Time Flies

Author's Note – Sorry about the delay. I've been at writing camp. Anyway, the rescue mission begins!

Disclaimer – All Santa Clause characters belong to Disney. All original characters belong to me. And so on, and so forth.

Chapter 8 – Who Wouldn't Go?

            " – and so the Cosmetics Department says they can use the surplus of glitter to make some body lotion – "  Curtis stopped in the middle of his weekly report to the gathered Department Heads.  "Bernard?  Are you listening?"

            "Hmm?"  The Head Elf looked up, realizing that the eyes of all the Department Heads were on him.  "Yes, of course.  Keep going."

            "Right."  Curtis eyed him suspiciously for a moment, before continuing.  "The residential kitchen staff is complaining because the gift kitchen staff is ransacking their supplies of sugar.  We're especially low on powdered sugar, so we may have a lack of frosted desserts until we get another shipment of powdered sugar in.  And incidentally, I've been thinking that we would save money if we ate live toads for breakfast every morning."  Curtis paused, then scowled.  "Bernard, you aren't listening!"

            "Yes, I am," Bernard protested.

            "Then what was I talking about?" Curtis challenged.

            "Um…" Bernard took a wild stab, "bicycles?"

            "You know, I think this meeting has gone on long enough," Scott spoke up, cutting off whatever angry response Curtis was preparing to make.  "Why don't we leave it here for this week?"

            "I agree," Jason said, after a deliberately casual glance at Bernard, to evaluate the Head Elf's stamina.  Bernard had only just resumed his duties as Head Elf that day, two days after his collapse, but Jason clearly felt that Bernard wasn't ready to do so yet.

            "Good," Scott said.  "Then you're all free to go.  Except for you, Bernard – I'd like to talk to you."

            As the other Department Heads filed out, Scott turned to Bernard.  "So how are you handling the return of your duties?"

            "Oh – fine."  Bernard smiled with forced brightness.  "What makes you think otherwise?"

            Scott couldn't believe Bernard was even able to ask the question.  The elf was nothing like his former self – he was pale, he'd lost weight, and there was always a slightly fevered look in his eyes, as though his mind wasn't entirely stable.  Maybe it wasn't – Bernard hadn't been able to concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes at a time.  The contrast between his past and present selves was painful.

            "I'm worried about you," Scott said finally, settling on a simple response.

            "Don't be," Bernard said quickly.  He began tapping his knuckles on the table in nervous rhythm that had to be entirely unconscious.  "I don't want you to worry."

            "How can I help it?" Scott countered.  "Two days ago I thought you were gone for good, and I still don't know why.  Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

            "There's nothing to talk about," Bernard snapped.  "I'm perfectly fine.  In fact, I've never been better."

            "Then you have some skewed priorities."  Scott took Bernard's wrist.  "Look at your arm – you're too thin.  When was the last time you ate something?"

            Bernard looked away.  "It doesn't matter."

            "It matters to me!" Scott objected.  "It matters to all your friends.  Or don't we count anymore?"

            Bernard jerked his arm away.  "I don't want to talk about it."

            Scott forced back the angry words.  Fighting with Bernard wouldn't help anything. "All right," he said at last. "If you're sure."

            "I am." The elf turned and left.

            Scott watched him go, deeply concerned. There was no help for it – he couldn't just leave Bernard that way. He was going to have to talk to Carol.

            "You know what I told you, Scott," Carol said impatiently, once he'd gotten her alone. "I won't betray a confidence. He'd never trust me again."

            "Isn't his health more important than a broken promise?" Scott demanded. "He could die of this!"

            "You knowing won't change that," Carol said. "Just believe me – he won't be the same until he knows that Ebony will survive."

            "But he barely knows her," Scott said, frustrated. "It was confusing enough when he kissed her – "

            "He kissed her?" Carol interrupted sharply. "How do you know?"

            Scott had the grace to look sheepish. "Cupid came by to tell me about it."

            "He did what?" Carol said indignantly.

            "It's not like that," Scott hastened to reassure her. "He was worried. And I think he has good reason to be. Carol, they were glowing. And that wasn't Christmas magic, or elf magic, because I checked with Curtis, Judy, and Kioshi. And now he feels responsible for her…" Scott trailed off, realization creeping up on him. "Is he in love with her?"

