Chapter 2

After a Rest

KIARA

I awoke to the late afternoon sun blinding me and the feeling of something warm holding me. Opening my eyes, I turned away from the sunlight to see Chris' peaceful, sleeping face inches from my own, his chest rising and falling steadily, his hand twitching as he slept.

I then remembered how I had got there: after leaving the head's office, Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I traipsed back to Lion-Heart Tower, where we retired to our dormitories. Once there, I called on Kleaner and asked her to bring us a sandwich each, which she did. We then thanked her, and once she had gone and we had eaten, Sian, Chrissie and I fell back on to our pillows.

Sian and Chrissie fell asleep rather quickly, but as much as I tried to drift off, tired as I was, I could not get to sleep. So after a while I decided to get up and go see Chris and ask if I could sleep with him.

He was awake when I found him, staring at the ceiling in his T-shirt and jeans. He looked up when he heard the door opening, and was surprised to see me standing there.

"Kiara, are you OK?" Chris asked, his voice full of concern, and my heart immediately went out to him.

I shrugged and said, "I just can't sleep, that's all."

"I'm having the same problem," Chris said, and the two of us shared a laugh, which surprised me as I did not think I would be laughing quite so soon.

When we stopped laughing, I bit my lip, unsure of how to ask the question. I was also worried about what he would do when I asked, how he would react. Would he laugh at me? Kick me out of the room? Or would he turn away and say nothing? Before I could ponder on these thoughts any further, Chris cut across them.

"What is it, Kiara? What's wrong?"

I looked up at him, not realising how scared I had made him by not saying anything. So I took a deep breath and asked him, "Would it be all right if I slept with you? It's just that I've been trying for ages and I couldn't drop off. So, can I, Chris?"

Chris smiled sweetly at me. "Sure, climb in," he said, scooting over.

I sighed, relieved, and quickly joined him, removing my boots, with the rest of my clothes staying on my body. Before I joined him in bed, I removed my recently-repaired phoenix wand and the Stick of Fear from my jacket and placed them both on his bedside table. I then lay down next to Chris, who put his arm around me as I lay my head on his chest and draped my arm over him.

"You comfy?"

"Very," I nodded.

"Good."

And that's all that was said between us, and within minutes I was asleep.

And now, I realised that I had slept quite peacefully; no nightmares of my parents dying or of the battle disturbed me, which surprised me, yet pleasantly so. Not wanting to think of such things for the time being, I studied Chris' face again, and I smiled as I watched him sleep, hoping I would see him like this every morning in a few years. I shook my head out of these thoughts quickly, as there would be time to think about such things later. I wanted to touch his face, yet I didn't want to disturb him. So I put my boots back on and, before heading downstairs, I picked up the two wands on Chris' bedside table, and looking at the Stick of Fear, I remembered where it had to be put back, and I wondered whether Sian would help me with it, but I didn't want to think of such things just yet. So I left Chris be and headed down to the common room, which was mercifully empty.

As I walked over to the portrait hole, I caught sight of a copy of the Squabbler. I would have walked past it, but the headline caught my eye at once:

PRIDE-LANDER VICTORIOUS:

SHE-YOU-KNOW DESTROYED AT LAST!

I smiled at the headline, for this surely meant that Kara was already making a start on putting things right at the Ministry, so I didn't read more than that, though I did see something about Sian being revealed as the Girl Who Saves the World to the entire wizarding world, but I did not sit down to read it as I felt the outdoors were calling me. So I walked on, pulled open the portrait hole and made my way through the school.

As I made my way through the castle, the magnitude of the destruction of the battle of Dragon Mort hit me with brutal force as I saw broken pieces of castle wall and fallen-in ceiling, and in some parts body parts were sticking out of the rubble where people had gotten themselves trapped, couple with spatters of blood all over the floors, walls and ceilings; I also had to be careful of where I stepped, as there were pieces of broken rubble and large splinters from the wood that held the roof up, and once or twice I did actually trip up over a broken brick or two. I felt tears sting my eyes as I walked on, at seeing the place that had been my home for so long partially destroyed.

