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Crime Really Does Not Pay
A man, desperate for money, discovers crime doesn't pay well.

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[Introduction] Serena is just walking down the street when this woman pops up out of nowhere and hands her a book. Reading it she learns all about another character, Sabrina, who must quest for a freedom from the opression which makes her and others of her kind have to hide from the soldiers of the usurper king Trydion. For in that land, Loradona, magic is strictly forbidden and is punishable by death. She is told by a mysterious seeress that she must quest for the lost king and for the six others who will help restore the king to his throne. The seeress also says that three talismans will guide her path, and she will only know them with the help of the others who are to join her. Serena is incredibly interested and cannot wait to see where the journey leads as she puts down the book for the night. When she awakes she is sleeping under and oak tree and is in the garb of one Sabrina Malangard.

I'll leave her companions up to you, but please make sure that the numbers are relatively even, like maybe 4 girls and 3 guys, instead of 6 girls and one guy. Please help me develop this story!

Skipping Policy: I'm back, so it's back to 2 days.

Profiles first, if you will.

Name: Serena Thompson

Description: Medium height, honey brown hair, blue-grey eyes known to be almost green sometimes. Age 15.

Personality: Pretty outgoing, she tries to make those around her happy. She has a mild temper until someone starts dissing her or her friends. Then expect to be taken down royally. Hates mean-hearted people, mushrooms, and spiders. Likes to go rock climbing, archery, reading, shopping, and pigging out on junk food.

Other: Don't mess with this chick! She's a blackbelt in her karate class and likes to get her way. But even if she doesn't, you can still count on her to the very end.

Serena walked down the street to meet her friends for a movie. Suddenly this lady popped up out of nowhere and handed her a book. She turned to ask the lady what it is but when she looked up the lady had disappeared as quickly as she had arrived. Serena opened the book and a note fluttered to the ground. She picked it up and read it, but all it says is, "Good reading." She just shrugged and kept on walking to her movie.

Later that night she opened up the book and started to read. The story is all about this girl named Serena Malangard, a mage who must leave behind all she knows to free her people from the awful usurper king Trydion. Since magic is forbidden in Loradona, she must travel in secrecy to find the true king. A seeress tells her before she leaves that others will accompany her, and only with their help will she find the four signs that lead the way to the king.

Serena put down the book. It was really interesting, and for a moment she wondered what it would be like to be Sabrina. She stiffled a yawn and goes to sleep.

When she woke up she was in a forest underneath a great oak. She was no longer in her city garb, but in the tunic and cloak of Sabrina. She jumped up and looks around her. She can see a path a little ways ahead, so, grabbing the quiver and bow that were lying next to her goes over there. She didn't really think anything of her suddenly being in a forest as Sabrina, 'cause she figured it's all just a dream and that she'd wake up eventually. Serena got on the path and walked on through the forest.

Name: Ayden Corenmare

Gender: Male

Age: 15

Appearance: Honey gold hair that falls to his chin. Clear blue eyes. Dark skin with a brown undertone. Short, about 5'3, with a lean, weak build. High cheekbones and a small scar across his left eyebrow. Always seems to have a smile on his face.

Weapon: A curved saber and a huge blackoak longbow bigger than he is.

Personality: An optimist and a cheerer, he always trusts that everything will work out in the end. Hates battle, but very good at killing people, even though he's weak. When people ask him how this is possible, he shrugs and says, "Even a baby can plunge a knife into someone." Loud and abnoxious most of the time, but very serious when death and killing and hurting people are involved.

Likes: Good stories, songs, food, ale, a bath, his harp, pretty girls, a stoic person to tease.

Dislikes: Death, killing, injuries, the flute, pretty guys, sleeping on the ground.

Other: An apprentice cleric, he is not allowed to use his magic to heal others, which he is very mad about. He has noble blood. Works as a bard now, singing epics and playing his harp at taverns and inns for money.
--------------------------------------------------

Ayden plucked an easy song in his harp, letting the music take hold of the drunken men. But then he strung up a fast song that almost everyone knew. The men waved their heads side to side, and one by one they started to sing:

Oh, I've never been a hero,
I've never been a mage,
I've never changed the lives of men
As I am not a sage,

I've never been to foreign docks
But I bet they're all the same,
And in all the tales the joymen tell
You'll never hear my name!

The song ended in a bout of intoxicated laughter, but Ayden's eyes were focused on a girl that just came in, with a bow and quiver slung across her back.

Name: Maria Sagin

Gender: Female

Age: 15

Appearance: Black wavey hair that end at her waist usally kept down. Light blue piercing eyes that make you think she knows more then she lets on and knows all your secrets. 5'8". She wears a Dark green cloak and green and white clothes.

Weapon: A long Saber(kept on her back) and a strong gold chain.

Personality: A very odd person who likes to keep to herself untill she becomes your friend, then she would do anything for you, she become your Guardian and will protect you untill she dies. IF you become her Enemy you should watch out. She is very nice when she becomes your friend. She belives everything has good in it someplace and trys to bring it out. She is a very talented warrior her Father, before he died, taught her.

Likes: To sing, food, learning, friends,nice people, a confy bed at night,and her Horse, Jamie that she usually rides.

Dislikes: Mean people, anyone who dilikes horses, illness and dark forest.

Other: Her Mother died when she was young so she was brought up by her father and when he died, her being a only child, she became a wanderer. Doing good deeds and learning things wearever she may go. She sings on occasion when she is alone. When her father died she seemd to develop a way to almost sense what was going to happen on occasion.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Maria sat in a dark corner with her hood up watching the door for someone to walk in. She watched as a person with a black cloak on with the hood up walk in and order something to eat. He payed and put his hood down, and ate. No one except the maiden knew she was here and she wasn't paying Maria any attention. She watched a bard play a instrument and sing with most of the other people, mostly drunken or in high spirits. The door opened once again and Maria saw a girl walk in with a violet cloak with a bow and quiver in hand. Maria stood up when she saw her. ...this is who I have been waiting for... She stood up and pulled her hood back her hair falling down her back to lay like a black sheet. She made her presence known to the rest and walked up to get a drink her saber shining on her back. She walked back to the corner and sat.

Serena walked over to a table and sat down. Noticing the stir she had caused, she blushed and drew up her purple-blue hood.It was really unnerving to have all the people in a tavern suddenly stop what they're doing and stare at you. A guy with silvery hair and gray-blue eyes picked up his tray and walked over to her. Without asking he just plopped down opposite her and stared.

"Uhh... may I help you?" Serena asked timidly.

Ayden looked about, noticing that the men were now talking to each other and not listening to his music. "Excuse me, maiden," he called to a serving girl nearby. "Tell the master of the inn that I am taking a small break to eat and wet my throat."

She nodded curtly. "Fine, but he's going to take this out of your pay."

Ayden went and stood in front of the girl, looking at her company. He was a stout man with silver hair, but his features showed that his hair color was not due to his age. "Ah, hello m'lady," Ayden said, bowing regally. She smiled and bowed ackwardly back from her seat. The silver man merely stared.

