Author's Note: I'm so very sorry about the wait, guys. For those of you who have reviewed, favorited, followed and pm'ed during my absence, thank you for reading and the updates will be more frequent now that I'm back in school and finally have a laptop. I'll be posting more tomorrow or Wednesday. Hope you all had a great summer! =)

Zoie

Two weeks after the Inauguration…

"Do you think she's coming back?" I asked Kes as we sat in my room, her on my bed and me at my desk.

"Who? Anna or your mother?"

I rubbed a hand over my face, "I don't know… Both?"

"Well," she said, laying back against the pillows, "I don't have any idea about your mother but… I'm sure Anna will be back. It's only been what? Eight days? Shali is kind of far, you know."

It had been only eight days but it seemed like months since I'd received Anna's apologetic note saying she had to go back to her birth place for some reason she hadn't disclosed. Kes and I had finished cleaning out the secret house days ago and there was little to distract me from missing Anna since Castor had yet to return. All I could do was wait. And read the journals of the past kings, which proved to be more tedious than entertaining.

I flipped another page and skimmed the words, not really retaining any information but needing something to do besides pace my room as I had for the past week. "Maybe I scared her away. Do you think she changed her mind? It's not like I can really blame her."

"She didn't change her mind," Kes assured me, exasperated, for the hundredth time.

I turned around to look at her. "How can you know that?"

"Because I just do, okay?"

"You keep saying that but, really, Kes… You only met her twice, so how would you know?"

She groaned and rolled off the bed. "Do you really think me and Rachel didn't talk while we gave you two 'alone time' last week?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I know things that you don't."

I stared at her, trying to figure out where this was going, "Like what? What did she say?" She opened her mouth to answer and I raised a hand to stop her, suddenly thinking of a better question to ask, "What did you say?" Her mouth snapped shut and she looked away. My heart sped up. "Kes…"

"Why does it matter?"

"It matters because Rachel is probably a better friend than you and has told Anna what you said already, especially if it involved me, because that's what good friends do," I explained, standing up and walking towards her.

"Not if they want to make new friends. At least, that's what I thought…" she mumbled, shaking her head. "Is nothing sacred anymore?"

I stopped a few feet away from her, seeing right through her comments. That she was still deflecting the initial question only furthered my anxiety. "What did you tell her?"

"Alright, fine. Just don't make a big deal out of it, okay?" I crossed my arms over my chest and gave her an expectant look until she finally answered, "I may or may not have said that I thought that you were possibly kind of, you know, like-"

"Kes!" I said, interrupting her nervous rambling.

"I told her that you were in love with Anna," she blurted out then grimaced. "But-"

"You what?! Why would you do that?!" I nearly yelled, making the younger girl jump. "We barely know each other and you're already telling her best friend that I love her?! Are you kidding me?! Gods, Kes! No wonder she ran away!"

She raised her hands up in a defensive move, "Whoa, okay, could you just calm down for a second and let me finish?"

Clenching my jaw, I swallowed back my reply and remained silent.

"So, as I was trying to say before… It's not a big deal because Rachel told me she thought the same thing about Anna, which is why I'm sure that she's coming back."

It took a minute for the words to sink in and my utter humiliation turned to shock. "She said that Anna is…" I couldn't even finish the sentence.

"Yes, she did."

"Oh."

"Oh?" Kes repeated with raised eyebrows, "That's all you have to say?"

"I need to sit down." I slowly walked over to the bed and took a seat, my mind blank and racing at the same time.

"So… Are you in love with her?"

I blinked. "It's a little too soon to know that, isn't it?"

"Not really. I mean, isn't she the reason you're calling off the wedding?"

"Honestly? No," I said. "She's a part of it, of course… but I have to do this for me, Kes. If I continue to let others dictate my life, how can I stand before the Fae as a ruler and expect to lead them? I'm the first woman to hold this seat of power and if I just give in- if I just let my father and Castor make my decisions for me- what kind of example would I be setting for my descendants?"

She shrugged, "I guess I never really thought about it like that."

