¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás? I'm done. I won't throw any more Spanish at you guys.

It's been ages, I know, but writing takes forever. You can thank the snow for me actually finishing this. I'm still wondering why we only have ten snow days built into our school calendar, though. For the past two years we went over that number, and we only went to school for one day this week, Tuesday.

For anyone who cares, I had an awesome time on my trip. See, I went down to Florida. At first, we were just hanging at the beaches collecting sea shells, sand dollars, sharks' teeth, etc. We found this one sand-dollar, and my brother named it Sam. Of course, being a constant-reference-maker, I jokingly said that it's nickname was Moose. Then everyone started calling him Sam-Moose. Eventually, his full name became "Sam-Moose of the Shire." He refused to leave when my mom tried to let him go, so he stuck around to play until it was time to go. Sam was awesome. After that, we went to Disneyworld and Universal Studios Harry Potter (both parks). At Disney, the light show on the castle was fantastic. Then there's Harry Potter. A dragon breathed fire in my face. My life is complete. And butterbeer tastes amazing. Same thing with pumpkin juice. My brother and I went insane from the constant clanging of our toy Swords of Gryffindor on the way home. You can guess what the first thing we did was.

How was your Christmas/holiday? I hope you had a blast. Tell me, if you're reading this, what was the best part?

And, if anyone is interested, my soundtrack of all of the music from The Haunted is officially complete! "The War is Not Lost" kept evading me, but I found it in the end.

MUSICS!

-"Secrets of the Castle" by John Williams (Harry Potter 3)

-"Middle Earth" from Audionautix

-"Sad Trio" by Kevin Macleod

-"At Rest" by Kevin Macleod

-"Tempting Secrets" by Kevin Macleod

-"Sunrise On Mars" from Audionautix

-"Snape's Demise" by Alexandre Desplat (I was so sad when Alan Rickman died; this is a tribute)

-"Teller of Tales" by Kevin Macleod

-"Lothlorien" by Howard Shore (Fellowship of the Ring)

So, this is Mia's thoughts during Sunken Treasure. I'm sorry that the majority of it is dialogue, but I did the best I could.

Oh, to make up for my long absence, I have taken the liberty to provide a nice long chapter. You're welcome :)

Let's Go On An Adventure

Prince Charming

Mia's POV

A carnivorous temptation overcame me as the scent of freshly cooked meat treckled up the stairs into the single room that all of the inhabitants shared. My mouth watered with longing for my dinner. It was just so funny how eager I was for each meal. I guess that it is because they are among the only things I can count on these days. All of my friends were dead now. I lost hope that they could have survived the attack on the Red Keep; they would have come back by now.

I was asleep during the strike against the city. It was the explosions that woke me up. Smoke had been drifting into the sky, smothering out the light from the stars. Honestly, I was just amazed that the culprit didn't come our way and destroyed this inn. They were capable enough of killing us all.

I didn't even know who or what could possibly cause so much damage. No one man can accomplish such a feat, but some of my old friends would talk about how it was the work of a single man. That was just impossible.

I closed my book and placed it gently onto the bedside table. I marked my place with a leather bookmark for reference for later when I have more time. I don't have anything else better to do these days. One of the things I dislike the most in the world is the cold. Since my quarry was deep underwater, and winter was right around the corner, I was stuck here twiddling my thumbs waiting for spring to retrieve the artifact.

I crept down the stairs into the common room. Paganum babbled on to each other about whatever. I knew several languages, but to my amazing luck, I did not understand paganum. I am 127 years old and spent thirty years of my life acting like a doll; you'd think that I would have picked it up somewhere. Nope.

I slipped the innkeeper a sovereign to pay for one of the sandwiches. A Siamese cat scrutinized my food. I held it protectively close to my body. "Get your own."

It played the victim by wailing its response. It jumped onto the table and lied down on my napkin to nap. I flicked its ears. It hissed at me and hopped out the way. The cat slinked out of the inn to go outside and do whatever it is cats do. Good riddance.

Finally allowed to eat my burger in peace, I bit into the bread in relief, savoring each morsel of the bite. I washed it down with a gulp of room temperature water. It was clean, though, which was good.

"Hello!" A blond man sauntered inside in good spirits, followed closely by a really tall guy who looked strangely like a half-enderman. Correction; he probably is one. The tall one was holding his head as if his life depended on it. Both of the men's clothes were torn and dirty. Dried blood stained their pants.

The human took one look around. He sounded like he had a cold. "Anyone here? I'm looking for, like, the clerk." His eyes traveled towards me. "Oh hey!"

The blond shoved his way past his companion to get a better look at me. Judging by the way he was acting, I don't think that he's had much contact with people besides paganum in a very long time. Something about him was vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place it.

I smiled goofily at him. "Hey."

The tall one's eyes widened. One of them was a normal enderman eye, if they could be called normal, but the other was plain white. It wasn't like its pupil was white; there was no pupil. It made me think of a pit of snow covering a window; there was no way to see inside the soul.

"Woah! Wait, what?" He gazed at me, dumbfounded. I flicked my bangs out of my face.

The blond one went to go pay, and the tall one came to sit with me. The extremely large hybrid commented in bewilderment, "This might sound a little bit weird, but you are the first real person I've seen besides," he gestured towards his friend, "Grayson in a very long time."

The cat was back. Purring smugly, it invaded the wooden seat beside me and prepared to spring onto the table.

Tearing my eyes away, I responded, "I will honestly tell you that is a very weird thing to say."

His human side of his face turned scarlet. "That sounded better in my head, didn't it?" He looked uncertainly at his friend.

The blond, who was sliding into another empty seat, indicated me. "She's an elf." I faced him in surprise before remembering that my ears were exposed. "I'm Grayson by the way."

The tall guy looked at him like he had grown a second head. "Wait."

"Oh, hi." I grinned. These guys seemed trustworthy enough.

Grayson. The name sounded familiar too. Before I could question it, he pointed towards the tall one. "This is Drake."

I gave him a small wave. "Hi Drake."

He gave me a curt nod. "Nice to meet you, but Grayson, elves are real in this world? What?"

"This world?" That comment was just the king of weird. What could that possibly mean? Time-and-space travel was highly unlikely.

Grayson answered merrily, "Yeah. I've been to their homelands. It's a beautiful place." I faced him. He and his friend will never cease to surprise me. I understood it when people knew of our existence, but it was much harder to find someone wise than it was to find someone ignorant, much less someone who had some sort of contact with my race. "It's almost like this forest, except…"

Grayson raised his eyebrow at Drake, who flushed. "Uh, I didn't say anything."

