Adelle and Caitlin entered Stornway Castle. It was massive with many elaborate portraits adorning the walls. Caitlin had to push, pull, and drag Adelle past the many shiny objects in the corridors. After winding their way through the castle, they reached the throne room. They curtsied before the royal family. King and Queen Schott sat in the thrones at the head of the room while Princess Simona stood beside her father. Matt was already kneeling before the King.

"What brings you two lasses here?" King Schott asked.

"We would like to help you deal with the rogue knight." Adelle answered.

Matt looked over at the voice and then fell over out of shock.

" You? You're the minstrel who was entertaining kids at the inn! And that's the crazy woman who tried to bludgeon me!" Matt exclaimed. "I thought I told you two that it was too dangerous for you."

"Hi! …Oh, that's right! You wanted to stop the Knight too!" Adelle responded with a pleasant smile.

"Don't be friendly to that jerk." Caitlin chided.

"Jerk? You're the one who attacked me for no reason!" Matt exclaimed.

The King cleared his throat to restore order. "So all three of you are here to vanquish that troublesome rogue who has thrice assaulted Stornway? Our best soldiers have failed to defeat him. I believe it best if the three of you worked together to bring an end to his terror."

"WHAT?" Matt and Caitlin shouted in unison.

"Okay! That would be great!" Adelle piped.

"HEY! CONSULT US FIRST!" Matt and Caitlin snapped at her.

She smiled brightly at them. "See! You're starting to think alike already! We'll make a great team!"

"It's settled, then." The king said.

"Father, I don't think it's necessary to hire people… I believe that the Knight isn't as bad as everyone thinks. There have been no casualties, after all." Simona said, turning to face her father.

"Simona dear, why don't you go to your room?" He responded calmly.

"Yes, Father…" Simona said as she reluctantly left their sight.

"So… How do we find the Knight?" Adelle asked.

"We received a letter yesterday, demanding that my daughter go to the loch north of the castle alone tonight. We would like you to go in her stead." The King answered.

"But there are three of us. He won't show." Matt remarked.

"Two of us could hide. The other could pretend to be Simona." Adelle suggested.

Matt sighed. "Fine, just so long as I'm one of the two hiding."

The queen looked over at Caitlin. "You are the same height and weight as Simona… A blond wig and a dress will make you look very much like her in the dark."

A large grin spread across Adelle's face. "This is working out perfectly! Okay! Matt, shall we meet you at the loch just before sunset?"

"Sounds good to me." Matt said before left.

"Well, we need to get ready! Bye now!" Adelle said to the king and queen before taking her leave.

Caitlin followed Adelle grumbling, "No one cares about my opinion…"

None of them noticed Simona watching silently from the stairwell.

Erinn placed a kettle-like device on the front desk as Adelle and Caitlin returned to the inn.

"What's that?" Adelle asked examining the kettle.

"Some old traveler left it here as payment for his room. We don't know what it is, but it looks interesting enough to attract the attention of customers so we are putting it on display." Patty answered.

"Feel free to look at it while Patty and I prepare rooms for guests coming tonight." Erinn told them.

As Erinn and Patty left, a voice came from the kettle.

"Finally, someone cleaned me off! I was worried that I'd start rusting!" The voice said cheerfully.

"Did that kettle just talk?" Caitlin cried out.

"What the Flap? Teapots aren't supposed to talk!" Stella exclaimed.

"I am not a teapot! I am Crackpot!" The kettle responded.

"Hi! I'm Adelle. Nice to meet you. This is Caitlin, and the faerie is Stella." Adelle said, gesturing to herself and her friends as she introduced them.

"It's been ages since someone has been able to hear me talk. I like you! I was invented by an alchemist many years ago." Crackpot said.

"An alchemist? That's cool! What do you do?" Adelle asked, completely enthralled with the device.

Caitlin sighed. "And now she befriends cookware… I swear, each day gets stranger than the last."

"I am used to perform alchemy. All you have to do is put in the right ingredients in me and I shall alchemize them for you. It only works if you give me the right ingredients, though." Crackpot explained.

"Alchemize?" Stella asked.

"Combining things so that the product is more valuable than the parts." Adelle answered.

"Is that what you Celestrians learn in school or something?" Stella asked.

"Yep! Aquila taught me! He told me all sorts of cool things that mortals do!" Adelle said beaming.

"You know a great deal… I've decided; you may use me whenever you want!" Crackpot announced.

"Thank you so much! …Oh, but we have to get ready for tonight! Tomorrow maybe?" Adelle said.

"Certainly." Crackpot responded.

Adelle and Caitlin then returned to their room to wait for sunset.

"Today was so cool! When I get back to the observatory, I have to tell Aquila about all of this!" Adelle said as she sat down and looked out the window at the bustling city.

