The sound of horses grew louder by the second, so fast that she didn't even dare look back in fear that it would slow them down.

"Just keep running, don't look back" she told both herself and Tom

Jordan was a relatively short girl with short legs, Tom on the other hand was much taller than her. At first he ran along side her, slowing down to adjust to her pace but once the cracking of twigs and leaves grew Tom grabbed her hand and pulled her forward.

She had to use all of her focus to not trip and fall, to keep up with his fast pace.

With all those thoughts in her head she almost failed to notice the sound of cascading water and the fresh scent of rain in the distance. Tom seemed to preoccupied in his thoughts to notice much like she had been before, there was no time to warn him.

After a moment of hesitation, she dug the heels of her feet on the dirt and pulled Tom back with all her strength. Thats when he snapped out of his thoughts and noticed the cliff in front of them.

It had to be 100 feet above the water, they could try to run back but the riders were too close and the cliff was u-shaped, to go sideways would only slow them down and get them caught.

"Jump!" she shouted at Tom, grabbing on to both of his hands

His eyes turned wide in surprise and she could have sworn she heard his jaw hit the ground with disbelief

"Are you crazy!!" Tom screamed back, pointing at the fall to further prove his disagreement

"Trust me, please, you have to trust me" Jordan said, too quickly she wasn't even sure he heard her

It wasn't until his expression softened and one deep breath later that he looked at her again with sadness in his eyes

'We won't be able to come back..." He quickly said to her

"Most likely...I'm sorry Tom" she said, feeling tears on her cheeks

"There are worse ways to go, like them for example" he said, taking off his black cloak as she took her red cloak off.

The cape would stay on though, if she was gonna die, might as well have it.

He saw her reluctancy to take of his gift and smiled. They stood there staring at each other for what seemed like hours, wanting to say a million apologies and share a billion secrets. There was no time though.

The horses and the riders surrounded them a few feet behind but close enough that Jordan could hear the sharp sound of their blades against leather when they drew their swords. The night was too dark to identify their faces, but it didn't matter, they weren't gonna be the ones to kill her.

Jordan took Tom's hand and smiled, he mirrored her actions and both of them jumped without a second though.

When Jordan was a little girl, she used to have many nightmares in which she would fall to her doom, the feeling of those false falls was enough to leave her paralyzed in fear for minutes. This was twenty times worse.

Just as they were half way down what seemed like an endless fall she closed her eyes and let the tears from her cheeks draw back upwards, falling at a much slower pace than she would.

As she fell, the events prior to the fall flashed before her eyes. She had arrived with Mianite at the villager town where Tom was being held. As soon as she stepped off the horse, villagers were already crowding amongst them.

Jordan hadn't been to may villager towns, none actually, but she had seen a few villagers, from the ones her boyfriend fried to a crisp to the ones Tom kept as...helpers.

They all looked relatively the same but were half her size. They had beautifully tanned skin and robes of different colors assigning their occupation, colors they received since birth from what she was told.

They couldn't talk much, most of what they said was mumbles that only they seemed to understand. Tucker had explained once that they had less brain capabilities than humans, all they knew how to do was do their assigned occupation, eat, sleep, and most importantly...hide.

Funny thing was, they sure weren't hiding then. Even the villagers recognized the gods, seeing as Mianite was their creator, it was only natural that they would go crowd in his presence.

Mianite didn't seem the least bit bothered, almost bored actually as if it happened so often that the praise no longer meant anything. The villagers also paid her some attention, offering their tradable goods in her face.

Before she could focus on all that was happening, a villager with a white robe stepped forward, straight towards his god. He whispered nonsense she couldn't make out, but Mianite seemed to understand. He have his horse to one of the villagers and pushed past some villagers to address her directly.

