Breaking out of prison was easy. It took under a minute. I mean, three myths, three sorcerers, a crazed diviner, a dryad, and two princesses? It wasn't an issue.

Leaving the smoking bars behind, we ran down the stone corridor through the door that would take us back upstairs. Magnolia remembered the castle, so she led the way. Running through the twisted hallways had me totally disoriented, but she didn't miss a beat.

Finally, the hallway opened into a big room with a high ceiling. There was a big gray door to our left. Magnolia skidded to a stop. "Alright," she said, catching her breath, "this is it. The throne room. If she's anywhere, it's here."

"Thanks Magnolia," I said, smiling grimly. I looked at my two best friends. "Are you guys ready?"

"It's like I've waited for this moment my entire life," Audrey said, grinning.

"I'll never be ready...so I suppose this moment's as good as any," Sophie said, shrugging.

I turned towards the rest of the group. "Ready?"

They nodded. I took a breath.

"Well then," I said, turning towards the door, "sounds like we're ready."

I looked at the door. Could I really put all these people in danger? Because it was my choice to open this door. My choice alone. I had called these people here. If they got hurt, it would be my fault.

Suddenly, I felt two hands grasp my own, one strong, cool, and covered by a black biker glove, the other soft and warm. I didn't have to look to know who it was. And I knew it would be ok.

I let go of their hands, strode forward, and opened the door.

"Giselle!" I shouted. From across the room, a blonde woman in a red throne sat up, alarmed. I stared her right in the eye. "You are never going to hurt my friends again. You are never going to hurt anyone ever again. This ends now."

Her eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

I narrowed my eyes right back at her. "That's where you're wrong. You said I wasn't special, I only had talented friends. Well maybe that IS my talent. Making friends. Maybe, that's a thing. So I called my friends here. If they're so special, you can take on THEM."

Behind me, Audrey, Sophie, Abigail, Liza and Chris, Genivieve, Seraphina, Primrose, and Magnolia stepped into the room.

Giselle stood up, absolute loathing burning in her eyes. She raised her hand and thrust it towards me. From behind her throne, a huge snake shot into the air. I gasped. It was as thick as a bus tire and as long as the bus itself. It landed in a coil, and slithered towards me with alarming speed.

Audrey raced towards it, transformed into warrior, and threw a knife at its face. The snake was too fast. It twisted out of the way and kept coming.

"Sierra!" Audrey shouted, "go! You have to get to Giselle!"

"But," I replied nervously, "I can't let you fight this snake all by yourself!"

"Yes, you can!" Audrey shouted, frustrated. "Listen, Giselle is the only one that matters now!"

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "I'll help her," Abigail said. I sighed in relief. "Thank you," I whispered. I began to run to the far side of the throne room.

Just then, cats flooded on from every direction. I almost stopped in my tracks. I have never seen so many cats in my life. It was like wave. I gasped.

"Sierra, transform!" an urgent voice said in my ear. I nodded. "You coming?"

"Of course," Sophie replied. I nodded, and began to run harder. Every muscle, every breath, every heartbeat was one. I could feel myself, pure and shining, as if I was light itself.

My back extended, and my legs no longer beat the ground.

I soared above the mass of cats, and I could sense Sophie right behind me. I looked down and hoped that my friends were ok. Audrey was in an epic battle with the snake, and Abigail seemed to be casting a complex spell with her head bowed. I couldn't tell what she was enchanting. Liza and Chris were defending her with magical staffs, pushing the cats back with red flashes. But we could only defend. I didn't see any attack.

Suddenly, a mass of people burst through the doors, bearing wooden clubs and knives. No, not people: dryads. My heartbeat began to slow. Thank you Magnolia.

I focused on Giselle. She didn't appear to see me. I tucked my wings and dove. Closer...closer...

And I smacked into an invisible wall.

I tumbled backwards, making a strange neighing sound. I thought I knew how to work a horse body, but I was wrong. There were still too many muscles, I didn't know what to control...

A thought flashed into my head. I closed my eyes and concentrated. Beauty, vivacity, and light. My heart soared, and I followed it.

