Hello readers and writers! How are we doing on this wonderful day? I cannot begin to tell you the craziness I've been through these past few weeks. Exams, papers, the whole shebang. And I'm leaving for a tournament this weekend so I knew I needed to finish this chapter beforehand. And thank God I did! Well, I won't keep you waiting. Here you go!

They counted the hours since the attack. They counted the number of people who had been lost and separated from their small banded group. They counted how long Kenta might have before he gave way underneath the rubble.

His breath was slow but he inhaled deep gulps, like he wasn't sure if this would be his last one. He gagged like he was close to vomiting, but nothing ejected from his body. Part of him wanted something to discharge; then he'd have a reason for appearing so weak.

Calcifer sat, fiery arms crossed, and watched with anxiety coursing through his being. They had been in hard times before, and nearly each time fought their way out. Giving up was never an option - but seeing Kenta in this state, watching him gasp for each breath and not being able to do anything to help.

It was Gwenda's kidnapping all over again.

A rumble in the sky shocked the three souls. Rain clouds - just Calcifer's luck. It seemed far off, but they weren't any closer to freeing Kenta than they were a day ago.

Had it really been a whole day? Calcifer thought to himself. There wasn't much to do to pass the time. Talking helped keep Kenta's mind off of his current situation, but the pressure atop him made it harder to continue long conversations. And with Markl's memories of magic still foggy, there wasn't much to do but watch the poor boy wrestle with his mind over what he should know.

"Think, Markl, think." He lightly punched his head, badgering his mind to jog back to his old self. It was as if a part of him had faded, like half of his personality just vanished. He felt incomplete; he felt useless.

The movement of his hands as he attempted spells seemed inappropriate. Kenta tried repeating spells to him, but just saying the words wasn't enough. Markl needed the motions to fall in place to fully enact the spell. With no recollection of his novice abilities, Kenta was simply waiting for his death sentence.

"You're going to hurt yourself, Markl." Kenta said with exhaustion. Markl peered up to him, his eyes glistening from Calcifer's flames. Kenta's shone as well, though the soul of his gaze was depressed. "Maybe take a break and try again when you feel like it."

"But I want to help." Markl said, his little fists shaking in front of himself. "I want to get you out of there."

Kenta nodded. "I know you do. But pushing your mind isn't going to do anything but make it harder for you to remember."

Markl attempted a rebuttal, but Calcifer interceded. "You've been at this for hours. Please, Markl. You need rest." Calcifer worried for the boy; he was already showing signs of sleep deprivation, even after his unconscious period. His eyes drooped like he had small weights pulling them down. He was wearing himself out - something Howl was victim to.

Like master, like apprentice.

Since the beginning of his apprenticeship, Markl had always pushed himself to be the best. Howl taught him a spell and Markl chanted it ten times over until he got it perfect. Calcifer sometimes saw him sneak downstairs late at night - especially when Howl was away - and read through spell books to get ahead of their lessons. Seeing how powerful of a master he had made Markl even more determined to be exactly like him.

Markl finally gave in. His wobbling legs bent and he dropped to the ground in a depleted state, his eyes immediately shutting. He may not have fallen asleep right away, but at the very least he was resting.

"He's a good kid." Calcifer turned to Kenta, his eyes closed but still conscious. "His perseverance in helping people is extraordinary."

"He is." Calcifer said. "He has a big heart."

Kenta nodded. He tightened his muscles and pushed up on the weight, though it made little difference. He had the strength to fight this, but he knew that internal, personal strength was not enough. Without the use of magic, he was helpless. He felt like a part of himself was withheld, just barely out of arm's reach - so close he could almost touch it.

"Here." Kenta dragged his eyes to Calcifer. The fire demon stretched his arms out and grabbed the smaller bits of wood. He added them to the pile of ashes below, livening his own being. A fair trade, Kenta thought. Calcifer's own life support had slipped his mind.

Which made him curious of another thought. "Why don't you leave?"

Calcifer crinkled his eyebrows. "Leave?"

Kenta nodded. "You can teleport yourself out of here. Why do you stay?"

Calcifer breathed a laugh. "Where would I go? I could teleport to another fireplace but that's about it. I'd rather grow arms and legs and help you two out of this mess."

Kenta smirked. "You think you will grow arms and legs if you stay?"

"It's no different if I leave."

There was a long pause. It was either speak or stay silent. Sometimes they had a lot to discuss; and sometimes there was nothing to talk about at all.

Calcifer's eyes told his story like a open book. Kenta could see how much he felt cheated or restrained from the full potential of life. He had amazing powers, much stronger than any demon Kenta had ever encountered. Calcifer could have another thousand years to live - and in his eyes, all he wanted was the ticking clock of a human life.

