Chapter 18: The Trap is Set

"A crafty enemy will set a weak ambush you are meant to go through. Confident because you have dealt with the threat, your guard relaxed, you walk into a second, stronger ambush."-
Robert Jordan


Matt Olsen had never liked Christmas time in particular. His career and lifestyle usually had him away from his family and close ones on these so bright holidays, and that bugged him. It bugged him to be on tour or somewhere work-related and see all these unknown faces around himself, surrounded by their close-ones, relishing in the infamous spirit of Christmas, while he had to wait another week or so before returning to his girlfriend, friends and personal life.

Yes, ever since becoming a productive and well-known artist, the young man had had to deal with the inevitable long journeys, the lonely nights becoming more and more of an event, and the ruined holidays. But not this year. This year, Matt was about to actually spend the holidays in Heatherfield, surrounded by those who he loved. For the first time in years, he was going to be home for Christmas, and that would certainly help him find that special holiday spirit. Or so he hoped.

The young dark-haired man exited the store he had just shopped in, getting some last-minute presents, heading for the fast-food area next.

That was one thing to love about "Mall Heatherfield". Amid all the fancy and not so fancy shops and stores, the tremendous decorations, escalators full of people and giant, yet crowded lanes, the building had a generous number of restaurants and food joints to offer as well.

Caught in his thoughts and haste, Matt looked through the bags he was carrying on his way to the nearest escalator. Although Christmas and his mother's 'surprise' holiday gathering were a few days away, he wanted to make sure he had bought all his gifts in advance. Siding his eyes over the goods, he didn't realize just when he had gotten in a certain tall blonde's way, almost tripping her over in his absence of mind...

"Hey! Watch where you're going, you walking landslide!"

"So sorry."- he murmured, but as he recognized the distinctive female voice..." Cornelia? Fancy bumping into you here! Then again, this is a mall. I shouldn't be surprised, should I?"

"Matt?"- Cornelia exclaimed in her turn, instantly forgetting about her irritation, as she and the man got on the elevator leading to the upper floor. "Oh, that's right, I almost forgot! Will told me you'll be home for the holidays. You must be thrilled, huh? I can't recall the last time you were here before New Year's Eve."

"Yeah."- Matt retorted with a smile. "You and the others got my event invite for the gathering my mother's holding on the 25th, right? I'll be expecting you, Caleb and all the others to show up. As you said yourself, this is the first time in a while that I get to be here for the holidays and I want it to be memorable."

"Duh!"- Cornelia adjusted her white French barrette. "But seriously, it's kind of Linda to let us come along. I'd think you'd rather spend a few romantic days with Will in private, but since your mom's hosting a party, of course, we'll come."

"Will and I could've taken a quick trip to Europe, per se."- the man admitted, scratching his chin.

He and the guardian had made it to their floor and were now making their way towards the food joints.

"I was booked in a few clubs anyway, but you see, my aunt and cousin are coming to Heatherfield this year, and I decided it'd be more polite to cancel and just invite all of my friends along to mom's gathering."

"Yeah, I can see how that's the more polite thing to do. I think it'll be cool."- Cornelia took just a second to take her phone out of her designer handbag before following Matt. "Christmas time is meant to be spent with family and friends, anyway. I, myself, will have dinner with my parents on the 24th. In fact, Lillian and I will be having our men and their families as guests in "Garden Plaza" too, so I guess I'll get to celebrate with Irma on a few occasions this season. Aren't I lucky-"

Once she saw where he was walking towards, she stopped talking and walking at once:

"Matt, if you're hungry, come join me for lunch at 'The Pose'."- Cornelia exclaimed, almost outraged. "Forget about those crappy fast food booths!"

"But I wanted a burger..."- Matt gave up his food cravings once the blonde grabbed his hand and started dragging him with herself.

He wouldn't even call Cornelia Hale simply persuasive. That wasn't the right adjective for the feisty, yet also ice-cold (when she wanted to be), blonde. She was demanding and bossy, and she had to have things her way. All the time.

'The Pose' was a posh little place, but Matt had to admit they served good quality food. If it weren't for the hefty prices and big waiting lines, he was even willing to come to it more often. But Cornelia managed things, nevertheless.

Ten minutes later, when they had both seated themselves on a small coquette table in the left corner of the restaurant, looking through menus, Matt suddenly came to a shocking realization:

"Shit, Cornelia! We totally forgot!"- he cried.

