Hey! Well, this is my new fanfic and i'm going to try and find a suitable title later. This is going to take place 2 months after Insanity monster is gone, yada yada yada. Hope you enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CHAPTER 1~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was staring at my ceiling, where Septimus had recently decorated with stars out of courtesy to me. After I was freed from the heart of the Insanity monster, I had insomnia. Pulling all-nighters was now normal to me, and I didn't mind. Marcia had allowed me to continue my studies at night, because I had practically become nocturnal. If I ever became ExtraOrdinary Wizard, perhaps the first thing on my priority list will be to change my sleeping patterns. Until then, well, I guess I would just have to live with this. I walked up to the window and leaned on the windowsill. I looked back at the stars on my ceiling and then at the moon in the sky. I opened the window and sat on the sill. What would it be like, I thought, if I were a bird? Adrenaline flooded to my head as I fell down. My stomach lurched and my heart was pumping. I stretched out my arms and flew all the way up to the top of the Wizard Tower. I sat on the square that made the top of the Pyramid and stared at the moon again. It was a waxing crescent, and how beautiful it was! The craters did not make a face. They made an eye. Just like the one that Hotep-Ra made in the hieroglyphs in the Pyramid. I often wondered where my parents were and why they had no ghost. Surely their business was not done with the world? It was on one of these nights I wondered where they might be. Who they might be.

The night before was one of the rare nights where I got some sleep. I was not very tired that morning, which was also a first. Even without my insomnia, I was always tired. Knowing that doing my work was fully optional but recommended, I decided to take a stroll in the Forest. The Darke and the Forest creatures were afraid of me now, because of what I did when I had been overtaken by Insanity. Now they kept clear from me, and at times made way for me. Anyway, that autumn morning in the Forest was peaceful. The leaves crunched under the demand of my feet and shimmered in the glittering sun, leaving dancing orange lights on the ground. I breathed in the crisp air. Fallen twigs littered the floor of the Forest and broken branches were scattered everywhere. Autumn was my favorite season, no doubt, because everything is so beautiful, and yet it is all dying. I shuddered and decided to go back. The last thing I wanted was to be reminded of what I had become. I wanted to steer clear from the people of the Castle. It took a long time to rebuild the destruction I had caused, and some buildings were still being rebuilt. The trust in me was still being rebuilt too. I shook my head as if to shake the shame away. The breeze sent a chill through my bones. Pulling my cloak around me, I walked back to the Wizard Tower. The silver walls glimmered under the sun's glare. I wondered if this was how Simon felt when he walked up to the Wizard Tower to find it under Siege. He was unsought, just as I was right then. I walked in and breathed in the incense that I nearly destroyed two months earlier. A miracle it was still here. Sitting on the spiral stairs, I let them take me up to Marcia's rooms. I made my way to my own room and stared at my ceiling. The stars weren't shining like they did last night and I wasn't going to make it night so they would. Tampering with the forces of the world was something I had done enough of, playing with life and death. It was not fully my fault, but I still messed it up. In courtesy to Beetle, I had bought his favorite book, Ever Last. I sat on my bed and opened the book. It was about a peasant child who could not choose between her staged role, a villain, or uncovering the truth about the true villain whose staged role was the hero. It was a very big book, and no one knew who wrote it. I lay down on my bed and held the book tight. How could I earn the people's trust again? I knew Jenna had these answers. She knew more than anyone now.

"Jen, I'm unwanted," I said. She was surprised. "What do you mean? Of course we want you! Septimus definitely does." She chuckled. "Don't say that, Elara, please. If you weren't wanted we wouldn't have come to save you from… yourself."

"But everyone else. I don't have their trust. They give me looks, like I'm still the freak I once was." Jenna glared at me. I knew this was a bad sign. "Listen up. You were NEVER a freak and we all love you. Got that?! Stop downgrading yourself this instant. If you keep this up, no one will ever trust you, not even yourself. I know that this whole Insanity thing caused a lot of destruction, but you keep destroying yourself. What if it comes back? We love you, keep that in mind!" I sort of half-smiled. "Um, okay then. And how would I get their trust?" She shrugged. "Get out more." Right at that moment, I knew she was crazy. She is. What?! That's right. The Queen is crazy. No, she's not! Oh, yes she is. Who are you? Oh, I don't know. I waved goodbye to Jenna and as soon as I stepped out of the Palace, I ran back to the Wizard Tower. No one will believe you if you tell them. Yes, they will! No, they won't. I'll make sure of that. Who are you and what do you want? I think you know. And what is that supposed to mean? You'll see. I found Marcia sitting at her desk. "Marcia! I-it, I heard…" I panted. "Calm down, Elara. What is it?" she asked. I gathered myself and spoke. "I was talking to Jenna about everyone in the Castle, blah blah blah, and she told me to get out more if I wanted to earn their trust. So I was thinking that was crazy and I heard a voice saying that Jenna was crazy and it was not me." Marcia's eyes widened. "It's time you got to see the Vaults, Elara." She led me to the Manuscriptorium. I followed the tapping of her shoes and meeting the bewildered glances of the scribes. At least they knew me for who I was. Marcia strode into the Vaults, ignoring Old Goat Face. She locked the door to the Vaults and put an Alarm on it. "He won't be able to listen in. Now, Elara, ever since you discovered you had Insanity, you had one blue eye and one green eye with a greyish film over it, right?" I nodded. "Your green eye shows you have Magyk, but they grey film shows you still have some Darke inside you, left over from that. Your blue eye represents your power, such as your connections to all the dignitaries and all that. But that is also a pathway." Don't believe her. "The voice told me not to believe you," I said, shaking. "You can tell it to buzz off. Anyway, your blue eye is a pathway to all kinds of Things. The more you have, the more black you're green eye turns. And what happens next? You're just another Darke Wizard. Thank you for telling me about the voice. We might just get rid of the Thing." She's lying! I am your conscience. I can help you. I am your friend. We are friends. I'm not a Thing. I am YOU. Don't get rid of me. "Marcia?"

"Yes?"

"I'll help you."

No!

Yes.

I can help you! The people will trust you!

What?

Yes! They will trust you! Do not get rid of me!

Hmm.

Yes! Consider it!

No.

Why?

Because you are not me.

But I can help you!

Really?

Yes!

Deal.