Will woke up the next morning before her alarm and completely alone. For a moment, she just looked at the empty space next to her; she had fallen asleep shortly after mother left and did so alone, had she been alone all night? This couldn't be, the prince had slept by her side every night since she discovered his poisoning; surely he had come after she fell asleep and she had missed him. Carefully, she touched the pillow beside her, it was cold and clearly untouched. Furthermore, there was absolutely no sign of anyone having slept beside her. How could this be? Surely he was about to keel over with agony at this point. Perhaps something important happened in Meridian and he was held up? Will hoped so and hoped that she would soon see him later that day.

She got dressed and left for school, her mother was sleeping in; the previous evening had absolutely drained her, and she had dipped a little deeper into the Meridian wine than she should have. Will didn't mind it though, she knew her mother was in shock. If anything, she was relieved that Susan was still asleep; if she had been awake, Susan might have been never let Will go. School was quiet, her friends were happily chatting about spring-break plans during lunch. They were enthralled to hear of Will's plan to stay in Meridian during the break to plan the wedding and have a dress fitted for her. Irma begged to taken along.

"Please take me along with you! I can fit into your suitcase if needed." Irma gave Will her best impression of puppy eyes. Will simply laughed it off. They were her friends, but they weren't her husband's friends and she didn't feel comfortable bringing them along without telling him.

"Irma, I will ask him if you guys can visit and help. I am sure he will agree since I planned to invite all of you to the wedding. I just need to ask him ahead of time, since it is his castle and kingdom. I don't want to be rude. I will promise you three are the first to know when you guys can come." Irma over-dramatically slouched, and Hay-Lyn playfully tapped her shoulder.

"Irma, it is Will's wedding, not yours. We will be reunited before you know it."

"Besides, we are invited to the wedding." Added Taranee and turned to Will, "So, you are getting married now, right?" she raised a worried eyebrow.

"Yeah, I am firm on my decision."

"You were questioning your decision?" Irma gasped in a slightly louder, than intended, voice.

"What does your mother have to say about this?" Hay-Lyn asked, giving Irma's arm a light pinch to keep her quiet. The girls did not need the attention of the whole school.

"I did have a few doubts and my mother is…well, less than thrilled." Will began to nervously fettle with her thumbs. "She met him last evening, he was invited for dinner so mom could meet him, and I think she went into shock. She wanted to call the cops, but that would have gone nowhere. Let's just hope she will let me go this evening when I get pick up."

At this, the girls naturally giggled; imagining Susan nearly fainting when Will introduced her mother to her fiancé. The girls had their care-free laughs and school went on as usual. At the end of the day, Will returned home to find her mother and Dean waiting for her in the living room; both with worried expressions on their faces. Will was inwardly panicking. "Mom, is everything alright?"

"Will, you mother has informed of some very serious matters. - "Dean explained in a calm voice. Will still inwardly screamed. Luckily, as Dean was about to add anything more, there came a knock on the door and Susan shrank into the sofa. Will knew who it was and why her mother reacted like this.

"I'll get it," Will replied before the adults could react and opened the door to find…Eric from the bookstore?

"Wilhelmina Vandom, I am here to guide you back to Meridian where the prince awaits your arrival." Inwardly, Will was mortified to discover that Eric was Lord Cedric in human form. Furthermore, he knew where she lived and who her mother was. If she had any remaining doubts about this marriage, there was absolutely no way to back out of this without endangering her family. Phobos might remain level headed and agree to an alternative, but Lord Cedric was a loyal fanatic.

"Oh, right…I.- "

"You are not leaving with my daughter!" Susan yelped like a banshee and jumped up from her place on the sofa to wrap her arms protectively around her daughter. Her grip was so tight that Will was sure her lungs were being crushed. Dean got up as well and tried to comfort Susan; he was unsure of what was going on. With an unsteady expression, Will looked up at Cedric.

"May my mother and Dean come with? They are worried for my safety." Will asked and Cedric only rolled his eyes. The prince had expected this and had guest rooms prepared for additional accommodation. However, Cedric was annoyed by this; more people meant more knew of the portal, which could mean the secret of Meridian's existence was at risk. Furthermore, he had no desire to babysit an overly emotional mother. Reluctantly, and nodded and began to lead the group to the bookstore. As they walked, Dean kept asked where they were going and why Susan was acting so strange; when he got the call from her, earlier in the day, she had just mentioned something about Will being in serious danger. Will simply smiled at the two adults over her shoulders and assured them everything will be fine. When the group got to the bookstore, Cedric moved the shelf that concealed the portal and Will felt like mentally slapping herself. Now she knew how Phobos got to Earth and how he found her. With Cedric as a spy on Earth, she was surprised the prince hadn't found her sooner. Dean appeared like he was about to faint; surely he was comparing this to an alien abduction and so did Susan. The two stunned adults were easily pulled through the portal; they had the look of being stunned in utter awe at what they saw. Will was sure Dean was wracking his mind trying to compare what he saw to historical places. When Will saw her mother, she knew realization had finally sunken in. Trying to keep the stunned adults under control, Cedric placed them in a small library to wait until dinner before leaving. When they were alone, Susan turned to her daughter.

"So, everything yesterday was true…it wasn't just smoke and mirrors."

"Yes mother, everything is as it seems and more."

"This is a different world…How did you meet that prince?" Susan was trying to wrack her on how her daughter could have met a prince from another world.

"Long story short for another day, I have been chosen to protect existence from evil…Yan-Lyn will be able to explain it better." Will tried to explain but knew this wasn't going to satisfy her confused mother.