"What?!"- Cornelia stirred in her seat, looking at the man in distress. "What did we forget?"

"Elyon's wedding! Wasn't Elyon's wedding today?!"

Cornelia snorted, visibly peeved at that thought.

"What?"- he blinked puzzled." Is it not? I'm sure Will said the 18th last time this came in question."

"No, it isn't. At least not anymore, relax. She rescheduled."

Cornelia said that without taking her eyes off the menu, as to hide her irritation. As a matter of fact, she, herself, wasn't sure how she felt about that rescheduling. On one hand, she was glad Elyon was taking more time to 'date' the prince, but on the other, she was mad that her friend hadn't even thought of talking to her about it. It was as if her opinion and their friendship didn't even matter anymore...

"But why?"- Matt knitted his eyebrows. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I guess. She didn't talk to me about it anyway, so I can't tell you anything particular either. And I don't want to bitch about it. It's her damn wedding, she might as well do whatever she wants with it. All I can tell is that she decided that she'll be having in the new year."

"Oh, cool."- Matt nodded somewhat thoughtfully and smiled.

Cornelia fought to return the smile, but the sourness was written all over her face. Realizing he had pulled a nerve there, Matt busied himself with the menu, even though he had already made his mind on what to have for lunch.


"I am beyond wroth!"- Phobos raged on the top of his lungs.

He was standing in the middle of the darkened room, all up in arms and ready to destroy everything around himself. The only thing that stopped him was the site of the pregnant Leonida nearby, sitting in one old armchair, deep and lost in thought.

"Now they decide to move the wedding! Now when we're all ready to execute our plan! I know that my idiotic sister couldn't have thought of this on her own. She's to pay dearly for having all these disgusting allies on her side!"

"If it was easy, even you would've lasted longer on the throne!"- Leonida barked at the prince, making him gawk at her.

"What did you just say to me- "

"Shut up! I'm trying to think"- she cut him off, completely unintimidated by his threatening approach. Phobos towered over her for a long silent minute, looking at her stomach as to calm the storm of anger in his chest. No, he wasn't going to hurt her. Not yet, anyway. Then, once that baby was born, he was going to teach her the respect she owned him.

"I sssay it's a trick."- Cedric called in from the ledge of the window he was looking out of. "The sorceress and the guardians have most probably conjectured that the date of the wedding is of significant importance to our plans. You shouldn't fall for it, my Liege."

"But it isn't."- the honey-haired woman argued.

Cedric and Phobos looked at her in dismay.

"What?"- the shapeshifter bared his teeth. His hatred for Leonida was getting greater with every next day. "The wedding date is of no importance to our plans? Our plans involve legal rights, your Grace, how are we...I am sorry, you, to contradict Elyon and Andan's royal validity if you don't know when they're to wed?!"

"Cedric is right."- Phobos agreed coldly. "Timing is everything in our situation. Our descendant will never be accepted by the realms if we don't commit everything in front of their eyes. And that would be a pity because if not, all the time I spent in trying to be more diplomatic will have been pointlessly wasted."- he said mockingly, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Don't you understand?"- and the princess stood up from her place. "This is not about our plan, it's about their intentions to sabotage it! They don't know that we know the wedding is canceled for the day- "

"What if it's all a fraud aiming to catch our spy."- Cedric hissed. "It is possible, don't you think? Our spy in the castle is everything we have to keep track of the main events behind the scenes!"

The two leaped into a long moment of piercing each other with stone looks. Leonida was striving to drive the shapeshifter crazy and she was about to meet success. What was she, a moron? Or was she doing this deliberately...

"Be more thoughtful, will you, Leonida."- was what he felt contented with saying, just in case her original idea was to defame him in front of Phobos. Up until that day, Cedric had consoled himself with the idea of the wedding being the last day he was forced to endure the spoiled princess...But now that everything had sunk into unclear waters, the real wedding date included, the blond man was starting to lose hope and patience.

"It is possible, but it still doesn't matter."- Leonida asserted cold-bloodedly. "The two of you aren't following my thought! I'm trying to tell you to think more... vengefully. Whatever is happening today is happening. We don't have to stay and do nothing in the wait, just because the guardians have decided to play games with us. We might as well score a point or two while they're distracted."

Cedric and Phobos exchanged glances. Then the prince lazily took a seat, scratching his chin with one hand, aiming all his attention at the woman. Cedric sighed mentally, cursing the fact that she could so easily captivate his master and then turned to her to glare at her poisonously.

