King Zeth Agreste (mentioned), Queen Katie Agreste (mentioned), the kingdom of Brighton (mentioned), Prince Rhys (flashback/mentioned), the kingdom of Deheubarth (mentioned), Chepi (flashback/mentioned) and Corentine Leviton/Stormy belongs to GeekyCookie1

Princess Briana Gem Sentry (mentioned), Princess Diana Leia Sentry (mentioned), Jake Sentry (mentioned), Unagami (mentioned), the Dark one (plot line concept/mentioned) and the Destroyer (plot line concept/mentioned) belongs to Sci-Briana17

Note: Regarding the timeline for this prologue, this book takes place six months AFTER the events occurred in Part of Your World, but six months BEFORE the actual events for this book start. After the prologue, this book will pick up a year after the events occur in this chapter.

Also because I'm not very creative, Castor and Aliya will have their own Tangled memory (just like Jesse and Aliya did in the first book). So if you see similarities between the two pairings, that's why.

The song referenced in this chapter is Arabian Nights from Disney's 2019 version of Aladdin [sung by Will Smith].

Side note: Y'all — I went through so many drafts to get at this point. Like, you would not believe what I initially had. It was crazy, but I hope you enjoy this prologue! Let me know your thoughts! Also, feel free to let me know how your day (or night) is going.

Side note (x2): Here are some language definitions that I may or may not have messed up.

Diamond  = جَوْهَر
رئيسي = master

Good night = buena noches
My love = mi amor

~~~

"Well, once you fully recovered from your injuries, maybe I... I could take you to the human realm. I could even give you a tour and show you around since I'm practically a local among the humans. But, if you're not interested, I can—"

"Sure. I'll like that, but I still want my souvenir when you come back," Castor chimed in as Aliya happily laughed at his response. As he silently listened to her and took in the moment, Castor found himself frequently falling in love with hearing the sound of her laughter, a soft laugh that often sent his heart melting.

"Deal."

Even though the knight agreed to the faerie's offer, their plans to go to the human realm didn't exactly line up in their favor. Between his training and the recovery process from the injuries Aliya and her siblings sustained, the two could never make time. So here he was six months after the events occurred, exiting from the portal as the knight and the faerie were finally able to go to the human realm.

However, if Castor had wanted to have a "date" with Aliya, his plans were sadly crushed as the two were going to be accompanied by her siblings. Being accompanied by Jaxon and Lillian was considered a courtesy, given how Issac had wanted to tag along too [but the girl's father was shut down by Amara and Stormy].

Dressed in a simple black tuxedo, Jaxon had followed out first before holding their hand out to their sister Lillian, who was dressed in a black fashionable dress with matching heels to follow.

While Jaxon had combed their hair over to the side and moved on, their sister put in more effort as Lillian's hair was structured in a elegant braid, her teal lockets flowing effortlessly.

When the two got out, the siblings were soon followed by Castor, who was also wearing a black tuxedo as he adjusted his bow-tie and re-cuffed his sleeves. Then as he held his hand out, the three teenagers were followed by the sound of clicking heels as Aliya came out from the portal, the necklace disappearing as Castor removed the duplicate charm.

Adjusting her bracelet, Castor had smiled softly at the girl, now lightly blushing in his human form.

"Aliya... you look great."

Dressed in a light pink sparkly dress, Aliya's hair was structured in a elegant half-bun as her golden bracelet [which was her way of retaining her human form] shined brightly in the moonlight. When Aliya made eye contact with the knight, Aliya softly chuckled from his response.

"You said that earlier, Astor," she teasingly point out as Castor chuckled, knowing Aliya was right. "I know, but it's true!" the knight insisted as Aliya playfully shook her head, now grinning. "Well, thank you. You look great as well," she followed up as Lillian and Jaxon smugly grinned at the two.

"So..."

"Jax, Lily, no."

"But we're at the city of lights," Lillian and Jaxon swiftly stated, gesturing to the Eiffel Tower in the distance. "It was pure randomization," Castor insisted, now crossing his arms as the girl's siblings raised their eyebrows in her direction.

"You two are definitely going on a date," Jaxon and Lillian softly teased as Aliya lightly shook her head. "Still not a date," she corrected as her siblings laughed. "Right. In that case, explain to us why Castor had us all dress up," the two insisted as Aliya opened her mouth before she looked at Castor.

"You know, Jax and Lily have a point there," Aliya briefly stated. "Thank you. Plus, we ended up in Paris of all places for the portal to take us," Jaxon and Lillian chimed in as the two smugly grinned in the knight's direction. "I'm pretty sure Castor just wanted to distract us, so he could whisk you away into the night," the two confidently continued as the knight began to blush from their words, now shaking his head.

"No way!" Castor defensively protested, but as he continued to blush, Jaxon and Lillian began to laugh. "Come on, Cas, just admit it! You totally have a crush on our sister!" the two siblings countered back as Aliya's eyes slightly widened, as if she've heard a similar version of that line before....

"Come on, Aliya, just admit it! You totally have a crush on Prince Rhys!" she recalled a faerie tell her with excitement as she laughed. "Chepi, I don't have a crush on Rhys," she truthfully admitted.

"Me and him are just friends and besides, he has plenty of other girls who swoon at the very sight of him. I'm pretty sure he's just fine," Aliya insisted as Chepi chuckled at her friend's response. "Okay, true, but Rhys doesn't care about the other girls. He only has eyes for you. I've seen the way he looks at you," Chepi countered back, which made Aliya laugh as she didn't take her friend seriously.

"Eyes for me? Ha! Why would Rhys have a crush on me? He would have to be an idiot to fall for me," Aliya began as she shook her head. "Besides, I don't even feel the same way towards the prince, not really. I just view him as a friend, nothing more," Aliya later explained, only to watch as Chepi abruptly stopped, her face slightly falling.

"What?" Aliya followed up, clearly puzzled, only for the nature faerie to awkwardly gesture her to look up.

"Oh."

When Aliya had finally looked up, the faerie saw a fair-skinned Avalonian male with emerald-green eyes stare back at her. With his hair slicked back and his black tuxedo neatly pressed, she saw his hands shake as he gripped the red roses in his possession.

"I see."

"I'll leave you two at it," Chepi whispered to Aliya, before she briefly took off, much to the faerie's dismay. "Epi! Epi, come back!" Aliya whispered to the nature faerie from distress, only to frown when she vanished.

When Aliya finally made her way towards the prince, she could see a solemn sadness in his eyes as her own face fell.

"Ree—"

"I um... I'm sorry," the prince awkwardly told her, a slightly forced but cracked laugh escaping from his lips. She could see the tears beginning to form as he began to take a step back. "I um... I have to go," he abruptly told her, dropping the red roses as Rhys began to take off.

"Rhys!"

Thinking about the young prince from the kingdom of Deheubarth suddenly made Aliya frown as she thought about their last encounter.

Since that incident, neither of them had talked to each other. In fact, the awkwardness got too much to bare for the two friends, especially when the prince began to avoid her and cease all communications with the young faerie that she just never bothered to set foot in Deheubarth.

It was easier that way.

Since she dropped out of the Deheubarth games, it's not like she had a reason to go back. Even if she thought the prince's grandparents [King Trojan and Queen Reese] were lovely people and she enjoyed competing as their champion, Aliya chose to stop communicating with the two as well, seeing how it was also for the best.

Even if their genuine protests had broke her heart.

Now, Aliya couldn't help but wonder how Rhys and his grandparents were doing and if her old friend was happier since their separation. Though by now, she highly doubt that Rhys or his grandparents even remembered her face.

She shook her head, trying to push the long suppressed memory back. Aliya didn't need another reminder of a friendship that she screwed up. Not when Aliya already had her constant reminder with Jesse, who couldn't even remember her. The girl found herself frowning again, realizing that she lost two friendships... Still, Aliya tried to push the thought of Rhys and Jesse out, wondering why she even cared.

With Rhys, it's not like their friendship was going to last long, anyways. He hated her enough to cease all forms of communication. As for Jesse, she tried to wonder why she even cared about the love fairy when he had been among the five Avalonians who had drowned her, robbed her of her wings and nearly killed her.

"Because you're useless, Aliya! You keep insisting that you can change Avalon, but you can't! You can't do anything because you're just some magic-less nobody! If things had just gone as planned that night, I wouldn't be here dealing with you! I would have my life back!"

Aliya dryly chuckled from the thought, her heart twisting itself into a bitter knot as she recalled the fairy's words. He certainly got his life back. It's not like Jesse needed her anyways.

Why would he? After all, the love fairy went out of his way to forget everything about her. Though, he initially searched for her, it didn't take long for his hatred to return.

Jesse didn't need her just like Rhys didn't want her around. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Aliya's heart sank.

Did anyone want her around? Was she just doomed to ruin everything? Was she meant to have friends? Would she messed up Jaxon and Lillian's life? Would she cause Castor to hate her just like Jesse and (presumably) Rhys did?

"... Hey, are you okay?"

Aliya wished Chepi was here. At least then, Chepi and Aliya would prank each other and she could use the distraction as a way to forget about her problems. She missed her. The two haven't really hung out — not since Rhys stopped talking to her.

When Aliya chose to stop speaking to Prince Rhys, she and Chepi also stopped hanging out since the prince essentially served as the glue of the trio. Even now and then, Aliya would see Chepi, but she never actually had the courage to approach her. Maybe, one day she would...

"Aliya?"

Realizing she went back to her thoughts again, Aliya focused her attention back on the knight, who looked at her with a intense level of concern. A lump formed as she thought Castor's concerned look reminded her of the way Rhys often got whenever she was hurt or not okay.

Aliya forced herself to push Rhys out of her head, insisting that their friendship ended on a terrible note and they were never going to see each other again. So, she should just move on like he did.

"Yeah, sorry. I... I'm okay," Aliya sheepishly answered, trying to keep her voice leveled when in reality, her voice was on the verge of cracking. She forced herself to smile, not wanting to worry the knight or her siblings any further. But just like Rhys, Castor saw through her.

"Aliya..."

"Astor, I'm fine," Aliya insisted, trying to make her smile come across as natural. If she lingered on her thoughts any longer, she was really going to bolt at the next opportunity to search for a portal back to Avalon, run straight to her own room and wish she (along with her terrible memories) didn't exist.

"Aliya—"

"Hey, what's that?" Aliya immediately followed up, gesturing toward the mural as she ran to get a closer look. As Castor frowned, Jaxon and Lillian sympathetically looked in his direction.

"Don't take it the hard way, Cas. She does the same thing to us, our parents and Aunt Stormy," Lillian explained as Jaxon nodded, agreeing with their sister as they sighed shortly afterward.

"Yeah, I wouldn't think about it too much. It's not your fault. She doesn't like being confronted about her feelings since she's so used to ignoring her emotions," Jaxon followed up as Lillian nodded, now sighing too as she shook her head.

"Honestly, it's just her coping mechanism. Is it healthy? No. Everyone tried telling her that much, but Aliya isn't one to listen," Lillian solemnly told the knight, which caused Castor to stare at the girl, who looked at the mural with child-like wonder in her eyes.

"Hey, come check this out!"

