A/N I'm really, really, really sorry about how long it took to update! I'll use the excuse about school because school has been insane lately. All these after-school revision sessions mean that I don't get back until late and by the time I've gotten through the piles of homework all I want to do is sleep.

Also this chapter has been really hard to write. You would not believe the amount of times I've had to rewrite this.

However on a good note I have been working on the plot line of this story as I had no real idea where this was going before. Now I know where it's going and it's promising to be a long story to with a couple more main characters and also a proper background story.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourited or followed!

Maisie's POV

I've seen and done a lot of weird, odd and just plain bizarre things in my life, but just how quickly I settled in with the Frost's was one of the weirdest.

I moved in on the Wednesday evening, thanks to Jack spinning a story to his dad about my friends. He elaborated on it far too much though; he ended up frustrated from my constant telepathic yelling about how he should stop embroidering these lies. The more detail put into a lie the easier it is to unravel. Best to keep any lies vague.

The guest bedroom was really nice; it was fairly small but still a reasonable size and had a pale cream carpet and a light green wash on the walls. The furnishings where simple but nice, a wardrobe, bed and bedside table with a shelf running around the top of the room. I couldn't help but look longingly at the bed at that time; it had been so long since I actually slept in a bed. Normally I was sleeping in trees or groves in the forests, occasionally I stayed with Puella Magi but most of the time I was sleeping on the floor, or sofa, or sharing a bed with her. Puella Magi as rich as Mami-san where quite rare.

On the Thursday morning, I got up early and made breakfast for the Frost's. It was a simple meal, just scrambled eggs on toast but they seemed really happy with it, I'm glad they were, I meant it when I said I wanted to help in exchange. After breakfast, I got dressed and ready then Jack and I took Jamie to his school before heading off to our own. School passed normally and then I did some more archery with Jack, ate a snack with all of them and went out hunting for a few hours. When I returned I cooked dinner for them with some ingredients I'd bought while I was out. After dinner, Jamie was put to bed and Mr Frost was running some of the evening sessions. Jack took this opportunity to pester me with questions. After this, we headed up to bed ourselves and after waiting for Mr Frost to go to bed too, I snuck out of the window and went hunting again. I got back about midnight and fell asleep almost immediately.

Friday was an almost perfect repeat.

And so today is Saturday. As there was no school I woke up later than I have been, glad for the chance to catch up on sleep. Jack suggested watching some films, sensing how tired I was. We ended up watching Rise of the Guardians, curled up on the sofa with Jamie sat in-between us. Jamie might not have been able to hear what they were saying and he was too young to be able to read subtitles but he loved the movie all the same. Jamie ended up dozing off when the credits came on though and I honestly thought that I might do the same as I picked Jamie up and lay him down comfortably at the side of the sofa. Unfortunately, Jack wouldn't let me sleep. The questions came once again.

"What does it mean about your body being a shell?" Jack asks. I glance at him and notice that he's got the Puella Magi book in his hands. I'm not surprised, he's barely let it out of his sight, he even took it to school with him. It's been useful in explaining how the whole Puella Magi thing works, but it doesn't seem to have been enough because each day he's been pestering me with questions.

I'm not entirely sure that this is one I want to explain though.

Besides me, Jack shifts closer so that he's sitting right beside me, right beside me. I can feel his arm against my own. Maybe if he finds out I'm a zombie he'll start staying further away again. It's worth a try.

"'I'll show you then"' I tell him, standing up. Kyubey leaps from the sofa onto my shoulders.

"Where are we going?" Jack asks, standing up with the book in his hands.

"'The archery barn"' I say "'we need a place bigger than this room"' I say gesturing round the smallish room. I turn around and walk through the door; I don't need to turn around to know that Jack's following me.

Jack POV

Why does she need to go to the archery barn? I can't help but wonder as I follow, listening out for the thud of her feet on the floor to guide me so that I can shut my eyes and think. I know my home well enough that I won't bump into anything.

Soon enough we're there. The archery barn is the biggest room we have here. Easily the size of a football pitch.

Maisie goes and stands by the door pushing it to then she takes a nearby chair and places it under the door handle so that it can't be turned. She tries turning the handle as far down as the chair allows and tugs at the door. It stays shut.

Satisfied with her work she turns around and walks over to where I am stood, slightly off to the side. She gives me a smile, but it seems so fake now that I've seen one of her real ones.

I'm so lost in thought that I'm hardly paying attention as she summons her soul gem and bends down to pass it to Kyubey muttering a few things to him.

"'Catch me when I fall will you?"' I break out of my trance and look over to her at her words.

"Huh?" Great. That's the most intelligent thing I can think off to say at this moment.

Maisie shakes her head slightly to my answer as if she's resigned herself to falling over for whatever reason. I don't see why, I've never seen her so much as stumble unless she's weak from battle. Yeah I know how she goes out in the middle of the night to hunt. She goes out in the afternoon too. I hadn't realised to begin with just how hard a Puella Magi's life might be to begin with. She has to go hunting for hours every day just to keep the city as safe as she can. It scares me to be honest. I end up waiting up for her each night looking out of the window at the dark street looking for the now familiar trace of green. I've seen her come home looking fine, looking tired, looking bruised and completely covered in blood. But it's all gone by the time morning comes round. I don't know how much magic she's expending on healing but judging by Kyubey's tutting it's a lot more than she normally does.

Kyubey starts wandering off with Maisie's soul gem and I watch him intently not wanting to miss a thing. He's about 100 metres away when out of the corner of my eye I see Maisie stiffen.

I glance quickly over at Maisie whose eyes widen momentarily before blanking over and her whole body slumps forward.

Instinctively I reach out to catch her as she topples over. I lay her down on the floor gently and turn her over so that she's facing me. Her eyes are closed and she's completely still. I don't even think she's breathing. Quickly I fumble for her wrist and check for her pulse. There's nothing at all. Is she dead? But how? Why?

"'Why fuss over there"' I look up as Kyubey speaks. He's still stood calmly at the other end of the barn watching me panic. "'Come over and join Maisie and I"' he says.

"What on earth do you mean? Maisie's here! Help her!" I say.

"'That's not Maisie."'

"'The being known as Maisie is here. Within her Soul gem. It is appropriately named because it is the container for Maisie's soul."' Kyubey said standing up but still with his tail protectively around Maisie's soul gem. No around Maisie, you could say.

Kyubey levitated Maisie's soul gem again and came over to us – no me. Once he was within reach, I picked up Maisie's soul gem and quickly placed it in Maisie's palm. In a few seconds, her fingers twitched and her eyelids fluttered before opening as Maisie drew in a deep breath.

"'That's what it means."' She murmurs propping herself up on her elbows so that she can get up.

Before she can do so though my arms have found their way around her and have pulled her towards me into a tight hug. "I thought you were dead."

Maisie stays still for a while, making no attempts to push away until she's thought up and answer.

"'Close enough. I'm as good as dead without my soul gem close to me. With no soul in the body, nothing functions. The heart doesn't beat, the lungs don't breathe, the brain doesn't think. Eventually the body would rot away as if I were dead."' Maisie replies. Once she's said that her whole body relaxes as if she's glad to have told me.

I tighten my hold on her and don't let go. We stay like that for a while, completely still. Stiffened by the horrible reality of truth.

A/N Ok here's the chapter. I'm not entirely happy with it but it is a necessarily chapter even if it doesn't seem so at the moment. *hint hint*

Please Review (even if I don't deserve it because of how long it took to update) but I really want to know what you think.

Anyone guess what's going to be happening in the next few chapters? I'll give you a hint - one of the new main characters is one we've already met.