just as Eloise walked through the door carrying a trey of spicy smelling tea. The scent filtered throughout the room in thick waves that hit you in every part of your body.

"Thank you Eloise. Would you do me a favour and prepare breakfast for us, please? Helena too, she will be waking any moment." Arabella asked while relieving Eloise of the trey and putting it on the mahogany dressing table next to her.

"Certainly, ma'am." Eloise replied and backed out of the room looking flushed but grateful. The door clicked shut behind Eloise and Arabella turned to look lovingly at Helena who lay motionless if not for the rise and fall of her chest.

Two seconds later, Helena's eyes fluttered revealing a set of shimmering green eyes that imprisoned innocence and sincerity.

"Morning, sleep well?" Aonie asked politely as Helena sat up and took a sip of the tea that Arabella had poured for her.

"Yes, thanks. You?" Helena mumbled sleepily. Her eyes swept across the room as she attempted to register her surroundings. Suddenly, memories of yesterday swept over her and with it a wave of dizziness.

"Okay." Aonie replied in a clipped tone.

"Why don't you go find some clothes to wear in your room. Breakfast will be ready shortly." Arabella proposed in an almost hurried way. She wanted to thank Aonie for what she had said, but she knew that if she said it with Helena listening that she'd want answers. Arabella was not in a mood for arguments even though she knew that she would have won.

"Okay. I'll be in my room if you need me." Helena mumbled as she stumbled out of the door that Arabella had opened for her.

Chapter seven- kisses

Hunter stood in the barn listening to the music that blared through the headphones of his green ipod nano. A blue roan horse nickered next to him, obviously getting impatient for the grooming to continue.

"Lo siento, Silos. You have gotten grumpy since the last time I was here to groom you." Hunter apologized as he picked up a mane comb from the pile of grooming utensils on the hard concrete ground. He positioned himself at the hind-quarters of the horse and gathered his thick tail in his left hand. With his right he began to smoothly and rhythmically comb through the everlasting mass of the horses tail.

After nearly five minutes of brushing through Silos' tail, Hunter began work on the mane and forelock. Once finished he gave his beloved horse a kiss between its almond-shaped, blue eyes and left the stable, locking the thick timber door behind him (even though he was sure that Silos wouldn't run off). Hunter gathered up the items on the floor and strode down the aisle toward the large, double doors.

"Didn't think that I'd see you here. How's Silos?" Aonie commented as she skipped up to Hunter's side.

Hunter grinned at her and Aonie flushed (even though she was insanely in love with Edward, Hunter was exceptionally gorgeous and had an incredible smile).

"He's much better now that he's had a decent grooming, not that the grooms here don't do an impeccable job but I know that he can be a bit out of hand for anyone that is not me … or Arabella. How are you doing, we never got a chance to talk that much yesterday?" Hunter replied and grinned even more as he realised his grin's affect on his friend.

"I'm super. I had a fun night with Helena and Arabella last night, I didn't know Helena could be so bad in the mornings. I went to go and say goodbye to her this morning but she threw a pillow at me. It actually hurt. I stand by what I said when I first met her though, she'll be a legend before we know it. I tell you Hunter, something will happen soon and we'll be all she has. She'll willingly join, even if it is to Arabella's displeasure. Anyway, I so can't wait until we get started on training. I might be able to learn some moves from Arabella if I'm lucky."

"I know what you mean, I am so pleased that Arabella is here to stay now. Well … until the end of the battle anyway. But who knows how long that will be. I think it will be great to spend the entire day just thinking and coming up with strategies that will destroy those vile beasts."

Hunter dropped the brushes and combs into a large blue bucket that was filled with halters, horse treats, medicines and first aid equipment. Then he turned back to Aonie and offered her his arm. Aonie took it eagerly and then tugged him along as she made her way back into the barn.

"What are you listening to? It sounds very familiar." Aonie said as she reached for Hunter's left headphone. She placed it in her ear and listened carefully. "Ah, Oblivion. Funeral For A Friend, I believe."

"You are correct." Hunter answered as he retrieved his headphone and replaced it in his ear.

"You know, I was planning on having dinner in my quarters tonight. Would you like to come?" Hunter proposed as the pair continued through the aisle of the barn to the back entrance.

