The sunrise in Atlantis was beautiful. 

As the sun rose above the horizon, its rays peaking out slowly to illuminate the lost nation, the vast ocean surrounding Atlantis glittered as if it were filled with millions of sparkling sapphires. They twinkled and winked in the sunlight that pushed away the darkness of the night, leaving behind a waterwork of blue, pink, and orange in the sky. 

It was quiet right now; silent. The only sound I could hear was that of the water brushing softly against the sand, dampening the ground before receding back. In the far distance, if I listened closely, I could hear the sounds of seagulls waking up and taking flight, ready to start their day. 

I sighed and closed my tired eyes, feeling the soft, humid breeze tickle the exposed skin of my arms. It was peaceful, right now. But in approximately 48 hours, all hell would break loose. 

I opened my eyes, feeling a gnawing hole in my chest and a drumming in my ears. 

In just two days, I would be reunited with my fiancee, but not under joyous conditions. We would be reunited on the battle field, on opposing sides and what would become of my currently engaged status, I did not know.

The sinking feeling in my chest deepened and a few tears escaped my eyes.

"What will happen to us when all of this is over?" I whispered to myself, Trey's beaming face flashing before my mind's eye only to be replaced by his rage-filled expression that I had seen in the hallucination on our way up to Aerya.

I felt someone sit down beside me.

"We'll all live happily ever after," I heard the voice of Gerrard say. I laughed hollowly, not bothering to look over at him. 

We sat in silence for a few moments, watching the sun take reign over the morning sky.

"You didn't come to sleep last night," he said after a while. 

"I wasn't sleepy," I replied.

"You're going to need your rest," he said. 

"I'll be fine," I answered. 

We fell into silence again, our thoughts distant, but similar. 

"We have to leave when the others wake up. I told Elijah we would be back by evening time," Gerrard said. I brought my knees up to my chest, hugging them close, not saying anything.

"I know you're scared, Caley. But this will all be over soon. And whether we're successful or not, at least take comfort in knowing that it will be over," Gerrard said. 

"The difference between the outcomes of being successful and failing in this situation are so drastically different that I can't take comfort in knowing that it will be over. Because in one situation, I get to live happily ever after. And in the other, I die in the most miserable and horrible way," I said. Gerrard pursed his lips, unable to refute what I had said.

"Come on," he said finally, standing and pulling me up with him. "The others should be getting up now."

We walked towards the palace and then went to one of the eight formal dining rooms where everyone was meeting for breakfast. Only Trent and Zayll were in the room. They were sitting at the table, talking in hushed tones, grim looks on their faces. When Gerrard and I walked in, they looked up. Zayll smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. His mother's illness had left a sadness in the entire royal family.

We walked up to the two princes, who stood as we approached them. Zayll pulled me in for a hug when we reached them. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his waist tightly, breathing in his comforting scent. I had grown close with the royal family over the past several weeks; saying goodbye now would be difficult. When we pulled away, Zayll brushed a few strands of hair from my face, holding me at arm's length. Up close, the dark circles under his eyes were prominent. He had week-old scruff on his face and his previously mischievious blue eyes were now a dim navy blue. He was suffering and it hurt to see it happening.

"You look like hell," he joked. My lips curled into a dark grimace.

"Right back at you," I replied. He chuckled, letting go of me so that we could all sit. 

"Are the others not awake yet?" Gerrard asked.

"They are tending to mother," Trent replied. I felt a pang of guilt in my chest. Zayll seemed to notice and he changed the subject.

"So it is final? You two are leaving today?" he asked.

"Right after breakfast," Gerrard replied, nodding. 

"I fear our time together passed too soon," Zayll told us, but his eyes lingered on me. 

"If all goes well, we'll see each other soon enough," I replied, a sad smile on my face.

"Hopefully under less trying circumstances," Trent added. "What is your plan?" he asked me.

"I have a duty to fight alongside the enemy. I am bound by an oath. But my goal is to somehow go around that oath to carry out my real task, which is breaking the curse," I said. 

"How will you do that?" Trent asked.

"You will know once I've done it," I replied sadly, feeling my heart beat loudly in my chest.

"If you would like, we can send an army to assist you," Trent offered. I shook my head.

"No, the people here are already on the brink of death. I can't ask them to risk their lives in a battle that isn't theirs," I said. 

