Chapter 2: A Cruel Goodbye

"Listen creep, I told you no this morning." Rose snapped angrily, moving in front of her brother to block Sparrow from Arfur in case he tried something.

"Shut it, girl!" Arfur growled. "This isn't about that. Those warrants you're collecting, I want them." He pointed at himself, glaring at them.

"So does our friend the guard." Rose threw back.

This seemed to only make Arfur angrier with them. "Yeah? Well you're going to give them to me. See?" He told them menacingly. "Otherwise, there will be trouble."

Sparrow eyed the man warily and glanced around discretely, looking for a way to distract Arfur long enough for them to get away. No one was around who would help them though, and he couldn't see anything lying around that would help them in this situation.

"There will be trouble alright." Rose said confidently, seemingly not as worried as himself. He glanced up at her with worry, wondering what she was thinking. "You take these, and I'll tell our friend what you really want."

Arfur glared at them for a few moments before he huffed in annoyance. "Alright you little hard case. What's he paying ya? A gold piece? I'll give you a gold piece right here. Save you the walk back."

Much to Sparrow's shock, his sister seemed to be considering the idea. "Well... a gold piece is a gold piece..."

If the situation was different, then he may have actually agreed to the whole thing, but it was Arfur. He refused to help the thug in any way. He most certainly wouldn't allow his sister to give into the guy either.

Seeing no other choice, Sparrow grabbed Rose's hand and took off running in a dead sprint. Rose yelped in shock when she was suddenly being pulled and tripped a bit before picking up her footing.

Arfur stared at them in confusion for a moment before realization hit him on what was going on. Fortunately for Sparrow, Arfur had been caught of guard just long enough for him to push into him as they ran by. With a thunk, Arfur crashed to the ground, cursing.

"Where do you think you're going!?" He yelled as they made their escape. He hurriedly pushed himself up of the ground and went to go after them.

Sparrow slowed down when they finally got close enough to Derek where Arfur wouldn't dare try anything again. He released his grip on Rose and they took a quick break to regain their breath. He caught Rose staring at him while they rested as though there was something she wanted to say to him about what happened, but remained silent even as they walked the rest of the way to Derek.

"Did you find them?" Derek asked hopefully as they walked up.

Rose handed him the crinkled papers she was still holding without a word. "Thanks," The guard sighed in relief. "You're a life saver." He reached into one of his pockets and grabbed a gold piece.

"Now, usually justice is its own reward, but as these aren't normal circumstances, here's your gold piece." Derek smiled at them warmly, giving the gold to Rose, who quickly put it in her pocket with the other three. They were then shooed away so that Derek could put the warrants somewhere safe.


"Well... that should sort out this town." Rose said with a small sigh. "We only have four gold pieces, though. Who else could possibly need help now?" She looked down at him as if wondering if he had the answer.

Sparrow was unable to reply however, as their answer came in the form of Monty, the man who had been speaking with Belinda, the young woman standing on her balcony earlier this morning. Monty had gone off to sulk by fruit and vegetable stands after getting chased off by Belinda's mother. He was crying pitifully as he stood there and gazed sadly at Belinda's house.

Sparrow followed after Rose when she had apparently decided to go speak with him. "What's wrong with you?" Rose asked curiously, causing Monty stop his sniffling.

He turned his sad gaze to them and let out a long dramatic sigh. "Oh, little ones, my situation is unbearable. Words can't even begin to describe it." He told them just as dramatically as his sigh had been.

Sparrow really hoped they wouldn't have to stick around this guy for much longer. He wasn't one for drama and this guy was just plain annoying. He didn't see what that woman Belinda could see in the guy.

"Looks to me that you fancy the girl who lives over there." Rose commented, acting interested. "But it seems her mother is against it and locked her away."

"Oh, yes..." Monty sighed again. "If only I could get his letter to her and we could runaway together." He said, glancing down at the letter in his hand.

"We could take it to her for you if you give us a gold piece." Rose told him, causing Sparrow to look at her like she was crazy. There was no way they could get into the house without being caught.

Monty stared at them with hope and quickly agreed, handing over the letter to Rose. "Make sure that letter gets to Belinda. No matter what, don't let her mother get her hands on it." Monty told them firmly.

Rose gave him a nod before pulling Sparrow along with her to Belinda's home. He didn't see this ending well for them. "Knock on the door and let's see who answers." Rose told him. Sparrow grumbled at being the one who had to do it and gave the door two quick knocks with his fist.

