Once Aubrey's mind cleared from her exceptionally weird dream the panic hit her.

She had no idea where exactly she was the deep purple walls and gold curtains of the room completley unfamiliar.

What was the-
Mr Thorne, the sword, Declan.

It hit her with such force if she had been standing she would stumble back.

"Easy there, I know it's overwhelming."

Aubrey jumped at the voice and frantically looked around only to find Michael leaning against the wall on her right staring at her keenly.

"What am I doing here?" Aubrey's voice was surprisingly calm considering that she was totally losing it on the inside.

"Do you remember what happened before you fainted?"

"Fainted the first time or the second time?" She asked as she carefully picked herself from the bed. Thankfully when her feet touched the ground they held her sturdy.

He gave her a confused look and then asked,"Mr Thorne do you remember him coming after you?"

Her first reaction was to jump up and down telling her mind Ha I told you so! I'm not crazy but thankfully she held her cool.

"Thats not the kind of thing you forget." She said and then her eyes narrowed,"Where am I? Why are you here-"

"I know I'm sorry, it's confusing I wanted to do this later when you were ready."He said,"But Thorne came after you, thank god Declan found you or else-"

"Or else she would be dead and you would have screwed up for the millionth time." Aubrey hadn't seen or heard Declan coming in or maybe he had always been there. He was leaning against the door frame his arms crossed. His gold eyes flickered towards Aubrey for a second before it took on his usual I'm bored as hell expression.

"So now if Sleeping Beauty is done with her beauty sleep she has been summoned." Declan said and then turned towards Michael,"You know she doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"I'm not going anywhere except home unless you-either of you give me an explanation." Aubrey said crossly.

"I'm sorry Aubrey but you're going to have to come with us." Michael said looking genuinely sorry,"But I promise all your questions will be answered there."

"You could just do that to lure me out somehwere dark and kill me." She pointed out.

Michael looked genuinely hurt,"Do you really not trust me at all? I thought we were friends."

He then looked at Declan,"I told you we needed more time to build trust with her-"

But Declan didn't even care to hear Michael finish, he had shot forward so now he was just inches away from Aubrey.

Aubrey stumbled back, the back of her knees against the bed and held her hand forward as if to stop Declan from coming closer. She had already seen what he could do and it was a feeble attempt because she knew just how easily he could over power her if wanted to.

"If you come any closer to me." She said her voice low and dangerous,"I will kill you."

The tone of her voice scared Aubrey, she sounded dangerous and cold, almost like another person. Even Michael looked shocked but Declan didn't even blink.

In fact he took another step forward and smirked,"I call your bluff."

Before Aubrey could contemplate what her next move would be thankful Michael intervened,"Enough Declan we need her to trust us. "

"No you need to get her to trust you." Declan countered,"Frankly I couldn't care less because I know exactly how to get her to do what we want."

Aubrey's eyes narrowed,"And how is that?"

Again a smirk,"This your chance. Your chance to find out and prove to yourself if no one else that you're not crazy. To not gulp those pills you carry around everytime something you can't explain happens. All the answers that you've wanted, it all within your grasp."

Even before Declan had finished he knew he had Aubrey, even Aubrey could tell as much.

Somehow Declan knew exactly which button to push. She tore her gaze away from Declan and looked at Michael and nodded.

"Fine I'll come with you." She said,"But I need answers."

"You'll get all of them if you come with us." Michael said nodding,"And we aren't doing this to lure you out and kill you."

"Besides." Declan drawled,"We could have just killed you when you were asleep, what difference would it have made? No one would have missed you either way."

Aubrey knew Declan meant it as a light taunt but it actually hurt. Mostly because it was true.

Who was left to miss her anyway? All those people were dead anyway.

"Fine." Aubrey managed to finally say,"Lead the way."

___

It didn't take Aubrey long to figure out that she was in the Vaughn house. It's grand chandeliers and splendour clear right away as she started down the stairs which was made purely out of marble with a red carpet draped over it.

Both boys flanked her on either side, keeping their distance from her but at the same time making sure that she was at arms length if she tried anything.

To be perfectly honest Aubrey was dead tired to even care to try anything.

Seeing that day again, even in her dreams took something vital out of her. The haunting melody of the phone ringing, her mothers sudden cold demeanour and the talks of queens and monsters.

The way her mother had looked at her and told she was a Valdis and that she should believe in herself right after assuring her father that she loved him made Aubrey always wonder if the accident was going to happen.

That they would drive off a cliff and then Aubrey would wake up two hours before any of the weirdness had actually happened, only this time she would throw a big fuss and refuse to go, locking herself in her room.

Only the second time around she would actually pick up the phone.

Only the second time around she would survive the accident because she wouldn't be in the car in the first place.

Aubrey had always wondered if it was a dream, her being in the car the first time around when it drove off the cliff. But the more she thought about it the more sure she was that those events had actually happened and somehow time had reversed on that day allowing Aubrey to live.

But that girl she saw in the dream-vision whatever was her. Definitely, seventeen year old her, with dyed black hair.

Which was impossible right?

But Aubrey had this nagging feeling that she wasn't wrong and right now maybe where Michael and Declan were taking her would answer everything.

Then why was every bone in her body telling her to run?

"Penny for your thoughts?" Michael asked as they stepped into the living room.

Aubrey's gaze flickered to the painting of the angel that hung on top of the fireplace before she answered,"Nervous actually. You would be to, if you were getting answers to the questions you'd been asking for your whole life."

Michael nodded as they went through to the dining room. Briefly she wondered where Michaels mother was but she pushed aside that thought.

"I'm sorry. " Michael spoke up,"I was kept assigned to you to protect you and I failed when you were in danger."

Assigned?

