"You could have killed her!" I heard someone shout.

"It was just a tranquilizer!" someone else with an accent shouted back.

"That you shot straight into her neck!"

I winced, the volume of the two voices painfull loud. My head was throbbing and my neck felt like it was pulsating.

"She's fine!"

"Then why hasn't she woken up yet?!"

"It was a very powerful tranquilizer."

"A ve-"

"UGH! SHUT UP!" I roared, opening my eyes and becoming blinded by a bright, white hot sun. I sat up and immediately regretted it, because the world around had begun to spin as if I were on a very fast merry-go-round.

"Merlin's ass," I cursed, holding my head and closing my eyes shut. It didn't help. I still felt as if my entire body was being spun around.

"See?! She's fine!" the second voice with the strange accent said.

"Fine?! Look how pale she is!" the first voice, which I now recognized as Gerrard's voice, yelled back.

"She just needs to vomit out the poison," the other voice said.

"Oh my--" Gerrard began saying, his tone clearly frustrated. "I'm going to KILL you if--" he started.

"I'm going to kill both of you if you don't freaking SHUT UP right now," I hissed, my eyes still closed.

The two of them shut up. I cracked open one of my eyes, turning my head in the direction of their voices.

"My head is pounding. Make it stop," I demanded, kneading my temples with my knuckles.

"I told you she would have a bad reaction," Gerrard mumbled under his breath to the stranger.

"Everyone gets this side-effect," the other person grumbled back. I closed my eyes again, feeling the throbbing in my head peak painfully.

"This will pinch just a bit," the stranger said. Before I could even brace myself for whatever that meant, I felt a sharp pain in the side of my arm. A high-pitched yelp escaped my lips and before I knew it, I was falling back into unconsciousness.

                                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~

I was in front of a building that was caught on fire. It burned, the flames licking the black clouds above. The late spring night air was dry, which fueled the enormous flames further. Heavy stone bricks fell from the side of the building, crashing down and bursting into rubble when they hit the ground. I raised my arms above my head and shielded my face from the falling rocks. But even as I did, the rock flew right through me, as if I were invisible. Stunned, I heard a shout come from the distance.

I saw a young woman with flowing blonde hair running towards the fire. Someone was screaming after her telling her it was too dangerous.

"I have to get in there!" she shouted.

"It's on fire! How are you going to get in?!" a male's voice shouted. I couldn't see the man anywhere. The smoke from the fire clouded around me.

"I'll find a way. They're all in there. This is my last hope. I can't just give up," she said, stopping and looking at the male. Then, she turned back around and I gasped, recognizing her face.

"Mom!" I cried, but she looked right past me.

The male came up next to her and I gasped again, not believing my eyes. It was Elijah.

"Elijah?" I asked aloud, but he ignored me, too. Could they not see me?

"How do you suppose we get in there?" Elijah asked her.

"I'll manipulate the flames. You try to access any water and put the fire out. They have to be in there," my mother replied.

"That's going to take a lot of energy, though. You should save your strength for what you need to do," Elijah said.

"I'll feed off the energy of the flames. It'll help make them die down," she answered. He nodded and the two of them ran forward. I started to follow them, but I got lost in the fog. I began coughing and shouting after them, telling them to wait, but I knew it was of no use; they couldn't hear me.

And then suddenly, the smog engulfed me and I was free falling in darkness. I screamed, flailing my arms and legs, trying to get a hold of something to stop my fall, but there was nothing. I was falling and I was going to die.

But just as I was thinking this, I fell onto what felt like a mattress. Jolting up, I looked around myself and realized that I was in a hospital wing that looked oddly familiar. I couldn't quite place where I had seen it before, so I turned my attention to my side where I heard voices. I saw, once more, my mother, who was lying in a hospital bed. There were people surrounding her and talking in hushed voices.

I got up out of the bed I had landed in and went up to the group of people. I felt my heart rate quicken when I saw my mother, pale and broken, lying motionless in her hospital bed.

