[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
The Guardian Crusade

Volume I



Chapter 14



The morning sun peeked over the horizon and it lit the sky in a light purple blanket. The large opening in the cliff wall swallowed them and Aj sighed as they finally reached the safety of home. Nick and Nalia were still out, but the Priest said they would both recover. Although they weren’t sure how long it would take for Nalia to wake. Rayne had fallen asleep while sitting in the chair so he put her to bed in the bunk and then came out here.



He was really worried about Nick. Avit suggested that they restrain Nick until they can make sure he’s Evil free. Brian threw a hissy fit and went below and hasn’t been seen since. But truth be told he thought Avit was right, they didn’t know if Nick was, and he couldn’t risk Nick waking up and reeking havoc amongst Winnol. He rubbed his eyes as the thought of telling Brian that entered his head and he moaned.



When they approached the docks the crew started shouting down to the men below. Aj walked over to the side of the ship as the sails closed and the boat began to slow. With the sails down the ship stopped pretty quickly, and rocked and jerked as it pulled up to the dock, hitting against it a couple of times.



As he made his way over to the Chamber doors he saw Avit come down the stairs from the Quarterdeck. “I am off to find out word on Sarila and Rossi.” Avit told him.



“Alright.” Aj nodded and Avit rushed off the boat. He opened the door and walked into the room. Rayne was still sleeping curled up with the blankets wrapped tightly around her.



Sliding his hand over her hip he gently shook her. “Rayne” He whispered. Her eyes opened quickly and she looked around for a second a little confused on where she was. “We’re back in Winnol.” Aj said as she slowly sat up.



“How long have I been sleeping?” She asked.



“An hour or so.” Aj said



“Any word on Mother?” She asked him.



“She’s still resting; they’re moving her to the room beside yours.” Aj said with a light smile. “So let’s head to the Castle and get some sleep ourselves.”



“Ok.” Rayne said as she lightly nodded. He wrapped his arm around hers and led her to the door. They walked out to the deck and down the plank on to the dock. As they walked across the wooden pathway Avit approached them.



“I have sent my guards to turn on the globe.” Avit told him. “We will wait a few minutes and then go in with a search party, if things look to risky we will pull out right away.” Avit told them.



“Ok.” Aj said nodding. “We’ll walk with you there.”



The three of them walked out of the harbor and up the staircase to the second floor hallway. The doors to the globe room were open and there were about twenty Elvaan soldiers standing around.



“What is going on?” Avit asked one of his guards as they walked up to the men.



“Aye stand back Elvaans!” They heard a Dwarf shout and they looked at each other as the men parted away from the doors. When the last guard stepped back the three looked back and saw Rossi standing in front of them. He walked up to Rayne and bowed in front of her.



“Drisel is now in your control Princess.” Rossi said as he looked up at her. Aj watched as she looked at the globe, her eyes were filling with tears.



“Is it secure?” Avit asked.



“The Palace be, the city soon enough, most of the resistance was in thee Palace. We have all of the Mages’ men rounded up in the east part of the city.”



Aj looked back to Rayne when he felt her let go of him, he watched as she walked towards the globe. Aj looked at Avit and nodded for him to follow as he started walking behind Rayne. He stood beside her as she placed her hand on the glowing sphere. Avit and Aj joined her and as the smoked rose they disappeared.



When the smoked cleared they looked around and saw a couple of Dwarfs sitting in the room. When they saw Rayne and Aj they stood up immediately. Even Avit out ranked these guys.



“Princess” The men said with a bow.



She lightly smiled at them and then headed towards the doors. Aj looked at Avit quickly and then followed her. He watched as she opened the doors and walked out to the hallway. Following her out he looked around. He saw no enemy’s just Dwarfs.



“We’ve searched thee Palace.” A Dwarf said behind them. They turned around and looked at him. “Aye we be respectful Milady.” He said with a light bow.



“Thank you.” Rayne said quietly. Aj watched as she took a couple of steps forward and then she turned around. “Did you find Rem?” she asked.



“No Milady.” The Dwarf said shaking his head. “But he still could be in the east side of the city.”



“Avit” Aj said as Rayne talked to Rossi and one of his commanders about the condition of the Palace.



“Yes Sir?” Avit said turning to him.



“Have our soldiers give a hand to the men in the east section, tomorrow we’ll set out some ships and help transport the prisoners to Winnol.” Aj said.



“Good idea Sir, it will help ease the over crowding here.” Avit said with a nod. He walked over to his men who were getting filled in by some Dwarven soldiers. Aj turned around and saw Rayne walking over to him.



