When Meenu's eyes fluttered open, she saw Vanavy looking down at her, "oh! She's awake, sister." Vanavy said as she looked over at Lady Kay, who was flipping through a thick book.

     Lady Kay looked over at Meenu. "Welcome back, sweet girl," she said as she put her book aside and walked over to Meenu. She sat down on the floor next to her and Meenu smiled.

     They bed Meenu was on was very low. It looked like she was just sleeping on the floor but she was comfortable.

     Lady Kay took Meenu's hand and felt for her pulse, then she placed her soft, cool hand on Meenu's warm forehead. "You seem perfectly fine."

     "I feel fine," Meenu said, "I swear."

     "I believe you," Lady Kay said, "but Light was able to tell me a little bit about what's going on..." She looked down at Meenu's hand and saw the oversized ring. "The ring that refused to come off?"

     Meenu lifted her hand up and looked at the ring, "this is it."

     "And ever since you put that on... you've been having fainting spells?" Vanavy asked.

     Meenu nodded.

     "Do you remember what passes through your mind when you faint?"

     "No," Meenu said, "but the last time I fainted... I woke up feeling miserable... like I had a bad dream."

     "And this time?"

     Meenu blinked, "I feel... light hearted. Like... happy?"

     Vanavy looked at her older sister. "A Destynian would be the best person to ask for help."

     Lady Kay nodded, keeping her eyes on Meenu's ring. "What do you think, though, little sister?"

     "I agree completely with what Light said Master Red thought. It must be a vision spell," Vanavy said, "an object that refuses to leave the side of a person... and fainting? That's classic vision spells."

     Lady Kay nodded again, "I agree. She looked at Meenu, "think hard for a second, dear, try your hardest to remember what the vision was. Just for a moment."

     Meenu nodded and closed her eyes and thought and thought and thought.

     But nothing came back to her.

     When she opened her eyes again, she shook her head. "I can't recall it."

     "Then maybe a Destynian must be called." Lady Kay said, thoughtfully.

     Meenu sat up, pulled herself up and leaned against the wall behind her. "Is this... bad?"

     "Not necessarily." Lady Kay said, "what worries me is that according to Light, you found this ring in Kiaryna's garden."

     Meenu watched as Lady Kay looked over at Vanavy and then back at her.

     "I am a very good judge of character, if I do say so myself, and from the times I've interacted with Kiaryna, it is very easy for me to see that she is not someone who you'd want to be fiddling with your mind."

     Meenu nodded. Even she was certain of that. And she hadn't really even met Kiaryna.

     "But something else to consider is that this ring is a man's ring." Lady Kay took Meenu's hand in hers and examined the ring.

     Vanavy nodded, "it may not even be Kiaryna's."

     "And Kiaryna is very responsible... I don't believe that she would just leave it in her garden."

     "But Master Red said that it's a curse ring that Lady Kiaryna treasures..."

     "Yes... but that doesn't mean it's hers," Lady Kay said. She then let out a sigh, "if you're willing to take the risk, we can try something."

     Meenu hesitated, but nodded, "what?"

     "Vision spells are ancient," Lady Kay started, "you don't see them often, but they are indeed ancient. People have been creating vision spells for a long time. And the one thing they have in common is that the person who created the spell has something to say."

     Meenu thought about that. So someone was trying to tell her something?

     "The problem is though... most of the time you will never understand what they're trying to tell you until they are finished speaking."

     "Because I don't remember any of it?"

     "Precisely."

     "So... I'm just going to have to wait it through?"

     "Well, the risk I'm asking you to try and take is to not wait it through," she started, "some people say that the best way to be able to remember and properly understand the vision while it is happening is to accept it. To not fear it. To trust whoever is trying to show you the vision and allow them to show it to you. You faint because it's being forced on you. If you accept it, the fainting spells might stop and you can control it a little better."

     Vanavy looked at her sister, "But sister... that's dangerous."

     "Why?" Meenu asked, that didn't sound so bad.

     "Because it could potentially be filled with something horrible... something you could have lived without seeing." Vanavy said.

     "But," her older sister continued, "what must be kept in mind is that the vision itself is completely harmless. What is potentially dangerous is the decision you make on what you will do with the newfound knowledge."

     Meenu understood what they meant.

     For all she knew, the visions she was getting could be horrifying. The problem was, after all, that she couldn't remember any of it. Maybe that's why she woke up crying the other day. Because she had a vision of something horrible... her memory couldn't remember it but her soul definitely felt it.

     But if that was the case, what about today?

     Just now when she woke up?

     She didn't feel miserable today... in fact... she felt the opposite. She woke up with a light heart and warm cheeks.

     What did that mean?

     "If, Meenu, you trust yourself to not fall into evil or misuse the potentially valuable knowledge, then you should have no fear."

     Meenu did trust herself.

     She would have felt even more confident if Avaryn was here to watch over her... but even if he wasn't here, she did trust herself.

     And after the vision she had today... the feeling she had once she woke up... she was certain that there was nothing to fear.

     Vanavy took Meenu's hand in hers, "do you want to try?"

     Meenu nodded. "I do."

