They landed in a heap on the outskirts of the humble village with wooden homes and a tent field. People were bustling around, managing everyday work, like hanging laundry on a rope or carrying water in buckets to the gardens. There were animals in the yards. A flock of sheep, a few cows, and pigs in the pen. Even chickens were running around. In their eyes, it always seemed like a village of age past. Nothing like the Earth, unless seen in the history books of far away from civilization. However, even if Meridian lacked technology, they filled it with magic. Even the modest people had running water inside their homes, gathered from rain or rivers and distributed by pipes. Electricity was replaced with magic. Such fundamental things as light, storing of food, and simple everyday tasks were ingrained with the enchantments running this world. Meridian was similar to Earth and yet so different. Coming there was like witnessing things from the fairytales.

Cornelia was the first to stand up, patting down her skirt to get rid of the dirt from the road. Hay Lin merely grinned at her and stretched on the ground as Irma tried to entangle herself from Will's body.

'Will, get up. You are heavy!' She pushed her friend away, but Will didn't answer. Her head lolled to the side.

'Will?' Come on. Don't do this.' Hay Lin shook her friend's body, then checked her pulse. 'She fainted…'

'Great, just what we needed...' Cornelia huffed, trying to appear nonchalant. Deep inside, she was worried, because without Will everything could end up in disaster. 'We should have thought about some blanket or something...' she muttered to herself, looking at her friend's barefoot feet. Their troubles were solved when a familiar figure approached their group.

'Guardians, I did not expect you.' The man greeted them with a nod. He was tall and had a mop of spiky chestnut hair and green eyes. His skin was littered with green stripes, showing he was half-blood. The male was dressed in a simple black shirt tucked in thick-looking cargo pants paired with sturdy hunting boots. Everything was covered by a long brown coat with wide-open lapels and a gray scarf snuggled around his neck.

'Caleb!' Cornelia sighed in relief. 'We need help!' she motioned to the unconscious figure in Hay Lin's hands 'we really need your help…'

'What happened? Were you fighting?' He asked, glancing around for any invisible threat. Detecting nothing out of the ordinary, Caleb took off his coat and covered up the fallen Guardian. He gently lifted her body, hiding Will's vivid red hair under the fabric.

'Come on, let's find a more private place for conversation.' Caleb said to the girls, turning his head and eyeing the people who just started to notice them. They made their way through the back gardens of the village, voiding the curious gazes. Even if villagers sympathized with the rebels and housed their tents in the fields, there was always a possibility of betrayal. After reaching a plain wooden house with a steep rooftop by the forest, the group came inside. There were men gathered in the kitchen, and many of them greeted the girls in a friendly manner. Caleb grunted in response and made his way to an empty bedroom, placing unresponsive Will on the bed and covering her with a knitted blanket. Turning around to face Cornelia, he frowned 'Explain?'

She sat on the edge of the bed, brushing away red hair from Will's face, and examining her health.

'Caleb, first of all, can you call for a doctor? Will, have a slight fever.'

'I see… I'll be right back.' he nodded and went out of the room.

'So, what are we telling him?' Cornelia sought her friend's opinions, who were silently waiting around the room.

'The truth?' Hay Lin shrugged 'It's not like we know much…'

'It will look very good in his eyes informing him about how we lost Taranee.' Irma said with obvious sarcasm.

'Do we have a choice? Without the Heart, our powers are limited. I cannot help it. Whatever happened to her, I don't know how to fix it…' Cornelia bitterly sighed and clasped Will's hand, trying to send healing energy inside her body.

She felt incompetent. Now it was up to her to make the choices, as the oldest member of the Guardians, since Will was incapacitated. There was a slight commotion behind the doors and Caleb entered, followed by an elderly hunched Meridian woman dressed in blue clothes. Her snow-white hair was rolled up in the bundle on top of her head, and in her hands was a basket filled with pouches and bottles.

