'So ... we go in?' Jake asked tentatively.

'Well I'm pretty sure that - AAAARRRGHHH!'

Wren felt as if all the air was sucked out of her body - her mind was in a chaos - her body and soul were drifting apart from each other ... she was dying, she was dying, she was dead ...

Light. Light. Light.

She slowly opened her eyes and a glimmer of bright light glared down at her. She closed them again.

She knew she was on the floor. Snow was on the ground. It was cold and icy. She had to get up, but she couldn't - she'd blacked out. Was she losing her memory, or was it winter or summer?

Summer.

But somehow, it seemed to be winter here, wherever she was in.

She managed to force her eyes open. She saw a shiny triangle in the air slowly closing before her eyes. It was a portal - visible inside it, but not outside it.

She put her hands on the ground for support and pushed herself up. She was standing on a round stage, if that was what it was called. Faint light was glowing, and she couldn't see clouds or the sun or anything. But it was still bright. Then Wren thought she heard a huge sigh.

'Jake?'

No response.

She dragged her feet across the ground. 'Ladislaya?'

Another huge sigh was heard. Wren looked behind the rocks expectantly. Then there was a flutter of wings and something seemed to trudge behind Wren.

She turned around without hesitating, and saw an enormous Western dragon.

She stood rooted to the spot.

'What in the name of the devil -'

It was about twenty to thirty feet long, with huge, blue wings and large, scraping claws that could tear fifty humans at a time, and large nostrils that breathed out fire, and a horn that popped up on its head, and large, scaly scales on its body, with a dark colour of blue hue. Its wings were great and powerful, big and mighty and stJakeg as it was, and it could lift up at entire house by the size of it. It was simply enormous, and its eyes were a fiery red. It had huge fangs when the dragon opened its mouth and growled, and its feet - well, they were big.

Its footprints was about the height of one Wren.

'Who are you?' it said.

Wren didn't seem the least surprised he was talking.

'Wren,' she said. 'Who are you?'

'Syrax,' the dragon said slowly, walking around Wren in a slow, small circle. 'What brings you here?'

'I didn't come in here,' Wren said fiercely, clenching her fists. 'I came here by accident. Help me to get out!'

'Ah, that would be a bad idea, considering you're already here.'

'Do as I tell you to,' Wren commanded.

'I don't particularly have a master,' the dragon said. 'Do you know where you are, Your Highness?'

Wren stared at him in amazement.

'How'd you -'

'Yes, yes, even among dragons, you are very famous,' said the dragon in his slow voice. 'Moment you said you were Wren Carezby, I knew what we were talking about. Real talk.'

Wren remained speechless.

'Do you know where you are?'

Wren wanted to say, 'No, I don't, and I don't care,' but she figured it would take up more of her time. So instead, she said, 'I'm in the Land of Dragons. Where good, good dragons live in happily ever after. The end.'

The dragon sneered. 'Not quite. I wouldn't be too sure about the happily ever after. You're in Cixienal Kingdom. Not only for dragons, but there's hardly any other creature here. What are you doing outside the portal anyway?'

Wren told him everything. The dragon listened with rapt attention. Wren was determined to give him as much information as possible, so she could ask him for her help, and the dragon would probably help her.

But the dragon looked grave.

The dragon looked as if it was the end of the world.

Wren didn't get it. She stuck out her chin stubbornly.

'You're quest is coming to an end,' Syrax said, starting to pace up and down so hard that his gigantic feet vibrated the entire location they were in. 'If The Great One knows you are you here, you're dead meat. You'll be torn into pieces.'

'The Great One?' said Wren, astounded. 'Who on earth is The Great One?'

'The Faerie Queen, as you humans call her,' Syrax said obligingly.

Wren exhaled. 'Why would she be here?'

'Oh, she can be anywhere. Isn't she hungry for your death and Argonian's crown?'

A frown started to spread over Wren's face. 'What the hell ... what d'you mean by Argonian's crown?'

Syrax sighed. 'So young and yet, so many burdens.'

'What?'

'I thought you'd be well aware that the Queen is after the crown?' he said swiftly. 'Her intentions her quite clear, Her Majesty.'

'Doesn't she have a kingdom already?' demanded Wren.

The dragon swooped up to her. 'Oh, but that's the thing. There are just some people who already have, but can't wait to have some more. And so they crave. They crave so hard until dark intentions fill their mind.'

Syrax swooped up his magnificent head once more. 'That's also one of the reasons she wants to kill you.'

The world revolved around Wren. She felt like an invisible dagger had swooped into her heart, but it didn't hurt ... it took out all her feelings and left pain ...

