"Beauty? Where are you taking me?" I started to wonder what she was doing. "We were supposed to return to the camp." We were riding through the mountains and I couldn't recognize these forests.

Beauty just kept up her galloping pace.

"Beauty? I need to know where I am, if there is any way for me to create a portal back to the camp. Beauty?" I clung to her neck, tightly. I had chosen to ride her bareback, so pulling on her reins wasn't an option. I could jump off of her back, but she would have left me in her dust, alone.

Beauty answered me, but it wasn't in so many words, given she was a horse.

Then I found myself face to face with the dragon.

"Beauty?!" I panicked.

The dragon was calm and raised its tail to permit my entry to a cavern.

I knew that I was doing exactly what it wanted and it would attack, if I tried to resist.

Beauty led me deeper down into the heart of the same mountain that we had found Kat. I didn't know that there was this entrance before. It was very secretly hidden.

The glowing crystals became more abundant and I started to feel that I was trotting through one giant crystal. I found myself in a mystical dome. It was mesmerising. The crystals were in many colors, shapes and sizes. I just stared in awe. "This is so beautiful…"

Beauty snorted in agreement.

My eyes landed on a palace in the center, made completely out of translucent crystals. It looked so much like glass. I must be dreaming. The water poured in through the walls and created a sparkling effect, where the reflected light danced off the crystals and water. The surrounding pool glistened and I never wanted to leave this place. The archway was dazzling me, with crystal formations, that looked like roses. The draw bridge, looked like frozen ice, that sparkled radiantly from the mystical colors that surrounded it. As we trotted along, any crystals that I came near, would glow brighter.

Queen Kiki came out of the castle. "Welcome to the birthplace of magic itself."

My eyes went wide as Beauty trotted closer to the Evil Queen. "Traitor…" I mumbled to Beauty.

She snorted again, but then I saw that even though she may not have been obeying me, her submissive attitude told me, that she wasn't doing this because she wanted to.

My thoughts turned to the queen. "Why did you bring me here?"

"You're the final key." The queen smirked maliciously.

"The f-inal… key…?" I hesitated. "Key for what?!"

"All in good time. Come. You are my guest. Please make yourself at home." The crystals near the queen, filled with darkness and I realized that the crystals were reflecting our own hearts.

I knew that I didn't have a choice, but to follow her. Besides, my little brother and Mitsuhide might be here somewhere. I entered the castle and followed her to the dining room.

"You must be hungry. Come eat." Queen Kiki took her seat at one end of the table.

I sat at the other. "I wouldn't trust anything you have to offer. It could be poisoned!"

"I assure you that is not the case. Our worlds coexist with each other. Our world balance is held in place by yours. Have you ever wondered why the same people exist in this world as yours, but have been brought together without that same love in their hearts?"

"I'm listening."

"What happens in your world must happen in ours. If not, the connection to your world is severed and great tragedies are inevitable. Magic in our world has made it possible to keep the same loop going. To prevent an existence, means that the being from your world must be sacrificed, to change the flow of time. That is why great destruction occurs when someone tries to manipulate its flow, otherwise."

"What your saying is… to stop me from existing, you have to change fate for my parents in my world and yours?!" I panicked.

"That's right. That is why there is no sense to be killing you."

"That's why you need Amari too?"

"Not entirely… There is much more that he can do for me."

"Where is he?!" I stood up abruptly.

"You can search the castle all you want, but you will never find him."

I saw that the dark hue over the table was growing towards my side and dimming the brightness of my side. I relaxed, calmed down and watched the brightness return to my side of the table.

"Keep resisting. It will do you no good."

The food magically appeared in front of me and it looked and smelled divine. I couldn't resist and ate to my heart's content. But the food didn't satisfy. The more I ate, the more I wanted to eat. I forced myself to stop, but the urges became difficult to ignore.

After I had dismissed myself, I continued through the castle. The rooms were so dark, but as I entered them, a brightness resignated wherever I had been. I realized that this place must have been full of darkness, until I arrived.

