Author's note

Am I getting better at this?

No?

Awe . . . too bad then.

Chapter 2: Rise, Truths and Great Clocks

The sun was just rising as she slowly opened up her soft brown eyes, only to wink at a large pain shooting through her head. Why did it hurt so much to move? Every muscle ached and screamed in protest as she slowly moved herself into a sitting position. She could not recall the night's events.

The last thing she can remember though was joining her sister and the champion for a small dinner party, on behalf of her sister of course. It had been so out of character for the red haired woman to do such an act of kindness, she should have known her sister had more then that up her sleeve.

What, she might never know, yet she still couldn't help but wonder and she made no attempt to hide it. "What happened last night?" She voiced more to herself for there was no one else in the room. Looking around her bedchamber in hope of an answer she was shocked to find it in the state it is in.

It was strange, for the curtains were closed, where they would always remain open, they were torn as well and there are scratch- or claw-marks on the walls, her closet and even her desk (which didn't look to be in a very good state of mind, either). Her clothes were forgotten on the ground and not too far from her own lay someone else's.

Further more, her vanity seems to have been lightly disturbed, everything had been thrown off and now lay on the ground. Further there was- Wait! Her mind raced back and her head shot back over to the clothes on the ground. Why in the name of Underland are her clothes on the floor?

She is never so careless and why did her clothes apparently have a partner in crime? There was no one else here last time she had seen and looking around once more doing a panicked, yet furrow scan, she could not find any other life. Carefully and slowly slipping out of bed, she walked over to her forgotten dress.

Crouching down slowly as to not agitate her muscles further, she felt a cold brush against her stomach and looked down to see the cause. She gave a small scream in surprise at what she saw. Not for a furry or scaly creature that had crawled into her nightgown, no. The cause had been her own leg.

She had felt that cold brush because she was naked. From head to toe and her stomach had brushed lightly against her leg when she crouched down. Putting a hand over her mouth as quick as she could, she listened for any movement, hoping to all her lucky stars that no one had heard her.

She sighed when none came. Everyone must still be asleep. That was a relief (and good luck on her part). Taking her hand off her mouth, she quickly grabbed her clothes and made a race to get to her closet and change into another after she noticed that this dress had been torn open at the back . . . strange . . .

Quickly rummaging through her closet she found a suitable white dress with long silver sleeves and a white collar and silver bodice that turned into white and flowed loosely down, it pooled at her feet, but looked rather beautiful. It was not one of the normal puffy gowns that she had become so accustomed to wear, but it was the only truly appropriate dress at her disposal right now (as well as one that did not acquire a corset).

She was quite certain she had never dressed so fast in her entire life; then again she never really had a good reason to try. Grabbing a small blue box out of the closet, she quickly made her way over to the other clothes still lying on the floor. She picked up a piece of the clothes-set and dropped it with a gasp.

She knew exactly who these clothes belonged too . . . but what were they doing in her room? Quickly shaking that thought to the back of her mind, she grabbed the clothes and started to stuff them into the box. Any other person that would have walked in at that moment would have said that she looked like a guilty child that had been caught with her hand in the cookie-jar and was now trying to get rid of the jar before anyone noticed.

Too bad that wasn't the case. She had absolutely no memory of what had transpired the previous night and thus was alarmed to find another's clothes on her bedroom floor. To her, she was hiding evidence, yes, but without guilt and rather quite panicked-ly trying to make sense of such a situation while trying to get her room back in order.

After quickly stuffing all the clothes into the small blue box, she turned to her bedroom and made a few gestures with her one hand. A gust of purple magic swished through the room leaving behind it a trail of purple butterflies. When the magic cleared, the room looked like it was brand new.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and she jumped nearly ten feet high at the sound before quickly moving to hide the blue box under her bed, moving the covers over it rather fast when she heard the person on the other side of the door knock once more, "Milady, time to get up." Came a kind voice and she immediately stood up when she heard the door clicking open.

"Ah, I see you've already awoken Milady. May I ask why you had not responded to my knocking?" A white haired, middle aged, blue eyed woman asked as she looked at the younger white haired woman that seemed awfully suspicious this morning, "Terribly sorry Bregita. I was lost in thought."