"Having read those journals, I know that my ancestors, though they were men, wouldn't have stood for this if it had been an issue for them. I realize I've not been prepared to receive this position, but I'm every bit as capable and I feel that I need to do this to prove myself so. And my parents… I know they think they wanted this for me, but I also know that they underestimated me. I can do this by myself."

"Wow… You are starting to sound like a royal. The good kind, though," she said with a smile. "Don't get me wrong; I never doubted you, Zo. I've just been worried for you, but now I can see you're going to be fine."

"You think so?"

She nodded, "You'll be great."

####

It was another three days before I received word from Anna, which led me to the trail outside of my mother's secret house that I was currently trying to navigate in the near darkness. She would be there soon, at the edge of the forest, and I would lead her to the house for the first time. I hoped that she would like it, that the time apart wouldn't have changed her feelings or make things awkward. I was nervous beyond belief, almost stumbling a few times because I had too much on my mind to concentrate on the rocky terrain beneath my feet.

I finally made it to the end of the trail and there she was, earlier than I had expected. She smiled wide when she saw me, hurrying over. I opened my mouth to greet her but the action was cut off by her lips on mine. I couldn't help the gasp that escaped me as she pushed me back against a tree, but quickly got lost in the kiss. It was urgent. I knew that she must be hungry.

I hadn't really thought about that before. Had she fed while she was gone? Would it be okay if she had? It was her nature, I knew. It was how she survived. I couldn't fault her for that, but it didn't stop the thought of it from distracting me and making me pull away.

"Sorry," Anna breathed. "I couldn't help it. I haven't fed since… well, you remember."

Had she read my mind? Was I that obvious? I pushed the thoughts away and stared into her blue eyes, "Do you see me complaining?"

She laughed, "You have no idea how much I've missed you."

"Well, let's go so you can show me."

We made our way back through the trail silently and without incident, her hand clasped in mine.

"This is it," I said when we stopped in the clearing, a few feet away from the house.

She looked around then gave me a confused look.

"It's not too pretty on the outside, but the inside isn't bad," I explained.

She frowned, "What are you talking about?"

Now I was confused. "The house," I said, gesturing to it. "You don't see it?" It was dark out but there was enough moonlight to clearly see the structure right in front of us.

"Um, I see trees…"

It occurred to me then that the house was glamoured, which was why there hadn't been any break-ins even though the front door was unlocked when I first found it. Maybe it couldn't be seen unless you had been inside before.

With Anna's hand still in mine, I led her to the door, opening it and pulling her inside. She gasped, squeezing my fingers, and I knew she saw it now.

"Don't be scared," I told her. "It was just an enchantment."

She nodded absently, seeming disoriented from the sudden change in scenery. "That was… weird," she said after a minute, then turned to me, her eyes blue once more. "So, there was something I was supposed to be showing you, right?"

####

I awoke hours later to Anna's voice calling my name. Her hand was on my shoulder, shaking me forcefully. I can't say I opened my eyes because they were already open. It was more like I was actually seeing through them now, and what I saw I couldn't make sense of.

I was sitting at the desk in the room full of the mysterious jars and in front of me laid sheets of paper, covered with those odd symbols that I'd found before. But these ones were fresh. And written in blood. My blood, I realized, seeing my left hand and the large gash that spread across my palm, bleeding freely.

I looked to Anna, her eyes filled with panic as they darted from mine, to my hand, then the writings.

"What happened?" I rasped. My throat felt raw and scratchy.

She shook her head, "I-I don't… I woke up and you weren't there so I came in here and you were… Your eyes… they were black… and you were writing…" she trailed off, setting her gaze to my wounded hand. She swallowed. "You need to heal. Just…" She leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine, putting a hand on the back of my neck to keep me from pulling away in confusion. This didn't seem like the best time to start making out, I thought, but then I felt an odd sensation of warmth spread down my sore throat and to my throbbing hand, making the pain vanish. When she stepped back, I saw that my hand had been restored; the gash was gone.

"What did you…?"

"I healed you," she explained.

I nodded slowly, wanting to inquire further but being too distressed to keep my mind on one thing. There were more pressing issues at the moment.

"What is that?" she asked.

"The writings?"

