Jade was following Zachariah down the many halls of the castle. After he had told her of her situation he took off without another word. She had began to follow him without being asked. He was the only one that knew about her, the only one she felt she could trust in her situation. He seemed a cold hearted man, very strict and straight to the point and yet he was the only one offering her a helping hand. Although she wasn't really sure why, there was an air of importance about him that made her think that he didn't offer aid to just anybody. Maybe he felt he had too because if he didn't everything would be destroyed. Since as he was the only one that knew what was happening he was the only one that could help her. He was clearly annoyed by the whole thing.

"Where are we going?" Jade asked as she half ran, half walked to keep up with her long legged companion. He seemed to care little that she was barely keeping up with his pace.

"To see the King." He replied shortly.

"Why? You not going to tell him about me are you? I might get in trouble for it." Jade felt the panic beginning to settle in again.

"I would rather not tell him no. Still I may have too. If you had inhabited the body of anyone else I would be able to take you out of the Kingdom, settle this matter swiftly and drawn little attention to it. However you have inhabited the body of a Princess. The only offspring of King Philip and Queen Lucy of the Kingdom of Mountains. To do anything with you I have to consult the King. He'll be having a meeting with the 10 knights in the great hall."

"What are the 10 Knights?"

"They are the 10 most skilled knights in the kingdom. There soul purpose is protecting the royal family and as the body you inhabit it a member of the royal family, this matter concerns them as well. It's their duty and a knight never takes their duties lightly." There was a moment of silence before Jade managed to pick up the nerve to ask the question that had been burning in the back of her mind...

"Why are you helping me?" Zachariah suddenly stopped walking causing Jade to walk into the back of him. He didn't seem to notice. His eyes were glossed over and there was a look of sadness in his eyes. It was the first time that Jade had seen any kind of emotion from him. Jade backed up slightly and waited for him to speak.

"I created that mirror. Long ago. I wanted to be able to travel to other dimensions so the me in every world came together and created the mirror. Using it I was able to do just that. I traveled to many different dimensions. I stayed for as long as I wished."

"But you said that a body can't live more than a month without a soul in it."

"I said a human body couldn't. I am a wizard, an immortal creature. Every world has a wizard which are essentially other versions of me. I have been alive since the very beginning of my dimension. My job is to shape it. In some worlds such as this one I am open about what I am in others I am not. My body cannot die, therefore I was not restricted by the same rules you are. I realized the dangers of the mirror some time after. I took the jewels and scattered them across the land so it couldn't be used by anyone. If I had simply destroyed it we wouldn't be in this situation." His voice had a hint of venom behind it. Zachariah frowned but his face soon returned to the cold expression Jade was used too and he continued to walk. "We don't have much time. We'll have to go to the three other Kingdoms and retrieve the jewels before going to the mountain in the middle of the Kingdoms where the mirror itself is. One of the jewels is here. That one we should be able to get without issue." He seemed to be paying no attention to Jade as she attempted to keep up with him. He was simple thinking allowed. The two turned one last corner and came to another large wooden door, it was like the one she had gone through that morning but Jade knew that it was a different door. There were no guards stood outside this one and for a split second Jade wondered how they were supposed to get in. Zachariah stopped before the door and lifted his wooden staff. The white jewel on the top began to glow as he banged it lightly on the ground. The doors then began to open by themselves, as if obediently following the wishes of Zachariah. Jade watched in amazement, he had openly told her he was a wizard but she didn't really believe it until that moment. Jade was still gawking when Zachariah stormed into the room with all the grace in the world. Jade hurriedly followed him to find the room was very large with a huge round, wooden table in the middle. Around the table were eleven chairs. Once for each of the knights, all dressed in heavy looking silver armour. The one opposite the door belonged to an outraged King. He had jumped to his feet when Zachariah came in.

"Zachariah what is the meaning of this?" He shouted, his voice echoed of the stone walls. "What is the Princess doing here? Can't you see we are in the middle of a meeting? This is utterly inappropriate." His round face was becoming a deeper shade of red than it normally was.

"I understand you highness but I would not have intruded if it were not of the utmost importance." Zachariah was the definition of calm, even when faced with an angry King. It was as if Zachariah was talking to a spoilt child who wasn't getting his own way.

"Go on then. Out with it." The red faced King ordered. Jade felt eleven pairs of eyes on her, she began to feel nervous. She looked at the floor while Zachariah still remained calm. He was oozing confidence that she only wished she had.

"I am in need to take Princess Jade out of the Kingdom for a little while."

"WHAT? That's absurd. What possible reason could you have for doing that?" Jade saw Zachariah let out a small sigh of annoyance.