Grayson stuttered, "Uh, it-it-it's a very beautiful place. Imagine, like…" He paused to think for a moment. "Structures, like… Tree houses! Massive tree houses. It… It's amazing." He blushed in embarrassment and faced me.

"Ooh. Wow." The image that was surely forming in Drake's head probably did not serve justice to the real deal. I've not been home for over three decades now. True, I probably could go back if I wanted to, and how I wanted to, but something was keeping me here. Until I find out what that is, I was going to stay here.

"Yeah, I love my hometown." I pictured the various buildings that were still etched into my brain. Even after thirty-something years, I still remembered my kingdom clearly. It might have something to do with my long lifespan, but still. "It's like…ahhh…"

"You two keep talking, I'm going to get a room, so…"

"Cat, get out of here!" Drake swatted at the feline pest that pounced back onto the table because of my distraction.

Grayson watched it run off in amusement. To him, I said, "It's not exactly…separate rooms. This is sort of set up similar to the Red Keep."

"Oh. Oh." Disappointed, Grayson went to pay anyway.

"Yeah. Kinda… Kinda awkward." I didn't mean to bring up the Keep; it was just the best example I had.

Drake's face darkened. "Oh, speaking of the Red Keep, you should stay away from there."

The Siamese waddled away with its mouth full of what used to be my sandwich. Grayson shot a dirty look at the animal. "That cat just took your food."

I gave an exasperated sigh. "Are you kidding me?!" I started to rise out of my chair, but Grayson insisted that I stay put.

"Here, here, no stay. I'll get you some." He went back to the counter.

Drake said with a determined and commanding voice, "Listen, do not go to the Red Keep. I don't know if you've seen it recently or anything... Just do not go there, whatever you do."

"What's…" I was interrupted by Grayson joyfully sliding a new sandwich onto the dish.

"Here you go."

Politely, I thanked, "Thank you."

"All right."

"Well, I went there a few weeks back to-" I stopped as the cat came back and stole my new sandwich. "Again?! You know what, don't even bother. Don't even bother." I looked at Grayson sternly who looked like he was going to get back up again.

He passed me two sovereigns. "Here." I placed the coins gingerly into my pocket. Grayson gravely continued, "Anyway, I've been to the Red Keep this week." In his eyes, I made out several emotions: fear, disgust, anger, hate… "I won't lie. My friend here was very ill, and he was shot with a poisoned arrow, and he was out."

I felt my own eyes widen. That would explain his discomfort coming inside, I guess. "Are you all right?"

"It wasn't a fun experience," Drake mumbled. His nose scrunched up at the memory.

"Eugh." I stuck out my tongue. Poison? God, I can't even imagine… The memories of the Emperor came back, and this new info paled in contrast.

Grayson looked at Drake painfully. It looked like he wanted to say something, but Grayson bit his tongue. "I-I was there. Well, we were also there when the attack happened."

"Oh, you were there?!" I realized that that may have came out nosy, but frankly, they pried into my business first. It was my turn.

"Mm-hmm. We barely got out of there with our lives."

I shook my hands in repulsion. "Eugh!"

The corners of Grayson's mouth twitched. "Amazingly, people did get away, but…"

I grinned out of context. "Yeah, I saw a bunch of people sprinting down the bridge there."

"I was there, this week." Grayson had a disgusted look on his face.

"That wouldn't surprise me. I'm just glad to know that people got out of there alive."

"Yeah, I was kinda concerned about the death toll, to be honest with you."

Grayson looked sheepishly at Drake. They were probably sharing some kind of an "inside joke" or something. "It was horrible. It's worse there now."

"Uh…" I uncomfortably looked at him, my eyes asking the million-marque question.

"Slaves."

Drake nodded. "Unless if you feel like being a slave, I wouldn't head back."

"Yeah." More to Drake than to me, Grayson added, "The cultists took over."

I half-heartedly said, "Uh, I have no choice but to stay in this area."

"Hm, what is this?" Grayson picked up a medallion of some sort from the ground. It was solid gold with a blue center. He examined its markings before holding it up to show to Drake. "I think that cat just took stuff from your backpack!"

Irritated, Drake's purple eye flared. "Are you-!" He sighed in annoyance.

Grayson smiled wryly. "Well, I have your circle talisman."

I snickered in spite of the pest. "That cat has been tormenting me for weeks."

Grayson rose, infuriated. "I'm shooting that cat. I'm shooting that cat. Shooting that cat."

"Grayson! Calm down!" Drake scolded.

The blond turned around. Memories of the Imperial Palace came back as I saw what appeared to be at first glance one of the Emperor's mysteriously magical weapons: a gun.

"Woah! What is that!" Terror streaked throughout my body. It was tensing up, ready to face the danger.

He shrugged. "Crossbow." He tossed the talisman or whatever to Drake along with a rolled up sleeping bag. "Your sleeping bag."

The way how he could act like nothing happened was amazing. I relaxed.

"Wait, do crossbows…" Drake corrected himself. "Oh wait. Of course they exist in this world."

"Hm? Yeah. See?" Grayson pulled it out and reloaded it to demonstrate. I finally recognized it as a normal, everyday weapon. A fine one, if I might add.

My face reddened in humiliation. "I thought it was something else for a second out of the corner of my eye. Kinda freaked me out."

Grayson saw something, and he went up to the window to check. "Oh! It's day!"

Interested, Drake went up to the window too. I for one, however, was thinking about how I didn't sleep the entire night. "Oh, that's nice."

"Yeah." Drake walked away from the window looking like something was wrong. "Really, that means no sleep."

Grayson put his hand in his pocket thoughtfully. "Oh yeah. Drake, do you need any money because when I was going through your stuff when you were ill, you had no money at all."

Drake blinked in confusion. "Really? It must have been stolen by one of those paganums that were in the Red Keep before it fell."

Grayson narrowed his eyes at the cat. "Or that cat." If cats could smile, it would be. Instead it was snobbishly flicking its tail and was also probably plotting ways on how to destroy the world.

I looked at Grayson, a fit man who clearly knew how to use a crossbow, and at Drake, a half-enderman with a good heart. It sounded insane, but maybe there was a way to get back my chalice after all. I had more than enough money to spare because of archaeology.

Finally, I articulated, "Wait, are you tight on cash right now?"

