Elsinor Tarqqantes

"Elsinor," asks Evora, "why is it that you decided to ally with me?

"To stunt your growth, pet. If you were on your own this whole time, you might have learned to think - and that, my dear, would be very dangerous indeed."

I should not have said that. I have no idea, in fact, why it is that these words, treacherous as they are, have left my mouth; the only thing that is known about them is that they could well destroy the web of tactics I've built around Evora in order to keep her exactly the way she is. In a spider's web, even the smallest of strings, once undone, will take down the entire thing, and this is exactly what I fear I might have done. I have allowed Evora, daughter of Antimony, a phytomancer and my ally, a shred of light into the web of shadows that is my mind. With this, I fear that she may just find a way to make even the furthest reaches of my thoughts much less obscure.

She blinks. "Did you mean to say that?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"Off the top of my head," I begin, "it looks as though it must be a curse. I've cast my fair share of them, of course - blindness is a particular favourite; people are so fascinating when they see nothing but obscurity - but this one is different. A truth curse, by the looks of it, which would blend word and curse magic. Something like that would take a powerful nominomancer, which nobody in these Trials seems to be. Which leads me to believe that this must be one of the Trials themselves. Honesty, after all, is a very destructive thing."

Evora stares at me in silence. Though at first she looked taken aback, she seems to have processed my words frighteningly quickly, and now looks more as though she is pondering every word, appreciating it for every piece of information she can take out of it. Her lips are pursed and, though her eyes are dulled by fatigue, they remain sharp and awake with intrigue, staring into mine as though, for the first time, they can see right through me. This, unfortunately, does not seem particularly far from the truth at this particular moment.

"Is this the way your mind always works?"

"Most usually, yes."

"And have you changed your mind about me?"

"Slightly. You learn very quickly, and it seems as though proximity to me is coaxing your creativity. Only fools refuse to change their minds - especially after the object of said mind saved their life but the day before."

"So you're saying that you would have died without me, yesterday?"

"Most likely."

This honesty, while at first frustrating, is now growing to be worrisome as well; the more Evora speaks, the more vulnerability she sees and the easier it becomes for her to find ways she can take me down. It becomes obvious to me that I need to change the flux of conversation before my ally decides to dig even deeper and truly finds the keys to crushing me in my entirety. Limited as her mind may be, it is currently reaching far out of its shell and I have begun to fear that, should it stretch any further, it may never return to the little box in which I preferred it to stay.

"Evora, do you think me odd?"

"Absolutely," she says. "It's quite refreshing."

"And do I frighten you?"

"Considerably less every day."

As she says this, I feel as though I shrink multiple feet. Though I will always be physically intimidating, and though my magic is both powerful and nightmarish, it seems as though Evora, daughter of Antimony, phytomancer and my biggest threat, has begun to pierce the truth: that, separated from the spectacle and illusions of grandeur in which I am shrouded, I am in fact the smallest one here. She is beginning to dawn onto the fact that all it takes to fight back shadows is a ray of light to show them for what they truly are; a threat which exists but in the seer's mind. Soon, if I want to survive, I will have to leave, lest the obstructions that cloud Evora's thoughts be completely removed.

"Would you kill me, right at this moment?" asks Evora.

"I don't know.'"

And this answer, I must admit, is one which might shock me even more than it does her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aria Gracen

Aria never classified herself as someone brave.

In fact, when she was young, she was always deemed the "chicken", the "scaredy-cat". There were many things that frightened her: the deep and deadly dark, enclosed spaces, shadows that seemed to twist and bend into monsters from under her bed - which pretty much summed up the jungle she was currently in. Yet, strangely, Aria didn't feel afraid. She felt calm, at peace, even in a place that was hardly tranquil. And, Aria thought as her grey-blue irises rested in Atlanta al Thea's sleeping form. It's all because of her.

In all honesty, Aria believed that the only reason she was still alive was because of Atlanta. The strong, powerful hydromancer had been the one - the only one - who took a hold of Aria's hand when she had stood shock-still, a waiting target, the first day on the beach. Atlanta had made it her mission that day to save Aria, to save a life that was her competition, a life she'd never known, and Aria would be forever grateful to the girl for that. It was a debt she could never repay.

