I drowsily wake up. Suprisingly, there is no pain in my head. I sit up and look around the room, noticing a red haired elf talking to (or shouting to) Autumn. No... it couldn't be.

"...River!" Autumn exclaims.

My suspiciouns are correct. It is River. But what is he doing here? Is this where he came to when he disapeared so long ago?

"I-" Autumn begins to say, but cranes her head at me, noticing I'm awake.

River spins around.

He gulps and laughs uneasily. "Hi Rose."

"Don't you, 'Hi Rose,' me, River," I snap.

Autumn looks at us. "Do you two know each other?"

River clears his throat and squirms a little bit. "Um, yes."

Autumn gives me a look like, You're telling me everything later.

I nod slightly and look back at River.

"If The Council gave you so much power," I begin snarkily. "Why don't you use it to just blast us out of here?"

"It doesn't work that way, and you know it," he snaps.

"Oh, well are you sure?" I snap back. "Because you were so busy studying it that you forgot all of the people that you so called 'cared,' about. Why can't you do anything useful?" 

"I've been working on it, okay?" he says. "There's a portal to Villepaix, but I can't find it unless there's another elf around. I.e. you."

"Where?" I gasp. I haven't been to Villepaix in forever.

"That's why I need you," he replies. "To find it. The Council will help us." He looks to Autumn. "All of us."

"Well it's about time you finally thought I could help," I snap. "Now you won't push me aside."

"Please, not now Rose-"

"Why not?" I exclaim. I give a fake laugh. "When you finally want to use me for something, I thought you might want to explain yourself. But no, it still has to do with maintaining that powe-"

"You know that's not true!" River shouts. "This has nothing to do with that power! If we don't get out of here, they'll kill me, and you too! Why do you think they kept the bracelet on you when they threw you into a werewolf enclosure? Because they wanted you dead, that's why! And they want me dead, too. I've been trying to help people survive and keep a distance. I found Autumn and gave her tools and we ate roasted dove-"

"YOU ATE WHAT?" I bellow. "YOU KNOW THAT IT'S AGAINST THE PAIX TRADITION TO DO SUCH A THING! YOU KNOW THAT!"

"DO YOU THINK I HAD A CHOICE?!" River shouts back. "THERE'S NO PRETTY VEGETABLES THAT GROW LIKE BOTH OF OUR FIRST ENCLOSURE! I'VE BEEN TRYING TO SURVIVE. THEY. WANT. TO. KILL. US."

"Why?" I finally exclaim, the question I'm guessing that is now on everyone's mind.

He turns to Autumn. "They want to kill you because, well, you're a were-wolf, and you're bound to die. Even One-Eyed Maggie has a death sentence scheduled for tomorrow night. Nobody here dies of, 'old age.' Oh, and plus, your stronger then most other were-wolves, probably because of the way you became on, and they would absolutley love to use you for any full moon battles certain armies might have," he says, then turning back to me. "And for us, they want to kill us, cause, first of all, we're of the Juenecouncil, and two, because we are elves. Greater than them. More knowledgeable. More powerful. That's a threat. We're a threat. That's why we have to find the portal."

I shake my head and scoff. "Fine."

He nods and motions for us to follow him out the door. We walk out and follow him into the woods.

"Why here?" Autumn asks.

"I could sense the portal faintly, without Rose," he replies.

I ignore the last comment. "How did you know all of this? About my bracelet? About One-Eyed Maggie? About everything?" I ask.

"It's quite easy to hack into the camera system," he says. "They spend so much money on their experimenting department that they don't have enough money for a good camera system. It's a cheap, 'someone watch the screen and that's all,' kind of thing."

"That's not what you told me when I first got here," Autumn says. "You made it sound like it was really good, and that they could detect your every move."

"I did that to scare you," River replies, laughing nervously. "Sorry. But I wanted to make sure you and the others that I told that to would run and hide. That way, you guys would be safe."

Autumn scoffs. "It's fine. I get it."

We continue to walk in the forest. I trip over a branch, yelping slightly, and a nasty gash on my leg forms. I slump down on a fallen log.

