Stormy [mentioned], Nightflutter and Turtle Titan [mentioned] belongs to GeekyCookie1

~~~~

"I don't know where he is! Please quit asking!"

"Hey, hey, relax. It's just me," a voice softly began, the familiar tone causing Aliya to lower her arms from her face. As Aliya stared at the dark-skinned male with his bright sea-green eyes, her eyes lingered to the oracle over the table in the distance where she saw several potions and spell books over the shelves.

With the ocean view in the background, Aliya found she could truly relax — perhaps for the first time in a little while. "Faustin?" she began as the male glared at her. "Right, right," she sheepishly mumbled. "Félix, my bad," she corrected shortly afterwards, to which the glare immediately vanished.

"B... But how did I get here?" Aliya asked, adjusting her position on the ebony black leather couch. "I don't know, kid. You just appeared on my doorstep unconscious, so I took you in, laid your body on the couch and tried to fix your wounds," he truthfully answered as Aliya touched the burnt mark on her neck.

"Why would anyone believe you when no one takes your word seriously? When I find him, I'll make sure Jesse doesn't remember anything about you. This way, he'll never get hurt by you again, not that it would matter. Either way, this is where your journey ends."

Aliya flinched from the memory, recalling the way Shiron looked at her with so much anger and disgust in his eyes. She knew she was severely unlucky in most situations, but how (just how) did Shiron and Talia really think Jesse's disappearance was her doing?

"This doesn't make any sense," Aliya told herself, which caught the fortune teller's attention. "What doesn't make sense?" Félix inquired as Aliya heavily sighed. "I should be dead," she admitted, before explaining the events to him.

"Me and Castor were just talking and he was about to ask me something when I noticed a spark of flames forming around him. Only after I had pushed Castor out of the way, I realized the flames weren't meant for him. Rather, the flames evolved into a force shield and that's when I realized the flames were meant for me," she began, recalling the boy's clear distress in his eyes.

"Castor was fighting Iris while I was trapped in the fire force shield Shiron made, insisting he would drop the force shield if I just told him where I was keeping Jesse," she continued, now looking at Félix, who appear confused by her story. "Weren't you recovering though?" he followed up, going based on what Stormy had told him as Aliya solemnly laughed.

"Yes! I was recovering from the injuries I sustained from Jesse when the boy was under Iris's control," she answered, trying to stop herself from laughing. None of this was funny, but Aliya could not keep her mind straight. She had one good thing going for her, then the next thing she knows, everything burns down.

"I even told Shiron but he kept persisting I was the one at fault because it's easier for the boy's father to pin the blame on a freak who barely started talking to his son than to simply acknowledge the fact that his and Talia's poor parenting skills played a factor in their son's disappearance," she continued, sighing afterwards.

"Anyways, he didn't believe anything I said. Even after I told him that Jesse was in the human realm."

"How do you know?"

"I relied on my memories. When me and Jesse were younger and old enough to cross the portal on our own, we often went to the human realm to explore and collect items we found. Then we would just return back to Avalon and build our collection," she explained, fondly recalling the past before sighing, her smile fading away.

"That was a long time ago. We only recently got in touch again, and to be honest, I don't have Jesse pegged down before like I used to," she truthfully admitted, trying to ignore the recent incident that occurred.

"So, I don't know if Jesse is truly hiding in the human realm or if he's somewhere within Avalon, but even if what I said was true, Shiron didn't believe it. Even if he did, I also offended him by insisting he should blame himself so in addition to the shield, he took out his fire sword," she continued as she recalled the malice in his eyes.

"After Shiron held the sword to my throat, I believed that it was truly the end for me so, I accepted my fate and closed my eyes," she concluded.

"Only...."

"You didn't die," Félix pointed out as Aliya nodded. "Yeah," she said, trying to figure out just how she got here before her eyes widened. "No, no, no...." she mumbled, her heart sinking as the answer came to her. "Cas... He... He..." she trailed off, choking back the incoming tears.

Despite struggling with his fight against Iris (with the few glimpses she could get), Aliya knew the moment Castor activated his bracelets, he could teleport himself to safety. So between the two, Aliya knew he had a higher chance of surviving, especially since she had such a low survival rate.

