After my suave exit, I dash into the forest, putting as much distance between me and that tavern as possible. I wasn't too caught up in myself to be stupid, I knew that gangs like that jump people who show them up, especially after humiliating their leader. I barely could take one- dumb luck at that- I couldn't take all of them.

Trying to retrace my steps, I go back to the place where I was before all the madness occurred. I've wasted enough time already. I need to find the others before Xalale regroups and collects himself. I'm putting them right smack in the midst of danger by having Coxen hold onto the stone.

Thankfully, I'm pretty good at retracing my steps so I arrive back at the steep hill I tumbled down with no problem. Trudging up the sharp incline, I realize it was probably easier, though not safer, going down it than up. After making it to the top, huffing and puffing, I continue to head back the way I ran earlier. Unfortunately, this is where I arrive at trouble.

In my frenzied state of trying to draw Xalale away from the others, I never took note of any surrounding features or telltale signs to mark my path. The slope was the only jarring indicator to me, and that was only because I accidentally fell down it. I'm not completely lost but I'm getting there.

There is one thing going for me though. The sun is starting to evaporate the thick clouds, making way for mosaic patterns of blue skies overhead. Everything is beginning to dry under the sun's midday glare.

Back to becoming lost again, though, I think I remember some of the surroundings but that could just be my mind playing tricks on me. Continuing to push through the foliage and blurry recollection, I press on until I arrive at a familiar sight.

It seems just a break of the sun can transform a gloomy, mundane lake into a sparkling, tranquil spectacle. Even the waves seem to have taken on a new energized persona, lapping jocularly against the grassy shore.

Sighing, I take a break from my discombobulated searching to admire the view while collecting my bearings. It's pleasantly memorizing watching each wave slap against the edge, sometimes little plops defy gravity for a split second in mid-air before being dragged down again by gravity. I fiddle with the grass by my side as I watch the lake, like an entity, move in ripples before me.

I'm so entranced that I don't even hear the approaching footsteps coming from my right or the sound of gathering voices until I hear my name yelled to the rafters by a familiar voice.

Jerking, out of shock and surprise, I turn around where my heart does a somersault at the sight. Coming my way from where we originally first entered the clearing was Elle, closely followed by Clifford who must have been the one to yell for me from afar. Coxen hurries to catch up to the other two while Sephora, still at a brisk pace, falters behind with Olivos.

The first thing Elle does upon greeting me is (what else?) embraces. Before she can even finish asking me if I was okay, Clifford comes storming up to me out of breath but not out of energy.

"You didn't tell me Axel was going to be here! Where'd he go? Why'd he run away? Where's he now? Why didn't you let me say anything to him!?"

"Right, this." I grimace at the thought of having to explain this to Clifford. Clifford who looks so fondly on Xalale- as if he were Zeus in the flesh. I know it was foolish of me to think I could keep him in the dark this entire trip, but hey, a girl can wish.

Before I can take a breath to prepare to answer him Elle cries out in alarm, taking a step back in surprise.

"Mallory, your neck! What happened?"

For a brief second, my hand flies to my neck where the blood has already begun to clot up. Just as quickly, I remember how I acquired such an injury and wipe the blood on my dress without panic.

"It's nothing. I merely got into a tiny squabble with-"

"Mallory," Coxen has finally reached us. His dark eyes darting over me in concern. "I'm relieved you're safe. We've been- what happened to your neck?"

"Oh, your shoulder as well!" Elle exclaims, stepping closer to inspect me.

"I'm fine," I mutter, not wanting to dwell on that. Plus, Coxen would be hot if he knew what troubles I'd run into. "Do you still have the stone?"

He holds it up for me to see. "I never let go."

"Thank you," I say in relief, placing the stone back with the ring in the pouch.

"Mal." Clifford whines, pulling on the skirt of my dress, clearly trying to get my attention but in the most annoying way possible.

I begin to push his issues aside again when Sephora reaches us now.

"Thank the Fates," She breathes. "What happened to you, Mallory? We were all quite concerned."

"I'm fine, just a few scratches and bumps but I'll live."

Olivis completes our group. He has his usual broken flow of words as he addresses me.

"Mallory, how do you fare? Are you hurt, are you-"

"I'm in working order," I say, starting to look down at Clifford who's still trying to get my attention.

"We need to clean that wound," Elle says, still inspecting my neck. "Both of them."

"Really, I'm alright, guys, just a little-"

"Was it the king who did that to you?" Coxen asks, the fire flaring in his eyes.

"No, there was this little girl-"

"I'm confused," Clifford complains, still pulling.

I sigh in exasperation at him. "Clifford, will you please stop-"

"Why did you go after the stone once it dropped in the lake?" Sephora inquires.

Turning my attention to her, I bite my lip at the thought of having to explain something even I don't fully understand.

"Well, it might seem-"

"We can still drop the stone in now that we're under no threat," Olivos stammers.

