Mara's tours had gone similarly to the first. They had started out with apprehension at this young person sitting as their representative, some even feared the idea of such a young person. However, by the end, she had convinced most of them. She had yet to leave a school without any signatures. There had been at least five names at each place. 

She was four days into it and she was about to get off the train where she would be met by yet another limo. Mara caught a glance at herself in the mirror and was afraid at what she saw. Her eyes were bloodshot and the dark circles she had seen before were even darker now. If she hadn't known better, she would think she was ill. 

Mara hadn't slept much on her train rides, and what little sleep she had gotten had either been invaded by her reoccurring nightmare, or Zander. She was getting tired of his games, each time he would say something similar, and yet, each time he would find a new way to torture her until he freed her from the dream or she was woken up violently. 

She nodded a welcome to her driver who held the door open and slid into the large back seat. As soon as she was in, Mara pulled eye drops out of her bag in an attempt to get rid of some of the redness. She then pulled out a mirror and dabbed concealer around her eyes, nearly eliminating the dark circles that were building up. 

She sighed as she saw the large school looming over them at the top of a hill. The look reminded her of Shadow's Edge, which reminded her of her cat, her best friend and roommate, of her own bed, and of Marx. What she wouldn't give to be able to sleep in her own bed again, what she wouldn't give to be held by Marx. 

Mara quickly shook the thought from her mind. If she gave herself over to those thoughts there would be no way she would be able to get through the next seven days. 

Mara's eyes stayed fixed on the building as they made their way, getting closer and closer each second. By this time, she was no longer nervous about talking in front of the people, she had already been to six different schools, and everything had gone fairly smoothly. 

She looked down to the folder in her hand that had the list of schools she was visiting, Moonlight. The paper said it was another all witch school, and there were three different prestigious covens. 

When the car pulled up at the front of the school, the driver went around and opened the door for her. Mara stepped out and straightened her blouse and dress pants before making her way up the large steps and going through the large, wooden double doors. 

As Mara walked down the large hallway, she could tell that her earlier thought about it being similar to Shadow's Edge was inaccurate. Sure the exterior reminded her of the school, but the moment she set foot inside, she could tell this place had higher standards. It even put Barkall Prep to shame. 

Mara strolled into a large, stark white office with a desk at the front. There was a small bar on the desk that read Secretary. The woman who had been staring at the computer with a phone attached to her ear looked up holding a finger up to Mara. 

Smiling in response, Mara stepped back letting the woman finish her conversation with the person on the other end. After a few minutes, the woman's soft voice carried over the desk. 

"You are Mrs. Crowland correct?"

"Um, Miss Crowland, Mara, yeah."

The woman managed a tight smile and led her into the room of the Headmistress. If Mara had thought the woman at Barkall had appeared strict, it was nothing compared to whom she was standing in front of now. 

The woman was dressed in all black, her brown hair pulled into a tight bun, and her eyes lined with dark eyeliner. Her lips were pressed together looking like a permanent scowl and the way she stared at Mara made her feel like a small misbehaving child. 

She was getting tired of the talks where they assumed she didn't know how to behave at their school, but this woman looked like it was a privilege I was even allowed to set foot on her grounds. 

After the long talk, she was led to another room where she would be meeting with the parents. It looked like a fairly decent sized lecture hall, one that would fit at least a hundred people. Mara found it hard to believe that many people would be there, even if there were three covens instead of the traditional one or two. 

However, by the time she was supposed to begin, nearly every seat in the room was filled. Each man and woman who had entered had been dressed in fancy business attire, looking as well dressed, if not better than the king and queen of the fae. 

Mara started to chew on her nail nervously, suddenly feeling under dressed for the occasion. She looked into the hard faces of the crowd as she cleared her throat to begin. 

Mara gave the same speech she had given at each of the other schools, nearly having the whole thing memorized from the six other times. She had had all the questions that had been asked at the previous locations in her mind, and she had the answers to those questions ready to be said. 

However, this group went a completely different rout than she had expected, they all sat silently staring at her. Mara suddenly started to wonder if she hadn't actually talked out loud, if somehow she just recited the words in her head. She looked into their faces expectantly, looking for signs of life, signs of any sort of reaction they had to her words. 

She began to wonder if maybe they couldn't hear her, if she had spoken too quietly in the large room. She opened her mouth to speak up again, when someone from the middle finally shouted something out. 

