The windows are thrown wide open, and from where I stand, I can feel the rushing wind brush up and caress my face as my eyes scan the surroundings.

I overlook the town below the palace, and I tilt my head and allow myself to imagine what it must have looked like under the benevolent hand of a former ruler. Surely, it would have been prosperous, and the small cottages with the windows currently nailed firmly shut would have been thriving with life, the smell of fresh cooking and the sounds of joy and mirth filling the air.

Now, everything is bleak.

Lifeless.

A simple husk of what it must have once been.

His hands tainted, I know; his long, pianist fingers would entrench anything in their grasp and constrict it until it was moulded into what he would want it to be. To him, we are simply clay to be shaped to his will.

This will be my fate.

For now, I stay his gentle captive; a bird that remains inside her cage despite having the doors held wide open before her, but I consented to this state to ensure the safety of my friends. For he holds them within his prison as bait; as an assurance that I will cooperate. He may be lying about their imprisonment, but it does not matter; I would not risk the harm of anyone innocent by defying him outright.

I did think I would be dead by now; slaughtered and perhaps sent to Kandrakar as a message, but I still remain in this glorious cage. For it soon became very apparent to me that he does not only want the Heart of Kandrakar, but also me.

Not my love, my affection or tenderness. But me. My soul, my emotions, my everything. For it is incapable for a man like he to understand the concept of affection, and so translates it into the closest emotion he does know: Possession.

He believes that he has a claim to me, as though I am nothing more than an item to be bartered over. He already has me within his grasp and therefore understands that there is no longer a limited battlefield, and that all the manipulative, subliminal messaged interactions we have will be played on his home-ground.

I have always been selfish to some extent. I have been labelled a leader and yet I know that I possess this major flaw that will undermine my 'leadership.' And so now, when I understand that I am barely fighting an already-determined battle against him, my selfishness bears it's ugly head.

I will not lose. I have always been competitive- another flaw- and when you constantly want to win, you develop a sense of finding loop-holes. And so I decide that to win, I shall have to muster every inch of selfishness that I possess and forsake the fate of my fellow guardians rotting in their less-luxurious cells and seize the loop-hole opportunity so obviously presented to me.

This is my way of deciding my fate, I think as I breathe deeply and shut my eyes. My foot hovers over the edge of the windowsill, and the medieval-styled dress of Meridian flares up at the skirts with the force of the rushing wind beneath me. As I am about to step forward, I allow myself a moment to imagine that I am once more as innocent as I was before becoming a Guardian.

I can almost feel the wings sprouting from my back once more, the lovely sensation of the power flickering at my fingertips, and the comfortable sleeves and skirt billowing in the wind. Behind me, I sense my friends; I can hear their laughter, light-heartedness and optimism spurring me forward.

Then I step off into the air.

I fall.

Down.

Down.

Ever downwards.

Then I am floating; resting on the air and my arms spread out wide as my hair flies up wildly above me and my eyes are forced to remain shut due to the pressure of the fall.

There is a certain sort of freedom to be gained from committing suicide when you have been trapped and controlled for a long duration of the recent past. You embrace the sudden feeling of control; of regaining the sense of life that you once held; the grip you have over your direction.

The ground must be near, I allow myself a second to think, and I smile slightly. I can imagine his face when he hears of what I have done; of how I have overstepped the boundaries he assumed would keep me pleasantly contained.

My eyes flicker gingerly open and then I see the tiled, paved ground below me fast approaching. They say that your life flashes before your eyes when you see your death near, but I don't. I only feel. I remember the times I cried, I laughed and I felt power; the power that had been torn from me by him and his tightly closed fist of imprisonment.

This was my way of taking it back.

This was my way of becoming free.

The ground is near. It approaches...and I see my escape within my reach.

And then, all at once, I open my eyes once more and return from my thoughts of what could be. My feet remain on the windowsill and I begin to tremble as I am forced to realise that I will never be able to step off into the air...that I have not the courage required to commit the suicide that would set me free from all that I fear.

I have not the strength. It will mean my death, and the possible death of my friends.