I flipped in midair, humanoid once more, and flapped my wings once and landed in a crouched position. Giselle gaped. "You changed in midair?" she seethed.

"Fairy is my favorite form," I said grinning.

"Sierra," Sophie called, "Audrey is hurt! I have to go heal her!"

"Go!" I shouted. "I got this!"

"Don't be so certain," Giselle said nastily, "you still have nothing without your friends. Don't be so cocky that you send them away."

"Oh, they didn't leave," I said simply. "They're still with me."

"In your mind?" she sneered.

"No," I replied, "in my heart. I wouldn't expect you to understand."

She snarled.

I leapt into the air, propelled by my wings. Giselle thrust her hand towards me and water shot out, coming towards me.

I almost laughed.

I closed my eyes just before the water reached me. Peace, free-flow and total, complete, freedom. The water engulfed me, and I relaxed, flicking my tail and swimming in midair. Then I laughed for real.

The water abruptly stopped. I began falling, but I wasn't afraid. I closed my eyes. Beauty and majesty, faith in your friends and hope in tomorrow. I swooped upwards, curving until I was directly above Giselle. She was shooting something at me, red beams of something, but I was spiraling upwards and none hit me.

I closed my eyes. Strength, bravery, truth. I flipped in midair and grasped my axe tightly as I began to fall. Giselle barely moved in time. My axe came down and split her chair in two. I quickly pivoted to face her.

"You," Giselle said, pointing a finger at me and shaking with rage. Her previously perfect hair was disheveled and rough. Her face contorted in fury and hate, she raised both of her arms.

Suddenly, I knew something was wrong.

The room went dark, and the battle slowly stopped. Shadows crawled across the walls and floor, seeping into every cranny of the room and bathing it in darkness.

The shadows reached me, and they seeped into my soul.

My heart twisted in my ribcage, my breaths became ragged. I trembled. I was no longer sure of myself. I wanted to drop to the ground and beg forgiveness. I wanted to die. It was the single most horrible feeling I've ever felt in my entire life.

I was feeling Giselle's hatred.

Every inch of loathing she had, for me, for my friends, my entire race, flooded through me, turning my insides black. It was so strong, I could hardly stand it. I felt like I was about to throw up. My head was spinning. I collapsed. My vision went black. I could no longer feel the chair on which I knelt, couldn't hear anything but the roar of hatred, no taste, no smell, just black.

And then I began to see visions.

A young Giselle, petite and blonde, standing before a panel of elderly people in black robes. The one in the middle, the important looking one, cleared her throat. "Giselle Laroche, you have been discovered to be a sorceress. Here is the following evidence to support this claim: objects with magical roots behave strangely around you, and recently, a girl named Terese claims that the stairs 'turned into a slide' right below her feet. The orphanage director tells us you two have a long, unpleasant history. Do you deny these claims?"

Young Giselle trembled. "No..."

"Alright," the woman said, shuffling some papers. There was an awkward silence.

"Are you going to burn me at the stake?" Young Giselle blurted.

The old woman looked up, surprised, but then understanding seemed to dawn. She chuckled softly. "No my dear. We are simply sending you to a guild to hone your skills." She leaned forward, her eyes glittering. "I can sense that you are strong."

The scene shifted, and I saw a slightly older Giselle, maybe my age, hanging out with two guys and a girl. The guy with dark curly hair was climbing up a pillar in a courtyard.

"Go Juan!" the other girl cried.

"Don't distract him, Marietta," Giselle breathed.

"I'll be fine," Juan called nonchalantly, "just catch me if I fall, Walter."

The scene dissolved into a few years later. Giselle was about sixteen, and was sitting on the roof of the guild with the boy, Juan.

"We shouldn't be up here," Giselle said nervously.

"Aw, come on Giselle," Juan said, laughing, "live a little!"

"You're going to get caught one day," Giselle said, no longer nervous, but amused, "and then you'll really be in trouble."

"Yeah, but I haven't been caught yet," he said softly, slipping his arm around her waist.

She stiffened, taking in a sharp breath, but when he didn't move his arm, she relaxed. She looked at Juan curiously. He grinned impishly. "Happy birthday, Giselle."

