Lydea; the beautiful female owl who haunts my thoughts and my heart. She is the one thing that concerns me all the time. I mean, it has been two weeks since her accident and she hasn't woken up. She can respond when I am talking to her and she smiles at me and once she cried a tear out of her eye. I think she is just trapped within her mind and unable to wake up, but knows I am there when I speak to her. Mum, Lady/Princess Autumn, Strix Struma and Ezylryb, the few that kept her secret, are concerned for me and I know that they know that I would just fall apart if she died.

Will she die? Will she live in fear for the rest of her life? Those questions fly around my mind 24/7. Kinda like mum when she can't stop thinking of something terrible that could have happened to me or dad. Mum gets really worried when she thinks something has happened.

I decide to visit her, as she is my girlfriend anyway. Since my parents are going out, they left me alone. I feel bored and needed someone to go with me (also I hate the guard from what dad had ordered them to do less than a moon ago) because of the danger of getting mobbed by the fangirls I have. They are loco for me and would give anything to be my wife. They also try to tear me apart and I seriously don't want to have practically all of my feathers missing. I called for my godmother, Strix Struma, to come.

She hands me a flower, which she had found yesterday for me to give to Lydea. I know she wants more than anything, as my godmother, to keep me happy if my parents fail me, which does happen a lot. She cares much about me she is like an aunt to me like Lady Autumn. Besides, I was in her class for Middle 1 and Middle 2 years as she is the teacher of Fire Master Class. I don't know why it is called that, but she goes with it.

As we arrive, i lay the flower, next to Lydea's motionless body and give her a peck on the cheek. Strix knows what emotions I have when I see my Lydea lying there. We are lucky she is alive somehow and we wonder if she will wake up, or if we will have to… I don't want to think about it. We have hope for her recovery and so does the whole of Ga'Hoole. Lady Autumn made an offering to the Goddess Cheyenne at the shrine at the base of the tree. I never knew that the legend was true until I was asked to place a wreath of buttercups at the shrine. Besides, someone in the Great Tree is picked every six months to do such a thing.

"She's going to be ok. Don't worry about all those bad thoughts. I know how it feels to be like this and trust me hun, it ain't good. Especially if it is Pure Ones that did the foul deed." Strix reassures me as she places her wing on my shoulder

"Strix, you don't know how much I love Lydea and how much this hurts me. I just don't want her to die." I reply

"Trust me, I know. Glaux forbid her from dying and he knows you care about her. Besides, she has to find the mirror to fix the world." Strix assures me "Besides, your mother and I know how hard this is on ya as of late and it is ok, Josh. If you lose her, do you ma and I a favour lad and don't commit suicide. It would break your mother's heart."

"Why would I ever do that?" I ask

"I don't know, but it is what some people say that you would do and I don't want to think such a thing is possible. Neither would your mother." She replies

"I understand. I know people think such things, but I am not ever going to be a "Romeo" and then kill myself if I think that my lover is dead." I say with a look of disbelief and wonder as to why people would think such things about me.

"Good for you, lad." She replies

"Lydea, My father is deeply sorry. Will you forgive him someday? He will let us be. Someday, I wish that you and I will be together forever. All i want to do, Lydea is wrap you in my wings and hear your sweet voice once more. Your silence, Lydea Schana, it is like you have become mute and it is a big as taunt." I tell to the sleeping owl.

"Come on, lover boy." She says with a roll of her eyes "You have to go home sometime and get to bed. Youngling Guardians need sleep. Also, your ma and da want you up at dusk tomorrow and she needs her rest anyway."

"I have had quite enough sleep, Strix Struma. Guardians never back down and i will be one soon." A familiar voice says to Strix as we walk away

"Lydea?" I ask myself

We turn around and that voice is Lydea. She stands up and i can hardly recognise her with all the bandages she has on. All that i can recognise her by is her beautiful dark blue eyes. Strix gives me a smile and a nod meaning go up to her and do it quickly.

"Lyd, I was like really..." I start

"I know. You are concerned and scared for me. I could hear you the whole time I was out. What you say is sweet and I love you so much." Lydea interrupts.

"Lydea, How are your wings and things?" I ask

"A little painful and stuff, but I'll recover." Lydea replies

"You have been out for days or something like that. I had to attend classes, but it isn't the same if you're not there." I admit

"I know what that would have felt like." Lydea synthesises with me as she winks

"Lina is a Pure One. She was arrested, put through parliament and was exiled until she attacked us in class and set it on fire. No one was hurt and she was escorted out yesterday morning. Don't worry, the security has doubled." I inform her

Strix's Thoughts:

When you look at those kids, you see that they belong. I have seen this sort of thing before with some of our students. They find love and they are complete. They are without them, it all falls apart. Grades, behaviour, study; all those things are affected by the apathy they feel from being without the one thing they love. Josh and Lydea are like a half-half when it comes to the things i have seen the battle teacher. I mean, I have to deal with teenagers who have some serious issues. The lower classes are the worst, seeing as they always whinge and complain and never do anything besides sit there and talk.

I like to see Josh happy, only as he is a prisoner of the intuition like a lot of people are. The system or the institution is the biggest load of crap in society. People in the society are distinguished by lots of factors. Two that Boron had created is "Aristocrats" and "Commoners". It is utterly ridiculous in any way. He basically made it like the North were Barran, him, Ezylryb and I grew up or worse, Ambala where Lady Autumn and maybe a few others grew up.

No wonder I left the North. Glaux, I was an aristocrat in that society before it fell and by Glaux I hated having to be called Lady Strix Struma. No wonder I don't really act like that girl I used to be.

If the secret didn't come out, Lydea and Josh would never be together. If we didn't tell him, they would have run away and left everyone and everything behind. It will be like Boron and Barran all over again with some problematic results. Also, it would be the biggest thing to rock the Owl World since the Battle of Twilight Dawn. Or even the Northern Coup even.

This would cause bad things to happen and relationships to deteriorate. Not to mention we will never get the Northern Kingdom back and Ga'Hoole will be without an heir. I don't want to imagine what would happen to my best friend, Barran. She would fall apart and the event would break her heart.

I know what happens when parenting and power cross the line, bad things. When bad things happen, you have many, many repercussions from all the choices one parent can make. Boron is what happens when parenting and power cross borders and both have consequences. He used his power and authority in a way that was terrible. Not to mention he abused Barran and threw her into a wall and caused her to become yeep again. Also, ya don't lock your kid in his room for three weeks. That is barbaric. I mean, he is tied with Allomere on this one. He hit Autumn and she has that thing that she has about personal space. It was lucky that Ezylryb stood up for her or she would have been a crying and bloody wreck.

Anyway…

"Come on, Josh. You have to get home now. If you excuse us, Princess Lydea, I have to take him home." Strix says while trying to pull Josh away

"It's ok and please call me Lydea." She replies

Josh gets dragged to the door and then he waves goodbye to Lydea and flies off.