Me: Hey guys, I've finally had time to post.

Solace: So you've had the story all week and you didn't post?!

Me: Not exactly...I was having a plot crisis...and some issues with my very busy editor...*cough cough* Denow!

Brooke: But you should thank her for when she finally did edit your chapter.

Dean: That would be good.

Me: K, thanks to Denow, for editing and supporting, thanks to Firefrostflare for supporting and reviewing, and thanks to DeadNotSleeping for reviewing. Also, thanks so much to princessjewel101, for reviewing.

Dean: Anyone else?

Me: Oh yeah, and thanks to my friend with the sonic screwdriver, if you're listening,you'll know who you are,thanks for supporting me. It means a lot.

Brooke: Who?

Me: None of your business. (;

Brooke: Ok- What's a sonic screwdriver?

Me: *facepalms* What did I just say?

Solace: K, that's enough thanking you're wearing my ears out.

Me: Looks like you'll need a hearing aid then.

Solace: *facepalms* At least I won't be able to hear SOME people! *stares at Dean*

Dean: Hey!

D'Anna: Guys, calm down!

Solace: Firefrostflare, I'm in need of a grand piano! *running to call Firefrostflare*

Brooke: A WHAT!?

Dean: Im outta here.

D'Anna: Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Erased

"What's your name?" I whispered to the boy, as I watched his figure run.

His blonde hair was matted with dirt and leaves, and his teal eyes seemed paler than before. His black pants were torn, his shirt shredded. He jumped over a bush in a hurry, and ran into a dark village. I waited for an answer as he peered into the stores.

"I can't tell you," he transmitted as he ducked into a clothing shop.

He dove under the clothes racks as I looked at him oddly.

"What are you doing?" I asked as his small head peeked out of the capes.

"I'm hiding," he answered

"Why are you hiding?"

"Someone's looking for me."

"You mentioned you needed my help, so what did you mean? Why can't you tell me your name?"

He stared at me in confusion.

"I needed your help? Oh...yeah, about that. I don't really need it anymore."

I looked at the boy funny. He didn't need my help anymore? What happened to yesterday?

"So why did you call me?" I asked "And why did you say that you knew me?"

His face looked strained for a second, his teal eyes suddenly brighter.

"The Black Swan..." He started, but in a few seconds, the color drained out of his eyes, and his glare hardened. "...Are nothing you should be concerned about."

"What?" I whispered fiercely "Who's the Black Swan?"

"I told you," he growled "Nothing you should be concerned about. Right now you should fall asleep."

I felt my mind closing. What was happening? I saw the boy look into the window of the shop and stare at a man. He was staring right back at him.

Before I could do anything, I fell into a dark sleep, a soothing feeling covering my brain.

I woke up in a fury, and immediately grabbed my satchel. I dug into it, searching for my Imparter, before dumping the contents onto my bedroom floor.

It was gone.

Fog circled around my brain, closing off last nights memories. It was only then, did I realize that I had no idea what I wanted to do with it. I racked my brain for information. Something had happened last night, but I had no idea what.

Confused, I ran downstairs to find my parents.

My dad was in the study reading papers. He had narrow features and his reading glasses drooped on the crook of his nose. His brown hair was combed and his lips were parted in a line.

"Hi, dad," I said running a hand through my tangled brown hair.

My dad looked up from his work, and smiled.

"Hey Brooke, good morning. How did you sleep?"

"Fine. Except I had a weird dream."

"Oh yeah? What about?"

"Um...something called The..." I frowned, as my brain fogged over again.

I had no idea what it was that my dream was about. Thinking back, I had no memory of anything since two days ago.

"I'm not feeling so well," I said suddenly "Im going back to my room."

I staggered into my bedroom, and sat on my bed. All day, I searched my brain until my head hurt. But what had happened the past two days? I just didn't know.

"Why weren't you at school yesterday?" Dean pressed as I slammed my locker shut the next day.

My stomach churned when he mentioned yesterday. I still didn't remember anything that happened and the thought of forgetting drove me crazy.

How could I go through two days without remembering what happened?

So all I could say to answer Dean was "I don't know".

Solace confronted me during lunch. She slammed her tray into the table and glared at me.

"So?" She demanded.

