I'm back! And considering it's before midnight, I'm a day early. I wanted to update a whole week early, really I did, but then both my english and history teachers decided they wanted to assign monster essays. Yippee. Anyway, hope you're all not too angry at me for that cliffhanger last chapter. It was mean, yes, but every story needs at least one horrid cliffy. Unfortunately, now that this chapter is out, this story has two.

Now, my amazing reviewers! You all broke a record with the last chapter! My goodness, I asked to break one hundred and you all got Star Bright to over 130! Thanks a ton to the Chapter 11 reviewers (yes, even those of you who said you hated me...I was strangly tickled whenever I was damned): SierraKate390, Girrrrrr, lizziemagic, allenterrill, Whiteling, kt2209, Mrs. Naara, peaceloveandthedove, x-Taiiwo-x, maramouse, Chocolate Tunda, KiKiKat98, rachiixox, charliepaceluver117, ZukosGirl91014, HeartzandLazerBeamGirl, Vampiress-Hannah-Tsukiyomi, Hermioneroxx77, the one who breathes nitrogen, Carlint, ChiyukiLuvs2Glomp, haruko sohma, RedCloakedMaiden, Sesshy's Mate2012, VCarter21, Kiki, and superawesome. A note to superawesome - little sis, if you review for the sake of reviewing, try reading the story first. Anyone else out there the older sibling? Tough, huh?

I shoved through the crowd roughly, using the physical contact as a way to release all my pent-up frustration. Disregarding common courtesy, my shoulders did some damage on the poor souls whose arms I came in contact with. I wondered how in the world I was supposed to find Mary in such a mess of color and masks.

My thoughts drifted to the couple I had just met. They were perfectly nice, and seemed like fine people. Still, it was hard to imagine them being such good friends with Aunt Lotte. She said she and Queen Tiana had been like sister's since they were little, but the two of them were like night and day, and it was unusual for two races to mix like that, especially in their time. I glanced down to my own skin warily, the darkness of color very obvious among the pale nobility around me. I got off easy, being the adoptive daughter of such an influential white woman. My status let me do all the things the law said I couldn't. Otherwise, I be riding on the back of the bus, just like everyone else who looked like me.

My shoulder caught another arm, and I was prepared to press on like nothing had happened, but a hand grabbed me and pulled me back. I was about to give a hasty apology in hopes for a quicker getaway, but my mouth never formed the words once I got a look at who I'd collided with.

At first, I couldn't identify the man at all. I was a bit too focused on the sinister mask he was wearing, a white one that resembled a human skull, with pointed teeth that curled over his lip. Taking in the featured I could see - his chin, eyes and nose - it became easier to recognize bits and pieces of the puzzle. His height, the skin, the lanky limbs - it was all very familiar. I couldn't help but shudder as he watched me from under the mask's synthetic brows, his expression haunting, yet blank. Suddenly, his head jerked up to his gaze was directed to the façade of the grand mansion. Instinctively, I looked too, just as a great crash echoed through the yard. One of the upstairs windows had shattered, leaving a black empty space where the glass had once been and where the curtains blew outside and snapped against the brick wall. A large object careened out onto the patio, and a woman near me shrieked as it landed just in front of her.

A book? My eyes darted from the book, lying with its cover splayed like wings, to the window. It was the library! The room with the window was the library I had spoken to Daniel in!

Daniel. Was he alright? I made a move to dart inside and check for him, but the skull-masked man gripped my shoulder tighter, and whisked me away from the gasping crowd. I cried out, quite loudly, in fact, as we jumped the railing of the patio and landed in the grass below. Soon we were in the trees of the Benoit's back yard, so far away from the party that she collective yells of the startled guests were hardly a whisper.

"Hey! Help!" I screamed out, but I knew no one would hear me. The man paid me no mind as I voiced my protest to the apparent kidnapping, and kept dragging me onward. I thanked God profusely for my decision to wear sandals instead of heels. Every now and then, my captor yanked me a bit too roughly and I screamed again, or he purposefully let my feet hit a root so I stumbled and cursed. It was almost like he wanted me to be as angry as possible.

But no amount of noise I'd previously made compared to the piercing cry that erupted from my throat as my feet lost all contact with the ground. Before long I was gasping for air, on the brink of a panic attack. Looking down, my eyes widened at the sight of the large shadow that swallowed the land below in its great tattered wings. I looked up, but no such beast was there. I was helpless, and felt like a child. There was nothing I could do to save myself as the skull man and I flew over the city, bright and pulsing with the sights and sounds of Mardi Gras. Far below I could make out the parade, slowly progressing through the streets surrounded in a storm of confetti and jazz.

I held tightly onto the skirt of my dress as we started to lose altitude. The wind was blowing it in all sorts of directions, and, well, I didn't fancy that strange man seeing more of me than I was comfortable with. Stupid airy fabric. When we finally touched down (actually, I fell down. I'm talking lying-flat-out down. The ground had never felt so dang good), it was in the dark alley that I'd become so used to seeing, the one that led straight to the lair of the infamous voodoo man.

"Dr. Facilier?" I squeaked when I found my voice. A smile curled on the man's face, and he reached his long fingers up to peel the skull from his wrinkling skin. It was most definitely him. Without the mask he resumed the charismatic, good-intentional demeanor he always had, and I felt a little better knowing I hadn't been taken hostage by some random hit-man.

"Little princess!" Dr. Facilier crooned, putting his hand on my back as he led me like and old friend into the old warehouse. The fragrance of incense and spices flooded my nose and made all my other senses numb. It was so calming. "I am terribly sorry about all that, the running and flying and what not. Truly not my intention to frighten you, I assure you." He sat me down at the table he had read our fortunes on the first time my friends and I encountered him and placed a steaming cup of tea in front of me. I placed my ice cold hands around the porcelain handle and let the heat warm my fingers.

