Where did it go wrong?

by Aria Morid

Going Zenith left its marks. It influences their lives and their missions. Their perception of what's right and wrong are skewed, but is it because of who they are or because of who they work for? The Guardians learn not every evil is wrong, or every good is right.

14. Chapter 14 Making up your mind

Chapter 14 Making up your mind

"Bye Will!"

I muttered a reply. The door closed with a slam, leaving me alone in my father's apartment. It wasn't too bad. It was spacey and closer to school than my mom's. It also was not my home. But I guess, I shouldn't be too picky about it. My father at least tried to get back into my life. He could have remained a dick and stayed out of it. Now I at least had the feeling he did still love me, even though his love for my mom had dwindled.

Serena had just left, going along with my dad to work. I didn't know what either of them did. It had to pay for the apartment that much I knew. And my dad's ride. So I guess it was well paid. It paid enough to ensure I had my favourite cereal available. I took it from the cupboard and prepared a bowl. Taking it along to the living room, the television switched on. I guess it was more of an instinctive reaction. I didn't really intend to watch it. I had other things on my mind this morning.

Last night Irma and I got a telepathic message from the others in Redstone. Apparently they met up with a dryad and helped it out. While vague during the conversation, I received a private text from Cornelia that gave me a lot more information. Enough to grow concerned. First of all, elemental spirits were visiting us and asking our help. While I can't say we should ignore them, I am wondering why they are appearing now. We've been Guardians for two years and yet we'd never even heard of them. Now in three weeks time we met two different spirits. Due to these meetings, we revealed ourselves to people. And while Cornelia did ensure me the dryad would take care of those who'd seen them, it was still concerning. How long before a spirit turns up in the middle of the street? How would we explain that?

But spirits aside, my other concern was Taranee. The way she'd acted during the forest fire was alarming. I told Cornelia she did good with dropping her in the ocean. It made Taranee really pissed, yes, but I understood it was Cornelia's only option to cool her down. Well that or try to bury her. With that being the other choice, dropping into the ocean seemed like the friendliest thing to do. I'd already noticed Taranee getting a tad excited as her fire burned longer or brighter, but she always restored herself. Maybe the dryad was right and had it simply been a power high. Too little experience with too much power. A shiver ran down my spine, remembering I'd come close to that as well. It would do well to talk privately with Taranee about this. Once she was back. No need to cause friction due some miscommunication between us.

"Our final topic is the missing children's case. Heatherfield and surrounding cities count a total of 25 missing children. If you recognize any of these children, please contact the police. You can find more information on the website www.-"

I turned off the television. I needed to get ready for school or I'd be late. Being tardy now that my mom was dating my history teacher was no longer an option. In fact, my mom had even threatened me that if she heard I'd be late one more time, she'd ask Collins to pick me up. If there was something I would most definitely try to avoid, it would be being dropped off by a teacher. It was bad enough that people were aware of my mom dating Collins. I did not need to cause a rumour that he was giving me slack because of it.

So I reached school in record time. Irma was waiting for me at the lockers. It was strange to only have her greet me. I'd never realised how used I'd become to hanging with the girls. And to think I'd once thought that making friends was impossible. Her cheesy grin told me she wasn't aware of the little episode Taranee had had. Good. I was glad Cornelia wanted to keep it under wraps. Besides, I was not in the mood to discuss what-ifs. We had little time to do more than greet each other before the morning bell rang. I waved her goodbye as I headed to my biology class.

It was a good thing I enjoyed it, or I would probably allow myself to be distracted by Irma's constant telepathic droning. I suddenly understood Taranee's slight irritation with her. At least during class. Though it was amusing to hear Irma attempt to mockingly copy her French teacher. French wasn't a language that Irma could master and hearing her try to mock and stumble over the words through telepathy was certainly a reason for me to crack a grin. Alchemy, who was my lab partner was less charmed by it. Possible because I cracked that grin when I started to cut in the cow's heart we had to dissect. Knowing better then to explain myself, I completely shut down our telepathic connection and focussed on the task at hand.

As lunch came, I took the first opportunity to hit Irma on her shoulder. Her overly dramatic acting how I had probably shattered the bone, made me only roll my eyes and stick my tongue out at her. Served her right for making me grin at the wrong moment. We continued to the cafeteria and took our trays. As we joined the queue, Irma finally asked what I'd been postponing.

"So…Are we going to look for some proof that Phobos and his pet snake have some semblance of morality?"

I looked longer at the menu than necessary. I'd been putting it off. I knew I said we would go, but honestly I didn't feel much for it. And that prediction from Irma's water friend only told me I'd get into yet another fight with Matt. We just made up and I was certain a new fight would be the end. I didn't want that. So perhaps in not going, I could avoid all of that. But, I said we would. And breaking my word had let to negative results in the past. I sighed deeply before telling Yan Lin what I would like for lunch.

"I guess so. I mean, I said we would."

"Would, could, should. I love those words because they don't necessarily mean we have to."

I gave Irma a sideways glare. I knew she was a fan of abusing those words if it worked out for her. And worse, she tried to convince others of using them as well. Hay Lin tended to do it at times. But then again, she was closest to Irma and probably also the most influenced by her.

"You know that won't work," I told her. "Or do you fancy another grant argument in the Room of Congregation?"

"If Taranee explodes again, it might."

A reprimanding tut came from behind the counter. Yan Lin gave Irma a look that warned her enough. Irma shrank a tad and pointed at what she wanted. I merely smiled when she got something else. Irma knew better than to argue, and only mumbled as we found a table for the two of us. I decided to let the subject go for now. Discussing this would be pointless. I said we would get evidence, so we will go. Rather now than procrastinate.

"It's weird to have the table for just us."

Irma prodded in her food, still moody over what she'd gotten. Despite that, she looked wistfully at the empty spots where the others usually sat. I agreed. In the past two years, I was always surrounded by at least the others. Now with just Irma, it felt like I was missing a part of myself.

"Matt's here with us," I replied, waving at the latter.

Irma huffed and prodded her food even harder. I doubted she was going to eat a lot from it.

"Yeah, yeah. You're lucky your boyfriend sucks phenomenally at chemistry and geography."

"Like your grades in French."

"Or yours in maths."

I stuck my tongue out at her. She replied with a mischievous smile and a wink before Matt pulled my attention away. He kissed me on my cheek and sat next to me. It was nice having him with me, without tension making us uncomfortable. I was glad he'd relaxed on me being poisoned. I understood why he'd been mad. He understood why I'd gotten angry when he tried to suggest that I should stop being a Guardian. Stopping now almost felt like giving up. And I was not going to give in. So he'd been asking for updates on how I was feeling, asking more than once to come and be with me. While I was grateful for his concern, it felt rather smothering. I needed some breathing space. Which I got the moment I proved I was no longer glamouring my lips. Good thing too, because I decided to tell about my adventure with Irma right after. He simply assumed we'd done that after I was no longer poisoned and only warned me to be careful. I wasn't going to correct him. He rummaged a bit through his own food before looking up at us.

"So ladies, how does it feel to have a break?"

His smile was genuine. I knew he thought we deserved some slack for all the things we've done. Especially after my poisoning. His arm wrapped around me and pulled me a bit closer. I felt a blush coming up, but relented. As I said, it was nice not having to argue with him.

"You explain to Will what a break is. She wants to go to Meridian after school."

My eyes narrowed as I looked at Irma from across the table. Her eyes were shining and an innocent smile formed. Like hell she was. I could simply feel Matt tense up next to me. If she was hoping he could argue me out of going, she would have another thing coming. I squared my shoulders a bit, trying my hardest to stay calm. Matt seemed to try the same, as his voice was strained as he spoke up.

"Oh? What are you going to do there?"

I think if I told him we would train or practice, he would have a fit. I shrugged and took a bite to eat. Stretching this awkward silence was fun and all, but Matt's irritation was slowly seeping to me and I needed to act or I'd get as irritated as he was.

"Just interview Miranda and Frost. To get some information on Phobos and Cedric. Nothing big."

Matt snorted, like he tended to do when I proposed something he didn't like. I prepared myself for whatever the reason would come up with to stop me from going.

"And you think those two are jumping at the opportunity to help you? After you send them to jail multiple times?"

That was certainly the biggest issue I had to deal with. They really had no reason to help us. I had nothing to coerce it out of them. The only thing I had were Irma's and mine persuasion skills. And I meant the nonmagical kind. If they were awfully stubborn I might reconsider, but for now I wanted to avoid Irma using her powers. The information would be truthful, but it would only make them hate us more. A naïve part of me hoped that with these conversations we could perhaps get rid of some of the hatred towards us. That maybe we could convince them to join Elyon, just like we'd convinced Raythor, Gargoyle and Sandpit. It wasn't something I had shared. I had a feeling Irma might want to prove me wrong or perhaps tell me it's nothing but folly. I just wanted to keep myself in that illusion for just a bit longer.

