Thank you to the seven of you that read this :{D

Ergh, yeah, I haven't put up chapters in a long time, I've been getting fairly distracted. Here's seven.

Chapter 7

You see the things they never see

All you wanted, I could be.

Whoever was a morning person deserved a prompt slap to the face. Those who weren't morning people like Will, preferred to sleep well into the afternoon, if woken up even one minute earlier the kid had a tendency to snap or act exceptionally hostile. The person who provoked these 'hostile' snaps was Maze, he just loved barging in and waking her up at some ungodly hour in the morning saying that they had to go on some 'urgent' quest and whatnot. And when something is done everyday, suspicions arise when that daily routine is broken out of the blue. Yes, even the old man missing his cue was something that worried Will. Let's start from the beginning.

Silence, complete and total silence filled the gray room. There was no light at all whatsoever, since this was the only room in the Guild that had no windows. Though Will had graduated and was supposed to be forging her own path in the world, she chose to remain in her little room in the Guild partially because of her laziness to go out and buy a house and partially because no one would ever use this room anyways, so she wasn't being a bother. Besides, a house was only bought if you were planning to get married or have kids. The bed made no sound as a figure shifted atop of it trying to find a better position to rest its head. Will yawned and pulled the blanket over her head shielding herself from the cold air the room trapped within it. The girl re-positioned herself again, this time because she wasn't able to fall back asleep…strange. "Something's not right." She grumbled pulled herself up into a sitting position. The blanket remained wrapped around her body like a cocoon, even in the upright position; the only visible part of her body was her untidy black hair and her tired blue eyes. By this time, Maze should've been in here pulling the covers off without a care in the world as to how the girl felt, but there was no sign of him. Will unraveled the blanket and gently brought her bare feet to the ground. She'd learned from her past mistakes of having bare feet on cold hard floor, it was cruel on her poor feet. So now, she'd gone to town and bought herself a nice pair of furry shoes, soft to the touch and kept her feet warm.

Not even making any effort to fix her scruffy morning hair, Will wiggled her toes inside of the soft shoes and walked straight out of her room. Her usual clothes were hung neatly on a chair, but Will didn't even take a glance at them and as she neared her door, she pushed it open and walked right out. Her notion was confirmed when the clock read four in the afternoon instead of six in the morning. The adolescent was an awful sight, her eyes had a glossy look to them and the trail of spit that had formed sometime in the night had dried into a crusty trail covering part of her face. A completely blue outfit adorned her body very loosely. One look and you could tell that they were pajamas, the way the sleeves were longer than her hands by almost a foot and by how one side drooped low enough to expose her pale shoulder. Yawning once more, hoping to get oxygen to her brain, Will scratched her head. Her hair was elevated a good inch higher than it normally would've been. Newer apprentices looked in pure confusion at the girl; the older ones who were used to her strange behavior rolled their eyes.

Almost automatically, Will journeyed up the stairs to Maze's quarters and low and behold, there he was. Sitting in a chair in front of the unlit fireplace, reading a book was Maze. He looked up as if he'd been expecting her for a while now. "Oh my." The book dropped out of Maze's hands with a thud onto the floor. There was Will in all her pajama glory rubbing her eyes like nothing was erroneous. The white-haired man cleared his throat and reached into his pocket, pulling from it a small card. "Care to join me?" holding the card between two dark fingers, Maze waved it waiting for an answer. Still smacking her dry chapped lips, Will yanked the quest card from his hands and scanned it over.

"Why is it so interesting?" As always, Will never read it, she just looked at the picture to see if she liked it or not, then accepted the quest. "Why didn't you wake me up this morning?" No harm in asking, it's not like she wanted him to everyday, but she wanted to know why today was special.

"Because, I wanted to see how long you could go" He responded pulling the card out of her hands and looking at it himself. His experiment settled very well with Will. She was able to sleep longer than usual. "It's baffling me quite a bit. No one knows who put it down." Maze flipped the card over several times just to see if there was anything on the back, "Tell me Will, do you believe in ghosts?" That was a controversial question which was answered with unintelligible babbling on Will's part.

"I'm in." Will declared. Apparently this had something to do with ghosts or something out of this world. Mystery and curiosity had a funny way of meshing together like a couple. Inside, Will could feel excitement bubbling up and spreading through her entire body pushing away whatever amount of tiredness she had left. "Let's go!" her joyful rampage was halted by a weight on her shoulder.