"I'd love to. I'll bring Edward, too. If that's okay of course." Aonie replied with a sly grin. Hunter gave a shocked look which quickly turned into a mischievous one as he registered Aonie's expression. He chuckled as Aonie elbowed him playfully in the ribs.

"Oh, that actually hurt!" Hunter exclaimed. "I'm going to get you now."

"You'll have to catch me first." Aonie sang as she slipped her arm from his and began to sprint away from him down the path that led way through acres of meadows.

Hunter smiled to himself and then took off after her.

Aonie wasn't going to live this down.

"I don't know Capricorn. He hasn't been seen in nearly a fortnight. What if he's dead? I wouldn't be able to cope with the pain that Helena would go through. I don't know if I would be able to cope with not having to look after Helena anymore either though. I don't know Cappie." Arabella admitted to her relaxing steed. The dun horse lay on the lush grass with Arabella's head leaning on his stomach. His golden coat had turned a strange shade of blue with the disarray of colours that came from the sky above.

Arabella shot upright as a piercing cackle cracked the silence that had, seconds ago, engulfed Arabella and the world around her. Arabella instantly recognised it as Aonie and stood up to get a better view. Just at that moment Aonie came leaping over the fence into the meadow that Arabella stood in.

"What are you running from?" Arabella shrieked as Aonie gasped for breath.

"Hah, found you! I've got you now." Hunter exclaimed as he, too, leaped over the fence. He sprinted up to the two girls and lunged himself into the air.

His tackle was meant for Aonie but she dropped to the ground and rolled out of the reach of his arms. Instead, Hunter rugby tackled Arabella to the ground, and landed on all fours. He glared back at Aonie's retreating figure for a moment then turned his gaze to Arabella who was sprawled out on the ground beneath him.

"I am so sorry, Arabella. I meant to get Aonie. You look lovely today, by the way. Not that you don't every day though." Hunter apologized. However, his voice was merely a whisper as his mind caught on to the position Arabella and himself were in.

"It's okay. I'm used to being like this with males." Arabella murmured back to him. Instantly, Hunter locked up and Arabella could tell that he was furious at what she had just admitted.

"What?" Hunter shouted, his grey eyes wide in shock.

Arabella laughed her signature laugh. " I was only joking! Would you seriously be angry though if I wasn't?"

"You know I would. I'd be angry if it were just a kiss."

"Well, I don't see why since we haven't even kissed yet. I do see where you're coming from though, I'd be sort of mad if you kissed a girl that wasn't me."

Hunter grinned down at her mischievously. Illusive thoughts shot through his mind and he could tell that Arabella was seeing all of them. A grin broke out on her own face, it stopped Hunter's heart cold and he stared at her in awe. Arabella's top teeth came over the top of her bottom lip as her head bent down to her chest. Hunter's hand came under her chin and she tilted her head back up to look into his foggy eyes.

Can I kiss you? Hunter's voice echoed in Arabella's mind. Arabella was too shocked to speak so she just nodded her head, ever so slightly, but it was his cue. His head leaned down as his eyes, first, glanced Arabella's lips, then, shot up to her own eyes.

Their lips met and the world around them fell to shards. Arabella and Hunter could feel themselves being pulled into one another's mind. That was what happened to people like them, soul mates. But ssh, they don't know it yet! The two of them were exploring the other's mind, looking deep into corners and crevices. A quiet moan escaped from Arabella's throat and Hunter smiled to himself. They were both in complete bliss, and they were both pondering over the cause of not doing this before. Hunter gently pushed Arabella's mouth open. Arabella realised and gave in willingly, she giggled slightly at Hunter's boldness.

"Well, look who's making out in the meadow." A voice snapped from the outside world. Their minds zoomed back to reality and Arabella pushed Hunter away firmly. She hadn't even realised where her hands were until they were nudging at his chiselled chest. Arabella's head turned to see who the intruder was but Hunter just continued to gaze down at Arabella with a dazed smile toying at the edge of his mouth.

"Helena, Peter! What are you two doing here?" Arabella mumbled, her head still a blur of emotions.

"We could ask you two the same thing if it wasn't as clear as crystal. Finally!" Peter exclaimed with a sly grin in his eyes although his mouth was set in a shocked "O" shape. Hunter lifted his right leg from the ground and softly fell so that he was lying on Arabella's right.

"I was coming to find you when I bumped into Peter. He offered to help me look for you." Helena offered. Arabella turned her head to look at them properly and noticed something that she hadn't the first time.

