Disclaimer-I don't own it so don't sue.

I've decided to dedicate this fic to my friend, who is known here as Wishful Thinker, since she's the one that helped me write this much. My inspiration, if you like. But, since she's decided that we can't be friends anymore, I'm going to need your help! Yes you! I need support people! And I need it bad. So leave a review! Please?

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Chapter 19

Zahra



"I believe we may have found a candidate for our invisible spy." Wufei said, a triumphant look in his black onyx eyes.

"Who do you think it is?" Duo asked, wide eyed.

Wufei smirked. "It can only be one person. The head of the fifth guard, Under the knight that disappeared, Zechs Merquise, Dorothy Catalonia."

Duo raised one eyebrow. "How can you be sure?"

"She's a woman, isn't she?"

Quatre sighed. "Women aren't all evil Wufei." He then turned to Duo. "I sense something about her. She's not normal."

Duo's expression softened as he turned to the blond. "Alright Q-Man. What say we investigate?"

The fire mage nodded, and led the group out of the dungeons. However, to get to the guard's quarters, they needed to walk past the library.

Upon passing the massive oak doors, one of them flew open, and Zahra came rushing out and ran right into Duo.

"Hey Zahra, what's the rush?" Duo asked, a grin on his face. She glanced up at him, and Duo's expression changed instantly into one of shock.

Zahra's grey green eyes were black, and they betrayed their annoyance at Duo.

Then, she seemed to realize something, and she took off down the hall.

"Zahra, wait!" Duo cried, spinning around to follow the blond. His powers had been of no use to stop her.

"What's up with him?" Quatre asked as Zahra fled down to the dungeons, Duo a few feet behind her. However, when he got to the hallway where she'd turned, (the entrance to the dungeons) there was no Zahra to be seen.

"Um, guys? I think I need some help here." Duo called as he summoned some herbs from his room.

The others joined him, wondering what was going on.

"She disappeared." Was all Duo said, or needed to say. "Quatre and Wufei, you go check out Dorothy. Heero and I will deal with her." Duo commanded. "We don't want two dark mages against us."

"Right." Wufei agreed, and led Quatre down the hallway once more.

Reaching into his pouch, Duo pulled out some herbs and sprinkled them in the hallway, being sure to cover it lengthwise.

"Whoever crosses those herbs won't be able to move until I remove the spell." Duo said, loudly enough so that anyone down the hallway would be able to hear. "The dungeons have no other exit, and their walls are spell proof." He said to Heero. "We should post a guard or something."

"Hn." The animal mage replied. "I'll go find one."

Heero turned and left Duo by himself. The angel glanced down the empty hallway. Nobody would be safe until Zahra was no longer black.

*~*

Aria tried to close her eyes but found she couldn't. Before letting her leave, Treize Kuschrenada had decided she'd needed some more discipline. The dark mage found herself staring at the decaying bodies of the guards and knights that had disappeared from Trowa's castle before she'd arrived.

"There is another to help you." A voice whispered in her head.

"Another dark?" she replied sarcastically. She had a feeling that this was not going to make her work any easier. How was she supposed to save Quatre if Treize thought she was going to kill him?

"yessss…" The voice hissed. "At the casssstle…more dependable than yoursssself…shhhhhe will get the job done quickly…"

Aria's mind was racing. The others were most likely in danger. She had two weeks, minus the one day she had been staring at these bodies, forced to take in their every detail, including the smell of rotting flesh. She needed to get out of here.

"I have only two weeks, my lord. Please let me go to rid you of the threat of fire." She whispered, hope flying through her thoughts.

"You may leave…"

And she was released. She found herself in the stables. There were shadows tending to the horse standing in the stall. Shadowswift's eyes were wide with fear, but as Aria approached, the shadows withdrew. Placing a blanket followed by a saddle on the horse's back, Aria mounted the animal and the two headed off into the night.

*~*

Quatre approached the dungeon hallway with caution. The guard that was standing there seemed to be asleep. The fire mage had done some research on Duo's spell, and he'd found that if one thing was trapped, another could pass unhindered. Grimacing, Quatre neared the guard and with one shove, the man awoke one second too late.

"She can't really be evil…nobody is truly evil" the blond thought before jumping the pile of herbs that were scattered on the floor, and heading down the hallway.

What he didn't know was that Duo had been notified as soon as his spell had been activated, and what he didn't realize was that shadows can make a person evil.

*~*

Shadowswift galloped through the dark forest, sweat glistening on its silky black coat. The rider on its back was alert and prepared. She could feel the shadows moving around her, watching, ever watching.

