James got me back to the campsite safely before he galloped back to the battlefield. I made a beeline for my dorm, slowing down when I saw Will closing the door.

He turned and saw me, a horrified expression. "It's not what you think! I wanted to check where you were!"

There was a throb at the back of my head. Jaxton.

"I was away for a long time, aye?" I rubbed my head, hiding my nervousness. "A minor hiccup during Practical. No biggie," I pointed at the door. "How did you get in?"

"Oh, your door was open," he said, an honest look in his eyes. "I thought you forgot to close it. You must've left in a rush – I could tell by the half-eaten sandwich and fallen chair..."

He blabbered on – to be honest, I've never heard Will talk that much – but my mind was elsewhere. Half-eaten sandwich and fallen chair? What was that man doing in my room!

I released a light chuckle, "ha, Will, you're so observant! I did leave in a hurry."

Will relaxed and grinned, "yeah, it's cool. Ted and I will be down in the dining cave."

"I'll be right there. Just need to get changed." I smiled, letting him walk past me. "You haven't seen anything else, have you?"

He stopped at the stairs, hand on the railing. "Oh, like... another person?"

My heart took a fall off the cliff. Did Jaxton get mistaken as an intruder? Did they have a fight?

"No! Of course not! Who steals from a troop? We're poor students anyways." Will laughed heartily and I mimicked.

"Ah, yes, how silly of me..." I muttered, waving as he trotted downstairs, looking pleased with himself.

The moment he left my vision, I rushed into the room and flicked the lights on. It was proven that there was a half-eaten sandwich on the table and a fallen chair. The room was empty.

"Jaxton?" I tried softly. I padded to the bathroom, expecting him to be passed out on the floor again, except the tiles and light were lucid white and the bathroom was empty.

I walked to my bed. In my wardrobe, maybe.

"Jaxton?"

Suddenly, I felt something cold grab my ankle. My heart gave a leap.

"I'm here," a voice said, and it was definitely the voice I recognised. I bent down. Poor guy, he was under my bed.

"Your friend freaked me out," he said, not forgetting to add, "or your boyfriend, maybe."

I stifled a groan. "Will's not my boyfriend. Now get out."

"Oh, Will, I see." He wiggled himself out like a worm and I decided to watch him with amusement.

"Can you explain the sandwich and chair?"

"I was hungry so I looked through the fridge and ate your lunch – it was disgusting by the way – and your 'friend' here decided to just check your room. I mean, who does that?" He straightened with a sigh, his eyes were livelier but his expression was still weary. "Clearly Willy does."

"Will."

"Whatever. Out of panic, I threw myself under your bed and knocked your chair over in the process."

I briefly imagined what that looked like. It was lucky Will didn't hear the noise.

"Has anyone else been in my room?"

"Nope," he picked up the fallen chair and slumped on it. "Where were you? You took ages."

I resisted my shiver. "I thought you would have left."

"For your sake, I stayed so no one would see me jump from your balcony," he allowed a smirk to bloom. Ah, looks like he was feeling much better. "No big deal. People just think I'm your mysterious boyfriend that loves romantic balcony visits."

I cringed. "You can go now. It's dark outside. No one will see you."

I was hearing him chuckle for the first time, his eyes narrowing upon his smile. "You're a nice hostess."

"You said yourself. We'll take separate paths from now on. We don't owe each other anything."

He nodded, got up with his sword clutched to the side. He made his way to the balcony. "Keep my secret safe, and I'll keep yours."

My head gave a painful ring. I shot a look at him, only to find him staring at me with an amused smile. "Iridescent. That's quite a sword."

I tensed. "Without this sword, you'd be dead. So, don't you dare."

"Learn to listen carefully next time, darling," he said, a dangerous grin. "My secret safe. Your secret safe. Got it?"

I eyed him warily. "You have my word."

"Perfect." I watched him turn for the balcony, entering the shadows. He breathed deeply, and I followed him to do the same. I could understand why – the air smelt different during the night. When the days over and the chaos of the world had ceased to its slumber, the air seemed less foul. It was crisp against the chill of the night.