"Will." Maze said softly.

"Yes?"

"Put some clothes on."

Will sheepishly stared down at her pajamas suddenly remembering that was all that she wore. Laughing nervously, she waved her arms around, fishing her brain for an explanation while slowly backing out of the room. The poor girl was so focused on trying to explain her outfit that she didn't realize she'd backed right into the stairs. Maze winced at each sound and yelp he heard. "Oww, warn a person!"

"Nonsense, you're still breathing,"

After Will had gone through her morning routine, she met up with Maze just outside of the Guild fully ready and clothed. He informed her that the quest was located at the Oakvale memorial garden. Will felt that now might not have been the most fitting time to admit to Maze that she had a slight fear of the supernatural. It was only sensible to have the old wizard hold onto the quest card since Will would probably end up losing it in the stupidest way possible. When ready, the pair teleported directly to the entrance of the Oakvale Memorial Garden. A man stood, constantly asking all Heroes who passed by if they needed to hire a swordsman. As the two neared the Memorial Garden, there was a man pacing nervously across the wet grass, mumbling quietly to himself. "Oh thank Avo you're 'ere!" The man looked simple enough with his standard thinning hairline, pale complexion, and stubble covered chin. A shaky hand adjusted his thin rimmed, perfectly round glasses that slid down the bridge of his nose no matter how many times he tried to fix them. "Everyone in the whole town's scared outta their minds!" Will made a face, his voice sounded like he had a ball lodged in the back of his throat. "The sounds come 'round nightfall, over there." Will and Maze's gaze followed where the man's arm was directing. The two spotted large stone doors that possibly lead to a mausoleum. "I'm gettin outta here!" He left the pair standing in the middle of the Memorial Garden with only that for information.

One single word had zoned Will out for the entire conversation, "Nightfall?" Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at Maze.

"I suppose so." He didn't seem too bothered by the higher pitch in Will's voice and moved to the slab of stone sticking out of the ground directly in front of the mausoleum. Paying no mind to Will's sputters and arm waving, he sat down leaning his back against the cool stone, shutting his eyes momentarily. His blue eyes reopened to meet Will's angrier looking ones.

"So we're just going to sit here watching grass die until this thing shows up?" This was unbelievable; she knew that being able to get up wondrously late was too good to be true. She was now going to be trapped here with the most boring person in the world for a good four to five hours. Maze was already sitting down and Will knew better than to try and change his mind, when he made a choice he stuck with it to the end. Not even trying to put up a fight, Will parked her butt in the grass in front of the stone wedged into the ground; a childish pout had found its way onto her face.

"Patience is something you must come to learn Will." Maze leaned his head against the rock resting his eyes, his voice sounded far off and distance like he was ready to float off to dream-land.

"There are a lot of things I must come to learn, Maze, but those things really aren't happening." Squirming, the young hero stretched her limbs and tried to mimic Maze's style of relaxing, ultimately failing.

Then find a way to entertain yourself." It was obvious the girl was having trouble sitting still. And Will's definition of entertainment was a wide range of things.

"I can't, you're here."

"Good point."

A strange tranquility came over Maze's face. He might have been deeply sleeping for all Will knew, "Find a way to entertain myself, huh?" Using her hand to hold herself up, Will sat up on her knees, leaning forward closer and closer to Maze's unmoving face. Holding in a stifled giggle, Will gesticulated madly with her unoccupied arm waiting for a reaction. As estimated, none came and Will was free to commence step two. A gust of wind blew a few strands of Maze's white hair, delicately wiping across his dark forehead. The event didn't rouse the man in the slightest. He sat as still as a sculpture, much like those people who were required to sit still for the portrait.

The poor black insect writhed and wriggled against the young girl's pinch on one of its legs. Curse the deficiency of the natural ability to spit poison or do something of that sort. Nope, this bug was completely defenseless and at the mercy of whatever the large green-gloved girl was going to do to it. Will held the creature by one of its legs, securely enough to keep it from getting away and scurrying off to safety. This task required meticulous precision to the highest level, with precise calculations of the arm arrangement and object trajectory. She couldn't afford a single mistake to occur, for it'd be all over. In simpler terms…let's see if dropping this bug down Maze's throat will choke him! So close, the insect was dangling just centimeters away from his face all ready to…

"What are you doing?" The old wizard's eyes didn't even flinch and yet he somehow knew that he was the 'entertainment' she'd settled for. She knew she'd been caught, but decided to humor him anyways.

