The little blue bird flew through the city, cloaked in power and faster than the wind. In a moment he had seen the entire plan of the palace and perched atop the roof. After finding the dungeons he flew back to the villa where his mistress sat like a statue.

Leonmithas turned back to his fae form and stood facing Cybelline. Her eyes were closed, her face was pale. He sighed, "We should not have come." He should have been her right hand, he was first fae after all. But the land of the ring was a temporary place, he was still weak from the years of being imprisoned as a crazed monster bird.

He thought of the land in the ring and sighed. It was created by the source as a temporary stasis for all fae life, but the more fae there was, the more it took for Cybelline to keep it from breaking. It was a safe harbor, but it was not their home.

Cybelline opened her eyes and smiled, "You found him?"

Leonmithas nodded and told her the details, "He's in the dungeons. But are you sure about this? You're carrying thousands of souls in that land in the ring. The more people you place there, the more it will take out of you. Your magic could become unstable."

"It's just one more person. He's a little unstable, but I'm sure you'll like him." Cybelline reassured him.

"Are you sure it's just one?" Leonmithas asked, "Are you sure you didn't come because you were worried about that human general?"

"Why can't it be both," Cybelline got up and stretched.

Leonmithas's eyes opened, "You're not poisoned?" He had been racking his brains on how to find the antidote.

Cybelline shook her head, "No, of course not. If I can't even avoid getting poisoned then I would've died a thousand times in my life already." She wiggled her fingers, "She might be able to detect magic, but not slight of hand."

"How many secrets do you still keep?" Leonmithas asked.

"How many stars are there in the sky?" Cybelline countered. She looked at him up and down, "Anyways, enough small talk. Take off your clothes."

Leonmithas's blinked uncomprehendingly and suddenly clutched at his chest, "I thought you liked that human general."

"I do, but that's not the point" Cybelline grinned, "You said you're good at shapeshifting. Right?"

"Yes."

"Then can you be me for a little while?"

Leonmithas finally got it. A tinge of red came to his cheeks, "Fine." He turned around and started undressing, his cheeks slightly pink, "Don't look."

Cybelline raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"

Leonmithas turned from light peach to cherry tomato, "You...you're supposed to be our queen." He was a well trained warrior, but with Cybelline, he always felt that she turned the world upside down.

Cybelline nodded, "That has nothing to do with me enjoying your body."

Leonmithas went from cherry red to wine. Cybelline laughed and waved a hand, "Alright I won't tease you anymore. Here's a set of my clothes. Get changed and I'll see you in a while."

Once dressed, Cybelline closed her eyes and felt the world around her. She remembered what Leonmithas had taught her about shapeshifting, allowing her magic to flow to her limbs and change the structure.

Sweat beaded her forehead, it would not be this difficult if she hadn't the burden of the magical ring on her hand. But she gritted her teeth and bore it.

When she opened her eyes... Leonmithas had a very strange expression on his face as he looked down on his queen.

She opened her mouth...

Quack.

"My queen...perhaps now is not the time to think like a duck." Leonmithas said, a hint of a smile on his lips, "You might want something that doesn't stand out."

Cybelline glared at him and closed her eyes once more. Her shape seemed to shrink and soon there was a small dove glaring at him. She flew up into the air and zipped out of the windows, undetected by her jailers.

Doves were common in the city of light, they symbolized purity and beauty. It was not long until Cybelline flew to the gates of the dungeon. There, she transformed again into a little snake, as small as her little finger. She fought down the magical nausea that came with using her magic. Just a little longer, she promised herself.

The deeper it went, air became more putrid, it was as if death had permeated every pore of the place. Cybelline felt a hint of familiarity as she thought back to all those missions long ago where she entered places just like this. Remembering the directions Leonmithas had told her, she went for the deepest, darkest part of the dungeon.

In that moment the little snake turned back into a human and she stood in front of the bloodied and kneeling figure in front of her.

There were no guards in this part of the dungeon. After all the prisoner was almost half dead. Chains as thick as a grown man's arm were wrapped around every part of his body. Dark stains of blood bled from cuts that had been made on top of cuts. Cybelline, even after all these years of seeing the torture methods that people had come up with, winced.

Hearing the sound, the man's fingers moved a little.

