Dimas woke slowly, his head felt like it was going to split open and his shoulder- fuck his shoulder hurt. He sat up slowly, giving a small cry of pain.

"Hey, you lay right back down." Arthur snapped and pushed Dimas back onto the bed "He's awake." He called into the other room. Lovino, Marcello and Antonio came rushing in.

"What happened...?" He asked.

"You had a nasty fall. Broke your collarbone and fractured your arm in three places as well as sustaining minor head trauma. Honestly, had you landed a little differently, you would be dead." Arthur said.

"I fell...?" He asked before he remembered "No I didn't."

"You were pushed." Marcello said. "By some guy."

"Ivan." Dimas said. "Fuck that guy." He groaned.

"So..." Lovino said softly. "This isn't over..."

"At least they're not in your dreams anymore." Lukas said. "At least now you can be afraid while conscious."

"On the downside." Arthur said. "You actually have to recover."

"How do we stop them?" Antonio asked, pulling Lovino closer.

"Vlad is working on it. He wants to do a ritual which should work. But he needs time." Arthur said "I wish I had better news but you just need to be on your guard. Try not to be alone, keep taking the potion at night. And whatever you do, I honestly can't stress this enough... Don't be out in the house by yourself at night around anything that can kill you."

"Ok..."They all said.

"No, I'm serious. You need to pee at 3AM? Stay in bed. Wet it if it's that bad. Because they are strong at night. They are stronger when you're alone."

"And." Vlad added coming into the room. "If you feel someone watching you while in bed. Do not look at it. They will try to get you out of bed. Your bed is safe. I would try to not sleep alone simply because it will be easier. Try to be in bed before midnight." He sighed. "I am working as hard as I can to stop them. But this is a haunting with a lot of different aspects that must be addressed. But I will do it."

"What parts?" Lovino asked.

"Well, I've determined you have two males who are lingering spirits of murder. As in they are hungry for revenge and want to kill their murderers. On top of that both spirits are bound to another spirit with power that I have not encountered before. So first I have to deal with detaching them from the other spirit, then counsel them into moving on without revenge. Next, I'll be honest this one is very new to me... There is a partially moved on spirit tied to this powerful one. I have to detach them and they should... Should, just move right on. Then there's dealing with this last spirit... This spirit will be tricky."

"Why...?"

"It's the old Queen. The evil one. She feels like this is her castle. She wants you all out. So she's attached to this land. Next, she has more power than any spirit I've encountered. And I believe she is getting stronger. Now, the other part of this that makes this difficult is... She is too far gone to move on. She is down a dark path and her soul is no longer human. The only way to destroy her, is to allow her to become a Lich and destroy the Lich."

"We can't destroy a Lich." Arthur said. "They're immortal."

"Almost." Vladimir said. "There isn't much that can kill a Lich. But there isn't anything that can kill her right now."

"What does kill a Lich?" Lovino asked.

"Old magic." Vlad said "Enchanted weapons and-"

"Would this do it?" He asked and pulled the silver comb from his hair. "Careful. One scratch and it will kill you."

"This... This is the comb she used on Snow White." He said. "Infused with the same poison she later used in the apple. Yes I think so. This was used in the first innocence she killed. So I think it will work on her."

"So, you need to move the others on." Antonio said. "Give the queen what she wants and kill her with a comb?"

"That's about it, yes." Vlad said. "I will handle most of it. For now I want you to all to go about your lives as normal, follow my advice and stay alive."

000

Dimas had been ordered to spend the night in Arthur's little hospital wing. He was too injured to move just yet. And it was boring. Dimas laid there staring at the ceiling for hours. Lukas or one of them would stop in but never for long. It wasn't until the evening that Marcello came by. Dimas glanced at him as he came in, noticing he looked well dressed.

"Going somewhere fancy?" Dimas asked with a chuckle. Marcello looked away and blushed.

"No... Can't a guy just decide to look nice?" Marcello asked.

"The only time people look nice is for a party, first impression or to impress someone." Dimas said. Before he realised why Marcello was dressed nice. "Oh."

"Yeah well..." Marcello stepped closer and took a seat next to the bed. "I kinda am."

"Marcello..." He said softly. "Listen... I'm really flattered and you're very cute but..."

"I know." He said looking down. "I'm too young to give you what you want." He sniffled a little.

"What?" Dimas asked sitting up. He cringed a bit but ignored the pain. "It's not that you can't give me what I want, it's that its wrong for me to be so attracted to a 16 year old. It's not that you're not good enough, it's that I don't want to take advantage of you."

"You wouldn't-"

"Yes. Yes I would be." Dimas said and took his hand. "I am more experienced than you are. I have power over you, and that kind of dynamic in a relationship is really not good. Because in one way or another I will take advantage of you. I will end up hurting you. Because you aren't mature enough yet. Physically, yes you are. But mentally you're unable to comprehend some of the things that I have done. I don't mean this to put you down, or make you feel stupid, because you're not. But, you are still a kid."

"I'm.." Marcello started.

"Yes I know you are technically an adult but.." Dimas sighed. "There's a big gap between us."

"I know..." Marcello sighed.

"Don't feel bad about it." Dimas said "It's not a bad thing. It just means you haven't had that many experiences yet and you will." He said smoothing his hair. "Someday, you and I could be right for each other. Maybe, if things turn out we can talk about this in a few years."

"Ok..." Marcello said. "But can I do one thing, just to get it out of my system?" He asked. Dimas sighed, and nodded. Marcello grabbed his shoulders gently and leaned in. He gave a shaky breath... Dimas chuckled softly and held his arms gently and leaned in the rest of the way, and kissed him.