A swift breeze welcomed them as they swept through the massive ornate mahogany doors and onto the familiar terrace. Below the gilded railing, lie firmly cut hedges dotted with roses of various colors.

A fountain of a bear catching a fish from mid-air, the water spewed from the fish’s parted lips and off to the side, filling the basin below where the bear stood on its hind legs in anticipation; sat in the middle of the garden. A cobbled stone path wrapped around the fountain, continuing to be flanked by small cherry trees, whose petals blanketed the stone benches nestled beneath their bulky branches.

Memories flooded through Ardent's mind and she fought back the desire to stay. That luxury was long gone and out of reach. "What is it that you wished to talk about, dear?" She asked her husband, placing her hands on the golden rail at the terrace edge. Nostalgia thick and heavy on her mind.

The sound of his footfalls were the only echo in the quiet courtyard as he walked over to her and joined her. She kept her gaze straight, never meeting his eyes.

Hesitantly, he reached up and touched her left cat-like ear that had never been a part of her before. "I'll never get used to seeing you like this." He said. Her ear twitched in irritation.

"It was never my intent to show you this side of myself." She said backing away from him and the scenery of the garden.

He smiled at her irritation. "You're still beautiful." He beamed with further enjoyment at the sight of her flushed face. It wasn't just her cheeks that turned red, but her every feature.

"What’s happening to you?" He asked. "It's not like you to fall ill after healing someone. You have such high skills in the medical field."

"Its not skill." She commented, straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin, her voice full of pride. Her wings snapped outward in declaration.

"It's what I am, that gives me the ability to heal others with magic." She lifted up her hand, reaching toward the sky. The sunlight cascaded down on her, illuminating her pale skin with a soft glow and giving her hair an affect that almost made her seem as if she were dawned with flames. Even before the change he had always been captivated by the sight. Her new features only added to her beauty in his eyes.

"There are many angels that walk this world in the form of humans. We are all given one rule to never break." She began.

He stood there listening intently.

She turned to face him with a heavy sigh. "That day, I used up two of the three wishes I was granted by Heaven's king. By doing so, I exposed my true identity to you and the others. I broke the one and only law. By breaking this law, this world has become unfit for me. If I stay here much longer, it will kill me."

He didn't like the sound of that. His calm façade almost slipping. Almost. "Where did you go that day?" His voice was thick with emotion from the memory of her disappearing.

Her auburn brows furrowed, her face twisted in conflict. He could see her inner struggle.

"The day we came here from that world you created. Where did you go that day? You were right behind me and then you vanished." He remembered the pain of searching for her an entire month, and now here she was, only to tell him, that she couldn't stay.

She saw the anguish on his bearded face and her heart sank with guilt. "That was the first time in this world after loosing my humanity." She explained. "The effects worked rather more quickly that time. I didn't feel right coming back here. I..." She stopped, not knowing the words to express herself. She swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the lump that had formed in her throat.

"How many did we loose? How many casualties were caused by me that day?" She finally asked the questions that plagued her every moment, even in sleep she couldn't escape the guilt and now he could answer her.

He gave her a confused look. "None." He answered.

Instantaneous relief washed over her, her shoulders slumped as she let go of the weight that she had been carrying since that dreadful day when the dragon decided to attack Alexhand.

"Lets go back." She said eagerly. "All of us. You, my friends, myself, the people, all of us. We could make that world our home. Away from Etah. We would all be safe." She urged with renewed hope.

"No." He declined, shattering the last bit of warmth from her heart. "I have established this village. I will not throw away everything I worked hard to achieve here. I am it's leader. I can't just run away." He continued.

She focused her gaze on the ground below her boots. Her heart sank further with each word. She knew it was selfish of her to ask in the first place.

His expression softened. "Someone has to help other kingdoms fight Etah. If I leave now, he will just continue to wreak havoc on other nations." He rested the back of his hand against her tear streaked cheek.

"Don't cry. I love you. You know that. If you must go back, I will allow you to take others with you. Not everyone here is fit for battle, survivors will need a safe haven you know, the realm could be that for them." He pulled her into his embrace. "And when the war is over and Etah is defeated, I will return to you in that realm." He said softly into her hair.

"You promise?" She asked not wanting to move in fear that it was just an illusion she was clinging to and not the broad warm chest of her husband who always made her feel safe.

"I promise." He replied. " I will send warriors with you to protect you, but until Etah is finished, I cannot focus on anything else."

She smiled. "I always did admire you for your ambition." She chimed, trying to be optimistic, but it was hard.

"Interesting choice of books." Lady Storm's voice broke through as Àskérian finished reading the last page. The book brought on an emotion he wasn't too thrilled about. It reminded him of his own loss.

He closed the book, a little to abruptly and flinched, causing Storm to flinch as well.

"Hello." He said in greeting to the woman who sat across from him whose blue gaze held a storm of understanding.

"It was hard to read wasn't it?" She asked, reading his expression. "But that is how we came to be. That's also why she keeps going to Gaia on her own. To check on him. To see of his health. She cares for him deeply. Still, one must admire him for wanting to stay behind and fight. To want to help other nations."

She leaned back in the wooden chair, her gaze darted to the walls lined with books. "King Alexander always did have a way with swaying other kingdoms."

He let out a sigh. "But what of her?" He asked. "Does anyone not truly realize the damage that has been done to her heart from this?"

"We do." She declared, locking her eyes on him. "That's why we try our best to keep her here and to distract her. I believe, he will return here and we will be a full nation one day. It will feel less empty I suppose."

"I'm going to help her as well." He said determination in his voice. "There is just one thing that doesn't add up."

"What do you mean?" Storm asked, curiosity brewing in that cloudy and lightning sharp gaze of hers.

"The state I found her in, before I returned her here. It doesn't make sense." He stood up, pushing the chair back in it's place under the table.

"Perhaps the answer you seek, lies within this." She said handing him the star crystal. "She is stubborn and won't tell people how she feels. Even in these books that are written by her," she gestured to the books around them that lined the library shelves, "do not entirely portray her feelings at full strength."

"Mmhh.." He grunted as examined the stone that he wasn't supposed to touch, else he risked being sucked in, perhaps for good. But what if he didn't get trapped in it forever? What if it really was the key to finding out exactly why she tried to end her own life?

"Perhaps if this thing can erase her memories, then it's worth a shot to leave by her bed this night."

Lady Storm nodded in agreement. "How to get it up there though ?" He asked, hand placed over his chin in thought. Lady Storm smiled at him. "The birb and the fox can help you with that.