The younger female said half-truthfully. The elder of the party didn't quite seem to believe this, but kept her mouth shut all the same. "Milady, may I ask why the change of attire then? Last I checked today is no special occasion and there was nothing wrong with her highness's usual gown?" Bregita asked.

"I just felt like a different piece was needed today. It is the Champion's last few hours in Underland after all and I would be a terrible host if I do not make those last few hours the best that I could." She said with a sincere smile. She wasn't completely lying, she did in fact plan on making the Champion's remaining visit-time special, she just hadn't planned on the wardrobe change.

The servant eyed her sceptically before giving up on the idea of cracking the younger woman after a few moments of dead silence. "Well seeing as to there being nothing more for me to do here, I shall take my leave. Breakfast shall be served in two hours and then you have a meeting with the duke of Witzend.

Shall I awaken the Champion as well Milady?" "No!" She had said that one word much faster and louder then she had intended too and winked at her own tone of voice. The older woman only looked at her half taken back and half skeptically as she awaited an explanation.

Railing back in her posture, the younger woman cleared her throat. "No. Thank you, Bregita. I was hoping to awaken the Champion myself. I have a few questions that I'm afraid I won't be able to ask later and it really is quite important." She said with a sincere look.

"Ah, but of course. Shall I bring up some tea?" Bregita asked not pushing the matter further. "No thank you, Bregita. I'm sure I'll only be a moment." She said with a smile. "Very well Milady. Have a good day." Bregita said with a small curtsy as she made for the door. "And you as well Bregita."

After the older woman left the room the white haired beauty walked over to the door and peaked out of it ever so slightly. The corridor was empty other then the faint sound of heels clicking and the shadow of the servant-woman that was venturing around the corner into another hallway, most likely making her way to the kitchens.

Once the young woman could no longer hear the clicking of heals she dashed over to her bed, grabbed the blue box and rushed out the door, closing it quickly behind her. The Champion's room was only five doors away from her own and most were still asleep so she made no effort to slow down her pace.

After sprinting over to the white-wood door she knew was the entrance to her destination, she slowed her pace and stood still when she came to face the door. She knocked twice and when no response came she quickly looked around to make sure the coast was clear before quietly opening the door and slipping inside, she silently closed the door behind her.

Walking over to the desk across the bed she placed the box down and turned to walk over to the sleeping Champion. She quietly walked over to him and whispered softly as to not startle him. "Charles." When no reaction came she moved her hand to his shoulder to give him a little shake, but quickly pulled back in surprise when she felt an electrical jolt run through her body at the touch.

An image flashed before her eyes of him running his hands over her bare back before it shifted to her legs. She shook her head in disturbance, ignoring what she had just seen. She moved her hand closer again, ignoring the electrical jolt. She lightly shook him, trying not to make him jump from fright.

"Charles. Charles." She said softly as she shook him, only to have her hand swatted away by a sleepy Champion's, "Five more minutes." She heard him grumble before he turned to lie on his side. His back was now facing her and the blanket had fallen lower slightly when he turned.

So his back was completely exposed to her and she gasped in shock when she saw ten, not really so deep, (but still rather deep), scratches on his upper back, It looked like he got scratched by a cat, but they were the same marks that had been plastered all along her bedroom. Reaching a hand out, she gently ran it over the marks.

She didn't pull back when she felt the electrical jolt this time and instead tried to focus on figuring out how he got these marks in the first place. Another image flashed before her eyes. He was on top of her, her hands were on his back and she felt a sharp pain before she saw herself give a stifled scream and ten deep(-ish) marks appeared on his back between his shoulder blades as her nails dug into his skin.

One vision could be overlooked as a hallucination, but another that showed exactly what she wanted to know could not, especially in a magical place such as Underland. She looked on in horror as realization dawned on her. "I did that . . ." Now keeping her hands at shoulder length as she had learned to do at a young age, she tried to wake him again.

