It was dawn when Reuben woke everyone to get ready for the journey. Kabuto groaned in his bed about how he was going to kill the necromancer while Tak mumbled about wanting to sleep in. Carla fell to the floor with a thud as she changed back into her human form, groaning in both pain and sleepiness. Unie yawned as she sat up in the bed, her eyes full of sleep. Stell rolled to bury her face into the pillow below her and refused to leave such a comfortable bed.

Reuben then yanked the covers from her, sending a sudden cold chill through her body. She gripped her pillow tightly before turning to the necromancer with a furious glare, causing the older man to let out a terrified, girly scream. Stell felt bad, but she was too tired to apologize.

The witch got out of the bed and made her way past Kabuto and Carla out the room. The wonderful smells of breakfast guided her feet to the dining room where Lloyd, Celeste, and Troy were already seated. Celeste looked contempt as she rocked her baby in her arms while breast feeding him whereas Lloyd has his head face down in his bowl, a bubbling sound coming from his body with each release of breath.

The others in Stell's group walked up from behind her, looking to the royal family with the same sleep in their eyes from waking up.

"Oh, good morning, your highnesses!" Reuben called out with a clap of his hands, clearly more awake than everyone else. Lloyd snorted as he shot his head out from his bowl, the contents flying out while some stuck to his hair and face. "And how is our new little family member?"

Celeste ignored the necromancer and smiled sweetly to Stell. "Good morning, Miss Mooney, do have a seat will you? Mrs. Lilypad will return with your breakfast soon."

"Th-Thank you, you're... Uh, Celeste," Stell spoke as she quickly woke herself up, remembering where she was and her place. She took a seat next to the queen while everyone else went to their own places. "And, please, call me Stell."

Mrs. Lilypad soon appeared carrying plates into the room and placing them down before everyone. Tak immediately dug in, clearly hungry from a whole night of not eating anything. Kabuto ate slowly, his head resting on one arm as he stared at nothing. Unie ate up her food, trying to keep her head up while Carla snored quietly over her bowl.

"I wish someone had told me babies don't sleep, otherwise I wouldn't have drunk so much agave with grape juice when we were planning on having one," Lloyd mumbled, bags under his blue eyes.

"I told you it was too many for you to handle," Celeste told her husband as she covered herself up when Troy stopped feeding. "Just consider your lazy ass lucky elves don't need much sleep."

"I said I'd hunt for you two!" Lloyd shot defensively.

"You're not leaving me alone with Troy while you go pixie chasing with those mongrels you call friends!" Celeste shot back.

The couple went on fighting while Troy let out a yawn and closed his eyes. Stell smiled as she began eating. She remembered her parents arguing like that from time to time. Her mother was always more free spirited than her father, who was a more cautious and timid man. Luna Mooney loved to teach Stell the spells she knew, but Jack Mooney was always uncertain about the safety of their magic. Though, after everything Stell had gone through, she could understand his worry. Her magic did almost kill her.

When everyone had finished eating, Reuben gathered the map and some food, telling everyone they should hurry and go before it got too late in the morning. Luckily, Tak and Unie had woken themselves up from throwing food at one another and Carla seemed to get a couple more minutes of sleep. Alia and Thorne seemed used to Reuben's pushiness to wake up at the crack of dawn and get moving the moment you were done eating. The only ones who didn't look ready to move on so quickly were Kabuto and Stell. Kabuto just looked angry and tired whereas Stell was both tired and slightly sad. She wanted to get to the Grimorie as soon as possible and go home, but she also had to say goodbye to Celeste and Troy so soon.

Lloyd and Celeste followed the group outside, Troy still asleep in Celeste's arms. Stell was going to miss the child, even if they never really met. She couldn't stand how adorable babies were, even if they grew into war hungry monsters like Ameria.

"Thank you, again, for helping us give birth to Troy," Celeste told Stell with much gratitude, "I don't know what we would have done if you were not here."

"Oh, I'm sure you would have been fine," Stell smiled, "that was honestly the first time I've ever helped deliver a baby."

"Well, I'm sure your healing powers had something to do with him being born last night," Celeste smiled, "I had never felt him kick as much as he did when you showed up. If it had been anyone else, he probably wouldn't have come."

Could that be true? Was that something Wendy saw coming as well? Of course, Wendy didn't actually expect Stell to have a Silver Dream, so did the witch even know what Stell was capable of?