"Aquila this, and Aquila that. You mention that guy every few minutes." Stella complained.

"Do I? Sorry… I never had family, but Aquila has been like a big brother to me though. I guess that's why I talk about him so much. He's a strict teacher, but he has all ways been kind to me." Adelle explained.

"Just how did you and Aquila meet?" Caitlin asked.

Adelle thought back for moment. "I was in the library, speaking with some other Celestrians, while he and Columba were talking nearby."

/Flashback/

"Aquila… perhaps you should take an apprentice…" Columba suggested.

"You too? As I've said for the last few hundred years, I'll get one when I find someone with potential." Aquila said, slight irritation in his voice.

A group of young Celestrians on the other side of the bookcase were talking rather loudly, and their voices almost drowned out Aquila's conversation.

"I want to be a guardian one day, then I'll be worshipped!" One of the Celestrians said.

"But you need to be a guardian of a large town, so more of those mortals will know you." Another Celestrian said.

"Guys, we should be quiet… This is a library." Adelle hushed..

"Sorry. But wouldn't it be cool?" The first Celestrian asked, lowering her voice.

"Yep! Getting to spend so much time amongst the mortals would be awesome." Adelle grinned.

Upon hearing that last comment, Aquila tuned out Columba and focused in on the conversation on the other side of the bookcase.

"What's so awesome about that? They're an inferior race. They're so fragile." The first Celestrian said with a sneer.

"Yeah! If it weren't for Celestrians, they'd be extinct." The second one added. "We have to do everything for them."

"That's not true. They are capable of doing many things on their own. They just need help sometimes, like we do. And just because something is fragile, doesn't necessarily mean that it's worthless." Adelle said, a vein starting to throb in her forehead.

Aquila ignored Columba completely as he stood to get a look at the Celestrians who were speaking.

"What are you doing?" Columba asked.

"Shh! ….Who's that girl? " Aquila asked, pointing to Adelle through a gap in the books.

Columba raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that kind of pushing the acceptable age difference?"

Aquila blinked. "What are you talking about? I just want to find out her name."

Columba laughed and rolled her eyes. "That's Adelle. She comes to the library a lot. Why?"

"It's been a long time since I heard someone her age talk that way about mortals. She has potential." Aquila explained. "What do you know about her?"

"She practices her magic a lot, but she lacks a lot of physical skill. She is fascinated with mortals and their doings. She doesn't have any family, so she spends most of her time by herself. That's about all I know." Columba answered.

Aquila nodded to himself. "Yeah… She'll do. I have decided to take on an apprentice. Now all I have to do is discuss this with her…. Where'd she go?"

The two other Celestrians remained, but Adelle had vanished. Aquila looked around in bewilderment. Columba laughed at her friend's confusion.

"Check the fountain near Yggdrasil. She goes there frequently." Columba said.

She then led Aquila to a fountain located in the woods atop the observatory. Adelle was fast asleep next to the fountain. The two older Celestrians stood over her, trying to determine whether or not they should awaken her. She eventually opened her eyes and returned their gazes.

"H…h… hello…" Adelle stammered; her eyes wide.

"Adelle, this is my old friend, Aquila. Aquila, this is Adelle. Adelle, he has something he would like to talk to you about." Columba said casually.

"Aquila? He's one of the most respected Celestrians! What does he want with me? …What if I'm in trouble? What'd I do, though? Oh man!" Adelle thought, her mind racing.

"Adelle, would you like to be my apprentice?" Aquila asked.

Adelle was snapped out of her thoughts. "What….? Your apprentice…?"

"Yes. I've finally decided to have one. Would you like to be my apprentice?" Aquila asked again.

"…Will I get to go to the protectorate and watch over the mortals?" Adelle asked slowly.

Aquila nodded. "You will become the Guardian of Angel Falls once your training is done."

Adelle's eyes sparkled. "Really? I'd love to! I've all ways dreamed of being a guardian!"

/End of Flash Back/

"How much longer until the Knight shows up?" Caitlin groaned.

"Shut up! You'll blow your disguise!" Matt snapped.

"And you'll blow our cover. Shhh!" Adelle hushed.

Matt and Adelle hid in the bushes while Caitlin stood along the loch shore. The sun had set and the moon had risen higher in the sky. Matt had to periodically poke Adelle to keep her awake. Midnight came, and still no sign of the rogue.

"This flapping sucks! We were stood up by that guy! How dare he?" Stella groused. "I'd like to get a hold of him to give him my peace of mind!"

A dark shadow moved across the lake at a fast pace, stopping a few feet from Caitlin. A deep voice came from the large shadowy figure as it raised its sword. "You are not Princess Mona! What treachery be this? If you will stand in my way of Princess Mona, then I shall eliminate you!"