The courtyard door opened with a loud creak and I recalled how I had last snuck out when I had previously been here. It seemed to be a lifetime ago.

I noticed that both Emut and Demir had their weapons held up and I knew that danger could still be lurking. They instinctively stood in front of me as I was unarmed and we walked into the familiar courtyard opening.

The first thing I saw was the flying glint of metal and let out a squeak of surprise as it hurtled towards us at an astounding speed, but Emut was faster and I watched as he hit it away effortlessly with his sword. It landed deep into the wall beside me and I breathed a sigh of relief that it had missed us.

"20 years of intense training and that's all you have to show for it? I'm disappointed." Demir spoke stoically and I heard a huff from the other side of the courtyard.

"By the Gods, we thought you were an enemy, Demir!" I heard the sound of Maya's shout and stepped out from behind them with a smile at the sudden stroke of familiarity. I felt giddy as I gazed to both her and Abrax as they stood on the other side of the courtyard, their weapons in hand. Abrax smiled as he looked to the three of us before calling out to Negus with a booming shout down the corridors.

"Maya!" I said and her gaze landed to me. She jogged slightly over before putting her hands firmly on my arms and shaking me. I let out a small yelp as she did, looking into her furious green eyes.

"Are you crazy! Where did you go?!" She shouted out, assessing my face and body for injuries. I opened my mouth to speak, but Maya continued, her hands resting against my cheeks. I watched as Emut moved forward to greet Abrax with a hug.

"Are you okay?" She asked, demanding an answer. Her red hair blew slightly into her face with the evening wind.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Demir deadpanned, a look of boredom on his face. I thought Maya would respond with an insult, but instead she punched Demir's arm roughly.

"We thought something happened to you all." She said with a scowl and it was then that I could see the glint of unshed tears, glistening in her eyes. Demir, seemingly, noticed this too and he scoffed slightly, a small ghost of a smile on his face.

"Oh, so Maya does care about males? Perhaps, it's time to pick a groom now." He joked and Maya let out a small angered sound.

"You may pick him as you would pick a lamb for slaughter. He'd have the same plight!" She gritted out, her eyes were now dry of the tears and I turned as Abrax neared Demir before pulling him into a hug.

"Maya." Emut greeted and she smiled at him as he placed a hand against her shoulder.

"I'm glad you're all back." She said, in an uncharacteristically kind manner to which Emut nodded in agreement. I smiled when Abrax greeted me before greeting him back.

"Hanna! Emut! Demir!" Arun's voice rung out as he galloped towards us and I let out a laugh as he neared before throwing his willowy arms around us, effectively squeezing us all together. Even Maya got caught in the hug and I laughed as she punched Arun in side, making him pull back with a loud wince. She moved away then, so Arun could gaze at the three of us properly.

"Oh, how I missed you all." He said, his eyes gleaming with emotion and a fountain pen tucked behind his ear.

I could hear footsteps from behind and lit up when I saw the familiar blonde hair of the person who I had missed the most. She smiled as she saw us before making her way over. I let out a sigh of relief as she pulled me into a tight hug.

"Remind me to never agree to let you go anywhere without me." Ayla muttered into my ear and I laughed as I remembered how I had snuck out of the house, in the first place. She pulled back then, her blue eyes brimming with joy before she moved to Demir and Emut and placed her hands on both their arms.

"And remind me to keep a leash on the two of you! I don't trust you both venturing out alone anymore!" She said loudly and Emut laughed at her words.

"You're back." We all turned then to see Negus moving in, a teacup in hand and I smiled at the familiar image. He neared and spared a warm glance at all of us, but it was Maya who was the one to speak.

"Where did you three go?" She asked curiously, looking to us all and Emut sighed deeply.

"We had a run in with a Bakenanouke." He answered solemnly and Ayla gasped as tension took over the group. Maya let out a small whispered curse and Negus stiffened slightly.

"A Bakenanouke? How did you manage to get away?" Abrax asked, his hand tightening notably over his axe. He surveyed the surroundings as though we were still in danger and Emut let out a small laugh which slightly diffused the tension.