            "I don't know. That's not the point. They were glowing? While kissing?" Carol frowned. "I just can't believe he'd kiss her at all. He's so frightened of romance…"

            "He's what?" Scott asked blankly. "What are you talking about?"

            "Don't you pay attention?" Carol asked, exasperated. "He shies away from available women like they carry the plague, and he never goes near Genevieve. I think they had a relationship once."

            "Genevieve?" Scott remembered the girl, her gentle personality the exact opposite of her fiery hair. "But he has to deal with her, she's a Department Head."

            "No, Curtis and Judy always do," Carol said. "And she doesn't speak at meetings, and she's seated at the opposite end of the table from him. You'll notice that Mark avoids Bernard, too."

            "Mark – that's right," Scott recalled, "he and Genevieve are seeing each other."

            "So you do notice some things," Carol said. "Well, maybe that has something to do with why they were glowing. Or it could be because Ebony's a child of Time."

            "Cupid said that, too," Scott said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should tell Father Time about it."

            "You haven't yet?" Carol demanded incredulously. "What are you waiting for? Suppose it helps bring her back!"

            "It's not my place to tell," Scott objected. "Bernard ought to do it, and he's in no shape to tell anyone anything."

            "Then I will," Carol said determinedly.

            "Or I could tell him after all," Scott said quickly. "He should be coming here any time now, to let us know what he's found out about Ebony."

            As if on cue, Judy stuck her head in the door. "Santa?" she said. "Father Time's here to see you."

            "Bernard!"

            Bernard looked up from the paperwork he was trying to concentrate on, startled at the impatience in Curtis's voice. From the sound of it, the other elf had called him several times now. "What?"

            "Father Time's here – " Curtis began.

            "Where?" Bernard demanded.

            "Well, Santa's office, but he – "

            Bernard didn't wait to hear the rest. He teleported directly to the office, startling Scott, Carol, and Father Time.

            "Bernard!" Scott exclaimed, surprised. "I just sent Judy for you."

            "Curtis told me." Bernard turned to Father Time. "Do you know anything?"

            "Yes, actually." Father Time didn't look particularly pleased. "We've located her in Destiny. The most undefined realm in the dimension of Time."

            "What does that mean?" Bernard asked anxiously. "We can get her out, right?"

            "I hope so." Father Time sighed. "If it weren't for the Time Flies, I'd say yes. Unfortunately, the Time Flies can travel through Destiny with the skill of any of my Moments. I can protect two people at a time from the worst of the Flies while they're in Destiny, but that will require all my concentration, leaving me open to attack. And, should there be an attack, the two people in Destiny would be left to fend for themselves while I fought off the Time Flies in this dimension."

            "But it can be done, can't it?" Bernard stared almost pleadingly at Father Time.

            "I suppose," Father Time said reluctantly. "But it can't be a Moment who goes into Destiny. I can't protect the Moments, and the Flies can break down their protections. I'll have to find a volunteer – "

            "I'll go," Bernard said at once.

            "Will you really?" Father Time gave the elf a hard look. "Even knowing you may not come back?"

            "Bernard, you might want to think about this a little more," Scott said, alarmed. "There has to be someone else – "

            "I don't want it to be someone else," Bernard said stubbornly. "I have to do this for her."

            Carol laid a hand on Scott's arm. "It's his decision, not yours," she reminded him. "I agree – he's the one who has to do this."

            Bernard looked over at Carol, and didn't smile, exactly, because he never smiled anymore, but at least seemed less unhappy than he had been. "Thank you." He turned back to Father Time. "So when can we start?"

            "Now, if you're ready," Father Time said. "It will take about an hour to prepare, and then you can go ahead."

            Bernard nodded solemnly. "I'm ready."

            "Good," Father Time said. "Then we can go to Atlantis now."

            "Wait!" Scott said quickly, ignoring Carol's elbow in his ribs. "I think I ought to go, too."

            Father Time raised his eyebrows. "There will be nothing for you to do," he warned.

            "Call it moral support," Scott said.

