W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 10

The Greater Good

Balsilide

20 Years Ago

Endarno looks himself over in the mirror, and frowns. His shoes have been shined till they gleam. His long black pants have an immaculate crease running from hip to heal. His custom made suit is spotless. He has put hours of work making sure his appearance is perfect for this perfect evening. Yet despite of all his work, one tuff of hair threatens to ruin everything by standing perfectly erect. He once again runs it over with a comb. Within seconds it has popped back up. Endarno sighs.

It has been three years since he had met Jez, and he had something very special planned to celebrate. It is something he had been working on for weeks, and he refused to let it be ruined by some unruly follicles.

Maybe he would just wear a hat, he thinks. He shakes his head. No, it has to be perfect. It has to be perfect for her. After another few minuets of fighting and combing, the offending hairs fall in line with the others, and Endarno is finally satisfied.

He checks the time and takes a deep breath. There's no point in waiting any longer. He grabs a small, velvet box, and heads out the door.

Meridian

Caleb entered the throne room to find Elyon on her hands and knees, peering under her throne.

"Looking for something?" he said with a smile.

"Yeah, the mage ring." Elyon said, getting up to look somewhere else.

"The mage ring? Didn't we store in the trophy room after Cedric's defeat?" Caleb said.

"Yeah, we did, but it's not there anymore." Elyon replied.

"What? Where did it go?" Caleb asked, getting concerned.

The mage ring was one of the most powerful artifacts in the world. With it, Nerissa had disguised her self from Phobos, the Guardians, Elyon and all of Kandrakar, which was no easy task.

"Caleb, if I knew where it went, I wouldn't be looking for it." Elyon said with a sigh.

"Good point." Caleb said. "Do you need it right away? 'Cause I could put together a team to try and find it…"

"Don't bother, we can't spare the man power." Elyon said. "And I don't need it right away, I just thought I could tap into its power, maybe get some of my magic back."

Caleb frowned.

"Elyon, I thought you were okay with not having any powers." Caleb said.

"I am, I am." Elyon said, reassuring her friend. "Believe me, I glad I made the choice I did. I just thought with everything that's going on, it'd be nice to have some power in my back pocket. I don't like relying on the Guardians to do all our dirty work. Speaking of which…"

"Just called Cornelia." Caleb said. "Which reminds me, I have to create a fold. Gimme a sec."

Caleb pulled out the Tonga tooth and created a fold from the throne room to Cornelia's bedroom.

"There." He said when it was done, "They should be here any…"

He was interrupted as Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin emerged from the fold Caleb had provided and stepped into Elyon's throne room.

"…Second. Not bad, huh? How's that for timing." Caleb finished, smiling proudly.

"Girls! It's good to see you again." Elyon said, running to greet them. "Although I wish it was under better circumstances."

"When is it ever?" Taranee said.

"Where's Will?" Caleb asked, after giving Cornelia a hug.

"We're… We're not sure she's coming."

"What do you mean?" Elyon asked.

"Well, it's a very important night for her. It's her mom's fortieth birthday…" Hay Lin said.

"She's been planning it for weeks." Taranee added. "It's means a lot to her."

"A party?" Caleb said. "Does she realize what's at stake? Vathek could…"

Elyon put a hand on Caleb's shoulder, and Caleb felt silent.

"Caleb, although a bit passionate, does have a point." Elyon said. "I've always trusted Will's judgment, but are you sure she knows what she's doing? Does she know what's at stake?"

"She knows as much as we do." Cornelia said. "Which you have to admit, isn't a whole lot."

"I know." Elyon said. "I guess I should fill you in, Will or no Will."

"I can't believe she wouldn't come." Caleb said. "I thought she cared. I thought she was better."

"Geez, Caleb, have some faith." said a voice from behind.

The group turned to see Will appear through a fold.

"Will!" Caleb said. "Uh, I didn't mean, that is, um… I never doubted you for a second."

"Save it." Will said, walking past Caleb.

"Good to see you, Will." Elyon said.

"Will, what about your mom?" Hay Lin asked.

"She's having a lovely dinner with Dean. And not me." Will said. "So I'm not really in the best of moods. Elyon, tell me you've got some heads for me to bust."

"Sure," Elyon said. "You just got to find them. Here, let me explain…"

Elyon proceeded to fill the girls in on what had happened over the past week.