~~~~~~~~

In retrospect, the three weren't sure what they were supposed to be looking for upon staring at the mural, which consisted of a family of four.

The parental figures, a slender woman and man both held a caring look in their eyes, the couple wearing royal attire. Glancing down, the three saw two kids. The first look older, perhaps no more than two or three, with her brunette hair and wonder-eyed emerald-green eyes in a miniature royal suit.

When the three looked at the second child, the three saw she looked younger, barely a year apart as the girl happily grinned, her radiant blonde-hair and emerald-green eyes dazzling in the painting.

"It's a shame King Zeth and Queen Katie lost their eldest daughter. It's worse that her disappearance occurred on the eve of the young princess' birthday too. Just stolen from her crib in the middle of the night. Just like the lost princess from the Crystal Empire, the kingdom of Brighton lost their young Princess Eileen too soon."

"For the last time, Princess Briana and the Crystal Empire does not exist. She's just a myth just like this fictional kingdom you keep trying to market."

As Aliya moved closer to Castor and her siblings, the four saw two on-lookers who were paying no attention to any of them. "Should we..." Aliya and Jaxon whispered to Lillian and Castor, who both shook their heads at the idea of leaving. "Nah, I want to see where this goes," their sister and the knight insisted. Looking at each other, Aliya and Jaxon playfully shook their heads.

As the four stared at the light-skinned girl with long, wavy-lengthy brunette hair and dark hazel eyes, the group noticed her hair was in a ponytail as she worn a dark green sundress, tinted rose-gold sunglasses and matching flats. On the other hand, the four saw the boy next to her.

Aside from his light skin, the boy had darker, hazelnut (which came across to the group as brown) eyes and a lighter shade of brunette hair (as the girl's shade of brunette was darker). Wearing his beige jeans with a simple black tee, the four saw his white sneakers as he took the girl's sunglasses, much to the girl's annoyance.

"Yeah, right. Princess Briana and the Crystal Empire does exist."

"Luna, how would you even know?" the second on-looker followed up as the girl crossed her arms. "Because Sam, I—" she began, only to cut herself off as she reluctantly sighed.

"I don't know," Luna followed up at last as the boy smugly crossed his arms, enjoying the look of defeat on her face. "Exactly! Just like I told you! There is no Queen Twilight, there is no King Flash, there is no Princess Diana, there is no Princess Briana and there is definitely no sighting of a Crystal Empire," Sam proudly stated.

"I'm just glad you weren't completely invested like those conspiracy theorists who think the fictional princess' cousin, Jake Sentry, is out there looking for her," Sam continued in a mocking tone that was slowly starting to get on the girl's nerves.

"Or worse, that you would think this the 'lost princess' would return back home to finish her prophecy of battling the fake 'Dark One' to become this so-called 'Destroyer' just so this Princess Briana person can become a vessel to Unagami," the boy openly mocked in the girl's direction before laughing.

"The lost princess does exist. You just don't know it, but you will... soon."

"Right. You sound like that one person from the internet who literally wrote the myth of Princess Briana as though she actually exists," Sam countered back as Luna rolled her eyes.

"But unlike those fictional people and your make-believe fantasy land, these people here actually exist," Sam continued, now gesturing to the mural that his sister looked in his direction. "King Zeth, Queen Katie, Princess Eileen and Princess Aileen do exist and the Kingdom of Brighton is actually real," he persisted as Luna sighed.

"Then again, you're not the brightest," he added as Luna glared at him. "But luckily, you have your genius older brother here to get you through," the girl's brother continued as Luna rolled her eyes.

"I'll prove to you, Sam, that the myth of Princess Briana is real! One day just like the royal Agreste family here!" Luna determinedly told her older brother, gesturing back to the mural, which seemed to mock her.

"Ha! Yeah, right. That would require you to become a detective first and you wouldn't last long," Sam swiftly but openly mockingly countered back before laughing from the thought of his sister being a detective.

As Luna's face fell from her brother's words, Castor and Jaxon wanted to comfort her as Lillian even insisted on punching the girl's older brother as payback. However, it was Aliya who had stopped Castor and her siblings from interfering, so the the knight and her siblings were reluctantly forced to watch as the exchange continued.

"Come on, let's go," Sam had insisted, but Luna froze as she looked at the mural again, a moment of inspiration occurring. "You know what, I will be a detective and I bet I can be a better detective than you will ever be," Luna confidently stated as Sam blinked at the sight of his younger sister's confidence.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me, Sam."

"But—"

"I'm going to become a detective just like you and I'll do your job better. I'll get answers about the myth and prove you wrong. Then, you'll take me more seriously and finally believe in me," Luna stubbornly finished, grabbing her sunglasses back as she turned around and left, leaving her brother stunned in the process.