Drake moved his weight to his other foot and scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, I am." He looked reproachfully at Grayson who smiled innocently.

Encouraged, I resumed, "Well, if you want, I have a little problem that I could have some help with. I could pay you. Yeah."

That got both of their attention. Humans were born greedy, so I wasn't that surprised when Grayson said, with his eyes glistening in longing, "Wait, before we start, what's the pay?"

I snorted. I can't say that I blamed him. The way he was talking, you'd think that he was a mercenary or something, what with how worried he was about his reward and all.

He took one look at my face and defended, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's my merc- It's my self absorbed side talking right here." He chuckled uncertainly. I'll admit that he did a good job covering up his mistake; I barely caught it, but Grayson just admitted his occupation. Wait, does that mean that he worked for the Empire? I'll have to test him to find out his true intentions.

"Um…" I started.

It seemed that Drake didn't have all of the human tendencies that was present in his friend. "Well, fir- Okay. First... I'm sorry, what is the problem?" Drake sent Grayson a scalding look. "Excuse my friend."

"Well, uh…" Suddenly, a flash of movement caught my eye.

Grayson saw it too. "Uh, it's taking more stuff from your backpack."

The ocelot swatted Drake's leg and meowed pitifully. Drake sighed as he scooped up his belongings from the oaken floor. "Wood ash is not…"

Grayson retrieved his crossbow. The movement startled the animal, and it scattered away to the safety of under-the-counter.

"Stupid cat! It's driving me crazy." I hissed. It meowed again.

"I'm shooting that cat. All right; it's going to die." Grayson pulled back on the trigger. I wouldn't put it past him to release the bolt.

Instead Grayson sighed, "How about this: we just go upstairs. I did pay for a room." He went for the stairs, and I see him greeting one of the paganums. "Hello sir."

I followed him. "There's no privacy in this place."

Grayson looked at the rows of beds standing side by side. Then he spotted the second room in the back. "Let's just go over here." He spotted my gear. "Is this where you are staying?"

I blushed at the mess. "Yeah. I tried to find the most secluded corner I could. Most of these paganum are male, so kind of awkward for me."

"Meh." Drake looked back the way we came in. "I understand. So, what is it-" Drake stopped and groaned in agony. One of his large hands flew to his forehead.

Grayson's face changed in the blink of an eye. One moment it was carefree, maybe even happy; the next he had the face of a worried sick friend.

"You okay?"

Drake moaned in answer.

"Are you all right?" I asked as well.

He forced a smile and removed his hand from his head. It dropped to his side. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Drake seemed okay to me for now, but Grayson didn't buy it. "Do you want me to get some water?"

Drake shook his head at Grayson. "No. I'll be fine."

I saw right through him. "I think that might be a good idea."

Drake hesitated. "No, it's just a minor headache, that's all."

Grayson looked at Drake weirdly, and he then insisted, "I'm going to get some water." He then purposefully went downstairs.

When the blond was gone, I turned to the half-enderman, "That seemed a little more than a minor headache."

"Yeah." I could tell that he knew a lot more. "It's a long story. Heh, I'm not even sure if you'd believe it if I told it to you."

I stared into his mismatched eyes sympathetically. "You'd be surprised what I'd believe. There's so much stuff." So much indeed.

Grayson came back and forced a glass bottle into Drake's hand. "Here," he ordered.

Drake mumbled, "Maybe we'll have time to tell the tale along the way."

I stalled, "Perhaps."

"Drink up. It'll help." Grayson just seemed so protective over Drake. It was near impossible to find this kind of loyalty, well, anywhere. Drake downed the bottle of the crystalline liquid. I honestly was interested in this pair. It was hard to come across a decent person in the Badlands, and finding two of them was just exciting. I could easily infer that their lives were full of adventure, what with the talk of poisoned arrows and slip-ups involving mercenaries.

Drake smiled gratefully. "Thanks Grayson." Without thinking, apparently, the hybrid passed his friend the empty water bottle.

Dumbfounded, Grayson countered, "Why are you giving me the bottle?"

Drake shrugged. "Cause you always take the bottle. I don't wanna just carry around one."

"Okay okay." Grayson threw his hands up into the air, accepting defeat.

I howled in delight. "You two sound like a bickering old married couple."

"Anyway." Grayson froze, taking in my comment, which was, in my opinion, kind of true. "What is this problem you have?" He pulled out a fancy compass.

"Well, I'm just going to start from the beginning." I flinched at the memory.

"Oh no, it's raining." Grayson ran up to the fancy window. Sure enough, I heard the distinct pitter patter of rain droplets on the roof. I myself was disappointed since we had to go outside eventually.

Drake looked out at the darkness glumly. "It's all right."

Grayson suspiciously walked away from the window. I could tell that something was off. Wasn't it day?

"So…" Drake shook off whatever it was and looked at me expectantly.

"Sorry. Uh, well…" It was time for me to come clean about my job. "I'm an archaeologist, and I've been working at a dig site close to the Red Keep for a while now, but obviously I can't exactly accomplish that anymore, after the attacks." I turned away so that neither of the boys saw my tears.

"Yeah." Drake's eyes bid me to continue.

"Would not exactly be possible." Rain continued to fall beside the window into little puddles that meshed well with the forest greenery.

Drake nodded in understanding. "So, what do you want us to do? Take you to the Red Keep?"

I chuckled at my mistake. I should have been clearer. "No, um… While I was working there, I managed to recover an extremely valuable archaeological artifact, and… It's really important to me and the archaeological community, but… I was trying to keep it quiet, but…somehow, word got out, and it was, um… It was taken."

I stuttered so much in my explanation. The memory was just so awful. It was full of violence and heartbreak. Since it was my fault, I was the one who volunteered to go get it back. A few weeks later, my crew that stayed behind was dead.

"Oh." Drake looked at Grayson at a loss. This probably wasn't their normal kind of deal, but then again, I didn't know what was.

"Well, I'll help." Grayson removed his hands from his pockets. "Well, I don't know about Drake. I can't speak for him." He glanced at his friend.

"Well, I'll certainly help." Drake looked like he meant well, but there was that part that looked to me like he was reluctant.

"I'll pay you," I reminded jokingly.

The lanky man loosened up. "I mean, yeah, if there's money involved, I'll be even happier to help."

"Wait, wait, wait." There was the interjection I was bracing for. "All right, this is my self absorbed side talking. How much are we talking here?" Grayson walked up to me until his face was up in mine.

