*Maggie's POV*

"You know," I said as I made my way closer to the wall, craning my neck back in an attempt to see the top, "it would have been nice to know about this ahead of time."

"In my defense, I've never actually seen the wall before this." Carlyle stood next to me with crossed arms, his head tipped just as far back as mine. "And in all honesty I didn't expect it to be standing."

"Okay, well, how do we get past it?" I looked in both directions down the wall. Mostly, the thing was intact. Whoever built it did an impressive job.

"Well, it would be easy if it were only me." Carlyle shrugged, still staring up at the top of the wall. He had his hand up to block the sun, though I had no idea why. The sun went right through him anyway; he didn't even cast a shadow. "I could just materialize on the other side. You, unfortunately, don't have that option."

"No big deal, we'll figure something out." I shrugged, remaining positive. I walked alongside the wall, looking for any sort of hole, or maybe even a gate. "The people had to get in here someway, didn't they?"

"Yeah," Carlyle agreed, "flight."

"Oh yeah, right." I frowned, dragons. "I'm going to continue down this way. You check the other direction?"

"Yes ma'am," Carlyle saluted, smiling, and then vanished before my eyes.

With a heavy sigh, I started down the rocky path in my chosen direction. I walked on for an uncertain amount of time, my positivity sinking with each step and each passing second. Maybe this trip was a waste after all. What helpful items could there really be in an empty and mostly-destroyed castle? I was just so desperate to be helpful that I was letting my imagination get the best of me. Maybe Inari was right and I really was no use to the group.

Just as I gave up all hope and was about to turn around and find Carlyle to head back to the camp, I noticed a collapsed section of the wall further ahead. From the top of the wall to about seven feet off the ground, a jagged "V" was blown out. The edges were scorched, as if it had been hit with some sort of blast— like a cannon or a bomb.

I ran to it as fast as I could in order to get a better look. It was still quite a stretch, but if I found something to use as a stool, I could boost myself high enough to climb over and jump down to the other side. I smiled to myself, a tiny bit of hope starting to edge its way back into my mind.

Turning on my heel, I scanned the area for anything I could use to stand on. Large chunks of crumbled stone littered the ground, probably pieces of the wall itself. I stooped down and scooped up as much of the debris as I could. I threw it at the base of the wall, then repeated the same action over again. I shoved at larger rocks with my feet and pushed mounds of rubble together until I had a good-sized pile formed.

I looked it over once in order to make sure it was sturdy enough to stand on and then I climbed up. I still had to jump a bit to reach the bottom of the hole, but I was able to get a firm enough hold on it to pull myself up. Grunting, I heaved myself all the way up. I balanced on the wall for only a moment before the wall crumbled out from underneath me. With a shriek I tumbled over the side, landing hard on my hands and knees in a cloud of dust.

"Ow..." I muttered as I slid myself into a sitting position. I brushed the gravel off my palms, wincing slightly. My hands were skinned and they stung, but they weren't bleeding. Thank god Faye had packed jeans in the clothing she brought for me from the Abandoned Order's castle. If I had been in a dress, my knees would have been a bloody, dirty mess.

I glanced over my shoulder at the wall. Well, there was definitely an opening now. The wall must have been weak where I climbed because the whole thing had crumbled away. Now there was a split in the wall about three feet wide. At least I wouldn't have a problem getting back out.

"Carlyle!" I shouted. I had no idea if the ghost was in ear shot or not. I waited in silence for a moment before rising to my feet and brushing the rock dust from my pants. I wasn't sure where to go until I lifted my head and took in the sight that stood in front of me.

It was like a smaller village separated from the one beyond the wall, and this one was even more destroyed. Not a single house was standing whole. In some places there was just a wall and a pile of ashes and charred rock. In others there wasn't even that, just a black mark on the ground where a building once stood.

Looming over all of the wreckage was a massive— and probably once magnificent— castle. I had seen it from the air when Kindle first brought me here, but the size and grandeur of it hadn't registered from that distance. Where the Castle in Lumina had looked modern and metallic, this castle looked exactly how I'd always pictured the castles in fairytales.

Nearly all of the windows were shattered and the ones that remained in place were caked thick with ash, blackened holes were blown into its walls, and one of its towers had collapsed. Even still, it wasn't difficult to imagine the wondrous place it had been before the war.