Where were you to save me for the last seventeen years of my life? Aubrey thought grudgingly, She didn't need saving. She needed answers.

And prefrably run Declan through with a sword for being such an asshole.

"It's okay." Aubrey said still thinking of accidental ways to kill Declan. The sword thing wasn't looking too good considering that she'd probably impale herself on it before anything,"It's just that it's not everyday you're history teacher runs after you with a sword trying to kill you."

Michael stopped abruptly.

"Sword?" He asked,"What sword?"

Aubrey glanced at Declan who was currently looking at her, his gold eyes flashing with warning.

He'd told her to run away from this town and now he was taking her to find answers, but there was a warning in his eyes.

That sword- he'd taken it hadn't he, the silver sword?

Then why didn't Michael know about it?

Declan was hiding something and it was upto her to decide wether she wanted to keep his secret or not.

Trust him, even when he doesn't trust you.

The words of the mysterious girl near the vending machine played in her head.

"Yeah the sword." Aubrey said slowly not taking her eyes off Declan,"It disappeared after I knocked it out of his hand."

Michael stared at Declan,"Do you know something about this?"

Declan shrugged,"I told you I came after Throne was dead. She had fainted was lying on the ground, there was nothing near her."

He didn't break eye contact with Aubrey almost challenging her to contradict him.

But why was he lying?

He was there, he was the one who had thrown Thorne with a simple flick of his hand and run him through with his sword when Thorne tried to kill her with the silver sword.

Aubrey should have told Michael everything, certainly, because as of now Michael seemed a nicer more trustworthy option but she kept her mouth shut.

She knew Declan was a total jerk but he was keeping it secret for a reason and he was doing it for her. She just knew and for some reason she trusted him blindly.

Weird.

"Yeah." Michael said giving her a glance as he the open the back door of the dining room stepping out into the woods. It was night time already and the cold air made her shiver slightly.

But it wasn't only because of the cold, it was mixed with anticipation and a strange kind of nervousness which was telling her to turn and run away.

"Damn the Evanescence." Michael said and Aubrey raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"Demons tend to dematerialize after they are killed and that's known as Evanescence." Declan pipped up.

"T-Thorne was a demon?" Aubrey asked, the word foreign on her lips.

A demon.
What in the name of God was going on.

"Yes." Michael said giving Declan a look that said, I thought we were going to do this later,"He was a demon."

Aubrey tried to wrap her head around that piece of information as she realised that they had reached the stream with the waterfall where she had met Declan.

Was that only last night? She thought to herself, It seemed aeons ago.

The forest on the other side of the stream looked different, darker more primitive. They stepped into the stream and Michael bent down touching the water.

The water started glowing a bright blue.

Aubrey's eyes widened and she stumbled back but Declan caught her wrist to steady her.

And time froze.

It literally froze.

All the noises stopped, the river went stationary and the wind around them stilled. Even Michael froze in his crouched position. The waterfall stopped and water hung in mid-air.

It was as if someone had pressed pause on life.

Declan eyes widened in panic, Aunrey noted that he hadn't frozen. He blinked and immediately let go of her hand making her fall back.

It was like someone had pressed play this time. The stream once again started moving, the waterfall crashing into the stream with its usual thunderous noise.

Michael turned towards her giving her an apologetic look,"Sorry about the blue glowing water, I should have warned you."

But Aubrey couldn't take her eyes off Declan. What had just happened?

Declan fists were tightly clenched and he was looking away. He looked nervous almost to the point that he was scared.

"Aubrey?" Michael called,"Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah." Aubrey managed to stammer out and turned her gaze back to Michael and the weirdly glowing water,"S-sorry the water it's just that-"

"Don't be afraid." Michael said giving her a reassuring smile,"Step in."

Aubrey nodded slowly and stepped inside the stream. Almost immediately the voices inside her head started screaming.

But and arm wrapped around her and suddenly they all disappeared.

Michael.

Why did Michael have the ability to turn off the voices?

"Come on." He said leading her up to the waterfall which was glowing so brightly that Aubrey had to squint.

"Just step through the waterfall." Michael said.

Aubrey looked at him like he was mad, he probably was,"Are you crazy you can't step through a water-"

Before Aubrey could complete it she was shoved through the waterfall.

"What the-"

Aubrey caught her breath as she looked at the sight in front of her. She frantically looked back for the waterfall but there was nothing there.

Suddenly the air rippled and Michael was standing in front of her grinning. He stepped aside revealing Declan who like Michael seemed to appear out of thin air.

Appear where exactly?

Aubrey slowly turned around and gasped at the view.

They stood on top of a hill looking down into a valley that managed to take her breath away. A river ran through the valley and in the middle of it stood an island connected to the very spot they stood, by a beautiful marble bridge.

The river glowed a bright blue just like the stream had when Michael touched it and the trees on the island were glowing a brilliant shade of gold and orange acting like beautiful lanterns in the nightime.

And yet that wasn't he weirdest thing.

In the middle of the island stood a lonely cliff face that rose suddenly. Something about it seemed familiar but all the speculation dimmed as to where she had seen it when she saw the castle that lay atop it.

It was beautiful, pearly white in color and it loomed over the island. It glowed brightly and looked so magnificent that even the fairytale illustrators would be jealous.

It stared down proudly at the island and it's people- no not people something else entirely bustled around in the cobbled streets of this magical place.

Magic.
Aubrey didn't know how but she recognised it. The sharp metallic tang of it rang clear through the air filling her senses and wiping away any exhaustion.

It's inhabitant bustled around on the streets and occasionally Aubrey would be able to here an out of place comment or a laugh.

It was a city.
It was a civilisation.
And it wasn't human.

"Welcome to the Seelie Court." Michael said,"The Kingdom of the Faeries."