“A prince?” Mena said, her mouth still open wide. “I didn’t know you were a prince.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter much when my whole family is dead.” Tal said curtly.

“I’m sorry again…” Mena said, feeling worse and worse she insulted a prince. “You said…a phantom lord did it?”

Fabias’ face grew stolid as Tal recounted his sad tale. “My people lived in the Stormy Mountains of Autolycus and we worshiped a deity from the Nightmare Void. Her name was Nocturna, and she was the Goddess of Nightfall in your land.”

“Why would you do that?” Mena asked, feeling confused.

“She gave us otherworldly powers to defend ourselves from the man-eating rock golems…and the men of Growden who exiled us to the mountains in the first place.”

“But why would they do it?”

“For a reason as old as humanity,” Tal responded in a voice wise beyond his years. “People fear those who are different.”

Mena’s eyes shimmered in response. She remembered her execution without a trial, all on the grounds of possessing imagicnation.

“And trust me, nothing scarier than a bunch of heathens who supposedly worship the Nightmare Void…even if it was a benevolent deity.”

“Was?” Mena asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

“The Phantom Lord. One of the most powerful nightcreepers in the Void took control of Nocturna. Phantoms normally have the power to possess people, but only one as strong as the Phantom Lord could truly possess a goddess.”

There was a rage in Tal’s eyes that lingered like a billowing storm. “The Phantom Lord made our deity make cruel demands for harsh sacrifices and blood rituals. My father, the ruler of the Shadow Nomads, called for an end to the ritual sacrifices, but it angered the Phantom Lord greatly.”

The darkness clouded Tal’s eyes as he spoke. “He used Nocturna’s power and”—Tal’s boyish voice lost all traces of emotion—"wiped us all out.”

Tal looked away from Mena. “But the fiend left me behind in order to make an example of those who defy him.”

Mena approached the ailing prince and put her arm around him. “Can I just say ‘sorry’ to you over and over until you feel better?”

“Once was good enough…” Tal said back, refusing to meet her gaze. “But I fear if you saw the sorry state of my face, you wouldn’t be so comfortable around me.”

Mena thought for a second, considering how gruesome the face that hid behind Fabias’ could be, but she quickly said, “I do. And you’re welcome to join me and…”—Mena gave a brace-faced grin—”You can be my date tonight too.”

There was a look of gratitude on Fabias’ face and even though it wasn’t Tal’s true face, it was genuine all the same. “You’re a good kid, Miss Shiny Grin.”

Normally, Mena didn’t like someone drawing attention to her braces, but Tal’s comment teased her in the right way. “You’re pretty cool yourself as soon as you told me who you really were and stopped hiding it!”

“Point taken,” Tal nodded. “Let’s get him. I heard him mention a Dais room.”

Mena smiled with eyes aglow. “The Dais of Eternity!”

Mena led Tal through the hallways that were becoming increasingly familiar to her stay in the Dream Castle. Fortunately for her, it was only the ones on the upper stories that changed so mischievously, making the main pathway through the dining hall into the front entrance all the easier. When they arrived in the front entrance, Mena noticed something odd. “It sure is dark in here.”

Indeed, the makeshift eyes of the Dream Castle had long shades drawn over them for nightfall. “This is the room the caped maunderer mentioned?” Tal asked. “I see the Dais, but where exactly did he want to go?”

Mena was silent, but she remembered the little riddle Electra had told Gaia: “Capture the light in your castle’s eyes and spin with the seven planetoids using the fabulous power of dance. Then your pathway will become clear…”

The young witch looked up and indeed saw the seven planetoids twirling around in the tiny solar system. But there was no light. “Hmm…” Mena said. “You control shadow right, Tal?”

Tal nodded coolly.

“Well then,” Mena exclaimed. “Let there be more light! Open those shades!”

Tal held his hands to his head and two shadow hands emerged from his chest. They grabbed the shutters with great might and flung them open. Immediately, a beam of light was cast inside. It originated from the bright yellow castle floating beside her Dream Castle. “Miraculous magicaps!” Mena exclaimed with a grin. “Your castle must affect our Dream Castle when they align. That’s what this castle alignment is.”

“Brilliant, Miss Shiny Teeth,” Tal’s low voice raised in amazement.

Mena hid her grin when he said that, but he gave his own sparkling grin (or at least Fabias’) in return.

