Violet sat cross-legged in her tiny room, letting her thoughts drift in and out of her mind like the tides. After another day of patrolling the Camelot forest, she found it relaxing to sort through her mind, despite coming back empty-handed. No information about the dragon egg thief, nothing about where he came from or what he was, and still somehow managing to give Em a terrible headache. It felt like losing the fight all over again, even though Misha told her not to worry. People with such power tended to reveal their identity at one point or another, so the figure probably wouldn't be a problem for much longer.

Forcing herself to calm down, Violet recounted one of her favorite memories: meeting Em for the first time. She must have only been 15 or 16, sprinting through the halls of Home in nothing but blue sweats and bare feet. She caught rumors with pointed ears like a fisher with a net, picking her favorite ones and letting them overtake her imagination.

Did you hear that they finally found someone to fill the Human Culture and Relations job? He's like 15. Do you think he might be too old?

I head he has the prettiest eyes...speaks strangely too. Must be a cultural thing or something?

All of Home was abuzz for what felt like hours as she pieced together an image of the boy, sprinting, running, tearing open Bishop's door and repeating every little detail of gossip. He had just about jumped at the idea of a new member before collapsing in front of his computer and searching every security camera for the boy.

Then, huddled together, they watched like children as the screen lit up with images of Fae Misha and a fair, pale-haired boy with the brightest blue eyes Violet could imagine.

Of course, they had gotten busted the next morning for hacking into Home's security system, but Violet figured it was all worth it. Just a glance at the mysterious new member of The Guard was enough to make her heart flutter.

As another wave of thoughts crashed down on her mind, she drew in a memory of a faint scream and tried to piece together the details. It rolled like a wave, powerful and crashing down on her over and over. She arranged her thoughts and tried to place the memory. It could have been anything; from a training mission, simple patrols, or just sparring in the gym, but it seemed far too real, far too painful.

Her nose creased in frustration as she dug frantically for the memory, the screaming growing all the more persistent. Constant and pressing at the back of her mind, she felt like joining in with the scream. It wasn't fading, wasn't going away as memories should...

Violet's eyes popped open, hoping it would cease the memory, but as all the wave-like fragments drifted away, the screaming overtook her mind.

Then like a bolt of lightning, she was running barefoot through the halls again and straight towards the brightest blue eyes she had ever known.

~~~

Violet felt frozen, chilled and motionless as she stared at the heap on the ground. Em was withering and sobbing, desperate tears leaking from his eyes squeezed shut. His fingers were wrapped tightly around his scalp, clawing at vacant memories, screaming, crying, bloody sounds of hell echoing from his lips in a desperate attempt for...

...Violet didn't know what. He looked mad and panicked, each one of his muscles tensed beneath tattooed skin. The ink seemed to move and shift as if it were also in pain, crazy mad with fear.

"They're in my head!" His fingers tightened around his scalp as Violet realized she was holding her breath. At least Bishop was moving, his arms wrapped around Em in a desperate attempt to stop the madness. But Violet was trembling, shaking, so lost she couldn't even remember to breathe. Em looked prepared to rip out every beautiful strand of his silvery hair to stop the pain.

"Who's in your head?" Bishop shouted over the withered mumbles as he pulled Em into a sitting position. It hardly took a moment for Em to curl around himself again, vomit spilling from his lips.

A breath of silence rimmed the moment as Em heaved a lungful of air. His eyes drifted up to Violet like a child begging for mercy, an unusual innocence covering his face. It was a rare weakness he had shown her, a beautiful yet humble side of Em that was so fragile, yet somehow already shattered. Violet stared back at the child, at the boy she loved so much as she realized she could never lose him.

Another scream shot from his lips. "What happened to him?" Violet found her voice as she collapsed to the ground next to Bishop, a sudden urge to protect shooting through her like venom. Em was far too precious to lose.

"I don't know! He just went mad!"

Em shuddered as another scream tore through him. Bishop had wrapped his arms around him in a desperate attempt to calm him down, but Em was too strong. Collapsing to the ground, Em gripped his head again in a frantic screech.

"They're in my head!"

"Who's in your head?!" Violet felt her words grow in anger, daring for Em to tell her the truth. She gripped his arm, her sharp nails digging into his flowered tattoo.

"Get them out! Get them OUT!"

"Em! Who the Phoenix is in your stupid head?!"

"Everybody out!" Violet's train of thought was ruptured as Fae Misha appeared in the doorway, and everything fell into a flurry of emotions. No longer was she being shoved into the hallway, or watching through the cracked door as Fae pressed her glowing palms against Em's forehead, or listening as Em shrieked as if he was dying...

She was only terrified, and Bishop was squeezing her hand so hard she thought she would shatter.