Things definitely were changing at Anubis house. Like usual, Sibuna was having major problems. But this time everybodywas getting involved in the mystery. There were two ways to solve this problem, let it flow and see how Sibuna functions with new members or do everything in their power to stop the entire Anubis house from joining Sibuna.
Mara and Eddie sat on the floor with a laptop typing up an article for the school website. Amber and Joy were reading magazines and discussing the latest celebrity gossip. Alfie and Jerome were nowhere to be found, probably plotting a prank or something. Patricia had her French textbook in her lap, but wasn't really studying because she was jealously and bitterly staring at Mara and Eddie. When everybody had started clearing out of the living room Nina Fabian went over to a couch to talk about Sibuna's current problems. Mara and Eddie had seen Senkhara capture on video and were now on a ghost hunt for the school website. Joy had been listening in on their conversations and trying to help them despite their wishes. Even worse, Jerome was involved somehow and as much as they all loved Jerome he was prone to being on the bad side. Nina felt so overwhelmed with everything happening and covered her face with her hands in frustration.
"Fabian what if everyone gets involved?" she sighed. "I've already risked Patricia, Amber, Alfie, and YOUR life."
"We chose to do this because we care about you Nina," Fabian gave her a half-smile.
"Senkhara is going to mark everyone and if I fail, they suffer the consequences," for once Nina felt completely and utterly hopeless.
To her surprise Fabian looked at her with sympathetic eyes and put his arm around her. Last term during their search for the Cup of Ankh whenever Nina started to stress about everything he would comfort her like that. This term however, everything they did seemed awkward after their breakup. She was reluctant to lean against him like before but she knew she wanted to, so she did. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. The feeling of being so close to Fabian comforted her. His smell was so familiar to her, like a new book would smell as you turned its fresh pages. In a world of constant worry and near-death experiences Fabian was always something she could rely on to calm her down, make her smile through the tears, or give her the strength to keep on going. Times like these reminded her of before, when she wasn't worrying about Joy flirting with Fabian, Senkhara trying to kill her, or Gran dying.
"I believe in you Nina. If everybody does get involved, I know you can handle it. You know why? Because you're Nina Martin," he continued, "I promise I'll help you find a way to keep them from getting involved if that helps." With that, he smiled widely at her.
She opened her eyes and as he moved his arm she turned around and embraced him with a bear-hug.
Lately Fabian had been giving everyone little pick-me-up speeches. They were actually pretty sweet and inspiring, but his smile was the thing that brought her hope. His smile shined like a beacon of light in a cold and dark world.
As they were hugging, Fabian whispered into Nina's hair, "You are still the Chosen One, still the fearless leader of Sibuna, and still my Nina."
My Nina? That little line hit her right in the chest. Fabian was Nina's best friend and that would never change. But were there still feelings? For her there were new feelings and even leftover feelings from their short relationship. She remembered how the search last year brought them together. She remembered the secret grins they had shared. She remembered the hours alone they would spend researching the current riddle. She remembered being prom king and queen. She remembered holding hands and talking strolls through the grounds. But then everything with Joy happened. Joy and Fabian had been friends before and this year Joy had her heart set on flirting with Fabian. At first Nina was drowning with jealously but eventually she gave up. What if Fabian really did want to be with Joy? It crushed her heart but after many phone calls with Gran, late night talks with Amber, and sappy romantic comedies stolen from Patricia she finally pulled herself together and decided that Fabian was single and could whoever he liked. But still the feelings of love lingered. They would still share secret glances and now they were researching for the tunnels together. Some small part of her was trying to say that Fabian still liked her and she should try to tell him that but another part of her would say that Fabian wanted Joy and not her. The whole ordeal was confusing and she still didn't know how Fabian felt about her. But the problem was Nina still had feelings for Fabian and she couldn't deny it any longer. Love was really difficult sometimes, in a way more difficult than finding the mask it seemed.
But Nina put aside those thoughts and enjoyed her close hug with Fabian.
"Thank you so much Fabian…for everything, I feel a lot better now," she let go of him and grinned at him.
But then she did something that surprised even herself. Nina leaned in and kissed Fabian on the cheek. She didn't have to see him to know that he was blushing and she walked away before he could see her blush.
Right before she began to ascend up the stairs she heard Fabian's voice, "Goodnight Nina…sweet dreams."
Nina stopped, bit her lip, and turned to him. "Night Fabian." She gave him one last smile and ran up the stairs with butterflies in her stomach. As she got ready for bed she couldn't help but grin stupidly at everything because her conversation with Fabian left her feeling extremely giddy. When she got back into their room Amber was sitting on her bed with an excited look.
