Thank you for your comments on the Adventure so far. And for adding this Story to your Favorites list. The battle with Morganna is coming soon.

The gem cannot be polished without friction nor man without trials - Confucius

Walking through the narrow passageway, was difficult. Tony needed support as he was still too weak. Pepper had caught him, firmly about the waist and was gently urging him forward. The only source of illumination was the faint light from his chest.

Sometimes when he would walk ahead, she had to support him from behind. He had not reached a normal body temperature yet, a fact that was worrying her but she kept it to herself.

He was breathing heavily as well. Halfway through, she reached into her pocket for the map and Tony helpfully leaned himself on the opposite wall. He closed his eyes tightly.

She asked with worry, "Tony, are you alright? Perhaps you should wait ..."

He cut her off instantly. "I'm coming with you, Pepper, end of discussion."

She wanted to argue but he looked so tired that she felt sorry for him. She reached out to push away a lock of his hair, that was falling into his face. His cut hair had grown out appealingly, giving him a rather dashing, disheveled air.

He caught her hand tightly as it pushed the hair back and looked at her intently.

She swallowed hard at the emotions in his eyes. Sorrow, regret, pain... I can't bear to see him like this.

"Listen to me, Tony," she whispered firmly, "We are going to get through this. You will get the flame back. Do not despair. I will be here with you, come what may."

She looked at the map then, as he slowly let go of her hand. "We need to take 10 more steps. There will be a hollow wall on your side."

She braced herself and pulled his body onto her, bearing his weight. She felt his head touch hers sideways and he sighed softly. Then he began to walk with her.

They reached the wall and Pepper reached for the indentation. She pressed it slowly and then gestured to Tony, to be as quiet as possible. She slowly slid the wall sideways and looked out. She listened carefully but she heard no sound. She put her head out cautiously and looked around.

This was clearly a royal bedroom. A luxurious four poster bed with thick red drapes and a large cupboard. A small table with four chairs, food was laid out on it. A velvet love seat and huge, mahogany armoire in one corner.

Pepper stepped out and realized there was another fireplace in the room. This fireplace must have been built especially for hiding the passageway. There was clearly no one in the room and Pepper walked towards the bed, determined to find the special glass containers Queen Jacinta had mentioned.

She heard a soft groan and turned abruptly, then ran back to the fireplace as Tony slowly straightened himself and stood in the room.

She chided him. "Tony, really? You should have called me back. Be careful please."

He chuckled at her. "I didn't want to hold your curiosity back." He sat on the bed gingerly.

Pepper ignored him and opened the cupboard, looking for the containers.

"Pep, what are you searching for?"

She explained without turning around. "Queen Jacinta told me that the jewel can contain a limited amount of energy at a time. So once Morganna drains beauty, she transfers the energy of a day into these special containers made of crystal."

She pulled out the shelves of the cupboard, one by one. No containers here.

She continued. "In the middle of Morganna..." she paused here, she didn't want to talk about Morganna abusing Tony.

But Tony filled in, "trying to jerk me off..." with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"There was a knock on the door. Someone came to tell her that her guest was ready. That means at this moment, Morganna is busy..." again Pepper paused, trying not to be crude.

Tony once again added, "sarding someone's brains out..."

"Thank you Tony, for that lovely mental image... Anyways she's going to need the jewel to be empty for so much energy. So if the jewel is with her..." here she paused, expecting Tony to complete her sentence but he didn't, he was busy digging under the covers of the bed.

Pepper huffed and continued herself, "So if the jewel is with her, the flame must be here in a crystal. Also, she intends to keep it a secret from the demon, so she can't tell him. She has to hide it till she knows what she wants to do with it. Consarn it! It is not in here."

She flushed at her swearing and heard Tony chortle loudly. She looked at him, an eyebrow arched. He was waggling both his eye brows at her in a mischievous manner. The color has returned to his face. He looks much better.