She explained who the Balsilidians were, and who the R.E.G. were. She told them about Mr. Jantiques' murder, and how Vathek had been found holding the murder weapon. She explained what Vathek's punishment would be if he was taken back to Balsilide, and she told them about their theory of how Mr. Jantique was truly murdered. After the girls had digested this, Irma was the first to speak.

"So, basically, we have to go a world we've never been to, and do our best Sherlock Holmes impressions while finding who made the dagger, and the thing that shot it."

"Elementary, my dear Irma." Elyon said.

"Why us?" Will asked. "Isn't this something the Honor Guard would be better at?"

"Yes, it would." Caleb said. "But if the Balsilidians thought that Meridian was sending a team into Balsilide, against their wishes, it could spark a war."

"The Guardians are neutral." Elyon said. "Kinda. It's enough that if you get caught, they can't blame us."

"Woah, woah, wait a second!" Taranee said, waving her arms, "What do you mean, get caught? What are they gonna catch us doing? And what happens, if we do 'get caught.'"

"Theoretically, all you're doing is investigating a murder." Caleb said.

"But the Balsilidians aren't stupid. They know we're friends." Elyon said. "If they find you're there, before you find the murderer, they won't be happy. And it won't take them long to figure out who sent you. So if you could try not to draw to much attention to yourself…"

"It would save you a lot of hassle?" Hay Lin finished.

"Yeah."

"And we wouldn't want you to bothered." Will said sarcastically, "That would be dreadful."

Caleb glared at Will, but Elyon cut him off.

"I really appreciate this Will." Elyon said. "I can imagine how difficult this must be."

"No, you can't." Will said. "You…"

Will threw her arms in the air and exhaled sharply.

"Ahhh, I'm sorry Elyon. It's not your fault. I'm just frustrated."

Elyon frowned as Will leaned back against the wall, arms crossed.

"You girls should get ready to go." Elyon said.

As the rest of the Guardians shuffled out, Elyon went over to Will and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You alright Will?" Elyon asked.

"I don't know." Will said. "Its just… One day, you know? All I asked is for one day where I didn't have to be a Guardian. Is that too much to ask?"

"Believe it or not, Will, I know exactly what you mean." Elyon said. "When I came to Meridian, I lost any hope of having a normal life. And let me tell you, being a queen isn't as much fun as it looks in cartoons. There's a lot of hard work, and I've had to sacrifice a lot."

"Just like me." Will said.

"Not exactly." Elyon replied. "You see, I was born into this role. This is who I have to be. I don't have a choice. You still do. You have the opportunity to change who you are."

Will thought about this for a second. What Elyon was saying made a lot of sense to her, and it was similar to what she had already been thinking. But could she dare to make that choice?

"What do you think I should do?" Will asked.

"In the long run? I don't know. That's up to you." Elyon said. "But for now? I know exactly what you should do now."

"What?"

Elyon smiled.

"Go kick some bad guy butt!"

Balsilide

20 Years Ago

Endarno approaches Jez's house. The light is on. Good, that meant she was home. He wants this to be a surprise, so she isn't expecting him.

He fiddles with the velvet box in his pocket. He takes a deep breath, and pulls out the key to her house. She had given it to him a year ago. She had said he was welcome at any time. He closes his eyes. His heart is racing. His adrenaline is pumping. He steadies himself, and opens the door.

His stops, and for a moment, he feels like his heart will too.

In front of him is Jez and Mikheal, his best friend, locked in a passionate embrace. Their eyes are closed, and their lips are entwined. They are so engrossed with one another, that they don't see Endarno immediately. He simply stands there motionless, temporarily unable to comprehend what he is seeing. After a few seconds, Jez opens her eyes.

"Endarno!" she screams, leaping away from Mikheal.

Mikheal spins around in shock. Both of them have an expression of pure terror. They make no attempt to hide what they have been doing. They come up with no excuses. There is no need. Endarno says nothing. He only turns around, and walks through the door.

As he wanders through the dim streetlight, the cold night air does nothing to soothe his rage. He takes out the velvet box and opens it. He removes the diamond ring inside of it, and throws it into the nearest sewer.

This has taught him a lesson. It is the same lesson he learned after his mother had died. Never become attached. His loved ones will only be taken away from him. He doesn't need to rely on anyone but himself. He needs no one else.

He did not heed this lesson the first time, and once again he has been hurt. Next time, he swore he would not make the same mistake. From now on, he was alone. And that was exactly the way he wanted it.