"And at what point in this did you get to holding hands?" She demanded with a smile in her voice. Peter began to slip his hand from Helena's but she gripped his firmly.

"Oh, well at least we weren't kissing." Helena blurted. Peter flinched, a swarm of memories bombarded him. Helena turning on him and pinning him up against the stable door and his heart thudding furiously. He shook his head slightly to try and rid his head of those thoughts before the others picked up on them.

"Um … I'm having dinner in my quarters tonight if you three would like to come. It will be at six. You don't need to wear anything formal just casual." Hunter offered to the green, primrose and metallic streaked sky.

"Awesome, I am so there. Anything to wear something normal." Helena sighed. She waved over her shoulder then stalked off dragging Peter after her.

"They make a cute couple." Hunter acknowledged as he stared after them. His eyes fell onto Arabella next him. He registered her flawless curves and her seductive body. More improper thoughts erupted through his head and Arabella caught hold of them. She gasped and then grinned at him in the way that made his heart go cold. Hunter gave her a disapproving look as he cropped himself up on his elbow.

"You'll be the death of me Miss Beaumont. I assure you that." Hunter stated just before his lips found hers once again.

However, this time there were no distractions. So how far would they go?

Dun-dun-dun!

Hunter's quarters were shocking. The dining room was the first room that they entered, it wasn't painted but it kept the colour of the sandstone. In the centre of the room stood a six-seater, Ash tree table. Now, this table was nowhere near as elaborate as the one that Helena had seen on her first evening here.

"Do you like it?" Hunter asked in Helena's ear, making her jump almost three feet in the air. At the sight, Aonie burst into unstoppable laughter.

"It's very nice, subtle. Very different … in a good way of course." Helena gasped. Aonie was, at that point, rolling over on the floor as tears overflowed down her flushed cheeks.

"Oh, grow up! It wasn't that funny!" Helena snapped at Aonie who was still suffocating on the sandstone floor.

"Leave her. Once she's in one of her laughing fits she doesn't stop." Edward said as he stood, exasperated, on the other side of Aonie.

"Please, all be seated while Aonie recovers." Hunter proposed from the hallway that led, supposedly, into the kitchen. Well, that was where the great smell was coming from. Everyone, bar Aonie, took their seats at the table in the centre of the room. Arabella and Hunter sat at the ends, Helena sat to the right of Hunter ( with Peter opposite) and Aonie was supposed to sit next to her, once she sat down (with Edward opposite her).

Now, onto fashion. Helena wore a pair of marine blue shorts with a grey, cotton cardigan over the top (it was very fashionable on Earth at that point). Peter wore black, suit bottoms with a loose, cotton, sea blue shirt. Aonie wore black drainpipes and an orange, skin-tight t-shirt (she looked like a Halloween costume). Edward was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans with a grass-green shirt that contrasted perfectly with his white hair and violet eyes. Hunter was wearing a rumpled black, cotton, smart shirt with black, suit bottoms that looked like they'd just been plucked off an Armani model (and he looked like an Armani model in them). Arabella wore a deep red shift dress that fell to her calves gracefully.

Arabella looked stunning, as usual! So stunning, that Hunter couldn't take his smoky grey eyes off of her (or that might have had something to do with that afternoon's antics! What had they gotten up to, I wonder?). At that moment, six servants stepped into the room carrying plates of delicious smelling food, and Aonie launched herself into her chair. The plates were placed on the table and everyone tucked in hungrily.

One-and-a-half hours later, the table was cleared and filled with excited chatter that was passed between Aonie, Edward, Peter and Helena. Hunter and Arabella, however, just sat and stared at each other.

"I'm going to the bathroom, please excuse me." Arabella announced. She stood and turned on her heel. As she sauntered off down the hall, Hunter stood and followed her only he turned off before Arabella.

"Shall we leave these two lover birds and head out into the meadows?" Edward proposed. The others grinned and, instantly and silently, rose to their feet. They left the chambers through the main entrance and ran off down the hall, trying to make as big a distance between Arabella's fury and themselves.

Arabella and Hunter came into the dining room at the same time, and froze when they noticed that everyone had left.

"Unbelievable!" Arabella grumbled into thin air.

"What's wrong? They did us a favour in my opinion." Hunter commented. His voice instantly soothing Arabella into a calm and tranquil state. She turned to him slowly and looked up at him from under her long, thick lashes.