     "Then all you must do is accept the visions and sleep once more," Lady Kay smiled, "Vanavy will stay here. She will hold your hand in case you need comforting and stay with you through the night. My little sister is very good at calming ones nerves. She's the head doctor of our village and her touch calms even the most severely wounded."

     Meenu chuckled but was not even slightly skeptical of her words.

     Vanavy's soft hands on hers did calm her down. A lot.

     And soon, Lady Kay wished Meenu good luck and headed out.

     Vanavy and Meenu talked about many different things as they waited for Meenu to fall asleep again. Vanavy told Meenu that Light and Heart and Knight were just outside the room, waiting for Meenu, and that made Meenu want to get through this faster.

     But soon, as time passed, Meenu was in the middle of begging the person who wanted her to see these visions to believe that she trusted them when she fell back asleep.

     ~~~

     Lumyryn had expected the King to attack the group almost immediately after the performance was over.

     But that was not what happened.

     The group was released.

     And they returned to the inn they were staying at.

     No harm done.

     But Lumyryn, being extremely skeptical, chose to follow the group back to their inn.

     He sat on the roof of the large inn and closed his eyes, listening to the voices that were coming inside.

     There was nothing out of the ordinary at first, but soon Lumyryn realized he was right to follow them back here.

     He had listened to the entire conversation between the group and it was clear that things were not looking good for the red eyed girl.

     They had brought her here on purpose.

     To sell her to the king.

     Lumyryn didn't interfere until he needed too. And he decided he needed too when he heard shouts and a commotion.

     Then, he jumped through the window of the inn, making all the people in it freeze and stare in shock.

     Lumyryn's eyes found the other Red eyed girl in an instant. She was crying and being held back by two men.

     "Let her go." Lumyryn said with his deep voice, pulling down the hood of his cloak and revealing his own red eyes.

     Panic rose within the people, but none of them moved.

     So Lumyryn had to resort to scaring them with his axe.

     He swung his axe in front of him and it made a deep sound as it cut through the wind, "if you don't let her go, I'll cut you down."

     Now they let her go.

     The red eyed girl was staring at him in shock. When he reached her, she was still frozen and refused to move when he grabbed her arm.

     And suddenly, he heard someone running towards him.

     Lumyryn flung himself around, using his axe to defend himself from the sword that was swung at him. He pushed the man back, but more people attacked.

     Lumyryn had no trouble holding them back, but he was getting rather annoyed. "Come on!" He said to the girl as he pushed back another man and grabbed her arm.

     He tugged so hard that she almost fell.

     But now she was following him.

     They escaped from the inn with ease.

     But the red eyed girl wouldn't stop crying.

     By the time they reached their hideout, Lumyryn was able to get her to tell him her name.

     It was Mina.

     But she refused to say another word. She refused to eat as well.

     Eventually, Sheelah said she would deal with Minah and told Lumyryn to go rest.

     So he did.

     Sheelah stood at the enterance of the room where Mina was sitting in for a while and watched the poor girl.

     She couldn't help but think about how lovely the young girl was. She had lovely almond shaped eyes long, long black hair. She was definitely not from their country because her skin was a shade of copper, but it was beautiful nonetheless.  She was tall and had a curvy body, and Sheelah imagined that she must have had a pretty smile.

     She walked into the room and sat next to her soon to be friend. She smiled warmly, trying to bring her comfort. "Please... tell me what's wrong? We can only help you and console you if you tell us what's wrong."

     The question made her tears escape, again.

     However, she wiped her eyes and let Sheelah put an arm around her, though they were still strangers.

     Sheelah smiled sadly and hugged the younger girl, "tell me, sweet girl. What happened?"

     "They... they sold me..." She had a slight accent. It was very faint but it confirmed Sheelah's belief that she wasn't from around here.

     Sheelah kept hugging her.

     "They knew the king would use me... then kill me..." she hiccupped as she cried, "and they still sold me away..."

     "Some people are very greedy, sweet girl."

     "They were supposed to be my family... I have been with them for years."

     "We are your family now." Sheelah said with a smile on her face.

     "That's easy to say..." Mina responded, "I know none of you."

     "Lumyryn will help us."

     "What?" Mina looked at the mother.

     "Lumyryn saved us too."

     "He did?"

     Sheelah nodded. "They took my baby from me and was going to kill him. If Lumyryn didn't come on time..."

     Mina looked at Sheelah with wide, tear filled eyes. "Your baby? That's... horrible."

     Sheelah smiled, "But that's the past. Lumyryn has saved us and we hope to have a brighter future."

     "But how?"

     "Lumyryn is hoping to find and help as many of us as he possibly can... then together we will all find a place to stay... a place to take refuge and be safe."

     "Does he really think he can do that?" Mina asked.

     "He's saved us, has he not? I have faith in him."

     Mina wiped the last of her tears and looked at the ground.

     "He's very strong... stronger than any knight and any warrior and... he's stronger than anyone I've ever met. He will protect us."

     Mina simply nodded. 

     Sheelah hugged the girl again. "We must believe in him and each other... that way, together we can all move past this senseless persecution."

