Panic momentarily fills me at the mention of my name. Who is this person? How did they know I was there? But I shake off the panic, after all I'm a Copaie, and a natural born fighter. I take a deep breath and then step out from behind the tree.

"How did you know I was there?" I ask, pulling down my hood. "And who exactly are you?"

The shadowed figure steps into the moonlight and I can see that they are wearing an old, faded, black cloak. In the bright moonlight, I can see holes in varies places on the cloak, as if it had been worn, several years.

"I just told your friend that my name is Vos. And I knew you were there, because I knew your curiosity would get the best of you. I knew that you would have to talk to me for yourself. Curiosity and a sense of adventure is how you usually find yourself in dangerous situations. Am I right?"

"Yes, but how do you know that about me? Why are you still wearing the hood? I'm not going to talk to you anymore unless you remove it." I say, annoyed.

"I knew you would ask that as well." Vos says, reaching up and removing the hood.

The first thing I notice is the dark black hair, the brown eyes, and then I see it, yellow skin.

"You're a Copaie?!" I shout.

"Hush! You will get us caught." Vos says. "Yes, I'm a Copaie. But I'm not here to hurt you, as I've already stated."

"How did you get here?" I demand. "How did a Copaie make it past security?"

"You're here." she says.

"Yes, but I live here. I belong here. I was raised by the Talfarian Queen."

"Hm. Good point. Let's just say, I know a way around security. But enough of this talk. Do you or don't you want to know why I asked you to meet me?"

"Yes, I do." I say.

"Tomorrow is the funeral of the Queen, is it not?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to know how she died?" Vos asks.

"I already know. Malum murdered her." I state, angrily.

"You already confronted Malum?"

"Yes."

"Hm. I forgot that happens right after I get home." Vos mumbles.

"What do you mean 'after I get home'?"

"I said I? Sorry I meant, after you get home. You'll have to excuse me. After five hundred years, a body tends to mix up I and you." Vos says.

I narrow my eyes, suspiciously. I don't buy her story. But I'll just wait and see what else she has to say.

"Is that all you wanted? To tell me something I already know?" I ask.

"No. No. I came to ask you if you want to save your mother."

"I don't like where this is going." Amlican speaks up.

I jump, startled. I was so focused on who V is and what she wants that I had momentarily forgotten he was there.

"You can't save a person who is already dead." I say. "She's been dead already for four days. Her body has already been prepped for burial."

"You can with this." Vos says, taking off her cloak to reveal a silvery jacket underneath.

"With what? A jacket?" I ask.

"This isn't just any jacket." Vos says.

"Astra, I know what this is, and we need to go. Now!" Amlican interrupts, grabbing my arm.

I shake him off. "So, what is it then?"

Vos double tabs on the left sleeve of the jacket and a panel appears. "It gives you the ability to travel in time."

"That's dangerous and not to mention, illegal." Amlican says.

"So, I could travel back and prevent Malum from murdering my mother?" I ask.

"Astra." Amlican says.

"It only works if you know what day, time, and where he killed her." Vos says.

"Oh." I say, disappointed. "I don't know all of that, and I doubt Malum would tell me. Besides, I won't be able to get within a hundred feet of him. The guards are out to get me."

"Why don't you think bigger?" Vos asks.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Even if you knew all of the details of her death; if you went back to stop it, who says he won't just kill her on another day?"

"Why did you even tell me about this, then?" I ask.

"I didn't say it was impossible. I said to think bigger." Vos says.

"I really don't think this is a good idea." Amlican says.

Come on. Think bigger. Think. Bigger. "Wait. Do you mean before Malum? Nah. I don't know the timing for that, either." I say, ignoring Amlican.

"Yes. That's exactly what I mean. Go back to before your mother married Malum. If you can stop her from marrying him, you will save her life."

"But I don't know exactly when she decided to marry him." I state.

"No, but if you think about it, you know the year. Think on her stories. Where was she at when she met him?" 

"I think she said she was at the city called Natatilis. And I believe it was the year I was born. But I'm not sure of the exact day." I say.

"Just go back to the middle of Monyon. That should be enough time." Vos says, taking off the jacket and handing it to me.

I take off my cloak, put on the jacket and marvel at how light it feels, before putting my cloak back on.

"We need to get back, it will be daylight soon, and a lot harder to sneak you back in." Amlican says grabbing my arm, again. He starts pulling me towards the castle.

"Astra! There is something you need to know." Vos says.

We stop and I walk back to Vos. "What is it?"

"Time travel will save your mother, but it will come with a price." she says.

"How much money are you wanting?" I ask.

"No. Not money." she says.

"Then what are you wanting?"

"You misunderstand. I am not wanting anything. The price you pay is the price of time travel. And the cost is the life of someone you love dearly. It's a life for a life. There's no way around it, I'm afraid." she answers.

Amlican shows up beside me and grabs my arm again. This time I allow him to pull me along, before I follow behind him.

"Astra! I'll see you again, soon!" Vos shouts. 

We are quiet the whole walk back. I'm lost in my own thoughts, the possibility of time travel. The idea that I could possibly save my mother. The idea that someone will have to die in order to save her. I push that thought out of my mind and focus on the small bit of hope I've been given.  We make it back to my hidden room, just before the first rays of light chase away the nighttime shadows. I'm exhausted from the day and collapse onto the nearest bunk. Amlican lays down on the bunk next to mine, a mere four feet separates us, and rolls over, facing towards me.

"Astra?" he asks.

"Yeah?"

"Are you really thinking about doing it? I mean, I know you have done your fair share of crazy and reckless things, but are you seriously going to do this?"

"I don't know, Amlican. I just don't know." I answer, before drifting off to sleep.