That infuriated Queen Kiki and she made a point of entering every room that I had entered. "The Darkness shall dominate. It lives on and will only grow stronger."

I looked up to see a gorgeous chandelier hanging in the main hall. With two beautiful winding staircases that reflected its radiance. "How can you live in a place with such beauty and not feel uplifted?"

I lifted my hands and focussed my powers on the chandelier and it came to life, with a dazzling array of colors spreading throughout the entire hall, giving off a magical sparkling, throughout the room, like a crystal disco ball, but its light being reflected a hundred times over.

I felt my heart begin to sing as I started to dance in the showering lights.

The queen just watched me from a distance.

I knew in that moment, that the queen wasn't the enemy. She was merely a tool of the darkness. I took upon myself to remind her of the person she used to be. I used my magic to start the music and then I tried to pull her to dance in the hall.

The queen pulled her arm away. "I will not play your foolish games."

"They aren't foolish games. It is just a little fun. You can't tell me that you aren't bored out of your mind." I reasoned.

The queen looked at the lights around and wondered to herself, just what I could possibly desire from this display of crystal antics.

"Suit yourself." I started to dance, using my magic to conjure up a beautiful dress to match the beauty of the room. It sparkled with all the colors and reflected the lights too. As I spun around, the hem of my dress glowed brightly like a rainbow. This was a dream, that I may never awaken from. At the moment, I didn't care.

I tried to pull the queen in again, but this time, Queen Kiki backhanded me, releasing some magic, simultaneously and the chandelier, in response, fell to the floor and shattered. On the impact to the floor, the crystal floor responded with a bleeding effect of crimson darkness. As it spread, the bright colors started to diminish.

Queen Kiki's eyes grew wide as she realized her actions. "Look what you made me do!" The queen whipped her cape around her and left like a storm cloud.

I was left on the floor, wondering to myself, what just happened. I noticed that the bleeding of crimson wasn't stopping. What did that mean?

The earth started to shake. Zen braced Shirayuki and their attention turned to Swethyna. "What is going on?!"

Swethyna looked disheartened, but didn't answer. Then she felt a sudden weakness come over her and she slid to the ground.

"Mom?!" Deston ran to her side. "What's wrong? What is happening to you?!"

Swethyna tried to get up, but felt her energy quake. Her body started to resemble even more like a flower. Her skin turned green as a plant. "Magic is unstable…" She uttered.

"Unstable?!"

Swethyna nodded and her roots dug into the ground. "Go! Get out of here!"

Deston jumped back as he watched helplessly as his mother's vines started to pop out of the earth everywhere and then she became nothing but a vicious flower with intense growing power.

Zen pulled Shirayuki away from her, but the velocity in which her vines grew, getting away from her was becoming increasingly difficult. Zen found a horse tied up and launched himself onto its back and pulled up Shirayuki, in haste.

Deston and Kat tried their best to get away as well, but their path was blocked from the growing ivy and they were forced to go a different way.

Deston ran through the camp, as many were panicking at the forest growth.

The clouds became darker and the trees were beginning to choke under it. The forest wildlife and even the tame, all ran away from the collecting darkness.

The ocean waters came over the land and washed out many people and trees were plucked at their roots. The animal people were now frozen in their forms.

I left the hall, not sure what to make of the spreading crimson, but it finally stopped. I breathed hard, but now I could relax again.

Zen and Shirayuki were being hunted by the quickly growing ivy and the earth shaking didn't help them in the least.

The earth was quelled and everything was silenced. The ivy stopped growing wildly.

Zen stopped the horse and looked back to a labyrinth of poison ivy. "How do we get back?"

"Swethyna is a flower… What is happening? The magic is unstable? What does that even mean?" Shirayuki panicked.

"I don't know, but we need to find Miko! Now!"

The water had rescinded back to the ocean and a calm returned to the land. But the lands ahead and even behind, had completely changed. There were new mountain ranges born and many trees were uprooted. There were rivers formed in new locations and the ivy covered most of it.