"Are you aware of the Legend of the Mirror of Abyss?" He asked.

"Yes of course I am. It's an old folktales we were all told as a child. What does that have to do with anything?"

"The Legend is not in fact a Legend at all. It is all real. There is in fact a mirror that allows one to travel to a whole other dimension. I'm afraid that this has happened today. The girl inhabiting your daughter's body is not of this world. She comes from another and I need to get her back through the mirror before it's too late."

"You can't really expect me to believe such a ridiculous lie." The King spat.

"What reason would I have for lying? This situation is bothersome to me, I take no joy in this task. I can assure you that I speak the truth."

"Suppose this is true then. Suppose you are not lying to me for reasons I cannot fathom, then where is my real daughter if her body is in fact being taken over by a stranger?"

"She is still in there. Her soul is currently in a state of deep sleep. She will remain that way until our visitor steps back through the mirror. She is safe however, no harm will come it her as long as this 'stranger' steps back through the mirror within a month."

"What happens if she does not?"

"Then the world as we know it will be over." There was a number of nervous glances exchanged over the knights table. The King looked around at the 10 Knights before him. Suddenly a hand was raised by a dark brunette knight. HIs face was very thin and long but he was built like a brick house.

"You may speak." The King told him. The Knight stood up and placed his hands at his sides.

"If I remember correctly from the legend my Lord then Mirror of Abyss presides in the lair of Salazar." Very worried whispers erupted throughout the room. The name seemed to have caused serious distress with the Knights. Jade looked at Zachariah, what were they talking about? The wizard offered her no explanation however, he continued to look forward with a blank expression.

"That's a myth. That monster died years ago. The ruin of the Kingdom of Heart was thousands of years ago, there is no possible way it's still alive." A voice piped up from the murmuring.

"The dragon lives. That I know for certain. He is in a state of slumber. Dragons can live in this state for thousands of years, I have seen it happen many a time." Zachariah informed them. Dragon? Jade felt her heart skip a beat. There was a dragon sleeping in the mountain they were supposed to enter. Jade glared at Zachariah, would have been nice if he had told her before. The King banged his hand on the table, the room feel silent and the thin faced knight sat down. The King looked to Zachariah once again when the room was quiet once again.

"Is this true Zachariah? The beast lives?"

"I'm afraid that it is your highness." More worried glances were exchanged throughout the room but no words were exchanged for fear of further angering their King. Jade was becoming increasingly worried herself. She was supposed to face a dragon? Or all the things that had happened that morning, facing a dragon was by far the scariest. The thought made her feel sick with worry.

"I cannot allow that." The King said like it was obvious. "The girl in that body might not be my daughter but that is my daughter's body. If something were to happen to her then it would essentially be my daughter that was harmed."

"Yes I understand your concerns but if our visitor doesn't return to her own world then she will die and so will your daughter."

"What are you saying?"

"In every dimension there is a you and there is a me. In each dimension we are slightly different in appearance and in personality but our genetics are exactly the same. When the mirror is used it transports someone's soul to another dimension but their physical form is left behind. The soul then searches for a body genetically identical to it's original body. The soul inhabiting your daughter's body is essentially another version of your daughter." Zachariah explained it to the King as he had done with her that same morning. The King looked over at Jade. His eyes were both curious and hostile.

"She may be 'another version' of my daughter as you put it but she is not the Jade I have raised. My Jade doesn't speak against me at the breakfast table. She knows to hold her tongue and she knows her role in this Kingdom." The King glared at Jade as he spoke. His eyes were clearly saying that she wasn't good enough to be his daughter no matter what Zachariah said.

"I get the situation must be both confusing and annoying to you but if she doesn't return to her own world then it's not just your daughter that will die. Everyone will. Everything we know is at stake here. I must take her out of the Kingdom to the mirror."

"I cannot allow the future of my Kingdom to go waltzing into the lair of a vicious dragon that has laid waste to a whole Kingdom by itself. I simply cannot allow it. I'll send men to retrieve the mirror."

"It's not just the mirror we need. It's the jewels as well."

"What jewels?"

"When your Kingdom was first founded I gave your ancestors a jewel. It was a green emerald, I represented it as a gift but in actually fact it was an element needed to make the mirror work. I knew that the jewel would be locked away in your family treasury and never see the light of day again. It would be impossible for any ordinary person to retrieve. I gave the three other jewels to the other three Kingdoms. The mirror and the last jewel I gave to the Kingdom of Heart and that it where it has remained to this day."

"How do you propose we retrieve these jewels then?" The King inquired. The anger in his voice seemed to have subsided slightly.