Only a moment after, Belinda's stern faced mother flung the door open. She gave them a severe look that said there would be trouble if they were bothering her for no reason. Sparrow felt his eyes widen slightly as he retreaded behind Rose a bit to get further away from the woman.

Rose seemed just as intimidated by the woman as he was. It took her a moment to form an answer. "Oh... well, um, we got a letter. We need one gold for the postage."

Belinda's mother's demeanor drastically changed at this. "Oh! Why didn't you say so in the first place?" She asked rhetorically. "Come on in." She turned and walked over to a cupboard not too far away.

"Just don't you touch anything." She snapped at them, causing them to freeze in their steps, and turned back to the cupboard.

"Oh, no... What are we going to do?" Rose whispered to Sparrow urgently, as Belinda's mother searched for a coin. "We can get a gold piece right now if we give it to her, but then Belinda won't get Monty's love letter..."

Sparrow sighed silently, checking if Belinda's mother was still occupied, and motioned for Rose to follow him. They crept up the stairs as quickly and quietly as they could. Belinda was scrubbing the floor sullenly. She glanced up briefly, obviously expecting her mother to be standing there, and was shocked to see them. She quickly stood up to see what they wanted and Rose handed her the letter.

Belinda opened it and read over it. A sweet smile had appeared on her lips by the time she had finished it. "This is wonderful!" She said to herself happily before looking at them. "Here's something for your troubles." She gave them the gold piece in Monty's stead before running down stairs.

Rose clutched the coin in her palm and grabbed his hand with her free hand. "We have all the gold pieces we need!" Rose said in excitement. "Let's hurry and go the the trader before Belinda's mother comes after us."


They got out of the house with no trouble luckily, since the three adults were too busy arguing to notice them. They made a beeline for Murgo's wagon. He seemed to be putting all his things away now since it was getting late in the evening.

"Hello!" Rose called to Murgo, slightly out of breath by the time they reached him. "We've come to buy the music box."

He gave them a little crooked smile. "Very wise, little ones." He went to a crate where he had stored it and pulled it out.

As Rose handed Murgo the money, Sparrow caught a brief flash of scarlet out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head, expecting to see the woman they had met earlier that day again, but found that there was no one nearby.

"Go ahead and turn the handle," Murgo said with his usual enthusiasm, getting Sparrow's attention again. "But mind you go somewhere quiet like."

Rose eagerly took the music box from him. "Come on, little Sparrow." She was all she said before running off towards the alley that led to their shack.

She carefully set the music box down on a cloth covered box that wasn't far from the bonfire they had made earlier that morning.

Rose glanced up at at Fairfax Castle that was slowly disappearing in the distance from the darkness of the night. You could just barely see the silhouette of it at this time of the day.

Sparrow couldn't help but be uneasy at all the hope his sister obviously had in this music box. Something wasn't quite right with it, and his earlier hope was turning into apprehension. He had noticed straight away when Rose had touched the music box that it seemed to just barely radiate something, just like that old gypsy woman. Unlike her though, this feeling called to him soothingly and made him fearful at the same time.

Once again, Rose didn't seem to take notice of it, though. He was beginning to wonder if he was just imagining things. Right now, he could only hope for the best and wish for Rose's desires to come true. Still, he couldn't stop himself from tensing up when she finally put her hand on the handle.

She slowly started to turn it. "I wish... I wish..." He heard her whisper. Both watched in curiosity and hope on the third turn. Neither knew what to expect.

Soft music began to play from it as the top of of the box began to slowly open in a shape that resembled a star. Sparrow jumped back in shock when a long beam of light shot out from it. He grabbed Rose's hand and tried to pull her back when the beam started to grow and the box started to shake.

She shook him off rather forcefully and firmly stayed where she stood. He shakily moved half way behind her and clutched the back of her worn out shirt. He was unable to look away as the music box suddenly began spinning clockwise by itself.

The music box slowly started spinning faster and faster while the light darkened into a light shade of red until it was a deep red. Rose was finally beginning to get scared now as well and seemed to be forcing herself not to move away from it.

They both gasped in fright when the music box was suddenly engulfed in a bright light and then suddenly combusted with a loud boom. Nothing, not even fragments of the music box were left. It was like it had never even been there.

