So it's now official. This story has the most reviews in the Kingdom Keepers fanfiction archive!

HOW COOL IS THAT?!

Okay, now that my little victory dance is over...I bring you chapter 31! I think y'all are going to like this one. Well...at least I hope so. I LOVE this one so much!

And without further adieu, chapter thirty one! :)

Chapter 31: The Concept of Time

When Philby didn't come back in a few minutes, Willa started to worry.

When she didn't hear any noise, she contemplated going after him, but decided against it, constantly reassuring herself that he can take care of himself.

When someone put their hand over her mouth and spun her around, she lost it.

She struggled against her captor and tried to scream, but the hand eliminated all sound.

"Isabel!" The voice said in a loud whisper. "Calm down! It's me, Jack!"

Willa stopped fighting Jack and removed his hand from her mouth.

"What are you doing here? Where's Dell?"

"I'm afraid Dell's been taken."

"WHAT?"

Jack hurriedly put his hand back on her mouth. "Sssh!" He looked behind him as if someone was following him. "We can't talk here."

Jack ushered Willa down the dark, quiet streets of Anaheim until they reached his house. Once inside, he threw everything off of a small couch in the front room and pulled it out, revealing a hidden trap door in the floor.

"How long has that been there?" Willa asked him as he unlatched the hinges on the trap door.

"As long as I've been here."

"Why would you need a trap door in your own house, Jack? Who's after you?"

"Isabel, my dear, there's more to me that you realize." He grabbed her arm and helped her down the steps.

Once the two were at the bottom of the steps, Jack lit a torch and the small room was illuminated. Willa saw that there was a small bed and a table off to one corner, with two doors on either side of the room. Jack immediately set the torch down in a vase on a table in the corner of the room.

"So this has been here all these years?"

"Yes." Jack looked around again worriedly. Willa was beginning to worry about being followed, but she said nothing.

"Isabel, there is much I need to tell you. Please, sit." Jack motioned for the bed. Willa hesitated, for she wasn't sure what was to follow, but she complied with Jack's request.

"Isabel, you've known for sometime now that you are King Finn's sister."

"You told me that when we returned to California, Jack."

"Oh yes, you're right." Jack started pacing. He was obviously nervous about whatever he wanted to talk about. "But I did not tell you the full story."

Instead of replying, Willa stared up at Jack. He wouldn't look at her. She had no clue what he was about to say, but she knew she wasn't going to like it.

"See, Maleficent isn't just after you and your brother. She's been after me for much, much, longer."

"You? But Jack, you're just a civilian! You're not royalty."

"Yes…and no."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I was royalty fourteen years ago. But I had to fake my death so that Maleficent wouldn't kill me or my son. Now I'm not royalty, but she somehow found out where I was...and now she's after me again."

Willa looked up at him with a blank stare. Where is this going Jack?

Jack stopped pacing and stood across the room facing Willa.

"Isabel, I guess what I'm trying to tell you is that I am in fact King Peter. I was…am your's and Finn's father."

There was a moment of silence.

"Wait…what?" Willa realized too late that her tone of voice was screaming anger and outrage.

"Let me explain, Isabel."

"You're telling me that you've known all about me all this time and you didn't say anything?"

"I didn't want to frighten you. My days as king as long gone."

"But that doesn't mean you can't be my father!" Willa stood up.

"I did what I had to because it was best for you, Isabel."

"Giving me away at birth was best for me? That makes no sense! What place is safer than the castle?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that, Isabel."

"What kind of excuse is that? Why can't you just say that you didn't want me because I'm the reason my mother is dead?"

Jack's face froze in shock. "How do you know about that?"

"Finn told me, father. I'm not stupid! My mother died giving birth to me! Why can't you just admit that that's why you didn't want me around?"

"Because that's not the reason at all! I wanted you to grow up in the castle! I wanted to see you every day and watch you grow up!"

"Then why couldn't I? Why did I have to grow up the way I did?"

"Because Maleficent was going to kill you!"

Willa took a step back. "What are you talking about?"

"Maleficent knows the future somehow. I'm not sure how she does, but she knew that if you stayed in the castle you were going to die! I sent you away so you could live!"

"How could she possibly know that I was going to die? That makes no sense!"

"It doesn't make sense, Isabel, it doesn't. But two months after you were sent away, a plague went through the town and all the young ones were dead within days! I almost lost your brother too! You would have died if you would have stayed, Isabel. Believe it or not but Maleficent's warning saved your life!"

Willa sat back down on the bed and put her head in her hands. First her husband disappears and now she finds out Maleficent saved her life. She didn't know what to believe anymore.

Jack sat down on the bed next to her. "I know this is tough for you, Isabel. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do—letting you go."

