I woke up the next morning eager to talk to Zolona. I went into the dining room only to find Echo and Zolona eating. Mara must have started her daily routine early. I eavesdropped on the conversation.

"So, you and your friends liked reading books?"

"Yes, all kinds of things. Opponents of the Dagger, Rise of Iron, Love of the Unholy, but my favorite book has to be my book of surface world constellations. I remember using my telescope every night. My friends and I liked looking for things out there," Zolona let a slight smile etch across her face.

Echo's eyes widened. "I never thought you and your friends liked astronomy."

Zolona chuckled. "That's what I miss most: the stars. Their colors and patterns interested us. We couldn't help but watch them."

"I like stars too. It's too bad this realm doesn't have any." Echo bowed his head in disappointment.

I had no clue what stars were. They intrigued me just thinking about them. They were surrounded by a mysterious fog and the word never clicked with anything in my head. It was such a strange word: Star. Like a lettered name, it meant nothing to me.

"Raven?" Echo asked.

I turned to look at him. "Please stop calling me that."

"We have a busy day today. The three of us are going to trek Glorious Grove," Zolona smiled.

"Well, I guess that's interesting," I sighed, looking away from Zolona.

"Not happy?" Zolona asked.

"I wanted to do something else," I said.

Zolona glared at me firmly. "Too bad."

"I've been in that forest hundreds of times..." I rolled my eyes.

Zolona smiled. "It's a nice opportunity for us to start getting along."

"Mara isn't coming?" I asked.

"She's asking Dusk, Ember, and Arvin more questions," Echo informed.

I sighed. "Don't pretend Mara's doing something nice when she's not."

"Raven, just go on the hike with us," Zolona said.

Only the clinks and clangs of forks touching the breakfast plates could be heard.

"It'll be fun," Echo suggested.

I slammed my fork on the table. "I don't do fun."

"635202!" Zolona yelled.

"You know it's true," I said.

"You're going." he crossed his arms, attempting to intimidate me. I was more muscular in size and taller, but he didn't give a crap about that. "I have the right to tell you to go."

"No, you don't," I said.

"I saved your life yesterday." Echo sighed. "I proved you wrong."

I raised an eyebrow. "Since when have you attempted to prove me wrong?"

"Since Zolona said I couldn't let you use me as a target," Echo said.

Zolona smiled like an artist admiring her work. "I only spoke the truth."

"It's just one trek. Who knows what might happen?" Echo begged.

"Even if we're allies..." I said.

Echo pointed at me. "You said it."

I moaned. "I don't want to spend time with you."

"You're coming," Zolona commanded.

I sighed. "...Yes, Zolona."

We walked outside to the east section of the courtyard near Glorious Grove. Misty rubbed herself against Echo's legs before he picked her up and rubbed behind her ear. He laughed as the cat sneezed.

"Alright, the goal is simple. If we enjoy ourselves and come out together, we win," Zolona informed.

I doubt we'll enjoy ourselves, well, not at least until one of us ends up dead...

I raised an eyebrow. "And if we don't?"

"We can do this." Echo smiled.

I rolled my eyes. "Something will go wrong. The three of us will be in the same forest."

"But we're on good terms," Echo said, confused.

I sighed. "No, just mutual terms. That can change."

"If we make it out of this forest together, will you give me another shot at being allies with you?" Echo asked.

I chuckled. "We're never making it out. Not together."

"Then, why refuse?" Zolona asked.

"Fine. It's a deal," I chuckled.

"Shake on it," Zolona demanded.

"Shaking hands is for children," I said.

"Just do it," Zolona ordered.

Echo offered me his hand, but I refused to touch it. Shaking someone's hand was the first step of trust, and I wasn't just about to trust him despite how trustworthy he seemed. Those electric blue eyes of his gleamed.

"Come on." Echo continued to smile. "Don't leave my hand here."

I reluctantly took his hand. Surprisingly, it was warm. I quickly removed my hand from shaking Echo's and his smile disappeared.

"Did your mark extend to your hand?" I asked.

"No. See?" Echo held out his palm for me to see. It was bare.

Odd, very odd. He almost felt feverish from how warm his hand was. I didn't think much of it at the time other than brushing my right hand on my clothing in an attempt to cleanse it.

"We'll get to see who wins this bet," Zolona said.

We followed her into the forest.

