Heyy guys, sorry 'bout the delay! I've been working on my other story, Ask Evvy-check it out-and I got lots of reviews and I had tons of inspiration, so I just kept writing! I decided that I was letting down you guys, and decided to update!

Zeetah: Yes, a chappy for you! Yeah, I suppose it is, but I never have seen proof of it. You've read about it? Where? In what book? I MUST KNOW! Lol XD.

Rachael: Your name is too hard to spell out, you know that? Yeah, I understand. It does seem a bit cheesy when I think about it. Fiction Press. I joined just for fun, I guess. I could also publish poetry, or a newsletter. That'd be fun. And yes, this site must be on the Internet. You don't like that stuff usually? Wow. I really like it, cuz it gives more life to the story, if you know what I mean. Bricks and balloons! Yay! –brick drops on head-ouch…

On top of cloud 9: Aww, I liked it too. You will see where he was, and there will be a bit of fluff in this chapter. Remarried in less than a month and she didn't tell you? Okay, that is just plain wrong. Though I bet they're already married by now. Do you like the guy? Hope you do. I don't know what I'd do if my parents were divorced. You're probably a lot stronger than I am.

Zerrin of the Wind: You shall see, you shall see. And he did hypnotize Amoret. o0o0o. Yay! Suspense! And thank you so much for reading Evvy. You're one of the only Cami reviewers who did! I hope you like the last chapter. I updated a bit ago.

TPFreak: Oh, good. I don't hate her, I just…I dunno…Yeah, me too. I hate that you can't type as fast as you think! Lol. Yeah, I wish I had put more problems…urgh! Anyway, I want to tell you something: there is a death in this chapter. Yes, a death. Suspense!

Syl Rose: Points for being the only other Cami reviewer who's an Evvy reviewer! Yep, hypnosis. I thought it would be a good plot twist too, he he.

Now that these are done, off to write the part you really want to hear: the actual chapter!

Cami crushed the paper in her palm, face hard with anger. One name repeated itself over and over in her mind: Jal. But how could he? How could he betray them all? He was in league with Maggur, for sure: how could he have gotten those globes elsewise?

She jumped to her feet and let the paper float to the floor as she whirled out the door, a mass of fabric wind. She slammed the door shut and continued walking down the hallway. She couldn't go back to the dance and act normal while he bewitched her friend. She had to tell somebody.

But who would believe her? It was her word against his, and unfortunately, that didn't count for much. He was a page, almost a squire, while to most of the palace, she was simply a mage-student with no truth magic. Everyone would just assume that they had a disagreement, and scoff at her.

Though it curdled her insides to leave the dance with Jal happy and free, she couldn't do anything about it. She went outside instead, to get a breath of cool air.

She sniffed the air as it blew past her, writhing around her wrists and ankles. "You're the only friend I have now," she murmured to it sadly. It twined around her like a cat, as though to make her feel better.

"Wait, that's not right," she said aloud. "Tobe."

The problem was, were was he? He wasn't at the banquet, and she certainly couldn't go bursting into his rooms. She sighed, admitting defeat, and sat down on the hill, and propped her chin on her hand. Letting the breeze fly past her, a tear trickled down her cheek. She sniffled and wiped it away, and a flash of light caught her eye.

She twisted to see it better, and found the source quickly. The stables.

"Who on earth could be in there at this time of day?" she muttered, and stood, dusting off her skirts. Curious, she headed down there, stopping only once to take off the slippers that hindered her descent. As she got closer and closer, she could see a moving figure in the steamed up window.

She quickly reached her destination, and put her ear against the door before opening it, to make sure that she wasn't going to disturb anything. All she heard was an occasional grunt and hooves stopping, and the sound of a pitchfork being lifted and hay being scooped up. Certain that she wasn't going to interrupt anyone, she pushed open the door.

It made a soft creaking sound, and she quietly stepped inside and shut it slowly, careful not to disrupt what looked like a stable boy hard at work.

"Excuse me?" she said softly.

The boy dropped the pitchfork like it was made of fire, and whirled around to face her. "What in Mithros's name-" He stopped and his eyes widened. "Cami?" he said in shock.

"Tobe! What are you doing here?" Cami nearly laughed in delight.

He immediately shut his mouth mulishly.