When it was clear she was going to say nothing in return, Ayden continued, "I was overcome by your presence, and had to come to greet you. I trust I disturbed nothing?"

"You wouldn't have to be asking if you weren't here at all," the silver man said, his eyes glittering suspiciously.

Ayden chose to ignore that, and started his introduction. "I'm Ayden Foxfire, bard extrordinare! Teller of tales...

"...Drinker of drinks..." The man said, eyes challenging him into a contest.

"...Lifter of spirits..." Ayden called back, accepting the challenge with a competitive glare.

"...And women's skirts..." With this the girl giggled, and Ayden concluded.

"...And just the nicest chap this side of the Follon river." And then, for no reason, they burst out laughing. The girl watched in wonder as they clapped each other on the back.

"Oh, but we're a pair well met. Might I learn the name of such a worthy opponent?" Ayden asked happily.

"The name's Lith," the man replied.

"I'm Selene," the girl said.

"Ah, she speaks! With such a lovely voice too. I'm glad to meet you both."

Maria looked from the corner seeing someone stare at her everyonce in a while and as the bard stoped and went to the girl and seemed to introduce himself she got up once more and walked twords the table with the girl. She stood in a corner near them and when they paused she stepped out and talked for the first time that day.
"Hello, I am Maria Sagin. Expert at fighting with a blade and chains. And you three are...?"
They all looked at her a little suprised then the one bard finally said"Hi...I'm Ayden."
"I'm Lith." The person in the black said.
"I'm Selene"

*I think we can live with the centering. ^_^*

Okay, so three complete strangers walk up to you for apparently no reason, but hey, it's good to have friends... thought Serena to herself. She had told them her name was Selene, because though she was comfortable with them she didn't quite trust them yet. And besides, she was supposed to be traveling in secret as Sabrina, right? So no worries. And maybe these were the people she was supposed to meet. So, once again puting down her hood the four talked about nothing in particular for a while, till something made her ask the question which had been nagging at the back of her mind.

"So... What are you all doing here?" she ventured shyly.

Everyone looked from one to the other, then all began at once, saying, "Well..."

(sorry about the hold up. I didn't get a notice in my email!)

"I am a bard, as you probably can tell," Ayden spoke, a smile creeping on to his face. He had always loved telling people about himself. "I merely travel around, singing songs and telling tales for any inn or tavern that will have me. It's a hard an honest life."

All of a sudden, for the first time, his face turned grim and serious. "I am also on another task, one given to me by a friend." He held up a faded picture done in pencil. The woman who sat on a chair in the center of the sketch was strikingly beautiful, her long hair set in a multitude of thin braids. Her dress was that of a high-born noble. Her face was soft, and the lines were done with pain-staking detail. "Have you seen this woman?" Ayden said, his voice cold and distant.

All three looked at the picture, and one by one they shook their heads. "I see..." Ayden replied, seating himself down in a nearby chair. At once the smile returned to his face, and he called happily, "So, who's next?"

Maria looked at the 3 faces around her. "I am, as some would call me, a loner. I travel from diffrent places, learning things and helping people. I only stay in one place for a week at the most." All of a sudden the sound of a horse was heard. "Thats probley my horse....Jamie." She saw the look of the person, Lith, when she said it was her horse but ignored it. "I seem to search for things, things I don't know...want to know why I was here tonite? talked to you?" she asked Selene. "I'm not sure why, it was a feeling to come." 'I have never told anyone about thoses feelings why am I now!' she asked herself. She went quite. And waited for someone else to talk When Lith said something "Do you ride your horse?"
Maria looked up,"Yes sometimes. Other times not. Why do you ask?"

He didn't say anything but looked at her. Maria then said,"Anyone else wanna say something?"

The others blinked at her rushed statement. "Okay..." Serena began. As she stood up to straighten her cloak she banged her knee on the table. "Ow!" she exclaimed, rubbing it. That's when things finally started to connect for her. Wait a minute, she thought, dreams don't have pain. Which means...

"Oh my God," Serena whispered, turning pale. She looked up at the others, mild concern showing on their faces. "Excuse me one moment," she said in a rush, and bolted out the door.

"Selene, wait!" shouted the others as they took chase.

Name: Galen Hailfire

Gender: Male

Age: just turned 17

Appearance: Tall and strong-looking, with nicely muscled body—not overly muscled, just slightly. He's lithe, fast, and has surprisingly quick reflexes. His hair is soot-black, his eyes are piercing gray. His features are classically chisled. In other words, he's very handsome.

Weapon: A simple dagger his grandfather gave him...or so it looks simple. It's actually embeded with magic and is a powerful weapon. But he also has a hidden weapon, one that is only used in extreme circumstances...his "gift" with fire.

Personality: Sarcastic, with a sense of black humor. He's blunt and usally always tells things the way they are. However, he's a bit secretive and is almost afraid to show how he can use fire. Most people don't know about his gift. He knows how to fight good and dirty, so he's gained a scary reputation. He looks as if he thinks too much, which is partly true.

Likes: Brave girls, fighting, fire, the moon, and showing how tough he can be. Also the look on some people's faces when he tells them his name.

Dislikes: Weakness, being held defenseless, being put down by others, being the center of attention, and showing people his gift.

Other: At times, Galen almost seems psychic and can predict strange things. He also has an uncannily acute sense of humor. Oh, and he has an English accent, too. :)
*****

Galen walked up behind the guy addressed as "Lith". He had been eavesdropping on this conversation and it amused him for awhile, but now he was bored. It was time to interact with this "lively" bunch.

"What, are all the people you've ever met dreams?" he asked.

Lith jumped slightly; he obviously hadn't heard Galen come up. It was strange, because the pale-haired boy didn't look as though he would be easily frightened.

Selene was hypervenilating now, but was obviously trying to calm herself. "I'm dreaming, I'm just dreaming, I'm just dreaming..." she was repeating in a nearly inaudiable tone.

"Okay, then Little Dreamer. It seems as though you've been reading too many stories for your own good," he told Selene.

Selene looked at him oddly. "That's it," she said simply. "I'm in the book. What kind of magic is this?"

"Magic?" asked the girl called Maria. "But that's been banned and outlawed. If any magic of any kind is ever worked...you could be killed!"

"Hmm, that's reassuring," Galen muttered, suddenly feeling the blade of his magic dagger being pressed into his leg. But it was impossible; it was concealed in his boot. The didn't have to know about that. Or what he could do, for that matter.

"So," he continued. "Now that you've seemed to sort out your problem, Little Dreamer...maybe we can press on. I might be of some use in this adventure, whatever it is that we're doing."

When no one made any sort of reply, Galen figured that maybe they weren't really on an adventure of any sort. But something was tugging at the back of his mind, telling him of things to come...

"I can't go anywhere," Selene suddenly said. "I can't go anywhere! I...I...I need to go home!"