As Aliya, Castor, Jaxon and Lillian eyed each other, their jaws dropped as if they had just witnessed the greatest thing ever. Perhaps, it was the laughter everyone was trying to suppress but eventually when Sam had faced their direction, there was a subtle but powerful look of annoyance in his eyes.

"What are you four looking at?" Sam snapped at the group before he too walked away from the four. When Lillian wanted to go after him, Jaxon and Aliya naturally held her back.

"Just drop it, Libby," Jaxon insisted as Aliya and the knight nodded. "The guy's not even worth your time," Aliya followed up, agreeing with her sibling. "Besides, you'll just get more annoyed later, so it's best to just move on," Castor chimed in as Lillian reluctantly sighed.

"Fine."

~~~~~~~~~

Leaving the mural of King Zeth, Queen Katie Agreste and their two daughters behind, the four then roam around Paris before the group found themselves drawn to a festival held in honor of the missing princess from Brighton.

"Oh, look. Another festival," Jaxon mumbled, but at least, their voice didn't contain any sign of dislike or jealousy as Lillian laughed. "At least this time, we get to actually enjoy the festivities," she chimed in, a spark of excitement in her eyes as Aliya couldn't help but chuckle.

"I thought you didn't like human festivities."

"That was so six months ago, Li," her sister began with a joyous laugh. "I am a changed person and as you can see, I have—" Lillian continued, only to see as she saw a floating balloon and gasped.

"I want it!" Lillian exclaimed, running toward the item as Jaxon's eyes widened. "Libby, wait! It could be dangerous!" Jaxon called after the girl, now running toward their sister to stop her.

"Ah, I should go after them," Aliya insisted, preparing to leave when she glanced over to see the knight's eyes gaze toward the dancers. He seemed so engaged by the dancers, it was almost like there was some kind of longing in his eyes to do the same. She glanced between the direction where her siblings last went and back at the knight, whose focus toward the dancers made her softly smile.

She was probably the most irresponsible sibling ever, but Jaxon and Lillian were in the human realm before. It's not like this was their first time. After all, the two only went to New York City six months ago. Besides, her siblings would be fine. At least, that's what she told herself.

"Come on."

When the knight glanced over, Castor was surprised to see Aliya holding out her hand as he blinked. "What about Axon and Lilith? Paris is a large city and this festival isn't exactly helpful in tracking the two down," Castor insisted as Aliya nodded, as if she had agreed with him.

"That's true, but the dances all take place at the central of the town's square, where the venues are located," she explained, gesturing to Jaxon and Lillian, who were running in the center of the town's square, where the dancers had abruptly ended their search by pulling the two in.

"Plus, I mean, the dancers just made my job easier so we can definitely spot Jaxon and Lillian in the crowd," Aliya further pointed out as the knight once again found himself looking at the girl, whose smile grew brighter.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is you can try to fit in with Aliya and her freak family, but you'll still just be a social outcast. However, you were already one from the start, so it really doesn't matter. Huh? No wonder why everyone hates you so much. You just go and disappoint everyone you meet."

Castor's smile faded as he forced himself to look away, wondering why he thought it was a good idea to bring Aliya and her siblings back to the human realm. All he was going to do was screw everything up between them anyways.

"I'm um not much of a dancer," Castor quietly mumbled, his voice devoid of emotion as he tried to avoid the girl's smile, which now faded to a concern look. "Maybe, this was a mistake," he insisted, preparing to leave when Aliya grabbed his hand, which led Castor to look up.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, releasing his hand as Aliya lightly blushed. "But come on. This wasn't a mistake," she insisted as Castor hesitantly looked at her. "How can you be so sure?" he asked as the girl's smile returned as if she had anticipated the knight to ask.

"Because you're here."

As the knight heard the sincerity in her voice, Castor saw the girl look at him with a tender fondness, which led his eyes to soften from her response.

"Here," she followed up, now holding out her hand. "Look, it's okay if you're not much of a dancer. I can lead and you can follow after me," she suggested as Castor stared at the girl's hand and back at Aliya.

"Aliya..." Castor began as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, wondering why he did this to himself. Of course, he wanted to dance with her, but he didn't want to hurt her again if the knight got too close to her. "I don't know about this..." he insisted as she chuckled.

"If you wield a sword, you can dance," she countered with ease, a subtle playfulness to her and Castor saw it was clear she was trying to help him enjoy this night just as much as he was trying to do for her, Jaxon and Lillian.

Still...

"Hey, do you trust me?"

"What?" Castor asked as the question caught him off-guard. "Do you trust me?" the girl repeated as the knight blinked, waiting for the punchline but saw she was being serious about her question.

"Yes..."

"Then just follow my lead. Nothing will happen and if people laugh at us, we brush it off and move on," she insisted as Castor blinked. "But—" he began, only to get interrupted by Aliya, who sighed. "Look, you've been training for months, Astor. Day in and day out, your time has been dedicated to becoming stronger, but you tend to forget that you're a person too," she pointed out as she stared at him.

"Tonight, this is about you having fun. Okay? You deserve a break too, you know," she followed up as Castor felt the thoughts pound in his head, ushering him not to let her close. He should just keep his distance, because the knight was just going to hurt her and Castor cared too much about her to cause her harm.

"Aliya..."

Seeing her face fall, Aliya reluctantly pulled her hand back. "Okay, you win, Cas," she said, preparing to leave when he gently pulled her back, catching the girl off-guard as she blinked.

"Cas—"

"I trust you," Castor sincerely told her. "I trust you more than you know," he continued as he took a deep breath. "So if you'll have me as your dance partner, I would love for you to lead me and hopefully, I won't embarrass you," he followed up as she held his hand, now laughing.

"Okay."

As Aliya gradually pulled Castor to the center, she began to guide him in the dance as it was similar to the one performed in New York. "You will turn and you'll be guided by the next person, who will repeat the same steps," she said, demonstrating the action as he nodded.

"That doesn't seem too hard," Castor simply said as she chuckled. "No, it doesn't. You'll get it as more people end up becoming your partner and the dance gets faster. The goal is to end up with the person you initially had," she continued as he nodded once more, now chuckling.

"Well, that definitely shouldn't be too hard for me to remember, especially when I have you as my dance partner. You're the prettiest person here. It would be a mistake on my end if I forgot you were mine," he insisted as she smiled, before she raised an eyebrow at the end of his response.

"Yours?"

"Y.. You know like um your d... dance partner," Castor awkwardly stammered, trying to save himself but his response only made her laugh. "I'm kidding," she playfully teased, lightly punching him. "When you're not carrying yourself like some arrogant jock, you can be pretty adorable," she told himself, watching as his smile softened while his face lightly blushed.

"Now come on! It's starting!"

~~~~~~~

As a soft folklore ballad played in the background, Castor spun Aliya, before pulling her close to him as the two made eye contact in the midst of the dance. As the knight kept up with the faerie's speed, he was blown away by her ability to stay on pace among the mortals while he could barely keep up with Aliya.

"You're doing great for someone who isn't much of a dancer," Aliya softly complimented as the knight grinned at the girl's response. "Thanks! This whole thing was only possible because I had a great teacher who taught me everything I needed to know," Castor told her as the girl softly grinned.

As he spun her around once more, the knight fondly stared at Aliya, whose eyes were beginning to soften. With a twirl, the two couldn't seem to avert their eyes from each other, so when the two had switched partners, Castor tried to ignore the ping he felt from being separated from Aliya.

However, that moment quickly faded when the knight saw he paired with Lillian. He was initially excited, until Castor realized Aliya's sister kept eyeing him in a close but protective manner.

"If you break my sister's heart, I will break you. Got it?" Lillian sharply threatened him at once, still maintaining her smile as Castor slowly but cautiously blinked at her abrupt mannerism toward his direction. "We are not dating though," the knight briefly pointed out as he spun the girl, who had chuckled at his response.

