Hope kept her eyes on Thorn as she got back in at eye level with the man once Candy had left the room. " You will treat that girl with respect and kindness she had been through hell and back because of you a lot of us had. If it wasn't for her you'd be dead now. You remember the lavender haired girl with gold eyes you beheaded in the square? " Hope asked her voice full of malice as she glared at Thorn. " I do, I know every person you have killed and every person your Queen has killed. I know their names their families and their stories. That girl was my little sister just like the others where my fathers and mothers here. This one human girl is your only saving grace what I just did was nothing to what I can do. Your Queen isn't the only Royal blood here with magical powers. The King has lied to you and her. He has made your Queen believe she is immortal but just like you she is mortal and can be hurt. Now from this time forward you will obey this girl and protect her with your life not because you have to but because if you don't make her think you want to be by her side I'll do things to you that will make your ex Queen look tame. Look into my eyes and see if I'm lying to you boy." She said as she leaned into Thorns face. She could see the fear clear in his face as she stood up and looked to Tony. " He'll be no more issue to us. " She said as she headed off to the kitchen.

Hope started cleaning the kitchen and got some food started for the lot of them. She walked to the basement where she found bottles of ale and grabbed a few bringing them up for the others if they wanted. She herself open one and coughed as she looked at it. " Lord what did this man make it out of. "She said finding it very strong. She put her bottle down as she chose to have water instead.

Heath smiled as he looked to Ping. " Thank you and I would like that honestly. Tell me what weapons I should forge for you? I'm just about threw with this sword. But I believe you should finish it off. Finishing it is the easy part. If I remember my history correct our Tony was deadly with sword and arrows. He was a fine hunts man. I can make a bow next if need be. I'm not sure what other weapons you would like me to make. " He frowned hearing what Ping said and nodded slowly. " It's hard to accept and even harder to go on. Some people forget that and sometimes we need reminders to get off our rears and live. I am sorry for your lose but I was always told you should honor them by the deeds you do in your life. You can think Prince Noble himself for that. I pick on Lance but I learn a lot from him. He was the one that helped me to stand up again after what happen in our home. Lance said that we should honor them by our deeds and work hard to make the proud of us. So I believe that all your loved ones will be proud of you for getting up and working hard today. As for Lilly hope isn't lost yet. I have faith you can save her. " Heath said as he smiled at Ping and patted him on the shoulder then handed him his hammer and the last part of the sword to put together. " Alright now it's your turn. Finish the sword. " He said and smiled.

Daphne managed to take a nice shower and put on her clothes again since that was all she had at the moment. Drying her hair, she walked back down to the living room and looked at Thorn before frowning and walking over to sit beside Tony. She didn't want to make Thorn uncomfortable. Noticing the food, she smiled and grabbed herself a plate. "Is Ping still outside?" she asked Tony. "Yeah, I think he said he was going to be making weapons to be prepared." he said to her and looked at her wound before opening the small box and starting to wrap a bandage around it. "There, all better." he said to her and smiled as he let her eat. Today seemed like it would be a pretty peaceful day, he hoped he wasn't wrong.

"We can start as soon as we finish with this." Lagordir promised with a smile. It was going to be fun to bond with his son over something they both enjoyed. "Well I was thinking a sword for Tony." Lagordir started and looked over at Heath. "Tony is good with a bow and arrow too?" he asked. He would have never guessed. "I'm a bow and arrows guy, but I could always try a blade of sorts too. Daphne isn't a fighter, she's our healer and you already have a weapon but it would be good to reinforce it. Make it stronger." he explained and nodded after hearing what he had to say about the dead. "That is very true. One should always remember the fallen despite having a negative relationship with them. No matter how cruel a person seemed, there is always something good about them if you look hard enough." he said, referring to his biological parents. "Oh I want to bring her back and I'm not giving up until we get her back." Thanks, it's reassuring to know someone believes in me." he said quietly with a smile on his face. He chuckled softly as he took the hammer and the last sword part then looked at the sword in front of him. "Alright, I'll try my best." he said and envisioned the sword in his head then got to work on carefully putting the sword together. He knew this would be a very strong sword considering his son made it.

