Author's Note: Only one reviewer, makes me sad…Helliexx, you are awesome! Thanks so much for reviewing! As for all you other people who read and don't review *glares evilly* thanks for reading! (hahaha, no, I'm not mad at you. I'm not that greedy!) But please, do review. Random "Hi"s are greatly appreciated. Guess what—two people have already randomly told me "hi" in a review. How cool is that? (All reviews make me happy.)

Disclaimer: (I'm writing it backwards today) skawH mrotS eht now t'nod I.

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No one was in the throne room as I appeared with a bright flash of light. I sighed in relief, before making my way to the great crystal machine. I turned my back to the two great doors, then began working on my next big project: mapping the matrix of a regeneration crystal. They were extremely rare, and if I succeeded, it might become possible to produce them in bulk from laboratories, saving lives.

The doors burst open, and the Dark Ace stalked in. He wasn't looking forward at first, but addressing a group of Talons: "You lead a search party around the northern border of our lands, and I want Talons undercover to see if the Sky Knight Council kidnapped her, or…"

He ranted on and on. By now, all the Talons were staring at me. I just stood there, my back to them all, watching their reactions in a reflective facet of one of my crystals.

Finally, he noticed that no one was listening to him. He half-turned and saw me standing there. There was an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. I could feel the tension in the air. I was in trouble.

"Leave us," he growled, and the Talons scampered away. Lucky them, they got their escape.

The silence stretched unbearable for a couple of seconds. I turned around to face him. If I was going to get in trouble, I might as well meet it head on.

"Where were you?" he finally said. I winced.

"Um, I went out for a ride and got side-tracked by a storm, so I stayed with some kids. I made a friend, too. I came back as soon as possible. You don't have to worry—no one saw what I looked like; I used a chroma-crystal."

The Dark Ace glared at me. "Do you have any idea how irresponsible that was? You left without a note, or anything! You could have been kidnapped, hurt, lost, or killed, and we wouldn't have been able to protect you! And don't you dare lie to me, tell me exactly where you were and who you were with!"

I dropped my head; I couldn't bear to look at him. "I heard reports that the Storm Hawks were just outside our territory, and I wanted to check it out. There was a really bad storm, and I saved Piper, then I had to take her back to the Condor. Then, it was sort of hard to get away. I'm sorry I took so long."

"The Storm Hawks?" He exploded. "YOU WERE WITH SKY KNIGHTS? THEY WOULD EXECUTE YOU WITHOUT ANOTHER THOUGHT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY LIVES RELY ON YOU? YOU HAVE AN EMPIRE TO THINK OF, AND YOU CAN'T BE SO IRRESPONSIBLE OR STUPID! HOW DARE YOU—"

I was mad. I was really mad now. "I didn't ask for this!" I screamed. "I didn't ask for any of this! You kidnapped me from my friends and family, and I've been a prisoner here ever since. This palace is like a cage! And I don't have any friends here." My voice dropped. "I just wanted a friend."

The Dark Ace looked slightly sympathetic. "I'm sorry about your family, but Cyclonia needs you. Atmos needs you. The future of Atmos is Cyclonia. And as for friends, your Talons all love you. Aren't I your friend?"

I looked at him like he was crazy. "I haven't decided how I feel about you," I admitted. "First, you kidnap me, then you ignore me, then you kiss me, you annoy me about missions, then you're so harsh training me—I have no idea what to think about you. You just confuse me. And even if you were to be considered my friends, you're not a girl. You don't understand doing hair, or nails, or the finer points of crystal science. I felt like she was my sister."

He sighed. "What happened?" he said.

"She was a great friend, and I was just getting to meet her, and she figured out my disguise and we started fighting. And…now she…she thinks I'm evil…and…" I didn't realize I was crying until I felt something drip from my cheek, onto my hands. I was shaking. "I just wanted a friend. I just wanted someone who really cared for me. Someone to remind me of home." My whole body was shaking with sobs. He stepped closer towards me, wrapping his arms around me and patting my back until I had sobbed myself out. It took a long time, as I had held in my sadness about losing my whole world for months.

When I was done crying, he stepped back, and locked something around my wrist. It took me half a second to identify it. "A tracker crystal," I whispered.

He smiled. "You can never run away again."

I glared at the offending bracelet. "I suppose I got off easy," I finally said. "I'm surprised you didn't murder me."

He made a "Humph" sound, then said, "If you had been gone any longer, I might have." I could tell from the relief in his eyes that he was kidding.

"So, do you want me to get Ravess? To do hair and nails with you?" I gave him a look.

"Ravess is nice, but she scares me, a lot. Especially when she's practicing violin. Anyway, why do you think I went looking for a friend?"

The Dark Ace chuckled. "Don't let Ravess hear that," he said. I yawned. I had been feeling really tired lately, even though I had been getting extra sleep. "You're not getting sick, are you?" he asked, worry back in his voice.

"I'm fine!" I insisted.

"You know something I don't."

"It's the Binding," I admitted. "I've read about it. If you overexert when you're not ready, you start becoming sick, until you reach Perfect Attunement."

He stepped back, shocked. "I realized that it was a risk for me, but you never said anything about putting yourself in danger!" he accused.

"It's nothing," I replied. "I'll feel like crap for a couple weeks, then we'll be even better at Binding."

"Oh, no we won't," he hissed. "We're not doing it anymore."

"That's the number one mistake that people make when they start to get Binding sickness! They think that if they stop, they'll get better. It only gets worse, and takes away any change of reaching Perfect Attunement," I huffed. Sometimes, it was good to be a know-it-all. Logic and well-prepared arguments are a lot harder to dispute.

"Fine," he replied. "We'll continue, but not today. Now, why don't you go to your rooms. We've had enough excitement for the day."

"You're not serious." He smiled. "You are serious!?! You are really sending me to a time out?"

"Are you going to come quietly," he smirked, "or will I have to carry you?"

I held my ground. "I am the Master here, and you are not sending me to a time-out!"

"I'm stronger, though. What are you going to do to stop me?" The answer, apparently, was nothing, as I was forced and locked in my chambers. I didn't complain much, as I was tired, and it was nice to have the extra hours to sleep.

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