Astrid found herself standing amongst black swirling smoke. The inky air around her was so dense that she couldn't tell whether she was outside in a wide open space or inside a cramped prison cell - whichever it was she felt claustrophobic all the same.

"Hello?" she called out to the nothingness that pressed in on her from all sides. "Where am I?"

Suddenly a faceless, cloaked figure emerged from the twisting coils of the suffocating blackness. Astrid couldn't understand how she could witness such a thing when all that was there was darkness. She missed the light.

"You know where you are, my child," the figure said as it took slow strides towards her.

Astrid looked around. Everywhere she turned, it looked the same. The lack of familiarity made her dizzy, but she knew deep down where it was that she found herself. She planted her feet on the strange, sturdy surface that she stood on and clenched her fists. It had been years since she fought anybody, but she found her fighting stance easily. It was as if it was always there, waiting patiently underneath her skin. She faced the figure with the most dangerous look that she could muster.

"Get out of my head!" she growled through gritted teeth.

The sound of Noir-Astra's sneering laugh pierced through her, causing her to release her tensed muscles.

"That will not be happening, you are mine and we have a lot of work to do." The figure reached out a bony hand towards her. Astrid stood up straight from her crouched fighting stance and took a step back.

"I won't be doing anything with you."

"You have no choice, my child."

"Stop calling me that! I am not yours! I never will be yours!" Astrid yelled at the ominous figure before trying to feel her way through the darkness for a possible escape. Noir-Astra then flew at her and took her face into his claw-like fingers.

"You are mine! I created you and you have let me in!"

Astrid fought against him, but no matter how much she struggled, his grip on her only got stronger.

"Let go of me!" she spat. She couldn't understand where her courage was coming from. All she knew was that she had to fight her way out. She had her moment of weakness, which opened a door into her mind. He was right. She did let him in. That didn't mean she couldn't kick him out again.

"Yield, Child of Noir, yield!" Astrid could sense Noir-Astra's anger rising as she refused to stop pulling against him. A hot wetness trickled down her face, yet she still fought.

"Never! I will not yield to you!" she shouted back and as those words left her heaving chest she suddenly saw a flurry of a violet light at the corner of her eye.

She then knew what she must do - where her escape was. She had to run towards that light. She knew in her heart that was her only chance. With quick thinking, she calmed herself and pretended to succumb to Noir-Astra's power. She looked deep within the emptiness of the cloaked figure's non-existent face and stopped fighting.

"There you are, was that so hard?" he said condescendingly, whilst loosening his grip. "Now come, work with me, be my obedient child."

Astrid, made sure to move fast. She shook her head then darted towards the violet, floating stars. When she reached them, the sound of Noir-Astra's angry scream melted away and light flooded her vision.

Astrid blinked and let the colours of the world that she longed to see again take over her senses. She let out a relieved sigh and looked at her surroundings. She saw countless unfamiliar trees standing around her.

"What? How did I get here?"

"He took you here," a soft, velvety voice answered her. "He was taking you to Luna Lake. It is his favoured place to take his new followers." Astrid turned to see where that voice came from.

There stood a couple of yards from her was a short woman, with mouse-like features, wearing a purple cloak over her long braided light-brown hair.

"Hello, my dear niece."

"Luchinda?" Astrid called out her aunt's name whilst staring deeply into Jeeves' eyes. They lacked the shining violet colour they seemed to need since the connection was broken. Therefore, it was difficult to know whether a link between the realms could be established again.

"Luchinda!" she repeated. Jeeves' eyes kept their cat-like yellow glow. "It's not working, True!" she called over her shoulder, towards the door that was left ajar by her husband. He decided to leave her in James' small living room - to give her some privacy. He was clearly not too far away for he poked his head around the door within seconds.

"Try... erm... try picturing Luchinda," True suggested. His eyes darted about as he thought about what to add. "Just like how she got you to focus on your memories for painting."

He gave his wife a smile, as she nodded and turned back to the unnaturally obedient cat. She gazed into its yellow eyes, then squeezed her eyelids shut to focus on picturing Luchinda. She pictured her sitting beside her on the day she found out that she was expecting Amber. She saw Luchinda's braided light-brown hair and her large olive green eyes staring intensely at her.

