Authors Note: Well, here is the third chapter. I apologize about it taking so long, it takes me a while to get inspiration and this was a lot of work. I want to get more reviews but I guess I will just have to keep writing and get more people interested. Enjoy and review if you read.

            "Well, so they managed to escape Murond after all. Very interesting seeing as how it was supposed to be impossible." Dr. Cortez stated putting down the scriptures he had been reading to his colleagues. To his right sat his fellow translator Horatio Marcus. Horatio was still dressed in the rags that his now undignified drumming out had forced him to wear. In front of him were his two star students. On his left arm was Jonathon Griggs, an archeology major. Jonathon had been Dr. Cortez's assistant and dare he say it friend for sometime now. On Jonathon's right sat a younger girl to his twenty-two. She was only twenty and was an anthropology major. However she had stumbled upon the three men reading and translating the scripture and decided to add herself to the mix. However, Sarah McAllister presence would soon become more fortuitous then any of them would know.

            "Well, what happens next?" Sarah asked eager to hear what the next step in this great adventure that was being told to her was. However, both of the old men puzzled over the next part of the diary.

            "I know I have seen this before. It is a dialect of ancient Ixalian but it seems to be something much fancier… odd." Horatio said looking over at his doctor friend.

            "Why would this be here… most of this is written in country standard Ixalian… but this seems to combine a few different aspects of Ixalian, Percellian, and something else I don't recognize." Dr. Cortez commented. Meanwhile Sarah was taking a look over the words that these two experts in the field of ancient translation had trouble with and started to read it to herself.

            "There… I stood alone… with… all of my… friends in some sort of…" She stated to herself loud enough for everyone to hear.

            "Sarah, are you saying that you can read this?" Jonathon asked. He looked up at her with a whole new respect… he thought this sophomore had gained too high of a reputation with Dr. Cortez but now he began to believe he may have been mistaken.

            "Of course, you are right about the Ixalian, but there is more of the basic Igronian here, not Percellian." She stated looking back at her professor. Jonathon for his pert just sat there with this kind of dumbfounded look on his face. He had known of her and knew she possessed something; she had to, otherwise Dr. Cortez wouldn't have given her a second thought. But to be able to translate something that these two masters of language couldn't… now that was something else.

            "Well, what does it appear to be Sarah?" Horatio asked truly intrigued by the fact that she could read what he could not.

            "It looks like Alma's thoughts. Perhaps she had a different writing style the Ramza. After all, she was brought up in an aristocratic school. It only makes sense that she would have a different education then her brother who was brought up as a knight." She concluded. Dr. Cortez could only laugh at how much his student had learned.

            "Well, seeing as how she is the only one that can read this, I say that we let her continue. I am ready to keep writing at anytime." Jonathon said smiling in her direction. Sarah simply returned the smile and brushed a stray lock of red hair from her face.

            "Excellent idea Jonathon. If you would Sarah." Dr. Cortez stated taking a seat. Sarah was overjoyed that Dr. Cortez had gotten over his earlier annoyance at her presence. She picked up the scripture, cleared her throat and began again.

……………………………………………….

Chapter 3: A winter night's lament

            Did we make it? Did this evil jewel really help us get home? Why do I feel so cold then...? Father! If I am dead where is my father? No… it couldn't be, did this damn thing steal my soul… am I… in hell?

            Alma awoke with a scream, she was having a nightmare. She believed that she and her brother had been fighting god and that she was possessed by a demon and that she, her brother and his friends had all died because of her. She sat up and looked around expecting to see the inside of Beoulve Manor… what she got was a snow covered forest. She looked around and saw that her brother's… her friends were lying there in the snow with her but they were motionless.

            No! I won't believe this… it was a nightmare, this is a nightmare. This didn't happen.

            She was lost in thought… shaking her head as if to try to clear this image from her memory. But it did not go away when she opened her eyes. Still there were the forms of her fallen friends, still there was the bleak grey of the overcast sky, still there was the juxtaposition of the white snow and the brown, leafless trees, and still there were the thoughts and memories of the crimes she had committed. She remember Orlandu's words to her well but with him there to remind her of those words she was left with nothing but sorrow. She pulled herself over to her brother who laid there lifeless when she noticed an odd glow. It was the stone of Taurus… his stone.

