'She's okay.'

'She better be.'

'She's okay!'

'She better be!'

Wren's eyes opened an inch. Her vision was blurry. She couldn't remember anything. Voices - familiar voices - was heard.

'What was that all about?'

'Wren went to the West Wing and things are not looking great for her now -'

And then Wren remembered. All her thoughts came flooding back, no matter how much she wanted them not to. She wanted to tell them go away, to never come back, never disturb her ...

But she couldn't.

She opened her eyes.

'I'm ... okay,' she mumbled feebly.

Jake and Ladislaya rushed to her side. Ladislaya threw her arms around her neck. 'You're okay!' she said, relieved.

'You're okay,' Jake repeated.

'I'm okay,' Wren said, half-smiling.

'What is going on?' Ladislaya said, sinking onto Wren's bed. Wren figured she was in the school hospital wing.

'It was ... I don't ... Will they -?'

'Shh,' Ladislaya pressed. She could almost guess what Wren was saying. 'I don't think they'll expel you though - considering you've just been attacked.'

'Yeah, being a royal also has some advnatages,' Jake said, grinning. 'Anyway, how are you feeling?'

'I'm okay. Better than okay. I just ... I don't want to think about it. It makes me sick.'

'It must've been horrible,' Ladislaya whispered. 'Who did ... this though?'

Wren brought herself up higher on the pillows. 'It was this hooded figure. He called himself the Perilous. You guys ever heard of him? Because if he's a villain and everyone knows him and his deeds, then likelier the chance is of me clearing my name -'

Both Jake and Ladislaya shook their heads no. Wren groaned.

'This is depressing,' she moaned.

'We're just waiting for the results,' Jake said, equally anxiously. He was wringling his hands wildly. 'The magicians arrived and they're inspecting the dagger he used. He could've sliced you in half Carrots. They're going to check that it wasn't your dagger - not like it is, but they're just checking. If there are no fingerprints or mind-telepathy traces, you're gonna be fine.'

'Mind telepathy isn't one of my abilities!' Wren said angrily, sitting up straight. Ladislaya and Jake protested at once.

'Shane says you've got to have some rest -'

'Who is Shane?'

'You have to sit back down -'

'Who is Shane?'

'You're in the Palace hospital wing,' Jake said impatiently. 'Shane's kind of like the doctor here to treat your wounds. You've got a lot of nasty cuts,' he said, shaking his head.

Wren was too worried to say anything. She wasn't the one with the dagger. The memory was vivid in her mind. She didn't do it. She didn't do anything.

As if reading her thoughts, Ladislaya curled her hand into Wren's. 'It's okay. I'm sure they'll find nothing. Who was that person you said did the ... the thing again?'

'The Perilous,' Wren said, feeling her anger rise up in her throat. She cursed, and Ladislaya flinched. Jake didn't. 'I swear, he was some hooded dude and he could produce some stupid black ribbons or something. He attacked me! Like legit attacked me! He sent me flying against the wall and it was like ... like we'd met before. The way he said it. He even knew my name! Why does he know my name?'

'Slow down, Wren,' Ladislaya said, exchanging glances with Jake. 'What did you say his name was again?'

Wren sucked in a deep breath. 'The Perilous! Have you heard of him? 'Cause if he's famous for killing people like Nicaea Valdis, my name is most likely to be cleared from -'

The curtain opened. A tall woman with round glasses appeared. She was holding a clipboard and she pushed her glasses back up on her nose. 'So, good news,' she said, half-smiling and half-not. 'No fingerprents of Wren could be detected, and we don't think further investigation is needed, because we did find out something interesting.'

Wren braced herself.

'The weapon directed by the attacker is a Blood Dagger,' the woman went on. Ladislaya let out a horrified gasp and Jake's eyes widened. Wren didn't know what in the world was a blood dagger, but she assumed it was something bad. She panicked at once.

'What? What is it? Did I do something? Miss, I swear, it was some hooded -'

The woman held up a hand. 'It is nothing to concern you, Princess. We -'

'Call me Wren,' Wren said frustratedly. 'Just - just forget I have a title. Just tell me what's going on. What's a blood dagger?'

