It had been years since she last saw her lover's face. Was is six now or seven? Not that it mattered. Even a day apart from him was too long. The woman paused in her trek, taking a moment to observe the quiet fall of snow. To be quite frank, their separation had been a nightmare. Though, she didn't remember too much of it. Her mouth twisted into a frown. How cruel that woman was, making her live another's life. While she enjoyed painting, it could never erase the agony of knowing what she had lost. With a shrug, she continued down the path. It didn't matter now. Her nightmare would end soon.

Were they supposed to meet at one or two? She glanced at her watch. It couldn't hurt to be early, she mused. Letting out a puff of white air, Chrissy checked to see if that man was following her. He was always rather obvious with that trenchcoat, but she knew it was never about discretion. It was a reminder that Julia was always watching. Well, usually. A smile tugged at her lips when she realized he was nowhere to be found. She had been so afraid that it had been a trick, but clearly that was not the case. Feeling reenergized, Chrissy skipped to the gazebo nestled within the small park.

Plopping onto the wooden benches within, the fiery-haired woman checked her phone. Ten minutes 'til. Humming, she set the phone beside her and swung her legs back and forth. Soon, she would finally see her children again. God, the anticipation was killing her! Pumping her legs faster, Chrissy started grinning. It felt too good to be true, and she often had to replay the phone call in her head in order to cement it into reality.

She had just finished an exhibit the night she got the call. At first, Chrissy had stared at the unknown number thinking that Julia was calling her. After all, the Mage would be more than aware that her memories had returned. She had considered letting it go to voicemail, but figured that it would be best to just deal with the bitch. Imagine her surprise when a different voice was on the other end.

"Hello? Can I help you?"

There was an audible gasp. How strange. Was it a wrong number?

"…Hello?"

"Hey."

Chrissy nearly dropped the phone. There was no way it was her. No way in hell. Yet, everything fiber of her being begged for it to be real. There was a sniffle, then the voice spoke once more, sounding like she was going to cry.

"Do you remember me?"

Holy mother of god on a stick!

"Taylor? Is that you?"

The girl let out a choked sob.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's me. Are you safe?"

Scrambling out of bed, Chrissy shot through the apartment ensuring that every door and window was locked. Thought she doubted Julia would react so quickly, she checked if anyone was visibly stalking her. Satisfied with the empty sidewalks and alleys, Chrissy returned to her room.

"I think so."

Taylor let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. Okay, I need you to listen to me carefully. The Council is holding you hostage. I know it sounds crazy, but-!"

"Sweetheart, I know."

There was a long pause.

"I…suppose that makes things easier. Where are you at? I can come get you."

Chrissy grabbed a bill off her nightstand.

"It looks like I live in Rubanix City. 164 Nightshade Drive."

Before the girl could speak, Chrissy interrupted her, tossing the offending piece of mail aside.

"Dear, don't jump the gun quite yet. You know that Julia will have someone here soon, and I'm not the only one she has."

"Chrissy, I-!"

She shook her fiery mane.

"No. If you're planning a rescue, we need to do it right."

There was a disgruntled grumble.

"Taylor, you know better than to argue with me," Chrissy said with her mom voice, causing the young woman to groan.

"Damnit, I'm twenty-five you know!"

Cue the rolling of crystal blue eyes.

"The first person you need to rescue is Katrina Darksoul. If I remember correctly, she was thrown into that prison in the Void."

"You want to me to save the ex-leader of the Guardians before the Demon Queen?" Taylor retorted incredulously.

Chrissy shrugged.

"With her, you have an army. I'm sure it would be an easy matter to convince her to join you. After all, I'm sure she's rather displeased with Julia."

The girl huffed.

"If I drop her off with Vincent and the others, they're just going to kill her."

That…that was a good point.

"Fine, fine. Come get me first. I'm sure I can convince Vincent not to rip her head off." She sighed. "I suppose you would like to know where the others are."

"Yeah…wait let me make a list. Um…ah! Here we go. Actually, let me jot some names down." A pause. "There we go. Okay, where's Erika at?"

"Taylor, add Katrina to that list."

The young woman let out an exasperated sigh.

"I really don't think-."

"Now, dear," Chrissy chided sternly.

She heard the scratch on pen on paper.

"Abyssal Prison, right?
"Yes. Erika is currently in the Mage Kingdom. I believe she was married off to Arian's cousin Lance." Crystal eyes hardened. "I swear I will have his head if he has so much as laid a hand on my baby girl."

Silence.

"Taylor, I don't care how powerful you are. I get first dibs. Understand?"

"Yes, Chrissy."

The woman paused for a moment to think.

