Grace dropped Daniel in the empty street and sat on the curb to take her breath. She supported her head with her hand and heaved. She took a glance at Daniel who was looking at her in dismay. 

"Sorry, I am still not used to all of this either, so it takes a long while to recharge." Grace said. 

"Sorry, I must have tired you." Grace chuckled. 

"What?" She asked, "What do you mean? It's all good. If I was not picking you up, you could have.. I mean, whatever could have happened, I am pretty sure it would have been way worse than feeling a bit tired." Daniel's lips tugged upwards for a smile. 

"Thanks.. for doing all of this." Daniel said. He searched in his pocket until he got out a rolled piece of browned paper. "There, this is yours, Guardian. Sorry, I took it from you. I didn't know how important it would be for you." Grace took it and opened it, the writing on the paper giving her chills. 

Beware, Guardian, for I know everything about you.

"I am sorry, I want to be all caught up, this is bad news, right?" Grace nodded. 

"Very bad news." Grace said, "That might be the.. villain we are fighting." 

"How bad?" 

"As bad as that guy from 'The Red Book'." Daniel froze as soon as he had understood the reference Grace was alluding to then nodded twice very slowly. He cursed. 

"So, what?" 

"So, what? So, we are screwed." Grace said, "I am dropping you off at Rachael's and I am going to Aneroma." 

"Wait, there is a world full of these things?" 

"Actually, the part I protect is full of good people. You should meet them someday." 

"Why can't it be today?" Grace stood up. 

"Because out there it is way more dangerous than here. Can I trust you to go to Rae's and stay where you are until I come back?" Daniel was hesitant. He pressed his lips until they were white. 

"Sure. Go save the world." Daniel extended his fist. Grace bumped her fist into his and got out her own portal pen. She drew a portal on the ground and jumped inside. 

Daniel sprinted in the streets, seeing Rachael's huge mansion come into view. He smiled triumphantly until the lights in the streets flickered. Daniel looked around, his proud smile wearing off. He held his gun with a death grip. He walked cautiously. 

A few dark shadows surrounded him. Daniel yelped and tried to shoot only to find the gun unable to shoot. He was out of ammunition.

The lights flickered again, and the gun cluttered to the ground, its owner disappearing in a blink of an eye. 

Near the gun, was a big elegant mansion, which suddenly went dark as soon as a high-pitched scream emerged.

***

Aneroma's chaos died down. Sounds of distressed screams were still ringing in the still, foggy atmosphere. Debris from Wingmarket covered the ground and blood was smeared on the pieces and the ground. The majestic sights of Aneroma were now burned to the ground. Coloured dust, red, blue, green, was lifted off the ground and soared with the breeze and got in Grace's short hair. 

Grace's steps felt heavier and heavier as she made her way through the damage. The damage she had caused because of her ignorance and selfishness, she reminded herself. She gripped her band-themed shirt tightly, wanting to rip it off her skin. Instead, she shoved her hands in her jacket and shivered from the eerie cold that hit her bones.

She called forth her butterfly wings, the light from the castle hitting her coloured see-through wings and casting coloured shadows over the debris. 

She jumped in the air and made a turn in the air before she could head towards the castle. As she soared by, her eyes caught the sight of a girl fairy, with green wings. Grace halted and landed on the ground, she ran to the body until she saw Alex, unconscious and covered with dust, cuts and blood. 

"Oh, God, Alex!" Grace kneeled beside her and shook her. Alex laid unresponsive, "Please, wake up." She didn't obey. Grace looked around her before she slipped her arms under Alex's limp body and took off. 

She saw a nearby cave as she was flying so she dropped Alex inside. Grace was about to leave for the castle when Alex let out a small groan, which alarmed Grace. In a matter of seconds, Grace was by her side. 

"You.. shouldn't be here.." Alex whispered. 

"I am right where I am supposed to be, Alex. Where are you hurt?" Grace examined her. She was fascinated by her ability to see well in near darkness. Alex squeezed her eyes shut and breathed out. 

"The.. G-golden.. Knight.. He.. He is.. hurt. Please, save him." Grace nodded. 

"Where is he?"

"Near.. where you found.. m-me." Alex stammered. Grace patted her shoulder. 

"Where is Sam?" Grace asked. Alex nodded. 

"Helped with.. evacuation." Grace stood up. Grace's heart drummed in her chest in pity for her fairy friend. 

"Is there anything to do to help you?" Grace asked. Alex shook her head. 

"Just get him." Grace knew she meant the golden knight. 

"I will be here before you can say 'Aneroma'." Grace winked at her with a comforting smile and bolted outside. Alex sighed heavily. 

"Aneroma.." She tilted her head towards the opening of the dark cave, hoping light would pour into the cave soon. 