"Mom? Mom, what's wrong?" I asked, reaching toward her. But when I made to touch her arm, my hand went right through, as if I were a ghost. I drew my hand back and felt my eyes begin to water.

"Mom..." I whispered.

"Do you think she'll live?" I heard a voice ask. I looked up to see my father, whose face was also pale. His hair was disshevled and dirty and his clothes were torn.

"We may be able to buy her some time, but it's not likely," the doctor replied.

"And the baby?" my father asked.

"She'll live," the doctor answered.

I looked at the doctor, startled by his words. Then, I looked at my father, who had a hundred different emotions flitting over his face.

"We'll leave you alone so you can be with her," the doctor said, his voice solemn. And then, as he began to leave, the world around me began to darken.

"No! Wait! Wait! Let me stay!" I shouted as my parents began to disappear. "No! Please!" I cried, feeling hot tears pour down my cheeks. I just wanted to be with my parents one more time; one more time when they were together.

                                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~

When I woke up again, it was dark out. The unbearably painful throbbing in my head had now gone down to an annoying, dull pounding. The soreness in my neck, however, was still there. I rubbed my neck and sat up slowly, bracing myself for the world to spin around. When it didn't, I looked around me at my surroundings. I was under a blanket made of soft fur and in a tent that looked like it was made of an ugly burlap. Part of me wanted to stay inside the warm blanket, but the other part of me was curious to know where the hell I was. The curious part got the better of me and I pushed the soft blanket back. I pulled back the flaps to the tent and walked outside, standing up straight.

There was a fire going and a number of people around. The only person I recognized, though, was Gerrard, who was sitting by a shirtless and tanned man with black hair on a fallen tree log by a burning fire. My movements made everyone that was in the vicinity stop and look up. I froze, looking back at everyone.

"Oh, good. You're awake," Gerrard said, a bitter tone to his voice as he shot a glare at the man sitting next to him.

"For the millionth time, I apologize!" the man replied. Gerrard rolled his eyes and stood up, coming to me. He put his hand on my cheek, a touch that felt extremely reassuring.

"How are you feeling?" he asked me, dropping his voice so that only I could hear him.

"I literally have a pain in my neck," I replied. Gerrard looked blankly at me for a few moments and then he let out a breath of relief, pulling me into a hug. He brushed the back of my matted hair with his hand. I was taken aback by his gentle touch and pulled away.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You were unconscious for at least four days," he replied. I felt my eyes widen.

"Seriously? That long?" I asked.

"Yes. I was worried sick. I thought you had died or something worse. The first two days, you were just convulsing and shaking and mumbling things in your sleep. And then the past two days, you were completely still. I could barely hear you breathe," he explained.

"Oh, wow," I said, trying to rack my brains to remember what had happened. The last thing I could remember was people shouting. After that, I had a vague recollection of a series of strange events that were surreal in quality.

"How the hell would I have explained to everyone that I let you die in the Amazon?" Gerrard asked me.

"I'm really sorry," I said, frowning. He shook his head and gave me a half smile.

"It's not your fault," he said. "It's Rowan's," he added, his expression turning dark.

"Rowan?" I asked, tilting my head to the side slightly. I felt a sharp pain shoot up through the side of my neck and I quickly straightened it, rubbing the pulsing muscle with my knuckles.

"The guy that shot you," Gerrard answered, stepping back and pointing to the young man that he had been sitting by on the log. The man, Rowan, took this as a cue to stand up and approach me.

"Are they---" I started to ask.

"Magi? Yes, they are," Gerrard answered before I finished my question. Rowan stopped in front of me, holding his arms politely in front of him.

"I am Rowan," the young man said. I raised an eyebrow at him, slightly distracted by his wild beauty and incredibly chiseled upper body.

"Caley Lucia, let me begin first by apologizing for stunning you with our tranquilizers. Your friend here tried to attack us when we happened upon him and when you approached the campsite, we thought you would do the same," he explained.