'This is Alma, our village healer.' Caleb introduced the elderly lady 'you typically do not see her around, as she is the head of our hospital, but Alma possesses a lot of knowledge…' he awkwardly scratched his chin.

'Boy, if you live as long as I am, you will learn something too!' The woman playfully chastised him. Her voice was pleasant, as if not touched with age 'now, the Guardians… not the first time I encounter your kind...' she looked at each girl with keen brown eyes etched in her green skin face.

'Air, always with a head stuck in the clouds, sometimes things on the ground are more interesting… Never stopping Water rushing through life not thinking about others… and Earth, steady and grounded, but with too much pride in her blood. Girl, you could be a decent healer with lesions of the craft and a bit of humility. Where is Fire? The passion for life burning brightly inside, but too quick to anger and stubborn to the core… and then we have Her…'

'Hey!' Irma started saying but was hushed down by Hay Lin as she shook her head, listening to the old woman speak. It felt like she had knowledge beyond her years, and Hay Ling always respected the elders.

'I am not insulting you, Guardians, merely observing what I see…' the woman silently laughed, 'forgive this old lady for her ramblings…'

She placed her basket on the table and uncovered the ill Guardian on the bed. The girls gathered around as Alma began the inspection of their friend. Her hands glowed softly blue color above Will's body.

'So much confusion and division in this one, and strength…' she closed her eyes in concentration, moving her hands in slow motion, starting from the legs up to the head. After reaching the temples, the healer's hands glowed white. At that point, above all odds, the old woman snorted. 'Oh, my…' she opened her eyes and looked at Will up and down. Her lips thinned with seriousness, but in her eyes mirth danced.

'Well then, there is nothing I can do for her except basic aid from the fever and pain. There is magic at work here. Your Guardian connected to another being in the emphatic and telepathic link. She is taking the pain, fear, and every emotion from it, but her mind cannot deal with all of that input. If I brutally cut off their link, the backlash would kill them both. There are a few beings in the universe who can perform such delicate work, but you would not like either of them pocking inside her head... On the other hand, if the one who established the link takes it back, everything returns to the way it was.' Alma cleared her throat, explaining the situation to the Guardians. She saw fear in their eyes, as if they had encountered an impossible mission. The old woman rummaged through her basket, taking out a few bottles and pouches, spreading the pleasant smell of herbs. Using a spare glass to combine the things acquired, she poured the mixture down Will's throat gently massaging her neck until the girl swallowed the liquid.

'I have to grab a few things from my house for medicine. I will be back soon. Take care of your friend until then.' She bowed and left the room. Breathing in the fresh air, the Alma walked down the cobblestone road. As the house disappeared from view, she started giggling. Soon it grew into a full-blown laugh. The things she glimpsed from that young Guardian's mind. Phobos will not know what hit him. She still remembered the little boy in the royal infirmary with scraped knees… maybe things will change for the better because love can do miracles. Alma hoped and prayed the world would not be too cruel to them. Wiping off the escaped tear, the healer went home to bring the necessary herbs, wondering if she would even need them.

When the healer left, the girls slumped into each other, seeking comfort as Caleb paced around the room.

'We have to go to Kandrakar. They have to help.' Hay Lin suggested in a weary voice.

'Without Will, we cannot travel freely. Even if there is a way, it may be too late!' Irma cried out. If they lose both Will and Taranee at the same time, everything will be over for them. The last few months were just one disaster after another, and she was tired of losing.

'We have to try! The Heart of Kandrakar should help us if one of us takes it!' Cornelia looked determined, stepping closer to the bed. She reached down and took the pendant out of Will's t-shirt. The Heart flared with an angry red light. It streamed between her fingers like fire.

'Ouch, it burned me!' Cornelia shouted, looking at the slightly raised pink skin on her palm. The irritation rapidly disappeared as her healing powers kicked in.

'Let me try.' Irma pushed her away and quickly grabbed the pendant. 'Damn!' She swore, shaking her burned hand.