So why would he risk his chances of surviving just to ensure her safety? As far as Aliya knew, she wasn't important and if anything, she was on the verge of dying anyways. It wasn't her first dance with death, so she was used to the feeling. But she wasn't used to people (outside of her family and friends) reacting to that violent dance.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt again. That's all."

"Cas..." she mumbled, recalling his words as she sighed, knowing the reason behind the boy's decision. Castor had sacrificed his escape plan to keep her safe. When Castor said he didn't want to see her hurt, he truly meant it and that... that honestly made her think of the knight differently.

With her newfound motivation, Aliya stood up. "I need to go back and check on Castor to make sure he's okay. But first, what are Shiron and Talia up to?" she asked as Félix waved his hand around the oracle. As Aliya moved closer, she noticed two groups scouting across Avalon.

"Jesse's parents made two teams. One team is out looking for Jesse while the another team is looking for you," he answered as Aliya face-palmed before how much effort each team displayed at each task at hand. The first half hardly searched, mostly complaining about the job or discussing their troubling developments in their love life while the second half were aggressively searching for her.

She tried telling herself that it wasn't so bad. Aliya and Stormy had their fair share of angry mobs before. If Stormy could survive each outcome, so could she. But then she saw the Senior Fae and Iris on the second team, leading the group and Aliya knew her worries intensified.

As she stared closer, Aliya observed a scar across his left eye, the same place where she splashed the drink on him. In that moment, she hoped her and the Senior Fae never came into direct contact with each other as something told her their dynamic would drastically change. If he didn't like her then, the Senior Fae definitely wasn't going to like her now.

"I need to find Jesse and bring him home before his parents and their second team find me," Aliya firmly stated as her eyes were trained on the second team. She knew better than to ask why his parents had a team dedicated to finding her.

Deep down, Shiron and Talia were using their son's disappearance as a way of exacting their revenge against her. She knew this because of the couple actually cared and paid attention to Jesse, the couple would have known she was right about everything.

Between Jesse and his parents, Aliya found herself second-guessing just how well she thought she knew the family. But there was no time for that now. She needed to find Jesse now, and if Aliya had go alone, so be it.

"Thank you for everything, Félix, but I have to go."

"You're not seriously planning on rescuing him by yourself, do you?"

When Aliya shrugged, Félix shook his head. "Kid, you're going to get yourself killed!" he exclaimed, much to the girl's annoyance. "What choice do I have? I'm the only one who knows where Jesse is," she paused. "Okay, I take that back," she sheepishly admitted.

"I think I know where he is," she corrected with a shrug. "Besides if I take other people with me, they're at a higher risk of getting hurt with me around," she pointed out, frowning at the thought of Castor.

"Aliya—"

"I'm a trouble magnet, Félix. It doesn't matter how much good I try to do, trouble will always follow me," she countered back as Félix only shook his head. "That's not true," he insisted. "Then explain to me how I lost my wings, or explain the incident with Cain," she persisted and when Félix failed to give her an answer, Aliya only nodded.

"I told you. I'm a trouble magnet. It's just who I am."

———————

Appearing back onto the land, Aliya cautiously glanced over her shoulder, ensuring no one was around her. Right now, she knew the majority of Avalon were trying to find her and if Aliya slipped up and the wrong person found her... Aliya didn't want to think about the consequences.

As such, she used her stealth to her advantage. Hiding in bushes and above trees, Aliya knew as she long as she didn't meet any nature Avalonians who were against her, she should be fine. She thought she was doing relatively good until Aliya found her latest hiding spot preoccupied.

"Aliya?"

Once she saw the male's reddish black cloak (which he had switched from his robe), his white shirt, blacken dress pants and matching shoes, she instantly recognized him as Atticus Milliner, the advisor to Jesse and his family. She didn't know Atticus that much, so she immediately held her fists, preparing for a fight. "Hey, hey, I'm on your side," he quickly assured her as Aliya skeptically stared at him.

"How can I be sure?" she sharply inquired. "I would have exposed your hiding spot by now if I wanted to," Atticus blankly answered. "Granted, exposing you would get me on better grounds with Shiron and Talia again, but I never liked them too much, so I'm not too worried," he continued, leaning against the tree.

"Besides, you and I are constantly being underestimated by others. Aren't you sick of that?" he continued as Aliya stared at her fists and back at Atticus before lowering her arms. "You were always saying how we are alike," she said, sighing afterwards.