A little further on I became aware of voices, and I saw seated together halfway down a deserted corridor Sian and Geri huddled together, their arms around each other, talking quietly. I smiled at seeing them together, for I think that was the first time they had ever sat that close together, but then again they were very different, and Geri was alweays hanging around Tanya ... or, she used to, anyway. My smile faded, remembering that Tanya was one of the many casualties of the battle, and I moved on, not wanting to think about such things just now.

I met no one until I reached the Entrance Hall, where Elyon was helping her men carrying those who had died in battle through a portal back to Meridian. When she caught my eye, she smiled and nodded at me and I her; and that's when I caught the voices echoing from the Great Hall. I stopped and faced it.

Somewhere in there, I knew, was Kopa. For a second I thought about going in there, but then I thought against it. I wanted to talk to Kopa somewhere private, and that was certainly not in a place where I was going to get bombarded by people. And on that thought, I moved out of the Entrance Hall and out into the grounds.

I ignored the devastation I saw out there, and was relieved at finding very few people out there, who were enjoying the warm weather. As I walked down to the river, I felt tears spill down my cheeks from all I had lost, finally letting my grief take over me. But as I looked across the river to the opposie bank, i stopped in my tracks, seeing something that really surprised me.

There, sitting on the edge of the riverbank, their bare feet in the water, holding hands and casting shy smiles at each other, were Ben and Chrissie. I was surprised at seeing them so close together, for even though I knew Ben had strong feelings for Chrissie, I didn't realise that Chrissie felt the same. But then again, I had never really seen Chrissie and Ben get close before, so who knew ... maybe this could be a start for them ...

I moved on.

I walked a little further onwards before stopping in the shade of a beech tree, letting all of my grief out once again, not caring who saw me or wanting to stop my tears from falling any time soon. I was so focused on crying out off of my pent-up grief that I didn't hear Chris come running up behind me: I only knew it was him when I felt his arms encircle my waist. I looked up at him, and saw him looking at me with nothing but love and understanding shining in his eyes. I turned fully in his arms then, fully embracing him, burying my head in his chest and ruining his T-shirt with my tears, but he didn't seem to care. He just stood there holding me, letting me cry out my anger and sadness as he rubbed soothing circles on my back.

When I had cried all I could, I pulled my head back and quickly wiped my tears away.

"I'm sorry," I croaked, not looking at him, but Chris was having none of it; he put his thumb and his index finger under my chin and forced me to look at him, his expression firm but gentle.

"Hey, don't you ever apologise for grieving, for you have as much right to do so as the rest of us. After all, grieving is natural, human, so don't be sorry for crying in front of me. Ever. Do you understand me?"

I smiled at Chris, grateful that he understood, and nodded. We were both silent for a moment, then Chris sighed heavily and said, "If Zira were here right now instead of you, I know that I would have something to grieve about … then again, I might not have been here at all."

I looked at Chris, shocked, not only by the sadness in his eyes, but also by the bitterness in his tone. I had never heard him speak in such a way before; not even when he spoke of Khan was he that bitter.

"Chris, why would you - ?"

Chris turned his gaze sharply at me then, and answered, "Because I thought you were dead, Kiara! For a moment, I actually thought you had died, but something felt - I dunno - off, if you get what I mean. I don't know how to explain it, but somehow I knew you weren't dead, and I think that has to do with how our souls are intertwined, because if you had died I would have felt it, and I know, somehow, that the pain would have been too much for me to bear, and I would have been one of the first to take a curse from Zira if that had been the case, because my life has absolutely no meaning without you in it."

"Chris, how can you say that?" I said, shocked how he could say such a thing. "Think of your family and how they would feel - "

"I know," he said quickly, "I know, I'm being selfish. But didn't you see, Kiara? If you had died, then one way or another, so would I. That's how much I love you, Kiara." He gripped my shoulders as he spoke. "You mean everything to me, and so much more."

I didn't know how to respond to this, so I did the only thing I could think of: I reached up, pulled him down to me and kissed him firmly. Chris responded instantly, pulling me closer to him and wrapping his arms securely around me. As we kissed, I poured everything I felt into it: my love for him, the hope for our future, and also reassuring him that we were finally together, and that no evil was going to force us apart again from that day on.

Unfortunately, the need for oxygen soon became too great to ignore, making us draw back a little, still remaining with our arms around each other as our foreheads touched. Once our breathing had calmed down a bit, I asked him, "Does that put your fears and your mind at ease, Chris?"