A whimper escapes my throat and I push a sleeved forearm against my lips and attempt to stifle the sounds of weakness, but it is to little avail. My sobs fill the air of the room and with monumental effort and the sick taste of failure entering my mouth, I turn back around to face the prison room.

My leg shakes and I wallow in self-hatred as I return my feet back onto the more solid ground of the marble. I am barely able to stand due to the jelly-substance that has filled the inside of my legs, and I quickly collapse.

My back falls against the wall underneath the windowsill and I fall slowly to the ground. This is my fault; I can never escape because of my own weakness. I did not halt my suicide attempt out of concern for my friends; I stopped because it meant that I would die.

A leader should be fearless. A leader should be prepared to die instead of remaining a prisoner or giving into a captor.

I am scared. I am so scared. The way he looks at me, the way I struggle to comprehend the fate he offers me…the way I realise that his words may be horribly right. I am scared; far from what would be considered leadership material. I am not fearless.

Yet another flaw.

I gasp as I leap up from the bed, and nearly fall off of the side. I grip onto my bedside table to steady myself and then take a few breaths to calm me down.

"What was that?" I mutter quietly, and relive the moment in my mind once more. The sensation of falling, the fear. It was so vivid, so intense that I am left feeling quite drained.

But today is not a day to be drained. Today is the day of the rescue mission.

My eyes wander over to the digital clock on my bedside table. His name is Xander, and he likes to remind all of the other furniture that he was NOT made in China, rather, he was imported from Singapore.

"The time is 5:30 AM, Wilma," Xander helpfully tells me, and I flinch at the usage of my full name. He knows that I hate it, but he is old-fashioned and prefers to call people by their entire birth names. "And you are already three minutes late for your meeting, according to the alarm you set last night."

My eyes widen, and I promptly leap out of my bed and rush to my closet.

Nightmares will have to wait; I have Guardian business, today.

"Everyone knows the plan?" I ask the group before me.

Cornelia has recovered from her tiff with Irma a few days earlier, and is all serious now- I have a suspicion that Caleb may have assisted in that matter. The rebel leader is standing beside his girlfriend with an equally serious expression on his face; though it is clear that he is very keen to get started on the mission that will see the freedom of his captured allies.

Hay Lin had handed us breakfast, but barely any of us has touched it from the nerves that are riling in our stomachs- this is excluding Irma and Blunk, of course, who are scoffing down the Captain Crunchy cereal with vigor. Taranee stands with tightly closed fists beside me, and her mood is obviously effecting the fire of the candle in the cellar that is currently flickering due to her nerves.

"We do," Cornelia replies, casting a meaningful glance at Irma, but the Water Guardian nods her assent and shows that she was indeed listening during the times when the plan was explained to us all. Then, the Earth Guardian turns her eyes to me and the disapproval is ripe within her gaze. "It doesn't mean we agree with every part of it, though."

I sigh and ruefully smile at her; knowing that despite my position of leader, there is nothing I can do to make her understand the decision that I have made regarding the mission.

"We can't change it now, Cornelia," I tell her, and Caleb reluctantly nods and places a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. His eyes flicker up to mine, and his expression is a merely downplayed version of Cornelia's, but as a fellow leader himself, I know that he will not object or try to change anything. To mirror my thoughts he turns to his girlfriend with a soothing voice.

"She's right."

The group lapses into a grim silence, but I break it by gesturing that we get ready. Everyone stands and we face the wall where I am about to open the portal. With the anxiety broiling in my veins, I raise the Heart of Kandrakar and the burning pink light it exhumes lights up the cellar brighter than weak candle seated on the tabletop behind us.

I do not cast another glance to my team of fighters until the portal is open. Their expressions show that they are prepared, and with an almost silent sigh, I decide that I am also prepared as well.

"Guardians unite!"

My wings beat against the wind as I fly through the air. The smoke of the burning city beneath me invades my nostrils and my eyes water at the harsh environment.

It has been like this for some time. If I had been in human form, I would have succumbed to the arid landscape quite a while ago. Being a Guardian tends to have more than elemental power advantages, however, and so I am able to withstand my current surroundings.

