Aurelia winced as sunlight forced sleep away. She wanted to close her bleary eyes and return to world of dreaming. But she couldn't. They were so close.

She sat up and yawned.

"You up, sleeping beauty?" Lucas wondered, pulling a clean shirt over his head.

"Yeah I'm up, Lucy." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"You haven't called me that in forever."

"Well I feel like teasing you. I'm in good spirits, I guess." Aurelia smiled.

They both began packing up their stuff. They didn't have too much farther to walk before reaching Orion's Hollow.

They were quiet for a while, not sure what exactly to talk about.

"So uh, sirens, huh?" Lucas attempted to make conversation.

"Yeah... Do you remember anything before you jumped in?" Aurelia wondered.

"I remember waking up in the middle of the night. And I heard you say my name. Then I woke up again, dripping wet, with you kneeling over me. I thought I had died and gone to heaven because I remember not being able to breathe." Lucas frowned at the memory. "It's all very hazy."

"Oh... Sirens are tricky business I guess." Aurelia mumbled. Why'd she even bring this up in the first place?

"Do you smell that?" Lucas wondered. His nose crinkled.

Smoke. Why was there smoke? Aurelia gulped, nervously. There was a fire around here somewhere.

They kept walking, the smell of smoke only growing stronger. A clearing came into view. A tall hill sloped into a cliff. Smoke puffed from the top of the hill, coming from tiny lit campfire.

They knew exactly what was at the top of that hill. The end of their journey. They ran.

It wasn't too much of a climb and it wasn't too long until they reached the top. Both of them had used the last bit of energy for their journey to race to the top. They were bent over and panting, once the reached the top.

"Took you long enough." Mr. Gold eyed them carefully.

Mr. Gold... He was here. They had made it. They had made it!

"You're actually here." Aurelia grinned. It quickly slipped off her face. "Why couldn't you just return to Atharia? Why'd we have to travel so far?" She asked, her green eyes full of curiosity.

"The royal family of Atharia don't like me much." Mr. Gold said, looking directly at Lucas. "I knew if I risked another trip there I'd be in trouble. Besides I didn't want the two of you to miss this... Bonding experience." He snickered.

They weren't quite sure what he meant by that. Why would he care if the two of them were friends? Lucas and Aurelia both shrugged it off. It wasn't a big deal... Probably.

"If by that you mean terrifying adventure, sure it was a 'bonding experience'" Lucas snapped, sarcastically. Aurelia would have glared at him for being rude, but honestly he was right. And she didn't have the energy.

"Let's cut to the chase. I know why you're here." Mr. Gold told them, rubbing his elvish chin with one hand and waving the other.

"We'd like to make a deal." Aurelia straightened up, as she said it with every ounce of authority she could muster. "Atharia will crumble without a strong leader. That is what we want."

"Hmm... You see Atharia and I aren't exactly on good terms, so it having a strong leader isn't exactly my favorite idea." Mr. Gold joked. "But of course I'll grant you this. It is in my best interests. What will you give me in return?" He asked.

Lucas and Aurelia both stared at each other. The price... That was the worst part.

"What exactly do you want?" Aurelia asked, refusing to come off as scared.

"Oh nothing much..." Mr. Gold smirked. "Let's call it a favor, in the future."

The hand that kept waving materialized a golden scroll from thin air. Yellow sparks dissolved into the air with its creation. A black quill appeared in his other hand.

"What are your exact terms?" Mr. Gold asked, a malicious smirk on his face. It was as if he was finally going to gain a victory he had been planning for a long time. His twisted smile made Aurelia and Lucas want to shiver at the look. They didn't.

"Atharia shall get a strong, intelligent leader who can quickly aid the kingdom into being the glorious place it once was." Lucas stood up straight, following Aurelia's lead.

"Perfect... I know just who." Mr. Gold muttered, scribbling on his parchment.

"And we want safe passage home, so nothing can interrupt our deal." Aurelia stated.

"Of course. Smart girl, you are."

"What are your terms?" Aurelia asked, rephrasing her earlier question.

"I'd let you read it, but it's in elvish. Do you really want to know what silly condition it is that would stop you from saving your kingdom? Does it matter that much? I promise I'm not asking you to sign over your souls or anything like that." Mr. Gold held up his hands in defense.

Aurelia opened her mouth to argue. She wanted to say, 'No we need to know the exact conditions.' But something stopped her. She had nothing more important than the safety of her entire kingdom.

"Which of you will sign?" Mr. Gold asked.

"I'll sign." Lucas stated, reaching for Mr. Gold's quill.

"No," Aurelia said. "I'll sign. I've got this, Lucas." She grabbed the quill from Mr. Gold's hands.

"And you promise Atharia will get the leader it needs?" Aurelia said, hesitating.

"I promise. But you needn't only take my word for it." Mr. Gold's smirk grew.

Lucas and Aurelia shared a confused look.

"In special cases I can show you glimpses of the future... If you'd like." His twisted smirk haunted them, a fire burning in his eyes.