Hi everyone!!  SK here.

When I first checked Wattpad this morning this story had 1,234 reads.  I don't know why but I found it funny that the numbers were all in order.  I just want to thank you all for the amount of support this story is getting, it's because of all of you I continue to update it. 

So, I won't waste time with another boring A/N and I'll start the chapter.  As always, enjoy!! ^w^

Ash

"Layra, will you please stop snickering at me," I beg Layra, who has been doing it for who knows how long now.  "It's not like I've ever flown before!"

"I know," she says between her giggles, "but it still makes me laugh when a new fairy tries to fly for the first time.  Let me have this, okay!?"

"Whatever," I mumble, feeling rather embarrassed.  I can't catch a break, can I...

"Let's just walk to where we have to train," Layra suggests meaningfully, and I'm quick to nod and agree.  We pass through the center of the Colony, and it's only then when I realize how truly barren it is.  Unlike the Light Fairies' Colony, there is no bustling activity, there is no laughter, there is no life.  Actually, I barely see any fairies, and the ones I did see, who of course I don't recognize, mind their own business and look sullen.  Some even have the audacity to glare at me, a complete stranger to them, when they spot me.  I'm so taken back that I don't even do anything.

Unlike the beautiful flowers of the Light Fairy camp, it seems the Dark Fairies live in dull, sullen structures that appear to be crafted from intertwining branches.  I'm sure if I get up close there is probably a great amount of detail to be observed, but Layra and I walk right through the center; she doesn't take me on a tour of the Colony like Serena did with me.

Serena...

While we walk Layra remains silent.  I'd noticed that as soon as we were in a more visible area, she instantly stopped laughing and steeled herself.  When I had to slow down a little because I'd stubbed my foot, she pushed me a little to go forwards.  I'd looked at her, surprised, and even though her expression was angry, I saw it; deep in those purple eyes, a silent apology.  I feel so bad for her, having to pretend to be someone she's not must be horrible.  

We finally arrive at a small gate of brambles, similar to the one at the entrance but slightly smaller.  Once we are both past the gate and into a wide circular clearing, Layra puts a translucent dome above our heads.  I look at her, shocked that she would do that if it's just going to make Rin more mad at her, but she shrugs.  "He knows," she explains quickly when she notices my look.  "It's customary to put it around the training area before training."

I'm instantly relieved.  Not only do I not want Rin to be mad at Layra, I don't want him to be mad at me as well.  

"Okay, let's begin!" she announces, dusting herself off.  She accidentally brushes some of her many ribbons, which begin to flow around her again.  They definitely make her look more mysterious and magical.  "First, I'll teach you the secret to all magic and fairy things: if you think about the end result clearly, your magic will see it and act upon it."

"R-Really?" I say, though I end up stuttering a little.  "But- but that sounds so simple...!"

"It sounds simple in theory, but only the clearest of minds and purest of hearts can accomplish it," she explains with a glint in her eye.  "With that aside, there are a lot of things we need to get through with today, but I'll let you decide which to start with: we have using those new wings of yours, summoning your Mist Pokemon, and using simple magic.  Tomorrow things get more exciting, I promise."

"Mist Pokemon," I exclaim instantly.  I desperately want to see both Pikachu and Greninja again.

Layra looks uneasy.  "Are you sure?  Without a Necklace it can be... er, challenging."

I nod.  "My mind is clear, and my heart is pure, at least I think so.  So let's do it."

Upon seeing my determination, Layra nods at me.  "Okay, put your hands over your heart, like this," she adds, demonstrating it for me as I follow her actions.  "Now, I want you to think about your Pokemon- Pikachu and Greninja, was it?- in front of you, only in Mist form.  You've seen Mist Pokemon before, right?  Wait, you've been with the Lights, so of course you have.  Duh.  When that image is the only thing in your mind, pull your hands away from your chest and you'll probably feel some pain, but you'll have summoned your Pokemon!  I can also give you a signal when you're ready if you want.  Go ahead, try it," she says eagerly.  

Uncertain of myself and my abilities I nod and close my eyes, having already completed the first step.  I try to focus on Pikachu, with sparks flying from his cute little cheeks.  In my mind, Greninja stands in front of me, now sparkling and blue, but the same Greninja whom I share a special bond with.  On my chest, my hands begin to heat up, is that a good sign?