"Kyria...Kyria..." From his throat came a parched whisper. Cybelline frowned, "What?"

"I will not tell you. Kill me Kyria...and let this end." It was an exhausted whisper of an exhausted man.

Cybelline knelt down and looked at the golden, matted hair, "Old man, I've come for you." She took out a skein of water from the land in the ring, "Drink."

The water was cold and sweet, it had healing properties that the druids had blessed. Once it hit Jinon's throat, he felt some strength come back into his body.

Jinon, cracked open an eyelid. He stared for a moment, "Are you the messenger of death come"

"If you don't stop spouting nonsense, then yes." Cybelline rolled her eyes, "You know me. That little girl that Ithos and Myrai rescued."

"Tell me something only Cy would know then." He demanded, his golden eyes staring into her green ones intently.

"When we traveled to the Capital of Dycathion together, you went to go relieve yourself and a pride of female lions took a liking to you, because of your mane. It was the first and only time I've ever seen a man clutching his pants sprinting through the forest with seven lionesses chasing after him."

"While you just sat in your tree and laughed."Jinon glared at her, but soon he lost his strength, "Girl, this is not the place for you."

"I think it's pretty homey. I'm sure the last resident thought of it too." Cybelline eyed the pile of bones in the corner, "But it's time to go."

Jinon nearly cracked a smile, if not for the bruise on his lips, "I'm a little bit inconvenienced right now. These chains are magicked, you will not be able---"

CRACK

Cybelline grabbed a chain in her hands and it turned into a pile of useless metal. She took his shackles and did the same. Jinon fell towards the earth and she gripped his shoulder, "What were you saying? I couldn't hear you over the sound of you being wrong.

"Show off." The older man muttered and winced. He looked at his dislocated shoulder and took a deep breath. Grabbing it with his good hand, he pushed the socket back in place.

"How did you get in here?" Jinon asked as he caught his breath.

"A little luck and magic." Cybelline answered, as she waited for the man to heal a little more.

"Why are you here?" Jinon wanted to know, "You should be hiding from the Lady of Light."

"I came for you." Cybelline said, "You, Ithos, and Myrai are family." Seeing a little more color in his face, Cybelline smiled, "Let's go."

She waved a hand and they were in the land of the ring.

After a moment of blackness, Jinon opened his eyes and stared unbelievingly at the sight in front of him.

Plains of rolling green grass surrounded a vast lake with a grand old tree. The rich smell of growth and life hit his nostrils as he looked at the little house on the hill, In the distance, he saw mountains and the blossom of fire red flowers. Rivers grew through the land as the green hills met forests of deep green that turned almost purple.

Little lights twinkled in the sky as the fae flew by.

A fae of a vivid green, her dress and her hair cloaked in wild flowers came over, she offered a cup, "Drink."

Jinon took the cup from her hands and drank, it was like the liquid from before, cool and sweet.

Cybelline smiled at the look of disbelief on his face, "How do you like my new digs."

"This...This.." Jinon was lost for words, "Where are we?"

"A ring on my finger." Cybelline held up her hand, and Jinon could see faint marks on her hands."

"You are Titania's heir." Jinon said it with a finality.

Then, seeing the faint lines around her eyes and the sweat on her face he frowned, "You may control this place, but it's taking a great effort."

Cybelline nodded, "I sensed that as well, it's why I came to find you."

Jinon sat on the grass, his knees weak from his injuries and shock, "What do you need from me?"

Cybelline sighed, "I'm sorry. Solara is Dead."

Jinon looked at the bowl in his hands and sighed, "She and I knew that one of us would send off the other. I just hoped..." He did nto continue.

Cybelline sat beside him, "In the last moment, before she disappeared, she told me to rescue you."

Cybelline remembered that moment, when Solara's body turned to light. Save Jinon. That voice that seemed more wind than words. Cybelline looked at the peaceful world in front of her, "Do you know why she would do that?"

Jinon paused, "She and I are...were the last people who know the place where the hidden fae are located."

Cybelline smiled, "So I made my choice."

Jinon looked at her with his tired eyes, "choice?"

"If I were to leave you at the hands of the Lady of Light, then the secret dies." Cybelline said as she looked at him, "If I rescued you, then the Lady of Light would inevitably find the culprit. I would have no choice but to face her and fight."

