While Professor Layton and Luke traversed the Storyteller's Tower, Karena stealthily made her way to the Deathknell Dungeon with Constantine. She was about to just walk in through the main door, when she realized something and stopped.

"Wait…Zachary is probably heavily guarded…" she pondered aloud. "So how will I get past them without getting caught…?"

'I know the way, Lady Karena! Follow me!' Constantine barked in reply as he pointed his body to around the side of the building.

"You know the way then?" The pup barked again before starting to trot towards the secret entrance. "Hey, wait! Constantine!" She continued to follow him around the back and through the crawlspace until they stopped above the dungeon hallway.

"I'll go first so I can catch you." Karena whispered before edging slowly out of the opening. She tried her best, but still ended up losing her grip and fell on her rear. She desperately wanted to shout out in pain, but she quickly covered her mouth as a few tears escaped from her eyes. Once the pain had dissipated and she could stand, she rose to her feet and caught Constantine, then faced the cells. The first one was open, and held quite a sight.

'Oh, Zachary…' Karena thought while approaching her exact likeness in statue form. 'What heart wrenching emotions you must have gone through when you saw this…'

She gazed upon it for a few more minutes before moving on to find her beloved.

Upon passing the second cell, she heard a familiar voice call out, saying, "Miss Karena?!"

She stopped immediately after hearing her name, and whipped her head towards the voice to see…

"Jean Greyerl…?" Karena uttered with slight confusion, as the person who called out to her looked drastically different from before. Instead of his teal hair being short, it was long and ended just at his shoulders, making him slightly more feminine. He was still wearing what he originally wore; a white lace collared shirt with long loose sleeves and a purple ascot tied around his neck, under a dark grey vest and pants, all embellished with gold accents. To finish the look, he wore white tights under the short pants, and simple black shoes.

"How are you alive Miss Karena?! I thought you had been turned to stone!" Jean exclaimed with surprise and curiosity.

"That's a long story…" Karena replied as she trailed off, before asking her own question. "Are you…Were you…always a girl? And why are you locked away in here?"

"I am afraid that is an equally long story that I have to share."

"Then the both of us must share them over a nice cup of tea when you are released!"

Jean nodded in agreement, and that's when Zacharias' voice sounded out from the next cell over. "Do my ears dare deceive me now?" he uttered. "I must be going mad in my despair, for I hear my beloved Karena so near to me!"

"Oh dear…" Karena said with concern, still speaking with Jean. "How long has he been like this?"

"Since he was escorted here." Jean answered. "I offered to listen to what he had to say to let him vent, but he has refused. He has been muttering this and that ever since…"

"Okay. I'll take care of this." Karena said as she put Constantine down. "Constantine can get through the bars, but I'll need the keys…Oh wait. They must be in Darklaw's possession, so I'll need a chair for a boost instead…"

She then went in search for one. She came back with a simple wooden chair, and proceeded to try and fit through the large square opening in the bars towards the top of the cell door. She struggled greatly, as the cloak she was still wearing was too big and heavy for her to slip through.

"Blast this cloak!" Karena uttered, slightly out of breath as she pulled it off angrily. Luckily she was clothed with a simple long sleeved black off the shoulder dress.

She then tried once more, and succeeded. Unfortunately what she didn't see was that she would end up falling and hurting herself once more. So once she made it through the opening, she braced herself for the pain, but instead she fell into something much closer to her falling body that was a little cold. Karena opened her eyes and found herself face to face with a surprised Zacharias.

"Karena, how can it be that you are here, when I left you safe and sound at your house?" he asked with concern.

"I did sit and wait for you, but when I saw that terrifying dragon enveloped in fire, I had to go see if you were alright." The woman in his arms replied. "When I arrived at the square, I watched as Darklaw arrested you, and then followed Constantine to the tower. That's where I met the Professor and Luke, who helped me realize that the place I needed to be right now was by your side."

Zacharias smiled at this, before he set her down on her feet and asked, "So Sir Top Hat and Luke are exploring the Storyteller's Tower at this moment?"