"Sorry. It's been a rough afternoon. I don't really know who to trust at this point," she apologized as Atticus brushed off her judgement. "I completely understand. In fact, I would have done the same thing," he explained.

"So, do you know where Jesse is? My best guess is the human realm and that's only because I'm relying on my memory here," Aliya explained as Atticus withdrew his sigh of relief. "He talked about a sea witch," he began as Aliya blinked. "Narcissa? But isn't she—" she began, only to get cut hair.

"Yeah. I tried warning him against it, but you know, Jesse. He doesn't listen to reason, just like his father," Atticus continued with a heavy sigh. "But I can help you if you promise to return the favor," Atticus began as Aliya raised her eyebrow.

"What favor?" she curiously asked. "I'm looking for a lost artifact, one that hasn't been known to Avalon since time itself," Atticus followed up and frowned when Aliya didn't guess.

"It's a lamp," he painfully finished at last. "A lamp? What could you possibly want with a lamp?" she asked before her eyes widened. "You can't be serious. Don't tell me you're looking for a genie. Genies haven't existed in Avalon since—" Aliya persisted as Atticus sighed.

"I know, but if there's a lamp here, then imagine what power you and I can hold when we find a genie," he continued as Aliya thought about his offer. Sure, power was nice, but — the girl paused, realizing he was the second person to bring up her ideal desire to have power.

So Aliya politely shook her head, secretly distrusting the advisor as she felt he would be no better than Iris, who had tried controlling her (but failed and nearly got Jesse to kill her out of spite). If anything, Aliya now wished she hadn't spoke to him. Unfortunately as she came to this realization too late, she was forced to continue talking to him or risk Atticus giving her hiding spot away.

"Don't you have anyone else to ask?" she countered back. "No. In truth, you're the perfect person for this job, which is why I found you to be the ideal candidate," Atticus insisted, much to Aliya's curiosity. "Why me?" she skeptically inquired, crossing her arms.

"When you agree to my offer, then I'll tell you. Now, do we have a deal?" Atticus sharply continued. "I... I don't know, Atticus. This seems like a pretty shady deal I'm making with you here," she truthfully answered, noticing his face falling. "Don't get me wrong, you're alright, but we haven't talked in what? Six years? I just don't see this partnership working between us," she admitted as Atticus's face fell.

"Oh. I see," he coldly began as Aliya noticed the sharpness in his tone. She tried not to feel bad for her decision. "Well, I guess if you don't value our friendship enough, then I don't really need to protect you, huh?" Atticus countered back, his voice in pain as Aliya frowned. "Now, I didn't say that—" she insisted, but when Atticus made the gesture of calling her spot out, Aliya couldn't stop herself from panicking.

She didn't want to make a deal with him, but between dealing with Jesse's parents or Atticus and his weird obsession with this lamp, she chose to take her chances with their advisor. Plus, she was pretty certain the lamp (and the genie) didn't exist at all (like she suspected) and he was just simply stringing her along to fail. At least then, she had a good story to tell.

"Okay, okay. Just don't say anything that could get me caught. If Shiron or Talia knew where I was at..." she said at last, trailing off as Atticus nodded. "Relax, Al. You have my word," he confidently told her, holding out his hand. "Yeah, I'm not so sure about that," she skeptically mumbled, but shook his hand nonetheless.

"It's a deal," Atticus proudly proclaimed, the two shaking hands as Aliya winced at his touch. It was only a second, but it was enough for Aliya to quickly pull her hand back. As she turned her right hand over, she saw a circular mark with the initial "A" engraved on her skin. When she looked up, Atticus held a singular coin in his hand.

"Iron marker. It'll glow when I'm close."

"Okay, but—"

"When the time is right, you'll know when our deal officially begins," he explained, his eyes briefly turned green before returning back to his natural eye color. At that point, she knew their deal was going to backfire on her, Aliya just didn't know when and she wasn't sure if she actually wanted to know.

"Now to find Jesse, you clearly need to enter through one of the portals. Most of the portals are close by this time, but because there's a full moon tonight, the main portal will open directly at midnight. You must be there with your Avalonian necklace to activate the portal," he advised as Aliya gestured to her neck.

"I don't have an Avalonian necklace."

"See, that sounds like your problem. I don't care how you get your hands on one, you just need to acquire an Avalonian necklace to gain entry," he continued, not noticing Aliya taking a deep breath to conceal her frustration with him.