"Why should we believe you? You're just a kid." 

Mara was dumbfounded when she heard slight murmurs of agreement with the person’s question. 

"I have no reason to lie. I was sent by the High Council."

"Why didn't the Council come themselves?" Another man asked. 

"Because I represent you. Each of the others have their own armies, and I decided to make rounds to find witches willing to join us." Mara said, stumbling slightly over the words.

"That still doesn't answer my question, why didn't they come themselves?"

"I am the representative for all witches." Mara said as if that were enough. 

"But you're just a child. You haven't seen anything of this world. What makes you think you have what it takes to represent us?" A woman from the front said standing. Her dark eyes held resentment. 

Mara stepped back, feeling as if she had been physically attacked. She knew that people hadn't felt totally secure when the first realized how old she was, and she didn't blame them. However, they had managed to see past the age after hearing her out. They realized she actually knew what she was doing. These people however did not seem convinced. 

Some even stood immediately and left the room, turning their noses up at her as they made their way to the exit. 

She couldn't believe the difference between these people and the rest of those she had met. She could tell there was great power in the room, and she knew the people knew about her powers, and her lineage as well. They just didn't trust in her youth and ability to lead. 

When she left the school, she had one name on the sheet of paper. There had been only one man who had decided to brave the looks of his fellow adults and make his way down to the front. When he looked into her eyes, she noticed something that startled her.

His eyes had a slight glow to them. 

It had happened so fast, that Mara thought she could have imagined it. A witch couldn't have glowing eyes after all, that was only something that happened when light reflected off of wolf eyes, or when the wolf came closer to the surface. 

He smiled slightly, making a comment about how she was brave to put herself out there in front of people like the ones there. Mara had only nodded, too distracted by what she believed she had seen, and too distracted by what she felt had been an immense failure. Nearly one hundred people had been there, and only one person had come to her. 

She left again, feeling slightly disappointed in herself. As soon as she slid into the back seat she pricked her finger once more, drawing the intricate swirling design on the folded piece of paper with her blood. She grabbed the lighter beside her and lit it up, watching as the paper dissolved, making its way to Trolak. 

With her mind racing, Mara couldn't help but think of how the next seven days would go. She had assumed that each place would have been just as easy as the first two schools. She hadn't had one problem until going to Moonlight, and she was now feeling less confident in her ability to get more people. 

After worrying about it for the half hour car ride, she decided to call Torlak once she got settled in on the train. 

"Mara, how is everything going?" Torlak's smiling voice asked over the phone. 

He obviously hadn't seen the nearly blank paper yet. 

"Not so great I think." 

"What do you mean? You have been brilliant so far."

His words made her feel even worse. Did he expect her to get numerous people at each stop? Would he be disappointed in her when he saw the paper with only one name? Mara couldn't stand the thought of disappointing Torlak. 

She fought back tears, trying to make her voice stay strong as she forged on. 

"I was only able to get one name, Torlak. There were nearly a hundred people in that room, and only one person listened to me."

There was silence on the other end, and Mara's fears started to bubble closer to the surface. 

"Why did you pick me to take this position? There are so many witches, so many people who have great powers, who are older and know more about this world. Why did you pick me?"

After a moment in which Mara felt lasted forever, Torlak finally spoke up. "There was never any question about it. Some associate you to your great, great grandmother, and it's true that you are a lot like she was. Urissa had been powerful, but she had also been kind and thoughtful, it is something that appears to run in the Crowland line." 

"Then why didn't you ask Natalie to do it?" Mara murmured. 

"Natalie was in our sights as well. She would have done a fine job, but there was something else that Lillian saw in you back then. I can see it now too, and the others are starting to. You have a good spirit, one that will help protect you from distractions. You are a strong, amazing young woman." He paused for a moment, both ends of the phone silent. "Are you regretting your choice to join us?"

Mara couldn't tell what his tone was hiding. Was he sad that she might possibly be regretting the decision, or was he angry? 

"No, I don't regret it." Mara said telling him the truth. "I was just wondering if you were regretting asking me."

"I don't think there is anything you could possibly do to make us regret that decision, Mara."

"Oh there are quite a few things that would make you regret it."

"Nothing that you could possibly do. I know your heart and your mind, you couldn't do anything. You will give everything you possibly can for the good of the Council, for the good of your people, and for the good of our world."