He closed the small gap between their faces and pressed his lips to hers.

The scene was ripped away suddenly, replaced by smoke and fire. Giselle was running through the halls, her breathing heavy. "Marietta...Walter..." she cried, coughing. "Juan!"

There was no answer, only screams from people outside who couldn't escape the destruction.

Giselle burst into a courtyard, and gasped in fear when she saw a figure on the ground. "Juan!" she screamed, running towards him.

Suddenly, a fiery bird swooped out of the sky onto the ground. It landed in between Giselle and the boy who had become more than her friend. The bird morphed into a humanoid figure, a girl with short brown hair. The girl looked around, saw Juan, and walked over to pick him up.

"NO!" Giselle screamed, "don't touch him! Don't you dare touch him!"

The girl turned around, shocked. When she saw Giselle, something in her face softened. "I'm sorry," she said firmly, "but we know about you guild and what you've been doing to this boy. We won't let you torture him any longer."

Torture him? What was she talking about? Giselle shook her head. No time to wonder. All she knew is they were taking the love of her life and she couldn't let that happen. She began running towards the girl again.

"Natasha!" a new voice yelled, "you get the boy, I'll deal with this girl."

The first girl, Natasha, nodded, and picked the boy up on her back. Giselle started running towards her, but the new girl blocked her path. In desperation, Giselle looked at her hand. Could she do this? She had only done in twice before, with much more concentration. No matter. She had to get to Juan. A surge of hatred welled up inside her, hatred at this girl who was trying to stop her.

She thrust her hand at the new girl with a cry.

A black beam of light--no, darkness--shot out of her hand. She gasped. She had never seen that happen before.

The black light enveloped the girl. She froze for a moment, an expression of absolute shock on her face. And then she fell over, dead.

"ALICE!!!" Natasha screamed, dropping Juan. "No, no, NO!!!"

Giselle started for Juan again, but an Asian girl got there first. "Natasha, we have to go! There's nothing we can do for her now!" She lifted Juan into a fireman's hold, transformed into a flying horse, and took off.

"No!" Giselle shrieked, her heart breaking. She had failed. She had tried so hard to save him, and failed.

"You!" Natasha screamed, "you killed her! You killed my friend!"

"And you took mine!" Giselle screamed back.

"You call him you friend? The Elders told us all about what you've done to him! How can you possibly, possibly, call him your friend!" she wiped an angry tear from her eye, approaching Giselle.

"I didn't do anything to him!" Giselle said angrily. How dare this girl insult her like that? "And he was--he was more than a friend to me!"

"Ha," Natasha said bitterly, "like I believe that story."

"Natasha!" a new voice called, "we have to go!" A tall girl with jet black hair came running up.

"You don't understand, Jennifer!" Natasha shouts angrily. "This girl killed Alice!"

"I know," Jennifer sobbed, tears running down her face, "but we've got to--we've got to leave. We got what we came for, now please, let's go!" she pleaded.

"You sicken me! We have a chance for revenge and you won't take it?" Natasha screamed.

"No," Jennifer said firmly. She gazed a Giselle sadly. "Nothing good has ever come from revenge. In the heat of the moment, anything can happen. Revenge can twist you Natasha, turn you into a monster!"

"I don't care," Natasha snarled.

Jennifer looked at her friend sadly. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She hesitated, then slammed her fist into Natasha'a gut.

Natasha crumpled. Jennifer picked her up in a fireman's hold, gave one last sad look at Giselle, then ran until she turned into a flying horse, and flew away.

Giselle watched them numbly as they flew away, the hateful creatures who had captured her friend.

"I will find you," she hissed, "I will have my revenge. Oh yes, no matter how long it takes, I will have my revenge, on you, and every kind of sickening creature that shares your unholy power. Oh yes. Revenge will be sweet."

The visions stopped with terrifying abruptness. I gasped for air, lying on my back in a twisted position. I had a cut on my cheek from falling off the chair. Blood flowed freely and the wound throbbed with pain. It was too much to take in...Young Giselle...a boy named Juan...Mrs. Simone...a girl named Alice...