"Well if that's your way of reassuring me, Kiara, then you can do that to me any time you like."

We chuckled, then were silent. I then started wondering how he had found me so quickly, so I asked him, "Hey, did you follow me out here or something? I only ask because when I left you, you were asleep, so …"

Chris rubbed his neck and said, "Yes, I followed you. I felt you get out of bed, and I was worried about you. Besides, it scared me when you left without me, now that I know how close you were to death." Chris frowned. "Why didn't you wake me, anyway? I would have gone down with you."

I felt the colour rising in my cheeks as I answered, "Well you looked so peaceful when you were sleeping that I didn't want to disturb you. I'm sorry I made you worry."

Chris smiled sweetly at me. "It's OK," he said. "But you needn't have worried about disturbing me, for I'll always have time for you. And might I add, you are adorable when you blush. I should make you do it more often."

"Why, so you can enjoy seeing my face turn the colour of a strawberry?" I joked.

Chris chuckled, cupped my cheek and said, "Kiara, you're being too hard on yourself, for when you blush your cheeks look like the colour of pink roses, not strawberries."

I glared at him mockingly and said, "And I suppose you'll do everything in your power to make me blush at any given opportunity from now on, won't you?"

"Oh you bet I will," Chris replied, grinning wickedly at me.

I slapped his arm playfully and we shared a laugh, before a comfortable silence fell over us once more.

We looked out over the river, watching the giant squid waving its tentacles lazily, and Ben and Chrissie splashing each other playfully, as a gentle breeze skimmed all around us.

After a while, Chris looked at me and said, "So I know that this is such a stupid question to ask given everything that's happened here, but … how are you?"

I sighed heavily and said, "I don't know. Sad, angry, relieved … I've lost so much, y'know … but not once did I ever imagine that I would be losing both my parents and Grandmother Sarabi in one night. You know … for one moment I actually thought that maybe … just maybe … we might have a chance. That everything would be all right ... that we would be a family again. But that's noy how life works, is it? There always has to be suffering. And I get that my parents died … I had been worrying about them anyway, to be honest with you, for I knew that Zira wanted them just as much as she wanted me … but Grandmother Sarabi? The woman who raised me? The woman who introduced me to the wizarding world? How is it fair that I lose her too, Chris? How is that fair?"

Chris made a 'come here' gesture with his head, and I buried his head in his chest again, our arms wrapped around each other. "I know," he hummed into my hair. "I know."

We remained like that for a while, as I let all my sadness, anger and pain out over losing my parents and Grandmother Sarabi, Chris rubbing soothing circles on my back again and kissing my temple.

Once I had calmed down a little, Chris seemed to realise that I had, once again, cried all I could, so he pulled back slightly and said, his expression gentle, his eyes fixed on mine, How are you now?"

I gave him a small, sad smile, a shrug and said, "A little better, though at this point I'm not sure I'll ever be fully OK again. Thanks for being so patient with me, Chris."

"For you, always." Chris then smiled at me, running his fingers through my hair, sending jolts of electricity coursing through me from where he touched me. "You know, I've really missed us together like this."

I opened my eyes, held the back of his hand and said, "I've missed this, too."

Chris raised his eyes hopefully, then quickly got control of himself and said, "Really? Well, you know when I said that I would wait until Zira was gone until we could be together? Well, I was wondering that now she's gone, that maybe you and I could …? I understand if you don't, that it's too soon after what happened last night … but just know that I'm still going to wait for you until you want us to - "

I shut him up by kissing him soundly on the lips, and once I think he got the message I pulled back slightly and said, "Does that answer your question?"

I had to laugh at Chris' shocked expression as he answered immediately, "Absolutely!" But then he became serious again as he held my hands and asked, "Are you sure this is what you want? Really sure?"

I smiled sweetly at him and nodded. "Yes, Chris, I'm sure. I know people will talk, saying we're rushing into things because of what happened here. Well, let them! I don't care what they think. The only person's opinion I care about is yours, for only with you could I ever be happy. Besides, I need you by my side to help me get through this, because i don't think I'm strong enough to get through this on my own. You are my biggest source of comfort to me in this time, Chris, and I have wanted to be with you ever since I realised that my feelings for you were much stronger thant I ever thought they would be. So let's be together, you and me. Let's give us a shot."

