Twisted Returns

"Will all members of the Council please report to the conference room?" Screech.

"I gotta go," I say. "Get better." I say it even though I know my words will do nothing at all.

"I hope," Elise mutters.

"I wish," Katalina moans.

As I leave, I meet up with Dean. He had been checking up on Lorraine, who is still with Cody. Apparently, she's getting better, but not by much. It's obvious that having Cody there helps her. I would have visited, if not the for the announcement.

"What's this for?" I ask him.

"Don't know. It's probably important though, if they're calling everyone in."

We walk down five flights of stairs to the ground floor. We pass the Hall, where hordes of people wait to read the list. I fight the urge to run up quickly and check. Then I remind myself that I don't have to, because Dean is supposedly all-knowing.

"How did you know that Elise and Katalina were injured?" I ask.

"The network," he says simply.

"I thought it was down."

"It is. The communication networks, anyways. But after Lynda was hurt, I made a personal request to Marigold. So now, every time one of the Terrans is hurt or... something, I get a message sent to me."

"How come you didn't know what was happening at the hospital bombing then?"

He shrugs. "Guess they were too busy to send the message. Don't blame them, though."

"I think I need that."

"Ask Marigold, then. She'll set it up for you."

We reach the conference room. It's not the official room, since the old one was in the right wing. I hear the old one was amazing, though, and totally exclusive.

The room is just a small, bland, room with a large square table, seating four people on each side. I notice that carved directly into the wood are names. I figure they mark which seat is whose, so I walk around the table until I find the name Diana at a corner. It's right next to Charles.

A few people are already here. Marigold sits across from me, next to a blue-haired woman. On the woman's other side is Alina, looking exhausted. I'm surprised to see Amber next to her, though. Isn't she supposed to be in prison?

More people file in. Katie takes a seat next to Dean. Christopher sits at the corner next to Marigold. I don't recognize anyone else.

Once everyone is seated, blue-hair speaks. "We are here today to discuss the 'situation'. As you all know, I am Isabel, Council Head."

I didn't know, actually. I give her a once over, and I see a lot of... blue. Her pale blue eyes match her hair, which match her clothes. Her skin is an ashy gray. To be honest, I find her a bit creepy.

"Firstly, does anyone have any questions?" As she asks this, she looks directly at me and Dean.

"How did the hospital bombing happen?" I ask. It comes out automatically.

"It looked like an inside job," Amber answers me. "It seems as if the hospital had been infiltrated. The explosives were probably planted in the hospital."

Kellis, I think automatically. It works out logically, if he was the culprit.

"It's dangerous," a small woman says, "because if one part of the castle was infiltrated, it's likely that the whole thing is."

"We can't go around pointing fingers, though," Christopher says. "We will lose trust in our people, and we can't afford that."

"But then the whole castle could be blown up at any second," a bald man points out.

Everyone starts talking at once. I don't know which side to take. But I find that if you don't listen to what they're saying, it just sounds like normal people having a normal discussion. Except I know that it's much more.

"This isn't helping," Isabel says loudly, and everyone falls silent. It's interesting how she has that kind of power over them. "This isn't what we're here to discuss."

"What are we here to discuss?" Dean asks. Everyone seems to know but us.

"The disaster, How it happened, and why. How to stop the war."

"How did it happen?"

"It was three days before the wedding," Katie says. "Diana was having a small party, which consisted of the those who make up the Terrans today. You two were there, and you were so in love."

Ignoring the awkward comment, I ask, "And what happened then? Did we all just drop dead?"

"No. It was very sudden. There was a rumbling, and loud explosions. That was when the right wing collapsed. "

"The rest of the Terrans were in the right wing," Alina says. "I saw them, dying. That's when I knew I had to do the experimental spell."

"That was when I left," Amber said. "I knew I had to get out before the barriers closed. I almost didn't make it."

"Charles was in his bedroom, perfectly safe. I knew that I had to kill him," Alina says. "It wasn't easy. But killing Diana was a different story."

"Where was I?" I ask, intrigued, and a little afraid.

"You were in the shelter," she says. "Hiding in the spot that you were trained to run to ever since you could walk. I went there, knowing that you would be there. But I couldn't get in."

"Then how did you get to me?" I vaguely remember this shelter.

"I waited. I knew you would come back out, despite everything. I knew you would run to save your friends. You would never let them go like that."

"Then... I died?"

She nods. "It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I didn't even know if that spell would work. If it didn't, it would be all my fault. But I had to try. And here you are today."

"That explains a lot," Dean says. "But it still doesn't explain how."

"I thought the whole security system was reinforced with Diana's magic, the blessed magic of the universe?" I ask, feeling a bit conceited.

"Another reason we are here," Isabel says. "We have to ask you two if you remember anything relating to this. Anything at all."

"I don't remember," I say regretfully.

Dean clears his throat. "But I do."