Knock, knock.

"Hello? Hello? Is this the human's room? He isn't answering; are you sure this is the right room?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Adrian eyed the door suspiciously. He'd been there an hour in silence, musing over the slew of revelations he'd heard in a conversation just under ten minutes. The sudden knocking on the door had caught him quite off guard, and Astin's warning about a possible attack rang in his head.

But would an attacker really bother knocking? He figured they could blast right through the door and be done with it quickly.

"Could he had left?" fretted the first voice. "Do you think he's wandering the palace, lost and scared?"

"He could be asleep," offered the second voice, deep and calm.

Adrian slowly rose. "I'm here. Come in."

"Oh!" The first speaker chirped in the delight. The door swung open, and a short girl jumped in, followed by a dark-skinned woman who gingerly shut the door behind them.

The girl stuck out her hand. "I'm Blaise. Nice to meet—"

The woman cleared her throat softly and nudged Blaise.

"Oh, sorry." Blaise took a step back, stood a little taller, and said, "I'm Blaise Ignis...the, uh, councilwoman of fire."

The woman nodded. "And I am Kaia Tor, Councilwoman of Earth." She was an imposing figure with a sturdy build and dark green eyes that pinned Adrian under an intimidating stare. Her hair was short and a very deep brown, and she wore simple clothes in mottled shades of brown and green.

Blaise, on the other hand, had bright red hair that was tied in a long braid down her back. She wore a dark orange shirt and black pants, but a brown cloak covered most of it; a slight metallic jangle sounded whenever it moved, and Adrian shuddered to think what weapons it might be hiding. Long black gloves stretched up to Blaise's elbows, covering most of her tanned skin. Her amber eyes were bright and friendly, and she grinned widely, much more welcoming than her companion.

"It's nice to meet you, Adrian!" greeted Blaise jovially. "I've never met a human before, actually, so I was really excited to see you!"

"It's nice to meet you," murmured Adrian, taking her handshake.

"But, y'know," chatted Blaise, "Kaia really wants to send you home. She doesn't like a human in the palace. Says it breaks tradition or something like that."

Kaia frowned slightly but remained quiet.

"I, on the other hand," continued Blaise, "think you're gonna be a great help! I thought it was a great idea to—"

"That's enough," interrupted Kaia softly.

Blaise started, eyes widening as she realized some sort of mistake. "Oh—oh, sorry." She smiled apologetically at Adrian. "Sorry. Can't talk about that yet."

Adrian frowned. What are they hiding from me?

"But, y'know, it's kinda mean to just keep you in the dark about what we'll be talking about," babbled Blaise, "so I at least wanna tell you a little bit. So Kaia, can you cut in in case I say something I shouldn't?"

"Okay," said Kaia.

"Great!" exclaimed Blaise. "So we're gonna talk about what we'll do with you, if we should bring back the princesses and prince—"

"About that," cut in Adrian. "That plan. Can you tell me more about it? I met Brook on earth, but, after a while, Delta seemed very lax about guarding. Don't you have any safeguards against that?"

Blaise turned expectantly toward Kaia.

"It was a flawed plan from the start," muttered Kaia. "But, alas, most of the council thought otherwise, and so we sent our kingdom's future onto earth with only a young child to guard them. We sent each heir to a different place, all around the globe, to make them as difficult to track as possible. Some we stuffed in the most remote, unfriendly places on the planet, where it'd be near impossible to find them and even more impossible to reach. Some, such as Brook, we hid in plain sight, in cities so large and populated they blended perfectly into the crowd.

"We erased each of their memories, so they wouldn't do anything foolish to reveal their identities. We also sealed their magical abilities since it's possible that they'd figure out to use them, and it's also possible to track magic with a special spell. Of course, being children of the queen, their magic was quite strong and therefore difficult to suppress. To solve this, we used a special vessel to contain the magic of the heirs and their guardians.

"We programmed false memories so they wouldn't suspect anything strange, and, to ensure they wouldn't drift apart, instilled the guardian with a strong urge to protect their liege, and the heir with a strong sense of loyalty and obedience to the guardian.

