Episode Six: WHAT!?

This episode has personal narratives by Nash and Jessica. Why? Because most of you want to get inside their heads right about now due to the really mean thing I did.

(Nash)

"What the hell are you talking about!?" I snapped, getting to my feet. "Jessica and I are NOT married. There wasn't any rings or vows or anything like that! Besides, I love Mia, not her. And Jessica's supposed to be engaged to Kyle!"

"Willamina, I don't know how you came to that conclusion. There was- the blood switch," said Jessica. Her eyes widened. "That's it, isn't it? It's some sort of a magical martial bond isn't it?"

Willamina nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so. This is known as a blood-lock, because a small amount of your blood was swapped, as Jessica correctly stated. This means that Nash can't make any sort of physical contact with another female unless it's his daughter, mother, or sister, or, well, you. That goes for Jessica, too, with other men. It was invented by a group of magicians who were afraid of their wives being unfaithful. This way they knew if she became pregnant it was their child and that she wasn't seeing anyone-"

Jessica, at this point, was staring at me through teary eyes. I knew deep down inside that no matter how much I tried to deny it or not believe her, it was true. Like it or not, she and I were husband and wife. Jess knew that, too. Without saying another word, she turned on her heels and ran out of the room in tears. I stood up and watched her go, feeling some of the same emotions, for sure. The room grew silent. I looked over at Kyle and Mia. Kyle looked half angry, half devastated, while Mia was looking at me like a treasured doll on a high shelf she couldn't reach.

Luna was the one who broke the silence. She stood right up, looking at Willamina with a serious monotone. "This is a nightmare," said the former Goddess. "What are we going to do?"

"Well," said Willamina, "I can probably break the spell if I get enough of the crystal power back. As I am now, I don't have enough magic."

Alex stood up, looking ROYALLY pissed off. "Crystal this, crystal that, there are SOME-"

"I'm serious!" said Willamina. "Breaking a blood-lock is an exceptionally high grade of magic! If I tried to free them at my current power level, it wouldn't work! I'd need about six or seven of the crystals, it's not as much as it sounds."

"Well, you're not the one who was captured by the crazed lunatics and can't get near the one your really care about without hurting them!" I snapped. "How can you be so insensitive?! You saw Jess run off. She's upset about this, and I don't blame her! Do you have any idea what she's going through, what I'm going through!? Mia and Kyle have to be going through something close to it. And you've done nothing to make any of us feel much better about this!"

The Keeper of the Realms looked at me though baby blue eyes, a wisdom beyond my knowledge peering through them. "I know you're both upset by this. I would be upset in her position, too. But as my power is now, I can do little beyond levitation and going through to the different realms. You're a magician from the City of Vane, you should understand something like this would take a lot of magic to correct. You know that there was powerful magic involved in that ceremony and a lot of that same powerful magic is running through you right now."

I turned my eyes down. I thought back to the ceremony. It was exceptionally powerful magic, and I could sense it still within me. "You're right," I said. "It would take a lot of magic to correct this."

"Well, is there anything we can do to help?" asked Alex. "Something that could add to your power or at least make contact bearable?"

"I'm afraid not," said Willamina. "The only thing that would be able to help me help your friends is the crystal. And, I'm sorry about being so selfish."

"Well, it sounds like that means a lot to you," said Luna. Then, she narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute, you NEVER told us why Alex and Kyle were-"

"Oh, that?" said Willamina. "It was probably just curious who those two were."

"The crystal can think?" said Alex.

"Yes, very much so," said Willamina. "A long time before I was even born, the soul of a brave young woman was imbedded into the crystal after she was nearly killed in a battle. She's really nice, just a little too friendly."

"Oh," said Mia. "That's interesting."

I looked out the door that Jessica had left through. "Uh, should someone go after Jess and tell her that we might be able to get rid of this stupid blood lock?" I asked.

Willamina sighed. "I'd suggest you go."