I look at it, realizing that my leg is covered in blood.

River runs over to me. "Here, I'll-"

"No, I got it," I say.  

I put my hand over it and slowly move down the wound. Blue waves of light follow my hand until I'm healed. I stand up and continue walking.

Autumn looks suprised. "Okay, I know a lot of things about creatures, but not so much about your kind of elf," she says, laughing lightly.

"Yeah, well," River smirks. "We're full of suprises." He turns to me. "What rank are you in healing?"

"Pre-Expert," I say proudly.

"Oh, nice," he says. "I'm a Master Expert."

I look to the other side so he can't see my face and mock him.

Oh...I'm a Master Expert.

Suddenely my head screams with pain as if an iron bar came smashing down on it.

I stumble back, and I look over at River who's doubling over. Autumn seems to be the only one who's okay.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Autumn exclaims.

It's funny how she manages to be tough but she really cares. Are all were-wolves like that, or is that just Autumn?

But my thoughts are interupted by another spout of flames in my head. I throw up beside a rock and River gasps for air.

"Will somebody answer me?" Autumn exclaims.

"Hate...this part," River manages to get out. "We're... near... portal... lead us... Autumn... I'll tell you... directions..."

"Okay, um..." Autumn pauses. "I can't carry both of you...."

"I'll be fine," River says as he stands up, wobbling.

"Whoa," Autumn says, reaching out her hands. "Take it easy." 

"I'll be fine," River says, declining them.

This is great. Now we're really near the porta-

My thoughts are interupted again as I throw up beside a rock. 

"Her, not so much," River says.

My stomach writhes in pain and I double over. Autumn picks me up and starts to carry me towards the portal. It gets worse.

River walks up to me. "You never did training for this, did you?" he asks.

I shake my head weakily. "Never thought... I would have to use... portal," I reply.

"Well, they're trying to do something to fix this, so hang in there until they do," he says. 

"Yeah, that'll take forever," I mutter.

We stop a few times so I can throw up. When we finally arrive, I'm in so much pain that I can't even feel myself. Oh joy.

River looks around pressing a few boulders in a certain pattern.

"It has to be somewhere around here," he mutters.

Suddenely, a purple hole opens against a boulder, and he motions for us to step inside. When we do, a wave of freshness hits me so hard that I'm not in any pain or sick any more. Autumn puts me down, and I try to stand up, only to come crashing down again.

River comes to help me, but I wave him away.

"I'll be fine, I can do it," I scowl.

I try to stand up again, only to fall again.

River shakes his head at me pitifully. "No you can't."

"Oh be quiet," I spit.

Autumn, on the other hand, is looking at the castle and city up ahead, and looking at the landscape.

"Beautiful," she gasps. She looks down. "Hard to think I might destroy it tomorrow night."

I look at her sympathetically. "We'll get you help, don't worry," I say.

Autumn looks at me sadly. "It's already been tried."

"Well, then we'll have to try harder. There has got to be a way to reverse this," River says.

"Thanks guys. Really. But we shouldn't put our hopes so high if we already have the answer," Autumn replies.

"We'll see about that," I say.

Suddenely, we hear the sound of galloping horse hoolves. A few seconds later, we are surronded by a small party of soldiers on horses.

"Why are you here?" a solider asks.

"To seek refuge," River replies.

"Who are you?" the soldier asks.

"River Stagwood," he says, then pointing at me. "And Rose Riviere."

"Who's the third one?" the soldier asks.