Chris said nothing, but his face broke out into an ecstatic smile, so beautiful it took my breath away, and before I could say anything he picked me up and spun me around, kissing me as he did so, pouring all the love and joy he felt into it; I laughed into his mouth and returned his kiss with added gusto.

When the need for oxygen made us break apart again, he put me down and the two of us just looked into each other's eyes, breathing heavily, both of us wearing silly grins, neither of us caring who was watching us, for Chris and I were just content to be with each other.

We only broke apart when the sound of happy squealing caught our ears. The sound made me panic for about half a second, mistaking the sound for screams of fear and death, but then reason took hold of me as I saw that it was Sian who was the one who was squealing with pure joy as Kopa spun her around, and Mr Dawson was making his way ack to the castle with a grin on his face. Wanting to know what Sian and Kopa were so happy about, Chris and i went over to them.

As we walked, I wondered how I was going to interact with Kopa. Sure he was my brother and I had to talk to him in order to get to know him, but I didn't know how to approach him on any subject. As though sensing my train of thought, Chris said, "Hey, you two have ages to talk yet. Just let it happen naturally; everything has its time, you know."

I looked at him, surprised by how right he was. I kissed his cheek, showing my gratitude for his wisdom.

"You're right," I said. "We don't need to rush it, for we have plenty of time to talk - just like you and your dad."

"Don't remind me," Chris muttered, rolling his eyes. I giggled at that, and he glared at me mockingly, but I just shrugged as we kept on walking.

As we approached them, Chris and I could see that Sian and Kopa were stuck in a passionate embrace. I hated to break them up but I knew that it was the only way we were going to learn what had happened. So we stopped a few feet from them and coughed together loudly.

Sian and Kopa broke apart instantly, their faces reddening slightly at seeing who it was, but they still remained with their arms wrapped around each other.

"Hey, guys!" said Sian breathlessly. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Well, we heard you squealing joyously as your father walked back to the castle, Sian, so we're here to ask what news he could have possibly given you to be this happy right now," I explained.

Sian grinned at Kopa, who nodded, and she turned to us and said, "My father's just given us his blessing! He's finally accepted us together!"

Chris and I looked at each other, surprised by this turn of events, but we were no less happy for them, for it was about time Mr Dawson accepted them as a couple. Chris and I expressed our delight for them as we hugged them.

"Congratulations!"

"That's wonderful news!"

"Thanks," said Sian happily, once mine and Chris' happy views were said. "You know, we've waited for my father to accept us for so long, and now that he has … I can hardly believe it!"

"Neither can I!" added Kopa, and the four of us laughed. Once our laughter had died down, he turned to me and said, "I hope this means we can get to know each other better, for I've only heard about you from Sian, so I would like to hear about the real you from you."

I turned to Sian as he said this, for this was the first time I had heard about it. I understood why, and why Sian had kept quiet about it, but I was intrigued as to what she had told him about me.

"You talked about me?"

"Yes, quite often," Sian answered rather reluctantly. "You know, at one point, before I knew who he really was, I got so suspicious about him asking all these questions about you, that I actually thought he had a thing for you."

Chris and I ogled Sian as she said that as Kopa chuckled, and Sian's face turned redder.

"What?"

"Seriously?"

Sian nodded shyly, her eyes on the ground, but Kopa was having none of it: he lifted her head to meet his, his eyes holding nothing but love and tenderness for her as he said, "You know, I had actually forgotten about that until this moment. You really were adorable when you asked me that, and that was one of many things that made me fall in love with you."

Sian smiled sweetly at him and they kissed again, keeping it short this time. Kopa then turned his attention back to me and said, "So, what do you say, Kiara? Will you give me a chance? Will you open your heart for the brother you thought you had lost and forgive me for not telling you who I was?"

"Of course I will," I answered, for what else could I say?

Kopa sighed in relief and pleasure at not losing another family member, and let go of Sian for a moment and held his arms open for me. I approached him slowly and hugged him, thrilled that I had one more member of my family living, although I have to admit it was slightly awkward, which is probably why it didn't last long.

Once we had let go of each other, Kopa and I smiled rather awkwardly; and it was only when he was stood next to Sian again did I remember what I needed her help with.

"Uh - Sian? Could I have your help with something? Alone?"