Heath laughed as he smiled at Ping." You've got this." He said as he adjusted the prices and helped Ping finish the sword. " Just word of advice Hope get's scary when you make her mad. I made that mistake once. I really thought she was going to rip my soul out. She can be very intense. I'd take the King any day over her on a bad day." He said being honest and he smiled and looked at his hammer. " You know that isn't a bad idea honestly. I'm sure together we could figure out how to make it better. So should we make another sword next?" He said as he watched Ping. " There is just one thing you have to do before you can say the sword is through and dip it in the water to finish it. You have to name it. It's your rules." He said as he laughed and grinned.

Hope handed Tony a plate of food and one of the bottle of Ale. " Becareful it's strong." She said as she walked over to Thorn eyeing him as she held out the plate of food for him. She pointed at him the spoon she used to stir the food with. " You only get to eat out here because your hurt. As soon as your better you eat at the table with the rest of us. You will use manners and you will pull out Candy's seat and push it in for her. " She said as she handed the plate to him. " What would you like to drink? I'm sorry but no Ale for you unless the doctor clears it. "She said as she walked to the kitchen standing in the door way looking to Candy. " Candy what drink would be best for him? " Hope asked as she looked to Tony. " Do you think I should take those boy's some food? I don't think those two are going to be in anytime soon. I'm sure they are working hard. I have you two feed and the one in there, oh I'm missing three. She said as she started to curse. " I swear I never wished for children. I was very specific in my wish. I asked for a husband and four dogs. Not four kids who aren't even mine. " She said as she shook her head.

Thorn just nodded as he waited he seen enough of her bad side to know he had met his match. He wondered who she was. He could tell she was of the royal lines but he couldn't place her. Something was off about her. He looked to the plate of food as he closed his eyes smelling it. He slowly open his eyes as he remembered something he knew that smell he stared at him in wonder trying to remember what he knew it for. He frowned not able to remember knowing that he knew that smell.

Lagordir smiled as Heath helped him finish the sword off. "Is she really?" he asked and chuckled. "Well thank-you for the heads up. Don't worry, I'm not going to let her rip your soul out." he said and raised an eyebrow. "From a level of one to ten, how scary exactly is she though? Is she really that scary?" he asked Heath curiously. "Yes, reinforcing your weapon will be very helpful. Another sword and maybe some daggers would be a good idea. Also more arrows in case we run out." Ping suggested. He had gotten ready to dip the sword in the water but stopped when he heard Heath speak of a rule his future self had apparently thought of. "Name it?" he repeated and chuckled. "Well then this will be interesting." he admitted. "Alright, what shall I name you?" he asked the sword. "Anduril..." he said quietly.

Daphne got herself some water instead and watched as Tony took a sip of the strong ale. "Is it bad?" she asked after sniffing it. Tony only shook his head and enjoyed his meal, obviously enjoying the peaceful day. Daphne smiled and took a bite of her food, she wished everyone was here to eat but there really wasn't anything they could do. She didn't think so anyway. Swallowing, she looked at Hope and smiled. "I would suggest he drink some water for now until he gets better." Daphne answered honestly.

Tony looked up front eating and swallowed as he listened to Hope. "Yes I do. I'm sure they're hungry, just too busy working to bother coming inside to eat. Although you could also give them the choice of eating inside or outside." Tony informed honestly and smiled at her.

Heath laughed as he paused and thought about Hope. " Ten honestly Ten. She is very scary when someone makes her go on the war path." He said as he smiled and looked at the sword." That's a fine name for it." He said as he started another peice of metal his time just heating it for Ping before putting it on the anvil." Alright this one you do. I 'll keep it heated till your done." He said as he smiled. "My hammer is Ashakiran it means ray of hope. " He said as he went and gathered the other parts for the new sword to help Ping. He returned with them and placed them near the anvil so when Ping was ready they where already there. "You do fine work and your father was amazing I haven't seen such work in a long time." He said looking at the pieces he had found around the shop. It's hard to image that one person could cause so much pain just one choice could effect so many people. It's a sobering thought." he said as he thought about the King and the people here who had died because of him.

Hope nodded as she smiled looking to Tony. " I agree. " She said as she fixed Thorn some water and took it to him still eyeing him letting him know she meant what she said. She walked to the front door and unlocked it as she walked out. She walked to the building where Ping and Heath where as she watched them for a little while enjoying seeing how well they seemed to work together. " Excuse me for a moment but I have warm food inside. I can bring you some out here or you can eat inside. However either way you have to eat. You can't finish this work without something to eat in your bellys. " Hope said as she smiled softly and looked to Ping. " It looks like you two are making some fine weapons. I did take a few bottles of ale from the basement I hope that was ok. I should have asked. However after dealing with the headache I have that that annoying elf on the couch I just wanted something to help relax me. " She said softly.