"That's true, but I saw the way she was looking at you," Lillian countered back as the knight couldn't help but laugh at her response. "She's been referring to me as a friend for six months now. I'm pretty sure that's all I'll ever be to her," he insisted as Lillian merely shrugged.

"Say what you want, knight, but from what I saw, she was completely smitten by you," she said before the two switched once more. This time, he was paired with Jaxon, who eyed him in a similar manner as Lillian.

"Did Libby already warn you against breaking our sister's heart?" Jaxon promptly asked as Castor slowly nodded. "Yes, but we're not dating, so while I understand the need to be protective, we are still friends," he insisted before he gave a reluctant sigh, as though he had thought about the possibility of being more, but Castor knew better than to rely on wishful thinking.

"Besides, Aliya just sees me as a friend and that's enough," he continued as Jaxon began laughing. "Sure, sure. Keep lying to yourself," Jaxon insisted, which caught the knight off-guard. "What?" Castor puzzlingly asked as he saw Jaxon's grin. "You telling yourself that you are fine with being friends with my sister when you're clearly smitten by her," they told her as their laughter persisted.

"I am not smitten by her," Castor swiftly countered back, but his eyes were focused on Aliya, who was dancing with one of the mortal girls before she reunited back with her sister, Lillian. Though he couldn't hear what the two were saying, Castor saw Aliya's eyes light up as he softly smiled.

So when Jaxon cleared their throat and Castor snapped himself back into reality, he saw through their subtle smugness, which was accompanied by their playful grin. "You were saying?" Jaxon had cheekily but boldly asked the young knight, who began to open his mouth to defend himself... only to realize that they were right.

Who was the knight fooling? Almost everyone knew he — Castor — was smitten by the faerie. Well... everyone knew except Aliya, that was — but that didn't matter! He was happy with just being friends! It's not like he found himself thinking about her every now and then or that someone would do something that reminded him of the fearless faerie.

No... He and Aliya were just friends, but even the word "friends" was starting to taunt him. Besides, Castor knew better than to start another relationship. He was just going to ruin everything. The illusionist would become another Jesse to her and the last thing Aliya needed was another guy to come and turn her life around for the worse. He liked the girl too much to hurt her.

So it was for the best if the knight kept his feelings for her at a distance. Besides, Aliya deserved better than some half-breed. He was so into his thoughts that the knight was caught off-guard when he saw Jaxon wasn't his partner anymore, but the girl he was hopelessly had a crush on.

Oh, the music that plays as you move through a maze

Upon reuniting with Aliya, Castor smiled softly at her infectious smile and the vibrant energy shining in her eyes.

In the haze of your pure delight

Taking her hand, Castor spun the girl around as the two pulled closer to each other, his heart beating from being so near to her face.

You are caught in a dance

As the two danced side-by-side, Castor found her eyes never left his sight, and when she almost fell, the knight quickly saved her. In the process, he had pulled her too close as the two were now inches apart.

You are lost in the trance

Time seemed to slow down around the two as Castor brushed away the strand of her hair. "Thanks for talking me into doing this," he told her as she smiled. "My pleasure," she cheekily told him, preparing to separate from the knight as the dance ended when he had pulled her face close to her.

"Cas?"

As his heart raced, Castor felt his thoughts race faster, urging him not to lean in and ruin the moment. But tonight, he wasn't going to listen to the voices... not when he could have this moment.

"You're extraordinary, you know that?" he told her as the girl softly blushed from his words. "Stop it, Astor. You're just being modest," she countered back but he only took his head, not believing her. "No," he said, now lightly holding her chin as he smiled in her direction.

"For once, I'm making the right call."

As the two leaned in, Castor's heart began racing faster the closer he got to the girl, but he tried to calm himself down in case Aliya heard the loud frequency of his heartbeats.

"Cas...."

"Aliya, look, you..." he began, briefly stopping himself from leaning in fully to kiss her as he held her hand. "There's something I have to tell you. You see, I..." he continued, only to stop when he found a pair of light brown eyes staring back at him from the moment he quit staring at Aliya.

Son.

Eyes widening as the knight heard the telepathic male voice in his head, Castor saw the figure turn away, pulling his cloak as he descended out from the crowd. "Actually, I'll be right back. There's something I have to take care of first," Castor told her, pulling away as Aliya blinked.

"Cas—"

"I'll be right back, I promise. Just stay here," Castor firmly told her, lightly kissing her forehead before he quickly ran, too embarrassed to see her response and mostly just so he could put his past behind him.

"Castor!"

As the knight left the festival, Castor came across a dimly lit alleyway where the cloaked figure stood. "I see you are growing closer to the seeker. You know what they said about the last soldier who fell for the seeker," the man spoke. "Things didn't end well for the two," he continued as Castor blinked.

"I'm a knight, not a soldier," Castor corrected as the man quietly chuckled as his father stood his head. "Soon, son, you'll become a soldier," the man continued. "If I were you, I would keep an eye on her," the man advised him as Castor scoffed at his words. "Right, that's some generous advice coming from you, dad," the knight bitterly countered back, now crossing his arms.

"Say what you want, but don't say I didn't warn you about her. That girl is nothing more than trouble. She should have been killed long ago, but if the seeker comes into her own destiny, we're all done for," his father continued, holding a dark green-ish bottle in his possession.

"Here, take this. You might need it one day when you go against her," he added, tossing the bottle in Castor's hand. "Nightshade?" Castor puzzlingly read as his father chuckled from his son's response. "It's fatal to seekers, harmless to everyone else," he continued as Castor's eyes widened.

"Are you telling me to kill her?"

"Perhaps."

"Dad, I'm not going to hurt Aliya! Seeker or not, she's still my friend and unlike you, she actually cares about me!" Castor angrily responded, tossing the bottle back to his father.

"It's in the cards though, son. You have been chosen as the next soldier in the war," his father told him before witnessing his son stare at him. "You're destined to meet the last soldier, serve as his protégé and betray the seeker to help the previous soldier become the next ruler of Avalon just like I did," he continued with a smirk.

Taking a step back from his father, Castor began shaking his head. "No, no, no! I'm not like you! I'm nothing like you!" the knight sharply protested as the illusionist angrily snapped at his father chuckled from the boy's response.