Sian looked at me curiously for a few moments, then nodded. She turned to Kopa and said, "Honey, why don't you go with Chris back into the castle and do a bit of bonding? We won't be long."

"Are you sure?" Chris asked, coming up behind me.

I could sense his insecurity, so I turned to face him and quickly reassured him. "Absolutely. It's nothing too dangerous, don't worry. So you and Kopa go to the castle, get yourselves some food and we'll meet you there shortly. Besides, you guys are practically brothers through Sian and I anyway, so you might as well start bonding now."

Sian's eyes sparkled with suppressed mirth as Chris and Kopa looked at each other, neither of them knowing what to say. Eventually, they both nodded, and before they headed back to the castle, Kopa gave Sian a swift kiss as Chris whispered in my ear, "Promise me you won't be too long?"

"I promise," I whispered back.

Chris then smiled, kissed my temple and then he and Kopa strode side by side back to Dragon Mort, as Sian came to stand beside me. As we watched them go, we heard Chris say, "It's good to finally meet the man behind the mask, if you don't mind me saying that …"

"Good thinking on your part, Kiara, getting our brothers to hang out on their own," said Sian quietly.

"Well, it had to happen sometime, don't you think?"

We both laughed at this, then we fell silent for a few moments. I could think of nothing to say, so I looked at Sian, who was watching Chris and Kopa's retreating backs with a proud smile on her face, and out of nowhere I suddenly blurted out, "I can't believe I'm standing next to the Girl Who Saves the World!"

Sian quickly looked at me as I lowered my gaze to the ground, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks. I had no idea where that had come from, and I couldn't help but wonder what Sian must think of me for saying such a thing, hoping she wouldn't be too mad at me for fangirling all over her like that, but to my relief she said, "Kiara, it's OK. I'm not mad at you."

I raised my eyes nervously, my face halfway pointed at the ground as I asked, "Really?"

But Sian's tone was kind as she answered, "Yes, really. I understand your shock, Kiara, and to be honest I would be surprised if you hadn't acted the way you did."

I breathed a huge sigh of relief and looked at Sian properly then, and just by looking at her I could tell she was ready to talk about it, so I said, "I'm glad you're not mad at me, Sian, but … I just can't believe that after all these years … that this was the secret that you were keeping … I hardly know what to say to you right now!"

"I understand your feelings completely, Kiara," said Sian, chuckling. Then she sighed deeply and said, "Can you forgive me for not telling you all these years?"

I looked at Sian properly then, who was begging me with her eyes to forgive her, but I did not need to look in her eyes to forgive her, because somehow I found I already had: for after all we had been through, how could I not? But seeing how Sian was looking at me expectantly for my answer, and how scared she also looked, I said quickly, "Of course I forgive you. But there's something I don't understand …"

As soon as I had said those words, Sian's relieved look faded quickly, as her face blanched and her eyes grew wide. "And what would that be, Kiara?" she asked anxiously.

"Why did you never tell me? Didn't you trust me?"

"No! No, it was never a question of trust, Kiara," she said, so earnestly that I believed her. After a short pause, she went on, "After I had gained your trust and you mine, I don't know why I kept it from you. I suppose the closest reason I can give you is that I had spent so long keeping it from people that I didn't know how to tell you. I know that's not fair to you, after all that you have shared with Chris, Chrissie and I, but at least I'm being honest with you about it."

I nodded, knowing that that was as good an answer as I was going to get. So I then asked her, "And your family were all in on this?"

"Not all of them. Just my parents, my siblings, Kat, Sam, Perdy and Tanya and Geri. Not even Ferdinand knew until I revealed it this morning. Although, why Perdy never told anyone at the Ministry I was the Girl Who Saved the World still astounds me, for I knew if she had that Ministry officials would have come knocking and asking questions, which is the last thing I wanted."

I thought about this for a moment and said, "Maybe she forgot about it?"

"No, I don't think so," said Sian, shaking her head. "A secret that big is hardly one she'd forget in a hurry."

"Then, what?" I said, not knowing what other explanation there could be.

"I think," said Sian slowly, as though she was just putting the pieces together, "that somewhere in her proud, ambitious mind there lay a little respect for me, no matter what she thought of my family, and I'll always be grateful to her for that."