"Yes. I watched as Constantine led them there."

"…Then Espella's fate lies in their hands now…"

"Zachary, would you please tell me all that happened when I was gone?"

He paused, deep in thought for a moment. "I do not see why not…Very well, I shall share every moment from the Stone Witch's capture to the moment I met you once more…"

The couple then sat down and got comfortable, for the tale Zacharias had to share was a long one. Once he had finished, Karena had a few questions that had been burning in her mind as she listened to his story.

"So Sir Belduke…really died…?" she asked him first.

"Yes, unfortunately he committed suicide for he could not keep his secret with the Storyteller any longer…" Zacharias answered.

"What secret?"

"I do not know. Some secret about Labyrinthia…"

"Oh, what I would give to know it!" Karena paused, and then continued with concern. "Sir Belduke's daughter…She must be distraught about his passing!"

The knight gazed at her with surprise. "How do you know he had a daughter?"

"He told me, when I first met him. Eve is her name, and he said that she was about my age, possibly a little older."

"Is that so?" he finished with thought, before the two became silent for a while.

The silence continued on, until Karena suddenly asked out of the blue, "Zachary…If the Story is to end tonight, what will happen to us…?"

"Well I hope to continue our Story, by turning to the next chapter – starting a family together…" he replied with a charming smile while taking her hands in his.

"I was hoping you would say that…" Karena returned the smile of her own, before she noticed that it was getting lighter outside. "Look Zachary! The dawn is breaking!" – the two of them rose to their feet – "I do hope this awful nightmare has ended."

Mere moments later, a knight came rushing down into the dungeon. "Inquisitor Barnham! Miss Greyerl! It's over! It's all-?!" he announced before stopping himself as his gaze fell on his superior's fiancée. "LADY KARENA?! Y-You're back! The spell on you must have been broken too! Oh what a marvelous day indeed!" He then proceeded to unlock their cells, tears of happiness streaming down his face.

"Please tell us!" Karena pleaded after they were released. "What happened out there?"

"Mr. Layton and Mr. Wright spoke the last spell and…" He trailed off trying to think of the best words to describe it, but couldn't. "Oh, you've got to come out and see for yourselves!"

They all scrambled to get outside, and they found quite the sight waiting for them.

"What is this?!" Karena uttered with shock as they looked all about them. "Large black machines are everywhere!"

"What sorcery is this?!" Zacharias asked.

"Not sorcery, but machinery of my own design, to make the act of sorcery more believable." They heard a low husky voice say as it approached. They looked and saw that it was the Storyteller, alive and well.

"But how…?" Karena said.

"It was all part of the Story." Darklaw replied as she appeared, with Espella standing beside her.

The two friends upon seeing each other after a long while, hugged before they were all caught up. Turns out that the Storyteller had made the whole village, not only to prevent his daughter from going mad, but also to test out the effects of a drug he had been developing on the villagers.

"Do not worry." The Storyteller said after noticing their confused expressions. "You will remember everything soon. Perhaps even sooner, should you take another look at each other…"

Zacharias and Karena became even more confused, before slowly turning their gazes to face each other. It took a moment, and then something seemed to awaken within them, as if the blinds over their eyes had been opened.

Zacharias was the first to react, as his eyes widened with surprise while he exclaimed, "Rgh…Karena?! How did you follow me here?! And why?!"

Yay, extra-long chapter, and it's the twentieth! XD Anyway, just a little message to follow….

There is a slight chance that the next chapter might be a little delayed. Yes, I do have off next week for winter break, and I will see what I can do, but when I wrote the chapter initially, I wanted a lot of things in the chapter and couldn't put it the way I wanted to. Now that I do know, I will get it done as soon as possible, but it might take a while too. I just wanted to let you guys know, since I have a set schedule.

Much better news: the extra story is well underway. I've got the title – Our Ever Twining Fates – and I've got the first of the shorts planned out. It might come out sometime in January so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Alright that's it for news, so I'll see you guys in the next one! ;)