The others all begin to agree, nodding in approval of that plan before looking to me. Clifford continues to be absorbed in getting an answer to his question and Elle frets over my minor injuries.

Though I love my friends, my head is starting to spin in their presence. I wasn't prepared to be slammed with a wave of questions once I reunited with them. I would get around to all their concerns if they would simmer down.

Finally, I speak up with a voice that couldn't be ignored or overshadowed.

"If you please!" Once I get their undivided attention, I lower my voice. "I'll get to everything you guys brought up if you'll give me a second."

They all wait patiently now, looking at me with curious, concerned faces.

Smoothing my hair, I release a short breath, organizing my thoughts before starting to answer their questions- I start with Elle's worries first since it's the easiest matter to get out of the way.

"I'm really okay, guys," I begin, looking at Elle specifically. "There were these thieves or something, a band of them, and they took something of mine so I went after them to get it back. I got into a little skirmish with the leader guy who stole my stuff, we dueled it out, and with dumb luck I got my stuff back. I'll clean them soon, don't worry."

She looked relieved, appeased with my response. One easy matter down, unfortunately, harder ones to come.

"What happened when the king caught up with you?" Coxen asks, gritting his teeth.

"I told him to leave."

When I say it like that, so simple and matter-of-fact, I'm not surprised they're giving me strange looks.

"You just asked him and he...left?" Coxen says dubiously.

"I mean, give or take a few words, yeah."

Give or take a whole confrontation with him looking wounded by my actions.

He still seems skeptical at this easy fix but Sephora is already pushing a new issue to the front.

"What happened before? Why did you go after the stone?"

For the briefest second, I hesitate before pulling my words together.

"We can't destroy the stone this way."

It's amazing how many blown away expressions they can make at each revelation. I can't fault them, though.

"What do you mean?" Olivos was a stuttering stammering mess, but this time not because of fear. "We had a plan!"

Something about those words made me wince- something so familiar.

"Yeah, I know, but..." I clear my throat as strange lump trying to form and speak up with confidence. "We have to find a different way. The stone is still connected to Xalale so we need to be careful. We have to break the connection then destroy it."

All this conversation is accomplishing is showing me how many ways my friends can make me feel like I'm losing my mind just by facial expressions alone.

"I'm confused still..." Sephora says speaking for the rest of them.

That's when I truly realize how stark our views of Xalale are. They still are- rightfully so from their perspective- seeing him as a tyrant, an opposing king, no one that deserves to be saved. Me ( I should kind of be on their train after the stunt he pulled), I'm not ready to give him death; he's not innocent by any means but I'm not going to sit back and watch him die casually.

"How do I convince them of my point-of-view when theirs is a valid one?"

Thankfully (for once I'm thankful for his outburst), Clifford speaks up.

"We can't hurt Axel! Tell them, Mal. Axel's one of us, he's a good guy."

Elle looks between him and me with a befuddled expression.

"Are you speaking of the king?"

"Yes," He looks at us, more intently at me than anyone else. "And we can't hurt him."

"Clifford," I begin but let my sentence die, unsure of where to take it.

He addresses me singularly now. "Why is Axel here? Why isn't he helping us? How is he the king?"

My real dilemma- which I never assumed I'd be facing- is whether to shatter his vision of Xalale and let him in on the truth or keep him blissfully ignorant. It doesn't help that I'm still uncertain about his true intentions. Right now, it doesn't appear like Xalale's taking anyone's side, rather just doing his own thing, which isn't the best course of action for us in figuring this out.

Whatever I say, though, I know I have to choose my words for careful consideration.

"Right now, Clifford, Xalale's a little...confused," Is that the right word? I don't know but I press on. "He's not acting with his brain-"

"Axel's really smart, though," He argues. "He has a plan."

"If he does, it's not a sensible one. Xalale's not really acting with logic, he's running more on emotions right now."

He gives me a puzzled look like I just tried to explain the human anatomy to him for the first time (being on the topic of Xalale, you might as well be).

"Only girls run on emotion."

"Good grief."

I fight back a hard eye roll.

"Human beings have emotions. Anger, sadness, fear, they're all emotions, you have them, I have them, Xalale has them. The problem is when we let those emotions get the better of us and let them dictate our lives. Xalale's not really stopping to think about things like he should."

He lets that mull over in his head for a second before asking, "What emotion is he running on?"

"Uh...stupidity first and foremost."

In all honesty, I can't help but feel restricted to answer. The answer lies inside me but I refuse to let it come to the surface, so all I reply with is-

"A lot of them."

It quenches his curiosity on the question and he moves onto a new, more optimistic point.

"We should help him then."

"Help him?"

"Kid, I helped him more than anybody and look how he repaid me."

"Yeah," He says becoming more energized. "We're his friends, aren't we? Friends help other friends."

Glancing at the others with unease, I look back at him. Not everyone here will be willing to help Xalale; I'm not even ready to look at him again.