I smiled, satisfied with Sian's answer. Sian seemed satisfied with it too, for she decided to change the subject.

"So, Kiara, what is it you need my help with?"

I looked at her, confused for a moment with what she meant, before I quickly remembered why I had pulled her aside in the first place. So I reached into my jeans pocket and pulled out the Stick of Fear.

"This is why I need your help, Sian. You know where we have to put it back, don't you?"

I looked steadily at Sian, but she didn't look scared or sad. She had a look of determined resolve on her face. She didn't say anything, just nodded her consent.

I nodded back, gave her a reassuring smile and then the two of us set off together, neither of us saying where we were going, for we both knew what we had to do.

As we walked, I decided to ask Sian: "So, are you going to stay behind and help with the clean up, then?"

"Yes," she answered. "My siblings and I will stay and help, and I'm sure Dad won't mind, either. Besides, I think it wouldn't make my mother happy to know that her own children didn't stay behind to help the school repair the damages that have been done. What about you, Kiara? Are you staying behind to help?"

"Yeah, I'm going to have to," I said, "not just because I would feel guilty if I didn't do something to help get the school back on its feet, but also because now that I'm free of Zira, and I said goodbye to my grandmothers and their cottage months ago, I have nowhere else to go for a few days or weeks while you and the rest of your family are here."

"You know, Kiara, you always have a home with me and my family at the Manor for however long you wish, and you always will. So don't you worry about not having a place to go to."

"Thanks, S.D.," I said. Then I asked her, "So, do you think the castle will be fully functional again once it's been repaired? Do you think everything will be the same as it was before, and work just as it once did?"

Sian looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "Hmm. I don't know. It depends, really."

"On what?"

Sian stopped suddenly and gave me a glare that I often associated with Chris, Chrissie and I being ignorant in our studies that I had to suppress a grin at seeing such a look cross her features again.

"See," she said in her old familiar bossy briskness, "this is exactly why you should have read Dragon Mort: A History, Kiara, because if you had then you would know that the four founders placed their own kinds of magic on the castle, spells and enchantments that were probably never written down, not to mention that they are thousands of years old, so therefore I think most of it can be repaired, but there will be certain areas that are going to be quite … tricky, to rebuild."

I just stared at Sian, momentarily taken aback by how knowledgeable she was (why, I do not know, as I had seen her like this so many times before), but looking for something to say I blurted out, "I've truly missed this side of you, S.D."

"I know," Sian said, a huge grin on her face. "I never thought I would get the chance to show that side of me off again."

"Oh, I'm sure you'd have found a way," I teased her.

"Yeah, but it wouldn't have been the same, for it won't be in the same environment."

"What do you mean?" I asked, not knowing where she was going with this.

Sian looked at me and said, "Don't get me wrong, I want to be with Kopa. He's my life, my future, my whole world. But I'll be relying on my own advice and experiences to help guide people through, rather than my knowledge that I have gained through books."

I understood immediately what she was going on about, and wanting to reassure her I said, "You'll be fine. You've said many speeches to motivate, inspire and lead us on. There's a reason people listen to you, Sian. Never take the power of words for granted."

Sian looked like she had been struck dumb by my words, and she looked at me as though seeing me for the first time. She then said slowly, "That might possibly be the wisest thing you have ever said to me …"

I merely shrugged and said, "I think your mother may have rubbed off on me somewhat."

Sian glared mockingly at me, and I responded with an innocent shrug. She and I then laughed again as we started walking once more, and neither of us said another word as we walked to the place where Crighton's tomb was.

When we got close enough to the tomb, Sian and I stopped and looked at it, taking in the destruction that Zira had caused. You could instantly tell that it had been vandalised because the top of the tomb was cracked, with chunks of white marble strewn around and inside it. Although it looked like someone had tried to mend it, as a few of the big pieces of marble were on top, it was clear that they had not succeeded.

I turned to look at Sian, who I was worried about, but I need not have worried at all, for instead of tears, a hardened look of anger had settled over her features.

"How could she do this?" she growled lowly.

I said nothing, but put my arms around her, wanting her to know that it was going to be all right, that I was with her and that she wasn't going to go through this alone. Sian turned to me and smiled, then looked back at the tomb and said heavily, "Let's do this."

