Collin lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. He had listened angrily to their voices outside his door until they ceased and now he lay a few hours later, still awake, still angry.

He wasn’t quite sure why he was so angry, but the image of the Arean amulet kept appearing in his mind. He blamed it on that.

“How dare they flaunt such a thing to me… That amulet belongs to my people.” He growled softly to himself. “Yes. It does. So it is only right that I should take it back to Area with me.” With his mind made up Collin swung his legs out of bed and rose. He opened the door and after checking to see that no one observed him, he silently walked down the hall toward the great hall.

 

Collin was not the only one awake at such an hour. Tella sat curled up on one of the many benches that sat out on the shared balcony. She watched the night sky silently and tried to capture sleep.

She jumped at a grinding noise to her left. Started she looked sharply to the sliding door next to her. Will stared out at her from the other side of the door. Sheepishly he came out onto the balcony, dressed in the night robes that had been provided for them. He looked quit surprised to see her and almost embarrassed and regretful that he had disturbed her.

“Hello.” He said.

“Hello.” She replied. “Why are you out here?” Will paused thinking, his eyes darting to the floor.

“Um, Well, if you must know I wanted to see the sky.” He said.

“The… sky?” she asked.

“Well, for the last however many weeks its been since we’ve been in those woods, I haven’t seen the sky completely… And I umm… wanted to.” He laughed lightly. “Kind of stupid I guess.”

“Yes.” Tella said. Will blushed and looked away.

“Hey, you weren’t supposed to agree.” He muttered. He looked back up at her and said, “So, why are you out here?”

“I wasn’t tired.” She said.

“Oh. I see…” they trailed into silence and stared out at the sky. Will tried to keep his eyes on the sky but kept catching himself looking at Tella, hoping she had not noticed. She had, but was pretending she hadn’t.

…Don’t look at me like that…Tella thought darkly. If she had been in a better mood she might had though it was some what cute the way he was almost trembling with nervousness. But now, it just annoyed her. Tella lifted herself up from the bench.

“Well, goodnight Will.” She said tersely and started for her door.

                “W-Wait!” Will said and caught hold of her arm. Tella turned around to scowl at him but before she could he leaned down to her and gave her a quick little kiss. Tella screamed angrily and slapped him. Will turned completely red and dashed back into his room before she could shout anything else at him. Furious Tella slammed her door shut.

               

                Will sat huddled on his bed wallowing in self-hatred.

                “What an idiot. Even I know better…” he said to himself growing even redder. His stomach hurt and his limbs were shaky. He cursed. Things like that had always worked for his friends in the harbor towns who wanted to pick up girls.

                “But Tella isn’t like those girls.” Came a voice. Will let out a little yelp of surprise as he sat up quickly. Fairien sat on the opposite side of the bed watching him, whether with amusement or anger, Will could not tell.

                “Fariean…!” he squeaked.

“You stole a kiss from Tella. Very brave.” He said. Will could see he was at least somewhat amused. This encouraged him.

“How come you didn’t tell me you knew Tella?” he asked. Fairien looked at him sharply.

“Why wouldn’t I know her?” he asked.

“I’m not talking about you knowing her… as a god… I’m talking about you knowing her when you were a mortal.”

“Why do you think I knew her?” Fairien asked slyly.

“You know! Because Demus said you were in that group of Betamians that rescued her from Area… You must have known her… and maybe even become friends with her.”

“We were… a little bit more than friends.” Fairien said smiling. Will blinked.

“You… and…Tella…” he trailed off, his face going pale. Fairien nodded.

“Jeez! If I only knew more about world events like this…! Y-You aren’t going to smite me or anything are you?” Will asked shakily.

“No.” Fairien laughed. “At least, I don’t think so…”

“Oh… Good.” Will said. “Umm… I’m sorry... I won’t go near her again…”

“Will,” Fairien sighed, “I’m not a mortal any longer. She is no longer my to have. In that way.” They watched each other in silence for a moment.