"Oh, son, you are exactly like me."

~~~~~~

"Where is he? Astor should have been back by now."

Pacing back and forth, Aliya failed to hide her distress as Jaxon and Lillian cautiously eyed each other, unsure of what to do.

"Aliya, just calm down."

"Castor said he would be back though," she protested to her siblings, trying to avoid the urge to bite her nails. "Li, the knight wouldn't just ditch you. He's not like Jesse," Lillian insisted as Jaxon nodded. "Yeah. Maybe, he's just trying to surprise you," Jaxon insisted as Aliya shook her head.

"No, this feels different," Aliya insisted to her siblings as they were all trying to figure out why she was more paranoid than usual. After all, Castor could handle himself just fine, that much the three siblings knew.

"You know what, I'm sure he's fine and I'm just freaking out because I'm scared," she later admitted, only to quickly regret her decision when she saw her siblings smugly look at her. "You're scared of losing Cas because you like him," the two teased as she playfully punched Jaxon and Lillian.

"I'm scared of losing Castor because he's a friend," Aliya corrected, but that didn't stop her siblings from laughing at her response. "Aliya, we both saw the way you and Castor were looking at each other," Jaxon began as Lillian nodded. "Yeah, I believe it's safe to say both of you look as though you two were in love," she followed up as Aliya rolled her eyes.

"You can't fall in love in someone in the span of six months," Aliya pointed out as Jaxon blinked. "Have you seen the knight? Castor has been in love with you ever since Jesse stabbed you at his birthday bash and that was before six months," Jaxon insisted as Lillian laughed at her sister's response.

"I agree with Jax. Tell that to the knight. He has lovesick written all over him when it comes to you," Lillian countered back with ease as Aliya shook her head while Jaxon chuckled from their sister's reaction.

"Anyways, Castor and I have completely different statuses. He's a royal knight and I'm a commoner, so if even if your so-called concept of me and Cas being 'in love' was true, it would never work out," Aliya firmly pointed as her siblings scoffed. "Lots of Avalonians make the different statuses work," Jaxon swiftly countered back with ease as their sister nodded.

"Plus, weren't you friends with a prince before?" Lillian pointed out as Jaxon nodded, their eyes lighting up. "Oh, yeah! Prince Rhys of Deheubarth! That's the one!" Jaxon proudly exclaimed as the two siblings stared at their sister, whose face fell from the prince of Deheubarth's name being mentioned.

"Whatever happened to him, anyways?" Jaxon and Lillian followed up as Aliya blinked before awkwardly clearing her throat.

"We uh..."

"Rhys? Where did you go? Rhys!" she recalled calling out as Aliya had searched for the prince, but she was never good when it came to hide-and-seek. More so, Rhys was the champion of the game and she only got close to finding him once. Since then, it's been a narrow string of losses for her.

"Rhys, now is not the time for playing hide and seek!" she recalled saying as the girl searched through the bushes, frowning when he wasn't there. "Just come out and we can talk about this!" she insisted as Aliya spent the entire night looking for the prince before sighing.

"Ree..."

"We both got busy with our lives," Aliya finished with a rather tense smile, pushing the memory out of her mind. "Anyways, I'm going to go search for the knight, so we can start heading back," she said, dusting off her dress as Aliya made sure her heels were still in tact.

"Plus, the last portal closes in a hour and I don't think we're all ready to spend the night here," Aliya insisted as Jaxon and Lillian eyed each other before shuddering from the thought. "Yeah, okay. You have a good point. Let's go find Castor," her siblings stated, tagging along as the three left the festival.

Slipping off into the dimly lit alleyways, Aliya and her siblings began to call out for the knight but none of them were getting close. In fact, for each alley the trio checked, they weren't anywhere near finding him or answers on his whereabouts. Fifteen minutes had passed and the trio were still coming up empty.

"He shouldn't be this hard to find!" Lillian groaned from frustration as Aliya laughed. "I like to think Castor would give Rhys a run for his title as the hide and seek champion," Aliya lightly teased, a small smile forming before she ultimately frowned, now sighing afterwards.

"I agree though. He shouldn't be this hard to find," Aliya followed up. "Castor never mentioned to you where he was going, did he?" Jaxon asked as she later shook her head. "Nope," she answered, causing Jaxon and Lillian to groan.

"This is point— rat!"

As Lillian jumped into Jaxon's arms, she screamed from the sight of seeing the animal, whose tail had briefly touch her foot. "I am not about to deal with rats!" she exclaimed as Jaxon and Aliya did their best to suppress their laughter.

However, the two didn't last long as the two laughed, causing Lillian to teleport herself out from her sibling's arms.

"Are you two laughing at me?" Lillian asked as she was offended by the two laughing at her. "Stop laughing! This isn't funny! I have a rat-phobia and it's called musophobia!" she followed up, but only Aliya kept laughing as Jaxon had stopped, sensing she was about to call out their fear.

"Aliya, you should be the last person laughing! Don't you have a fear of water?" Lillian asked as the girl scoffed at her sister's response. "I don't have aquaphobia. I can go for a swim any time I want. I just choose not to go near water, because I care too much about my hair," Aliya insisted as Lillian raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, really? I bet if you and I went for a swim—"

"We are not going for a swim. I am not going near the water and you can't make me," Aliya sharply but quickly interrupted, her voice heightened as Lillian smugly grinned, now crossing her arms.

"You were saying?"

Upon seeing the grin, Aliya realized she fell for her sister's bait as she had exposed own her lie. Annoyed, she reluctantly gave in. "Fine. I have aquaphobia," Aliya answered at last as Lillian triumphantly laughed, leading the girl to realize that no — laughing at other people's fears was not fun when her decision came back to haunt her.

"I'm sorry for laughing at your rat-phobia, Lily. It wasn't funny and I'll keep your fear in mind moving forward," Aliya sincerely followed up as Lillian grinned before she hugged her sister. "You're forgiven and I wasn't actually going to take you on a swim, Li," Lillian insisted as Aliya plainly nodded. "I know," she softly said, the two sisters embracing as Jaxon softly smiled at the moment.

"This is super sweet, but... we're still searching for Castor and we have..." Jaxon briefly paused to stare at their Avalonian necklace which began to dimly glow. "Thirty minutes left," they followed up as the sisters quickly pulled away. "Thirty minutes left!" the two sisters had exclaimed, now on the verge of panicking.

"Okay, let's split up! Jax, if you and I cover the higher parts of Paris, Aliya can cover the ground and maybe we can find Castor faster," Lillian briefly explained as her siblings smiled at the girl for taking charge.

"You got it!"

With a grin, Aliya took a step back as she witnessed Jaxon and Lillian teleporting away, while the two siblings landed on top of a building. "Are you sure it was smart to leave Aliya on her own?" Jaxon pointed out.

Peering below from one of the higher buildings in the city of lights, the shadow hybrid dismissively brushed off her sibling's concerns. "Jax, Li is going to be fine. I doubt there are any threats here in Paris," Lillian insisted, looking over toward the park when she saw the knight's bracelets glow.

"How in the world did he end up over there?" Jaxon curiously asked, turning to their sister. "I thought Aliya said Castor went near the alleyway," they pointed out as Lillian merely shrugged. "Who cares?" she asked as she laughed.

"We got a location on the knight now! We need to go get Aliya, teleport to that side of Paris, grab Castor and make our way back to the portal so we can all safely return to Avalon all in..." Lillian briefly paused before staring at Jaxon's necklace, more so at their gemstone, which was faintly glowing now.

"Fifteen minutes, just great," the young girl mumbled to herself before glancing down as her eyes widened. Almost immediately, Lillian began to summon a portal. "Libby! What are you doing?" Jaxon yelled at once. "The humans could see us and the portal!" Jaxon protested as Lillian grabbed her sibling's arm.

"Who cares? Our sister is in trouble!"

~~~~~~~~

Moments Ago:

"At this point, I might as well be playing hide and seek with Rhys because at this rate, I'm never going to find Castor just like I could never find the prince!"

Quietly fuming as the girl searched through every crack and stone there was in an effort to find him, Aliya hoped her siblings were having better luck because as of right now, her luck was rather rotten. "I still stand corrected. I am the worst lucky charm there is," she mumbled as the girl leaned against the wall.

"Yeah, I guess you could say you're my lucky charm, huh?" Castor lightly teased as she lightly chuckled. "I would be the worst charm out there," she half-joked but the knight merely shook his head from her response.

"That's not true. I felt pretty lucky since meeting you."

"I really hope you're doing okay, Cas..." she said, looking up at the sky as Aliya stood up, preparing to go look elsewhere when the girl heard footsteps. Turning around, the girl cautiously glanced over her shoulder.

"Who's there?" Aliya called out, only to frown when she saw no one in sight. "I really am paranoid tonight," she mumbled as she shook her head, quietly laughing at herself as the sound of footsteps forced her to stop abruptly.

When Aliya moved closer, she found a cloaked figure, who had unintentionally tripped over themselves upon seeing her. The figure tried to flee, struggling to escape but she made an effort to approach the stranger, seeing how she wasn't getting anywhere with her search.

Besides, maybe if she was lucky, this stranger might have seen Castor and Aliya could finally end this dragged-on game of hide and seek. Or if the stranger happened to be a threat... she tried not to think in that sense.

"P... Please don't hurt me," the stranger spoke, trying to shield themselves from her as she held her hand. "Hey, I won't hurt you. Promise," she softly told the stranger, who reluctantly pulled their hands down.

"O... Okay," the stranger meekly said, before accepting her hand. When Aliya pulled the stranger up, the hood of the stranger's cloak fell. In that moment, she saw the stranger try to place their hood of the cloak back, but by then it was too late as their eyes glowed upon making eye contact with her.