"Even so, in case of an attack, the guardian needed quick access to their memories and magic, so we created a set of conditions that would release the spell. If the guardian sensed magic that could threaten them, they regained their memories, and, if them or their heir was injured by this magic, the seal on their powers would be released.

"For the heir, it was a bit more complicated. Their sense of loyalty would be amplified when the seal of the guardian's memories was broken, and their memories would be returned when the guardian regained their magic. They'd also regain their memories if the guardian died. To regain their powers, the guardian needed to perform a special spell on the vessel. It's a simple spell, so any other angel in the city could also perform it, just in case the guardian becomes unable to release the spell.

"Obviously this plan has many flaws," concluded Kaia, "but there's a limit to how complex we can make the magic. The entire plan took dozens of the finest magicians in the kingdom, as well as a significant amount of magical power. So much wasted, for so little benefit." With a final scowl, she fell silent.

"It was the best they could do at the time!" protested Blaise. "They're still alive, aren't they?"

Kaia merely sighed and shook her head slightly.

"Anyway," muttered Blaise sulkily, turning to face Adrian, "that's the gist of it."

"But if a powerful urge to protect was instilled into the guardian," said Adrian, "why did Delta start to abandon Brook?"

"It's certainly strange," murmured Kaia as Blaise shrugged. "Delta, the most intense guardian by far. I can only imagine that she, being quite strong-willed, began to question the protective desire without any memories to back it up. Resenting a desire that wasn't by her choice, perhaps."

"Yeah, it's really weird," interjected Blaise. "Delta's super serious duties, especially after Brook got injured in the attack six years ago."

"Hm." Delta was certainly an enigma. I don't get her at all.

"Now. We must be going," said Kaia, resting a hand on Blaise's shoulder.

"Already?"

"You have duties as a council member," murmured Kaia. "Come." She turned and opened the door.

Blaise scowled, but complied and followed Kaia into the hallway. Over her shoulder, she called, "Bye, see you later!"

The door slammed shut, leaving Adrian alone once again.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

It was another few hours, with the dimming light of sunset shining through the small window, before someone dressed in a servant uniform knocked on the door, ushering Adrian out into the hallway. They lead him through the mazelike passages of the palace, arriving at a set of stone double doors defended by no less than ten guards.

Behind the doors lay a room several times larger than Adrian's with a soaring ceiling shrouded in darkness. The only furnishings was an enormous white stone table and a light in each corner of the room, casting long shadows across the floor.

Seated around the table, wide spaces between each chair, were seven people; Astin, Blaise, Kaia, Delta and three others whom Adrian assumed to be the other council members and the king. Remembering that the stand-in king was Astin's brother, Adrian could pick out the man seated across the room as the king; with his black hair, silver eyes, and pale skin, he resembled Astin quite strongly.

Every few seconds, Delta would glance behind her to something on the floor that was flanked by two guards; Adrian glimpsed the edge of a cot where Brook was laying.

"Welcome." Astin's voice sounded loudly in the silent room. "You may take a seat."

Adrian slowly walked forward, aware of six pairs of eyes watching him with unwavering intensity. He marveled at the fact; how long has it been since I've been the center of so many people's attention? Unused to the experience, it almost made him nervous. He slid into the seat closest to the door, glad that the seats were so far apart that he wasn't remotely close to the people next to him.

"Everyone," announced Astin, "this is Adrian Kühn, our human guest."

A quiet murmur of greeting rose up. Adrian scanned the people around the table; assumably they were all angels, but there was nothing differentiating them from normal humans. Most of them held a sort of air of power in their posture, in their expressions, but that was most likely simply because of their authority.

"We have assembled here Delta, guardian of water, whom you're already acquainted with; Blaise Ignis, Councilwoman of Fire; Esen Kalani, Councilwoman of Air; Kaia Tor, Councilwoman of Earth; Arroyo Balog, Councilman of Water; myself, Astin Sidereus, Captain of the Council; and Saros Sidereus, temporary king.

"Shall we begin this meeting? Delta, if you would explain the events leading up to the altercation in the forest."

