Raven turned the corner, and heard screams. Sigh. Kori was probably being beaten again. She looked in just in time, and saw Kieran Anders (otherwise known as Blackfire) giving her sister a jab in the eye with a stick. Luckily, it wasn't poisonous.

She ran to the King. He never could do anything, but he listened to her tales of poor Kori. On her way, she passed a small green tortoise.

Raven smiled. "Hello, Beastel! Glad to see you out of your shell for once!" She said. The turtle stared at her, and decided to follow Raven. He never was told what was going on.

In the depth shadows of the castle walls, Beastel formed himself into his proper shape. He was a human, not a turtle. He just turned up one day in the courtyard, and Kori had delightedly taken him in. This had been about eight years ago, when Kori was just starting to get into her animal-loving stage. He had stayed out of human view in his true form, and if he wanted people to know him as a turtle, they would have to. He sighed.

Raven turned around, and Beastel looked at her beautiful black eyes. Although he was a turtle to her, she would always be a princess in his mind.

Kori got out of her sister's grasp. No one knew of this except for Raven, and if she ever wanted to leave safe, then she had to finish the book. She picked up her pencil.

My father hated me for my ugliness. He would torture me into believing that my mother was dead from old age. Even though mother had died at the age of only thirty, she was, in my mind, old. But it was in fact my father that tricked me into—and out of—believing my mother's death as natural. It was at my aunts wedding. He had cried and said "She was so young!" even though she was thirty-five.

But when the boy I loved looked at me for the first time, I melted. His eyes were so... so... there was no word to describe it. They had a word of their own. No one had anything against his eyes, but there was one thing I didn't like. I couldn't see them! His eyes were always behind that stupid mask!

I didn't know why (then), but (now) I know. He had been hanging around with CY, a large man who was, incidentally, a Cyborg. So we called him that. And he didn't mind. He just laughed and zapped whoever took it too far.

No one she knew was a Cyborg. But it seemed fitting. Kori didn't have a real friend, but maybe this CY guy would be a good friend, and defend her against her sister.

Kori smiled at the thought of CY.