"So you decided to tranquilize me?" I asked him. He nodded curtly. "You couldn't have tried some other method? Like silencing me? Or giving me a body-binding curse?" I asked.

"In our experiences, we have found it much easier to just tranquilize our victims," he answered.

"Brutal," I replied, frowning at him.

"Once again, I apologize," he said, bowing his head slightly.

"I'll forgive you once you tell me why the hell my neck still hurts," I said.

"The poisoned darts that we use are quite thick. They leave quite a bad puncture wound. Your skin must still be healing," Rowan replied.

"When will it get better?" I asked.

"When we get back to Sylvanterra, we will have our herbists make you a concoction that will speed the healing," he replied.

"Sylvanterra?" I asked.

"The kingdom to which we belong," he replied, indicating the four other men that were standing idly by watching us speak.

"Kingdom...?" I asked, looking at Gerrard.

"It's undetectable by a detection spell," Gerrard replied.

"So did we pass it?" I asked.

"No, we were still a couple hundred miles off. We didn't want to transport you with the state you were in. But now that you're better, we can leave," Gerrard answered.

"Will there be showers there?" I asked Rowan, touching my dirty hair. I had probably sweated buckets in the time that I was unconscious.

"We have excellent bathing facilities that I am sure you will find to your liking," he answered.

"Great. Let's get going, then," I said. "Where's my purse?" I asked Gerrard.

"In the tent," he answered.

"Perfect," I said, retreating back inside to get it. When I walked back out, the fire had been put out and the other tents that had been up were taken down.

"Are we transporting?" I asked.

"There are certain locations where we are able to transport in this forest. The nearest one is about three miles from this spot," Rowan replied.

"Ugh, more walking," I said, looking at Gerrard.

"I can carry you if you want," he said.

"Really?" I asked, my eyes brightening.

"No," he snorted. I punched his arm and he chuckled. I saw Rowan exchange a look with his friends, who I now noticed were all also shirtless and fairly attractive.

"So what are your friends' names?" I asked Rowan as we started walking.

"That is Delsin, Naran, Ty and Paco," he replied, pointing at each one in turn. I nodded my head at each in turn; they each responded by bowing their heads slightly.

"So why haven't they killed us?" I asked Gerrard, lowering my voice slightly as we trudged through the forest.

"I told them we knew Mikael," he replied.

"And that was it?" I asked. He nodded. "So he must have been here," I said.

"Probably. Or maybe they've heard of him," he replied. "But honestly, I think they don't really trust us just yet. He said their queen will decide what to do with us," he added.

"Well, that makes me feel loads better," I said sarcastically.

"At least they're giving us a chance to explain ourselves," he said.

"I guess you're right..." I muttered, tripping slightly over a hidden tree root. Gerrard grabbed onto my arm and gave me a look. I frowned in response and shook him off me.

"So, Caley," the man named Delsin began. He fell into step with me as I started to lag behind Gerrard.

"Yes?" I replied.

"The rest of us were wondering if you and him--Gerrard--were a...you know...couple," he said. I raised my eyebrows at him, surprised by his misintuition.

"Us two?" I asked. He nodded. "Me and Gerrard?" I asked. He nodded once more. I let out a bark of laughter. "You have got to be kidding me, right? We don't possibly look like a couple to you, do we?" I asked him.

"Well, that is why I asked," he replied.

"We're not," I said, making my tone and face serious.

"He seemed very concerned about your well-being when you were...unconscious," he said.

"Because he's somewhat of an older brother to me. He's always watched out for me; kind of like a guardian," I explained. "We're really close, but there's nothing romantic going on between us," I continued. "I have a boyfriend," I added, glancing sideways at the shirtless young man walking next to me. I didn't know what his intentions were, but I wanted to make it clear that I was not available for whatever it was that he was thinking.

"Ah, of course," he said, nodding. I looked at him curiously.

"Now I have a question for you," I said.

"Yes?" he asked.