I looked up. Giselle stood a few feet away from my, still livid and crazed. She didn't appear to realize what I had just seen.

She lifted her hands, thrust them towards me and threw me to the other side of the room.

I hit the wall with a sickening thwack. My subconscious noticed that there was no one left in the room, and vaguely wondered where they were. But my immediate thoughts were on Giselle.

I slid to the ground, pain shooting up and down my body. I gasped. It hurt so much. Curse Myths and their hyper-sensitive selves...tears began to leak down my face.

Giselle raised her arms, and a storm gathered around the room and swirled around her. It picked up, the rain slashing hard on my face. The wind whipped my now wet hair, stinging as it hit me. I lay on the ground in a crumpled heap for a moment, not wanting to move, just wanting to lie there in pain.

But then I realized that I had to get to Giselle. Had to help her understand. She had felt love before. I had to help her feel it again.

It was the real talent I had.

Slowly, I picked myself up from the floor and began to crawl. It was all I could do from the pain that racked my body. My face was wet, from rain, blood, or tears, I couldn't tell. Probably all. My arms were shaking from exertion, but I kept crawling. Suddenly, I put my hand down wrong, and my weak arm caused me to topple forwards. My face hit a jagged rock on the ground. Pain shot through my face, setting my nerves on edge and my cheek on fire. A scream of pain welled up from inside of me and ripped from my throat, but the sound was torn away swiftly with the wind. For a moment, I lay there. I didn't want to move. What was the point? The ground was cool. The ground was rest.

Then I lifted one trembling arm. I placed my palm on the ground and lifted myself up. I couldn't give up now. My vision was clear.

My eyes were filled with solid, grim, determination.

I crawled towards Giselle, fighting my way through the hurricane she had created. I only fell twice more, but got back up immediately. I had to get to her. I had to help her understand.

And then, I saw her.

She was standing in front of her throne that was split in two, her arms raised and her expression a kind of a twisted, insane grief. I pitied her. I truly did.

And then, right there in the middle of the storm, I stood up.

It was a struggle. It really was. But I did.

"Giselle," I shouted over the roar of the wind, "please, understand. You can't blame an entire race for the mistakes of one or two people. Revenge has twisted you. You were a good person. And you've thrown all that goodness away. And for what? For this? To destroy a little girl like me? It's not worth it. You've become a monster. You've forgotten how to love."

"Love is a foolish emotion, a dead emotion," Giselle shrieked. "There is no more love. It doesn't exist. It never existed. I was foolish, foolish!"

"No, you weren't," I said desperately, "you were an incredible person, with a beautiful soul." I took a breath. "And I want to see that soul again."

I don't really know what I did next. To this day, I still don't know how I did it. But I reached deep within me, deeper than I've ever reached before. I wasn't looking for something new, but I wanted to get everything I possibly could out of myself. All the good moments, every laugh, every tear, every smile, every moment.

I relaxed, letting myself flow with the harmony of the world. Life was a song, and I was trying to find the notes. I thought of the truth, the truth the dwelled in every rock, every sunbeam, every leaf, every inch of this world that was pure. The purity that rang throughout nature, throughout the souls of good hearted people. I heard children laugh as they ran through a field. All of it, every bit, part of the song.

I thought of the darkness in the world, the pain, the terror, the bloodshed. And then I thought of the hope, the hope that beats true in every single one of our beating hearts, reminding us that we're still alive, that life continues, and we're a part of that life. A part of that song.

And then I thought of the joy. The joy that springs forth from the sun, the moon, the water and the mountains. From me, from the people around me, the strangers and the ones I know. How it lights of the world and brings everything into a better light. The darkest day, the bleakest night, becomes beautiful, through joy.

And finally, I thought of friends. Friends that stood by you when no one else would. A strong, unbreakable, bond. A mutual relationship of laughter, tears, and gasping for breath as you hold onto each other for the ride. Together, nothing is impossible, because together, you have created the strongest force known to mankind.

And it was there as if it had been there all along. What all this meant. Where every good emotion came from. Where it was born.

Love.

And as I felt this, this song that rose from the depths of my soul and burst into the sky, I noticed myself rising into the air, and an unearthly, golden, light.