Once again, I was dead tired by the time we made it back to the Abandoned Order's castle. Luckily the dress this time was much more comfortable, and the shoes didn't kill my feet as much as the ones for the ball had.

"I have to report to Seraphim again, don't I?" I asked nervously. Seraphim and I really didn't have the greatest track record. First he had me kidnapped-- albeit accidentally-- then he choked me, threatened me at knife point, and had his psychotic wife poison me. I was not at all looking forward to what he could possibly have in store for me next.

Kindle looked at my terrified expression with his lips pressed together in thought, and then he nodded. "I'll go by myself this time. You told me enough on the carriage ride, Seraphim should be happy with that information and not need to talk to you."

I grabbed his hand. "Are you sure?" I insisted, "You know Seraphim better than I do, but are you sure he won't do something to hurt you?"

Kindle smiled gently, squeezing my hand. "I'm a big boy, Blondie. I can handle Seraphim. Besides, what can he do if you're safe in our room? Carlyle will be with you, so if Seraphim does try anything I can be alerted immediately. So relax and get some sleep, I'll be back before you even realize it."

"Promise?" I asked, searching his firestone eyes for any sense of doubt. I didn't mean to be so needy and panicked, I was just terrified of the things Seraphim was capable of. The horrible feeling was still in the pit of my stomach.

"I promise," Kindle chuckled before capturing my lips in a kiss.

The butterflies that always seemed to take over my stomach when Kindle's lips touched mine returned in full force. I stepped closer, allowing my body to curve against his. Kindle was fire, I was a barren field, and the way he burned through me was astounding.

I wouldn't have minded staying in the hall that way forever, but a high pitched "ahem!" that sounded almost on the verge of hysterics informed me that that couldn't happen.

Kindle let the kiss linger, pulling away slowly, no doubt just to irritate Lydia more. She liked to think she owned Kindle, but she didn't, and he wanted to prove it.

"Yes, Your Highness?" Kindle asked, finally turning to address the queen.

She stood at the corner of the hall, her arms wrapped around her stomach as if she'd been stabbed and her livid purple eyes glancing frantically between Kindle and I.

Kindle raised an eyebrow, silently waiting for Lydia to collect herself and respond.

"S-Seraphim, he sent me to collect Magdalyn. He wants the information on the prince." She stammered.

I had never before seen Lydia lost for words, and from the expression on her face I could tell it was something she wasn't used to as well. She must have put together the irony of the situation, the thing she did to keep Kindle and I apart—poisoning me— is actually what pushed us together.

"Actually, I'll be the one talking to Seraphim," Kindle informed her. He gave my hand one final squeeze then proceeded down the hall ahead of Lydia.

Lydia remained frozen for a moment, glaring at me with a trembling lip, like a spoiled child who's favorite toy had just been taken from her. As she turned on her heel to follow Kindle, silver ringlets swirling around her like a hurricane, I realized that she was exactly that. A lonely, spoiled child.

I made my way back to the room and quickly pulled my pajamas on. I sat on the bed running a brush through my hair and waiting for Carlyle to show up, all the while wondering what was going on with Seraphim, Lydia, and Kindle.

Because I was expecting Carlyle, his sudden appearance didn't make me jump, which I think disappointed him.

"So how was the dinner?" Carlyle asked from his usual spot in the corner. 

"Good," I yawned, but then remembered something. "Why didn't you warn me that people eat unicorn in this realm?" 

Carlyle shrugged, looking amused. "Because I didn't know they would be serving it. It doesn't taste much different from beef, just leaner, and about fifty times more expensive. Oh to be royalty and have the money to waste on such things." Carlyle sighed dramatically. 

I walked back over to the counter and set the brush down. I looked in the mirror, realizing for the first time how long my hair was getting. My layered blonde waves used to end just past my shoulders, now it hung closer to the end of my shoulder-blades. "So what did you do for the day?" I asked Carlyle, turning away from the dresser to look at him. 

He shrugged, "Floated around, rattled a few chains, y'know, the usual ghost stuff."  I rolled my eyes, and Carlyle rolled his back, "I tried to figure out what Seraphim was planning, of course. He's changed, that one. He used to plan with everyone's interests in mind, now he seems to focus only on what'll please Lydia." 

I nodded thoughtfully. "Do you think Lydia controls him with her venom?" I asked, "She did say it was addictive in small doses."

