Dawn opened the castle door slowly, her eyes searching for the slightest hint of movement in the dark castle. She had stayed at Kabos's house all day long, talking and laughing and trying her hardest to forget about what had happened between her and Adriana.

        "Hi." a voice spoke from the shadows behind the door, causing Dawn to jump three feet in the air. 

        "Who is that?" she whispered, trying to recompose herself.

        "Who do you think?" the person emerged, revealing herself to be Adriana. Dawn drew in a deep breath.

        "So you're awake."

        Adriana let out a quick, barking laugh without humor. "That's all you have to say? You almost kill me and you don't even have the courtesy to apologize?"

        "I was just defending myself." Dawn replied. For a second, the grief and guilt that had plagued her in the immediate aftermath of the fight returned, but it was gone within seconds. "You could just as easily have killed me, if the sun hadn't risen."

        "But I wouldn't have." Adriana snapped. "I would have kept my sanity and remembered that we're family, not enemies."

        Dawn shrugged, her eyes going down to the ground. She wasn't going to admit to being wrong.

        "But I guess it was a good thing that you almost became a murderer." Adriana continued, walking around Dawn. "Because, while I was out cold and on the verge of death, I had a vision."

        Dawn's head snapped up.

        "A vision?"

        Visions were incredibly rare in Gregoria, and usually only came to people in grave danger or who had the power to stop a grevious crime. Dawn had never met anyone who had had a vision, except for Rissa, whose position as a sorceress was enough to guarentee frequent visions.

        "Yeah." Adriana said, her gaze softening as she realized that Dawn was actaully taking her seriously. "A vision."

        "What happened?"

        "There was a fire." Adriana recalled, her eyes glazing over, "And people were screaming. There was smoke and heat everywhere and I could barely breathe. But then I started falling down a black hole, for what felt longer than it probably was. When I stopped falling, a woman came...but the woman was me. She was a future me."

        Dawn's eyes grew wide.

        "What did she say?"

        "She said..." Adriana gulped, unsure of whether or not to relay the message. You have the power to stop this. You have to do something! a voice inside her head cried. She drew a deep breath and the words flew out of her mouth: "ShesaidthatifyoukeepdoingwhatyouredoingwithKabosthatswhattheworldwillbecome."

        "What?"

        Adriana tried again. "She said that if you keep doing what you're doing with Kabos, that's what the world will become."

        "The burning? The screaming?"

        "Yes." Adriana replied, encouraged by the fact that Dawn wasn't screaming at her this time. "She said that unless you find a way to protect your heart from Kabos, that's what the world will turn into."

        Dawn was silent for so long that Adriana was afraid she had forgotten how to speak. After a long while of the two of them standing there in silence, Adriana braved conversation again.

        "I know it sounds crazy---"

        "No." Dawn cut her off quietly, her eyes the only things that showed in the moonlight. "It doesn't sound crazy."

        "Really?' Adriana was amazed at how well this was going, considering the last time she had tried to "help" her sister. 

        "No." Dawn whispered again. "It sounds impossible." she turned around and started walking away, before Adriana realized what she had said. Her heart dropped and she raced after Dawn, hoping against hope that she could reason with her.

        "Dawn---"

        "Don't do that." Dawn snapped, spinning around, her blue eyes blazing. "Don't say "Dawn" like I'm some injured animal. Stop. And stop trying to get me to break up with Kabos. I won't do it." she gave a half-hearted wave of her hand, gesturing towards the village. "He's the only thing that hasn't betrayed me in my life, Ad! And now you want me to cut him out of it? It's pretty low, making up a vision because you're jealous." The ring Kabos had given her earlier that day hung heavily on her finger, the giant ruby in the middle glittering in the moonlight.

        Here we go again, Adriana thought.

        "I'm not jealous." she replied calmly, contrary to her racing heartbeat. "I swear I'm not making this up! I had a vision and it was important, and real, and---"

        "CAN IT!" Dawn yelled in exasperation, "I don't care! I'm staying with Kabos, and nothing you say will convince me otherwise!" 

        She turned around and ran away, leaving Adriana standing helplessly in the middle of the dark hall, tears springing to her eyes and her heart heavy with her failure.

***

        "Kill her."

        "But---" 

        "Kill her."

        "How?"

        "I don't care. But I want her gone. She can't keep this up, she's a nuisance to us and she might be the one to thwart our plans. Kill her."

        "But when?"

        "Tonight."

***

        "I'm sorry." Skylar whispered, rubbing Adriana's back in a comforting circular pattern, "It's not your fault. You tried your best."

        "But it wasn't good enough!" Adriana cried out, throwing her arms up in the air. "I almost died, Dawn hates me now, and on top of it all, she's still with Kabos!" she let out an exaggerated sigh. "I just wish this wasn't so complicated."

        "I know." Skylar replied. "Maybe she'll come around. I like to say that couples have a "honeymoon phase" when they first start courting. They think that the other person is perfect, that they can't do anything wrong, and no one can tell them otherwise without them getting defensive. Once the honeymoon phase ends, Dawn will be better able to see reason and accept that maybe Kabos isn't the one for her. But if he breaks her during the honeymoon phase...well, we're all screwed."

        "That's incredibly comforting." Adriana rolled her eyes. "But I guess you're right. I just have to wait this out. Hopefully she regains trust in me soon...but for now, I don't know what to---"

        A loud crash sounded in the woods to their right. Both girls jumped and looked around, worried.

        "What was that?" Skylar whispered.

        The crash sounded again. 

        "It almost sounds like feet crunching leaves..."

        A single gunshot sounded.

        Screams echoed through the woods, blood was everywhere, and the footsteps started running away. The screaming continued, the leaves turned red, and a lone figure laid, motionless, on the ground.

---

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Do you think the gunshot victim will survive? Who do you think got shot? Remember to vote, comment, and check back for the next update!! Thanks for all your support on the book, and keep an eye out for my newest book that I'll be uploading the first chapter of this week!

-Katherine