Delta cast one last worried glance at Brook, the tore her gaze away to face the assembly. "It began when I ran into a man in an alleyway two days ago. He asked me if I'd seen any couples. I told him he needed to be more specific, and, when he said he didn't have any more information, he left. It was--"

"Wait," cut in a council member. Judging from his dark blue clothing, he was the water councilman, Arroyo Balog, a tall spindly man with a harsh face. His dark eyes were narrowed in accusation. "Were you alone during this encounter?"

Delta's voice caught in her throat. "Y-yes, Lord Balog."

"Where was the princess?" pressed Arroyo coldly.

Delta's gaze dropped down. "At home. Safe."

"And why," said Arroyo, with dangerous subdued rage, "were you separate from the princess?"

"I--" Delta stammered, eyes fixed firmly on the table.

"Look at me," hissed Arroyo.

Delta flinched and swung her head up, meeting Arroyo's gaze with shameful eyes. The other council members stirred uneasily, casting glances at Arroyo but saying nothing.

"Now," said Arroyo, "why were you separate from the princess?"

Delta's voice was painfully quiet. "I was scouting the outside. Searching for any outside threats, sir." She didn't sound like she believed her own words.

"Is that so?" questioned Arroyo in disbelief. "That--"

"Arroyo, that is enough." Astin finally cut in, his voice sending relief through the others.

"No, it's not," Arroyo cut back, thought with a considerably milder tone. "It's a guardian's sole job to be by their liege's side at all times, yet Delta cannot even obey that simple rule."

"I'm sure it was an isolated incident," responded Astin evenly. "Delta would not make such an error. It was most likely an effect of extended memory suppression."

Their conversation seemed to damage Delta even furthur; with every word, she seemed to sink further into her chair, fixing the table with a stare so intense it could burn a hole right through it.

Arroyo shook his head. "That still doesn't excuse--"

"Don't you think she's suffered enough?" asked Astin softly. "After such a grievous punishment, I'm sure she'll never again make such a mistake."

Arroyo scowled, but leaned back in his seat and grew quiet.

"Delta," said Astin, "would you continue your story?"

Delta sat up straight, recovering from the confrontation. "Of course, Captain. After the man left, the memory seal was broken. I sensed magic from him."

The angels stirred uneasily.

"Do you think he was an angel?" asked Astin. "The killer, maybe?"

"I don't think he was the killer," replied Delta, shaking her head. "No resemblance. I didn't recognize him."

"But was he an angel?"

"I couldn't tell," murmured Delta. "It was only a brief encounter. After the memory seal was broken, I realized we must must have been tracked. So I went to dispose of the vessel--"

"Why?" asked Arroyo softly, tone challenging.

This interruption didn't faze Delta whatsoever; she launched into an explanation with perfect confidence. "They were able to pinpoint our location, but not our identities. As such, the only way for them to obtain that information is tracking magic. Under the suppression spell, the only thing that could release a magic signature is the vessel. I planned to dispose of it to lead our pursuers down a false trail."

Almost imperceptibly. Arroyo nodded his approval.

The other council members visibly relaxed.

"So I took Brook into the forest to hide, then went to hide the vessel."

"And you left Mistress Brook alone again?" demanded Arroyo in disbelief.

Delta stiffened but kept her eyes trained on Arroyo and her voice steady. "The vessel was in my possession. As such, it would have been hazardous for me to stay nearby."

Arroyo slowly nodded. "And how did you hide the vessel? It's not something we can afford to just throw away."

"I know that," replied Delta with a touch of indignance. "I gave it to someone else to hide so I could return to Brook sooner."

"Wait," cut in Adrian. "Was the vessel the flask?"

Delta nodded.

Adrian frowned as he put together the pieces. "I was a walking target. You meant for them to attack me."

"Correct," replied Delta shamelessly.

"But--why me?"

"No reason, really," said Delta calmly. "We were acquainted, and I knew where you lived--I saw you enter your house. You agreed to help."

"You were sending me to my death."

"Correct." A darker tone tinged her voice. "Really, you should have died."