            "All right," Father Time agreed, as if it made no difference to him one way or the other. "Do you want to come, too, Mrs. Clause?"

            "No, I think I'll stay here," Carol said, giving Scott a sharp glare. "Since it's so close to Christmas and all."

            Before Scott could reply, Father Time waved his hand in a sweeping circle – and the office dissolved into a flowering meadow.

            "Bernard!" Bianca cried, jumping to her feet from where she, Sherwin, and Dimitri were seated on the ground. "You're here!"

            "Are you going to be the one who enters Destiny?" Dimitri asked, looking thoughtful.

            "Yes," Bernard said distractedly. He hadn't seen these three since they'd left the Millers' house. Talking to them again reminded him of the terrible sense of loss that had hit him when he'd realized Ebony was gone. He missed her all the time – while he was sleeping, while he supervised the various departments, even while he brushed his teeth or put on his shoes. He missed her so much that it seemed to take over all of his other emotions, and he couldn't even stop long enough to wonder why he felt this way.

            "Then shall we get started?" Father Time seated himself on the grass, looking decidedly odd among the flowers in his old-fashioned robe. "Do you still have the compass you used to find her in the human world?"

            "Do I – what?" Surprised at the question, Bernard reached up to find the chain still around his neck. He hadn't noticed its weight at all over the past few days. "Yes. Do you want it back?"

            "No. But you're going to need it," Father Time told him. "Once you get into Destiny, you'll be in the same dimension as she is, and it will work again. You can use it to find exactly where in the dimension she is."

            "That's it?" Bernard asked dubiously. It seemed like something so important should be more complicated.

            "Not quite," Father Time said. "You'll be carrying one other thing – an hourglass. I can protect you in Destiny indefinitely, provided I am not attacked. However, you, not being a creature of Time, can only last about an hour in Destiny without feeling ill effects. Ebony can last longer," he added, correctly interpreting the elf's stricken expression. "Half of her is born of Time."

            "How long does she have?" Bernard asked in dread.

            Father Time shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "More than an hour, certainly. Once she's been trained, she'll be able to last longer, but untrained… I'd place it anywhere between a day and a week."

            "Then she could – "

            "Nothing has happened to her yet," Father Time interrupted calmingly. "I'd know. But it is imperative that she leave that dimension as soon as possible." He stood. "If you will come with me while I make my preparations?"

            Everyone else moved to get up, but Father Time gestured for them to stop. "Just Bernard, please. The rest of you remain here. I need to speak with him alone."

            The others looked uneasy at this, but had no choice except to agree. Bernard followed Father Time across the meadow to a cloud of mist. They passed through this into a room that looked suspiciously like a mad scientist's laboratory.

            "My workshop," Father Time said unnecessarily. "We will not be disturbed here."

            But despite his words of wanting to speak to Bernard in private, he seemed to immediately forget that the elf was there, busying himself with hourglasses of different sizes, and strange instruments studded with gemstones in strategic places.

            Bernard watched, feeling calmer than he had in days. Finally, he was able to do something to help. It would be dangerous, yes, but anything was better than sitting back and letting Ebony fade away in Destiny. He was vaguely amazed, as much as he could still feel any emotion, that Scott had even suggested that someone else go. It had never occurred to him that he wouldn't be the one to save Ebony.

            "I wonder why you were the one chosen to gather my children."

            Bernard jumped at Father Time's words. The old man wasn't even looking at him, intent on the worktable he was bending over. "Well – Santa asked me. I'm the only elf –"

            "That's not what I meant." Father Time held a glowing piece of amber to the light, examining it minutely. "The dimension of Destiny is a strange one. It both affects and reflects all actions – even mine, on occasion. My daughter has been taken to Destiny. You, for no reason that I can see, wish to follow and rescue her."

            "I have to – " Bernard began.

            "Yes, you've mentioned," Father Time said calmly. "But you haven't given much of an explanation as to why you 'have to.' Destiny's threads stretch throughout all the Workings of Time, and I have to wonder if one has ensnared you even now."

            "I'm not ensnared!" Bernard said angrily.