Kenta cleared his throat. "Do you mind my asking when this… when you started thinking like this?"

Calcifer turned to him, Kenta's eyebrows raised, a sly smirk on his face. Calcifer shook his head. "If you're thinking it's because of Gwenda, then you're mistaken."

Kenta laughed, though the weight above him made even the smallest laughter hurt. "It would definitely be convenient, wouldn't it?"

Calcifer rolled his eyes, stopping them when the Palace was in sight. Very far, but the faint outlines of the tallest towers and flags blowing in the wind were very much noticeable. "I've been wanting this for a really long time. Before Gwenda, before Sophie, even before Markl came along. It just took all that's happened in the last year for me to understand the misfortune of not being a real person."

"Calcifer, how can you say that you're not a real person?" Kenta said in awe. "You're as real-"

"I've heard that before." Calcifer interrupted. "I'm as real as you and any other human. But that's just something humans say to either make me feel better or stop complaining. Maybe a little bit of both. I'm a very obnoxious complainer."

"So I've noticed." Kenta joked. "What changed then?"

Calcifer slumped in the broken fireplace, his flames low. He cleared his throat. "When Sophie became pregnant. Everyone was so eager to hold her stomach and feel the baby kicking. They looked so excited and happy. I knew that had I touched her, my flames would burn her and hurt the baby." His eyes wandered across the room. "I'm nothing but a creature of destruction."

"I know you understand your own strength, I've seen you do quite some amazing things."

Calcifer shook his head. "Moving a castle is nothing. Any demon can do that. Any wizard can do that."

"But you share a connection to this castle." Kenta dropped his eyes. "Or did, I guess. When I was moving the castle, I felt like a foreigner. This castle knows you as his guide. He trusts you."

Calcifer frowned. "And look what happened to him. He's as broken as he was in the junkyard we found him in." Calcifer had a habit of beating himself down, that was evident of his personality. For him, it was easy to find his flaws or misfortunes - which made his feelings toward Gwenda hurt even more. If he saw these many flaws in himself, who knew how many flaws she saw.

Kenta searched the rubble for the right words to say. Trying to brighten a fire demon's spirits was not as easy as he thought. And Calcifer was not easy to cheer up from his character alone. "Being human is not all that it's cracked up to be. There are so many restrictions and necessities in order to merely survive. Food, water, sleep. And death is not as far away as we like to pretend it is. You could live for eternity as a demon."

"You want to talk about restrictions and necessities?" Calcifer raised his eyebrows.

Kenta's cheeks reddened with embarrassment. "Sorry. I was just trying to make you feel better."

"I know." Calcifer smiled, though it was short-lived. His flames intensified. "You know your feelings for Lona, right?"

Kenta raised his eyebrows. "Of course. I love her more than anyone in the world."

Calcifer kept his eyes forward. "Imagine watching her be taken by someone while you can't even move your own body. All you can do is sit and wait for someone else to be the hero."

(—)

It was instinctual. After the years of separation, Gwenda finally was able to embrace Lona. She held on as if she would fall through the cracks in the floor if she didn't. Her heart melted when she felt Lona's arms wrap around her as well. Something about their last conversation - the yelling, accusations, and Gwenda storming out - made Lona's sisterly affection toward her more heartwarming.

"Lona, I can't believe you're here." Gwenda said, her voice shaky with fear. "Where have you been? It's like you just vanished and-"

"Gwenda." Lona interrupted. Her hair was ratty with a number of knots, nothing short of what Gwenda felt in her own long strands. The torn dress she wore was eerily familiar, though it was her fiery eyes that always shook Gwenda to her core. "I'm so sorry."

Gwenda creased her eyebrows. "Sorry? I'm the one who should be sorry. I was the one who pushed you away all because I didn't approve of your boyfriend."

"Gwenda?" The sisters turned to the prison cage next to theirs. Another group of two women - rather two friends of Gwenda. Beth and Mari, her fellow workers when she had been employed by the Royal Family. Last time she saw them, she had left her post in the kitchen to attend Sophie in her preparations for the wedding. Although, why they would be imprisoned by the Royal Sorceress was beyond her.

"What are you two doing here?" Gwenda rushed to the bars that separated the prison cells. There were two lines of prisons, about twenty cells total. Each cell contained roughly two to four prisoners, males separated from the females. Her friends shivered close to each other, careful to keep the warmth between themselves. It was extremely cold in the prison, though not as worse as the temperatures Noe kept for her. This was nothing less than what she was capable of handling.

Though her friends were not faring the same.

"Madame Suliman has gone mad." Beth said, her teeth chattering.

