Tai: Just give it to me straight doc, am I dead?

Joe: Well, in real life, I'm not an actual doctor yet, but if my diagnosis is correct, you're still alive.

Tai: How do you know that?

Joe: You're talking to me aren't you?

Tai: What if I'm a spirit speaking to you from another plane of existence?

Matt: Can you stay in that plane of existence? Because you are getting really annoying.

Tai: Well it's not my fault Zero decided to kill me off!

Zero Unit: Hey, someone was bound to die after Yolei and besides, you don't know if you're dead.

Yolei: Hey Zero, it's time to shoot the scene where Sora is mourning over Tai by a lake in the woods.

Zero Unit: Sh! Shut it!

Tai: How does she know what the next scene is?

Yolei: I wanted to do something other than stand there and wait for him to shoot scenes for Children of the Present and Fifty Fluffy Drabbles! Speaking of which, thank you for allowing me the chance to kick someone in the gut in the latter one.

Zero Unit: Okay, that's enough! Everyone get into your positions, we've got a scene to shoot!

Ken: None of us characters are owned by this slave driver of a director and writer.

Zero Unit: Don't make me use your own whip against you!

-X-

Sora stared into the lake, watching as her reflection cried. Every single tear dropped into the crystalline waters and distorted her face for a few second until the next one dropped. She wished that her reality could be distorted just a bit so that she could be sitting here with Tai, the knight who passed away late last night.

From behind the red-haired maiden, she heard the bushes rustling and someone approach her.

"You know it's dangerous to be here alone with an evil warlock running around."

She recognized the voice and was surprised that he of all people had found her sobbing alone in the woods. She was expecting the person to be Kari or perhaps even the princess but instead, she looked up into the blue eyes of the prince.

"I could say the same about you" Sora replied. "I thought..." She almost mentioned the king. "I thought you weren't allowed to leave the castle without having a squadron of knights accompany you. You're a prime target for Ken."

"I just needed to get away" Matt said in response. "Also…I come here when I need a release. I don't usually let anyone see me cry but I suppose I can make an exception since you're apparently here to let your emotions go too." That's when the seamstress noticed how red his eyes were.

"How did you leave the castle undetected?" Sora asked, trying to change the subject as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

"There's a secret entrance that no one knows about underneath the castle, below the dungeons" Matt said, not quite sure why he felt so compelled to tell her this. It was probably because he didn't have his head screwed on at the moment or he just needed to talk to someone. "There's a secret bedchamber there and supposedly, one of my ancestors used that room to meet up with lovers. I honestly wouldn't put it past my great grandfather to be the culprit."

"How do you know about this place?" asked Sora. "I thought only the princess and her family, well, me included, knew about this lake."

"Our parents set up play dates together and one day, Mimi took me to this magical place" Matt told her. "Even when we stopped visiting each other, I never forgot about this place. I always loved the smell of grass and fresh water as well as the sounds of nature. Best of all is when the night falls and the fairies come out to play."

Sora smiled, that all sounded so pleasant and peaceful which was definitely what she needed right now. "I've never seen the fairies before but then again, I've never visited this place at night either. But I've heard stories about them. Is it true that their wings glitter when light catches on them."

"They sparkle more than all the stars in the night sky" Matt chuckled. "Perhaps I can show you them one day."

"I would really like that" Sora nodded. "But I wish…"

"You wish…?"

Sora shook her head, feeling like she was going to burst out crying again. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"You say that but what you want more than anything is to talk about it" Matt said. "It has to do with that knight, Tai, right?"

There was a long pause but then, the maiden nodded. "I wish he would still be around so he could see the fairies too."

"Do you love Tai?"

Another long pause. "You know, they say that you don't realize what you have until it's gone. Tai wasn't dead when he was brought back to the castle and we talked for the last few hours he was on this earth. He talked about how we met, how he fell in love with me, how all he wanted was for me to be happy, and more than anything, how he wished he could've lived a little bit longer. I miss him so much and despite this feeling of a battlefield inside my head, I think I had a moment of clarity when he took his final breath. I love him, I love Tai and I wish he was still here with me."

Matt stared as the girl started to cry again. The prince could never stand seeing anyone cry, whether it was his little brother, his mother, or even this stranger. He was just compelled to try and make her feel better.

"Have you ever heard of the legends of how fairies guide the dead to their rightful spots among the heavens?" Matt asked her.

Sora gave an uncertain nod. "It sounds familiar, that's for sure. Could you explain it a little more in detail?"

