The rebel swiftly took Mimi and Philip to the infirmary, full-occupied after their battle with the Guardians. Although the assembled healers and medics didn't want to allow visitors, one of the higher-ups had sided with Mimi over Merlin and allowed them both in. They hurried to Martin's side and Philip recoiled at the sight of him.

The young Guardian had obviously been beaten and badly hurt. One of his arms was at an awkward angle, and his face was a mess of bruises and blood. Goldilocks was in a similar position. Swallowing a black rage, Philip somehow managed to speak. "Who has done this?" he said, his voice lower than normal.

The healer shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't know," he admitted. "The attacker ran off when one of our men found him." He ran long fingers through his straight red hair. Golden eyes smoldered like suns as he spoke. "I can't believe someone would be so cowardly. They seem to have been knocked unconscious by magic, then beaten while they were asleep. Gods, it seems so brutal."

Philip eyed him. "Are you ... a Greek god?" he asked after a moment.

The healer nodded, extending a hand. "Phoebus Apollo," he said. "These are your friends, right?"

Although Philip barely knew Goldie, he couldn't not call her his friend after she had stood by Mimi. He nodded in answer to Apollo's question. "Yeah. Keep watch over them, won't you?" he requested. "I don't want someone coming and getting another shot at them."

"Oh, trust me," Apollo said, his eyes glinting darkly. They resembled molten lava now. "If they come back, they'll have the surprise of their life, I can assure you of that. But where are you going?"

Philip glanced at Mimi, whose eyes were locked on Martin's bruised and bloodied face. She gave no indication of listening to their conversation, though she was standing right there. "We're going to talk this over," he said. "Come on, Mimi."

She jumped as if he'd shocked her before nodding. "Right," she mumbled. The two of them backed out of the infirmary and into the hallway. They stood in relative privacy, at the juncture, where they could see anyone approaching who might overhear their conversation. "Phil, who would do such a terrible thing? Martin's just a boy!"

"I don't know," Philip admitted. "I can't figure out why they'd attack Goldie as well. She's got nothing to do with this whole mess. I mean, I guess it could be because she sided with you, but then, why not just wait and attack the two of us? If they overpowered Martin, they must be very, very powerful."

Before they could go on, Philip saw someone turn the corner down the hall. He pressed his hand into Mimi's arm, silencing her. The two of them waited as none other than Merlin himself walked towards them. He didn't seem to notice their displeasure at being interrupted. "Merlin? What can we do for you?" Philip said. A glance at Mimi showed fury on her face. What was wrong with her?

"I have a mission for you, Philip," Merlin said. "If you'll accept it."

"W-wait," Mimi stammered. "Poor Martin just got attacked and you expect to send his mentor off on some kind of a mission? Have you no pity?"

Merlin turned to her with his eyebrow raised. "As far as I've been informed, Martin's injuries were not fatal. And the entire rebellion cannot come to a grinding halt because of one man's wounds. Unless you'd have us give up when one of us breaks a nail?"

Mimi's face turned beet red, and Philip hastily spoke over her. "I'll go. What Story are you sending me to?" As far as he was concerned, she could handle the Alan situation by showing him where Will was being kept.

"The seventh Simon Story," Merlin said.

Philip scratched his head. "I don't even know what that is."

Merlin smiled. "There's a man named Simon who is in prison. All you have to do is break him out and break him back here. Unfortunately, Story doors won't work in the castle, where he's imprisoned. You'll have to improvise."

"And why do you want this seventh Simon?" Mimi asked suspiciously. Philip elbowed her in the side to keep her quiet.

Merlin pretended not to notice her hostile tone. "He could be quite useful. All seven Simons excel in certain crafts, and his craft is to steal anything he wants to in the entire world. Nothing is exempt. Useful, hm?"

"And explains why he's in prison," Mimi muttered under her breath. Since Philip had been thinking the same thing, he didn't bother silencing her.

"When do you want me to go?" Philip asked tiredly.

"Immediately." Merlin made a shooing motion with his hand.