"I understand." I said, surprised at myself for acting so normal. Was I supposed to be acting so normal? I couldn't tell. My brain was going fuzzy. I placed my well-being gladly in Facilier's hands. So far he had guided me well, and given me information I would have never gotten from even my own family. I had every reason to trust him. "But why did you bring me here? The party was for me, after all. They'll surely notice I'm gone if I don't get back soon." And Charlotte will kill me, I added in my head.

"Not to worry, not to worry." declared Facilier as he removed his hat from his head and twirled it around in his hands. "All is well, my friend. But… there is one thing I feel you must know." He leaned over the table, a solemn look taking over his eyes. I clutched my teacup tighter. "You have to be warned. Your parents, the parents who abandoned you so they could live their own lives, are back."

"What? They're here?" I gasped, the blood draining from my face. "Why?"

Dr. Facilier pulled a deck of cards from thin air, and held the top one up for me to see. This card, like the others, portrayed a cartoon-like scene, but was even more peculiar. As Facilier slid it upwards through his hands, it stretched into more and more pictures, like a movie reel. The first picture showed two tall, dark figures with a smaller vulnerable girl in their claw-like hands. Then they forced her onto a boat and took her across the sea, and all the while she was reaching back to where she came from, trying to get away. The figure was me, I realized with ease. And the two figures were my parents, obviously. I was reaching back to New Orleans, and Aunt Lotte and Nana were on their knees crying for me to come back.

"They want to take me back with them, don't they." I whispered, afraid of the truth. No way was I going anywhere with them. My home was New Orleans. My life was New Orleans. I was a New Orleans girl, born and bred. Figuratively, at least. Dr. Facilier nodded, placing the card back on the deck. I looked at him, my eyes not failing to show my gratitude. "Thank you for telling me. But…why do you care that I know?"

Facilier put a hand on his heart, and I felt instantly bad for offending him. "Little princess," he insisted, "I couldn't bear to watch such a nice girl like you get hurt! It would pain my poor old heart." Something, somewhere further into the old building creaked, the sound bouncing eerily off the spacious walls. A shiver trailed up my spine, but I shrugged it off and smiled at my companion anyway.

Inhaling the steam rising from my tea, I graciously said, "I appreciate it, Dr. Facilier. I promise, no matter what, I won't listen to a word my so-called-parents say." My expression darkened. "I'll give them something to be really sorry about."

"Yes," The voodoo man chuckled, and I could tell there was a hidden meaning behind his voice, "revenge is sweet, isn't it?"

"As sugar." I replied, the idea warming up to me.

There was a pregnant pause, and Facilier's face lit up theatrically. I was too dazed to see past his charade. "That's it!" He yelled.

"What's it?"

"I know the perfect way to deal with your parents." He declared, his hands rubbing together mischievously. "My powers are extensive, little princess, just bring the traitors to me, and you'll never have to worry about them again."

The steam was fogging my vision, great gray wisps dancing in front of my eyes. "Never?" I sighed dreamily. "But what will you do?" Through the mist I saw Dr. Facilier take a quick sip of tea, and lifted my own cup to my lips. I could stay just a bit longer, long enough to finish my drink. I closed my eyes and cherished the warmth of the liquid as it slid down my throat. It was so soothing.

"Don't worry about old Dr. Facilier, he's got it all under control." He lowered his voice so he was talking in a hushed tone. "Now, what I need you to do is get them here. Tonight, as soon as possible. And don't let anyone see you. We wouldn't want to cause anyone any unnecessary worries, would we?"

"Oh, no, of course not."

"They abandoned you." He repeated. "They don't really love you, they're just liars."

"Yes, liars."

"And that boyfriend of yours, he does he really care for you? No! He's just going to run off to war like you never existed. I wouldn't listen to a thing he says, either. When has he ever kept his word?"

Just a little more tea would be wonderful. "Never."

"Trust me, princess, stick with me, and everything will be just fine."

And then all I could see or hear or smell or feel…was the steam.

***************

I don't know what happened, but it was like I'd been teleported, or time had decided to skip ahead and forgot to tell me. But suddenly I wasn't in the same place anymore. The teacup was gone, and the tarot cards. I wasn't even in the old warehouse anymore, and I felt like I was waking up from a deep sleep. I knew I wasn't. I couldn't have been. The last thing I remembered was being with Dr. Facilier while it was still the early evening. I remembered going to the masquerade, fighting with Daniel, meeting the King and Queen of Maldonia.

I frantically whipped my head around, trying to figure out where in the world I had ended up. To my great relief, I knew the place. The round tables, the chandelier, and small stage were all things I'd grown up with on my many visits to Tiana's Palace.

The question was, why the hell was I there now?

"Evangeline, please! Don't do this!" What? Who was that? I blinked my eyes and a few blurry figures came into focus.

"Huh?" I mumbled. Why was Queen Tiana asking me not to do something? What was I about to do anyway?

"Little princess," A deep voice purred nearby, and I gladly looked over to Dr. Facilier for answers. "Remember, don't listen to her. Remember what she did to you."

"What did she do to me?" I asked him, thoroughly confused by then. I had only just met the queen, and the king for that matter. Both were there, restrained by the invisible monsters whose shadows I could see on the wall behind them. I turned back to the voodoo man, who no longer looked as friendly and warm as I had known him to be. His expression had changed once I uttered the question, his eyes dark and mouth grimacing.

Stealing a sideways glance at his own shadow - dear God, was that thing moving on its own?! - Facilier leaned away from me and straightened his back. "Well this just won't do."

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