            "Perhaps not." Father Time set down the amber in favor of a pale rose quartz, shaking his head at the imperfections in the stone. "I simply wonder, as is my job. Of course, if you are held by Destiny, you would hardly know about it. The threads can stretch across years, even centuries, as delicate as a butterfly's wing, as unyielding as diamonds. It is Destiny that bestows the happy endings, Destiny that commands the tragedies. Not even I can control it – I only attempt read what it says, and record what it allows me to learn."

            "It can do that?" Bernard asked, worried. What if it tried to keep him from Ebony?

            "If it chooses. Destiny is… peculiar," Father Time said. "I could explain for hours, but you still won't understand until you see if for yourself. At any rate, I didn't bring you here to explain the inexplicable. I want to ask you something." He set the quartz down, and turned to face Bernard directly, twin infinities of deep blue boring into the elf's eyes. "Are you in love with my daughter?"

            "Am I – what?" Bernard stared at the older man blankly. "Why – "

            "I don't ask as a mythical power," Father Time interrupted, suddenly looking just as elderly as he had to be, "but as an old man worried about his daughter. Do you love her?"

            Bernard shook his head slowly – not in negation, but in simple confusion. "I don't know. I – I don't know."

            Father Time looked into Bernard's eyes a moment longer, as if reading every crevice of the elf's soul, before breaking the gaze. He sighed deeply. "Please decide soon, then. I don't want to regain my daughter only to have her heart broken. And Bernard," he smiled faintly, "if you do decide you care for her, you have my blessing."

            "Are you sure you want to do this? It's not too late to back out." Scott watched Bernard anxiously, feeling oddly like a father to the youthful-looking elf, despite the tremendous age difference.

            "I'm sure." Bernard's voice was distant, as if his mind was already traveling through Destiny.

            "And I'm afraid it is too late to back out," Father Time said, entering the room, trailed by his three children. Dimitri was carrying a pile of strange-looking equipment.

            "What's all that?" Scott asked, worried.

            "Instruments from my workshop," Father Time said. "I'll need to work here, so that Bernard can enter Destiny directly." He gestured to the three doors, on the three far walls of the hexagonal room.

            "Where do they lead?" Sherwin asked curiously, raking his hair out of his eyes to get a better look.

            "The one on the left leads to History," Father Time explained. It was a plain door, simple, rectangular, and wooden. "Don't be fooled by appearances – it's more complicated than it seems. The one on the right is the Present." This one was reminiscent of the entryways into spaceships in some sci-fi movies Scott had seen, the doors withdrawing into the walls to leave a vertical circle to walk through. "It leads to wherever I wish within the bounds of Time."

            "And the middle door?" Sherwin hadn't needed to ask the question. Even without the process of elimination, it was clear that this was the door that had to lead to Destiny. Strange runes were inscribed on the doorframe, but there was nothing beyond the walls except for a thin layer of shifting white fog.

            Father Time smiled. "Destiny hardly needs an introduction. Either you recognize it for itself on your own, or you will never know it." He began setting up the equipment Dimitri had brought in. "Come here, Bernard."

            The elf did so.

            "Bianca, give him the hourglass," Father Time commanded. Bernard accepted it, holding it gently, as if terrified that he might bring harm to it. "It won't break, you know. My hourglasses are stronger than ordinary glass."

            "Isn't that kind of small?" Scott asked dubiously. The hourglass was the size of his palm. It didn't look like it would last five minutes, let alone a whole hour.

            Father Time gave Scott a Look. "Things are not always what they seem," he said coldly.

            "Right." Scott tried to look as if he understood this.

            Bernard slipped the hourglass onto the chain around his neck with the compass. "Is this it?"

            "For you, yes." Father Time made one last adjustment to his instruments. "I will of course continue to do things here, but you can go now."

            "Wait, shouldn't he – " Scott stopped talking. There was no point. Bernard had gone before the first word had gotten out of his mouth.

            Under other circumstances, Destiny might have been beautiful. It was like walking through a sunrise, a mist full of golds, silvers, and shifting rainbows. There was no floor, exactly, but in this place it was possible to walk on air.

            Bernard was in no mood to appreciate any of it. The mist playfully ruffled his hair, and he pushed it out of his eyes in irritation, peering at his compass. The arrow wasn't cooperating. He jabbed Ebony's button again. There – it spun to choose a direction, pointing with great certainty.