"Um...what?" I asked uncomfortably.

"How is it go? You didn't summon me AT ALL yesterday."

"Could you refresh me with what exactly was supposed to go on? What was I doing yesterday?"

"You were supposed to talk to that mysterious boy in your dreams and ask him questions."

"What mysterious boy?" I grimaced, in a mental state. "Why is that everyone knows something I don't?"

I growled as Solace looked at me as if I was stupid.

"You know what, play that way. I see how it is. You didn't see a letter, then, or your distraught parents. And you certainly didn't see a boy running through the trees asking you to help him. What, did you just imagine it?"

I tried to picture the events Solace explained, but as hard as I tried, I could remember.

It was like the memories from the past few days were entirely disappeared.

When I got home from school, the house was empty. Another note was at the dinner table, saying that my parents would be back afterwards.

I walked into the kitchen to get a snack, when a heard a whisper.

"The study..." It's strained voice hissed before disappearing into the soft hum of the heating.

Confused, I walked into my dads study, and sat in his chair. I glanced at all the papers on the desk and tried to decipher them as if they were in code. Some of them were, in fact in a different language, and I picked one up on confusion.

It was a letter, written in different squiggles crisscrossing the page. In the top right corner was the Mysterium insignia, stamped in black ink. I flipped the letter over. A huge swan was printed on the other side, it's neck curving inwards as it spread its wings in attack.

A small tickle at the back of my mind told me I knew this sign. But...where had I seen it before? I tried to put the pieces I had together. I had no memory of the past few days, Solace told me I saw a strange boy in a dream, and he knew me. She had also told me that my parents were scared over a letter. I looked down at the folded paper I held. Could this be the letter?

I tucked the letter into my pocket in case it triggered anything, and went up to my room. If it was a dream that I had had, maybe I could have another one.

I lay on my bed and absentmindedly pulled my arms back behind my pillow. I reached back and grasped something hard. I pulled out my Imparter.

Wrapped around the surface was a slip of parchment with three inked words: Show me Kalyn.

I held the Imparter in front of me and opened my mouth.

"Show me Kalyn," I said speaking to thin crystal square.

My head rushed as my vision was taken to a tree fort. It made out of wood, and sheltered with leaves so it looked like an ordinary tree if you didn't look hard enough. A boy looked both ways and climbed up the overgrown tree, scampering up the plant like a imp. I watched him dive into the treehouse, and cover the entrance with leaves.

"Kalyn?" I whispered as he made eye contact.

A blonde hair boy with teal eyes looked at me in suprise.

"Brooke!" He said rushing towards my image. "You found my note."

"Who are you?" I asked

"My name is Kalyn," he said "Don't you remember me?"

I remembered what Solace had said about the boy in my dreams. My brain felt numb but I pushed farther inside, I felt the foggy feeling start to subside.

"I'm starting to," I said "But I don't remember anything from the past few days. Can you tell me why?"

Kalyn looked behind me.

"I was running away from this organization called the Black Swan." He started

"This Black Swan?" I asked unfolding the letter I had pocketed.

Kalyn paled and nodded.

"Yeah, they've been chasing me. Just when I thought I'd lost them, a man came up to me and looked at me with these cold teal eyes. All of a sudden, I was running all over creation, doing his bidding. If you remember yesterday, he made me say I didn't need help and made you forget who I was. He was a Mesmer."

I gulped. So that was why I couldn't remember the last few days. A Mesmer had made me forget.

"So you need help?" I asked as I stared at the letter "I don't suppose you can read this can you?"

His face twisted in confusion

"It's in a different language?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as I held up the paper. "They're cipher runes...only the Ancients can read it. You have to be taught the language. "

He scanned the letter and paled.

"You can read it," I said excitedly "What does it say? Are you like a Polyglot?"

"Yes...and no," he said strained "Where did you get this letter? You're not supposed to have it."

"Why not? What does it say?"

"I can't tell you."

"Well that's just great," I sulked.

"Brooke..." Kalyn said

"And how is it that you know my name? Are you a stalker or something?"

"No, Brooke...I'm...I can't tell you that either."

"So what can you tell me then huh?" I said as I finally remembered everything that's had happened the past few days.