"What!?" I asked.

"Are you forgetting that you two are now married?" said Willamina. "And at that, in a very tightly bound marriage."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but-" I started.

Willamina laughed. "You know, it'll be about a month that you'll be married at the least, so you two should probably have a long talk anyways," she said.

Kyle sighed heavily. "Nash, as much as I HATE the thought of you and Jessica, well, together like this, you really didn't have much of a choice. And you obviously don't love her like that, so as long as you behave yourself I won't be forced to kill you when this is all over."

"Believe me, Kyle, I have no intention of going far at all with her," I replied. "Because I KNOW you'll have my head on a stick if I do."

Mia looked at me through large, sad eyes. I gave her the same look, feeling a terrible pain in my heart when I did. "I'll be back," I said. While still in the doorway, I mouthed "I won't ever stop loving you" to Mia. She smiled back, mouthing back "I won't ever stop loving you either, Nash" to me. I grinned and left.

(Jessica)

I couldn't believe this. Out of ALL the men in the world, I had to be forced into marrying NASH!? Heck, Alex would have been better than Nash! I mean, Nash was. . . Nash. I'd met him as a self-centered little brat who thought little of the world outside of Vane. And now I was stuck with him as a husband.

After I realized Willamina wasn't joking around, I ran out of the room and through several hallways until I reached the outside of what I'm assuming to be her house. Or mansion, I quite frankly didn't care either way. I needed some time to think this out. I found a small pond with a small wooden dock leading out a little ways into the water. I walked over to the edge and sat down, looking down into the water.

I looked into the water and smiled to see I was my old self. I was a beast person again, which was some comfort. I smiled softly, rubbing the soft material of the pink sweater my friends had given me after they got us out of that horrible shrine. I cringed at the thought. Elvina had better pray she not see them again. She wasn't sure who was going to cause more damage- her, Nash, Mia, or Kyle. Although she was sure that it wouldn't take too much to convince Luna or Alex to maul her, either.

I heard footsteps on the dock behind me. I ignored them. I felt the person sit down. I didn't bother turning around. I really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. Whoever they were, they weren't moving. I sighed heavily. "Mia, Luna, whichever one of you it is-"

"Sorry, it's me." Oh great, what did HE want?

I turned to Nash. "Well? What?"

Nash frowned. Then, he sighed. "First of all, the good news. The good news is that Willamina thinks she can get rid of the blood lock if she gets enough of her crystal power back," he said.

I brightened up. "Really? You mean we won't have to stay like this forever?"

Nash shook his head. "Nope. Willamina's estimated about a month or so before she has enough of her power back."

I groaned. "A month?"

"She could have said a year."

I sulked. "That would REALLY suck."

My reluctant "husband" laughed. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it? Kind of ironic we were joking about that before this whole mess, huh?"

I recalled our conversation in the dungeon cell Elvina had thrown us into. "What do you think'll happen tomorrow?" "I don't know, but at least they aren't going to make us get married or something!" "That would suck! Us? Married? Oh man, one of us would be dead within the first week!" "Hour?" I almost laughed at the memory. "Can we say 'jinx'?"

Nash pulled himself up next to me, rubbing a flat stone. "Maybe," he said, flicking it into the water. I watched as it skipped close to five times before it plunked into the water. "Either way, she recommended we have a talk. You know, try to get some of our feelings sorted out so we can at least go the whole month without killing each other."

"I'll agree with that," I said. I cleared my throat. "Okay, so according to the rules of blood lock, you can't so much as lay a hand on another female unless she's directly related to you, or, me. And I can't lay a hand on a man unless-"

"-they're directly related to you or me," finished Nash. "That means that things are going to get REALLY weird around Mia and Kyle for the both of us."

I snorted. "They're both probably pissed right about now."

"Yeah, Kyle said if we went anywhere that he'd kill me," he replied.