"What about Finn? He said you died fourteen years ago. How do you explain that?" Willa looked up at Jack with tears in her eyes. Jack had always felt like a father figure to her, but knowing that he is her biological father changes things.

"Maleficent made clear threats against my life. The only way to protect myself and Finn was to fake my own death and move out of the castle. The original plan was for me to move out to a village at the far edges of the kingdom—the same one you lived in, now that I think about it—but I couldn't move far away from the castle."

"How come?"

"Because I was told that if I stayed, I'd be able to see both of my children again."

"Who told you that?"

"Who said it doesn't matter. I knew that it was probably just a hoax, but deep down there was a part of me that believed it to be true."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes.

Willa wiped a few tears off of her cheek and turned to Jack.

"Do you know who took Dell?"

"I have an awful feeling it's Maleficent."

"How do we get him back?"

Jack thought for a second. "I'm not sure." He paused again. "But I think I know where she's going to strike next."

"What do we do now?"

Jack looked at her and Willa saw a twinkle in his eyes that she had never seen before. "I have an idea."

Charlene sat in the garden. The moonlight gave the trees and plants an eerie look, but in a beautiful way. Charlene sat on the edge of the fountain, moving her fingers through the water as she thought.

Earlier that evening she had saw her dead brother. And not only had she saw him, but he had talked to her. They had had a conversation. He touched her and she felt it.

Absolutely none of it made sense.

She watched as the waves bounced off of her fingers and moved around the fountain. She had always appreciated beautiful places like this. The calming aspect of the garden made her question whether or not the events of today had even happened.

"Now what I'm wondering is why my lovely girlfriend is out here in this garden all by herself in the middle of the night."

Charlene turned and saw Terry standing there with the biggest smile on his face. In return, she gave him a quick-lived smile and went back to looking at the water.

"What's wrong?" He walked up to her and sat next to her on the fountain's ledge.

"Nothing."

Terry obviously wasn't convinced. He put his hand on top of hers. "What's wrong?"

Charlene wouldn't make eye contact with him. "Just a rough day, that's all."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No."

Charlene felt Terry studying her, but she still refused to make eye contact.

"Okay then." He stood up and offered her his hand. "At least come inside. It's way too cold out here."

Charlene shook her head.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I just want some time alone, that's all."

Charlene glanced up at Terry. Their eyes locked for a few brief seconds.

"Okay. Don't stay out here too long. You'll get sick." Terry leaned in, kissed her on the cheek and walked out of the garden.

Charlene watched as he walked away before returning her gaze back to the fountain.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed before she heard someone walk into the garden. Charlene figured it was just Terry. She heard the footsteps stop not too far away from her.

"Terry, I'll come inside soon. I just need some more time to think, that's all."

"Oh I know the perfect place to think, dearie." A dry, raspy voice said behind her.

Charlene turned around so fast she almost fell into the fountain.

"MALEFICENT? What are you doing here?" Charlene turned to call the guards, but Maleficent threw a hand up.

"No need to call the guards, your majesty."

"You can't just sneak in here like that!"

"Oh, but I can! I've been doing it for years! I know all of the secret passageways in and out of the castle."

"You're supposed to be dead!"

"Am I? I didn't get the memo."

"Why are you here Maleficent? Why show up now?"

"I had to come see how my favorite children were doing. I hear that lovely boy Finnegan has a son now. How," she sneered, "...precious."

"You need to leave! Now!"

"Oh I will! The castle is a dreadful place to stay much longer than a day. But there are a few more things I need to attend to while I'm here."

"Leave now before I call the guards!"

"I will, under one condition, your majesty." Maleficent did a mock bow. Charlene had to use all her will power not to slap Maleficent across the face.

"And what is that your excellent evilness." Charlene returned a mock bow.

"I'm going to need you to come with me."

"Why would I ever go anywhere with you?"

"If you want your friends to live, you should do as I ask."

"You can't threaten them! Not here! You have no power! Finn's in charge here!"

"Yes, he may have won last time. But that was three years ago, dearie. A new era has begun!" She spread her arms out and took a step forward. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Either way, you will go with me."

Charlene said nothing. All she did was stared at Maleficent, deciding whether or not it was worth slapping her.

"I guess that means we'll be doing this the hard way."

Maleficent snapped her fingers and a gag suddenly appeared in Charlene's mouth. She screamed, but no one could hear it. Another snap and Charlene's arms were bound with rope that appeared out of no where.

A third snap and Charlene fell to her knees. Maleficent leaned in close to her face and started whispering.

"I'm glad you picked this way, Charlene, I am. This is going to be so much fun for the both of us."

She snapped her fingers for a fourth time and Charlene's world went black.

Amanda stared at the drawing. In the small amount of light the candle emitted, she could see Jess' most recent drawing well enough to know that their future wasn't bright.