Adrian stared at Delta, unsure what to feel or say. He should have been angry--furious, really. She lead him to a death for a cause to which he had no affiliation, showing not even the slightest bit of remorse. Yet, Adrian found he couldn't muster up much of any emotion. A hint of indignation, perhaps, but certainly nothing on the scale of what he should be feeling. I'm alive in the end, and isn't that what matters? He dimly understood he should be a bit more emotional, but he remained detached--he'd always been that way, after all.

He was saved from replying by Blaise, who smacked the table and jumped up, enough rage burning in her eyes for both of them. "How could you do that, Delta?!"

Delta didn't flinch as she fixed Blaise with her usual cold gaze. "To save Brook, of course."

"He was just a bystander!" spluttered Blaise. "An innocent human that knows nothing about us--how could you sacrifice him like that?"

"To save Brook."

"You--!" Blaise looked as if she was ready to launch across the table to stange Delta, but Kaia leaned over and whispered something to her. Blaise scowled at Kaia, but sat down and crossed her arms, still glowering at Delta.

"Thank you, Miss Tor," said Astin. "Delta, if you'd continue."

"I had left Adrian to bury the vessel. Even if he was killed before he could hide it, I figured we could track it with magic. However, when I found Brook, we were ambushed. We managed to escape, but our attackers were on our tail, so I decided to receive the vessel so Brook would have some measure of self-defense while I prepared to travel back here.

"We countered Adrian and I recovered the flask, but we were attacked and surrounded. One used a fire spell, and...Brook was injured. The seal on my magic was broken after that, so I took care of the attackers, knocked out Adrian, and came here."

"So." The sky councilwoman, a woman with a tangled mass of light brown hair, bronze colored skin, and a light green cloak wrapped around her shoulders, leaned forward. "Do you think these attackers were angels?"

"No," said Delta. "Only one used magic; the others came at us with unenchanted swords."

"And the fire user?" pressed Blaise.

"I don't know for sure," said Delta slowly, "but I believe he was human. He needed to chant, and he was wearing a charmed bracelet."

The council murmured uneasily.

Kaia spoke up. "So, are they connected to our angel slayer?"

"Who else could it be?" scowled Arroyo. "Who else would so purposefully target our royalty among an Earth with billions of humans?"

"But the attacker used fire magic," the king, Saros, interjected. "We know our killer uses dark magic, and it's unheard of for someone to possess two types. Not to mention how unlikely his situation already is. So either he's gone and done the impossible, or there's an angel working for him."

At that, a tense silence fell over the hall, and six pairs of eyes slid over to Blaise.

Blaise bristled as she realized the unspoken accusation. "None of my family would ever betray the kingdom!"

"But what other fire angels have powerful enough magic to enchant a weapon capable of such damage?" pressed Arroyo quietly.

Blaise trembled with rage. "This is ridiculous! Why don't you open up your mind a little? The killer has shown himself to be plenty impossible already. Maybe he does have two types of magic! He doesn't seem the type to ally with an angel, does he?"

"I have difficulty believing a human can have one type of magic, let alone two," scoffed Arroyo. "That's past impossible."

Wait. "Human?" echoed Adrian.

Arroyo glanced at Adrian with a touch of disdain. "Nobody told you?"

Adrian shook his head. What? Told me what?

Arroyo sighed, as if lamenting the shortcomings of the council, then said, "Our angel slayer is human. Or, at least, claims to be. It's highly doubtful, obviously."

"Where exactly did you learn that?"

Astin jumped in. "He told us. He doesn't speak much, but when he does, he's declaring how he, a human, will end the 'evils' of the angels." He sighed and crossed his arms. "It's indeed difficult to believe. For a human to not only possess magic, but to possess magic powerful enough to successfully raid our palace multiple times--it's near impossible, to say the least."

"And to have two types of magic is preposterous," insisted Arroyo. "I say there's a conspirator."

"Not to mention those other humans that attacked the princess!" cut in the sky councilwoman, Esen Kalani. "A possible angel ally, not to mention who knows how many humans..."