"There was a bug on your face…" With that, she dropped the bug to the floor, "Got him off, nasty little guy." The bug, thankful to be free, scurried off in a drunk-like pattern to the closest rock crevice. There went the rest of her entertainment for the day. Maze, who knew that a bored Will was a highly dangerous one, did not want her to try something else 'amusing' to her. Might as well give it a go, he had nothing to lose.

"Here Will, lean back and close your eyes, empty your thoughts." What baffled him was that she actually complied to his request. A shot in the dark, but nevertheless, it was a lucky shot in the dark. He felt her exhale harshly as a sign that basically said, 'I give up.' Maze released the breath he hadn't realized that he'd been holding and relaxed his shoulders. There was only so much he could let go of when Will was around, he couldn't be too careful around the kid. Most of his plans had been set in motion, in the not too distant future, the boy's sister would be found and everything would be complete. Fear had inventive ways of sneaking through the backdoor of ones mind and overcoming any common sense that tried to help. As did the little thing called denial roomed itself very nicely with the fear. Maze couldn't bring himself to the truth of whether tasks he was performing were wrong or right. Blank, that's what he'd told will, keep your mind blank. He appeared to be doing just the opposite what with all the disturbing thoughts penetrating his mind. It didn't matter; the future was so far and yet so close. Nothing devastating would happen, at least… not yet.

Something rather heavy created weight on Maze's left shoulder. Startled, he opened his eyes and looked to see what was happening. The idiot, whatever attempt Will gave at peace or silence always ended in dozing off for the girl. Mazes immediately shoved her off, not caring if she hit the grass glaringly or not. Within a second, the head had lolled back onto his shoulder creating the uncomfortable heaviness for a second time. The routine went on for about four more times, but each time, like a magnet, Will's head plopped straight back onto his shoulder. A thought occurred to him, was she doing this on purpose? Was this another one of her ideas of poking fun? If that was the motive, then her face was just moments away from being crushed into the floor. As if to deride him even more, the girl began snoring softly. Or perhaps she really was asleep. The best way to get on Will's nerves was to let them know that whatever she was doing didn't bother him, so he merely looked the other way.

Now Will was far from adorable sleeping princess, it was more along the lines of disgusting drooling hobbe. The light snoring that had started had grown comparatively louder. Her mouth hung open in a humorous sneer and Maze's robes were in jeopardy of becoming a sopping wet spit bowl. But, this was all the serenity that Maze could ever hope to acquire and he would take what he could seize. From the mausoleum, there came a tapping sound, as laid-back and rhythmic as any other tapping sound. Much like a simple knock you gave when you were out visiting a friend's house, or a warning tap you would give a shopkeeper if they were taking too long with your items. Maze listened intently; the tapping grew in volume until it was like dropping a stone into the water. Then it stopped, complete and total silence settled once more. The rapping continued again, this time it became louder than a million drums beating, Maze made no move to investigate and instead looked at Will. He envied her; she could sleep through a lethal inferno and not wake up until her entire body was incinerated. Moreover, she could sleep for hours upon hours, Maze had allowed her to sleep for over twelve hours and yet, here she was snoring away.

Murmuring wordlessly, Will began to stir. Overcome by an unexpected sense of panic, Maze pushed her off his shoulder roughly, ending in the girl's hard impact with the turf. "Huh whuh, what happened?" Her mind was still groggy and jumbled, but she controlled herself long enough to sit up rubbing her half shut eyes. Will felt a little happier that it had gotten darker, but what had happened when she was asleep. And what a cozy sleep it was, her head had found something soft apparently.

"Listening to the melodious sounds of your snoring." Maze started to situate himself in the standing position. His distant blue eyes locked with the crypt doors, daring the tapping to start again. This is what they had come for and he wasn't going to leave just like that.

"Tch! You snore too." Will scoffed using the help of the rock to prop herself up. Never get up too fast after a long nap, there were always devastating results to doing so. The slab was working out nicely as a backrest for Will; she stood at a funny slant leaning her backside against the now warm stone.

