Kartik POV

Amar…yes, Amar. In front of my very eyes! I have never been on higher spirits…and I've never been so heartsick, at the very same time.

"Come brother, you must meet Job."

"Job," I question.
He laughs, deep and hardy, and I realize I haven't heard that sound in a very long time.

Amar takes my hand, and leads me in a random direction. He seems to know exactly where he is headed. But all I see empty, white, space. There isn't even any ground, just emptiness. Somehow, I expected this.

"You will like Job." He says smiling, "he is quite the character."

"Is he a"- I hesitate. "You know a guardian as you call it. I still don't even understand how this all works."

Amar chuckles warmly when he says, "Neither did I, brother, don't worry."

Another question pops in my head, and I'm so used to not speaking my mind, that I hesitate, unsure if I should open my mouth.

"Speak, brother, all you say is welcome here." He knows me so well.

"When did you get here? Didn't you pass from the Winterlands only a few minutes before me?"

My brother smiles, "here, in the empire, there is eternity, which means you were always here, and means that you aren't welcome at the same time. You are here forever and beyond, and back again."

"I believe you already spoke that, brother Amar."

"Because I meant it," He says slightly.

"I still don't understand it."

"You don't have to, Kartik. It's just the way things will play out."

He gestures at my appearance, and says, "Everything is perfect here."

I look down at my trousers and shoes. And I notice the blood marks and deep cuts are gone, perfectly repaired.

"Brother, we're here."

Even though I don't know where here is, I look up I see a great and golden gate, sparkling in the sun.

The sun. There's sun here! I notice the sun is beyond the wide gate, everything is beyond the gold gate. There's sun, there's sky, there's ocean, there's land, there's a market, and there's palaces, there's people, the empire has everything you can imagine.

Amar reaches towards the gate. It's made of golden glass. I find myself wondering how this place could suddenly appear out of the frightening empty space.

At Amars' touch, the gates gracefully swing open with enthusiasm.

We are shown, a bizarre, just like the ones we had in India. There's tall shops and building, men selling spicy food and cool tea, women walking the streets, looking for the perfect ingredients. There are children running and playing games, wide smiles covering their little faces.

Men laugh loudly with joy, Women chuckle lightly, and the most important thing I noticed, was they were all different cultures. I saw white skin, tan, and brown, black, some were painted blue; the sign of royalty in India, and some were even yellow. And suddenly it came to me; you could be whatever you wanted here. And that's exactly what made me smile.

You couldn't help but feel like you belonged.. Ocean shines in the distance, the spray of the sea cooling down all residences in the market.

I look over at my brother, and see that he seems to be searching for someone.

"Who are you looking for?" I question.

"Someone you have met before, Kartik."

I could not figure out for the life of me who it was. But I stayed silent as we walked briskly through the streets of the bizarre. And I find I enjoy myself, just smelling the spice in the air, hearing the laughter of the children, the sun warming out hearts, the ocean cooling our skin.

"Look over there, Kartik" he points towards a small, quaint house, clearly English, but bright with sunshine with flowers. And as we merged from crowd, and knocked on the front door, I could smell something delicious drafting through the open window.

It immediately it opens widely.

And inside is a red haired woman, with bright, familiar eyes.

Virginia Doyle. Gemma's mother.

She smiles at us; Amar bows, and nudges me in the ribs for me to bow also. I bend over quickly, hoping she didn't notice.

She does, and laughs. "Gentlemen, Gentlemen, no need for that. We are all equals here, come in, come in!"

We both stand and follow her into a small kitchen. There is vegetables boiling in a large pot, and fruit lined up on a cutting board. She is very precise, this woman is.

She covers her hands with a cloth and bends over and pulls a freshly baked pie from the oven. Virginia sets it on the open windowsill to let it cool. She sets the rag down and motions for us to sit down at the coffee table.

"Amar." She addresses him. "How are you?"

"Perfectly fine," he answers "and yourself?"

"Never better, but my Gemma…."

My ears prick up at the sound of her name, and suddenly, I miss her again. All happiness drained from inside me.

Virginia notices and looks in my direction.

"You have gone quite pale, are you alright?"

Is she talking to me? Amar looks at me, turns back to Gemma's mother and says "This is my brother Kartik, I believe he knew Gemma. Is that correct?"

They both turn to me and I nod. I am about to speak, but am interrupted when a small girl quickly skips to Virginia's side. She has dark hair, and dark eyes. And I know exactly who she is. Caroline goes to stand beside Gemma's mother and takes her hand.

They both begin to smile, but nobody moves to introduce the small Gypsy girl.

The more I watch her, the more I see Mother Elena's features in her little face.

Caroline only has eyes for the red-haired woman.

And it is only then that I notice that Amar and Virginia have started a conversation.

"…. and then he plunged the sword through my own heart." Virginia gasps, and looks at me like I am …brave. I look away.

"You were the one…" Virginia whispers. I was the one that what?

Virginia continues. "You saved my Gemma's life. Didn't you?"

When I say nothing she nods," You did, I know you did."

And how does she know this? But then I remember where we are, and I realize, here, you know everything you want to know.

"Thank you."

I look down at my shoes. Then suddenly Amars voice echoes big and booming.

"Well, let's do what we meant to do here." We have a job to do? Amar didn't mention that.

Virginia and Caroline jump up, and quickly open the front door, and suddenly, like Gemma's magic, people quickly bustle in the small cozy house.

What I see makes my head spin. Inside comes Mother Elena, who immediately rushes to embrace Caroline.

I see Gemma's old Teacher, Miss Moore, Circe, I am attempted to spit at her, but then I remember she helped Gemma win.

I notice lover, Miss McCleethly. She hangs onto Mother Elena's arm, helping her walk. But right behind, comes a pretty brunette, her mouth curled permanently like she just tasted something sour. And I wonder what could make her so unhappy here. And then I notice it was one of Gemma's friends. Pippa? I search for the right name. And I know what makes her so unhappy. She is too corrupted to enjoy her time here. I'll take care to avoid her.

I see other people I do not recognize also. But when everyone is settled in the too small house, we all turn out attention to Virginia, who smiles at Mother Elena.

"Take us away, Mother." But my voice booms before Mother Elena can say anything. I know I am suddenly angry, for a reason I don't even know.

"Wait! What are we doing? Every one seems to know except me! What's happening?"

Everyone turns to me, and when I feel Amars hand on my soldier, he whispers to me. "We are watching over Gemma, this is our job as rebels. We are guardians over what we left behind."

"So I'm seeing Gemma again?"

"Not in person."

"Tell me what you mean brother."

"You will see her in a vision, Kartik." He speaks softly, "These people here are part of the council, we decide how you, Gemma's guardian, will change the path she has taken. We don't want you to make such large decisions on your own."

My fear and confusion dies down, knowing that I will see Gemma again, even if only in a dream.

Mother Elena opens her arms and suddenly, a large cloud of smoke lifts from her small and wrinkly hands, the cloud of smoke changes colors, till a picture is formed in the mass.

And suddenly we are thrust into Gemma's life, only allowed to watch.