"The battle is theirs, though. It is all of ours," Zayll said. 

"No, it isn't. It's mine. And it's the two sides that have been feuding for the past few centuries. I don't want anymore innocent lives lost," I said.

"Very well. If that is your wish," Trent said, nodding. 

"I really do appreciate the offer. I just can't ask all of these people to fight for me when they don't owe me anything. It's my job to save their destinies. And there are already so few of you; to ask you to come to war with me would be asking too much," I said. 

"It isn't about owing anyone anything. It is about doing the right thing. Our people wouldn't hesitate for a moment to follow you into battle. If you gave them the chance, they would," Trent said.

"But I can't ask them to do that. I'll already have so much blood on my hands. If I ask these people to go to war for me, it will just be more guilt on my conscience," I said. "The people of Atlantis can support me by willing to cooperate with the rest of the elemental nations when this is all over. They can support me by agreeing to come together and re-make that Elysium that the Original Witch had created. That's all I ask of the people here," I said. 

"Then we will rally the people under that cause. The Magia have been divided for far too long. It is time we all come out from behind our fortified walls and stand united once more," Trent said. I smiled at him, his words making me feel empowered and reminding me of what I was fighting for.

Let the dove on this bracelet serve as a reminder of what you are fighting for.

My mother had written that so long ago, when she was still sick. She knew even then that I would need a constant reminder. And in this way, as I was going to war to finish what she had started, she would be with me every step of the way.

A few hours later, Gerrard and I had packed our bags and were ready to go. Anoki, who had only stayed in Atlantis a few days when we had first arrived, had returned to fly us back to Elijah's manor. As we said our goodbyes, he waited outside of the palace in his full dragon form. The children of the royal family and of the town were fascinated by him and were currently climbing over his scaly body as he lay around, bored.

"That is quite a creature there," King Caspian said with a chuckle, watching his children and grandchildren play on Anoki.

"He's the sweetest thing you'll ever meet," I said, looking back at my strange friend.

"And most annoying," Gerrard added. We laughed. After we settled down, we returned to the matter at hand.

"We are asking once again, if you require our assistance, we are whole-heartedly offering it," Caspian told us. I shook my head.

"And I am saying again, although I appreciate the offer, I can't accept it," I said. "Your kindness and hospitality was enough for me. All I ask now is for you to be open with accepting peace among the different elemental nations. If you can do that, you are helping me in the best way possible," I said.

King Caspian smiled at me.

"You have grown a lot over the past few weeks, Caley Lucia. You have grown into a spectacular leader," the king told me. I felt my cheeks flush slightly at the compliment and I bowed my head in gratitude.

"When this is all over, you must return to visit us," Isla said, reaching out and taking a hold of my hand. I squeezed her hand back and smiled.

"If circumstances allow it, this will be the first place I come back to," I promised. Isla beamed at me and pulled me in for a hug, catching me off-guard slightly. I awkwardly hugged her back before she pulled away. Then, in turn, the entire royal family hugged me and said their goodbyes. When I reached Zayll, we stood silently in front of each other.

"Promise to keep yourself safe above all else," he said.

"I don't think I can make that promise," I replied.

"I wasn't asking," he said. I bit my lip and then lurched forward, throwing my arms around him.

"I really wish that I didn't have to do what I did to you. But you'll find another girl that will make you incredibly happy and you'll love her and you'll be happy because you're an amazing person," I said, the words streaming out incoherently. I had grown close to Zayll over the course of the few weeks I was in Atlantis. If in a different life, I might have fallen in love with him. It wasn't hard to imagine myself doing that. But my heart lay with the man that gave me the necklace resting on my sternum. My heart lay with the man who would soon hate me forever for betraying him. 

Zayll and I pulled away from one another. He brushed the few stray tears from my face and smiled at me.

"I won't ever find a girl like you, Caley. And even though you don't feel the same way, I will always love you," he said. I felt my eyes well up with tears again and I leaned forward, kissing his cheek before pulling away from him completely. 

"Tell the Queen that I won't let her die. Not like this," I said to King Caspian. He smiled, his handsome face looking too aged for his youthfulness.

