Conor just stared at the Pegasus until they were out of sight. All he could think about was that he had failed. He didn't notice that the others had joined him on the ledge.

"The Golden Diamond," Max growled.

"It's gone," Griffin hissed.

"All because of you!" Conor yelled angrily, whirling on Talon and Jeanette who looked at him in surprise.

"All I wanted was to talk to the Keeper until those assassins who tried to kill me and our friend came and tried to steal the Golden Diamond," Conor exclaimed, "But of course, you had to ruin everything and now it's all gone!"

"And that's...that's exactly what Jeanette said," Balo said quietly.

He looked at Talon who's head was bowed down in shame.

"Maybe if you actually let me explain before jumping to conclusions, this wouldn't have happened," Conor scolded, "Last time I checked, Balo was still the chief!"

"Conor, it's not their fault," Jeanette said, defending them, more like defending Talon, "There was just a bit of a misunderstanding, that's all."

"You're right, it isn't their fault," Conor replied, his voice softening, "It was mine. I failed to get the Golden Diamond. I failed to save the kingdom. My brother is probably dead by the time I get back. John had died for nothing. I brought you guys here for nothing."

"Conor, that's not true-" Max started but Conor cut him off.

"What kind of king am I if I can't even save my own people?" Conor asked, "I'm just a failure."

"Conor, you did your best," Jeanette told him gently.

"Then my best is pretty poor," Conor mumbled.

"Oh really?" Jeanette continued, her voice growing louder, "What kind of king would risk his own life just to save his people? Usually, they would just find the bravest knights in the kingdom to do their work for them but you didn't do that. You went on this mission where you risked your life just to save a poor village girl from the fire. You went last on climbing the steep wall, almost drowning yourself. You kept on going even though there are assassins trying to kill us. You never gave up even if our friend died."

"Actually you-" Conor tried to interrupt.

"Wait, i'm not done yet," Jeanette cut him off, "You never gave up on the mission, never gave up on us, even though we're just a team of two animals and a poor village girl. You even went on alone to find the Keeper until Griffin joined you. You fought off five of those assassins just to protect the Golden Diamond."

"Actually it was three, Griffin fought the other two," Conor corrected.

"You still fought them," Jeanette insisted, "and you gave us hope. You gave me hope that we could win. There were plenty of times that I doubt we would come back from the Dark Mountains alive but you gave me hope."

"I sometimes wonder if you were crazy," Griffin added, "but I see a brave king."

"It was true that I just joined this mission so you might reward me with some gold," Jeanette admitted, "I was very poor and I didn't even see the point of living again until you came. I sometimes wondered if it was worth saving people who are dying anyways because no one has been exactly nice to me and Griffin here. But...but you showed me it was worth it. You showed me that the greatest reward wasn't gold, but the honor of saving those people's lives. And...and I never trusted anyone with my entire life until I met you."

Conor looked down, not exactly sure of what to say.

"I'm sorry for what I said last night," Jeanette said.

"No, I should be the one to say sorry," Conor interrupted her, "I wasn't thinking clearly. I let my...feelings get in the way of our mission and...our friendship. I never meant what I said. Maybe if I didn't say those words and storm off, maybe we would still have the Golden Diamond but I failed. I'm sorry I failed all of you."

"A friend of mines once told me this," Jeanette said, smiling, "Believe in yourself because I believe in you. Now i'm saying this again, believe in yourself because there's a whole kingdom who believes in you. Who's counting on you. What would happen if King Conor has given up? Please Conor, don't give up now cause I swear i'll give up if you do."

"But what else can we do?" Conor asked.

"I don't know but you're king," Jeanette replied, "You always figure something out."

Conor went silent, not even looking up. Max started feeling annoyed.

"Can you stop feeling sorry for yourself?" Max growled.

"I'm not," Conor replied, raising his head, his eyes filled with strong determination, "I'm thinking."

He looked around him to see everyone looking at him with hope, trust, faith. He stood up and thought hard.

"The Keeper," he whispered, "Of course."

He ran back inside the cave as the others followed him. Just when he emerged into the cavern, he stopped dead. There was a large shadow right in front of him, red eyes glaring down at him, huge sharp teeth glittering in the darkness. Everyone looked up in fear but Conor felt strangely calm and looked at the beast right in the eyes. The beast growled but Conor didn't flinch.

"Ah, King Conor," the Keeper of Life boomed in a deep tone.

"Yes, I am King Conor," Conor replied.

"I've never seen such a determined king," the Keeper went on, "You saved a poor village girl from a fire, risking your own life. You went last up the steep wall, almost drowning yourself in the caves. You were patient and you stayed calm. You waited for Jeanette to jump off the building. Even when your guide died, you still kept going and climbed up the mountain. I knew you would make a great king, maybe better than all the kings in this world. I knew you would pass the tests."

"Wait, you sent the fire?" Conor asked.

"No, the assassins lit the fire. I sent the rain to extinguish the fire but I knew it would flood the caves," he answered, "I sent you the dream for I knew you were the right one to save the kingdom. Another war is coming and I've sent you to come. I knew that my brother was going to be freed again and I wanted to know if you could face the troubles that would come in your way and you had."

Conor was speechless, all his suspicions coming back into his mind. He had so many questions but he sensed the Keeper was not done.

"But I warn you, King Conor," the Keeper went on, "Your greatest test is yet to come. Those assassins weren't lying when they said you would be betrayed over and over again."

Conor's heart skipped a beat.

"A long time ago, before the Great Keeper War," the Keeper spoke, "My brother told me that the truce was done and that he would do anything for power. He sent for King Jack who's father was killed by the same sickness that has taken your father's life. I sent someone else to help me, Rose."

Why had I heard of both names before? he wondered.

"Now the same think is happening again," the Keeper continued.

"But who did the Keeper of Death send?" Jeanette asked.

"Like I said, your greatest test is yet to come," the Keeper of Life answered.

"Yeah, like how are we supposed to get back to the kingdom on time?" Griffin meowed.

Conor thought that the Keeper smiled, "That won't be a problem."

Just then, there was a loud screech that sounded from outside. Everyone rushed outside the cave. Conor was about to follow when the Keeper stopped him.

"King Conor," the Keeper told him, "Remember, you only have till midnight until all is lost. The full moon is tonight, two becomes one as moonlight touches. When the time is right, help will arrive."

He had heard of those same words in the song. Conor wanted to ask him more questions but he sensed that the Keeper was done and so he just nodded and ran after the others. Just when he stepped out the cave, he stopped abruptly. There in front of them was a creature Conor has never seen before. It had the body of a lion and the wings and face of an eagle. They all stared at it in awe as more of these creatures flew towards them. Conor remembered reading about these mythical creatures.

"Wow," Jeanette whispered in awe.

"I can't believe this," Griffin whispered, his voice thick with emotion, "I've always dreamed of this moment."

Jeanette and Conor exchanged a confused glance.

"I've always wanted to see the creatures that I was named for," he went on, "I finally saw a Griffin!"

"Seriously?" Max barked, "That's a Griffin?"

Griffin just nodded.

"And I guess we're supposed to ride them," Jeanette said.

"We're coming with you," Balo spoke, "We were always on the Keeper of Life's side and will always be."

"Thank you," Conor replied, "We need all the help we could get. The Keeper told me that we only have till midnight before all is lost."

He looked at everyone who was looking back at him with hope and determination. They were a team and they needed to be a team if they were going to win this fight. He looked at Jeanette who looked back at him with an encouraging smile. He felt himself smiling back.

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