The room fell silent as Gorin detailed his elaborate plan. The curious dazzled eyes of all the fairies peeked through the bars of their cages, necks stretching to hear the Cornersweeper's raspy words and for a moment escape the humdrum of their lives for a glimpse of hope.

When Gorin had finished, Heist and Owen added their take on the plan until everyone present had come to a consensus. Their strategy was a simple one, but it required everyone's cooperation to make it succeed. The battle to come would not be an easy match. From what Heist described the colosseum was an unforgiving place where the victors found little victory. At least now with a plan in mind everyone could breathe a small sigh of relief and believe in a possibility that I would survive the encounter. No one was more relieved and more nervous than me.

"This just might work," said Heist moving around the cage. He dug his thumb into his chin thinking of any way the plan could go wrong. "Yes, yes. We will have to use all of our skills. Yes, yes. This fight should be a breeze."

"That is if everything works," said Hijinx crawling on Zeno's shoulder. He was very interested in the string. "The margin of error here is high. One mistake and it's over for all of us." The cat wagged his fluffy tail as Zeno lifted the string. "Are you positive, tailor, that your strings will be strong enough for the task."

Zeno nodded and smiled, his hands focused on undoing knots and tangles from the ball of string resting on his lap.

"As long as I maintain control and divert my magic into a single thread, it will be indestructible."

"Our timing must be spot on," said Owen. "There can be no slip ups."

"This will be a tough battle even with all your help," I said tugging my hair nervously. "But thank you all for everything. I would surely die in that arena if I didn't have you guys."

"We have your back," said Zeno glancing up from his ball of string.

"Explain to me again where we will attempt this," said Owen looking across the room at the stone doorway.

"When the guards come they will lead us up the steps," said Gorin flicking his little paws in the air. "The path will split about half way up. Hope will be led down one passage to the arena and we will be led down another to the stands so to watch Hope's performance. It is at this junction we must make our first critical step. If we miss this opportunity, Hope will be on her own."

"It's risky," said Heist raising his eyebrows. "Almost too risky."

"Indeed," said Gorin. "But it is a risk we have to take. If everything succeeds, Hope will win this battle and we will get an audience with the king. Then when we are on the surface we can focus on trying to find a way out of this city."

"You think the king will honor this agreement? What if the king throws us back down here?" Owen stood to his feet. "We can't anticipate what the king will do. There is a possibility none of this will work."

"It will work," I said dropping my chin to my chest. "It has to."

The room fell quiet once more.

"Let's get some sleep," said Owen finally. "Who knows when the guards will be here. Best we be well rested." Owen and the others nodded. Heist wished us a restful night and retreated back into the dark corridor. The rest of us found our own patch of stone to sit. While the others had no trouble falling asleep, my mind was awake with worry. I scanned the dark cave walls recalling a book I once read about two brothers lost in a cave.

The two brothers found a cave in the forest behind their home. They wandered through the unknown tunnels, playing on the rock formations and splashing in the underground spring until their flashlight went out. A weight of hopelessness filled their minds as an ever looming darkness and a forgetful silence surrounded them. They cried and cried for help until their voices were sore and their lungs exhausted. Only the echoes of their whimpering cries answered them. No help was coming.

Time in the darkness became fluid. Minutes slipped into hours. Hours felt like days. When so far underground, time began to hold little meaning and soon it became stranger than sunlight. The aching in their bellies chimed when their voices could not. The brothers feared the worst. Hunger would kill them if nothing else.

But time is both a cruel and a kind mistress. She saw the boys lost in the cave, and come the morning, the small hole from which they had wandered through glowed with light and guided them out. Patience had saved them.

I sat leaning against the moist wall. I imagined my current state of affairs was not much different than those boys. My legs and arms were covered in a dark slime. The damp cell had grown cold and uncomfortable. No matter where I came to rest my head, water dripped from one of the stalactites. Hunger rumbled in my belly and darkness surrounded me.

Heist had left long ago. So long now that I could not say when. With him left my sanity. My mind raged with thoughts of the battle to come and the cries of the spectators cheering for me to fail. I attempted to close my eyes, drown out the negative thoughts, and force myself to sleep but the dreadful images of failure and fear kept me awake, tugging at desires to go home, to rest in my warm bed away from all this madness.

I felt alone again. Trapped in a crowded room. A room where everyone was laughing and having a good time, everyone except for me. I was standing in the center growing smaller and smaller, sucked into a black hole until a cry broke the rhythmic drip drops of the water.

"Hope," came a muffled delicate voice. It sounded like someone speaking through a wall. "You can do this," said the voice. I swear I heard the voice before but was unsure where. A light glowed from the water puddle by my feet. "You can do this," came the voice again. I pulled my knees into my chest.

"Who's there?" I asked looking all around. Everyone, all the fairies, were fast asleep. "Who are you?"

From the light came an indistinguishable answer. All I could make out before the light faded was the words, "....another time..." Then it was gone.