And with that, Gerrard and I turned and hopped onto Anoki's back. Anoki stood and strode toward the water so that he could take off without blowing down the buildings below. We waved goodbye one last time and with a giant gust of his wings, Anoki launched himself into the air. I looked down below as we rose higher and higher into the sky. Atlantis looked like a giant sun from the sky. After a certain point, though, it disappeared, the magical barrier hiding it from sight. Once it was gone, I faced Gerrard, who was looking at me with a grim expression on his face.

"You think we'll ever see them again?" I asked.

"We can hope," he replied. I sighed and turned my face forward.

I guess that's all I could have asked for.

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~

We reached Sicily by early evening. Although we told Anoki to go back to his home, he refused, insisting on staying with us.

"Your pair has become a triplet now. If you go into battle, so shall I," Anoki told us. 

"I don't want you getting hurt," I said sternly.

"I am fairly capable of taking care of myself. You forget that I am a shape-shifter. Your Magia spells don't work on me," Anoki replied coolly. I gave him a look, but he stood his ground. He was stubborn, but I didn't blame him. He was invested in my success because he had accompanied us on most of our journey. There wasn't anything I could do to convince him otherwise.

The three of us walked up to Nina's apartment. As expected, she had her bags packed and ready to go. It was the end of the semester, so technically, I was supposed to be coming back home after my trip abroad. Little did my friends and family know that I wasn't coming home from Italy after being done studying overseas. No; I was coming back home with an army behind me. An army ready to fight and kill whoever stood in their way.

"How was your trip?" Nina asked us.

"Long," I replied.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked.

"I found the answers I need. Now it's time to see if they'll work," I said.

"Am I going back to Trinity in your place?" she asked me. I shook my head.

"We're taking you back to Elijah's. You'll be safe there," Gerrard told her. 

"Won't your family be suspicious?" she asked.

"They'll be suspicious if you actually go. They'll know you aren't really me. The disguise worked from far away, but they'll be able to tell up close. And besides, we've run out of the potion," I said.

"What happens when you don't come home on time?" she asked.

"I'll be home on time; just not in the way they intended on seeing me," I said. She nodded quietly. I sighed. "Look Nina. I appreciate you doing this. But when you get back to Elijah's, we're going to take off the spell that's controlling you and we're going to wipe your memories for this year clean. You won't remember any of this. You can go back to your family and be safe and live out the rest of your life happy and away from this conflict," I said. 

"What if I don't want you to take away my memories?" she asked.

"You don't have a choice," Gerrard replied. She looked at us sadly.

"That sucks," she said. "I kind of liked being you. You have so many people that love and care about you," she told me.

I felt my throat constrict and the warm prickle of tears stung my eyes. I turned away from her and picked up one of her bags.

"We're going to Transport back to Elijah's manor. Let's get going or else we'll be late," I said. Together, the four of us picked up Nina's things and we Transported back to Elijah's manor. The charade was over now. It was time to face reality. And unfortunately for me, reality, as Nina said, sucked.

                                                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When we landed at Elijah's manor, the first thing I noticed was how lively it looked. Now, don't get me wrong, it wasn't appealing. It still looked just as menacing as ever. But there were lights on throughout the manor and people coming in and out of the main building. People had begun to gather for war. The battle was now near. 

We strode forward, dragging Nina's things along with us. People gave us half glances as we walked into the manor, gazing curiously at the foursome that had just passed through the doors. We must have looked like a strange bunch: Nina, with her girly attire and appearance, Anoki with his looming and lanky body, Gerrard and I with zombie-like expressions from exhaustion. We were an odd bunch, but no one stopped us. 

Once we got inside, Gerrard took Anoki and Nina upstairs to hide out. I went looking for people that I knew. This proved to be a lot more difficult than I had initially thought. There were people everywhere. In every room, up against the walls, crowded around the stairs. It was impossible to maneuver oneself let alone find anyone. It wasn't until I had reached the drawing room where countless meetings were held that I found someone I knew.

"Dom!" I exclaimed, spotting the handsome young wizard chatting to a dark haired girl with slanted eyes. He looked up at the mention of his name and his forest green eyes lit up when he saw me. 

"Caley!" he said, standing and coming towards me. He wrapped me into a welcoming embrace and I found myself relaxing a little bit. Finally, a familiar face. "When did you get back?" he asked, pulling away.

"Just now," I said. 

"No wonder you look awful," he joked. I rolled my eyes.

"What's going on right now?" I asked.