            Why do you glow… if your master is dead why do you glow?

            She reached over and placed a hand on his back and was startled to find that he was still breathing.

            But how? I killed you, I killed all of you… or did I?

           

            This last thought hit her like a chocobo stampede. Perhaps Ramza was right, perhaps the stones themselves are not evil or good. Could it be that the stones were… protecting them?

            Even if they are protecting them… why protect me? I am evil… I am a demon. I nearly killed all of them. I am the Bloody Angel… aren't I? But then, what of Orlandu's words… I fought against the Angel of Death… I fought and defeated him. I don't think that I am a saint… but perhaps there is more to me then simply being a demon.

            She shook her head clear of the thoughts she was having and remember her predicament. She was cold, very cold. It was apparent that when she woke up the protection of the stone had dispersed. She needed to find someway of keeping herself warm. She thought for a little while, back to her early childhood when her father would take her brothers out camping, or least what she thought was camping. It later turned out that he was actually going on scouting missions, but to her it seemed like camping. Of course, she was never allowed to go but one time she did manage to sneak away and join them. She watched from afar the teaching Balbanes gave to Ramza about how to build fires and find shelter in the dead of winter. She thanked herself for both watching intently and her ingenuity about not getting caught that trip. Despite the extreme cold she was feeling she got herself up and set to her task. Within a few hours she had a fire built and a shelter for all of them set up. It was a simple lean-to; she didn't know what else to do. It worked in keeping the cool night wind away from her though. She looked around at everyone hoping to see some signs of waking but there were none. It was at that point that she really got to thinking about what was going on.

            How long have we been out here… wherever here is. I wonder how much time has passed. When I entered Murond it was the middle of spring and now the ground is covered in snow and the wind is cold. It doesn't matter I guess… time does not pass for those that have died. Died… am I really dead to this world… I have to go find a town. I haven't eaten and I have no weapons or skills to hunt. But, what will I find in town… or what will find me?

            She looked up at the stars in the sky. The clouds had since cleared out and with them any chance of heat being held in place. Alma shivered as the wind nipped at her. Her dress, while once fashionable, was now torn asunder. It was once beautiful, red with gold trim and long enough to cover her to her ankles. Under it she wore a simple white turtle neck undershirt. However, now massive rips in the seams from where Adjora had manifested himself in her marked it. She shivered at the thought of just what Adjora was but decided not to think about it now. She looked back out and saw for a road that stretched through the forest. She had seen it earlier but never really gave it a second look until now. This time however, she saw someone going down that road. It looked like a Royal carriage, though she didn't recognize the crest. The carriage was decked out in fine silk runners and made of the finest brown mahogany that seemed to be covered in bronze to give it an even more regal look. She didn't care what it looked like, she ran for it anyway, the minor frostbite in her legs didn't even seem to bother her as she ran towards the first living beings that she had seen since she awoke. As she got closer she seemed to pass through something.

            What was that flash? Am I dreaming? Is what I feel real… of course it is? I feel cold, pain… or am I dead? If I am dead why I am here in this frozen waste and what is this carriage that is before me.

            Finally, after what seemed like days she reached the side of the road and collapsed. The carriage master reigned in the horses and jumped off. He was a young man, not much more then twenty two or three wear the traditional garb of a royal stable keeper which consisted of a rather large plaid hat, silver overalls and a green tunic that carried that once again foreign royal crest. He was just a little bit taller then her which wasn't saying much seeing as she was short in the first place. He had brown hair and hazel eyes. She looked up at him just as he jumped off his perch.

            "Why have we stopped boy?" A deep but strangely family voice rang through her ears which had been filled with only her own thoughts and the sound of the wind lately. She looked up and saw that the voice was coming from inside the carriage.