It calmed me, but only a little. I was in close proximity with this man – this dangerous man. He had turned up at my place vulnerable, but I knew that I should never let my guard down when this man was awake. I had been careless. All I wanted now was to have nothing to do with him. I wanted him to leave and never come back again. And I dearly hoped that he was not only a lion, awoken from his slumber, but also a man of his word.

"Good night, dear," he said softly, his green eyes twinkling as he stared at me. "I shall visit you again soon."

"Please don't."

He stifled a laugh, scanning the environment one last time before he soared over the railing and disappeared.



***



After I cleaned up Jaxton's mess (I was quite angry about that, but what can I say, I was the one who shooed him off), I didn't forget to stare at the mirror that hung near my door. I was certain it was there for convenience, and most people would've appreciated it but...

I grabbed the frames and took the mirror off. I scanned the room for a good spot until I settled with shoving it at the back of my wardrobe. I shut the wooden doors and never looked back.

The food was already served on the table when I slid into the warm cave.

"Julian is missing, as you see," Ted's first words when our gazes met. Who knows what sort of accusation was going to be thrown around again.

I crossed my leg over the other and picked up the cutleries. "He might be busy."

"Why are you suddenly talking for him?" Ted stopped chewing.

I replied with a nonchalant shrug. "I try to look from a different perspective."

"What do you see in his?" Ted raised a brow. He looked like he was content with looking at me shoving down food.

Placing down the cutleries, I sipped on my cup of tea. "Ted, what happened? You're not making sense."

"It was Tracy!" He gave in almost immediately. But unaware of his volume, he looked around. No one noticed his outburst (since the food was probably more important) but he lowered his voice anyways. "She's crazy...!"

Will nodded in agreement and whispered, "you're lucky you weren't here."

I placed pasta in my mouth, "did I get in trouble for being absent?" I asked between chews, trying my best to be discreet.

He shook his head, "wonder why."

Our eyes landed on Tracy, who sat at the end of the table, no one talked to her.

Will cut off his gaze, "probably because of what happened."

I shoved the salad into my mouth and miffed, "I hope she learnt her lesson."

I spared another glance at Tracy. She stabbed her roasted potatoes emotionlessly. After dinner, all I wanted was to go to bed but I worried about Kristen.

There was a harsh wind and the street lamps were lit up around the academy. I shoved my hands into my pocket and huddled to the direction of Marty's camp. When it reached the camp, my footsteps slowed and I could feel insecurity attack me like the sudden gust of wind.

Should I be bothering them? They had been fighting off Zenxs for our sake. I was safe because of them. I stared at the entrance of the cave, at a loss. Should I walk in and make them look at me again? The looks I couldn't comprehend the first time I had seen them. Or, it was simply a look that I refused to admit – that I was an outsider.

I let out an agitated sigh and turned, halting when a familiar voice rang behind me.

"Cassandra?" James pulled his hands out of his pockets and approached me whilst I stared with slight surprise. "What are you doing here for?"

"I wanted to ask about Kristen..." I admitted, hiding my palms behind my back.

"Why didn't you come in?"

"I... I didn't know if I should intrude. You must all be exhausted."

James didn't reply. He simply brushed past me, "I'm going to see Kristen now. Coming?"

I trailed after him. "Yes!"

We walked in silence. I wasn't sure how I should react to it. Make conversation? Shut my mouth? Except, I knew if I didn't talk about something, my mind would plague me with bad memories. It's funny how silence and idle times would only bring back the past, the past that we usually don't want to remember.

I took in a sharp breath. My sound of fear quickly taken away by the wind.

James turned to look at me, "are you alright?"

I met his look, his eyes were reflecting off a white light, almost like glass. "Yes, fine."

"You look pale, though." He questioned, brows furrowed.

"From the shock, maybe."

"Your week must've been hectic," he said quietly. We passed over a wooden bridge, and I sneaked a peek into the pond below. "I heard about the Mirror Palace. It was the first time someone's ever sent a junior over there."

"The whole school kinda knows about it..." I muttered, clasping my hands in front. "Have you been?"

His lips thinned, "yeah..."