“S-Still.” Will said. “I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me. I mean…” Will lapsed into confusion and embarrassment.

“No, I think she will. Tella is a forgiving person.” Fairien said. Will glared at him.

“You’re lying.” He said.

“Am I?”

“Fairien! Don’t make fun of me! This stupid connection at least tells me when your lying.” He said. Fairien laughed. “Hey! I thought gods weren’t suppose to lie.”

“I’m not a god.” Fairien said seriously. Will cocked his head in confusion.

“Well, then… What are you?” he asked.

“…I’m not sure actually.” Fairien replied.

 

 

 

The solemn great hall stood before Collin. It was quiet and foreboding, but Collin stepped inside, unafraid, covered in a protective anger. He walked to the statue getting a closer look at it than he had had earlier that evening. It was a woman, clothed in flowing robes that spread around her as if a wind were blowing across their stony depths. Collin scanned past their beauty and let his eyes rest on the amulet she wore. Collin had at first assumed that the amulet had just been placed around the statue's neck to enhance its beauty, however as he looked closer he could see that the statue had been made to hold the amulet. There were carefully hidden groves cut for the amulet to rest in. Collin turned around and walked to a near by chair. Picking it up he carried it back over to the statue and placed it at the base. Next he climbed up on it and reached for the amulet. It came away easily in his hands. Collin stopped to gaze at it. It was not really an amulet, but some kind of pendant. The front was ornately decorated with the seal of Area, encrusted in small shiny gems, tarnished slightly by age. Collin grunted in surprise as he noticed a golden feather springing up in one of the designs on the front. This was Hailia’s royal crest.

“What is this thing…?” Collin asked out loud.

“The orbis… The mirror of truth.” Came a voice. Collin jumped and nearly fell off the chair. He turned quickly to find the elder gazing at him. “So you are intrested in such a thing?”

“I-I…”Collin climbed off the chair his face turning red. “Hey,” he said suddenly, “Mirror? What do you mean mirror?” Collin looked back at the object in his hand. “I don’t see any mirror.”

“Ah, you see there on the left side? There are little hinges. It opens and the mirror is inside.” The elder replied. Collin look and sure enough, there were hinges. He raised his hand to open it but before he could,

“Stop!” the elder said, “Don’t open it. It is not time for that.”

“What do you mean?” Collin asked angrily. “And why does this thing had both Area and Hailian emblems on it?”

“It was made when relations between our countries were not so… tense…” the elder coughed, “At any rate. I must get back to bed now.” Collin bit his lip.

“Wait, I… I…” Collin tried to find something to say. The elder looked back at him and smiled.

“Keep that thing close to you. Don’t let it out of your sight.”

“What?” Collin asked.

“Well, you were planning on taking it, weren’t you?” the elder asked. Collin nodded silently, his face reddening slightly.

“Well, yes. But I won’t now… It belongs to this county…”

“Would that have stopped you?” the elder asked. Collin paused unsure of what to say, but knew that he must not lie.

“…. No. But I-”

“Just keep it close to you.” The elder said again.

“But this is yours!” Collin protested. He felt angry and embarrassed that he had even thought of stealing it. What would his master think of him now? But the elder was not listening.

“Goodnight child. I hope the morning finds you well rested.”

“I shouldn’t be rewarded for this! It was wrong!” Collin burst out in a last effort. The elder paused a moment and then slowly turned around to face him.

“It is not a reward.” He said quietly. The elder slipped silently into the shadows and disappeared. Collin stood alone in the great hall, holding the mirror of truth.

 

 

   

 

The path from Malibius to Iyokia deteriorated quickly. Soon there was no real path, it was so overgrown with foliage.

They had left Malibius early that morning, not wanting to stay long in case Mahito discovered their location.

“Its sad we couldn’t stay longer.” Will complained.

“Collin, just how far away is this base?” Tella asked.

“I told you, its just inside the Iyokian border. It will take a few days on foot.”

“We’re really going to use one of those Arean transporting devices?” Will asked.