            "There seems to be an injured girl in the road my liege. What shall I do?" The carriage driver asked. Through blurred vision Alma saw a light from inside the carriage begin to burn and a man's figure look out.

            "What seems to be the extent of her injuries?" The man asked. The carriage driver looked over her broken form and simply shook his head.

            "She seems to have been out here a while. It seems that she is heavily frostbitten. As for why she is out here… from the looks of it I would say that she was a tavern maid who turned down one two many cat calls. With the damage to her clothes… I am not doctor but I can only assume that she was raped your highness." The carriage driver summed up as if she wasn't even there. The words however seemed to hollow out her brain.

            Raped! Raped? Was I… raped? Is that what the Bloody Angel did to me? He took my body and used it as he saw fit. He seized my soul and wouldn't allow it to escape, he tortured my mind… made me do things against my will. He tore from the precious innocence of a teenaged girl. I guess it is true what he says… I was raped. I am still a virgin but yet I was raped. I am nothing but trash… perhaps I should have just sat there and died…

            The carriage driver bent down to look at her closer but she was too lost in the thought to see him.

            "My lord… she won't last much longer out her. What should we do?" He asked the man in the carriage. The man simply shook his head and opened the door.

            "Let me have a look at her." The man said stepping out of the carriage. He was as finely dressed as the carriage he rode in. His robes were of red fur outlined with what appeared to be white tiger skins. His armor was pure gold that reflected the light of the moon almost blindingly. The crest in the center was the same crest that had been everywhere else. He had brown hair which was slicked back. Strangely though his eyes seemed to be a hallow shade of grey. The color was ghostly, almost as if he had seen too great a sorrow and cried the color straight out of them. He knelt down next to her and she finally snapped back into reality and began to try to escape from. He held onto to her in hopes of preventing further damage.

            "Whoa, whoa, there. I am not here to hurt you. My name is Delita, I am your king."

………………………………………………..

            "Delita! Are you sure that you read that right Sarah?" Dr. Cortez interrupted. Sarah reread then passage twice to make sure she had done so and each time she came up with the same name.

            "Yes Doctor that is what she wrote." Sarah responded. The two older men just looked at each other utterly dumbfounded at what they had just heard. Jonathon thought about it for a second and then remembered why the two men were acting this way.

            "Sarah, you are sure that the name written there is Delita. The same Delita that ruled all of the Ivalian continent." Jonathon asked her

            "Yes, that is the name here, now whether it is the same person is something yet to be seen. Its odd though, shouldn't he have recognized her? After all, wasn't Delita a member of Beoulve family for a time?" She asked to the room. Horatio for his part had been thinking about a few things.

            "We don't know how much time has passed from the explosion of Murond to this point. Perhaps years have gone by and Delita simply forgot." He concluded. The four of them looked at the scripture. Sarah had been thinking about what she had read and a few things just didn't add up to her.

            "If that was true… how could she have been alive at all? Furthermore, in all that time wouldn't someone have seen them or more to the point, wouldn't they have decomposed being exposed to the elements like that?" Sarah inquired. Jonathon could help but notice how her brow wrinkled when she thought critically like this. Then he kicked himself for paying so much attention to her.

            "Perhaps… but she stated something about the stones protecting them. Not to mention the flash she saw. It almost seems as if once she crossed that flash, her body caught up with her. Could it be that those stone were doing just what she said they were?" Horatio stated snapping Jonathon's attention away.

            "Perhaps, but we are dealing with pure fantasy here. We don't even know if the Durai papers and the powers they claim exist actually did. We are stabbing at things we don't and probably couldn't understand." Dr. Cortez intervened. Sarah simply shook her head at this comment. She knew both of these men better then this. She had studied both of their works quite extensively and knew they were more open-minded then this.

            "Doctor, think about it. This was two millennia ago. To people from this time our computers, cars, airplanes, all of this would seem to be mythical and magical to them. Just like their magic powers, summonings and holy stones are to us." Sarah stated looking over at Jonathon who was getting ready to speak.

