Chapter 15

Sentences with [] around them indicate inner thoughts.

Nyline felt the pressure slowly leave her mind as the silence around her started to press in. Sitting up she looked around the room, had she passed out? She wasn't sure. It took a couple seconds for her head to clear before she was able to stand. The world seemed to wobble and tilt slightly, but it was only for a moment then everything leveled out. Then, as all the memories came rushing back, she felt her breath hitch as she glanced around the room again. The only sound that she could hear was the beating of her own heart. Letting out a breath in a rush she took another in through her nose, all her energy focusing on listening. The silence was making all the hairs on her body stand on end. It felt wrong in every way.

"Well this is a new one, I don't think it's ever been this quiet in my entire life." Her voice bounced off the walls and back to her making her ears prick. Glancing down at the patch-work teddy in her hands she slowly placed it back into the crib.

To distract herself she looked around the room for something, anything. It came in the form of an anti-chamber off to the side that she knew that her wet nurse would have slept in. Walking over she opened the door and found a small room that had a single dresser and a small bed. Then there was only one small window in the room, but it warmed the area. Her hands moved to the cloak that had been hung on the bed's frame. She only took one glance down at her hands to know that she was indeed cold; her skin was shaded a slight purple color. Throwing the cloak around her shoulders she felt the warmth almost instantly.

Walking back into the nursery Nyline glanced around and felt deep down in her stomach that there was something wrong, but she couldn't place it. Then, as her eyes scanned the room once more, she realized that the nursery was completely untouched. There wasn't a single thing that had been knocked off any shelf or any furniture broken or dislodged. How had the entire castle been ravaged but the nursery was completely untouched? Her hand landed on the side of the crib as her thoughts turned from the room to the double French doors that stood directly in front of the crib. Walking forward she looked through them and out onto the land scape beyond the small balcony. It was a large garden, or what was once a one, now it was just another place for the snow to pile up on the sides of the walls.

She didn't understand why there was so much snow here or why it was so cold. In truth, she knew next to nothing about her parent's kingdom. She had never planned on coming back here so she had never bothered Uncle John about it.

Turning, Nyline refocused her attention onto the room her eyes once again falling on the crib. It only took her a second before she had crossed to it and picked up the patch-work teddy as she held onto it as if it was a lifeline.

"Alright Teddy let's go exploring." Her words were spoken aloud as she crossed to the door that lead out of the nursery. Making a split-second decision she turned and walked down one wing of the large castle at random. At the end of that passage she had found that there was a large pane of glass that spanned the entire wall from floor to ceiling. The different colored pieces of glass had been organized to depict a woman with large white feathery wings coming from her back. Her featureless face was turned up towards the sky, her arms raised to shoulder height as if she was speaking to something beyond the glass. Behind her was a sky that was made out of different shades of blue with a large sun of orange and yellow.

Nyline felt captivated by the beauty of what she was seeing; however not even the amazing artistry in front of her could distract her from the silence that was pressing into her mind. Her thoughts shot around her head in a whirl wind that was making her feel hollow and empty inside.

After listening to the silence for what felt like minutes she spun on her heel and started to walk back down the glass hallway she had traversed originally. She passed a glass door on one side and realized that the castle must have been built into the mountain with doors on the second floor leading out to gardens. Then out front the gardens were level with the first floor. Right now, she was looking out at a garden that was level with the second floor and stretched to the retaining wall which was up against the forest.

Large fat flakes fell from the sky lazily as she watched them, her breath fogging up the glass. Continuing on she looked around at the only slightly destroyed castle and when she came to a junction she paused and looked down the large hallway. Recognizing it as the door that the voice before had told her not to go into. Who had that voice been and where had it gone…? Shivers ran up and down her spine before she picked a direction and kept walking. Before long she was standing back in the throne room looking up at the high back chairs, her eyes focusing on the one that was lying on the ground. Without much thought she spun in a circle and looked at each corner of the room before she sat down right in the middle.