“There is nothing more I can do right now.” Rayne said to him. “I want to return to Winnol, check on Mother.”



“My men that are here now will help Rossi’s men in the east section.” Aj told her as they headed towards the globe room. “Tomorrow we’ll transport some to Winnol.”



“I am worried that because we have not found Dyn or Rem yet this is not over, and I have no Army to protect this place.” Rayne said as he opened the door for her.



“Don’t worry, everyone is helping out, and from what I’ve seen just in the Palace, Dyn doesn’t even have the army anymore to try and take it back.” Aj told her as he took her hand. She lightly smiled at him as they walked up to the globe.



Within a minute they were back in Winnol and walking out of the globe room. Together they walked down the hallway and as they walked passed the guys room the door opened and Kevin walked out.



“There you two are, where did you go?” He asked as the others walked up behind him.



“To see Drisel, check on the Palace.” Aj said.



“You got it back?” Howie asked looking at Rayne.



“Yes.” She said and Aj caught the small smile on her face.



“Nice.” Kevin nodded. “We’re going to go check on Nick want to come?”



“Yeah sure, I’m just going with Rayne to check on her mom first.” Aj said.



“Ok.” Kevin said as the guys walked passed him. As Brian walked passed, he didn’t say anything and neither did Brian. Kevin lightly smiled and then followed his band members down the hall.



“You can go with them, I will be alright.” Rayne said as they walked towards her Mothers room.



“It’s ok.” Aj said too her. “It’s not like the rooms are miles away.”



“It is hard for me to like him but it is also hard for me to hate him.” Rayne said.



“Who, Brian?” Aj said as he stopped in the hallway.



“He does not show me any respect and I understand you are from somewhere else, but your other friends know how to speak to a Princess.” She said to him and a small smile cracked across his face. “He is also responsible for saving my life so throwing him in jail for a couple of hours is rather, rude.” She said as Aj wrapped his arm around her waist.



“Yeah. Rok has that affect on ya.” He said with a light laugh. “Don’t worry about it ok. He’ll get over it, he complains, he moans, and then he moves on.” He smiled at her and she smiled back. He then gently pulled on her waist and they walked up to the bedroom doors.



When Aj opened them he saw a Priest and a couple of bed maids in the room, busy rushing around the room, making sure Queen Halian was taken care of. They heard the doors open and they looked up, when they saw Rayne they stopped what they were doing and bow or curtsied to her.



Aj looked at her when he saw the Priest walking towards them, but her eyes were glued onto her Mom. “How is she?” Aj asked the Priest.



“She is resting, getting back her strength.” The Priest said with a light smile.



“Has she woken up at all?” He asked.



“Not since we left the ship.” The Priest said.



“She was awake?” Rayne asked. “Why did you not come get me?” The Priest looked at her shocked.



“It was only for a moment Milady.” He said to her.



Rayne didn’t say anything as she looked away and walked over to her Mothers bed. Aj gave the Priest a small smile and then followed her. He walked up to her as she sat down on the side of the bed and took her Mom’s hand. Grabbing the chair that was in the corner by the bed, he pulled it over and sat down.



“You ok?” He asked.



“Yes” Rayne said “I am just trying to understand everything that has happened.”



“With your Mom?” He asked.



“With Mother and Drisel being returned to us.” She said with a sigh. “And then there is the fact we do not know if Dyn is alive, and we’re not sure about Nick, or when Nalia will wake up.” Aj frowned as he got up and sat behind her on the bed. He lightly wrapped his arms around her waist and let her lean back against him. They didn’t say anything; he just sat there holding her, glad to at least have each other right now. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep and he felt himself getting tired as well, so he carefully picked her up and carried her over to the couch. He laid her down, resting her head on the pillow. Grabbing the extra blanket from the back of the couch, he laid it over her and knelt down beside her.



Watching her sleep he thought about Brian, the guys, he thought about his mom, he thought about his old girlfriends and his old friends. He knew he would miss them but as he thought about the future here, with her, he smiled. Slowly leaning over he kissed her gently on the lips making sure he didn’t wake her. Standing up he grabbed the pillow that sat down by her feet and walked over to the chair beside the couch. Sitting down he tucked the pillow under the side of his neck and laid back. Resting his feet in front of him he yawned as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.