“But now,” Tal said. “What happens?”

Mena looked up. The beam of light was bright, but it did not hit all the planetoids as they twirled. Only a few passed through the light as they revolved around. “I guess that isn’t the whole puzzle.” Mena said, and she told Tal about the “Fabulous Power of Dance” part.

“That’s completely random,” Tal said curtly. “Even for a riddle. Clearly we’re supposed to shine light on all seven of them…but how?”

The more she thought about it caused Mena to frown. She was missing the dance right now, but her need to stop Gaia outweighed it. A funky rhythm cut through the night. It sounded like it was coming from the ballroom. Mena tapped her foot to it and suddenly, a light switched on in her brain.

“That’s it!” Mena exclaimed.

She held her hand to her head and chanted the following rhyme:

Bring me the rhythms from the dance hall and summon me a giant mirror ball!”

A rainbow blast of energy shot from her fingertip and flew right at the center of the dais, creating a large, reflective paneled mirror ball at the center of the mini universe. Funky dance music played as the mirror ball spun. The light reflected off it and shined on all seven planetoids, ricocheting off them like a hall of mirrors before hitting a solid, ice-blue wall high above them. The wall flickered and disappeared, revealing a door high above them. Mena was so happy and overwhelmed by the rhythms she beckoned to Tal to shake his hips with her. But Tal stood aside with his hands in his pockets. “I miss our dances in the Shadow Palace,” he said sorrowfully. “I used to dance all night with any girl I wanted.”

‘Well,” Mena said. “You could be dancing right now with this girl!”

Tal looked at Mena with a forlorn expression, an expression that betrayed all the fond memories he had that were no more. “I think I’ll pass for now,” he said. “But maybe late…”

“Ah-ha!” A loud nasally voice cried out, interrupting him. Gaia emerged from inside a chameleon-like cape; it had blended him with the wall. “I knew children were so much better at solving puzzles than adults! Thanks for doing my job for me!”

Gaia leaped into the air, using his cape to float higher and higher until he reached the ledge. “Don’t even bother catching up with me. You may have escaped my swooper cape, but you could never face such a manly man hands-on.”

Tal puffed out his chest, stepping in front of Mena. “I’ve fought monsters twice as horrific as you and suffered far worse from it.”

“Aw…” Gaia said, a sadistic smirk on his face. “Does the suffering prince want me to play him some sad violin music? I did study at the conservatory a few years back.”

Tal lost his cool and spat a swarming army of dark mites out of his mouth, dark dots flying and buzzing at Gaia. He quickly screamed and ran inside the door.

Mena held onto Tal’s shaking hand as he fumed. “I don’t like people making light of what I went through,” he said, his voice slightly distorted. “It’s the one thing that gets me.”

“Don’t worry,” Mena said, gripping his hand tight. “We’ll stop him and turn him into Gemini.”

Tal turned to her, and through Fabias’ face, he showed that his anger had settled for the time being.

“Only question,” Mena asked. “How do we get up there?”

“This is where I come in,” Tal said, “Hold onto me.”

“O-o-okay,” Mena said nervously, and she put her arms around Tal.

“This will feel a bit funny,” Tal responded. “Since you aren’t accustomed to the world between worlds, but as long as you cling onto me, you’ll be fine.”

“Right…” Mena said, feeling a bit nervous, both from holding onto a boy and taking the plunge into a different world.

Tal sunk into the ground and spread himself across the floor in a dark silhouette. Experiencing the feeling of no longer being solid, a lightheadedness came over Mena, but she still clung onto Tal for dear life. Amazingly, Tal’s silhouette traveled up the wall right towards the hidden door, and before Mena knew it, she was right up on the ledge. They quickly emerged from the darkness and Mena breathed for the first time. “Whoa,” she said, panting. “I felt like all my organs were being crunched together.”

“They kind of were,” Tal responded. “Especially since you are still fully mortal.”

Mena didn’t want to tell him that it was an interesting experience, but she wouldn’t want to do it again for fun.

The two entered the next room and Mena gasped. Gaia was about to enter a glowing door emitting a yellowish light. “Stop right there, Maunderer!” Tal announced in a bold voice. “Don’t go any further.”

“Ah yes,” Gaia said turning aside. “If it’s not the Prince of Cheap Cologne, then again, if I looked like you, I’d always wear it!”