She was even starting to debate whether or not Atlanta made a better companion than Antonia. Most like the answer was yes.

It was at that precise moment that Atlanta's dark brown irises fluttered open, and she emitted a low groan of pain. At first, her eyes seemed disorientated, unfocused, but then she squeezed them shut and when Atlanta opened them again, Aria knew she could see. Thank god. So her eyesight isn't damaged. She wanted to lean over and give Atlanta a hug, whisper in her ear how glad Aria was that she was okay, that she was awake, but this wasn't the time. Atlanta was struggling to sit up, and Aria immediately grabbed her shoulders gently but firmly and pushed her down. "Shh..." she murmured, glancing at the crude bandage wrapped around Atlanta's forehead. We need to find better material for that wound later, along with herbs so it doesn't get infected. A list of things to do ran through her mind as Aria continued, "Stop moving. You need to regain your strength."

Atlanta's eyes found hers, and all at once Aria's heart did a little race inside of her chest. "What happened?" The older girl croaked out, voice cracking as she grimaced from the pain in her head.

Aria bit her lower lip nervously, wondering if feeding Atlanta so much information would be good for her health. 'After all, she did lose quite a lot of blood...'She was going to make up some little white lie - most likely along the lines of, "Nothing, nothing. Don't you worry yourself about it." However, when Aria opened her mouth to speak, instead of delivering her reassuring lines Aria blurted out, "A carnivorous Pegasus came for us in the forest, a few hours ago. I tried to use my zoomancy to control it, but my magic wasn't powerful enough. It struck you on the forehead with its hooves and knocked you out, but before it could kill you Evora from Lirima appeared. The Pegasus was distracted by Evora's sudden presence, and I dragged you away." She paused to catch her breath, not immediately realising she had said the wrong thing, and then frowned. "Wait. I wasn't going to tell you that."

Aria felt Atlanta stiffen under her touch, and suddenly knew she had made some kind of mistake. "Why?" She snapped, voice harsh and with a menacing undertone. Her eyes glittered in the semi-darkness with barely contained anger as she stumbled to her feet, using a tree trunk as support. "Is it because poor Atlanta is too weak and too badly injured to hear the news?" Her breathing was ragged, as if she'd just run a mile as she stared deeply into Aria's eyes, towering above the girl. Atlanta's lips curled themselves downwards into a snarl as she hissed, "Well? Have you gone mute? You doubt me, don't you, Aria Gracen?"

Aria immediately started shaking her head, a bad feeling settling into her gut as she scrambled up next to Atlanta as well. "No! Atlanta, why are you acting this way?" 'Maybe she did hit her head harder than I thought.' Aria shook her own head and got ready to say some more soothing, meaningless words, but she found that once again, what she had planned in her brain didn't flow out her mouth. "I don't doubt you - in fact, I'm terrified of your magic!" 'Wait, why am I saying this?' "But you're acting like a total bitch right now, and considering the fact that I just saved your life, a 'thank you' would be appreciated."

She stopped to draw breath, but inwardly her heart was pounding at a thousand miles per hour as Atlanta bristled, eyes darkened considerably so that they were almost black. At once, the "chicken" side of Aria took over, and she stumbled backwards, holding her palms out in front of her in a gesture of apology and surrender. "Oh crumbs," she stammered as Atlanta strode forward, hands curled into fists. "Atlanta, I swear, I'm so so sorry-"

But that was as far as she got, because the next thing Aria knew was that her ears were ringing like bells, and a burning pain flared in her cheek. She let out a startled gasp, and subsequently felt something sticky and wet trickle down her chin. She didn't even need to touch it to know that it was blood. But Aria didn't even have a chance to recover as Atlanta stepped forward, grabbing ahold of Aria's bony shoulders and heaving her up, ignoring Aria's whimper of pain as Atlanta's sharp nails dug into the fabric of her tattered cloak and into her flesh.

