A/N: Welcome to Chapter 4.

Like the last one, I don't have much to say before getting into it, so I won't hold you up with unnecessary words.

Except, of course, to say that if you like this story, feel free to favorite/follow and leave a review. And, as always, enjoy...

Chapter 4

Indigo's Doubts

"I still don't like this," Indigo told Fathom as they alighted on the balcony after their flight with Darkstalker and Clearsight, "The whole situation just reeks of trouble, for you and everyone else."

Fathom gave a small shake of his head as he folded his wings against him. "I know you think that," he told her, "But I don't think you need to be quite so worried. They seem nice enough, like they're really trying to be our friends."

Your friends, Indigo thought, remembering all of the glares and stares that she and Darkstalker had given each other all morning. She could tell that he was making no effort to befriend her. Quite the opposite, in fact.

"Clearsight seemed nice enough," she conceded, "But I wouldn't trust Darkstalker any more than I'd trust a shark when I'm bleeding. He's using his magic, Fathom, and I don't think he cares one inkling about the consequences." She frowned as she thought about how many spells he might already have in place, spells that could already have ended Fathom's mission before it even began.

"I know," Fathom said with a sigh, "…but Indigo, didn't you see that soul reader he made? He's already trying to make sure that he doesn't lose his soul. If I can just build on that…I think I may have a good chance of convincing him to give up his ways."

"That soul reader could be enchanted," she told him, "Enchanted to lie to you, I mean. Just think, wouldn't it make sense for him to make something that showed you what you wanted to see so you'd trust him more? No, I don't think Darkstalker has any intentions of stopping his use of magic."

"Well…maybe not now," Fathom said, deflating a bit as he thought about what she'd said, "But—I mean, it's worth a try." He looked down at his talons, and she had a feeling there was a lot more left unsaid there.

She gave a sigh and lightly bumped his wing with hers. "Yes, I suppose it is worth the try," she said, trying to lift his spirits a little, "But I'm just saying to be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"It's just…" Fathom went on, a bit hesitantly, "Well…he reminds me so much of myself, Indigo. When I found out I had this curse, I was so thrilled and happy. I thought there was so much good that I could do with it. It took seeing the horrors that my grandfather wrought to make me see the danger." He looked up and met her eyes. "Darkstalker hasn't seen what animus magic can make a dragon do. I have to show him those consequence. I'll never be able to live with myself if I don't at least try to prevent him from becoming like Albatross."

Indigo's heart ached as she listened to him. She knew that, to an extent, he was right. There was a chance that Darkstalker could become a murderous psychopath, but he wasn't yet. Even if they didn't like each other, maybe it was better to try to save him then destroy him, even if destruction may be safer and easier.

"I want to be his friend," Fathom said after a short pause. "I feel…well, I feel like he can be a good friend if we give him a chance."

Indigo closed her eyes and gave a sigh, not wanting to agree but knowing that she should for Fathom's sake. "Fine," she finally said.

"Besides," Fathom continued, "If things go wrong, then that's why you're here. To protect me. And I know that's what you're trying to do. So…thank you."

Her heart thumped a bit quicker in her chest at that. She opened her eyes and saw him looking at her with the same kind of look he used to give her. The one before the massacre had happened. The one before they were forced apart. It was the look that said, "I trust you." It was the one that she thought said, "I love you."

But it wasn't. It couldn't be. Despite how things may have once been, it was different now. When they'd been forced to separate before, she'd thought—she'd hoped—that it was Queen Pearl's idea. But now she knew that it wasn't just her, it was Fathom himself that had wanted to keep them apart. The fear, the feelings…they had to have been too much for him. He himself had told her that he felt dangerous around her, afraid that he'd break his vow for her sake.

In a way, it was almost sweet—a show of how deep his feelings ran. But it was still a rejection. They could never be together, no matter how much either of them wished it. She knew that she still did, and she was pretty sure Fathom was the same way.

But even if it was never to be, she would still stand by him. No matter what. She would give her life for him without a second thought if that was what was necessary to keep him safe, whether it was from Darkstalker or anyone else. She was his bodyguard, but she was also much, much more.

No more words were said as they exited the balcony and entered Fathom's room. Lionfish was lying on one of the couches, reading a scroll that he must have brought with him from the Sea Kingdom. Warf was nowhere to be seen, but he was likely either outside the door or in the separate quarters that had been provided for the three Seawing guards when they weren't on duty. Of course, Indigo was the only one who ever seemed to actually be doing any guarding at all.

It wasn't until they were almost in the middle of the room that Lionfish finally noticed their presence. He shot to his feet, looking startled before seeing who they were and relaxing a little. "Prince Fathom," he said in an almost relieved way, "How was your flight?"