"Once you get the necklace, you should be in the clear. Most Avalonians aren't up at night, but because of the two search parties going on, you might end up bumping into someone who might be an enemy," he continued. "If this is the case, take this," he said, taking his cloak off as Aliya blinked.

"You want me to take your cloak because... why?" she slowly asked. "It's a invisibility cloak," he explained, moving his hand to the cloak as Aliya saw the cloak instantly blend into its surroundings. "Ideal for situations that require you not being seen," he added, before tossing the cloak to Aliya, who caught his prized item.

"Once you get past any Avalonians you might see, go to the portal with the necklace and go directly inside. This portal will take you to New York City. Once you are inside and you make it to the human realm, be discrete with your actions and any decisions you make," he continued.

"Okay, I got that much, but once I'm in the human realm, I'll be limited by time. Going through the portal will only give me a few hours before I'm forced to go back. How do you expect me to go around this?" she countered back as Atticus shrugged.

"That's your problem."

"Thanks," Aliya sarcastically mumbled underneath her breath, once again withholding her tongue. Atticus was the closest she had to help and understanding what she needed to do, so as much as she found herself disliking him, Aliya knew she was in too deep to back out now.

"Okay so after you get the necklace, find a way to overcome the barriers of time and arrive in New York City, you should be able to find Jesse. From there, he'll tell you the rest," Atticus finished as Aliya eyed him suspiciously.

"You know, you're oddly knowledgeable about what happened to Jesse. It makes me wonder if you had some part to play in his decision to run away too," she followed up as Atticus laughed, lightly slapping her face as Aliya pulled away.

"Some people are easier to trick than others," Atticus simply answered. "At the end of the day, everyone is a pawn. We're all trying to outdo everyone else to get ahead. We're Avalonians, love, it's what we do," he continued as Aliya scoffed. "Even so, we could be so much more," she insisted as Atticus only shook his head.

"No, love. Every Avalonian follows their specific path. None of us divert from that path and none of us strain from tradition. It's what our generations installed in each of us, which is then carried out by the Senior Fae and the Avalon Council. So, you see, we are not one to change."

"You are wrong. Avalonians are capable of change. If everyone was on the same page, then we wouldn't need to treat everyone like pawns. Heck, we wouldn't even need to look down on those beneath us when we're all fighting for the same thing," she insisted as Atticus was now staring at her suspiciously.

"Appearing like a human is one thing, but now you're speaking like one too. Humans are despised for a reason you know," he began as Aliya shook her head. "But the portals are open. Why would we continue despising humans now for something that happened five decades ago?" she followed as Atticus scoffed.

"Just because the portals are open for humans to roam around, don't think that we're all on the same page. Avalonians are superior to humans in every way, so don't ever forget that. If you want to succeed in this world, you'll need to shed your human shell," he darkly advised.

"Or else?" Aliya followed up as Atticus turned around. "Or else, you might end up like our fallen heroes. Nightflutter and Turtle Titan made the decision to keep their human shells and paid the price for their decision with their lives. It would be unfortunate if the same thing occurred to you or that disgraced aunt of yours," Atticus sharply finished as Aliya rolled her eyes.

"Stormy is not a disgraced Avalon and our heroes died fighting for what was right," she started as Atticus shook his head. "You poor, idiotic fool. Keep talking like that and you will definitely land yourself as Avalon's future traitor list," he continued as she found herself at a loss of words.

"Everyone knows what happens to traitors who end up on the list, so consider this a warning into what your kind of future could be if you don't adapt and shed this weak side of you," he advised, preparing to leave. "You said I might become a traitor to our home one day, but what about you?" Aliya shot back, knowing her words would come back to haunt her.

"What are you talking about?" he defensively asked her. "I've defended our home from countless intruders for years, so if I were you, I would say my name with a little respect and choose your next words very, very carefully," Atticus stated, now standing directly in front of her.

"Well, where do I begin?" she opened with a laugh. Aliya should have been scared, that much she knew, but she faced worse things than a self-righteous advisor who acts like he's some hero to Avalon and the city of Fairytopia.

"First, you knew of Jesse's whereabouts before anyone else and did nothing to stop him, because you knew that would be one less issue you would have to handle. But once his parents grew concerned, you deliberately chose to withheld information regarding the boy's whereabouts, because you knew the couple wouldn't suspect you for anything," she continued as Atticus opened his mouth, but she ignored his reaction.

