A/N: This chapter is very short…but I liked it this way, so that's how it is. It just fits well, I think. Thanks to S!E for pointing out that bigger is not always better.

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A change was coming.

Baldwin knew something was going to happen in the very near future, but he did not know what it could possibly mean or even entail. It might involve Jerusalem or just the king himself…whatever the event, it would change him, that much he knew.

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Ethan Dunmore, one of Laurel's most popular teachers in the local high school, was walking down Cherry Street on his way to his home in Perennial Place, an upscale neighborhood located on the south side of town. He chose to walk simply because it was a beautiful day; Laurel was a town that one could walk to work or even leave the doors to the house unlocked. Nothing bad ever happened in this southern town, the epitome of the Old South.

As he passed the post office, which was not a full branch (if one needed anything more than just posting something or buying stamps, a trip to the full branch in nearby White Ash was needed), he remembered a note he'd found in his classroom earlier that day. A music teacher, he always enjoyed the two o'clock period, as the kids were always enthusiastic and enjoyed anything he set before them. So when he found the note after his class that day, he knew something was up with a few of the students.

Continuing to walk, he pulled the note out of his trouser pocket and unfolded it, reading it once more.

Raissa,

Baldwin, 6

24 A.L.

URGENT

-Marcy

Now, Ethan considered himself to be a cool person…okay, semi-cool. He thought he understood the young'uns fairly well and could relate to them in any fashion, should it be necessary. So when he found this note on the floor and read it, Ethan realized how out of touch he was with the younger generation; what on earth could it mean? Once he reached the house, a phone call was in order, most definitely.

Running a hand through his pitch black hair, which was in need of a good trim, he folded the note and returned it to his pocket. Picking up the pace a bit, Ethan soon reached his home on Lantana Circle.

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A soft breeze began flowing into the king's chambers, bringing him back to reality, for he had dozed off into a dream of sorts. How odd it had been, this dream…four girls, all friends, were arguing over something he could not quite understand. Who were these girls? He was positive he had never seen them before.

Something was happening. Was this a foretelling of the future in some way?

Baldwin did not know.

Nor would he for some time to come.