Chapter 7:

        Chris literally got up in surprise, and Michael raised both his eyebrows at her. Chelsea looked at her shock and Alicia with hatred.

                "Your...father?" Cirestain sputtered, Willow could tell he was trying his best to not make her uncomfortable, it wasn’t working, though.

                "Yes." Willow replied. "But, um, he and my mom are no longer together."

                "I can sure guess why." Michael said. "Was your mom married to him? What about your dad, Rick or something?"

                Willow looked over at him. "You know my step-father's name?”

                "You’re our assignment," he replied, completely unashamed. “Of course we heard your name.”

                Willow shook her head. "You said 'I can guess why', why did my mom leave him?" Her mother had never spoken of anything bad of her father, they never spoke of him, really. For him to be involved in something as big as this, as the UnderWorld, it was impossible!

                Cirestain looked at her, and Willow knew then that it was all very well possible, that Machire was part of this story, whether she liked it or not. "Have you had any dealings with your father, Ms. Glasspiers?" Cirestain asked, his gentleness absolutely gone.

                "No. My mom won't let me near him." Willow lied. It was only partly a lie, yes her mother did not want Willow near him, but no, that did not stop them. For some reason, she felt immediate distrust of these people. They all obviously hated Machire, she could tell by the way they all seemed to be leaning away in disgust. Except for Michael, who seemed completely fine that Machire was her father, maybe she could trust him… "Why? What does Machire have to do with any of this? Does he know about the UnderWorld? Does my mom know he’s in all of this?"

                “Cirestain,” Chris said, observing Willow with wide, cautious eyes. “Why do I have a feeling that her mom knows about the UnderWorld?”

                "Chris that would be absurd. If she knew about this place she wouldn't have named her daughter Willow." Alicia replied. "Nobody wants their child's fate-"

                "Alicia, shut up." Chelsea said calmly, obviously trying to get Alicia quiet without making it obvious.

                Willow scanned all the faces, desperately looking for some kind of sign of what was going on. "Someone please explain to me what's going on?"

                "Yes, about Machire," Cirestain cleared his throat, seeming very uneasy around Willow. "He caught a Ganash and tortured him for information."

                Willow gulped. Trying not to let her thoughts wander too much. She knew her fears and disbeliefs were obvious to the group.

                "Don't be upset-" Chelsea started.

                "Don't be upset? You're telling me my father is a torturer, and you're telling me not to be upset?" Her tone came a lot harsher than what she intended it to be. It was so odd, so unlike her to lose her temper like that. She was usually an outwardly calm person, but, in her defense, this was a lot to take in.

                "Would you like me to stop?" Cirestain asked.

                "No, keep going. Please." Willow said, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. Not hearing these things could just make the situation worse. She needed to bear through them. Questions and regards were spinning around her head and she felt like she needed to lay down.

                "Machire would ask the Ganash things like, 'Why are you here?' or 'Where did you come from?' There was something in the way that he was saying it that lead to suspicion for the Ganash, Allan, so he didn't say anything. The torturing continued-"

                "Question," Willow asked, raising her hand, feeling as if she was in school once again. "Was this after or before the Amnesian Revolutionary War?"

                "After." Chris replied. Willow exhaled in disbelief, the Amnesian Revolutionary War was the time where all bad government was gone; torturing a Ganash sounded like bad government to Willow.

                "After a couple weeks, they put him in a chair. To this day, we do not know what that chair did exactly, but we do know the screams that came out of him was worse than the screams that came out of someone getting repeatedly stabbed in the legs and arms. But it wasn't killing him. The screams,"-Cirestain gulped and continued talking- "Were unbearable for us Ganashes. And it was unbearable for Allan too, he told your father-"

                  "Please don't call him that." Willow begged, she couldn’t bear the thought of someone torturing any living being. She couldn’t bear the thought of her own father torturing a living being. He had always been so kind to her, except for the occasional outburst.

                Cirestain cleared his throat again, "Allen told Machire of the UnderWorld. But did not tell him about how to get there. At the end of the day, the Ganashes assigned to keep an eye on Allan overheard that Machire was planning to do the torturing again tomorrow. One of our Ganash leaders, Samson, decided to take a huge risk and try to break him out. That night, we lost hundreds. The Ganashes weren't expecting to be as difficult as it was, and an unexpected attack is the worst during a battle. Samson ordered evacuation. And as he passed the cell where Allan was kept, he threw a dagger in. That night, Allan committed suicide, not wanting to go through the pain again."

                It seemed everybody was passed the revolution that Machire was Willow's father, because now they looked all sad.

                “He was the first, of many, many more deaths.” Michael whispered, and Willow couldn’t help but look over at him. It was so weird, to see him. Like an old lullaby sung when she was a kid, but now just a whisper. She swore she knew him, had seen him before, or maybe talked to him. He seemed like those heroes, painted on story books that came to life. It almost made her feel almost…jittery.

                "I'm guessing Ganashes hate Amnesians now?" Willow asked, trying to distract her from her thoughts of Michael.

                "Yes, they do. With a passion. They don't like that we're letting you enter the UnderWorld. Speaking of which, you guys," Cirestain said, jabbing a finger towards the group and the maid. "You will tell no one that Ms. Glasspiers is Machire's biological daughter. If anyone knows, they'll try to murder her."

                Willow shuddered. And the group, including the maid, nodded.

                "Okay," Willow said, exhaling rather loudly. "Now, what I don't understand is what any of this has to do with me? Do you want me to go to Machire and demand him to stop—“

                "No!" They all exclaimed at once, looking at her as if she had just asked them to go catch the sun.

                Cirestain cleared his throat again, "That would be suicide. You see, our world has legends. The legends tell you what's going to happen in broad situations, and also little things as well. We usually don't look through them, and let what happen, happen. But, lately we've been desperate-"

                "Desperate?" Willow interrupted. "If the problem is Machire is capturing you, than quit going to our world." It was obvious enough, they didn’t have to go to her world.

                Cirestain smiled, it was a nervous smile Willow realized. "It is not that easy. First, many creatures are finding their way into your world, we must take care of them. Second, Machire has his ways, he found a portal. A weak portal that can only be used once in a while, but can be used. He is somehow communicating with our world. A dark force has been stirring. Things are going out of place. Mountain Trolls pillaging villages, hundreds of miles away from the mountains. Volremats escaping from the volcano and pillaging as well. Everything is out of place. Third: The legend predicted this. It says that if nothing is done, the world we know will end, yours and ours. And it will not end in a good way."

                Willow closed her eyes, and opened them again. "Okay. The one thing I do not understand, is how any of this has to do with me."

                "There is a fourth in the legend. The legend said, 'Put your trust in Willow. She is your Savior.'"

                Everybody was quiet. And everybody was watching her.