Tony held up a largish wooden chest and said "Would you be referring to these containers, milady?"

Pepper gasped as he opened the box to reveal rows of crystal cylinders. She rushed over to him. Oh my, look at all the crystals. They are so beautiful.

Each crystal was the size of a quill pen with the width of a fist. They were trapezoidal in shape with red glass lids. Pepper picked up a crystal filled with a bright gray smoky fluid. It looked like liquid moonlight except it was thick and viscous. It glowed at her touch as if it was alive.

Tony said soberly, "That must be the life fluid she drains from the young women."

Pepper looked at him sharply. "How do you know that?"

He shrugged. "The demon keeps the souls and she keeps the beauty. This is clearly not a soul and it's not the flame either."

Pepper looked at the tube with new eyes now and shuddering deeply, placed it back. Then she saw the tube Tony was holding.

It was filled with a stream of blue flames, sparkling and flowing. She cautiously touched a finger to the tube and was shocked at its burning warmth.

"Come back to me, old friend." said Tony softly, his eyes lighting up. And before Pepper could do anything, he opened the arc lid in his chest and smashed the crystal against it.

Pepper nearly shrieked but managed to cover her mouth in time, as she saw wave after wave of blue flame, envelop Tony's chest. It seemed to be on course as it surged into his chest and he jerked back powerfully with its raging force.

He had closed his eyes and Pepper watched as he began to breathe harshly, as if trying to take it all in. Pepper didn't know what to do. She whispered "Tony..." but there was no reaction.

So she leaned towards him, to touch his forehead, when he suddenly opened his eyes, wide and looked straight at her. She gasped because blue flames danced in his eyes, blue on pitch black.

She said "Tony" louder, trying to snap him out of the trance and the flames cleared from his eyes. It appeared that the flame had completely disappeared into Tony, so he slowly slid the arc lid shut. He then smiled happily at Pepper, familiar molasses-colored eyes shining. She couldn't help but grin back.

"Feeling better?"

He answered brightly, "Better? I've never felt better, Pepper. My life, my strength, my light is back."

He stood up straight and stretched himself luxuriously. Pepper stared in fascination at the way the muscles in his arms and chest tightened and flexed under his skin. Suddenly, he seemed very alive and strong.

Tony looked at the remaining four crystals, which were filled with youth/beauty. He picked up one and stared at it thoughtfully. Then he said, "We should set them free."

'What, what do you mean, Tony?"

"Well, this is the life force or attractiveness of the young women Morganna kidnapped. We can't bring those women back to life but at least in death, we can give them some peace and set this energy free. If we keep the crystals here, the castle folk may preserve these filled crystals because of superstition or their aesthetic appeal."

She nodded. "How many such crystals are there?"

"Four." He walked towards the room's window and handed Pepper two crystals. Then he flung the window open and opened the lid of a crystal. The crystal's liquidy contents began to drift into the night on the gentle breeze.

Pepper felt it looks like a silver stream of light swirling into the night. It is so beautiful but I can't help but feel sorry when I think of those poor women.

Tony opened the second crystal and Pepper did the same. They stood there in solemn silence, watching as the streams of silver drifted upwards and slowly faded as they were absorbed by the night air... shimmering as they did so.

"As is a tale, so is a life:

Not how long it is but how good it is,

Is what matters "

Tony said softly. He took Pepper's hand in his and held it tightly. Then he bowed his head.

"We will deliver justice onto your killer, fair maidens. Rest in peace."

Pepper mimicked his pose and said a silent prayer of her own. Then they both stepped away from the window and looked at each other quietly.

"Tony, what do we do know?"

He tapped the arc on his chest lightly with his fingers. The flame seemed to burn brighter at his touch. There was a determined glint in his eyes.

"I know how to defeat the demon. And I will need you and Happy for that. Where did you tell Happy to meet us? We must plan our attack together. But first..."

He stepped towards the armoire. "I must find a shirt to wear."