Yup. Cliffhanger. WHOOP! I'm Evil, I know, I know.
Anyways, sorry for the extra killing time :P Been busy these past couple days.
"Rafal, I know it's all for good reason, but I still feel bad about telling you where Tedros and Agatha were eating… I mean, was getting rid of Agatha really all that important?"
"Yes." said an old, but malicious, voice. "Without her, I'm one step closer to my True Love."
"And… once you get Sophie back… I'll-"
"Mother?" called Tedros. Guinevere quickly shut the box.
"Uh, yes?" she answered.
"I thought I heard a voice in there."
"No, no. Everything's fine. Just talking to myself." Guinevere answered, brushing away the hair from her face. She felt bad about lying to her son, but she knew it was all for good reason.
"Well… ok. But come down here. I wanna show you guys something." Tedros called back. Guinevere put the box away and slid the key back into her pocket. She hurried down the stairs.
"What is it? What's so important?" Guinevere asked.
"That's what I'd like to know." Lancelot answered. Tedros smiled. The three adults exchanged glances. Tedros handed them Agatha's letter. Merlin and Lancelot's eyes bugged out.
"There's a way to bring her back?!" Lancelot shouted. Tedros nodded, smiling.
As Lancelot celebrated with his son, Merlin and Guinevere grew pale. Guinevere couldn't say a thing, but Merlin could. Merlin knew of this way, Merlin knew of the dangers that hid where it hid. Merlin knew where it was. And it wasn't where Tedros thought it was. Not in the slightest.
Rafal POV
Rafal sat in the dark corners of another world... this place was almost magicless, but not quite. Rafal heard the quiet whispers of magic here and there, but not enough to bring him his power he needed to bring him back to where he wanted to be. The rainbows, they were magic indeed, but strange magic. Never could you near one. And it was Good magic, not magic that Rafal needed. Here and there were hiding fairies, but catch one glimpse, and they were gone.
He couldn't trust anyone these days, not his loyal subjects, not his True Love.
There were certain things he liked in this world, however. He liked the guns... Oh, how he loved the guns. So quick, faster than magic. But not quite as powerful. He also loved this world's stupidity. None were smart enough to defile his plan, none knew what it was, except for the dear dear Guinevere.
It was either Guinevere, or her son, he had told her. The moment she told anyone about what he was planning, she would die in front of whoever she told. One word that slipped from her lips, one breath about his plan, and she would breath no more words.
How? Well... All thanks to the technology of the land he was in. All thanks to that technology...
"I'll see you again my dear, even if it's in our Wildest Dreams."
Tedros POV
Tedros was packing his bag. Water? Check. Snacks? Check. 'Course, with Merlin there, meals would certainly be easier. So long as his hat didn't get grumpy. Tedros heard a quiet knock on his door.
"Uh, come in!" he called. His mother walked in, her black dress wrinkled. Guinevere smoothed her dress.
"Are you sure you wish to do this?" Guinevere asked, nervous. "Sometimes people are meant to stay up there."
Tedros was taken aback by his mother's words.
"Mother, if it weren't for Rafal, Agatha would still be living. I'm not even sure how he knew where we were. Probably a tracking spell." Tedros said. Tedros gave his mother a strange look. She looked pale.
"Is it cold in here?" Guinevere said, still pale. She had noticed Tedros' strange look.
"Oh, well I can light the fireplace if you want." Tedros said. Guinevere smiled at her son's kind gesture. Last year he would have said some snide remark that would have made her feel quite small.
"Oh, it's fine." Guinevere said, cheeks coloring. Guinevere went to leave.
"Uh, mother?" Tedros asked. Guinevere turned. Tedros fumbled for words. He mumbled something and turned away.
"What?" Guinevere asked, confused.
"Oh nothing." Tedros mumbled as he turned and walked to his window. Guinevere smiled and left.
Merlin POV
Oh no, oh no, it was all wrong! He knew better than anyone that that myth should have stayed a myth, he knew better than anyone that there was no such rule in that rule book, he knew better than anyone that it wasn't where anyone thought it was. Not in the slightest.
Merlin jammed open each one of his drawers and frantically took everything out of all of them. A mermaid's tear, blood from a unicorn, a lizard's tongue, an eye of newt, cow's blood, star powder, the spit of a giant, witch herbs...
You named it and Merlin had it. Finally, Merlin found what he was looking for...
A gleaming white gemstone in the shape of a heart. It glimmered with pale colors of the rainbow and it shone hope upon Merlin's face. The Stone of Purity.
Merlin knew of this stone. It did much more than bring back a loved one. Much more, and from reading it, Agatha hadn't read the whole thing. The Stone of Purity came with a price and not just any price, a dangerous one.
Merlin also knew that the loophole was not Rule 306, for he knew well and clear that Rule 306 had to do with the wings of an angel. The angel's would not put in a loophole, and Vanessa was never how she seemed. He knew from personal experience that Vanessa hid many things, including her own fairytale from her daughter.
The angels wanted the other angels to stay, and no human eye could read that fast. Unless Agatha wasn't human, but she certainly was.
Merlin dropped the stone into a black box with a satin inside so the stone wouldn't break. He stroked his beard thoughtfully. He supposed he would eventually have to tell Tedros, especially when they reached the painted mountains.
Merlin supposed he would have to tell Tedros about Sophie too, something that Merlin hadn't thought about telling him, even in his Wildest Dreams.
NEXT CHAPTER SNEAK PEAK (Probably): More on Rafal and Sophie! Agatha eavesdrops on Sophie talking to someone and overhears something... quite interesting.