"Well, we have Hanna to thank for that." He gestured to me with a smile and I blushed slightly as they all turned to me.

"Hanna? What did she do?" Arun asked curiously, his hair waving with the wind and, when they all looked to me again, I let out a small awkward cough.

"Oh, nothing big. I just opened up a door to Earth." I said meekly and, again, silence fell.

"Nothing big?" Maya edged out, a look of shock on her face while Ayla simultaneously squealed to which Maya gave her a glare yet Ayla paid no heed to this.

"Oh, Hanna! That's amazing!" She praised me and I smiled back in thanks before turning to Negus. He had a slight ghost of a smile on his face as he looked to me.

"Well done, Hanna. I must say, that is very impressive." He said almost wistfully and I blushed further at his words, even more so when Ayla came closer and nudged me with her elbow, excitedly.

"Very impressive, Hanna, you should be proud." Abrax added kindly, placing his axe back into the strap on his back. I smiled at his words, opening my mouth to thank him, but Demir spoke instead.

"I'm surprised that the Bakenanouke left this place unscathed." He voiced out curiously and, in response, everyone looked to each other.

"Well..." Ayla spoke hesitantly and I noticed that now Maya's expression had notably darkened.

"What happened?" Emut asked firmly, his gaze switching to Ayla and Maya.

"They took the weapons. All except our chosen weapons which we had in our rooms. Everything else- it's gone." Abrax said morosely and Emut sighed in frustration, brushing a hand through his hair. I let out a small sigh of relief, knowing that my doublesword was hung in my room.

Silence descended for a moment, until
Negus jutted forward and I turned my gaze to him in concern. He looked to me with a terse look.

"Where did you get that pendant?" He asked and I blanked for a moment at the random question before looking down to my neck. Sure enough, I was still wearing the gold bird pendant that I had put on yesterday. I looked up at his expression, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"You know what it is?" I asked curiously and Negus's lips thinned into a firm line as he looked to the three of us.

"Come with me."

****************

Negus shut the room to his office door before walking over to sit on the chair behind his desk.

I watched tepidly, clutching the pendant as he looked to the three of us. Currently, it was just me, Demir and Emut in the room. All of us were stood up and awaiting Negus to speak and, at long last, he did.

"That necklace- the last time I had seen it was with the messenger of Isis herself as he delivered you to me. That was the night we had taken you to Earth." He began and I nodded at his words, listening intently.

"It was put into a storage unit. We took it from there." Emut explained, looking to the chain around my neck.

"Along with this letter." Demir added in, from his position on the sill of the window. He retrieved the letter from his pocket and I half expected it to be wet from the river jump, but it was perfectly dry. It was only when I looked closely as he passed it to Emut, did I realise it was parchment paper.

Negus closed his eyes calmly as Emut's voice filled the room.

"What could I possibly tell you? How do I invoke my wishes without fear of consequence.

What could I possibly tell you, oh cherished one? Perhaps that you're searching far too much? That in all that searching, you haven't spared the time for finding?

Alas, a pity to have eyes like mine- ones that read you like a book! What could I possibly tell you to aid your story?

I have very little to say, but much less to give. Save for this; this is my all. Wear it as you would your skin and remember:

The key of persistence opens all doors closed by resistance

With love and caution,

Mother."

A small silence descended into the room and I watched as the crease between Negus's forehead noticeably deepened. He leaned forward then and we all watched him as he placed his head into his palms.

"How had I not seen this coming?" He muttered to himself in a steady tone and I looked to the males in confusion yet they seemed to be of the same plight.

He looked up to us again, tension clouding his eyes.

"I think I know what Anouke is planning." 

                              °°°°°°°♧°°°°°°

Hey, guys! Thank you for reading.

I hope you guys enjoyed it because I very much enjoyed writing it!

I will update every week (or twice a week), so there will be plentiful to read.

Please vote if you enjoyed it and comment on what you would like to see!

Much Love,

S.A.A