"...What!?" Rose stared at the spot where it had been, looking devastated and crushed. "Where did it go!? Why are we still here!?" Sparrow felt horrible when his sister's eyes filled with tears. He had come to terms long before they had gotten the stupid music box that it wouldn't work for them, but it seemed Rose had ended up putting all the hope she could muster into this working.

She spun around and began walking to their rundown shack in fury. "Five gold pieces... Let's just go to bed."

He watched her for a moment, wishing that there was something he could do or say that would make her feel better. There was nothing he could do though. He quietly began to follow her.

She huffed, brushing away tears as they walked. "I was so sure this would work. I had this feeling like... like we weren't going to be stuck in Old Town anymore... Why didn't the box take us with it?" They came to a stop when they reached the rotten stairs of their shack.

It was once a small house, or so they guessed. Most of it had fallen away and the only roof they had was a couple of boards sitting up on the charred beams. There were no longer any walls and the rotten wood floor always had a damp feel to it. Their sleeping mats were almost always soaked.

Speaking of the mats, the dog from earlier leaped up from his sister's and hurried over to greet them. "What are you doing here?" She demanded. "I know I didn't wish for you."

Sparrow quickly shook his head when she threw him an accusing glare. She sighed and threw her arms up in surrender. "Alright, fine." She told the dog tiredly. "You can stay." The dog barked happily, his tail wagging a mile a minute. Sparrow gave it a small smile and a pat on the head.

"Welcome to our little paradise." Rose stated bitterly as she lied down on her mat. "Come on, Sparrow. Go to bed."

He did as told and lied down on his mat that was beside hers. The dog lied down between them and snuggled against them both.

Sparrow absentmindedly pet him while he thought over the day. He wished they never heard of the music box. He truly had wanted it to work, no matter how pessimistic he was about it. Having something to hope for had been so nice.

He was startled out of his thoughts when the warm, wet tongue of the dog licked him across the face. He gave him a small smile and rubbed the dog's ear. Despite their hopes being crushed, they weren't totally alone anymore. All because of a possible chance to change things.

"Chance... that'd be a good name for you..." He mumbled softly threw a yawn. The dog, now Chance, seemed to understand him anyways and wagged his tail in happiness. Sparrow closed his eyes and pressed his face against the warm fur of the dog. As he began to doze off he heard his sister moving around, probably looking for a piece of charcoal so she could write in the diary she had managed to keep over the years.

Hours later, he was forced from his sleep when Chance started barking and growling. He opened his eyes tiredly and blinked a couple of times to clear his vision. "Whoa... settle down! There's a nice... angry stray dog." He heard someone say.

Sparrow sat up on his mat as Rose stood up to calm Chance down. "Quiet boy!" She snapped to Chance, who ignored her and kept growling softly at the guard.

"What do you want?" She asked the guard, who was eying Chance warily.

The guard turned his narrow eyed gaze to her. "I have word from Lord Lucien, miss," He told them, shocking them. "And he would very much like to see you in his castle. I've been sent to collect you."

Rose rushed over to him. "It did work! Our wish came true!" She grinned in happiness. He smiled back and quickly stood up so they could go and they began heading over to the guard.

"No, boy. You stay here." Rose told Chance when she noticed that he was following them. "We'll come back for you. I promise." Even with the reassurance Chance whined sadly. Sparrow pet him to show his sympathy. He would prefer for Chance to come along with them.

"Let's go, little Sparrow." Rose called to him, already waiting with the guard. Sparrow ran over to them, but took a moment to look back at their little shack before they left. Something told him this truly would be a life changing moment.


Little did he know how right he was.

It was the middle of the night by the time they finally reached the castle. Even so, neither he or Rose felt tired. They were too excited and nervous to be tired.

They were led through the throne room and to a spiral staircase that was hidden behind a large doorway to the left of the throne. A very refined looking butler stood at the top waiting for them.

"Evening, Jeeves!" The guard greeted the man cheerily. "Here's the kids Lord Lucien asked for."

The butler gave them a tight smile. "Excellent. Hello, young masters."

"Hello, sir." They both greeted back, trying to hide their nervousness. Neither had any idea how to speak or act around a high class man.

"If you would follow me please." He told them before turning and began walking down the long hall.

"We look up at his castle everyday and think how nice it is. We both do." Rose told Jeeves cheerfully as they walked. "But inside is even more beautiful than I imagined."