"You never know if you never try, right?" I said.

Matt's lips thinned. Oh boy, there goes my peaceful and quiet time.

"Why bother to gather evidence on those two anyway? Phobos nearly destroyed his country and Cedric tried to do the same to Heatherfield and Kandrakar. I think there is enough prove they are completely evil."

Irma threw out her hands at him, giving me a look that told me this was proof she wasn't the only one who thought like this. I couldn't argue either. They were right. Cedric and Phobos probably had not one single redeeming quality. That was honestly not what I was looking for though. I needed one simple answer. One I probably wouldn't get that easily. It was a question that had come to haunt me when I browsed the book I'd gotten from Elyon. One of the last pages spoke about the Heart of Meridian and its powers. I knew its primary power was light, but the book explained why. Aside from that titbit of new information, something else struck me as peculiar. The book also explained the consequences of breaking a vow made on the Heart. If one broke a vow made on the Heart of Meridian, one of three options could happen. The first would be a total loss of memory, the second was a loss of all magical power one possessed and the final would be death. What option would happen would depend on if the vow breaker had magic at all, how terrible the breaking of the vow would be to the one it was vowed to and what the intentions were for breaking it. Knowing this, it struck me as odd that Phobos wilfully broke his oath to me and still wished to enter Kandrakar. I had no illusion that Phobos had never read the book. Cedric must have, as he knew the consequences. While I knew Phobos was arrogant, he couldn't possibly think that he was above that vow. I refused to believe that. So, my question was. Why did he want to step into Kandrakar?

I shrugged, much to the irritation of my table companions. My reply was cut short when two of our teachers started shouting. During lunch, there were always two teachers overseeing us. In case something happened, of course. This time they were the cause of the ruckus. Collins and Horseberg finally broke into the fight that had been smouldering ever since a large group of students, along with Knickerbocker and Sylla went to Redstone. Horseberg was the new maths teacher, who'd taken Mrs. Rudolphs place at our school. I hated maths, but Mrs. Rudolphs at least tried to make me understand. Horseberg kept berating me on how I could not understand the simple fundamentals. Not really a teacher of the year. His ego wasn't something to look down upon either. After Knickerbocker left, he has been stalking the hallways for loitering students. He'd even gone as far as to proclaim Sheffield to be his school. Collins, as our temporary headmaster, was not amused by it. He'd overheard us when Irma complained to me about him, saying she was actually missing Knickerbocker. Collins, how docile he might seem, had a nasty side to him as well. For he replied to Irma that Horseberg was Knickerbocker, without the wig. He said it loud enough to be heard by everyone in the hallway, Horseberg included. That time Horseberg let it go. However, now another spat had broken out between them and it resulted in a full on fist fight.

As multiple students started rooting for their favourite teacher – Collins got a lot of support – a few ran off to get responsible adults. Irma was already standing in her chair to get a better look. Matt and I joined her in time to see Collins deck Horseberg. A collective wince went through the room before the shouting returned. Much more didn't happen. One of the French and gym teachers came and broke them up. Horseberg threatened Collins to make one more joke about his face, to which Collins spat and laughed. We were instructed to continue our lunch as the two teachers were dragged away.

"I really like Collins," Irma said with a grin.

I replied the grin. "He's not bad," I admitted.

We settled back in our seats. Matt seemed to have cooled down and I thanked whoever orchestrated that distraction.

"But why are you going?"

Crap, he didn't forget. I sighed and tried my best to keep a straight face. He didn't need to know my personal reason. So I would give him the least satisfying one.

"It's an order, Matt. We're still Guardians of Kandrakar. That means obeying every once in a while."

It was not just Matt who made a face. Irma too disliked what I'd said if her more forceful prodding of her food was any indication. I could see her mimic my words under her breath, while ramming her fork in a bit of chicken. I wasn't necessarily agreeing with what I'd said, but it was the truth nonetheless. Matt's sigh told me I'd won this round. Arguing about my tasks as Guardian was a never ending argument and he knew it.

"Shall I come along? Just in case?"

I smiled at him and kissed him on his cheek. "I would love it, but I believe you have some very needed chemistry tutoring. I've got Irma, don't worry."

He slumped a tad when I mentioned his chemistry. Another sigh left him. A good thing I wasn't going to a fight or he wouldn't have let me go. But both Frost and Miranda were in a cell. And both benefited from having the space to move. I'd be fine.

"Yeah, don't forget we took on criminals on our own. Where were you when guns were pointed at us, huh pretty boy?"

I rolled my eyes at Irma. Matt turned red. That all had happened when we'd been arguing and he still felt particularly bad for letting that happen. Even though I didn't get hurt. I leaned into him in an attempt to distract him again. Our hands interlocked and I smiled at him. He was perhaps a worrywart, but he did it for me. He was just considerate. I couldn't imagine how my mission from Kandrakar would cause any kind of friction between me and Matt. I doubted that any secret of Phobos could make me sway. Maybe, just maybe, Jewell was wrong.

Our lunch continued calmly. I had a quiet study session during history, where Collins was nursing a black eye. Now I wondered if he would tell mom when I came back, or if he did it in the small period of time between her getting home and me being picked up. If he would tell her. I really wondered how he would break the news to my mom. As if Collins knew what I was thinking, he purposefully avoided me. It was at least a quiet lesson with no homework afterwards. Horseberg's class was on the other side of the spectrum. He was particularly vindictive to those who dared to open their mouth outside of a question asked. Smiling resulted in detention. And don't get me started on the amount of homework we got. He barely refrained from telling us to finish the whole chapter. Now I had twenty-five problems, all with an 'a', 'b', 'c' and 'd' part, due for Wednesday. Which meant that I had time for one trip to Meridian and perhaps one swimming practice, but the rest of my time would be spend doing work of hell. Great start of the week.

So you can imagine my mood when I met up with Irma after school. The only thing that made it slightly better, was her own sour expression that matched mine. It sucked having maths on a Monday. We both fired away into a rant regarding Horseberg, with Irma proposing a little magic adjustment. While very tempting, I had to decline. It would only be highly suspicious if the man suddenly had a change of heart. About that, Irma hoped I'd have one about visiting Meridian. While I did think about it, I decided against postponing. I'd rather have it over with now. And knowing myself, I might continue postponing until we're almost at the time limit.

With one final kiss to Matt, and an assurance I would be careful, Irma and I left for Meridian. Having learned from the previous times I had folded us to the throne room, I decided it was best to appear at the palace gates and in Guardian form. I'd rather not have a sulking Lyonak claim we were unprofessional. The guards sheathed their weapons upon seeing us. We entered without much ado and were greeted by one of the maids who tends the place. She was kind enough to lead us to where Elyon was. Along the way she filled us in about the gossip around the palace. A lot of it was about which guard did which maid, who frequently stole something from the pantry, where two maids were caught having some time to themselves and stuff like that. It didn't really interest me, but Irma seemed to humour the woman by asking a little more information once in a while. The gossip train stopped once we entered a hall. I could see a couple of guards in front of one of the doors. Interrupting a juicy story about one of Drake's attempts at wooing a woman, I inquired whether or not we could find Elyon there. The maid was a tad irritated for not being able to finish her story, but nodded. As I took off, Irma promised her to return to hear the end of it. The only thing I wondered was if either Caleb or Elyon were aware of this.

"I thought you wanted to get this over with quick?" I said while we made our way to the door.

Irma shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time I didn't finish my homework. Besides, I know too little of what happens here. Caleb isn't exactly what you'd call a source of information regarding the people in the palace."

"You just want to know things about Drake or Aldarn so you can tease them, don't you?"

"You know me so well."

I rolled my eyes as both guards saluted and stepped aside. It felt good not having to explain why we wanted to talk to their queen. I dared to bet that even Lyonak wasn't around at the moment. The relaxed postures told me as much. The guards opened the doors for us and there I saw a rare sight. Usually when we visited Elyon, she was having an audience with someone or in discussion with her adoptive parents. Now she was bent over a bunch of papers, a quill in her hands and a frown on her face. From what I gathered from the room, I'd say we were about to enter her study. Books were lined along the walls, which she probably hasn't read yet. A large desk stood in front of an equally large window, with view on the gardens. A few cosy chairs were placed in front of the desk, with another one where Elyon was seated. The room itself had a warm atmosphere to it, with the fireplace on the side and a red rug on the floor.