            "Yeah, and besides, we are supposed to be phenomenologists. We know that what seems impossible can very often be true. Just because we have not seen magic doesn't mean that it never existed. And besides… it was once believed that civilization was only nine hundred years old until two university professors found a set of papers that proved that there has been civilization on this planet for centuries more. What is it you once said to Mr. Marcus Dr. Cortez… 'There are more things in heaven and earth then that which are dreamed of in you philosophy Horatio." Jonathon concluded as the two students took one another's hand into a shake. Their hands lingered together as they seemed to be more then celebrating their verbal victory.

            "Uhhum,' Dr. Cortez cleared his throat snapping the two back to reality, 'be that as it may, we are not going to learn anything if we don't continue with the reading. Sarah if you please." He concluded as Sarah and Jonathon smiled at each other.

            "Of course Doctor." She said as she continued.

……………………………………………………

            Delita… but why do you not recognize me… and why did I not recognize you? Is it really you? Or did someone take your name? But no, I feel the same energy from you as I did he… but you are so… so… different.

            "King Hyrule, are you sure it is safe to be with her like that… she could attack you." Said an armor clad man inside the carriage. He was a little bit taller then Delita covered in white armor with the same crest as Delita's. His hair was blond and on his arm he bore the symbol of the dragon.

            "You worry too much Beowulf… she cannot hurt me, she cannot even look at me. Strange though… I could have sworn I have seen her somewhere before. She almost looks like… but no, that can't be possible." Delita said the last part to himself but loud enough that Beowulf could hear him.

            "What is that my lord… have you seen this girl before?" He asked him.

            "If I didn't know that she was dead and that her funeral was in three days… I would almost say that this Alma Beoulve." Delita said with a chuckle.

            "That's absurd my lord. Reis and I saw Ramza and the other four drawn into Murond… nothing could have survived that." Beowulf concluded.

            "Perhaps my friend… but the fact of the matter is that we have an injured girl here. And on the soul of my late wife I could not just let her lie here. Driver, help me get her inside… we shall take her back to the castle with us." He said this last part with a bit of crack in his voice. Beowulf had noticed it almost every time he talked about his former wife. It was still an ache on his king's heart to this day the fact that she committed suicide a few short days after her coronation. Delita for his part was helping the driver and noticed that the girl was trying to speak.

            Even if means death by execution… it is still better then freezing to death.

            "Plea…se hel… help… my fri… friends." She struggled to say pointing towards the general direction that she came from. Delita looked out and saw nothing but field and forest.

            "There is nothing out there miss… you must be hallucinating…" He said as he helped her inside.

            What… are you blind. Your best friend… or mortal enemy is out there. I am not sure which one you left on but he is there… surely you feel him… you always used to.

            Her thoughts were interrupted by the carriage master putting her feet inside the warm cabin of the carriage. She looked out onto the field and to her great sorrow she saw that he was right. She couldn't believe it…

            No… where did they go… was I hallucinating? No, I felt them, I felt them all. I felt the power of those accursed stones… I still do!

            She screamed in her thoughts as pain ripped through her young body as she jumped down from the warmth of the carriage and ran off towards her campsite. As she got closer she felt like she was once again passing through something and there it was again… all of it. Ramza was still lying on side, Agrias near him. Mustadio and Meliadoul were still lying hand in hand and Orlandu, who landed head first, was still lying face first in the snow.

            What is going on here? Why one minute can I see them and next I can't? What is that damn flash… what the hell are these stones doing to me?

            Delita had bounded after her and caught up to her where she seemed to stand dazed almost as if she saw something he didn't However, it was not something that he saw it something that he felt that caught his attention.

            "No… it couldn't be. But it is… it's him. Ramza, I feel you here. I am not sure why or how but I do… but there is nothing here other then this barmaid that looks like your sister. Do you haunt me for what I have done… do you haunt me for the murders I have committed… do you haunt me for becoming what I most hate… or do you haunt me just because you can't have what I have. No matter Ramza… you are dead, your soul was taken by Saint Adjora and you will now face eternal damnation for not leaving when you had the chance… you are the fool and I am king… I am rid of you Ramza… forever!" He screamed the last part into the night. Alma looked up at him… he had changed since the last time she had seen him. In his eyes there had always been this light but now… all she saw was darkness.