"Elucidate your words."

Leonida smiled self-gladly and looked at the two men. Oh, they were too adorable when they didn't know how to read her. Which was, as a matter of fact, more often than they could imagine...

"To shed some light on the entire idea, let me remind you that my brother's wedding being off is supposedly a secret for the rest of the kingdom. The villagers and all of Queen Elyon's loyal subjects might as well still be off to the center of the capital, where this magical day was supposed to take place. I suggest we give all these lost souls a proper entertainment."- she smiled even more sinisterly once she noticed Phobos, himself, starting to move his lips in what appeared to be a malicious grin. "Send the Larveggs. The death of a few dozen peasants sounds like a lovely revenge for the royals' little trick with the sudden wedding canceling, don't you think? This is going to be our pre-wedding gift to your sister and my brother."

"A random act of cruelty will hardly help the prince's main goals."- Cedric frowned, completely unimpressed by Leonida's suggestion.

His original opinion of her seemed to be correct. She was either a lousy planner or a deceitful bitch, or much rather, both. But the Prince, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice the lack of sense in her suggestion:

"I find the idea lovely, indeed. You shall go with the monsters, Cedric. Pass my greetings to the crowd."

"But, my Liege, going out in the open in a time like this when the rebels and..."

"Oh, come on. What's the matter with you?"- Phobos was getting peeved. "Scared to spill a little blood for me? That never seemed to be the case for you in the past."

"It's not the case today either, master, it never will, I'm just concerned that we might be discovered prematurely...What is more, for your plan to rule over the United Dimensions to be successful, such acts of violence are not appropriate anymore-"

"We will think about that once the United Dimensions are established."- Phobos interrupted him coldly. "Till date, all that is still just a goal, which means, that the old ways of dealing with my subjects are still more than appropriate and efficient. Besides. The villagers are never going to be a part of my target groups, anyway. Go now, Cedric. Go and spill some blood in my name!"


Caleb hid behind one big oak tree and observed the sight before himself with a deep frown. He had been up since the earliest morning hours; it was already noon time and he was starting to feel tired. But stopping for even a moment today was not an option. Not since the entire rebellion was on alert, going around the kingdom in groups, ready for the fight, all united in one master plan. One plan to bring the escaped tyrant to justice. A plan complied by his mother, of course. The young man took a deep breath, grateful to have her, a feeling that hadn't left him ever since she had returned for good. He knew that with Nerissa's sagacity, his fellow rebels' strength and the Queen's support, their chances were higher than ever. That knowledge gave Caleb undying strength, even more than his patriotism usually did, as he said in a low voice:

"It's the same person that left the castle the first time this morning, right?"

"Yes, yes!"- Blunk nodded enthusiastically. "Blunk never mistake trail of spies. Especially when that spy have...very strange scent."

Caleb tightened his lips and proceeded to use his binoculars to double-check. Their target had reached the final destination. Blunk jumped in his place, startled by a bee that had fought back at his attempt to eat it.

Yes, after so many years, Caleb definitely valued the passling. Blunk was a vital companion in many ways and cases. Keeping a low profile, however, wasn't one of them.

"Shut up, will you? We can't afford to be caught right now! I'm still astounded. That spy...she's just a child. How can she be working for Phobos."

"Don't take Blunk's word for it. Look with Caleb's own eyes!"

The smuggler was right, and Caleb knew it. Even before they saw the girl get back on the path, clearly having delivered her news. As she headed back for the Palace, the man reached for his radio transmitter. He stopped when the girl stopped on the road and looked around herself.

Caleb saw himself forced to drag Blunk with himself in the wild blackberry bushes near their original hideout. Trying to ignore the pain caused by the thorns and keep Blunk's mouth shut at the same time, he gawked when he saw the innocent looking girl develop a pair of wings with which she fled into the sky.

That certainly made more sense.

"Spy girly bad for Blunk. She eat passling meat for breakfast!"

"Alright. Maybe she's not just a child."- with a frown on his face, Caleb reached for the device and used it to contact his mother.

"Mom, hey. Yeah. We asserted the spy. She's a shapeshifter of some sort, poses as one of the staff kids in the castle. No, I don't know her name. She's short with ginger hair and these gleaming green-blue eyes. She's wearing an old, beige shawl. She's going back to the castle right now."

Up in the Mage Tower, Nerissa held her transmitter closer, an excited, yet determined look on her face.