"How do you know English so well?" I questioned. He chuckled.

"We may be indiginous Magii, but we are just as educated as others are," he answered.

"Do you guys get a lot of communication from the outside world?" I asked.

"That is a question that Queen Maya will answer," he replied. I pursed my lips.

"Do you have a big civilization?" I asked.

"I guess you will see it when we get there," he answered.

"You're being very vague and cryptic," I said.

"Because it is not often that we bring strangers to our land," he said. "We usually kill them before that."

I felt a bead of sweat drip down my forehead that wasn't due to the heat.

I decided not to ask anymore questions and just wait until I met this Queen Maya that they kept mentioning.

The walk to the transportation site was a lot shorter than the one Gerrard and I had embarked on earlier that week. We reached an area of extremely dense forestry. When I asked why this location was chosen as the transportation site, Rowan told me that it was because the trees were so thick, so the indiginous Amazon non-Magii didn't see them.

The five young men we were travelling with would not disclose the location of their kingdom, so Gerrard and I had to hold on to one of them to transport. Gerrard found it incredibly uncomfortable holding onto Delsin's arm. I smirked at him from Rowan's side and he rolled his eyes at me.

Rowan told me to brace myself and I closed my eyes, feeling the same warped feeling that accompanied transportation. In another few seconds, I felt land beneath my feet and I opened my eyes. When I did, my jaw dropped.

Before my eyes was an incredibly expansive and beautiful forest kingdom.

The kingdom rested on the surface of a tall mountain. In the sides of the mountain were built elegant looking stone structures made with what looked like white marble from far away. There were trees everywhere--between the structures, holding the structures, coming out of the structures. Tall waterfalls and flowing rivers could be seen in several locations on the surface of the mountain. They flowed rapidly, their white waters in stark contrast with the dark greenery of the forest. It was as if the kingdom itself was grown into the forest.

And then, sitting atop the mountain at the very tip was the most beautiful site of all. It looked like a castle built of the same white stone material that the other structures were made of. It had pointed minaret-looking structures on each side and then a lowered main building. From it's arches, it seemed like waterfalls flowed. It was absolutely stunning.

I stood breathless as I gazed at the scenery before me, not quite believing that what I was seeing was real.

I glanced over at Gerrard, who seemed to have the same mesmerized look on his face as I did. He looked at me raised his eyebrows.

"And to think we could have missed that," he said.

"Our land is completely hidden from the eyes of the non-Magii," Rowan told us, prodding me in the back and pushing me forward towards the kingdom.

"Protection spells?" I asked.

"Kind of," Delsin answered.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"When this kingdom was founded many, many years ago by our ancestors, they had found magic in the land. They manipulated the magic in such a way that it would forever protect our kingdom from harm coming from the outside world. They used ancient magic that we have found no traces of, but whatever magic it was, it worked, because it has lasted for over three thousand years now,"

"Ancient magic..." I mumbled, looking at Gerrard as we approached the kingdom's gates. "It just keeps coming up, doesn't it?" I asked. Gerrard pursed his lips and we continued forward. We stopped at the gates, where two shirtless men stood holding up spears with pointed tips.

"Quem são eles?" one of the men asked.

"What language is that?" I whispered to Gerrard as Rowan answered the man.

"I think it's Portuguese," he replied.

"Oh, that makes sense," I said, nodding as the man opened the gates for us to enter. We marched forward and I was once more struck by the incredible beauty of the tall mountain-forest kingdom. Up close, it looked even more magnificent.

"Delsin and Naran will take you two to your living quarters. I must make council with the Queen and let her know that our...guests...have arrived," Rowan said. After nodding at the two, he disappeared, going towards the base of the mountain.

"How do you get up there?" I asked, pulling back my neck to peer at the top of the mountain.

"There are various transportation portals located on the bottom of the mountain," Delsin answered as we started walking forward again.

"So you just transport up?" I asked.

"The portals allow us to not use our own magic to transport up," Naran explained.