"They say that fairies don't just guide lost travelers out of forests or grant wishes to those who believe strongly enough" Matt started as he watched his reflection. "Fairies are a light that guide spirits to the stars. So, I'm sure that Tai has already seen a fairy and is now above us, watching over everything, including you."

A long silence passed between them as Sora smiled, thinking that Tai would always be an angel protecting her. "I hope so."

"That's right" Matt blinked. "I know this may sound a bit cruel after my speech but I was wondering…Did Tai mention who the culprit was?"

Sora nodded. "He said that it was the princess. But I heard about how the dark warlock had disguised himself as Mimi-sama last night so it was probably him who did it. Obviously the princess is innocent but I wasn't given the chance to clear it up with Tai before he passed away. Now his last thought will be the fact that his own mistress is some evil traitor who slaughtered him and those other two knights! I can't believe that Ken could stoop so low as to do something like that!"

"Neither can I…" Matt muttered. "How is his sister dealing with this situation?"

"Kari? She's doing okay…To an extent" Sora said. "She's trying to be a strong warrior but putting on this brave face and acting as if this is just a part of natural life. But I know she's hurting and I should really go talk to her. She must be taking it harder than anyone else."

"I can imagine" Matt nodded.

"What about you? Do you need to vent about your dad?" Sora asked. She had thought this was dangerous ground to tread on at first but it seemed to have helped her to talk about it so maybe it would help the prince as well if he wasn't already feeling better.

"…I think I'm generally okay" he replied. "But now that my dad is gone, I'm starting to realize how everything he did really was for me and TK and it makes me wish he did more things for himself. Although, I think my mother is taking it even worse than the rest of us, she hasn't left her bedchamber at all. I have to remember to speak to her later."

A whole hour passed with the two of them just talking about random things, trying to get their mind off of recent events. It felt just like the evening of the ball when they were first getting to know each other and they just spoke about things as if nothing really mattered in life. It was comfortable for both of them and there was never an awkward moment.

Matt glanced over in the general direction of where his castle was before getting up. "I should probably get going. The knights, maids, butlers, and especially my family, must be freaking out right now over my disappearance."

"Okay" Sora nodded. "Oh, but before you go! I just want to say…Thank you for talking to me."

Matt chuckled and smiled, thinking about the first thing she had said to him when he had arrived at this lake when he had wanted to be alone. "I could say the same about you."

-X-

Davis couldn't really focus and the heat from the kitchen was only making these worse. "I need to go outside for some fresh air" he said to the head chef. "I'm…I think I'm going to head down to the village and pick up some ingredients for tonight's dinner."

"All right, take your time and bring a couple of other people to help you carry everything" Yuu told him.

The former knight stepped out of the kitchen with his crutches and started on his way towards the village after recruiting a small group of servants to go with him. After all, there was no way he would be able to carry everything when both of his hands were occupied. Although going shopping wasn't really going to get his mind off of recent events if it was only going to remind him that their number one supplier was dead.

"Michael was the first victim" Davis muttered absentmindedly. "And Tai is one of the most recent. When is this nightmare going to end?" Kari was right, there was close to no chance of reality being better than one's fantasy at this point.

He broke away from the rest of his group so that he could so some window shopping, but also to be alone with his thoughts for a few moments. A bad idea considering his mind was filled with negative feelings and images of Tai lying in that bed while the thread keeping him bound to life frayed.

"Davis, what are you doing here?"

Davis paused as he looked over to the beautiful maiden who had called out to him. Her usually shining locks of brown hair were lackluster and her pale skin was plagued with dark circles underneath her eyes mixed with red. It was more than obvious that she had spent the night crying over her brother.

"I was just going to get some stuff for dinner" the cook replied. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed some time alone with my thoughts" Kari replied after a long pause. "So I decided to come down here. I figured it would be easier but it only served to remind me of when it all started."

Davis nodded silently. "I know what you mean. But then I remember the fact that the princess must be taking it hardest out of any of us. She already blamed herself for the first few victims; she's bound to blame herself for what happened this time around too."

"She is" Kari sighed. "She's been mumbling to herself, saying things like if she hadn't chosen to bring Tai alone then he wouldn't be dead. But then it might've been someone else in his place and it makes me think that my brother wouldn't have wanted that. Would he?"

"No, he wouldn't. It's only those of the living who say they would take his place but in response, he would only say that we should keep going in his stead" Davis said dejectedly.

"I just wish I could've done something."

"I'm pretty sure we all do but there is nothing that can be done now."

"I know…"

The two of them found a place to sit by a lazy street so that Davis wouldn't have to stand for so long. They bought some light snacks from a street vendor and tried to relax. They sat in silence for a long time until Davis decided to speak up.