“Jig.” He heard someone whisper and it pulled him from his dream. “Jiggity.” Someone softly sang to him as he slowly opened his eyes. “Morning” Nick said smiling as he stood over top of Aj. Quickly Aj stood up and looked at him. “Shh dude, don’t wanna wake them.” Nick said as he pointed to Rayne and her Mom.



“What are you doing here?” Aj whispered as him and Nick quietly walked out of the room. “Are you feeling ok?”



“Yeah, I’m good.” Nick nodded as Aj closed the door gently. “Kind of feels like I slept for a week.” He smiled. “Came to see if you wanted to go for a walk.”



“Sure” Aj shrugged as the two started to head down the hallway.



“So did we win?” Nick asked.



“I think so.” Aj said as they skipped down the steps to the front hallway.



“Think so?” Nick asked confused.



“Well, we got Drisel back, and a good chunk of the Evil’s army has been broken up, but we don’t know where Dyn is.” Aj said as he looked to Nick.



“Yeah Dyn.” Nick nodded. “What a douche.”



“What?” Aj said with a little laugh.



“Come on he was.” Nick said rolling his eyes as they walked out into the city. “He was so jealous of you.”



“Yeah” Aj nodded in agreement.



“Did I at lease kick his ass?” Nick asked.



“Yeah, you could say that.” Aj said as Nick stopped in the middle of the street.



“Cool” Nick nodded. “I wonder what he would have thought about you, if he knew everything that had happened three years ago.”



“What?” Aj said confused.



“Well cause he was jealous of you because Marsa built you up to be this great person.” Nick said turning to him. “But really you were a drunk.” Aj’s face dropped and he clenched his fist as the realization that this wasn’t Nick he was talking to hit him. Then Nick started laughing and it made Aj angrier. “Oh.” Nick said as he stopped his laughter and looked at Aj with a stern look. “I wonder what Rayne would say?”



Aj ran at him but Nick put out his arm and sent out a shadow bolt that dropped Aj to his knees. He grunted in pain as he grabbed his chest. The pain and burning made it hard to breath. Nick’s shadow coming towards him made him look up. His friend stood over top of him with a devilish smile.



“Every memory that is in this head I now know.” Nick said looking at Aj, but Aj knew it wasn’t Nick talking. “Tsk Tsk Tsk Alexander, the things you have done and they call me the Evil. You’ve been bad” Nick said shaking his head with a little giggle. Aj put his leg up to get up, but Nick frowned at him and that was all Aj saw as Nick kicked him in the face.



Aj fell to the dirt road as some guards, who had heard him shout out in pain, came running at Nick. Nick looked behind him as more guards started towards him. He looked down at Aj and lightly smiled, then disappeared into thin air as the guards reached Aj.



“King Alexander, are you alright?” The men said as they carefully picked him up.



“Tell everyone to keep an eye out for Prince Nickolas, he is not allowed in the city.” Aj said as he pulled his hand away from his face and saw the blood on his fingers.



“Sir?” The men said confused.



“You heard me.” Aj said looking at them. “Now go tell the others.”



“Shouldn’t you go to the Springs Sir?” A soldier asked him.



“I’m fine.” Aj said turning around and heading back to the Castle. As he got closer to the giant tree his pace picked up and by the time the guards saw him coming, he was at full stride running into the Castle.



“Aj?” Howie said as he saw Aj book it up the stairs.



“Dude, Nick is missing!” Brian shouted up to him.



“I know!” Aj shouted back as he ran down the hall to the room where Rayne and her Mother were. He opened the doors and flew into the room. Looking to the couch he didn’t see her there, but when he heard her call out to him, he looked to where the bed was.



“Alex?” She said confused.



“You’re here.” He said relieved as he walked over to her.



“What happened to you, why are you bleeding?” She asked worried as gently touched his face.



“Dude, what’s going on?” Kevin asked as the guys walked into the room.



“Nick came in here and woke me up, said he wanted to go for a walk.” Aj said as he tried to catch his breath. “We were outside when he started talking about.” He stopped and looked at Rayne. “He started talking shit and I knew it wasn’t Nick.” Aj said as he looked back to the guys.



“You mean?” Kevin asked.



“Yeah.” Aj nodded. “We started fighting and he kicked me in the face, and then took off.”



“This is just great.” Brian said throwing his arms up. “See I told you this place was trouble, we should have left when we got here.”



“Brian.” Kevin said annoyed.



“Everyone out.” Aj said as he wiped his nose again. They looked at him confused. “Rayne’s Mother is still resting; I’m not fighting with Brian here.” He said as he walked out of the room.



“What if we took him home?” Brian asked.



