Lukas's POV

I woke up the next morning and looked around. No blood stains. No bodies. I grabbed my chest and sighed in relief, only to feel something wet on my hand. I looked down and found myself drenched in water from head to toe as if I had jumped into a lake...

...or a bathtub.

I quickly threw off the sheets and scurried out of the room. I had to see Jesse and Petra. In the hall, Sheldon was coming out of his room when he saw me. He gave me a weird look.

"Lukas. You're very wet," he said, "What are you doing?"

"Yeah, I noticed. Are Jesse and Petra up?" I asked.

"They're up. But Petra... I'm worried about her. She didn't have an appetite and seemed like she was in a lot of pain. Maybe you could help? I mean, you guys are friends, maybe she'd like to talk to you."

"Okay, thank goodness, where is she?" I said, catching my breath.

"In her room, upstairs. You know where that is, right?"

"I think so. Thanks." I ran off before he could say anything else. The dream I had the night before replayed itself in my mind as vivid as ever. It was all a dream. Stop worrying! It was just a dream!

When I reached Petra's room, Magnolia was sitting at the edge of her bed. Petra laid there scrunched into a ball on her side, moaning softly with her arms wrapped around her middle. Her eyes were shut tightly and her jaw was clenched.

"Petra," I spoke, "How—how're you doing?"

She opened her eyes slightly.

"Lukas," she said, her voice making it obvious she was in deep pain, "Hey."

"She's been feeling like this all morning," Magnolia said, "Something's seriously wrong with her."

"I'm sorry," I said, "What's bothering you?"

"My head!" Petra cried, "And my stomach... and my back... and, augh! Everything!" She shut her eyes again and breathed unevenly, inhaling in small spurts.

"I can't... think straight," she continued, "It just... hurts... everything!"

Ombrexi. I shook my head. That was a dream. She's been having problems for a while now. Ombrexi hurt dream Petra. Not real Petra.

"I just... think I need quiet..." she said, "The sound... hurts..."

"Okay, it's gonna be okay, we're leaving now," I said, trying to sound reassuring. I motioned for Magnolia to follow me as I quietly shut the door.

"I wish she wasn't hurting... it makes me so sad for her," Magnolia told me, "I wish we could... do something."

"But what?" I asked. Magnolia didn't answer.

"Hope for the best," she said, then walked away.

Petra's POV

It was afternoon now, and some of the pain had subsided. I wore a cool, wet cloth over my forehead, but that only made me cold. I took it off and threw it over the side of the bed, where I heard it splat against the wooden floor. After a few seconds, though, I began to feel hot again, a blanket of perspiration tickling my skin. Groaning, I leaned back over to reach for the cloth. That only made my head spin and the room became blurry. The ground slapped the side of my body with the cloth laying just beside my face. I gave a small cry in agony as I tried to lift myself up with the little strength I had.

All of a sudden, a calmness entered the room. I felt my pain subside like it was being drained out of my toes. My vision became clear and my stomach was no longer filled with knots. I looked up and there before me stood a very familiar figure: Ethro. With a smile, he gave me his hand and helped me up. Touching him sent a surge of energy through my body and it was like I was never hurt in the first place.

"What are you doing on the floor?" he laughed. Normally I'd be glad to see him, but now that I owed him a quill, I wasn't too excited about his visit.

"Uh, hey," I said.

"So, Petra," he began, "We made a deal, right?"

"Yeah, I haven't forgotten..." I said, "Look, Ethro, I have good reason for this, but I'm afraid... that I don't really have the quill."

"What?" he asked, sounding surprised, "What happened?"

"I had it earlier, I promise," I explained, "But then... someone... stole it... and I tried to get it back, but I couldn't. And now I don't know how I'll get another, and—"

"Wait a minute, who?" Ethro asked, his face becoming serious, "Who stole it?"

"Cheshire," I said, "He's got a castle around here, he... well, didn't exactly steal it, he just... made me give it over."

"Cheshire, huh," Ethro said, placing his hands on his hips and looking at the wall like he was thinking hard about something. His blue eyes had a dreamy glaze on them.

"I don't think I know him," he said, "You know where his castle is?"

"Kind of, yeah," I said, "It's somewhere behind our castle, really big and dark. Hard to miss."

"Right," Ethro said, turning back to me, "You're alright, it's not your fault."

I sighed in relief.

"But I have to see Cheshire for myself. I'll get the feather from him, and it'll all be settled. It's clearly his fault."

"Yeah," I said. Somehow talking about it made me feel madder at Cheshire. It was his fault. He made me give him the feather. I was innocent.

"Thanks for understanding," I said with a smile, "I was worried you'd be upset."

"I mean, I'm a little upset, but more at this Cheshire guy!" Ethro said, "I'm gonna get it back, don't worry. You'll be cured, and it'll all turn out fine for everyone."