My eyes flicker over to where Taranee is attempting to control the blaze on one of the innocent civilian's houses. Her forehead is glimmering with the sweat of the effort, as the inferno has been raging for a long time- that was obvious to anyone- and it is rather apparent to me that the building isn't able to be saved.

"Taranee, leave it!" I yell out to her, and she flinches at the sound of my hoarse voice. She looks up at me and I have no need to order her to move telepathically, as she understands immediately by my gaze. She is too kind, but kindness is not what we need right now; there is too much at stake with this mission to waste time on kindness. There would be time for that later.

The Fire Guardian grimly smiles at me before launching herself into the air with a push of her powerful legs and she sets off towards the palace, where the other Guardians undoubtedly await her presence. The abandoned house barely stands for another second before it collapses in a cloud of dust and debris.

I conceal myself near the trees of the forest and wait as a back-up plan. My adrenaline surges within my body and screams out at me to join the fray but I deny it's wishes in favour of following my sensible conscious. To charge in with the rest of the group would be the most stupid thing that I could ever do.

Inside the palace, they currently fight to regain high members of the resistance who were captured during the battle where Phobos regained his throne, and I would only be a burden to them.

For the power of Metamoor is not all that Phobos currently seeks. He now desires the power of Kandakar, and I am a direct link to it. This, he surely knows, and so it would be smart for me to stay out of his way. For now. He would undoubtedly confront me at some point, regardless of which world I stood in. I am here in case I am desperately needed.

I hover above a building and gently land on the straw-thatched roof so as not to attract any unwanted attention. I crouch low and watch the various followers of Phobos run through the street and attack anyone they see. To them, this is currently a resistance fight, and anyone seen will be treated as a rebel.

The torn apart bodies and remains littered across the ground are testament to the brutality of the creatures and the way they treat the innocent. More importantly, it's a testament to the power of Phobos.

Suddenly, I am broken out of thoughts as I see a flash of a fireball be launched off into the sky like a rocket; I watch it soar higher and higher before it extinguishes due to the cold of the air. This is my sign; the moment that I have been waiting for.

I stand, and am lucky, for Phobos' followers have noticed some poor sod running through the street and are distracted. I would run to his rescue, but there is another more important matter at hand that will save him regardless.

"This is your time!" I shriek off into the distance, knowing that I will be heard by the right people. And indeed, from the cover of the forest, I see the light of the burning fires reflected in dozens of awaiting eyes. My body faces them, and a smile crosses my face; a smile to reassure them, to show them that I am confident when I am, in reality, far from it. "Aid the Guardians and restore your freedom!"

Cries of battle erupt into the night air, as from the end of the trees, planted troop members of the resistance run out from their hiding places and begin to sprint down to the city. I immediately drop low against the roof of the house and watch them go; their spirits high and fueled with their anger directed at Phobos.

I spot Caleb leading the troops and he casts a knowing grin up at my direction, and I contain my chuckle. He takes them further and further away from me until they are a small line in the distance as they charge up into the palace.

I settle down and ready my mind in case Taranee tells me telepathically that I need to teleport us all back to earth and safety at a moment's notice. In doing so, I fail to spot the followers of Phobos approaching me from behind.

They shout suddenly, and then I become aware of the fact that I have been seen. I gasp and whirl around to see that I have a small group of the creatures beneath me readying their weapons. In making my movement, I cry out as my foot slips and I slide down the weak roof.

My wings beat like crazy and just manage to stop me from falling off of the building entirely. Instead, I am caught on the edge of the roof staring down at the foes on the ground.

I frown and quickly make a decision. Chances are that I may already have been detected by Phobos and therefore am already extremely comprised in my position. It probably won't matter whether I use magic or not.

I raise my hand and yell out as I feel the lightening course through my veins and exit from my fingertips. In a split second, the creatures before me are lying on the ground; some broken from the force of the lightening, and some simply deprived of the life they had been given due to the exposure of such raw power and have ceased to be.