"There's one thing I don't understand Teddy. This is where my parents are supposed to have died. At least that's what Uncle John's memory says. So why is there no blood? No bodies?" Nyline stood the patch-work bear up on its feet and made it walk before she turned it around and made it dance back. Nyline stared at the bear wishing that it would give her answers but knowing it wouldn't.

With a huff she lay down on her back and stared up at the ceiling, directly above her was a crystal chandelier; it hung still and completely clear of any cobwebs or dust. She scrunched up her face at it. Why was nothing here adding up? It was as if there was this huge mystery, but she just couldn't place what exactly it was.

["Commencing search…"]Nyline's spine went straight in an instant as the thought passed through the silent hallways. She pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked around for the owner.

["Remember, do not to engage…"] The words melted into her mind as she felt liquid fear seep into her veins. Who was suddenly here and how many were there? "Check all the hallways…" Nyline shoved the patch-work teddy under her arm as she ran from the throne room. "Start with the downstairs and check in after."

["I'll take that one…"]

["And the garden…."] Pressing herself up against the nearest windows she looked out into the large front garden. Her breath caught as the large shadowy shapes moved around the castle walls like ghosts. Her eyes focused more on one of the moving shadows as she felt her heart do a double beat.

Darkling's… those were darkling's. Doing a quick head count she found that there were only two present. However, standing next to them were an additional four people who looked to be human. All of them were standing in a semi-circle around a single figure. He looked relaxed as he stood with his feet shoulder with apart, his arms crossed behind his head.

["Guess that one is mine…"] Two of the darkling's moved away from the circle leaving the four others.

["Downstairs hallways, all clear…"] Nyline felt her heartbeat quicken as she ducked back behind the wall.

["Check the throne room."] The voice reached her, and she felt adrenaline fill her system as she started to sprint down the hallway.

["Rodger, in route…"] She wanted to run and hide; maybe she could go back to the nursery and hide in the wet nurse's room? Could she use her shadow skill? Would her shadow skill even work on them? What about her influence… She had done it to a single one of them, what about two, plus some humans….

["Back garden is all clear…"]

["Rodger, go to the nursery next…"] Remember to be careful though, we don't want to break anything…"

["Rodger…"] Nyline's steps faltered. Where could she hide? Where could she go that she wouldn't be found? Forcing her feet to move forward she ran to the juncture and paused, the shivers running up and down her spine before she made up her mind. Turning she sprinted down the hallway and came to a large set of doors. When her hand connected with the wood, she was surprised that it felt as cold as ice.

["Report back."]

["Negative,"]

["Negative"] The report let a burst of relief run through her mind for just a few seconds before she looked down at the courtyard. Pausing, she felt confusion flood her mind as she realized that the darklings were acting like normal scouts. If they were normal scouts, then that would mean that they each had a mated pair, so there was one missing from the group. Where was it?

Scolding herself, she turned her attention back to the door. Telling herself that darklings were not mated pairs and they certainly were scouts. The pressure of a set of eyes made her turn and look at the window she was standing in front of. Sidestepping the window she pushed her body closer to the door.

["Continue searching,"] the main voice ordered to the darkling.

["Rodger,"] Two voices echoed in unison. Nyline paused as she saw a shadow run across the main hallway. Quickly she ducked behind the window curtains before she pressed her back against the ice wood door and slid inside.

The instant her foot crossed the threshold all her nerves instantly felt like she had just plunged feet first into a frozen lake. Trying to ignore the feeling she closed the door silently behind her and pressed her back up against the wood. After a few breaths she opened her eyes and felt her body lock as her blood ran cold at the sight of the room.

The moon light pooled in from the skylights in the ceiling; shining down on the stains that were once splatters of blood. Nyline looked around the room as she saw corpses half laying as if they had been thrown over tables and chairs. Her eyes landed on two that looked as if they were holding each other's hands as they leaned up against the back wall. The gold circles that wrapped around theirs heads matched. Above them on the wall, were what looked to have a humanoid shape but was disfigured and two large swords sticking out of it pinning it to place.

"What might we have here?" A scratchy voice said from above making her look up. Sweat broke out on her upper lip as what looked like a smoldering head floated down from the rafters and circled Nyline. "Something has not just waltzed into this room for a very long time." The head turned and connected what would have been its eyes if it had any, but no, there were no eye's in the sockets, just pools of black with smoke flurrying upwards from the depths.