"Do you ever think about the stars? You know, when you're on Earth?" Arabella asked with utter sincerity. It would have shocked anybody and, strangely, it shocked Hunter.

Hunter began to move back down the hallway and Arabella followed. She'd never really had the chance to explore his chambers and she felt a tad embarrassed that she didn't know where they were going. Hunter finally opened the doors and they emerged into a large, placid room. This room was similar to the main chamber, in the fact that it wasn't painted, it didn't have a table in the centre but instead housed a queen-size bed.

"You never were one for the fineries." Arabella acknowledged with a sad smile.

"To answer your earlier question, no I don't think about them. However, I do look up at them a lot and think about you." Hunter answered as he sat on the edge of the crimson bed sheets.

"Wow, good answer. I'm curious though, why is it that everything in this room is red?"

"Well, it reminds me of you when you're not here. Not that I need reminding … I see you all the time anyway. I just find that it helps to ease the pain."

"Pain! What pain?"

"When we are apart all I feel is this aching pain in my chest. Well … it's a bit more than that but it makes me want to curl up into a ball and cry until it stops! I shouldn't be louding you with this."

Hunter turned so that his back was facing Arabella and she had the most fiersome of urgess to run over and hold him until all of his pains died away. Arabella walked slowly over to the space on the bed behind Hunter, and she sat with her knees curled tightly beneath her. Her hands moved up to his shoulders and began to massage. She could feel the knots in his muscles beneath her hands uncoiling and loosening. Hunter's breath began to lengthen and deepen. A moan of pleasure slipped from Hunter's throat and Arabella grinned sweetly. Hunter's hand came up to find Arabella's and she stopped.

"I feel … I feel the same when we're gone. Like I'm missing a piece and if I don't find it soon I might die. And, Hunter … I want you to tell me things like this. I want to know otherwise I wouldn't ask!" Arabella stated, her husky voice a mere whisper and throbbing with pain that Hunter had never noticed before. As Hunter thought about the times when Arabella had let her guard down, he realised that there was always a twinge of pain in it. He turned to look into her eyes, the eyes that were always the picture of happiness. As he looked deep into those shimmering eyes he saw some things that had never been there before: pain; torture; and fear.

Hunter gasped and rapped his arms around Arabella. Arabella was mumbling something that Hunter couldn't quite pick up on, but he could have sworn that it were a prayer.

Chapter eight - The Speech

Dartemis assessed the girl in front of him with narrowed eyes. He was sitting cross-legged on the grass that smothered the hills beneath the palace. With her back to the rising moon (although there were already seven in the sky already), her platinum blonde hair was ringed with a magnificent halo that gave her calf long hair a turquoise and lavender tinge.

"Say that what you're telling me is true. How will we know when this time comes. Iliana, I think that your long years are finally catching up with you." Dartemis stated with a sly grin. The girl, Iliana, shot him a warning look, her sea-like eyes transforming like the sea in a storm. Calm and tranquil to savage and unnerving.

Iliana's eyes smoothed again and became once more, a lagoon of pure calm that made you want to drown in it.

"Dartemis, this is no time to joke. They are coming sooner than you thought, you should listen more to Arabella. Her heart may be pure and loyal to you but her sole and mind are poisoned by the Shadow Moon. She knows them better than I could ever hope. You mistrust her in this area, I can tell. Your eyes cannot lie to me no matter how hard you try to conceal it." Iliana whispered, this her usuall volume, nothing to worry about.

Dartemis pondered Iliana's words, for a moment.

"Wise words, my dear. You seem very sure of yourself, I hope that your reasons are perfectly correct." Dartemis retorted with a joking smile toying at the corners of his mouth. Iliana lifted her chin in a way that showed that: 1) the converstion was over and 2) her reasons were always correct!

"Very well, my dear. I shall see you again soon, and I will arange an opportunity for you to meet with Arabella before the new recruits begin training." At this Dartemis got to his feet and took off for the main doors of the palace.

Iliana began her meditation. This was not just routine, it was a ritual. A girl, who looked barely thirteen but was actually older than Dartemis, was not normally able to hold concentration for long periods of time. Unfortunately for Iliana, her teenage instincts began to take control of her body. Oh, there were never any "female" problems but she always got the mood swings even though she kept them in tight rein.