"It is quite wonderful, isn't it?" Jeeves said, not really sounding interested in what they had to say.

A lanky, scholarly looking man carrying an armload of books was walking towards them. He looked less than pleased at the moment.

"Ah, hello, Master Garth." Jeeves greeted the man with respect. The man, now known as Garth, ignored Jeeves, but spared him and Rose a glance as he passed them by. Once again, Sparrow briefly felt that strangeness that the woman and the music box had, however this time it came from the odd man.

"Huh... a man of few words." Jeeves stated awkwardly, sounding a bit offended. They continued to walk in an awkward silence that Sparrow was the only one unaffected by due to him attempting to figure out what exactly he was sensing.

Rose managed to stay silent for a minute before she had to break the silence, which also caused him to lose track of his thoughts. "Where is the grand dinning hall?

Jeeves appeared to be surprised at the question. "Oh, in the north wing. Lord Lucien hasn't been in there since... since the tragic death of Lady Fairfax and little Amelia..." He sounded reluctant to keep talk about it, as if he were afraid someone would overhear.

Sparrow frowned a bit uncomfortably. He never liked hearing about people losing their family. "Oh, I heard." Rose said sadly. "That was so awful."

Sparrow could see Jeeves frown a little. "Yes... he, uh, misses them terribly."

"So, where does he eat?" Rose asked, changing the subject back. She obviously saw Jeeves' discomfort at talking about the former Lady and her daughter.

He relaxed slightly. "Actually, he takes most of his meals in his study. He's in there working all hours doing research."

"What does he research?" Rose asked, unable to hold back her curiously.

"History mostly. Lord Lucien is quite keen on antiquities of all sorts, but he's chiefly interested on things related to the Old Kingdom." He told them. They were finally approaching the doors to Lord Lucien's study.

"There was a trader in Old Town who said his stuff was from the Old Kingdom." Rose replied with interest.

Sparrow was surprised that Jeeves was still speaking with his sister. He seemed to be irritated with all the questions she had. He couldn't say he liked the man.

"Ah, yes, yes." Jeeves stopped in front of the large doors. "I believe Lord Lucien heard about that."

"We bought a piece of it and made a wish. Now we're here." She told him, not at all bothered by his disinterest. The shock from the wish actually working seemed to have worn off, and she couldn't have been happier. She was sure that everything would be okay now. They would have a home, food, and someone who would make sure they were cared for.

"Well, that's wonderful." Jeeves said, not really listening. "Now, when you speak with Lord Lucien you must show respect at all times. Address him as my lord, and speak only when spoken to."

They nodded, listening to every word. "Yes, sir."

"And do not mention Lady Fairfax or Amelia." He told them sternly, but quietly. He turned and opened the two doors before bowing. "Here we are. Lord Lucien, the children are here."

Sparrow glanced around in awe at the tall bookshelves and maps that covered the walls. A table to their right had books and other papers overing it, and the desk Lord Lucien was standing at looked just as cluttered. What was the most eye catching to him was the large, round stone platform that was in front of the stained glass windows. It looked so out of place in the beautiful room.

Lord Lucien pulled away from his work and turned towards them. In Sparrow's opinion he looked rather tired. His shoulder length, brown hair was put in a short ponytail, and his clothing consisted of a white shirt and purple vest that was tucked neatly into his black pants that matched his black leather boots. All in all he looked very much like the Lord he was.

"Children!" He smiled warmly at them. "It's come to my attention that you have some sort of magical box. May I see it?"

Rose looked more nervous now and kept her head down. "It vanished, my lord." She told him apologetically. Sparrow kept close to her her, afraid that he may become angry. "We were winding it up and we made a wish. And then it started to glow and it disappeared." Rose wrung her hands in front of her nervously.

Lord Lucien only seemed to become perplexed. "After you used it?"

She bit her lip. "Yes, my lord. The man who sold it to us said it was magic."

Lucien observed them for a moment as if he were thinking something over. "The box is of no interest to me. What's remarkable is that you were able to use it. What was your wish?"

Rose squeaked in embarrassment. She didn't know how he would react to it, and the last thing she wanted was to make the man angry.

"Well speak up." Lucien demanded impatiently. "What did you wish for?"

Rose stayed silent for a moment longer before hesitantly answering. "To live in a castle, like this one..."

