Chapter 9

Lantis stood in the hallway of the residential quarters,looking outside. He recalled how beautiful Cephiro used to be when Princess Emeraude was the pillar. Just like his elder brother Zagato, he had a hatred for the pillar system and now his hatred was even stronger because of the tragedy that occurred.

Flashback begins

Lantis was relaxing in a tree that was located in the center of the garden outside the castle. There were no monsters to battle at the moment, so he was taking advantage of the opportunity he had to just chill. It was so nice for him to be able to just take in the beauty of Cephiro, since he didn't get a chance to do so all that often.

Lantis was about to drift off to sleep when all of a sudden, his older brother entered the garden. He had a rather amused expression on his face. He wondered what Zagato wanted. Was something wrong?

"Lantis," said the high priest. "I should have known to look for you here."

"It is my favorite place to take an afternoon nap."

Zagato frowned slightly. He didn't think his younger brother should be slacking off when there was work to be done. "Why do you insist on lazing about the place?"

Lantis didn't understand why he was being questioned. After all, there was nothing for him to do."There are no monsters for me to battle at the moment, so why shouldn't I?"

End flashback

The main difference between Lantis and his brother with the hatred of the pillar system was that Lantis would not risk the destruction of Cephiro in order for the system to be eliminated. He had told his brother long ago that he believed that a land that was truly beautiful did not need a pillar to maintain that beauty. Just when he was sure he would never get to prove that to his brother, it seemed like he would be able to after all. 'I will destroy the legend of the magic knights if it's the last thing I do.'

Hikaru had gone into one of the unoccupied bedrooms. She had assumed that it had been reserved just for her. It was so spacious, quiet and just...beautiful. She found it the perfect place to be during one of those times she just wanted some time alone to think about different things—and she happened to be in that type of mood at the moment.

She sat down on the bed and proceeded to think of what a day it had been. While she was supposed to be happy, she wasn't. Instead, she felt dejected, like she was dying inside. She wondered just how long it would take for her heart to mend.

Just then, Umi and Fuu entered, and each of them sat on one side of her so she was in the middle. It was obvious that they were there to cheer her up. A part of her felt guilty for leaving the study like that but she couldn't help herself. She was glad to see her friends, though she didn't show it.

"Miss Hikaru?" ventured Fuu. "Is anything the matter?"

"Yeah. You seem upset," agreed Umi.

Hikaru hesitated for a second. Generally she would have denied that there was a problem, since she didn't want to be a burden on her friends or be seen as weak. But now that she thought of it, she realized she needed to talk to someone. And her friends happened to be the ones she should be talking to. "It's just...I know that even though everything is all right now and there's no animosity towards me for what happened, I still have a hard time forgiving myself."

"I know how you feel. I have had a hard time forgiving myself,too," said Umi, giving Hikaru an understanding look.

Fuu was more motherly with the comfort she gave.

"I have as well. But it also makes me more determined to do the right thing this time. You should do the same as well. We have to be strong during these hardships. Just take your time trying to move on. No one expects you to feel better quickly," she said.

The empathetic comments and encouraging words made the magic knight of fire feel better. "Thanks, you guys."

"What are friends for?" said Umi.

Hikaru hugged her best friends. She knew she was lucky to have them.

Meanwhile, Lady Debonair was making evil plans with Alcyone. She had discovered something that the sorceress would probably be pleased about.

"It seems that Priest Zagato has returned from the dead. He has made a fool out of you, has he not?" asked Debonair.

"Yes,my lady," answered Alcyone. Just thinking of the incident made her blood boil. She had betrayed Mage Clef and fought the magic knights just to prove how much she loved Zagato. It seemed like all of that was for naught, for she had found out that he loved Princess Emeraude and could care less about her. And when she told him that she was fighting for him, he practically insulted her. He thought she was speaking nonsense. At first she was dismayed but that feeling quickly turned into disgust when she thought about how used she felt.

"Well,who was the one that saved you?" asked the sinister woman.

"It was you,Lady Debonair," replied Alcyone. And she was certainly grateful for that. In her eyes her new master was far better than her old one could ever hope to be.

"How would you like to get revenge on that scoundrel,Zagato,for the humiliation you suffered?" asked Lady Debonair.

Alcyone's eyes brightened. Suddenly she was glad that her former master was back. "I'd love that very much,my lady."

"You will have your chance soon enough," promised Debonair.

Alcyone gave an evil chuckle. She would show Zagato that she was not the failure he made her out to be...by slaying him.

The following day, Lady Debonair discreetly entered the crown room.

"Now that Princess Emeraude is no longer the pillar, Cephiro will belong to me!" said Debonair,laughing.

Mage Clef sensed the evil presence from his study.

'It's the presence of Lady Debonair..but where she dwells is unknown,' he thought.

Lantis sensed it,too.

'Who is this Debonair?' he wondered.

Just then, the castle proceeded to shake. It was like the tremor of an earthquake,only worse. The three magic knights were startled by this.

"Is it some sort of earthquake?" asked Umi,struggling to stay on her feet. The force of the tremors nearly caused her to suffer a whiplash.

"I have a feeling that it is worse than a mere earthquake," said Fuu. She was indeed correct about that.

"I'm sure it is, Fuu, but you shouldn't bring up scary stuff like that!" Umi yelled, half scared, half exasperated. To this day she hated when her fears were so obviously stated.

Hikaru became worried about Mage Clef,Sierra, and everyone else in the castle. She didn't believe that this was the best time for bickering. "Come on,you two!Let's go check on Clef!" she said.

The three girls ran out of the room ,and ran to Clef's study. They knocked loudly on the door.

"Clef!Are you all right in there?" asked Umi.

Mage Clef opened the door,and the three girls walked in.

"Greetings,magic knights. You all look well," said Mage Clef.

Umi asked if everyone was all right.

"Everyone is all right," answered Sierra.

"What was that tremor,exactly?" asked Fuu.

"Another part of Cephiro has just disappeared. Unfortunately it will continue to disappear until a new pillar is born."

Hikaru didn't like the sound of that. "Oh no." She wondered what was the origin of the pillar system. She and her friends heard of the pillar so much during their previous time in Cephiro, but they never fully understood the system. "Clef, can you tell us some more about the pillar system? How did it come about?"

"Very well. You three are magic knights,so you all have a right to know," said Clef. He led Hikaru and her friends to the crown room. Sierra,Zagato,Ferio and Princess Emeraude followed.