As Aliya saw the light blue glow in their eyes, she saw the golden cuff that shined on the stranger's wrist, a sign that the figure was a prisoner — held by the shackles of whoever had control of them. But more so, the cuff was specifically to capture a certain species... one she initially thought were all extinct.

"Djinn," the girl quietly whispered as the stranger meekly nodded. "I am a djinn. One of the survivors from the war," the stranger solemnly answered. "I belong to Master Cyril, but I can't seem to find him..." they continued as Aliya moved closer. "Well, maybe I can help. I just need to know your name first," she insisted.

"O...Oh... my master told me to never reveal my name to strangers," the djinn shyly said as Aliya gently smiled. "We can't be strangers if you and I become friends," the young girl countered as the djinn shyly looked at her.

"Zaina."

"Aliya," she told the djinn, whose eyes suddenly began to glow as the djinn held a tight grip on her wrist.

"Uh—"

When the east meets the west and the moon is at its highest peak
The cave of arcanum will awakened

The lamp you shall find
For a heavy price

Destruction will follow in your wake
Betrayal will creep in the moment of prosperity

Danger lures in the shadows
Your greatest enemy is the one in disguise

To find hope
You must look within yourself

Find what has been lost and fix what is broken
To awaken your power and victory will be in your reach

To seek home
A sacrifice will be made and a life will be stolen
But while one is lost, the other will soon be found

Answer the call
To start your journey
And make Avalon anew

When Zaina released her wrist, Aliya tried to keep her head from spinning as though, the djinn's words were starting to sink in. She tried to stand, but her knees gave way and reluctantly, she was stuck rubbing her head.

"Ow...."

While Aliya was trying to recover and process Zaina's words, the djinn placed a pendant in her hand. As she looked at the ocean blue pendant in her possession, Aliya looked up at the djinn, who was slowly starting to come into focus [which was great, considering she still needed to go look for Castor].

"You will need the pendant to get entry to the cave, جَوْهَر," the djinn told her, though Zaina's voice was still muffled.

She, however, managed to grasp the last word, which was nice. Aliya knew the word meant something but her mind was still trying to recover from the shock of Zaina's words.

"But I can only find the lamp through—"

"The diamond in the rough, I know. You still have yet to explain what the term means or why you keep thinking I'm the key to finding this so-called lamp of yours."

"You'll learn with time, my dear."

It took Aliya a minute to process the word but when she stared at the pendant and back at the djinn, the word clicked at last for her. "You referred to me as a diamond," she said as Zaina softly nodded. "Yes, because you are the diamond in the rough. You're the one destined to find the lamp the grand djinn and the fallen heroes hid from the world," the djinn explained, only for her smile to fade.

"You shouldn't have come here," Zaina immediately followed up, her voice sharply strict as she looked at Aliya. "You're in danger, seeker. My master — he —" she began, only to wince when her golden cuff began to glow. As the djinn fell to her knees, Aliya quickly pocketed the pendant and went to help Zaina.

Unfortunately for Aliya, Zaina wasn't the same when the djinn stood up. In fact when the two made eye contact, the djinn's eyes were glossed over. Worse, her lips were stiff and it was clear that the djinn wanted to tell her more, but she couldn't. Not when she no longer had control.

"Zaina..."

"I found her, رئيسي."

"Excellent," she heard a male voice tell the djinn, which had strangely cause everything in Aliya's own body to heightened. Her mouth went dry and though, she seemed to be acquainted with danger quite well, her heart had stubbornly began to pound at the sight of fear.

So when Aliya stood up and faced the man who approached her and Zaina, she saw his pale skin glisten slightly from the moonlight. When his light brown eyes glowing upon making eye contact with her, the man removed the hood of his cloak. As he did, she saw a singular scar from his right eye that extended toward his eyebrow.

However what caught the girl's attention were the bracelets on his possession, the golden bracelets with decorated Avalonian symbols and runes... they almost looked similar to the ones worn by....

Castor.

"What are you supposed to be? Another mage?" Aliya plainly asked, hoping to start off the conversation, but either she offended the man or he wasn't one for conversations because the next thing the girl knew, he had summoned an astro-projected sword and aimed at her.

Though the sword looked transparent, his weapon functioned like an actual sword. She would have been in awe by the sword... if he now wasn't trying to kill her. "Not a mage, a sorcerer," the man corrected as he stared at his djinn, whose eyes softly widened at the weapon.

"Djinn, come here to my side. Now," the man ordered as Zaina reluctantly went to his side. When the djinn had arrived to his side, the man made his djinn complete several tasks [that easily could have been completed by him] and when Zaina had finished the last task, he had pulled on her ear for being "too slow."

"Hey! That's more than enough! She did everything you asked of her!" Aliya snapped as Zaina solemnly looked at her, the djinn's eyes silently thanking her.

In that moment, she made a vow to free Zaina. She wasn't sure how imprisoned djinn were to be freed, but so help her, Zaina deserved better than to be controlled by a man who saw value in making the djinn insignificant.

"What I do with my djinn, Fae-Maid, is none of your concern. My djinn is a slave and as such, she is mine to control," the man sharply stated as he stared at Zaina. "Djinn, you may return to your flask. Your services have been completed... for now," he continued as the djinn bowed to her master before she flashed Aliya another look before vanishing from view.

"Now I can deal with you without any more distractions," he told her as Aliya scoffed. "I can't believe you keep the jinn as your prisoner. The rarest being is in your reach and all you do is order the djinn around like she's nothing more than your property," the faerie bitterly spoke as the man scoffed in return.

"Djinns are nothing more than slaves to be controlled by those superior to their pathetic kind," he explained with a level of passion she couldn't begin to process on her own as this man clearly viewed djinns as insignificant.

"Avalonians — at least, real Avalonians," the man briefly paused to eye her with a small scoff before continuing. "Know the power the djinn holds, especially if you come across one with prophetic-like abilities, so if you are able to find a djinn, they can be yours to control," the man continued as Aliya stared at him in disgust.

As the man's light brown eyes flashed to a light blue glow, the faerie realized the djinn was the one supplying his power. As such, Aliya made a move to grab the flask and try to free Zaina while he was distracted.

However, the man was faster as he surrounded Aliya with several duplicates of himself, each one all staring back at her. As she eyed her shoulder and looked ahead, Aliya had counted at least twenty clones surrounding her, but the girl knew among the twenty, the real one was also among the imposters.

"Try to see if you can find the real one," the man spoke and as Aliya trained herself to watch each clone speak, she was annoyed to see all of them sounded exactly the same, much to her dismay. "There's twenty of us and only one of you!" the clones taunted the girl, their laughter ringing in her ears.

"It'll be impossible! The task can't be done!" the clones insisted as Aliya rolled her eyes from the taunts, which were designed to get inside her head and make her think finding the real sorcerer was truly impossible. "I like a challenge," Aliya cockily stated, smirking as she eyed the clones closely.

Maybe, I can trick the clones into battling themselves and the real one will want to restore order among the duplicates...

"Look up."

Startled by the voice, Aliya looked up to see a silhouette before she spotted the dark-skinned Avalonian nature elf hovering above her. With their damp hair and hallow black eyes, his light grey suit was stained with (now) dried blood, though she noticed there was a hole directly in his chest, where she suspected that some sort of stabbing took place in that area.

"Um, hi."

As the girl awkwardly greeted the nature elf, Aliya was mainly trying to figure out if the clones could see the nature elf too or if she was just delusional. Only certain Avalonians could see the dead and the last time she checked, she was magic-less, which meant she definitely should not be seeing the elf.

"The name's Florian, it's trees to meet you," the nature elf greeted the girl as she looked around to see the clones were completely still. In fact, she noticed everything was still... all except the strange elf, who couldn't stop smiling. Seeing a dead nature elf wasn't on her to-do list, but uh, well life was weird in that sense.