But then, in my vision, I notice there is another person standing in the scene.

Serena.

Except she isn't happy, she was full of tears like the last time I'd seen her.  And suddenly, my focus isn't on Pikachu or Greninja, it is Serena, Serena, Serena, the person who I'd spent years searching for, the girl I love, who I'd confessed to and ran away from-

Desperate for the vision to end I pull my hands away, not hearing Layra's plea for me to stop in front of me.

I instantly regret what I did.

I feel a choking pain, a strangling pain, a pain that is almost as bad as my Initiation, in my chest.  The vision instantly fades and I see black, and then nothing.  It feels like I was in the black void for eternity, then I get shaken awake by Layra's strong arms.  I blink open my eyes and she looks crossly at me, albeit slightly worried.

"You weren't focusing," she says once she sees me awake, and all the worry seemingly disappears.

"I... I'm sorry," I mumble.

"Tell me," she says suddenly.  "Don't even try to hide it- there were tears on your face.  Something clearly happened recently to you, which is stopping you from training.  So let's talk it over.  It may help you," she adds, the last part of her little speech sounding more gentle than the rest.

"You have your secrets, I have mine," I snap, but when I see her flinch I instantly regret my words.  She's your best bet here, don't push her away.

I instantly go to apologize, but she puts up her hand.  "It's okay, I get it," she says.  "But you don't have to tell me- I have my ways.  Don't you know what my Element is?"

I gawk at her.  "Space, like H-"

She shakes her head.  "No, that would be silly, two fairies who live eternally with the same Element?  No, my Element is Spirits.  I can peer into someone's soul and become aware of a lot of things.  Starting with the first thing.  You mentioned earlier that you were in love... and based off of this situation, you are in love with a Light fairy.  And by peering into your soul..." her purple eyes grow brighter.  "... I can see that you are in love with Her Lightness Serena, but you told her as such and she had to turn you down."

"Wh-What!?" I stutter, pulling away from her.  "D-Don't do that."

She nods apologetically, her eyes returning to normal.  "I won't do it again, promise.  It's not something I make a habit out of, stealing people's secrets.  But Ash, you mustn't blame yourself- you're a fine young soul, I'm sure she would've returned your feelings if she was not a Leader.  And I know it hurts," she says, her voice becoming kind, "but you need to try and put it out of your mind so you can try and practice everything we need to do today.  Can you do that for me, please?"

"You said you are in love too," I say suddenly.  "You said you are in love."

She nods, her eyes suddenly distant.  "You're wondering if I miss him?  I do, every single minute of the day.  You'll notice that I don't have my Mist Pokemon on me... it's so hard for me to focus to summon her.  It's hard for me to do things because I m-miss him so, so much... but Ash, you have to remember that unlike me, you'll be able to see her again very soon, whereas I have to wait an eternity.  Complete the mission, and get away from here, as far as you can.  Join Serena and the others."

"But, what about you..."

"I have to stay here to take care of the... aftermath," she says.  "But if you escape, everything will be fine.  So promise me, promise me you'll do it, okay?"

I nod, surprised by her sudden intensity.

"There's one more thing you need to know, in case everything goes wrong," she says.  "It's called The Balance Ritual.  It's performed by the two Leaders, by joining their Necklaces together.  If there were to be an overflow of Light or Darkness, that's when the ritual would be performed- it's like it resets everything.  Well, the Leaders sacrifice their lives to do the ritual- and every single fairy dies to, except for us Ministers who must rebuild everything.  If their lives are somehow spared, I've heard that no fairy dies, but everything's still reset... I'm rambling.  Just remember that Ash, should everything go wrong there's still a way to make everything right again-"

"My, what do we have here?" My heart freezes as I hear Rin's overly curious voice, and I turn to see him standing at the gate.  

"Just magic training," Layra says, sounding as calm and as cool as ever, as if she had not been ranting to me about the end of the world a second ago.

"Wow, sounds interesting," Rin says cheerfully, though I can detect a slight hint of agitation on the edge of his tone.  "Now, if you don't mind, Layra, come with me- don't worry Ash, we'll be quick."

