Jonathan's footsteps echoed as he made his way to the dungeons. The air was stale, with more than just a hint of mold in the surroundings. He had demanded that the dungeons are not to be used anymore, and it showed. Reaching the last of the steps, he stopped, took a deep breath, and squared his shoulders before he turned the corner.

He nearly cried out when he saw the vision in front of him. Rei had not been treated well. She was only dressed in a shift with her hands bound in front of her, and there were bruises on her arms, testament of the guards' rough treatment of her. In spite of her state of undress and shivering because of the coldness of the dungeon, she stood proud when she faced Jonathan, as though she knew that he was coming. Which she probably did, Jonathan reminded himself as he steeled his heart for the battle ahead.

Thousands of questions raced in Jonathan's mind as he faced the young woman. Presently, one terse word emerged from his lips. "Why?" he growled out.

"Why what?" Rei coolly responded, her arms crossed in front of her, as though shielding herself from him. Jonathan restrained himself from snorting. As if the witch needed protection!

"Do not attempt to play dumb with me." Jonathan snarled. "You know as well as I do what I am talking about. What have we done to you? Why are you trying to kill us? Have you… Have you lied to me the entire time?"

"I cannot lie, my lord," Rei answered, her voice still as cold as ice.

This time, Jonathan snorted rudely. "So what do you call what you did then? Tweak with the truth a little? Did you know that… Did you deliberately make me fall in love with you so you can get to me? So you can kill me?"

Rei's eyes widened at the confession. Jonathan swore at himself, not intending to blurt the words out so soon, but he stood his ground. This time, some of the coldness in Rei's voice melted when she responded. "My lord," the young woman said, her voice soft, almost hesitant, "If I had wanted to kill you, I would have done so a long time ago."

"Who are you really?" Jonathan bit out, nonplussed. The quiet assurance in Rei's voice, combined with what he saw the night before, made him realize the truth in the woman's voice. "You never really lost your memory, did you? It was all an act."

There was silence for a few seconds. Jonathan dared to look at Rei, and saw that she looked as though she was arguing with herself. Finally, she spoke up. "My lord, do you remember our mock sword battle?"

"Are you trying to throw me off? What does playing with wooden swords have to do with this?" Jonathan all but shouted. The only thing that prevented him from yelling was the knowledge that Nathaniel would come storming in to drag him away, before he could the answers that he was looking for.

"It matters," Rei answered evenly, unflinching even at the face of Jonathan's obvious anger. "You said that I can ask for anything I want if I won. Well then, I did best you in the match. I now claim that reward. I will answer your questions, but only if you agree to the conditions that I ask of you."

Jonathan's eyes widened at her words. The nerve of this woman! "You dare to make demands when you are the prisoner?" He said, scoffing. "Well, you cannot have your freedom, witch!"

Rei flinched at Jonathan's words, but she kept her eyes on him. "Is that the so-called honor of the Kings of Elyson, that they would go against their own word at the blink of an eye?" Rei's words were equally mocking.

"You actually dare to talk about honor when you…" Jonathan growled out, taking a step towards the prison cell. When he realized what he was doing, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. No! Get a grip on yourself! "Fine," he snarled. "I will grant your request, so long as…"

"So long as I do not ask for my freedom," Rei said, finishing the sentence for him. "Understood. That was far from my mind to begin with, so you need not fear that I would ask that from you. I am a prisoner, and it would only be the height of foolishness for a prisoner to expect that her wardens would release her even if she remains innocent." Jonathan snorted at this, but Rei continued as though she was not interrupted. "My request is for you to tell King Endymion about what we are going to talk about. King Endymion, and no other. Not even your brother kings. What I am about to tell you is confidential and can put your planet at risk. Do you understand?"

Jonathan was taken aback by the seriousness in Rei's voice. No one, not even Kaelan, had spoken to him with that urgency in the voice. "Who are you, really?" He found himself asking.

"I will answer your question as soon as I receive your vow that you will do this. Do you promise to do what I ask of you?" Rei said, her tone fierce. For a second, Jonathan imagined the intense heat of flames as the young woman spoke, but the moment passed.

"Yes, fine, I will. I will pass on to him what I believe is important," Jonathan began, but Rei cut him off.

"No! You will tell him everything that we will discuss. Do you understand me? Everything. No, I know what you are thinking," Rei said, looking at Jonathan squarely in the face when he opened his mouth to speak. "You believe that I will only speak falsehood to you. You can, of course, let him know of your fears. From what I hear, King Endymion is a wise ruler, and he can determine for himself if my words bear paying attention to, or if your words hold more truth than mine. The important thing is for you to tell him what he needs to know."

Jonathan paused for a moment, trying to digest what he had just heard. Heavens help him, but he wanted to believe what she was saying, but he could not put his King at risk. Still, she did say that he could warn him about the dangers. "All right," he said finally, "I agree to your condition." Rei relaxed visibly when she heard his words, at least, insofar as her chains allowed. It was only then that Jonathan noticed just how stiffly she had held her shoulders before he answered in the affirmative. He cleared his throat before he spoke again. "I will live up to my word, so it is also right that you live up to yours. Answer me this: who are you?"