"Aw, come one," Cami said, giving him a half-smile. "Don't tell me you skipped the ball to work!"

"Actually, I didn't," he muttered, and bent down to pick up his pitchfork again.

"Then why are you down here?" Cami asked suspiciously.

"That's none of your business."

"Actually," Cami said, getting annoyed, "it is. I thought you trusted me."

"I do!"

"Then why won't you tell me?"

"Because…" he hesitated.

"…"

"…I didn't want to hurt you. Or myself."

"Tobe, you know you can tell me anything. I thought that we loved each other, and-"

Tobe leaned on his pitchfork. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"About telling me things?"

"No, about our love."

Cami nearly choked. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Look, you're a mage, and soon you're going to be a queen."

"Like that matters!"

"It does. Listen, you're going to be one of the most important people in this world one day, being queen of Scanra as well as the only Elemental mage in existence. Me, I'm a peasant. That's all I'll ever be. We can't be together. You need someone more high standard, more…more…more royal. Someone who has money, and a rank. Like Jal. I can't provide anything for you, not even a copper piece." His eyes were filled with pain and tears. "This is as hard for me to say as you to hear it," he whispered.

Cami looked at him. "You c-can't. You wouldn't say t-this. It's a dream. It's got to be."

"No, it's not," Tobe told her gently. "I don't even have a tunic to my name, let alone anything I would need to marry you. I doing this for our own good."

Cami seized him by his tunic and kissed him roughly. When she pulled away, she saw the tears in his eyes.

"That's not going to change anything," he said miserably.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. She picked him up again and held him up against the wall. "I love you. I thought that you loved me. I don't give a damn about what you own. All I know is that I love you, and that's all that matters. And if…if…" She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "if you're going to break something wonderful off for something as dumb as this, I…I don't ever want to see your face again!"

She threw him again the wall again and ran out the door, sobbing uncontrollably. She stumbled blindly through trees and over roots, tearing her feet. But she didn't care. She fell on her knees in the grass, and lay out there, crying.

"Cami," said Tobe's soft voice.

"No," she whispered.

He turned her over so she lay on her back. Cami could see the tears dripping down his tan cheeks cheeks.

"Go," she said.

"No," he said.

"GO!" she screamed.

"No. I love you too much."

That very statement took her breath away. "Re-really?" She hardly dared to breathe.

"Of course."

"Prove it."

Tobe grinned, and kissed her softly, then passionately on her lips. It was a warm and needy kiss. Cami melted. He loved her. He loved her!

…

They both entered the banquet hall, big spots of red on their cheeks. Gydo whirled up to them.

"Hey, you two," she said happily. "Where've you been?"

They exchanged glances. "Oh, nowhere," she said airily.

Gydo smirked. "Righttttt."

"Really," protested Tobe.

"Uh-huh," she smiled. "Then why are Cami's clothes and hair all messed up?"
"Er, I found Tobe in the stables, and I decided to help him," Cami said after a moment's pause.

"Right! We were, weren't we, Cami?" Tobe said.

"Yes!"

"Ok, I'll accept your answer for now, but I want a full-fledged report later," Gydo said pointedly, and she whirled off with Chevi once more.

"That was a close one," said Cami, leaning her head against Tobe's chest.

"Yeah," he admitted. "A few more minutes, and we would've told her that we weren't virgins anymore."

Cami smiled deliriously, and they danced the night away.

When it was over, Cami floated out into her bedroom. The horrible experiences of the night had been forgotten, and she grinned as she got dressed in her night clothes.

A knock came from the door, and Cami, still smiling, opened it. Gydo flounced into the room and sat on the bed, looking anxious.

"So?" she said, leaning forward.

"So what?"

"So what happened?"

"Er…"

"Oh, come on. You can tell me!"

"I'm not sure that I want to."

"Why not?"

"It's…private."

Gydo smiled. "That's as good as telling me."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really."

"Awwwww…but I don't want anyone to know yet!" Cami protested.

"Too bad."

"Promise you won't say anything?"
"Promise."

"Promise promise?"

"YES!"

"Sheesh, don't get your panties in a twist."

"I'm not!"

"Yeah right. That's why your face is all red," Cami teased.