With great difficulty, I answered with a straight face, "We're talking…" Pause for dramatic effect. "A whole marque."

Grayson stood up straight. His shock was nothing compared to Drake's face, but then again, Drake was kinda broke right now. "Wow, this must be a valuable artifact."

I confirmed, "Yeah, it's really valuable."

Grayson put his hands together in pleasure. "Ooh, that's a hundred sovereign there."

I must say that he didn't look too bad off compared to most. Then again, he probably had mercenary blood in him, so I wouldn't be too surprised.

"Well, I make quite a bit."

Drake grinned. "I could be happy with a marque. Sure."

"I make quite a bit," I repeated.

Grayson smirked boastfully. "I bet I bet I have more than you, though."

I crossed my arms. "Hmm?"

"I bet I have more than you."

Even Drake was caught off guard. "Wow, Grayson. So, so humble."

"Way to rub it in," I said with equal cheer.

Grayson shrugged. I nudged my way past him to retrieve my backpack. I messily shoved everything inside with the exception of the map of the river.

"Wait, do you have a map?"

"Uh, yes, actually. I do." I passed Grayson the rolled up parchment. He took it from my hands. "Here you are." Grayson rummaged around in his pack for something.

Drake stared down at the diagram. "And this is where you think it's located?"

"Uh, I'm sure that's where it's located."

Gently, Grayson pulled out another piece of parchment. "I have other maps in here that we could cross-reference." He buckled the bag shut.

He showed me a map, and I recognized the terrain. Drake, meanwhile, stared uneasily at Grayson. "It's true that you do have a fair collection of maps."

"I know where it is," Grayson mumbled.

I tapped Grayson's shoulder. "Hey, you're the Map Guy?"

Drake snickered. "You should see the maps he has of-" He stopped after Grayson gave him a warning look.

"Can we not talk about that place?" Grayson threw me a side-glance. "Come on." He equipped his backpack.

I looked at the two friends. Ooh, how I wanted to ask them what they were talking about. It wasn't my business, though. Maybe later.

"Map Guy."

Grayson retrieved his golden compass and examined it. "Uh…" I looked at Drake, but he didn't seem too worried. "It is…" He scanned the pictures of the hills and waters on the two maps. "That way."

With a steady hand, he pointed in the direction of the window. I could see the long bridge that lay between the Red Keep and the Empire. I suppose that where I was facing was that of the Red Keep.

"That way?" Drake asked for confirmation.

"Yep."

"Cool."

The three of us exited. I don't think I forgot anything. I tossed a hasty look under my bed. There was my book. I snatched it up and put it into a side pocket in my backpack. No book left behind!

Grayson paled. "It's past the Red Keep."

"So, are we heading out?" Drake expectantly asked.

I caught the big picture. "Wow, we have to go past it?"

Grayson frowned. "Yep. We're going to have to sneak around."

We tiptoed down the steps into the main room with Grayson in the lead. "I would rather not get caught up," I murmured.

Grayson eyed one of the cakes that had been lying out. "Before we go." Before Drake or I could stop him, he was chowing down it like he hadn't eaten for days.

He ate it. He ate the entire thing. When he was done, Grayson wiped his mouth with his sleeve like nothing happened. He walked out the door.

In awe, Drake gaped after his friend. "Wow. I'm not really sure what to say to that."

I snickered. Grayson defended, "Survival makes you very hungry."

I shrugged and called out to the paganum, "Thank you for your hospitality." Even though he probably didn't understand a word coming out of my mouth. There is only one thing they understand about humans, and that is money. Even though I was elvish, I understood the human language far better.

Grayson was already busy poring over the maps. "All right. We're going to have to go…"

I reminded, "The bridge is out. Just saying."

"Yeah." Nevertheless, he continued forward.

"The bridge is out."

"I'm trying to think of a way we can get by cause I don't want to go through the forest and back towards the house." He stopped at the hole in the crumbling stone bridge.

Drake smiled. "It's fine. I know how to get across." He too stopped at the edge. His hand slipped into a pocket, and when he brought it back out, Drake's hand was fitted with a pale glove.

"What is that?" I asked wonderingly.

Drake turned around. "What is…"

Grayson answered for him. "Oh yeah, he's a mage."

"Yeah."

Excitedly, I stepped towards Drake to be closer to the two. "You're a mage?!"

Drake seemed a little embarrassed. "Yeah."

I spluttered, "That. Is. Really cool; I'm not gonna lie!"

Drake smiled. Then he fell to a knee, his free hand clutching at his forehead. Grayson grabbed Drake's shirt in case if a seizure caused him to fall off the edge.

His shoulders stopped shaking. Cautiously, Grayson released his companion. Drake stood up and brushed off his shirt, his face looking constipated.

"Are you all right?" Grayson again took on the role of the "protective older brother." Worry shined in his eyes as if he was remembering some other occurrence.

"Yeah. It is just not a good day I suppose." Regardless of the insistence that he was fine, Grayson slung off his backpack and sifted through the contents.

"Come here," Grayson beckoned. "I bought three of them when I was at Aegon's, so…" He tossed a glass bottle of healing potion at Drake.

I was unable to contain myself any longer. "Do these happen often to you?"

"Uh, well… Not too often. I've had a little more than usual today." I could tell when someone was lying. Even though Drake is a mage, he is a terrible liar. I wasn't going to call him out on it. At least not yet.

Blanching, he said, "Sorry. I can get us across."

Worried for Drake's well being, I asked, "Can you?"

"Yeah. Here, I'll take you first."

"What?"

Without replying, Drake took my hand. He focused on a point across the ruined passage. I felt a whooshing sensation and saw a huge blur of color. Suddenly I was on the other side. I stumbled and tried to reclaim my balance, definitely not expecting this.

"WOAH!" I turned around to witness him parkouring to the other side. "Come on, Grayson." He grabbed Grayson's arm roughly.

Grayson smirked a boyish grin. "Let's go!" Soon, the pair of friends was on my side of the bridge.

The inn was no longer visible due to the huge mass of trees. A part of me was going to miss that place. Believe it or not, in a way, it has kinda become a home to me over the past few weeks.

"So cool." I looked back in awe.

Grayson seemed to disagree. "I hate that feeling."

I was about to retort, but I closed my mouth when I remembered that humans weren't accustomed to magic like elves were. Of course he hated the feeling.

"Yeah," Drake started, discomfited again.

"You sir, you're cool." Drake brightened at my comment.