"That, too, but…" she pointed at the other side of the desk where there laid a crimson stone. It was coated in my blood and glowing, but stopped when I picked it up to look closer.

"I… I don't know. I've never seen it before." My head ached with all the unanswered questions that crowded it. I took a deep breath, attempting to gain some semblance of composure.

"What's going on, Zoie?" Anna asked, her voice betraying her fear. Was she afraid of me? Because I was.

What had happened had something to do with this house and my mother; that much I knew for sure. Should I tell her that? Will she think I'm crazy because I see my dead mother? But how could this all be in my mind, with all this evidence that lay before me? No, she wouldn't think I was crazy. She would believe me. I didn't know if that was a good thing, though.

I stood up on shaky legs and took her hand, leaving the writings and the stone on the desk to ponder and obsess over later, and leading her out of the room and down the stairs. Right now, Anna deserved an explanation.

####

We didn't get any more sleep that night. After I had explained everything to Anna, she didn't seem as frightened, just curious and perplexed. The conversation following was full of long silences as we both kept getting stuck in our heads until one of us offered a comment.

She had asked me if maybe it was because my mother had been an Oracle, if maybe my ability had been returned to me when my father gave me his. But I couldn't see the connection since the point of visions was that you would remember what you saw, and I didn't remember anything, nor did I understand the symbols. This only made her ask a question I had been wondering for the past few weeks; had my mother actually been an Oracle or was she a whole different kind of Fae? And was that why my father had taken my ability before I ever had a chance to use it?

The more we spoke, the more questions that arose and the stronger my headache became. Soon it was well into the morning and I knew I had to get back to the palace before anyone realized my absence.

"I'll meet you here tonight, okay? I have to work so it'll be a little later," Anna said as we stood by the front door. "We'll talk more then?"

"Are you sure you still want to…" I trailed off, looking to the floor, not wanting to complete the sentence. I would understand if she didn't want anything to do with me after this, but I didn't want to lose her over something I couldn't control.

She trailed her fingertips down the side of my face before lifting my chin and forcing me to look into her eyes. "I'm sure," she said. "Whatever happens, you won't be alone, Zoie. We're in this together, now." She gave me a soft kiss before opening the door, "I'll see you tonight?"

I nodded, "Tonight."

####

Eleven days later…

"Just stand there and if you see Vessus, give the signal and try to stall him," I told Kes.

"I don't get why you don't just ask him about it. You're the freakin' Judge, Zoie! He's your servant."

"He's not my servant; he's the king's advisor. And I know his loyalties still lie with my father." I scanned the hall one last time. "Please, Kes. This is really important."

She huffed and crossed her arms against her chest, "Fine. Go. And hurry up."

I nodded my thanks and slipped into Vessus' office. It was nerve-wracking to spy on him like this even though, if I was caught, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. I still didn't like doing this and it felt wrong, but it was my last hope of finding the missing pages from my father's journal.

Nothing else had happened since the first night I'd slept in the secret house with Anna, which may have only been due to the fact that I barely slept for more than an hour at a time now. After the disturbing event with the writings and the stone, I had looked to my father's journal. Before then, I had avoided it, not wanting to know what it held, however, it seemed the only possibility that would shed some light on what was happening to me. It had taken a few days to get through the whole thing because I analyzed every word, every sentence, searching for answers. When I didn't find anything, I grew suspicious of the lack of information and entries during his courtship and early years of marriage to my mother and also after she died. She had only been mentioned a hand full of times despite the fact that they'd known each other for almost two hundred years.

There were pages missing, I was sure of it. I had already thoroughly searched my father's chambers- well, they were Castor's now, but he was still in Sulstin- and found nothing. So, here I was in Vessus' office, scavenging for the lost documents.

First, I checked all the drawers of his desk. My hands were shaking and my heart was pounding but I knew I had to stay focused or else I might not spot them.

They weren't there, but I wasn't giving up; I had found a key buried behind a few boxes in his drawer. I headed to the trunk in the corner and confirmed that the key was a perfect match to the lock. Inside, there were piles of papers, all loose and unbound. I quickly shuffled through them, stopping every time I saw my father's handwriting. Finally, when I had almost reached the bottom of the third stack, I found a journal entry. It was only one, so maybe it was possible that it had just ended up there by accident.

