Well, here it is. I hope no one wants to kill me for having them wait so long. . .

Chapter 7: A Break, and Some More Fun!

They explored the castle, and saw that it was very similar to Belli Castle, but it was much larger. They didn't see all of it, but did manage to find the kitchen. There was a note there telling them that all the candidates could help themselves to whatever they could find. Fiona and Bella ate in silence, glad to have a moment of peace. Suddenly, Bella felt something move around them. She looked around but didn't see anything.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I thought I felt something. Fiona, do you think Draven's still alive?"

"I hope so. You don't know what Debilitas did with his body, do you?"

"No. But it would be nice if he would come back. Perhaps it really was him who you saw during your exam. Maybe he's taking care of us."

"That'd be nice, wouldn't it?"

"Mm hm." They finished their dinner in silence, and took a walk. The castle was so large, that they didn't see anyone in any of the sections they explored. They didn't find anything of interest, so they headed back early. Fiona was still thinking about the fact that Draven may have survived. She really hoped he had, she needed him. She hoped he was the one who had helped her.

On the way to their room, Fiona noticed a pair of large oak doors that she hadn't paid attention to before. There were intricate carvings, making it absolutely beautiful. It was a large rose, encircled by vines with thorns. It seemed to be calling to her, making her stop. Bella was a few steps away before she noticed that Fiona had stopped. She turned back to see what was so interesting about a door.

"What is it Fiona?"

"I don't know . . . There's something about this door, this room. I feel a kind of magnetic pull. There's something in there calling to me, but I don't sense the aura of anyone. The room is empty. Should I go in?" Bella thought about this for a moment. She knew they still had plenty of time, but she wasn't sure if it was safe. Whether Draven was alive or not, he'd never forgive Bella for letting Fiona get hurt. She didn't sense anything from the room, and she knew that whatever was in there was meant for Fiona alone, if it really was calling her. She didn't sense any danger either, but something still unnerved her.

"I'm not sure. If something calling to you, it's meant for you alone. I don't sense anything, good or bad, so I'm obviously not supposed to get involved. I don't know what to do. My job is to keep you safe, but I think you should go in, and I'll wait out here."

"No, you go back to the room, so I can use your aura to get there faster. I'll leave as soon as I stop feeling the pull. Like you said, it's meant for me, so you should just go and take a break. We can't both be tired for tomorrow, can we?" Fiona tried to smile, but failed miserably. Bella just nodded. She turned to leave and wished Bella luck with whatever it was she was going to do.

After making sure that Bella was out of sight, Fiona reluctantly put her hand on the door, pushing it open. Before her stood the a library. It was colossal. Nothing like she'd ever seen. It made the huge library at her college look like a play pen. She went inside, marveling at the amount of bookshelves. How much information could there be in here? She figured that, with the things she knew about the immortals, this room contained the history of the world, and that thought frightened and fascinated her.

She let the pull guide her, and it maneuvered her across the library. It was like a maze of winding bookshelves. She read the headings of every section. Events, Creatures, Battles, Strategies . . . the list went on and on. But the pull didn't stop at any of those shelves. It stopped at the very end of the large room. The entire trip made her head spin, and she was trying to remember how to get back. Then she looked up at the label on the shelf she stopped at. Deaths and Immortals. Why would I stop here? But the pull had stopped, clearly stating that this was where she was meant to be. She began to look at the books, trying to find what it was she was meant to see. Her hand brushed across the various titles, mostly just famous names or dictionary-like books, which listed deaths in alphabetical order. Then there were those that listed the Immortals. Although, the book that drew her attention first was one of the death lists. She took it and saw that it contained the deaths of people with names that started from A to B. It was an extremely thick book. She knelt on the floor and opened it in front of her. It opened to the page with names that started with the letter B. There was one name in particular that caught her attention.

Belli, Fiona- born October 31st ,1988; died November 25th, 2006. Killed by Areoulis Lorenzo Belli.

Needless, to say, these few words frightened her, causing her to fall back. She stared at the book. I can't really be dead, can I? I'm right here, I'm alive. She scanned the page, noticing that the majority of the names were Belli. All of the ones she had killed were there too. Then she saw another name.

Belli, Isabella- born November 10th 1986; died September 21st, 2005. Killed by Daniella Belli.