"So…you and Fabian were the last in the living room. What were you two doing?" asked Amber wiggling her eyebrows up and down.
"Just…talking," Nina decided to be vague.
Amber let out a squeal of excitement, "Just talking? Nina you two have chemistry! What did you talk about? Did you kiss? Are you back together? IS FABINA BACK ON?"
Nina sighed, "No Amber we were just talking about what to do about Mara and Eddie."
"And…? Don't you lie to me Nina Martin! You haven't stopped smiling since you've walked out of the living room!" Amber pointed her finger at Nina accusingly.
"That's it, I swear! Although…" Nina sat on her bed and bit her lip dramatically.
"ALTHOUGHT WHAT?" cried Amber.
Nina told Amber everything wonderful about earlier that night in one breath.
Amber looked like a little kid on Christmas and she covered her mouth to keep from shrieking. Then Nina went over to her bed and they spent an extensive amount of time dissecting bits of the conversation. Nina normally wasn't so girly but Amber was. She was so glad to have a roommate like Amber, even if she wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. At times she could be extremely sweet.
"I'm going to go to bed now Amber, we've got a long day tomorrow of making sure nobody else gets cursed," Nina yawned.
"Alright…I guess we do need our beauty sleep. You more than me," joked Amber.
Nina chuckled and made her way over to her bed. Turning off the light Nina said to the darkness, "Do you really think he still likes me Amber?"
"Of course he does! Trust me; I'm your dating guru. I know these kind of things," Amber said in a matter-of-factly tone.
With this is mind and everything that had happened today Nina was content with Amber's answer. For once, she fell asleep smiling.
It was a Saturday morning and mostly everyone was having a lazy day…everyone except Sibuna. They were all up and ready by nine in Nina's room to go over their plans. They decided that it would be best if they kept Joy in the dark. Fabian and Patricia especially agreed that they should keep Joy safe; she did have a very stressful year last term and deserved a break. On the other hand, Jerome would be an invaluable ally, but he would be a merciless enemy if he got into the wrong hands. They'd have to convince him to join Sibuna, but first they had to find out why he had been acting so strange lately. His sneaky ways had become even sneakier and Sibuna had their suspicions. Last year he had worked with Rufus Zeno but luckily he realized how evil Rufus was and had proven his loyalty to Sibuna. Also, Mara and Eddie needed to be stopped before they showed the entire school legitimate evidence of the wicked and cruel ghost ruler, Senkhara. She was sure to curse, mark, or kill them if they exposed her. In order to save the two they had to destroy their evidence and/or ask Senkhara for help. If they convinced Senkhara that her exposure would give Victor the upper hand they had a better chance of getting help from her. Perhaps Senkhara could make Mara and Eddie forget the evidence or delete it. Either way, they need Senkhara's help.
"Let's go over everybody's position in the plan, alright?" asked Nina.
"Amber and I are going to follow Jerome and see what he's up to," stated Alfie.
"And try to find the dollhouse!" chirped Amber.
"I'll go convince Eddie and Mara not to run the article," groaned Patricia, "They're going to think I'm jealous!"
"But you are…aren't you?" questioned Amber.
"Yeah…well I don't want Eddie to know that!" Patricia grumbled.
"Last, but not least Nina and I will try to contact Senkhara," smiled Fabian, who was happy to be working with Nina. He felt it might give them a chance to discuss their conversation last night.
"Everyone understand their jobs?" Nina inquired.
Everyone nodded and after their trademark hand-over-the-eye gesture and hasty "Sibuna!" they dashed to the breakfast table to catch a quick bite to eat before their big day. At the table everybody else was in their pajamas lazily and happily enjoying a large breakfast.
"I'm getting so into this article…I'm even having dreams about this unknown ruler lady!" cried Mara.
"Me too," yawned Eddie sleepily. "I think I'll start typing up the article," he grabbed a stack of pancakes, drenched them in syrup, and headed off to his room.
Mara and Joy went to their room to study for an upcoming physics test and discuss the upcoming article.
As they left Nina turned to Sibuna, "She's going to mark them…I just know it!"
"We're going to fix this," Fabian gave her an encouraging smile.
Meanwhile, at the end of the table Jerome was acting stranger than ever. He was staring at the cereal in his spoon absorbed in his thoughts. His mind seemed to be elsewhere and his face was a mixture of depression, fear, and confusion.