"Everyone's waiting for Elijah to give orders. We're supposed to be mobilizing the army tonight. By tomorrow morning, Elijah plans on being at Trinity University," Dom told me. 

"Wait, this is happening at Trinity?!" I exclaimed. No one gave me a second glance; it was already so loud in the room.

"The Order is planning on attacking the Trinity Government tomorrow night, to take back the government and regain power. They plan on doing it forcefully since the election didn't work in their favor and their attempts at rallying people together have failed. So we plan on doing a surprise attack at the Univeristy because that's where the Order are gathering," Dom told me.

"There are so many innocent people there," I hissed.

"Relax. Classes let out a week ago. Most students have left and gone back to their homes. That's why the Order is rallying there; because it's a big open space for an army to assemble," Dom said. 

"How big is their army?" I asked.

"About as big as ours. But Caley, you should know..." Dom said. I looked at him sharply. "Your father put Trey in charge of leading the attack. He's going to be at the forefront. And Elijah wants to take him down," Dom told me. I felt  a sense of dread fill me instantaneously.

"Elijah wants to do it himself?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Elijah wants to take your father down himself," Dom paused, pursing his lips. "He wants you to take Trey down."

I looked at him sharply, feeling my heart beat at an unsteady pace.

"He's my fiancee," I said.

"I realize that. But you can't defy Elijah's orders. None of us can. You're going to have to find a way to convince Elijah to give the task to someone else," Dom said.

"I don't want him to give it to anyone else. I don't want anyone else to do it! Because regardless of if I do it or someone else does it, Trey is going to get hurt. And I can't let that happen," I said.

"It's a war, Caley. There are going to be casualties," Dom pointed out.

"Not if I can help it," I replied stubbornly, scanning the crowd for Gerrard's face. 

"Who are you looking for?" Dom asked.

"Gerrard," I mumbled.

"He's right here," I heard a voice say from behind me. I turned to see Isobel standing with her arms crossed over her chest, Gerrard standing next to her silently. She didn't look any different than when I last saw her. Her jet black hair had a streak of silver in it, which was new, but other than that, Isobel looked like the same old menacing bitch that I knew her to be.

"Nice corset," I commented, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Nice tan," she replied, referring to my sun-kissed skin. We sized each other up for a moment and then I broke, my face splitting into a slight smile.

"It's good to see you, bitch," I said.

"You too, bitch," she replied, smirking despite herself. Dom and Gerrard watched the exchange with interest, probably expecting a cat fight to break out.

"Girls are weird," Dom said.

"You can say that again," Gerrard said. Dom opened his mouth.

"Not literally," we all chimed at the same time. He chuckled.

"I wasn't going to say it again," he said. We rolled our eyes. I smiled at the three of them. Despite my horrid memories at Elijah's manor, I could safely say that the three people I was standing with now were my friends. Even though Dom was a tough boy and Isobel was tempermental at best, I was comfortable around them and I knew they would have my back. Gerrard was like an older brother to me and I knew he had my best interests at heart. But this was a war, and Dom was right; there would be casualties. And as selfish as it was, my goal was to minimize the ones that would affect me most.

 "Elijah wants to see you and Gerrard," Isobel said. I felt my face pale and my heart rate quicken.

"I'm not sure if I'm ready to see him yet, though," I whispered.

"In a few days, this will all be over. What happens will happen," Isobel said. It was the truth and it wasn't comforting. But she was right; whatever was going to happen would, whether I wanted it to or not.

"Let's go then," I said. "We'll meet up with you later," I told Dom. He nodded and we turned to follow Isobel to see Elijah. 

Elijah was waiting for us in the drawing room. It was surprisingly quiet in here. The only people were those that Elijah trusted most: Gianna, Isaac, Isobel, Gerrard and me. He was sitting pensively on one of the leather couches, a glass of wine in his hand, his blue eyes closed.

"Welcome back," he said when we walked in and closed the door.

"It's good to be back," Gerrard said. I bit my lip. For him, it must have been. This was the home he had grown up in. For me, Elijah's manor was associated with gloom and difficult times. I was not happy to be back and I found that all I could think right now was that my idea for breaking the blood oath curse would work. 

"Did you find what you were looking for in your little world adventure?" he asked, opening his eyes to reveal blue irises that were so similar to my own.