"One of the villagers just told me that he noticed some odd activity at an end portal nearby, I'll go investigate while you attend to your private matters" he said flatly

"Think it's Ianite?" Jordan asked with hope

"Not likely, but I have all the villagers in the area keeping an eye out for abnormalities. If the end is reacting, it could give me clues as to how Ianite's health is doing" he answered "Meet me there once you finish, the villagers will show you the way. If your matters take a long time ill meet you back at the island instead"

Then he walked away, hands clamped behind his back as he walked past the farms and homes, rustling the hair of a few infants as he went along.

"Jordan" Tom screamed as he ran over to embrace her from inside one of the villager homes

"Tom, you're ok!" she said, rushing to his embrace

"Are you ok? Dianite....you were alone with him and I got upset so his freaks sent me here on a time out like a scorned child. How did you know I'd be here? And was that Mianite I saw riding with you?" he said with a more than shocked tone

"Yeah he had matters to attend to here so he followed me, its difficult for him to teleport around these areas because of some shortage of magic or something so he took a horse" she said, hoping to dismiss the subject

"Never thought I'd see the day Mianite would ride a horse"Tom said with a laugh

"Right. Actually, I was wondering if we could talk before heading back"

He laughed once more before carelessly ripping off a few carrots from the farms next to them. He wiped them clean on his clothes and handed one to her.

"Im all ears, last thing I wanna do is go back. By the way, you look absolutely stunning, the red flower crown suits you, brings out your skin tone" he said, running a hand thought the red roses sitting on her head

"Almost makes you look like a princess, and though I'm usually more fond of darker shades, the white dress is stunning on you" he added, giving her a twirl that almost made her drop her carrot

"Cloak covers most of it" she snapped back

"I can see it just fine, besides it was from Sonja's mother. Though I'm not surprised she lend it to you, do you guys share nightgowns and undergarments too" Tom joked

"Very funny" she said just before the sound of an explosion masked her laughter and fire breathed to life a few feet away.

"What on earth!" Jordan cursed "Common we have to go help the villagers" she instructed at Tom before running off in the direction of the flames

"By the gods...thats were the nether portal I came through was. But its impossible, Dianite's pets destroyed it so I wouldn't escape" Tom screamed as he ran next to her

'He must have fixed it to go after her' Jordan though as they ran along

Jordan examined the bodies on the ground, she was too late to save any of them, some bodies were already fading into ash before her eyes.

She panicked, running faster, helping villagers run along, but every body she encountered unconscious was already dead. The blood of their wounds filled her hands and the tips of her white sleeves, matching the vibrant color of the red roses still on her head.

Once they reached the source of the commotion Jordan almost fell back in shock. The house the portal had been on was completely destroyed, only a few remnants of wood remained as proof of its existence, burning with each passing second.

The portal itself was unharmed, fire raged calmly on the stone surrounding it but raged havoc everywhere else around it.

From the center of the portal, a few figures appeared. They were around five skeletons on horseback with sharp weapons and even some with mismatched armor.

Once they stepped foot on the burning grounds they began to slaughter villagers without mercy or remorse. All the villagers nearby ran to their burning homes, thats all they knew how to do... unfortunately that made it easier for the skeletons to corner them like easy prey.

Jordan began running in the direction of the closest aggressor but Tom yanked her back.

"What are you thinking?!" he screamed

"We have to help them" she said back as she tried to pry herself free of his strong grip on her wrist.

"We don't have any weapons! By the looks of it their orders are to slaughter, they will attack us as well" Tom added

"But...we can't just let them die. You're Dianite's champion, can't you stop them!" she screamed in horror as she watched more villagers die before her eyes

The ashes and smoke made it hard to make out Tom's expression but he seemed just as helpless as her.

"This is a special unit, they won't answer to me. If anything, they don't like me very much. Has Dianite gone mad!" he whispered that last part to himself but she heard it loud and clear because she was wondering the same thing.

Was he punishing her for leaving? All of it could be her fault...

Before she could argue any further, more skeletons on horseback stepped through along with giant spiders, creepers, and many zombies.