I made my way past the rows of demolished buildings, the eerie silence hanging heavily in the air. People died here. I remembered, there are still people here that weren't buried. Looking down, I stepped more carefully. In an instant, I felt very wrong here. Hundreds and hundreds of people died among this rubble, meaning there was probably a good chance of a ghost or two wandering the area.

I had never believed in ghosts before coming to the Shadow Realm, but obviously in my time here I'd seen things— specifically, a manic ginger with a love for vanishing on a whim and reappearing when you least expect him— that changed my opinion. I glanced around nervously as an involuntary chill ran up my spine.

If there were ghosts here, they came about in a time of war, so maybe they weren't as friendly as the one I was familiar with.

"Spooky, huh?" Carlyle asked, suddenly materializing out of thin air in my path.

I clamped my hand over my mouth to hold in my yelp. Even though I'd just been thinking about him, his arrival still caught me off guard.

The ghost beamed at me. "Well there's a change. I actually got you!"

Over the month I'd known Carlyle, I'd grown so used to his penchant for jump scares and they barely bothered me. At this point, however, I was not in the mood.

"Jerk." I swatted at him. Although my hand went through, it still got my point across.

Carlyle snickered, but otherwise seemed unbothered. He looked around at the wreckage and his smile wavered. "Any ideas?"

"None at all," I admitted. "I think I'm going to see what I can find in the castle. And see if the library is still standing."

"Well, lead the way," Carlyle sighed. "I'm just here to make sure you don't kill yourself."

"Says the one who just attempted to give me a heart attack," I mumbled. I made my way to the castle but discovered upon reaching it that it would not be as easy to get into. And even that wasn't easy. All of the holes were impossibly out of my reach, and the doors were thick with locks rusted in place.

"Perhaps the stables?" Carlyle suggested.

"Oh! Good idea!" I exclaimed. I hurried around to the eastern side of the castle, where I'd passed the dilapidated stables on my way through. The stable door had been blasted open, and I assumed it would be much easier to get into the castle that way.

Inside the stables it was dark, save for a few slivers of light that broke through cracks in the roof and holes in the walls. The air felt heavier inside, and warmer. I kept my eyes trained on the ground so that I didn't have to look at the bones of the horses that had been trapped in their stalls at the time of the attack.

Just as I was about to open the door to lead into the main part of the castle, something shining faintly in the corner of the room caught my eye. A dim orange light glowed from under a light covering of hay. Tentatively, I made my way over and crouched down in front of it.

"What do you think that is?" Carlyle asked, peering over my shoulder.

"I have no idea." I brushed the hay away with a delicate touch, worried that the glowing thing might be fragile. Or dangerous. I pushed the last of the hay aside and stared in silent awe at the object in front of me.

"is that...?"

"An egg," I finished, dazed.

Laying in front of me was an uncommonly large, glowing egg. It was shaped like a normal egg, but it was about the size of a football. In the hay around it, the broken pieces of other eggs lay dark.

Carefully, I laid my hand on top of it. "It's warm," I gasped, turning to lock eyes with Carlyle. "Does that mean it's still alive?" I knew nothing when it came to farming or raising animals, and in a place like the Shadow Realm I doubted any information I did know would be helpful anyway.

"I-I think so," Carlyle replied.

"Let's go back." As gently but quickly as I could, I scooped the egg up into my arms. I cradled it to my chest like a baby as I hurried to my feet. "The castle will be here another day, let's go back to the camp now."

I ran from the stables, through the castle village, and past the wall. My mind ran faster. My immediate thought was a bit of a leap, but it was the only thing I could think off. This was a dragon egg. It had to be. Of course there was the fact that it had been in that stable for at least nine years, and I didn't know much about eggs but I would assume it had to have hatched by then. And I would also assume a dragon egg to be bigger, but really, what else could it be? And if it had been there since the war, the poor thing probably needed help!

In a state of near panic, I ran through the camp and straight to the "Main Tent", where everyone gathered to talk battle strategy. Kindle and the others had returned from their scouting at some point during my adventure, and when I burst into the tent panting heavily, Kindle was there looking over yet another map.

"There you are," Kindle sighed, a warm smile spreading across his face when he caught sight of me. "I was worried when I got back and Faye said she had no idea where you were. Where did you go?"

"Is this a dragon egg?" I asked in a rush, holding up the glowing object.