"The killer has gathered himself a following," concluded Astin grimly.

Again the hall fell under an uncomfortable silence as the council members exchanged glances. Delta, on the other hand, took the chance to check on Brook.

"He must be tracking the heirs," said Arroyo. "To find Lady Brook in a city that crowed--they must be purposely seeking them out. The heirs are no longer safe on earth--not that they ever were--so I call for a reevaluation of our plan. I say we bring them back here."

Kaia nodded her agreement. "They were always safer here. And after this incident, that is only more true."

Arroyo cast a smug gaze at the other three council members, who all frowned uncomfortably as he scanned them over. "So. What do you three say, now that your half-baked plan has come undone?"

Astin sighed. "The circumstances have changed. They will be safer here."

Esen shot Arroyo a spiteful glare, but nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Only because the palace hasn't been attacked in three years, though."

Blaise took the longest to act, seething in silence and staring daggers at her fellow councilmembers. Scowling deeply, she muttered, "I'm outnumbered, anyway. Whatever I say won't change anything."

"We still want to hear your opinion," said Astin softly.

Blaise grimaced as she mumbled, "Bring them back, I guess."

Astin nodded his thanks, then turned to Saros. "What do you say, Brother?"

Saros sighed and shrugged. "Well, it looks pretty unanimous. I suppose we'll be bringing them back."

"Then it is decided," announced Astin. "We will prepare for a mission to retrieve the heirs from earth."

"What about Alina?" asked Saros quietly, almost fearfully.

"If she is alive--" the councilmembers shuddered at the "if" "--then she is of age to ascend to the throne, and she will take the position."

Saros frowned. "Immediately?"

"Of course not," assured Astin, turning to his brother. "She will need time to prepare and learn her responsibilities. As you've done such a wonderful job for these few years, I'm sure you have plenty of insights to provide to her."

Saros smiled. "I will do my best to prepare her for the throne."

Adrian listened to their conversation silently, struggling to keep up as new names and facts were thrown at him every other sentence. So...this Alina must be the oldest princess, the one in line for the throne.

The matter settled, Astin turned back toward the council. "Now...for our final matter." His gaze fell on Adrian, and the five others followed suit.

Adrian once again felt a prick of discomfort as he found himself at the center of attention. So much for being a silent observer. A shame, too; without any emotional attachment to the matter, he had found the angels' discussion quite fascinating.

"What we are going to do with you, Adrian."

Delta's smoldering glare clearly said, "Kill him."

The others' expressions, however, were more difficult to read, as they leaned and murmured to each other, eyeing him thoughtfully.

What exactly do they have planned? thought Adrian with unease. "So, exactly why can't you just send me home?"

"Well, we could..." started Astin.

"Unfortunately for you, human, it's not that simple," stated Arroyo. "Clearly, we'd prefer to keep or kingdom secret from you humans. Obviously we cannot let you go knowing what you know, and a simple 'I won't tell anyone' simply isn't enough."

"Astin said you could wipe my memory," said Adrian.

"It is possible," agreed Arroyo. "But..." He glanced at Astin, inviting him to continue.

Astin picked up. "We believe you can help us."

Adrian frowned, unsure what to think. "How so?"

Astin spoke slowly, choosing each word with caution. "If the killer has formed an organization--which seems very likely at this point--then we need to gather more information on it. The easiest way would be for someone to infiltrate it--we would like for you to do so."

Adrian started, confusion turning to disbelief. "Infiltrate? But--why me?"

"You're a human," explained Astin. "The killer seems to have been recruiting humans. It'd be dangerous for an angel to approach him, as he seems set on killing us all. Even if an angel tried to disguise as a human, it's impossible to entirely mask magic; there's always a trace left. If the enemy has tracking magic powerful enough to trace Brook and Delta's location in a packed city, then they'd no doubt sense magic in their proximity. As such, it's less risky to send a human. They're more likely to be recruited, and less likely to be discovered."

"I understand that you need a human," replied Adrian slowly, "but I'm not the caliber of human you're looking for. There are millions more qualified than I am."