"I'm sorry to pry, I just want to know..." I tensed. "I got attacked by my own reflection. Is that the same for everyone else?"

James' stance was rigid, he gave a shudder. "No! Wow... that must've been horrifying."

"I guess people get attacked by different things," I shrugged and didn't ask further. I was certain James didn't want to talk about it.

We arrived at a little cottage, surrounded by Jacaranda trees. It was brightly lit, a massive red-cross hung on the top of the roof.

James opened the door and inclined his head for me to walk in first. Inside, the air was still but fresh. The wind was shut off outside.

"Good evening, how may I help?" The girl asked with a smile.

"We're looking for Kristen." James said, while I stayed behind to look at the goldfish in the tanks, "she came in today."

"She's in room five, you can go in." The healer said with a wide smile. James nodded thanks and I followed him to the room. When we got there, we peered through the window on the door.

The desk lamp cast a soft light in the whole room, making it glow in a comforting hue. Kristen slept on the bed peacefully, her blonde hair loosened and spread like a stream on the pillow. Marty stood near the window, his back facing us, deep in thought.

"She looks fine," James assured me with a gentle voice.

I nodded.

"Marty seems..."

"Out of place?" I spared a glance at him.

"Yes," he said, his brown eyes blinked back to blue. "What do you suppose we do?"

James kept inching towards me and I ended up giving up the whole window to him. He spared me a momentary glance and shifted his focus back to Kristen.

"I don't think we should go in. That would disturb both of them." I offered.

James leaned away. "Maybe something happened at the meeting."

So that was where Julian went.

As we were about to leave, Marty exited the ward. His brows shot sky-high when he saw us, but he relaxed and clicked the door close. "She's fine, just got knocked out pretty badly."

"I'm glad..." I said quietly. Guilt tore through my gut when I saw Marty. He and his troop had come to our aid, and I was scared they blamed me for what happened. Maybe I was blaming myself for what happened. I just didn't want anyone to risk their life for me; not Kristen or Marty or James or anyone in their troop. It was unfair on them. They didn't ask for this.

When I was pulled out of my thoughts, James was already gone and out of sight. I looked around. "Where's James?"

"He just left, did you not notice?" Marty said, his voice hid concern.

I shook my head but Marty's brows only creased with worry.

"Cassie, are you sure you're alright?" Marty glanced around and inclined his head, "do you want to talk outside?"

Perhaps the room was too warm for my good, or that I was tired. Something dragged me down and all I wanted to do was curl into a ball. I nodded and followed Marty out of the clinic.

The chilly air embraced me tightly, I instantly felt awake. I even felt like I could breathe easier.

"Cassie," he said and I felt my heart shook. Whatever he was about to say, it was serious. "You don't look so good."

I breathed in a shaky breath. "I'm tired and overwhelmed."

Marty downcast his gaze. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It'll pass with time, Marty," I said, drawing his attention back. "I need rest."

"You do," Marty said, but something was troubling him.

"Only after you tell me what's going on," I encouraged. "I know you want to tell me something. What is it?"

"I'm not sure I should burden you with this."

Come what may. I thought. I inhaled a breath, offered a smile. "I think I'm strong enough."

Marty swallowed, and began warily, "someone... wants to talk to you."

I raised my brows, "who?"

"Professor Allister."

I was completely blank. "Who's that?"

"He's in the school management," Marty was careful with his choice of words, and his eyes spilled reluctance. "He wanted to discuss something... important."

I paled and mouthed, "crystals?"

He closed his eyes and nodded, looking pained.

His words hit me like a rain of hail. I feared for my end and I didn't want everything to end here. With a quiet, quivering voice, I asked, "what will happen to me?"

"I'm not sure, Cassie. I'll do everything I can to-"

"Don't, Marty," I stopped him. I could foresee my worst end if things were to fall out, and I didn't need someone innocent to be dragged into the waters with me.

"The Professor is a good person," Marty added quickly, "as far as I know it."

I managed a smile, "let's hope so, Marty, let's hope so."



***



A/N

Wow, what will be Cassie's punishment if things were to fall out? I hinted, but any guesses?

Till our next adventure, peeps.

L