He chuckled lightly in amusement and walked towards the stone platform with his hand crossed behind his back. "Perhaps that could be arranged. I'm working on building... well I'm working on something wonderful which I need individuals with particular talents."

He turned towards them fully. "Let us find out if you possess them. Would you kindly stand on the circle, please?" He asked them, though they both knew they didn't have an option.

Sparrow tensed, far from comfortable now. His happiness from earlier was quickly fading away, and fear was taking it's place. What would happen if they did have these talents? Or if they didn't?

He shuttered. He wanted to runaway from this situation and go back to their little shack with Chance. His instincts were telling him that his was dangerous and that they needed to leave. They couldn't just walk out on Lord Lucien, though. He would have them killed.

Rose eyed the circle in slight fear. "Um..."

"I promise it won't hurt you." He told them reassuringly, giving them a kind smile.

Having no other choice, they walked onto the stone circle. At first nothing happened, but after a moment the design carved into the stone began to glow a light blue and a similar light flickered faintly around the circle as though it were a barrier.

They jumped in shock. "What was that!?" Rose asked Lord Lucien fearfully.

Lucien inspected it for a moment. "Nothing to worry about." He mumbled the reply to them. "It's true, your blood... you are heroes!" He said in astonishment.

Their eyes widened. "Heroes? You mean like in the old stories?" Rose asked bewildered. There was no way they could have hero blood. They were nothing special. If they were then wouldn't things have been different for them?

Lucien didn't reply however. Hesitantly he reached out a hand towards the blue light. It reacted violently to his touch and shocked him badly enough that both of them felt the stone circle pulse. The light changed to an angry red and Lord Lucien yanked his hand away and held it in pain.

"What are you?" He narrowed his eyes at them. He hurriedly went over to a large book that lied open on his desk. He mumbled something that Sparrow couldn't hear because of Rose's frantic questions on what happened. He could feel himself beginning to shake and moved as close to Rose as he could.

"Quiet!" Lucien snapped harshly, quickly shushing her. "You're heroes, but not any of the three." He mumbled. "One of you is the fourth."

"What's happening!?" Rose demanded frantically, taking several steps back in shock when Lord Lucien pulled out a gun that had been hidden in his vest.

Sparrow could feel his heart pounding rapidly. He tried to move farther back, but his back was pressed against the glass of the large window. He and his sister were finally in a situation where they couldn't escape from.

"This wasn't what I wanted..." Lucien whispered so quietly that Sparrow almost didn't hear him. "But nothing must stand in my way." He pointed the gun straight at Rose.

"No, wait!" Rose sobbed, shaking. "Don't!"

"NOOO!"

That heart breaking shriek would be engraved in his memory forever. His sister's last plead for her life. Every hair on his body stood on end and the blood drained from his face as he watched her fall to the ground holding her stomach in agony until her body stilled.

He could barely process what was happening. He didn't understand how it had come to this. One moment everything was alright and then suddenly his sister was dead. Shot in the castle she loved so very much. Her dreams were gone now just as she was.

He felt tears run down his cheeks as he stared down at her. Blood was beginning to pool around her. He forced himself to look away and to the man who killed her. The gun was now directed at him.

"I can't allow you to live either." Lucien told him sounding as tired as he looked. "I'm sorry."

Sparrow pressed against the glass harder and tried to prepare himself for death. He never wanted any of this. He had just wanted to be happy with his sister. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare. How he wished it truly was just a nightmare.

He felt the pain of the bullet before he heard the gun. There was a crash behind him and he was suddenly aware that he was falling. His mind was unable to process what exactly was happening and could only watch the light from the hole in the glass grow fainter and fainter as he fell farther away from his sister.

Pain flooded his senses again when he crashed straight into the side of a roof and fell onto the snowy stone street. Slowly, his body started to go numb after what felt like an eternity of just lying there in blinding pain while blackness began to creep up and blind him. He was vaguely aware that footsteps were approaching him.

The footsteps stopped about a foot from him, and he could now hear what sounded like clicking of claws on the stone ground continue towards him. A moment later he felt something wet and warm touch his hand making it twitch. He tried to open his eyes to see who and what was near him, but his body refused to respond to his wishes. All he could do now was wait for death to take him as it had his sister.

"Death is not your destiny today, little Sparrow." He heard the voice of a familiar sounding woman say before he finally drifted off into nothingness.