Jinon looked at her, "Why did you rescue me. You could have lived a peaceful life. You're still able to handle the magic in the ring. It's dangerous but it would have stabilized over time, if you stopped using magic. Why run head long towards certain death?"

"I already told you. You, Ithos, and Myrai are my family." Cybelline said quietly, "I like the peace and quiet. But if the world thinks that it can take what's mine, then it must prepare for war."

"You knew that nothing good could have come in rescuing me?" Jinon asked finally.

Cybelline shrugged and looked at Jinon, and he was struck by the determination in her eyes, "I know that it's time for me to take a stand." She stood up, "Tomorrow, be it good or bad. It's time I teach people how to coexist."

Dark wings unfurled behind her as she seemed to flow with a silvery light. She smiled at Jinon, "The Lady of Light and I are going to have a nice, long, heart to heart."

Jinon stared in awe, it had been a long time since he'd seen a full fledged fae. He remembered Kyria, the love of his life and now the enemy of this child whom he had come to think of as his daughter. He sighed, "Then i wish you the best."

It seemed, that he too, had made his choice.

------

Killian awoke again, this time at the tapping on the window. He sat up slowly and took a few deep breathes to clear his head. Gone were the expressions of pain and feverish eyes. He opened the window and a shadow flitted through.

"What news?" He asked, his voice sharp and cool.

The shadow bowed his head to the general and answered, "My lord, it was as you predicted, she is evacuating the city."

Killian's eyes were colder than ice, "Who is left?"

The spy hesitated and then nodded, "In the last few days the Lady of Light has cleared most of the city, only the most powerful mages remain."

"If I fail, I'm sure my death will take half the city. She wants to lower the risk." Killian said coldly, "What else have you found about my condition?"

The spy bowed, "The Lady is bent on you completing the trials because...because it is said that the ones with the red eyes have the power to completely wipe the fae off the face of the earth." The spy looked at his general, "It is as you thought. She intends to make you a weapon."

Killian closed his eyes and smiled bitterly, the person he trusted the most, the one who had lent him a hand at his lowest, perhaps now only saw him as a sword. There was a pause in the room before Killian asked, "What has she been putting in my food and drink?"

"Potions to make your mind more malleable. More easily persuadable." The spy responded.

"A weapon she can control." Killian said softly as he looked at his hands. This was his family, the person he considered his mother and father. Had she asked him to give him everything before he found Cybelline, he would have dug out his own heart for her. And now?

"My lord" the spy seemed to gather his courage, "My lord, if you don't go through the trials, you will die. No one with red eyes have live past thirty."

"I will go into the trials on my own terms." Killian spoke and made small cut on his hand, and using the blood, drew a symbol in the air. Wisps of grey magic were drawn out of his forehead. By the time he'd finished, there was a tiny grey blob in his hands. Blood became the barrier as it struggled to be free of his magic.

He spoke another spell and the grey magic was completely trapped in by his blood. Taking out a vial, he dropped it in, where similar balls of magic stayed. He sighed, his body was now soaked in sweat, "Take this. Give it to our Mages. I want to know what it's made of." And handed the vial to the Spy.

He looked at the figure on the ground who now seemed to want to say something, "What else?"

"They have captured Cybelline." The spy said, he was nervous for this moment, "They have her in the villas."

Killian's eyes narrowed, "What happened?"

The air turned to ice as Killian waited.

"We were protecting her after we found her. We thought we could keep her away from the Lady of light, as you instructed." The spy said, his voice a little shaky, "But somehow, she found a way to get captured. Even though we had prevented it several times before."

"What will happen to her." Killian asked, he had become more and more sure that his aunt would not be welcoming of cybelline in the last few days. He thought he could keep her safe, keep her away at least until he was safe to be around again.

"They say that the Lady of Light intends Cybelline to be sacrificed at your trials." The spy said, his voice seemed to be forced out of his throat.

"Why her? Because of my relationship with her?" Killian's brows furrowed, "I want her out of here. Have our men take her to a safe place. And quickly"

"Our men can't get to her, she is guarded by men and magic." The spy looked down, "I have found that it is not only because of your relationship. There is a rumor."

"Spit it out." Killian said, he felt frozen as he waited.

"There is rumor...that she is fae. And that she will be your first kill after the trials."