River clears his throat. "Autumn. She's a were-wolf."

~~~~

After we get everything sorted out, get a welcome, stares, and a room, Autumn and I sit down on her bed while River is up in The Council, trying to explain everything to them.

"Okay, so I have a lot of questions," she begins.

"Go ahead," I reply.

She nods. "So first of all, what's with the whole sick thing when we were near the portal?"

"It's a side-affect of being able to go to Villepaix from anywhere," I reply. "They're trying to fix it."

"Okay," she says. "Second of all, what's the whole deal with you and River?" 

(Sorry if I wrote to much or if there was charrie control! I'm sorry! You can carry it on from here. Again, I'm sorry!) 

We walk quickly and silently to the ball. 

"Okay, so now can you tell me?" Autumn asks, breaking the silence. 

"Okay, um..." I say, trying to think of a way to tell her. "We were, er, um... I, we, um...."

"You were...?" Autumn tries to ask.

Ugh, how do I answer this? But I finally realize that we're here.

"Oh look, we arrived!" I exclaim. I wince. That came out a little loud.

I hurry up and shove open the door, and we walk in. River's sitting at the head of the table, and across the table is King Tafdon. We sit beside some elves in the middle. Autumn sits next to another elf with curly brown hair, whom I believe is Mhatt. He stares at her, and I laugh to myself. 

Autumn looks over at me. "What?" she whispers.

"Heheh, someone really likes you," I reply. 

She looks to her side at Mhatt.

"Oh," she blushes, looking back at me and brushing her hair behind her ear. "You think?"

"Yea-"

I'm interrupted by King Tafdon. 

"Let the banquet begin!" he exclaims.

Silver trays are brought in to the banquet room, and they are lifted up. So many vegetables. I look over at Autumn to see if she likes it. I mean, she's a wolf, so would she mind there not being any meat?

But she looks fine. She looks over at me, noticing I'm slightly suprised.

"You see," she whispers. "I made some friends that were animals, so I don't eat meat unless I absolutley have to. Like when I ate roasted dove."

I nod and then shudder. River ate it too.

After the feast, we head to the ballroom for the traditional Villepaix Dance.

"Okay, I haven't danced in forever, let alone danced the 'Villepaix Dance.' What am I supposed to do?" Autumn asks, a hint of anxiety in her voice.

"It's easy," I say, as I show her the steps.

"Oh, wow, that is. It's just is like a regular ballroom dance," she replies, breathing a sigh of relief. 

I laugh lightly, and so does she.

We continue to talk, when Mhatt comes up to us and taps Autumn on the shoulder.

"Um, hi, I'm dance, may I have this Mhatt?" he asks, flustered. "Er, um, I'm Mhatt, may I have this dance?"

I wink at Autumn, and she looks at me suprised, blushing.

She accepts, and right before she heads out, I whisper to her, "Don't mess up."

She lightly punches me on the arm, and I snicker.

I stare at Mhatt and Autumn dance, Autumn giving me a playful glare at times, when I feel a light tap on my shoulder. I spin around and see River. I scoff quietly and turn back around, continuing to watch Mhatt and Autumn.

"Yes?" I ask dismissively.

"How's it going?" he asks casually.

"Fine," I reply bluntly.

There's a period of silence.

"I'll tell you what happened if you'll dance with me."

I freeze. I haven't danced in a while, but I would love to finally know why he left us all behind in the dust just because The Council gave him a lot of power and stuff.

"Fine," I once again reply bluntly.

We go on the dance floor and start, well, dancing.

"So start explaining yourself," I say.

"Okay. Here's the thing," he says. "When we were playing when we were just 300 years old, they sent me to The Council, because they saw that I had a lot of potential. They saw that in you and Garna too. But they also saw that with that potential, if we couldn't control it, it would grow evil. Thus, don't take this in the wrong way, your sister Garna."

I nod.

