Phoenix wandered through stalls alone, her mind wandering, unable to settle.  The conversation with Yoro, Pollemius, and Quilla had taken a turn for the worse.

"Of course I'm not going to kill him!"

"You might have to. You both have the ability to control the fate of this country. It may come to him or you - we'll follow the strongest. It's in our nature to protect our king, and the two of you can control who that is."

"But if we work together..."

Phoenix could still see Quilla's face scrunching up in disbelief.

"Eric Lee, Commander of King Bainon's Army, will never side with the Militia. It's him or you."

"You all right?"

Phoenix spun around, blinking back to the present, and saw a woman watching her  from one of the booths. Her dark auburn hair was twisted up atop her head out of her way, her face smudged with flour. 

"Me? I'm..." Phoenix stopped, unable to come up with an answer. The woman's lips twitched and she gestured for Phoenix to approach.

"You're new, yeah? I saw you walk through yesterday." She stretched out her hand, covered in flour as well. "I'm Gwen. Best baker in the Militia." 

Phoenix accepted her gesture. "Phoenix. Yes - we, uh, just arrived."

"You came with the Ancient and the future king, yes?" At Phoenix's arched brow, Gwen smiled. "Word travels fast around here. The moment the heir arrived, people started talking."  She looked Phoenix up and down. "You must be a Guardian. That's amazing."

Phoenix snorted, leaning against the pole of Gwen's booth. "I'm not so sure."

Gwen's brows arched. "No? Ultimate power not your thing?" She slapped a wad of dough onto her counter and dove in, kneading it with her fingers and arms. 

"Everything has strings attached." Phoenix rested her elbows against the counter, dropping her face into her hands. "I didn't get to choose. I was born with this fate."

Gwen straightened, rubbing her chest with one hand. "Yeah, I know what you mean." At Phoenix's quizzical glance, she shrugged. "My grandmother was a baker."

Phoenix snorted a laugh. "Do you love it?"

"Baking? It's better than the alternative." She sighed. "My father had a different sort of job, but I never wanted it." 

"No?"

"No. I chose my mother's side. I think it's the best decision I ever made."

"Was your father angry?"

Gwen shook her head. "He never knew. I haven't seen him in...well, that's old news. What don't you like about being a Guardian?"

"The responsibilities. They expect me to save the world."

"Not alone. You've got all these fighters here with you. And a future king by your side." Gwen gestured to the other booths. "We may not be fighters, but we believe in the cause, too." 

Phoenix shook her head. "They want me to do something I can't do." 

"Then do something else." Gwen tossed the dough in the air. "What else do your people do? The not Guardian half?"

"There isn't one. I'm the daughter of two Ancients."

Gwen let out a low whistle. "I guess your fate really is written in stars." She chuckled at her joke, nudging Phoenix with her elbow. "Hey, you can make your own future, okay? I did. If they want you to do something you can't do...don't do it. Make your own decisions."

"And if I can't? If I don't have a choice?"

Gwen abandoned the dough, turning to face Phoenix head on, her orange-flecked eyes a flash of the familiar before it faded. "You always have a choice. Always. 'They' may say you have to do something, but you're in control of whether or not you do it." 

Something flashed through Gwen, something Phoenix recognized. "I take it you've already done this? With your father?"

"My mother, actually, but yes. There's always someone who wants something for you - whether or not it's good for you is up to you."

"Are your parents here?" Phoenix asked, glancing around the crowded market area. Gwen quieted.

"No. They - like I said, I wanted something different." She pursed her lips. "I think I made the wrong choice." 

"How so?"

"I miss my mother," Gwen said. "We didn't leave things on the best terms."

It was Phoenix's turn to smile softly. "You know, there's a way to solve that."

Gwen sighed, but nodded. "I do. But once you're here, you can't really leave."

Phoenix thought of Abigail. "There's a way. If you want it. I could get the word out."

Gwen's eyes narrowed. "How?"

"One of the young women traveling with me is going back home, and I'm going to take her. If you want, I could take a letter, or something, and get it to your parents." 

With a twitch of her lips, Gwen rubbed a bit of flour off her face, revealing a dusting of freckles. "I may have to take you up on that."

#

Feeling buoyed by her conversation with Gwen, whom she was going to introduce to the others at her first chance, Phoenix returned to the castle. Helena met her in the entry hall, apparently on her way out.

"Oh thank the stars," she placed a hand to her heart, "I've been looking for you. Your group is in an uproar. Prince Maverick has been stalking about, muttering about secrets; your Noelle keeps yelling for him to pull it together; that giant, Youlden, is sulking in some corner somewhere, and we can't find Abigail or her son anywhere."

"What?" Phoenix pushed past Helena, charging down the hall.

"Where are you going? Stop! What is the matter with you?" Helena raced after her, her dress fluttering around her ankles as she caught up, her silver braid bouncing.

"I'm headed to our rooms to--"

"Those aren't your rooms anymore. You've all proven you're going to be some of our most powerful. Everything has been moved upstairs." Helena shook her head. "Mind you, Prince Maverick nearly threw a fit when asked if his rooms were adequate."

Phoenix's brows arched. "He didn't like them?"

"How am I supposed to know what goes through his head? Young men are beyond me." Helena waved her hand dismissively. "This is why I've had others out looking for you. Apparently not very skilled lookers, but still."

She led Phoenix up to the higher levels of the castle, down a shining hall of pristine white, and stopped before two gilded oak doors. 

"He's all yours."