"It is hard to get my barrings. I don't even know where we are." Zen admitted.

"Mom! Mom!" Deston finally made his way through the labyrinth and found the big flower in the center of the chaos.

"I'm sorry… Deston…" Kat approached slowly.

"She-she's gone…." Deston's tears collected in his eyes and trailed down his cheeks. "I never got to even tell her, I love her…"

"She knows… I know she felt the same way about you." Kat tried to comfort her friend.

A big black wolf made its way in there and he snarled at them.

Deston took out his sword and prepared to protect the flower.

A blue jay flew in and landed in front of the wolf. It whistled a small tune and the wolf calmed right down. The blue jay flew onto its head and stared back at Kat.

Kat's eyes widened. "Nosuke?!"

The jay tweeted in response.

"It is really Nosuke!" Kat shrieked.

The jay flew up into the air and tried to show them the way out of the labyrinth.

When they finally emerged, Nosuke landed on Kat's shoulder and tweeted in her ear.

A weasel came out of the forest.

The jay landed in front of it and they looked like they were discussing some kind of plan, from what Kat could tell.

The woodland creatures started to guide Kat and Deston out of there and they came across a rather large tar swampy wasteland.

The jay flew overhead and scouted the area.

Zen felt weird and noticed that his hand had turned to stone. He could still move his right hand, but not his left. "What is happening to my hand?"

"It looks like it's becoming stone…" Shirayuki's one foot, was now in a similar condition.

"We have to move. If we are turning back into stone, then we might be too late to stop it." Zen turned the horse around.

"We have to go back in there?" Shirayuki asked.

Zen looked behind them and then the ledge fell down a steep cliff, cutting them off from any escape. "Yep. There is no other way."

I finally found the queen in the throne room. "What was that?! Please tell me!" I was sure that I could reason with her.

"I disrupted the essence of magic. It has taken its toll. When any of these crystals are disturbed in any way, the magic becomes unstable for a time. We aren't affected by it here, but in the outside world, it is chaos. Things will settle when it passes."

"You lashed out at me for making you do that… why?" I think deep down, the queen really does care… but how?

"I don't know... " The queen was in thought for a moment. "That is strange…" She mumbled to herself, but I still heard it.

I noticed that the throne she was sitting, was not as dark as the other crystals had been.

I realized that magic in its birthplace was far more fragile. This place was the embodiment of magic. I turned and left her alone with her thoughts. I searched the castle, high and low, and then found in the center of it, the heart of this castle. It was a giant crystal in the main grand hall. It was purer than any other crystal and was shaped similarly to a very large carnation. The whole room resonated in its light and beauty. I placed my hand firmly on its edges and felt a powerful magic course through my body, that made me feel lighter than a feather.

Queen Kiki stood just inside the grand hall. Her darkness pulsed through the room, but it wasn't able to infect the purest jewel. "True purity at its finest."

I mused at it. I felt like nothing bad could ever happen and that I felt more alive than I ever had. "Come in! You have to experience this!" I raised my arms in the air and felt like I might float away. "It feels soo… magical."

"I suppose it would…"

"Come on, Kiki!" I drew nearer to her and felt like some of that bliss was fading.

The queen turned her back to me. "I will not go any closer." I could see in her eyes, for just a moment, that she feared it. Maybe it was because her magic couldn't penetrate it.

"Kiki…?"

The queen's eyes lit with a burning rage. "Don't you show me your pity. I don't need you. I never will." The darkness on the walls, showed that she once again hardened her heart towards me.

"I don't understand what you are afraid of…"

"I'm not afraid! This crystal will be as black as night. What would I have to be afraid of?" Queen Kiki smirked maliciously again, before leaving the grand hall.

I looked back at the center gem. There was no way I was going to let that happen!

The queen left the caves and chose to find her dragon. But when she left there was no dragon to speak of. "Mitsuhide! MITSUHIDE!" Terror filled her eyes and then she heard a roar and saw the blast of fire and the smoke rising from the forest in the west.