"Why thank you."

Grayson, after throwing Drake an envious glance, looked down at his diagram. "Let me check the map. If we just follow the road, we're going to make it, but… Eventually we're going to end up at the Red Keep. It is a bit… Where we're trying to go is…" He paused as if realizing something. "Actually, this will work out. Let's go."

"Okay." Drake shrugged. We started to follow the…what kind of job title does Grayson hold; mercenary? He's not exactly let that on yet about himself.

"I don't want to get too close cause you guys mentioned something about slavery, and my race is kind of rare." I raised my voice at the end; I was testing Grayson to see if he was going to jump at the opportunity. He didn't.

"Yeah, slavery does not sound fun." Drake looked at me sympathetically.

I mocked, "Oh my gosh, so pretty! Get over here!"

"Oh, yeah, that will explain why I've never seen you." Drake then registered my more recent comment and guffawed.

"There's the Elder Tree." Grayson pointed at a colossal tree up ahead, and I instantly felt so miniscule. "Also known as the Elemental Tree, but it's massive. Look at it."

Dumbfounded, Drake gaped at it as he walked…and walked straight into an unsuspecting Grayson. "This forest is so massive."

I saw a chest. While the two men walked forward, I stayed behind to search the trunk. Except for a plank of wood, debris, and dust, it was empty.

I looked up to see Drake staring at me. "Sorry," I apologized, "I was just looking in the chest. There was nothing in there of value. Just saying."

"Oh, I can't believe that I missed that. I should have checked that chest."

The two of us started walking. Irritated, I complained, "There was a plank of wood. So fancy."

Drake chuckled. Then we realized how far ahead Grayson was.

"Grayson. Gray-son!" Drake called out towards the tiny figure so far ahead of us.

"Wait, please. SLOW. DOWN!" We had to sprint to catch up to him.

Whatever it was Grayson was thinking about, he stopped and looked up from his compass. "Oh, hey." Not one part of him looked like he was sorry.

"You're leaving us in the dust," Drake pointed out.

Grayson turned around and continued walking. "Yeah. I know."

"Doo doo doo," I hummed, amused at how light-hearted the two boys made their friendship out to be.

The blond spotted something in the distance. "Oh, hey, look!"

"Hmm?" I didn't see anything other than an ancient forest.

"The house." He pointed to our left. Drake strained his eyes to see the building, but neither of us could see it. And what house?

"What house?"

Patiently, Grayson nudged us to a position to where we can see. "You see it? Right there, in the forest."

Drake and I finally saw the silhouette form of the structure through the daytime fog. It was a square house with a flat roof, kind of large. I could not tell what material it was made from.

"Oh, I see it. It's hard to see off in the distance. It's pretty far." With a last glance of longing, he turned away.

"Oh, yeah, um, do you remember the Fiery Sword, Drake?" For one moment, it seemed like Grayson had forgotten I was here. He had stolen a glance at his own sword, and somehow it seemed to remind him of another sword. Whatever that meant, however, was beyond me.

Drake looked very uncomfortable, and I did not attribute that to my presence. The way how he tensed up revealed to me that he was remembering a very dark memory. "Um…"

"The one I forged for Armen?" Grayson prompted.

"Yeah," Drake answered bitterly. "Yeah I do remember that."

"Is Armen a friend of yours?" For some reason, the name rang a bell. Maybe I heard the name in a book?

"I'll tell you later." Grayson threw me a glance. I can't blame either of them. After all, they just met me. I had no idea who Armen was or what this "Fi-rey Sword" was exactly.

Drake sheepishly explained, "Yeah, he's a…" He went sad. "You've probably not met him, or maybe you have, who knows?"

"I've met a lot of people in my travels." I don't remember actually meeting someone named Armen, but the name stuck out to me like a blue ornament surrounded by purple and silver. "I don't think I met any Armens, though."

His face still shadowy, he muttered, "Considering what his new job title is, maybe you have met him."

The three of us paused at the abrupt end of the road. The rest had fallen years ago, and it continued past this point towards the Keep.

"There it is. We can't get any closer than this. I'm sorry, but you can see the flag over there." Grayson gestured at a bright red banner flying merrily in the breeze.

"Can you poof us over?" I asked Drake.

Before the half-enderman could answer, Grayson replied, "Nah, we're going to have to go down. This is the river."

I looked down and saw the tributary. "Is this it?" I started to feel dizzy. "I'm not exactly comfortable with jumping."

"I am." Grayson jumped down onto the trees. Next, he stepped onto the desert hill. After that, he skillfully scaled down the mountain until he was completely on level ground. I saw him move towards the right.

"Wow."

"You are gutsy." To Drake, I added, "Should we just-should we just jump?"

"Um…" Drake reached for his glove.

"Don't you dare say, "Ladies first," or we're going to have a problem."

That was not the appropriate thing for me to say. Drake bit his lip remorsefully, and suddenly it became clear that some awful memory was associated with that phrase.

"Come on!" I heard Grayson call from far below us.

"Stay here, I have an idea." I witnessed a cloud of purple replace where Drake was before.

"Okay. He's all the way over there. Hi, Grayson!" I giggled at the unmistakable blond character darting over towards the right along the coast. I just loved how he was willing to jump all the way down with no signs of fear.

Drake reappeared on the pile of rubble floating in the river. "Woah! And now you're all the way-" I felt something whizz past me. I crouched down to see an arrow wedged into the mountainous wall next to me. "Did someone just shoot me?"

I looked around, but I couldn't find the culprit. Grayson and Drake were both already on the ground, so it couldn't possibly have been them. I felt my insides go numb, and I retrieved the arrow. Its shaft broke, so I decided to leave it behind.

"Hey!" Drake vanished from the bridge and appeared on top of the stone archway above me. He seemed satisfied. "Let's go!"

"What-what-hi?!" The two of us teleported safely onto the ground. Nice, stable ground. "Woah!" I giggled in relief. "You are so cool."

Drake smiled, and I felt some kind of flutter inside me. "Huh, thanks!" Still tickled, Drake called out, "Grayson!" There was no immediate sign of him. "I think we lost him."

The elation disappeared and was replaced with aggravation. "Are you kidding me? He's the navigator! I gave him the map!" Then I perceived Grayson hiding behind a tree. "No, there he is."

Reassured, Drake hollered, "Grayson!"

Grayson hushed us. "Shh!"

I whispered, "What? Oh." An army of red tents lied before us, surrounded by a barricade of oak trunks. Drake and I followed Grayson's lead and stayed out of sight.