I sighed heavily. "At least I know he still loves me." I lowered my head. "But what, what if he meets someone else while we're going through the realms or something?"

Nash nervously laid a hand on my shoulder. I looked back up at him. "I don't think he'd do that, Jess. You know that when Luna, Alex and I first met him he was drunk?"

"I'm not surprised," I said. "We all know Kyle's a drunk, so why's it so important now?"

"He got drunk because he was upset over the fight you two had gotten into right before the Dragonmaster Zoc thing on Lann Island."

My eyes widened. "He got upset because of me?!" I said.

"He's crazy about you. You're his world. Everything that has any value to him is nothing compared to how much he values you and your love for him. You're supposed to be married to him, not me. This has got to be tearing him apart, especially where he was so close to rescuing you before the Disciples knocked him out," said Nash. "Look, a month isn't as bad as it sounds. I know you can tough it out."

"You really think so?" I said.

"You're too stubborn to NOT tough it out. And now that I think about it, next time Kyle says something stupid, slapping him will do a lot more than leave a mark."

I grinned. "Sounds amusing, but I don't want to seriously hurt him," I said. "Anything else you wanted to discuss?"

Nash shrugged. "Not really, no."

"Should we go back to the others?" I asked.

"No, not yet, they probably have their own talking to do," said Nash. "Namely with Mia and Kyle. They've got to be as upset over this as we are, if not more."

I nodded. "Nash?"

"Yeah?"

"I need a shoulder to cry on right about now. Mind if I use yours?" Nash nodded and I began to cry to again. He held me lightly, trying to calm me down. At that point I wasn't as upset over the fact it was him, but the fact that it happened at all.

(Nash)

Having Jessica cry on my shoulder like that felt weird. I mean, I really hadn't ever seen her as anything aside from a friend before this all happened. But now, well, we were kind of more than that. And we weren't really happen about that.

"Is she okay?"

I turned my head to see that Alex had come out. "She's just really upset over this whole thing," I said. "Did you guys have a talk in there?"

"Yeah. Mia's pretty much in the same shape as Jess," said Alex. "She just hasn't gotten to the 'cried herself to sleep' stage, yet." I looked down to see Jessica was asleep on my shoulder. I grimaced. "Think you can manage getting her back inside?"
"I think so," I said. I sighed heavily, slipping one of my arms under her knees, then hoisting myself up. She didn't budge.

"Kyle. . ." she mumbled.

I winced. "I hate seeing her like this."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Please don't tell me that the blood lock makes you feel for each other-"

"Nah, Jess and I just got to know each other while the Disciples had us. She feels like the younger sister I never had," I said. "In Meryod, that would make some sort of weird sense."

Alex nodded. "I would help you, but I don't want to go flying into the pond."

I laughed. "No, it's okay, I think I got her. Just tell me where to drop her."

"I think Willamina's working out room arrangements," said Alex. "Mia's probably already gone to her room and Kyle, well, he might have raided the liquor cellar by now."

I frowned. "Depending on what he drinks, well, that'll tell us how upset he is."

"We're in trouble if it's the vodka," said Alex. "I know that's what he drinks when he's REALLY upset over something."

Once we were inside, Willamina instructed us down the hallway. Jessica had her own room, which I realized was good. One, she couldn't share a room with Kyle for obvious reasons. Two, there could be odd feelings or hostility between her and Mia. Three, well, Luna and Alex were sharing a room. And as for me? I was not about to jump in bed with her. Which is why everyone but Alex and Luna got their own rooms. Secretly I wondered if after the blood lock was destroyed if Mia would want me to bunk with her.

Once I left her room, I decided to go exploring. I figured that if on our next mission something went wrong with me and Jessica, well, we might not be allowed to go out again until this whole mess was resolved. Meaning getting to know my environment would be of use.

Willamina had a nice sized home. Kitchens, a library, several different kinds of labs and display rooms, a few game rooms, other guest rooms, and even a greenhouse. I saw Luna poking around in the garden, so I decided to avoid that for the time being. So I instead went to the library and started looking through the books.