"Perfect."- she smiled. "She'll be welcomed befittingly, you stay where you are, Caleb, and make sure that you'll remain unnoticed. Where is this hideout located, exactly?"

"No, it has no coordinates."- came her son's voice from the other line. "It's deep in the forest, but it's rather close to the Palace. Must be so that the spy can inform them of latest events more quickly... The nerve of these scumbuckets, to stay on Meridian after we chased them away from Coronia...how did they even make it through the veil?! Anyway, I'm sending Blunk back. He'll lead dad and the other men back to me."

"Alright, my dear boy. Hang in there. This time, the information they've received will have them choke."- Nerissa raised her chin higher.

As she hung the radio device back on the thick belt of her abalone colored frock, the former guardian leaned her hands against the table in front of herself. Everything was going according to plan. Her little guile to trick and make the spy expose herself at the same time had worked. Spreading a rumor around the Palace always did...Now, the spy had successfully brought a new piece of information to Phobos and his princess. What she didn't know was how lethal that information was for her masters. Tricking information that Nerissa had dropped in order to get them where she wanted them.

"It is time to settle our scores, enchantress. You and your darling marionette of a prince have had enough fun at my expense over the last few months. It's my turn."- Nerissa arched her back dramatically. "It's my turn to revel in your defeat. "


Elyon looked around herself and took a big breath. She was about to use her powers to create an entire crowd of phantasms. Images of people that could talk and move on their own, but weren't actually there for real. It was kind of how she had made holograms of herself to lure Caleb back when Phobos was poisoning her with his lies, years ago, but she preferred not to think of that. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, her ghostly wedding guests were there, waiting for her to lead them to the special place for the ceremony.

Feeling Andan take her hands in his, gave her some courage. Elyon looked at his handsome face and couldn't help but smile in return to his kindness. She was just about to stage her own wedding. Having her future husband's support in that sure did make her feel better.

"Off you go now."- Nerissa looked at the two expectantly.

They were just behind the castle gardens, ready to get going. She was there to give them last instructions before going to the next place where her presence was required. Her entire plan to deal with Phobos and Leonida was based on a 'divide and conquer' type of strategy and hence, the ex-guardian needed to be exceptionally prompt and pragmatic.

"You remember all that you should do, right?"- she sought clarification. "You'll manage till I get the chance to join you?"

"I will."- Elyon said firmly and then nodded at Nerissa's identical phantasmal image among the wedding crowd. "Until then, she'll be with us. Don't look at me like that. We don't want Phobos to have any suspicions."

"No, we don't."- Nerissa agreed and then put her hands on her waist. "I have high hopes that your brother will have only regrets by the end of the day."

Elyon smiled awry. She hoped that the witch was right.

"The entire plan is ingenious."- Andan interfered sheepishly. "But Leonida is not to be underestimated. You don't know what she is capable of... We risk a lot by leaving her out free while dealing with Phobos- "

"Yeah, yeah, she killed your father. We know."- Nerissa interrupted him. She almost glared at the young man before going on. For God's sake, she had only included him in the plan for a better future outcome, she didn't need his lack of courage to dispel her firmness. "Do not worry about that, dear prince. Your sister will be unpleasantly surprised. I will not allow her to emerge victorious from this battle. I promise you that."

At the end, the brunette saw herself obliged to send the two royals off a tad hastily. After all, Phobos and that royal skank had, for sure, already headed for the place of the ceremony...

"What is going on around here?"

Nerissa turned around to meet a set of warm brown, angry eyes:

"Oh, Will, is that you-"

"No, it's Freckles the clown."- Will retorted abrasively, glaring at the woman before herself.

In her red sweatshirt and in her normal human form, the guardian reached to Nerissa's shoulder, but that didn't stop her from confronting her massively:

"What were you thinking, Nerissa? That you can organize an action against Phobos without us? Why would you even do that?! I've been keeping an eye on you ever since Fadden Hills! I knew you were up to something; I see Elyon is in cahoots with you, great, that's great! I mean, at least that! But why did you have to start today, the day that Elyon allegedly canceled as her wedding day?"

Nerissa rolled her eyes and exhaled deeply. She didn't have time for this.

"How did you think of coming here, anyway."

"Did you forget you were supposed to go to the studios with Matt? You had said you wanted to record something."- Will jogged her memory with a scowl on her face. "When he called me and said you haven't shown up at all and then Cornelia told me you, Julian and Caleb all left the house, early in the morning, I connected the dots."