Did they intentionally send the two laziest guards with me? Indigo wondered. It almost seemed as if Queen Pearl had been setting the whole endeavor up for failure from the start.

"Pretty good," Fathom answered, "We visited one of the Nightwing beaches. Umm…what was it called?"

"Black Bat," Indigo said.

"Yes, Black Bat Beach," Fathom went on, giving her a nod of thanks, "It was marvelous. It had black sand! I've never seen black sand before. And the water was amazing—crystal clear and near perfect warmth. You should try to go sometime if you have an opportunity."

Indigo gave a small smile as she heard Fathom talk about their little escapade with the Nightwings. It had, she had to admit, been a rather nice trip (if she discounted every encounter and look she had with Darkstalker), and the Nightwing seas were pristine for a leisurely swim. Clearsight and Darkstalker had certainly done their best to be accommodating, at least to Fathom.

"I'll have to keep that in mind," Lionfish said in a very noncommittal way. He looked back and forth between her and Fathom, as though unsure what to say or do next, and a semi-awkward silence fell."

"So," Fathom said, breaking it before it got too bad, "Did anything important happen while we were gone?"

"Oh, yes!" Lionfish exclaimed, a bit of relief and excitement in his voice, "A messenger from Queen Vigilance stopped by about an hour or so ago. She dropped off some things for you." He walked over to a table, where several scrolls were setting that Indigo hadn't noticed before. "She wants you to go over these—I'm not sure exactly what they are—in the coming days. Also, some of them are blank. Vigilance wants you to fill those ones out with everything you know about animus magic. The messenger said to be as detailed as possible."

"Did the messenger say why?" Indigo asked.

Lionfish shrugged his wings. "I didn't ask. It didn't seem important."

"That's okay," Fathom said, unconcerned, "I'm sure she just wants to learn about magic now that the Nightwings have it. I'll look these over." He approached the table and reached for them, but Indigo quickly moved forwards and cut him off.

"I'll look at them first," she said. Even the smallest thing could be a potential trap, and Indigo wasn't exactly rubbed the right way by Queen Vigilance in the short time she'd interacted with the Seawings during the party.

Fathom rolled his eyes but stepped back and let her do it. "Really, Indigo?" he asked, "You think someone would try to harm me with a scroll?"

She ignored him as she opened the one closest to her and began looking though them. Like Lionfish had said, about half of them were blank and waiting to be written in. The others seemed to just be standard diplomacy stuff for visiting delegations. One scroll was a list of laws and rules visiting diplomats were expected to obey. Another was a general layout of the Night Capital with specific markers indicating points of interest ranging from emergency shelters to fine eateries. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

She set the last scroll down and turned to Fathom. "Everything looks fine," she told him, "Just a bunch of scrolls."

Fathom rolled his eyes again, but he had a goofy grin on his face that told her that he really didn't mind. He stepped forwards again and began looking at them for himself. Feeling eyes on her, she saw Lionfish giving her a look that seemed to say, "you take this job way too seriously." He looked away when he saw her eyes narrow at him.

Fathom continued to go over the scrolls for a few minutes, then looked up to see both Indigo and Lionfish sitting and looking at him. A short silence had fallen as they did nothing but wait for whatever he would decide to say or do next. Such was the job of a bodyguard, and it was a job Indigo was glad to do for Fathom. Lionfish, not quite so much.

"Thanks for showing me these," Fathom told the other guard as he held up the scroll in his claws, "Good work. You can take a break for now."

"Thank you," Lionfish said, then left the room fairly quickly, stopping only to grab the scroll he'd been reading when they'd arrived.

Indigo couldn't help but let out a low growl after he left. "You know," she told Fathom, "Warf and Lionfish are here to protect you, too. It's not just me. You may want to, like, actually have them guard you now and then."

Fathom sighed. "I know, I know. It's just…I can tell that they're not exactly comfortable around me. I am an animus after all. I think it's best to allow them some time away when it's possible. Besides, I only need one guard in my room at once."

"And I'm sooo much more comfortable around you?" She meant it to be sarcastic, but it came out more like just stating a fact.

"Exactly," Fathom said, giving her another grin, "Besides, I think we both know who I'd rather have guarding me should anything actually happen."

"Yeah, yeah," Indigo said, trying to brush off the flutter in her chest at his words. Despite everything, Fathom still held her in such high regard. He trusted her and wanted her near, even if he feared himself around her. That's why she lov—

No, she thought, it's best not to think about it. Not when it's impossible.

She walked over to the couch that Lionfish had just been lying on as Fathom went back to looking over the scrolls. He seemed to actually be reading them instead of just skimming them like she had, and Indigo wondered if there was anything more important in there than she initially thought. Perhaps she'd have to go over them again herself when Fathom was done—if not just to make sure that everything was well.