"What do you mean?" Susan gave her mother a questioning look. What she said made no sense. Realizing she needed more proof, Will took the heart out from under her shirt and held it high. The cat was already out of the bag; might as well name it. Within a flash of pink light, Will was transformed into her guardian form before bother Susan's and Dean's eyes. Naturally, their mouth dropped open, especially Susan's when she saw her daughter; stunned into silence, she sat down on a nearby chair, never taking her eyes off her daughter. Will attempted to explain things a little more in detail but knew her mother was beyond listening. She just found out about her daughter's secret second 'magical-girl' life. Dean stood beside Susan and gave her a gentle 'half-hug' he was still engrossed by the architecture and furniture. Will was glad one of the two adults was able to keep themselves together.

Two hours later, Cedric came back and lead them to a smaller dining room. It was clearly a more private dining area meant for the family. Will was surprised to find it set for only three people; before Cedric could leave, Will stopped him. "Umm, where is Phobos?"

With an exasperated sigh, the Lord turned his attention to the soon-to-be bride. "The prince will not be joining you tonight. He has important business to attend to. However, if you have a message for him; I will be quick to relay it to him."

With that, he left the group. Will was dumbfounded, surely Cedric knew of Phobos's condition. Will sat with her mother and Dean at the table but barely managed to eat anything more but the soup; her stomach was twisting in knots of worry. She hadn't seen the prince since last evening, which was over 24 hours ago, and she was sure he was laying somewhere in utter agony. She wondered what she should do? The castle was huge and had many levels and rooms; it would be nearly impossible to find him here. it wasn't even said that Phobos was anywhere in the castle; for all Will knew, he was suffering at another kingdom. She prayed she would see him this night.

After supper, the guests were lead to their bedrooms; Susan and Dean would have to share a room since it was expected that only the mother accompanied the girl. Will's room was right across the hallway from Susan's. When saw that her daughter would be sleeping separate from her, she tried to object. "I doubt the two would share a bed before the wedding- "

"No worries ma'am, the Prince's quarters are on the other side of the castle. You do not need to fear about your daughter's chastity." Replied the lord in a flat tone and left the group for themselves. Will felt like curling into a ball and hiding after this; she didn't need her mother discussing this with the snake lord. Luckily, Dean hadn't heard that conversation; he had been in a history teacher's seventh heaven from the moment he arrived. The only thing he could be compared to would be a child on their first day at Disney World. Susan still insisted on inspecting Will's room; making sure the prince wasn't hiding in the closet or under the bed.

After everyone had settled down, and Susan returned to her own room, Will sat in her room in front of a warm fire shivering. She was sick with worry and desperately wanted to search the castle but feared her mother would check-up on her during the night. Surely, her mother would have an aneurysm if she found her daughter missing from her room. Sick with worry, Will lay on her bed and stared up at the ceiling; wondering what was going on. Sure, he was a prince and therefore busy, but this felt wrong. She was sure he had told her that he would see her later, last time she saw him; he was a man of his word, so why wasn't she returning to her? As she lay there, she wondered if this was her life from now on. Would she only see him a few times a week and spend the rest of her life alone? Looking around, she noted how lavishly the room was furnished. The walls were a dark cognac color with fitting, plump, sofa and chair set in front of the fireplace. There was a writing desk beside the window and a bookshelf beside that. The bed was a canopy style with a soft mattress and a fur comforter. Clearly, this was luxury in every meaning of the word.

However, all this meant nothing to her. Will could have slept on the cold floor of the dungeon as long as she was at his side. Counting the Inbetween time as regular days, Will slept almost a month by his side and now, she missed him. He was funny and warm when he wasn't being angry and terrifying. As she thought this over, Will had to admit that there definitely was a part of her that deeply loved that man. Before, she thought what she felt for him, at the Inbetween, was simply a figment of her imagination. Something her mind had conjured up because of the emotional strain; however, that wasn't true. A part of her deeply loved him and it was that part that had agreed to the marriage; it was that part that had kissed him and held him. It was that part that, that enjoyed sleeping beside him. Without him, she felt cold; not from the temperature, the fire made the room cozy, but inwardly from loneliness and worry.

Curling-up under the blanket, Will forced herself to sleep.

XXXXX

In his study, Phobos sat at his desk with papers strewn about. He knew Will was asking about him from Cedric, but he couldn't give in just yet. He had just reached the 24-hour mark and wanted to force himself to endure the pain a little longer. He had survived that amount of time before; surely he could go a little further. In the night, he sat awake at his desk; it was a little more picked up, but still a mess. He knew he couldn't sleep like this; now a migraine had joined the chest pain. The edges of his vision were blurry, and it felt as though a pike ax was being rammed through his head. His breathing was uneven and shallow, his hands shook, his vanes felt like they were stuffed with ice shards, and a blistering wire was wrapped around his heard. Furthermore, a cough had joined his symptoms.

It started as a simple cough earlier but had grown in severity. It was the type of cough that was wet and shook his whole being while sounding like dry leaves raking against wet cobblestones. Every time a coughing fit started, he was left gasping for air and black dots flashing before his eyes. However, he wasn't about to give in. He was still able to breathe and hadn't fallen unconscious yet; he had instructed Lord Cedric to bring Will to him if he found him unconscious. As he sat, trying to read a book to take his mind off of the pain, another coughing fit started. It shook his body and rattled in his chest; however, something new had accompanied the cough. In the back of his throat, the prince tasted something awfully familiar; it was the disgustingly familiar taste of salted copper. He knew it hadn't come from his throat; aside from the irritation from the coughing, it felt fine. This taste reeked up from his lungs; shaking, he took his hand from his mouth and saw the red flecks of blood.