            What has happened to you Delita? You were once my brother's best friend but now you curse his name? What has happened to you? I am the demon, please tell me that you have not become one. I could not bear to think that both of the people that my brother most trusted in have betrayed him. But then… is that my punishment… to see my brother suffer like this? I can't… I won't…

            Alma broke out into a scream. Delita immediately jumped into hold her and wondered what she found so frightening… or more to the point where she got the energy to scream like she was.

            "Now you haunt her to Ramza! She means nothing to me! Stop this foolishness and return to the nether realm… you do not belong here anymore." Delita concluded as he carried Alma off. He looked back every once in a while to see if the apparition he feared was following him… it wasn't. As he got closer to the carriage Beowulf ran to him to check on both him and the girl.

            "My liege, I heard a scream… what happened?" He asked him.

            "Nothing, this girl thought she saw something. But it turned out to be nothing, just like her supposed friends. Come, let's get her into the carriage and get her out of this cold. She should get her wits back with a warm bath and some medical attention." Delita said placing her now unconscious form back into the seat of the carriage. All the while, Alma could nothing but think trapped thoughts of broken realities. It felt like centuries passed before she came to. However, she felt something different then snow. This sensation was still wet but now warm… it was now all over her body. How could she be feeling warmth?

            What is this? It isn't the flames of hell… I have already been through those once and these are much more… more… relaxing. If I am to suffer why am I being pampered…

            She opened her eyes and noticed something very peculiar about her surroundings. No long was she in the dark, snow covered forest. She was now in a palatial estate. She sat up and looked around at her surroundings. The room she was in was bright with red and gold. On one wall was a mirror that took up the whole wall. On the wall facing her was a fancy four post bed with what appeared to be golden satin sheets and large fluffy white pillows. The wall to her right had a large gold and mahogany dresser lying up against it next to a door that was made of similar material. Behind her was a large tapestry of what looked to be the fifty-years war. The room was square with only one large cathedral window that was cover by satin curtains. Luckily for her because at that moment she realized that all this time she had been completely nude lying in a tub of warm water. She looked around for her clothes but could find none.

            What am I doing here? This almost looks like home but…why would I be here? Who brought me here… and why am I naked! It doesn't look like they tried to hurt me… maybe I should just enjoy it.

            With this last thought Alma just leaned back as the water once again covered her breasts. She continued to look around but this time not really at anything. She was enjoying the feeling the water was giving her. For the first time in a long time she actually felt relaxed. She stopped looking around and closed her eyes once again. She just let the feeling of warmth overtake her and for the first time since she had come back to herself she felt like herself again. She finally remembered though what had brought her here in the first place and what she had to leave behind to get here. She shot up and was stand as the water cascaded down her body.

            Oh my god, their still out there! I have to go back to them… I have to go find them now. I have to go save my brother I have to go save…

            "Ramza!" She said the last part of her thought aloud.

            "And just how would a bar maiden know the name of a heretic?" A voice came from in front of her. She opened her eyes and the dropped back into the tub spilling water out all over the plush red carpeting.

            "What the hell are you doing in here?" She asked mad and embarrassed at the same time. The man simply shook his head at her immodesty, after all, he was the one the disrobed her in the first place.

            "Please girl, I was the one who brought you here in the first place. Besides… you don't have anything I have seen before." The man said with a chuckle. It took her a few minutes but she finally realized who she was talking to.

            "Delita?" She asked still hiding below the tub line.

            "The same… and who might you be? I mean, you look almost exactly like a girl I once knew. She was an aristocrat… she had long blond hair like you but she kept in a ponytail." Delita said approaching her. Alma realized that with his words that her hair was out of its bonds. She noticed that Delita had continued to me closer to her.

            "What are you doing… stay back!" She screamed curling up even more trying to hide her nude form. Delita for his part just shook his head.