"What should this something do with the new something, hmmm?" The sound of her own heartbeat sped up as she tried to keep her mind calm and focus on what was going on. "Looks like something scrumptious that I can eat!" The thing, whatever it was, opened its mouth wider than a normal one could have opened as its jaw unhinged. The smell of rotting flesh seeped off its tongue and wafted into her nose making her gag. Fear had her frozen to the spot as she watched the jaw open even wider as if it was going to try and bite off the entire top half of her body in one clean snap.

A bright flash of light illuminated the space before an arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her from the room. The door slammed closed right in front of her face and there was a sigh of relief from whoever was behind her.

It took her a second before she realized that she could hear no thoughts from the person whose arm was still wrapped around her shoulders. Panic clawed its way up her throat and into her heart and mind making her heart speed up and her brain slow down. Why couldn't she hear them? They were even touching her, not skin to skin, but still this close she should be able to hear everything clearly.

In a single fluid action, she had removed the hand that had been wrapped around her before she used her movement skill, landing herself in the juncture of the hallway once more. In one heart stopping moment she felt all the hairs on her body stand on end before she slowly looked to the side to see a darkling standing stock skill to her left. Its purple eyes opened wide as if it was just as surprised as she was.

Nyline cursed before she shot in the opposite direction to the darkling using her movement to push her body further away from them. Landing softly on the red rug she started to sprint down the hallway before she threw the door to the nursery open and locked the it behind her. Breath froze in her chest as she saw yet another darkling sitting on the balcony staring directly at her. Its eyes just looked at her sideways but made no movements as she continued to stare at it.

"You're scaring her."

"No, I'm just looking." Stepping back as quickly as she could, the rug caught her foot causing her to fall. Her head smacked the ground with a thump before she sat up and moved herself in the furthest corner of the room. The only thought that was going through her mind was: how on earth could she hear their voices?!

["Nope I'm scaring her."] The voice laughed as the darkling vanished from the balcony. The panic that had been clawing at her chest moved up to her throat and she resisted the urge to scream. She tried to push herself further into the darkened corner despite already being against the wall.

["She's in the nursery."]

["Rodger don't move from your positions. Do not engage."] As slowly as she could Nyline brought her knees up to her chest and buried her face into them. This was all a bad dream. It had to be. She was going to wake up any moment and be back in her bed with Uncle John at home. Quickly she reached over and pinched her arm as hard as she could. When she didn't wake up back in her old room, a weight settled in the pit of her stomach. This was her reality and she was going to die. Die at the hands of a bunch of darkling's, the very thing that her parents had died protecting herself from. She took a deep breath. She had to do something. There was no way she was going to die like this.

["Has she moved?"]

["That's a negative. She's curled up in a ball."] Nyline's head shot up as she looked at the landing. There was no darkling, so she wasn't sure how it knew that she was in a ball. Scooting herself to the side slightly she looked for it and when she didn't see it, she rolled and started crawling towards the double glass door. Focusing hard she realized that the darkling was just sitting on the roof looking board. In one quick moment, she took a deep breath as she reached up and undid the latch. As soon as the door was opened enough, she ran out, her foot connecting with the balcony as she used her movement skill to shoot down towards the ground.

["Target is on the move."]

["Rodger, follow but do not engage."] Nyline screwed her eyes shut for just a moment as she enjoyed the feeling of falling before, she looked down and grimaced. No matter how she landed this, it was going to hurt.

Everything slowed down as she turned her head to the side and saw someone who looked around her age with bright blond hair and ice blue eyes standing in the window; one hand on the pane his mouth opened in shock. Her eyes flicked down to the patch-work teddy that he was currently carrying before they moved back to his amazing ice blue eyes.

Then, everything returned to normal speed as she used her movement again and shot towards the ground. She hit hard but allowed herself to roll; her wrist didn't get off as easily as it tweaked painfully. Paying her wrist no mind, she continued her roll and sprinted towards the retaining walls. As quickly as she could she analyzed the area and decided which wall that she was going to vault over. There was a conjunction wall to her right that she could use her movement skill to bounce off and vault over easily.