Grace soared in the cold skies and planted her feet where she remembered she had found Alex. She walked around, her sword tightly in her hand.

"Golden Knight, Sir?" 

God, I never asked him for his name.

"Over here!" A voice called, "Stand still." Grace froze. "My helmet. Give me the helmet and don't look at my face." Grace scanned the area with her eyes until a gold helmet grasped her attention. Grace was surprised to find the usually reflective shiny helmet deformed and dull. She grabbed it and turned around to the voice who commanded her harshly. 

The Golden Knight with no helmet sat there, with his back towards Grace and his hand covering her face. Many questions and conclusions were quick to enter Grace's mind, but she was quicker to dismiss them. 

She left the helmet beside him with her eyes closed and turned around. When the knight heard the helmet clink, a signal that Grace did as told, he reached for his hand and snatched it, putting it on his head. He tried to stand up, only to groan and fall back to the ground. Grace turned to the struggling knight. 

"Are you hurt?" He sighed, nodding. 

"A few broken ribs won't stop me, though. I need to get Elena." He strained as he clutched the wall beside him to stand. Grace helped him up. "Thanks, kiddo. I got to fly." 

He just sounds so familiar.

"Alex is hurt. She needs you, Sir. I will fly over to Queen Elena." 

"No!" He exclaimed. When he was met with Grace's shocked glance, he added, "Come with me. Show me where Alex is." 

"Why are you all driving me away from the castle?" Grace asked. The knight hesitated. "I am not stupid. Is there something you don't want me to know or see or..?" 

"Help me go to Alex." He pressed. Grace sighed. She helped him walk to the cave. On the way, Grace initiated a friendly conversation with the grumpy man. 

"What's your name, sir?" He fell silent, his hands twitching.

"Frank." He said after a long moment of quietness.

"Grace." She said, in case he didn't know. 

"Everybody knows, kid." He said, staggering towards the cave. 

Why does everybody keep saying that?

"Why are you calling me 'kid'?" Grace asked, slightly irritated at the fact she couldn't assert respect as a Guardian. 

"Sorry, I call every fifteen year old that." Frank said in a monotonous way. 

"So, I am expecting you to stop calling me 'kid' at the age of sixteen?" Grace asked. He shrugged. 

"I dunno'. Why does it bother you so much?" He questioned. 

"Only Dad is allowed to call me 'kid' or 'kiddo' and stuff. You are not Dad, so therefore, you are unallowed." He scoffed, to which Grace arched an eyebrow.

"Fine, what do you like being called?" 

"Grace?" 

"Huh. Not Gracie?" 

"What? No! Rachael called dibs on that stupid nickname and she has been annoying me with it ever since." Grace rolled her eyes. 

"GG, then?" Frank prompted. Grace placed her finger on her chin and thought. 

"Seems good. What does it stand for?" 

"Grumpy Grace."

"Haha, absolutely funny." Grace pouted like an angry child. 

"Too late to back out now." They found themselves in front of the cave. They entered, finding Alex still there. 

"You two are late." She pointed at them accusingly. Frank put his arms up innocently. 

"He can't fly because his ribs are broken." Grace pointed her thumb at him. Alex gasped. 

"What?" She exclaimed in disbelief. 

"You don't have to worry about it, they will heal in a few hours—"

"No! We have to find a healer!" 

"It is fine, I swear. I walked all the way here with Grace and I was getting better. Right, Grace?" They turned to see nothing. The Guardian had perished. Frank pulled his hand to his helmet and sighed. 

"I am going to kill that girl." He said jokingly, yet with a voice full of concern. 

"Not if she gets killed first." Alex said, then breathed out helplessly. 

***

The light tread of Grace's worn out sneakers echoed in the empty halls of the castle. She was appalled to find the usually crowded halls vacuous, not a single soul in sight. Instead, there was blood smeared across the beautiful pattern of the walls. 

It was a continuous horizontal streak that reached the door of the throne room. Grace realized it was not coincidental, or of the doing of the wounded. 

It was a wordless threat from the enemy. 

Grace resisted a strong urge to get out her sword and quickly hunt down who had done this. She couldn't summon her sword, because it would help the fairies sense her faster. The good, and the bad. 

She felt a strong presence in the throne room. Approaching it, she heard murmurs, shouts and calm negotiations. She peaked through the door. 

She saw Queen Elena on her knees with her elegant dress spread around her. Her hands were tied behind her with a glowing thread of red magic. 

Upon her, stood a woman with her similar features and long black hair. She was wearing a long crimson red coat with black tights. She revolved around Queen Elena, probably tormenting her. Grace could make out the words: "Soon", "Guardian" and "Pendant". 

She found Daniel and Rachael, both tied up against each other with the same ropes of magic Queen Elena was tied with. She gasped quietly, which unfortunately interrupted the heated confrontation between Queen Helen and Queen Elena. 

