Crowose ran out of headquarters as fast as she could, heels abandoned, holding up her gown as if she were Cinderella running away from the ball. Dr. Gwen was right behind her as they ran all the way to the bomb sighting. I followed them.

Madame Lee was already investigating the giant crater. Metal chunks lay scattered inside.

The witch was eyeing the shattered bomb suspiciously, pacing around the edge of the crater filled with dirt and other forest debris. Crowose was on the verge of tears as she lowly sank to the ground, squatting, the bottom of her wedding dress tinged brown with mud. "I-I've don't s-so much to protect the order," she whimpered, "Then t-this happens on our wedding day!" Crowose could not hold back her waterfalls any longer so she began to cry, sobbing heavily into Dr. Gwen's shoulder as he crouched beside her. He cut the crap of saying, "We'll make it all better, I promise," and instead said, "We'll get revenge, Crow, oh yes we will."

"I told you not to get married during these times but no, you had to run off and become husband and wife, why? Because you were worried you'd die before you had another chance to get married!" exclaimed Madame Lee. I looked at her with wide eyes and Crowose glared at her as if she were going to attack her. Dr. Gwen held her back. The witch continued to pace around the crater.

"It's terrifying that the Rosary Kingdom bombed so close to the headquarters," I began awkwardly, not knowing if that was the right thing to say.

Crowose suddenly sprung upwards, her cheeks tear streaked, causing Dr. Gwen to topple over. "Yes!" she declared, "We have to get revenge! I'll organize a mission right away!" With her fist still high in the air, Crowose charged back to headquarters, full of a new energy. The rest of us gazed around at each other in complete and utter shock, Dr. Gwen's mouth hanging slightly open.

Just then, the sound of propellers could be heard from above the trees. Now we gazed upward to watch a drone descend so that it hovered six feet over the center of the crater. Then it projected an image.

A hologram of President Marigold.

Apparently it was a live hologram as Marigold could see me just as well as I could see him.

"Hello, Girl of Strength," he greeted with a toothy grin, all of his attention on me. By now Madame Lee had stopped pacing and fixed her eyes on the hologram, her eyes full of hate and the longing to kill. "Did you like the little present I left you?"

"You didn't reach headquarters," I retorted, my muscles becoming tense.

Marigold laughed again. "I've figured that out by now. I know that the bomb was close though, too close for your liking," he hissed, "But let me warn you, Ehvil. Once I find the exact location of your silly little headquarters, you can expect a massive bomb, ten times this one, within twenty-four hours of our discovery. And there's a chance that you may not know when we find out."

" 'A chance'?" I repeated, "What do you mean by that?"

President Marigold ignored my question and changed the subject. "Your little pal Megan here, is in my palace," he continued, "It was nice of you to leave me a little cat toy to torment you with." He smirked, showing all of his crooked yellow teeth.

"Megan's still alive?" I shouted suddenly, "I've felt so guilty about letting Godwin's friend die and now you tell me she's alive?" Full of anger, I charged the drone and hologram, breaking it as Marigold said, "Godwin Abington is back?" His face hadn't been evil anymore, but surprised, though I didn't notice because I charged through the image, shattering our connection. The drone fell from the air and broke when it made contact with the ground.

Dr. Gwen stood behind me, both of his hands on my shoulders. I was still fuming. The witch stalked up to me until we stood, our noses centimeters apart. She was also fuming.

"You just told the enemy that we had our secret weapon back!" she shouted, spitting in my face.

"How was I supposed to know that Godwin was our secret weapon?" I retorted just as loudly.

"Give her credit," Dr. Gwen stated calmly, "We did just discover their weapon and a threat. Let's get you back to headquarters, Lilliana." He led me back to the O.W., leaving a steaming Madame Lee in our wake, who watched us leave through narrowed eyes.

The next day, I was called into Crowose's office. I slouched in the metal chair, my knees pulled up to my chest. I felt ashamed and did not want to look Crowose in the eye, so I began picking at my nails.

Crowose seemed disappointed and stressed. "Madame Lee told me everything last night," she began.

"So that's what all the yelling was about," I mumbled, "I could hear it from my dorm."

Crowose gave me the look. "She may have gone a tad bit overboard but her concept was clear," she continued, sounding very annoyed, "You cannot give away the order's secrets."

"I had no clue Godwin's return was a secret!" I replied, my voice raised. Now I sat up and my feet were on the floor. "I'm fairly new here and, being cooped up with no one to talk to for so long, I like to talk!"

Crowose took a deep breath, attempting to remain calm. "I try to understand your case too, Lilliana," she said, "But I also have to see Madame Lee's view on things. I have to have my own personal view too, as to protect the order. That's my job."

