(( AN: This chapter is dedicated to Noey. Thanks for keeping me going, even when I wasn't sure where it was I was going. ))

10.

Toby strode through the halls without a destination in mind. Some part of her, however, seemed to know where it wanted to go, because when her feet finally took her where they were going, she found herself standing in front of the pale pink rose bush in the middle of the Courtyard. High up on the balconies she could see the glint of metal and knew there were Fairies patrolling this area. It made her even angrier to know the Fairies weren't even safe in their own Courts.

She reached out, running her fingers along one of the satin roses. "If I could only ask you what you knew..." she murmured, then sighed softly.

"Funny, I was just going to ask you if you knew what you were doing."

Toby jumped, whipping around to find Theo standing there, hands on his hips. The light from the crystals far above glittered off of his spikey blue hair and made patterns on the white-trimmed, black tunic he wore. The brunette turned back towards the roses again, shrugging one shoulder carelessly.

"Just needed some air, s'all."

"No, it's not all of it. Toby, you can't just wander around. It's dangerous."

"What do you care? You didn't even notice I was gone." Toby couldn't keep the hurt out of her voice. Of all the people, Theo's abandonment stung the most. She'd stuck by him, believed in him when no one else did, and at the first sign of back-lash he'd up and left her.

A low growl welled up from Theo's throat, making Toby jerk her head around to look at him again. His hands were clenched, blue fire in his azure eyes. "You don't know... Don't even know what I've..."

Theo's anger didn't frighten Toby. In fact, she turned fully to face him, a furrow in her brow. "What you've what?"

The Dragon stared at Toby for a moment, then, abruptly deflated. He looked away from her, up at the rose bush. Toby couldn't read his expression. "... nothing. Nevermind."

"Sure. Of course. Nothing. That's why you're angry. That's why you don't talk to me. Nothing." Toby wished he was in his dragon form again so she could kick him in the shin. No one had even told her how it was possible Theo had gone from human to dragon then back to human again, not even Theo himself, and now he was acting like he didn't want to even speak to her. Why had he even bothered to seek her out? Just to lecture her?

"What do you care?!" Theo shot back at Toby, frustration making his voice raw. "You have your perfect little Story. You have your Knight, your Fairy Prince handing everything to you on a silver platter, everything to make you the ideal little storybook ending. They gave you your happy ending, Princess!"

All Toby could do was stare in confusion as Theo turned on his heel and stalked off, disappearing into the darkened halls of Avalon once more.

"Toby? What are you doing out here?"

Fizzybink and Dominic had approached from the opposite direction of Theo's exit, presumably from the direction of Dominic's quarters. She hadn't even asked where they were, she realized with slight pang. Still, Theo's words were ringing in her ears. She turned to face them fully.

"What did he mean? Theo said you handed me everything I needed to be the ideal Princess. What did he mean by that?"

Someone else had once said that to her -- Rosepink, the Queen of the Fairies. Soon after, she had tried -- and succeeded -- in poisoning Toby. The memory of the inky cold fingers of unconciousness creeping over her still sent shivers of fear down Toby's spine. If it hadn't been for Dominic and True Love's Kiss, she would have stayed dead. She couldn't understand where in that equation Fizzybink and the others could have 'given' her anything.

A look chased itself across Fiz's face -- a flash of fear, then a rush of guilt that told Toby without them saying a thing that Fiz and Dominic knew exactly what Theo was talking about.

"I don't know," Fiz said, and the stone flared against Toby's forehead. Realization crashed through her, making her reach up to touch the stone as if to assure her that the idea that had sprung into her mind could possibly be -- and was possibly -- true.

"You're... You're lying."

Fiz stared at her as if he didn't know what to say, but Toby didn't need him to say anything. Dominic cleared his throat. "Tobes, is that... Valiance's gift?" He nodded to the glittering red stone set in the silver clasp of her tiara.

"The Verastone. Yeah. Yeah it is," Toby said in a tight voice. "And right now it's telling me that you have something that you should be telling me. Like, how about the truth?"

"Toby, please," Dominic said in a soft voice. "Everything we did was to protect you and help you. Can't you just trust us?"

"Trust you? Trust you? When this stone in my tiara keeps telling me that you're lying to me over and over again? Trust isn't based on lies, Dominic. It's based on the truth. How am I suppose to trust you when you won't even tell me the truth?!" Toby realized, in the back of her mind, that she was yelling, but somehow that didn't seem important. Ever since she'd returned to the halls of Avalon -- and perhaps even before -- that something was off, something was wrong. Now she was finding out that that feeling was correct, and the people she trusted most were part of it. "What did he mean, Fizzybink? Dominic? What happened that night that you're not telling me?!"

"You died but you were brought back to life by True Love's Kiss. Isn't that enough?" Fizzybink asked in a thin, strained voice. The stone stayed cool against her forehead. So he wasn't lying about that much, Toby thought furiously. Then, what?

"Fine. If you won't tell me the truth, then I'll just go ask Theo," Toby said, turning to follow the dragon.

"No, Toby-- Wait--" Dominic grabbed her arm with a near-desperate tone.

She looked back over her shoulder at him, her stomach feeling heavy. "You don't want me to go talk to him. Which means that whatever you're hiding from me has to do with him. What'd you do to him? Did you threaten him to stay away from me? I can't believe you, of all people, would bully someone else like that Dominic."

"I didn't bully anyone! He agreed to it too!"

Toby took a step towards Dominic, her voice ringing like a sword clanging against a shield. "Agreed to what?" She stared at Dominic; he said nothing, but couldn't hold her gaze and looked away from her. She turned her gaze on Fiz, with the same result. For a long moment they stood there in silence, Toby waiting, Dominic and Fiz with their gazes anywhere but at her. It infuriated her.

"I can't believe," she said, in a voice that was soft as a whisper but sharp as Kjavaeos's edge, "that the two people I respected and admired most for their courage aren't even brave enough to tell me -- their Princess, their friend -- the truth. I thought I meant more to you than that."

Her skirt whipped about her ankles as she turned to walk away from them. It seemed like all she was doing was walking away from people when all she was trying to do was put things right. These halls, however, with their darkness and their heavy silence and their ashamed looks, weren't the halls full of light and merriness she remembered. In truth, she wasn't sure what she was fighting for anymore. Her worst enemy was here and welcome, her Fairy Godmother (in-training) suddenly didn't know any of the answers, everyone questioned why they were fighting for her, and now Fiz and Dom were lying to her. Had been lying to her.

She'd barely gotten three steps away when Dominic's voice burst from behind her. "I didn't Kiss you." She froze. Dominic was silent for a moment then added, in a soft voice, "I didn't... Theo did."

Splitting the silence that fell, as if to echo the turmoil erupting in Toby's heart, came the sudden shrieking alarm of the Teakettler's whistle.