"How. Dare. You." Each word was like a stinging whip to Aria's heart as Atlanta glared at her, eyes blazing and wild and mad. She let out a little squeak of fear as Atlanta's hands, now no longer reassuring moved up to Aria's neck, but for some reason Aria could not move, couldn't fight back, anything. She could only stare in wide-eyed horror as Atlanta repeated, "How dare you say that to me?"

Aria gasped, and goosebumps rose along her skin, and she trembled underneath Atlanta's deadly clutches. "I'm sorry, At-At-Atlanta, I d-don't know wh-why I said that. It was some kind of magic, it had to be!" She was pleading now, eyes starting to well up with tears. The woman in front of her was not the Atlanta al Thea that Aria knew. Instead, something had replaced her, something dark and evil. "I would never call you a bitch, you know that. I would never because-" she stopped, although she did not know exactly why, and Atlanta narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Because what?" Atlanta snarled harshly, the grip on Aria's travelling cloak tightening as a threat. "What, Aria? What?"

Aria trembled like a leaf, expression a mix of horror and terror and confusion, for she didn't even know what she was going to say. Yet, somewhere deep inside of heart of hearts, Aria knees that this was black magic at work, and she should resist, so she did. She squirmed and shook in Atlanta's hands, but unexpectedly it was like an invisible hand had taken ahold of her lips and yanked them apart, so that she said, "I love you."

She stared. Atlanta stared. The two of them stared at each other as the wind whispered through the trees, carrying those three little words from Aria's mouth far, far away. She didn't care about that. She didn't care about anything except Atlanta in front of her, who let her grip on Aria's clothing loosen so that she could go. Aria didn't know why she said it, but when she did she didn't feel brave at all. Because who could be brave when they had just said a lie, a lie that could destroy a friendship forever? 'It was obviously a lie. It has to be.'

Atlanta opened her mouth to speak, and panic kicked in. Leaping backwards, Aria whirled around ready to race into the lush undergrowth, ready to disappear forever. But not before she looked Atlanta in the eye and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Then, just like that, she was gone. Leaving behind her best friend, her only friend, forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elysia Brisa

"Good afternoon!" Great, let's see what horrible creature we'll get today. "Today will be less adventurous than the tasks before. Until midnight you will not be able to lie and you will immediately answer any question that is asked. Good luck and try not to reveal too much, especially something that could be used against you."

A truth spell? Well that's...different. Whatever, maybe I can avoid everyone for a while.

There's a bright, blinding light in front of me and I stumble backwards, slamming my head against a tree in the process. "Time for my third victim tonight." I hear Garnet say.

"What do you want Garnet?" I ask, rubbing my eyes.

"I want to know what everyone thinks of me because of my low-self esteem." She slaps her hand over her mouth, I completely forgot about this truth thing. "What happened to you being so high and mighty?"

That's just a cover up because I feel inadequate compared to others. Hey, stop that!" She shouts. What about you, huh? Why are you such a loner?"

"I'm alone because I don't want to hurt the ones that I love." I flinch at what I just said, but before I could retaliate she's throwing questions at me and each answer stings like a red, hot arrow in my heart.

"Why? Who did you hurt? Why don't you have red hair? What happened to your parents? Who gave you that stupid puzzle piece? It's no where near as elegant as my crown made from the moon queen's skull." She says, gently petting her focus.

I hurt a young girl named Amity, she was my apprentice. I sacrificed her to save myself and then I was captured soon after. I don't have red hair because I became a vigilante when I was 15 because I wanted to save the world and help people, but I just end up hurting everyone around me. My parents abandoned me when I was 12 because they were poor farmers who used to be criminals and they thought a magical child would draw too much attention to them so they blindfolded me and dumped me miles away from home. When I finally found my way back, the house was trashed and I couldn't find anyone inside. I snagged the puzzle piece from my mother's smashed jewelry box. She had got it from my father as a wedding gift, meaning she was a missing piece from his life. I always thought it was a lame gesture, but it was the prettiest thing we owned."

I feel the blood rushing to my face as the tears spill past my cheeks, I thought this task wasn't supposed to be painful.