Her mind was beginning to swarm with memories of when Arabella first laid eyes on the palace. At that time there were other people who lived in the world (people that weren't protectors). Arabella had been the second, after Dartemis, and her learning skills made it easier to perfect her lessons quickly. Arabella had blossomed from a sandy-haired, blue-eyed angel into a demon in true form. She was exactly what they were looking for. The radiation sweep had transformed Arabella and at first she was difficult to control.

When Arabella reached eighteen she was highly skilled in every field. On her birthday she decided to take the journey. It was quite incredible actually, Arabella was the most peculiar of all the protectors. Once Arabella had returned from her journey she had changed considerably. Arabella had stepped into that dark and gloomy cave knowing that she was about to experience the most extraordinary thing in her life but all she did was grin and face it with her warrior-like stance. Iliana could still remember the feeling that trembled through her as the cave locked behind her and blocked off any sight or sign.

"Well … it is a pleasure to find you here, Aonie." Iliana mumbled as her mind came back to the present and her body parts began to work again.

"I was looking for you actually. That must have been quite a sight, her back then. Do you miss the old days at all?" Aonie replied and slipped down in front of Iliana, her knees tucked under her like an excited child around a campfire.

"Yes, I do. Arabella was somewhat controllable back then." Iliana opened her eyes and chuckled at Aonie. She was exactly how Iliana remembered her: strong; smart; and seeping with psychic ability.

Aonie gave her a curious look then grinned with her. She could just imagine Arabella at that age, and if she compared her to now it was an amusing thought.

"I've missed Arabella. She's always away for so long, it's like an eternity. I should come and visit you more regularly though, Iliana."

"Yes, you should. However, I'm sure that I will survive. Besides you have your own duties to attend to."

"I've never been up here before. It's beautiful."

"It is isn't it? Arabella found it. She ran off one day and we found her curled up in a ball in a hole beneath a boulder."

"Why'd she run away?"

"She had a bad dream that night and I think she saw … what you saw in that vision yesterday."

Aonie paused for a moment then sighed and stated the obvious. "So you know about that."

"There's nothing that goes on in this palace or with the protectors that I do not know about."

"Ah, of course! Arabella mentioned something about that when I was younger. The all seeing eye."

"Almost there. But enough about Arabella and myself, how about you and that Edward?"

"What about me and that Edward?"

"You tell me."

"Iliana, I've never seen this side of you … but I think I like it!"

At that moment a horn sounded, like the ones that you used to get to signal a war beginning. Iliana and Aonie both looked to the palace above them and then back to each other. At the same time the two girls transported themselves into the grand hall of the palace.

Arabella had finally found the notepad she had been looking for. It was leather, A5 and quite light. The cover was beautiful: it was a dyed green; dragons swirled around the frame; in the center of the frame was an intricate forest design complete with animals and plants. Arabella opened up the book and was smothered by the heavenly scent of ancient pages.

The first page read: property of Robin Beaumont and Tristan Beaumont. It was written in delicate and emaculate calligraphy. Arabella's hand came up and dragged down the page limply. As she turned the brown and stiff page she could feel hot tears threatening to spill over the edges. The page fell and more perfect handwriting appeared. This page was about the owners of the book.

Tristan Beaumont: 16 years old; blonde hair; green eyes; 6ft".

Robin Beaumont: 13 years old; blonde hair; green eyes; 5ft 5".

Then on the next page was more information that made Arabella grin.

Arabella Beaumont: 6 years old; blonde hair; blue eyes; 4ft 3".

Isabella Beaumont: 6 months old; brown tufts; brown eyes.

Ariana Beaumont: 38 years old; black hair; green eyes; 5ft 6".

Brian Beaumont: 40 years old; brown hair; brown eyes; 6ft 2".

Arabella flinched as she came to the last name: the name of her father. She could still remember the feel of his fist slamming into her jaw. The memories began to pour into her mind. Every other day, he would come home and randomly begin to yell at her mother, then he would hit her. Tristan would intervene and get a hit himself, as would Robin even though he wouldn't do anything.

Then he would set his hollow brown eyes on Arabella and every time she would try to run. Rarely she would get away but more often he would grab her by her hair and throw her back into the room. Usually he would give her a beating too, but if she was lucky then all she would get was a fistful. Either Tristan or Robin (or both) would stop her father from doing any more damage to her. At the point when she started being involved she was a frail and vulnerable five year old. As Arabella sat in her homely chambers she pondered over the fact that she wasn't damaged in some way now.

