Whoop whoop, twentieth chapter! Thanks for sticking with me so long. I hated to have to write this chapter (You'll see why), but it must be done, so enjoy. Prepare for lots and lots of angst. See you next time.

CHAPTER TWENTY HOUSE OF FATES

"OK," Fabian told me two days later. He dragged the mirror forward. I peered behind it and sighed. "Is there anything written on the back?" he asked. I shook my head and started pushing it back.

"Look beyond the world through glass. Beyond the world, what does that mean exactly?" He looked at his reflection with a frown.

"What are you two doing?" Victor asked, suddenly on the staircase again. I finished pushing the mirror back against the wall.

"I thought I dropped something behind here," I lied quickly. "Guess not."

"Always snooping." Victor mused. "Get off to school immediately." We made our way to the door when he called out, "Oh, and Miss Norton." I stopped in the doorway. He waved me back.

"Yes?" I asked politely.

"Very public spirited of you, I'm sure, to visit the sick and elderly," he said. "However, try and restrict your visits in future to weekends only."

"What visits?" I asked. "I go lots of places."

"Emily Grant." He said. My stomach clenched. He knew.

"Oh, yeah. Weekends. Weekends only." I said. I nodded and walked out the door to Fabian.

"That was weird." I said. Fabian glanced at his watch.

"We better hurry, or we'll be late for class." He said.

"Then why are we standing here? Move, move, move!" I smiled as I pushed him forward. "Race you there!"

~ Before class ~

"What are you think about?" Fabian asked, jarring me back to the reality I zoned out from.

"Victor." I told him. "It was like… he knew about Emily being Sarah."

"How would he know that?" Fabian questioned. "You're being paranoid, I'm sure."

"Just because I'm overly suspicious, doesn't mean he isn't out for my blood." I reasoned. Fabian laughed and sat down. "If he knows, then Sarah's in big trouble, and we're following close behind."

"Mary Ann, really?" Fabian gave me a look.

Amber came into the room. "Thanks for your help with this campaign stuff, guys." She said, throwing flyers onto the desk in front of us. "I only had to carry all this stuff from the art room."

"Sorry, you never asked." I told her.

"I thought Alfie was going to be your campaign manager." Mara said.

"Not anymore." Amber replied. I went back to my own things, only to be brought back by Jerome's loud speech.

"… and I'll do everything." He said. "OK?"

"That's very kind of you, Jerome," Mara said slowly.

"Yeah, the thing is I am not kind." Jerome said, "And I'm not a sucker either, so you do it yourself." He turned his back to Mara and faced Amber. "Come on, Amber, let's celebrate."

"Huh?" She replied.

"I'm your new campaign manager." He told her.

"Are you really going to do that?" I asked her. "Remember just the other day he sabotaged you."

"He suffered his punishment." Amber said. "I'm sure you kicked him hard enough."

Jerome squirmed a bit, like he was remembering that.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." Fabian muttered to me. I giggled.

~ After classes ~

I got dressed in my new pair of jeans and orange blouse. Llama hat on my head, I was prepared for anything.

Except Victor.

Fabian and I entered the living area, and Victor yelled at Jerome to get his feet off the table. "I want all of you in bed by nine o'clock or there will be consequences!" he threatened.

"What's bugging him?" Jerome scoffed. Something bright caught my eye. I picked up a familiar green, orange, and white scarf from the couch.

"This is Sarah's." I whispered to Fabian. "She's been here."

Fabian looked at the scarf with a puzzled look on his face. What could this mean?

~ Night ~

My head throbbed. Open your eyes, Mary Ann. Someone needs to talk to you. My eyelids went up, and I saw Sarah again. This time she was closer, sitting next to me with her hands on mine. She wore a bright pink shirt, but that was all I could notice. My heart wrenched, though I didn't know why.

I smiled sleepily at her. She was grinning at me. "Sarah…"

"Goodbye, my darling." She said. "It's your quest now. Don't let anyone stop you, my love. There are others also searching, all less pure of heart than you. It's up to you now. Now it's time for me to go."

"Goodbye, Sarah." I said, surprised that my voice didn't crack. Her word choice sounded… too different. I must be misunderstanding her again.

She got up and kissed my forehead.

As soon as her lips touched my skin, my eyes flew open and I shot up. I took a deep breath. Then another. Then another. I clutched her scarf, which I held to my chest.

Another dream? But, she couldn't be… no, she wasn't….

I hugged the scarf to my chest. "Sarah…" I whispered. No, don't cry Mary Ann. You don't know anything.

But it was obvious. I was in denial of the fact that Sarah was now gone forever.

I laid back down and curled up into a ball. No crying. Not yet.

I didn't sleep anymore that night.

When Amber woke up, she found me in my feral position dozing off, eyes staring ahead but empty. My blinking and breathing were the only ways for her to tell I was still alive.

She got ready for the big campaign thing while I struggled to get myself out of bed. I took a shower to relax my stiff muscles and then dressed for school.

"It's show time." Amber said seriously when I returned. She walked out. I blindly followed.

Get it together, Mary Ann, my mind scolded. You don't have any proof.