"Don't start blubbering like a child, I'm just getting started." She says as she cracks her knuckles. She takes a deep breath, but before she begins to bombard me with more questions she grimaces in pain. Enzo steps out from behind a tree, his eyes focused heavily on Garnet.

"My crown wasn't given to us from the moon queen, my ancestor was a slave that stole it from the current family in charge." She covers her ears and starts screaming.

"No! No! No! Get out of my head!" she turns and scampers off, trying to get out of range of Enzo's powers.

Enzo looks at me, Are you ok?

"No, I feel horrible and emotionally drained from Garnet because I never told anyone that and I feel incredibly weird because I'm still not used to the whole mind reading thing."

Enzo silently laughs, That's understandable. Many people in my country have the gift, so sometimes it's strange to hear someone speaking. Do you blame yourself for your parents leaving?

"Yes, I blame myself constantly for having my powers and for a few years I refused to use them. I was so ashamed and disgusted with myself, but eventually they started bursting through. I learned the hard way that you can't suppress your powers because they just get more and more powerful and sensitive." I say, finding that not all of that was forced out with the truth spell.

Why did you become a vigilante?

"Good morrow children!" Tigaern says with glee. "Well it is officially midnight and the truth spell is finally lifted! I hope you all got much, much closer with this little exercise."

I look back at Enzo and shrug, "I became a vigilante because I wanted to help other lost magi like myself, that's why I took in Amity. She has telekinesis and one night when it was late, she tried to reach for her candle and it moved on it's own. That's how she found her powers, she stayed up and played with the candle for a while. She didn't realize how tiring magic can be and she dropped the candle and her house went down almost instantly, she barely had enough time to get out herself. Although, I fucked her up more than I helped her. I fuck everything up.

He placed a warm hand on my elbow, unable to reach my shoulder. Don't be so hard on yourself, you tried and that's all that mattered. You were young and naive, not everything has to be your fault. You made a mistake and the only thing you can do to help Amity now is to forgive yourself.

I touch his hand and smile at him, Thank you, I think, hoping he gets my message.

He nods and smiles and disappears into the forest. You're young and imperfect, youth is about learning from your own mistakes and accepting your faults.

What are they feeding these kids that they're so wise all of a sudden. I hear a fading chuckle in my mind, embarrassed that I forgot he could hear me. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Garnet al Thea

They had a fire.

That was the only reason she could produce for approaching them. She was Garnet al Thea, and she didn't need anyone, but the early night was cold. The air itself felt as if it were conspiring against her, to make every step she took like cutting through frost.

The green leaves that pressed against Garnet's skin felt sharp as thorns. Perhaps some of them did contain thorns on their edges or their branches. Soon, she promised herself, she would emerge from her hiding place.

A wind rose the goose bumps on her arms and rustled the leaves. The edge of one leaf tickled the tip of Garnet's nose. She barely suppressed a sneeze.

"Who goes there?" The voice of one of the tributes rang out, alerted by the muffled sound.

"Garnet al Thea," she answered at once. Her hands flew to her mouth.

She hadn't meant to say that. She hadn't meant to say anything so revealing until the situation was the perfect one in which to reveal herself. Why had the answer rose unbidden through her throat?

Regardless of answers and their lack thereof, the words were spoken now. As her family so often loved to remind her, she could not rewind time and recreate the past.

Garnet stepped out of her hiding spot with her hands held palms up. "I-" She had planned to say that she had no intention of hurting them, but the words stuck in her throat "I don't wish to hurt you right now," she finished instead. "Who are you?"

"Elysia!" The first girl burst out. Her eyes widened and her hands slapped her mouth.

The mouth of the second girl tightened, but the syllables of her name choked out through her lips despite her wishes. "Aria!"

Whatever horrid spell had somehow been placed upon Garnet had at least been placed upon the other girls as well. That new knowledge failed to dampen the sting of knowing that a part of her behavior was out of her control.

"Why have you come?" Demanded the one called Aria.

Garnet winced. She may not know for sure what exactly was going on, but she had seen enough to know that it was triggered by questions.

"I chose perfection over my father." The words slithered out of her lips against her will. "The path to perfection has led me here."