'I guess that leaves me…' Hay Lin muttered and carefully touched the object. The pendant lit up again and an angry buzzing filled the air.

'No, not working…' she tilted her head, looking as the Heart of Kandrakar gently settled on Will's chest 'I guess we are not going to see the Oracle…'

'Thank you, captain obvious! Why isn't this working?' Cornelia huffed, crossing her arms and angrily gazing at the medallion. 'Will is incapacitated. We should be able to use it! It's not fair that only she gets those powers!' She started pacing, but Caleb gripped her by the elbow and stopped in the middle room.

'Would somebody finally explain what the hell is going on?' He asked with evident irritation. Cornelia slumped her shoulders, 'alright, but can we get a cup of tea or something first…'

Seeing no other option, the girls sat around the kitchen table and recounted what had happened in the recent month. Tempers burned bright as they argued, shouted, and then planned how to rescue Taranee. It was the only choice left before them. The plan was to cause a disturbance in the city for the girls to slip into the castle. Given Caleb's valuable information, they knew the most dangerous prisoners were in the dungeons instead of the prison on the hill. With the decision made, the group departed dressed in dark brown cloaks, leaving a few guards in the house with strict orders only to let the healer. As if sensing that the coast was clear, the Heart of Kandrakar hovered above its Keeper's chest, engulfing her in bright pink light. Unaware of the soft flash Will disappeared from the room.

Deep in the palace, Phobos paced with a book in his hands, trying to read. Realizing he had already looked at the same page twice, the book sailed through the room, hitting the wall with a satisfying thud. He felt unsettled and infuriated with himself. The kiss was a profound mistake. A careless action that cost him peace of mind. The feeling of her in his arms. Those inexperienced touches through his hair and her taste. It drove him mad. Everything happened too fast. It was a miscalculation. They both knew it and accepted the consequences, but her eyes spoke volumes to him. He did not want to feel this way. Never imagined it could happen. After all, he did not deserve such feelings. For all one knows, maybe this was a punishment. To yearn for a girl he could never have.

Suddenly, the defensive magic in the garden gave him an alarm. He had many spells on private spaces, from the offensive to guarding, and everything was woven into a tightly knit web on the whole castle. Silent whispering reached his ears.

'Guardian… Guardian… Help!'

The roses murmured in many unique voices. Altogether, it sounded like whispers in the wind. He hastily went out, wondering why she was here. The girl made a promise that they would not meet again. Worry clenched in his heart. Something was not right. Using a hidden entry into the garden, Phobos avoided the servants and darted to the place where the roses guided him.

The first thing he saw was a dome of roses around the prone form of the red-haired girl. They swayed around her body in a protective circle, tugging on her clothes and caressing the skin. They liked her, or maybe his hidden feelings manifested in the flowers. With a wave of a hand, the roses slowly parted, withdrawing enough to give him space to kneel beside her. She wore ordinary thin clothes, barely enough to cover up from the chilly weather. Her red hair stood out, splayed on the grass with how pale her skin had gotten, and blue lips trembled from the cold. He has already seen her in a similar view. The first time they met. Taking off his robe, he enveloped the girl in the warm fabric. Yet she hasn't moved. Frowning, Phobos gathered the Guardian into his arms and lifted her as if she barely weighed anything. Tucking Will deeper into the warmth, the Prince weighed his options. He needed to get her inside and examine what was wrong. The Guardian would not have come unless there was no other option. Or maybe the annoying piece of jewelry sent her. It would not be the first time it happened.

Flaring a bit of magic, Phobos inspected the enchantments inside of the palace. After all, the castle was old and generations upon generations added spells into its walls, creating a spider web of wards. Mixing it with his sorcery was the best decision ever made. Phobos learned early on that with the precise amount of magic, he could investigate what was happening in individual places of the castle. There were just a few servants and guards in the corridors. Without fear of being seen the Prince went in carrying the precious cargo in his embrace.