The curved trees were mystical to look at, as if we were in a distorted mirror in a funhouse. The bird calls we could hear were like pieces of music, chirping with every call. The pink leaves and the green flowers of the forest seemed to make my head spin. Echo and Zolona seemed to be enjoying it.

Zolona smiled. "This is my favorite part of this forest. Very unique from The Surface."

Echo smiled. "It's nice to see something different for a change."

"Are you sure this isn't too different?" I asked.

"There are trees, flowers, animals..." Echo said.

I stopped him. "Do the bright colors phase you at all?"

"It's refreshing, actually," Echo said.

I clenched my teeth. "I might just go back to hating you."

"You haven't given me many chances. At least I'm not pretending to be something I'm not. If I wanted to get to know you, I'd want you to get to know the real me and not some fraud," Echo argued.

"And I'm fraud?" I raised an eyebrow.

Echo's eyes widened. "I didn't mean that."

"Really?" I asked.

"Raven?" Echo asked.

"That's not my name," I said.

"Zolona's gone," Echo said.

I laughed, but he was right. Zolona left us during our argument. We had no idea how to find her.

"Damn..." I mumbled.

"Raven, you weren't..." Echo said.

I grabbed his neck. "This is your fault."

"You're the one who had us stop," Echo croaked.

I let go of him. "How could Zolona not notice?"

"She might be too busy looking at her surroundings to notice." Echo gasped for breath.

"Or she did this on purpose..."

"The sooner we make it out the sooner we can get away from each other. What's our play?"

I put my hand on my throat. "Have any ideas on how to get water?"

Silence ensued.

I crossed my arms. "Of course you don't."

"Sorry..."

"Just shut up. Maybe I can hear something nearby."

Something moved— a waterfall by the sounds of the flow of water. Even though I'd been through Glorious Grove many times, I didn't know where we were. Maybe I didn't know where to retrace my steps, but I wasn't just about to rot there with Echo. That wouldn't be how I died, and that was a principle stronger than any other reasoning to give up.

I pointed towards the faint sound. "There's water Northwest of us."

I pressed forward, eager to get water, get out of the forest, and away from Echo. I didn't care if I needed help interpreting that grimoire. My priority was getting out of Glorious Grove.

We wandered through the forest, not speaking a word to each other. Echo whistled; Misty followed at his side.

I spotted it, the water. It flowed down the waterfall below me calmly, a gentle breeze flowing from it. We were on the ridge above the pool of water, and it was so close within my grasp I just wanted to jump off the ridge. The ridge was steep and sharp, making it dangerous with the uneven rocks to get to the pool of water.

"Found it," I said.

"Where?" Echo asked.

"Below the ridge," I pointed.

I headed down the ridge as swiftly as my legs could carry me. When I got to the bottom, Misty meowed next to me, not in Echo's arms.

"Where's Echo?" I asked. If anything happened to him...

Misty scurried up the ridge. Echo slipped. Of course, only he could've been stupid enough to slip on his ass. He was lucky he didn't take the entire fall down the ridge. The steep slope could've killed him.

I hurried to him. He clenched his teeth and moaned while laying on the uneven stone ground.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I'm pointing at it." Echo pointed to a black animal in the shadows. It looked at me with its glowing green eyes before hissing.

"Suerte," I paused. "I should've known he didn't like you. That cat always agrees with me."

Suerte hissed at me again and narrowed his eyes, giving me a good look at his scarred eye, and snuck into the bush.

"How badly are you hurt?" I asked. I looked at a wound on his leg.

It wasn't life threatening but still pretty bad. Drops of blood flowed from his wound, a piece of sharp rock jutting out of the torn flesh. Dirt stained the sides of the cut with a soot-like appearance. I'd have to make sure it stayed disinfected until we got out of Glorious Grove, but first I had to get him down to the water somehow.

"Raven, I'll put weight on my other leg if you help me up. We can get down the ridge," Echo said.

I rolled my eyes. I didn't want to, but I had no choice.

I took him down the ridge. It was hard enough to get myself down there, but it was even harder with him.

When we finally got down there, I placed Echo next to the water. I took several sips as he put some in his hand and placed it on the wound. He winced before tearing off a piece of his long white shirt and wrapping it around his leg.

I sighed. "You don't know how to find water, but you know what to do when you're injured?"