Gwenda scoffed. "Well, that's nothing new."

"She's losing it." Mari said, to this Gwenda became more intrigued. "She put us in here because we were close to you, even though we had no idea you had gone off with Sophie and Howl."

Gwenda sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She turned back to Lona, her sister sitting back listening. "I'm sorry about everything. I know I caused a lot of harm to all of you."

"We'd be in here either way." Lona said. "Whether we were associated with you or Howl or even Kenta…"

Gwenda widened her eyes. "Kenta!" She rushed to her sister and grabbed her hands tightly. "We have to find him, he's been looking for you."

Lona nodded. "I know." Gwenda blinked rapidly, though Lona expected her confusion. "I helped him escape from Madame Suliman. I was the dove who sent his note to Howl, but I haven't seen him since they reunited."

"That was you?" Gwenda asked. "You were the dove?" It had seemed odd that Suliman would request her lackeys to capture a flight of doves, but Lona was one of them. She had been with her in her former prison. If only she had known that dove was her sister.

Lona nodded with modesty. "I wish I knew he was okay."

"He is." Gwenda said. Lona shot her eyes upward. "He's with Howl and Sophie and the others. They're in his castle, we've been looking all over the country trying to find you."

Lona covered her mouth, her eyes glistening from the starlight. "You… you've seen him? How is he? Is he safe?" Her eyebrows crinkled as a realization set in. "When did you two start getting along?"

Gwenda laughed. How strange it seemed that not long ago they had been devoted enemies. Somehow, their search for Lona was the one thing they needed to get over their differences. Especially when he was injured, she knew she couldn't just leave him. She wanted him and Lona to be reunited.

"I know how weird that sounds." Gwenda said. "I don't blame you for thinking that, I definitely didn't give him any credit when you two were together."

Lona frowned and dropped her gaze. Her mind relived those moments when Kenta and Gwenda argued incessantly over even the pettiest of things. Both of them were too stubborn to quit, and it wasn't until Lona stepped in that they stopped their bickering. When he wasn't around, Gwenda would slip in some crude comments about him, Lona well aware of her motives. She knew they couldn't be around each other for much longer, but she couldn't help her feelings for him, either. It was then that she needed to make a choice.

Lona opened her mouth to speak, but Gwenda stopped her, sharing a genuine smile. "He really is a wonderful guy, even if he is a wizard."

"Wizard?" A hoarse voice came from one of the far-off cells. An elderly man grasped the bars with wrinkled fingers, his eyes narrowed at the two sisters. "Where? They're the reason why we're stuck down here."

Gwenda shook her head. "No. That cruel sorceress and the Royal Family are the reason why we're here. The magicians are not at fault."

"We're only imprisoned because of our relationship with them." A woman said across from Gwenda. "Brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, even parents. Madame Suliman took us right after they agreed to fight in her war."

"That's not true…" Gwenda turned to Lona, her wandering eyes floating to the ground. She caught her sister's gaze, slowly nodded in agreement with the woman.

"The Witch of the Wastes turned me into a dove." She said. "It was the same day Kenta left to report to the Palace."

Gwenda felt the chills becoming more present. The clothes on her back were not enough to keep the frigid air away, or maybe it was knowing that someone she had become close to was responsible for imprisoning innocent people simply based on association. She knew the Witch of the Wastes was a cruel woman before, but she didn't think she was cruel enough to work for Suliman.

Gwenda shook her head. "She's not the same person as then. She's changed, I've seen it. And so have the other magicians." Gwenda turned to the imprisoned humans, their frightened glares and shivering bodies unresponsive to her pleas. "The magicians in your family, they've all been brainwashed to do the things they're doing. Suliman has taken control of their abilities and used them for her own selfish purposes. Trust me, they are still good inside."

"Maybe." The elderly man said. "But I'm not willing to take that risk. They're destructive creatures. That's what I've seen and that's what I know."

Many heads nodded, more than those who agreed with Gwenda. All the trust they had before completely vanished the day Suliman had every element of success in the palm of her hand. Even knowing that their actions were not a result of their own doing, the imprisoned humans were completely against helping the magicians.

Looks like the humans aren't too happy about their magician friends. Poor Gwenda, trying to encourage them to believe in the magicians. And also for thinking that everyone is safe in the castle. She doesn't know the turmoil they've been through. But we finally see Lona! Only took about 21 chapters :P I know there wasn't much about her so far, but what are your thoughts on her? Will she be reunited with Kenta? Will he get out of that death trap in time to find her? Gahhh so many questions that I cannot answer at this time. But my spring break is coming up in a couple weeks and I am planning on going all out to post chapters! Till next time!