I know it's been forever since I posted the first chapter, but I had to revise for my multiple exams and didn't find any time writing in between. But here is the second chapter!

Chapter Two

Adrien

Adrien had been staring at the silly poem he had found for an hour or so. He was wondering greatly how the writer looked like and imagined a cute-as-a-button girl wearing nothing but pastel coloured clothing. He scoffed at his own imagination, but grinned at the image. An urge to investigate the girl in his head kicked him hard. Before he could do anything though, someone knocked hard on the doors.

It was an impatient kind of knocking. He rose from his bed and walked slowly over to the doors. Just as the person behind them knocked once more, Adrien opened them and let them swing to touch the wall. Darryl, one of the pathetic shape shifter's he had been forced to associate with stared at him savagely. The Tiger opened his mouth, but Adrien interrupted him before he could utter a sound.

"Save your growling for another person to hear, Tiger. I am not interested one bit."

He walked past the Tiger and went down the crimson corridor. Halfway down, he turned expectantly towards Darryl.

"Are you coming? I know you are not the most… sufficient servant, but the Shades are waiting. We do not want them to wait."

Darryl the Tiger nodded slowly and came towards Adrien.
"Right this way," was all he said as he showed the way.

They entered a room known as the Crown Chamber. In the middle of it stood a long oval table and around that sat eight people, all of which were looking expectantly at Adrien as he and the Tiger arrived. All the eight Elders around the table were dressed in black robes. All that showed were their eyes and even they were veiled from showing entirely. It was the original dress code for the Elders as the point with them were that nobody, not even the members of the Elders themselves, were to recognize them or know which of the members of the Shades was an Elder.

The woman from earlier that evening sat with a straight back on a chair to one side of the room. She was also looking at Adrien.

"Please sit down, Mr Rivera," one of the Elders said and gestured at a chair at the end of the oval table. Adrien pulled back his shoulders and sat down, smiling the entire time. He had a feeling he was going to be the entertainment for the evening. "Now, Mr Rivera; we have all read the poem and we all know the meaning behind it. It's up to you to make the next move."

Adrien wished he could lie and pretend that he had indeed read the poem, but as he had already told the truth to one of the women in the room that was not an option. "Actually, Elders sirs… ma'am's, I have not. I got a bit distracted and before I could get to read it, Miss Sophia came and took it." As he mentioned Sophia, he made a vague gesture to the woman by the wall a couple of meters away from the table.

The Elders looked at her disapprovingly. "Ms Ortiz, is this true?" Sophia Ortiz glanced angrily at Adrien before answering. She looked down at her feet and nod. "Did you know Mr Rivera had in fact not been able to read the poem yet?" Sophia looked up at the roof, puffed air upwards, and then looked at the Elders. "I did not."

Adrien laughed out loud. "Really? I can honestly say I remember differently. But, I guess I am the liar here. After all, I am not flattering myself up the ranks." All were looking at Sophia now. Surprisingly enough she did not start lying herself off the hook. Instead she shot up from her chair and stalked out of the room. The whole room was quiet.

"Mr Rivera, we will give you the poem to read. Next time we meet- in around two days- you will have a plan figured out. Have I made myself clear?" The voice came out from under the same Elder that had been doing the talking the entire time. Adrien smiled charmingly at the cloaked figure and bowed his head. "Crystal." He rose from the chair and did an overdone courtesy. He then received the paper from the Elder and walked out. As he got out into the corridor he smiled. He continued smiling till he reached his doors and walked in, closing them securely behind him.

Millie

Millie gained consciousness slowly yet painfully. Her whole back hurt and it felt tight and uncomfortable. She couldn't quite open her eyes.

"Millie, are you… awake?"

The voice was filled with anxiety and Millie recognised it vaguely.

Her eyelids felt heavy, but she forced them open. It seemed to be the hardest thing she'd ever done before. The room she lay in appeared only as a blurry nothing to Millie. There was a boy sitting crouched over her. She blinked painfully and as her eyelids parted she recognised the boy. It was Philippe.

"Phi…" her voice drifted off. Just uttering the few letters made her exhausted.

Philippe smiled reassuringly.

"Don't talk, girl. You need to regain your strength." His tone was normal, yet different. It sounded almost shaky. "Told you I'd take care of you."

Millie gathered her strength.

"Philippe," she muttered. He leaned forward excitedly. "You do a terrible job at protecting people. Thought you should know."

He laughed nervously. "Well, you're hard to protect."

It was a few days later. Philippe was thrilled, Millie could tell. She was sitting propped up in the bed looking perky, but weak.

"What happened to me?"

Millie's voice was low, but clear, and made Philippe cringe noticeable. She kept her face unreadable in the same happy expression she'd worn earlier.

"I'd rather not talk about it, Millie."

She waited for him to continue, but the silence kept going. She sighed. "Why not? I have a right to know why my back is clawed into shreds."

Philippe didn't answer. Millie snapped her head around towards him. Before she could snap at him, though, he rose from the chair next to the bed. "I won't talk about it."

Millie was ready to argue about it, but before she could utter another word Philippe left the room. He closed the door shut, leaving Millie to stare confused at the doors.

She ran her hand through her hair and winced. It hurt her back doing that. She sighed for the second time in only ten minutes. She twisted herself down on her side on her bed and tucked herself under the covers. Her eyes closed delicately and she fell asleep immediately. Her dreams were confused and swirling, just like her wake thoughts.