Just as quickly as his smile came it vanished again, confusion once again contorting his features. "Dragon egg?" He asked, "Blondie, dragon's don't... you think I hatched from an egg?"

Once again ignoring his question, I lowered the egg. "So it's not a dragon egg? What kind of egg is it then?"

"A common one," Kindle answered. "Here, give it to me."

Gently, I placed the egg in his hands, wondering what he was going to do.

I got my answer quickly when Kindle suddenly set his hands ablaze, incinerating the egg.

"Kindle!" I shrieked, "w-why did you do that!?" My eyes pricked with tears, as I watched in horror. Never could I ever imagine Kindle doing something so horrible. "How could you?" I whimpered.

Kindle surprised me by laughing. "Relax, Blondie. Watch." The flames in his hands subsided, and my poor egg was reduced to nothing but a pile of ash in his hands. Kindle set the ashes on the table and stepped aside so I had a better view of them. "Here," he said, holding his hand out to me.

I looked at him tearfully. Was he serious?

With another laugh and a shake of his head he lowered his hand.

I was about ready to turn and run from the tent but a tiny peeping sound held me in place. It was coming from the ashes. Confused, I took a tiny step closer. Surely my ears were just playing tricks on me.

After a moment of absolute silence I heard it again, this time slightly louder. The ashes were chirping. I glanced nervously at Kindle and he smiled and nodded. In a state of complete awe, I rushed to the table and dropped to my knees in front of it, putting myself at eye level with the chirping ash pile.

The chirping became steadier and as I watch the ashes pulsed. "What...?" I breathed, my eyes widening as a tiny, soot-colored bird poked its head up out of the ashes.

"That, is a phoenix," Kindle informed me, his voice right by my ear. He was leaned down close to me, examining the tiny bird as well.

"A phoenix," I whispered, a smile spreading across my face. An actual living phoenix.

Kindle reached out a finger to stroke the little bird's head. "Phoenix's can only hatch when their eggs are burned. Until that time, they'll stay in the egg. They can wait for hundreds of years that way." The little phoenix closed its eyes, cooing softly.

"Oh thank god," I sighed, pressing my forehead against his arm. "You're not a cold-hearted bird-murderer." Something Kindle had said earlier returned to my mind and I lifted my head up to look at him. "A phoenix is a common bird?"

"In Ignus, yes." Kindle nodded, "When I was young we has thousands of them. There was a farm just a little ways from here that raised them for meat."

"Meat?" I gasped. "You mean you ate them?"

"Of course." Kindle shrugged. His lip twitched as he fought a smile.

Okay, maybe he was a cold-hearted bird-murderer after all.

On the table, the phoenix had wiggled itself free from the excess ashes and was hopping around. It was a funny looking little thing; it was mostly bald, though it has tiny tufts of charcoal gray fuzz all over its body. It's wings were too small to carry it anywhere, and it's eyes took up most of its head. It was certainly strange, but it had an undeniable cuteness about it, and intelligence in its eyes that I had never seen in any other bird.

"How could you eat this cute little thing?" I frowned.

The phoenix watched me, titling its head from one side to the other.

"Oh, you know. Fried, barbequed, in a soup." Kindle smiled teasingly at me. "In Ignus, phoenixes were like... chicken."

Gasping, I scooped the baby phoenix off the table. I cradled it against my chest defensively, just as I had when it was an egg. "Well you're not eating this 'chicken'."

The little phoenix peeped, poking its head out between my fingers and looking around.

Kindle shook his head. "No, you found him, you can keep him,"

"Like... a pet?" I asked, looking down at the bird in my hands.

"Sure, if you want him."

"How do you know it's a he?" I questioned.

"Males have black feet, females have orange feet," Kindle explained.

I set the phoenix back on the table and watched him hop, his tiny feathers ruffling. "Is he going to stay this gray color?"

"No," Kindle replied. "As he gets older he'll turn some mixture of red, yellow, and orange. Sometimes black too."

I nodded, watching my new pet. "Here Chicken," I cooed softly, holding my hand out to him. "Come here Chicken."

Kindle raised an eyebrow, "You're naming him Chicken?"

I ducked my head. "It was the only think I could think of," I mumbled. Chicken peeped, nuzzling his head against my palm. Definitely smarter than a normal bird.

"Okay then," Kindle knelt down next to me, wrapping one arm around me and holding his other hand out to join me in petting the phoenix. "Welcome to the family, Chicken."