"Jess…this…this is something else."

Amanda put the drawing down on the table.

"That looks a lot like—"

"Amanda. I know what you're thinking. It doesn't look like Finn."

"But it still could very well be him."

"I know that…but there's no need to jump to conclusions here Amanda."

Amanda slammed her hand down on the table. "It's him, Jess and you know it!"

"Amanda! You can't see who the person is! It could be ANYBODY! Heck, it could be me!" Jess picked up her drawing and placed it back inside her journal.

"You and I both know better than that, Jess!"

"You're jumping to conclusions!"

"AM I?" Amanda stood up and her chair toppled over.

"YES! YOU ARE!" Jess stood up but somehow managed to keep her chair from falling over on its side.

The two sisters stared at each other, anger exploding behind their eyes. They hadn't fought like this in years. Amanda was trying her best not to push her sister across the room. Jess resisting the urge to slap her sister up the side of the head.

Neither were completely sure how long they had been like this, but Amanda ended their moment by sitting back down in her chair.

"Maybe...maybe I am…jumping to…conclusions." Amanda felt a tear escape down her cheek.

Jess sat down. "Amanda," she whispered.

"No, Jess." Amanda closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It took us…three years to get to have a child, Jess, three years. We worked so hard to be here…I'm not going to let anything happen to him." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "I can't do this without him."

"I'm not asking you to. Nobody is."

Amanda looked up at her sister with sad eyes. She knew it wasn't Jess' fault that the drawing turned out the way it did. It wasn't Jess' fault that sometime in the future Maleficent was going to make an attempt at the throne, and someone was going to die trying to stop her.

On the other hand, Jess has been wrong before. But when it comes to Maleficent, she's always right.

It can't be Finn, Amanda said to herself, I simply won't allow it.

"Amanda," Jess reached over and grabbed one of Amanda's fists and undid it. Amanda hadn't realized she had balled her hands into fists. She had almost used her curse against her own sister.

Amanda burst into tears. If she couldn't control her curse now with her sister, there was no way telling if she'd ever be able to control it again.

"Amanda, it's okay. You just got all worked up, that's all! It's my fault really. I shouldn't have shown you the drawing."

"Jess, it's not your fault." Amanda stood up. "I…I just need to get some sleep. I've had a long day."

Amanda walked out of the room.

"I think we've all had a long day." Jess muttered under her breath.

Finn slowly woke up. With his eyes closed he reached over to put his arm around his wife, but his hand kept hitting the sheets.

He barely opened his eyes and saw that she was gone. Jess had mentioned talking with her in private at dinner, Finn remembered.

A chill ran down Finn's spine. He rubbed his hands against his arms to gain warmth when he heard the smallest noise from across the room.

He searched the dark room and saw a shadow move quickly. So quickly that Finn almost didn't see it. Finn slowly reached over to the edge of his bed and gripped his hand around the hilt of his sword.

Amanda had always told him keeping a sword by the bed was a stupid idea. If only she was here for this.

Finn got up from the bed as slowly as he could and walked over to where he heard the noise and saw the shadow. Walking around with his sword in the front was very different in the dark.

Suddenly a candle was lit and Finn saw Maleficent sitting beside his son's crib.

"My, my. Look here, my dear baby boy. Your father's come to play." Maleficent said in a dry, raspy voice to his sleeping child.

"Step away from my son!" Finn put the sword inches away from her throat.

"My dear Finn. Don't worry. I won't harm him. It's not his time." She turned to look at him. "Or yours either. Consider yourself lucky."

"Get out."

"Oh I will. But I thought you'd like to hear a message first."

"You've got two seconds before I kill you." Finn pushed the sword a little closer. "And this time, I'll make sure you stay dead."

Maleficent let out a maniacal laugh. "Please. It's not my time either."

Finn continued to stare at her. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of him begging for the message.

"Oh, fine. I'll tell you what I came to say." Maleficent stood up and Finn realigned his sword to keep it at her throat. "I just wanted to let you know that three of your little friends are missing. I've got two of them…I'm not sure where that pesky little sister of yours is, though. I believe she's with your father somewhere, but I simply don't care. She'll come around."

"What?" Finn's sword wavered.

"Have you grown deaf Finn? Am I not speaking clearly?"

Finn quickly put his sword back in its former place. "Let. Them. Go." Finn was pretty sure he had never been angrier in his life.

"It's not time for that yet Finn. You really do need to understand the concept of time. Be patient, Finn, and you'll understand."

And with that Maleficent disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

I don't think y'all realize how much I LOVE cliffhangers. So the plot thickens once again! I guess you'll have to wait and see what happens! I promise I'll update as soon as I can!

Please review! I love reading them! Keep them coming! And thanks to those who have been reviewing on every chapter! Y'all are the coolest for sure!