"I don't propose YOU do anything. I will need to be the one to retrieve them. Sending your men to get something from the Kingdom of Grass with this cold war that it going on, might be the spark needed to ignite a very bloody war. I, on the other hand have remained neutral, I am respected and welcomed in all Kingdoms. I have no doubt that I will be able to convince the Kings to hand over a jewel which was originally mine."

"I see. Then you must retrieve the jewels, I will have men retrieve the mirror and slay the dragon. The imposter will remain here where my daughter will remain safe in both body and soul."

"I'm afraid we do not have time for that. I will need to take her with me. We have a lot of travelling to do and a month to do it in. I may be a wizard but even I cannot pull miracles such as this."

"So you plan to take my daughter not only into the lair of a vicious dragon but also the Kingdom of our enemy?" It was a rhetorical question that had an underlying tone of 'are you an idiot?' Zachariah smirked slightly as the King's response.

"I may not be able to perform miracles but keeping the Princess' identity a secret from those that would do her harm is well within my capability."

"And what will you do about the dragon?"

"He will have to be slain. Once awoken from his slumber, if not dealt with he will go on a rampage that will be the cause of many deaths. There is no reasoning with a dragon, they are too possessive in nature. He will not take lightly to us entering his den."

"And you feel you can do this?"

"I do." Zachariah's answer was simple but full of confidence. The King looked at him in silence, clearly coming to terms with everything that he was being told. "I have known you since you were a young boy, have I ever steered you wrong?" Zachariah urged him.

"You have not but this is different. If my daughter dies my legacy will be over. My Kingdom will fall." The tone of the conversation was not one of anger anymore. It was simple a conversation between old friends. It was as if there weren't eleven other people in the room.

"I understand that completely. I will not allow anything to happen you her, you can trust me in that but if we don't return Jade to her own world soon then there will be no Kingdom for her to take over." The King sighed.

"If she is going with you then I cannot allow her to go with only you alone. I'll have to send a knight with her. It is their duty to protect members of the royal family after all."

"I thought that might be the case. Do whatever you feel necessary I only ask that the number of knights be kept to a minimum. A large party will draw unwanted attention on the road." The King nodded and looked around the table.

"Ethan." He boomed. The youngest looking of the ten shot up. He had dirty blond hair, with small sideburns that stopped at the base of his ears and pale blue eyes. He had a very strong and stable build, with arms that looked like they were made for fighting. He was about a head taller than Jade but he couldn't have been much older. His armour looked well cared for, his face was stern and his body language ready for action at the drop of a hat. Jade couldn't deny that he was handsome. There was a manly charm about him which greatly differed from Zachariah's confident and wise charm.

"Yes my Lord." His voice was very deep and rustic. It was hard to believe such a voice came from the throat of a young man.

"I wish for you to accompany them."

"It would be an honour Sire." He replied. The King nodded in his direction and was about to say something more when a hand was raised by the man on the left of Ethan.

"You may speak." The King told him. The man stood up. Jade instantly saw the resemblance between the two. The newcomers hair was much more brown than Ethan's, yet they shared the same entrancing eyes. He was definitely older, slightly taller and there was a scar running across his right eyebrow.

"I object to Ethan going your Majesty."

"And why is this?" The King asked. Jade could see that Ethan's face was becoming more and more annoyed by the second.

"Ethan may be talented with a sword and made it into our ranks at the young age of 19 however he is just that. 19 and inexperienced. He has yet to see a real fight. Although he holds great potential and I believe he will continue to grow into a knight like no one has ever seen before, I fear that his lack of experience in the field makes him ill prepared for such an important mission."

"Your concerns are very true Simon however I have personally witnesses Ethan defeat all knights at this table bar you. You would have been the perfect candidate for the job however I need you here acting as the head of my guard as you always have. Sending your brother who is second to only you is the next best thing despite how inexperienced he may be. My decision on the matter is final."

"Yes Sire." Simon replied as he and his younger brother bowed before sitting down. Ethan scowled at him, a glared that went unnoticed by all but Jade.

"Everything discussed in the room will remain in their room. News of this situation cannot get out. News of the Princess leaving the Kingdom will not be common knowledge. While she is away the people will simply think that the Princess is feeling unfit to perform her duties but is being seen to by the best doctors in the land. Anything more might cause a panic. As for the three of you, I will have all preparations made for your journey by the morning. You'll leave before the Kingdom wakes. On a final note although our...guest is not the real Princess she is inhabiting her body therefore she will be treated as if she were the real Princess while she is with us. Is this all understood?" There was a soft murmur and a lot of nods around the room. "Good. For now this meeting is over..."