Carlyle shook his head. "I don't think she needs the venom to control him. She's got him wrapped around her finger regardless."

I thought back to the memory of Seraphim choosing his queen that Carlyle had shown me. He had a point; Seraphim seemed to be obsessed with her. At the memory of Seraphim, I remembered that Carlyle had some sort of strange ghost power that he could use to show me his thoughts and memories. And maybe I could use that to find out more about what Kindle was, since he obviously wasn't planning to tell me any time soon.

I knew Kindle said he would tell me what he was eventually, but I was extremely impatient. "Hey Carlyle?" I began, "Do you know what Kindle is?"

"No," He said, shaking his head, "Kindle's kind of made a point of not telling anyone. My theory was that he's some kind of fire deity, but that went out the window when you showed up."

"What did I do?" I asked.

"Deities are like gods. They can't fall in love."

"Oh." I felt my face heat up and I moved back to the bed. I cleared my throat before continuing. "Where you here when Kindle first arrived at the orphanage?"

"Yes..." Carlyle answered arching an eyebrow. 

"So although you don't know what he is, there may be hints in the memory of his arrival?" I pressed, growing hopeful

"Maybe?" Carlyle replied, but he put together what I was getting at and shook his head again. "Maggie, if he wanted you to know, he'd tell you. You can't just go picking apart my memories to figure it out."

"Please Carlyle?" I begged, "If you don't know what he is, obviously there aren't many clues in the memory of his arrival, so what harm will it do?"

"It was just the beginning of the war, Kindle was ten years old and a complete wreck. I'm not sure he wants you to see him like that. If he found out I showed you, he'd kill me," Carlyle paused for a moment, "If I wasn't already dead." 

"Please, just show me!" I insisted. 

Carlyle sighed, but walked over to where I sat anyway. "You're severely annoying, you know that?" Without another word, he pressed his fingers to my forehead and everything flashed with white. 

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the early version of the Abandoned Order's castle, the way I saw it the last time Carlyle showed me his memories. There were less children there this time. I didn't see Faye, and I knew Seraphim and Lydia wouldn't be there because they arrived after Faye.

I-- in Carlyle's body-- sat alone at a long table. Nurses milled about, helping children with various activities. Carlyle had been at the orphanage since before the war, maybe his whole life. I would have to ask him once the memory was over.

Suddenly, the sound of a loud, clanging bell caused everyone to freeze where they were. The pause lasted only a moment before the Nurses and all of the children bust into a panic.

"It's started already!?" One Nurse shouted.

"Someone take the children to the basement!" Another Nurse insisted.

Carlyle stood from the table quickly and started gathering the smaller children around him. He walk with them, whispering soothing words, to where a group of Nurses stood near an open door. The door led to a darkened flight of stairs. Apparently at this time, there was no steam engine providing electricity to Lumina. Or if there was, it wasn't powerful enough to light the outlying territories where the orphanage was.

Carlyle started down the stairs with the rest of the children, but a Nurse stopped him.

"That bell means King Jareth has begun his attacks. He will show no mercy to the Non-humans who wanted to usurp his power. This orphanage will be full before sunrise tomorrow, I'd like for you to wait here for the king's soldiers who will be bringing the children." The Nurse said.

"Alright," Carlyle nodded. He left the room that I knew as the ballroom and made his way down the winding corridor to what I assumed to be the front entrance of the orphanage. I had never been there before.

Carlyle wasn't waiting very long until a knight arrived. He was on horseback, and dressed in the typical type of armor one would expect in a world populated by fairies and unicorns. He had four children with him, the youngest of which looked to be about six or seven years old. She was a little girl, crying and clinging to the knight's horse. I recognized her long blonde hair, and when she looked at Carlyle I caught sight of the dark blue scales next to her eyes. It was Serpina.

"These children were found in or near the mermaid village on the eastern coast," the knight said. He pried young Serpina from the horse and handed her down to Carlyle, "They have all lost their parents."

Serpina burried her face in Carlyle's shoulder and resumed her sobbing. I had nearly forgotten that every member of the Order had lost their families.

Carlyle stroked Serpina's hair, trying to calm her, and fixed a glare on the knight. "And I suppose it was you that made it so?"

The knight returned the glare, "Watch your tongue, boy. These are all Nonie children, their parents were traitors, they're lucky we spared them."