Before Phoenix could stop her, Helena turned and swept back down the hallway, muttering under her breath about adolescents. 

Phoenix pushed the door open, not bothering to knock. Inside she found Maverick, pacing, while Roman lounged on a chaise, his calm demeanor betrayed by his alert gaze following her brother's every move. Noelle sat with her entire body crossed - her arms, legs, everything so wrapped up she looked like a human knot.

"Where's Abigail?" Phoenix asked, not bothering with the anger and frustration flooding from them. When they didn't answer, she spoke in a loud growl. "Where are Abigail and Trey?"

Abigail appeared from an inner part of the room, brows arched. "What's wrong?"

Phoenix placed a hand over her heart, leaning against the wall. "Thank the heavens. I thought you'd left."

"Why would I leave? I have no idea where I'm going." Abigail glanced back and Trey appeared behind her, joining her.

"Helena couldn't find you."

"Helena isn't very good at looking. I joined your brother and the others when they moved our things up here." She smiled at Maverick. "Your brother doesn't like the way they're treating him."

"Why not?" Phoenix asked, her heart rate slowing now that she knew where Abigail was.

"They want too much from me, Lain." Maverick returned to his pacing. "They want me to be some leader or something, but I can't even trust my own friends." 

"You can trust your friends," Roman said, pushing up into a sitting position. "You should trust that we're here for you, regardless of what our secrets may be."

"I know, I know." Maverick grabbed fistfuls of his hair, closing his eyes as he sucked in a breath. "I just feel like - ever since we got here I've felt like I'm carrying an impossible weight." He shot Noelle a glare. "And yelling at me isn't helping."

"I'm so sorry you had a wonderful upbringing with loving parents and a sister who adores you," Noelle said with a sneer. "And now you're the one person who can bring peace back to all the lands. Must be hard for you."

"He's not the one person," Phoenix said, frowning. "This isn't a one person job." She moved to Maverick's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You aren't alone. I am here for you the whole way. You can't do this alone, and neither can I."

"That's right," Roman said, hopping up. "We're here to help you - both of you. Whatever you need. Youlden too - I know you're upset, but he's obviously in denial. He doesn't believe what he is."

"How can he not believe it after what he did?" Maverick asked.

"Maybe he spent his whole life being told he was nothing, and he believed it?" Noelle suggested, not looking at any of them. "Maybe people were kind to him to keep him fed, but he was never loved - never accepted. Never part of a family. You tell him that there's at least one living parent out there who gave him his power, but doesn't seem to want him? That can't feel great."

Phoenix frowned, seeing where Noelle was headed, but feeling something off about it. "Maybe. Maybe not. It doesn't matter. We're all in this together now, and we can't expect people to give everything of themselves if we aren't giving the same."

Maverick's brow puckered. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you're the son of Clarice and Norman Knight. You have immense strength -" 

"Everyone knows that." 

Phoenix glared at him. "I wasn't finished.  For all of your strength, goodness, and heart, you're afraid of her." She pointed at Noelle, whose eyes widened.

"What? I am not."

"You are! And she's afraid of you, too. It's like you all forget I can feel what you're feeling." She marched over to Noelle, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her before Maverick. "Look at her, Mav. Look. She's not Aundreya. I don't care how much she looks like her, she's not her. She isn't a liar."

Maverick let out a huff of air and forced himself to look at Noelle, who didn't meet his gaze.

"And you." Phoenix shook Noelle lightly. "Your sister isn't here. Knowing him, being his friend - being nice to him isn't going to do any harm. She's not here and she can't hurt you anymore. So if the two of you would stop being so horrible, the rest of us could focus on what's important."

"Which is?" Roman asked, watching everything before him with amusement.

"Don't get me started on you. Your secrets came out when we got here - you knew Helena and you know more about this place than you're letting on. Are you friends with Maverick because you believe in his cause, or because Helena wants you to give her information on him?"

Roman's smile fell. But Maverick spoke up. "She does want him to. He told me as soon as we went to our rooms last night. He told me everything she wants him to do."

"Good." Phoenix didn't take her eyes off Roman. "Make sure you know which side you're on."

"I'm on your side," Roman said, holding her gaze. "Always."

"What about me?" Abigail said, spreading her arms as her face broke into a smile. "What do you want laid bare about me? Or better yet, about you?"

"I can't lie," Phoenix said.

"But that doesn't mean you always tell the truth." Abigail's eyes slid from Phoenix to Trey and back. "You keep secrets when you need to."

"I do. But those are for another time." Phoenix rounded on Maverick. "Are you going to make up with Youlden or not?"

Maverick, who was still looking down at Noelle, nodded. "I will."

"Good, because Abigail and I are leaving."

"Leaving?"

"I'm taking her home to Osha."

"Then I'm going with you," Maverick said.

"No. None of you are." Phoenix held up a hand when Roman and Noelle started to argue. "We'll travel faster if it's just the two of us, and Maverick can't leave - he needs you here." She turned back to Abigail, who watched her appreciatively.

"When do we leave?"

"As soon as we're ready." 

Phoenix is taking charge. Who likes the forceful Phoenix? Also, what do you think of Gwen? I know she's just a cameo, but I like her, so I might bring her back. 

Abigail and Phoenix are going to head to Osha - who do you think they'll run into there? MUAHAHAHA

We'll see.

If you haven't yet, check out "Fathoms Below" and pledge your loyalty to me if you like it! I could win immunity in The Herculean challenge, which would be awesome.

MUAH!