Once Emrys was unconscious, Gwaine carried him in his arms back to the hole where the beanstalk had been. Once there, he reluctantly allowed Morph to take his brother back down, hopefully to where Lana would be waiting.

Thanks to Emrys, Rampion was completely unharmed. She still seemed to be traumatized by the whole situation and wouldn't say a word to anyone, not even when Morph had to wrestle with her hair in order to carry her to the ground. Eve went last, and by the time they'd all reached the ground below, Morph looked exhausted. He glared pointedly at Gwaine. "You need to learn the meaning of the word 'diet'."

Gwaine adopted an innocent expression. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Lana came running out of the trees, gasping for breath. Her red hair stuck to her forehead. "Oh, thank God! You're alright!" she cried. "But Emrys ...?"

"Just unconscious," Morph said. Lana seemed to amuse him with her boundless energy. "He's well. And you?"

"Made it with no trouble at all," Lana replied. "Though my heart's beating like a bird's wings. I doubt it's going to slow down for hours."

Eve sat down, feeling the stress and difficulties of the past day come crashing down on her. The sun was setting above the trees, she saw. "I can't believe Merlin's been gone for only a day," she mumbled.

"Take heart," Gwaine said. "Father's not completely lost. We challenged Nimueh's minions head-on and came out alive! Can't ask for more than that. I think we stand a good chance of surviving and rescuing our parents. After all, we've got a god on our side!" He sent Morph a grin.

"We did find you unconscious on the floor before we found Rampion and Emrys," Morph reminded him. "That's not exactly a good thing."

Gwaine grinned. "I was alive, wasn't I?"

Lana laughed. "Optimism!" she said. It hurt Eve to see her so cheerful, when she knew Lana should be grieving her mother. "Anyway, what's the plan now?"

That brought silence down on everyone, even Gwaine. Although they'd survived Jack the giant killer's Story, that didn't mean they knew where else to look for Merlin. They couldn't even bring themselves to search for their parents without first making an attempt to locate the sorcerer. "Maybe move on to another Story?" Eve suggested after a long time. "There's nothing left for us here."

"We haven't had much luck with that," Rampion said quietly.

Eve silenced her with a glare. They certainly didn't need Lana to remember the events of Saint George's Story. Hurting about Lana forgetting her mother's death or not, Eve knew it was the best thing for the bard right now. "It's the only thing I can think of. Do you suggest that we simply sit around here and wait for Nimueh to bring our parents around to us?" she demanded. "We need to take action."

"What if action is the worst thing for us to take?" Rampion retorted, standing and facing Eve. Eve really hated the fact that Rampion was taller than her in that moment. "What if we're not doing the right thing? After all, you trusted Jack and it turned out that he was a traitor. What if Morph is as well?"

"I'm ... I'm not," Morph stammered. He looked like the last thing he'd wanted to do was get dragged into the argument. "I mean, you guys did save me from being boiled in a soup. That's not exactly much incentive to betray you, particularly since Nimueh was the one who'd wanted to put me in the soup in the first place!"

"Excuse me." The interruption made them all turn around. Jack's mother, Iona, stood there, looking visibly uncomfortable at interrupting such strong emotions. "I know this is probably a bad time, but you did go with my son ... where is he?"

Everyone turned to look at Eve. She flushed, thinking irritably that they only wanted her to explain because they didn't want to. She glared at Morph, who knew what had happened, before turning back to Iona. "I'm sorry, Iona. He's dead."

The woman's face contorted in grief. Her voice was taught as a rope as she asked, "How?"

Morph opened his mouth to speak, but Eve interrupted him. "A giant killed him." The lie came from Eve's lips before she could stop it. "He was knocked into the moat at Rebecks's castle and fell to his death. I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do. It happened too quickly."

Iona nodded several times, tears falling. "The way he lived his life, it was bound to happen." She covered her face, shoulders heaving for a brief moment. Then she lifted her eyes to them and managed a weak smile. "Thank you. I would have spent years wondering what had happened to him without you. Thank you." The woman turned and walked away, her shoulders slouched. It was like a stab to the heart for Eve.