"My father had me work the farm. Water was pretty much available from the well, but accidents and injuries happened all the time out on the plow," Echo argued.

"Ember was right. You're hopeless," I said.

Echo attempted to sit up, but failed. "In a good way."

"You got us lost, worthless pig," I said.

His smile faded. "I'm not worthless."

I raised an eyebrow. "You sit around and let other people do the fighting. People walk all over you. How isn't this your fault? This is coming from a boy who's not used to making mistakes, being positive, and has always had a good life. Compared to you, I'm perfect, even with my crappy problems."

Echo lowered his head. "I was different several years ago. Back then, I barely believed in the good of this world."

"Love's weak. What good does it do anyone?" I asked.

"I made it out of a rough spot because of love," Echo said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you're positive? You were able to come out of that dark moment?"

"You could say that," Echo's tone became grim. "My adoptive folks were pretty understanding and were always there to help me. Always, without any delay or harm. Haven't you had that kind of love before? You had to have a..."

"We need to get out of here." I stood from our spot by the waterfall.

"Help?" Echo reached out his hand.

I rolled my eyes and helped him off the ground.

We headed from the bottom of the ridge into the other side of the forest where the wavy trees face the opposite direction. We were greeted by two hummingbirds that twirled around us. They were in a beautiful turquoise blue shade with gold underneath their wings, on their stomachs, and under their tails. and a beautiful pink shade on the tips of the wings. The two birds were stunning to look at. The hums of their voices reminded me of a child's choir.

Echo smiled. "It's so wonderful, isn't it?"

"If it weren't for this forest I wouldn't be stuck with you."

"Why do you think so negatively? Is it me, the world, stress, or something else?" Echo asked.

I sighed, "I just have a lot on my plate. That's why I didn't want to go on a hike today. I wanted to discuss it with Zolona."

"It's your memories, isn't it?" Echo asked.

"How did you know?" I raised an eyebrow.

Echo chuckled. "The silver-haired lady told me."

"Did she tell you everything she knew about me?" I asked, annoyed.

Echo shook his head. "I don't think so. She just told me you were trying to find your memories. She told me we needed to stay true to who we are."

"She must've come from my memories. I can't remember her, but I keep on having these flashbacks. I have a hunch they're showing something I'm supposed to know," I said.

"Maybe we can find out," Echo smiled.

"I have a question to ask you," I said.

"What?" Echo asked.

I took a deep breath in. "How did you really skip the final challenge? You said you were afraid of something. How come you didn't have to face it?"

"Promise not to tell anyone?" Echo's voice was quiet. This was something he obviously didn't want many people hearing.

I raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps..."

"You know when you're in a dream and you can't control what happens?"

"Yes..."

"The Game's like a dream right? You fight challenges after falling asleep, so that potion that creates the images has to be connected to sleep right?"

"Why does that matter?"

Echo sighed. "Somehow, I trained myself to control what happens in my dreams. It's why The Ancient Ones gave me such a high dosage, you know?"

"That's fortunate."

His face still seemed grim. "The only reason I tried to do it was because of all the horrible nightmares I got. I was scared to death of them. I was even scared while awake. Now you know why I haven't faced my worst fear, or why I haven't faced any fighting challenges."

"Considering the fact you took all of that work to not get nightmares, I'm not going to consider that cheating," I answered.

"I bet you'd consider me a coward for doing that," Echo lowered his head.

"It took guts to try to do that. I'd probably do the same thing," I admitted.

We walked down the forest, trees surrounding us. Misty walked ahead, attempting to shield us from any danger out there.

"Thanks for earlier," Echo said.

"What did I do?" I asked.

"You came back to get me. You didn't have to."

"You were clueless. All boys are. Besides, I only came back for you because Zolona would blow her top if she knew I left you to die."

"'What do you mean you lost Echo?'" Echo said, mimicking Zolona— and her accent.

"Mara would be bored to tears. '635202, I'm bored. How could you lose Echo? The Game won't be as interesting now,'" I said, mimicking Mara.

We laughed, but I stopped myself.

Laughing shows attachment. It's an emotion. You can't laugh, especially out of joy.

"What's wrong?" Echo asked.

"Zolona told me I couldn't get attached to anything. Not to people, not to places, not to animals, not to objects..." a scowl formed on my face.