At the opening of the doors, Elyon looked up. She had the makings of bags underneath her eyes and looked at her guards with droopy eyes before they settled on us. As they did, a tired smile appeared first. Her lips soon dropped the smile and started to purse. She nodded at the guards and ushered us in, at which the doors closed behind us. She stretched a bit and looked at us.

"Irma, Will. I didn't expect you two to come. Where are the others?" she said, gesturing us to sit down.

"Probably sleeping or something," Irma said while taking a chair.

Elyon raised an eyebrow as I rolled my eyes, sitting beside Irma. As I did, I noticed that while multiple sheets were scribbled with English, there was also a small pile next to a book with small drawings on them. Judging by how they were drawn, I reckoned it was probably the new language Elyon was learning.

"Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin are at Redstone Academy, for an exchange program. As it is kinda across the country, they can't join us."

Elyon's eyes brightened. I'm certain she knew something about it. No way Cornelia wouldn't inform her about it. Or Caleb.

"Oh yeah. Is that now? Sorry, I haven't been…. Why are you here?"

The one thing I didn't like about being in Guardian form when visiting Elyon was that she became a tad more formal with us. She knew we usually only arrived transformed if there was trouble or if Kandrakar wanted something. She wasn't off in that assumption, but it made for poor conversations.

"Relax queenie, just coming to ask if we can talk to a few of your prisoners."

Elyon pursed her lips at the nickname Irma had given her. Eyes narrowed slightly and I could see her think whether it would be useless to tell Irma off about it. She probably decided it would be as she turned to me, asking once again for more information. I gave Irma a soft nudge.

"If you explain things, do it completely or don't. Now you're just unnecessarily enigmatic."

Irma grinned and winked. I only sighed before turning back to Elyon.

"You're brother and Cedric will have their trial soon. Kandrakar wanted us to collect evidence on their misdeeds."

Elyon's face clouded for a moment. She slowly placed her quill down and crossed her arms.

"And you need to talk to prisoners for that? I can easily give you an account of what both of them did."

I cringed. I had no doubt that Elyon could indeed give me the information Kandrakar wanted, but it wasn't what I needed. I fidgeted a bit before answering her.

"True, your account will also be taken, but it is something we can get easily. And it might be skewed due to…what happened. To get a full picture, we need to hear the story from every side."

I wasn't certain if that convinced her. She hadn't reacted to what I'd said. She merely kept on staring. Was she expecting to see a hint that I was lying? She'd probably had better luck if I had been lying.

"And who do you want to speak?"

Thank god she believed me. I did not fancy an argument whether or not her account would be enough. She wasn't happy with it though. That much was obvious.

"Miranda and Frost."

Her lips turned to thin lines when I mentioned Miranda. I didn't know what she was expecting. Miranda was Cedric's lover – that gave me shivers just thinking about it – and Frost had been loyal to both Phobos and Cedric. Anyone else she had imprisoned were not capable of making proper sentences. Now that I thought about it, Irma and I should probably also take the account of Raythor. It had been particularly difficult to sway his loyalty, so perhaps he might know some more about the wayward Prince.

Elyon took a new piece of paper and started scrawling something down. She rolled it up and dropped some wax on it before stamping it a bit hard. She then extended it to me. Her eyes were still narrowed and unusually sharp for someone bordering sleep deprivation. I accepted the scroll with a pleasant smile, however she wasn't letting go of it just yet.

"Hand this to the guard at the prison. He will give you some time alone with those two. And be careful not to believe everything she says."

With that, Elyon released the scroll. I nodded and got up. Elyon only mentioned Miranda in her warning. She never told much about her relationship with the girl, but somehow I felt that there was more than acquaintances. Especially seeing how Miranda and Elyon never fought before.

"We won't, don't worry," Irma said, already up and ready to leave.

"Thank you, we'll keep you posted on what we find," I said.

Elyon nodded and gestured us out. As we left I looked behind me. Elyon had abandoned her work and was looking out of the window. When the doors closed behind me, I noticed that Irma had seen it too. We said goodbye to the guards and made our way towards the gates.

"Reckon something happened between those two?"

I shrugged. "Seemed that way. Doubt she'd share it with us."

"Maybe Cornelia does," Irma said.

"Maybe. Might send her a text about it when we're back."

The topic fell silent as the gates came into view. Queasiness was slowly trying to overwhelm me. This was worse than having to do a presentation in front of the class. We would probably meet only resistance and scepticism. And if we were unlucky, we would have to return another time to get the information.

We teletransported to the entrance of the prison. Fashioned by the real Mage from Meridian, it was located behind waterfalls. Invisible to those who did not know where to look. The guards had a small outpost beside the lake, well obscured by natural outcroppings. They were at least alert. The moment we appeared, men ran at us with spears. They stopped once they recognized us. I handed the captain the scroll Elyon had given to us and he guided us inside.

The interior of the prison was similar to what the Infinite City looked like. The cells were each barred by lightning – not Quintessence – and behind those bars I could see the Lurdens cowering. The moment we entered, a wave of fear washed over me. I stopped and took a sharp breath. This hadn't happened before. It had come unexpected and I found myself trembling.

"Will?"

Irma's voice sounded distant. I wasn't focussing. I shook my head slowly, swallowing away what felt like a sob. It wasn't just fear I felt. Loneliness pressed down on me. It felt as if my heart was pushed down, with something heavy leaning on my chest. I pressed my hand on my chest to help alleviate some of it. It didn't and I only started to shake more. Memories of before Heatherfield started to push up. Days where I was locked in my room while my parents argued. Where my old friends left me behind and ignored me. I shook my head. I needed to concentrate. I couldn't falter now.

A warm hand took a hold of my arm and I looked right into the concerned eyes of Irma. Her being here, with me, was enough to startle me out of the unpleasant flashbacks I was having. It gave me enough strength to pull myself out of the waves of fear and loneliness. I looked around, seeing the Lurdens hiding away in the shadows of their cells. For the first time I could read their facial expressions. I read the same emotions with which I was being overwhelmed with.

Irma guided me out and sat me on a rock nearby. I took a couple of fresh breaths, grateful to have the barrier of water between me and them. I leaned my head into my hands and waited for the heavy feeling to reside.

"What happened to you?"

I wasn't ready yet to look up. I took another deep breath instead. "I...I was surprised, nothing more."

"Bullshit. Will, don't hide stuff from me. After what happened in Arkhanta I'm not going to let you off easily. I know when you're surprised and that wasn't it. You looked like you were ready to cry and pass out."

I winced at Irma's berating. It was unlike her to do it, but I guess without Taranee or Cornelia nearby who usually took that role upon themselves, she did. I took another deep breath and finally looked up. The guard who'd let us in was a little end away, to give us some privacy. Irma stood right next to me, her arms crossed and her face creased with worry and anger. I closed my eyes shortly and breathed loudly through my nose.

"I was surprised. I didn't expect such a...turmoil of emotions."

The anger resided, but concern was still there. This time accompanied with scepticism. She crouched beside me.

"Emotions? What kind of? Whose? Does it normally bother you like this?"

I shook my head and gestured her to calm down. I was alive and well, no need to be like this.

"I was overwhelmed by loneliness and fear. And I'm thinking it came from the Lurdens."

With that I got up and stretched a bit. Looking back at Irma I shrugged.

"Usually I can sense emotions, but not this heavy. I think...hope it's because it was heavily concentrated."

"Don't shrug it off. It's clearly a problem. What if we face a group of people who are really pissed at us?"

I cracked a grin, hoping it might calm her down for a bit. "If it is as concentrated as what I felt there…Then I probably get pissed. It would suck for our enemies."

Irma crossed her arms. "Will, I'm serious. How are you expecting to control that?"

I shook my head, looking at the ground as I did.

"I wouldn't know. But I'll manage, I promise," I said, looking back at Irma. "For now, let's just lead the two out. I think I can manage a lightning cage."

"You sure? Because I can imagine they'd make a run for it."

I was glad Irma wasn't returning to our previous topic. Looking at her, I could see she really wanted to. I wondered what was stopping her from doing so. I sparked my hands and nodded.

"I'm betting on it. That's why you go along with the guard and I'll wait for you outside. You still good with water whips?"

Irma grinned and nodded, before leaving me for the guard. I sighed deeply. This was not how I expected this day to go. More limitations and difficulties were adding to my list and I wondered if there would soon be another two week break. I really could use one.

