"How could you let the guard Vathek escape! Now that he's aligned with the other world, he'll have revealed Elyon. Making it that much harder." Prince Phobos spat the words out as he thought of his sisters ghastly face. The Earth guardian would have been more believable as blood relation; he would have accepted it much more easily. But to believe that the middle class girl dubbed 'Elyon Brown' was blood of his beautiful parents. Himself. It was simply inconcievable. "We must prepare for her transfer, now!"

"But.." Phobos snarled at the weak Lord Cedric, who's point of veiw seemed to change under the Prince's glare - as if he could see Phobos despite Cedric's bowed head. "Then.. It is time, for the ceremony of Amalgamation.. To weaken your sister's resistance."

Phobos nodded as Lord Cedric shot him a wry grin, laced with falsed confidence. Phobos cocked an eyebrow and wondered whether to humble Cedric, by pointing out that the brave Lord was quivering. He thought against it. "Yes?"

"You will have the three items.. Soon." Phobos waved Cedric away then, growing tired of listening to the man's slick voice. He instead allowed himself to smell a rose; black; dead; cold. Phobos felt so cold without the power to fuel him. He had little of his own, but it was not enough. That was why Elyon was still alive. To serve for a greater purpose. He did so wish he could see something in her that he could pity; maybe he was beyond the feeling now. He didn't think so. He wished he could believe that he'd mourn her. A million black roses for his mother. A grey and dying castle, unkept as his father would leave it. To Elyon though, he would leave nothing. She could join the garden perhaps. To rot back into the veins of his mother's tribute and give back the blood that did not deserve to run through her common little body.

Phobos felt his eyes go dry at the rememberance of his mother, but wiped forcefully at the tearless orbs.[0] It was not his place to question the Gods. She had gone missing. Perhaps she had already ascended with her million black roses. Perhaps his father was there too. But he doubted it. They had misparented him. And he knew he was supposed to delight in their lack. In his freedom. But inside he could only forgive his parents not to know that they were doing them wrong. He forgave his mother for Elyon. "Show me my blood."

Sand spilt from his hands beore he threw it. A swirl as the message was understood. Elyon's face appeared. His blood. He waved away the image and closed his eyes instead. Listening for her voice. Only her voice. "Is our school paper totally lame?" Phobos smirked at her vulnerability.

...

"What's more than totally?"

Will Vandom picked out a news article, knowing that her sarcasm would fill the small void, and that the girls would catch on if she grew too quite. "'Teacher parks too close to fire hydrant: almost'."

"'Wheat rolls in cafeteria: the untold story'." Will grinned. She wasn't sure, but Hay Lin actually sounded intregued.

Will was about to sit forward and take a glance at whatever Hay Lin was scrutinizing, but Taranee snatched the copy up before she could glimpse. "And the Photos!" Taranee flapped the paper about, slapping it against her flat palm as if preparing to use it as a weapon. "Look at this picture of a wheat roll!"

"Um.. I think that's a teacher.." Will ground her grin tight, trying not to let it drop when she saw Elyon giving her a sideways glance. Everyone had been doing that today. "Mr Collins maybe?"

Will stared harshly at Taranee, straining not to glance back and see if Elyon's eyes had left her yet. The dark girl rearranged her glasses before giving up on the picture entirely. Will's eyes darted away when Taranee's met hers, then left almost as instantly, "Ooh, Irma! Why don't we join the school paper!"

Oh great. Will tugged at her sleeves as she wondered how she could've become the person no one wanted on their team in four days. Cornelia said they all expected her to cry at some point for the whole of yesterda, and that they were still waiting for it today considering that they'd seen no tears. In fact Cornelia was the only person acting normal, though normal wasn't normal for Cornelia.. Will pushed her back further against the chair, trying desperatly to become invisible. Cornelia was being nice. Everyone else was just being careful. "Thanks, but I think I'd rather be stung by bees."

"Speaking of pictures.." Will let the corners of her somber lips lift as Cornelia saw the way Will had 'shrunk' and winked playfully. Until now, Will had never the chance to see it, but Cornelia was much nicer than she thought. And half of the stuff she said around the girls was nothing like when she sat with Will in class first period - Will wondered if Cornelia was 'vapid' on purpose a little bit. Because in class Will knew she did well, and Cornelia was perfectly able to keep up a constant conversation with Will about other things, though Will supposed it was all probably a ruise to get to Caleb. "What about the pictures of me?"

"There aren't any.." Elyon grinned at Cornelia, waiting for the punchline of Cornelia's teenagedom-existance and Will let her shoulders slump slightly, relaxing. Cornelia really was a good friend.

"EXACTLY!" Cornelia let the paper flop to the ground as she dusted her hands of it. "And they call this a paper!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Hey Will." Will tucked a hair behnd her ear, smiling up shyly at Cornelia who'd walked straight past Elyon. Elyon let her face contort into anger, glaring at Cornelia. Will had been in a fire; that Elyon had seen with her own eyes and even Elyon had noticed that Will looked paler than usual. Maybe since Saturday night she hadn't slept - Elyon wouldn't be surprised, in fact the only thing that had surprised Elyon was that Will was here. On a Monday. With double math. With an excuse not to be here at all. And she'd gone home with Caleb. Caleb! Caleb hadn't even been there - had he come just for Will?

"Cut the crap and sit with Elyon. This isn't your seat." Elyon blinked at Will, who'd obviously taken one look at Cornelia's worried features and change her mind about being polite. Elyon suddenly felt awkward as she realized that she wasn't the only one watching the conversation as Will frowned down at her book, hunching over the work and letting her red hair fall, masking her face. She was the 'fire girl' now.

"I saw Caleb take you home. He didn't shout at you did he?" Shout? Why would he shout? It didn't matter though, as Will peeked out and shook her head as Cornelia slid into the empty chair beside her. "What did he say?"

Elyon's little eyes widened slightly with interest, and she pushed her own messy bangs behind her ear, hoping to hear some sort of gossip. "Nothing. He didn't ask.." Will's voice was high, and Elyon wondered if the girl might burst into tears by the crack in her voice, like she hadn't used it in a while. Will sat up and pulled back about an inch of her thick jumper, revealing a bandage and on Will's face a smile. "He just did this and he left. Don't worry; he was lovely."

Lovely. Not charming or romantic, or dreamy, or wonderful. None of those words that detect a hint of something. Lovely. It was a word her mother used to describe someone who'd been polite on the street. Elyon turned back with a smile on her face, and the boy in front leaned back on her desk. "What did she say?"

"Lovely."

I hope you realize that that was a flash back. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ is my flashback mark.

[0] If you don't recognise that, I've given Caleb the same tendency; to rub at they're eyes when they aren't quite crying. In fact, the entire Phobos peice is a lot of showing Phobos' weak side, and also that childish resentment of a sibling and insulting them ( saying that she's not particularly beautiful, while the rest of the family is) because the sibling has something the child is jealous of (power MUAHAHA)