"Let's hope we won't need those healing powers until Miss Mooney gets the Grimorie!" Reuben laughed. "We don't want our adorable little witch passing out on us again!" Stell flinched as the necromancer patted her head roughly. She tried straightening her hair up again, but she gave up. It wasn't worth it when it was Reuben's fault. 

"We should get going," Kabuto spoke respectively. The shadow then bowed to the king and queen deeply. "Thank you for your hospitality, I hope our paths cross again some day."

"Probably sooner than you think," Celeste bowed slightly, an unreadable expression in her voice and eyes as she looked at Kabuto. He looked to her quizzically, but shrugged it off as he and Tak began to walk ahead. Unie curtsied to the king and queen before chasing after the boys. Alia, Thorne, Farkas, and Harry bowed their heads while Reuben just strode by. Carla waved as she followed after with a skip to her step.

Stell began to follow, but stopped when Celeste stopped her from passing her and handed the witch a small bag. "These are for you," the queen smiled, "they're not much, but they should be of use to you on your journey." 

"They're berries and plants that help to make spell casters' magic stronger," Lloyd explained, "with a trip like this, you'll need it if you plan on using too much of your magic."

Stell smiled brightly at the realization that these could help her tap deeper into her magic by using steps and pacing herself over just using her magic without thinking. "Thank you so much!" Stell beamed.

"You are always welcomed back to our home, Miss Mooney," Celeste smiled.

Stell thanked the couple once again before running to catch up with everyone else. She looked through her back, smelling the bitter and sweet aromas given off from the plants. It had been the kindest thing anyone had ever given her in three years. She wished she could have done more for the fairy queen and her family, but she was still on a mission to find the book as its keeper. Perhaps she'd return one day and use the spells in the book to protect the forest from Alabaster if he ever had the guts to come anywhere near Sefloria. Though, now that Stell was leaving the edge of the forest and returning to the rest of Sefloria, she was absolutely terrified by the thought of even facing Alabaster again. The whole Mallor family may even try murdering her the moment they saw her again. 

"Stell, I said no magic until we reach the mountain," Stell snapped herself from her dark thoughts at the sound of Reuben's voice. Everyone was looking directly at her with looks of worry, distrust, and as if she had turned into the most interesting creature in all of Trapario. 

"I'm not using magic," Stell told him in confusion.

"Then why are your feet covered in ice?" the older necromancer asked as if he were a questioning father.

Stell looked down and let out a cry as she shook ice that had been growing around her boots from nowhere. She wasn't even aware she had been doing that. She needed to control her emotions more when she was lost in thought, especially after the last time she used magic because she was angry at herself and the Mallors.

"Please refrain from using your magic," Reuben sighed as he continued onward, looking to his map, "we don't need you fainting on us again." 

Stell apologized with a sigh and went on following everyone with her head low and mind clear. She soon realized how difficult it was going to be when she started spotting more and more interesting plants and trees her group passed with each step they made. She wanted to go check them out and examine them to see if they could be useful. She wanted to know the name of each and every plant and know if she could use them for anything that would end Alabaster once and for all. She wanted to become more useful to Celeste when she or Troy needed her in the future. She just wanted to know if she could contribute anything else to the world other than a book keeper. 

The young witch only stopped feeling useless when they had finally reached dragon territory and could now only feel terror. Stell breathed calmly as they made their way through the vast land of burnt grass and trees, keeping her emotions inside her to keep from using any magic. The smell of sulfur hung heavily in the air and Tak had nearly tripped on huge claw prints of dragons long since gone. Stell held back a gag, wondering how anything could live like this. It was no wonder dragons were feared by everyone and everything on Trapario. They lived in almost everyone's interpretation of Hell. Though, Stell had to admit, she preferred this place over the Mallor castle back in Kespain. That had been the true Hell. 

"Have you ever seen a dragon before, Reuben?" Thorne asked her mentor after they had traveled over five miles through the burnt land.

"Once," Reuben answered, "I was actually eaten by it."

"But you're right here," Kabuto pointed out.

"I was able to escape and run from it before it could try again," Reuben explained. "Although, I wouldn't have minded at all if it tried again." he added flirtatiously, a pleasure hungry look in his eyes. Thorne and Alia quickly stepped away from him, giving him a disgusted glare.

"What if one finds us out here?" Stell asked shakily. "What if they smell or see us?"

"Don't worry," Reuben waved a hand, "necromancers have a certain smell about them that dragons don't really care to hunt after."

"What smell is that?" Carla asked.

"We give off the stench of death," Reuben replied, "because our expertise is death and the Netherworld, we adopt the smell of decomposition. Dragons are notorious for the hunt, so if it's too easy to get, they won't bother."