I flew up, getting a better view and giving the impression I had left. If Miranda or Frost would storm out, they would not expect my lightning cage. I waited patiently. It took a while and I wondered if Irma was doubting who she'd take. It was taking longer than I expected. I was on the verge of contacting Irma telepathically when the waterfall split open. To my surprise, Miranda stepped out followed by the guard and Irma. Miranda was tied in Irma's water whip, but she seemed almost docile in moving out. The moment the waterfall closed behind them was when I created a lightning cage around Miranda. The water dropped and I landed, facing a bored looking girl.

"Here she is. Surprisingly without a hitch," Irma said.

Miranda lifted her nose. "Of course. I've seen you two enter. I'm not stupid enough to think I can run and risk not being electrocuted."

I shot Irma a glance, who had raised her eyebrow. She looked at me and shrugged. I turned my gaze back to Miranda, who seemed to be in an awful good mood as she smiled smugly at me.

"What?" I said.

"Nothing," she replied, grinning maliciously. "Just trying to imprint the sight of a writhing Guardian Leader in my mind. You don't see that often, you know? Just wish it had been me who caused it."

I balled my hands as she grinned at me. I had hoped she wouldn't have seen it. Guess that was not the case. Irma growled beside me.

"Why you little…"

"Come now Guardian. Even you must admit it was quite a surprise. And all because the little Keeper started shaking. What got to you, hmm? Sudden rush of humanity when seeing those poor Lurdens locked up? So you do have a heart!"

I swallowed as I looked at her. It was taunting, the kind I had expected, but there was more to it. Did Miranda view us as heartless? I'd never expected to hear that. She was the one harming people, harming us! Who was calling who black?

"Like you're one to talk. You seem a lot more chatty here than inside. Maybe I made a mistake of bringing you out."

Miranda paled a tad when Irma spoke. Her eyes didn't shift their gaze from me, but for a moment I saw a tinge of fear. I felt it too. So Miranda didn't seem to be too keen on returning either. Good. That was something I could use.

"Well, you went through all the trouble to get her here. Let's have a chat anyway," I said, before sitting on the rock I'd previously used.

Irma huffed and remained standing, glaring Miranda down. I inwardly grinned at what she was doing. I hoped the good cop, bad cop routine wasn't so normal here as it was on Earth, because we were apparently doing that. Miranda decidedly ignored Irma and sat down as well, her eyes trained on me. I straightened my face as much as I could. I had a feeling she was looking for a new moment of weakness and I was not going to give her another moment she could cherish forever.

"We're here because we have a few questions for you," I started.

"And what makes you think I want to answer them?"

Good point, but not one I hadn't thought of. I had to, seeing how Irma kept making the same point.

"Several reasons, really. One, you get to have some revenge on Phobos. Two, you might lessen whatever sentence Cedric might get…"

Here Miranda scoffed. I filed that away for later questions, but it was interesting. I'd thought those two had a romance of some kind. Had I been mistaken? Or was she simply trying to make it look like she didn't care?

"And finally, depending on how well you're working with us, there might be a future beyond those bars."

Here Miranda's eyes widened notably. Irma had the decency to say nothing, but a strong telepathic knock made it clear she wanted more information. I opened the connection while Miranda was taking in what I'd just said.

"Will…You aren't offering her amnesty, are you?"

"Why not? It would definitely make her reconsider lying to us."

Irma huffed. "Because she's evil! You can't release her just because she was a good girl for two minutes!"

"I never said we'd do that. But look at her Irma! She's what? Twelve? Thirteen maybe? Chances are she was as much of a victim of the whole brainwashing thing as Elyon was. It wouldn't be fair."

"Good luck convincing Elyon about that."

Irma closed our connection and as I stole a glance, it was clear she was begrudgingly agreeing. Even she couldn't get it over her heart to keep a child locked up forever.

I turned my attention back on Miranda. She'd stopped looking at me. Instead she was studying the ground and still clearly deep in thoughts. I regretted not having Taranee with me right now, but I had to make do. I cleared my throat and she looked back at me. Her eyes held suspicion, but there was a glimmer of hope. Good, hopefully it was enough to push her to be truthful.

"So let's begin. What's your age?"

Perhaps a ridiculous question, seeing as it had little to do with the information we really needed. But if she was indeed twelve or thirteen, I had to take everything she said with caution. Whether she lied or not, she could exaggerate. Miranda seemed to agree it was a strange question. For a moment she pulled up a corner of her mouth, as if she wanted to point it out. However, she seemed to rethink that course of action.

"I'm seventeen winters old," she said.

Winters. Strange way of keeping tabs on when you were born but…. Wait. Seventeen? I looked at her again. She had to be younger than me. She was shorter and there was no sign of any female development. Irma snorted loudly.

"Like we're supposed to believe that," she said. "If you're going to lie to us, please try it with something we can't see."

Miranda turned red and looked down. She hugged her body a bit as her shoulders slumped.

"It's true! I..I just haven't …"

I held up my hand. Irma was sceptical, but I had noticed the flare of shame that had gone through Miranda. I'd heard about late-bloomers, but Miranda was definitely cutting the cake.

"So you're saying this is your human form? You have no other?"

If possible her cheeks reddened even more at my question. Despite the new surge of shame, she looked up at me and nodded. I thought this conversation would be difficult, but Miranda was surprisingly easy to read. I got a better read on her emotions than with Irma.

"Are you a magic user?"

"No."

I raised an eyebrow. She huffed as she saw it. Crossing her arms, she half turned away.

"I'm sorry for being sceptical, but we did witness you transform into a big spider," I clarified.

Miranda shrugged in response. "Believe it or not, but that's something I could do since I remember. Trust me, if I had magic I would have used it against you lot a long time ago. My only experience with it was when Cedric…"

Her words died away, as if what she wanted to bring up was painful. I saw her clench her fists before turning back to me. Her eyes stared right at me as she clenched her jaw. I nodded. Being sceptical about every answer would stop making her cooperate and there was no use in getting her angry.

"When did you start working for Phobos?"

Miranda shrugged. "Dunno. I was four winters when Cedric took me with him. Somewhere between then and now I'd say."

"You're being very helpful," Irma said.

The sarcasm was dripping from it, something Miranda noticed as well. New red stained her cheeks. She started to rub her upper arm as she looked away. For a moment she said nothing. I thought I saw her shake for a little while but she soon stared me in the eyes. It felt as if she was trying to convince me rather than Irma. There was something in her eyes, a look I was quite familiar with. I swallowed as we locked eyes, her desperate purple eyes meeting my confused browns.

"I was taken in, okay? I remember precious little from before I was taken. I know I had parents. And, according to Cedric, they were murdered along with my village."

Her voice was harsh, pained. I glanced at Irma. She still wore her sceptical expression. However the disbelieving smirk she'd worn had faded. Her lips were now tightly pressed together. I turned my attention to Miranda, who shivered again. She was hugging her shoulders now and her eyes were unfocused. Was she remembering something?

"Who murdered your village?"

I hoped she'd said Phobos or Cedric. It would already build a case against them. My question snapped her out of her daze. She bared her teeth as she growled out the answer.

"People from nearby villages. We were too big a risk."

I shared a confused look with Irma, who replied in kind. I'd always known there was more to the war but this was very vague.

"Why were you…"

I never finished my question. Anger bubbled up within me and I watch Miranda lashing out. She got up and glared at me with the anger I was familiar with. However, it seemed stronger this time. Spite was mixed with it. The bars gave her a slight shock as an accusing finger was pointed at me. Irma was already reacting by gathering water around us.

"Because we were different! We could transform, but no. We were monsters. You are the same but they all worship the ground you walk on! We…"

The power of her anger disappeared. Her eyes widened again as if in realisation. She let herself fall down, sitting once again opposite of me. She placed her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook for a moment and despair took the place anger had left.

"We were the same as Cedric. They feared we would join Phobos and tried to prevent it…"

It was a whisper, more to herself than to us. I looked at her and noticed her eyes glazing over again. She disappeared into her memories once more. I took this moment to get up and stand with Irma, with my back to Miranda.

"You believe any of this?" I asked.

Irma shrugged. "I really don't want to, but she can't be that good an actor, can she? Though I must admit, I didn't expect her to be this open to us. It is a bit suspicious."

"Unless she really believes we could help her out of jail. We haven't exactly broken a deal before, so I guess she hopes this isn't our first time doing so."

Irma gave me a grin, her teeth showing a little. "A deal with the devil huh? You do have a track record of making deals and keeping them."

I rolled my eyes, but I was glad she agreed. I'd never guessed that those deals I made in the past would be useful now. While I doubted she knew about my vow with Nerissa, she'd seen me honour my agreement with Phobos, going as far as releasing her and Cedric.