     Mina sat quietly. "I hope you're right."

     "What are they talking about?"

     Lumyryn's eyes opened right when Marv spoke. "Hmm?"

     Marv smiled, "You look like you're listening in on their conversation."

     Lumyryn chuckled. "She's upset about her group selling her and Sheelah is trying to consoler her."

     Marv nodded. "The poor girl. To be sold off by people you thought you could trust."

     Lumyryn nodded too.

     "In the end... it's a good thing you followed her. She would have had it worse than any of us. I don't even want to imagine what the cruel King would have done to a pretty young girl like her."

     Lumyryn nodded again.

     "You really are a hero, you know?" Marv continued.

     Lumyryn let out a chuckle.

     "I wonder..." Marv suddenly started, "I wonder why you are so... strong... compared to the rest of us."

     Lumyryn hesitated and looked up at the older man.

     "What could it possibly be? We all have red eyes..."

     "I was thinking about that too," Lumyryn started, "and I have a theory."

     Marv watched Lumyryn carefully, giving him all of his attention.

     "Your parents... you lived with them, right?"

     "I did."

     "And how did they treat you?"

     "Well, they took care of me... but I was an outsider in my own family. They hated that I was their son."

     "And you did all that you could to hide what you were..."

     "That's right." Marv nodded, "not that it helped. My red eyes made my life miserable."

     "And Shelah?"

     "Shelah never really had a family. She was abandoned in her youth. But she was like me. Trying to hide who she really was."

     "I see." Lumyryn nodded as he said it.

     "So what's your theory?"

     "Well, you see... It wasn't like that with me." Lumyryn said. "I was also abandoned, as an infant, by my real mother. But my adoptive mother found me and raised me. And... She didn't force me to hide who I really was."

     Marv smiled. "She must have truly been a remarkable woman."

     Lumyryn smiled. "When I was young, my father forced me to clean a large tool shed of his. It was filthy and completely a mess, but he was punishing me for messing something up, I don't remember what it was, but anyways, my mother was infuriated with him. She complained that I was just a child and he couldn't punish me like that because cleaning that shed would take me days. And because of me they had a fight for the first time in my life." Lumyryn smiled as he spoke. "So in a panic, I ran in, cleaned the entire shed and fixed what I had ruined, in a matter of hours."

     Marv chuckled.

     "Both my parents were so shocked. Because a child of my size and age could never have been able to work that quickly. I should never have been able to lift and move such heavy things. And though my father panicked, my mother was excited. She called me a special, remarkable boy and baked me a delicious pie as a reward."

     Marv laughed, "what a woman!"

     Lumyryn smiled. "And when she found out about my good hearing... she wasn't worried at all. Instead, she asked me to listen to the news from the town and report it to her so that she wouldn't have to go there to find out herself."

     "She made the best use of you."

     Lumyryn chuckled. "Indeed." He said, "and she always rewarded me, whether it was her kisses or a pie. Never once did she ask me to hide myself. I wasn't even her own blood but she treated me better than most mothers treat their own children."

     "And your theory?" Marv asked, "it has something to do with this?"

     "It's that... this thing... whatever it is inside of us that makes us different... my theory is that it in itself is its own being. A being that must be nourished and supported for it to grow." Lumyryn said.

     Marv nodded his head slowly as he pondered that thought.

     "You and Shelah spent most, if not all of your life suppressing this... thing... and I was the opposite. Maybe that is the difference." But then Lumyryn sighed. "Of course... the only way to prove this theory is to meet more red eyes and hope that one of them is like me."

     Both Marv and Lumyryn fell silent, seeing that that would be a difficult task.

     But then Marv's face brightened. "What about Khi?"

     The two men looked over at the sleeping boy.

     "His parents... treated him well... did they not?"

     Lumyryn's eyes widened. "You're right!"

     "Your theory makes sense," Marv said, "but we can find out for sure when Khi wakes up."

     Lumyryn nodded, "and... the last part to my theory..."

     Marv looked at him.

     "I think... or at least, I hope, that in people like you and Sheelah, it could be awoken." Lumyryn said, "if the way I'm thinking about it is correct... that all we need to do to make this thing about us thrive is to respect it... then I don't see why you can't awaken it later in your life."

     Marv smiled, "I hope you're right," he said, "I would love to know that I could have a way to properly protect my wife and child on my own."

     Lumyryn smiled, excited now.

     Maybe there was a way... a way that his people could properly protect themselves. The thought made him ecstatic.

     ~~~

When Meenu's eyes fluttered open, her heart skipped a beat and her throat was dry. She was so shocked that she couldn't even think straight.

     Vanavy was fast asleep next to her.

     And after a moment of not breathing, she finally took a deep breath.

     Lumyryn. She thought. Lumyryn is trying to tell me something? Me?

     It had to be Lumyryn.

     She remembered the visions now and it had to be him talking to her.

     But why?

     Why was he telling her this?

     She took a deep breath and sat up before she stared down at the ring on her hand.

     The creator of the Lumynos Clan was talking to her.

     Her? For some reason, he picked her.

     And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure out why.