Interestingly enough, that's where I found Willamina. She was looking through a book with a black and red cover. She looked up. "Oh, hi," she said. "Look, I guess I was a little insensitive earlier."

I sat down at the table across from her. "It's okay, I used to be that way myself sometimes. It took becoming one of the Five Heroes to change that," I said. "Being in Vane for so long, floating high above everyone else and conducting powerful magic kinda went to my head."

"Yes, but if I hadn't have gotten so mad and made you all split up, this might have not happened," she said.

"But then it would have been someone else," I pointed out. I looked at the book she was reading. "What is that?"

"It's a book on the clan that kidnapped you and Jessica. I've dealt with them in the past. They aren't exactly a real threat, but they are a nuisance," said Willamina. "They have branches in several realms, but they don't have inter-clan interaction. They do communicate, but they are all different, some more destructive than others. I'm trying to look up the procedure that happened to you two so I can at least know how the ceremony is done."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked. "Not just that, but anything."

"Well, not really," said Willamina. "But I'll let you know if something comes up."

I nodded. "All right, you know where to find me if you need me."

"You should get some sleep, anyways," said Willamina. "It's been a long night for all of us, you and Jessica especially. Go. Room. Sleep. Now."

"Yes, ma'am," I said, turning on my heels and leaving the room.

(Jessica)

I woke up lying on abed in a strange room. I looked around, trying to figure out where I was. I was still clothed and lying on the sheets, so I didn't think anything happened. I rolled over to the side of the bed and stood up. I quickly ran my hands through my hair and opened the door leading outside.

"Good morning, Jessica, sleep well?" Jessica turned to see Luna smiling at her.

"Where did I just come from?" asked Jessica.

"One of Willamina's guest rooms. Nash dropped you off last night before he went exploring and went to his own room," said Luna.

I blinked. "Nash carried me?"

"Well, out of all of the girls, you're the tallest and the heaviest- no offense- so we couldn't carry you. Plus, you feel asleep while crying on his shoulder. Then, Alex and Kyle really CAN'T carry you because of the blood lock, and it would have been hard for Nash to transfer you over to Willamina without waking you up OR sending Willamina flying across the room," said Luna. "Everyone else is up but us. I think. Alex wasn't in our room, I know that."

I weakly smiled. "Is there going to be food out there?"

"Smells like it," said Luna. She sniffed the air. "Mmm, it smells so good. . ."

"I want food!" I said, darting towards the general direction of the smell. I ran through a dining room filled with my friends and into the kitchen, crashing into the cook. I yelped as the two of us tumbled to the floor.

"Ah! Jessica!!!!"

After a brief incident of rolling on the ground in a confused mess of limbs and slamming into a wall, I realized just whom I'd crashed into and was currently sitting on top of.

"Nash?!" I said. Sure enough, I saw Nash's surprised brown eyes looking back at me, blinking in confusion. "I didn't know you could cook!"

"Uh, Jess, really, could you PLEASE get off?" he asked. I pushed myself off of him, allowing Nash to sit up. "Yeah, I've gotten kitchen duty so many times at the Guild that the cooks eventually decided that I'd be more of a use if I helped them cook rather than wash dishes and scrub the floor. But WHY did you run in here?! One of us could have gotten burned!"

That was when we realized we were hearing snickering sounds in the background. I turned my head and frowned to see our friends standing in the doorway of the kitchen, laughing at the sight of us. I bit my bottom lip to keep from crying. Nash stood up, brushing off the green apron he was wearing, and placed his hands on his hips.

"Shut up," he said. "I'm surprised at you guys!"

Kyle looked at me, looking more annoyed than guilty. "Well sorry!"

