AN: Go on. Tell me. I'm awful. I'm taking too long to update. I'm going to try and get a whole bunch of chapters typed up over the Thanksgiving Weekend for you guys. But I'm not for sure. So, don't hold me to it. I'll try hard though!!!

Part One: Ariel

Chapter Two: Relying On Torrence

Ariel took them to the only place she could think of as a "safe place". She laid the guy on the bed, shooing the puppy off from his resting place. Phobos shot her a dark look, but still obliged such orders from the pixie. He sat on the floor, looking up at the misplaced two, tail wagging.

"Is Torrie here?" Ariel asked in a low whisper. At first, when Torrence made it law to talk to her puppy as if he were a real person, Ariel had real trouble thinking of Phobos as understanding her words. She soon began to realize that the black pup really did understand and could actually hold his own end in a conversation.

Phobos cocked his head at her, then stood, turning towards the nice dog door built into the larger door Torrence used. He slipped through it, and she could hear his soft pads tap against the wood floors.

Ariel sat down next to the guy. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was calm and even. He was actually kind of hot, even dirty and disheveled. His hair was a golden red, long and matted with dirt. She wouldn't be surprised if he had lice. Poor Torrence, she would now have to wash all her bedding. He bordered on being geeky thin, like he didn't eat anything where he came from. She glanced back at the door of the bedroom before letting her hand run over his bare arms, feeling the taut muscles. Grime smeared his body and pants, and now the bedding on which he was laying upon.

In the background, a door opened and closed, and then voices rose. Torrence and Nikolas.

"Hey, Phobos," Nikolas said.

Phobos barked. "I'll be back, Nick," Torrence said.

Torrie's bedroom door opened. Ariel looked at her and smiled. Torrence blinked, glanced over her shoulder real quick, and shut the door behind her.

"Ariel, what's wrong? Are the girls okay?" Tor's voice showed how worried she truly was.

Torrence was an amazing person, both in looks and personality. She was an inch taller than Ariel, with dark tanned skin, long, well-shaped legs, and incredible abs. You could see the hard work she put into her body to keep fit for her belly dancing. Her hair was shoulder length black and could become intensely wild. Her greatest feature, however, were her eyes, inherited by her father. An intense bright blue, they pierced your very being, and she knew how to make someone incredibly small beneath them.

"They're fine," Ariel replied. "It's this guy I'm worrying about."

Torrence finally caught a glance at the guy lying in her bed. She smirked, raising one brow in confusion. "Who is he?"

"Beats me. He fell from the sky."

That black eyebrow rose even higher. "Okay…"

"Torrence, you're a goddess. Don't tell me that this is strange for you."

"Unfortunately, I find everything strange these days. You know that I never realized…Oh never mind. You wouldn't get it." Torrence sighed when Ariel gave her a funny look, somewhere along the lines of "retard" and "what the hell?". "Nikolas!"
On command, Nikolas was at the door. "You're inviting me into your room? I'm going to get a special gift, huh?" Ariel could hear the laugh in his voice. It was now her turn to raise an eyebrow.

Torrence shook her head at her blonde-haired, blue-eyed rocker foster brother. Nikolas grinned broadly at her, noticed Ariel, and winked. It brought a small smile to the pixie's lips.

"What's going on?" Nikolas asked.

"He's hurt," Torrence said, pointing to the guy lying in her head. Good old Torrence, so observant. "So is Ariel, when you're finished."

Nikolas looked the guy curiously before sighing. "Torrie, you're going to owe me big for this."

She clapped him on the back before pulling Ariel away, making sure to grab her arm and not her cut hand. "I'll set you up on a date with Hailley. Just work your magic, rune man."

He smirked, his face twitching slightly, and let his eyes linger on her before moving over to the bed. Only Ariel seemed to catch the look. Or, at least she believed that she was the only one who caught his look. Was Torrence still so caught up on Robert that she couldn't see what goods she had right in front of her, and in such easy proximity?

Ariel looked back at Nikolas. He used his finger to draw a few symbols in the air. The symbols glowed and circled the air until Nikolas blew on them, and they drifted down to settle on the other man's body. Except for the old, deeply imbedded scars from long ago, his wounds healed. This really shouldn't have surprised the maroon-haired girl, but it did. She was even more surprised when the guy she had rescued opened his eyes.

His eyes, they were so clear. They were a real light gray. So light, really, that they seemed to be the color white. Ariel felt mesmerized by them. The feeling, however, didn't last long. The guy, being very shocked and confused by where he was, opened his mouth.

Torrence grabbed his hands, her eyes focused on his. If Tor felt intimidated by his gaze, she never showed it. "Easy. You're among friends."

"How did I get here?" His voice was harsh and thick, a heavy accent deeply intertwined in the vocals.

"Ariel brought you. You're in my room. We want to help you," Torrence told him in a gentle voice.

Ariel watched her. Where did she get her compassion from? Her life had been so hard, and she had never got that love and compassion in her home. Neither did Ariel. So, what was Torrie's secret? How could Torrence be like that when Ariel wanted to lash out at the world, to punish it for her parents?

The guy relaxed in Torrie's presence. "Things look so wrong. Is this the year of 1502?"

"1502? How did you get here from 1502?" Nikolas asked.

"What year is it?" The man demanded gruffly.

"2025," Ariel answered. He turned to look at her. His eyes dropped to her throat. It made her feel uneasy. "Who are you?" She demanded in return.

"I am Prince Orlando, turned slave. Are you the one who brought me here?"

Was he accusing her? "I saw you drop out of the sky! I couldn't leave you on the streets," Ariel told him, clenching her teeth as she did so.

"How did you get to the future, Prince Orlando?" Tor asked, quickly intervening. Nikolas laughed at this. She turned her blue eyes on him. "What's so funny?"

"Just that, you're a princess, and he's a prince. I mean, that's just so…strange."

A ball of ice was chucked at him. He easily ducked out of the way, his grin even broader now. Phobos jumped into the air, grabbing the ball with gusto.

"You're a princess?" Orlando asked with renewed curiosity.

"Well, sort of. Nikolas here, he's a prince, too. "She glared at him. "And Ariel is a princess."

"I am?" Ariel asked, lost. She had never realized that. Tymmie had been a loser before joining the Atrox. The Atrox made him everything that he was today. A bigger, egotistical, powerful loser.

"Yeah. You know, how my father is Prince of Night?"

Ariel got it now. Since her father was Lambert's right hand man, he was kind of like Stanton in a way. If anyone was a princess in the Infidi though, it would be Taylor. Taylor Tritan, the daughter of Lambert and Aura was regal and beautiful, and as evil as Torrence was.

Ariel shook her head. "Look, I need to be going home."

Torrence looked at her with an unreadable expression. "Since when did you ever follow the rules, Ariel? Besides, someone needs to watch Orlando."

"Can't you two?" She whined. What did she want with a whiny slave prince?

"Band practice," Nikolas explained with a shrug.

"I'd love to, Ariel, but the Daughters…"

Ariel nodded. She should have never bothered to help Orlando.

"Daughter…daughter! I remember how I got here!" Orlando exclaimed. His light gray eyes lit up. Ariel couldn't help but once again intently watch him as he looked at the three of them.

Next Up: Orlando tells the trio of the beautiful woman and his promise to help her daughter in the future, where he is now. Also, a little down time with Miss Torrence Hudson, and what is up with the sparks between Orly and Ariel, and I don't mean the love kind?

AN: Nym, sorry for the personal attack on Tymmie. But Ariel hates him. My bad. But he's a very bad parent in this AU. Forgive me?