Tom was right, without weapons, there was nothing they could do...or was there.

Jordan spotted a figure on horseback in the distance, because of all the smoke and ash she couldn't see very clearly but the figure looked human like, definitely not another skeleton.

He wore heavy clothing and gave orders out as he sat in the sidelines.

Dianite.

She could talk to him and convince him to stop the madness.

"Tom, there's Dianite! We have to get him to stop!" she screamed

"Im his champion remember, he tells me what to do, not the other way around!"

Just as she was about to leave without him, Dianite's silhouette stared at their direction and pointed directly at them.

"Kill them both" he commanded

All the monsters in the area stopped what they were doing and slowly turned towards them, weapons in hand.

"Yeah..no. He clearly hates me right now, looks like we're running" Tom shouted as he began to turn back

He wanted her dead....

The shock of those words stung more than she could have ever imagined, lucky Tom snapped her out of it and dragged her along.

"Common! We're not dying here today" Tom screamed

She got the message and began running with him to the outskirts of the village. Pain filled her heart, almost making her feel heavier, like she was running with weights. All those villagers would be slaughtered...

Jordan pushed the thoughts aside and picked up the pace slightly ahead of Tom. She didn't know the area and neither did he, they were running blind through the remainders of the desert.

"Go left, I saw a forest on my way here, we can try and lose them there" she screamed at Tom to which he merely nodded

"That army was odd, why would Dianite send his Flame legion?" Tom asked as he ran

"Does who he sent to kill us really matter right now!" she screamed back, almost tripping on a branch when her dress caught on it.

The once beautiful white dress was now darkened by ash and dirt...and blood, even her cloak had dark stains everywhere. If she managed to outrun the legion, Sonja would kill her for what she had done to her mom's dress for sure.

When she took a quick look at Tom, his clothes were in the same state as hers. He didn't have his usual tuxedo on, he had fine leather pants, high boots, and a loose cream toned shirt with the front buttons slightly loosened and a brown leather jacket over it. Of course, now his shirt was mostly red, with patterns of bleeding hands all throughout.

He noticed her staring and took her hand.

"There was nothing we could do" He said in a neutral tone

Jordan simply nodded and continued running along. Once they passed the area between grass and sand the trees were visible in the distance. Mobs were very easy to outrun, zombies especially, spiders not as much but she couldn't hear they screeching behind her which was a relief.

What she did hear was horses, the sound growing stronger as the sand could no longer mask their sound. Both and Tom turned around to find all the skeletons on horseback behind them, in the middle was their leader, ridding slightly ahead of them.

"Don't look, just run! Remember what you said, Dianite can't teleport here" Tom said in an attempt to calm her down.

But he didn't know how much it affected her...

They ran and ran, bits of her hair falling in front of her face and rocks threatening to make her trip as they went. Bits of her dress were ripped of by nearby branches from bushes, luckily her leather boots stood firm, preventing any scratching which would surely slow her down.

"We can make it" she had whispered to Tom...thats when her mind snapped back to reality, to the future they were in as they fell to their deaths.

Jordan thought they would make it back then, only a few minutes ago nonetheless, oh how quickly her hope had vanished.

With her eyes still closed, breeze flowing around her, and water prickling at her skin, she tried to think of her family which she hadn't thought of nearly enough. She hadn't seen them in ages and it wasn't until her last moments that they had finally crossed her mind...

Then, Jordan then felt the core of her body jerk sideways so quick she couldn't help but thing she had probably hit a rock or something but the pain was too grand she just couldn't feel it.

It wasn't until Tom shrieked in panic that she realized they were no longer falling. They were floating sideways towards the falls.

They tried to squirm as much as they could, fearing the moment the magic would lift them back up the ledge to their doom. Surprisingly they kept going sideways until they floated under the falling water, soaking them both.

There was a cave behind the water...

Once they reached a stone ledge the magic stopped and they fell to the floor.