The woman looked surprised. 'It's actually a cursed dagger that is imbued in dark magic - maybe even blood magic. It's blade is stained of the blood of victims, which makes it a powerful and deadly tool in the hands of evil. This dagger is very powerful, and no one can touch it without dying, no one - except for those who are truly evil.'

Wren felt like she'd just heard a dictionary speaking. The words she could absorb was 'blood magic'.

And she knew the word.

She'd read it.

Back in Drimton Prep School library.

Blood magic was the suspected reason why her parents had died. Or kidnapped. Or held captive. Or whatever that's happened to them. Blood magic had been detected in their Palace - this very Palace she was in right now.

'What ... exactly is ... blood magic?' she said numbly. She wanted to know everything. She didn't want to miss out a single detail. Again, the woman looked surprised, but didn't say anything but explanation.

'Blood magic involves using blood as a source of power, which is what makes it dangerous. It's a dark and dangerous source of power, and requires the user sacrificing their own blood or others' blood in order to achieve the users' goals themselves. We believe whoever did this had a reason why he or she wanted to attack you. "

'A reason?' Wren said without thinking.

'Yes. A reason. Now Princess Wren, your sister Her Majesty wants to see you herself.'

Wren groaned as soon as the woman departed. As predicted, her sister flounced in.

'Oh dear lord, Wren! What happened to you? You're sitting here, in a mess, with bruises and cuts -'

'I'm fine,' Wren said impatiently, sitting up again. Her sister, as usual was dressed in long flowy skirts and was wearing her queen's crown and had hundreds of jewellery draped around her in a neat way.

'What were you doing in the West Wing?' demanded Odyssey.

'I didn't even go there!' protested Wren indignantly, but truthfully. 'I was walking to the library - the one in the South Wing. Jake, Ladislaya and I decided to meet up to do our homework there. And then - I don't know what happened.'

Odyssey's eyes softened, but she didn't say anything. Wren sank lower into her pillow.

'Are you okay?' she asked finally.

Wren didn't know how to answer.

'I might be,' she managed. 'I mightn't.'

Odyssey stared at her for a second before turning to Ladislaya and Jake. 'And what about you two? Are you okay?'

'Yes!' Ladislaya answered too quickly. 'Why ... what makes you think we wouldn't be?'

'A lot of things,' Odyssey answered.

Jake pressed his forehead into his palm. Odyssey turned her attention back to Wren and opened her mouth to speak, but Wren beat her to it.

'Hey - can you grab me a mug of hot chocolate?'

'Of course,' Odyssey said at once. 'I'll be right back.'

Odyssey was gone like a shot. Wren turned back to Ladislaya and Jake. 'A Blood Dagger,' was all she said.

Ladislaya sighed. 'You, of all people, can't touch a Blood Dagger. Neither can I. It's obvious it wasn't you.'

'It was the guy I was telling you about - the Perilous,' Wren said angrily, sitting up again. 'Ridiculous name, isn't it? I told you, he spoke like we met before. He said he'd seen me before.'

'How's that possible?' Jake asked in a low voice.

'Exactly what I want to know,' Wren said grimly. 'Plus, he knew my name.'

Jake was shaking his head. 'That's not possible,' he said, as if trying to convince himself. 'No one knows you. Not until now.'

'How did you even get into the West Wing?' Ladislaya asked Wren, worried.

'I have no idea. I swear, I was just heading up to the South Wing library, and there was like a cut through me ... not physical, but mentally. It was like ... pain.'

'And you just ... was there?' Jake asked. 'Like magic?'

'Like magic.' Wren nodded wildly.

'We never heard of anyone called the Perilous,' Ladislaya said. 'He sounds dangerous.'

Wren clicked her tounge in exasperation. 'He is dangerous, Ladislaya.'

Jake pressed his face into his palms again.

'This is overwhelming,' he said in a muffled voice.

Wren sank down lower in her bed. Then sat straight up again. Then sank down. Then up again. Straight, and decided to sit on the edge of the bed. As she moved her leg towards the edge, she felt a twange of pain across her knee.

'Ow,' she said quietly.

'Oh, Shane got your knee checked and it turns out you sprained your right knee.'

'How did I even sprain my knee?' Wren said, moving across her bed.

'Uh - when you fell.'