"This isn't good." Drake looked unsure of how he should react to this sign of the Empire.

"You're clear," I murmured to him.

Dazed, he muffled, "Are we going to have to sneak through here?"

I passed the question onto Grayson. He already had this florid broadsword at ready. "I don't see anyone, but…"

He moved like a hunter stalking a deer into the camp. Drake pulled out his own sword, but I recognized it to be made of diamond, having seen several of those in my lifetime.

"Oh, it's been abandoned, it looks like. The fires are gone, but the torches are here." With that somewhat reassurance, Drake and I followed him in.

How do I know if this is a trap? Sure, there was nobody inside of the tents, but as the sun continued to set, the only source of light came from the torches. Drake showed no signs of working for the Empire, but I know an Empire soldier when I see one, and Grayson fit the bill.

"Oh, this kind of looks like an Empire camp to be honest." Drake sped up.

"Yeah," Grayson agreed.

I moaned. Time for another test. "I'm not a big fan of the Empire."

Drake's response was how I expected. "Yeah we aren't either."

"Yeah, me neither, they killed my entire family." The way how he said it made Grayson sound so calm that it amused me.

"Lovely," I snorted. Then I saw the repulsive signs of nostalgia evident in Grayson's eyes, and I realized that there were other explanations for his behavior.

Drake rationalized, "He's not very happy about it."

"I can imagine," was all I could say.

"This way. It is literally across this little lake." As Grayson pointed across the lagoon, it started to pour rain. "Oh no!"

"We're going to have to swim in the rain?!" Grayson dived into the water. "Oh, this is going to be freezing."

Drake griped, "Yeah. I just don't like water to begin with, either." Well, that'll put a damper in my plan. Heh, damper, heh.

I hopped into the water, and it felt like a thousand knives were piercing my skin. "Aw, that's cold! That is very cold!" There was a crack of thunder, and lightning painted the sky.

Drake wailed loudly. I wanted to do the same. "Grayson, are you sure you couldn't have picked a better route?!"

"Anywhere better would have been nice!" I funded

Grayson, who was already several feet ahead of us, countered, "It's either this or becoming slaves."

I remembered my time sitting at the Emperor's throne too well. "I'd rather not be a slave, so I'll take the water, thanks."

The downpour soaked my hair, and I felt it dripping down my face, blinding me with water. We kept swimming into lily pads. Regardless of the frigid weather, the flowers have blossomed, and the pale pink floras dotted the murky blue lake.

"They're digging something up," clarified Grayson.

"Digging?" When I was working over there, we were trying to find something. It was a primeval gem, seemingly as old as time itself. It radiated power, and we were so close to finding it. Then the attack happened, and I was the only one left alive to continue searching for the diamond.

"Uh-huh."

"Are they trying to find the artifacts that I was trying to find, or are they looking for something else?" I asked aloud.

"Oh no." But Grayson did not elaborate. He had paled, most likely from dread. I don't know what that meant, but if he found something wrong with that, then…

"Grayson, it sounds like you know more than you are letting on," Drake pointed out.

I nodded. "It certainly seems that way."

Grayson appeared to be discomforted. He licked his lips nervously, and his movements became more forceful. If he was trying to appear that he was not hiding something, Grayson was failing at it miserably.

Drake seemed to decide that this was neither the time nor the place. "You don't have to tell me, but it would certainly help a lot."

Appreciatively, Grayson smiled at Drake. "That way. Let me check." Another look at the map. "Yep." He continued to tread the water. An icy chill. "It's freezing."

"It's so cold," I whimpered. Why does it have to be dead winter? Why can't it be a warm, breezy summer day where the sun is shining? "My toes will never be warm again!" The soaked leather of the boots did not help. At this point, I couldn't even feel my feet; it had all went numb and wet.

Drake chuckled. "I know the feeling." I can't even imagine. He is half enderman, so he must feel this way all the time. I made note, however, that Drake laughed more.

Grayson's swimming strengthened. "Land. Land. Please!"

"Well, it's not going to help much considering it's raining." Nonetheless, I was grateful to be out of the water. My limbs were sore from the exertion. We literally just crossed an entire lake.

We ducked underneath the shade of an old tree. Its trunk was mottled with green mosses. It was one of many in the forest.

Drake apprehensively looked into the blackened branches. "I feel like this is the kind of place where I could get eaten by a monster. This isn't very pleasant."

"Do you want me to set up a fire very quickly?" Grayson offered.

"That actually would be very nice to dry off a little bit." I beamed at him.

Drake was less enthusiastic. "Could we do it a little further inland? You know, maybe out of sight?"

"Yeah," Grayson agreed. "That is true. It is right there, the Red Keep." The three of us dove under the cover of the branches of every tree in the forest. Occasionally, water dripped through the leaves, but it was nowhere near as bad as it had been before. Finally, Grayson looked at me intently. "Wait, wait, wait. What are we looking for? All I know is that there are the rivers on the map."

"Well," I stopped when Grayson became preoccupied with the raspberries.

Drake begged me to continue. "Once we get to the river, what are we looking for?"

I was pleased to have an audience. "Well, there should be some…I believe they are shipwrecks at the bottom of the river. There was an accident a little while back. They're not that old, but…"

Grayson interrupted boldly, "We're here! This is it."

I saw it. The river where all of the dreams I picked up on since I absconded from the Empire. It didn't look like much, but I recognized it quite well. I narrowed my eyes at the ripples made from the rain hotly.

"Weird, I don't see any shipwrecks." I raised my eyebrows like 'are you kidding me?'. "Well, I mean that you wouldn't see any shipwrecks since it is a shipwreck."

There was a flicker, then a pile of dry wood that Grayson located in his backpack turned into a beautiful flame. Drake, Grayson, and I all huddled around the fire for warmth.

"Oh my goodness!" I rubbed my hands together, relishing the opportunity to dry my clothes.

Drake's teeth chattered. "Thank you, Grayson." We stood in silence, just enjoying the merry warmth and forgetting the shower that still fell on our backs. I was starting to think that I would never be comfortable again.

Grayson smiled stupidly. "It feels so nice. I mean, the rain's still horrible, but-"

A grumpy Drake walked back over, his jeans drenched in sludge. "Guys, there's mud over here. Just so you know."

I wrinkled my nose. "Ew."

The raindrops became fewer and fewer. "The rain is lighting up," Grayson exclaimed.