"Do you really want to know, my lord?" Rei answered, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Answer the question, witch!"

This time, Rei did not flinch. Instead, a mocking smile graced her lips. "Not a witch," she murmured before she straightened. "My name is Fierra Amara el Ares, the daughter and priestess of my Lord, King, and Land, Ares."

Jonathan took a step back. This time, he knew that his eyes were not playing tricks on him. His skin felt the heat of the flames and his eyes saw the scarlet flames as they danced in front of him as the girl he had known as Rei spoke. Fierra Amara el Ares! He had only heard the name when he was a child, and a few times as a soldier. The Goddess of War, the name alternately revered and feared by those who faced the battlefield on a daily basis. "That is impossible!" He choked out, even though he knew his words were false. "You are nothing but a myth!"

Rei raised an eyebrow. "You humans who fear magic desperately wanted to believe that, which is why you relegated us as myths. But I can assure you, I am not funning. If you knew you 'myths'," at this, Rei gave a bitter smile, "You know that I cannot do anything but speak the truth."

Jonathan vainly tried to recall what he knew of the Lady Fierra. She was the Goddess of War, the Seer and Commander of the Fire, and the Ruler of the Planet Mars, the land said to be both her sire and her kingdom. She was the overseer of the warriors, and carried with her the ever-present fiery bow and arrows as she entered the battle on her fiery steeds. No wonder she had no trouble with the horses, with archery, and with the fighting. She had been raised from the cradle to fight in the battlefield! The name "Rei" also made sense. After all, the word meant "fire"! That was also why her skin always felt as though it was burning up, because of the flames she possessed in her body. That was why she was not burned when she went to save the kids! Another piece of information rose in his mind then.

"You know that I cannot do anything but speak the truth."

"No, you are not Fierra," Jonathan blustered. "That is not possible. Because the goddesses cannot…"

"Cannot lie?" Fierra asked, as though Jonathan's confusion amused her. "No, we cannot," she agreed.

"But you did!" Jonathan said, his voice soft, bewildered. He looked at her. "You lied to me."

"No," Fierra answered. This time, it was her who looked down. "I merely let you assume those things. I never spoke a word of untruth to you."

"But you said you did not know your name! I remember that!"

"Yes, I did. Because I did not have an Elysonian name as of yet. I never lied to you, Jonathan. I allowed you to believe things based on your own assumptions. You have to believe that."

Jonathan felt the familiar tingle as he heard his name on her lips, but this was replaced by coldness. "You as good as lied to me by allowing me – and my people – to believe you."

"Nonetheless, it was an important enough difference that allowed me to do my mission."

Upon hearing this, Jonathan's anger flared again. "And what is your mission, exactly?" He asked coldly. "To kill me? To kill my people? To kill my brothers? To kill my king? I will not let you!"

"Like I told you, if I wanted you dead, I would have done so a long time ago," Fierra whispered. "More so if I wanted to kill your brothers who stayed here for several days. You know what my abilities are, so you will know how easy it is for me to do just that. And if I wanted to kill King Endymion… Well, you said I would have been brought to court via Zachary's aunt. I could have waited for that opportunity to reveal my power."

"Then why did you do so?"

"That… That is not important," Fierra said, sighing. "There are other things that are more important to talk about."

"Like what?" Jonathan knew he was being rude, but he was past the point of caring.

Fierra sighed again. "The journey to your planet… It was not as easy as I expected. That was why you found me unconscious. It was only by luck that the one who found me turned out to be one of the kings and guardians of the planet. It made my life much easier."

"What are you talking about?"

"My mission… My mission was to investigate the strange energy in your planet. Agua came upon a strange reading coming from your planet. At first we did not want to believe it, because that demon… That creature disappeared a long time ago. And yet each day brought the same readings. Again and again and again. Eventually, Lux decided to take matters in her own hands. She sent me to investigate."

Jonathan could only shake his head in disbelief in hearing the names Rei, no, Fierra, so casually mentioned. Lux, the Lady of the Light and the Ruler of Venus, Astra, the Lady of the Land and Controller of the Weather, and Agua, the Ice Queen and the Goddess of Wisdom. "What creature?" He asked instead.

Fierra smiled grimly at the question. "It is an ancient evil which we believe to have been long defeated. If you know your… Your myths, then you probably know the story behind the Battle of the Gods and the disappearance of magic on Elyson, yes?"

"That was because of the g… Your people!" Jonathan said immediately, his tone accusing. "The stories say that the gods wanted to rule our planet for themselves."

"And, as with other legends, the story has been twisted to conveniently suit your purposes," Fierra countered. "The battle happened, 'tis true. Our fathers and mothers fought in the battle, but it was not so they could wrest control of your planet. It was so that they could fight a demonic creature that sought to subdue the whole universe by force. Your planet, Elyson, just happened to become involved in its twisted machinations."

