[u]Part 46[/u]

When she first opened her eyes, Jennetta's only thought was that she was cold. She concentrated on using her gifts to warm herself slightly, groaned when a huge shiver wracked her frame as her body temperature readjusted.

Her second thought, as her eyes focused on the unconscious body of the sheriff lying in front of her, was that she was in real trouble. It took her a long moment to gather her wits in order to even attempt to make sense of how she had ended up equally as out of it as Kyle's father until moments ago and, she was now beginning to realize, bound hand and foot. She felt like she was clawing her way through a thick fog, fought against the desire to simply close her eyes again and let her overwhelming fatigue win.

In the end, her complete confusion and her desire to know what was going on beat out her bone-weariness.

The last memory she had was of standing over "Tom's" body, discussing whether he was Jendar or not with her parents and the sheriff. And now, here she was, waking up, obviously completely out of control of whatever situation she found herself in. Where had Michael and Maria disappeared to? And where was Jemma?

Moving her neck carefully, so as to not jostle her head too much - it was pounding excruciatingly - Jenny twisted her hands so that the tips of her fingers brushed the ropes securing her wrists. She sent a pulse of energy through the fibres, melting them immediately. She had just stumbled over to the sheriff, still rubbing the circulation back into her hands, when the voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

It couldn't be. It absolutely could not be him. And, yet, her heart started to pound so quickly, it momentarily increased her dizziness.

"Jennetta!" His tone was low, urgent.

She turned her head, her eyes widening at the sight of Ren standing not ten feet from her. Her pulse started to throb frantically as she took in his beloved face, full of life, no longer the dead shell they had left behind in the van. "Ren?" She heard the slightly disbelieving lilt in her voice, swallowed and stood after quickly undoing the sheriff's bonds.

Jennetta took a tentative step forward, trying to understand how this was possible. The only explanation that was coming to mind was that her parents had tied she and the sheriff up to keep them on Earth while they had gone through the portal to retrieve Max and the others from Illyria. Although how she could have been out of it for so long that they had gone, come back [I]and[/I] healed Ren.

It was impossible.

She stared at him, her hand up near her mouth, resisting the urge to throw herself at him, something she couldn't have done anyway because even if he was Ren, he had absolutely no idea of how she now felt about him. She searched his face, looking for a sign - any sign - that it was really him.

Their eyes met and she found herself getting lost in his dark depths. Something flickered within them, something that sent a shiver down her spine and not in a good way. "You're not Ren," she finally said, with such certainty, he looked momentarily startled.

"Of course I am," the being who was [I]not[/I] Ren retorted. "Who else would I be?"

"I.I don't know," Jennetta finally admitted. "But I know you're not him. Maybe you're Jendar.or another shapeshifter we know nothing about." She didn't even want to think about who she suspected he was. She knew he couldn't be Tarsus. There was no way Michael or Maria would have left her all alone with that evil shapeshifter.

"Don't be silly little one," the man scoffed. "I can be whoever you want me to be."

She frowned. "I don't understand."

"You've been deserted," he told her. He glanced around the still flood-lit stone circle meaningfully. "Where are your parents? They left you all alone. You have always come second in their hearts you know. I will always put you first. I will make you my queen."

Jennetta raised her chin. "I will be queen in my own right. I don't need anyone to [I]make[/I] me a queen."

The man narrowed his gaze, shook his head. "So stubborn. But we'll see how stubborn you are when it becomes clear that you are no longer the Chosen One."

"What?" She felt her heart stop.

"Why do you think you were left behind?" The man asked, sounding bored. "The Royal Four have decided they don't want to give up their thrones after all. They want back without you - to claim their destinies. You are trapped here."

"You're lying," Jennetta snapped. "My parents would never desert me!"

The man tilted his head. "Funny. I seem to recall that they've already done it once. But you wouldn't remember that, would you? You were just a poor, innocent baby and they left you anyway."

She glared at him. "That's not true. I [I]saw[/I] what happened. Tarsus stole me from them."

"That's what they'd like you to believe. It's what [I]you[/I] want to believe. But is it really true? How could a mother and a father forget about their own daughter for so long? Maybe they didn't want you at all. Doesn't that make more sense?"

Jennetta swallowed, resisted the urge to lift her hands to her ears to shut out what he was saying, wanted to close her eyes to his Ren-face, the face she wanted to see more desperately than any, the one person who could convince her. He had chosen his role well.