I shut my mouth grudgingly. "I am also planning a special mission to rescue Megan," Crowose continued, "It'll most likely require special training. I'll let you know if you will take part. You are now dismissed." She shifted papers as she spoke, not bothering to focus on me. All the better because I didn't want to look at her dang face.

I stood up stiffly, causing the chair to fall over with a deafening clank. I left it as it was and slammed the door behind me. Crowose acted as if she hadn't noticed a single thing, but mouthed the words on the paper she read.

That night was also one of my sessions with Madame Lee. She seemed stressed, angry, and tired, her hair frizzy and for some reason she was barefoot. She seemed to forget that she was mad at me.

"So much has happened and yet your second power hasn't been revealed," she began once I stood next to the mirror. There was no reflection tonight. "I'm beginning to doubt my own prophecy, which has never happened before, and I'm as old as an ancient legend."

"You don't seem older than Crowose," I replied.

"Yeah, well," Madame Lee retorted, "In my case, magic hides wrinkles better than makeup."

"Oh," I said. So that's why she was so wise, yet seemed extremely young.

"So I only have one thing to tell you," the witch continued, "and no, it's not going to be about the hologram incident. I will not be touching that subject. I was wondering . . . have you uncovered the riddles yet? Who it is? I gave you a hint at the reception."

"Y-you did?" I asked nervously.

Madame Lee rolled her eyes and gazed at the stone ceiling. "Hey, I've had no education for ten years," I snapped, "Don't blame me for not being able to uncover your complicated riddles. Can't you just give me his name already?"

"You don't get it," Madame Lee said, "That's not how magic works."

"Well, then how does it work? What does the legend say?" I questioned.

Madame Lee groaned very loudly. "Oh, where to begin?" she said, "Well, the legend states that a witch, me, saves a small village that was located in the jungle from monstrous creatures. Let me just say, I still have nightmares. The legend says much more, about magic and the future village, but we don't have all night."

"What do you mean?" I asked, "There's nothing going on tonight."

Madame Lee moaned and threw her head back. "You will be the death of me, Lilliana," she said, "I guess I may as well read you, word for word, the exact legend." She approached the metal bookshelf and heaved the largest book off of the shelf. It was five inches thick, the text inside was tiny and curvy, with a royal purple hardcover with gold lettering. I could not decipher what they read.

The witch flipped to one of the first pages, having trouble supporting the weight of the book. "If your legs begin to ache, just sit somewhere," she said, "This may take a while." Then she began to read.

" 'Five men and five women were constantly attacked by creatures so horrifying they cannot be seen by the brave, but only in a fearful one's eye. Though they had all been on the brink of death numerous times, they never faced Death himself, as if he were punishing them for invading his jungle. The men and women were forced to live in constant fear of each passing day and night, the fear of Death, though it would be nice to get away from the ice cold air that the beasts brought with them. They were starved, not being able to hunt the beasts, there was no water in sight, plus it rarely rained, and were growing rather old quickly. Then one day, the villagers just barely saw a golden star shooting across the sky as black as Hell. They all made the same wish: help. Help was given to them, but in a very unlikely form that no one recognized for years to come. The only child to be born was of a different color, something strange in the air around her wherever the child went. Whenever the child was around, the beasts steered clear of the village.

" 'As the child grew older, she one day picked up a fallen twig and it transformed in front of her eyes, into a wand. A transparent wand, with purple beads and golden stars inside, to represent the reason she was born. A wish upon a shooting star in the night sky. That's when the people noticed that they were saved, that the sorceress could make the beasts vanish the flick of her wand.

" 'But that was not possible. Not yet.

" 'The child one day vanished into thin air, leaving the people doomed. But the beasts weren't as common, the people were slightly safer, and had the chance to feed themselves and reproduce. Resources could be found now and water was supplied from the sky.

" 'Years after, long after the sorceress's mother had died, the child returned, not a day older as when she had left. She was now trained, and vanished the beasts to far away. Now the only damage that could be done was between the people themselves.

" 'The sorceress visited the civilization every hundred years. Sometimes she stayed for a day, other times years at a time, protecting and advising the people. Each time she vanished into thin air, when she returned not seeming older than her last visit, though she was greatly. The people worried that someday the sorceress would not return, for they knew that the day would come eventually; the sorceress was too growing older and weaker, and she would die like any normal being.'

"Now, before you leave me, Lilliana, take my final riddle before I have to leave once more: uncover him before anyone gets hurt, find him before he leaves loved one's hearts in the dirt."