"Wendy and Zora vanished after the Battle of Crystal Springs, and no one knows where they are. The same for Dessie. God, I hope she's okay. She was always a very fragile Immortal. Now, Aya is here in the city with me, though I'm afraid she's in the Hall of Realms. She and another girl I believe. Elizabeth Midford? That sounds right. Poor child was an experiment of Julio's. Blasted Mage could never leave the Void well enough alone."

Taylor made an appreciative noise.

"I'm sure Nali will be relieved to hear that her daughter is alive."

Chrissy's brow furrowed.

"Nali? Sweetheart, what are you talking about?"

"Oh! Nali and a few other people have been guarding me. She's been teaching me to fight, and I think I've finally mastered shooting a bow!"

The Queen listened to the girl gush over her mentor, her blood slowing turning to ice. Finally, when she could bear it no more, Chrissy interrupted her.

"Taylor, Nali's dead."

The girl fell into stunned silence.

"Nali…she tried to rescue me after the first memory wipe ended. Arian turned her to ash in front of my very eyes."

"Then…then who's…" Taylor took a shuddering breath. "There's a woman here. She looks and acts just like Nali."

The young woman started to hyperventilate.

"She-she-she! How? Why? No. Nononono! I-I can't-!"

"Taylor, deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out."

Chrissy heard the girl trying to control her breathing.

"Good. Now, I need you to listen to me. Can you do that?"

"…Yeah."

"Okay. I want you to think about this carefully. What Races can change their appearance?"

"Um…Shapeshifters. Demons. …Oh. Mages."

Chrissy nodded, despite the girl not being able to see her.

"Her name is Marissa. She's fairly new to the Council. Honestly, there really wasn't any fanfare when she came into power, but I'm sure that's was all part of Julia's plan."

Another pause.

"I'm going to kill her."

"No, you're not," Chrissy snapped. "What you are going to do is leave my husband a note. It's going to say "The shadow is watching". He'll know what that means. Once you do that, you are going to leave without telling anyone. I'm sure you can understand why."

Chrissy snapped from her thoughts at the sudden weight beside her. Peeking through a ruby curtain, she was surprised to see a rather large man on the bench next to her. He was dressed warmly in a gray suit and black coat with matching gloves. The man had the hood of his coat up, hiding his face from her as he opened a newspaper and began to read. Fear crept over her as she watched him. They were the only ones in the park right now, and there were plenty of other benches for him to sit at. Why next to her?

He might be one of Julia's spies, she realized with horror. Oh, god… If he sees Taylor, what's going to stop him from kidnapping her?

Picking up her phone, Chrissy pretended to be engrossed in something on the screen while carefully feeling for the chisel hidden in her coat pocket. While it seemed he would only observe her, the second he made a move towards Taylor, he would find this sticking out of his throat. Blue orbs hardened. She may not be one of her biological children, but Taylor was her daughter and she would be damned if he hurt her.

The rustling of the newspaper made her jump, and her head snapped towards the man. A faint smile had appeared on his otherwise expressionless face, and the eye she could see was watching her with amusement. Did he find her cautiousness funny? A ball of fire burned in her chest. He wouldn't be laughing when she stabbed his bitch ass. Before she could retrieve her weapon, the man folded the paper and turned towards her.

"I'm surprised this worked so well."

The feminine voice caught Chrissy off guard. Wait…

"Oh my god."

The man gave her a cheeky grin as he lowered the hood. Or, rather she did. Long hair tumbled over Taylor's shoulders as the young woman relieved herself of the coat. The suit, Chrissy realized, was stuffed with a large pillow against the girl's stomach to give the illusion of an overweight man. Well…she supposed that was one way to hide one's bustiness.

"Is it smart to reveal yourself out in the open?" The Queen asked as Taylor stripped off the suit.

The young woman shrugged, smoothing the skintight dress underneath.

"All your stalkers are knocked out, and I took the liberty of giving Julia's spies something else to chase. By the time they realize it's not me, we'll be long gone."

Taylor grunted as the fiery woman tackled her. Feeling more than a little awkward, the Angelic woman stood there as Chrissy crushed her into a hug, sobbing pitifully.

"I thought I would never see you again!" she wailed.

"I, um…"

She was suddenly looking into teary crystal eyes.

"Oh, my beautiful daughter. Look at the woman you've become!" Taylor was roughly spun in a circle. "How lucky my son is!"

Her smile melted away as the girl flinched. Oh… Did something happen? Her grief-stricken face said yes. Damn that boy! Chrissy glowered at no one in particular. She told him over and over again not to take what he had for granted! Did he not listen to anything she said? A hand on her shoulder pulled her back to reality. That's right. This was not the time nor the place to deal with Shay's thoughtlessness.

"So…how are we leaving?"

Grateful for the change is subject, Taylor held up a scroll.

"I picked up this little beauty last night. Once I speak the words on the page, a temporary portal to any haven city opens." A smirk appeared on Taylor's face. "How wonderful for my little group to be based on the outskirts of one. Shall we?"