She knew in her heart that none of it was true. She [I]knew[/I] Michael and Maria. And, yet, it still hurt, imagining that it might have been so. How did he know exactly the right buttons to push? How could anyone be so evil?

It was his taunting that told her absolutely who he was. Somehow, some way, he [I]was[/I] Tarsus. And she was the only one confronting him. Even if they hadn't abandoned her, her parents were not here. She was all alone.

"But [I]I[/I] can take you back, can help you to make sure that [I]your[/I] throne is secure," he was saying, his voice silky smooth. He lifted an orb up to eye-level, smirking. "I am the only one who can control the portals whenever I want to."

She felt an instant of panic. The last thing they needed was for Tarsus to go skipping off through the portals again. They would end up chasing him across the universe for half their lifetimes. Wherever her parents, Isabel, Alex and Jemma were, she knew that she had to give them time, had to keep Tarsus busy until they returned. This needed to end now, tonight. He could not be allowed to escape again.

Which was why she said, "Okay."

He blinked. "Pardon me?"

"I said, okay," Jennetta repeated. "You're making sense to me. I know you're not Ren, but somehow you've figured out that I love him and if you want to keep his face, well, I guess that's better than nothing."

"Better than nothing?" The man demanded. "Better than nothing? I [I]am[/I] Ren."

"Please, you can stop lying," Jennetta told him. "Ren is dead. And if you don't believe me, go look in our van. He's in there. We were going to bring him back. But there's no need now. Not if you'll take his place." She shrugged, hoping that the lie of it wasn't too obvious. Saying it was painful, but he didn't seem to notice.

The man's eyes had widened, and for one instant, Jennetta actually saw a flash of something approaching shock cross his face. It might have even been grief, but it was gone moments late. "How did this happen?"

"Car accident," Jenny replied quietly. "A few days ago. His balance was thrown out of whack and we had no way to heal him without Max."

"My son." He trailed off, a far-off expression in his eyes for a millisecond. He then shook his head firmly. "Well, that's news. But no matter. I can always have another heir." His eyes darkened slightly as he focused on her face. "You are not the one I really want, but you will do for now. In fact, you might even be better. My first choice would have tortured Jaxon alone. Having you as my bride will just about kill them all."

"I thought they didn't care about me," Jennetta snapped, unable to help herself.

He scowled, as though annoyed to be caught in a mistake. She wondered if Ren's death was affecting him more than he was trying to let on. Who knew he could actually care about another being? Obviously not as much as he cared about himself, but still.

It was reassuring to know that not even Tarsus was completely evil. He was close, but not quite there. If care and concern actually existed in even him, then good would ultimately triumph. There could be no other outcome.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Jennetta amended carefully. She was frantically searching for some other way to distract him. He was fingering that orb entirely too lovingly, looked about ready to set it off. "Um.do you maybe want to see him one last time?"

"No," the man replied firmly. "Let us go now." He reached out his hand, beckoning for her to come to him. Jennetta grimaced, took a tentative step forward.

"You're not going anywhere. Laren al Dernia, I bind you to this Ring for judgment."

Jennetta heaved a sigh of relief as she watched Jemma come out from behind one of the standing stones, her hand raised and already glowing. "Jennetta, come here," the female warrior commanded.

Jenny hurried to comply, relieved that she was no longer going to have to deal with him on her own. "Where were you?" She hissed as she passed the captain of the Royal Guard.

"I went to call for back-up," Jemma muttered back. "We have completely lost control of this situation. I don't care what Tristandor says. We have an army and dammit we are going to use it."

Rolling her eyes, Jennetta watched the man carefully. He was standing exactly where she had left him, the orb still clutched in his hands. "He's going to use that," she warned Jemma. "We need to keep him here."

"Already done," Jemma replied. "We're in the Ring aren't we?"

"What?"

"Just watch," Jemma instructed. "This may come in handy one day when you are on the throne."

Jennetta had no idea what she was talking about, but complied. Jemma was moving towards Laren, who was watching her suspiciously. "Give me that orb," Jemma ordered.

Tarsus glared at her. "You know very well I can't do that Captain."

"So you do know who I am," Jemma snapped. "Interesting."

"Of course I do. I knew everything about my Andrina's journey," Laren replied, sounding bored again. Jennetta was beginning to realize that he did that whenever he knew he was in major trouble, mostly to throw off his adversary. Even his techniques were getting old.