"How would you know?" Maze was paying attention to the door, but Will knew that all of his interest was on her most recent words.

"You remember that 'squirrel' that got into your room sometime in the night and flipped the entire room upside down?"

"Yes." He answered cautiously dreading to hear her continue.

"Wasn't a squirrel." Will finished quickly, blinking the sand from her eyes. "And that's what you get for hiding my stuff in your room."

"I think I liked you better asleep."

Will squeaked at the tapping sound that started up again and proceeded to hide behind Maze, "What was that?" Will's eyes had never moved in such a fast trend. She never really did figure out why she'd developed such a fear for ghosts. At the Guild, when Will was younger, some older apprentices had locked her in a closet and made wraithlike sounds to terrify her utterly for their own sick pleasure. Hours upon hours, the child sat with her knees drawn to her chest, just sitting, no tears, and no cries for help. When Maze had asked why she was in there instead of studying for the past few hours, she never answered truthfully.

"I've been trying to figure that out." He knew the source of the sound, but wondered if opening it was the wisest idea. It might have released something evil upon Oakvale. Doors were placed in certain locations for a good reason. Unable to take the suspense anymore, Will acted out of impulse, moving forward and pushing the stone doors straight open. A fraction of the girl wanted to say that ghosts didn't exist and the sound was a persistent rat, which was pretty much what provoked the sudden act. "Will stop!" Hands shaking and a scream ready to fly out, Will was faced with endless darkness and a long flight of stairs leading into the earth. Without warning, an invisible force, like a pair of hands grabbed Will by the shoulders and pulled her in towards the dark and down the stairs. Her arms thrashed as she vanished from view into the shadows.

"Maze!" she automatically screamed as she went plummeting down deeper and deeper, it felt as if she was going to hell. She was absolutely positive, she was being held firm by two hands around her upper arm. Undoubtedly, they were stronger than her, so the futile attempts at freedom all botched. Will clawed at her arms, but all she got were nail marks on her skin, maybe she was just going crazy. Her ethereal arm clamps led her to a dome-shaped room with a giant casket in the center. The casket was black with golden streaks across it, meaning the person in there was exceptionally wealthy. "I believe, I believe." At this point, Will was probably hyperventilating. Then again, if anyone were to be grabbed by the arms and dragged against their will halfway to hell, then suspended in midair by some otherworldly force, they'd by shaken up too. The angry lashing out and dramatic body movements had not stopped, "Put me down!" Like it was listening, it complied, dropping Will to the ground with a small 'oof'. "Gently." She scoffed standing up and brushing herself off.

Now then, a way out, Will still had enough of her wits about her to think clearly. The entire place was dark except for the glow from the casket which seemed to be illuminating everything. Where was Maze? Did he follow? A noise shattered Will's thoughts entirely. "Wait please." The voice was hollow, like a child. Along with that, it carried a far-away quality, almost evanescent. "Please." Hauntingly soothing were the two words that Will would use to describe the tone distinction. From the few syllables she'd just heard, Will inferred that the voice was female. Her voice sounded strained, like she was talking softly on purpose, but she also could've had a naturally soft-spoken voice. It reminded Will of when her mother told her scary stories; she'd use the same lingering voice to add a little something to the story. Rather than faint on sight of the person standing just an arms length away from her, Will stared in awe, intrigued by the girl's appearance. Though her entire body was white and transparent, Will watched her hair dance freely around her head, floating as if she were standing underwater. When she walked, she left an ephemeral cloud of white that could not live without her presence.

"I…er." Her form came in and out of focus in her cloak of vaporous translucency. Will studied her for a moment, trying to calm herself. The dead girl seemed to be no threat to Will's life. Though every inch of her body was see-through, Will saw that she wore a wedding dress, her hair color ranged from a dark red to a light brown, and she was decidedly no threat. Will's stuttering was stopped by a fluid motion of the woman's hand. Almost eagerly, the girl floated forward to the young hero. Amazingly, Will didn't step back, probably out of complete and total paralysis of the body and mind.