Selene looked like she wanted to run again, but both Lith and Galen were ready to move into a position to block her. Ayden nervously plucked at his harp.

"Why am I here?" Selene asked, truly confused. But she didn't know that the others were as confused as she was.

"And then... What have you to do with her... or my... quest? How am I going to get home? I need help..." Selene sank to the ground and buried her face in her hands. She couldn't deal with this. There was no way, no possible way that she was in Loradona, God knew how far from home, on a quest that she hardly even understood, with complete strangers. This was not going well.

The others looked on, lost. What quest? A dream? It was very dizzying.

At last Selene shook herself. If I'm ever getting back, I probably have to do this quest for Sabrina. I wonder what the rest of these people have to do with it, friend or foe? Whatever the case, she knew that she hadn't much time.

She stood up, out on her most leaderly face, and said, "I have to leave immediately. There is a place, I don't know quite where, but I need help to get there. There are 6 who are supposed to help me, and 6 are here. Will you help me, to put down this tyranny, this userpership, to find the true king?" Selene studied the others, one hand ready for her arrows, the other trusting instinct to work the magic she knew that she posessed. "Well?"

Ayden jumped in joy at the opportunity. "I'm readier then a red-cheeked maiden, my friend," he announced with a huge smile on his face.

Ayden quickly ran inside the tavern, and the owner stopped him at the door. "Where have you been?!" he yelled angrily. "The customers want more music. Get back to work!"

"I'm sorry, I'm a little busy right now. I need more time. I'll be just a second." Then Ayden rushed under the innkeeper's arm and into the common room. He packed up his harp in it's case, strapped on his harp, saber, and quiver, snatched his longbow, grabbed a piece of bread from the barmaid, ate it, and was out the door before the innkeeper could stop him. "This is coming out of your pay!" The owner shouted as Ayden quickly ran back toward the stables.

Fully dressed for traveling, Ayden bowed before Selene, saying with a faint noble air, "This sparrow is ready to fly... at your command of course."

Maria smiled to herself as she watched Ayden as he got his stuff and the suprised look on the inn keepsers face. As the others went off to get there items in the tavern or just stood there becuase they had them, Maria went to her horse Jamie. "Come on girl, let's go." Maria jumped up and mounted the horse. She rode without a saddle becuase it was more comfortable and better for Jamie without the extra weight. She then thought and slipped off. "I think I will wait." She and her horse walked back to the group the last one. She could see the expression on Lith's face of dislike. She could tell already they wouldn't get along to well. She smiled at him, the first time anyone had seen her smile, and turned to Selene. "Jamie and I are at your disposal." She took her bag that was resting on Jamie's back and placed it on her own as the group started walking down the road.

Galen looked at Madison from the corner of his eye, noticing that her fear was showing. He wasn't really showing his, and hardly feeling it, but he could feel a faint glimmer of terror deep inside of him.

When Lith only answered Madison with a shrug, Galen fell back into step with the boy and the pretty girl. "I don't think any of us know what's happening...or where we're going."

"We need to put the rightful king back on the throne!"

The Madison, Lith, and Galen exchanged confused glances. Since when was the wrong king on the throne? And how did this girl, who seemed so lost in this world, know about it?

"A bit...mad, is she?" Galen asked under his breath.

"We've all got a little insanity in us," Lith replied, a look crossing his face as if he were contemplating this.

None of them talked further; they just followed the others blindly forward.

By the time they made camp, the entire party was exhausted. Selene had just kept urging them on, and now it was past nightfall. They huddled around the campfire, an uneasy silence between them all. It was driving Selene mad.

"What is wrong??? You all agreed to come with me, it was your own choice. But honestly, this forlorn feeling is going to dirve me up a wall. And besides-" She was cut of by the sharp snap of a twig and the muffled curse accompaning it. Without knowing what she was doing, she had put up a shield around herself and her companions to deflect the barrage of arrows coming from their left. Galen, Maria, and Lith jumped to their feet, swords drawn, Ayden hesitating for no more than half a second and choosing his longbow instead. Madison stood there, gaping, as she saw magic, banned and outlawed, being performed before her very eyes.

Selene looked down at her hand, and muttered, "What the...?" before taking her bow and joining the others, waiting for the battle to ensue.

Ayden thankfully lowered his longbow. He had never liked killing anything. He returned the arrow to his quiver.

In the corner of his eye he saw Maria, that woman with the saber and chain. She is very beautiful, a lot like Her..., he thought to himself. Then a ridiculously large smile spread across his face. He had an idea...

Beneath his cloak, Ayden created a magical rose. "Maria," He called, gaining her attention. Just as she turned towards him, he threw the rose at her, stem first. Before she could react, the red flower buried deep within the depths of her long black hair, right above her left ear.

Instinctively, she grabbed the flower out of her hair. Upon seeing what it was, Maria looked at Ayden in confusion. He merely winked at her. She blushed, and threw the rose onto the ground. She walked away quickly.

Ayden walked up to the broken rose. It had been crushed by Maria's grip, and then it fell apart when thrown to the earth. He closed his eyes, and the magic flower disappeared. They even act like one another. I wonder... Ayden's eyes glittered with unshed tears. But he kept his smile on his face.

As soon as Maria found a place to sit out of site of Ayden she wondered why he had done that. Suddenly she heard something comeing from behind her were the camp was. She turned around and saw Jamie. The Almost pure white horse with a black star on her forehead and black socks on her him legs and a part white part black tail, the horse looked stunning in the moonlight as always. "Oh Jamie how did you get loose? Come to see your Mistress huh? How nice." SHe got up and started petting the horse and talking. "Jamie why did Ayden do that? It's odd..." She then saw a shadow shift on her left, she slowly pulled her chain from under her cloak. She then saw it was a female and Selene. "...Selene? What are you doing?" Maria hated that selene snecked up on her so esily.
"I saw you come back here and thought i would see what was up?"
"Nothing...just looking for...Jamie! She got out. Let's go back to camp someone could be watching us we dont want watching." THey walked back to the camp.

Galen sat and stared into the fire, comforted by the dancing light. Selene could work magic, too, and there was probably another out there, chasing them, hunting them....

He looked across the dancing flames at Lith, who, as usual, looked like he was going through some argument with an unseen voice. He raised his eyebrow and looked at Madison, who sat next to him. Was she still scared? She had looked both frightened and awed by Selene's magic before.

He looked at her pretty features and blonde hair. Well, HE could show her some magic, too...

But just as he was thinking that, a twig snapped in the forest. All heads turned toward the noise, some faces frightened, others alert. Lith put his hand on the hilt of his sword; Ayden slowly picked up his bow and quiver; Galen slipped his hand down his boot for his dagger. Although he didn't really need it...

No, he yelled at himself. You will NOT use that magic again in front of people. You saw what it did the last time.

The bushes quivered, and they all prepared yet again for another attack. Galen had a feeling that this one would not be an illusion.