["She isn't a scout…Is she?"] A quick glance behind her confirmed what she had feared as two darkling's landed on the ground and bounced after her.

["No, she's good but not that good."] Turning on her heel she sprinted to the conjunction wall and jumped, hit the wall then bounced with one foot then the threw up her hand and gripped the top of the wall. The injured wrist shot pain down her arm and into her mind. Throwing up her other hand made no difference as her wrist throbbed again before it released, and she landed with an 'oaf' in the snow mount below. Right as she went to get up one of the darklings jumped over her and stood on the wall looking down. She swallowed hard as the other one positioned itself directly in front of her, pacing back and forth, keeping one eye on her.

"Target acquired." The darkling in front of her spoke as it continued its pacing.

There was a split second where Nyline only glanced between the two darklings before she used her movement again and shot several feet away from them. They turned and bared their teeth at her.

["She just doesn't know when to quit."] Pooling the aether in her hand she could feel that she was running low on energy. She hadn't been able to get any sleep in the past twenty-four hours and who knew what the last thing was that she ate. She was going to have to make this quick.

"Look a butterfly," She spoke her voice full of aether, her eyes moved towards the movement as the teenager with the platinum blond hair and ice blue eyes stopped a few feet away. His mouth opens as if he were going to say something. "Better go catch it, before it gets away." There was a long silence before all the scouts turned and looked where she was pointing. Then without missing a beat, she slammed her hand into her chest and allowed the shadows to engulf her being. Then she turned and used her movement skill once more, then again as she jumped onto the top of the retaining wall.

One glance back showed the scouts looking around confused but those icy blue ones were still directly on her. A glance down showed that she was still covered in shadows however it didn't change the fact that he was currently looking into her soul. She turned and vaulted off the retaining wall and started to sprint off into the woods.

["Would you stop for just a second?"] The voice spoke in the back of her head sounding only slightly annoyed.

"Ah, hell no." Nyline spoke aloud as she used her movement skill once more as she dodged trees. She had no idea where she was going but any place away from the darklings was better than nothing. She wasn't going to let her parents' lives go to waste just to be caught here and now.

["I will catch you if I have to, so why not just stop and talk to me?"] Nyline didn't answer as she continued to sprint through the forest. She could see it opening ahead and when she broke through the tree line, her breath caught in her chest at the sight. The entire city was deserted, but it wasn't like someone had barged in in the middle of the night and ransacked the place. No, every door was closed, every window caked with dust and grime, the snow slowly falling down.

An image that she had seen once before flashed in her mind of what the town used to look like. Vibrant with flowers hanging from every window and in pots from the rafters. People walked around talking to each other as they bought and sold their wares. However, that image was an old image, one that she had been forced to return to Uncle John, but she had managed to make a small copy.

A loud thundering noise of four feet hitting the ground in succession made Nyline glance around before she started to run up the middle of the street. Not looking where she was going. She turned several times into side alleys and up random streets, hoping that she would be able to lose the darkling that was hot on her tail. She turned yet another random street and stopped in her tracks as the large darkling landed directly in front of her.

It was massive, larger than any of the other darklings that she had seen up to this point. It's fur black as night with a glowing blue streak that ran from his nose all the way to his tail, then stripes on his haunches and knuckles. Her eyes locked with the glowing ice blue of the creature and she took an involuntary step back, her face shocked but also… curious. The darkling didn't move towards her or run away, just simply looked at her as she stared at it.

"Do I…" She clutched her hands at her chest as she looked into the eyes of the beast. "How would I know you… You're a darkling…" With effort she took another step backward, trying to distance herself from the creature but her eyes never leaving its. Her heart was beating overtime in her chest as she tried to connect the dots but came back empty handed.

"Gabriel!" A voice shouted and Nyline's head snapped towards the sound.