It took Garnet a split second to realize what she had uttered. Her jaw dropped and she felt a rush as the blood drained out of her face. She hadn't just said that. How could she have said that? Her knees felt weak. She had hardly ever let herself even think about that, let alone say the words aloud.

Aria and Elysia exchanged a confused glance. They didn't understand, couldn't understand, the horror and humiliation burning inside Garnet's soul at her forced admission. They only saw that she had answered a question far more general than the one they had intended to ask.

Garnet knew she should clarify the answer to the question they had wanted to ask, but her thoughts couldn't form clearly in that direction. The train of her thoughts was racing ahead back down the tracks of memories she'd long since tried to suppress.

"Garnet, please," her father had said. His voice had cracked like that.

It was a peculiar thing, that crack in his voice. Diamond would tell Garnet that a cracking voice was imperfect and therefore to be avoided at all costs. Yet that voice crack was what had spoken to her stronger than her words. Even now, the very thought of that crack of his voice made the decision she'd made seem more difficult than she'd like to remember.

Aria crossed her arms. Garnet forced her gaze away from the imagined image of her father and onto the red haired girl. "But why have you come here? To us?"

"The fire." Garnet's heart immediately relaxed in relief that this answer was not a betrayal to herself. She nodded at the dancing flames. "I'm sure you have noticed it is rather cold out here tonight. Your fire radiates quite the lovely show of warmth. You must be able to understand why I might wish to form a nighttime alliance with you and share in the glow of that gorgeous fire."

She silently prayed they would not hear the emphasis on the words nighttime alliance. She had no intention of carrying out a permanent alliance, but an alliance that lasted just through the night was more than suitable to her needs.

Aria looked at Elysia. "Do you think she's telling the truth?"

"Believe me," Garnet said, the words coming easier. "I couldn't have lied to you if I'd wanted to."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mei al Thea

Mei feels the spell. She's in awe at the power it must have taken. Her respect for the Guardians continues to be renewed. She's also fairly certain she knows what the spell does, since she now feels like telling her entire life story to every snarling jungle cat she comes across.

Wait.

Mei slowly looks back. Said snarling jungle cat pounces. Mei dives to the side, just barely quick enough to avoid the sharp claws. Out of the corner of her eye she sees a red-headed girl, watching nervously.

A low growl brings Mei's attention back to the matter at hand. The great cat is stalking her, preparing to pounce again. Mei makes a mad dash for the girl, not sure yet what she will do, but certain that she is controlling the cat.

She makes it, tackling the redhead into the bushes just ahead of the snarling maw.

"Wait! Stop! I don't want to die. I want to live, and be a famous singer, and find true love, and have a daughter, and name her Anna, and sing her lullabies, and teach her magic!" The girl stops, breathless, looking shocked at her outburst.

Mei finds herself frozen, looking wide-eyed at this Zoomancer who has just shared an unjustified amount of personal information. Then an inescapable truth finds its way out of Mei's mouth.

"I don't care."

Mei rips a handful of the girl's hair out and starts chanting frantically. The redhead starts to chant as well, a silver ring glowing brightly on her finger. The surrounding bushes rustle with the approach of the stalking feline.

The air around both girls shimmers as Mei's spell takes effect. The other girl stops chanting in shock, staring at Mei, or rather, staring at herself. Mei created a glamour that switched their appearances.

At that moment the great cat bursts through the bush. It sees its master wearing Mei's form, and attacks, ripping her throat out. Mei takes the opportunity to make a hasty escape.

Mei wanders aimlessly through the jungle, thinking about what she's become since arriving on the island. She's killed people, children really, and feels nothing; no remorse, no regret, no guilt, nothing. Suddenly the trees disperse, and Mei finds herself on the beach.

The beach is not empty.

There's a girl standing there, breathing heavily as if she'd just run a long way. She's standing with her back to Mei, but Mei recognizes her. Garnet al Thea, the noble girl, from her own nation of Aavayoh. Mei approaches her, as quietly as she can manage.