Wren groaned stiffly, resting her knee on a stool. 'With this bad leg, I think I can barely walk,' she informed Jake and Ladislaya. 'I'll only be able to limp like a frog.'

'Frogs don't limp,' Ladislaya couldn't help saying.

'I'm exagerating to make a point,' Wren said. She exhaled loudly. 'Can I get out of the hospital wing right now?'

'Shane will disapprove of it,' Jake said, but he was already standing up to leave.

'Aren't you two supposed to be in school?' Wren said, wincing.

'Dude, we've got a free period, that's why we left,' Jake said, exasperated as he rolled his eyes. 'You think we'd just quit school for the day and say "Oh sorry, we're gonna meet up with Wren since she's hurt." No. That's equivalent to jumping off a cliff and committing suicide.'

'Okay, okay, chill,' Wren said. 'Was I out for that long?'

'Yeah, you could say,' Jake said, checking his watch. 'It's nine a.m now, so ... probably a night.'

'I'm going to school,' Wren said without thinking.

'Do you hear yourself, Carrots?' Jake asked, raising his eyebrows.

Wren sighed. 'I'm perfectly fine, Jake. It's not like I suddenly blacked out, I can't go to school.'

'You have a bad leg,' Ladislaya informed her.

'I can manage,' she grumbled.

Jake and Ladislaya exchanged glanches again.

'What?' Wren asked, noticing. 'What are you two up to?'

Ladislaya sighed. 'Odyssey suggested you spend the day with her in the Palace and you can go back to school tomorrow. She thought it would be nice to have a little sister-bonding time, you know.'

Wren glared at an empty plastic cup on a table.

'Over my dead body,' she said. 'I'm not spending an entire afternoon cross-stitching. Come to think of it - I don't even know how to cross-stitch.'

'Odyssey suspcted that,' Jake said. 'She didn't like the idea of you coming back to the Palace looking like some commoner covered in mud.'

'Well, I like the way I am, and if she doesn't like it, it's her problem,' Wren couldn't help saying, cringing at her own statement.

'Wouldn't it be nice for once to be an actual princess and learn how to curtsy beautifully?' Ladislaya said, sighing.

'No, it wouldn't,' Wren said, standing up now. Her knees wobbled but she steadied herself. 'And I know how to curtsy properly,' she added shortly.

'Do you?' Jake said wistfully..

Wren scowled. Jake sat up hastily, saying, 'Okay, okay, we get it.'

Wren rolled her eyes. She slumped back onto the bed, trying not to picture a boring afternoon with Odyssey. She shouldn't be cross-stitching, not when she was nearly killed, for good times sake, and especially not when an evil witch was plotting her next move.

                                                                               ⋆‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙⋆

Wren poked herself with her needle for the three hundredth twenty-sixth time. She was attempting to sew a butterfly on a piece of white cloth that was firmly hooked to a wooden circle with a hole in the middle.

'Try not to bleed all over the cloth, dear,' Odyssey said to Wren for the three hundredth twenty-sixth time. 'Don't you think this is such a fun activity to do?'

Not for a second, no Wren wanted to say, but instead, she smiled her princess smile and said sweetly, 'Of course.'

Wren was growing tired of stitching a butterfly. Her butterfly was all crooked, and the wings looked like they had given up on themselves. Her colours were mixed, and Odyssey had tried her best to find a compliment at the needlework for the past two hours.

Wren was half-bored to death. She wondered what Jake and Ladislaya were doing at the moment. Whatever they were doing, she was certain it was nothing as boring as sitting in the Palace hall, cross-stitching a butterfly. Maybe they were in the apothecary, picking up potions. Maybe they were doing homework. Come to think of it now - homework was much better than cross-stitching -

'I have a brilliant idea!' Odyssey cried, whipping Wren out of her thoughts.

'Mm?' Wren mumbled.

'I thought we could stitch a bluebird next,' Odyssey said brightly. Wren groaned out loud. Odyssey frowned and tilted her head, looking concerned.

'Are you all right, Wren?'

'Uh, yes,' Wren said feebly, forcing a smile.

Odyssey sighed. She gazed out of the window into the view of the sun setting. 'Wren, I always tell you not to say 'uh' in front of every sentence you state. It is not a princess-like thing to do.'