            Without hesitation, Bernard trekked off in that direction. He had only an hour, after all – no time to waste gaping at pretty clouds or invisible floors.

            As he went, forms began to appear in the mists of Destiny. At first, he thought he was imagining it – why would his family, his friends, his enemies be in Destiny? But when his mother stepped out in front of him, he couldn't deny it any longer.

            "Mother?" Bernard stared at her blankly, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

            "I've been looking for you," she said, her black hair cascading down her back in arranged elegance. "I miss you, back Underhill. We all do. We'd like you to come home – your father and I both."

            Bernard shook his head rapidly, confused. "What? My father's dead."

            "Oh, no!" Danica smiled affectionately. "He's not, you know. He's been living with me. We were just waiting to be sure we wanted to stay together before telling you. After all, it must have been bad enough growing up without parents, without dashing your hopes of a new home."

            Bernard had no idea how to react to this. Danica laughed. "You don't believe me?" She called out into the mists, "Aubrey, he doesn't believe me! Come help!"

            A Christmas elf, a brown-eyed boy who looked about twelve, seemed to materialize out of a cloud. "You don't really mean that, do you, Bernard?" he said, grinning crookedly. "You don't believe your own parents? That's crazy."

            Bernard took a step backwards. "Dad…" It was his father, just as the elf had been before he'd died, despite the fact that he looked young enough to be Bernard's kid brother. "How…"

            "You didn't really think I'd just abandon you, did you?" Aubrey asked, laughing. "I said I'd stay with you forever, kid. I keep my promises. Why don't we go home? I want to get to know the man my boy's grown up to be."

            Bernard shook his head violently. "No – no! I've got to find Ebony!"

            "Ebony?" Danica's nose wrinkled in distaste. "What's that?"

            "She's my – my – " Bernard stopped. What was she to him? His responsibility? But no, that had ended when he'd brought the others here. He was free from all obligations, except for those that were self-imposed. So that made her his… his friend? Was that right? It seemed to fit, as nearly as anything could. "She's my friend."

            "Really." Danica and Aubrey exchanged significant glances.

            "And I've got to find her," Bernard added, urgency coloring his words. How could he have delayed here so long? Terrible things could be happening to her! He was wasting his precious hour in Destiny.

            "You won't get this opportunity again," Danica said sharply. Bernard noticed that now, her voice sounded closer to the way he remembered it – harsh, proud, commanding. Not soft, not motherly, never gentle. It hadn't sounded like her at all, before… more like the way he'd always wished she would sound.

            "The dimension of Destiny is a strange one." Father Time's words echoed in Bernard's ears. The elf drew back a little from his parents – what he'd thought were his parents.

            "You aren't real," he said harshly.

            "That's where you're wrong," Aubrey said, his grin broadening. "What you find here is what you make of it. We're real if we're believed in."

            "I won't believe in you," Bernard retorted.

            Danica laughed. "You already do."

            They stepped back – or maybe they faded away into the mist. Bernard couldn't tell the difference. All he knew was that one second they were there, the next, they were gone.

            Bernard shivered. The mists of Destiny seemed colder, somehow, now that his parents were gone. They were never really here, he told himself firmly. He refocused his mind on Ebony, and checked his directions against the compass. He frowned. Somehow, he'd gotten turned around. Now, it was pointed off to his left. He shrugged, and headed off again.

            What had that been? Why had his parents appeared here, of all places? He considered the possibilities as he walked. The most obvious was that his presence was shaping Destiny to fit his subconscious mind… but that didn't seem to mesh with what Father Time had said. He'd spoken of Destiny as if the place could act of its own free will – as if it could think, and choose to do such things. That was worrying – what sort of place was this, where Ebony was trapped?

            "Wait!"

            Bernard stopped at the familiar voice, turning automatically to look. Judy stood just to his right, looking anxious. He pulled away from her. "You aren't real," he accused the image of his friend.

            "Bernard, there's trouble," the elf girl said, ignoring his claim. "The Time Flies are attacking – we need you to come back."