Before she had a chance to complain or cry tears of joy at the fact they were still alive, a hand wrapped around her mouth.

A fireball lit up next to her and she saw Dianite fill the shadows.

He took his hand off her mouth and signaled her to keep quiet, he then removed his other hand from Tom's mouth and did the same.

'What! You were up there just now trying to kill us!" Jordan said to him in a whisper

"That wasn't me you fools! I sent one of my generals to go fetch you both, for some reason he saw it fit to disobey my orders. Once I heard I came through" Dianite said in a low whisper, a tone he used often when they were alone.

He would whisper her name when they kissed with such tenderness and joy.. but now was different

"Then why not stop him!" Tom asked

"Because having his forces see me sparing you two and showing mercy would create weakness, it would make me look soft" he whispered "Furia will be punished for this" he said before he let his flame fall

"Are you going soft?" Tom asked stupidly

"Of course not Thomas, I just can't let you die because I need at least one champion at all times" the god answered in annoyance

"Then why save her? Nevermind....you want her as your champion" Tom corrected himself

"Be quiet you fool" Dianite said as the sound of the horses grew a bit louder but slowly began to fade away.

"I ruined my new suit for this" Dianite complained once he deemed it safe

"Guess we're all a mess then" Jordan replied, still somewhat angry at Dianite, for what she wasn't completely sure

"Where is Mianite huh? Did he leave you at the first sign of trouble" Dianite asked with as much disgust as he could

"Thats what this is about!" she whispered so low that Tom couldn't hear "He was my ride is all"

"Mianite helping a mortal, you too seem awfully close. He wouldn't just help anyone" Dianite whispered back

"What are you saying?" Tom asked leaning further from the edge of the rock and closer to them

"Nothing, just wondering if we should head out" she said "I saw the zombies kill our horses on our way out of the town, and you can't teleport" Jordan pointed at Dianite

"We can't even go back through the portal since the whole nether will see us, my lord, what if we don't make it back in time for the arrival of..." Tom added

"Shut it boy" Dianite said, cutting Tom off

"Arrival of who?" Jordan asked expecting and answered from either of them, but neither of them answered...

"Lets just get out of this filth" Dianite said, making his way down using the rocks from the cliff, silently urging them to follow

Before Tom could get ahead she stopped him. He looked at her in concern and it took her a second to realize why. She was shaking, her white dress was soaking wet, clinging to her body and showing the skin under. Her crown was also gone and her hair was a mess but she quickly felt embarrassed about the dress situation and tried to cover her chest as best she could.

"You'll freeze to death and after surviving what we did, that would be really stupid" Tom said, joking to try and make her feel better

It worked, a chuckle escaped her mouth.

Satisfied, Tom smiled and began to take off his leather jacket placing it around her shoulders and wrapping it around her chest.

"You'll freeze" Jordan complained, attempting o give it back

"I'll be fine, besides, do you really want the scary lord of the nether to see your like this" Tom joked " you can see everything under that thin dress"

Red heat rushed through her face, probably bringing a blush so bright it was visible under the lack of light in the cave.

"Common, lets get out of here" Tom said pushing some of her wet hair back behind her ear " we have a party to crash tomorrow morning"

With a smile, she nodded and began making her descent down to the lake as carefully as she could with Tom at her side just in case she tripped.

Once they had made their way down, Dianite was waiting for them.

Her clothes were still dripping wet, her nose felt frozen from the cold water and the breeze around her. Jordan tried to keep her teeth from chattering too much and instead focused on drying the bottom of her dress.

"Limited magic out here right...don't suppose you can get us a new set of clothes" Tom asked his god

"No" he replied

"Here Sparkles, my jacket won't cut it" Tom said as he took off his shirt and dried it as best as he could before handing it over

"Tom please, I don't want you to freeze" she began but as always he wasn't gonna take her excuses

He took off the jacket but placed himself in between her and Dianite so he wouldn't see, then he put the shirt over and then placed his jacket back on top of it.