It was Wren's turn to sigh. 'People do that all the time,' she said impatiently.

'We are not people, Wren. We're blood of a royal line.' Odyssey didn't pull her gaze away from the window.

Wren stared out of the window suspiciously. 'Why do you always have to gaze out of the window every time you talk to me?'

Odyssey sighed for the second time. 'Why do you always have to sigh, too?' Wren asked.

Odyssey frowned. 'Is this the second time I sighed?'

'Definitely,' Wren told her.

'I thought it was the first.'

'Second, actually.'

'It must be me or I am hallucinating again.'

'You hallucinate?'

'No. It was to make a point.'

'Right,' Wren said, resting back in her chair. 'Because I don't give a -' she stopped herself just in time.

Odyssey very nearly scowled, then remembered herself. She returned to her needlework. 'Very nice, Wren,' she said, peering over at Wren's needlework.

'Thank you,' Wren said politely.

There was a brief silence as the two sisters sewed in silence. Wren was grumbling inwardly as she poked herself for who-knows-the-what-thousandth-time.

'Hey,' she said suddenly, perking up. 'Have you heard of anyone called the Perilous, Odyssey?'

Odyssey frowned. 'The who?'

'Perilous,' Wren said again.

'No, I'm afraid not,' Odyssey said pertly. 'Why? According to grammar, perilous means -'

'I know what perilous means,' Wren said impatiently. 'Are you sure you're sure you never heard of him?'

Odyssey placed her needle down carefully. 'You look perturbed.'

'Peuterbed is the word,' Wren said.

'You aren't involved in anything dangerous, I hope,' Odyssey said, leaning back against her chair and closing her eyes. 'Is there anything you would like to speak of? Anything at all? Anything bothering you, Wren? You've been spending the past few days locked up in your room, and if you're not in your room, you're in the libraries, and I have absolutely no idea what you're so interested about in enormous thick books but -'

Odyssey stopped herself. Wren stared.

'What have you been reading?' Odyssey asked quietly.

'Nothing,' Wren answered too quickly.

'You can't have been reading nothing. Do you really expect me to believe that you just stare at a blank page in a book for hours?'

Wren said nothing.

'What do you need to know, Wren?' Odyssey pressed her. 'What do you want to know?'

'Where do Shadow Angels live?' Wren blurted out.

Odyssey raised her eyebrows and murmured, 'Oh.'

'"Oh?"' said Wren, standing up. 'That's all?'

'How do you know of Shadow Angels, Wren?'

'Read 'em in a book,' Wren said. 'Isn't that what you asked me?'

Odyssey picked up her needle and threaded it into her cloth again. 'Shadow Angels lurk around everywhere. That's why they're called Shadow Angels.'

'Define "everywhere".' retorted Wren.

Odyssey pursed her lips. 'Gates of hell,' she said finally. 'They live in the gates of hell.'

It took Wren a minute to process what she'd said. 'So they're in hell? Like, from the gates of hell?'

'They came from the gates of hell,' Odyssey corrected. 'They live wherever they want to, as I said. They come down here to Elryzian to disturb our lives and make war in the peace.'

'Make war? What does that mean?' Wren tried to stitch another line.

There was a small pause. Wren waited. Then Odyssey said:

'You know the story Queen Eana and King Tristan?'

Wren was taken-aback. 'Of course I do. They're our parents.'

'Yes, well, it is more well-mannered to address them by their titles once again, Wren,' Odyssey said. 'And I don't often think of them ... them ...' she shivered, but Wren didn't need her to finish the sentence; she knew already what Odyssey meant.

Dead. Odyssey didn't often think of them dead.

If they even were dead.

Because she didn't want to.

Wren couldn't blame her.

'Well, what about them?' Wren asked, trying to get back on topic. 'What do they have got to do with Shadow Angels making war?'

Odyssey sighed. 'Legend claims that the Shadow Angels were the ones that murdered the King and Queen of Argonian.'

'What? I heard differently!'

'Not everybody believes how they died, Wren!' Odyssey burst out. 'Not all books give the same theories. No one was there the day they died. I wasn't there. The Royal Advisor wasn't. They just - vanished.'

'How is that even possible -' began Wren.

