A/N. First of all…I can never apologize enough for the delay. This is by far the most huge wait I made you go through, but I'm currently working on my other story which is very popular , so 10000000 times sorry and on with the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 11.

They all looked at each other, alarmed, and Urgl tried to calm down.

"Well, she does have the AURIN, like you last time, so I don't think it'd be a problem…"

"Well let's hope not." Atreyu sighed and Roni raised her eyebrows

"Let's most certainly hope not! Being burned to ashes doesn't exactly fit my schedule!"

Atreyu looked at her, calmingly "You will not be burned. Urgl's right- you have the AURIN, it must protect you."

She sighed and nodded her head.

"Falcor will come to you once you're done speaking with the Southern Oracle. Good luck!"

"Thank you, Urgl"

"Thanks..." they muttered and started heading the First gate.

As they walked Roni felt her heartbeat speed up, not in a good way. With each step they took, the sphinxes were getting closer and closer. They were already several feet away! She kept a straight face, but somehow Atreyu could sense her anxiety as he took her hand and looked her in the eyes.

"It's gonna be fine, Roni. You can't doubt yourself when you go through the gate. You're gonna be fine!"

She half-smiled "Okay, okay, I get it-confidence, that's all it takes. Plus the AURIN. –she took a deep breath- I can do this."

Finally, they were standing before the two golden sphinxes. At the sight of them Roni gulped silently. They were so huge! They were towering over them with such pride and Roni suddenly felt so tiny. She looked at Atreyu, who checked the sphinxes' eyes, just in case, and then stood forward and headed through. Without even noticing, Roni held her breath as she watched Atreyu walk through, she was really worried that something's gonna happen. That the eyes will snap open any second and…no, she couldn't even think of it! She breathed out, relieved, as he successfully walked all the way through it and turned around to face her, waiting. She could see he was nervous for her too, but they both knew she couldn't back out. Roni looked up at the sphinxes' eyes. Closed. Good. She gathered up all the strength she had and took her first step forward. Nothing. Then the second, she looked up again. Nothing, the eyes-still closed. She began to think that she shouldn't have been scared at all and started walking a bit faster. She was halfway there when she suddenly heard Atreyu's voice

"Oh, no…Roni, run now!"

She shot her head up and…No! The eyes were slowly opening, and she was only halfway there!

"Don't stand there, run, fast!"

She heard Atreyu shout and rushed from her place as fast as her legs wood carry her. She never thought she could run this fast. And then…CLASH! She heard the lightning shoot right behind her back and jumped forward and Atreyu caught her right in his arms. She slowly turned her head back... "Oh my god…I did it…" she thought as she breathed out heavily and dropped her head on Atreyu's shoulder, hugging him tightly. He pressed her to him and kissed her hair. After they calmed down and their breathing returned to normal, they released the embrace.

"One down, one more to go.-Atreyu said- but don't worry about the next one, the Magic mirror is harmless."

She nodded. "Yeah, it just shows you your true self, nothing lethal, right?"

"Right. Come on." He led her away and after several minutes of walking, it suddenly stated to snow. Heavily. But much to Roni's surprise, it wasn't cold, like it should have been. The snowflakes that landed on her were cold, but the air was warm. "That's weird." She thought and continued walking.

Soon, everything around them was covered in snow and the wind was blowing really hard. Now it was getting cold. Roni shivered a bit, but Atreyu notices even that smallest wince.

"We're almost there; it will be warm again after we pass the gate."

She managed a shaky nod. Snow was making it even harder to walk, and by now it was freezing cold. Roni felt like it's never gonna end and she was amazed at how Atreyu didn't seem cold at all. She touched his hand…warm. Very warm…but…how? Why? It's impossible! Her fingertips felt like they're about to freeze and fall off! He looked at her and at her most confused expression and took her hand.

"Wow, you should have told me you're freezing…"

"Yeah but…-her puzzled eyes quickly drifted from his face, to his hands, then back to his eyes again- you… your hand… it's warm… how? Why?..."

He half-smiled. "I'll explain later, we're here."

Not without some effort she turned her head from him and there it was. The Magic Mirror gate. It didn't look as terrifying as the sphinxes so she relaxed. It was rather big though. They walked closer and looked in the mirror, waiting for whatever it had to show. They stood there for quite a long time, but nothing. Nothing, but their reflections.

"Odd. – Atreyu said.- Why won't it show anything?"

Roni was just as confused "Well, maybe it's because it already knows you, like the sphinxes."

"Could be…but then what about you?"

She thought about it for a moment and then her eyes widened at the realization "Because I'm an Earthling! That's it!"

He looked at her, questioningly.

"You are fantasian, and when you looked in the mirror-it showed you an Earthling. But I am an earthling already! There's nothing to show. Or maybe it doesn't work at all, with us." She concluded.

Atreyu thought about it too "Odd, very odd, but I don't see a better reason either. –he shrugged his shoulders- Okay, let's try going through."

She extended her hand first and tried pushing it through. It did and she jerked it away. They took the first step together and slowly went into the mirror, which genuinely welcomed them through.

There we go. Hope you liked it and review! Thank you.)