"They work much like the modern day elevators that Magii have," Delsin added.

"If they don't use your magic, then whose magic do they use?" Gerrard asked, his eyes showing curiousity.

"The mountain's," Naran answered.

"There are many things you will learn here if the Queen allows you to remain. The first of which is that this mountain is much more than just a home or a natural barricade of protection. It is considered a god amongst our people, one that has provided for us since the beginning of our civilization. It has an incredible supply of power that has constantly fed us over all of these years," Delsin explained.

"It's a god?" I asked, taken aback by this information

"Valeo'mons, The Strong Mountain," Naran replied.

"How is it possible for the mountaint to contain that much usable energy?" Gerrard asked, looking as confused as I felt.

"Because not only does the mountain provide us with energy, but we cultivate it and take care of it so that it does not run out itself. We take care of our god so that she may take care of us," Delsin said.

"Interesting..." I said as we reached the base of the mountain.

As we got closer and closer to the mountain, I saw a number of people bustling about. There were women and men and children, all going about their own daily lives. Many of the men were shirtless, wearing just pants made of the same burlap material that our tent was made out of. Others were wearing pants with leather vests and no shirts or had cloaks draped over their shoulders. Many women were wearing brown dresses made of a thick cotton-looking material. The women also had leaves and garlands braided into their hair. Everyone walked around barefoot.

The people of the kingdom stared at Gerrard and I as we walked into their towns. We must have looked so strange: with Gerrard wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a plain white t-shirt and me wearing a pair of ripped jean shorts and a tank top. The two of us stuck out obviously from the rest of the crowd. And to top it off, we were both sweaty and dirty from not having bathed for the past few days.

"The nearest portal is over here," Naran said, pointing towards the left. We saw a metal doorway built into the side of the mountain. "It can only transport two people at once, so I will go first with Gerrard and then you will come up after with Delsin," he instructed.

I nodded and he entered the metal doorway with Gerrard. I tried to peer inside before the door closed, but I couldn't get a good view.

"Are you taking us to the Queen first?" I asked Delsin. He shook his head.

"No, you two are filthy. It would be incredibly disrespectful of you to show up in front of her looking the way you do now," he said.

"Well thanks," I said sarcastically.

"Although, it's interesting, because you still have this incredible beauty about you," he added. I felt myself blush and I was glad that the sun wasn't fully in the sky yet.

"Thanks..." I mumbled.

"I don't think you realize how special you are, Caley Lucia," Delsin said. I looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He gave me an unreadable look before opening the door to the portal and ushering me inside. I decided to ignore his statement and took to examining the portal, which turned out to be simply a metal box.

"What kind of portal is this?" I asked Delsin, but he wasn't listening.

He muttered something under his breath and the metal box shook slightly before beginning to glow. Then, I felt the same suctioning feeling I felt when I was being transported by regular magic. Except this feeling felt more like I was being sky rocketed upwards like a rocket or a bullet. And just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped and when it did, I felt my ears pop, which told me that we were at a greater height than before.

"Come on," Delsin said, opening the door. When I stepped outside, I gasped. One, from the sudden chilly air that breezed against my bare arms and two, because of the incredible beauty that was before me.

"Oh...my...Merlin..." I whispered, shivering in the cold air. It wasn't freezing air; just much cooler air than I had become accustomed to in the past few days.

"Your room is in the West Wing," he said, nodding towards the left. I followed him to that side of the palace, completely awestruck at the beauty of the place.

"This place is beautiful," I said.

"It's all simply a reflection of the beauty of the earth," Delsin answered, opening a door for me. I stepped into a naturally lit room whose floors were made of hard wooden floors and whose walls were intriguingly made of gleaming white marble. It was an odd combination, but it worked in an almost harmonious way.

"This is the room in which you will be residing. You may freshen up and clean yourself. A maid will bring in a fresh set of clothes for you to wear that are acceptable to wear in front of the Queen," Delsin explained. I nodded and he began to leave the room.