"Anyway," he continues. "After the first war, your father was so upset by Garna joining Catastrophe, that he moved you guys to SailHaven. And then, of course, your father died, your mother moved you guys to Mer, your brother joined the army, your mother most likely died, and then your sister moved the both of you back to Villepaix."

"Correct," I say carefully. "How did you know?"

"Once you left, I never really kept my eye off of you," he replies, clearing his throat. "Or your family."

"Okay, that sounds mildly creepy," I say, snickering.

He laughs. "Yeah, sorry. I just wanted to make sure you guys were okay. Anyway, during that time when you were moving everywhere, I was going through training in the Academy. Then you came back with your sister right before you moved to East Kyngdom, and everything got a little better. But then one of the elves in The Council thought that I had too much power. It wasn't true. I was maintaining it. But I think that he thought I was getting more powerful than him. So he framed me for a crime I didn't even commit and got me in trouble, banishing me. But the king found out, banished him, ad told me when I was already in the enclosure through Wave Message."

"How did you survive for so long in the enclosure?" I ask. "Wouldn't a were-wolf have killed you already?"

"My powers, suprisingly," he replies. "I got it taken away, but I remembered my training and brought it back. The basic force field, and an angry were-wolf can't get past it."

I nod, and without realizing it, it's already midnight.

"Thank you," I say.

"Thank you," he replies. "You're not so mad at me anymore, are you?"

I shake my head. "No."

"Do you forgive me, then?" he asks.

"Yes," I reply. "I supoose it wasn't really your fault. I'm sorry, I was stubborn and didn't want to listen to what you had to say."

"Oh, that's completley fine. I forgive you," he says.

"Thank you," I say, blushing slightly.

"You're welcome. Thank you," he replies.

"You're welcome," I say, smiling. He smiles back. I think I'm melting.

I briskly walk off to Autumn.

"You okay?" she asks as we walk back to our room. "Your skin's, suprisingly, a little bit pink."

I shove her playfully. "Sorry, but elves don't tan that much. And says you!" I exclaim, laughing. "You've been blushing for 4 hours now!" 

"Oh, be quiet!" Autumn says, laughing. "Mhatt was nice, though."

"And...?" I ask, nudging her.

"Kind of cute," she says, twirling her hair slightly.

"And..?!" I say a little louder.

"Okay, maybe he has a crush on me!" she exclaims quietly.

"And you...?" I ask.

"Argh!" she exlcaims, blushing even more. 

We finally arrive at our room, and we get ready for bed. She glances at the sundial, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Good," she says. "The habitat's sun and moon were inacurate. Transformation's not for another 4 days."

I nod, and we both get into our beds.

"Oh my gosh, this feels amazing!" she exclaims.

"What, the bed?" I ask.

"Yes!" she says. "I haven't been in a good bed with a feather pillow and silky, feathery, fluffy blanket and matteress in a while!"

"Good!" I say, laughing lightly. "I haven't either, but when we lived here, this is what it felt like."

"Yeah," she says, sighing contentedly.

There's a period of silence.

"Rose, are you still awake?" she asks.

"Yeah," I reply.

"So now will you answer my question?" Autumn asks.

"It's too awkward to talk about," I say uncormfortably.

"I'll tell you if whether or not I like Mha-att," she says in a sing-songy voice.

"Fine, I'll tell you!" I exclaim playfully. "We were, erm, a 'thing,' and then he left and I never saw him again and then I saw him and we're trying to catch up now out of all times and we still might possibly 0.00000001% maybe I don't know like each other and yeah now it's your turn," I say, a deep inhale and exhale following.

Autumn looks like she just got slapped in the face. "Okay, then, I understood that, but I really thought you were going to pass out."

We both laugh.

"Anyway," Autumn continues. "I might 0.00000001% like Mhatt. There. Now let's go to sleep."

"Okay," I reply, smiling. "You guys are cute together."

"Sshh!" she replies.

We both laugh again.

"Good night, Autumn," I say.

"Good night, Rose," Autumn replies.

