NOTE: TO THOSE WHO MAY HAVE SKIPPED THE AUTHOR'S NOTE. THIS IS A SEQUEL. THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

A man with dark eyes bursted out laughing. His voice boomed throughout the garden. "Master was right about you, Key Keeper!"

Arms crossed; I raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"You didn't care for the girl." His lips twitched into a smirk. "You never bothered to search for her."

"What?" I gritted my teeth. "What girl?"

He cackled. "You don't know? A Key Keeper should've found Taradita by now."

"I've had enough!" Flames surged through my veins.

The man disappeared before the flames could consume him.

I collapsed to my knees. Sweat beaded my brow. The world around me spun. The only constant, a little girl's face draped in shadow.

The ripples told me Tiana and Recah approached. Each wrapped an arm around me. Tiana wiped the sweat from my brow.

"There is a girl in Taradita." My eyes widened. "What is Taradita?"

Tiana caressed my back. "The girl must be alive. Take that and run with it."

"Let's go home." Recah ran her fingers through my hair. "Everyone's waiting."

Noelle appeared in front of me. "It's over now." She smiled. "With relentless courage, you've all liberated the Engrads from the Council."

Big Sis stifled a laugh. "Oh, Noelle... It might be over for the rest of the Engrads, but our story has only just begun!"

"Well, of course." Noelle raised an eyebrow. "Your quests are over, so new ones will take their place. That's just a part of life. Any life for that matter."

"You didn't get to watch, so it's only natural you don't understand," Recah said.

Tiana said, "We got a clue."

"Come on." Recah wrapped my arm around her neck. "Let's go home."

"Will you both stop speaking in riddles?" Arms crossed; Noelle looked at them sideways. "I don't speak riddles."

I had an urge to vomit. It was like my world had toppled over and was sent spinning. Pins and needles. It was nearly impossible to concentrate on their words.

T smiled at me. "It doesn't matter right now."

"The Engrads are free." Recah gazed at the sun. "Let's take a breather before the next adventure."

"I suppose so..." Noelle rolled her eyes before teleporting us home.

***

If the others eagerly awaited our return, I paid them no mind. When Recah let go, I ran for the garden. I wanted to lay down on the bench I napped on when I first arrived at Norma Esther.

A smiling Eni approached. I could feel his ripples clear as day.

"I'm proud of you and T, Ain." He knelt in front the bench. "You were brave to face the bad people. Now you can make everything better for their friends."

"It wasn't anything special." I opened my eyes. "We just did what any good ruler would do. We always knew we'd do this. We just didn't know when."

His red-pink eyes glistened in the sunlight. "That's why you're special."

"What do you mean?" I found myself smiling.

"You like helping people but you don't expect a present back. I don't think there's a lot of people like that." He gazed into my eyes. "Did you get a present back?"

I sat up. "I dunno..."

Eni joined me on the bench. "Well, if you need to do something, T and I wanna help you."

Eni was amazing. He wasn't the four-year-old I brought home last year, anymore. He grew by leaps and bounds—likely through Kayleigh's blessing—but retained his innocence. I prayed my baby brother would never lose that trait. I'd do whatever I had to make sure that never happened.

***

I wandered into the sitting room. Ai seemed to be enjoying herself. Someone probably gave her the good news. She could go home now. The Council couldn't hurt her anymore.

I slipped out cuz I didn't wanna disturb her. I actually wanted to pass by as few people as possible. I just took a wrong turn on the way to my room.

I went into my closet. I had to call Mama.

Ring-ring!

"Hi, sweetie."

"Hi, Mama." My flames pooled in my cheeks. Sweat beaded my brow. "Did something happen?"

There was an air of hesitation in her words. "How come?"

"Something did happen."

There was more silence until Mama took deep breaths. "Check your texts."

I did as she asked. I was with a girl. This girl looked a lot like the one I'd seen in shadow. She had fiery red hair and deep green eyes. With her smile and solid stance, she looked like she was on top of the world. She couldn't have been afraid of anything.

"Who is she?"

"Do you remember her? I wouldn't expect you to. You haven't seen her since you were really little."

I had a lump in my throat. "Enough to know she was important."

"Her name is Savannah Ventura. You went to preschool with her. She moved with her family before you started kindergarten."

Vanny...

I was glad I was on the floor. "Mama. What happened to her?"

"She's disappeared. We don't know what happened. She wasn't the sort of girl to do that."

"When did this happen?"

"It's been over a year now. No one is any closer to finding out what happened."

My flames surged through my body. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It happened in December. I didn't want to worry you when there was nothing you could do. You'd just come out of your episode the first chance I got to tell you." The air was heavy. "It was wishful thinking. I assumed you'd forgotten her since you were so young the last time you saw her."

There was an elephant in room. I wanted to kick it out.

"Why did she come back?"

"She wanted to see you again. To see if you both could be friends again. She visited me after Thanksgiving. By that time, you'd already set off to save your sister. I knew she was important to you. I didn't want to get in the way of that."

"Come September, I'd already brought them home."

Her voice was hardly above a whisper. "You told me Leon was to raise them, but you wanted a hand in that. That you owed them that as a brother. I couldn't complicate that. It was pure and noble. I'm pretty sure most eighteen-year-olds would've been willing to pass that responsibility off at the first opportunity."

