"Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently." – Maya Angelou

I had thought Maya would have returned home once certain that I was alright, and yet she had stayed. I didn't know if this was a good or a bad thing in terms of the curse and solving it, but I was happy that my friend had stuck around. Maya had been the one friend that had stayed with me always and now that I was no longer on house arrest, I intended to show Maya around the Castle.

Of course, I realised that Maya had probably been shown around various places by others while I had been recovering but I still wanted to play hostess for a short while. Personally, I was hoping to have a girly afternoon with my dear friend. With all that had happened, the two of us hadn't had a chance to talk about things. Though we'd exchanged phone calls since I had been granted access to the phone, it wasn't the same as hanging out face to face.

Luckily for me, Ben and Raff seemed to sense that I needed some time with my best friend. However, Raff had asked that both myself, and Maya join him for dinner in the evening. I had said yes, of course, I couldn't say no to Raff when he has so artfully captured my heart.

The tour between the two of us started upstairs, more precisely in the 'forgotten wing', as I called it. The wing had been open when the trouble started the first time around. I assumed that Maya would have been shown the garden and most of the downstairs and I was right in that assumption. I wanted to show Maya the parts of the house that I'd seen in my visions. I felt like I needed to connect Maya to all that had happened and to add a bit of safety to my life once more.

Maya at least, seemed interested when I spouted all the facts I knew and outlined what I'd seen in my visions. I was continually surprised by how accepting Maya continued to be about everything. I knew that I hadn't acted so calm when everything had been placed on my shoulders. I envied Maya for her 'cool-as-a-cucumber' attitude. I supposed I wished I could be as cool and confident as my friend, but I just wasn't wired that way.

We settled, eventually, in one of the sitting rooms that I regularly frequented. Ben had obviously been in while we had been exploring, for food and drink had been laid out on a nearby table. I supposed that once we'd refilled our bellies and quenched our thirst that the real talk would begin.

"How are you really?"

"I'm fine Maya. I mean it. I know a lot has happened and really, I should have crashed at the bottom of some barrel by now, but I am fine."

"I always knew you were stronger than you realised. Funny the coincidences in life though, the blackouts, the breakup and the letter that brought you here."

I saw the glint reflected in my best friend's eye and realised that this was something that had been weighing heavily on Maya for some time and obviously something my friend thought about a lot.

"You don't believe in the coincidence?" I asked.

"I believe that things happen for a reason. The letter asking you to work here for example, why didn't Philip destroy it? Why go to all the trouble of hiding the note? It makes no sense."

"You know Philip and his family are descendants of Victor Madden? The man Valarie humiliated when she rejected his marriage offer...perhaps they had an ulterior motive."

"See, that makes even less sense. If they were out for personal revenge or even if they had even an inkling that this curse existed, they would have destroyed that letter and not kept it."

"Unless Philip hadn't been told the whole story and his Father was pretty keen to keep me around after the engagement fell through."

"Valera, do you realise how mad you sound? You're clutching at straws because of your personal experiences with the family. Let it go Valera, they may have done you wrong but there is nothing to suggest that Victor Madden had anything to do with Valarie's demise."

I hung my head, the theory I'd been working on had seemed like such a sure thing, but I could admit to myself that it was easy to believe that Victor Madden was guilty because the Madden family had wronged me so. I rubbed my hands up my arms, trying to push away the guilt. My nose wrinkled as I tried to rid myself of a theory that never fit.

"The right road is not always the easy road," said Maya.

I sighed, knowing that Maya was right. I had been foolish to think that the Madden family had been responsible for Valarie's death, yet despite what Maya said, I couldn't help but hold onto some of my anger towards the Madden family.

"You'll find out who did this, I know you will because you're smart and you're dedicated. I've been watching since I arrived here, and you've grown so much. I always wondered when you'd find your confidence and become all that you could be."

"Is this going to turn into one of your mushy speeches?"

"I'm serious," Maya said as she threw a pillow playfully in my direction...she missed. "When you first started having those blackouts, I thought it was the beginning of the end and that you had a disease you couldn't come back from. The level of relief I felt knowing that wasn't the case is a feeling I don't think I can describe and yet you are still in danger no matter how you look at it."

"What you would you rather me do?"

"I'm certain that you would not go even if I asked, so I won't. You're here for a reason and I don't think it's just for the curse."

The air around me became cold and the seriousness in Maya's voice had me shuddering in sudden worry.

"What do you mean?"

"I know more than anyone how hard your life has been, and I've never judged you for it. Here you have the chance of a lifetime. A chance for happiness and the chance to be a hero."

"You make it sounds so glamorous."

"Maybe it could be. They don't write stories about these types of things because they can't be watched, they have to be lived."

"Quite wise you are," said Ben, making the both of us jump as we hadn't heard him enter.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to make either of you jump but dinner is fast approaching, and Raff asked me to fetch the both of you."

"Shouldn't we change?" asked Maya.

"No, Raff is not a stickler for former wear, so we'll be fine, although, he might get a bit grumpy if we keep him from his dinner."

We shared a laugh at the impossibility of Raff getting grumpy at being forced to wait for food. It was something that just didn't happen. The two of us allowed Ben to lead the way towards Raff and the dinner that awaited, while warming our hearts with jokes.

I had been right when I said that Raff wasn't bothered by formalities, but he looked fine in the formal clothes he was wearing. I could see his muscles flex underneath the shirt he was wearing and licked my lips in anticipation. His skin had a glow to it that I knew he only got from spending a day in the sun and he had a secret smile upon his face. A smile I hoped was there for me alone, but I wasn't sure. Our kiss still lingered in my mind and though I wanted a repeat performance, I didn't know where we stood as neither of us had spoken or cleared the air.

I would always love spending time with Raff, and I enjoyed even more, the prospect of spending time with both Raff and Maya. I was however, blind to how I acted when around Raff. Blind to how my gaze lingered on Raff when I spoke. Blind to how I lit up when Raff spoke to me. Blind to how much I touched him and how much I laughed with him. It didn't matter how blind I was to all those actions thought, because Maya never missed an opportunity to tell me of them!

I might have been disappointed that Raff wouldn't be walking me back to my rooms that night, but Maya didn't miss the opportunity to tease me relentlessly.

"What was that over dinner?"

"What was what?"

"The smouldering sex eye thing going on between you and Raff."

"I don't know what you mean," I said, though my blush gave me away.

"Sure, you don't know what I'm talking about...you two need to sit down and have a chat."

"You make it sound like a job to be done."

"Oh please, you and Raff are so cute it's almost sickening. Do everyone a favour and sort out what's going on between the two of you before the others in the Castle get sick of it and start meddling!" she exclaimed.

"You're an idiot Maya, and I'm not saying you're right but when Raff and I have a chat it'll be on our own terms."

"Ok fine...stubborn witch."

I laughed at my friend and linked arms with her for the remainder of the walk back to our respective rooms.

"Besides, it's not just me who has feelings for someone in the Castle. Admit it, I'm not the entire reason that you've stayed at Flyzroy."

Maya blushed scarlet giving me all the answer I needed.

"It's fine, you don't have to tell me who it is Maya," I said in a reassuring manner.

"Aren't you curious?"

"Of course, but you'll tell me when you're ready."

"Just like you'll talk to Raff when you're ready?"

I nodded. We were so different and yet we knew each other so well.