"My parents were not traitors!" A boy shouted. Kindle, I realized, when Carlyle's attention flicked to him. My heart broke at the sight of him. He was so small. His clothes were in tatters and his face was dirty, with tear-stains running down it. His hair was long again, like it had been in the other memory Carlyle had shown me, but it wasn't pulled back in a neat pony-tail. It was loose, and hanging in dripping muddy strands around his face. His wrists were bound by rope to the back of the horse.

The knight rolled his eyes. "If Jareth wanted them dead, they were traitors, so shut up!"

Kindle's eyes blazed, "I will not do as you tell me. My family-- my people-- all of them were innocent! It was your wretched king who attacked us in the night, and for what? How can we be traitors if we were not members of Jareth's kingdom? He attacked us because he wanted our kingdom and our land! That is the only--"

Kindle's words were cut off by the knight's boot connecting with his gut. Kindle moaned in pain, crumpling to the ground. The knight raised his foot again.

I wished I could jump out of Carlyle's body and run to his side, but luckily I didn't have to. "Get away from him!" Carlyle shouted, stepping between young Kindle and the knight. "You've done your duty, sir, now go."

The knight rolled his eyes again. "What are you, some sort of Nonie supporter? You're human, act like it."

"With all due respect, sir, if being human involves kicking orphans, I think I'd rather not." Carlyle said shifting the still-crying little Serpina to his hip so that he could help Kindle to his feet.

The knight scoffed, but drew his dagger and cut Kindle free anyway. "Better watch this one, boy. Had to tie him up 'cause he tried to barbeque me." With that, the knight left Carlyle, Kindle, Serpina, and the other two children I didn't recognize and rode off through the forest. I could see smoke rising above the trees.

"What are you?" Carlyle asked Kindle.

Kindle laughed, but the laugh turned into a cough as he held his ribs. "Typical human. Asking my species before asking my name."

"Sorry," Carlyle mumbled, blushing slightly, "Um, I'm Carlyle. What's your name?"

Kindle was silent for a moment, and Carlyle caught sight of a large, blistering burn mark on Kindle's shoulder that showed through the rips in Kindle's shirt.

"What happened?" Carlyle gasped, he didn't give Kindle time to respond before he said, "Come on, we have creams in our infirmary that can help it."

Carlyle led the group inside, still holding Serpina and also allowing Kindle to lean on him for support. The knight must have kicked him really hard. That, or he may have been injured beforehand.

The two sat silently in front of a fireplace later that evening.

Kindle's hair and face were clean, and he was wearing a fresh change of clothes. His shoulder covered in a foul-smelling ointment and he held ice on his ribs. "My name's Kindle." He mumbled, finally answering Carlyle's question.

"And... your species?" Carlyle asked hesitantly. He didn't want to make Kindle angry by coming off as too pushy.

Kindle shook his head, a tear sliding down his cheek. "Gone. It doesn't matter what I am, because I don't deserve to be one of them. I couldn't protect them."

Carlyle frowned, "You're only a child, Kindle. You can't blame yourself for the fate of an entire species." 

Kindle said nothing. He simply stared into the fire with tears glistening in his eyes. The flames made the flecks of gold in his firestone eyes blaze brighter.

Carlyle's throat was tight with tears of his own when he spoke, "Did you... did you have siblings?"

Kindle swallowed and nodded, not looking away from the fireplace.

Tears fell from Carlyle's eyes and I felt as though they were my own. "I'm so sorry," Carlyle whispered, and with that the bright light hit me again and I opened my eyes.

I sat silently for a moment before my own tears began to fall.

Kindle had siblings. Brothers or sisters, maybe both; He had a mother and father, friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents. He'd lost them all.

The pain he must have felt... must still be feeling... I couldn't imagine it. I knew he'd said he was the last, but it had never registered with me what that really meant.

"Thank you, Carlyle," I whispered through my tears. "Thank you for showing me... and thank you for being there for him."

Carlyle nodded, "I know what it feels like to lose parents, and a brother," he admitted quietly, "but an entire species? I could never begin to think what it would feel like to be that alone."

"I'm just..." I rubbed the tears from my eyes. "I'm happy he's got us now. I'm happy he's not alone anymore."

And suddenly the realization hit me, like a punch to the gut, knocking all of the air from my lungs. The realization so sweet, so strong, so powerful and all-consuming:

I couldn't... no... I wouldn't leave.

After I attended my final ball, after Seraphim got everything he needed for whatever it was he had planned, I would not go back through the door.

I was going to stay with Kindle.