"I hope so," I replied. Elijah stood, holding his hands together behind his back. He paced back and forth in front of us and then stopped in front of the window. 

"I assume Dom and Isobel have told you two the plan?" Elijah asked. 

"They did," I replied. 

"Wholly?" he asked.

"Mostly," I said. "Apparently we're attacking Trinity in the morning."

"Yes, that is the plan. But there is much more to it than that," Elijah said, turning back around to face us. "According to our intel, the Order is splitting their attack in three waves. One army will be led by my brother, one by Trey Vulcan, and one by Christopher Vulcan. So we, of course, are going to have three as well. One will be led by Isaac, one by Gianna and the last, by you Caley," Elijah said.

"Excuse me?" I sputtered, not believing what he was saying. "Why aren't you leading one?" I asked incredulously.

"Because I will be orchestrating the entire thing from behind the scenes, acting as the charismatic leader that only wants peace. But of course, the Order is trying to destroy that peace by rebelling. I will offer a negotiation and they won't accept it and then there will be death at the hands of the Order and the people will see that we are not the evil ones here; that their beloved Order is the one causing destruction," Elijah said.

"So in other words, you're going to hide while we do the bitch work for you," I commented, unable to stop myself. 

"Caley," Gerrard hissed at me. 

"You would do well to speak with me respectfully, Caley Lucia. I may be your uncle, but I am also the head of this movement and the newest President of the Trinity Government," Elijah said. I glared at him, seething. 

"How the hell am I supposed to lead an army?" I asked.

"Do as you see fit. But the goal is to take down the Order. Kill anyone that stands in your way and if they give up, take them as prisoners of war," Elijah said. 

"Why can't I take everyone as prisoner?" I asked.

"Because the ones that stand in your way will eventually be sentenced to the death penalty anyway. At least this way, they'll be dying for something they think they believe in. See? I am not so monstrous as you think," Elijah said.

"If you really weren't monstrous, you wouldn't be forcing me to kill innocent people!" I exclaimed.

"They are not innocent if they are willing to do the same to us!" Elijah boomed, his icy blue eyes flashing with rage. "You think that the Order isn't planning on doing the exact same thing to us as we are to them? They would kill all of us on the spot without a trial if they had it their way!" Elijah said.

"No, they wouldn't! They wouldn't sentence anyone to death if they could help it. I thought you wanted to preserve magical blood, not spill it wrecklessly," I argued.

"We do not need poisoned magical blood," Elijah said.

"Then you shouldn't have made us take the oath," I replied viciously. 

"Those that took the oath are loyal to me," Elijah hissed. "And loyalty, above all, is what makes a society run," Elijah said.

"Justice, above all, is what makes society run smoothly," I countered.

"If there was loyalty, there would be no need for justice because those that are loyal would never have the need to be justified. We are not debating my philosophy on leading this new era, Caley. You are the leader of one of the armies and that is an order," Elijah said. I opened my mouth to argue, but I couldn't. The Oath wouldn't allow me to.

"And because you have chosen to defy me over and over again, you are going to lead your army against that of Trey Vulcan's. And not only will you take down Trey's army with your own, you will also personally kill Trey Vulcan. And that, Caley Lucia, is an order that you cannot defy," Elijah commanded.

I looked at Gerrard, panic evident on my face. Elijah had done what I was supposed to prevent him from doing: giving me a direct command to kill Trey. Now the blood oath curse would activate in my blood and if my theory wasn't correct, I would die, regardless of if I broke the elemental curse or not. 

"Do you understand, Caley?" Elijah asked, a menacing grin on his face. I felt my blood burn as I looked him in the eye.

"I understand," I said.

___________________________________________________

A/N: Hi all! Sooooo....it's been a while lol. Turns out, pharmacy school is HARD. As in, I average about 2-3 hours of sleep a night and I have no social life and I barely have time to eat. So between studying for all of my classes and trying to stay alive, I don't have much time to write. But alas, I'm on winter break, so I will be updating a bit more often now.

I have a couple weeks off, but I have a research assignment to work on. So I have to manage my time wisely. My goal is to write a few chapters of this story. But if that doesn't happen, bare with me.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas for those that celebrate. And for those that don't, enjoy the rest of your holidays.

Anway, the war's going to start. Finally. Let's see who I kill. =P

Until next time...

XOXO