"Charles." She could hear a groan in protest, but she did not stop. This was now more important then ever. "Charles, it's time to wake up." "Go back to sleep, Helen." He grumbled. She was slightly amused by his confusion of where he was and couldn't help but give a little smile.

"Charles, its Mirana. You're still in Underland." She corrected with an amused expression. Suddenly his eyes flew open and he was sitting upright. The sudden movement had startled her a bit and she unconsciously took two steps back. He groaned when he felt his aching head.

Him too . . . What was going on here, "Mirana?" He asked groggily and she gave a small nod. "What happened last night? What are you doing here?" He asked as he rubbed his aching head, his eyes still closed. "If I knew exactly what happened I would tell you and as for why I'm here . . ." She trailed off gesturing to the small blue box.

"What's that?" He asked still a bit sleepy, "Your clothes. I found them on my bedroom floor. I was hopping you could tell me how they got there." She said half amused, "What?!" His eyes widened as he sprinted out of bed. Mirana had to quickly avert her eyes when she saw his fleeing, bare body.

Turning around, she decided the wall was much more fascinating. (She was also trying to get the picture of his toned muscles out of her mind.) Charles opened the box and to his fright found that Mirana was in fact, not joking. His clothed were inside the box and he was now at a complete loss for words.

He has no idea how those clothes got in her chambers, let alone how the shirt seemed to have been torn off. "What . . . how, when?" He stammered not knowing what to do as he turned around to face Mirana expectantly, but only came face to face with her back. "Why are you looking at the wall?"

"Look down." She instructed him and he did as ordered. Once he did he was a deep crimson red. "Oh . . ." Was the only thing he managed, before he quickly pulled on his clothes. Luckily, Mirana had been kind enough to give him extra clothes when he arrived at the castle, so his torn shirt was not the only one he had to wear.

"You can turn around now." He informed her after he finished buttoning up a royal blue shirt he had found in the closet. Unlike him, she now more or less had an idea of what could have happened last night, but it wasn't an idea. She knew deep down it was true.

She had seen what they had done in the vision and the claw-marks on his back only confirmed it. Besides, it was the only other thing that could explain why her bedroom was in such a state this morning and why her clothes lay torn and forgotten on the ground. Now she only needed to know how something like that would come to happen.

Neither would willingly jump into bed with one another when they are in their right minds, unless . . . She barely had time to finish that thought before they locked eyes for the first time that morning. An electrical jolt went through them both as their eyes met. Her soft, caring, dark brown eyes were peering into his light, adventurous brown and his staring back at her own.

Before their eyes, flashed the entire scenario of the previous night, proving Mirana's suspicions correct. But it showed more then just their little love making scene that ended up in destroying her room . . . it showed them what had lead to that little dunk into the lake.

Not that they had seen it, but magic is a very powerful thing and provided them the information they needed. They saw the Red Knave, Ilosovic Stayne, pouring a vile of pink liquid into a pot of soup, the vision then shifted to them eating it and then to their little . . . um, 'dunk in the lake'.

"What . . . what was that?" Charles asked after the vision was finally broken. Mirana closed her eyes as she sunk down onto his bed, one hand over her eyes. "I believe that was a vision of what happened last night." She said with a defeated sigh. He looked at her confused for a moment before realization dawned on him.

His face expression turned into one of shock, horror and pure terror. "You mean to say you and I . . . we . . . we . . ." He trailed off, his face drained of its colour, "Apparently." She said in a soft, defeated tone. There was a deathly silence for a moment before Mirana stood. "I should go." She said softly, but it was not a whisper.

"I understand. I'm sorry, Mirana. I truly am. None of this had been my intentions." He said just as softly and she stood there shocked for a moment. He had the wrong impression. He thought she was leaving because of him. Well, technically she is, but not for the reason he thinks. She gave him a soft smile.

"It's not because of what we did, Charles. It's because . . . of something else." Mirana assured him and he looked up confused. He was waiting for her to explain, she could see it confused him. Many people would think she'd be angered or upset or even scared after finding out about something like this, but . . . she wasn't.

She was confused, yes. But she wasn't angry or upset, well not with him anyway. Scared? Yes, but again, not because of what they've done. It was because of what she had done. She had hurt him. She never wanted to hurt anyone or anything that could live and breathe. She had never taken a vow, but she was now more then considering it.