Tony watched her leave and then looked over at Daphne. "Hey, are you okay with all of this?" he asked her. Daphne nodded. "Yes I am. I know he doesn't know who I am and even though it is depressing to have him here with us and have him see us as strangers, I'm okay with that because at lease I know he's safe right here." Daphne answered. "Yes, well it's nice to have a familiar face around here. I like the children and lady hope but we don't really know them." Tony commented. Daphne nodded sadly and peaked out at the kitchen to look at Thorn before turning her attention back to her brother. "I'm okay, really." she whispered and continued eating beside her brother.

"Women are always scary when they're angry." Lagordir noted softly. Looking at the metal in front of him, he smiled as he listened to Heath. "Very nice name you chose for it. You've got quite an imagination." he said honestly. "Thank-you. My father...my adoptive father always made impressive things. I always said to myself that I wanted to be like him one day." Lagordir started as he worked on making a sword. "Ever since I was a small child, I would come over to watch him work and he would give me gems. I guess it was his way of telling me to leave. I always came back though, I always wanted to learn and we started talking. One thing led to another and soon he was teaching me how to do things. I of course didn't do anything, I just listened and watched. My real parents would have killed me if I told them what I was really doing." he muttered softly. "Yes I know what you mean, let's just hope no more people have to die. We need to put an end to this madness." Lagordir agreed with a nod of his head as he continued working. He looked up when he heard Hope's voice. "We'll eat inside, then we can get back to work." he answered and smiled softly. "Yes, well we're both doing our best to stock up on weapons for when we need them, and it's okay. I didn't even know my father had ale down there, but I guess that explains where he would get it from during dinner." he answered and looked at Heath. "Come on, we need to eat because this is going to be a long day." he suggested.

Hope nodded as she smiled hearing them. " If that is the case I will try and get some more sleep. " She said as she turned and left Heath and Ping. She headed into the house as she took a seat on the window seat falling asleep there while sitting up. Hope was tired and she worried about Lance and Opal but right now she needed sleep more than anything. She wasn't going to be any use to anyone if she didn't get her sleep.

Heath smiled as he nodded. "Thank you and you are really good at this. I will be happy to help you. I wonder what Hope cooked. Her cooking was really good back home. Not as good as....you know we should just go find out." He said not wanting to mention his mother around Ping. He could see that Ping was struggling. He looked around as he found more parts for daggers and a few more swords. He found other parts for bows and arrows. He sighed thought wishing it was a dream. He felt lucky to get this time with Ping but he worried if they would win this battle. "You know Opal isn't that bad. She is really good with a bow. In fact she's one of the best besides Lady Hope. " He said trying to be positive as he hoped she wasn't out getting herself in trouble. " If Lance isn't here then he must be out with Opal. I just hope those two don't get in trouble." He said and sighed shaking his head.


Thorn stared at the strange human girl as he felt as if he knew her. He didn't understand why. He looked around the house feeling as if he knew this place the pictures felt familiar. Everything here felt strangely familiar. He stopped his eating as he saw the other elf women appear in the house again. He watched her as she walked to the window seat and watched her fall asleep. He looked her over something about her was familiar. He knew her somehow and knew she really kind and this who display was nothing but and attempt to scare him. He frowned as he slowly got up ignoring the pain putting his food down tacking a pillow and walked over to the window seat placing her head on it and putting the cover from the couch around the sleeping women. As he grunted through the pain of moving. He managed to get back to his spot as he feel on the couch. He closed his eyes as the pain intensified.


Opal stood just outside the forgotten city she could feel that Lilly wasn't there nor was the King. She was about to walk in when she felt someone grab her shoulder suddenly. She was swung around as she saw Lance standing there looking very angry and worried at the same time. She stared at him and put her hand over his mouth to stop him from talking. " It's no use to try and talk with the others. I was making myself useful. The forge here has metals and materials that can be made into very powerful weapons. " She said as she smiled at him and leaned up kissing his cheek then removed her hand from his mouth as she took his hand and pulled him through the force filed with her. She lead the way to the forge and the pair picked up as many of the rare materials as they could. Opal picked up several spell books witch made Lance. The pair quickly left before they could be detected. Opal used her magic to transport them to city.