"Do you have any idea how efficient an artificial leg would be as opposed to a real one?" asked Davis. He was met by a very confused expression from his companion. "What I mean is, Mimi's already placed an order to try and get me one but I'm just wondering if I will be as capable as I was before. Would I still be able to perform my former knightly duties or will be stuck in the kitchen for the rest of my natural life? Not that I don't enjoy cooking for everyone, I just prefer using a sword to a ladel."

"Well I wouldn't know" Kari giggled. "I would assume that you would be able to but you would have to get used to the weight and maneuvering with it before going back to your knightly duties."

"Yeah, you're probably right about that."

"Thank you Davis."

Davis blinked as he took a sip of his tea. "What for?"

"For always making me feel better when I need it" she replied. "And today, I really needed it more than ever."

Davis nodded as her head fell onto his shoulder; her exhaustion seemed to be finally catching up to her. "Kari, you know that I'll always be there for you. When my parents and older sister died in that blaze several years ago, you and your brother made sure to keep me safe. I can never repay that debt to you."

There was no response so Davis glanced over to the maiden to notice that she had fallen asleep. He didn't mind, he just wished he knew how she felt about the prince. If she had fallen for the young royal, then this action of hers would only succeed in breaking his heart further in the future. But there was no way he was ever going to leave her.

"I made a promise to Tai" he whispered. "Tai told me that if anything happened to him, then I was to keep you safe no matter what happens. And I intend to keep that promise even if it costs me another leg. I love you, Kari Kamiya."

Davis kissed her gently on top of her head, leaving her with a serene smile as she slept. After that, Davis was truly left alone with his thoughts and the first one that came to mind was a rather worrying one as he couldn't help voicing it out.

"How am I going to get home?"

-X-

When Izzy had heard that one of the victims in last night's attack was still breathing, he had rushed all the way to the Tachikawa castle only to find that the knight had died only mere seconds before his arrival. He had asked the seamstress who left his deathbed if he had mentioned who the culprit was and what he received had stunned him for a moment until he heard the full story from the princess.

"You said that a person disguised as you killed those knights and the king last night?" the wizard asked.

Mimi nodded as she took a sip from her drink. The two of them sat alone in the common room for privacy. "I know it was Ken though. I just can't believe that one of my own knight's last thoughts before departing is of me trying to murder him!"

Izzy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I doubt it would be Ken though…"

Mimi's eyes widened at the unintentional accusation. "Are you saying I killed my own knight?"

"No!" Izzy quickly shook his head. "It's just; Ken doesn't know the castles as well as others do so he would most likely get lost. Chances are, he was hiding somewhere the entire time while an accomplice helped cause a panic. You leaving to the washroom gave him the perfect chance to hide away and for the king to leave in search of you."

"So it is my fault all of this happened!" Mimi suddenly wailed.

"N-No, I'm not saying that at all!" Izzy said. He was never that good with words and he wasn't exactly tactful either. "You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time and chances are, Ken took advantage of that. No one is to blame but him and whoever he's working with."

"Do you have any suspects?"

"Just one" Izzy told her. That was a lie, there were two people he suspected but he knew that he couldn't tell the princess who else could be responsible for certain reasons. "The wound in Tai was punctured with a weapon laced in magical signature. I recognize the signature too…"

"Well, who is it?" Mimi asked.

"Joe Kido."

Mimi gasped as she let this settle in. "The village doctor? But he was here just moments ago to check on Tai and then he said he would go back to his office! He was here…A murderer was here?!" She was starting to hyperventilate so Izzy calmed her down by pulling her into a warm embrace.

"I'll go and take care of him right now" Izzy promised her. As soon as he let go, he noticed a shadow sip by outside the window. He swore under his breath and ran over to the window, noticing a cloaked figure running towards the village. "Princess, I need you to stay inside. It would appear that our suspect has already figured out we're on his tail."

"Be careful!" she shouted as he leapt out of the opening in the wall.

Izzy pursued the cloaked man through the crowded streets of the village, changing his form into golden lightning and zipping past them. If it had been exposed to the public that their king was dead then they'd all be in a mass panic so at least there wasn't as much traffic as there would've been. Izzy mentally shamed himself for being grateful for that before finally making it to the office of the treacherous doctor.

He kicked open the door and froze. Nothing was there; all traces of anyone even living there were all gone. It was almost as if Joe had never existed in the first place.

"He escaped" Izzy growled. "I'm going to find you Joe and I plan on ending you once and for all!"