Dawn's eyes narrowed as her heart clenched in her chest.

        "Excuse me?"

        Brenda jumped down from the tree and faced the Dark Princess's withering gaze.

        "It was Kabos." she repeated, "He was the one who got through. No one knows how. No one knows why. But one day he disappeared from the Forbidden Forest, without word or warning. A couple of months later, he was back, without an explanation of where he had gone or how he had gotten there. Rumors spread, of course...about how he had tried to steal your powers and turn you Dark. Then you showed up here and it all made sense."

        "I didn't ask for the entire backstory." Dawn spat, turning away from the image of her struggling sister and striding towards her castle, Brenda running along behind her, "But now you have a new mission."

        "Yes?"

        "Bring him to me."

***

        "I just don't understand why I can't bring it down." Adriana complained over dinner that night. She had skipped the regular nightly feast in the Great Hall and opted instead for a simple meal on the floor of her bedroom with James. "I'm supposed to be powerful. Light's supposed to win. What am I doing wrong?"

        James thought for a moment.

        "Well, if you---"

        "Quiet." Adriana ordered before he could get the words out, "If I wanted answers, I would talk to my parents. I want someone to listen to me."

        James nodded, closing his mouth and swallowing the last of his buttered roll. Sometimes women just want to talk, and you just have to let them, he remembered his father telling him when he was younger. Of course, his parents had never thought that a girl would ever want to talk to James, but that was another issue.

        "I don't understand how Dawn became so powerful overnight. I don't understand how she was able to build a wall that's too strong for me to even make a mark in. And I definitely don't understand why she won't talk to me." Adriana took a sip of water and leaned against the wall, "Why does she want to be alone? I mean, sometimes I want to be alone too, but I don't block out the entire world in a way that they can never undo. It seems a bit extreme." she thought for a second, "What drove her over the edge? What made her think that she could never be happy here, with us? She could find a new boyfriend. We all know how much the village boys loved her. The suitors always stared at her, never at me. She could have any boy she wanted? What made Kabos so special? Why couldn't she have moved on, why couldn't she have seen how much more she had here? Why did she leave? Why couldn't she have talked to me?"

       Adriana's questions trailed off as she and James ate in silence, staring out of the window into the starry night. 

        "Adriana?"

        "Yes?"

        "Do you really not understand why she couldn't get over Kabos immediately?"

        Adriana looked at James in surprise.

        "Do you understand it?"

        "Well..." Jame started, but then thought better of it. "No."

        "Exactly."

        James rolled his eyes, annoyed with Adriana's stubbornness. How couldn't she see it? No one can get over someone they love that quickly.

        If she couldn't see it, then how did she see him? As a friend? An acquaintance?

        Well, she isn't going to see you as much more if you don't show her how you feel. a quiet voice in the back of his head whispered. 

        But just as he turned to say something, a loud knock sounded on the door.

        Both teenagers jumped in the air in shock, sending food flying everywhere. James cursed whoever was behind that door for ruining his chance, but stood with Adriana as she answered it.

        A tall, brown-haired man who looked to be in his early 20s stood outside the door. He had a dazzling white smile and sparkling green eyes, which were fixated on Adriana.

        James turned to look at Adriana, about to ask who this was. But before he could, she let out a small gasp before running into the man's arms. The two embraced for a couple seconds before breaking apart, Adriana seeming to remember that James was still there.

        "Oh my. I'm sorry, James, this is Lucas. Lucas, James."

        "Is he your cousin or something?" James asked, hoping against hope that he was.

        "Oh, no. Lucas is my old magic teacher." Adriana turned slightly pink when she said this, and Lucas laughed heartily, shaking James's hand.

        "How are you?" Lucas asked Adriana, inviting himself into the room and sitting down on Adriana's bed. "It seems like it's been forever."

        "It hasn't been that long." Adriana laughed, "Only a few weeks."