Once again, the thought that two weeks wasn't enough flitted through her mind. Two days had now passed, and she could feel that the young fire mage was approaching danger. She could almost see the guard being pushed.

Grimacing, she urged Shadowswift on. She could see the lights of the castle through the darkness of the night. She could only hope that she wasn't too late.

When they finally entered the main gate, Aria dropped the horse off in the stable for a much needed rest. She then proceeded to the dungeons as quickly as she could, while trying not to notify anyone of the urgency of her situation. A few of the slaves bowed to her, but she ignored them completely. One thought was on her mind. Quatre.

The dungeon hallway came into view, and Aria quickened her pace. Hearing a cry of pain, she stopped dead in her tracks. "Quatre…" She mumbled before taking off down the hall, also jumping the pile of herbs and the unmoving guard that lay on the floor, she descended the stairs, taking to the shadows.

She listened for a few moments before rounding the corner at the bottom of the stairwell.

What she saw made her want to kill something or someone. (preferably the later of the two) but deciding that neither of these were appropriate, she calmed herself and cleared her throat.

"I see you've returned, Aria." Zahra said from the other end of the dungeon hallway. "I was just telling your little friend what you were going to do."

Aria walked over to Zahra and removed the leather whip from her hand. "I do believe this act is out of your place." She said calmly as the whip vanished. Aria then gently untied the unconscious Quatre from one of the grates of the cell, and even more gently lowered him to the hardened dirt ground. His shirt had been torn off, and his creamy skin was covered in red welts.

Zahra bristled at Aria's remark. How could the girl be so…so…ARGH! There are no [acceptable] words to describe the blonde's fury. Treize only favored the girl because she was more powerful. Well, that would soon change. Sending one last glare in Aria's direction, she placed her fingertips together and vanished.

Aria sighed a sigh of relief. The others would be safe for a while now. Zahra would take her time reporting to the lord, since she had failed to kill the fire mage. It had been a close call though. She placed Quatre's head in her lap and brushed a stray piece of hair from his face. She gently whispered his name. "Quatre…"

He groaned and tried to sit up, but Aria kept him firmly down. "I need to you tell me, yes or no, if she put any spells on you." Aria said. She could feel Duo and the others approaching.

Quatre's whole body shook as he coughed, and tried to utter the word "yes"

"Everything's going to be ok." Aria said as she heard hurried footsteps approaching them.

Duo rounded the corner and his eyes widened as he saw Aria comforting Quatre. He rushed over to the two, and with a nod to the girl, he set to work healing Quatre's wounds.

Heero and Wufei had followed him into the dungeons, and as soon as they saw Aria, their eyes widened in surprise.

"What are you doing her onna?" Wufei asked.

Aria chose not to hear this question, but Heero's was more acceptable.

"What happened?"

"Zahra put some sort of spell on him I think." Aria explained. "I was too late to stop her. What went on while I was gone?"

While Duo was healing, he explained that they'd trapped Zahra here, and that Dorothy Catalonia had been confronted. "We suspected the two of them of being dark mages. Quatre sensed something about Dorothy, but it turned out that she was just changing colours."

Aria nodded. She knew that the blond was more important than he seemed. "Where is Dorothy now?"

Heero grunted something that sounded like "yes".

"She disappeared yesterday, after she denied being a mage." Duo added. "We don't know where she is."

Aria felt a growing sense of dread in her heart. Things were definitely not going her way.

Duo stood and shook his head. "the spell's there to stay, at least for another week and half while I go find the right herbs to heal it. There's nothing more I can do now." He carefully lifted the fire mage with his powers and the 5 headed for Quatre's room.

Wufei pulled Aria behind the group for a private word. "What happened to you onna?" he asked in a quiet voice, motioning at the cuts and scrapes that decorated her visible skin. "The winds told me that you disappeared, and that is not what the people want to hear. Especially not since the one trait that a dark mage has over any other mage is their ability to disappear. Aria, where were you?"

Aria stared at the ground, walking and stumbling every so often when she put too much pressure on her right foot. "I'm sorry Wufei, but I can't tell you."

The weather mage huffed, but accepted this as the only answer he was going to get from the girl.

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hey guys! Sorry to leave it off there, but the next part needs to be rewritten because I was really lazy when I wrote it and it's really bad. Hope you don't mind waiting for a bit, cause this could take a while. I don't really feel like writing anymore. I don't know if I'll ever get around to finishing this fic.

Please leave a review and let me know what you think!!!

~Aria