~~~~ 

I wake up and stretch. Autumn seems to have woken up around the same time too.

"Ahhhhh!" Autumn yawns. Once she finishes yawning, she looks at me. "I need coffee."

"Coffee?" I ask questioningly.

"Yes, coffee," she replies. She looks at my questioning face confused. "You've never heard of or had coffee?"

"Well," I reply. "If it's a brownish-blackish liquid with caffine you drink in the morning or when you need to be awake, then yes. We drink it every morning, but we call it eveille."

"Yes, that's exactly it!" she exclaims happily. "Take me to this 'eveille!'"

We get ready into dresses (Villepaix traditional dresses, long dresses with long sleeves that dangle, with metal and beautiful embroidery. Autumn preferes to wear pants, but if she does, they might kick us out. You only wear pants in battle), and we get our hair ready. I do Autumn's long hair in braids, and I pull back mine in a half-up, half-down to get my hair out of my face.

"Let's go," I say.

When we arrive, we take our seats. A few seconds later, more people arrive. Mhatt sits beside Autumn, and River sits beside me. Autumn and I talk until the food arrives.

The king has an announcement before we begin to eat.

"We have a Winter fesitval in a few days," he says. "And you are all invited. Elf or not," he says, looking at Autumn.

Autumn nods, and we begin to eat.

"Are you going?" I ask.

"As long as it's not Transformation night," she replies.

"Well, if Transformation is in three days, the fesitaval is in four... You should be fine," I reply.

Autumn breathes a sigh of relief. "Good."

I smile, and she smiles back.

Then we all eat breakfast.  

(Okay, thank you! Yeah, it's just, sometimes, I get on a roll, I guess. XD) 

I yawn from River telling us the castle's history, as if I didn't know it already, and as if Autumn really cared. I caught her sleep-walking a few times, and I shifted her back into place. After that long, boring tour, we walk to the ocean where there is a balcony and Taflik's Maze. Autumn goes to entertain herself in the maze (I don't blame her. If I wasn't an elf, I would probably be bored out of my skull. But being an elf, I find some things interesting that would be boring to others.), and River and I stay back, going over old memories.

"I remember when we divided into teams, and we had to work our way around the maze. I think that was when we were in the Jeunecouncil," he says.

"Yeah," I sigh contentedly. The Academy was fun.

I suddenely remember something. "Oh yeah!" I exclaim quietly. I turn to River. "Are you alomost Complete Master in all of your skills, or powers or whatever?"

"Ugh, yes," he replies disdainfully.

"What's wrong with that?" I ask, laughing lightly. "That's what you've been working on for a long time! Do you not like the permenant house dorms?"

"No, it's not that," he sighs.

"Then what is it?" I ask.

He mumbles something so low that I can't hear it.

"What?" I ask.

"I don't want my hair to turn white," he says a little louder.

"Oh yeaaah," I reply. "Your hair turns white whenever you go though the 'initiation of The Council.'"

"I like it short, but most of all, I like it red," he sighs.  

"Well then, at least they won't make you grow it out," I say, snickering.

"Yes, but they're still going to change a lot of what I used to do to something else," he sighs again.

"That's part of being in The Council," I say mockingly.

"Oh be quiet," he says playfully. "Pretty soon you'll be in The Council."

"Ugh, you're right," I reply. "I don't want my hair to turn white."

"It kind of already is now," he says, mockingly.

"It's blonde right now. I don't want it to turn white. Two different colors," I reply. 

"Hm, okay," he says unconvincingly.

"Whatever," I say as I smirk and push him gently.

"Hi guys," a voice says from behind us.

We both turn around, discovering that it's Autumn.

"Hey," I reply. "What's up?"

"Well, first of all, I think you all ought to be very proud of me," she says, with a goofy tint to her voice. 

We all laugh.

"I completed the maze!" she exclaims.

"Wow, by yourself?" River asks in suprise. I was about to ask the same thing.

"Um, yeah. Isn't it supposed to be completed alone?" Autumn asks, scoffing slightly.

"It's pretty hard to do it by yourself," I reply. "That's why we usually do it in teams. But you probably have really good skills if you can complete it by yourself."

"Aw, thank you," Autumn says, blushing.

"You're welcome," I reply, laughing slightly. 

"Anyway, who's hungry?" River exclaims.

"To be honest, I am, but, take no offense to this, I'm tired of greens," Autumn replies.

"We can go berry-picking," I say. "It's the time of the year when lots of berries and other fruits are ready to be picked. They're all really good."

"Ech, I don't like any of the berries or fruits growing around this time in the season," River replies. "I'll pass."

"Okay, so Rose and I can go pick berries, and you can go eat vegetables," Autumn says. 