"Everything alright dude?" questioned Alfie. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"
"I'm fine," mumbled Jerome as he got up to leave the table. Nobody heard his quiet remark to Alfie's last comment, You have no idea.
This was Sibuna's cue. Alfie and Amber followed Jerome back to his room, Patricia got ready to harass Mara and Eddie about the article, and Nina and Fabian went to the tunnels to contact Senkhara.
As they snuck into the kitchen Fabian asked Nina, "Why are we going down to the tunnels again? Your room is much closer!"
Nina laughed, "What if Victor walked in on us having a conversation with the ghost of Tutankhamen's killer?"
"True. That would be the weirdest situation ever," agreed Fabian.
Nina opened the oven door with her special locket and they quietly made their way down the stairs. Then they turned the dials above the book shelf, pulled out the secret book, and made their way into the tunnels without a problem.
Nina cupped her hands and shouted, "Senkhara! Senkhara we need you!"
The minutes ticked slowly by as they waited for her.
"Maybe she's busy cursing other kids at English boarding schools," joked Nina.
"It's probably a favorite pastime," remarked Fabian dryly.
This made Nina think of Senkhara making a journal of all the kids she cursed and a scrapbook of photos of her annoying and threatening to kill people. The mental image of this made her burst into a fit of giggles. She shared her ridiculous idea with Fabian and the two found themselves laughing so hard that they were forced to clasp each other for support so they wouldn't fall down into a pile of tears and laughter. Fabian had that huge goofy grin on his face and Nina was practically beaming.
Nina slid down the wall and sat on the floor and Fabian followed her move.
"Sometimes throughout this whole Senkhara-mystery-mask stuff I forget how to have fun," he said.
"I know…I just get so involved in finding the mask and worrying about Gran. Remember that time we…" the two began to talk about all the adventures they had shared.
Fabian thought back to the night when Sibuna was trying to wear Victor out and how he and Nina had talked about old times. He had started to tell Nina that he missed being her boyfriend. The emotions and feelings started to flow out of him, the way he wanted to go back to holding hands whenever they could and sharing grins in public without feeling awkward. But he had picked the worst possible moment to tell her this because it was so late that she had fallen asleep. But he still felt the same. He missed everything about it, and that made his heart ache. Perhaps, now that they were alone he could tell her again. But how would she react?
After a few moments of deep thought Fabian mustered up all the courage he had and began, "Nina…I need to get this off my chest. I miss-"
Nina covered her mouth to muffle a surprised scream.
"Chosen one, the eclipse is fast approaching. Why have you not found the mask?" Senkhara was with Fabian in Nina in the tunnels and tilting her head in that terrifying manner.
"I-I mean w-we need you a favor," stuttered Nina.
"A favor? You silly child I am not your slave!" cried Senkhara.
Nina's hands began to shake so Fabian reached down to squeeze them. It gave Nina confidence and comforted her.
With newfound strength Nina told Senkhara how Mara and Eddie had captured Senkhara on video. Nina was very persuasive, she explained how two more members would slow them down and if Victor found out about Senkhara he would have a massive advantage over them because he had the tools to research her.
Surprisingly, Senkhara nodded, "Perhaps you are right chosen one. I will remove their evidence and erase their memories of ever seeing me."
Nina's hand stopped shaking but Fabian held on. He heard her let out a sigh of relief.
"But I will not do this for free. I require a service," commanded Senkhara. "If you want me to do this you must give me a slave, someone to do my bidding when you have failed me. I require a servant for eternity."
Fabian held in his rage. To provoke Senkhara would be a death wish. He had to keep calm. Surely Nina could manage to change Senkhara's mind.
"But…" Nina frighteningly began.
"I WILL NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ASWER!" Senkhara bellowed.
Fabian's heart raced. He knew Nina would volunteer. But he would not let her. He realized that he loved Nina and letting her be a servant for Senkhara would destroy any chance he had left with her. In those few moments before Nina gathered her composure to tell Senkhara she would be her servant Fabian opened his mouth and made a split-second decision.
"I'll do it. I'll be Senkhara's servant."
As the words came out of Fabian's mouth Nina covered her mouth to keep from screaming. Why did he do that? Then it hit her. He loved her. In those few and precious moments she had left with Fabian Nina realized that she loved him back. He was willing to sacrifice himself so she could be saved. Time seemed to slow down as Nina turned to Fabian. Squeezing his hand, she looked into his eyes and her message was clear, I understand…thank you. But Senkhara's eerie voice shattered the lovers' moment.
"I accept. But why do you volunteer and not her?' she floated closer to Fabian and creepily stroked his face.