"Oh, that's right. Experience finally made you use your brain the right way."

But Nerissa's smug smile and tone while saying that, didn't feel right. Will felt her jaw hang in outrage:

"You didn't forget! You wanted your intentions to be discovered, didn't you?! But why?"

Nerissa eyed her with a guileful smile. Will could feel herself about to get very angry, any minute now.

"I can't even unite the girls now, they're all busy running urgent errands."- she said sternly.

"See, I knew that too. That's why I didn't warn you in advance."- the ex-guardian retorted, crossing her arms on her chest. "But that's not important right now. You're just about sufficient to- "

"No. We're going to talk about this now. With the details and everything. I'm not going to do anything to your advantage unless you prove the worth of your plan to me. And no games, please, Nerissa. Surely this must mean more to you than the silly rivalry you so zealously keep between us."

By now, the redhead had given up trying to read the other woman's motives in her eyes. Her contradictive actions, bizarre, secretive ideas and schemes, had to be confronted openly, and even then, the chances of getting to the bottom of Nerissa's true intentions were questionable.

"Fine. You are interested in hearing, then open your ears and listen. I've walked against myself, as to team with Elyon of all people."-the green-eyed woman asserted, her body language as harsh as her tone. "And you know why, my dear Will? Because I've found a way to drain Phobos's powers with the Heart of Meridian, which is his sister."

"But...Elyon swore not to imprison him. She can't do it alone- "

"During her false wedding ceremony, she will detract all his life force without overstepping her silly oath."- Nerissa interrupted her with a look of annoyance on her face. "We suspected that there's a spy in the Palace, remember? Well, I not only managed to reveal her identity, I managed to use her. By having Elyon share with her staff that her wedding is "secretly" being rescheduled. Secretly from the people of both Coronia and Meridian...Up until a proper time arises to tell them that Andan and herself have already wed privately. Anyhow, the spy, of course, took the bait. Caleb followed her to Phobos's hideout and allowed her to deliver the details of the new place and time of the "private" wedding ceremony. The false ceremony, that is. "- Nerissa continued, unabashed. "You were right when you said that the wedding is the occasion our enemies are waiting for. That is why the wedding turned into the perfect bait! And when Phobos gets his life force detracted by the Queen during our little pitfall ceremony, we'll be there to take care of what is left of him."

"Is he...is he going to die?"- Will asked, somewhat disturbed.

Nerissa replied to her with a cold glance that didn't need any more eloquent words, which she uttered, nevertheless:

"At this point, should we really be discussing that? Does it matter to you?"

Will stared back at her, feeling a new wave of anger inside herself. There it was, that element of insanity and this outrageous presumptuousness. This so annoying maniacalness, part of Nerissa's personality, making her believe that everything she does is to be crowned with success, regardless of the horror degree of its character.

"No, you're right. It doesn't. But you can't deny that your entire plan is of an uncertain nature. You should've discussed it with us, we're supposed to be working together on this."

Nerissa gifted her with a glare, almost offended by her statement. Uncertain nature? Dear Will, you're just jealous that you have never been and never will be able to think of such plans. That's why I didn't tell you or any of the other guardians. Because I didn't want to waste my time and energy on your hesitancy and overrated morality...
The redhead endured the burning sparks of the green eyes looking in her, as the other woman opened her mouth to retort.

"Look at you being smart. Smarter, to be more exact."- and the ex-guardian smiled stonily. "But risk wins, risk loses. You can either join my plan or get out of my hair. I'm Mage and I'm not giving up this golden opportunity; not for the risk of bad circumstances, and most surely not for your cowardice."


A/N: Nerissa and Will have been competing, each doing all in her power to be a step ahead of the other for months now. Both have their reasons to keep up the 'natural' rivalry between them. They're two guardians of the Heart. Two keepers. Nerissa can't accept her replacement and her team of guardians to manage things well or even better than her; she's not keen on splitting the glory either. Will has her own concerns. With the new special mission that the Oracle gave her (chapter 9), she's responsible for making sure that the ex-guardian doesn't give in to the darkness once again. But that is a tricky endeavor- Nerissa is hardheaded and determined to protect Meridian at all costs. And her newest plan to achieve that discourages Will. Is this really the best way to end the Noble Hunt or even the most precise arrow of the sorceress will miss the target because of the trembling of one hand. The hand drawing the bow of revenge towards her own brother...

Stay tuned!
~ xoxo