"Oh, look," Queen Helen's hands and the door Grace was holding onto for dear life started to glow. It opened by itself, leaving Grace exposed to the queen. She continued with a wicked smirk, "I thought you were smart enough not to show up here, and older.. Elena, are you recruiting children now? Is that how desperate you are?" Grace gritted her teeth. She summoned her sword, swinging it beside her and gripping it tightly. 

She shook with foreign excitement and fear. Both feelings, she hadn't had the fortune to encounter before. Queen Elena glared at her in a way Grace couldn't understand. 

"It is.. courageous of you to threaten me with such a mediocre sword." Queen Helen stepped towards Grace, which didn't make her any closer to her, as she took a step backwards. Queen Helen chuckled, "Afraid?" She scoffed, "Who am I kidding? How old are you? twelve?" 

"Fifteen." Queen Helen was shocked to hear her talk. Grace hissed, "I am fifteen." Queen Helen was outraged by the correction Grace inquired about. A sword materialized in her hands and she bounced at Grace, until their swords met with a loud clunk. 

Queen Helen sent blow after blow and Grace could only keep up so she didn't get her head sliced off. She knocked Grace's sword out of her hand and pushed her off her feet with the boot of her glowing gold sword. 

"What do you want?" Grace yelled at her, holding the pendant in her hand. Queen Helen had her eyes fixed on the ancient relic. Grace grabbed her sword and tried to attack, which she countered easily. Grace adjusted her grip on her sword and her sword glowed further until it was a ball of light and Grace pushed Queen Helen. She was blinded by the light. 

Grace immediately jumped on her feet and started running. She bounced in the air and got up a flight of stairs, taking a glance behind her to see Queen Helen, approaching. She flew faster. 

She hid inside a dark room. It was filled with wooden crates. Grace jumped beside a wooden crate to catch her breath. 

"Like a coward.." Queen Helen taunted, "Only cowards hide, Guardian. Only children hide." Grace curled into a ball. She closed her eyes and let out a quiet sigh. 

When she opened her eyes, she found Queen Helen in front of her. Grace held her sword out with a yelp. 

"It is no use to fight anymore, Guardian." Queen Helen came closer. Grace took a few steps back until she pressed her back to the wall. The queen lightly brought Grace's head higher by the tip of her sword. Grace breathed heavily as she met the merciless gaze of her eyes.

"Drop the sword and hold your hands up high." Grace obeyed slowly. "Now, take off that pendant and hand it over." Grace hesitated. She felt the sharp tip of the sword pushed deeper into her neck. One movement, and her neck would start to bleed.

Grace carefully slipped her hands behind her neck and took off her pendant and it dropped to the floor. Queen Helen glared at her. Grace stepped on the pendant with her foot and pushed it towards herself. 

"That, I can't do." Grace gave a smile. Queen Helen stepped on the toes of her foot, which remained on the pendant. Grace had to push against the force so she didn't break it. 

Break it..

Grace pressed on the pendant so hard with the sole of her shoe it broke. Queen Helen realized what had happened through the sound of the break and immediately let go. 

What remained of the pendant from shards started to glow brightly with blue. Particles of blue magic floated around Grace like a tornado. It suddenly went through her heart, which hit Grace like a gunshot. Grace doubled over, holding her chest with a scrunched, pained expression. What was left of the pendant was a coal-like substance, deprived of its power and glory. 

"What have you done?" Queen Helen's tone wasn't angry or demanding, in fact, it was helpless and laced with despair. She held her sword, trembling. 

Her empty hand glowed red and so did Grace, from head to toe. Grace was stretched after she had been curling into herself in pain with the side of the sword pressed to the side of her neck. Queen Helen sighed, "If I ended your miserable life, I wouldn't get the power of the pendant from your core." 

Grace, with her pained eyes, maintained a hardened glare, replying: "I.. don't have a core." Queen Helen shook her head. 

"Well, I don't think so," She said, "The only way to get the power is with your mental consent. So it is either you behave like a good girl, or I will have to torture it out of you, are we clear?"

"It won't work." Grace shook her head, making a great effort to speak, "Waking him up is going to be the worst mistake we end up making. It won't work." Queen Helen's eyes narrowed with fury and she threateningly pressed the cold metal of the sword against her—

The door of the hall broke down, revealing Daniel, Rachael, Frank, Queen Elena and many knights. 

"Freeze!" Sam yelled, standing in a fighting stance. They found no one. The room was empty. 

"You said you heard them here with your advanced hearing, your majesty." Frank said. Queen Elena stepped inside the room and found nothing but black pieces of dust and suspended particles of blue light in the air. Queen Elena's face paled. 

"No, they were here, and it doesn't seem like the fight ended well."