"So now with the search going on, you're trying to use me as your coverup, so no one knows you're the one behind this," she finished. "Jesse left on his own accounts," he pointed out. "Sure, but who gave him the idea?" Aliya boldly shot back, rendering Atticus in silence.

"Face it. You might praise yourself as if you're some hero, but really, you're no better than anyone else. So if we're really alike like you claim we are, then that makes you a traitor to the family who gave you your name."

"Here I thought you would easy to fool, but perhaps you're more clever than I thought," he added. "Nonetheless, you have a lot of nerves to defy me. You're lucky I still stand by my stance to stick to my word. So, I'll let you make it this time, but you and me are alike, even if you fail to see it," he continued, choosing to leave her on that note.

However, Atticus had failed to notice an image falling out of his pocket. "Wait, you—" she began, only to stop herself when she realized the advisor was nowhere to be seen.

As Aliya picked up the photo, she stared at a younger version of Atticus with a woman and a kid whose faces were crossed out. "Huh," she mumbled, folding the image before storing the photo in her pocket.

"What else are you hiding, Atticus?"

——————————

As Aliya entered her room from the back window, she saw Castor asleep on her bed. She didn't mean to stare, but he looked so peaceful, she couldn't help but smile to herself.

Unfortunately, she forgot to pay attention to her surroundings, so when the window closed, Aliya fell on the ground, creating noise as Castor woke up. "Sorry," she insisted as Castor quickly got off the bed and approached her. As Aliya stood up, she dropped the cloak and hugged Castor.

"You're okay," she sincerely said as Castor pulled away. "Miss me, already?" he lightly teased. "Yeah, right," she joked, but her tone told a different story. "Still, what you did was absolutely crazy," Aliya began as Castor laughed, much to the girl's dismay.

"You're laughing, but I mean it. You could have just left on your own, but you didn't and despite everything, you still chose to...." she trailed off when she saw Castor's soft smile.

"What?" she asked as he only shook his head, his smile growing wider upon realizing she had repeated the words he gave her.

"I was fine with risking my safety, because I knew you would be okay if I got you out in time," he softly explained as Aliya rubbed her arms. "But your bracelets...." she began, before trailing off.

"I only had enough power and energy to summon one jump. I couldn't forgive myself if I had used my bracelets to save myself, so when I saw you were in danger, I knew how to use my last jump wisely," he answered as Aliya opened her mouth. "Cas—" she began, only for Castor to cut her off by holding her close.

"Look. Aliya, you're more important to me than you think. If there's any chance I get to save you, I'm going to take that risk because you're worth being saved too. Sometimes, it's okay not to be a hero," Castor truthfully finished as Aliya's eyes softened by his words.

"Well, thank you for saving my life," she sincerely said, swallowing her small amount of pride in the process. "Hey, you saved my life first, so no need to thank me. Let's just say we're even now," he softly said. "How are your injuries?" she asked, reaching for her bag as Castor shrugged.

"I'll heal in a few days, but I'm not allow to leave your house for a few days," he added as Aliya chuckled. "That's my dad for you," she said, grabbing her bag which caught Castor's attention. "What are you up to?" Castor asked as Aliya began packing her things.

"I'm going to go find Jesse before his parents end up finding me first," she simply answered. "You're not thinking of going by yourself, are you?" Castor asked, frowning when she didn't answer.

"Aliya—"

"It's fine."

"It's not fine!"

"I'll be fine," Aliya assured him, but Castor only shook his head. "What if something happens to you? What if you get hurt? What if something happens to Jesse and he ends up hurting you again? Who will be there to stop him? Who will be there to help you?" he rambled, a sense of concern overwhelming him as Aliya tried calming him down.

"Cas—"

"Nope! Some things I'm willing to agree on, but this is not one of them," Castor firmly insisted, walking out of the room. "Cas, wait!" she pleaded, quickly packing the last of her things (which included the cloak) before going after him as she didn't want the others to know.

"Cas, come on," she whispered before noticing just how dark the house was. When the lights came on, Aliya saw Castor standing beside Lillian and Jaxon, who stared at Félix as her parents and Stormy stepped forward, eyeing their daughter, who only groaned as she buried her face.

"We need to talk."