Morph turned to Eve with a frown, waiting until Iona was far enough away before speaking. "Why didn't you tell her the truth?" he asked her bluntly. "She should have been told what kind of a monster her son truly was. Why did you hide it from her?"

Eve swallowed past a lump in her throat before raising her eyes to him. "I couldn't bear to disappoint her. I couldn't let her know that her child was a monster. It just seemed wrong. It's bad enough that she has to mourn him because of me. I don't want her having to mourn those that he undoubtedly killed as well."

Rampion rested a hand on Eve's arm. "You did the right thing," she told her.

Tears pricked at Eve's eyes. "Did I?" she replied. "I lied to his mother, I made her believe he was an angel. What about when she dies, when she goes to Heaven? She'll know I didn't tell her the truth when he's not there."

"I think she may have already known," Gwaine said. "Didn't you hear her? 'The way he lived his life'. That's not just his desire for adventure. I think she meant how he tended towards darkness and evil. She knew. If anybody knows, it's a mother. A mother knows their child best. And a mother loves her child, no matter what. Maybe she was hoping that he would come away from his evil ways and become a better person. Whatever the case, I think she knew."

Eve dashed away her tears. "I think we should wait for Emrys to wake up before we make any decisions," she said, taking the conversation away from Iona. "Maybe rest for a while ourselves. Heaven only knows we deserve it."

"Agreed," Morph said. "Someone should keep watch just the same. We're not in friendly territory here."

Belatedly, Eve wondered how Morph had become so deeply intertwined into their group. Then she shrugged. He was entitled to his secrets. Just hearing his assurance that he wouldn't betray them somehow made her feel better. As Morph, Gwaine, and Lana took each of the watches, she couldn't help but notice how neither she nor Rampion were included. That was fine by her. It gave her more time to sleep.

. . . . . . . . . .

My dreams were uncertain. In my mind's eye, I saw the hallway of a castle, with bright carpet across the floor, lit by candelabras every few steps. Two people were speaking in low voices beside a door. I edged closer, wondering if they could see me. When the woman's stormy grey eyes looked up at me and yet through me, I knew they could not. "We haven't heard from him in too long," she said, returning her gaze to the tall, black-haired, lanky man in front of her. "You should look for him."

"You know perfectly well that my leaving here would only serve to make matters far worse," the man answered. "Don't you get started with me. I've already had Alan nagging me to leave ever since Ellen showed up. She still hasn't regained consciousness."

"He should go himself," the woman said.

"And expose himself to the pain of not letting his daughter see him? I couldn't stand it. And what if Rachel doesn't want me to go there?" the man went on. "She knows that my presence would weaken the foundation of The Story. It's already in a state of constant flux because of Nimueh's tampering. The deaths of the Guardians and the Editor has left The Story in a weak position. Anyone leaving Final Death for long periods of time without being invited back in would just cause more problems than it would fix. If only I could get word to Rachel about the Editor ... we need one, Red."

"Nobody is going to be able to take over the position, ma chere," Red told him. "Will cannot even read." She reached out and patted the man's cheek, her red cloak swimming like a scarlet wave. "There is nothing we can do if you refuse to leave here. We must leave the safety of The Story in Raphael's hands, Ewan."

I stared at the man, moving to the other side to see him. His skin was pale in the uncertain light, and his dark hair and black clothes were a startling contrast. Most surprising of all, though, were his eyes. They were identical to mine, and my mother's as well. And someone else's ... "He's capable," Ewan answered. "I just hope the other children can learn to trust him. In the meantime, Red, I think we need to prepare for the worst. Just in case."

. . . . . . . . . .

Eve woke with a start, staring up at the night sky as she struggled to hold on to the memory of her vivid dream. She knew two things about that dream. Ewan was an Andric, Eve's uncle—she'd heard her mother mention him only twice in her whole life. The other?
Morph was Ewan Andric's son.