"Fine," River replies, as he heads off back towards the castle. "Catch you guys later!" he exclaims as he waves. 

We wave back, and then I lead Autumn towards the fruit trees and berry bushes.

Autumn trips over a tree root, and I see that she's wearing pants underneath her dress.

"Did you sneak on some pants?" I ask quietly.

"Yes," she says, looking slightly suprised. "But I could do the maze better, and I can move better, and it feels more comfortable and stuff."

"That's fine," I reply. "I did that once too, but I got caught when somebody tripped me. I got into big trouble, and I had to go home early. It was when I was in the Juenecouncil."

"What's the 'Juenecouncil?'" she asks.

"Oh, well, it's basically the pre-Council for younger elves," I reply. "Right now, River and I are out of it. You can say we, 'graduated,' I guess. But anyway, we're now in the Council Academy, the academy you go to to master all of your skills or powers or whatever to finally become part of The Council. Then your hair turns white, you get moved to a permenant house dorm thing, and a lot of other stuff changes."

"Oh. That's interesting," Autumn says.

"Yeah," I reply, nodding my head. "It's a long process, but I guess some elves think it's worth it."

"Do you?" Autumn asks.

"I guess," I reply.

"One more question, for now," Autumn says. "How old are you?"

I smile and laugh quietly. "514." 

Actually, the ages vary on the type of elf you are. I am a Villepaix elf, so I am somewhere in between 13-14 in human years. The reason I am so "old," is because Villepaix elves age slower than other elves. It's not a matter of elf years converting to human years, exactly. Just the matter of how fast or slow you age.

"Well," I explain. "I'm about 13-14 years old, compared to you. And I saw the creation of SailHaven, the founding of Mer, the beginning of Aslahari, and discovery of a few animals and humans. I also saw the first war between people and people and animals and animals in West Gollaway, Kyngdom. I also saw the founding of B.I.G., and I was alive during the wars against the First Enemy. Other stuff too, but this is a few."

"That's amazing!" Autumn exclaims. "But who's the First Enemy?" 

"You haven't heard of the First Enemy?" I ask, suprised.

Autumn shakes her head.

"Well, that was a little bit ago," I say.

"A little bit?!" Autumn exclaims. "That's like, half a thousand years!"

I laugh. "I guess. Anyway, the First Enemy was dread by all of Kyngdom. This was before Catastrophe. In fact, he was worse than Catastrophe. No one really knows about him. It's never talked about, because too many were on his side. He tricked them. No one ever really fought him. They never thought he was a big deal. But he was. He enslaved many and made many else part of his army, and his followers. We fought several wars, but the last war was the bloodiest. All enemies in the past before finally sided against him, animals, humans, elves and all creatures alike. Many died, but he was finally banished, but before he was, he was turned into a dragon."

"Oh. Yeah, I haven't heard of him before," Autumn replies as she eats a fruit. She looks up at the sun, and then looks back at me. "I think we should start heading back." 

"You're right," I say, finishing off an apple. 

Just then, River runs up to us, panting.

"Rose! You need to come back!" he exclaims.

"Why, what happened?" I ask.

"All Council members and Pre-Council members are asked to come to the court," River replies, panting.

"Why?" I ask.

"Tallenfine's on trial," he says.

"Tallefine?!" I exclaim. "For what?!"

He pauses. "For murdering the king." 

I shoot up and slam my fist down on the table. 

"What are you talking about?!" I exclaim. "Why would you accuse Autumn?"

"Because," Zefara says. "She is an outsider."

"She was with us all day!" River says. "You can't accuse her!"

"They're right," a voice says from behind us.

There stands Tallefine with a group of people with bows and arrows behind him.

"It was us."

The elves stand up, but Tallenfine waves them down, and his followers point their weapons at us. 

"Please," Tallefine says with a horrid quietness. "Sit down."

The rest of us look at Zefara, and she hesitates before nodding.

Tallefine looks at Autumn. "Well, everyone exept you."

Tallefine then looks at all of us. "Consider this an overthrowing. Anyone related to the past king," he says, shifting his icy stare to Zefara. "Will die."