Arabella used to wake up and go to the kitchen for breakfast in the morning and would usually see her mother sweeping up things that had gotten broken the night before, and Tristan making breakfast with a black eye, a fat lip and bruises all over the rest of his body. He would place her toast and jam in front of her, stroke his bruised, bleeding hand down her hair with as much of a smile as he could manage. As the beatings went on, Tristan would come out less battered and bruised. When he got home from school he would go outside and practise, just in case.

Arabella wiped her eyes dry and turned the page. On this page was some work that her brothers had done in school on that day. She turned the page and kept finding more school work. Finally, a non-educational page emerged. This was the page she had been looking for.

Robin has left for the park with our friends. I said that I would join him soon, but I wanted to write first. I know that something is going to happen today. Something really bad! Jane keeps telling me that they're coming, I keep asking "who?" but she just looks at me in a confused way, like she doesn't know herself. Jane's going to be there at the park today, well she said that she would be there to support me. I really like Jane, she is very beautiful and she is very smart. I think I might spend more time with her.

Father will be home in an hour, I don't really want to leave Arabella on her own in case he gets here early, but I must go. I will tell her to hide, she's good at hiding. She has found a spot that she hides in and he never seems to find her there , she won't show anyone where it is. I love Arabella so much but I can see why father thinks that she is not his. I just see something in her that isn't like that rest of us. Thst is why he started beating mother, because he thinks that she is cheating on him, even though he is cheating on mother. Little Isabella is the only one of us that he seems to love, I see the way that he looks at her and it makes me happy to know that he would never harm her or put her in dangers way.

There is something about Isabella that makes me cringe. When she laughs, it is a very strange laugh as if there is something that she is hiding. Stupid, she is only 6 months of age, how could she be hiding something. But still there is something lingering at the backs of her eyes. I stand over her crib at night and listen while mother tells me what's going on and how she feels (I love listening to mother, I can see the relief on her face as she shoulders some of her burdens onto me). I get this strange feeling as if we shouldn't be discussing it in front of Isabella. She doesn't understand a word that we are saying but it feels as if she does. I need to sort my mind out, I know, but I know how I feel and I know what my gut is telling me and that is not to trust her even at this age. I sound psychotic! Anyway …

Arabella has been told and now I must go and meet the others.

Tristan.

Arabella slammed the notebook shut. Now she remembered that her brothers and friends were not at home when they came. Arabella flinched again as the flashback threatened to show. She threw it away but it kept on zooming back into view like a boomerang.

"No! Goddess, make it stop, please!" Arabella screamed as her hands flew up to the side of her head. But the images just kept on torturing her …

A six year old Arabella heard a scream from outside in the front garden. Then a bang on the front door as something smashed into it. She ran through the house and hid in her special hiding place just like her big brother, Tristan, had told her to. At that moment, she heard her little sister, Isabella, giggle and her blue eyes widened in horror. She began to move but froze as she heard the door fly off its hinges. Her back slammed against the wall of her secret hiding place and automatically her index finger came up against her lips.

Arabella could hear the things that had smashed through the door storming through her house, opening doors and searching through rooms. The door to the room that she was hiding in opened and her breath caught in her throat. Her lower lip began to quiver against her finger. Arabella heard heavy footsteps move back out of the room and the door slam behind them. Her breath escaped her mouth audibly and her hands clamped across it as if to make no more noise …

"Stop! Please, stop." Arabella sobbed as her mind came back to the present. She sighed and fell to her knees, the black onyx floor icy and collecting beneath her. Her breath came heavy and shallow, the sweat dripped down her face mixed with salty tears. A sob escaped involuntarily. A second later she felt slender arms curling around her shoulders, she hadn't even realised that the door had opened until Helena held her.

"Arabella, it's okay. Shh. It's alright." Helena cooed into Arabella's hair. She rocked her back and forth as the sobs came harder and fiercer.

After five minutes Arabella's sobs cut off and she stood quickly.

"What is it?" Helena asked standing up next to her.

"The horn. You need to stay here, I will be back in a minute." Arabella replied, completely recovered of her earlier drama. She dematerialised from her room, leaving Helena dumbfounded, and reappeared in the grand hall.