"Hey, it's alright, there just my scouts. Just don't run again." A voice spoke directly in front of her. She looked to the side to see the teen. With his ice blue eyes, fair skin, and platinum blond hair. She felt her skin ripple as she looked at the boy her jaw clenched, there was a moment where her body turned to ice, then heated up, then went back to normal. She shook her head as a mental fog tried to take over her mind.

"Who the hell are you?" She growled as she forced herself to take another step back, her teeth bared.

"Gabriel Danshmef, Prince of Vaccoon," He spoke suddenly as if he were trying to get the words out as quickly as possible before she bolted.

"Gabriel, where did you go?!" Another voice that she recognized as one of the male darklings that has been following her.

"A prince?" She muttered with a sigh, "Another one? No." Her voice was hard as ice as she continued to glare down the boy. The boy looked at her with surprise. "I'm not doing this. I have to get back to the fairy gate and go home. You're not ruining that for me." She shook her head as she turned away from him, which hurt not only her soul but also her mind. It felt as though her movements were tearing her into pieces.

"Wait," Gabriel appeared next to her and before she could tell him to go away again. He smiled and it was like the sun came out. Everything brightened in her vision and her chest warmed slightly. "At least allow me to walk you back to the fairy gate?" She eyed him up and down.

"Gabriel!"

"Found him." There were several thumps as people landed around her with the rustling of cloth. They had used movement, that was what the rustling of clothing had been. "Man, don't go running off like that."

"Yeah don't leave us behind."

"Why would you do that?"

"So rude." Nyline glanced at the group before she used her movement skill and landed at the edge of the alleyway, her glare turned onto the group. They had all stopped talking and were looking at her with shock.

"Loud," She muttered as she turned and started walking down a road at random with her hand at the bridge of her nose. "What the hell is going on?! Seriously. One minute I'm in my tree house and now I'm in Thaul then I'm being chased by darklings." She felt her breath hitch as she tried not to cry. Not only did Damien show up out of nowhere, but now another prince had shown up. Walking to the closest curb she sat down with her head in her hands. She didn't even have the ability to contact Uncle John, how was she supposed to even get home? Where was the human world anyways? What the hell was she supposed to do about any of this.

"Hey, are you okay?" A female voice said to her right and she looked over to see a girl with long black hair and orange eyes. Nyline glanced up into the female's face. She had never seen her before in her life, but she knew her voice.

["Maybe we should just give her some time alone,"] A very soft voice spoke from inside her mind. Nyline sighed as she stood.

"You should really listen to your mate." Turning she and used her movement skill twice and before she knew it, she was walking through the vast forest with no heading. Lumbering footsteps came up beside her and she glanced over to see the massive darkling walking beside her. After a few more steps, she stopped and flopped down with her back against a tree. The darkling laid down next to her. For whatever reason she didn't fear this darkling, she was comforted by its presence.

"Everything is such a mess." She mumbled looking down at her hands. "I need to get back to the fairy gate…" She thumped her head against the tree a couple of times before she closed her eyes. She was so tired. After going up against the darkling in the human world, then escaping the darklings… except for one, and just all the aether she'd used with her influence. She was drained and wanted nothing more than to sleep and maybe find something to eat.

["Where did they go?"] an inner male voice spoke.

["There somewhere up ahead."] Followed by the same female voice that always talked to that male one.

["Do you think she'll try and run again?"]

["I think she might be too tired, honestly."]

["I didn't expect her to be so afraid of us."] The male voice sounded slightly guilty. The female voice made a humming noise.

["She grew up in the human world, right? Well, she might not have ever seen a darkling before in her life. It's bound to be kind of scary."] Nyline scrunched up her face as the images of that memory flashed in her mind. The darkness, the blood, her parents, John… She let out a long breath as a slightly wet nose pressed against her leg. She looked at it.

The darkling was looking at her with a worried look on its face, which was amusing coming from the creature. Now that she wasn't running away from it, she could see that it looked as if it were a fox, only much larger.

["Is that what happened to your parents?"] the smooth voice spoke into her mind and she let out a long breath as she put her head into her hands.

["Yes. Who are you?"]

["Someone who cares."] She scoffed.

["I've never heard your voice before, which means I don't know you."]