Selene had her bow out, arrow notched, poised to let it spring through the bushes. She waited, holding her breath.

At last a figure stepped through, hands held up. In an instant Lith's sword was at the stranger's throat, and he knocked off the dark hood which hid the man's face. What they saw there surprised them all.

The man had no face. It was like looking at a black hole; there was simply darkness.

Maria said, gritting her teeth, "A Mordicant. A messenger of Trydion. It'll go as soon as it delivers its message."

Selene stepped forward, saying, "What is your message, demon?"

It replied with a voice that was not a voice, it was hollow, cold, programmed, and seemed to sound only in their minds. "Abandon this futile task before you die. There are none left of the old line, He made sure of that. If you persist He will kill you all. You cannot win, Sabrina Malangard." With this the creature "looked" at Selene/Serena/Sabrina, and all at once faded into nothingness.

As the creature faded away Maria knew that what the creature said was true. Images of death came into her mind. The whole group dead. Blood everywhere. She could see Selene clearly and the clarity spread from there, faces of the group and there cuases of death came to her. Jamie dead. She almost cried out it was so terrifiying but she got controle over herself at the last second. She also knew someplace in her that if the took special magical and weapon precations they would all live.

She explained this to the group.
"What that...creature said is true. I have seen it. I know how each and everyone of use will die, IF we don't take precations. Magical precations. We all know that Selene has magical powers. I have a gift of sight not strong at times but it seems to be getting stronger right now. Anyone have any magic, anything magical about them at all, we have to know it could be the diffrence between life and death." The group murrmured and knew what she said was true.

The others seemed eager to share their magic, and they all seemed to have some. But he just didn't want to.

But he had to! The fate of all their lives depended on it, and if he had to use his power and they didn't know, they could abandon him in the middle of the woods to fend for himself. Which was something he didn't want to do again.

Without looking at anyone, he said clearly, "I can control fire."

He went and sat next to Madison and focused on the dwindling fire. He blinked, and then it was burning happily and high again.

"As you know I have some magic," began Selene hesitantly. "But I'm not quite sure what it is. It's like a reflex; I don't think about it, I just do it." She took a deep breath and continued. "I'm sorry I got you all into this danger. I just want to finish this task so I can go back..." Selene trailed off and looked up again shyly. Lith looked confused, seemed to listen to something, then nodded his head.

Ayden blinked at Lith as he disappeared, and turned back to the group. He said, without emotion, "I was once an apprentice cleric, before the new king banned magic, so I have healing powers. But, mind you, I never finished my training, so my knowledge is limited."

He lifted his hands up and stared at them. "My teacher, Priest Trawl Ryein, said I had great potential, and even more power than he did. But he understood the healing arts better than I did, and that is a world of a difference."

"But," he continued with a smile, "a little help is better then no help, right?"

"Camp?" Selene repeated, looking after Lith quickly. "Yeah, camp sounds good. As long as he's out there by himself, we might as well stay here and not let him be out there by himself."

(Really sorry for the short entry, but I'm depressed today...I mean REALLY depressed...and I'm not very creative right now.)

They (surprisingly) set up camp. After about an hour Selene began to worry. Where had Lith gone? A simple walk should not take that long, and what with the various new enemies they had recently encountered things did not look good. Just as she was about to say something Lith walked into the glow of their small fire.

He had a haunted look about him, and Selene wondered what had happened. Did that voice in his head say something again? Very likely, she decided to herself, and spread out her cloak to wait for sleep.

**My drop of creativity was sucked up in that pit known as Social Studies.**

"You're back. Finally...," Ayden said between yawns. He had grown to like the silver-haired brute. His kind were always good for teasing.

But something inside Ayden told him that now was not the time for jokes. Lith's eyes were dark with grief and sorrow. Ayden looked at Maria for comfort, as her beautiful, familiar face always made him grin.

But he did not smile. Maria's face watched Lith with a worried frown. Ayden looked at the fire, then immediately shielded his eyes from the bright pillar of flame. "Hey, Galen, turn down the light, will you?" Ayden growled. Galen shook with silent laughter, then the fire went down to a normal size. He heard Madison and Selene giggle behind him as well. He looked at Maria hopefully, but she too had a smirk on her face.

Ayden curled up in a ball on the ground, his face set in an annoyed frown. Well, at least some of us got to laugh tonight!

Maria really didn't think it was funny, none of it. The messege kept going though her mind over and over again. She was trying to work out a plan in her head how to use each of these gifts to keep them safe.
Then it struck her just as she saw a few people lay down to sleep," We have to have night watch... One person with magic abilities and another without. Or at least one with magic,mabey two. " She looked over at Selene as if asking permision to go on and selene nodded," Selene and I will go first tonite, then Madison and Galen, then Ayden and I, I don't sleep much..., after that we should probley get moving. We shouldn't stay in one place longer than 6 to 8 hours. Is that ok with everyone?" mummbles of yes's and nod's answered to this.
"You can all sleep now. Selene and I will wake-up Madison and Falen in 2 or 3 hours. Good night all." She wached as the last few people layed down and walked over to the fire to sit with Selene. The just sat there for a awhile listening and the sounds of sleep came about, Maria giggled at someone snoring, That started Selene laughing,Maria calmed herself(giggling every so offten)," Selene, that person sounded like my father did!"They stopped luaghing eventualy and Selene ventured to ask about Maria's Father,
"How did he die?" She seems cautiouse like she thought mabey Maria would get angry.
"Well he was old and weak, When he cuaght a cold, and was very hot, his body, being weak, stopped. At least I know he wasn't hurting badly when he pasted away."
"oh...I couldn't imagine if my father died. I couldn't imagine not living with anyone. Or in one place."
After that they just sat there and and looked at the small fire. 25 minutes to 30 minutes later they heard foot steps and saw a shadow detach it's self from the sadows and saw Lith come and sit down with them.
"Couldn't sleep?" Maria asked.
"No." Lith replied and the three just sat there, untill Maria and Selene got up to get Madison and Galen do watch, and went to bed.

Lith was still sitting up, staring into the fire, and then into the woods. Galen wondered what was going through the other guy's mind; he had never seen someone looked that paranoid.

Madison was working intently on her sewing, carefully doing stitches and holding it up every now and then to observe her progress. The crackling flames were the only noise, that and the obnoxious snoring of one in their group.

The fire was dwindling yet again; Galen got up to get a few logs to feed the fire.

"Why don't you just turn it up yourself?" Madison asked, looking up from her embroidery.

"I don't like to use it when I don't really have to," he admitted as the fire rose higher without his help. "I've had some...uh...accidents in the past."

"I see," Madison answered in a tone that told Galen she didn't mean to pry further. But for some reason, he found himself telling her his dark secrets of the past without meaning to.