Overjoyed, I punched my fist into the air. "YES! Yes! Yes!" I even hopped a little.

Grayson's face hardened, and he was back in business-mode. "If there's supposed to be shipwrecks, they're going to be at the bottom."

I calmed down. "Yep." I looked back towards the cloudy depths of the brook, remembering the accident.

"You want to stay here, Mia?" Grayson took off his backpack and laid it against a mound of earth.

I shook my head yes. "From what I heard is that whatever thief took this item decided it was a great idea to hide it at the bottom of the ocean. YAY!"

"Do you have anything that will help us see underwater?"

I met his eyes. "Now that you mention it, I do, back in my-"

Drake walked into the fire. I REPEAT: DRAKE WALKED STRAIGHT INTO THE FIRE! He hurdled into the water to quench the flames, and smoke still followed Drake as he returned.

"Careful!" Grayson reprimanded.

Between laughs, I said, "Did you just- Did you just walk into the fire?!"

Bothered, he defended, "No, the fire walked into me."

That's what they all say. Grayson rolled his eyes and smiled faintly. "All right, Drake." Tenderly, Grayson concealed his sword inside of his backpack. "Don't touch this sword by the way. Don't touch. Drake, here." Grayson tossed a bottle of the night vision potion at Drake. It bounced off of his head into his hands. "You might want to put your stuff up.

Drake looked at his hands. "Uh, good idea. I'll just package everything away." He placed his leather pack in the damp olive-colored grass.

"You're going to have to stay here. Just watch out for the stuff…"

I waved my hand. "Yeah, I'll watch the stuff." I reached for my cutlass.

Grayson gave me a look because I didn't let him finish. "Because we've been followed, so…"

"We've been fo- What?!"

Alarmed, Drake nearly dropped his brew. "How do you know?"

"Well, the person," an indistinguishable look flashed in Grayson's face; anger, perhaps, "who shot you in the leg's been following us for the past week, a couple days, at least. Well, following me at least. "

"I don't know." Drake looked at me hesitantly. "Maybe she should go in. Maybe she should."

Right now, I was more into the brand new bit of info. Shot in the leg? Being followed? No wonder I caught a sense of adventure from these two. It seemed to me that they were staying on the wrong side of the law in the Emperor's eyes. "Uh…"

"Then all the stuff will be unguarded, and it will be taken," Grayson pointed out.

"I'll guard the stuff, don't worry," I settled.

"The sword is pretty…" Grayson's voice trailed off. "Pretty…Yeah."

"All right, all right." Drake followed Grayson to the riverbank, and the two drank their potions.

"I do, in fact, have a way to defend myself." I raised my violet cutlass in the air for them to see. Grayson plunged into the river. "Good luck!" I cried so that Drake could hear me.

He relaxed. "I'll be back."

"Thanks so much again for your help."

"Of course." He smirked. "You're paying us after all." I snickered.

Drake plugged his nose, then, with a running start, he submerged himself into the water. Then he was gone.

One minute. Bored already, I flopped onto the ground and crossed my legs. With my right hand holding my sword, I drew a replica of my triangular necklace in the mud with my left finger.

Two minutes. The flames crackled. "Doo, doo, doo, da-doo, doo, doo." I clasped my hands together. I twisted my weapon in the swampy lawn. What did I expect? There is no way in the Nether that they could make it back lickety-split. The wreck was at the bottom of the river. Yeah, they will have to hurry because there isn't an unlimited air supply, but this isn't the kind of task that I'd think would take under a minute.

Three minutes. From the folds of my tunic, I extracted a polished platinum coin. I had every intention of honoring my end of the deal. It wouldn't be difficult for me to find the treasure. Archaeology was kind of my thing. I just despised the cold with a passion. It was beyond expectation that the sun would shine down there. It being winter and all did not help.

Four minutes. I was getting antsy. I flipped my ponytail around out of tediousness. Stars glimmered in the sky like tiny little gems. Diamonds in the sky. I gave a hollow laugh.

Five minutes. Would they have drowned by now? I glanced at the surface for any sign of either of the two boys? It stayed serene. Then it started to bubble.

Grayson's head popped out first, his blond hair dripping wet. Drake followed. The two coughed and gasped for air. Grayson dragged himself onto the beach. Drake did the same. I grinned in respite.

"I hate doing that," Grayson complained. Drake seethed at him. That's right; he abhors water. He shouldn't have taken the job.

"How'd it go?" I inquired.

"Uh, I think we found it." Expectantly, Drake elbowed Grayson, who fiddled around in his jacket pockets. "There was a shipwreck down here and some cool things inside."

Things? As in, plural? "Were there?"

"Beautiful." Grayson admired the sky. I can just imagine how exquisite the night sky must look under the influence of night vision potion.

"Did you find anything of archaeological value? Is it worth coming back?" I chastised.

"Oh, um… There was this." From the depths of his pockets, Grayson revealed a glistening, golden goblet. It was studded in rubies and was marked with enderman eyes. I knew it instantly.

"AH! You found it!"

"And this." From the other pocket, Grayson pulled out an oval stone with peculiar golden markings. I've never seen anything like it.

"Ah, you found it!" Gleefully, I squeezed it against my chest.

"What is it?" Drake stared at the 'eyes.'

"Well, if that's it, I'm keeping this." Grayson sauntered off.

I answered gaily, "It is, um…"

Grayson shrieked. "HELP!" Drake and I both turned to witness him walking on water. Speechless, I noticed that the uncanny stone was clutched in his right palm.

"What?" Drake and I asked at the same time, still stunned by this bizarre turn of events.

"Hellllppp meeee!" Drake didn't look like he knew what was happening, and I didn't know, so what were we supposed to do?

"Grayson, you're walking-" Grayson sank beneath the surface, and he swam back towards us. "He just walked on water."

The willows dropped falling leaves on Grayson as he regrouped with us. Drake reached out and reeled his friend in. The stone was still in Grayson's hand, but his thumb was no longer concealing the designs.

"What did you find? What is in your hand?" I rattled off the questions, perplexed. "What is that?"

Grayson stared at the rock, unnerved. "I-I don't know. Just this weird stone with markings on it."

"Did you find it in the shipwreck?" I had no claim over it since he was the one who found it, but like with all things of archaeological value, I was interested. "Was-was it in there?"

"Yeah." Grayson awkwardly shifted his weight. "It was in like a secret compartment. It looked like it was opened before, though."

