Twisted Returns

Marigold was called down and they discussed the situation, using many words that I should have understood. But I couldn't make sense of them.

I did, however, understand one part. Marigold had cast a "Council Classification" spell. Meaning that only people on the Council could know. If you tried to speak of it with anyone else, all that would come out of your mouth is gibberish. And if you tried to send the message in any other way, it would become distorted.

Meaning that I couldn't talk to Lorraine about it. Not that that she wanted to talk to me anyways, but whenever something came up, I would always go to her first.

But miraculously, I remembered taking a law class when Diana was still in school. It was a fuzzy memory, but nonetheless helpful.

I remembered learning that all royalty, by default, were on the Council. Which meant that I could talk about it with Dean.

I knock on the door to our room out of courtesy. It's interesting how we were assigned to the same room. Both of us are royalty, meaning two targets in the same place. And some people get the wrong idea.

I've been hearing rumors about him and I getting back together. But whatever. They don't bother us, because we know we're just friends. Best friends.

Just like in Dean's old room, the door opens for me automatically. I find him on his bed, but not reading like usual. Instead, he's sleeping with his mouth wide open. Quite unattractive.

"Dean?"

"What?" he answers clearly, his eyes fluttering open. I had always been envious of the fact that he can wake up so quickly, not deterred by the sleepy haze that most people suffer from.

"I'm back from the meeting," I say.

"What meeting? Was I supposed to be there?"

"No, Alina sent Amber to get me a while ago. You were sleeping."

"Oh," he says, sitting up. "Are you allowed to tell me about it?"

"Well, Marigold put a Council Classification spell on it. But I figured that since we're royalty, I could tell you."

"So tell me."

I explain to him how it was Amber's fault and how she had to be sent off to prison. Dean just nods silently.

"What do you think?" I ask after I'm done explaining.

He answers hesitantly. "I don't think she's lying, but..."

"But what?"

"It just... it still doesn't make complete sense. Like how do they have enough power to attack us like this? Even with an army... It just doesn't work."

"Maybe that's where my magic went," I say, even though I know that that's not it.

"Impossible. You'd have to be dead."

"But I am," I remind him. "Just not dead."

He just looks at me. Staring. Gazing. It's common for people to be captivated by the beauty of this body. I should be used to it now. But Dean never does this.

I pretend not to notice. Maybe he's looking at me in disgust, despite the beauty. Maybe he's looking for a glimpse of the girl he used to love. He won't find her, but he can search. I owe him that much.

But silence burns. "Dean?" I say.

"Huh?" he says, coming back to reality. "Oh. Sorry. I was just thinking."

"Something you do way too much," I say under my breath. I change the subject. "Did I tell you about Ashlee and her mysterious lover?"

"Kellis? I didn't think you knew."

"I thought - wait what?"

"Ashlee's boyfriend? The one that works in the hospital. A nurse like her."

Everything makes sense now, from that night. It must have been him in room seventeen with Ashlee.

"I saw them! Making out against a wall... But I couldn't tell who he was. I was wondering..."

"People are talking about them. Like, a lot of people."

"Is it really that interesting?" Gossiping is fun, and I do it too, but I didn't think that everyone would be talking about Ashlee. She's not very well known or particularly important here, other than the fact that she's a Terran.

"It's because of her boyfriend. People say he's on the 'evil side'."

"There's a lot of rumors like that," I point out. "People just don't trust each other anymore."

"But more people suspect Kellis than anyone else. He was new to Crystallaria right before the... disaster. Maybe he has something to do with it."

"Why don't they investigate? Or lock him up or something?"

Dean shrugs. "Well, they're just rumors. And right now we need all the help we can get. He helps out in the hospital, and people don't want to do anything about that. Help is help."

"Yeah, I guess. I wouldn't worry about it though... he's probably just unlucky."

"I know, but... I just feel like something bad is about to happen."

----

I knock once, twice, three times on the dark wooden door. I wait for a minute, and then walk right in.

Marigold's study is empty. I wonder where she is, and if I should wait for her to come back. I take a seat.

I sit there for a while and start to get bored. I look around the room and once again the navy blue DIANA CRYSTAL book catches my eye. Then I realize that last time I took it off the shelf, I never looked to see what was in it. I get up to look.

When I pull it off the shelf, the shelf slides over to the right like it did before. I try my best to ignore the hidden door and focus my attention on the heavy book.

The first page is blank. And so are all the others. Why does a book need to have so many pages just to turn out empty? I place it back on the shelf.

I fight the urge to go into the hidden room and fail. My body freezes as my hand makes contact with the doorknob as it scans for my identity. If Marigold is keeping something important from me, I should find out. It could be the key, the solution to everything.

A book sits on a podium in the back of the room. I try to remember the book that Marigold was hiding from me. I remember a leather bound book and a title starting with an F. The book is titled Forbidden Legends. I reach out to place a hand on the cover.

The emergency bell screeches.