            Bernard shook his head. "This is some sort of trick," he said. "You want me to leave."

            "Why would we want that?" This time it was Curtis, now standing beside Judy. "We want you to rescue Ebony. If it were a perfect world, you could. But we need you to return. It's your duty."

            "You're lying," Bernard said, eyes narrowing. "You're only images, fakes – "

            "Does it matter if we are?" Judy asked reasonably. "The words still ring true. The Time Flies have still attacked, as you knew they planned to. You are still needed. What difference does it make, if we are real or imagined?"

            "What reason do we have to lie to you?" Curtis added. "We've done nothing to make you believe we're against you. We're on your side, Bernard."

            Bernard hesitated. He had always obeyed the call of duty, even when it hurt. He'd thrown himself into his work to forget his broken heart, and his job had become his life. In that kind of existence, duty became all-powerful. He was needed, back with his friends. They called him.

            But didn't Ebony need him too? She did – more than the others. She would die, if he didn't get to her. He had to get to her, had to find her, or she would be destroyed by the Time Flies just as these – things – were implying his friends would be. But they could defend themselves – Ebony couldn't. It was his fault she was here in the first place. He had a duty to see to it that she got out. And that was stronger than the pull he felt to return to his friends.

            "I can't," he said at last.

            Judy smiled. "You mean you won't," she corrected.

            "Does it make a difference?" Bernard asked impatiently.

            The two elves shared a glance. Judy laughed. "You know that it does," she said, just before she and Curtis faded into the mists.

            Bernard frowned, then waved a hand experimentally where the figures had been. What was going on? This was getting very strange. He had the feeling that something – someone? – was playing with him… and he didn't like that idea at all.

            Just to make sure, Bernard rechecked his compass – and stared at it in disbelief. It was pointing back the way he'd come.

            "This is ridiculous," he said aloud, not sure who he was speaking to. Himself? The compass? Or the force in Destiny that seemed to be manipulating him.

            "Of course it is."

            Bernard looked up, and a part of him wasn't really surprised by what he saw. Genevieve and Ordella stood in front of him, blocking the path he had to follow. Even though he'd almost been expecting it, a steel vise clamped around his heart at the sight of the two girls he'd cared so deeply for.

            "Let me guess," he said, trying desperately to keep his voice steady. "You aren't real, either."

            Genevieve smiled gently. "We're only as real as you make us. You should listen when people tell you things."

            "The others," Bernard said, the words escaping before he could think to hold them back.

            Ordella laughed – not the cold, sparkling laugh he remembered, but warmer, friendlier. "What others?" she asked. "Don't you understand yet? There are no others here. There is no 'here' for them to be."

            Bernard stared at her. "You know what?" he said finally. "No. I don't understand. You and those other fakes, whether they were real or not, you all keep talking in riddles – and I'm sick of it. I'm leaving."

            Bernard set off determinedly, and the girls didn't move to stop him as he walked past. However, it was no more than a few seconds later that they were directly in front of him again.

            "How did you do that?" Bernard demanded. "I left you back there!"

            "You can never leave us behind, Bernard," Genevieve said. She walked towards him, her eyes dark with unreadable emotions. Was it concern – love – pity – fear? "Can't you see?"

            "What do you want me to see?" Bernard exploded. "I don't understand what you're talking about! Either explain it to me, or let me by!"

            "We're part of you."

            This time, when Bernard spun around, he saw Kioshi, looking as unruffled as ever. "What are you talking about?"

            "You asked for an explanation," Kioshi said. "I'm giving it. We are all part of you. We represent what matters to you most, deep in the darkest parts of your heart that you try not to think about. If you want to get to Ebony, the only way is through us."

            Bernard looked around him. Now he was surrounded by the seven people – Danica, Aubrey, Judy, Curtis, Genevieve, Ordella, and Kioshi. None of them looked particularly menacing at the moment, but that wasn't reassuring. Especially not when every second of delay could mean the difference between life and death, for both Ebony and himself.

            "Then how do I get past you?" Bernard asked warily.

            Kioshi shrugged. "Why do you want to?"

            "To save Ebony." The answer felt too simple, even as Bernard said it.

            "But why do you want to save her?" Danica asked. "Because she is your friend?"