“Well, why not?” the wanderer asked. Will cringed.

“Something like that can’t be safe.” He said.

“Then you can stay.” Tella looking at him.

“No way!” Will shouted.

“You have nothing to worry about. They are quite safe.” Collin said.

“Well, the only thing is…” the wanderer said, “How do we get past security?”

“Yeah, that base will be full of Areans. I don’t think they’ll just let us use their base, even if we have Collin with us.” Tella said.

“There isn’t anyone there.” Collin said.

“What?”

“There isn’t a staff there.” He continued. “Bases in Iyokia are obsolete now. So we don’t pay to staff them anymore.”

“Because everyone in Iyokia is either dead or has left.” Will said.

“Don’t get me wrong, we still use some of the bases to transport raw materials from Iyokia to Avrai and other parts of Area, but military bases are for the most part abandoned.”

“What parasites.” Tella said scornfully. Collin stuck his nose in the air.

“You’d do the same thing.” He said. “We have to support our economy just like everyone else.”

“Let’s just concentrate on getting through the jungle.” Demus said. He drew his sword and began to hack away at the under growth making a path.

“Hmm.” Tella said watching. “Hey Will, why can’t you be useful like that?” Will glared at her.

“Because I don’t have a sword I guess.” He said.

“Would you like to borrow one?” Demus asked.

“What you have extra?” Will asked. In response Demus bent down and drew another small sword from a sheath attached to his waist. He tossed it lightly to Will.

“H-Hey!” Will yelled and jumped back, just missing being impaled. “Becarful!” Demus chuckled and went back to chopping at the weeds. Will grudgingly picked up the sword and halfheartedly swung it at the vines near him. They came away in a large clump above him and fell on his head. Will cursed and tried to untangle himself.

“What did I tell you? Becarful.” Demus called to him. Tella and the wanderer watched him giggling. Will glared at them and threw the vines off of him. The rest of the day was hot.

 

 

At last when the sun was nearing the horizon they settled on a place suitable for camp. They built a small fire and sat around its flames while eating their small rations. However, Demus sat with his back to the fire. When Will asked him about it, Demus merely laughed and would say nothing more.

“So…” Tella mused leaning back against a tree. “Where do you suppose we are now?”

“Approaching the Iyokian border I suppose.”

“I wonder why you all did not go to Area from South Betamy.” Demus said, “That would have been the quickest way, would not?”

“Because, the Betamy Area border is guarded a lot more heavily than the Hailia Area border. We’d never have gotten within ten miles of the border before they shot us.” Tella said.

“Yeah but, wasn’t Fairien going that way?” Will asked. After he said it he wondered if he should have known that, and if he should have addressed Fairien in a more formal way, but Tella didn’t seem to notice.

“Yes. And he ended up dead didn’t he?” she said through her teeth glaring at Will.

“Hmm, a more important question you should ask is why you are going to Avrai.” Collin said.

“Because we were told to.” The wanderer said. Collin glanced at her.

“Beyond that. I mean, what your ultimate purpose is.”

“Bug off. Its none of your concern.” Tella told him. Collin laughed at her.

“At least I have a mission with a purpose.” He said.

“Oh no, here comes a repeat form this afternoon.” The wanderer groaned.

“So you have a better purpose than us?” Tella asked Collin, “We at least are trying to help this world somehow. All your doing is waiting for a dead guy to show up.”

“Enough! Let’s not talk about this now.” Demus said. Collin’s face had turned bright red.

“Shut up. You don’t know anything. You’re just guessing.” He said.

“Oh come on Collin! How long has it been now? A month? You still think he’s coming?” Tella shouted.

“Tella, come on, leave him alone.” The wanderer pleaded.

“I told you!” Collin screamed. “Shut up!” he sat down hard and held his knees glaring vengefully at Tella. “And…” Collin said after moment in a quiet voice, “Even if he were dead, at least he died for a purpose… unlike your Betamian “hero”.”  He smiled in satisfaction at seeing the anger boil up from Tella.