Arabella stood in a large crowd of unusual and colourful people. She began to shove her way through the throng of people and came out on the front line. Dartemis stood at the front beckoning for her to join him and her friends. As she moved forward the crowd began to hush.

"You've become the centre of attention." Stated a quiet and familiar voice behind Arabella.

"Iliana, it has been so long. How are you?" Arabella replied turning and extending her arms. The two comrades embraced warmly, something they hadn't done in over two thousand years.

"I am well thank you, and I can tell that you are also." Iliana answered again in a whisper. As she pulled away she gave Arabella a quick sceptical frown that showed she knew exactly how Arabella was feeling (like dog poo to be proper). Arabella dropped her eyes and when she looked back up she was looking straight into the crowd. She swallowed deeply as her pulse picked up. She knew not one of the soldiers that stood in front of her, they were the volunteers. A sharp tremble licked at her neck and spread throughout her whole body.

Six chairs lined the wall on her right and following Iliana's and Dartemis's lead, she took the third chair. Hunter sat on her left and Iliana on her right, then Aonie and Edward sat next to Hunter. The crowd then sat, in almost a Mexican wave that made Aonie cackle and Edward chuckle. Dartemis stood at the end of the row and began to introduce everyone in turn.

Iliana smiled sweetly. Hunter nodded politely. Aonie grinned wildly and waggled her fingers in the air. Edward just smiled then chuckled again. Arabella was the last to be introduced but she did nothing, just looked at the floor with her heart thundering in her head. Hunter nudged her slightly but again, she did nothing. Dartemis continued explaining who each of them were and what they were going to be doing for the volunteers. Arabella took a few long, deep breaths and forced herself to look up at least at the front row.

Arabella's heart stopped cold.

Staring back at her was a beautiful girl with ebony skin and glossy black wringlets.

Electra! Arabella thought. The Greek slave with the amber eyes and the healing touch. The Electra who perished in battle. Impossible! She could feel the eyes of Hunter, Iliana, Edward and Aonie all burning into her. The girl grinned at Arabella then nodded her head to show that Arabella was correct. Arabella's golden eyes widened and her breath escaped her mouth as if someone had punched her in the gut.

"Now, please listen carefully. We have approximately two earth

Months to perfect ourselves and our moves. The three teams will each be mentored by Hunter, Aonie and Edward for a certain period of time then you will change to the next. Aonie, you will be taking team Phoenix for the first two weeks. Edward, you will be taking team Centaur, and Hunter, you will taking team Wolf. Arabella will be passing through every now and again to check on things. So Arabella, would you like to take the stand?" Dartemis finished as he moved to take his seat.

The way was clear and Arabella forced herself to stand tall and with dignity and authority she faced the soldiers in front of her . She cleared her throat then smiled sweetly at the expectant crowd.

"Hello, I would just like to say thank you for volunteering. Some of you here are probably part of a realm that has been exterminated, you are here with the fire of revenge burning fiercely in your brave hearts. That is good, hatred is a strong emotion and with us we will teach you how to transform that passion into a weapon. However you have to take care that your hatred for these monsters is not something that will cloud your vision.

"Others of you will be here because you know what these things can do and you want to help us to destroy them once and for all. Either way you will be taught the skills and training that will help you to become fine warriors like the ones who have faught against these vile creatures for thousands of years. Your stamina and endurance will be tested to breaking point. Your minds pushed to the farthest corners. You will be going to bed every night wishing that you hadn't signed up to this, and waking up feeling much the same. Every minute of every day you will be pushed to your limits in mind, body and spirit."

Arabella paused as she swept a quick glance across the crowd, they were shocked, scared and worried. Exactly how she wanted them to feel. An eerie and murderous grin slithered across her mouth, taking everyone by surprise. And she continued, her voice louder and definite.

"But when you reach that battlefield, with your comrades, friends and the people you have come to know as your family at your side. With your body fired up with adrenaline and your pulse strong. You'll know that that day was what you were born for . You will know that this is your destiny!"

As she screamed the last sentence the crowd erupted around me and I couldn't contain the yell that speeded from the pit of my stomach, up my throat and through my mouth as my fist punched the air above my head.

Arabella was right, these were my friends.

This was my family.

And I, Electra, would gladly die for them in the end!

When the battle came, I would laugh in the face of death and the enemy would quiver at the sound of my cry. Quake at the sight of our battallion.

Let them come, because I am ready!