"Airin," sounded more of a whisper to herself than an actual answer.

"Nydda, she has been helping Lyanna and I since we got here. She let us stay here, she is a kind person," Xander spoke now.

"Airin is sweet!" Lyanna chirped, and now she rushed to Nydda to give her a hug. Nydda was not having it though. She flicked the girl away. Lyanna was startled, and quietly cowered, back to Xander. That made Airin uneasy. Lyanna seemed so happy to see Nydda again that she wanted to go and hug her, and Airin worked long enough with young children to know they were not shy to people they held dear in their heart. Nydda's curt reaction shocked Lyanna, she did not understand why someone she loved would flick her away like that. Maybe Nydda was under a lot of stress, Airin explained to herself.

Nydda sighed. "Lyanna, I do not wish to be hugged right now," she said at Lyanna, who stood with a mix of confusion and disbelief look on her face. Lyanna nodded mindlessly.

"Our King Rovan sent me to bring you and Lyanna home," Nydda announced to Xander. "Let's go home. The war of elegarii is over."

"Over?" Xander tilted his head, requesting further detail from Nydda.

"Yes. Over. Myrana got tired of our staunch defense and their supplies and morale ran so low that they decided to pull back. It's in the middle of winter there in Halgard. That added more pressure for them to pull back."

Airin could see that Xander was not comfortable with Nydda and her statement about the end of Halgard-Myrana war.

"Myrana does not just get tired, Nydda. You know that. Leidra has Ares supporting her. They are dark and cunning. They will not give up so easily. Are you and Rovan sure they do not have any trick up their sleeve?"

Nydda stared into Xander's eyes for a few seconds, then smiled wryly. "Come home. Help us rebuild. Your king, your people, they need you. Your duties in Halgard await, Lord Xander. Myrana is gone. The force of Halgard, and the sword of Zeus in our King Rovan's hand, had dealt them quite a blow. Winter is in full force now, they pulled back to save themselves some dignity and prevent further losses. We will be ready if they decide to attack again when spring comes," Nydda was gentle but assertive.

To hear someone address Xander as Lord snapped Airin back to the fact that Xander was not just that guy-in-hoodie who painted a lot, stayed quiet, whip smart, also generally easy in his willingness to try any and all kind of food offered to him, rarely if ever smiled, and steadfastly kept an eye on his charge, Lyanna.

He was not just a man who lingered in the coldness of the shadow, a man with wonderful gifts and deep wounds, the one with surprisingly warm hug and comforting presence when needed.

He was not only all that, but also a high-ranking warrior, a brother to the king of Halgard, a member of the ruling family, a commander of the Halgardian guards, a guest in her life from another world, a world where mythology and reality enmeshed.

He was not just the Xander that she had grown to know more.

Xander nodded. "I understand, Nydda. I will return to Halgard."

Lyanna let out a loud whine. "I wish to see Father! But I also want to go to school here with Airin!" she shouted while scrambling to find Airin.

"Halgard is your home, Lyanna! Not here!" Nydda reprimanded the girl. Her grey eyes shone in displeasure.

"Can I ... stay ... Nydda, please, just a bit? There will be a birthday next week in class. It's Elena's birthday. She is my friend. I want to be there," Lyanna almost sobbed.

Airin grabbed her shoulder, and nodded at Nydda. "She can stay with me. I don't mind," she said, and Lyanna looked up to her with her eyes brimming with tears and a faint smile.

"Nydda, I think ... Lyanna can stay here a bit longer. Halgard will still be under the threat of Myrana, I am sure Myrana will not just give up. We rebuild Halgard, and I will come for her when it is better there. She loves it here, and it will be good for her training to be the future queen of Halgard to be with people of different ideas and upbringing," Xander chimed in.

Nydda stiffened, her lips tightened, and her grey eyes widened. She let out a hoarse groan. "Lyanna goes home to Halgard today," she repeated with a commanding tone of finality there.

"I want to be at Elena's birthday! I want to be here with Airin!" screamed Lyanna on the brink of a meltdown.

Nydda was surprised with the intensity of Lyanna's reaction. She cocked her head in disapproval at the little girl, then looked at Airin, appeared to be thinking hard of something, and smiled.

The smile was like a bucket of ice water thrown at her. Airin shivered.