"Why did they take you in?"

I had to repeat the question. Miranda barely reacted as I'd uttered it the first time. She blinked confused and for a moment I thought I'd lost her. However, she pulled herself together and returned to glaring at me. Well sorry for reminding you of a bad childhood, I thought as I glared back.

"Cedric took me along. They never said why, but you've figured it out yourself, don't you? After all, I'm just like him."

I could point out to her that she was giving me more information than Cedric ever would, but I wisely remained silent. I noticed again the spite in her voice as she spoke of Cedric. I really wanted to know what happened between those two, but I wasn't sure whether she would share it with us. Maybe I should ask the guard if they'd noticed something.

"Sheesh, for someone in love with the snake, you sure are spiteful when you talk about him."

I should have realized Irma had noticed it as well. I looked upwards, wondering why Irma couldn't stay silent for just a little longer. I heard my cage spark again, with a soft hiss from Miranda. A new spark of anger coursed through me. I looked just in time to see her retreat from the bars, though her glare was obvious. She turned her head and crossed her arms.

"None of your business, Guardian," she said.

I glanced at Irma, who seemed to be amused. I rolled my eyes as she crossed her own arms, while looking down on Miranda.

"I beg the differ. You see, we have to consider that everything you say about him is to protect him. So you can drop your little charade of acting like you hate him. We were there when you two professed your love. It was gross."

I sighed. Of course Irma would bring that up. If only to spite Miranda a bit more. And it seemed to have worked. Again did she stand up. Her face got close to the bars and I swear her look could have killed Irma if she possessed the power to do so.

"You know what? I don't care! Do you want to hear what an asshole he's been? Why do you think all of the maids in the castle were rarely seen? Not because Phobos couldn't stand other people. They were afraid of him! I wouldn't be surprised if half of the kids that were born to those women are his bastards. That is, the kids that weren't killed at birth because their mothers were ashamed. He used his charms on the queen to get her here and he used me. Because I was like him he thought he could control me! And the worst thing of all? He did."

I might not have Taranee to read minds, or Hay Lin to verify the truth, but I couldn't deny that Irma also knew how to get the job done. That was an emotional discharge if I'd ever seen one. I was certain I'd never managed to get that out of her. As Miranda was breathing heavier after spewing her feelings, I too took a deep breath. My heart raced alongside hers and I felt an anger that burnt fiercely. I wondered if she'd ever felt that for us. Though I had a feeling that the anger was more directed at herself rather than towards Cedric. She certainly looked disgusted. I couldn't blame her either. Even as much as adoring Cedric was just gross.

I nodded at Irma, who was rather pleased with herself. Her smile grew a tad and nodded in return. I took another deep breath and steadied myself. I couldn't let her anger take control of me. I had to stay calm. Miranda's breathing too seemed to slow down and I was grateful she too seemed to think that she needed to stay in control.

"How did you come to work for Phobos? I can hardly believe he allowed a child to be taken in by Cedric."

Miranda pouted. There was still a hint of anger, but her face was calm. She was good at keeping her face straight at least.

"Cedric didn't take me in. He took me with him. Phobos decided I had to be raised by some of the maids."

"You're supposed to be a maid?" Irma said. "Phobos allowed you to stay for that?"

Miranda crossed her arms again, glaring once more at us. Almost as if she wanted us to laugh at her. She seemed to expect it. However, Irma's question had been one of surprise. I joined in the sentiment. I'd never expected Phobos to take pity on a child and have her raised by the maids.

"I know how they work, okay? It was Cedric who convinced him I could be of greater service. And so I…I was ordered to befriend the queen."

Oh, now I understood Elyon's warning. I'd never known this. But it did clear up some of the rancour Elyon showed whenever Miranda was brought up. If anything, it was a plain betrayal of Elyon's good nature.

"Why?" I heard myself ask.

Miranda shrugged. "Phobos didn't want her to be homesick to you lot. Said it would hamper her growth. And he guessed she could use someone around her age to you know. Help her along?"

"And you were the only one of her age at the castle?"

Miranda's lips pressed together as her brow furrowed. She slowly shook her head and then shrugged again. "No, as I said, half of the kids in the servants' quarters are probably Cedric's spawn. There's probably a few around our age. But you know what they say about good servants. Their work must be seen, but they do not."

"What made you so special?" Irma said.

I think Miranda had decided to start ignoring Irma. I couldn't blame her. Once Irma got to you, you'd be terrified to open up like that again. Good thing Irma hadn't been gloating about it or I wouldn't have gotten anything out of her. Though, Irma was right. Why did Phobos choose Miranda over a different maid? Could it simply be because she could transform and thus hold Elyon hostage if need be? I doubted it was for Elyon's protection, or she would have been told about her new friend's abilities. And I remember her telling us she'd not known what Miranda was until she revealed it herself.

"Did Phobos give you any orders regarding Elyon?"

Again a shrug. Was she really this disinterested or merely taking the time to build up the walls Irma had smashed in? Either way, she took her time with formulating an answer.

"I had to keep her busy and keep my transformation a secret. And whenever something popped up that would make you look like heroes and Phobos like a villain, I had to twist it. Oh, and protect her as nothing was allowed to happen to her before the coronation. Not that it mattered anyway…"

If Phobos hadn't tried to rob Elyon of her powers and life, and hadn't told Miranda to twist the truth, I would almost say he'd been concerned about the wellbeing of his sister. And though he had been lying to Elyon, deceiving her and what not. He had not lied to Miranda. She'd known what was coming. It was almost as if… No, that was too absurd. Even so…

"Miranda, did you have any friends in the castle?"

"Is that really something we need to know?" Irma interrupted.

I waved her off, my eyes intently focussed on Miranda. She'd shaken a bit when I asked, before sitting up rigidly. Her nose went into the air and she looked away, her eyes closed.

"I didn't need them, if you need to know. They knew I was different and I did not need to mingle with those idiots in the kitchen."

There it was again, though it was faint. In the prison it had been heavier, but I recognized the emotion. After all, I used to be intimately familiar with it. Loneliness seeped from Miranda as she spoke. Her posture said otherwise. Was she aware of what she felt or was she even oblivious to that? Even so, I had one final question.

"Why did you betray Phobos?"

She looked spiteful at me. Her expression almost shouted at me if I were stupid. Her shoulders hunched up for a short moment before she balled her hands.

"He did it first."

I'd thought her to lack a sense of loyalty. She was after all quick to change sides, as long as it promised her a future. Maybe there was more to her than I first thought. It was certainly a reason to explain it to Elyon. Who knew. I got up and looked down at her.

"Thank you for your answers. Irma and the guard will lead you back to your cell."

Miranda's eyes widened again, her lip trembled for a second. She steeled herself and stood up as well, staring me in the eye.

"You keep your word, Guardian?"

I stared at her. There was hope in her purple eyes, making them look more lively than I remembered. My heart felt heavy as I nodded to her.

"Of course. Though it depends on the Queen whether or not she will listen."

The flicker of hope seemed to dim. Miranda's shoulders slouched as she held out her hands. I dropped the cage, to which Irma immediately reacted by capturing her with a water whip. I watched her being taken away, feeling strangely sad. I hadn't expected this much out of Miranda. Maybe if my powers hadn't taken a turn for the worse, with all the emotion sensing, I wouldn't have read so much into it as I had now. The things she'd said hadn't been necessarily helpful on face value, though they left me with some new questions. The one thing that mostly intrigued me was why Miranda had been treated like she had been by Phobos. From what I glanced after Phobos' fall, I wouldn't think either of them would care about the other. Yet Phobos must have had reasons to put Miranda as Elyon's fake friend. I wondered if I could get those out of him.

I took the air again once Irma notified me of her capture of Frost. He was a lot more rowdier than Miranda. Which was proven when he came from the waterfall. He burst through and I really wondered what was going on in his mind. After all, he knew Irma was the Guardian of water. He knew she could control it. Or was he simply not aware that the waterfall existed out of water? Whatever it was, the moment his form came through the waterfall, the waterfall stopped. Instead it wrapped completely around him. Irma appeared behind him, a smug grin plastered to her face. She rolled her eyes as Frost desperately tried to swim out of it. Bubbles were escaping his mouth as the water kept him in its grasp.

"Irma, put him down!"