        Lucas grinned at the princess as she sat down on the bed next to him. Adriana couldn't help but think of how handsome he was, just as handsome as she had found him the first time they had met.

        "I heard about Dawn." Lucas said, taking Adriana's hand in his. "It's so terrible, so tragic. I'm terribly sorry."

        "It's alright. It wasn't your fault at all." Adriana laughed quietly, feeling heat rush towards her cheeks as her hand rested in his, "I'm trying to bring her back."

        "That's wonderful."

        Adriana's eyes widened.

        "Maybe you could help! I've been trying to bring down this wall that she's built around the entire Forbidden Forest, but I'm not powerful enough. Maybe both of us will be able to do it!"

        Lucas grinned widely.

        "I'd love to help." he replied. Adriana could feel her heart jumping up and down in her chest, excited to actually have a way to get to her sister.

        "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed, planting a kiss on his cheek and jumping off of the bed. "Oh, this is wonderful! Wait till I tell Mother and Father!"

        She ran out of the room, not even noticing James standing by the door. Lucas stood slowly as he watched her leave, smiling slightly.

        "Congratulations." James muttered, "You're actually able to help her."

        "Of course I am." Lucas laughed, "I'm a magic-worker. We happen to be very rare and very powerful."

        James grunted.

        "So who are you?" Lucas asked, his smile fading. "When I left the castle there was no trace of village boy to be found."

        James raised his eyebrows.

        "I'm James. Adriana and I have become close recently."

        "Oh, I see." Lucas smirked, "You're in love with her."

        "Well, I wouldn't say love..."

        "I would." Lucas approached James slowly, and before James had any time to react, he found himself pinned against the bedroom door, one of Lucas's hands on his throat and the other keeping Jame's hands from setting himself free. 

        "I was here first." Lucas growled in his ear, "I've been here for Adriana for longer than you have. I'm not going to let some new village boy take her from me."

        "And what are you going to do about it?" James choked out, his face turning purple.

        "If you don't leave Adriana alone, I'll end you." Lucas snarled, "I'll ruin you. A stupid little boy is no match for my magic."

        Lucas let go, leaving James gasping for air as the magician left the room.

***

        It was dark. No one was around, no one was talking. 

        It was just as he liked it.

        No one knew about his secret hideaway. No one of any importance, at least. No one who could give him away to the Forest's newest resident, the one who he had helped to mold into the terror she now was.

        He hated this place. It was full of worthless people and animals, things that had no reason to stay alive and were simply biding their time until they died. No one remembered them. No one cared about them. No one even knew they had died.

        This was the fate that awaited him.

        Suddenly, he sensed movement. Feet tip-toeing through crushed leaves, fingertips skimming the tree trunks in an effort to retain knowledge of their location. A faint sniffling sound and a shiver as a cold wind swept through the trees.

        Someone had found him.

        It would have come eventually. So he waited, waited until he could hear the footsteps coming closer, the teeth chattering in the chill air, and the hair whipping back and forth in the wind before he lit a candle.        

        A face appeared in the faint light, a face that he had never wished to see again.

        "Kabos?" Brenda whispered, her eyes glowing in the candlelight, "She needs to see you."

---

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! There's a couple things I wanted to say in this Author's Notes:

1. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING SPIRAL REACH 8,000 READS!! It means the world to me and I couldn't be more excited!

2. Spiral has a new cover thanks to the creative talents of @WildSpirit44, the first change of cover that Spiral has ever had.

3. You're probably confused as to who Lucas is. He is Adriana's magic teacher who plays a significant role in the edited/extended version of Spiral, which will be published through CreateSpace in mid-2015. He had feelings for Adriana before he left the castle for a while. Now, he's back...much to James's dismay. Leave a comment letting me know who you'd rather end up together: #Jiana or #Adrias (sorry if the ship name for Lucas and Ad kinda sucks)

4. Merry Christmas!! (I know it's tomorrow, but still) I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and new year.

~Katherine