"You won't kill me," Zefara says in a voice so calm that it wouldn't even seem like this was happening.

Tallefine laughs lightly. "Yes, well, we'll see. Depends on if we find the heir."

"There is no heir," Zefara replies.

Tallefine smirks. "You and I both know that that's a lie, dear. You were afraid something like this would happen, so you've kept the prince or princess hidden this long. And we're determined to find whoever it is and kill them."

I glance at River, but he's looking at Tallefine.

Rose, I hear a voice in my head say. 

I glance over at Zefara, and her violet eyes stare straight at me.

Yes? I ask.

You are the only other one who knows, Zefara says. Don't let anyone else know except for your wolf friend. I trust her. But if you die and River die, one more person has to know.

I'll tell her when it is safe, I reply. And we will ensure with all we can that no harm comes to River. 

Thank you, Rose, Zefara says. I fear I will die soon, leaving River to take back the throne himself.

You're welcome, I respond. And he won't be by himself. He'll have his friends.

Take all of my power, she says. I don't need it anymore.

I feel a rush through my body, and I gasp slightly.

The powers will come when ready, she says. But it's there for now.

Thank you, for trusting me with this.

You are true, Rose, Zefara responds. 

Zefara nods, and we both turn back to face Tallefine. He looks at me and then starts questioning each of the members.

He finally ends up next to Zefara.

"Tell me where the heir is, and I'll spare you," he says.

She stares straight ahead.

"Okay," he mutters. "I tried."

He nods at one of the guards, and they shoot an arrow at the queen.

She falls, and River stiffens as others cry out.

Tallefine's followers drag the queen's body off the throne, and Tallefine sits in the king's place.

"Now go on, loyal Councilmembers. Spread the word of the new king, and report back to me of any findings of the heir. If you don't...." Tallefine says, waving at the guards. 

The guards bring a teenager in, the son of Councilmember Sortin.

"No!" Sortin screams.

Tallefine takes his aim and shoots Sortin's son, his son falling to the ground.

We all disperse, and I take River and Autumn to our room and slam the door, locking it.

We all stand there in shock.  

"Rose, what just happened?" Autumn asks quietly.

"They-they murdered the queen and Councilmember Sortin's son. And-and now there's a new king, and...and..." I stutter.

River just stands there, wide-eyed.

"They killed her," he finally says.

"River, what's wrong?" Autumn asks.

"Look, Autumn, there's something that I need to tell y-"

But we're interupted by a loud knock on the door.

In come Tallefine and the guards.

"Hello, Councilmembers," he says. He clears his throat and looks at Autumn. "And werewolf."

"How did you know...?" Autumn asks, hesitating in mid-sentence.

Tallefine laughs. "We are elves, dear."

The rest of the guards laugh, but Autumn glares at Tallefine.

He sighs and stops laughing, turning to me.

"What did she tell you?" Tallefine asks in a new tone, a tone so harsh but quiet that it sends chills down your spine.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I respond.

"Zefara, of course," he responds. "What did she tell you?"

Autumn looks at me questioningly, and River tries pretend to be suprised.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I repeat.

"Well, maybe we can help you to remember," he responds. "Take her away."

"No!" River and Autumn scream.

I fight the guards that stream towards me, but they put me in Iron Locks.

Autumn and River run down the hallway, following me, but they're held back.

"Leave her be!" River yells. "What are you doing?"

A guard hits River on the back of the head with his weapon, and River collapses to the floor. 

Autumn somehow breaks free, and she fights every guard that runs toward her. But she's finally held back by about 20 guards.