            "Look if you don't want me to closer I won't. But I do need to know who you are. You see, the girl that I spoke about… her funeral is in two days. So I have to wonder why you look her." Delita said returning to his place against the wall. Alma just looked at him… he had changed so much over the past four years.

            What has happened to you? You used to be… be… so much more lively. What has brought about this change in you? You were once my half brother, you like Ramza would have done anything to save me. But now… you almost look like you are ready to… ready to… why. What have you done, what has been done to you, why have you changed like this… are you even the Delita I once knew?

            Alma shook her head and thought about how to respond to his questions. She knew that whatever had happened to him that if she told him who she was that he would either have her killed or imprisoned for being insane. She decided that she would play to what he thought she was.

            "I am sorry for your loss sir. I hope that your grievin' hasn't been too hard on ya." She stated in the most country manner that she could manage. He took a long look at her and then smiled.

            "I guess it is just a coincidence that you look like her. I am sorry to have bothered you with such unimportant matters of state. However, I am still troubled by the fact that you call out the name of a known heretic." Delita turned away from her and frowned. Alma had to think quickly before her cover was blown.

            "I saw a poster about him… to think someone would stand against the word of St. Adjora. I hope the church caught him, he gave me nightmares." Alma said biting her tongue at the fact that she was supporting the church that had violated her.

            "Yes, I will send the maid in here with a new dress for you. I shall tell the stable master to take you into town. Zeltennia should hold a place for you to work." Delita said as he started to leave the room.

            "I thank ya' kindly sir. I hope I wasn't to much trouble to you Mr. …" She asked knowing full well who he was… or least who he used to be.

            "Did you hit your head dear girl? I am Delita… king of all Ivalice." He said turning back to her.

            King! King! When did you become a King, this isn't what you wanted. You wanted to free people from tyranny. This is not what Teta would have wanted… this is not what you wanted. Why Delita… why?

            "I am sorry my liege… I must have been hurt worse then I thought to forget about my king." Alma said as she looked up at him. Delita simply turned away from the naked girl and walked out of the room. Alma meanwhile laid back down in the now half empty tub and stared at the ceiling.

            He did recognize me… but he thinks that I am dead… it is just as we thought. We are dead to this world. But this doesn't explain why he hates Ramza. What did we ever do to you Delita… what has made you like this? It doesn't matter though… I guess it is something we deserve. Though we save the world we are left without one. I am not the demon but I was violated by one… and perhaps that is Alma Beoulve that will buried in two days.

            She looked out at the top of the window at the early morning sun. It had been that long since she had been pulled from that forest. The problem was that the more she thought about it the faster she realized she had a problem.

            I don't even know where that forest is… how am I gonna find them?

            Her thoughts were broken by this odd glow coming from the pack that was sitting on the small nightstand next to the bed. She got out of the tub and looked for something to wrap herself up in but found nothing. So she decided that it didn't really matter and walked over to the pack stark naked. She picked up the pack and realized that it was her pack.

            "They didn't open it? That means that the stone…" She said to herself as she opened the pack and sure enough Virgo was still inside. It was glowing faintly, almost as if it was try to tell her something.

            Does it know where they are… can it guide me…? …NO! This is a stone of evil or it used by an evil heart… why would it guide me to where I want to go?

            "Madam… you shouldn't have gotten out of the tub like that. We just got you warmed up again… do you want to catch your death of cold?" A maid stated entering the room. Alma stuff the stone back into pack and rolled behind the curtains of the bed in an attempt to hide her body from the newest peeping tom. However, after her surprise cleared she realized it was the maid that was there to dress her. She slowly got up off the bed still covering herself with the curtains of the bed.

            "Girl, you don't have anything I don't… what you got is just a little more perky and a lot less wrinkled then what I got." The maid said with a laugh as she noticed how timid Alma was being. Alma turned bright red at the maid's comments.