'I just want to find out what happened to my parents,' she whispered.

The dragon swooped down lower to her. 'Your parents,' he said softly, 'are dead.'

A lump formed in Wren's throat.

'They aren't,' she said thickly. 'No one knows if they are dead, alive, or held captive.'

'As much as I am sorry to say it,' said the dragon wistfully, 'it is the truth, Princess of Argonian. Different people believe different rumours...there was and has no mystery left behind of their deaths.'

'But there is,' Wren said stubbornly. She was certain of it ... what had the book said about Eana when she first read of her? Conspiracy theories have been held that blood magic might have been conjured the night the King and Queen disappeared...

Evidence that the King's best man, Hartley, has been the one who conducted the murder. Yet, no trace of blood was left behind ... just Hartley's fingerprints on a glass of wine standing on the Queen's bedside table...

The words flashed through Wren's brain as clear as day and night. She hesitated. 'D'you ... d'you happen to know what blood magic is?' she asked tentatively.

The dragon cleared his throat significantly. 'Good Lord.'

'What?'

'I - how do you -'

'Don't ask. Do you?'

'I - well, yes ... of course ... how could one not know -'

'Well what is it then?' demanded Wren. 'You claim there's no mystery left about the deaths of the King and Queen of Argonian. You claim that they died on their own account, and that -'

'My dear princess, it is not I who claim, the world knows that,' the dragon said swiftly.

'Oh yeah?' said Wren roughly. 'Well, what's this rumour about the King's best man, Hartley, leaving his fingerprints on a glass of wine standing on the Queen's bedside table then?'

'Hartley is known to be the one who murdered the King and Queen,' the dragon said skeptically.

'Hartley is believed to be the murderer, or kidnapper, or whatever,' corrected Wren. 'It isn't specific that King Tristan and Queen Eana are dead,' she added forcefully, because it was true.

The dragon narrowed his eyes. 'What do you know of the crime scene, young princess? For you were not there, you know nothing of it. All you need to know is that the Great Witch, Zena Valdis, wants to kill you, and there is nothing anyone can stop -'

'Why would Hartley want to kill the King and Queen, goddammit, even if they were murdered?' demanded Wren. She wasn't changing the topic that fast - oh no, she wasn't. 'Why would he want to charge murder for them both - he didn't have relation between the Carezbys, he couldn't have the throne -'

'Hartley murdered the King and Queen of Argonian on his own account!' exploded the dragon. 'The reason why he did so is unfolded, no one -'

'No one knows if the King and Queen were murdered, so that's not even proof he did it!' yelled Wren.

The dragon glared at her. 'Are you to say,' he said in his deep voice, 'that you, of all people, do not believe that Hartley murdered -?'

'Yes, I don't believe it!' yelled Wren.

The dragon stared at her in aghast.

'Who do you think murdered your parents then?' demanded the dragon.

Wren glared at him.

'Alright, fine. Who do you think kidnapped or held captive or took your parents away then?'

'Think big,' she told him, 'look past the details. Someone that wanted power, wanted to claim the throne, someone evil. Someone like the Faerie Queen. Someone exactly like the Faerie Queen.'

The dragon stared.

'You think -?'

'Well, it's a possibility, isn't it?' snapped Wren.

The dragon was now staring into her soul. 'One thing clear, princess. The Faerie Queen does not want your parents' blood, never did. She wants you. You are the target. She wants your blood on her hands, not your parents', nor your sister's, no one's but yours.'

'But - I'm not the queen,' said Wren, her legs going numb. 'I'm the heir to throne, Ody - Queen Odyssey -'

'Queen Odyssey is nothing but a mere queen,' the dragon said. 'Is she of any use to the Faerie Queen, the Great One, The She Who is Feared?'

'But - Odyssey's the queen -'

The dragon descended his huge head to level it with Wren's entire body. 'Don't you see, Princess Wren?' he said softly. 'The prophecy has nothing to do with a queen. It is the bond of the heir to the throne and the Dark Witch, nobody else.'

Wren's heart stopped.

'A - a prophecy?' she said weakly.

'The very one!' trilled the dragon. 'You are designated to the throne in a way your sister is not. You are bonded to the Dark Witch in a way your sister is not. And to eliminate you from the bloodline, Zena can break it and your destiny that supports your claim to the throne.'

'But - how?' spluttered Wren. 'She - it doesn't work that way - if I'm not the heir to the throne, it can't be Zena - it's got to be another relative from our heritage or -'

She stopped mid-sentence, hardly daring to believe it. Syrax seemed to sense what was going on in her head.