Gydo rolled her eyes, and Cami proceeded to tell her the details of the night.

…

Jal sat in the darkness of the shadows, tapping his fingers together. She knew. He knew it was foolish to put that note there, after she had seen his books, but he couldn't help it. The best part was that she couldn't tell anyone.

It was her word against his, after all. He was training to be a knight, and his fief was highly respected, while she was a mage-student, and though her powers were unusual, they weren't about to be truth magic. She had no proof, and they both knew it.

"Frederick!" he snapped, and a tall bulky man appeared at his side. It was the officer, the one from the patrol. When Jal had found him, he was drenched and half-crazed with revenge. After Jal had seen his emblem, he readily brought the man into the palace, dried him off and insisted on knowing everything. After a few sips of wine, the story spilled out; the boy named Cam in his troop who had 'falled off the river', how they found him when they were about to raid the castle, how he turned out to be a she, and how she threw the into the lake. Jal had grasped his collar, and demanded to see the list. He found the address of Cami's parents.
"Frederick, I want the crystal globe! Now!" The globe was a way of contacting Maggur.

"Yes sir, right away sir," the man stumbled as he bowed, and ran off. He returned moments later, with a glowing orb in his hand.

Jal seized it greedily. "King Maggur," he said silkily.

"Jal," the king acknowledged. The king was tall and his filthy brown hair was infested with crawling maggots. Jal was repulsed, but he knew the king would not like it, so he stood his ground.

"Master, I have got the girl in the palm of my hand," he lied. It was only a half lie, for he did. Almost. "Do you have the parents?"

"Yessss," Maggur grinned, showing his awful cracked and rotting teeth. "They are in the dungeons. See for yourself."

The king's image was replaced by a picture of a cold, dungeon wall. Two people were dangling from it, clad in only chains and rags. Blood trickled down the man's head, and their hair was matted with blood and dirt. The woman's breath was coming in gasps, and there were whips streaks across her face. The clothes were torn and had stains and blood over them. They were ragged and helpless as their sightless eyes stared into the darkness.

Jal gulped. I must be brave, he told himself. But he knew the image would be burned into his skull forever.

"The woman is perfect for rape," The king was back. "I myself have done it many a time. Ooh ooh, yum."

Jal smiled evilly. This is what he did. Pain and destruction.

"I can bring you down here through this globe if you wanted to give it a try," the king offered.

"Maybe later," Jal massaged his forehead. It would not be good to refuse the king. "I have many a matter to attend to."

"So what should I do with them?" the king thought aloud.

"Ummm…kill them?" Jal suggested.

"Mayhaps. But the woman…"

"You could always do her body." Though Jal hated this thought, it was to stay on the king's good graces, he told himself.

"Nah. I'll keep her alive. The man will be dead by morning."

"Hmmm…"

"No, wait. I'll keep him." Judging from the evil smile on the king's face, Jal did not think that this was a good thing.

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing that your precious little mind wouldn't be corrupted by," the king chuckled, and the globe went blank.

…

When Cami woke up again, she felt that something was extremely wrong. There was tension in the air, and she shivered.

Suddenly there was a flash of a picture in her eyes. Her mother screamed, blood rolling down her head. Her clothes were torn, full of blood and dirt. The tang of fear was everywhere, and a cruel laugh echoed around her…

Cami was scared to death. "Irnai!" she shouted. "IRNAI!"

The girl popped into the room. "What is it now?" she asked irritably.

Cami stared at her. "How'd you do that?"

"Never mind me! What the hell were you squealing about?"

Cami remembered. "Irnai, go to my parents house. Go check on them. Something happened to them."

Irnai sighed and rolled her eyes. "I saw them two days ago! What could possibly happen?"

"I don't know!" Cami screamed. "I just know something's wrong!"

The girl looked alarmed. "Ok, ok, I'm going," she disappeared.

Cami walked up and down the length of her room, reducing her fingernails to shreds. What could have happened? What did happen? What was taking Irnai so long?

A crack announced her friends arrival, and Cami nearly jumped on her, she was so anxious for an answer.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" She screeched.

Irnai was as white as a sheet. "I don't know. I checked the house, and they were…gone. I just don't know."

Hey, another chapter! Yay! Sorry about the sucky updates!

Mel