"When I was little, they didn't know what was wrong with me," he explained. "My mother was afraid of me, I think. One day she was cooking and I reached into the fire and just grabbed it...she screamed, but I held it in my hand without getting hurt. Just a tongue of fire in my hands. It was strange...but I didn't know how to control it, so the fire spread from my hands throughout my whole house. My mum and dad were killed, but I just walked through the flames without getting hurt. My grandfather had to take me in after that. I was maybe five at the time."

He exhaled. What was wrong with him? He never told anyone that before, and hadn't planned on it. No one was supposed to know he practically murdered his parents. But Madison actually listened intently with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"It's hard to have something inside you that you can't control," he muttered absently as Madison took up her needlework again.

They talked quietly until it was time to wake Ayden and Maria for their watch.

Selene tossed in her sleep. In her dream she could feel something coming, a dark spot in the sky above her, getting ready to swoop down and kill her. A voice in her mind said, "Be careful... They're coming..."

Selene woke with a gasp, then said in a hoarse whisper, "Put out the fire! Something's coming, we have to leave here now!" She realized how stupid they had been to stay in the same place for the night. The others were confused, but Galen acted quickly and snuffed out the fire without a wisp of smoke. Ayden and Maria too were awake now, gathering up supplies in an effort to eradicate all traces of their stay.

But they were moving too slowly. "Come on! We have to leave, NOW!" Selene took the lead down the path, then remembering herself and veering off it into an entirely differen section of the woods. The undergrowth here was thicker, the trees denser, and the way was slower, but Selene was praying the whole time that the black mass of her dreams wouldn't catch up.

With some unseen sense, Lith, who was right behind Selene, shouted "Down!" and threw himself to the ground as the shrieking of a score of teruseth passed directly overhead. The tiny, winged, impish creatures were known for their ravenous hunger and their strength in numbers. At last the ear-splitting cries faded, leaving behind only the peaceful silence of the forest.

The group struggled to their feet, and walked straight into the ranks of faerian archers waiting for them.

"Halt!" the lead archer yelled. The group rose their arms to signify their surrender. But Ayden walked ahead of the group, a look of authority on his face. "Stop, or I'll shoot!" the faerie archer yelled again, and the distinctive sound of bow strings being pulled to their limit rang through the ranks of archers.

"Oh, I highly doubt that, Commander Jaichi. Lest you want the wrath of the Corenmares to rain upon you," Ayden commanded, his chin lifted high in a regal position. Jaichi scanned Ayden with a critical eye, then aimed his bow directly between Ayden's eyes.

"You insolent fool!" Jaichi yelled, "I'll..." Ayden put his hand in front of his face, and showed him his golden signet ring. Commander Jaichi's eyes widened in sudden memory. Dropping his bow, he stumbled back in terror, crying, "No, it's impossible! You died at the temple when the King invaded! How... did you survive, Lord Ayden?"

"Lord Ayden?!" Selene cried, her face distorted in confusion. The ranks of archers fell to their knees, bowing before Ayden.

Maria glared at Ayden as he turned around. "Is there anything else you haven't told us about, Ayden? Any more sudden surprises we should be aware about?"

Ayden glared back at her, which made her step back in surprise. Ayden had never shown anger towards anyone before. "You probably have plenty of secrets yourself, Maria. Don't you accuse me of anything," he growled. His face suddenly looked very tired, and lonely. He sighed, saying, "Well, I can explain everything at the manor. Come with me. We'll be safe there, for the time being."

Ayden signaled for the archers to rise, and turning to Commander Jaichi, commanded in a firm voice, "Lead the way, Jaichi." Jaichi nodded, and signaled the archers to march north. They formed a protective circle around Selene's group, and the whole band started toward the Corenmare manor.

Maria walked along with everyone else. How could he know she had many secrets she hadn't told anyone... A guess but... She put her hand up to her throat protectivly feeling for something under her shirt to make sure it was there.

But he has secrets...well had if there aren't more... She looked at the back of Ayden a few feet in front of her and shook her head He can't know, How would he. She reassured herself.

She looked at the others other than herself the girls looked scared or in shock. She didn't know what Aydens face was but knew how he felt. She almost felt sorry for him, He probably ran off and hid becuase he didn't want the responsiblity... Something else told her that also he was probably looking for the girl in the picture....

As they walked on a town and Manor came into view. Maria gasped. She knew this town. It was one of the first places she had gone after leaving home. It had been hard then to find food and becuse she had only been 13 no one would give her any job for food. Eventually they had forced her out of town. The won't remember me! I have gotten older! And I am a friend of Aydens or at least I know him.... She pulled her hood up so no one would see her just in case.

Once they entered the manor everyone blinked in the light from the great fire and went over to warm. Ayden went off and talked to people. She kept a eye out for his returning she had grown to him over the last day. Mabey he will come in all dressed up as a lord and I won't even know it's him... She smiled at the thought.

"Some place...huh?" Selene finally broke the silence
The others slowly began talking about the recent events but Maria sat down and looked at the great fire slowly nodding off to sleep.

"Yes, it's impressive that we made it this far, but we still need to find the talismans," Selene was saying.

"You never told us about any talismans!" said Gaylen almost accusingly.

"I didn't? Oh well. I guess I'll have to explain now. There are three talismans that'll guide the way to the true heir. Only with your help may I find them. I haven't a clue what they look like, or where they'll be, but I do know that we desperately need to find them."

"Could it be in the shape of a letter on a wall?" Lith asked quietly. The others turned, astonished, to him, and Maria roused herself from sleep to listen. "I've been having this weird dream and we're all running from something, but I can't do anything to protect you since I haven't any magic. Anyways, we keep riding past this wall where the vines form the letter 'R'."

"Oh my God. I... I think that might be something... Anybody have a map?"

**I have to run or else I'd write pages more. :(**

Ayden stood before the huge bronze doors, hesitant to open them. What will he say? What will he do? But... I have to see him. Surely he has already been alerted to my presence. I wonder what he will do to me? Ayden thought grimly. He opened the door slowly, and stepped inside.

Ayden moved forward with all the stately grace his birth had given him, but his heart pounded like a drum, threatening to break through his navy blue silk coat. Embroidary of pale blue ran down his lapels and sleeves, twisting and curling like ivy. His high quality black cotton pants tucked into his black leather knee-high boots. A thick circlet of gold was placed upon his well groomed hair, a large sapphire shining brightly in the center.

Servants flitted back and forth among the people inside the grand hall, offering drinks. A mismatched group of fay archers and tall warriors in black armor stood against the walls, their eyes darting back and forth, scanning the broad room. Nobles and merchants playing nobles chatted amongst themselves, oblivious to the newcomer.

Ayden's eyes opened wide as he saw the throne. It was a small throne of well carved and polished black oak. But on it sat a tall, sinister man. His honey gold hair was grown long, and it was held back with a black ribbon. His icy blue eyes, which were staring at Ayden, cut a wound into Ayden's soul. He had dark skin, with a brown undertone. Ayden and the man could have been twins, except for the obvious differences in height and physical strength.

"I'm surprised to see you alive, baby brother," the man on the throne said, his voice cold and mocking.