Between seeing a imprisoned djinn to dealing with a sorcerer who clearly didn't like her, the girl found that strange things were also becoming part of her iconic 'trouble magnet' trademark. Realizing she had no choice, but to return the gesture, Aliya found her life was slowly becoming anything but normal.

Then again, when was anything in her life ever normal?

"I'm Aliya. It's trees to meet you too," she greeted, finding the native nature elf saying foreign on her tongue as Aliya hasn't said the greeting since teasing her nature cousin Fae (who specifically had flower-related powers) and upon meeting Chepi (as she had mistaken the faerie for a elf).

So when Florian held his hand to her, she stared at them. "I can't shake a dead person's hand," she pointed out. "Uh, no offense," she awkwardly followed up as the nature elf only smiled.

"Just trust me."

Bring told to trust the dead wasn't something Aliya ever thought she had to consider, at least until she started seeing the dead elf. More so, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to shake a dead elf's hands. But somehow, a part of her had sensed this Florian person could be trusted.

So for the better (or the worse) of the situation she was in, Aliya found herself reaching out towards Florian's hand. As her hand began to reach the elf, she noticed their hand was becoming solid. So when she shook his hand, there was a solid grip — as though in that moment, he was alive.

Aliya's eyes widened from the solidness of the elf's grip but things only got weirder for her from there. "What are you?" she whispered, knowing that logic was officially out of the question for her. She couldn't even explain how it was possible for the handshake to work.

"A seeker..." the nature elf began before his eyes flashed upon facing the faerie, as Aliya saw a light brown glow illuminating from themselves. "Just like you are now," Florian finished, grinning softly when her eyes began to glow a bright golden hue. Before Aliya could even start to question the nature elf, the seeker promptly touched her forehead, a golden glow appearing from their fingertips as she faintly gasped.

"Awaken."

~~~~~~~~~~

Present Time:

As the man sent his clones to attack the girl, he was rather surprised by the golden aura illuminated around her entire body. As she fought against his clones, the man saw the girl could teleport just like his son. Not long after, the girl had gone through his clones as her eyes made his way, a golden flicker in her eyes.

In that moment, the man knew just how she was able to go through his duplicates in a timely manner. So when he saw the girl stagger as the golden flicker in her eyes faded, he smirked, realizing that she was still inexperienced. If anything, he would even guess that wasn't even the full extent of her abilities.

"So, you're the seeker."

Upon teleporting to the girl's side, the sorcerer smirked at the girl's state, seeing the potential in taking out the inexperienced seeker. Plus, she was alone in the human realm and on the verge of collapsing?

The events aligned too perfectly for him to ignore the opportunity given to him at hand.

"I wonder what made Florian want to choose you out of... well, everyone else."

As the sorcerer held his astro-projected sword towards the powerless girl who eyed him with a level of caution, the male stared at her with a level of disgust.

"I don't think I ever got your name..."

"Mirage. Cyril Mirage to be exact," he answered as the girl's eyes briefly widened before she cautiously chuckled. "I feel really terrible for your son. Honestly, Castor has been better off without you," she shot back as the sword vanished.

The girl tried to take advantage of his sword disappearing, but the sorcerer was faster as he held onto her throat. "Let's see how long he lasts without you," Cyril swiftly stated as the girl twist his arm before knocking the knight's father back. Rubbing onto her throat, she scoffed as he briefly staggered.

"I see you can't handle your own magic. That's a shame, considering you call yourself a sorcerer," the girl openly mocked as Cyril briefly touched his nose to feel a wet, sloshy liquid. Glancing down, he saw the liquid was his own blood. With another jolt of pain, Cyril fell to the ground as he growled, knowing she was right.

The djinn's magic was killing him, but Cyril relied on Zaina's abilities to make magic a possibility for the sorcerer. But he looked up, the sorcerer saw the girl was on the verge of falling too. She was just trying to come across as strong. If he was going to take her out, the time had to be now.

Inexperienced seekers don't stay in their state for long and Cyril knew if he failed here in the human realm, he was stuck dragging himself back to Avalon where he would be greeted with a long dreaded reunion from his ex [as he already met his son, who Cyril hoped would follow his advice].

"You know, you seekers talk too much..." the sorcerer slowly began before Cyril quietly summoned his astro-projected sword. "I wonder what would happen if someone were to cut out your tongue," he finished, raising his sword to the unsuspecting girl.

Yet when the sorcerer made his move, he was promptly stopped by the girl, whose light brown eyes returned to her newfound golden state. As she gripped onto his left arm, he saw the girl was careful not to aim the sword in her direction. "Maybe someone should cut out yours for a change," she countered back.

"Aliya!"

Glancing over, Cyril saw a portal close. There as he stared at the two, their eyes glowed on site, leading him to confirm the two were Avalonians.

As his eyes went towards the first Avalonian, Cyril saw they were dressed in a simple black tuxedo with their hair simply combed over to the side.

On the other hand, his eyes went on the girl, who was dressed in a black fashionable dress with matching heels to follow as her hair was structured in a elegant braid, her teal lockets flowing effortlessly.

"Stay away from her!" the two firmly exclaimed, standing side-by-side as their eyes and gemstone began to glow. "Half-breeds," Cyril stated with a intense level of disgust, only to get kicked by Aliya, who was still holding his arm. "

"Those are my siblings you are talking to. Watch your tongue or I will rip it out of you," she quietly threatened, her voice low as the sorcerer saw he had hit a nerve. "I wonder what would happen if one of them went missing," the sorcerer told Aliya, who sharply eyed him.

"You won't be able to save both of them, you know. One of them will disappear and the other one will despise you in the end," Cyril continued, his voice low as Aliya stared at him in confusion.

"As a seeker, you'll be destined for a life of grief and betrayal. When your destiny comes, you'll have no one left. Everyone you've ever loved will either leave you, become corrupt or dead," he continued, smirking as her eyes flickered. "That is the life of a seeker and it will start one year from now," he warned her with a subtle smirk.

Moments later, another portal opened up and Cyril was face-to-face with his son, who stood among the half-breeds. It was almost fitting for Castor to stand with them, after all his son had the unfortunate trait of being like them.

"Don't touch her," his son sternly told her as the father's smirk never faded away. "Of course. I was just leaving," Cyril insisted, making his sword vanish with a flick of his wrist.

"You live for now, seeker, but watch your back. Others will come for you and I won't be the only one trying to stop you," he strictly told her as Aliya glared in his direction. "I'll be ready," she told him as Cyril quietly chuckled, now eyeing his son, whose eyes were flickering between a sense of longing and disgust for him.

"Sure you will."

~~~~~~~~~~

When his father left and he was certain the sorcerer wouldn't return, Castor saw Aliya on the verge of falling as he quickly teleported to her side, catching the girl just before her body had hit the ground.

"Are you okay?" Castor asked, brushing her hair back as she made the effort to look as though, her body wasn't trying to fall apart on her. "Yeah, I'm okay," she softly said as the knight sighed in relief. At least, she was okay.

"What about you? Are you okay?" she followed up as the knight slowly nodded. "I'm okay, better now that nothing happened to you," he insisted as the girl sighed in relief, also grinning.

"Good."

Castor thought he would have made it out fine. However upon creating the duplicate charm for Aliya and the four made their way back to Avalon as the portal closed from behind them, he was promptly ambushed.

"You made us look for you when you could have just teleported this entire time!" Lillian snapped, flat-out slapping the knight on the back of his head. "Ow!" the knight loudly exclaimed, turning to the shadow hybrid who crossed her arms. She thought about stopping but then, she went out of her way to slap him again.

"Ow!"

"Lily—" he heard Aliya call out as Lillian reluctantly pulled herself back from the knight, who was silently thankful for Aliya coming through for him. "Fine, I'm done... for now," she mumbled as Castor's eyes widened while Aliya shot her a look. "Anyways, you had us all worried!" Jaxon exclaimed with a heavy sigh.