I still struggle, and at one point, I break free by biting one of the guards. But then Tallefine does a sleeping spell on me, and I float in the air before finally blacking out.  

~~~~

I wake up in a soft bed that is so soft that it nearly mocks me.

"About time the little princess got up," I hear a hard voice say.

I look up and see a teenage elf, maybe about 516, standing there with her arms crossed. 

I sit up, finding I'm unbound.  

"Don't even think about it," the girl says. "You're not getting out."

I look around the room, discovering that it is made out of glass. In the next room is two chairs and a table.

"This is not of the elves," I say. "Where am I?"

"Oh, you're in Villepaix all right," she replies. "Just in a hidden place deep within the castle."

Just then, Tallefine walks into the room, accompanied by 2 guards. 

"Thank you, Yylza, for keeping our little flower company," he snarls with an evil smile.

Yylza nods and walks me out of the room, strapping me to a chair.

"Really? Ogre-made straps?" I snarkily ask. "I thought that even you could do better, Tallefine."

"That's King Tallefine, and they're Western pixie made straps. Even more powerful," he responds.

"You'll never be true king," I spit.

He clears his throat.

"Okay. Let's begin." 

I shudder as the magic goes through me. Pain won't work, elve were trained to remain calm. But yet Tallefine tells Yylza to keep on using stronger magic. I feel a sharp pain and suck in air through my teeth quickly, but it only makes it funnier. In fact, I laugh. 

"What's wrong with you?" Yylza asks.

I laugh and shake my head. "Ah, you just don't know that elves are trained to withstand this. And you call yourself an elf."

"Alright, I've had enough of this!" Tallefine exclaims. "Move!"

He shoves Yylza aside and puts his hand close to my head. A manipulation spell.

"Now tell me everything," he growls. 

I fight back my tongue. He has strong magic. But I can't tell him. That could risk River, Autumn, and everyone's life.

I force out a slight laugh. "As if I would tell you."

He increases the spell, and I start to have a splitting headache, which eventually melts into a migrane. I think of a spell to even out the pain throughout my body so my head doesn't explode. Even though everything hurts now, the pain doesn't feel as bad.

Tallefine uses even more magic, and now I feel like I got struck by lightning. But I hold back my tongue. I can't break.

Finally Tallefine releases his hand, and I collapse slightly in my chair.

"Looks like we're going to have to do this the other way," he says.

Yylza unstraps me and escorts me to another room, following Tallefine.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I tried to do it the elven way," he sighs. "But you won't say anything. So we'll have to do it the way Catastrophe taug- er, it would be a catastrophe, but I was taught only to use it when I need to get information out of someone."

I'm taken to a cell with many guards guarding the doors. The rooms are such a glossy white that I can slightly see my reflection. In the room is a bed, with needles and bottles next to it.

"Och," I groan. "C'mon, human technology? In Villepaix?"

Tallefine shrugs. "You could have taken the easy route."

"I won't say a single thing no matter what route I take!" I spit.

The bed is made so one would be sitting up, but also be laying down. Yylza puts me on the bed, strapping my hands down.

"We'll undo your bonds when it's done," she says. "Because you'll be too weak to do anything."

"That's a reasurance," I mutter.

"What was that?" Yylza asks, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Nothing," I say with a fake smile.

Yylza rolls her eyes and finishes doing my bonds.

I look to my side to find liquids in different vials with different colors. A scientist comes in, who's a human, and sticks a needle up my arm that has a long tube attached to a bag with liquid in it.

"What's this?" I ask, looking at the needle.

"An I.V.," the scientist responds.

"The liquid?" I ask.

The scientist clears his throat. "Pain reliever."

I hesitate before nodding again.

"You will be injected with a poison that flows through the veins and goes to the heart. However, your body can fight it, but only for a short amount of time. Maybe a few hours. It will make you extremeley weak, it will be painful, and all that. But we have the antidote," Tallefine says, fingering a vial with yellow liquid in it. "If you just tell us who the heir is."

"Never," I scowl.

Tallefine shrugs. "Your choice."

The scientist turns the I.V. off, and injects me with a shot. The poison.

I can feel it course through my veins, and it starts to hurt, worse than the pain before we reached the portal to Villepaix. In fact, ten times worse.

Tallefine, the scientist, and Yylza leave the room, but I know they can see me on the other side even if I can't see them.

The poison bolts through my body, and I feel a tear slide down my cheek.

Then what feels like a thousands arrows strike my chest, and I cry out in pain.