I smiled, saying nothing. He looked at me and raised his eyebrows.

"What?" he asked, smiling. The way he smiled made his eyebrows raise higher on his forehead, which reminded me of how Lukas smiled.

"I was just thinking," I said, "You just... came into my room yesterday like it was nothing. You just came in, made your deal, and then left."

"Yeah," he said, "Well, I guess I just didn't have time to talk much."

"That's okay," I said, "But somehow it still feels like I know you." I paused. "It's weird how your features kind of remind me of a couple friends of mine."

Aiden's a friend, right?

"Oh, really?" he asked.

"Lukas," I said, "Your hair is his but shorter, and you have the same eyes. And the way you talk... the way your voice sounds, is like Aiden. It's like I can look at you and see both of them."

And maybe that's why he's so handsome... wait, what?

My heart started spinning in circles as I looked at him more and thought more about how he and my friends were similar. I wasn't sure what was happening or why I felt like that. But whenever I looked at him, I just saw more of Aiden.

After a pause, he said, "Well, if I'm gonna be doing my part of the deal, I need to go see Cheshire. I'll... catch you later, Petra." He glanced at me one last time, sending a rush throughout my body from my head, then faded away.

Once he was gone, the old feeling returned to replace the bouts of dopamine flooding my system. I collapsed into a ball on the floor, my head feeling clogged again and my stomach setting fire to itself and all the neighboring organs.

"Augh...!" I stifled a scream as I grabbed my gut with one hand and shakily hoisted myself onto the bed with the other hand.

"Oww..." I moaned, rolling onto my side in the bed. Now what?

Cheshire's POV

A fire blazed in the background, warming the room. My eyes remained focused on my reading; I thought I might treat myself to a book before world domination. I had earned it. I also needed time to think. Now that I had the keys to the universe, I had to plan my next steps carefully. I didn't own the world yet. Impulsivity is the downfall of many, and I didn't have time for downfall. It's a common weakness shared among my foes: lacking in thought. They don't think, they follow their convictions. It's what allowed Petra and Jesse to hand me what they never thought to give up, and because of having eyes everywhere, I could know they had the keys in the first place. Life is a game of chess.

"Sire," a guard said. I looked up.

"Yes?"

"You have a visitor."

This was news to me, for I hadn't invited anyone. I took a deep breath in and stretched out my shoulders, sending a crack down my spine.

"Who?" I asked, "Who is so important that I must have an intermission of thought?"

"He didn't give his name, sire," the guard said, "He said he wishes to meet you in person."

Sighing, I said, "Fine then. Bring me to him."

I came to my front door and the guard pushed it open for me. I put on my best poker face to try and signal that I did not want company.

Behind the door, no one stood there. All I could see was the moat, which was now frozen over.

"If this is some sort of hoax," I said, "It's not funny."

"AHHH!" someone yelled, and before I could tell what the commotion was a boy jumped seemingly out of nowhere and tackled me to the ground.

Imbecile. He thinks he can just pounce on me and get away with it.

What he probably didn't know was that I was a trained fighter. I managed to flip him over on the ground and pin his hands to the floor, making it so he couldn't escape my grasp.

"State your name," I said. I looked at him. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. I guessed he was only a child, perhaps around 16.

"Let me go, you robber!" he grunted, struggling to free himself.

"And why would I do that?" I asked. I wasn't completely sure where he got "robber" from, although I could only guess he was working with Petra seeing that she might think of me in that light.

"Because I said so!" A force seemed to push up from out of him and I found myself flying off him, thrusted away by a blue beam of light. I landed on my back on the hard floor.

Trying to remain calm, I asked, "What do you want?"

"You stole from me!" he yelled, "That quill was going to be mine!"

"So, it was never yours in the first place," I said with a shake of my head.

"It was going to be mine. I claimed it!"

"You're entirely delusional, boy," I said, "You never even put your snotty little fingers on it."

"Oh, grow up," he said, crossing his arms, "It was as good as mine. I planned to retrieve it today."

"Rookie mistake," I said, "Never put off what can be done today for tomorrow."

"Forget this," the boy said, "I'm coming in and taking what's mine!"

He blew on past me straight into my castle. I smiled; I had to take a moment to appreciate his stubbornness, although his lack of rationality was what amused me.

"Get back here, sprawn!" yelled a guard. I held up a hand signaling for him not to chase after the boy.

"Sire, he's getting away! He's going to find the quill!" the guard said.

"Ah, but the boy is mistaken," I said softly, "I've had the quill in my pocket the entire time!"

A loud clattering noise came from somewhere in the castle, followed by a yelp.

"On second thought, you should probably take care of him. Take 'im out," I said. The guard nodded and chased inside the castle.