“What?” Kevin said confused.



“What if we took him home, would that kill this thing?” Brian asked.



“He doesn’t want to go home.” Aj said as he looked at Brian.



“Well I don’t think he wants this either.” Brian snapped. Aj growled at Brian as he brought his hands up in frustration.



“Rayne?” Howie said as they saw her run out of the room and down the hall. Aj dropped his hands and looked over. He stopped his anger at Brian and ran down the hall after her. She opened of the door to Nalia’s room. He stopped when he saw her pull back on the door.



“Leave her alone!” Rayne shouted as she ran inside. Aj started running again when he heard Rayne scream. He ran into the room and saw Rayne on the floor crying with no one else in the room.



“Rayne” Aj said as he jogged over to her and knelt down in front of her.



“He took her.” She said looking up at him. “He took her.” She said again as she started crying. Aj wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. He looked up when he heard the guys run in. They stopped and looked around the room, when they saw Nalia wasn’t there they put two and two together.



“We’ll get her back.” Aj said as he looked away from them.











Nick walked down the halls of the Hevi Palace, in the Captial city of Kalica. He was very disappointed he had lost Drisel but he still had a strong hold on this land. Looking down at Nalia he frowned when he saw the bandage on her head. If only she hadn’t jumped in the way but he might not have been able to get a hold of the Warlock had she not saved him. He entered his chambers and walked over to the bed laying her down. He then walked over to his window and opened it. Nick looked out over the city as he thought about what to do next.



First he needed to wake her up. He may be a Warlock, he may look like this Nick but he was still Ignis on the inside. Turning around he looked at Nalia as she slept on the bed, not taking his eyes off her, he walked over and sat down beside her. Gliding his hand over her forehead, over the bandage on her head, he said nothing and waited. A couple of seconds later Nalia began to moan as her head turned.



“Nali?” Nick said as he brushed her cheek.



“Nick?” She mumbled as she started to wake up.



“Yeah it’s me.” He said as she opened her eyes. She looked around and quickly sat up. “Careful.” He said as he took her by the arms.



“We, we are in Hevi?” Nalia said confused.



“Yeah we are.” Nick said laughing. “Told you I would get you home.” He said with a light smile.



“How?” Nalia asked.



“It was intense.” Nick said with a sigh as he stood up off the bed. “After you knocked me down, I went over to help Aj and while I was doing that Dyn went after you. We started fighting on the ship and I drained him.”



“You did what?” Nalia asked as she sat up.



“I drained him, took every last breath from his body, and took the last beat from his heart.” Nick said with a small smile.



“Then it is over.” She said as a small smile came over her.



“Over, no just getting started.” Nick said smiling.



“What do you mean?” She asked confused.



“Well I’ve kind of had a change of heart.” Nick said as she got up from the bed. “I’ve realized I really care about this place, and having someone like Alex in charge is just wrong.” Nick said as Nalia looked at him stunned.



“Nick?” Nalia said looking at him with confusion.



“Nali, you don’t know what he’s done. The people he’s hurt, and he does it all the time.” Nick said raising his hands in the air a little. “He’s going to hurt Rayne and you don’t want that do you.”



“No,” Nalia said but she wasn’t saying no to Nick’s question, she realized it wasn’t exactly Nick.



“He’s no good Nali, he can’t handle pressure, if he snaps and goes back to the way he use to be, Pixcadia will suffer.” He said as he walked away from her. Slowly not taking her eyes off him she reached down and pulled a dagger from her ankle boot. Carefully she stood back up and looked at Nick as her heart began to shatter. “You should talk to Rayne.” Nick said as he placed his hands on the back of the couch.



“Yes, I think I will.” She said as she took a couple of steps forward. As he turned around she stepped into his arms and jabbed the dagger into his gut. Nick groaned in pain as he bent over. Nalia pulled the dagger out as she stepped back, tears dripping down her cheeks.



Nick stood up and grabbed on to her shoulder, he looked at her with anger, and she tried to pull away but his grip was strong. He let the spell flow from his fingers and it soaked into her and returned to him. Nalia moaned in pain as the spell ran through her.



“He may have been ignorant to the power of a Warlock but I am not.” He hissed angrily at her. He threw her to the floor and she gasped in pain, grabbing her shoulder. “I tried to be nice about this.” He huffed as he grabbed the dagger from her hand.