So far, at least, things had seemed to have gone pretty well for their little mission. They were being treated kindly by the Nightwings (even if most of them ignored them), and as far as she could tell there were no threats to Fathom's life. Well, except for the obvious one: Darkstalker. He claimed to want to be Fathom's friend, but Indigo could feel in her bones that something wasn't quite right with the Nightwing animus.

No matter what Fathom thinks, Darkstalker poises the most danger to him, she thought to herself, His mission here has a potential to go horribly wrong in so many ways if that Nightwing has his way. I bet he's already—

"You're right, Indigo," Fathom said, pulling her out of her musings. She looked up at him and saw him looking at her, though still holding one of the scrolls in his talons. She looked at him questioningly, wondering if he was somehow reading her mind and was referring to Darkstalker. Part of her really hoped he was.

"About what?" she asked.

"I should have kept Lionfish here," he answered, setting down the scroll, "Because I really want to get started on these scrolls, but now that our flight is over I just realized that I'm starving."

"And this is related to Lionfish how?" she asked, not quite following.

"Well, I'd have liked to have sent him for some food. To see if there's any fish in the kitchens, or leftovers from the party, you know."

She looked at him blankly. "And you couldn't just go yourself?"

"Like I said, I want to get started on these, and…well," he hesitated, "I don't quite remember where the kitchens are…" he trailed off with a pathetic expression on his face, and Indigo had to keep herself from laughing.

She shook her head, not able to keep a small grin off it as she resisted rolling her eyes. "I can go get some," she told him, also resisting the urge to call him a name like she used to, "I think I remember where they were. It will only take a second—" she paused as she finally realized what he'd meant about Lionfish, "Oh. You're right. You shouldn't be alone."

"Yeah," Fathom said, glancing around the room, "…but I think I'll be fine. I doubt anyone's actually lurking around, waiting for a chance to kill me. You go ahead and get some food, and I'll just make sure the doors are locked."

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure about this? I can go get Lionfish or Warf." She still wasn't quite comfortable about leaving him alone, nor would she ever be.

Fathom nodded. "It'll only be for a few minutes. Besides, they're just on the other side of this wall," he walked over and set a talon on aforementioned wall, "If I need anything, or if anything happens, they'll only be a yell or pound away."

She sighed. "Okay," she said, still a bit hesitant, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"I look forward to it," Fathom said, and the next thing she knew she was outside the room and the door was closed in front of her. She pulled on it, just to make sure it was locked, and only when she was satisfied that it was did she leave.

She walked down the hallway, eerily quiet in the late morning. This was when most Nightwings were fast asleep, but it was when most normal dragons—like her—were wide awake and on the move. It was only her second real day in the Night Kingdom, and already she could tell that it was going to take some serious getting used to.

Unfortunately, she found out rather quickly that she didn't quite remember the layout of the palace and the way to the kitchen like she thought she had. She turned down a hallway that she thought looked familiar, only to reach the end and realize it wasn't. She backtracked and went a different way, fairly certain that she was now going the right direction.

Stupid Nightwings and their stupid black marble walls and mirrors, she thought as she walked. Every hallway in the whole castle looked more or less identical.

She took another turn, then another, then backtracked again to try another. It wasn't until she ended up in a courtyard that she had never laid eyes on before did she finally admit to herself that she was completely lost.

Giving a low growl, she pushed on into a different, unfamiliar hallway. She sniffed the air, hoping to catch a whiff of any potential meal, but smelled nothing. She could have knocked on a door and asked for directions, but she didn't want to wake anyone who was asleep, especially if they were important. No, she figured that if she just kept on long enough, she'd either find the kitchens or find someone who was awake and could help.

A few turns later, and she finally found a dragon who could help her, even if she didn't exactly want his help.

Darkstalker.

She nearly bumped into him, actually, as she took a turn, and he responded with an annoyed growl.

"Watch out," he hissed, and she expected him to keep going to wherever it was he was going, but instead he stopped and looked at her.

"What are you doing here?" Indigo asked, matching the hostility in his voice as she refused to apologize. "I thought you were going home to sleep after that flight."

"I was," Darkstalker said, "But the queen wanted to see me, so I stayed for a while longer. Not that it's any concern of yours." He paused, eyes scanning her in a less than comfortable way. "What are you doing here?"

For some odd reason, Indigo couldn't help but think that he meant that in more ways than one.

"I was just looking for the kitchens," she answered, trying to keep from hissing, "Fathom and I were hungry after our flight, and we do so wish to avoid starving to death."

Darkstalker narrowed his eyes at her sarcasm. "Careful," he warned, "Fathom's not here to make sure I don't use my magic, and you know I have no problems with doing just that."

