"We must help him!" Aza exclaimed, already trying to form a plan in her mind. She sat back down on the fallen log and tried to catch her breath which had quickened as she thought of all that she must do. The birds chirped around her and the sun slowly began to set leaving behind a beautiful array of colors that would soon fade into darkness.

"What a beautiful day!" the birds chirped. It was almost as though they were speaking to her. Their words sounded real but that was impossible. Shrugging off the thought, she returned her attention back to the problems at hand. 

As she thought of everything that had happened she wished she could be home where her father and brother would greet her with open arms but she would never see Matthew again and if she wished to see her father she had to save him. 

Aza wondered what other people were doing at this moment. Probably sitting down at the dinner table to eat supper with their families. She wished her life hadn't been so flipped around today. Why? Why did this have to happen to me today? she wondered.

"Not right now," Xavier said. "We can't help him now. You must begin your training or you'll never be able to save your father. Not knowing how to control your--magic--" he whispered, "is asking for accidents." His eyes looked more serious than they'd been before. All of the mischief gone and the trouble-making smirk he had had before disappeared from his lips. "And that's how people get caught. I don't want that to happen to you. I know that I don't know you very well but you must not risk your life to save your fathers"

Of course, she already knew this but she was willing to do anything to save him. That included skipping her training and going straight to the big stuff. No matter the danger she would do whatever it took to save her father. "I understand that but I also must save my father as soon as possible. He is in need of help. What if he dies in that dungeon? What will I do then? I can't lose another member of my family!"

"I want to help your father too, but you will be of much more use to him if you at least begin your training. Let me train you for one week and then we shall leave."

"But by then my father will be in the dungeons for two weeks. We must leave now!" At that moment an idea popped into her mind. "What if we trained on our way to the palace? The journey takes a week by foot. We could rescue him and then head to the camp. I'll do anything Xavier. I'll go with you to your camp if you help me save my father."

"I don't know Aza, I want to help you but I just don't know if that would even be possible," Xavier said. Looking at me with worried glances

"You don't understand!" At this point, she was in tears. Her already exhausting, stressful and depressing day catching up to her yet again. She just wanted to go home and sleep and in the morning everything would just be a dream. But she knew that this was no dream. She knew that this was reality. She knew that she had to save her father. "I have to save him. I already lost Matthew. I can't lose my father as well!"

"It's going to be okay." Nicholas walked over to Aza and wrapped in a hug as her tears soaked into his soft tunic.

"I'll do it. It's going to be hard work and you must train hard. As a magician, I must warn you that it is very exhausting to use magic. You will likely need to rest afterward," said Xavier.

"I can do it. I realize that it will be a struggle to make this long journey, but I also know that we must do this, to save my father," Aza said as more tears fell down her pale cheeks. She wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep but she knew that if she ever wanted to see her father again this was something she needed to do.

"We'll need to gather a few things," Xavier said. "I'll gather food."

"I'll get the supplies for our camp. Nicholas, would you be able to get some money from your father?"

"I should be able to."

"We'll meet up here in two hours to begin our journey. No telling anyone about this. If they find out... we'll all be in trouble."

Two hours later, Aza was sitting on the log, waiting for Nicholas and Xavier. Minutes later, she heard footsteps coming from the direction of the city. She looked to where she heard the noise and saw Xavier walking towards her. When Nicholas arrived they were ready.

"How are you doing?" Nicholas asked as they started walking.

"I'm okay. I mean, I'm obviously not great but I'm really glad that I have a chance to save my dad. I sent you a letter today but I guess you'll never see it."

"That's too bad. I love your letters."

"I really missed you, you know. Not seeing my best friend for two weeks was hard. I'm just glad you're back." She said all of this without even looking at him. She was simply staring at the ground, trying not to trip.

The three continued walking silently for the next couple of hours until they had exhausted themselves. Aza set up camp and lay on her bed. She tried to fall asleep but no matter how hard she worked, she was unable to stop thinking about that day's events. Tears streamed down her face at a steady pace and she sat there, weeping, for hours until finally she was able to find a safe place in her dreams.

Aza woke up the next day before the others. She got out some bread and cut it up before waking up the others.

"Guys, it's time to wake up," she said gently, shaking each of them in turn. After minutes of trying to wake them up peacefully, she decided to go a different route. "WAKE UP!" she yelled.

"Jeez," Xavier said with a grunt, rubbing the sleep out of his beautiful eyes.. "Can you be any louder."

"Seriously! I mean, come on, Aza. Isn't there a nicer way to wake us up?" Nicholas said before yawning.