I didn't have time to read it because Kes started coughing loudly outside of the door. It was the signal; Vessus was coming. I folded the entry and shoved it up my sleeve before locking the trunk and returning the key to its place. I looked around the room to make sure everything was in order then took a seat in the chair in front of the desk, trying to act natural and calm myself.

I heard Kes telling Vessus that I was waiting for him inside before the door opened and he entered, smiling.

"Vessus," I said, returning his smile. "I just wanted to see how you were."

"I've just received a letter from Siamon. He will be arriving with the prisoner in a few days while the king stays on in Sulstin for another week or so."

I swallowed. "Is that wise? Shouldn't Siamon remain with Castor until the investigation is through?"

"He says that the king insisted. He should be fine, though, my dear. Siamon took the best guards we have on their journey and he will be returning by himself with the Fion so the rest may continue to accompany King Castor."

"Very well," I replied uneasily. I had been so wrapped up with everything else I had completely forgotten that my first trial was coming up. I stood up, "I should get back to Kes. She seems to be coming down with something. I'll talk to you later?"

"Of course, my dear."

I exited the office and Kes followed me in silence until we were safe in my room.

"Did you find anything?" she asked as I pulled out the journal entry.

"I might have." I unfolded the paper and saw by the date that it was written around the time before I was born. It read:

'Lina had a vision of the unborn child. This troubles me greatly for she will not say what she saw, yet I can see that haunting look in her eyes. I know that look and it does not bode well.

'To have been deceived in such a way will only spawn something evil', that is what he told me. But I do not know whether I can trust him. After what happened, I don't know if I can trust anybody, including my unborn heir.

Is it my place to punish a child, my child, for how they came to be or what they may become? Maybe not, but I feel as though it would be merciful. Lina does not agree. She forbids me to harm this child and since she is the one most crippled by this deception, I must do as she says to try and mend this.

It was not my fault, she's assured me that such a thing could have easily happened to her if she was of royal blood. But I should have known it wasn't right. I don't understand how this happened. How did I not see that it wasn't her?

Lina says that I will love this child, as will she. I only hope that I will grow to love it more than I fear it.'

My hands shook as I clutched the paper tight and reread the words, a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew he was talking about me. Right before he died he'd said my mother had a vision when she first held me. According to this, he had also had visions about me before I was born that were unsettling. He was afraid of me. He thought I was evil.

"Are you okay?" Kes asked, her voice wary as she watched me.

I looked at her and shook my head, "I don't think so, Kes."

####

Hours passed and I was in the secret house with Anna, sitting at the downstairs table. I had just let her read the letter and she continued to stare at it even though I knew she must have read it at least three times by now.

"I don't understand," she finally said. "Who is 'he' and what deception?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, he can't be talking about you. You're not evil, and if he thought you were he wouldn't have made you the most powerful Fae in Aethevia. That'd be ridiculous."

"It was written right before I was born. What other unborn child would he be talking about, Anna?"

Her eyes went wide, "Maybe that's the deception. Maybe he slept with another woman and got her pregnant."

I took the letter back from her and reread it even though I'd already read it over fifty times in the past few hours.

"That's a good theory," I said, "but it can't be true."

"Why not?"

"Because my mother forbade him from harming the child and said they would love it, which means they would raise it. Unless…"

"What?"

"What if Lina isn't my mother?"

Anna gave me a dubious look, "Why would she appear to you, acting as your mother, if she isn't?"

"Because she said she would love me… as her own," I whispered.

"We don't know anything for sure, right now. There are more entries you haven't found, yet." She sighed and stood up, "Come to bed. I know you're exhausted."

"I can't sleep. If you haven't noticed, I tend to wake up to bad things."

She grabbed my hand and pulled me up, "I'll watch you and make sure you're okay. I can sleep tomorrow before work. So, you'll wake up to me, which I hope you don't consider a bad thing."

I smiled and shook my head, "Definitely not a bad thing."

####