'Caught on fast, have you?' he whispered softly, unexpectedly. 'But what you're thinking is wrong.'

The word echoed in the back of Wren's mind. Wrong ... wrong ... what did it even mean?

'The Faerie Queen is not related to you,' the dragon said, in a tone most monotonous. 'At least, I don't think so, because that would be utterly ridiculous, don't you think?'

'Very,' said Wren, barely moving her lips.

The dragon didn't move his head.

'Wh-what did the prophecy say?' she asked numbly.

'Now you can't really expect me to recite it from heart,' he said with dignity. 'Surely you all of people know it?'

'I ought to,' said Wren.

The dragon sighed. Suddenly, his massive yellow eyes became transfixed to her. He began chanting, 'The bonds of the darkest one and the one known to defeat shall not be broken unless force takes over, the herald of the darkest one shall fade, exiled by the one born as the other perishes ... from ashes of antiquity, a phoenix of destiny shall soar if the right one succeeds, chrysanthemum petals whispering its rise ...'

The dragon's pupils rolled dangerously around its eyeballs before fixing itself in its right spot again. He grinned. Wren stared up into one of his massive eyes, speechless.

'What did it mean?' she asked slowly.

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

'Hey, can you wake up? Hey, wake up! Are you dead?'

Something jabbed Jake at the ribs. A boy's voice spoke above him.

'He's dead, Abigail. Can't wake him.'

'He's not dead!' yelled another boy's voice - a squeakier, more high-pitched one. 'He's breathing. He just fainted, that's all.'

'How come he's here?' wondered one of the boys.

'He's quite cute.' the girl's voice was heard above Jake.

'Ew, Abigail! Gross.'

'He probably got a stroke in his head. If he was dead, I figured I could take a picture of him, print out a stamp and sell the stamps and we'd get money.' the other boy was saying.

'Oh yeah!' agreed the other boy's.

'Or we could have sent him to the doctor's college,' the boy went on. 'They give us 'bout quite a lot of money. They'd want the dead body to experiment and stuff.'

'Tommy!' squealed Abigail. 'He's breathing!'

The boy called Tommy shrugged. 'Guess William was right.'

Jake slowly opened his eyes.

'Where - where am I?' he asked, dazed.

Tommy groaned.

'Man, you aren't dead.'

'I'm not dead,' said Jake, getting to his feet slowly. 'I'm too handsome to die, okay?' He faced Tommy, a mischevious-looking twelve-year-old with blonde hair. Then he saw Abigail, a girl with raven black hair and holding a stick in one hand and a crysanthemum flower in the other, and then William, whose eyebrows squished together as if he was worrying.

Tommy groaned again.

'Get me out of here,' Jake told them. 'And did any of you see three other kids around my age? One's a girl with red hair and two different-coloured eyes, the other girl has brown locks and tanned skin.'

The three of them didn't understand.

'Whatever,' Jake said. 'Just get me out of here.'

'Into where?'

'Outside the portal! I came here by accident. I didn't come here, come here, so lead me back to the portal.'

'The portal?' William asked, his eyes wide. 'Oh, the portal! You better get outta here before it closes. It will close within an hour. So you've got half an hour left. OPEN THE PORTAL!' he shouted in a foreign language Jake didn't understand.

'Wait,' he said seriously. 'Before I go, you guys are magicians?'

'Of course!' Abigail said. She looked at him suspiciously. 'Are you not a magician?'

'No, I am!' said Jake, relived. 'Is this Iridia or Argonian?'

The three kids looked at him like he was an alien that came from another plant.

'You OK?' said Tommy. 'Hopefully you don't have a coma or something, right after you appeared outta nowhere.'

'So this is Iridia?' Jake demanded. 'I have to know - answer me, please!'

'This is the kingdom of Oexia,' said William, waving his hands around like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 'How do you not know that?'

'Oexia - hey, what year is it?'

'You serious?' William grunted, grinning mischievously. Jake clicked his tongue impatiently.

'Come on, man. I really need to know. Just tell me.'

Abigail thought for a moment as she twirled her crysanthemum around her fingers. '1889.'

Jake was horror-struck. How long ago was that? It was about the nineteenths and sixties now. Jake knew he didn't have time to think. He found himself gaping at Abigail.

'Holey mother of cheese, I'm outdated,' he whispered.

'The portal!' yelled William. He snatched Abigail's stick and started waving it in the other direction. 'THE PORTAL!' he bellowed, shaking the stick so hard in the air he could have taken someone's eye out. 'It's over there!'

'I can't see anything!' hollered Jake, trying his best to peer to wherever William was pointing to.