I could see her pout. I shook my head. I understood why she was amused, but it was bullying. Even if the guy nearly killed us on multiple occasions, she shouldn't punish him like this. The moment she put him on the ground, I raised a new cage. The water dissipated and Frost took the chance of running again. His instincts must have warned him, for he halted inches in front of the cage bars. He coughed up water while his dark eyes looked up to me. I landed in front of him. A snarl escaped his lips and he snorted like a wild beast. I would almost forget that this was the man who had hidden himself on Earth and had managed to capture three of my Guardians while blackmailing the fourth.

"Guardian," he growled.

I nodded in response. I looked him over. His usual garbs were beginning to lose their colour. I was glad there was no stench coming from him. That would make our conversation a tad more comfortable. He breezed at me, some spit flew past the bars as he did.

"Where is Crimson?"

It took me a moment to remember where I'd heard the name before. It had been a while since I'd heard it and I was certain it had been Frost who'd uttered the name on previous occasions.

"Who?" Irma asked.

"My steed!"

He didn't have to roar it, though I was grateful for his reminder. It was the extremely hostile rhinoceros he rode into battle. The one that nearly skewered me during his time as a Knight of Vengeance. Really not one of my favourite animals. Irma rolled her shoulders, muttering something about how she was supposed to know. I shrugged it off, giving Frost a surprised look.

"Why do you…"

I never finished my sentence. Frost took a step closer as lightning crackled in the anticipation of him trying to trespass the barrier. He didn't. Instead he bared his teeth at me.

"If you've hurt him in anyway, I will make your deaths slow and painful and I will enjoy it."

I sighed. Of course the big maniac had a soft spot for his animal companion. While it was good to know he was at least not a complete monster, it made this conversation already more tiresome than I wanted it to be. I lowered my hands, indicating him to calm down.

"I don't know. What I can do is see if you're allowed to see him if you comply to my request."

He snorted and spit on the ground. He lacked the manners Miranda had showed, but seemed to be more in control of his emotions. I was at least not overwhelmed by the sheer anger and disdain he had to have for me. I could feel it boil within him, but that was it. It was as if I was placing my hand on a glass, behind which a storm brewed. Whatever he was doing, I was grateful for it. I don't think anger would have gotten us an answer. Plus I might either harm Irma or the guard if I couldn't control myself.

"Why should I trust you?"

I couldn't blame him for being suspicious. We've been enemies for a long while. And he didn't seem to be the person to trust on words alone. So, even if I made a promise on the Heart, he wouldn't understand the true meaning of it. I looked at him, his dark eyes glaring me down. He reminded me of movie characters. Barbarians from a Scottish movie I think, or a would-be Scottish movie anyway. They didn't speak with words, but actions. What could I do to prove him he could trust my word?

"Will!"

Irma yelled out in alarm as I closed in on the cage. I wasn't afraid he would break through. If he could, he would have done it already. I stood tall and squared my shoulders, looking at him. Irma rested a hand on my shoulder, attempting to pull me away. I shook my head, while not breaking my eye contact with Frost. Frost seemed to sense I was trying something. His snarl was still there, but there was curiosity in his gaze. I took a deep breath and stuck my hand through the bars. Lightning crackled, but as it was my own magic it did not harm me. I held out my hand, gesturing him to take it. Frost had taken a step back. He eyed me cautiously. His gaze followed the lightning that sparked around my arm to my outstretched hand. His lips curled into a grin and he barked a laugh. Now I stiffened as he clamped his large arm around mine. It was not necessarily the handshake I had in mind. His hand enveloped my entire arm and for a moment I truly forgot I possessed the strength to knock him to the ground. I felt small in front of him. He stared me down, a dangerous smile playing on his lips. I could feel him increasing pressure on my arm. I flinched before realising it wasn't hurting. I returned the gesture and saw surprise flicker in his eyes. We shook and when he let go, I wasted no second on retreating my own arm. It still worked fine. I doubted I would bruise. Frost looked surprised at his own arm, where I now noticed the beginning of five small bruises on his arm. Didn't expect that, did you?

"You are insane and if you ever do something like that, I will make an indent in your head! Are we clear?"

I looked at Irma, who was giving me one of her angriest glares. Only now did I notice she was still pulling my shoulder. I smiled sheepishly at her, preparing for another set of angry questions. I could feel her worry and anger bubble up within her.

"Shit Will. First you nearly get killed. Then you pass out in the prison and now you what? Thought it to be a good idea to play 'break an arm' with Frost? I don't even know how I'm going to tell the others about this! They will have a fit!"

"Irma, calm down. Nothing happened. Besides I wasn't playing with him. I…"

My response didn't have to be finished. Frost barked another laugh, shaking his arm slightly. His overall temper seemed to have doused as he let himself fall down in a lotus position.

"Guardian, I might have misjudged you. What is your request?"

Irma gave me a puzzled look. I however, was relieved. It was a form of trust to shake your enemy's hand. Never before had I been so glad that the movies weren't wrong about everything. While his shake was more than I'd expected, with the whole arm clamping, he accepted it. I gave Irma a short telepathic reply that I would explain after this ordeal and sat opposite of him.

"I want you to answer some questions, truthfully. I will return another time and ask you them again and I expect similar answers then."

He huffed.

"Only that in return for Crimson?"

I held up a hand. "I said you could see him. I doubt that even I could pull enough strings to give him back to you."

He bared his teeth again. A flash of anger appeared in his eyes. He knotted his eyebrows together and grinded his teeth, clearly thinking this over.

"Fine. What are your questions?"

I kept myself from sighing in relief. I finally had some respect from the brute. Now was not the time to show him I actually expected nothing out of this.

"Do you come from Meridian? I haven't seen anyone like you here."

Frost shook his head. "I'm part of a tribe in the mountains in the east. Left cause the leadership and I didn't see eye to eye."

Irma snorted and even I couldn't suppress a smile. What I'd heard from Raythor was that Frost had a problem with leadership, period. Still, he had been incredibly loyal to Phobos up till Cedric ate him.

"Why did you serve Phobos?"

"He was the only man Lord Cedric bowed to. Certainly, he had to be powerful to keep such a man under his control."

I raised an eyebrow. "You seek power in a leader?"

He rasped his throat and spit again, crossing his arms. He gave me an intriguing look.

"Of course! A weak leader will lead his tribe to ruin. Like that weakling of a Rapture…"

I could only guess who this Rapture was. He was at least not important for the questions I had. It was obvious Frost only respected Phobos because he respected Cedric. It did explain the sudden change of alliance when Cedric ate Phobos. But honestly, Phobos didn't even look strong. Didn't he even had his doubts?

"You could easily beat him in a fistfight," I said.

Frost nodded. I was surprised he wasn't barking at me for disrespecting Phobos.

"Yeah, I know that now. But back then… He was a god. I was beaten and bloodied by Lord Cedric but when he dragged me to the Prince, he still bowed. He was humble. The man that bested me easily was bowing down."

I nodded. Image did a lot to people. Besides, I knew how he felt. When Cedric kidnapped me on my first day on the job, I trembled in Phobos' presence. It helped his image that the giant snake was treating him with such respect and fear that I easily believed him to be all powerful. That image was quickly shattered when I knocked over a bookcase and buried him in it. But it did show me that Phobos at least knew how to play his cards. Which only made his most recent decisions so infuriatingly unclear.

"Any chance you would work for the Queen?" Irma piped up.

Frost snarled at her and once more spit at the ground. I rolled my eyes at the antics.

"The day I bow for that woman who couldn't survive without you five protecting her is the day I let Crimson pierce my gut."

Well, that was clear. It probably meant he would rot his life in his cell, but I think he valued his pride more than his freedom. Irma was ready to argue with him but I shook my head.

"Well then. That's clear. Irma will bring you back and we'll see you later, I guess."

With that I got up and waved the cage away. Irma had him wrapped in a ball of water before Frost even realized what happened. His head was poking out this time and he yelled at me to keep my promise. Great, I made two promises to my enemies which I wasn't certain I could keep. I was pondering how to tell Elyon she had to show some leniency to two criminals that helped to nearly get her killed. If I put it like that, I was certain she wasn't going to help. This was one of those moments I wish I'd seen another way to get the information out of them… Well, I could have waited and just asked Taranee to do it. Convincing her to read the minds of criminals was easier than going to convince Elyon.

"That went surprisingly well."

I looked up out of my musings to see Irma reappear. The guard saluted us and we took off towards the castle. I could have teletransported us there, but I needed the time flying to get Irma up to date. As I explained to her how I got Frost's temporary trust, she snorted.

"You're telling me you got that out of a war movie? Since when do you watch those?"

I turned red. "Collins. He's sometimes home before my mom is, because she's stuck in some meeting. He tries to get on my good side by making me watch his favourite movies. He then explains what part is historically accurate and which part isn't."