Slowly she sat up and looked at him, half crying in pain, half crying for him. He stared at her for a moment and then looked down at his robe. Nick unbutton it half way and then opened it up reveling his stomach and where she had stabbed him. There was no wound there, only some blood. Looking quickly at her shoulder she had realized what he had done, drained her to heal himself. When she looked up at him he winked at her.



“Thanks babe.” He said and turned around, clipping his robe back up as he walked out of the room.









Rayne sat in her room, on her bed, in Drisel. Alex and his friends were still fighting, she needed to get away, and clear her head. Standing up she walked over to the window and unlocked it, then pushed it open.



The sun was high in the sky and she looked down when she heard some men shouting. It was nice to see friendly people on the streets again. The soldiers were in good spirits, they had pushed back the Evil’s Army; regain a major city and fighting hold to move forward against Kalica.



“We need to move forward.” She said to herself as she sat on the ledge. “We need to deal with Nick.” Sighing she looked out the window. “How can we deal with the Evil and do it without killing Nick.” Laying her head against the windowsill she looked up at the sky.



“Killing Nick?” She heard Aj say and it startled her; she jumped a little as she looked over at him.



“I was just talking to myself.” She said as he walked over to her. “Trying to think of a way to save Nick.” She said as he sat down on the sill in front of her.



“What are you doing here?” He asked.



“Too hard to think with all the yelling.” She said as she looked out the window.



“I’m sorry.” Aj said as he took her hand.



“It is not your fault Alex.” She said forcing a smile. “I understand his frustration and anger; I just wish he would keep it to himself.”



“You’re not alone my dear.” Aj said as he softly kissed the back of her hand. She lightly laughed as he wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed her.



“Howie, you owe me five bucks.” Kevin said as the two quickly pulled away. They looked over to the door and saw Kevin, Brian and Howie standing there, staring at them. Kevin had his hand out in front of Howie. “Pay up.” Kevin said looking at him.



“Sorry, left my wallet on Earth.” Howie said as he walked passed him.



“IOU then.” Kevin said as he sat down in a chair. “Place hasn’t changed much.” He said looking around as Aj looked at Rayne apologetically.



“Did you tell her?” Brian asked.



“No” Aj said looking over at him annoyed.



“Tell me what?” She asked as she looked from Brian to Aj.



“While Brian was yelling at me, I was looking through one of the books I borrowed from the Council.” Aj told her as Brian huffed at his comment. “It was a book about the Guardians, a collection of fables I guess. I recognized one of the areas the book described as the place where the Adamni conjured the Elemental.”



“I am not sure I follow.” Rayne said a little confused.



“I think Adamni was a Guardian.” Aj said to her. “If we can find the spot where he fought and conjured the Elemental, maybe we can find a clue about the tale.”



“Do you know where it is?” She asked.



“No, that’s why I came to get you.” He smiled. “Maybe if you read the two descriptions you can figure out the area.” Aj said.



“It’s a start.” Kevin said as he looked around.



“Alright” Rayne said with a nod. Everyone filled out of the room and returned to the globe room. They all placed their hands on the globe and watched as the smoke rose around them. It was becoming second nature for the guys to travel by these things.



Rayne followed Alex and he led her down to the Meeting room. Avit was there with Rossi waiting for them. She walked over to the desk and sat down in the chair in front of it. Looking around she watched as Alex’s friends all found a place to sit. She could see the concern and worry on their faces for their friend, for their brother.



“Here.” She heard Aj say and she looked up. He was standing in front of her holding a book out for her. It was opened to a page around the middle of the book. She took it from him and stated reading it.



“I do not recognize that place any where here in Winnol.” Avit said as she scanned over the words.



“Whisper Falls.” Rayne said as she quickly looked up.



“That be in Kalica.” Rossi said looking to Avit.



“You are sure Princess.” Avit asked her.



“Yes, I recognize the area from when I was younger, when Father, Mother and I would visit Nalia and her family.” Rayne looked down as a wave of emotion came over her as thought about her friend, her sister. “How is Evia?” Rayne asked.



“She is sitting with your Mother right now, she hasn’t said much.” Aj said to her. It made her frown as she looked down at the book.



“When do we leave?” She asked looking at Aj.



“Leave?” Aj said.



“To go to the falls, see what is there.” Rayne said.



“Kalica is still crawling with the Enemy.” Rossi said to her. “How do yee suppose you will get in there?”



“Whisper Falls is three hours from the Capital I doubt he would have men out that far, especially with what has happened.” Rayne said frustrated.



“I don’t see how any of this will help Nick.” Brian said.