"Astrid, my dear niece. You're back," the older woman, sitting in her memory, whispered softly. The sound of that velvety voice made Astrid open her eyes to see the violet light, which she hoped to see, radiate from Jeeves' eyes.

"Luchinda. Yes, I-I am, I'm here," Astrid fumbled out her words as she answered the voice that reached her from Jeeves' mind.

"Where did you go?" Luchinda inquired - there was something in her tone that made Astrid think that her aunt already knew the answer.

"I was confused, Aunt," Astrid began to awkwardly explain. "I was angry with True and with you."

"I see." The way Luchinda said those two small words made it very clear that she certainly did see.

"What changed?" Luchinda asked, her tone inviting and understanding.

"I spoke to James... uh... my father..." Astrid felt like she had no need to hesitate in opening up to her aunt, but she felt shame squeeze at her insides all the same. "He told me that you were the only one he could trust within Fiosolim. That he still trusted you with all of his heart." Astrid's emotions threatened to override her words, but she found the strength to power through. "How could I not trust you, if he can?"

"Oh, my dear," Luchinda's calm, collected voice soothed Astrid's guilt. "I understand how you could've been disillusioned. I wasn't fully honest with you."

"Why weren't you?"

"I have seen what is to come and what must happen to set the future on its best course," Luchinda explained.

"And you not telling me things is helping the future?"

"Yes."

"But what is it that you haven't told me?" Astrid asked, desperate for answers. "I don't understand. I - Aunt, I'm scared."

"Soon, my dear Astrid. Very soon. You'll know everything you wish to know." The calmness in Luchinda's voice was unwavering. "But you must trust me completely. Can I count on you?"

"I don't..."

"Can I count on you, Astrid?"

The authority in Luchinda's voice shook Astrid to the core.

"Yes Aunt. You can count on me."

"And where am I now? I don't see a lake." Astrid asked, not able to hide the coolness in her tone.

"Night Forest, we're in Night Forest."

"And how do you know that he was taking me to Luna Lake, exactly?" Astrid asked accusingly.

"There is very little that I don't know. For instance, I know why you don't trust me right now. But Astrid, my dear niece, you must. We do not have long until Noir-Astra fights his way back into control."

"B-but I escaped. I escaped him, Aunt!" Astrid argued desperately.

"You managed to take control of your mind again, yes, but my dear, you have not escaped his grasp," Luchinda explained carefully. "He will fight his way back into control and when he manages, you will not be able to escape a second time."

"When? When he manages? Not if he manages?" Astrid asked through quivering lips. "When?"

"I saw it. It will happen."

"How long do I have?"

"You have a week, maybe two. I'm so sorry."

Astrid let out a laboured breath.

"All is not lost, Niece." Luchinda took a step closer to Astrid, who now began to shake with anxiety.

"What can I do?" Astrid couldn't stop the vibrating that caused her words to come out in a clumsy, shivering mess. "Luchinda, tell me, what can I do? If all is not lost. Tell me. I'll do anything!"

"Come with me," Luchinda took her by the hand and began to lead her silently through the trees. Until they reached a man-made cavern.

Astrid read the words expertly carved within the ancient wall surrounding a heavy, thick, wooden door.

"Petra-Marbh?"

"Yes, it means "Dead Rock" in the ancient Natanstrellean tongue," Luchinda informed Astrid, not taking her eyes off the sturdy, ancient door. "It is where my ancestors are buried. It is also the place that houses the portal to the non-magical realm."

"Wh-what? You mean, my father was taken h-here when he was banished."

Luchinda gave her niece a slow, sad nod. "I'm so sorry."

"Why did you bring me here?"

"It's where I have been hiding. Petra-Marbh is under my protection spell." Astrid let out a sigh of relief as she heard her aunt's plain answer. However, she soon realised that she reacted too quickly. "It also houses the answer to our problem."

"Luchinda knows how to open the portal, from this realm!" Astrid informed True excitedly. She then watched Jeeves leap off James' coffee table and slink out of the open living room door.

"What? How?"