"Oh, wait!" I cried. He turned. "Where's Gerrard?" I asked.

"In a room down the hall," he answered. I nodded and then heard the door shut as he left me to myself.

I sighed and ran a hand through my dirty hair, thinking half-mindedly about the comment Delsin had made about me being beautiful. I had doubted that it meant anything more than him trying to hit on me, but I couldn't help but wonder if there was something more to his statement.

Shrugging off the thought, I stepped forward and reached for a door, pulling it open to reveal a room made entirely of wood. It was clearly a bathroom, as there was a porcelain-looking bathtub in the middle of the room and what looked like a toilet from the olden ages. There were no windows and hanging from the walls were leafy green vines that twisted down the panels of the wood. There was a single socket that could be lit with a fire to provide light in the otherwise dark room.

I conjured up a flame and ignited the socket so that the room lit up in a warm glow. Feeling a sense of calmness fall over me, I turned on the hot water tap in the bathtub and then peeled off my dirty clothes. I grimaced at their filth and dropped them on the ground. Then, I gingerly got into the bathtub, relishing the warmth of the water that was filling up the bathtub. I turned the faucet off after the tub was full and dumped what looked like bath shampoo into the water. I sighed and leaned back against the cool, smooth surface of the tub and closed my eyes, letting the warm water lap against my dirty skin and aching muscles.

I must have fallen asleep because when I awoke, the water in the tub was cold and the flame from the torch had gone out. Groaning, I muttered a spell to restore the light. I ran a hand through my still dirty hair and sighed, stretching and yawning. I was exhausted.

After washing and rinsing my hair, I got out of the bathtub, wrapping myself in soft, plush cotton towels. I put out the flame and then stepped out into my room. I felt shivers run down my spine as my feet touched the coolness of the wooden floors and I made my over to the bed, where I found a beautiful white dress laying. I gently touched the fabric of the dress and was surprised to find that it was made of silk. Shrugging and deciding that it was my only choice, I slipped into the dress, which was a perfect fit.

The top part of the dress was corset-like, so I had to do-up the laces using magic. I magically dried my hair as well, letting it fall in soft curls down to the center of my back. My hair had gotten quite long in the past two years.

After I finished dressing, I looked in the mirror that was mounted on the wall. My previously pale skin had a slight golden glow to it that was attributed to walking in the sun for so long. I touched my newly sun-kissed skin and revelled in it. Usually, when I tanned, I would burn. But somehow, this time, my tan turned out to make me have a goddess-like bronzed look. I hadn't seen my appearance since we had first arrived in the Amazon. Maybe this is what Delsin had meant when he called me beautiful.

I heard a knock at my door and turned around to see who had entered. It was a woman dressed in a simple short, white dress. She had bronzed olive-colored skin and braided black hair that was intertwined with white flowers. She was stunning.

"Hi," I said awkwardly as the woman walked in.

"You are Caley?" she asked. I nodded.

"I am Otomi, your caretaker," she informed me.

"Caretaker?" I asked. She nodded, gazing at me with her dark brown eyes that were so similar to everyone else's in this kingdom.

"As requested by the Queen," she said.

"When am I going to meet her?" I questioned.

"After you have finished preparing yourself to meet her," she replied.

"What do you mean? I've already showered and changed," I said. The beautiful woman sighed.

"Sit," she demanded, pointing at the bed.

"What?" I asked.

"Sit," she repeated, more insistantly.

I sat.

She moved around behind me and extracted a garland of green and white bud-like flowers. Before I could protest or ask another question, she was yanking my hair and braiding the flowers into my hair. I yelped and winced as she tugged on my hair. After a few moments, she was finished. I turned to face the mirror to see the finished product, which was an elegant and intricate four-strand braid that had flowers sewn into it.

"Wow, this is beautiful," I said, gingerly touching the braid that now rested on my shoulder.