"Tell Jennetta why you can't give me the orb," Jemma told him firmly.

Laren sighed. "Very well." He threw the orb in Jemma's direction. Jennetta gasped when it bounced back into his hands, as though it had hit some sort of force-field, which was still crackling as he took hold of it again.

"This Ring is [I]active[/I]," Jennetta exclaimed, amazed.

"Of course it is," Jemma replied. "It may be in pieces, but the power is still here. He is bound here for judgment."

Jennetta shook her head. "I don't understand."

Laren was scratching his eyebrow, looking around in annoyance. "It pains me that this is working. I was sure I had evolved beyond it." But Jennetta could see that he actually looked a little frightened.

Jemma turned her back on him, shaking her head. "He is as arrogant as I remember him. I never understood what Andrina saw in him. It was a relief to me when Gordian sent her to Earth. He hoped that away from his influence, she would understand what he really was."

"What I don't understand is why Gordian accepted him into the court in the first place?" Jennetta asked. "If Max and Isabel's father never trusted him, why was he allowed to stay? He was their enemy."

"It all comes down to that prophecy," Jemma told her, sighing. "The child of mixed heritage. The king could not turn Laren away when he came to Illyria as a refugee of conscience. He claimed he was made to flee because they were going to forcibly cleanse him. He was of the Dernian ruling house and a union between he and Andrina was too valuable to throw away, in spite of the fact that the king did not believe him. He had to accept that their marriage might bring about the birth of the child foreseen to bind the wounds of the planet."

"I guess that makes sense," Jennetta replied. "Poor Andrina."

"I am just relieved that the king did send her away," Jemma continued darkly. "Laren did not deserve her, by any stretch of the imagination."

Jennetta raised her eyebrows. "Even though it meant you ended up being stranded here?" Jemma had made it clear during their discussion earlier that day that her one goal, ever, had been to get back to Illyria.

"I loved my mistress. I was pledged to protecting her. I regret nothing." Jemma raised her chin. There was a long pause as Jennetta's heart went out to this strong and strange woman. Jemma's eyes met hers, and she wilted slightly. "I admit that I would like to see my home world once more before I die."

"I'm sure you will Jemma. I know you will." Jennetta reached forward, took the warrior's hand. "Thank you for saving me. I didn't know what I was going to do if he insisted on taking me with him, but I just knew that I couldn't let him leave either. Thank you for doing your duty to the end."

Jemma blinked rapidly. Jennetta wondered if those were actually tears in her eyes, but they were gone so quickly, she could not be certain. "I told your father before that I do not believe in the Chosen One."

"I know," Jennetta replied, frowning slightly. "And I'm glad of it. I hope that you will choose to follow me for who I will try to be as queen, not because some archaic prophecy tells you to. I need people like you Jemma."

There was another long silence. Jemma pulled her hand away, her expression unreadable. And, so, it was with great shock that Jenny watched this woman that she respected fall to her knees in front of her. "I do choose you my queen."

"I may be ill." This came from Laren. Jennetta looked over at him, glared.

Reaching down, she helped Jemma back to her feet. "Thank you Jemma. That means more to me then you'll ever know."

"I think I do know," Jemma replied quietly. "And it is why I said it. You are a worthy queen Jennetta. I truly do believe it now." She looked over at Laren with disdain. "And he believes it too. In spite of all he has done to thwart them, he still believes in Illyrian law and prophecy. I don't even think he knew it until I managed to bind him here. He wants to be the one chosen by destiny. And, yet, he knows he is not. In spite of it all, he knows."

"What do you mean?" Jennetta asked, still fascinated by every new detail that emerged about how the Ring worked.

"The Ring is judge and jury only to those who believe in its sacredness," Jemma explained. "If he didn't still believe in it, no power on Earth could hold him here."

"Which is why he is finally going to pay for all of his crimes."

Jennetta whirled, her eyes wide. "Jaxon!" She stared at her brother in astonishment. He was leaning casually against one of the standing stones, as though he had been there all along.

Max quirked a grin in her direction, before returning to glowering at Laren. Jennetta watched the shapeshifter take a step backwards, a slight frown on his face. The force-field holding him in the Ring slapped him back into place, forcing a pained tremor to run through his body.

It was in that instant that Jennetta knew that it was all coming to an end. They had him exactly where they wanted him, exactly where he did not want to be.

They had finally won.

To be continued.