Regardless, the situation has been dealt with, and I breathe a sigh of momentary relief.

In my mind, I scowl and mentally try to push my Guardians along with my encouragement. I am fiddling with a piece of loose straw beneath my fingers and twirl it around in an attempt to distract me from the fact that I am not in on the action, and am, in all aspects, quite useless in this moment.

As I sit motionless and hear the sounds of the fighting from the palace echoing in the night air, I fail to notice the figure standing calmly down on the ground.

My mind wanders off towards wondering how my friends are faring, when the voice of the man below me shocks me out of my thoughts.

"How foolish the Guardians are," the voice, drawling and malicious, snaps me out of my astray mind, and I jump slightly. Yet again, I nearly lose my footing and am forced to beat my wings rapidly to remain on the roof.

My eyes flash down to the ground and I immediately frown in confusion. For there, beneath me, stands none other than Phobos, the man my friends are supposed to be currently fighting. He notices my expression, and a smirk spreads itself across his lips.

"You actually think that I didn't know what the Guardians were planning?" He asks with narrowed eyes as he surveys me. "Of course I knew that you wouldn't join the main battle. I assume your withdrawal from the main event was your idea."

I frown in caution, and understand fully well that he is toying with me. With the power that Nerissa once possessed now fully stored in his arsenal, I am currently no match for him. It's only out of what I assume to be boredom that I am still conscious.

"I knew that if I faced you, then you'd just focus all your attacks on me," I reply slowly, careful with my words. The moment I anger him, I'm lost. "It took convincing, but I had the final say in my fate."

He nods; a malicious smile still on his face, but it fades slightly with my words into a more musing expression. This doesn't bode too well for me.

"You always were the smartest of those pathetic excuses of Guardians," he eventually says, and I narrow my eyes in anger.

"Don't call them that!" I hiss at him, forgetting all of my thoughts of caution and focus on defending my friends, as though I were dealing with nothing more than a simpleton bully instead of a powerful arch-enemy. "They're more than you'll ever be!"

This amuses him, and he begins to laugh at the expense of my friends. I feel lightening beginning to tingle at my fingertips, but even in my ire I understand that to attack him now would be folly.

"If they are as powerful as you speak, little Guardian," the Prince drawls quietly, a smirk tilting his lips upwards as he spoke, "Then how was it so easy to overcome them?"

I freeze and immediately send out a telepathic message to Taranee. In the seconds that follow, I receive nothing in return, which worries me immensely, as even in the midst of battle, Taranee would always be able to reply to me.

With an anguished cry, I whip my glare onto the Prince below me and my wings outstretch behind me in my fury.

"What have you done to them?!" I shriek at him, and the smirk on his lips and the aura of amusement slips from his entire self almost as soon as the words are out of my mouth.

"Stop being dramatic," he replies with a roll of his eyes, "What do you think I did to them?"

"If you have hurt them in any way," I snarl lowly at him, bearing my teeth like my dormouse does when I forget to feed it. "Then I swear that I will"-

"What?" Phobos interrupts me suddenly, "What will you do, little Guardian? What can you do?"

I am at a loss for words and I turn my head away, before shaking slightly and returning my burning eyes to him.

"I will find something," I reply vehemently, and the lightning in my fingertips threatens to spill out and launch itself at him in correspondence to my anger. "I will spend every chance I get to undermine you and ruin whatever victory you think you've gained."

He is silent for a moment, and the amusement in his eyes fades until he staring back at me coolly. The ice in his eyes begins to almost spread over me, and gradually, I feel myself returning to a calmed state. Sense returns to my mind and smoothly overrides the anger that had been clouding my thoughts.

Besides, it is possible that he is lying. I think that I would have sensed if he'd killed them by now; there is probably some sort of Guardian trick in which I will know if I have lost my friends. Chances are, he is only deceiving me so that he may take the Heart of Kandrakar.

"I believe you," Phobos eventually answers my earlier tirade, and I frown in confusion. Then, a dark smile crosses his face and I resist the urge to shiver. "This is why I shall deny you the opportunity to make any movement against me."
This time, it is I who stares coolly at him, but he returns my glare with a levelled gaze of his own, and despite the height I currently have against him in my position, I feel as though he is towering over me.

