Isa's jaw dropped when she approached the science academy at last. It was huge and filled with tons of history and lessons to be learned. It was everything she ever hoped it would be. It was a shame that she wasn't officially a student there as she had always dreamed of being. As she walked through the halls, she just took it all in. She looked at portraits of famous inventors, scientists, and professors, all of which she greatly admired and had strove to be like one day. She stopped in front of a plaque honoring the schools accomplished alumni and frowned, believing that her name would never be on that plaque. Not now, after everything that had happened in her life.

"May I help you with something miss?" A woman asked and then grimaced at the sad state of Isabel's appearance. Her clothes were tattered and torn and actually still had some blood stains on them that Isa just couldn't get out. Her hair hadn't been actually brushed in the few weeks that it had taken her to travel and she began to have a foul stench that followed her around. At least no one would mistake her for a princess.

"Umm yes" Isa responded. She then blushed as she saw the woman's face and realized that she hadn't even thought to try to clean herself up. "I'm looking for Professor Mendoza?"

"You can find her in the next building over. She is head of the archaeology department. She should be in her office" The woman explained, happy to help Isabel if it meant she'd carry that odor out with her. After giving thanks, Isa headed out in the direction that she had been pointed.

When she finally found Professor Mendoza's door, she knocked softly and then nervously entered when she was asked to do so.

"What can I do for you?" The professor asked when Isa was in front of her.

"Hi Professor, my name is..." Isa paused, she had almost given her actual name but she couldn't risk doing such a thing. "My name is uh... Amara! Amara uh... Guzman!" She claimed after thinking of her friends from back in Avalor city. Prof. Mendoza looked skeptically at her and then it suddenly hit her. Though she had never met Princess Isabel, she knew that it had to be her. She was a younger version of her elder sister Elena, who she had worked closely with in the past. There was no doubt about who this poor looking girl was. She was Princess Isabel of Avalor. She knew the troubles the royal family had faced though and decided to play along with Isa's attempt to hide her true self. Isa had very good reason for doing what she was doing.

"Well miss Amara, what may I help you with?" She asked Isa pleasantly, giving no hint that she suspected anything.

Isa pulled out her wrapped up dagger. "I was wondering if you could help me with something I found... I think it's Maruvian. I saw glyphs of it in a temple, along with 5 other pictures. I would love to learn what they mean" She handed the artifact over and watched professor Mendoza examine it.

"Whoa! Where did you find this?!" The professor asked, knowing immediately what it was.

"In the crystal caverns. It was hidden behind a man made wall" Isa confessed.

"You're right. It is Maruvian. And it's very important to the history and legends of the culture" she explained.

"Is it made of obsidian? That's very rare... I hear" Isa said, growing excited.

"It is! Very good Amara!" The professor told her, impressed with the knowledge she was displaying. She looked Isa up and down and thought for a moment. It didn't take her long to conclude that she would need to shelter the young princess. "I'll make a deal with you young lady. If you let me keep this dagger here for now so that I can examine and study it a bit more, I will let you stay here as well. You can stay with me in the teacher's quarters. I'll get you cleaned up, a good meal, warm bed? What do you say?"

Isa sighed heavily with relief. "I would love all of that!" She said gratefully.

Isa had gone with Professor Mendoza and got cleaned up in a new dress, she finally brushed her shortened hair and she was given a home cooked meal. When they were finished, they got right to work. They headed over to the professor's research room and again, Isa was in awe of everything that she saw. There were so many ancient Maruvian artifacts in the room. Isa wanted to know about each and every one of them. She couldn't help but light up and ask question after question and far too quickly for them to even be answered. The professor just laughed at her young new student's enthusiasm.

"Well we will have plenty of time to get to all of this but I'd like to ask you something first. Before we get started." She, in a serious tone, told Isa. "I assume since you were at the crystal caverns that you've come from Avalor City? I know how hard things were during the invasion and I'm sure they haven't gotten any easier... what happened to your family ... Amara?"