Why did Kayleigh do this to me? I saved my siblings and liberated the Engrads. Wasn't that enough?

"Sorry, sweetie. I have a meeting to attend. I can call you afterward."

"Go on."

"Bye."

Mama hung up.

I dived into my bed and screamed into my pillow.

Screw this. Kayleigh's motivations didn't matter. I would save Vanny. She came to rekindle our relationship. I was a Key Keeper. This probably all my fault anyway.

I needed to go home. That was where I needed to start.

I pulled my pack out of the drawer. I stuffed a few changes of clothes into it. I also packed a bit of the food I kept in my room.

Knock-knock! Recah stopped in the doorway. "Sweetheart. What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" I closed my pack. "I'm going home."

Mouth agape, she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "You can't be serious!"

Tiana stopped in front of us. "Why?"

"I need to go home. I have things to sort out."

Last night was hard on Kaze. Her eyes were still swollen, cheeks still red. I wished I could've done more for my big sis, but she needed to cry for the mama she lost. I hardly if ever saw her do that.

"Hey, Noelle?" My gaze drifted toward the ceiling. "You're listening, right?"

She appeared between me and the girls. "I take you want something from me?"

"I have to tell you something. You need to be here." I drew a long breath. "As my Protector, it'd be wrong to keep something this important from you."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Once everyone falls asleep, I'm heading back to Earth." I cracked a smile. "I don't wanna cause a scene."

Noelle face palmed. "I can't believe you." She put her hands on her hips. "Mark my words: Marshall will say, 'It's been two years, and you still haven't learned?'"

"This is what's best for everyone."

"I can't let you go alone. I won't let you." Recah ran up and grabbed my hands. "I'm coming whether you want me to or not."

Noelle gazed into my eyes, nearly burning holes in them. "That little girl has to go with you. She has that right."

"Who do you mean? Ai or Lie?" Tiana raised an eyebrow. "From what I've been told, they're both teenagers."

"I got intel from The Head. Her parents are in Taradita."

The color drained from Kaze's face. "Thank Kayleigh she doesn't have to be an orphan."

The room went silent for a minute.

"What are you worried about, Sweetheart?" Sweat beaded Recah's brow. "I know it's not your sister."

I averted my gaze. "Lie's just a kid." I ran my fingers over my birthmark. "I have no clue what awaits me there. I could never knowingly put her in danger."

"You really are clueless, dodo." Noelle cracked a smile. "You won't win. They have ways of following you."

Tiana pecked me on the cheek. "Alain, you didn't just save me, but our beloved baby brother, Phoenix, too." She wrapped her arms around my neck. "I still haven't repaid that debt, and this is how I wanna do it. I have to pay it forward."

"Like I've said, Kaze. We're family. Knowing you're alright is more than enough for me." I gave her a small smile. "Besides, princess, you need to stay. Your coronation at the harvest festival is near at hand. Two months will have come and gone before you know it."

Leon entered and bowed to us. "My apologies for the intrusion, Princess." He rose. "I can act as the princess' regent for the time being. Before the coup, I served as Queen Cecelia's Royal Advisor, and worked in the shadows to aid civilians during the Council's brief stint in power. I know what must be done to improve the kingdom."

"This is something I have to sort out for myself. I can't ask you to get involved."

Recah made me look her in the eyes. "You won't win, Sweetheart." Her brown eyes glistened. "My heart would ache if I knew you were facing danger alone."

"Recah, no." I stroked her hair. "You have a family. I couldn't let you abandon them for my sake."

She stifled a laugh, leaving the girls to raise their eyebrows and stare blankly, awaiting an explanation.

"Our parents died when I was eight, so Marshall and I are orphans like your siblings." She cracked a smile. "I was never close to the aunts and uncles who took me in, anyway."

I shook my head. "Wouldn't they worry if they knew?"

"Of course, they would." Hands behind her back, she turned away. "It's not like it matters, though."

A sigh escaped Noelle's lips. "Like I've said, people here generally don't have the tools you're used to." She winked at Recah. "It's hard to keep in contact without phones or email."

T folded her arms. "We're coming whether you like it or not."

"I guess it can't be helped." I sighed. "But, what about our baby brother?"

"He doesn't know what happened." Tears clouded her eyes. "He has no memory of that terrible night. He might as well have been a baby when that happened."

Leon bowed again. "Princess."

Doing that again was pointless. Kaze never liked the formality. It made her subjects inferior to her, which wasn't true in her eyes.

"Accompanying you is best for the prince."

T bit her lip. "Why?"

"Prince Phoenix hasn't been apart from you in thirteen years. His age could've caused him to develop separation anxiety." Leon's unwavering golden eyes gazed at her. "You are the heiress apparent. He learned nothing of royal affairs. I wish not to overwhelm him with such matters."

She drew a long breath and gazed at the silver ring on her finger. "Still... I loathe the idea of endangering him."

"We can't protect him forever." I pulled her to my chest. "We want to believe it's a dream, but he's already eighteen. We have to start somewhere."

She slipped out of my grasp. "I suppose you're right..."

"Shall I inform the others there will be a meeting later?" Leon asked.

T exchanged glances with me and nodded. "Tell them there will be a meeting in three hours' time."

***

Happy new year, minna!

And Alain's story has begun anew! Thoughts on him in this opener? Recah, Tiana, and Noelle? Eni? Leon? Theories? Predictions?

~Shino out!