"Hello to you too, Faeyr," Ayden said back, struggling to keep his voice emotionless.

"So, Ayden, what brings your ghostly self here, home, of all places? I thought you were on a quest to rescue Aria, or have you given up on that too?" Faeyr smiled evily.

"Don't you dare speak her name!" Ayden hissed angrily, "You stain her name with your filthy mouth!"

Faeyr cackled like a demon. "Don't be angry at me, baby brother. You're the one who let her get taken by the King. If it wasn't for your useless temple training, she would still be here."

"Idiot! You have no right to sit on our father's throne! I was training to become a great priest, to uphold our family's honor, while you dabbled in the black arts, taking advantage of our fay heritage. You have less honor than the lowliest stink-bugs of our forests!"

Ayden now was angrier than he had ever been all his life. His face was a dark red, and his voice was getting louder with every word. "It was you who sold her, mother, and father to the King, to make sure he wouldn't invade our manor lands. You bought our safety with the price of their blood! I would have gladly died fighting instead of losing Aria and our parents!"

"Oh, but you wouldn't have stayed around long enough to get killed, baby brother," Faeyr retorted angrily. His eyes seemed to freeze everything in sight, but it was not enough to cool Ayden's red hot hatred. "As I recall," Faeyr continued evily, "when the first of the King's soldiers appeared over the horizon, you ran like a scared rabbit over to your temple, which was sacked and burned because some troops followed you there! You killed a dozen priests, including your sacred Trawl Ryein! I'm not the only one with blood on my hands!"

The nobles, by now, had stopped everything to watch the fight. Ayden's hands were clenched into fists, and his body shook in rage. A lone tear fell down Ayden's right eye, and he turned, quickly walking out of the torturous room. "That's right, run away Ayden! Run away! Hahaha!" Faeyr called, taunting and laughing as Ayden fled the room, retreating down the corridors of the manor toward the stables.

Maria looked up the largest hall leading from the room, no one was there. She looked at everyone," I wonder where Ayden is... we havn't seen him in a long time. He needs to explain to us what is happening. And we need to tell him were we should be going!" She was getting irritated by be lost. Like a little kid lost in the dark stumbbling.
"Maria?" She heard Madison say," What did Ayden mean by you probley haveing secrets that you hadn't told us? Is it true? Do you have other secrets?"
Maria looked at Madison then the rest of the group then talked in a almost whisper," Yes..yes it is tru. I do have secrets." The group got quite and Selene looked as if she was about to ask something when everyone saw Ayden walk by in the hall. Maria ran after him, "Ayden! You have..."Befor she could finish everyone esle had come over.
Selene walked up to him, "Ayden, We have to go North. One of the talismans that we need is in ruins that way. We have to leave sooon."She stressed the soon part. But befor she said anything else Maria spoke," Tonite! can we leave tonite ALL of us? I have a felling if we don't terrible things will happen." As she spoke she touched something around her neck that she had been touching ever since they came to the castle."You know I can tell these things."

Ayden hadn't said a word yet, he had just looked at them. He spoke," Fine, I would rather you would all leave without me but I know you won't. We will leave at midnight. Untill then act as if we arn't. Maria leave Jamie unsaddled. Don't even go to see her. 5 minutes befor midnight go to the main stable and get her. Everyone will meet at the back at midnight.Untill then good bye." And he left.

"Wow...that was..fast." Madison said.

Everyone stood there for a few minutes then servents came to them to bring them each to there own room.

Galen was pacing his room uncertainly. He didn't know about the others, but he definitely couldn't sleep. As if he wanted to.

He had to wait until it was midnight to do anything. How was he supposed to wait? And where exactly were they going? They had a general idea, but not an exact location.

He thought for a long time about many things that plagued him, and he hardly got any sleep at all. He played around with the flames on his candle, trying to calm his thoughts.

Fifteen minutes before midnight, hr slid his hand down into his leather boot and pulled out his grandfather's magical knife. He could feel the power resonating from the simple instrument.

Only it was hardly a simple instument. How many lives had he taken with this blade, aided by the curse of his power? He didn't want to count.

At the stroke of midnightm he was prepared to meet the others.

"Shhhhh..." someone was shaking Selene. She nodded and got up, moving as quietly as she could.

The others were already gathered at the foot of the stairs, Maria gone to the stables for Jamie. Ayden nodded as Selene joined them and they set off to join Maria.

*I really can't think of anything, so sorry, but you guys'll have to take over. Ty.*

Ayden moved with the grace of a retreating thief. He quickly moved to the front of the group, leading them through the winding halls of the manor. He was dressed in his plain traveling clothes again, and the hood on his cloak was pulled up to hide his face. He didn't want to risk being noticed by the guards.

He had never wanted to leave the estate so much in all his life. The pain of memories kept plagueing his mind, until he felt his hands get sweaty and thought it was the blood he had spilled. As they neared the stables, Ayden thought he heard feet pounding on the floor. He broke into a flat run when he heard a high pitched whinny. That was Jamie!

Ayden and the others flew into the room, weapons ready. Maria had her chain out, and it was cast onto a man's wrist. "Faeyr..." Ayden growled in hatred. Madison, Selene, and Ayden all raised their bows, aiming at his various disabling body parts. Lith and Galen each had their blades out, ready to fight.

Seeing the group come in, Maria momentarily lost concentration. Faeyr yanked on the chain, pulling it out of Maria's hands. "Is this any way to treat the lord of the manor, my friends?" Faeyr mocked, pinning her arms against her sides. Turning to Ayden, he announced with deadly joy, "So, you got quite a catch here, baby brother. You failed saving Aria, so you went and found someone that looked exactly like her!"

Maria looked at Faeyr in sock for a few seconds as a mutitude of thoughts went though her mind to fast for her to really understand except they have gone though her mind millions of times and she did know. She looked once more at the man, "Sir, If you would be so kind as to let me go I would very much like it as you are hurting me." She had to hold her temper back as she said this her voice cracking. He didn't let her go she kicked him but he held on tighter.

Faeyr replied to the kick with a grin mixed with pain," Fisty..."

Maria closed her eyes and whispered,"How did you know...?" No one could her her as she said this she spoke to softly, Thinking of her secrets she had told no one except the faries. The ones who gave her all her powers. She hadn't shared them with anyone...ever. Her past...how did he know...'This can't be happening! I swore never to come back! They can't make me, I will stand my ground! I swear it!' She thought to herself over and over again.
"Whats your name? Or should I just call you Aria?" Faeyr looked Maria then at Ayden," Whats her name?"

Selene, Madison, Lith, and Galen all stood with there weapons still out. Not knowing weather to attack or wait, they could easily harm Maria if they attacked. The group stood still, only Jamie was moving, confused by what was happening.

Maria asked loud enough for everyone to hear," Why? Why must you stop us? Why do you care if I look like this girl...Aria? I'm not her! I'm Maria!," She said this like she had told herself millions of times. "One last time, I'm Maria! I don't care how much I look like Aria! I'm not her!"She looked at the ground as a single tear fell down her face and off. She asked herself,'Why?'

