Cornelia Hale popped open the gherkin jar and jabbed her fork into one. "You know it's weird. Elyon's perfect guy has always been 'tall, with long blonde hair and blue eyes'."

Will looked up at her over her glass, "So?"

Cornelia opened her mouth to continue, but Hay Lin cut to the chase first, "So Caleb leaned behind her through a whole chicken salad, and she described Brian as average height, with short, red hair and-

"Green eyes!" Cornelia butt in, this was her news. Hay Lin got to tell it last time! "Hey, why'd you spy on me anyway?"

"Incase Elyon swore you to secrecy?" Cornelia sighed. At that moment, the door opened and Caleb walked in. Cornelia smiled, her hand flying to her hair. Few boys made her as nervous as he did and it was nice to feel butterflies in her stomach once in a while. Sadly he made a beeline past Will.

"We need to go."

...

Will raised an eyebrow as Caleb looked ominously at the door. "Well we're eating. What's the rush?"

Her stomach lurched and she wished she'd never asked as he walked close to her. Too close. She knew the other girls were watching like hawks, but that provided little comfort as he surrounded her. His strong scent drowning her as he leaned to one side of her, a strong hand pushing her hair back and his breath hot on her ears. "The sister of Phobos has been identified."

"What!" He straightened, probably alarmed by her loudness, and the girls leant a little further forward in hopes to hear any further conversation. "When? Who? The heir?"

Caleb nodded to her, his green eyes soft, she'd made it obvious that secrecy wasn't necessary. "Her name is Elyon Brown."

Whispers and gasps clouded the silence and Will stared at Caleb, an instant understanding of how the other felt; she doubted the shivers down her spine were simply from his touch - Elyon's mention had removed the heated burns that had invisably inscribed into the skin above her ear where his hand'd swept past, along with the other's memories of how his actions had looked. A smash jolted her eyes out of his moss and she whipped around to see a broken jar at Cornelia's feet. "That's just.. Not possible."

...

Vathek watched from a distance as the Keeper and Caleb faced the others, while the Earth guardian shreiked out disbelief. His concern was not her though; the firm, male hand resting on the Keeper's shoulder basically confirmed his fears - the pair were only meant to form an allience. The hand released and Caleb stepped forward to the blonde, a strong grip on her arm much more feirce than that on the Keeper. "Phobos' sister; the heir to the throne, was brought to Earth over twelve Earth years ago."

"Elyon was born right here, in Heatherfield memorial."

The Keeper stepped forward, again alongside Caleb, "How does she know that?"

"I am not fighting her! I don't care who she is!" The blonde pushed her chest up and stood taller than the redhead. If she were to rebel, there'd be trouble.

...

Caleb's eyes darted between Will and Cornelia, ready to step in at Will's defeat, "We have a job to do." Apparently it was yet to come. She was fighting back.

"What? Betraying our friends?" Caleb ignored Irma's wink as he put a hand on Cornelia's shoulder; fully intending to physically seperate. He generally dealt with men, but who knew if fists might fly - to Cornelia leadership didn't apply. "And even if Elyon is this evil Princess. Why haven't the bad guys just taken her..?"

"Cornelia.." Will was breaking. She was about to lose and Caleb knew that she'd never improve if he stepped in. He wished someone would do it for him.

"They must gain her trust. The true heir has great powers. Even if she is not aware of it." Caleb nodded at Yan Lin, dropping his hand from Cornelia's shoulder when her eyes slipped down his arm.

Caleb straightened his back, the woman's eyes back on him. "Phobos knows he must step carefully. Don't under estimate his cunning."

...

Cornelia's eyes flashed between Caleb and Yan Lin. Elyon. Her best friend. She would be in danger and Will was already on grounds to fight her. And Cornelia had supported her! She'd left Elyon alone so many times and Elyon could've easily been taken! She couldn't let anything happen to her. "But that means we still have time right?"

"C.." Cornelia shrugged off Will's hand, deciding to ignore her rather than face her; she was too mad to look at Will right now, even if deep down she knew she was more mad at herself than anything else.

"No!" She kept swapping her focus from Caleb to Mrs Lin, "We don't have to do anything right away!"

Yan Lin shook her head and Cornelia sighed, one of the bigger knots releasing in her stomach. "No. Phobos will send beasts in human form to charm her. She will be drawn to them for reasons she does not understand."

Oh no. "Oh no! The new boyfriend!" Hay Lin voiced Cornelia's fears, her own throat going dry. "They're at the fair right now!"

Blunk squeezed past Will and smiled, completely unaware, "That where portal!"