K, I really do have an excuse for slow updates now! I'm beta reading a fic for HP, and there is soooooooooo freaking much to be corrected with it. Then again, the author's native language is Spanish, and the chapters are insanely long…but that'll be occupying lots of my time now. Don't worry, I'll still keep up with my own fics (don't think I've forgotten about Illusions…I'm just making an insanely long last chapter that has lots of pplz' POVs in it), I'll just be updating even slower than usual. Anyway, enough chatter, I'd better write the chapter. So, last chapter (just a little recap for the sake of recaps), one of Violet and Toby's secrets was revealed. There's just a small matter of the other one…

Chapter 14

Violet (yes, again.)

I sigh, sitting on my bed. It's been a month since the mission, and I haven't seen Toby since then, which is strange. Normally, he and his parents come over almost every day. I hear Mum's frustrated voice from the living room and slide off my bed to see what's going on.

"…does he even think he is?! I don't freaking care if he's 'leading the Guard' now that the Order is obviously back, I'm his sister, and the three of us deserve to see them sometime!"

"Yes, you're right," Dad says soothingly. "But I don't see how getting upset helps anything."

Mum stops pacing the room to stare icily at Dad. "So you'd have me sit around all day with nothing to do, just because Matt's decided to shut out the rest of his family?"

Dad sighs. "No, that's not what I meant, and I think you know it. You could always go over to Athens and talk to Matt, try to convince him to stop spending so much time over there."

"No, I can't. If I have to face that moron, I'll just…blow up and yell at him."

I clear my throat. Both my parents stop and look at me.

"Vi," Mum starts nervously. "I didn't notice you there."

I raise an eyebrow and lean against the wall. "That much is obvious," I say, rolling my eyes.

Mum sits on the couch and motions for me to sit beside her. I do so, reluctantly. "How is…" she starts, then stops. "How are you doing?"

I shrug. "Nothing to report."

"Is there anything else going on that you haven't told us about?"

I feel her eyes burning into my skull, and I find myself thinking about Toby and the fact that we're engaged. I forget that Dad's in the room, and I also forget to shield my thoughts; one of the first times it's happened since I was little.

Now it's Dad's turn to clear his throat. I feel my eyes widen as I swing my head around to look at him. I glare.

"You had no business to be in my head," I say. "Why would you do something like that?!"

"Because you've been keeping secrets from us," he replies. "Big ones, too, by the looks of this."

"Oh?" Mum says, intrigued. "And what might that be?"

"Violet, I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself slightly and tell your mother what's been going on."

"Oh, lay off already!" I shout, jumping up. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, there's a reason I haven't told you guys about this?" Ashamed, I feel tears rolling down my face. "I was going to tell you when the time was right. Toby and I were going to tell you together, all four of you guys! We were supposed to tell you after the mission, but I don't know where he is right now!"

By now, I'm crying hard, as much as I try to will myself not to. I hug myself tightly, turning away from my parents. Mum puts a hand on my shoulder, but I shrug it off. "No," I say, my voice barely a whisper. "I'm sick and tired of sitting around, twiddling my thumbs, while I have no idea where my future husband and father to my unborn baby is." My voice grows steadily louder through that statement, so that by the time I get to the end of it, I'm shouting again. I turn around and see Mum's eyes grow wide. "That's right, Mum. Toby asked me to marry him, and I accepted. Now, it's been a month since I've seen him, and I want to know where he is." I search both their faces. Mum's is lined with shock, sadness, and…is that fear? Dad's is impossible to read.

"Vi, sweetheart," Mum starts softly, "please calm down."

I take a few deep breaths, and feel myself doing just that. "Okay, I'm sorry," I say.

"Now, I'm going to tell you something," Mum begins again, "and I want you to do your best not to overreact, alright?"

I nod.

"Good. We know that Matt is in Athens, trying to help lead the Guard, and that Neriah is most likely with him. As for Toby…" she takes a deep breath. "We don't know. All we know is that he's not with his parents, and he's not at his place."

Struggling to keep myself calm, although my heart's pounding, I focus on breathing. To me, the answer to the situation is clear. "Okay…" I say slowly, "if that's the case, then I'm going to look for him."

Mum and Dad both jump up at that. "No!" they say simultaneously.

"You should stay here and rest," Mum says.

"If you got lost while looking for him, then what would we do?" Dad says.

"Alright, I get the point!" I exclaim. "You don't want me to go. But I'm not going to sit around feeling helpless, and I know my way around. Angel Falls is a small town; I don't think it's even possible to get lost when you've lived here for a hundred years. And I won't have to worry about people wondering about my hair, cuz it's black, which is a natural colour. I'm old enough to take care of myself."

My parents look at each other. Mum sighs and looks back at me. "If we were a normal family, Vi, you'd have moved out a long time ago."

"If we were a normal family, we'd all be dead by now," I say.

"I know, just listen. I know you're more than capable to look after yourself, and I know you wouldn't get lost out there, but you have to understand why we don't want you going. If you do something slightly out of the ordinary, or use your skills – accidentally or not – in front of the wrong people, the Order could have us. They've changed in over 100 years, not only because of their people changing, but also their tactics. They're much more skilled and cleverer." She sighs again. "We'll let you look for Toby, but please promise that you'll be careful, and contact your dad if anything happens." She smiles. "We love you, and we want you to be able to live as long as possible. So be careful, and good luck."

I smile and hug her before moving on to hug Dad. "Thank you, guys," I whisper.

Okay, there you have it! The second secret is out, Toby's missing, and Violet's going to go look for him. I'm thinking of changing the name of this fic to something that fits a bit better with this whole chunk. The current title of "Love Triangles" fits for the first few chapters, but when I gave it that name, I didn't expect for it to get this far, and I certainly didn't plan any of this except for the names of Toby and Violet. So, if anyone has any new title suggestions, please send them in a review. I'll consider all of them, and acknowledge whoever sends it to me in the next chapter. Anyway, think of those titles, and REVIEW!!