Nash growled. "Look, just try to avoid laughing at her until this mess is over," he said. "Her emotions are a mess and laughing at her is the worse thing to do. You saw how easily she got upset yesterday when Willamina told us exactly what it was that happened, so just lay off, Kyle. I know you two like to joke around but now is not the right time."

I stood up. I looked at my friends. Nash was standing up for me. Kyle was being a jerk, and Nash was telling him off. I wasn't sure what to think. Things had suddenly been reversed. Usually it was Nash being a jackass, and whenever I needed to be stuck up for, it was usually Kyle who did it.

"Well, Nash, you might be married to her, but I'M her fiancé. I know a lot more about her than you ever will. And I know that she's taking this just fine and she's just going to sit tight until this whole thing is blown over," said Kyle.

My eyes widened in anger. "Kyle, you shut up. Nash has been a LOT kinder to me than you have ever since all this bull happened! What you said to Nash before he went to go and talk to me is a given and there was no need to say that!"

"Jess is pissed," said Alex.

That was when I went crazy. I wanted to hurt Kyle for being such a jerk. Something that would drive him crazy. Something that he'd loose sleep over. Something he would CRY over.

I kissed Nash.

(Nash)

After Jessica blew up at Kyle and Alex stated the obvious, Jess shoved me up against the wall and kissed me. My eyes popped open from surprise. What the heck was she doing?! We weren't supposed to go anywhere with the marriage, so why was she kissing me?!

"Jessica!" said Luna. My panicked eyes looked over my friends, all in shock.

Jessica pulled away, looking really mad. "Maybe you'll think twice about being a jerk, Kyle. Just maybe," she said. "Nash, c'mon, let's go."

I was panicked. I was a dead man. I was SOO dead. Kyle was going to strangle me with my own intestines. Jess grabbed me by the wrist and began to drag us out of the kitchen.

Everyone split apart, not wanting the risk of brushing up against either one of us. I turned my head and made eye contact with Kyle. When he blinked, I saw two tears slip down his cheeks.

Jessica ended up dragging us back to the pond. "Jessica, what the hell did you think you were doing?!" I asked. "You know that I-"

Before I could protest any further, Jessica, gave me another kiss. This time I pulled away. "Jessica, please, talk to me," I pleaded. "I don't know what you're planning, and you're scaring me. What is going on with you?!"

Jessica didn't seem to respond. When she tried another move, I sent a small electric shock into her hand. She yelped back, clutching her hand. "Ow! What did you do that for!?"

I nervously knelt down next to her. "Jess, you're going crazy. What the heck happened back there?" I asked.

"Kyle was being a jerk and you weren't," said Jessica. "So I wanted to hurt HIS feelings."

I sighed. "Kyle's immature like that. And he isn't the brightest crayon on the box, we all know that. He's just upset over this whole situation and by kissing me THEN dragging me out here you made it worse!" I said. "We have to keep tension down and that was the worse thing either of us could have done."

"But he shouldn't have been that immature!" said Jessica. "It hurt me when he said that I was that tough. I'm, I'm not always like that. I can be sensitive, too."

I sighed heavily. "And as bull headed as Kyle. You know, I'm pretty sure I saw him cry back there."

"Cry?" asked Jessica.

I nodded. "Unless he lets tears flow when he's happy."

Jessica sighed heavily. "I'm just really confused."

"Jess?"

The two of us turned to see Kyle had joined us. Jess fumed. I groaned. I was stuck in a VERY bad place. "What, Kyle?"

"I, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were that upset," he said. "I guess, I guess I'm just, jealous."

"Jealous? Of me?" I asked.

"She's right. You have been better to her than I have since everything's happened," said Kyle. "I just wanted to apologize."

Jessica smiled. "Apology accepted. This is going to take adjustments for all of us. And I'm sorry I kissed Nash."

"Apology accepted," Kyle and I said at the same time. Jessica laughed.

"What am I ever going to do with the two of you?" she said, draping an arm over each of our shoulders. I cringed as I watched Kyle fly into the pond. "Oops."