"She made me write down instructions," Astrid said, waving a notepad that she managed to conveniently find within a pile of books that sat on a shelf beside James' favourite chair. True took the notepad and read the scrawled instructions carefully.

"So she knew how to open this portal the whole time?" True failed to disguise the awe he felt within his voice.

"Yes, it's the real reason she taught me to paint. She failed to tell me that as well it seems!" Astrid also couldn't hide her true feelings as she spoke.

"She had her reasons to keep it from you. We must trust that she knows what she's doing," True desperately tried to reason with her, before her mind began to spiral down into a place of complete mistrust again.

"Yes, yes I know," Astrid said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, True. I'm finding all of this so weird, so hard. But I'm here, I'm on board. I know now, I must go back, we all must go back. Luchinda told me. Natanstrelle needs us."

Luchinda then grabbed the beautifully carved door handle and pushed her whole weight against the wood that kept her and Astrid out in the forest. As the wooden door creaked open it revealed a larger room than Astrid expected to see. It was dimly lit and empty, except for a Trabem Pool that stood in the centre, directly below a small window in the ceiling, which served as the only source of light. The walls that circled the room, looked like they were carved out of a large boulder. Astrid's eyes followed their curve until they came to a small archway. Through that archway was a carved stone staircase that led down to the catacombs underground.

"Come on we must get started, there isn't much time." Luchinda closed the door behind her, before leading Astrid closer to the Trabem Pool.

"You've been living here?"

"Yes," Luchinda answered matter-of-factly, seemingly not able to pick up on Astrid's incredulous tone. "Alright, Astrid. The spell that we must cast to open the portal is an old one. It'll take us seven days exactly. I have done most of the preparation work already."

"How long did that take?"

"Two weeks."

"You started this two weeks ago? How long have you known all of this would happen?" Astrid's fear began to raise the pitch in which she spoke.

"Astrid, listen..."

"Why didn't you warn me? Why didn't you-"

"Astrid, please. We don't have time. You have to trust me." Luchinda pleaded.

"How can I? Luchinda, how can I trust you? You don't explain anything!" An additional thought then entered Astrid's mind; something Noir-Astra had said to her before she felt a piercing pain in her eyes. "You led me to Noir-Astra in the first place! This is happening because of you!"

Luchinda turned towards her niece and placed her small hand over Astrid's mouth in uncharacteristic panic. Astrid struggled against her, but for a woman with such a small frame she was surprisingly strong.

"Please stop! If you let doubt take over you'll invite Noir-Astra back in!" Hearing those words made Astrid immediately cease. But Luchinda did not take her hand away from Astrid's tear-soaked face. "I promise you, Astrid dear, it wasn't me that led you to Noir-Astra. Noir-Astra tricked you, using my likeness. His power is getting stronger. We must do all we can to stop him."

"What must we do?" Astrid asked when Luchinda finally felt it was safe to remove her hand.

"You must join your father, my brother, in the non-magical realm. It is the only place that Noir-Astra's power can be starved out of you." Hearing this plan made fresh tears spring into Astrid's eyes. "You understand it's the only way."

Astrid nodded her head in a hurry, too scared to speak.

"You don't have to go alone," Luchinda added. "Take True and Amber with you. I'll send word to Naomi to fetch them. True and Amber are missing you, it took Naomi all her strength to stop them both from going out to search for you."

"Naomi? W-what's her part in all of this?"

"All in good time, my dear," Luchinda dismissed her in a rush. "Shall I send for your husband and daughter?"

"No."

"No?"

"I mean, can you guarantee their safety?" Astrid explained her sudden answer. "Can three people travel without risk?"

"It's never been done," Luchinda answered, Astrid could see in her aunt's solemn face that she was telling the truth.

Her heart broke within her chest as she contemplated the only option she truly could take to ensure the safety of those she loved the most.

"What have you seen? In the smoke. What do I do?" she asked, staring intensely into Luchinda's dimly lit face.

"I saw you leaving alone."

"That's what I expected you to say," Astrid declared, before silence took over the two of them. Her gaze fell to the rippling waters within the Trabem Pool. "Now, tell me, what must I do first?"