Galen looked on with curious interest, totally confused about what was going on. Apparently this...this Faeyr guy thought that Maria was somebody she wasn't...or that she was.

He was confused. But also, he didn't feel like standing there, getting even more confused. The others looked tense and some looked frightened. They had a job to do, anyway.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, right? Galen narrowed his eyes in concentration at the dirt around Faeyr's feet. A spark appeared there, growing into a steady flame. He made it go closer to Faeyr, who hadn't noticed yet...that is, until it started to creep up his leg.

Faeyr let out a strangled cry, letting go of Maria in his distress. "Let's go!" Galen yelled to the others, and they began to run. Maria got on Jamie in a fluid, swift motion.

"Nice one," Madison said to Galen as they ran. He nodded, somehow bending and slipping his dagger in his boot as he ran.

However, it wasn't going to be that easy...because just as they reached the edge of the woods, Faeyr yelled the command, "AFTER THEM!"

The cry echoed throug the woods, and before they could blink arrows were falling in volleys shortly behind them. Cursing, Selene put up another arrow-blocker and ran her heart out. Thank God for cross-country... she thought gloomily.

"Ayden!" she called. "Which way to the temple?"

"Uh... Just left at that cross-roads. We had better hurry..." he replied, huffing.

The group ran as if the very dogs of hell were chacing them, arrows glancing away sharply as they struck the sheild Selene had put up. With grim satisfaction, she thought, I guess they never encountered people like me before...

At last the cross-roads came and went, the questers taking the left path. Madison tripped on a loose stone and stumbled, but Gaylen was soon rthere to catch her and he scooped her up and carried her from there on as if she were a feather. Selene allowed herself a small smile and concentrated once more on her breathing. The temple finally came in sight, and despite herself Selene had to stop for a moment and gawk.

Even in the dark the structure was beautiful beyond imagination. The low walls seemed to rise up out of the earth itself, and the temple's patron goddess seemed to be hovering all around, filling the air with magic.

Her inspection was cut short, however, by Lith running flt out into her. They both went down, and by accident Selene dropped the shield still protecting them from the rain of arrows of Faeyr's men. A stinging pain came suddenly into her shoulder, and she gasped in pain. Lith stood, helped her to her feet, and together they ran to the walls which would provide safety and sanctuary, at least for a short time. With arrows nipping at their heels, they made it, and Selene flew through the doorway and then collapsed greatfully to the floor, loosing concsiousness.

As Madison healed Selene's injured shoulder, Ayden, Galen, and Lith all hurriedly pushed the huge stone door closed, plunging the group into total darkness.

That is, until Galen created a small flame that floated an inch away from his finger. By the small light given to them, Ayden saw unlit torches on the walls. He grabbed one, and lit it with Galen's tiny fire. Maria and Lith did the same.

Ayden stood near Maria, watching as Madison and Lith, using his free arm, lifted the now conscious Selene to her feet. "I'm sorry, Maria," Ayden said softly.

Maria turned sharply, her eyes cold and firm. "You did nothing wrong, Ayden. There's no reason to be sorry," she retorted, keeping her cool gaze on Ayden's eyes.

"But it's my fault. I should have done something.... anything! I stood still and gawked at your trouble like a confusing game of guefyr! Faeyr is my brother, I should have..."

"Faeyr is older than you, is he not? Is he not a big boy now, capable of making his own decisions?" Maria said, her harsh voice dripping with sarcasm. Ayden simply said nothing, staring at his feet in shame.

Suddenly Maria laughed softly, shaking with amusement. Ayden turned, confused, and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Without the icy glare of moments before, Maria smiled happily and inquired, "You used to play guefyr?"

Ayden had to smile at that remark. Guefyr was one of those childhood games that parents teach their children so that they will never be bothered again. Guefyr was impossible to complete, though little, ignorant children tried so hard. "Yes; Faeyr was the one who taught me how."

"Ironic..." As she said this to Ayden she watched Selene. She seemed ok. She looked back to Ayden, " Her name...Aria. It's familiar. Like one I knew in the past but I know I have never met someone with the name." She stopped talking and went off into deep thought. She remembered back to the faries. When the name seemed most... familiar then. Was it a fariy she knew? No. It wasn't. Couldn't be. But when the faries gave her her...power, they told her a few memories would be gone...forever. Her name was changed becuase she could no longer remember her real name. Could her constened slight memory of the name mean anything...She lost her train of thought as someone said soemthing, " Look! Is that the Talismian?" It was lith. Maria looked up and at the item he was pointing at. It looked painfully detailed. She looked at Selene who was fully healed now." Selene? Is it?"

"I don't know," Selene answered. Galen could tell by her tone of voice that she honestly didn't. But they'd have to trust their insticts here, wouldn't they?

He admired the beautiful talisman, impressed by its fine workmanship. Flames were twisted around it, making the intricate talisman a masterpiece.

"What do we do with it?" Lith asked.

"Good question," Madison replied.

(ARGH! Painfully uninspired today...please forgive me!)

{/center}*You are forgiven... hehe. I'm going to start adding a limit though if the story doesn't move along... But maybe not since I'LL have to follow it too... lol.*

"It's a talisman, a marker. We don't do anything with it, but there must be a way for it to point out the next talisman. I don't know how, but-" Selene suddenly fell silent, and stared at the wall, and a different voice seemed to speak through her. It saing in a high, clear voice,

"Three are they,
That guide the way,
To the kingdom's true heir,
And his sacred lair.

One, in a temple of magic will find,
To get the next marker, look behind."

She stopped, then looked at the others, who had astonished looks on thier faces. "What...?"

"Look!" said Maria, and they looked toward the statue of Eodin above the talisman. It was glowing softly, and as they watched the statue seemed to smile, and the light faded. "Thank you..." Maria whispered, and smiled in return to the goddess.

"The talisman! Come on, we need to lift it off and see the wall behind it!" Gaylen said and they ran to the wall. Lith carefully lifted it from its position and set it gently on the ground. Behind it was a map.

"Can anyone make sense of it?" Madison asked, confused. It was true, the writing on it was of a different language, and the flowing script was hard to see clearly.

"Let me through," said Ayden, and pushed his way to the front. After squinting at it for a moment, he said, "It's Faerian. Give me a minute..." They stepped back and waited for him to finish translating it.

*I am sooooo tired... At least I gave you an easy start of...*

"This is very ancient Faerian. It's hard to understand," Ayden said softly. He squinted at the flowing script on the wall, wondering who had put all this on the wall behind the talisman. And what everything meant.

Ayden finally backed away from the wall, shaking his head. "What does it say, Ayden?" Madison asked in a voice bursting with curiosity.

"I don't know."

"What?" Lith exclaimed, his voice surprised. "Can't you read Faerian?"