"My name is Emilie." In return, Will introduced herself. Slowly, she held out her hand to be shaken remembering at the last second that she probably would be able to touch a ghost. Emilie smiled and played along, holding out her hand just close enough for the cold white mist to barely brush her outstretched palm. "I used to live in Bowerstone North, my fiancé Khail and I were to be married." To emphasize that, she looked herself over sadly. The wedding dress formed and faded occasionally on her body, a soft white glow surrounded her. "Moments before my wedding I was murdered." The paralysis that gripped Will's figure had worn off, allowing her to actually identify what the girl was saying. "My husband is getting remarried, but I fear the woman is only after his fortune." In the endless white, Emilie had folded her hands, pausing for a brief moment. "I'm fearful. I believe it was his current fiancé who brought my end and will bring upon him, his." She continued, "When they are wed, she will obtain the money in the event of his death." The woman seemed to get more and more restless the further she explained. "I don't know how, but please protect him." Will wanted desperately to ask why she didn't want him to die so that they could be together, but decided against it, her word choices were never the best anyways.

"Will!" Heavy boots were heard running into the room. With a flustered look on his face and weapon already drawn, Maze aimed his staff at the unidentified form that was not Will. A little late, but at least he was here. Maze's weapon dropped when he saw the annoyed look that Will' face was twisted into.

"My Hero." It was finally Will's turn to put her palm to her forehead. The ghost actually smiled at the bland words that escaped from the girl's mouth.

"I told you not to open the door!"

"Why not? You were taking so long!"

"I tell you this over and over, you need to think things through. Look where it landed you!"

"I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Your father?" Emilie presumed, though the two had no resemblance, the way they communicated with each other was very similar to that of a father and daughter.

"Oh, eugh, not even, no." Will clarified it very nicely and turned her attention back to the problem at hand. Maze listened as Will explained to him the dilemma in detail. "Don't you think it's a bit suspicious for him to die right after the wedding?" Adding to the aspect that his first wife also died right before their marriage and this new lady suddenly popped up out of nowhere.

"Proof." Indeed, the case could be as suspicious as possible, but if the culprit was clever enough to dispose of the proof, then it was all over. Emilie watched the two leave and whispered a small piece of information before their departure, "Don't let Khail know I sent you." The sun was coming up over the mountains, Will's sleep schedule had been ruined indefinitely.

Finding the place wasn't as hard as the duo had thought; the wedding had been set up in an extravagant manner. Decorative purple streamers hung across the whole north side of the town draping themselves over neatly arranged flowers. Those who were setting up ran around like mice, making preparations; food, guest list, and accommodations. They had learned that the mayor of Bowerstone was coming to the wedding, and Lady Grey was not a woman wise to displease. Outdoor weddings were becoming more popular these days. "I don't know about you, but I have no idea where to start." Will examined the district, but was sidetracked by the elaborateness of the streamers and velvet red carpet stretching to a podium that was empty for now.

"There looks about right." Maze had his eyes fixed on a round windowpane, small enough to retain privacy, but large enough for the will-user to see a man standing at the window fixing his formal attire. The man he was looking at was no more than a boy, hardly over twenty five and clearly innocent to the harsh world around him. His hair was a sandy brown and his eyes matched perfectly, round and full of curiosity. Maze sighed, if Will was smart, then she would've followed his gaze to where the boy was, but just to make sure, he checked. Will wasn't in the spot where she had last been. Instead, Maze caught her by the elaborately embellished food table, hovering eagerly over the pastries. Will choked on a jelly filled pastry when Maze yanked her hood, half choking her. Not like he cared. "Stealing is a very serious crime." Still holding on, he dragged her away from the food and to the house of the young man.

"But Maze." She whined, "They were jelly filled." Pulling would do nothing for her, she was no match for his strength. "If they leave food out like that, it's technically free." He didn't let go of her until they were in front of two guards protecting the front door of Khail's house. The two recognized Maze and let him through with a bow of respect. Will trailed after; the action provoked an exchange of worried looks between the guards. In the house, there were three more guards the two encountered all of which let them through without too much question. Khail had moved away from the window and greeted his two unexpected visitors.