She never wanted to hurt anyone or anything ever again. Be it on purpose or on accident, today, after he left, she was making that vow, "Mirana?" Charles asked bringing her out of her thoughts. She gave a heavy sigh. "The reason is Charles, I . . ." She closed her eyes and brought her hands up and crossed them before her chest, holding onto her upper arms.

"I hurt you." She whispered, it was soft and filled with sorrow and pain, but he heard. He heard her even against all odds and at that moment his heart broke. Even after finding out she was no longer pure (so to speak), she still puts others before herself. "Mirana you saw what the vision said.

We weren't in control. It was an accident. And if anything, I deserved it. I hurt you first and even more then you had me." He tried to comfort. He moved closer to her, took her hands in his and looked her dead in the eye. For some reason, neither wanted to pull away, it felt so right to be in one another's embrace.

It was of course Fate's will for things to be so, for deep down inside them both, a spark ignited, a passion grew for the person standing with them, love blossomed in the deepest parts of them . . . but both knew that they would never be able to act on any of these feelings. "You would never hurt anyone. You are Mirana of Marmoreal, Queen of Underland.

You are good and kind and generous and so very strong. You are anything and everything anyone could ever hope to be or have in a good queen. Mirana, you are the epitome of goodness, no matter what you have done in the past. Nothing and no one can change who you are inside.

And I know with all my heart and soul that you are good and pure of heart. I can feel it." He said sincerely before bringing her hand up to his chest, right over his heart, were it now held a beet only meant for her. "And so can you." He said lightly smiling at her. Tears started to stream down her eyes, but she made no sound.

If he wasn't able to see her face, he wouldn't have known that she was crying. He took his arms around her and pulled her in for a comforting hug. Her hand was still over his heart, but both her hands were now on his chest along with her head. She cried silent tears and he held her close, protecting her.

After a few moments of silence she pulled back a little. He could see she was done crying, but a few tears still stained her pale skin. "Feel better?" He asked wiping away the tears as gently as he could. She gave a small nod, they were an arm's length away and her hands were still on his chest while his were now holding her by the nooks of her arms.

There was nothing but silence until it was broken by a soft, angelic voice. "What do we do now?" She asked looking into his eyes. Dark brown met light brown and both instantly knew the answer. No matter what they choose from here, their bond will always remain . . .

Time's Castle

Time was in his office, fixing one of his watches that had stopped ticking that should NOT have. It wasn't a symbol of a life like the watches that hang from the worlds, well in his case, rooms, of life and death, but it was a watch to aid him from when what must be done, like when he had to drop by the rooms of life and death for when someone died or when a new life had been created.

He was tinkering with the last few gears when he felt it. A giant wave of power washed over him from out of nowhere. Looking down at his 'clock-heart', he absentmindedly realized something important. "The Great Clock . . ." It took Time almost two whole minutes to realize what he absentmindedly had realized.

Once those three words left his lips, he realized just how right he was. Jumping up, he raced to the Great Clock, only to find it engulfed in purple magic-dust. Looking to the chronosphere, he saw the faintest flicker of blue magic swirl inside. The Great Clock gave an all mighty 'tock', drawing Time's attention.

The purple dust swirled around the clock, before it swirled around Time. Looking curiously at the dust, Time saw how it started to take the shape of miniature, robotic-like creatures. When the dust (mostly) all cleared, a large group of these robotic-minions stood around Time, but none were alive.

"What is this?" He asked no one in particular as he motioned with his hands, looking the one robotic-figure over. Suddenly, the flicker of the blue magic twirled, swirled and floated out of the chronosphere and partly into all of the miniature creatures. Time watched in secret awe as he realized what happened.

"Fate has set a course . . . Underland's future has been shifted . . ." Time spoke out to no one in particular as he watched the remainder of the blue magic twirl, swirl and move through the air and slowly pour into each of the robotic-like creations. This meant a large change had come to Underland . . . whether it is good . . . or bad . . .

Till next time. – Lyrical-Light