["Hmm, well you could always try to get to know me."] Shaking her head she started the long list as to why she couldn't get attached to anyone in this world. That would mean that her life and Uncle would just vanish. ["You know I will never take his place, but I can keep you company until he arrives?"]

Her head shot up, she hadn't thought of that. Of course, her uncle would be on his way to pick her up. She shot to her feet, the first place he'd look when he got here would be the castle. She took one step towards where she thought the castle was before it felt like a brick had landed on the back of her head, all the pressure going to her right eye as she stumbled, then fell down to the ground gripping her face. The pressure was so intense that it felt as though her brain was going to split open.

["It's going to--"] Whatever the voice had been trying to say was abruptly cut off as more pressure was applied.

"ug, that stupid idiot," She muttered a painful breath before cursing under her breath.

"Hey," The same voice that had been talking in her mind suddenly spoke next to her. There were hands on either side of her shoulders, thank the stars she still had on her hoody, and pulled her body upwards slightly. "Look at me." Forcing her body into and upright position, he grabbed her jaw and forced her to look directly into his eyes.

Emotions, flashes of memories and images started to flood her mind, but it was only an added problem on top of the pain that she knew was Damien trying to connect with her mind. There was a pause as the ice blue eyes searched hers before they found what they'd been looking for. There was a loud popping noise in her ears as the pressure drained away. Her body however was still curling into a ball. That was twice today that he'd forced himself into her mind and it hurt so much, why wouldn't he just leave her alone?

"If you are unable to speak with me, I will pick you up and carry you to the castle." The voice above her was saying. She shook her head before her eyes turned upwards and that was when the single tear fell from her eye and rolled down her face, dripping off of her chin. "Hey, I know this is all new and frightening, you didn't ask for any of it, but it'll be okay. That man, Uncle John, will come to pick you up, I know it. I'll stay with you until he gets here." He wrapped his arms around her tightly and she fell into his warmth as it seeped into her cold body, warming her soul. She allowed him to hold her for a time before she pulled away and their eyes connected.

"Thank you," She muttered before she forced her body to stand. She wobbled slightly and he was right there but kept his distance as she chose a direction and started walking.

"The castle is a little more over to the right."

"How do you even know so much about this place?"

"My scouts and I often came here as children."

"Why? What fun is there in a deserted kingdom?" He paused as if looking for the right words.

"There was someone who I desperately wanted to meet who was from Thaul and so I wanted to know as much about the place itself as I could. I felt like it would make me closer to her in the end." Her heart did a double beat, knowing that he was talking about her.

"Why did you not simply go out and search the world for her."

"What if I were out searching the world and she showed up in Vaccoon and I wasn't there?" His words were thoughtful. "In truth, I had desperately wanted to go searching for her however, my parents were dead set that she would return to Thaul on her own. They also worried about me staying to far from Vaccoon. It's the only place that's safe in the world for my kind." She glanced sideways at him.

"Because you are darklings?" Her voice was hard, and he nodded without looking at her. Truthfully, she was happy he hadn't searched for her, deep down she knew that this prince would have been able to find her easily if he'd tried and that would have meant less time with Uncle John than she already had.

"Plus," His voice was soft, "I didn't think that she would have wanted some random prince to show up on her doorstep and whisk her away from her life. Wherever she was I knew that she was happy because I occasionally got emotions from her and I didn't want to ruin that.

They stopped as the castle's retaining wall appeared in front of them. Without thinking she used her movement skill and shot upwards, catching the edge and pulling herself up onto the landing. He appeared next to her.

"You can use movement?" She jumped off the wall and rolled slightly, then sighed at the large snow-covered garden she still needed to walk up in order to even get to the castle.

"Yes, as well as other scout skills. I was required to train with my scouts throughout their life. Royalty from Vaccoon don't really need constant bodyguards, however it is a custom that has always been around, so we keep it."

Nyline made a humming noise as she glanced at her feet. Her body was slowly getting heavy and she had to resist just lying down on the snow and sleeping right there. She was so very tired and hungry, she felt as though she was just a walking shell at this point.

"Are you cold?" Nyline glanced up from her feet and over at him, he was looking at her.