"But you know about our civilization."

"So it saves you the hassle of explaining it to another human?" asked Adrian. "Is it because I'm expendable, so you might as well throw me into danger, and, if I die, just find another? Is it a quick way to get rid of me?"

Astin hesitated before answering. "That's not it, Adrian. You reacted so calmly to everything you've just been exposed to. We think you have the mental stability to handle it."

"That feels like a flimsy reason," said Adrian. "Anyway, I really think you should find someone else. I'm not skilled enough to handle something like that."

"Well, honestly," added Astin, "we believe that you might have a greater reason to remain loyal to the cause because you personally know a heir."

"I could hardly be called friends with Brook." And Delta wants to kill me.

"It's certainly better than nothing," replied Astin. "Any line of defense against what they might do to you mentally is valuable. Besides, you saw what they did to Brook. You have a chance to help stop that."

"Still..." Adrian diverted his gaze, feel uneasy under the sudden expectations.

"Think about it," urged Astin. "The good you could do.. You could help us end this group of murderers. It wouldn't even just be for us; you could save humans from being dragged into this. Think about how many lives you could save."

"Still..." Adrian pressed against the back of the chair, as if in a futile attempt to distance himself from the expectations presented by Astin. Sure, I like to think of myself as a good person, and doing this is certainly charitable, but do I really have it in me? Putting my life on the line for a civilization I know almost nothing about?

"That won't be enough, Astin," said Arroyo. He leaned in, face like stone. "If I may provide some motivation. As you know, we can't let you leave knowing what you do. Either you infiltrate the enemy's organization with your memories intact, or we wipe your memories and send you home. Nothing's stopping you from choosing to leave, but, I must warn you, with the amount you know, it'd be exceedingly difficult to isolate the memories of our civilization and magic."

Adrian frowned. "So?"

A ghost of a smirk whisked across Arroyo's face. "You see, at this point, a memory wipe might damage other memories as well, not related to angels. There's no telling how much damage would be done, but...it might be significant."

Adrian gaped at Arroyo as a pinprick of anger welled up within him. They're threatening me. But colder, stronger than the anger, icy fear crept in. Are they going to force me into this death mission? Will they really leave me be if I refuse?

Astin scowled Arroyo, but turned to Adrian. "So, what do you think?"

Adrian glanced around the room, acutely aware of the council members' expectant stares. Delta fixed him with an icy, challenging glare; surely she'd be on board to throw him into a life-threatening situation. Backed into a corner, he attempted to push himself away from the table, even a little bit, but he couldn't escape their stares. Did he even have a choice? Refuse, and have his memories damaged, and perhaps be attacked by the angels or killed by Delta? Agree, and wander into an unknown lair of terror, overseen by a murderer?

If you're trying to get me to do this out of the goodness of my heart, threatening me sure isn't the way to do it. Adrian swallowed, scanning over the council members. I need more time. "C-can you give me time to think?"

"Of course," said Astin promptly. "Will a night be enough?"

Unwilling to push his luck, Adrian quietly mumbled, "Yeah."

"Then we will expect your decision in the morning."

"Choose well," said Arroyo, eyes smug.

Astin shot Arroyo another frown, but remained facing the center of the table. "This meeting is adjourned." When he rose from his seat, the other council members followed suit. Blaise instantly hurried over to Kaia, chatting loudly angrily, judging from her waving arms. Kaia murmured to her soothingly, and the two exited the room. Esen, walking with a spring in her step, followed after.

Arroyo spun to Astin, and the two began talking in low, urgent voices. Delta gestured to the guards by Brook, who picked up her cot and made their way out of the room, tailed closely by Delta. She passed Adrian without sparing him even a glance.

Adrian lingered by his chair for a few moments before making his way to the door; he had paid extra attention to the route to the meeting room, so he figured he could make his way back. He barely made it five steps into the hall before he was intercepted by a guard, who explained he was to lead Adrian back to his room.

They made their way back in silence, broken only by the guard reminding Adrian to make his decision by the morning before shutting the door to the room, leaving Adrian to think in the dark.