"That the Mesmer, he's still chasing me, and so are The Black Swan."

"And?"

"I need your help."

"Why should I help you?" I growled "I don't know anything, and you won't tell me. I don't talk to stalkers. And as far as I'm concerned, you don't need my help if you don't want to explain why."

Kalyn sighed.

"I...I ran away. I was specifically told I couldn't and I did. Because the outside world wasn't safe and the Black Swan always wanted to find me. When ran away, I pretty much gave up my location. And they weren't the only ones that knew where I was. That Mesmer is going to find me and trade me to The Black Swan. Unless you can help me."

"What do you want?"

"I need a blue crystaled Pathfinder, one that can leap to the Forbidden Cities."

I gasped. Blue crystaled pathfinders were only for extremely talented elves and the Council. They had the ability to leap anywhere, including the Forbidden Cities, a nasty polluted place called Earth.

"Why do you need a Pathfinder?" I asked

"If I leap to the Forbidden Cities, I can hide there indefinitely. The Mesmer won't be able to find me, and The Black Swan won't be able to either."

"You are asking me to steal...a pathfinder, risking a tribunal and exile if I get caught, and you won't tell me anything about why."

"Yes..." Kalyn said, his mouth stretching into a grimace.

"NO!" I almost exploded "I can't steal a illegal leaping crystal for a stranger!"

"I'm not a stranger..." He tried to say.

"Oh yeah? Then who are you?"

"I'm..." Kalyn said but stopped.

He bowed his head in defeat.

"I'll be ok then..." He sighed "I have a couple more safehouses like this to hide. I should be able to ward them off for a while. Call me incase you change your mind."

"Dont worry," I growled as we broke connection "I won't."

I had a horrible dreamless night. The bed felt like cold stone, and just as I drifted off, my parents got home and woke me up.

I had to force myself to the cupola the next day, without breakfast, just to make it on time.

I wished Kalyn's request didn't bother me as much as it did. I was not going to steal for anyone, much less a stranger.

All my friends left me alone because of my weird behavior yesterday, so I felt a empty feeling inside me when I saw our usual spot bare.

As the day dragged on, the grumpier I got. I was so bothered by Kalyn and my friends, I wanted to crawl into a hole and never get out. At my locker, I fingered my midterm gift for Solace, a sarcastic qoute journal, before shoving it into the back of my locker and slamming the door.

I curled up on my bed at home and cried, for reasons I really couldn't explain to anyone else.

I wished I had never saw the boy in my dream, that I had never found my Imparter.

I wished more than anything that my life could be normal.

But deep down inside, I knew the next few weeks would be anything but.

Me: So I hope, as always, that you enjoyed the chapter.

D'Anna: It was shorter by a lot.

Me: You know what, I can't always please anyone!

Solace: *sweatdrops* I'm becoming less and less involved in the chapters! Was this your evil ploy? To slowly make me non existent?!

Brooke: I'm sure it wasn't. Besides, you are the least of her concerns. I need much more attention.

Solace: Hahaha.

Dean: I feel for you Solace. I think you even have more parts than I do.

Me: *sweatdrops* Well, it's just that you're not really the main characters, and I need to focus on the character with the POV first. But D'Anna, and possibly Dean, will have a major part, I think.

Solace: Oh great, you're just going to throw me under the bus?

Dean: No, but I would gladly volunteer to.

Solace: You KNOW that I'm so much stronger than you. C'mon let's go a few rounds, lets see who's under the bus then!

Me: Guysguysguys STOP!

Solace: Just who are you calling a GUY? I am not related to him! *points to Dean*

Dean: Why you-

Brooke: I'M GOING TO MAKE MALLOWMELT TODAY AND IF YOU DON'T STOP ARGUING, IM GOING TO INVITE UNCLE CASTOR OVER INSTEAD OF YOU!

(Silence)

Solace: Sorry.

Dean: Sorry.

D'Anna: Why didn't we think of this earlier?

Me: Ikr! You can review (please please review!), follow or favorite.

Brooke: Halt, now sit. MUSH! BEG!

Solace: I'm. not. a. dog. *seething red hot anger*

Brooke: Mallowmelt?

Me: I'm liking this. *bringing out a bowl of popcorn* No, screw that, I'm loving this.