Sian and I then walked right up to the tomb and looked inside it. There was Crighton's body, almost perfectly preserved, except for the slightly sunken skin, and where her arms were crossed the lilies that had been placed there by Mr Dawson and her children so many months ago, now dried and shrivelled, had all been brushed aside hastily and without care by Zira.

I scowled at the sight.

"Who d'you think tried to fix it, S.D.?" I asked.

"I don't think any of my siblings did," she answered. "I think the fear of seeing Ma's corpse and the fear of getting caught stopped them. So I think it more likely that a teacher tried, probably Darbus or Triphorm. Not that they could have done much, anyway …"

"How so?"

"Because, Kiara, Guardian - Kandrakarian magic, I should say - is very different and much more complex than the magic of this world," Sian explained. "The closest I can compare it to is that Kandrakarian magic is like another dimension to this world's magic: both are very similar, yet one is more advanced than the other. Which is why only a Guardian can fix what they lay their magic over."

This information surprised me, for I had no idea Kandrakarian magic worked like that. But I brushed that aside as I remembered what we were there to do. I went to put the Stick of Fear back in the tomb, but I was stopped by Sian, who had flung her arm out. I stopped, not knowing what Sian was going to do, and I watched as she arranged the lilies in her mother's arms again. Once she had arranged them neatly she nodded to me, so i went and placed the Stick of Fear beneath the boquet of dead lilies. Once this was done, Sian covered her mother's body gently with the wrappings surrounding her, then moved to the head of the tomb.

Sian then pulled the Heart of Kandrakar out of her T-shirt and blew on it, making it glow a bright pink. She then let go of it, and the Heart floated directly above the middle of Crighton's body, where it glowed brightly, and I saw the Air, Fire, Earth, Water and Spirit runes engraved on the marble responding to it immediately, each rune glowing in its respected colour. I then covered my eyes as the white light glowed brighter, and fortunately this only lasted for a few seconds before it faded. When I opened my eyes, shaking my head to rid of the bright spots obscuring my vision, I could see that the top of the tomb had been completely restored to how it looked before Zira had blasted it open, with not a single crack in sight.

I simply stood there, amazed by the power of Kandrakarian magic, as Sian reached out, took the Heart back and his it beneath her T-shirt again. Looking at Sian, I saw that she was pretty impressed with her handiwork.

"Wow," I breathed.

"It's not much, but it'll do," said Sian, as though all she had done was turn a matchstick into a needle. I was surprised by how unimpressed she was with what she had just done, but then again I wasn't a Guardian of Kandrakar, and Sian and her sisters must have done more impressive magic than this as Guardians.

Once the Heart was gone, Sian placed her hands on top f the tomb, brushing the stone, a secret smile on her face. I had no idea of what she was thinking, for there were times where I could not tell what was going through her head, but I was certain of one thing: a smile like that could only mean that she was planning something.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked her, desperate to know what was going on in Sian's rather secretive mind.

"Oh, just something that will make my mother happy, so that she can be honoured properly now that Zira's destroyed," she answered, looking at the castle and nodding as she spoke, the secret smile never leaving her lips.

Understanding that this was all the information I was going to get from Sian on that subject (and rather annoyingly so, I might add), I decided to pose a different question, one that I was sure to get a definite answer to, yet it was the answer I feared.

"Sian, will anyone be able to get into your mother's tomb again now that it's been repaired by Guardian magic, or will the magic weaken over time?"

Sian quickly turned back to me and gave me a reassuring smile.

"No, the magic that I have placed upon it will remain as strong as ever. It will never weaken. I have also made sure that no charm or curse will ever break it, so that from this point forth it shall be unbreakable, in case someone with ordinary magic or Kandrakarian magic tries to break it. Let's hope that this is the end of it."

I nodded, unable to think of anything to say to that.

Sian and I then turned to each other, a look of understanding passing between us. Then, knowing that we had done what we came here to do, Sian lowered her gaze for a moment, closed her eyes briefly, then looked back at me and said, "Now, why don't we head back inside and see where our brothers have got to, and hope that they haven't said or done anything to make them go at each other's throats."

"God forbid!" I exclaimed.

Sian and I laughed and walked back to the castle, and I didn't know about Sian, but I was relieved to put the Stick of Fear back in the arms of Crighton's corpse, where I dearly hoped that it would stay for the rest of time.