"Okay. C'mon, Mimi, I'll make the door in the courtyard." Grabbing her arm, he pulled her along behind him, eager to avoid having her talk with Merlin longer than necessary. Plus, he wanted to make sure she kept the promise he'd made to Alan. It just felt wrong to abandon the Merry Man.

They reached the outside courtyard without trouble, where the last few Merry Men were just leaving to stagger off to bed. They gave exaggerated, drunken bows and lurched past Mimi and Philip. He watched them go with a little smile, thinking that they must have drunk a lot of ale to get that drunk. Then he turned to Mimi. "Keep my word to Alan, okay? Take him to Will and get them both out."

"Philip, you shouldn't be leaving," Mimi said. "There's something odd about this whole thing. If my oath no longer stands, we should leave. Just abandon the rebels and the Guardians alike."

Philip shook his head stubbornly. "You don't get it, do you? I didn't join this rebellion because of Merlin. I joined it because I think they deserve a better life here in The Story. People like Alan, Apollo, and Goldilocks need to have better lives than the Guardians give them. And just because Merlin can't be trusted doesn't mean that they deserve to be abandoned. He's got a point, too; this Simon guy sounds like he can be useful."

Mimi shook her head. "I feel like we should talk to Martin before you leave. There has to be a reason he was attacked."

"What could Martin possibly know?" Philip laughed. "He's fine, Mimi. He's being tended to by a god, for Pete's sake. And you'll be here to keep an eye on him. It shouldn't take me very long. You know how good I am at sneaking in and out of places. It'll be a snap." He kissed her forehead, tense with a frown. "I'll be back before you can think 'troublemaker'. Don't you worry one bit about me, eh?" He used his magic to open a Story door behind him and stepped off the stairs. "Don't do anything I would," he added before opening it and going through.

Mimi watched him go, taking a deep breath and letting her shoulders fall with a huff. He treated her like an idiot. If something happened while he was gone, she would kill him. At the moment, though, she intended to go back into the infirmary, wait for Apollo to turn his back ... and slap Martin until he woke up and told her who in the world had attacked him.

The doors behind her opened and closed, and she froze, listening as footsteps stopped just behind her. Then Merlin's silky-smooth voice spoke in her ear. "He's gone and left you, hasn't he?"

She spun around, jumping off the last step, away from the vile man. "I despise you with every atom of my being," she snapped. "You're a monster and you enjoy hurting people. Admit it; you're the one who attacked Martin and Goldie. 'A powerful sorcerer', they're saying. It was you, wasn't it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Merlin defended himself, but the half-smile tugging at the end of his lips gave it away. "You shouldn't make random accusations against your leader, Miss Winthrop."

"My leader," she mocked. "The only reason I'm still here is because of Philip. These people rely on you, Merlin. They look up to you and trust that you'll lead them to safety and a better life. But with whatever you're planning, I know that you're only going to fail them in the end, even if Philip doesn't."

Merlin cocked his head. "I don't know why you've convinced yourself of that, Miriam Winthrop. Would you mind telling me?"

Words about Merlin's prisoner, Will, came to Mimi's lips, but she forced them back. Merlin was far too powerful for her to take on by herself, and she had no desire to get killed and buried in a hole somewhere. Philip would never forgive her. "I just know it is," she told him.

The smile he gave her was infuriating and she wanted to slap him. "I thought much. Don't spread idle rumors, Miriam. It's bad form. You shouldn't worry so. It's not a woman's place."

Trying not to show her utter fury, she stepped past him, mounting the stairs. Not a woman's place ... what kind of an idiot was he? She drew in slow breaths as she walked, hoping against hope that he wouldn't say anything more to her. Otherwise, she might lose it completely and punch him. That would probably qualify as "something Philip would do".

But Merlin didn't say anything else to her, and she opened the doors at the top of the stairs. Risking one last glance back, she saw that Merlin had gone, probably through a Story door somewhere. But where could he have gone? A sour taste settled in her mouth as she realized.

He had gone after Philip.

. . . . . . . . . .