"No."

"But your lips are turning purple." Her face broke into a grin at that.

"My body temperature runs several degrees lower than a normal human's. So cold and snow has never really bothered me. Though, when I do finally get cold, my body locks up and I can pass out." His eyes grew wide as she kept walking. "Don't worry, I'm not near that point yet."

"Good then, I asked Shanell to light a fire in one of the drawing rooms. Sigma should have started some tea, and I think Delta was going to get some food prepared from our bags." They walked up the main walkway to the castle and he held the door open for her. She paused and looked at him with a solemn expression.

"Why are you doing all of this?"

"Because you look like a Popsicle, you've been using your aether like you have no limits, and I'm surprised that you made it this far without passing out." She weighed the options before she just walked into the door without saying another word. He led her to the drawing room that he had been speaking of, she had been deposited onto a couch, then a cup of tea was set in her lap almost instantly before whatever scout had given it to her vanished. Another appeared and took her cloak before also vanishing.

Looking down into the hot liquid she just let the cup's warmth seep into her hands. She felt so numb, so overloaded. Everything that was going on was just, so, so much.

["I hope she's okay,"] The voice that she recognized as the girl that had spoken to her in town voiced.

["I'm sure she will be, she didn't die, which is good. She just needs time."]

["How do you think she got so good at her movement skill."] The male voice spoke.

["Well obviously she practiced very hard, unlike someone I know."]

["Ahhh, come on. My movement is a fine distance."] There was a release of air.

["Is everything going alright?"] An inner voice of a male that she hadn't heard before and was very far away asked.

["Oh, you have no idea."] That mind started at the beginning when they had arrived in Thaul, up to the point of them sitting in the drawing room.

"You know you're supposed to drink the tea," Nyline opened her eyes softly to see the boy, what was his name again… Gabriel? Sitting on his ankles in front of her. Reflexively she took a small sip of the tea before she returned it to her hands. "You dropped this in the hallway before and I wanted to make sure you got it back." Her eyes focused on the patchwork teddy bear that he was holding out to her. Her heart warmed as she took the bear from him and held it in her lap. Gabriel only stayed for a second before he moved away to do something else.

["Awwwwe isn't that cute, little girl and her teddy?"] The male voice she heard so often spoke making her open one of her eyes and locate the only male, apart from the prince, that was currently in the room. It didn't take her long as she found the yellow eyed boy with apricot colored skin. He had long light brown hair that was held in place by a black headband with the tail tied off at the nape of his neck. He wore, like all the other scouts in the room, the stretchy black material that clung to their body like a second skin.

["Are you really going to make fun of her after everything?"] The long black-haired girl spoke next to him as she shoved her elbow into his ribs. He doubled over slightly. To Nyline's surprise the girl had purple eyes and a soft peach complexion.

["Well… no…"] He paused as his eyes focused on Nyline, which he jumped when he saw that she was looking at him. ["I mean… that bear must mean a lot to her, I guess?"]

"Man, you don't have an emotional bone in your body." The boy looked at his mate with a 'are you serious' expression.

["That's why I have you."] Nyline snorted softly at that as she looked away. ["Did she just laugh at something?"]

["I don't know, did she?"]

["I'm pretty sure she did, it was almost as if she was laughing at what I said…"] Nyline took a sip of her tea to hide the very small smile on her face.

["Do you think she'll want a sandwich? Or a can of soup?"] The soft-spoken female voice asked. Her eyes went to the scout that was holding up a premade sandwich in one hand and a can of soup in the other; had bright orange eyes, and golden bronze skin. Her long black hair was currently French braded down her back swinging freely around her knees.

["We could just ask her,"] Her mate responded however, she wasn't in the room now. Probably on patrol. She nodded in agreement with the missing mate. They should just ask her it would solve so many problems if people just asked her things instead of guessing.

"I'm not sure if I was able to introduce myself correctly," Gabriel spoke as he sat down next to her and she focused her attention on him. "I'm Gabriel Danshmef, Prince of Vaccoon." His voice was soft. Nyline sat up a little straighter.