"I tried." She glared at them. "Now get up or I'm eating your breakfast." At the threat, the two annoying boys stood up quickly. "Thank you!"

"So, when should we leave?" Xavier asked with a mouth full of bread.

"Please don't talk with your mouth full, Xavier. And as soon as we finish our breakfast."

"Okay," Xavier replied.

A few minutes had passed and the bread they had put out for breakfast was gone. They had packed up and were now making their way towards the direction of the palace.

They continued walking for most of the day until it was time for lunch. They stopped in a beautiful clearing filled with vibrant green grass and gorgeous wildflowers. A few minutes into lunch Aza began to notice that there were quite a few birds perching on the trees. She wanted to get a closer look.

"I'm going to go and see if I can find a clean water source," she told them. She wasn't really going to look for one but the urge to see those beautiful birds up close was so strong that she couldn't resist.

"Okay," Nicholas said.

Aza walked off and into the forest.

"Hello," a faint voice whispered. She turned around quickly, towards the sound of the voice. All she saw was a bird. She kept walking until she heard it again.

"Where are you going." This voice was more feminine but she was still unaware of who was speaking to her.

"Where are you?" she asked, voicing her thoughts aloud.

"I'm right here." She turned around again but still only saw a beautiful robin perching on the branch of a nearby tree. Her curiosity grew every second that passed by. She began to wonder if she was just imagining things when it spoke again.

"Can you see me? I'm right here."

"Where?"

"On the branch. Look up." Doing as she was told, she looked up to see that same bird looking down at her. "Finally," it said. "I was waiting for you to notice." Aza simply stood there gaping. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide as she stared in amazement at the creature who had spoken to her.

The bird laughed. It was strange watching a bird laugh, with the beak and all. "Woah," was all that she could think to say. The bird laughed again.

"I've been waiting so long for you. Waiting for someone who could understand me," the bird said in it's chirp voice. Aza was confused. How did it know her name? What did it mean when it said it was waiting for her?

"Who are you?" Aza asked.

"My name is Faye."

"How am I able to talk to you?"

"A long time ago there was a man named Marlington. He foretold that one day, in hours of evil and death, a young maiden would arrive to save those in need. A maiden who could speak to the birds. A maiden with powers greater than any other. I believe that maiden is you."

Aza took this all in then she laughed.

"Why do you laugh?" Faye asked. "Do you not believe all I have told you?"

"Faye, I may not understand what is happening to me but I do know that I'm not destined to save anyone but my father. I am but a child."

"You may think what you will but one day you will see that I am correct. I will be back. Don't think that I have abandoned you." And with that Faye spread her beautiful wings and flew away into the blue sky.

The coming days were a struggle. Aza worked hard. In the nighttime before nightfall, she would train with Xavier but it wasn't easy. They said she was doing extremely well but that didn't mean it wasn't exhausting. Nighttime was the only time she allowed herself to think of Matthew and she suspected that they knew. She'd often wake up with damp cheeks and she was sure that her eyes were red and puffy.

She had surprisingly become close friends with Xavier. He was actually kind when you got to know him and Aza had gotten to know him.

One night after training Aza went to a bridge by the stream to wash up. When she had finished she sat down on the bridge, allowing her feet to graze the water. She thought about the past days. Suddenly a rush of tears streamed down her face at a fast pace. She tried hard to contain them but it was no use. She thought of that day. The worst day of her life that led to where she was now. Why? Why did this happen to me? She asked herself this question almost every day but for some reason tonight, it made her cry harder than it had any other.

Hearing footsteps behind her, she wiped her eyes quickly and splashed water on her face, hoping beyond hope that whoever it was would fail to notice her bloodshot eyes.

When she turned around to see who it was she was shocked to see midnight blue eyes staring back at her. She looked at him before turning back around and looking at the water. He sat next to her as tears fell off her face and onto her dress. She didn't want him to see her cry but she was powerless.

"I'm sorry." She looked at Xavier's face and surprisingly saw concern and worry etched into his features.

"What for? You didn't do anything."

"I'm just... I'm sorry that you have to go through all of this. You shouldn't have to deal with all of this. It isn't fair and I'm sorry."

"Thank you." She continued crying and the more she thought about everything the harder she sobbed.

He surprised her by wrapping her in a tight embrace, warming her shivering body. She fell apart in his arms. Normally, this would have embarrassed her but for some reason, it didn't. She felt safe. Safer than she'd ever felt. She wished she could feel so safe all the time.

Finally, wrapped in the arms of her new friend her eyes drifted shut as her consciousness left her body, leaving her in a world of dreams.