"Maybe we need to let him have a little time to himself to let him get his emotions sorted out."

"Oh, okay," He still gives me an eager look. "But we can help him after that, right?"

"If you want to, sure." But I'm not quite on that boat yet.

It seems I, too, am acting a bit neutral as well. Perhaps my course isn't the best either.

While Clifford becomes determined, the others are still unsure about my proposed statements. I can tell they really want to get rid of the stone and if that means Xalale's untimely death then sobeit- it's a two for the price of one deal for them.

"What are we going to do if we can't destroy the stone?" Coxen asks with impatience tinged on the edge of his voice. "Our opportunity couldn't be more opened. Why test the Fates' patience?"

"I must agree," Elle's voice quivers. "Mal, our worlds could be destroyed, we need to rest assure that never happens."

I want to interject but Sephora voices her opinion as well.

"She's right, Mallory. As awful as it must sound, the life of one who is unfortunately bound to the stone is not as great as the countless innocent lives. If you don't feel comfortable about doing it, I will be willing."

She stretches forth her hand to receive the stone with the others looking on.

"Is this going to hurt Axel?" Clifford asks wide-eyed with alarm. "If it is, don't do it! We have to help him."

"Man, if I thought I was torn before..."

There is a good part of me that is thinking their arguments through logically, and they make sense. The life of one for the salvation of billions. I want to take out the stone and give it to her, but then there's a smaller part of me that just cannot bring myself to do such a thing. However morally right or wrong, my body listens to the minority and I don't automatically hand over the stone.

Xalale deserves something for his deeds, but for me to play God, I'm just not equipped to do so.

The others recognize my hesitation.

Elle rests a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"It's the right thing," She whispers.

Coxen nods in approval. "It's the only way."

My eyes dart from them to Sephora over to Olivos then last into Clifford's pleading, determined eyes.

My decision is made.

"I refuse to believe sacrificing someone, even someone like Xalale, is the only way," My voice carries finality to it- I am not budging from my decision.

The others aren't flabbergasted by my decision, but they certainly have a right to question it.

"Mallory, please try to see the light in this situation," Sephora urges. "Whatever connections you have established with the king-"

"We don't have any connections." My sudden flare of defensiveness does not go unnoticed. Now they seem flabbergasted, even Clifford.

"But Axel's our friend," He says with blinking eyes.

I scoff. "I care nothing for Xalale. He's your friend, not mine."

Quite a different tune I'm singing when just minutes ago I was the only thing standing between him and death. Now I'm here adamantly deny him yet not budging from my prior decision. I really don't blame the others for looking at me like I'm mad.

"If you care so little about the king why not end all our troubles?" Coxen questions.

"Because that's not the way it's meant to be done."

"How is it supposed to be done?" Elle speaks up, her face a perfect canvas of confusion.

"I don't know, we'll figure it out."

"The king could come back at any time," Olivos states.

Things are getting a little tense and my defensive behavior isn't helping matters at all.

The problem lies in the fact that they don't understand why I'm defending someone I claim not to give a rat's ass about when their world- and mine- is under threat of destruction.

Honest to God, I'm not completely understanding it myself.

Who's right? Who's wrong? They're not wrong for wanting their world spared from impending doom, Clifford's not wrong for wanting to help Xalale, hell, Xalale may not even be completely wrong for not taking a side already. This isn't as black-and-white as I thought it was going to be.

"Killing someone like this is not the way. We don't need blood on our conscious after all this is done," I finally speak up, trying to lose my defensive tone. "We will find another way to keep this stone out of their hands but no one is going to do anything that might harm this stone."

The way I utter that last line is as authoritarian as it gets. For a moment, we just have this sort of stare off; them staring me down and me not wilting under their scrutiny. Finally, they let me have my way, though an undercurrent of undeniable distrust lingers between us now.

"Well, where do we go now?" Coxen asks, a vague sense of frustration in his voice.

We pause to think for a minute before Sephora speaks up.

"There might be a town or city close by in which we might find a library where we can refer to a book on this issue."

"That's the only option we have," I say.

So we're off, returning to the main road we traveled on before, but with different feelings than before. I can't help but feel frustrated, myself, about everything. And the root of my problems all trace back to the one person whose name I can't even stand to think about; I want no mention of the king or Axel or any form attached to him because right now he's the reason for my isolation.

The others, though I can tell they're trying to be sympathetic to my cause, are reaching that breaking point of desperation. This is the second time their universe is facing utter extinction and when they're almost there to saving their home here I come like a wall, blocking their attempts. If push comes to shove, I can't say with certainty there won't be mutiny on the horizon- friendship can only go so far.

Even Clifford and I aren't seeing eye to eye on this issue of Xalale, so I can't be sure of his full support either. I'm drifting out further and further on my own rocky boat away from the stable island I once stood on.

For my sake- and Xalale's- there better be another way to get rid of this stone or else there were going to be some wicked tempest in our future.