"Airin has to come with us. She has seen the magnificent well of elegarii, meet people from another universe through the elegarii well. Thus it is as it should be that she comes with us too. Elegarii should remain a secret that we in Halgard keep. There should not be any other living being outside Halgard realm that knows about it," she said without taking away her gaze from Airin. The sorceress had made her decision.

"No!" Xander thundered. "Halgard is not a world for Airin! She should stay here, where she belongs! She has helped Lyanna and me a lot, we cannot make her pay for it by being uprooted from her world, her home here!"

Lyanna ran to Xander, and by now she was busy nodding, agreeing with Xander.

"The secret of elegarii has to be kept! Airin comes with us!" Nydda bellowed, her decision to take Airin along to Halgard was firm. She continued,"And Airin could be useful in Halgard. She will make herself at home there. We will leave now!"

Airin blanked out, she shook her head, and muttered No repeatedly. She would have gladly sworn an oath of secrecy on her dear Mom's grave if she was asked to, an oath to protect the secrecy of elegarii as the only human here in her world to have ever seen it. But nobody asked her.

Her students' face, then the face of Mom, Stella, some other friends of hers from different stages of her life, even Dad, flashed in her mind. Xander was right. She belonged here, not in Halgard!

"No! Nydda! Leave Airin here! She does not belong in Halgard! Leave her alone!" Xander shouted, then he bent down, lifted Lyanna, and held her in his arms, the little girl was by now screaming and sobbing.

"Run, Airin!" Xander panicked and turned to her, and Airin's shocked brain could process that, turned around, tried to run to her bedroom, but it was of no use at all. Nydda lifted her right hand, and the front door swung hard and opened wide.

Airin turned around again to see her door, and her jaws dropped. Through her open apartment door, she saw the forest of the circles of trees. The intense smell of forest that had invaded her apartment earlier had come from the enchanted forest. A straight road led from her opened door to the glowing well of elegarii, a few meters outside.

"We all go! Come! Make haste!" Nydda lifted both arms, and made motion as if she was pulling Airin closer to her.

Airin felt like some draft horses pulled her closer to Nydda. She started screaming in fear – fear that stemmed from her knowledge that she was now utterly helpless, completely powerless – her world was being uprooted, all that she ever knew soon ceased to exist and she could not do anything about it.

She could not hear anything because the sound like a tornado blowing from outside deafened her. She knew that Xander tried to talk to Nydda, but Nydda would not have it.

Nydda walked to the well outside, her magic had caused Xander who was carrying Lyanna, to be pulled with her too. The warrior fought the force of Nydda pulling him, but failed. Xander turned to her, tried to shout something at her, but Airin could not hear him.

Something made her walk, her mind had not much control of what she was doing now, and she was closer and closer to elegarii.

When she got to the side wall of the well, she peeked inside, and saw it again: Clean, clear, silverish water. Soft waves rolling gently, hitting the wall of the well in a rhythmical movement, and she could see the coming orbs. The orbs of lights that seemed to swim up from the bottom of the well, and shot out from the well.

An unseen force nudged her, and she climbed the well.

She sat for a moment on the wall of the well, watching the beautiful rolling waves and floating orbs just a mere few inches below her toes. There was not one deep thought crossing her mind right now. She just sat, and was in awe with how beautiful the water was.

Everything around her quietened down, she did not pay attention to anyone or anything but the glistening water and floating orbs.

Her mind was now completely blank, hypnotized by the awesomeness of the inside of the well.

She looked around, and she saw Xander, still holding crying Lyanna. He tried to talk to her, his hand gave signal for her to stay away from the well, and he kept shaking his head. But she could not move. Nydda stood across from her, on the opposite side of the well, and smiled. The kind of smile she recognized from Dad too, when he knew he had gotten what he wanted from her, her obedience, by means of him being loud and mean. The smile that shamed her, weakened her resolve, yet she could not do much to stop it.

She turned away from the panic gaze of Xander, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. The face of Mom, then the face of her young students flashed in her mind, but failed to help her regain control of herself.

She clumsily bent down, extending her arms as far as she could, trying to touch the water. The water rippled a few centimeters below the tip of her fingernails. She could see her reflection there, rippling too. A face she recognized, but she seemed to have lost familiarity with her own face. She tried to catch the orbs flying out from the well. Failed. The orbs seemed to pass through her hands and just flew away.

She bent down even further, let her balance go, and dived straight into the rippling water. Faintly, she could hear something. Xander shouted at her in his desperation.

"Airin! No!"

She could hear him well now. Very clear. But too late.