Lena clung tightly to Mystery's back as the alicorn landed and ran for a few moments before slowing to a walk. Lena looked around in wonder as Myst walked toward a set of steps that lead up to a large doorway. Once Myst had arrived at the foot of the steps, Lena carefully climbed off Myst's back and gently stroked Myst's neck and mane.

"Thank you for the ride, Myst," Lena said, not completely sure if Myst could understand the words, but wanting to express gratitude nonetheless.

"Hello, Miss!" A voice called from the large doors that had just swung open. Lena looked up the steps to see a young man standing there.

"Hello," Lena replied, a twinge of nervousness returning.

"Excuse me, but might you be Miss Lena?" The man asked.

"Uh... yes. I am. And you are...?" Lena asked.

"Ah, I am called Cyran, Miss Lena. Pleasure to make your acquaintance!" Cyran said, rushing down the steps and kneeling in a bow to Lena. Lena felt awkward at the formality of it all.

"You don't need to bow to me, Cyran. It's nice to meet you too," Lena said, remembering that Katya and Enigma had mentioned something about Cyran.

"Alright then Princess." Cyran stood and gestured to the doors behind him as he asked his next question. "Would you like me to escort you to your room so that you can rest before Miss Enigma and Queen Katya return?"

"You already have a room for me?" Lena asked.

"Why, yes. Of course. I had everything cleaned and spruced up for you today, just in time for your arrival!" Cyran said, looking pleased with himself.

"Thank you, I would love to see it," Lena said. "What do I need to do about Myst?"

"Myst?" Cyran inquired, tilting his head to one side.

"The alicorn. I named her Mystery. Myst for short," Lena explained, gesturing to the animal next to them.

"Ah, Mystery. A lovely name for such a lovely creature. Don't worry about her. She will be perfectly alright to find her way back to the stables." Cyran smiled.

"Okay. I guess I will see you later, Myst," Lena gently patted the alicorn's shoulder before Myst snorted softly and turned, trotting off into the distance around the side of the castle.

"Well then, if you're ready Princess, follow me," Cyran said, turning and heading up the steps. Lena followed Cyran through the large wooden doors and into a large entry hall. The walls were made of wood and stone, but the room was still lit brightly by natural light.

"Past the courtyard in front of us, there is the ballroom. I can show you around the rest of the castle after you have a chance to relax if you would like." Cyran said, gesturing to another set of doors. Lena could see a few flowering trees, presumably the courtyard, through the windows on either side of the doors.

"Yeah, I would like to see the rest of the castle sometime," Lena said, following as Cyran turned off of the main hall and began to climb up a twisting flight of stairs. They passed the first landing, and Lena could see a hallway leading away from the stairs, but they climbed higher until they reached the second landing.

Cyran began to walk down the hallway but before they had gotten even halfway to the end, Cyran froze. His body went stiff, and Lena could see, even though he was facing away, that his skin had gone pale beneath his blonde hair. She followed the direction of his gaze, and saw a wooden door, standing ajar.

"Cyran? Are you alright?" Lena asked. She wasn't sure why an opened door would cause this reaction from him.

"Uh... Y-yes, I'm fine. Princess, I need you to stay here for a moment. I will return and then show you to your room, but for now, stay here and don't draw attention to yourself!" Cyran said in an urgent tone. He seemed very flustered.

"What is it?" Lena asked. "Why do I need to stay here? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, it's just that... well, someone was supposed to be in that room, but they seem to have... escaped." Cyran said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Wait here, and I will return shortly."

With that, Cyran turned and rushed off down the hallway. Lena stood there for a moment, looking around before walking to a window opposite the opened door. Looking out, Lena could see the lake and the forest beyond it. A few birds darted past the window. The view was peaceful.

Lena was interrupted from her thoughts by a sound. Someone was stomping along the corridor. Lena couldn't make out the words that the person was muttering, but they sounded angry. There was a thud and then a crash as if something had been kicked over or knocked to the ground.

A sudden fear gripped Lena as she realized that whoever this was, they were getting closer. She looked around. The door opposite the window still stood ajar, but there was another door next to it that was closed. Lena quickly ran to the closed door and opened it as silently as she could, slipping inside and closing the door again. She peered through the keyhole until the person came into view. Lena had to stifle a gasp with her hand as she saw who it was.

Etna was stomping down the corridor. Her expression looked absolutely murderous. A jagged red cut stood out over Etna's right eye. Lena was horrified when she saw a sword in Etna's hand. Lena also saw that Etna's hands looked bloody. Lena felt weak. This confirmed her worst suspicions. Etna was a murderer. Lena heard the door of the next room slam shut, but she didn't want to leave her hiding place yet.

Lena silently backed away from the door and turned to look at the room she was in. In one corner, an elegant bed stood against the wall. There was an open closet on another wall and Lena could see a collection of beautiful gowns. She recognized one and went over to look. After examining the gown, she realized that she must be in Enigma's room.

Lena looked around again. There was hardly any furniture in the room. A small table stood beside the bed, and on it was what seemed to be the only trinket in the room. Lena moved closer to look.

At first, Lena thought it was a crystal ball, but as she moved closer, she realized it wasn't a sphere. It had fourteen sides, and in the center was what looked like pieces of a watch suspended in the crystal, like frozen time.

Lena picked it up, but as soon as she touched it, her vision went black and she fell to the ground. Then, like watching flashes of a movie, the visions began.

A small child, around two or three years of age, cowering in a corner with her small hands covering her pointed ears. A door slammed open, and she looked up, tears pouring from her green eyes. A man approached her, gripped her reddish-auburn hair, and pulled her up into a standing position.