Mara sat quietly, letting Torlak's words soak in. He had managed to make her feel better. It didn't matter how many people she could get to join them, what was important was that she had tried. 

"Besides." Torlak started again. "You have already gathered numbers as big as the werewolf army. I know we could possibly lose numbers, but right now, the witches are the largest group."

At that, Mara smiled. The ones that had seemed the most unorganized compared the kingdoms was actually the one with more who wanted to give. She felt her embarrassment from weeks ago about their inadequacy melting away as the train made its way further down the tracks to the next stop. She would arrive in the morning for another meeting bright and early. 

"We may even have you end your trip early. I know we need as many people as possible, but you are nearing eighty-five people. It's good to have large numbers, but remember we have to train all of these people as well. The larger the group, the harder to train."

Mara nodded and then realized Torlak couldn't see that. 

"So tomorrow could be my last day?" Mara asked, hope flooding to her voice at the possibility of going back to her room and to Marx. 

"You will probably have at least two more days, but I will be in contact with Lillian to discuss it with her. As of now, plan for three." 

"Sounds good." Mara chirped. Three days, that was significantly shorter than the seven she had been prepared for. 

She looked out the window as the train made its way down the tracks. A large castle started to come into view, its silhouette seen as the sun set behind it. Mara wondered which kingdom she was passing just as she saw the distinguishing element. 

The large top of the castle had appeared to be an odd shape, until the train moved and she was able to see it at the right angle. 

It was a giant wolf head. 

The top tier of the castle's stone had been shaped as a giant wolf head. They were now passing the land of the Tremonte's. A mixture of emotions flashed through Mara; amazement at the sheer size of the kingdom, and the way it looked especially silhouetted against the sun, intrigue at what the inside of the kingdom looked like, fear and hatred both directed at the man that had done what he could to make Mara's life hell. 

Within a couple minutes, the kingdom was out of sight, but it wasn't out of mind. Not even close. Mara's thoughts stayed on the kingdom and their infuriating king. As well as the charming prince. 

Mara sat back closing her eyes and she could almost feel his warm arms wrapped around hers. His tight embrace making her feel secure, allowing her to relax for the first time in a long time. She couldn't remember a time she felt so at ease. 

She could feel his chest slowly moving up and down with each breath he took and she pressed herself closer into him, relishing in the feeling of him. She could feel his hair tickling the side of her face and she smiled. 

Something didn't seem quite right, these feelings were all too real, like she wasn't just remembering them from the past, like she was actually experiencing it in that moment. 

Mara's eyes snapped open and she turned her head to see Zander staring down at her. 

I must have fallen asleep. Mara thought. As if answering her thoughts Zander chuckled. 

"Yes you did." When Mara tried to pull away, his arms tightened around her. 

Mara's pulse began to race as it sunk in. She was trapped in another dream again. 

For a split second Mara thought she saw something in Zander's eyes that she hadn't seen in a long time, longing. As if he missed being close to her. He always pulled her into close, intimate situations when he brought her into a dream, and she thought it was because he knew how much it disgusted her. But for a moment, she entertained the thought that he possible missed it.

That thought vanished quickly as she saw the dark glint return into those forest green eyes. Hatred bottled up behind them. She knew something was coming up, some new thing he thought of to torture her for the night. 

Mara closed her eyes waiting for something to happen, when her eyes snapped open and she was back inside the train car. 

"How did that happen?" Mara wondered aloud. Somehow she had been pulled from the dream, but no one was around. She hadn't been shaken by anything, and there had been no loud sound. At least none that she knew of. 

The repetitive rocking of the car started to soothe her nerves and she sat back letting her heart rate slow. 

Just as she calmed down, she heard a loud screeching sound coming from under the train. Mara covered her ears, trying to protect them from the piercing sound. What small amounts of lights that had been on inside the car flashed before going out completely. The car only illuminated with the red glow of the emergency lights. 

Suddenly the train jerked, nearly throwing Mara off the seat as the train stopped moving. Mara's ears were filled with a silence that made her feel deaf after the loud screeching of what she assumed had been the brakes. 

Mara looked around, trying to see out the window, but it was pitch black outside. She couldn't see why they had stopped and no one had been in to tell her anything. Her palms began to sweat as she paced the small car. She tried to open the doors on each end of the car she was in, but they were both locked. 

Mara's breathing began to quicken as she sat back down. 

"I'm trapped."

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