I see Layra's eyes fill with dread as he says that, but she can't do anything but obey as they walk off.  "Practice focusing," she calls to me as she leaves.  "Try more magic, or maybe flying.  I don't want you falling on your face every time you attempt it."  Her joke is a clear attempt at reassuring me that everything is okay, but I know it's not.

I myself become filled with dread as they leave, worried for Layra and her well-being.  But at the same time, that seems to help me focus more.  I need to be able to do magic if I'm going to help everyone.

I decide to try flying.  At least I won't cause myself more pain... I hope.

I close my eyes and focus on what the area would look like if I was hovering a few feet off the ground.  My shadow beneath me, my black wings fluttering behind me, blowing my hair around... nothing else was in the vision.  Just me, the ground, and the sky.

I open my eyes, and realize that I didn't feel anything, and that nothing had happened.

But then I look at the ground, and see that I'm no longer standing on it.  With a slow excitement I catch onto what's happening: I'm flying.  I'm really flying!  It seems now that I know what to do; if I simply think about how I want to fly, my wings will do it for me.  The dome limits how far I can go, but through the whiteness of it, I can see the wide open sky above me.  I picture escaping this place, flying up there with Serena and all the others, this tension finally set behind us.

And that thought makes me smile, a little bit more.  

It seems I can do magic if I really try.

Also, what time is it?  Because I'm really hungry...

Layra

"Stop it," I beg, his magic restraints tightening around me.  "You've done this for how long now, and it achieves nothing."

"It helps break you down," he hisses.  "And know you told him.  It's not like you'll let me get close enough to erase his mind, so this will have to do."  He waves his hand and suddenly, he's suffocating me.  I feel horrible spasms travelling down my spine, and tears roll down my face.

Then I see red on my radiant violet dress, and I realize it.  Not tears.  Blood.

You're bleeding.

That thought doesn't strike fear as it used to, definitely not like the first time.  I almost want it to be like that first time, when he was there to help me.  Now it's almost a dull emptiness, like my mind has finally gotten used to the thought of me bleeding almost daily to this insane man.  

Oh, if only you were here, Love... we could destroy this tyrant together.  You almost did once, I should have let you finish. 

"I have a right to speak to your idiotic face," I snap.  "These are things he needs to know should he be Leader alongside you.  Which won't last long, since he'll be a dead husk by the end of the week."

"I don't care about the boy at all," he whispers into my ear as I bleed out in front of him.  "Everything will finally be right in a few days, maximum."

"Bringing them down won't bring back things to how they were," I sneer.  "Even after centuries, I still can't believe you haven't realized that.  She never even loved you in the first place!"  As soon as I say that, he freezes.

Mistake.  Don't be Hot-Headed-Layra around him.  You need Weak-Whimpering-Layra.  Not Happy-Layra, Head-Over-Heels-In-Love-Layra, Evil-Cold-Layra, or the other ten.  Dammit, think for once!  You're screwing yourself over.

Of course, things get more serious from there, and I only think of my Light, my Love, and how I'll hopefully get to see him soon.

And when he finally lets me go, the faint sun we have is already high in the sky; apparently, it's already late-afternoon.

And I'd told Ash I'd be quick... I didn't realize that I had been Lying-Layra then.  

I never even realize when I'm any of them.  I hate how I can't be myself around anyone anymore.  I can only do it once every century with the person I trust the most, but that's it.  I have to hide myself away.

I know I have to make myself look okay before I go to see Ash again- his worry will pry him away from his focus, which he needs if he wants to succeed our mission.  I can already tell he's going to be one of the best fairies in existence, and I don't want to ruin him from the start.

I run to my room, and suddenly Crying-Layra makes an appearance.  Great.  Just great.  It seems Strong-Layra is never around these days.  I start healing my injuries, realizing that without my curse of immortality, I would've died.

That doesn't bring me enough comfort as it should.

....yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.............

Interesting chapter I hope.  I now award Layra for being the first character to have a POV in this book beside Ash and Serena... yay.  I hope it was interesting (albeit a bit sad) seeing Layra's POV.  

I don't have a question today, sowwy...... oh, wait!  I do!  Who do you want to see first, Ash or Layra????  For drawings I mean.

Anyway, that's all for now.  Stay tuned for more everyone!! :)