Just as she's about to wrap her hands around the Photomancer's throat, she turns around.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to kill you," Mei responds.

"Why?" Garnet asks, curious.

"I hate you."

"What did I ever do to you?" Garnet asks, now offended.

"You're a noble. My father was a noble, and he gave me up. My caretakers were nobles, and they treated me like dirt. I hate my father, and I hate nobles, and I'm transferring all of my family issues onto you because you're the personification of 'entitlement'!" Mei finishes her rant, breathless, thinking of the redhead she just murdered who had similarly spilled her guts.

Mei starts to chuckle at her pun.

Garnet looks at her like she's a crazy person and starts casting a spell. She finishes too quickly for Mei to react, and an intense light blinds Mei. She blindly swings her sword, and hears a grunt as the blunt edge collides with the Photomancer.

She swings again towards the sound, and this time is rewards with a scream and a thud. Mei figures it must have solidly collided with the back of her head. She raises her sword in the air and brings it down like a hammer on the ground where she believes Garnet to be.

Mei hears and feels a sick crunch as Garnet screams again. "My hand! You broke my hand!"

"Good. Keep talking," Mei says coldly, bringing her sword down again, at the spot where the voice came from. There's another crunch and a wet, gurgling sound. Again she hammers away, slightly out of breath now from the exertion.

Her sight starts to come back, and she almost wishes it wouldn't. What used to be a Photomancer is now a bloody mess on the beach. Mei looks at her bloody sword, checking for damage. She sighs, wondering how she'll ever get it clean again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Atlanta al Thea

When I awoke, the first thing I noticed was the throbbing pain in my forehead. That, and Aria Gracen kneeling by my side.

Her pigeon-blue eyes flickered with mild surprise as I let out a low, pained groan as my own irises adjusted to my surroundings. I was still in the forest, with its trees and shadows that stretched for over a mile, and I shuddered. As I struggled to sit up amidst the constant pounding in my head, the surprise in Aria's eyes changed to worry as her gentle hands took a hold of my shoulders and pushed me back down. "Shh..." she murmured, voice soothing and kind. "Stop moving. You need to regain your strength."

"What happened?" I managed to get out as I gave into Aria's demands and laid back down into the loose dirt. My throat was dry, and my voice was hoarse, and I desperately yearned for water. My previous memories were nothing but a meaningless haze, and even talking took up a lot of effort.

Aria bit her lower lip, as if debating whether to tell me the truth or not. However, before I could open my mouth to ask her again, she blurted out, "A carnivorous Pegasus came for us in the forest, a few hours ago. I tried to use my zoomancy to control it, but my magic wasn't powerful enough. It strike you on the forehead with its hooves and knocked you out, but before it could kill you Evora from Lirima appeared. The Pegasus was distracted by Evora's sudden presence, and I dragged you away." Aria paused to catch her breath, and then frowned. "Wait. I wasn't going to tell you that."

Even through my clouded mind I still found a moment to take offence. "Why?" My voice was harsher than usual, with a steely edge. "Is it because poor Atlanta is too weak and too badly injured to hear the news?" For some reason I couldn't decipher, I was stung by Aria's comment. Maybe it was because I was Atlanta al Thea of House Cervus, and I do not fail like Aria was suggesting. Or perhaps it was the fact that no one had ever questioned my ability before, my strength and wit, and my pride was dented. Stumbling to my feet regardless of the pain in my head, I straightened my back like a proper Thea and stared Aria in the eye. "Well? Have you gone mute? You doubt me, don't you, Aria Gracen?"

The redhead looked shocked as she scrambled to her feet as well. "No! Atlanta, why are you acting this way? I don't doubt you - in fact, I'm terrified of your magic! But you're acting like a total bitch right now, and considering the fact that I just saved your life, I think that I 'thank you' would be appreciated!"