Without thinking, Fabian turned with terrified eyes to Nina and their gazes locked.
"Ah…young love," crooned Senkhara. "But will you be a useful servant?"
Fabian gulped, "Y-Yes."
"SPEAK UP BOY!" she shrieked.
"Yes, I will," Fabian's voice was clearer this time.
"Take my hand, and become my servant…forever," Senkhara commanded as she outstretched her hand.
Fabian had forgotten he was holding Nina's hand. Letting go of it, he leaned into Nina and whispered, "I love you."
With these simple yet powerful words he leaned in even closer and kissed her. The kiss did not last long but it did not matter. In those last few seconds nothing mattered but their love. Fabian tore away from Nina and took Senkhara's hand. The two vanished together leaving only a wisp of black smoke behind.
Afterwards, Nina was in shock. She lifted her fingers to her lips. Had Fabian just kissed her? She could still taste him on her lips. Even the scent of his cologne lingered. But he was gone. The crushing reality of his absence began to sink in. Nina's world slowly came crashing down and tears started to roll down her face. She covered her face with her hands and did not care that she was sobbing. Nothing else mattered now because the person that she loved was gone and would never come back.
After a few minutes Nina's despair turned to fury.
"SENKHARA!" she roared. "SENKHARA I REFUSE TO LET YOU KEEP FABIAN!"
Pounding on the walls in rage she cried, "SENKHARA!"
Her wrath did not last long however, "I-I need him," she whimpered.
This was true. Nina needed Fabian. She could not imagine living without him. Thousands of questions ran through her head as she asked herself how she would survive without Fabian. How would she tell the rest of Sibuna? How would she find the mask? How would she deal with life? How would she stay sane and happy? How would she go on?
But she knew Fabian would want her to find the mask for Sibuna, for Gran, and for herself. Fabian would want her to continue the search without him and be brave. Nina decided she would find the mask for Fabian. She would beg Senkhara to give Fabian back once she found the mask. She allowed one last single tear of sorrow for Fabian before continuing her quest, now for Fabian.
"Why do you cry, Chosen One?" Senkhara's voice echoed and Nina looked around but no one was there.
Nina sank to the floor in misery. Senkhara was malicious but that last was the cruelest one Senkhara had ever said. How dare Senkhara mock her!
"Shut up! Just shut up, you aren't me and you cannot even imagine my pain right now," said Nina bitterly.
"You can't be so sure about that," a familiar voice rang out. Fabian watched as her sadness became a mixture of surprise and confusion. He remembered her first day at school. He had found her crying next the phone and once again he saw that same vulnerable girl he had fallen in love with last term and was still hopelessly in love with.
"FABIAN!" Nina cried and she ran into his outstretched arms and the two embraced each other tightly She bombarded him with questions. "Why did she let you come back?" "Are you staying?" "Are you okay?" "How?" "Why?"
Fabian hugged her harder, "I will answer everything in a moment just let me hold you."
Nina silently agreed and the two lovers held each other. When they finally broke away Nina asked, "So tell me…why did Senkhara let you go?"
"Apparently Tutankhamen killed her lover and she heard you screaming after we left," he continued, "She remembered how she felt when the one she loved was gone and let me come back."
"So Senkhara does have feelings!" cried Nina, extremely surprised about this. Maybe that's why she killed Tutankhamen. She would have to research that later, because all that mattered now was Fabian.
"I know, wow! Now there's something else important I have to tell you," Fabian took a deep breath and began, "Nina Martin I am completely and utterly in love with you and I never want to lose you again. Will you be my girlfriend?"
Nina's face broke into a huge smile and Fabian grinned hopefully, "Is that a yes?"
"Of course it is," Nina grinned.
Fabian could only grin back and throw his arms around Nina, pick her up, and spin her around. When he set her down Nina turned to him and they kissed. Not the fireworks or start of something new kiss but the unforgettable and memorable kiss. Afterwards, they both kept smiling at each other with goofy grins. It was one of the happiest moments of their lives.
Then they started to walk back to their home, where they belonged to tell their friends everything. Like before, they still had their minds set on finding the mask. But now they had a new purpose, to find the mask for each other, to find the mask for their love. That would keep them going even when times got rough. They belonged to each other and they were stronger that way.
Before they reached the end of the tunnels Fabian asked Nina, "You meant it when you said that you need me?"
"I've always needed you Fabian," she answered in return and reached down to hold his hand.
Her simple answer was all he needed to hear. The two lovers walked back holding hands with grins and memories that would never be forgotten.