"Maze. I'm honored." Khail smiled warmly and looked at the girl with a sharp wince. He didn't worry; Maze knew how to keep the young girl in line…somewhat. "Ah, you're the girl who set the hobbes loose on the town." Will shrunk, he remembered. She knew that she'd seen him somewhere before, they just never chatted blissfully with each other over tea. "Accident." It wasn't her fault, Maze had decided to use a training exercise that involved summoning hobbes all over the forest, then ordered her to finish all of them. Luckily, he was there to get rid of them later, but still… "The well-renowned Maze is attending my wedding ceremony?" Will's mouth was bursting with answers, but when she leaped forward and unbolted her loaded mouth to spew out the explanation, she felt Maze's hand quickly clamp over her mouth. The explanation came nevertheless, as unintelligible and garbled as it was behind Maze's hand, it was still said. Most people understood that if someone put a hand over their mouth, they should immediately stop talking for good reason. Will here continued until she was finished, actually thinking that Khail had heard it.

"Yes, but we'll be watching from a more discrete location." Maze kept his hand over Will's mouth for safety measures. Khail didn't question the two anymore. He only nodded, thanked them, and then walked away. "You think he'd be happier on his wedding day." A muffled reply came from his hand that had not been removed yet. "He still misses her." Will gasped and coughed like she'd been trapped underwater for too long, slapping Maze's hand out of petty anger.

Sunset, what was said to be the most romantic time of the day. Where couples would sit and stare at the sun going down, and share between them a passionate, lasting kiss that promised forever. Maze stood on the balcony in his signature stance with his weapon leaning on the wall nearby and his hands linked behind his back. The main idea was to not draw too much attention to themselves, so the two watched the weddings from afar. Will leaned dangerously over the balcony; she was more interested in the wedding than Maze had thought. Averting from his thoughts, Maze watched Will's eyes grow calm as she watched with silent interest at the ceremony. "I never knew you'd be one to like weddings." Before tottering off the edge, Will pulled herself back scoffing.

"Naw, weddings are too sappy." Her eyes said otherwise. It then occurred to Maze that underneath the sardonic remarks and foolish acts of misdemeanor, there was a normal girl buried within. Will returned her concentration back to the wedding; Khail was standing on the platform, all eyes were on the wooden doors opposite the platform. Whispers of adoration and admiration erupted from the spectators as the door opened and from them emerged a woman lavishly dressed in a wedding down. Long, flowing and white, there had been much gold put into creating the masterpiece. Will found herself stunned by the woman's beauty, even Maze had given a slight turn of his head to observe the service. The angel-like woman moved with a grace that was hardly ever seen these days, each step was careful and precise on the flower petals that were sprinkled across her path. Her hair was a light red, almost pink from what Will saw. The strawberry tresses fell freely, softening her oval face, almost touching her waist. Will-dear never judged a book by its cover, in fact, when she met someone, she automatically hated them until they could prove her wrong. The same went for this woman who had stepped elegantly onto the stand next to her fiancé. She suddenly felt someone standing hazardously close to her, it was Maze, he had somehow moved from his spot on the opposite side of the balcony and moved to stand by Will. She inched away; Will never liked standing close to people, much less touching them. No, she's no clean freak, but maybe felt a slight discomfort in physical contact with anyone. "Something wrong?"

"I sense a power." Will unsheathed her blades at Maze's words. She wanted to question as to if it was just her or not, but Maze would've mentioned that long ago. In their over-alertness, the wedding had commenced, the two becoming married and the crowd breaking out in dance and song. Instruments played and laughter filled the air, the more skilled dancers moved to the center and the others ambled around the food table, admiring those in the center of attention. Will rotated her shoulders and relaxed, casting a funny look at Maze, she lowered her swords. Maze didn't look convinced, and for good reason. A scream, a single scream broke out amid the crowd. The Heroes ran to the edge of the balcony. "Over there!" he pointed for the confused Will who was looking just about everywhere but the correct vicinity. People scattered from the scream to reveal a man lying motionless on the floor and something standing right next to him. It was not human, it was much smaller, maybe half the size of a human; a hobbe. The white overgrown toe with legs was waving its stubby arms in the air in triumph at its kill, making a sickly sound that sounded like mating mice. Another victim fell to the hobbe's axe. "Will." At the word, Will raised her hand and shot a long distance streak of lightning at the creature. It hit the creature spot on, torturing it until it flew backwards, a black ball of burned flesh.