'Right there! The triangle! I'll push you!'

'Are you blind?' Abigail asked him.

William started pushing Jake towards the portal. It suddenly came to view.

'No, I'm not blind!' yelled Jake, but it was an unfortunate thing to say, because Abigail told him, 'Okay, good. Because it would be a pity if you were cute but blind.'

'Can you shut up? I don't think he likes being called cute!' hollered Tommy.

'You're just jealous,' Abigail said, rolling her eyes. Meanwhile, Jake was struggling to break free from William's grip, but when they reached the portal, William practically threw him out.'

'Do NOT do human cruelty, Will!' shrieked Tommy's voice behind Jake. 'Do NOT abuse humans!'

'Shut up!'

Jake slid to soft, cold snow. He landed on snow. It had been scorching hot a second ago, but now, it was freezing cold. He felt like a Jakesicle. He shuddered and stood up.

'Hey! Where am I? Anybody home?'

He stood up and brushed snow off his knees, but just then, someone rammed into him. A tuft of blonde hair crashed into Jake's face, and a girl's voice was screaming.

'Holy crap -'

Jake tumbled on the ground and forced his eyes open, dazzled. Faintly, his sight returned, and he found himself looking at a familiar face - a pale one with a sharp chin, and the other tanned skin and stunning green eyes.

'AAAH!' he yelled.

'Oh, hello, Jake,' said Ladislaya's voice sarcastically. 'You have finally moved on and finally found me.'

'Well, I didn't really find you, we just crashed into one another,' Jake said, rubbing his eyes.

'It was some sort of illusion, I think,' Ladislaya said grimly.

Meanwhile, Wren heard a voice. It was like somebody shouting. It was dreadfully familiar. Wrenstaggered towards the call.

'HEY! Anybody here?' the voice was hollering. Then it struck Wren- Jake! The voice belonged to no other than Jake!

'JAKE!' she hollered. 'Are you there? Hello?'

She made her way through the snow and almost tripped over a rock in order to run over to Jake. Ladislaya swished around, her locks falling over her shoulders. Jake was yelling his head off.

'Carrots? Carrots! Is that you?'

'Jake!'

When she reached to where Jake was, she found snow on her jeans and on her shoes. She quickly brushed them off. 'How come you're here?' she cried. 'How come all of you are here? I didn't see you back there!'

'I wasn't here! I just came here!' protested Jake wildly. 'I was in a village of some sort and there were kids -'

Wren gasped. 'Ladislaya?'

'No, came in through another portal,' Ladislaya said.

'No! It was three kids. Abigail, William, Tommy. They thought I was dead, and then William threw me out of the portal and I landed here.'

'Classic!' Wren cried.

'I went to the kingdom of Oexia!' cried Jake. 'I went to a completely different kingdom! And it was 1889!'

'Why did the portal even send you there?' Ladislaya asked in disbelief.

'Plus, send you to the past?' cried Wren.

'No idea. Where'd you guys go?'

'Believe it or not, I went to the human world. The ordinary world.'

'Say what and the what now?' cried Wren.

'Exactly! I went to London, I think. I asked a passing guy and he was laughing hysterically when I asked him what London was.'

Wren groaned. 'Why did the portal send you to the otherworld?'

'I don't know! So I wanted to get to the portal but the thing is, I couldn't see it anywhere and you know, I can just ask normal, ordinary, non-wizards "Hey, I'm looking for a portal that'll bring me in to the magical kingdom." Can I?'

'Good point, no you can't,' Wren said.

'Where did you go?' Ladislaya prompted

'We need to focus on getting out of here -' Jake began.

'No. No. You won't believe it.'

'You won't believe my story,' Jake announced. 'Those kids actually thought I was dead and wanted to sell me to the nearest doctor's college.'

'Congratulations, Master of Being Daed,' Wren said. 'That's really, really a piece of genius work. But I have a better story to tell. I met a dragon, and he knows a prophecy about binding me to the Faerie Queen and he even said much bigger words I don't understand.'

Jake and Ladislaya all gawped at her.

'It's true,' she went on swiftly. 'Wanna see? C'mon.'

Jake held up a finger. 'First of all, where are we?'

Wren shrugged. 'No idea. Just a snowy place. And it's not even Christmas. I'm guessing if we try t -'

'First of all,' said Ladislaya, 'I think we should focus on getting out.'

'Out the portal? Yeah, good idea,' said Wren breathlessly. 'Where'd you think the exit is, then? Maybe -'

And then her stomach dropped, and she heard Jake's scream and her entire body was hurling, whirling away from reality and into non-existence...