"Sounds like fun nights."

I shrugged. "It's not too bad. It came in useful during a few tests and he usually bakes a cake to eat during the movie."

Irma raised an eyebrow at me. I decided it was better not to defend that I was starting to really like Collins. Instead I continued with my explanation of what I'd gathered out of the interviews, as well as Irma's take on them. Irma and I had both reached the conclusion that out of the two felons who would get a trial in Kandrakar, Cedric was the one who had more leverage over the minions. From enticing Miranda to frightening Frost, he had all of them in his hand. It did not explain his connection with Phobos and I loathed the idea that we might had to talk to him to get an idea of their relationship. Somehow, I felt Phobos would be opener in sharing that kind of information. Or perhaps, at least more honest. Irma noticed that Miranda had been fidgety when she brought her back. Mentioning it was like watching a very mellowed version of my near panic attack when I'd entered the prison. While I trusted Miranda to have no magic, it was interesting that she was affected. It could mean she truly spoke the truth when we were interrogating her. One thing was certain though. I would return with Hay Lin, to be positive neither of them had lied. If so, I was certain I could sway Elyon to agree.

We arrived at the castle where guards immediately guided us in. Elyon hadn't moved from when we left. Her hands had several ink stains on them and by the small ink streak on her nose, I gathered she wasn't bothered by it or hadn't noticed it yet. Irma had, by the look of the grin she wore. Her eyes twinkled merrily and greeted Elyon perhaps a tad to amused.

"Heya El! See you haven't bothered to move!"

Elyon looked up from her papers the moment Irma spoke. Her eyes were drooping and I was certain she was about to fall asleep. She stretched and rubbed her eyes, leaving two more ink streaks underneath her eyes. I snorted, making her look at me.

"What?" Elyon said.

"Well, you…"

I never managed to finish my sentence. Irma jumped in front of me and cut me off.

"You look like you've slept on your table. You really should take a good nap. All that work will give you wrinkles."

Elyon rolled her eyes. Behind Irma, I motioned to my hand and then my eyes and nose. It took Elyon a few moments to realize what I was miming. She looked at her own hands, with big eyes, before cursing softly and looking for a towel that lay forgotten on the ground.

"You couldn't have told me, could you Irma?" she said spiteful as she washed her face with it, before waving her hand in front of her face. Whatever was left of the ink stains disappeared and she looked clean again. Tired and annoyed, but clean.

"I bet you didn't come here to laugh at me," she said. "What did you learn?"

And so we filled her in about what we asked and what the answers had been. I started with Frost, mostly because she had no specified harsh feelings towards him. Her expression soured when we gave her the answer as to why he didn't want to serve her. It unfortunately stayed that way when the topic was about Miranda. She was sceptic about everything Miranda had told us, though something in her expression changed when we told her about how she perceived Cedric. I felt a small pang of pain coming from her. My mind gave me only one reason as to why she would feel that, but the possibility of Elyon coveting Cedric was a tad too gruesome for me. So I decided not to pry. In the end I finished with the two deals I had made to get this information. She easily conceded with Frost's demand. Miranda's however…

"No."

I winced as she spoke with such resolution that it made me think of Cornelia.

"Come on Elyon, she's our age. You don't want her to spend the rest of her life in a tiny cell, would you?"

Her grey eyes glared me down. She had gotten up during the conversation and now more than ever was I aware of the height difference we had, even though Elyon was starting to catch up, she was still glaring up. It weakened the iciness in her voice a little.

"Ask her if she didn't want to see me dead. Twice."

Irma made a sound that sounded an awful lot like 'I told you so'. I gave her a sideways glance, only finding that she had gained a sudden interest in Elyon's translations. My attention returned to Elyon, who had placed her hands on the table.

"Listen Will, I'm glad you all gave me a second chance, but Miranda doesn't deserve one."

"She was only trying to protect her way of life. Just like you did when you still believed Phobos!"

Elyon's eyes flared for a short moment. The atmosphere thickened and a few strands of her hair flew up. I had officially managed to piss her off with just one sentence. Irma hissed softly, but silenced when she too felt the change in atmosphere. She moved next to me with her hands in front of her, trying to sooth Elyon.

"She didn't mean it like that, El," she said.

"No, I did."

Irma gave me a look, probably asking if I wanted to be banned from the planet. I however didn't waver as I stared Elyon down. Her jaw clenched and her cheeks had reddened. She straightened her back and stared right back at me with squinted eyes. It helped that I didn't have to look up, or else she would have been a perfect copy of a pissed Cornelia. The latter had definitely rubbed off on her. Or perhaps Elyon took her as an example. Either way, I was prepared for what could come.

Suddenly the tension disappeared. Elyon deflated in front of me and turned away. I let go of a breath I didn't know I was holding in. I hadn't expected this. Cornelia usually went on yelling and berating. This defeat only came much later, if it even came at all. Then again, Elyon didn't have the pride Cornelia had. Thank God for that.

"She's still too dangerous to walk around free. Even if I gave her a trial, she would end up in prison for years."

I sighed. There was probably a way around this, though I couldn't think of something. Yet, I still had to try.

"At least give her a trial. If you imprison her without making clear how long and why, she might come to resent you even more. I've seen it in the Banshee on Arkhanta. She would have injured anyone as long as it would get Ari, vow or no vow. You don't want to risk the possibility that she might escape again and hurt everyone you care for. Take away her lust for vengeance and you might get some rest from all of this."

"I'll think about it."

I recognized that tone. It was one I tended to use whenever my mom was pushing for me to open up. It meant we were done with the subject. And I felt I shouldn't press on further. It would only slight the small chance Miranda had at a trial. Instead I decided to ask something else.

"Do you, by any chance have maids our age working here? Like, from the time Phobos sat on the throne?"

It took a moment for Elyon to register I wasn't talking about Miranda's trial anymore. She blinked at me and any hostility that was left disappeared. Instead she looked surprised by the question. The doors opened behind us and clattering followed. A shy 'thank you' rang as we turned around. A girl, about my age, entered while holding a tray with a teapot and a cup. A few strands of her long brown hair fell in front of her face, which she clumsily tried to push behind an ear. The moment she managed, she looked up, a smile on her face. That faltered quickly the moment her brown eyes took us in. They widened immediately and her hands started to tremble madly. I reached out to grab the tray before it, along with its contents, fell to the floor. As I did, the girl gave a short shriek and…fainted.

I looked stunned at the girl, now slumped on the floor. I looked at Irma, who seemed equally confused as I was. Elyon only rolled her eyes again and shook her head. She got up from her chair and walked to the girl. I placed the tray on the table and looked curious at what Elyon was doing.

"Come on, Lisa. Wake up. They're real, you know that," she said, gently patting the girl's cheek.

When Lisa refused to wake up, Elyon sighed again. Lisa started to float at a new wave of Elyon's hand, who moved her to one of the benches in the room. There she was laid down. Elyon turned to us, looking a tad flustered.

"To answer your question, yes. Meet Lisa, one of the few maids hired in my brother's time as ruler. I learnt of them shortly after things settled down after the whole Nerissa affair. I wanted to know my staff so in the future there wouldn't be another surprise. I took her on as my personal maid a few weeks back." She gave Lisa a short glance. She shook her head again, though a small smile formed. "She's a great fan of you. Her whole family are Guardian fans, but what I managed to gather is that you are her favourite."

I pointed at myself, making certain I had heard her correctly. Elyon nodded. I was still trying to process why someone would be a fan. I understood you could be a fan of a sportsman or a movie celebrity. We weren't that…But we were celebrities, I guess?

"Guardian fans? As in, there are more of those?"

I looked at Irma, who seemed elated by the news. Elyon smiled a little before nodding.

"Believe it or not, but you five are quite the celebrities. I have gotten many requests to either have a statue of you five erected or some national holiday created. While I will not say you definitely deserve something like that, I felt I shouldn't just do that without your consent. But with the missions you've been given lately, I haven't found the time to tell you."

"I wonder who in her family supports me. I hope she has a handsome brother," Irma said, a grin forming on her face.

I blinked, still surprised. It just wasn't hitting home yet. I never thought of myself as famous. I never really considered myself that important. However, there was a whole city – country even – that wanted to celebrate us. For saving them and their queen. I would argue that it was simply our job, but really it wasn't. Kandrakar had never given us the mission to save Elyon from her brother or save her from Nerissa. That had been our doing. Maybe they knew. Maybe they didn't care whether it was our job or not. Irma nudged me when Lisa started to stir again. Elyon was already at her side, holding the cup she'd brought a few seconds earlier.