“We won’t get anything done trying to hate each other.” Will said suddenly stern. “If we’re going on their journey, we may as well be civil to each other, despite our differences.”

“Well said.” Demus commented quietly.

“We are all different, aren’t we?” the wanderer asked.

“We have some one from each country, plus an outsider.” Tella said.

“Strange, isn’t it?” Will said.

“Excuse me.” Collin said getting up. ‘I should check the moon to see that we’re still heading the right way.” With that he left the camp area walking off into the woods.

“We may have an Arean following us, but he’s not in our group.” Tella said once Collin was far enough away that he wouldn’t hear her.

“Oh I don’t know. He’s civil to the rest of us.” Will said.

“That’s right. You’re the only one he argues with mostly.” The wanderer said. “If you would stop starting things with him, he might not be so angry all the time.”

“He starts them himself.” Tella grumbled.

“At least don’t talk about his master.” The wanderer said. “He’s probably already depressed about it enough.”

“It’s not really nice to mess with him when he’s lost someone close to him Tella.” Will said.

“That’s if his master really is dead.” The wanderer said. “I mean what happens if one day we wake up and his master is here ready to kill us?”

“We’ll worry about that when it happens.” Tella said. “But I’m pretty sure he’s dead. You guys didn’t hear the way Mahito avoided the subject and wouldn’t tell Collin anything directly about his master. From what I can guess Collin’s master told him to protect us until he got here. So that’s what Collin’s going to do, even though his master won’t ever come. And Mahito doesn’t want that. He just wanted the kid back in Area and away from us, so he can kill us.”

“…Well we still don’t know anything for sure.” Demus said. “Let’s just leave him alone for a bit.”

 

 

Collin sat back against a small tree and let himself go. His face was still red and now had a few tear lines down his cheeks that he had been too upset to wipe away.

“I hate them.” He whispered to himself. “I hate them all. Master, can’t I kill them…? I don’t want to follow them anymore! Because if I do… I’ll keep seeing Mahito…” he shuddered and clasp his hands to his chest. His fingers hit something hard and he held on to it firmly feeling it out. It was the amulet, or mirror he had been given in Malibius. Collin had worn it under his shirt ever since. Now he pulled it out and studied it again. His finger hit the hinges.

“So your called the orbis or the mirror of truth…” Collin said quietly gazing at it, “So, is that what you do? Show the truth...? There are many things I’d like to know… Like if my master is alright… What’s going on here… What is happening to this world… and if there is…” Collin paused and smiled, “…If there is any place left for me to go. Would to tell me that little mirror?” his fingers tugged at the latch on the side prying it open. “Would you… tell me?” and with that the mirror of truth opened.

 

 

The wanderer awoke and sat up. Her friends lay around the fire, sleeping peacefully. Collin still hadn’t returned and… She looked around but couldn’t find Will.

“Will?” she called.

“H-Hmm?!” came his startled response. He peeked out from behind a tree and looked back at her.

“Oh, your awake are you?” he asked. The wanderer pulled her legs up to her chest.

“Why are you all the way over there? Is something wrong?” she asked. He opened his mouth as if to say something but close it and shook his head.

“No, not really. But… Maybe you should wake Demus.” He said and lay down and turned his back to her.

“What? Why?” the wanderer asked. Will didn’t answer. The wanderer crawled forward and prodded him in the side. “Hey, why?” she repeated. But Will was already asleep again. She sighed and decided to take his weird advice.

“Hey, Demus…” she said crawling over to him and gently shaking his shoulder. Demus’s eyes opened but he made no sound of waking.

“…Are you awake?” the wanderer asked.

“Yes.” He said softly. “What is it?”

“I… I don’t know.” She said. “I… I just…” but Demus wasn’t listening to her anymore. His eyes had shifted from her face to the woods past her. Silently he rose and walked into the trees. The wanderer watched him go wondering if she should follow, but then knew that it was not her place. Her eyes drooped and in a few seconds, the wanderer was asleep again.