"I am not done yet," she said. She opened a drawer that was in a dresser and pulled out a golden colored liquid. She poured into her hand and it looked like a shimmery gold oil. She rubbed my arms and legs with this oil and when she was done, I looked like a fairy or a nymph, glittering in the early morning sunlight.

"What was that stuff?" I asked.

"It is translated as golden oil," she responded.

"Why do I have to make such an effort to meet the Queen? She doesn't even know if she trusts me or not, so why go through all this trouble?" I asked.

"Because we, the people of Sylvanterra, pride ourselves in treating our few guests with the utmost care and respect, regardless of who they are and why they are here," Otomi replied.

"You said few guests...so I'm guessing you don't have many?" I asked. She nodded.

"Most invaders are killed or banished before they reach our land," she answered. I swallowed, remembering Delsin's earlier words.

"Ok, so am I presentable now?" I asked, spinning around in place so that she could examine me.

"You need just one more thing..." she said, extracting a wreath made of leaves and white jasmine flowers. This wreath, she placed on top of my head. Then, she stepped back, smiling at her work.

"I have made you even more beautiful than before," she said.

I felt myself blush again. Otomi reached up and adjusted the wreath on my head just as we heard a knock at the door. I turned to see Gerrard walk in, wearing a loose white shirt and a pair of leather trousers that looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"Hey," Gerrard said, seeing me. I smiled at him. Otomi put the final touches to my look before bowing out of the room.

"Those look really uncomfortable," I said, pointing at Gerrard's pants.

"They are," he replied, grimacing. I chuckled and went over the windows, pulling back the satin-white curtains and letting the sunlight filter in completely. Then I turned to face him again. He stood with his mouth slightly agape and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You look..." Gerrard started, swallowing and struggling to come up with the words to describe how I looked.

"Like a nymph?" I asked.

"Exactly," he replied.

"Aren't nymphs obsessed with sex?" I asked.

"Yeah, but they are known to have an incredible allure to them; it's a part of their powers. You look like one," he said.

"You think I have a sexy allure to me?" I asked, smirking at Gerrard. He rolled his eyes at me.

"It's just the way you're dressed," he said.

"Sure it is," I teased, poking him in his abs. He shook his head at me and smirked.

"So are you as dead-tired as I am?" he asked me, sitting on the bed.

"Yes," I replied, sitting next to him. "I fell asleep in the bathtub," I added.

"Same here," he yawned. "I'm exhausted."

"I just want to meet the Queen so that I can sleep the rest of the day," I said.

"Yeah, same here," he agreed, closing his eyes and falling backwards onto the bed.

"What do you think she'll ask us about?" I asked. We heard a knock at the door and it opened, revealing Rowan, who was dressed in a similar outfit as Gerrard's.

"The Queen requests your presence," Rowan told us.

"Well," Gerrard said, standing up and holding his hand out to help me up, too. "I guess we'll find out now."

_________________________________________________________________

A/N: Look at me! Updating twice in the same week. I'm being so nice to you all!

Quite a long chapter. I was going to make it longer, but I guess what's coming up next should be a chapter on its own. It will consist of a conversation with the Queen and then quite a bit of some action scenes.

How are you guys liking the Amazon scenes? I like it a lot. It's so much more different than what the rest of the story is like. I love writing the description of the lands and the small details that give significance to the setting, like the whole bit about the mountain.

What do you think the Queen will do with Caley and Gerrard? Do you think she'll listen to them? Do you think she has some information that Mikael left her that would help Caley solve the countercurse? Or do you think she'll decided to kill them?

Leave me a comment below with your thoughts! The next chapter is also going to be a long-ish one, so be on the look-out for that.

As always, VOTE! I'm so excited that my Trinity series is suddenly gaining popularity. It makes me so happy that it's finally being appreciated.

Also, please vote for/read NIGHT LIFE. I'm trying to get it nominated for the Watty Awards and it would mean a lot to me if you guys would vote and help me out.

Thanks and until next time...

XOXO