Chapter 5:

~Back at the Royal Wonder Academy of Education~

Needless to say, everyone was freaking out about Fine's sudden disappearance.

"Ohno,ohno,ohno! What do we do?" Rein screamed anxiously, running in circles around the room.

Bright paced slowly back and forth. "Hmm…it seems that wasn't a normal person."

Altezza grabbed Bright's arm and burst out, "Onii-sama, hurry up and think of something!"

"What we need now is background information." Everyone turned to look at Shade, who had his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his face ('cause he couldn't think of a solution). "I suggest we go to the library—"

He'd barely said the word before everyone knocked down the auditorium doors and ran out, leaving him in the dust.

~In the library~

"No, no, no, no!" Rein mumbled as she stepped from ladder to ladder, searching all books on the top shelves.

They'd barged their way into the library, immediately receiving a big "Shh!" from the librarian and other people. Then they'd pushed everyone else out and locked the double doors. The librarian threatened to call the principal (not that the group cared).

"It's not here either!"

"It's not in the fiction section!"

They paused for a minute to stare at Tio, who began whistling and checking the reference section.

"Did you find anything?"

"No!"

"Maybe here…?"

Shade was walking past a super-tidy biography shelf when a glossy book cover shining under the lights caught his eye. For some reason, it was lying on top of the low shelf. It had no title. He walked over to it, slowly opened the thin hardcover book to a random page, and gasped. There was that boy who took Fine away! Or at least, that boy's look-alike. He had the same-color blond hair and the same outfit, cape, and blue eyes.

"I found it!" He shouted. "I found it!"

Altezza and Lione looked up from under a pile of returned books. Tio and Mirlo dropped their books and ran over to Shade. Auler and Sophie glanced at each other and smiled excitedly. The seed princesses and prince also scurried over while Bright frantically tried to catch Rein as she tottered on the ladder.

Everyone crowded around Shade as he started reading from the first paragraph.

"There is not much known about this mysterious place, not even its true name, so we'll call it the Kingdom of Snow.

"What we do know is that it's surrounded by snow all the year round. It has the best crystals and minerals (causing its shiny look). Buildings are made out of snowflakes and ice. The most spectacular of them is the Quartz Palace.

"Made entirely out of quartz and crystal, it houses the prestigious Kingdom of Snow's royal family, who has lived there for 8000 years."

"So Fine was taken there?" Rein asked.

"If my theory is correct, Fine was taken by a member of the royal family, and she's probably in the Quartz Palace right now," Bright said seriously.

Shade nodded and continued:

"The royal families were and always have been consisted of a king and queen, the princess, and the prince. Out of them all, the prince has the most power to travel to other planets. This is because the prince must go to a certain planet to choose his bride, and that one planet is…"

Shade stopped and dropped the book. It landed on the floor with a quiet bang.

"What's wrong?" Tio asked.

Rein picked up the book and looked at the page, then let out a scream of surprise and said, "It's the Wonder Planet! Fine has been picked to be married!"

There was never such a loud noise that shook the school as when everyone exclaimed, "What?"

And then came the arguing. So many voices pushed each other to get a word in on what to do, or if Fine knew, or how to get her back before it was too late. Only Shade said nothing but clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes at nothing in particular. His cool demeanor was completely gone.

"QUIET DOWN!"

Everyone jumped. No one had ever heard Shade's voice this loud before.

"We don't have time to argue! We need to rescue Fine!"

Rein read another paragraph in the book. "It says that travel from other planets to the Kingdom of Snow depends solely on the Star, and the book doesn't explain what that is. Wait—listen! It says there's another way!"

Shade peeked over her shoulder.

"The Kingdom of Snow is connected to the Image Dimension, a strange place of both good and evil-doings. (So you see Fine's theory wasn't very far off.) It's filled with mirrors of all kinds that all lead to a different place, but once you enter the Dimension, you can clearly see only the mirror to the place where you started. Other mirrors' locations will have to be determined by instinct."

Bright added, "Does it tell how to enter that place?"

"Mmm…It says to touch a mirror with the Dream Quartz, but nothing else. Although…we could go in if the mirror was 'malfunctioning.' But that doesn't make any sense." Rein explained.

"That's it!" Shade said. "I'm sick of waiting!"

He unlocked the library doors and ran out, letting in a waterfall of students and teachers falling on top of each other. The others followed him.

He got a piece of rope from the PE closet and running to a random mirror in the school, whipped it and hit the center of the mirror, shattering the glass. At first, nothing happened, but he thought hard.

Come on, please work. I need to save Fine before she gets married!

He opened his eyes and suddenly the broken mirror wasn't technically "broken" anymore. The glass was still shattered, but the mirror now showed an empty space with floating mirrors, definitely something that could never have been reflected by a mirror in the school.

Shade stepped up to it, and Bright followed, but Shade said, "Wait. I'll go myself. It might be dangerous. If this doesn't work and I can't come back…it's better if I go myself."

"But—"

"Just let me go."

Bright stared at him and finally nodded. The others watched nervously as he stepped through the portal and vanished, leaving behind normal broken glass, with no hint that it had happened at all.