But she came to you, my heart said. I stared blankly at the cereal I couldn't bring myself to eat. My stomach hurt.

I heard the murmur of Jerome's voice. My name. Then Mick said something. A flash of orangey red, and a hand on my shoulder, made me blink.

"Mary Ann, sweetie," Trudy said gently. Oh God, she was going to tell me. "Could you come with me, please?" The entire stared at me, but I didn't have anything in me to feel embarrassed.

I followed Trudy into the hall. She faced me and held my arms.

"There's some bad news, I'm afraid." She started. Just say it. Just spit it out already. No sugar coating. "The old people's home just called." My breath shorted to struggled gasps. No crying, she hasn't said anything.

But it didn't matter. "Sarah's dead." I said aloud.

"Sarah?" Trudy repeated. My eyes brimmed and tears spilled. "It's Emily. So sad." I hugged Trudy tightly. The world was spinning. Sarah was gone. Dead. But she couldn't. There were still so many questions I had. Trudy patted my back and couldn't breathe properly. I was sure the others could hear me from the dining room.

"Shh," Trudy said calmingly. "Now, Ms. Abbot wants to see you. There's something Emily wanted you to have." I nodded in understanding.

"I'll… go get… my bag." I managed to say. I ran up to my room before she could say anything.

I shut the door behind me, then my knees gave way. I fell on the floor. I clenched my chest and started to wheeze, tears streaking down my cheeks endlessly. Something was missing now. It was like my parents all over again. I wouldn't cry, even though I knew deep down they were dead, until I was sure.

Sarah was gone. Sweet, old lady Sarah was gone. Dear, crazy Sarah was gone.

I sat there and cried for a good minute before I realized I still had to see Ms. Abbot. For the last time, probably.

I wiped my face dry, and then grabbed my bag. Trudy was waiting by the stairs, and said she would tell Victor to tell Mr. Sweet I was gone. I couldn't face the rest of the house. Not yet.

So I ran out the door.

And all the way to the home.

No crying. Hold strong for Sarah. For now.

Ms. Abbot led me to Sarah room. It pained me how quickly her stuff was already packed. Four boxes rested on her bed, which had no covers.

"The funeral's tomorrow," she told me. "It's all been taken care of by her nephew. You're welcome to attend."

"Thanks." I replied. "I didn't know she had relatives."

"Oh, just the one. I don't see much of him. Now," She reached over and took a shoebox-sized box from the bed. "Emily wanted me to give you this. It was when we got back from Anubis House. She was… so much calmer after the visit. Contented, almost. She told me you'd know what to do with it." She gave me the box. On top, it said 'Emily Grant' in cursive. "And that it was 'your turn now.' Whatever that means."

"Yeah," I smiled. "She said something like that."

"Would you like some tea?" she asked. I nodded.

~ Back at the house ~

I sat on a chair facing my bed, the box and it's contents spread across it. There were so many things. Pictures, papers, some jewelry. Like her own precious box of secrets. My alarm clock read that it was Break time, and that the campaigns were going on. Surely Amber wouldn't mind me being absent.

I stared at a photo of her as a child. She was cute, with twin braids and a bright smile. It made my eyes water again.

A knock came at my door. I wiped my eyes. "Open." I said loudly. Patricia, Alfie, and Fabian came in. They circled around me, probably wondering why I was sitting on a chair by my bed.

"Hey," Fabian greeted with a soft smile. "Just checking you're OK."

They were all smiling. They had no idea. Sarah was–

"Sarah's dead." I whispered, not trusting my voice. A tear fell silently down my face.

Their expressions saddened immediately. I gestured to the stuff on my bed. "This is her stuff." I said slowly. "She wanted me to get them."

"Mary Ann…" Fabian said softly. "I'm so sorry." His arms wrapped around me and I leaned against his stomach.

"She did it again." I told them. "In a dream last night. She sat on my bed and said goodbye."

"Wh-like a ghost or an alien?" Alfie asked cautiously. I glared dangerously at him.

"Alfie!" Patricia scolded.

"Seriously, it freaks me out!" Alfie defended.

"Well," I said in a low voice. There were no more tears for the moment, "then freak out about the fact that our only hope of finding any answers at anything, which could help us in any way, is now gone. Forever. Otherwise, shut the fuck up."

"Sorry." He said. I hugged Sarah's scarf.

Patricia flipped around in the files. "Um," she said. She passed something to Fabian.

"Gustav and Isabella Zeno…" he read. "Rufus's parents."

"What's that?" I asked. Fabian opened it and read it completely.

"This says that Rufus's parents became the legal guardians of Sarah two years after her parents died." He said. He flipped it over. "And there's a copy of Rufus's birth certificate right here. He's definitely the same age as Sarah."

Alfie's phone beeped. "Uh oh, it's Amber. She's wondering where we are." He read the text.

"Do you want to come back to the school with us, Mary Ann?" Fabian asked.

I shook my head. "I just need some time." I said. He nodded in understanding, and drove Patricia and Alfie out. I took out my iPod and played my favorite playlist. I laid on the floor and stared up at the ceiling.

After a while, I shut my eyes and lost myself into the music...