"Wha-? What happened?" Lisa asked.

Her eyes settled on Elyon, who tried her best to keep the girl's attention on her. She handed the cup of tea, which Lisa politely accepted.

"You had a dizzy spell. Got a little excited," she said.

The latter made Lisa look up, as if her memory had returned. Her eyes widened again when she saw me. I felt a blush coming up as I now noticed the excitement radiating from her. My own heart started beating louder. I tried to keep it under control, giving a small wave in return. Lisa's cheeks reddened and she shrank back behind Elyon. Some whispers followed, which I couldn't make out.

"Wanna bet she faints again?"

I nudged Irma, who playfully grinned. "Irma," I said with a shake of my head.

Elyon moved aside as Lisa got up from the bench. She was trying her best not to make any eye contact with me or Irma and bowed in front of us.

"My ladies, how may I serve you?"

I blinked again. Looking aside I found Irma looking as surprised as I did. I'd never had contact with the servants of the castle. I knew the others had in human form, but not since we defeated Phobos and Nerissa. The guards knew of us and there was more camaraderie between us and them. Mostly because at some point in time we probably kicked their ass and they remembered. And somehow I'd always thought the servants would act similar. The maid that had guided us in earlier today at least acted that way. However, this girl who just fainted because she saw us, now treated us like… like royalty. It was unnerving.

"I…Uhm, I'd like a cup of tea as well, please?" Irma said.

The way she spoke made it obvious she was uncertain what to do about this. I knew she was used to giving orders, but this was to people she knew or when she knew what she wanted out of the situation. This probably caught her as off guard as it did to me.

Lisa nodded and briefly looked up at me. I gulped.

"A cup of tea as well," I said. I hurriedly added "Please."

Lisa bowed again. "As you wish, my ladies."

She walked out after retrieving her tray. The door slammed shut and I was certain I heard a muffled yelp from behind it. I looked at Elyon, who was looking at us as if she was looking at her favourite comedy. A large grin spread on her lips and the moment the yelp became audible, she started to laugh. I felt my cheeks redden again and my shoulders went up, while Irma took an angry step forward.

"What are you laughing about?"

Elyon needed a few moments to catch her breath. She waved Irma's anger away and shook her head, rubbing a tear away.

"You two looked so surprised. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. It was beautiful."

Irma crossed her arms, obviously displeased with how easy she had been to read. I slowly unclenched my shoulders and gave Elyon a sheepish smile.

"I did not expect her to be like….that! No one of our age acts like that around celebrities! Where is the screaming and fangirling and. Well, we did see some fainting, but you know what I mean!"

I nodded. Girls our age didn't act like that. Shouldn't be acting like that. It felt so awkward. Elyon shrugged.

"On Earth, it is the norm," she said as she inclined her head. "However, I've learned that Meridian does things differently. No matter who you are, you stay professional. Even if you meet your greatest hero or biggest fear, you stay in the role given to you. Any other conduct is seen as dishonourable. Any feelings you might have had over the encounter you may show to people of your status or family and friends. It's quite eerie."

"I can't believe that Lyonak's douche behaviour actually makes some sense," Irma said, shaking her head.

Elyon nodded again, with a sigh this time. "I know. I've been trying to lessen the strictness of it all. Lisa is a lovely girl once you get to know her. Though that side I've only begun to know since a few days back."

"Wow," I said when the doors opened again.

Lisa had reappeared, carrying three cups on her tray. She avoided eye contact and proceeded with pouring in the tea. She gave one to Irma, who muttered a thanks. There was a flicker of a smile visible when that happened. Then Lisa gave my cup.

"Lisa," I said. I did not reach for the cup nor accept it.

"My lady?"

There was a quiver in her voice. I felt fear seep from her. I never realised I had this kind of power. It caused my throat to close up for a moment as I regarded her with pity. She would have been so different had she grown up on Earth. I swallowed down the brick that was forming and continued.

"Look at me."

She slowly raised her head, her brown eyes wide. I could see the fear carefully controlled in those eyes. I let any semblance of strictness fall. I formed a warm smile, or what I assumed to be one, and took the cup with both hands, enveloping hers.

"You don't have to look down for me. We're the same age more or less. You can look at me when we're speaking."

I think I felt the moment her heart leapt. Mostly because mine did when an excited smile formed on her lips. I took the cup, thanking her and letting go of her. Her hands flexed as she still stood in front of me, looking at me like a deer caught in headlights.

"Oh, and you can just call me Will," I said.

"Same for me. I'm not the kind of person for all that fancy stuff," Irma added.

Lisa looked at Irma, who gave her wink. She turned to me again. All I did was give her a smile before she turned to Elyon. Elyon nodded and gave an almost lazy smile in return.

"Told you they're just people. Like you and me."

Lisa nodded and took a few steps back, giving me my personal space back. She remained at Elyon's side, but now was openly looking at us and actively participating in the conversation that followed. It had little to do with what we discussed before. Irma was mostly interested in Lisa's family – especially who was fan of who – and I asked Elyon how she got on with her studies in the Meridian language. We learned that of Lisa's family, her youngest siblings were fan of Hay Lin and Irma. It was a disappointment for Irma, but she was still touched to know a little boy saw her as the best hero. Her twin brother had a deep crush on Cornelia and thus a jealousy but also admiration for Caleb. His whole infatuation as well as jealousy was what made him apply to become a soldier. I thought it to be cute that he believed he could sway Cornelia, but it gave him a drive. I wondered how much it would get to Cornelia's head if she learned of this. Lisa's mother admired Taranee whereas her father had deep respect for Caleb. Which meant that out of Lisa's family, two members supported Caleb while the rest of us had one fan. Not too bad. As for Elyon's studies. It went slow, but steady. She just wished she could just snap her fingers and know what the inscriptions meant. And she would be pissed if the second spell book had a spell in it that translated languages.

After a while we finally said goodbye to both Elyon and Lisa. Neither of us wanted to, but the amount of maths homework we both faced gave us little to no choice. However, when we finally returned home it was already half past five. I had a missed call from my dad and one from Serena. As I checked my phone, it received another call, this time from my mother. I picked it up and gave my mom a short explanation that I'd changed the setting to silent while Irma and I were working on our problems. I did not lie. My mother just believed me to be working on my maths problems. Apparently Collins had told her what had happened today. Well, I think he left out the fact that he had been the one to get Horseberg in a foul mood, judging by how my mom spoke of him. She proceeded to tell me to call my dad as he was growing concerned and praised me for being so diligent.

Meanwhile Irma had received a call from her mother, asking her whether she would eat at home or not. I shook my head at her unasked question and when she hang up we said our goodbyes. Normally I would love to have Irma with me to break the awkwardness in my dad's home. But I really needed to work on maths or I would be screwed.

As I walked back to my dad's, I called him to tell him I was on my way. Unlike mom, he didn't ask what I'd been doing. He just made me promise to tell him in advance whether or not I would go straight home after school. He didn't sound angry either. Serena however tried to pry out of me where I'd been. Perhaps it was a good thing my dad hadn't seen me for years because he put a stop to it after the first time I refused to answer. I could feel the guilt dripping from him as he placated Serena. Thus I excused myself from the dinner table and headed to my room.

I knew I'd been working on my homework for several hours. I still had a few assignments for biology and French left for tomorrow and the rest was filled with maths. I definitely dozed off somewhere because I woke up to the buzzing of my phone on the table. A few of the scrap papers I'd used to figure out how to do an equation stuck to my cheek. Peeling them off, my phone buzzed for a second time. I checked it, seeing it was already 1 AM. A yawn escaped me as I looked for the cause of my phone's buzzing. I had received two texts, one from Taranee and one from Hay Lin. Remembering what Cornelia had said about Taranee, I quickly opened my phone to see what they said.

Both contained a similar message, though with varying explanation. Hay Lin and Taranee had decided to tell Nigel and Eric about themselves. Hay Lin mentioned that it was mostly due to the two prophecies proving to be truth that convinced her. Taranee said that she had felt not at ease around him, mostly because she was hiding a part of her she had come to accept. And she wanted to share that with him as well.

I understood both reasons and send them both a good luck message. Though as I locked my phone again and got dressed for bed, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Taranee hadn't mentioned anything about her power high. I would have thought that that would have stopped her from telling Nigel. Which meant she had either forgotten about it or she was convinced it wouldn't happen again. In case of the former, I should be worried. In case of the latter, I would be proud to see her this confident. But I couldn't bring myself to ask her. I guess all I could do was trust her judgement.

With that final thought I fell into an uneasy sleep.