A few claps erupted into the thunderous sound of many. Will dropped her hand that had thrown the lightning, the distance it went was amazing she had to admit, but all her will-energy was gone. Everyone had started clapping admiringly at the young girl and just when she was about to bask in it, Maze had moved suddenly to the entrance of the balcony. She was about to question, but then she heard it too, the sound of more than one hobbe from behind the door. Weapon drawn, Maze yanked the door open using the lightning spell to push them back. He held his weapon in front of him for protection then leaped into the crowd, swinging his staff in a wide arc knocking them down. Then, he whirled it in a sweeping motion knocking the next wave off its feet. "Why are there so many?" Will brought up her swords and proceeded to assist him. A low rumbling roar and the sound of shifting rocks stopped Will from helping Maze. She ran back to the edge of the balcony and looked down at the wedding site. There, right in front of the podium was a giant rock troll, composed of the surrounding ground type. The troll bellowed, shaking off some loose rock from its body. People ran in all directions screaming and knocking over the beautiful decorations.

Will frowned, her will energy was all gone and Khail was nowhere to be found, he was the one they were supposed to be protecting. Maybe the whole balcony thing wasn't the best idea. Finally, she spotted him backed up against a wall at the mercy of the troll. All of its focus seemed to be on him. Just behind a statue was Khail's wife. Will stared; his wife's eyes looked like she was concentrating greatly on something. Aside from that, she wasn't running for her life like the other guests. "Summoning?" she had at last pieced it together, "Maze!" If he could've slapped her right now, he probably would've; there were over twenty hobbes on top of him and Will was lost…again.

"Use your bow!" Maze pushed another hobbe away; it growled a low throaty sound and came back at him. Their focus was on Khail, so Will had to defend Khail at all costs. Obeying, she pulled out her bow and aimed the arrow at the troll, but not before using the last bit of her will to cast multi-arrow on the bow. Four arrows flew at once and since Will was the one firing, not a single one hit its mark; one landed at its feet, another in a chair, the next planted itself inches above the bride's head, and the last one crashed into the food table.

"NO!" devastated, Will watched the food table crumble to the ground, the cakes and pies sliding off, piling into each other creating a great big mush of sweets on the ground. She tried again, aiming at the troll, but missing horribly, each arrow landing completely off.

"Will!" Maze had almost disappeared in the swarm of hobbes. "What are you even aiming at?" he was holding his own, but there were so many of them, he was definitely going to be occupied for a while.

"I'll tell you when I hit it." Another arrow was drawn back and shot. The two tiny orbs that revolved around Will indicating the multi-arrow was cast had vanished. Through the rain of free flying arrows, the troll had become irritated and had turned its attention away from pelting 10 ton boulders at Khail and had begun to pelt them at Will. "Maze!" she rolled out of the path of two boulders thrown at her with every intention of flattening her. Maze was gone in the sound of dying hobbes and was in no way able to aid her. While rolling, Will felt something poke her side, it was the wooden stick she'd been given for training. Hastily, she pulled it out and held it like a sword.

"What are you doing!" the amount of hobbes had depleted, but there were still enough to keep Maze busy for the time being.

"Improvising?" The troll hurled a rock at Will. Stepping back, Will swung the stick slamming it into the rock sending it flying back towards the monster. It crashed successfully into the monster knocking it backwards a few feet. Khail had moved to safety and Will was able to swing with all of her might, which wasn't much, but it got the job done. As each boulder slammed against the stick, Will's arms vibrated, rattling her all the way to her throbbing head. Successfully, the girl was able to return each boulder, crashing all of them into troll, to her surprise. Who said fire against fire never worked? Her arms hurt and her breathing was becoming heavier, physical things were never her forte. Arms shaking from the immense amount of physical work, Will watched in despair as another boulder flew at her. With all the appendage muscle she could congregate, the stick swung once more hitting the boulder off course. That was it, she was done, the stick fell from her unsteady hands and a series of tired pants came from Will. She looked up just in time to see the boulder fly straight for Khail's still unmoving wife whose mind was still engaged in something else other than the chaos unfolding around her. "Hey lady!" too late, the boulder easily crushed her body, crunching her bones to smithereens. "Eh, I tried."

Maze calmly walked out onto the balcony, brushing himself off, completely unscathed. The summoned monsters had disappeared and Khail was alive. All the villagers remaining including Khail had begun applauding once more for the heroes. "Nicely done."

"Are you ill?" Will asked.

"Deathly." He replied.

You try to hide your thoughts inside

There in your empty life.

Thank you for reading :{D