"Nyline… Nyline Swift." Her voice was just a mummer at this point and Gabriel seemed to understand.

"Why don't you take a nap while we wait for your uncle to come get you?" She scrunched up her nose at the thought of sleeping in a room full of strangers. However, she also weighed the fact that she needed some type of energy restoration at this point or she wouldn't be able to move soon. Nonetheless, she was also in the presence of darklings and even if the one sitting next to her was nice, she wasn't so sure how she felt about the entire thing. "Nothing will happen to you." His voice was whisper soft. "I will stay here until you wake up, does that make you feel any better?" She was surprised and not surprised at the same time at her emotions. Personally, she hated the old tradition of mates, however she felt safe with Gabriel. All of this just added to the stress of that situation and made her head throb slightly, so she closed her eyes. "Guys, why don't you go upstairs while Nyline takes a nap?"

["I hope she feels better,"]The voice of the mate that was far away spoke softly.

["Me to,"] Her mate responded before her thoughts went down the hallway with their bodies.

"Just call us if you need anything boss," That was the yellow eyed boy speaking. ["Bets on if she's going to run again?"]

["I can't believe you want to place bets at a time like this!"]

["So, is that she'll run or stay?"] The purple eyed girl sighed audibly.

["She'll stay, and I'm betting bathroom duty for a week."]

["Done and done."] Nyline cracked a small smile at those two, they seemed energetic and amusing.

Gabriel watched his mate sleep softly next to him. He had to fight the urge to reach out and just pull her close, hold her to his chest like he had done in the forest, and never let go. However, he knew that he would have to keep his emotions and actions in check for now. His mate had gone through so much from what he had seen in her mind thus far. He had learned through her thoughts what had been going on for the last 12 hours or so of her life. How crazy everything had been, then he had shown up with his scouts and had made things so much worse.

He scolded himself for not trying to get to know her better through their bond. He should have known that she could hear inner voices and that she had a memory of darklings destroying her kingdom. Which was complete and utter rubbish, but she had still grown up believing that. How odd was it that she had accepted his daemon form before his human one in that regard?

"Has she fallen asleep?" Delta spoke as she walked back into the room and closed the door softly behind her.

"Yeah," He reached over and took the teacup from her hands before it spilled and placed it on the floor by his feet.

"Are you alright?" Gabriel flashed her a smile at that point.

"I've got to say none of this was what I was expecting when I first realized that she was in Thaul. I am mad at myself for not knowing her better, but I am also relieved that at least she came back here to wait for her uncle. Then I am sad because she will be leaving again. As much as I want to, I won't hold her back from whatever life she has in the human world."

"Are you sure you'll be okay with that?" He let out a long breath.

"I'll just have to be, I won't force her to do anything that she doesn't want to do." With an exhale of breath Nyline flopped to the side at an odd angle and Gabriel's heart melted a little. She was hands down the most gorgeous person he had ever seen in his life. Her black frizzy hair, those amazing hazel eyes that looked at him with such emotions, even now while she was sleeping, he found her adorable. Reaching over he lifted her head slightly and scooted under it so that her head was in his lap.

"Gabriel, it isn't your fault for not knowing. She hasn't returned to the aether world since her birth, so please don't blame yourself."

"I know, it's just really hard. It'll be even harder when we hand her over to her uncle and then she vanishes all over again."

"What can I do for you in the meantime?"

"Could you grab her a blanket? Her skin color is still slightly bluish…"

"Right away." Delta left the room and he reached out his hand and brushed it across her cheek. Her skin was so utterly soft and slightly cold, but she was perfect in every way.

Scout Skill Lesson Four

The Shadow Skill

The shadow skill is used when the user is in need of hiding themselves. When the skill is practiced in excess the user is able to completely hide their presence, smell, tracks, and aether. Generally, scouts only learn how to hide their presence and aether. Scouts that are used for more covert tasks will generally be urged to work harder on this skill in order to help in their future tasks.

This skill is most often used when scouts are on information gathering or assassination tasks and is normally taught after the young scout has started to master their movement skill. Ages can range anywhere from eight to ten, earlier for scouts that will be in need of more mastering and skill.