"What happened? You looked as though you were like a deer in headlights," Aliya began as he and her siblings looked at the girl in confusion. "Deer in headlights...?" the trio awkwardly followed up.

"It's a human expression. You know, like when—" Aliya began, only to cut herself off with a sigh. "Look, the point is you look scared about whoever you saw when you with me," she followed up. "Then, when you didn't come back, I got scared because I was worried something happened to you and—" she began as Castor's eyes widened from her response.

"I scared you?"

"Yes!" Aliya sharply answered, now punching the knight's shoulder as she moved away from him, now standing on her own. "You had me scared for your safety, Castor!" she continued as she sighed.

"I know you can handle yourself just fine because you're a knight and all, but still! I'm not trying to lose someone else, especially someone like you," she added as Castor's hair softly glowed. "Look, you mean a lot to me, Astor, and I..." she trailed off, taking a deep breath as she looked at him.

"I'm scared of losing you, okay?" she confessed, her hair now glowing as Aliya bashfully glanced away from him moments later.

"Aliya..."

"See? We told you she liked you!" Lillian and Jaxon proudly exclaimed as Aliya playfully punched her siblings on their shoulders. "The knight and our sister together in love," the two continued as Aliya rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure we're just friends," she insisted as Castor tried to mask his frown.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that. Now come on. Go say goodnight to your boyfriend," the two encouraged her as Castor ran up to the three. "Actually... can I steal Aliya from you two for a little bit? I need to tell her something," he said as Jaxon and Lillian smugly grinned before nodding.

"Sure, but if she's not back soon, you know everyone is going to worry about her," Jaxon insisted as Lillian laughed. "Please. Why is anyone going to worry about her when she has the knight around to protect her?" Lillian followed up as she grabbed her sibling's arm.

"Come on, Jax. Let's have the lovers have their moment," she said as Castor and Aliya's hair both glowed in sync. While Aliya insisted the two weren't lovers, that didn't stop Jaxon and Lillian from laughing as the two entered through the portal and disappeared from view.

"Sorry about them... Jaxon and Lillian have been like that for six months now and I fear they will only continue as the years go on," she said as Castor chuckled. "Nah, I think your siblings are great. I definitely wish I had a better relationship with my siblings," he said as her eyes widened.

"You have siblings?" she curiously asked as Castor chuckled. "Two older brothers, but I have no idea where they went," he told her as the girl's eyes fell. "Hey... do you mind if I tell you something?" the knight followed up as Aliya nodded.

"Sure."

"Earlier at the festival when I left you, I saw my dad in the crowd. So, I thought if I got to confront him, I could finally move on," he started, his eyes landing on the bottle his father gave him.

"Here, take this. You might need it one day when you go against her."

"Nightshade?"

"It's fatal to seekers, harmless to everyone else."

"But instead," he briefly paused to look at Aliya, so the knight wouldn't look suspicious, though a part of him had wondered he had let his dad talk him into keeping the bottle of nightshade. It's not like he was ever going to use it.

"I only got more questions than answers. Oh and mostly, just a lot of confusion," Castor continued with a dry chuckle. "I'm um... I'm not sure if I would be doing you or a family a service if I continued to be around you," he admitted, his voice now dropping to a low whisper as Castor heard the girl nervously chuckle.

"Castor, what are you talking about?" Aliya puzzlingly asked, eyeing the knight with a look for confusion and concern.

"Oh, son, you are exactly like me."

"I might hurt you and I... I..." Castor began, trying to add more distance between them but she didn't flinch. "Castor, you could never hurt me. Okay? Just like I would never hurt you. We care too much about each other to cause harm to one another," she softly told him.

"How can you be so sure?"

"It's you and me against the world, remember? Whatever happens, we stick together, no matter what," she gently reminded him as Castor turned to see Aliya give the knight a reassuring smile of her own. "After all, we weirdos got to stick together," she continued as he now chuckled.

"That's true," Castor admitted as she smiled softly. "Okay, then I'll stay, but I want you to promise that you'll let me know when I'm going too far, alright? You mean a lot to me too and the last thing I want to do is hurt you or bring your family distress," the knight continued as she nodded.

"Got it."

"Well... this has been fun, but I should probably start heading back home before Jax, Lily, my parents and Aunt Stormy start freaking out," Aliya softly said, preparing to leave when the knight briefly stopped her.

"Hang on. I'll just teleport you back," Castor insisted as Aliya raised her eyebrow. Then as he pointed at the starry night, she realized it was too late for her to walk on her own, so she simply nodded.

"Okay."

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

Meanwhile inside the house, Jaxon and Lillian were peeking through the window as their parents and aunt looked at the two. From what the two could see, Castor was talking to their sister.

"What are you doing?" the three softly asked as the two siblings merely looked at each other before grinning. "Watching the knight take his shot," the two casually answered as Amara smugly eyed her lovers.

"I believe I am now owed my payment in the form of being chore-free for the next three months," she said as Issac and Stormy laughed from her response. "Ah, not so fast now, Mara," Stormy chimed in with a grin.

"We would just like to point out he hasn't actually kissed her," Issac chimed in, which Jaxon and Lillian overheard. "Are you three making bets?" the two affectionately asked as Issac eyed his lovers.

"We want in!"

Now involved in the bet, the five were now involved in their own competition to see who would come out on top.

As Issac and Lillian went to take toward the rooftop to string together a love melody (while trying to find a spot where they couldn't be spotted), Amara and Stormy were accompanied by Jaxon as the three leaned against the from door, careful not to give themselves away.

"Open your eyes."

As Aliya opened her eyes, she quietly gasped at the knight's state as his hair slightly became undone. But in the end, he still managed to present a bouquet of pink roses before Castor awkwardly chuckled.

"I know you said this wasn't a date, but I couldn't go without giving you something," he insisted as her eyes softened. "I love them, but I don't have anything to give you," she awkwardly admitted. "I'm sorry. I um should have thought this through..." she follow up as Castor chuckled.

"Trust me. You are more than enough," Castor truthfully told her, lightly kissing her left cheek as Aliya's eyes softly widened. "You're too sweet," she playfully teased the knight, who smiled fondly at her words.

"I do think I owe you something else though," he continued as Aliya shook her head, now laughing. "I highly doubt it," she insisted, only to slow down when the knight began to pull her in. "Oh," the faerie found herself saying and in spite of her beating heart, she tried to tell herself to stop.

"He's pulling her in," Jaxon excitedly said as Stormy quickly covered their mouth as she was now invested in seeing what would happen. "Nice save," Amara whispered as the mind seer grinned in Amara's direction. "Thanks," Stormy softly whispered back to her lover, a smile forming.

"Cas, what are you doing?" Aliya softly whispered, her hair briefly glowing as the knight brushed her hair back. "Do you trust me?" Castor softly asked as Aliya blinked. "Yes," she slowly said, the two becoming closer. "I need you to trust me then," he said as the two began leaning in.

"Cas..."

"Lia..."

"He's going for it!" Lillian exclaimed as Issac ran to cover her mouth. However, it was far too late as Aliya and Castor looked over in their direction. "Hey," Aliya chimed in, waving as Lillian and Issac awkwardly waved before retrieving their instruments and left. Glancing over, Aliya and Castor saw Amara, Stormy and Jaxon scrambling back inside the house as the three closed the door.

Staring at each other, Aliya and Castor awkwardly chuckled amongst themselves as the two shook their heads.

"If I were you, I would avoid coming back until you want to be relentlessly teased by my entire household," Aliya gently advised as the knight chuckled. "Please, I'm not going anywhere," Castor truthfully but teasingly told her as she chuckled. "Don't say I didn't warn you," she cheekily responded.

"Buena noches, Cas," Aliya softly told the knight as she hugged him, careful not to ruin the flowers. When the two pulled away, she smiled softly in his direction as she ran to the door, flashed him another smile and entered inside. As Castor saw Aliya go inside, he softly waved to the girl as the door closed from behind her.

"Buena noches, mi amor."