She must've seen the spark of rage in my eyes for she stopped her foolish rant, expression one of utter horror as she started backing away. "Oh crumbs," she stammered, holding out her hands in front of her and shaking them so fast that they were a blur. Like that's going to help her now. "Atlanta, I swear, I'm so so sorry. I had no idea-"

The sound of my fist collided with her cheek rang across the clearing as Aria's head snapped back, sending the younger girl sprawling to the ground. My knuckled burned, but it was nothing compared to the raging inferno that was only growing stronger in my heart. Somewhere, on the back of my mind, I had a nagging feeling that something was wrong. That this was not me. But I hadn't felt this type of rage before, and it felt good. Great, even. Almost refreshing, like a cup of cool water on a hot summer's day. Bending down to Aria's heaving form, I grabbed her by her shoulder and pulled her up, arms straining under the girl's weight.

"How. Dare. You." Each word left my mouth through gritted teeth, enunciated to the point that I was literally spitting into her face. Aria let out a terrified squeak as my hands started moving up from her shoulders, towards her neck, but she seemed paralysed with fear. Blood dripped down her chin from a gash in her lower lip, and somehow seeing her hurt made me beam with pride, like it was some kind of great accomplishment. "How dare you say that to me?"

Aria gasped, goosebumps rising on her skin as she trembled beneath my touch. "I'm sorry. At-At-Atlanta, I d-don't know wh-why I said that. It was so,e kind of magic, it had to be!" The words were tumbling put of her mouth now in a jumbled mess, as her eyes stared up at me, wide and afraid. "I would never call you a bitch, you know that. I would never because-"

"Because what?" I snarled harshly, tightening my grip of the collar of her travelling coat that was now hanging in tatters around her body. "What, Aria? What?"

She trembled, and her face scrunched up in a way like she had just eaten a sour lemon, but for once her eyes held more than fear of me. It was almost like...like she was afraid to finish her sentence, answer my question. Nevertheless, I would not allow my heart a moment of pity for her. She had insulted me, a Thea of Aavayoh, and she was going to pay. I opened my mouth to ask again, no, to demand an answer, but for the second time that day the answer tumbled out of her lips. "I love you."

A heavy numbness washed over my body, and my grip on the fabric of her cloak loosened so that she stumbled away from me. Her eyes were wide with surprise, and perhaps even fear - but it was more surprise than fear as she took a step back. I suspected that my eyes must look relatively similar to Aria's. Usually, I know regain my composure and grab her again, but for some reason my mind seemed to go blank except for one question circulating my brain.

Aria loved me?

Aria loved me?

It seemed impossible, almost, the notion of her love, but as she stared at me and I stared back at her I knew in my heart that she was telling the truth. Inhaling shakily, I stepped forward towards her, but at my movement Aria's eyes took on that terrified look once more. Before I could utter a single syllable, she whispered, "I'm sorry", whirled around, and disappeared like a shadow into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dhruva al Thea

Lucia and I were back at camp by noon, but it wasn't the safe place it'd seemed before - someone had been through it, and torn up the clearing like it was a play place. Still, I supposed that was my fault for leaving so quickly. We still had everything - our backpacks had been suprisingly unharmed during the battle, save a ripped blanket and water bottle that I'd lost while Lucia was trying to rip my arm off with a race through the jungle.

We spent at least an hour reorganizing, and another bandaging each other's wounds. It turns out I had a rather impressive bruise on my back from the kick, and Luce had millions of tiny cuts that we were lucky hadn't already been infected.

The sun was hidden behind clouds when we finished, and I rubbed the purpling area of my back gently, wincing as I touched it. It hurt, but I couldn't seem to stop.

Lucia gently reached around and took my hand, pulling it towards her and lacing her fingers in mine. She signed with her unoccupied hand - Stop.

"Are you just trying to get me to stop, or do you have other motives?" I teased. I wasn't expecting an answer, but Lucia said, clearly, aloud, "Other motives."

We both gasped at the same time. Lucia pulled her hand away from mine to clap them both over her mouth. I leaned back.

"You can talk?"

"I always could, but I took a vow of silence," Lucia said automatically, though it was muffled by her hands. She let out another shriek when the sentence came out. "What's going on?"

"You're talking and I'm confused." I almost covered my own mouth. "I didn't mean to say that. I don't know why I said that aloud. It was a rhetorical question."