"Zolona told me the opposite."

"How strange..."

Echo changed the subject. "When we get out of the forest, we can ask Zolona about your flashbacks."

"That was my plan," I said.

Moonlight glistened through the trees ahead of us. We were almost out of Glorious Grove. I pushed myself as fast as I could go. The wind blew my hair behind me. We'd come too close not to make it out.

I finally got us out of the forest, and helped set Echo down against a tree at the front of the woods.

Echo smiled. "Guess I won the bet."

"I guess you did," I sighed.

"Why so sad, Raven?"

"Stop calling me that."

"What? Raven?"

"Yes," I paused, "That name gets on my nerves."

"Why?" Echo asked.

"635202 gives me a neutral feeling about myself. Raven gets me feeling all warm and fuzzy."

"Like hope?"

I sighed. "I'm not the 'hope' type."

"Guess not." Echo's smile faded away.

Zolona confronted us, walking up towards the entrance we just came out of with a couple guards by her side.

Her eyes widened with relief. "There you are. I see you made it out."

"You weren't even looking for us, were you?" I raised an eyebrow.

Zolona regained her composure. "I wasn't."

"You left us on purpose?" Echo's eyes widened.

Zolona looked at Echo, noticing his leg. "What happened to you?"

"We tried to get water under a ridge and I tripped on Suerte," Echo said.

"Is it bad?" Zolona came to check out the damage like a nurse from the hospital ward.

"It isn't life threatening, but it needs attention," I said.

Zolona nodded, but I could tell her thoughts lingered elsewhere. "I'll have our nurse look at it."

"I'll admit, even if it was scary, today was fun," Echo smiled.

"I can admit that too," I answered.

Zolona looked my in the eye before smiling in approval."I see Echo won the bet."

"He did," I lowered my head in defeat to glance at my shoes.

"So you'll get on good terms with him?" Zolona reminded.

I took a deep breath. "I'll try, but I can't stand him."

"Ember and you would make good friends," Echo smiled.

I crossed my arms tightly around my body, as if to add a shield around my exposed feelings. "Ember has a personality I don't know how to describe. The world threw itself against her, like her odds were unevenly stacked."

"That didn't happen to you?" Echo asked.

I shook my head. "I'm just determined to get things done and remain cold while doing it. It's the only way I won't get attached to lies and find out the truth."

Echo nodded, trying to relate with what I had just told him. "Sometimes I feel like that too, but I can't help but get attached to people. People were always meant to do good things. They shouldn't hide in the dark. They shouldn't try to make others' lives like living nightmares."

Zolona chuckled. "You remind me of your father. He was a good man, mostly. I was fond of him."

"You liked his father?" I raised an eyebrow.

Zolona lowered her head. "We were friends before I went rogue."

"Why did you?" Echo asked.

"That's a story for another time. I need time to think about when I should tell you, if you're willing it hear me out," her voice was grim.

"There's always two sides to every story," Echo smiled.

"Now, I'll call the guards to take you to the medical ward. If it comes down to it, I'll take out one of my medical blue cases," Zolona reassured us.

She clapped. Four guards came to Zolona's side. "Take him to the medical ward."

One guard nodded and gestured to the other three. They helped Echo up.

See you tonight." Echo smiled.

"You're stay in the medical ward for precautions," Zolona said.

I crossed my arms, letting out a heavy sigh. "See you later."

Echo was carried into the courtyard.

Zolona's eyes widened. "635202, you're smiling."

My eyebrows shot up. "Sorry, Mistress."

"You've earned it," she elbowed my shoulder.

I lowered my head. I couldn't face her. "But I haven't made him more like us."

"You've done all I've required of you. I'll excuse that smile." Zolona sighed.

"Thank you, Zolona," I bowed my head.

Zolona nodded. "You're welcome 635202. It's getting pretty late. I wanted you to see the prisoners. I feel like they have more to give than they let on."

"Of course," I rolled my eyes, "I only hope Ember will let me talk to her."

"She will," Zolona headed towards the courtyard.

"And Zolona?" I asked.

"Yes?" she asked.

I took a deep breath. "I'm interested in looking at a book.

"Of course. I'll make time for you later." Just hearing the word book made Zolona light up with excitement.

I nodded before Zolona walked off into the courtyard. I took in a breath of cold air before sighing. I went down the hill to join her.