Martin groaned, his face feeling like it had a lump on it. Or several lumps; he wasn't really sure which. It felt like something was caked on his cheek, like makeup, and he groaned, trying not to listen to the voice calling his name frantically.

Someone calling his name? He sat up a little, forcing his swollen eye open. The other wouldn't open at all. "Mimi?" he said through a fat lip. "What're you doing in my room?"

When she spoke, exasperation overpowered her previous desperation. "This isn't your room, Martin. This is the infirmary!" she snapped. "Wake up!"

Finally managing to open his swollen eye all the way, he saw concern on Mimi's pretty face. Running his tongue over his fat lip and tasting blood, Martin blinked owlishly. "Why am I in the infirmary?" he asked.

"Because someone thought it would be funny to knock you unconscious with sorcery and beat you while you were asleep," Mimi said. "How do you feel?"

"Like someone knocked me unconscious with sorcery and beat me while I was asleep," Martin replied. "What's going on? Why did you come in here and bother me?"

"It's Merlin," Mimi said. "I think he's going to lay a trap for Philip. He sent him to another Story and left soon after that. I need you to come with me!"

"You're not leaving me behind, are you?" Goldie asked sleepily.

The redhaired healer came over, his face set in a frown. "Now, wait just a minute," he said. "Are you really planning on dragging my patients out of here before they've properly recovered? I mean, look at them! They're in no shape to go running around after Merlin!"

"Then make them in shape," Mimi insisted. "Aren't you the blasted god of healing?"

Martin made the connection that the god of healing was Phoebus Apollo—although the eyes that looked like suns should have given that away, he supposed. Apollo scowled at Mimi. "Of course I can, but I've got badly wounded people here. Do you expect me to leave them for someone who's got wounds that aren't fatal?"

"You've been tending to them for hours," Mimi said. "I know none of them have died. You've healed them all already, haven't you? Which means you're just scared to disobey Merlin and do the right thing."

Apollo's face tensed. "I do the right thing constantly," he said. "Don't say that I don't!"

"Apparently, not when it matters," Mimi retorted.

Heaving a sigh, Apollo leaned against the foot of Martin's bed. "Oh, alright. On one condition."

They all looked at him. "You take me with you," he added. "I've always wanted to see The Story. You know, at the points that I actually remembered it."

Martin looked at Mimi, who seemed to be running the whole thing. She nodded after a moment. "You're welcome to join us, Phoebus Apollo," she said. "You'll have to be prepared to pull your weight, of course."

Apollo adopted an offended look. "Do you doubt me?" he replied. "I'm a god, Lady Winthrop! You could do far worse than me."

Martin chuckled. "Can you prove it by healing my face?" he requested. "It hurts like mad."

Apollo puffed up his chest. "It would be my distinct honor!" he said, and laid both hands on Martin's face. It was getting a little personal, and Martin stiffened. He didn't like people touching him. At first, Apollo's touch hurt and he made muttered curses under the intrusive palms. Then Apollo removed his hands and Martin's face didn't hurt anymore.

Mimi gave a delighted laugh. "That's amazing!" she said. "Martin, your face is completely healed!"

Goldie frowned. "Whatever happened to ladies first?" she asked.

Apollo turned and repeated the spell on Goldie, healing her face as well. Once he'd accomplished that, he turned back to Mimi, putting his hands on his hips in a petulant way. "Well?" he said, challenging her.

She shrugged. "I think you'll hold your own," she replied.

He smiled. "Then I'm officially invited?"

"Invited and accepted," Mimi said, holding out her hand. They shook before she turned back to Martin. "Get up, Martin Relen. We've got work to do."

Martin took her hand and let her haul him to his feet. Tentatively, he touched his lip, which felt like its normal size again. "There's no sign of the damage, is there?" he asked. "I mean, one never knows when you're going to meet the girl of your dreams, particularly in a fairy tale ..."

"You look fine, Martin," Mimi said impatiently. "Now come on. We need to go."

"Right," Martin agreed. "I've been looking forward to ridding myself of Merlin since we joined this rebellion. I'm more than ready."