"Of course I can!" Ayden snapped back, "But this passage doesn't make any sense."

"Read it to us, Ayden," Selene implored.

Ayden turned back to the wall, cleared his throat, and recited:

"Stranded in a sea of sand,
Legends are told of the four great waters:
Wisdom, strength, courage, and friends.
In the middle of these four waters,
Lies the the talisman you desire.

Maria lisened to what Ayden was saying, She knew from the faries how to read all forms of their language new and old but didn't say. She thought of the first line.

"Stranded in a sea of sand....A sea of sand is a desert I would think. Mabey we should head twords the desert. And fours great waters....lakes...seas..."

Everyone was thinking about what it was it meant.
"Mabey it's a Island...In the meeting place of the four great oceans." Lith spoke out to the group." Do the names of the four great oceans mean Wisdom, strength, courage and friends?"

"The Ocean of Poise translated means Wisdom....I know that much."Spoke up Madison.

"And the Ocean of Mana means Strenght." Lith added.

"The Ocean of Elan means courage."Maria told everyone.

"So the Ocean of Cabal must mean friends" Finished up Selene.

"But is there a island where they meet and if so HOW will we get there?" Ayden asked everyone.

*For the seas...I just used Synonyms of the actual words. If you think of something better feel free to change it.*

(a/n: The seas synonyms work fine for me. ^_^)

Selene paced the dark room. The priestesses at the temple had graciously let them stay the night, and had provided the first soft beds and warm meals the group had had in weeks. After they had all taken a long bath, Maria, Madison, and Selene had retired to their one room. Madison had immediately gone to sleep, and presumably Maria had done the same. Selene, however, had gotten no rest.
How were they supposed to find an island in the middle of four huge bodies of water, let alone get there? It seemed impossible. Ayden was having trouble putting the map on the wall with any current maps. "It's only a fragment," he had said hours before. "I can't tell where this river starts, or the location of this village here. And it really doesn't help that there are no names." They had been forced to copy the map and hope that the next talisman would give them more of a clue.
"Will you please stop that?" came Maria's sleepy voice from her bed as Selene passed it a seventh time. Selene gave a small smile.
"Yeah, sorry. Go back to sleep." Maria gave a grumble of consent and Selene slid out the door.
The hall outside was a marble-like stone, and cool on her feet. She follwed her instinct and wound up on what seemed like the back porch. It had a roof, but the side walls were missing and replaced with a fence-like structure. This too was made of stone. I wonder how the made this... she thought to herself as she went to sit on the low railing. She leaned against a pillar, the cool stone a comfort to her still-throbbing shoulder. Madison had mended the flesh, but it still felt like someone had clubbed her.
"Can't sleep either?" came a voice from behind her. Selene turned her head to see Lith coming through the doorway. She blushed, embarassed at having been caught in her nightgown (another gift of the priestesses). But then, in this world, it really didn't matter. She turned her head back to the night sky, not wanting him to see her red face.
"Not really.It just... It seems like it's going to take so long... What if Trydion has already gotten full power by the time we find all four talismans? I mean, it's going to take us at LEAST a month to get to the island, and what about the others? We don't have that much time... I can feel it." As she spoke Lith walked over to the railing and swung his legs over, sitting next to her.
"Don't worry about it. We need the time to recoup, especially you, what with your shoulder and all. How is it, by the way?"
"It feels like it's been pounded by a runnaway horse," Selene replied honestly.
"Let me see," he said, and moved to examine her shoulder. He gently peeled back the long sleeve of the nightgown, revealing her black and blue shoulder. As he did so Selene remembered something else about this world: no bras. She turned scarlet again, but Lith didn't notice.
"It does look sore," he stated, raising his eyebrows. He gingerly replaced the sleeve, then turned to follow her gaze to the stars.
"They're so different," she whispered, hugging herself.
Lith repositioned himself to face her with a confused look. "What do you mean?"
"It's just... I'm so far from home..." she gave a slight shiver. Memories of her home flooded back to her. A time when she and the crew went to the beach for a cookout. DDR parties, anime fests, birthdays, her first kiss; all these things came back to her, and she wished more than ever that she could go back to that nice, normal life. Events, however, prevented that wish from being granted. Selene gave a long sigh.
"Sometimes I feel the same way, but-- WILL YOU STOP THAT? I GET THE POINT! I KNOW WHAT I SHOULD DO, JUST GIVE ME A MOMENT TO BUILD UP!" This sudden outburst seemed not to be directed at Selene but some unknown figure above. She looked up, bewildered. Seeing nothing, she looked back at Lith with one eyebrow raised.
Lith flushed, and stammered an apology. "Sorry, it's just- stupid VIH- I mean- um-"
"Oh yes, I seem to recall you mentioning some mysterious VIH before," said Selene cynically, her eyebrows arching even higher.
"Yeah... See, I have this voice, and- Oh, nevermind!" With an exasperated wave of his hands, Lith gave up, and did what he'd been planning to for the past several minutes. He kissed her.
Selene was, shall we say, a bit startled at this, and drew away, her face flaming. "Sorry," she mumbled, and flipped other the balcony and fled back to the room. Once there she crawled under the covers, and tried her best not to think of that one brief moment, that shining instant, when she'd been happy in this world.

Ayden stood at the lake's edge, staring at the moon's reflection in the clear, still water. Everything has happened so quickly, he thought to himself. Just like in all the tales I have told throughout the realm, the journey we are in already seems hopeless.

The lake shone with an ethereal light as he pulled the picture of Aria out from the pocket on his shirt. Soft, gentle starlight danced on the figure, as if the woman on the paper was dancing. Tears fell from Ayden's eyes. Aria, I'm sorry I failed you. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm sorry I was a craven fool. I'm sorry...

"AHHHHH!" Ayden screamed, venting his sadness and guilt in one long cry of ultimate suffering. Then the world lay quiet again as the last sounds of his yell disappeared into the night.

Ayden took up his harp, and sang, for the last time, the song he had written Aria so long ago:

"In the dead, dark hours after midnight
When the world seems to stop in it's place,
You can see a little more clearly,
You can look your life in the face;
You can see the things that you have to-
Speak the words too true for the day.
In the dead, dark hours after midnight,
Little friend, will you listen - and stay?

In the time when I never knew you
I could view the world as my own-
I was God's own gift to his creatures,
And I wore an armor of stone.
I was wise and faithful and noble-
I was pompous, pious and cold.
I was cruel when I never meant it-
Far too cool to touch or to hold.

It was you who broke through my armor;
It was you who broke through the wall,
With your pain and your desperation-
How could I not answer your call?
How could I have guessed you would touch me,
And in ways I could not control?
How could I have known I would need you-
Or have guessed you'd see to my soul?

For as I taught you, so you taught me,
Taught me how to love and to care-
For your own love melted my armor,
Taught me how to feel and to dare.
When I looked tonight, I discovered
I could not again stand apart-
In the dead, dark hours after midnight,
I discovered I owe you my heart."