“The Tale, the word of Pixca, if it really is written down, then it might tell us how to destroy the Evil.” Rayne said to him. “If you would stop complaining and pay attention then maybe you would.”



Rayne sighed in frustration as she turned and walked out of the room. She walked out from behind the stairs and headed through the hallway. As the guards opened the doors for her she heard Aj call out to her but she ignored him as she walked out into the city. When she heard him running up behind her, she cleared her mind but kept walking, she heard Aj shout and the fluttering of wings. Quickly looking over her shoulder she saw Aj running back into the Castle as a flock of birds chased after him. Looking ahead she kept walking, where she didn’t know, or cared.







“Close the damn doors!” Aj shouted as he ran in swatting at his head. The guards quickly closed the doors over and the birds could be heard hitting and squawking behind them.



“What was that?” Howie asked shocked.



“That was Rayne telling me she’s pissed.” Aj said as he shot Brian an evil glare and walked back into the meeting room.



“Why is she mad at me?” Brian scoffed as he walked into the meeting room behind everyone else.



That did it, Aj couldn’t take it anymore. He spun around and walked up too Brian. His face was inches from Brian’s and he stared him right in the eyes. “Maybe it’s because you bash her home every chance you get, maybe it’s because you don’t treat her with respect or maybe it’s because you’re a prick!” Aj shouted.



“Yeah well maybe I have a damn right to be a prick, you ass.” Brian shouted back.



“Enough!” Kevin yelled as he got between the two. Aj walked away and went to the other side of the room as Brian and Kevin bickered. When he felt someone come up beside him he looked up and saw Avit standing there.



“What do you want to do Sir?” Avit asked.



Aj took a deep breath. “I think she’s right. I think Nick, I mean the Evil is going to pull in his army in Kalica, hold base there until he figures out what to do next.”



“When did you want to leave?” His General asked.



“I would like to talk her into waiting until morning.” Aj said. “Make sure the army has had enough time to pull out. Plus with the last couple of days we have had, I think we all need a rest.”



Avit nodded and Aj turned around looking at his friends. He put his hand over his mouth and wiped his lips as he thought about everything. Pulling it away as Kevin walked over to him he folded his arms in front of him.



“What’s up?” Aj asked with a nod.



“Taking him to his room.” Kevin said rolling his eyes. Aj couldn’t help but smile.



“We’re going to chill tonight and leave for the falls in the morning.” Aj told him.



“Cool, I’m down with that.” Kevin nodded.



Aj lightly smiled as he stood up straighter and put his arm at his sides. “I need to go find Rayne let her know what’s going on.”



Aj said goodbye to everyone as he left the room, walked out of the Castle, and through the city. He wasn’t even sure where to look first for her but he figured the fountain was a good a place as any. When he got there he was disappointed to see she wasn’t. He made his way to the Magic Fields but she wasn’t there either. As he walked passed these two ladies who were selling flowers on the side of the street he stopped.



“Have you seen Princess Rayne?” He asked.



“Yes Milord.” The one woman said with a curtsy. “She was over by the Gryphon tower.”



“Thank you.” Aj said with a light bow but inside he was panicing. As he quickly made his way towards the towers he started thinking that she took off, already headed to Whisper Falls. He headed down the streets that lead right to the Towers and he found himself running to them as they came into sight. Quickly he skipped up the Tower steps and ran out the door. He looked around at the birds and the Caretaker that had looked up from brushing one of the Gryphons.



“Did Princess Rayne come here?” He asked the caretaker as he tried to catch his breath.



“I am right here.” She said from behind him. He spun around and saw her sitting on one of the benches on the viewing platform.



“I thought you left.” He sighed as he walked over to her.



“To the Falls?” She asked.



“Yeah.” Aj nodded as he sat down beside her.



“Well I am mad but not that mad.” She said “I am trying my best to help him, to help Nick and it is not good enough.”



“It is Rayne. He’s just really worried about Nick and when he gets like that he becomes as cranky as a two year old.” Aj said taking her hand.



Rayne softly laughed. He always could make her laugh no matter what kind of mood she was in and it would help her relax about the situation. “So what are we going to do?”



“We” Aj said as he wrapped his arm around her. “Are going to sit right here.” She laid her head on his shoulder as she rested her hand on his stomach. “Tomorrow we’ll go to Kalica. Right now we all need a break.”



“What about Nalia?” Rayne asked as she felt Aj kiss her forehead.



“Well I don’t think the Evil will hurt her yet and even then what can he do if she’s unconscious.” Aj said as she sighed hoping he was right.