"What the heck?" Drake stared at the grooves in the oversized pebble. "It lets you walk on water."

Anxiously, Grayson tiptoed to the bank and vigilantly placed his foot on the surface. Instead of splashing and sinking, it stayed afloat. Soon, he was strolling on the surface of the water, Grayson's thumb obscuring the marks. "Wee."

Drake failed to hide his delight. "Wow, that could really be useful, for a lot of things."

Grayson stood next to me. "I got what I wanted. I'll um…" So. Many. Temptations. "I'll let you guys keep that."

Drake, obviously surprised, acknowledged, "Oh. Thank you."

"Are you going to take it?" Grayson pointed at the chalice still sitting on the mound.

I was more interested in studying it. I've grown emotionally attached to the object. It was as if a part of me was merged with the grail. After it went missing, I was heartbroken. "Uh, I just want to examine it, first. It's so pretty."

Drake wandered off to grab his things, but Grayson stayed close while grabbing his sword. Maybe he was waiting for his pay? Hmph, humans and money. I rolled my eyes.

"Yay!" I was now stroking its cold metal surface. What was wrong with me?

"Here." Grayson picked up the chalice before I could go overboard in my celebrations and passed it to me.

I squealed. "Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you!" I kissed him on the cheek. Grayson blushed madly.

"You don't know how excited I am about this!" I cushioned it between some old clothes to keep it safe.

"Well, we did the job, and this is my non-self-absorbed side talking, not selfish or anything…" Grayson stalled.

"I owe you…" I held out the marque, but he pushed my hand away.

"No, I would give it to Drake." He nodded in the direction of his lofty friend. "He's the one who needs the money."

"Oh, well… You are the one who did all of the work." Drake couldn't argue. From the looks of it, he was poorer than a pauper in the Empire.

"I'll pay for all of the expenses…"

"LOOK OUT! Fire is spreading behind you!" I warned Drake. The fire was creeping towards him. It seemed like he was flame-dorable!

"Grayson, could we shut off this?" Grayson poured a bottle of water on top of the campfire and extinguished the roaring flames. "Yeah, okay."

To Drake, Grayson said in a final tone, "I'll pay for the expenses of our quest. Don't worry, just take it for yourself." That. Was. The most selfless thing I've heard in a long time.

Doubtfully, Drake extended his hand. "All right. Thank you." I passed him the quadrilateral coin, and he pocketed it.

"Thank you SO much again. You don't know how much this has made me happy."

"AH YEAH!" Grayson was rocking the water-walking-stone-of-awesomeness, this time on an innocent little pond.

"Thank you. Now I won't be relying on Grayson for stuff very much anymore."

Grayson smiled inoffensively. Then he looked troubled. "Um, should we head back? I know that it is really close to the Red Keep, but seeing as it is already night, we should probably just camp out at that place we saw, that little Empirical guard camp."

Drake looked weirded out. "This potion is, uh, a little weird. Does anyone have any way to turn it off?"

I wasn't the type of person to carry milk around, and evidently neither was Grayson.

"It'll wear off eventually, don't worry," I assured. Grayson muttered the same assurances and started in the direction whence we came.

"Let's go!" Grayson slipped off the pack from his back. "Actually, I might need to get the map."

The lake reappeared. Grayson childishly grinned. "You know, I realized something though cool, guys."

"Hmm?"

"I don't have to swim." Still chuckling, Grayson strode across the waves with ease.

Jealous of the stone, Drake complained about his dislike of water. But I just grinned. A little wet discomfort and a mental battle was so worth getting two brand new friends. How could I complain?

Okay, that ending was lame, but my creativity tank ran dry at the end. Don't worry, I have more...exciting endings planned out for later on. Dark endings. Endings designed to make stomachs wrench.

Yada yada yada, how did you like the chapter? I feel like I ask this every single time.

Maybe I could just respond to reviews?

CJ: Yeah, school can be an idjit sometimes. One of the fantastic parts of attending a school that offers college classes is that the college who controls them can pull some strings and give you some last minute tests. I've got a few of those stories, but I never update them. Maybe I should work on Death or Eternal Punishment. And then there's The Hunted where I've got a magnificent plot twist planned out. I read what was out on Hidden Within, and it was awesome. Oh, and cookiemonster09 is asking if you made this certain test involving lightsabers.

Firelover123: Thanks! No, they were all of drinking age or older. I'll laugh if it turns out that the egg wasn't hatched. I know that they were playing around with the script after Armen came back. I meant for it to be Grayson's dragon, but how about this plot twist? HEROBRINE WAS RIDING GRAYSON'S DRAGON! And I never got around to posting it on Wattpad *sigh* I know that Drake is thinking that they could be dead, but you have to consider that according to this story, he's not heard from them for some time. For all he knows, they are dead. Then Drake's dad. It's been ages since I wrote that one. I mean, by now, I think it's obvious that he's dead because Drake is part Collin, but for that, I think I planned out that he died during a rainstorm. Okay, I'll forget the hybrid thingy. That quote...awesome.

cookiemonster09: Didn't I... Hold on. *rereads chapter* Oh. My. God. Okay, so in my original rough draft, I mentioned that she had an accent, but apparently I never included it. Am I really that good of a writer if I am able to get readers to imagine things that I never explicitly said were there? Yes, she had a Scottish accent. I love mystical chapters with no names too, but they take forever for me to do. That's why only a tiny amount of my stories are like that. There IS one way to develop theories. I don't have an actual account or anything, but sometimes I hang out on the Admin Chicken official website. Well, they've been posting these riddles, and when solved, you get some kind of clue. I've solved all but one (stupid time flying or whatever), and it is one way to get your mind going. Trust me. I am going to try one of those tests now. I'll tell CJ.

JazzTastic: How fitting of an ad considering this one-shot. You know, I think I can tie that idea into one of my one-shot plans. Yeah, I think I can make it work. Wait, you've HEARD of the Lioness series?! That is awesome! I'll try to get ahold of Wild Magic somehow. Drake talking to himself. Mind. Blown. I should make a one-shot of it someday, or at least include it somewhere. I'll have to think.

Guest #1: No, I didn't know that. Thanks for telling me :)

Guest #2: Thanks!

Erin: You're right. RejectedShotgun stories are hard to come by. Come on people!

That was fun. Now I'm going to write a more twisted one-shot. Ah, I love weekends/snow.

Congratulations to cookiemonster09 for being my 200th review *balloons fall from the ceiling*

~Lya200~