"I believe you," I reply, quoting his own words quietly, but I understand that what he said is the truth, whereas my tirade was based on a hopeful vow.

"Now that we understand each other," Phobos inclines his head in a mockingly respectful gesture, and holds out a hand into the air, "The time has come. We will move this conversation elsewhere."

He gestures his hand impatiently, and I stiffen suddenly. Now that the moment has arrived; the moment where I will willingly step into his cage like I did in my dream, a certain fear takes over me. The type of fear that an animal staring into the eyes of its hunter has, and the type of fear that makes a marked person do reckless things to try and escape their inevitable fate.

I struggle to contain the emotion, but it is swiftly overpowering me. My fingers tingle with the excited lighting boiling under my skin, and my mind is screaming it's protests at my next actions, but I ignore it.

I raise my hand and let loose a blast of lightning at the prince before me, and I relish the momentary surprise that crosses his face. My joy turns sour in an instant, however, as he smoothly deflects the blast and settles a scolding expression into eyes.

"That wasn't very smart, little Guardian," Phobos, with his velvet voice, stares me down and I feel myself withdrawing back into a cooler, calculating state. "I advise you not to try that again."

I bite my lip but the glare in my eyes must be noticeable, for the prince hardens his gaze until it assumes the expression of a warning.

"Remember that the fate of your friends is currently undecided, and that I can change that in a moment," he reminds me, and the fight immediately leaves me. I will not do anything that will risk their safety, even if it means giving myself up to him. I will only be his captive; it will take much more of a battle for him to receive the Heart of Kandrakar from me, so I will not be giving up too much to ensure the wellbeing of my friends. Phobos notices the deflation of anger in my body, and raises his hand once more in an escorting gesture. "Now, come along."

"And if I refuse?" I ask, making sure that all options are open and clear to me.

"Then I start killing everyone you love until you accept," he replies calmly in a bored tone. I shiver, but tell myself that I shouldn't be surprised. This is his very nature.

I shimmy myself over to the end of the roof and latch onto his hand as I leap off of the edge. My wings beat furiously at the air until I slowly fall; my grip on Phobos' hand guiding me to the ground. My boots touch the dirt and I shake my head free of the dust that has undoubtedly settled in my crimson hair.

I attempt to take my hand away from the Prince's, but before I have the chance to, he wraps my arm underneath his in an escorting manner. It is a tight grip though, and I cannot wrench my hand free without alerting him to my actions.

"For assurance," Phobos tells me smoothly, before he musters up the energy required for his next action.

I take one more look at the burning town of Meridian but it is cut short as the prince teleports me away from the last moment I had of freedom.

And all the while, the storm grows in the distance.

Thank you for all the feedback that you gave me! I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but I don't tend to update unless if I get around 10 reviews; that number of reviews usually gives a diverse group of feedback to examine and analyse to better shape the next chapter.

By the time I did get ten reviews, however, I actually was going through a rather difficult time, and there were a few family emergencies occurring, so I wasn't really focused on FF. Now though, I am back in business!

Yes, I changed the title. I felt that What's A Mu'rin Beatha D'an? was a little too light-hearted for the seriousness of this story; for this story will be serious. There will be light-hearted scenes, but the majority of the story will be focusing on the interaction of Will and Phobos and how that will change and affect the rest of the characters and the overall result. Because of the antagonistic relationship between Will and Phobos, their interactions are not likely too be light-hearted.

I am trying to keep everyone in character as much as possible, and for this to be possible, then the romance between Will and Phobos is likely to be dark- as that is the only way I can really see it forming in this story. There will probably be the occasional moment of tenderness, but Phobos and Will strike me as a possessive man and defiant woman, so tenderness would not last too long between them. But you are welcome to suggest any other titles you think may suit the story, and I will consider them :)

What do you guys think about the cover image I made?

Please give me feedback and you will get a chapter much quicker than last time, haha :)