Isa looked down at her feet. Her excitement had quickly vanished as she was brought back to the reality of her situation. "They're all dead. All of them are gone." She admitted and Prof. Mendoza could tell by Isa's sudden choked up voice and sullen body language, that unlike her identity, this wasn't a lie.

"I'm very sorry to hear that" She told Isa sympathetically. "I'm sure you had a great family. I'm sure they loved you very much"

Isa looked up at the professor and met her eyes. There was something very honest and trustworthy about them. Isa thought for just a moment that Professor Mendoza knew exactly who she was, and she almost admitted it too. She then blinked and shook the thought from her mind. She had done and seen too much. She couldn't trust anyone anymore.

"The dagger has been used recently" Mendoza stated. This wasn't a question at all. She looked Isabel square in the eyes and her expression urged Isa to tell the trust about when and how.

"My friend and I were attacked. She didn't survive. I made sure that I did though" Isa said with conviction, holding her head high. At first she had struggled with killing that soldier but as time passed, she came to terms with what she had done and now she was proud that she had not only saved her own life, but saved Quique's as well. She had no regrets. Killing Higgins was a different matter entirely. She didn't feel sad about his death but she knew that she had acted out of anger rather than self defense. She had wanted revenge and she got it. She was still working out her feelings on that murder. She decided not to mention the most recent use of the dagger at all. There was no need.

"Can we get back to what my dagger has to do with the Maruvians now?" Isa said, in a bit of a rude tone. She didn't want to focus on the past anymore. She just wanted to move forward and something was telling her that her future had something to do with that dagger. She was drawn to it in an odd way. She felt like discovering it had been fate.

Professor Mendoza stared a moment, sizing up the princess. She began imagining the horrors that Isa must have seen during the invasion. There was no doubt that she had to have been in the middle of it all. It was a miracle that she was alive. Mendoza decided not to push Isabel any further for the time being. "Of course" She told her and walked over to one of her book shelves. She ran a finger across some of the books until she found exactly the right one. When she did, she pulled it out and brought it to Isa. She sat with Isa at a table and opened the book, flipped through the pages and landed on one in particular. She didn't say a word. She simply pointed to what she wanted Isa to see.

"That's them! Those are the glyphs I saw at the temple!" Isa squealed. "And that right there" She excitedly continued, pointing at the book "That's my dagger right?!"

Professor Mendoza nodded that Isa was correct.

"Do you know what they are? What they mean?" Isa inquired. She wanted to know everything she could.

"Well there's still a lot of mystery surrounding how the Maruvians vanished but we do know that these were the last glyphs ever drawn. They were created much earlier than any other drawings that we've found in any of the temples. It's rumored that they represent six artifacts containing the last bit of Maruvian magic." Professor Mendoza explained.

"They're magical? But I didn't notice anything magical about the dagger" Isa noted.

"Only a Maruvian can control the magic within them. Although, from what I've gathered, there may be one chosen one able to use the magic. The Maruvians believed that there would come a dark time and their magic would be needed. If the chosen one could channel the magic within all the artifacts, he or she would be more powerful than anyone in the Ever Realm. They'd be unstoppable."

"I want to know more!" Isa told the professor, on the edge of her seat with anticipation.

"Well you are welcome to any of my books, papers, and notebooks. I have a lot of findings that I haven't been able to study thoroughly yet. But, other than a few notes that I've made, they are all in Maruvian." Professor Mendoza offered.

"That's OK. I've studied Maruvian. I can get by translating it on my own" Isa said, assuring the professor that she could work independently and she wasn't going to be taking up too much of her time. Isa was finally feeling a bit more like her old self. Seeking knowledge had always brought her joy. She thrived when faced with an intellectual challenge.

It was suggested that Isa get some sleep that evening as it appeared she was clearly lacking in rest. She could start her research the next day, when she was feeling more refreshed. That night, she suffered through terrible nightmares. She dreamed of her parents, her sister, Amara and worst of all, her Grandparent's beheading played vividly for her over and over again. Waking in the morning had been her only escape but she could still see the images of her dreams dancing around in her head. She headed to the professor's research room and happily delved right into her work. The new quest she was on was much needed and very welcoming distraction.