A look of pain traveled across Tal’s face, and Mena put her hand on his shoulder, but he quickly turned aside and lunged forward. The young prince blasted several balls of shadow energy straight at Gaia. Gaia immediately held out his hand as another cape flew forward and expanded to the size of his body, absorbing the shadow energy. “I forgot to remind you,” he chuckled. “ I have a tailor in the Nightmare Void, you pathetic, deformed prince.”

Mena watched in horror as darkness traveled up Fabias’ skin like he was being dipped in a sinister ink. His bright blue eyes turned red and he let out a ferocious, distorted growl. “Don’t… call me that!”

Tal’s hands became shadowy claws and he bounded forward. Gaia threw yet another one of his many capes at the charging shadow beast, and it smothered him entirely. Mena gasped.

“Good luck trying to escape my steel wire cape,” Gaia said a triumphant laugh. “Huh?!”

A shadow claw ripped the steel mesh right out of the cape, and Tal emerged with a twisted roar.

Gaia chanted a quick fireball rhyme, but the blasts that emitted from his hands sizzled as they were absorbed into Tal’s body. Gaia laughed nervously and stumbled downward as the shadow beast pinned his cape to the ground. Tal stood satisfied over Gaia’s body and held out his hand. A void with a red eye emerged out of his left hand. Mena ran over; her mind was racing, wondering what Tal was going to do to him.

Tal growled before his distorted voice grew raspy and theatrical. “How about I send you into the Nightmare Void where you’ll spiral forever in a black abyss and disembodied eye-stalks will gape at you for all eternity!”

Gaia grinned nervously as the void loomed ever close, its red eye glowing ominously and purple tentacles expanding with a sickly hiss. Mena swallowed hard as she flashed back to Anguish doing the same thing to her auntie. Suddenly, she cried out to Tal. “No please don’t do that to him! That’s what Anguish wanted to do to my aunt. Let him stand trial here.”

Gaia laughed in defiance. “You think a mason of the law can’t wiggle out of your legal traps, girl? Hah I say, hah!

“See,” Tal hissed out. “Let them harvest his sooooooul!”

“No…” Mena said, tears lining her eyes. “I won’t let you go down that path, Tal. I just met you, but I can’t bear to see you kill someone.

Tal cast a shadowy claw towards Gaia, but Mena embraced him. Before the void of evil could reach the villainous professor, it halted. She hugged the prince with all her might. Tal’s growl returned to a quiet whimper. “But…Mena…he said those painful things about me…”

“Shh…” Mena whispered. “In times like this, you just need a hug.”

Much to Mena’s surprise, the shadows that enveloped Tal’s skin drained, revealing Fabias’ face. Tal’s body exhumed a great amount of tension from his breath and he sighed. “Thank you, Mena.”

“No problem,” Mena said softly. “Some of the stuff you were saying was very dark and scary. I couldn’t let you go that way.”

Tal responded quietly. “My sister always told me I get poetic when I’m consumed in absolute rage. But it’s the dark, brooding teenage type of poetry. I don’t know if it would sell really well, but I’ve still been writing it down.”

“You never know,” Mena said with optimism in her voice. “There might be people like you who can identify with it.”

“I wouldn’t want anyone to be like me...” Tal said, “But thanks again, Mena.”

“And thank you, Mena!” Gaia laughed as he hopped to his feet. “Now I can finally have my dreams come true.”

Gaia rushed through the glowing door as Tal and Mena gave chase. When they passed through it, however, their demeanors changed completely. Inside the room was a sandy beach, a clear blue lake of water and a painted sky and sun. A colorful popsicle stand was erected by the lake where a living scarecrow handed out haysicles to straw-people. Right in front of them, several straw-people lounged in the sun, including Straw-Woman who was wearing heart shaped sunglasses. “Get out of the way, cape boy,” Straw-Woman demanded in her high voice. “You’re blocking the sun. Not that we have skin anyway.”

“Noooo!” Gaia screamed, holding his hands up in the air dramatically. He quickly swooped inside of his cape and vanished.

“What was that all about?” Straw-Woman asked, but when she saw who was in front of her, she exclaimed, “Mena? Mena!”

“Straw-woman?” Mena said, scratching her head. “What are you doing here. What is this place?”

“Welcome,” Straw-Woman said proudly. “Welcome to my Scare-a-dise!”