Indigo didn't let it show, but she immediately became very worried at those words. He wouldn't dare, she thought, not if wants to be Fathom's friend. All the same, it was probably best not to try to call his bluff.

"If you want to lose your soul, then that's on you," she spat, "But don't drag Fathom down with you. He's a good dragon."

Better than you'll ever be, she added in her thoughts, then mentally grimaced as she remembered Darkstalker could hear them.

"Is that so?" he asked, an unexpectedly odd look coming over his face, "You don't even know me. How can you be so sure that I'm the horrible danger you think I am?"

She huffed, but suddenly found herself at a loss for words. There really was no indication aside from his treatment of her that would indicate that he was evil—in fact, much of what he said and did regarding Fathom seemed to be done in legitimate friendship. Yes, he absolutely rubbed her scales the wrong way, but when suddenly put on the spot, she found that she didn't really have an answer besides 'you're an animus', which she knew he could then turn around and ask why, if that's the case, she thought that Fathom wasn't a horrible dragon.

"Because…well, just because," was all she was able to get out, and she hated the way that Darkstalker lifted his head up and smirked. It almost seemed like he'd won some sort of game, but Indigo indignantly refused to let it get to her. Even if she couldn't express why without sounding contradictory, she knew that he was still dangerous to Fathom.

"Because I'm an animus," Darkstalker said, finishing her obvious thoughts while still smirking at her, "I have power beyond what you could imagine. You're right to fear me," Darkstalker said, then his smirk disappeared as another odd look came on his face as he looked at her, "…Yes, you're right to do that, but you're wrong if you think that I'd hurt my friends. It may be hard for you to wrap your mind around this, but I do want to help Fathom. It's up to you whether you assist me in that or stand in my way."

She huffed, trying not to let that obvious warning affect her much. Of course, Darkstalker struck her as the kind of dragon that didn't use empty words. "I'm not sure Fathom needs your kind of help. Besides, he's here to help you. To save you, not the other way around."

Darkstalker rolled his eyes. "Yes, it's very nice of him. Luckily, I don't need saving."

"Neither does Fathom."

Their eyes locked, and Indigo could see that he wasn't going to be backing down anytime soon. There was a kind of fire in his eyes, a look that showed that he genuinely thought himself in the right, a look that she knew she couldn't break with a few angry words. As she'd told Fathom before, Darkstalker was a dragon who had no intention of giving up his power.

He snorted, a puff of smoke escaping his nostrils and floating towards her. She was forced to blink and look away as it drifted into her eyes, stinging them. When she cleared them and looked back towards Darkstalker, he was looking away from her and down the hallway.

She was about to take a step back and try to just leave him when he turned back towards her, a different look in his eyes now. One that she couldn't read at all. "You're tenacious and stubborn," he told her with another puff of smoke, "Go figure Fathom would have more friends like me."

Indigo was at a loss for words on that. Was Darkstalker really comparing her to himself?

He turned away with a low growl in his throat, sounding irritated. He opened and closed his wings slightly, then spoke again, still facing away from her. "The kitchens are down that hallway," he said, flicking his tail to one on her left, "Keep going straight and you can't miss them."

He walked away without another word, and Indigo watched him go, wondering what exactly it was his last few words had meant. If he was comparing himself to her, then she wasn't exactly sure how to feel. Was it supposed to be positive or negative? Was it just another instance of him trying to get under her scales?

She shook her head and let out a growl to herself.

He's just trying to get to me, she thought, Playing little games and sowing seeds of deception. It's all just tricks, and for Fathom's sake I can't be misled. What he said doesn't matter; he can't be trusted at all.

Yet despite that, she couldn't help but wonder if all of that was necessarily true…

She shook her head again and forced herself to get her mind off of Darkstalker and back to her task of finding the kitchens. Part of her had wanted to not follow his instruction out of spite, but she reluctantly went down the hallway he'd pointed out, figuring that there was nothing to lose since she couldn't really get any more lost than she already was.

As it turned out, Darkstalker hadn't been lying. She soon found herself in the kitchens and surrounded by all kinds of meats and fish and other foods, many recognizable but several unfamiliar. Taking a platter, she filled it with fish enough for both Fathom and herself (she'd realized just how hungry she herself was when she finally smelled the food), and she also added several other foods that she couldn't identify. She figured that they may be some sorts of Nightwing dishes they may have to get used to if they weren't going to have fish every night.

It wasn't until she'd been through everything and exited the kitchen with her food that she realized that she had no idea how to get to Fathom's room, and she couldn't shake the feeling that a certain animus, mind-reading Nightwing had intentionally known that and neglected to help her.

A/N: So this one was from Indigo's POV. Going forward, I plan to roughly alternate between her's and Darkstalker's. It likely won't be a perfect every-other chapter system, but I don't think anyone will have a problem identifying who's POV each chapter is.