"Why?" Tak asked. "Wouldn't it be easier to catch something that's dead over something that's alive and can run away?"

"Yes," Alia answered, "but dragons don't like easy, they like to be feared."

"Plus, dead things tend to be a little stiff!" Reuben joked, looking behind himself with a huge smile that was met with an angry smile.

"We should speed up before the sun starts to set," Alia continued walking with a quickened stride. Reuben slumped and followed after her, looking to his map in shame.

Stell gripped her locket, praying to every and any deity that ever listened to her prayers. She just needed to stick to the necromancers and the dragons wouldn't scent her. She was safe from being found by any of the flying beasts, especially the one she released from the Mallors. What would be the odds she'd see it again? It was impossible. Trapario was a huge planet, it was probably flying somewhere far away. It had to.

A loud growl in the distance made Stell let out a cry in response. She was quickly silenced by Reuben who had bolted over to slap his hand over her mouth. His cold hands were clammy against Stell's skin and he reeked of something she couldn't identify despite having bathed just yesterday. Did all necromancers smell like this no matter what they did? How could anyone live that way?

They all remained still and silent like that for a moment. It made Stell's nerves even worse as Reuben kept her from speaking or moving while everyone just stood around them in frightened silence.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Reuben released Stell with a relieved sigh. She stepped away from the necromancer, hoping his smell didn't rub off on her. The others shared a relieved look, Unie shaking with a weak smile.

Before the group could continue, the ground began shaking below their feet. Stell staggered to keep her balance along with everyone else as the earth slowly rose below her and Reuben. She let out a scream as claws rose from the ground around her and Reuben, closing in on them both quickly. A giant paw of scales wrapped its fingers around the witch and necromancer tightly, ceasing Stell's scream as the air was squeezed out of her. The others jumped back as a giant dragon, bigger than the one Stell had met in Kespain, rose from the ground, growling loud enough to shake the whole planet. Kabuto shoved Tak and Unie behind him as Thorne called out for Reuben. Carla unsheathed her sword, but even from her height Stell could see the vampire struggle to keep herself from shaking violently. 

Kabuto used his shadow to turn both his arms into muscular claws and the rest of it into wings. The shadow flew up to the dragon's snout and threw a punch at the beast's spike covered nose. The dragon opened his mouth wide before Kabuto could even make contact with its skin and snapped down just as Kabuto drew his shadow claw away . Alia took out her staff, readying for an attack, but was immediately met with another earthquake. Another claw rose from the ground, snatching up Alia, Thorne, Farkas, and Harry. The two necromancers screamed as their familiars tried to transform into their giant beast like state, but the grip of the dragons must have affected their magic to where they were useless to their masters. 

Carla jumped back with great force and prepared to run at the second dragon with her sword, but the monster quickly grabbed her with his free claw. The vampire tried to use her strength to escape, but the dragon was too strong. 

The dragon holding Reuben and Stell lifted his free claw up toward Kabuto who flew up higher just out of the monster's reach. With a snarl, the dragon gave up on trying to reach the shadow and turned his attention to Tak and Unie. The children fell to the ground with wide terrified eyes, shaking violently under the dragon's stare. 

"Don't you dare!" Kabuto shouted as he flew at the dragon, returning one arm to normal as the other turned into a blade like figure. He landed on the back of the dragon's neck and sent his blade like arm straight down into the scales. The beast released a furious roar while the other raised his claws in the air over Kabuto.

"Look out!" Stell shrieked. The shadow turned too late and was smacked off the dragon's body and to the ground with a sickening thud. Tak cried out for his friend before he and Unie scrambled to their feet and run toward the injured shadow, who was no longer moving. 

Just as the children reached Kabuto, the dragon who still had a hold of Stell and Reuben reached down and grabbed all three of them up into his claw. Stell could see Kabuto hanging limply over the side of the dragon's paw, his face covered by his hair. Tai's upper body was poking out over the dragon's paw and the young fire mage was trying desperately to pull himself out from his captor's grasp. Unie wailed for the dragon to let them go, but the beast only responded with a growl to the other dragon and began flapping its golden brown wings. The other followed after. 

Stell felt a dagger of de ja vu as the dragons lifted themselves off the ground with her comrades begging and pleading to be let go. She remembered the dragon from Kespain and how it seemed to have a place already in mind as to where it was going next. These two seemed to have the same mindset as they both immediately flew deeper into the burned land. 

Why, when she finally was freed from the Mallors, did Stell feel even more trapped in her past more now than ever everywhere she went?