"No, Father!" The girl cried, trying in vain to free herself. The man's look of hatred chilled Lena to the core, and she wished she could look away, but she could only look on in horror as the man threw the child against a wall. The child crumpled into a motionless heap on the floor as the man left the room and the scene faded to black.

Lena was horrified by what she had just seen. Just as she thought it was over, a new scene began.

The same girl ran through a dark forest. Her clothes hung from her body in bloody tatters and her body was covered in bruises and cuts. She now looked a few years older, maybe four or five. Her hair was bound into two messy braids, and it was longer than it had been before, the most obvious indication that some time had passed.

The girl dared a glance over her shoulder. Behind her in the forest, Lena could hear the shouts of at least three men. The child ran faster, until with a shriek and cry of pain, she tripped and went sprawling into the dirt. She pushed herself up and continued trying to run, but she moved slower now, clearly in pain. The shouts were getting closer now. Fear was evident on the child's face. The trees around the girl thinned as she ran. The forest gave way to a huge desert. The child fearfully looked behind her. She was out in the open here, but there was no turning back. She knew she was going to die, so the only thing she could do was die trying to escape. She continued to run.

A group of several men rushed out of the treeline, charging at the girl. The sky overhead grew dark and lightning crackled as thunder roared overhead. Large drops of rain began to splatter the hard, cracked ground. The girl screamed as a shadow dived down from the clouds. Before she knew what had happened, she had been tossed on the back of a huge bird. She did the only thing that made sense. She clung on for dear life.

With a powerful beat of its wings, the bird soared skyward, and at the same instant, powerful bolts of ice-white lightning struck the men who had pursued the girl. The girl looked back only once before turning to look at where she was being taken.

Lena was in shock. The child, she had figured out, must be Enigma. Aria had been the one to save her from... whatever cruel place she had been before. Lena thought it was over, but after a longer time than before, a new scene materialized.

Enigma stood in a training yard, of sorts. She looked to be about ten years old now and wore her hair in a style that more closely resembled the one Lena had grown accustomed to seeing her wear. Lena also noticed a small tattoo of two leaves on Enigma's wrist. In her hand was a silver bow. Enigma nocked an arrow, and with one fluid motion, she sent it flying straight into the target.

"You're too good with that!" A voice complained. Both Lena and Enigma turned to see who had spoken. Enigma seemed unsurprised to see who had spoken, but Lena's mouth dropped open in shock. Another girl stood in the courtyard, her short hair pulled into a small ponytail, but with the tattoo markings on her hands, she was still unmistakable. Etna. She carried a sword and in her belt were two daggers.

"You're much better at blade work," Enigma replied calmly.

"I guess... But you're still too good at archery," Etna laughed as she threw a dagger, which sliced straight through Enigma's arrow before embedding in the target. The two girls laughed and left the courtyard.

The scene shifted again. By now, the two girls looked older. Probably closer to fourteen. Lena was shocked to see Etna's face streaked with angry tears. Enigma's cheeks were tearstained as well.

"I'm sorry," Enigma whispered.

"SORRY DOESN'T WORK! THERE IS NOTHING YOU COULD SAY THAT WOULD HELP!" Etna screamed, throwing a book across the room. The book hit the wall only inches from Enigma and dropped to the floor. Inside were drawings and words.

"This was the book you were writing when we used to lie on the floor in your room together and draw and write stories," Enigma said, recognizing it and carefully picking it up.

"Yeah, it was. But I don't care. I hate you, Enigma! I hate you!" Etna screamed, crying even more. Enigma didn't seem angry about the things Etna said, she just seemed to be consumed with sadness.

"I'll just... go then," Enigma said, walking out of the room. After she left, Etna stood and picked up the book she had thrown. She flicked through the pages before tossing the book aside and collapsing on the bed again.

"Those stories were stupid anyway, Enigma," Etna said to no one in particular. "Your stories about saving the princess and mine about going off on grand adventures..." Etna trailed off and rolled over.

"Those stories were stupid... In my stories, the monsters always win." Etna grabbed her sword and sat on the bed as she began to sharpen the blade.

"Princess!" The voice snapped Lena back to reality. Lena looked up to see Enigma standing over her. The crystal was in Enigma's hand. Enigma once again looked about eighteen or nineteen years old.

"Enigma!" Lena yelped. She felt ashamed at being found on the floor of Enigma's room, holding one of her possessions.

"Are you alright, Princess?" Enigma said, looking frightened.

"Y-yeah... I'm fine. But... what was that?" Lena asked gesturing to the crystal.

"Never touch this again," Enigma said very seriously. "It's powerful. You could have been seriously hurt, or worse. Only I can touch this. All you saw were visions, correct?"

Lena nodded mutely. Enigma looked tense as she stared into the crystal. After about thirty seconds, Enigma sighed, looking immensely relieved.

"Forget about what you saw. Never touch this again. If you can do that, I won't need to tell Katya about this. Although... why were you in my room in the first place?" Enigma asked.

"Sorry, I got lost, Cyran had to go find someone and I just kind of ended up here..." Lena muttered.

"Okay, but don't do that again. I'll show you to your room," Enigma said, setting the crystal back on its table and opening the door for Lena to exit.

As they walked together down the long hallway, Lena noticed the leaf tattoo peeking out from the hem of Enigma's sleeve. The two leaves resembled maple leaves. One of the leaves was bright vibrant green, like a leaf in the summer, and the other was a fiery autumn red-orange. Something about this tattoo was different than the one in the vision she had seen. It took Lena a while to place what it was, but just as they reached the door to the room she realized.

In the vision, both leaves had been pure bright colors. Looking closer, Lena could see that now the red leaf was veined with lines of black. Those black lines filled Lena with an unexplainable sense of dread. She gave an involuntary shudder and looked away from Enigma. She knew, without knowing how, that those black lines meant something terrible, she just didn't know what.