'Well, don't ask me, because I very well don't know!' exploded Odyssey who was now red in the face. 'No one knows if they're alive, or if they're dead, or if they're just held captivated, being threatened or something -'

'So that's it? It's just some dumb mystery?' Wren shouted. 'Oh, the Mystery of the Missing Majesties goes unsolved? You're not doing anything?'

'There is nothing I can do!' flared Odyssey, forgetting all about manners and grace. 'What do you want me to do? Dish out a search party where they -'

'Search parties are useless as hell!' Wren yelled. 'Why don't you go and find for them instead?'

'Because it would be useless!' cried Odyssey. 'Where do I even start? Do you think I just wake up and heaven prompts me where Mother and Father is?'

'Heck, yeah I do,' breathed Wren heavily.

'Well, it doesn't work like that, Wren!' Odyssey said frustratedly.

'Maybe it does, you just don't know that!' Wren hurled. 'You do want to find them. You're just afraid.'

Odyssey glared at her. She glared back.

'If you're so persistent on finding them, Wren, why don't you do it yourself?' Odyssey whispered.

Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say.

'Yeah,' Wren said. 'Yeah, maybe I will. You can just sit on your throne, ordering people about and mourning but I,' she jabbed her chest, 'I'm going to take action.'

Odyssey lurched back to logic. 'You know you can't Wren,' she said automatically.

'Who are you to say what I can and can't do?' Wren yelled. 'I came here to find out about my parents!'

'I may be your sister, Wren - but I am also the Queen of Argonian!' Odyssey hissed.

'And I am a princess,' Wren said though gritted teeth, hating herself to admit it. 'I have freedom and rights to do whatever I want. I came here to find out about my parents, my family, not to find out that some bloody old witch is trying to KILL ME!'

'You are not to leave the kingdom!' yelled Odyssey. 'You're in danger, Wren. You know that. Everyone knows that. Nicaea Valdis is after you, and you'd be adding fuel to the flames if you leave the kingdom.'

Part of Wren wanted to scream at her about how Nicaea Valdis wasn't just after Wren, but after Argonian, about how much danger they were in, but that would mean much, much more trouble. She would probably be kept in and have her bodyguard escorting her around everywhere. Not escorting. Following.

'Think what you want to,' Wren said, slamming down her stitching-kit. She felt like hurling it to Odyssey's curly head. 'I'm done with this. You're just too much of a coward to admit to admit that you want to find them.'

'Of course I want them here! I want to find them, Wren. I want to see them. But you have to think things logically. There's no way anyone can find them. Do you think no one has tried searching for them before? Of course they have! You have to process logic Wren -'

'Logic fiddlesticks!' bellowed Wren. 'I don't give an ass for logic, and you should very well know that by now!'

'Wren! Control yourself!' Odyssey ordered.

Wren glared into nothingness.

'I order you to stay put, Princess Wren Carezby,' breathed Odyssey. 'You shall not leave this kingdom and involve yourself in anything ... dangerous. Do you understand?'

'No, I very well don't,' Wren snarled. 'Does it look like a give a shit about being a princess?'

She decided it was better to march off to her bedroom and leave Odyssey like this - plus, it was a good excuse to get away from doing some stupid cross-stitching.

She marched off to her room. Up, up, up she went - up the staircase. She was fuming so much she stomped up the stairs as loudly as possible, leaving Odyssey breathing heavily to herself.

Wren slammed her bedroom door when she got upstairs. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she thought angrily, wrenching her phone out of her pocket and slamming it down onto the table. A notification buzzed. Three notifications popped up on her home screen. They were from Ethan.

ETHAN 7:16 pm

wyd? i got a lot to catch up on history and im struggling fr *skull emoji*

ETHAN 7:16 pm

u there? ive got drimton prep middle school tea, wanna hear?

ETHAN 7:28 pm

hey text me back when ur free :)

Wren found herself rereading the messages again and again, without understanding. She reread it one last time, making sure to understand it properly. She huffed, swiped left on the messages, dialled her passcode 446787 and typed as fast as she could.

WREN 8:01 pm

u good? Maybe I can help...

WREN 8:01 pm

Maybe later, kinda busy on homework rn, will call when I'm free

She collapsed on her bed.

Life was causing her to lie ...

Or maybe, she'd brought this upon herself.