            "Well…" The answer was right, but there was something missing. "Yes."

            "Because she is your responsibility?" Judy said.

            Again, correct as the words were, part of the answer still felt incomplete. "Yes, I guess."

            Ordella and Genevieve looked at each other and smiled. It was a secret smile, and Bernard didn't like it one bit. "Why else?" Genevieve prompted.

            "Because…" Bernard hesitated, looking from face to face, seeing family, friends, and loves. Whatever these creations were, they'd focused on all the important people in his life. But that was it, wasn't it – these faces were creations. They weren't the same people he knew, no matter how they spoke. These were forces of Destiny… and that meant they were testing him.

            "Because I have to." Bernard began with that statement, which he'd never quite been able to get past before now. But now – here, in this place that was nowhere on a mortal map – now he had to try to understand, and vocalize what he did not know. "I have a duty to protect her. She's my friend. I've only known her a little while, but she already means as much to me as any of the people you're impersonating. She's already a part of my life. When she's around me, I feel alive. When she's gone, something inside me dies. It's been like that ever since she was kidnapped. I feel like a plant that's been taken away from the sunlight – I'm withering away without her, and I can't do anything to save myself." Bernard took a deep breath, realizing what it was he was saying. "I need her," he said. "I have to save her because I need her to be near me."

            After a moment's ringing silence, Aubrey laughed. "Good answer," he said, grinning broadly. "I think that's worth something, at least."

            The other six nodded their agreement. "Then I can go to her?" Bernard asked, hardly daring to hope.

            Kioshi held a finger before his lips, clearly telling Bernard to wait. The elf was about to explain in very strong terms exactly why he did not want to be patient, when the seven forms dissolved back into the mists.

            "What the hell?" Bernard glanced suspiciously from side to side. "Where…"

            "There is no 'where' in Destiny."

            To Bernard's astonishment, the mists before him swirled together to form the body of a tall, beautiful woman. Her dark gold hair had many strands of shimmering silver sprinkled through it, and it was amazing that the hair didn't drag her head down. On the left side, her hair ended at chin-length – but on the right side, the tresses tumbled down to swirl with the mists at her feet. And when Bernard raised his eyes to meet her gaze, he was startled, and rather uneasy, to see that her eyes were the same rainbow silver as the mists.

            "You really should pay more attention," the woman continued, smiling gently. "I've said it at least once already."

            "Where's Ebony?" Bernard demanded, looking around as if expecting her to appear from out of nowhere. Which, considering where he was, was perhaps not so unreasonable as it seemed.

            "Is that your first question?" the woman asked, intrigued. "No, never mind, I see that she is your first and only priority right now. I approve. I'm glad to see that you are so focused on her well-being."

            "What do you care about it?" Bernard wanted to know.

            "Oh, a great deal." The woman's smile grew, and Bernard had the oddest feeling that he'd seen her somewhere before. "Ebony is extremely important to me. She, and her three siblings."

            "Then let me past," Bernard snapped.

            "In a moment," the woman said. "Have you not learned patience in all your many centuries, child of the elves?"

            "Of course I have," Bernard said, glaring at her. "That doesn't mean that I'm going to sit here and wait for you to finish talking while Ebony dies!"

            "She isn't going to die quite yet," the woman said, unperturbed. "I want to talk to you, Bernard Emrys. We have a great deal to discuss."

            "We have nothing to discuss!"

            "No?" The woman raised a single eyebrow, and the look on her face was so very like one Ebony often wore that Bernard almost called the girl's name aloud. "Are you quite sure?"

            "Who are you?" Bernard demanded furiously. "Why do you look like her?"

            The woman was unfazed by Bernard's angry tone. "I am Lady Destiny," she said calmly. "You also know of me as Gaia Mnemes. I am Ebony's mother."

Author's Note – Cue the dramatic music, please. ^_^  Or not. Anyway, next chapter Ebony will finally reappear, for better or for worse.

Thank you for reviewing!

ShadowGraffiti – I couldn't keep up that pace of angst…

Jesus-freak – Bernard wants me to tell you that he loves his Ebony plushie. ^_^

Zhai'helleva!

 - Mystica