She ran to him and then scolded him. "I told you to guard the entrance!"

Mitsuhide's eyes were of pure fury and he blew his ice breath at Queen Kiki.

She quickly dodged it and looked into his eyes. "No… It can't be…" There was no humanity left in him. He was nothing but a blood thirsty dragon now. Mitsuhide whipped his tail at the queen and she ran away from him.

The monstrous beast took to the sky and chased after her. With every flap of his wings, he gained on her.

She summoned a portal and ran through it, with haste. The dragon wasn't able to follow her.

The queen panted in the throne room of her magic castle and she felt the tears cascading down her face. "What have I done…? Mitsuhide…" The queen cried till she fell on her knees.

I entered the room and rushed to her side.

The queen knocked me away. "Get out! You will cease to exist! You hear me?!"

I recognized in her eyes the brokenness inside her. Her heart never healed and she was somehow being freed from the clutches of darkness, whether she knew it or not.

Queen Kiki wiped her tears from her eyes and her anger turned on me. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't pushed me, I wouldn't have disturbed the magic in the first place!"

My fault? How was this all my fault? What is she so mad about, anyway? "No. I will not leave you, Kiki. You are my friend. In my world and this one too. I will never leave a friend behind."

"Then you leave me no choice." The queen flicked her fingers.

I was locked up in a crystal, egg shaped room, at the top of one of the magic castle towers. There was no way out. I could see all around me, for it was translucent from my side, even though, it wasn't as easy to see through, from the other side.

I didn't know where the air was coming from, but at least I could still breathe. I sunk down to my knees and cried for her, for me, and for all the uncertainty that I had for my friends and parents.

Even in this cell, it was pretty. The urgency I felt, kept my focus on other matters. I had to get out of here and I felt like I needed to protect that center gem, with my life, if necessary. I just didn't really know why.

I tried to use my magic, but it was futile. This cell was under some kind of enchantment. I suppose only the one who cast it, was able to bend it.

I was now just going to have to wait until the queen decides to release me.

I saw Beauty at the base of the castle. "IF YOU HAVE ANY HONOR LEFT IN YOU, YOU WILL FIND MY FATHER!"

Beauty fidgeted for a moment, which was a good indication that she heard me. Beauty looked like she was struggling to resist something and her antics became more wild.

I don't think she is a willing participant in this plan.

Beauty reared up and roared wildly, as if invisible, magical reins were confining her to the castle. Beauty started to shake her head, like she was trying to shake away a thought, physically. She finally calmed down, she nodded to no one in particular and then darted out of the mystical cavern.

Zen found a blue jay that was trying to lead them through the labyrinth and Zen eagerly accepted his help.

They finally joined with Kat, Deston and the woodland creatures.

Kat looked at Zen in shock. "Your arm?! It's turning into stone!"

Zen looked disheartened. "I am not the only one…"

Shirayuki couldn't move her leg any more than a stone could climb a mountain. "Have you seen Miko?"

Kat shock her head. "I haven't seen Desti either."

The black wolf howled in response.

"Desti?!" Kat was shocked immediately. "What are you doing here?! You're a wolf?!"

The wolf looked grieved, but then held his head high.

Beauty rode towards them and stood high on her hind legs, wailing for help.

"There she is! Get her! She's the queen's spy!" Zen pulled out his sword.

The wolf snarled at the horse and then Kat cut the horse off with her sword. "You aren't going anywhere until you tell me where Miko is!"

Beauty settled down and looked into Kat's eyes. She approached Kat calmly. It was as if Beauty recognized her. Beauty offered her back to Kat and then slammed her hoof into the ground a few times, to show her urgency.

Kat never wanted to ride Beauty because of how crazy that horse really was. She would never allow another rider on her back. Kat hesitated, but then got on her back.

Beauty tore off in the direction of the magic castle.

Zen and Shirayuki followed behind.