"The legend… It said those events happened thousands of years ago," Jonathan mumbled.

"What is time to gods?" Fierra answered. "Time flows with us as well, but in a way that is quite different from how your time here on Elyson moves."

Jonathan shook his head. The words sounded impossible, but strangely enough, he found herself believing her words. He rallied again. "But your people pulled out the magic from our land!"

"No. It was your people that sought to kill off those who had even just a hint of magic in their veins," Fierra answered. Her voice was slowly weakening, Jonathan realized. "That was the result of the monster twisting your thoughts. It made you turn against each other. That was why my father and all the other rulers sought to defeat the creature. They were successful, but they paid for the victory with their own lives."

"And it is this creature that…"

Fierra sighed again. "Yes. We believe that the creature, for some inexplicable reason, came to life once again. That was what your friend Zachary has been able to read. That is why your planet is slowly dying. And that… That is what I believe attacked you and your people last night."

"But how could it exist? If gods were not able to defeat it the last time, then how…?" Jonathan cannot bring himself to go on.

"That is why we wanted to investigate the matter," Fierra answered. "I know, we do not have the right to meddle in these affairs, but if this is the same creature that we are dealing with, it will only be a matter of time before it spreads its venomous claws and spreads its evil once again. We know more about it this time around, but…"

"You are not sure if you can defeat it, can you?" Jonathan asked shrewdly.

"No, my lord, we are still not sure. That is why we want to stop it as early as possible, while it is still weak. The moment it absorbs more of your planet's life energy, the stronger it will become, and the more difficult it will be to defeat it. That is why I want you to warn your King, Jonathan. He needs to address this, but at the same time, this information cannot spread to others, or the creature will know that we have already identified it."

Jonathan did not know how to answer that. "So what was your plan?" He asked instead. "Were you sent to defeat this creature?"

A small smile appeared on Fierra's lips. "My lord, even the Goddess of War cannot hope to defeat it by herself. Nay, my role was to do initial investigation. Certainly, if it was within my capacity to take it out, I had orders to do so, but by the time I arrived here, the creature was too strong already, and spending too long a time from my own planet gradually diminishes my powers. I was to gather data, all the while refraining from revealing who I am, because of your people's fear of mine. After I am able to find out I needed to know, I would then have to go back and report to my commander."

"And then?"

"And then we will do what we can to defeat it," she said simply.

"And if you don't?"

"There is no room for us to doubt ourselves at this stage," she said, her tone sharp. "If we want to protect our Kingdoms, if we want to protect our Queen and the Princess, then we will do everything we can to stop the creature." Fierra looked at Jonathan directly in the eyes then. "Do you understand now? Do you understand what my mission is, and why you need to keep this a secret? The creature corrupts, and it is almost impossible to determine which of the people have been tainted and which remain clean."

"Why are you telling me all of these?" Jonathan asked finally.

"Because I know you are not tainted," Fierra responded softly.

"But you just said that…"

"You cannot have been infected because the creature tried to attack you. It would not have done so to its minions." Fierra said, her tone impatient.

"So it was not me you were shooting at!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"Obviously. You may be a nuisance at times, but that does not mean I wanted you dead," Fierra muttered.

At this, Jonathan smiled faintly. "But you just said that you should not have revealed yourself to anyone. Then why did you…?"

"I know what I have said!" Fierra snapped, some of her old fire returning. "Do not push me to say something that is not possible for me to do!"

Something clicked inside Jonathan's head then. Fierra Amara el Ares. The Goddess of War. The Seeress of Truth. The Commander of Fire. The Ruler of the Planet Mars. And the Virgin Goddess who devoted her life and chastity to the Moon Kingdom she serves. That was the vow she kept on telling him about, only he was too stupid not to realize it sooner.

Jonathan's heart felt leaden. Vainly, he tried to look at the girl he had known as Rei in her eyes, to see what she was trying to tell him without words, but she refused to look at him.

"I know with my mind that I should not believe what you have just told me because it is too incredible to be real, but my heart… My heart tells me that you are telling the truth." Jonathan said, his tone heavy. "I will think about what you said. I will let End… King Endymion know about what you told me, but… Rei, the penalty of wielding magic, let alone attacking one of the kings… It is death."

"I know," the young woman said softly, even with her back turned from him.

"And as you said, as a king, I have to stay true to my word. I… I do not think I can reverse the law." Silence met his words. After a long silence, Jonathan spoke again. "I will come back, Rei." He promised. "I will talk with Endymion, but I will come back. I do not know what will happen, but the people cannot make a decision, not without me around. Wait for me." Without waiting for a response, he turned his back and left the dungeon.

RJRJRJRJ

Hi guys.:) I know I said that this will be the last chapter, but this ran longer than I thought, so I wasn't able to end it (not unless I want this to run for a few more pages). As a result, the last chapter will be much shorter, but it really will be uploaded at the same time as the epilogue, so there.

Reviews are much appreciated. What do you think of the story so far? Hate it? Love it? Hate the characters? Let me know.:) Again, thanks for reading!