This made everything so much worse for her. Why was she meant to see this, and not Bella? Bella had a right to know. But how could she not know she was dead? How could neither of them know? She frantically searched for one more name, a name she knew had to be there. She didn't find him, though. He was perhaps the only Belli that wasn't listed. Draven wasn't marked as dead. What kind of a cruel joke was this? It didn't make any sense. Bella and Fiona couldn't be dead. This couldn't be real. She searched every page that had a Belli on it. She ripped them out of the book, closing the book and taking the papers in her hand, leaving the one with her name and Bella on top. The tears were beginning to cloud her vision. No . . . this can't be happening to me. We're not dead . . . we can't be. She felt another tug, but ignored it this time, running out of the library, not caring to close the door. She searched for Bella's aura, finding it close by and letting it guide her to the room.

When she got there, she noticed that Bella was lying face up on the bed, waiting for her. She seemed very relaxed, almost happy. It crushed Fiona to tell her about the book she found.

"Oh, you're back. So what was in that room?"

"A library . . ."

"What? Why would you be led to a library?"

"I was pulled to a section titled Deaths and Immortals." She then handed her the pages she held in her hand. Bella looked at her quizzically. She took the papers and looked at the first one. Her face was surprised at first, and then it paled, she continued down the list, and her face became ashen. Her lips began to quiver, and, despite the fact that she had never seen Bella cry, she knew that she would, as she watched her eyes brim over with tears.

"H-How is this possible?" Her voice was shaking.

"I-I'm not really s-sure." She could hear herself beginning to cry, as well. "I was immediately drawn to this book. I saw the pages, ripped them out, and ran back, wanting to show you. What's even worse, is that Draven isn't on any of those papers. I don't understand any of this." Bella seemed to be thinking something over.

"Alright. This is what we're going to do. That library should have the names of all the participants in this tournament. I think that, maybe, you can only compete if you've died. Perhaps that was the only way to gather the participants without the regular humans realizing what was going on . . . That would mean that Draven didn't die, and that we're in a completely different dimension all together. I can't imagine why none of the books in the library at Belli Castle didn't have this information." This seemed to calm them a little, but Fiona was still wondering about the fact that she had died, and not Draven. It didn't make any sense. She had seen him get killed, had felt his lips go cold. This was impossible, but, deep inside, she knew it was probably true.

The book had said she'd been killed by Belli. Had he risen from the lava again? Had he killed her as she lay beside Draven? That didn't explain how Draven didn't die though . . . Bella saw the look on Fiona's face.

"Fiona? You alright?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Ok, so let's head back to the library and find a book with the names of living people, if he's not among the dead, that's the only other option we have." That settled it, and they headed back. Once they arrived, Fiona showed Bella the section where she found the book, taking the book and showing it to her. Bella examined it carefully, muttering under her breath. She then went on to look through the rest of the books, examining titles, until she found the one she was looking for. It was similar to the death lists, but was titled Living. She opened it and began to look for Draven. She flipped through several pages and finally gave up, looking at Fiona with a puzzled look. "He's not here . . . how is that possible?"

"What? Can I see?" Fiona took the book, looking through the pages with names that started with Belli. There were no Bellis listed as living. They were all dead. Fiona didn't understand, and she was getting worried. If Draven wasn't dead or alive, what was he? They stood in silence for a while, until there was a kind of chime. A voice sounded all over the room.

"Contestants, it is suggested that you begin to go back to your rooms, and rest. Sleep, because you may not get another chance to do so." Fiona and Bella took the voice's advice, putting the book back in its place. They went back to their room, deep in thought. Bella had a theory of what Draven could be, but she didn't want to make Fiona hopeful, and turn out to be wrong. She was surprised that Fiona hadn't thought of it yet. Maybe the fact that she saw him die affected her judgment.

They arrived at their room and decided to sleep. Bella was sound asleep before Fiona's eyelids even began to get heavy. She stared up at the canopy, remembering everything that had happened to her. She started by recalling the crash. Her parents, she hadn't thought of looking for them, but she knew they were dead. Belli had said so himself, and she doubted that, if she had any ties to the real world left, she would have been chosen for the competition. After a few more minutes, she finally slept. It was a dreamless sleep, but she could feel something nagging her in the back of her head.

When they woke up, it was because of a strange buzzing noise. They gathered their things as they heard the same voice from before, "All candidates must gather in the main hall, where the final trial will be explained." They hurried to prepare, eager to get everything done and over with. They were dressed in the same clothes as the day before, but they noticed that they had been cleaned. They took their time getting to the hall, noticing that they were being surrounded by the remaining contestants. They arrived, and the cloaked figures from before were waiting for them.

"Now that you are all here, we can begin an explanation of the next trial. It will consist of two parts. The first will test your physical strength, the second, your intelligence and values, beliefs, whatever you want to call it."

Alright, that is where I will leave this chapter. I'm sorry it took so long, and I hope no one hates me. There's only a little left before the end, and it's all planned out in my head. Until the next chap . . . (which I plan on making very soon.) Please review!