Lucia signed something quickly, and I could tell she was upset, because she once again forgot my lack of knowledge in signs. "Lucia, can't you just talk?"

"I can, but I took a vow of silence!" she yelled.

"Well, you're not following it now!"

"Dhruva, it makes me uncomfortable when you yell at me and I haven't done anything wrong." Lucia sounded upset - and, I realized, she was.

"I'm sorry. I've never been forced by an island to speak before. This is a bit new." I tried for a grin. "Are you just as scared as I am?"

"I might be." She seemed less surprised by her speaking, more resigned that she had to by whatever the Guardians were throwing at us now. "I'm confused."

"So am I. I don't see the point in this." I winced as I stretched, the soreness of my back making it hard to do anything. "Luce, will you grab me my bag?"

"Yes."

I accepted it gratefully, rummaging through for an extra blanket that I could rest on. "It seems like the Guardians are trying to stir up trouble by making us answer all the questions given to us. Does that sound right?"

"Yes." Luce had a slight smile on her face as she realized what I was doing. "Are you going to pose everything as a question from now on?"

"I might." I smiled and touched her hand gently. "I like hearing your voice. It's pretty."

She signed something quickly.

"Lucia. . ." I sighed. "You know I can't understand you, right?"

"You understand some."

"Will you please talk? You've already broken your vow, right?"

"Yes," she said quietly, "but I haven't spoken in so long, Dhru."

"Are you going to keep calling me that?"

"I might. Are you going to keep calling me Luce?"

"Yes." I readjusted, and Luce scooted closer to me at the look of pain.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm in pain and trapped on an island with a beautiful girl. No."

She blushed and went back to the questions. "Are you still flirting with me?"

"Yes. Are you going to let yourself be won over?"

"I might," she whispered. "I might already be."

I let Lucia lace her fingers with mine again and pulled her closer, staying silent. I didn't want to make her talk more than she already was, but I couldn't help wanting to hear her voice - it was sweet and soft and everything a princess's would have been, dripping with kindness and the sort of underlying humour that you only heard in the rarest of people.

But then, Luce was the rarest of people.

"Dhruva?" she muttered sleepily. "Can we just sleep now? I'm exhausted."

"Of course, Luce. Grab a blanket."

"You don't always use blankets when you sleep, do you?"

"No. I didn't have to in Aavayoh. It was too warm there. What was it like in Vasileio?"

"Moderate. I needed blankets, though. I need to sleep under something or I can't get to sleep. My sisters do too. I guess it's a Vasileian thing."

"Vasileio sounds nice. I'd love to visit it with you someday." I could almost feel the smile fall from her face - we both knew there was no way we'd both be getting back to Vasileio or Aavayoh.

"Mm." I slipped my arm around her, and Luce seemed to remember that she was meant to be asleep, since she let herself fall into a horizontal position. "Usually my parents don't like visitors from the other nations. I never thought I would, either."

Her voice had the warm tiredness that you hear in sleepy children, or in my case, sleepy princesses from far-off lands, who you might just love. "You should sleep, shouldn't you?"

"Yes. You should stop asking me questions, shouldn't you?"

"No. Luce, do you feel safe with me?"

"Yes. Will you let me sleep?"

"Not quite yet, dear. Am I allowed to call you dear?"

"I like Luce better." She yawned. "Will you please shut up?"

"Not unless you make me."

With one hand, she covered my mouth, and tucked the other under her head, adjusting herself until she was perfectly comfortable. I was perfectly comfortable having her next to me.

The sun was lower than I thought, so it wasn't a surprise when Luce managed to drift off in about five minutes. Despite my best efforts, I was still awake when the shadows of the trees across the clearing completely covered us, and still yawning, still thinking of what to ask Luce when she woke.

Her hand slipped off my face before she fell asleep, and once I was sure she was out, I kissed her lightly on the temple.

I should have been mad at the Guardians for forcing us to speak, tell the truth, answer the questions fired at us, but all I could feel was grateful that I got to spend a day with Luce - learning about her, hearing her voice, the danger behind us and undoubtedly in front of us at an uncharacteristic pause.

The island was warming up to me.