“Welsh, get up.” Sarah violently shook the man’s left arm until he woke up. She watched as he groaned himself upright. Right now, it seemed as though they were in side of Rion’s personal quarters. Sarah and Rion himself (covered in his robe) were the only others present.

“What happened?” the high school professor asked.

“You over did yourself. But that’s not the issue here.” Sarah threw Robert’s book on to the bed. Welsh looked at it, eyes widened. “This is yours, correct?” Sarah asked.

“Yes, it is.” He replied. “I bought it from the family of…”

“Yes, I know.” Sarah cut him off. “What I want to know is why Arthur had it.” Sarah’s voice became stern and filled with motherly concern.

Mr. Welkins sighed and reached for his glasses on the cabinet beside him. “He must have taken it when I wasn’t looking.” He then forced himself out of bed, his clothes with the exception of his underwear was gone. Several bandages both small and large covered his skin. “Might I ask where my clothes are?” he asked.

“Here.” Rion threw a folded pair of pants and a dress shirt towards him. “Wear those for now. There’s far too much blood on yours.”

“Thank you, my oh so benevolent Elite.” Welsh bowed sarcastically and proceeded to dress himself.

“So you expect me to believe that Arthur really managed to steal that book without you knowing?” Sarah asked, her eyes flaring.

“Everyone makes mistakes Sarah.” Welsh buttoned his shirt, one by one until completion. “Anyways, if that is all, I think I’ll be going now.” The professor said as he made his way for the door with Sarah gawking at him with fierce eyes all the way through.

~

“You don’t like him, do you?” Rion asked.

“He did it on purpose. He tempted Arthur to take that book. I wanted to confront him about it ever since you called us to trail the boys but I chose not to.” Sarah said, resentment for the careless teacher was evident in every word she said. “That being said, why didn’t you just let me stop the boys from even entering the forest?” she then added.

Rion got up. “I just wanted to see what they would do.” He said bluntly. “Ultimately, there would be no point in entering the forest unless they knew about the Elves.” Rion then took his hood off and looked at Sarah. “And from what you told me, it seems like little Steven can see the forest dwellers.”

“Where are you going with this?” Sarah asked, arms crossed.

“Don’t you think it’s about time you tell them? After all, a great deal of why you took them in was because they could eventually carry on our cause one day. Isn’t it?” Rion got closer to Sarah, his green eyes staring down at her.

Sarah hesitated. She knew why she took them in. It was because they were Orphans. Orphans didn’t have any connections to the world so they were best suited to become the next generation of Guardians. Maria was an especially lucky catch. But now, they meant more to her than anyone could imagine. She loved them and it hurt her that she had once just sought to use them. She glared at Rion but she knew that he was right. With all that was happening, it would be best if they knew about the Guardians. They would only get themselves into more trouble if she didn’t tell them.

“Fine.” Sarah said as she walked towards the door. “I’ll tell them tomorrow.” She opened the wooden door and left, slamming it shut as she walked out.

~

Steven looked around. Where he stood was elevated from the rest of the land. He walked forward and looked down the rocky staircase. The Demons were there. And the man was right beside him. Right now, was he the WorldWalker? Steven looked to the man, he was standing beside a well. And inside that well, as Steven saw, was a puddle of golden water.

“It is your way back to the living.” The man said. “Through this, you can traverse these two worlds.”

“Who are you?” Steven asked, his voice deep and commanding.

The man smiled a wicked grin. “I am your servant.” He bowed. “My name is Chaos.”

“Okay…Chaos.” Steven began. “Where exactly am I right now?”

Chaos rose. “We are nowhere. The world that not even you could escape through normal means.” The man paused and gestured to the edge of the platform. “This is the void.”

The void? That name suited this place well. Steven walked to the edge of the platform. He looked down. There was nothing. Before he would have thought that his dream just lacked detail. But now he was certain that this was more than just a dream.

“My lord, I’m afraid that it is time to go.” Steven turned towards Chaos. The well behind him was overflowing. The water filled the platform and soon enough the world was consumed. And Steven was within an ocean of life. He took a final breath and then awoke panting. Steven looked to the window, light followed through. It was morning.

~

Sarah awoke and made her way to the kitchen. As usual, Steven was up before even her. Two buckets of water were beside the table where he sat. She made her way to the cooking place, a small stone stove which resembled the bottom of a chimney. She placed some more coal into it and lit a fire with two spark stones. She then hanged a pot over the top and let the water boil. Today she had planned to toast a few slices of bread and cook some bacon. The boiling water was for making tea.

She would tell them everything today. After having grown attached to these three children, she never wanted to involve them into this hidden world. Rion had already forced her to involve Maria after discovering her ability. But Arthur and Steven had no such powers. Well, she was certain that Arthur didn’t. But Steven, he was a strange one even amongst magical beings.

Sarah glanced at Steven, he turned away. After a few minutes of silence, Steven spoke. “Arthur told me to tell you that he was going to see Mr. Welkins.”

What? Sarah turned around sharply. Why did it have to him? That cunning bastard that only thought of these things as his personal fantasy. “When did he leave?” Sarah asked calmly.

Steven replied. “When I awoke, he had already ready to leave. He even took a bath, believe it or not. That was about six in the morning.”

That was quite unusual for Arthur. Sarah supposed he was going to find answers through his own methods. Though she’d rather tell him herself, she figured that Welsh would answer his questions without hesitation. After all, he was the one who got Arthur involved. There wouldn’t be any point in him holding back now.

At this point, Sarah couldn’t wait. They’d eat breakfast after, she was tired of this silence. “Steven.” She began, flipping the sides of bread over a small grill. “You know of the Elves and Guardians, right?”

“Yes.” Steven replied.

“Do you want to know more?” Sarah asked, stealing a glance at the boy. He didn’t look at her. He just stared at the table top.

“Will it help me understand my dreams?” Steven asked.

His dreams? Yes, she recalled him describing nightmares to her when he was younger. Since she didn’t sense any magical energy from him, she thought them just to be regular nightmares. But maybe she was wrong.

“No, I don’t think it will.” Sarah said, she honestly thought that. The Guardians would know very little about something so obscure. Though, there was one who probably would have known. But he should be long dead by now.

“Then I think I’ll pass.” Steven replied. “I already know enough to get by as it is.” He added. Did that Elven girl tell him something?

“Is it okay if I ask you some questions?” Sarah inquired.

“Sure, go ahead.” Steven said as he rested his head on to the table.

“Who was that Elf girl you spoke to?” Sarah asked, looking at Steven to see if there would be a reaction.

“She’s just a girl that I saw in my nightmares.” Steven said as he scraped the table top playfully.

Sarah returned her attention to the slices of bread. She took them off and now oiled the grill for the bacon. “You should stay away from her. The forest is too dangerous.” Sarah said and continued her cooking. If Steven wanted, he would go and see that girl again. Sarah knew that. But what more could she do? Keep him locked up? He would have to find out the hard way that the Elves and humans would not get along. There was history between them. Both sides having done wrong to each other. Such things would not go away easily.