            Why am I being like this… Adjora ripped away my innocence. Why am I being as timid as a school girl? I was a schoolgirl too long ago. That was another lifetime… another person. I am no longer Alma Beoulve… she is going to be buried in two days… I have no name, it was stripped from me along with my old dress and my… my…

           "What are you so lost in thought for darlin? You are too young to be thinkin that much. Now that I got your attention, what's your name, who are you, and how old are you anyway?" The maid asked snapping Alma back to reality. Alma looked up at her and let the curtain fall. She didn't care anymore…

            I am not even human anymore. I may not have been the demon myself but I was perverted by it. I lost everything I was… I… she died that day.

            "I am nineteen… I don't have a name and I am nothing." She answered standing up not caring about who saw her.

            This is divine justice. I should stand here stripped of everything… even my clothes. I have been party to a great evil and despite Orlandu's words, I am guilty, even if its not what I believed I was guilty of. I am guilty of a greater crime then betrayal… I am guilty of… of… existence.

            Alma stood there… no saying a word but the maid thought she knew what was on the young woman's mind.

            "Hey now, don't you start thinking something like that. So a man took you by force against your will, so what. Are you going to let that destroy you? Or are you going to stand and say @#$% you! I am a woman… I am my own woman. I will dictate where my life goes and where it leads me. Its time for you to take back what was taken from you. Now you are never going to be same… you cannot be. But you are grown up now, I am only sorry that you had be grown up at nineteen. But the rest of your life is yours to do with as you please." The maid finished her speech and looked up at Alma who was looking right at her.

            You mean there is life after what was done to me? How, how can I ever live with what I have done… but then… I am dead aren't I? I am a woman… my own woman.

            "Alma… my name is Alma. I was correct when I said that I was nothing but at least now I think that I can be somebody. Thank you." She said taking the curtain and covering herself back up.

            "No need… if you want to thank me, become something great. Fight back and win against assholes like the one that hurt you. Anyway, let's get you dressed and on your way. We wouldn't want our illustrious king to get mad again would we?" The maid said as she handed Alma the slip that was the first of the things that she had brought for her.

            "What of Delita… what has happened to him since his sis… since the events of Fort Zeakdon?" She asked as she was pulling on an undershirt.

           "You mean that battle four years ago that started the War of Succession? I didn't know our king was involved in that. I know he is the hero of that war but I though he was only a bit player at that time."

            He hasn't told anyone has he… has he kept that inside all this time? No wonder he has changed… it has eaten away everything that was Delita and left this. I am sorry Teta… I failed you. There is nothing more I can do about it thought. My time as Alma Beoulve is over. I am not sure who I am… but I know I am me.

            "I guess I just misread something… forget I asked." Alma said buttoning up the last bit of her new dress. It was still kind of regal, it was blue and white with silver trim and small bow time on the left shoulder. After getting her dressed the maid brought enough food to feed an army… or apparently just a really hungry Alma. After she was done eating Alma stood up and began to walk from the room when she realized that she had left her pack. The maid handed her the pack and looked up at her. Alma reached out to hug this servant that she did even know the name of. This worldly woman had restored hope back to the younger Alma and for that she would be forever thankful. The maid for her part returned the embrace with the same intensity.

            "What was that for Darlin?" The maid asked.

            "I don't even know your name and you have helped me so much. Thank you."

            "Well you're welcome… its been my pleasure darlin. My name is Beryl. If you ever need anythin just ask me k? Now you get going. I am sure there is someone waiting for you out there." Beryl said with a playful swat on to her back. Alma laughed and then headed out of the castle.

            Someone waiting for me… I hope. I know I have done some heinous things but I hope that they will forgive me for it.

            Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar glow. She reached down into her pack and pulled out the Virgo stone. It seemed that it wanted to guide her somewhere. She looked down at it and felt the determination well up inside her.

            Look stone, because I was turned into a demon. Now you are going to do my bidding. I am Alma…I am who I am. I do not need a last name. It is time that I start over. I will find a place where I can live again… I will find a place where I can do some good and maybe just maybe… begin to atone for what I have done.

Authors Note: Three down… god knows how many more to go. See you soon… hopefully