Opal lead the way to Pings house. She walked to where she felt Heath as she dropped the pile of rare materials on the floor of the shop. She looked to Lance who did the same as she smiled proud of herself. " I thought you could use these. I got them from the forgotten city right under the Kings nose. I also picked up some of the foraging books for you both. Some of these weapons are more advanced than even the ones we have currently. However it's going to take all three of us to make these. Ping is good at details, Heath you need to use your magic to form some of the strange and complex shapes. And I'll use magic to enchant them. Before you object it's light magic. I also got took a few stone from the city. It's a good thing the Lilly here hadn't learned what the stones are yet. Ping do you think you can fashion one stone into a necklace or item for Lady Candy to wear? And can you do the same for Tony? These stones will allow them to use magic. I also got one for you. If your alright with it I'll awaken your magic with it. I have a few others but I thought you could hold them for Lilly when we save her. I want to make her a special staff that in the book I brought back for forging. " Opal said as she smiled.

Lance followed Lilly that's all he could do with her most of the time. Though he did normally come to her recuse most of the time too. He was impressed she was handling things so well. He put his bag of things down beside hers then added four more stuffed to the gills of things they had brought back. He looked over at Opal and wondered if she was going to tell them about the spell books she had taken from the city. " Lilly wants to use the stones to teach Candy and Tony from the spell books she found. However some of the spells aren't exactly or healing. I don't believe Candy nor Tony would wish to use them. I'm not to comfortable with you even having those books. " Lance said frowning at Opal. " Not all the books and spells are bad but Opal be careful. I don't want you getting in over your head. I can't save you from magic. " He said almost pleading with her.

Lagordir wondered why Heath had stopped in mid sentence but guessed it wasn't important. Nodding, he followed him inside and smiled. "I'm sure Opal is safe. If Lance is with her I trust he will keep her out of trouble." Lagordir explained honestly. He knew Lance liked Opal so he was sure he'd keep her safe. Walking into the kitchen, he took a seat in the chair he usually sat in and sighed softly as he started to eat his food in silence, just trying to stay positive. He enjoyed his food until he heard Lilly's name mentioned. He couldn't just leave though, he was trying to be strong. Lagordir missed her, and he was sure it was obvious since he would noticeably change at the mention of her name. It was just depressing to talk about her when she wasn't even there. Looking at Daphne as she left to sit by Thorn, he smiled. At least she still had him. Hearing Opal, he looked over at her and nodded. "Sure thing, I'll try my best." He answered quietly and continued eating.

Tony watched his sister leave to be with Thorn and smiled before turning his attention back to his food. Occasionally he would look over at both Daphne and at Ping. He noticed the hurt look on Ping's face and he hoped he wasn't upset at Opal for mentioning Lilly's name. He knew that Lilly would come back though, Ping didn't look like the type of person that would give up easily. He looked stubborn actually and that was both good and bad. He continued eating his food quietly, hoping that the peace wasn't destroyed within the house again.

Seeing Thorn move from the couch, Daphne quickly stood and walked over to where he now sat on the couch once again. "Sir Pharom, do you feel any pain again?" She asked politely. "If you are feeling any pain, please tell me so that I can take care of it." She explained softly. She didn't want to, knowing he probably wouldn't appreciate it but she was curious. Reaching out, Daphne gently ran her fingers through his hair soothingly before grabbing her box of medical supplies and waiting for his answer.

Heath saw Pings face as he looked to Opal. " Why don't you come eat. " He said as he walked to the kitchen with her he fixed her a bowl and sat it at the table and fixed himself a bowl and sat down as he started to eat. He was happy to see she felt better. Though he paused and thought about what Opal had brought back. "Opal.....where did you get those things again?" He said very calmly looking at her. " You went to the other Kingdom and transported yourself back here didn't you." He said eyeing his sister who was eating and ignoring him. " You could have been killed. " He said as he sighed. " At lest Lance was with you. You did a good thing so I can't be to mad at you. " He said as he chuckled and shook his head starting to eat his meal.

Opal didn't say anything as she followed Heath. She sat at the table and ate not really talking on the subject of where she got the things. She knew Heath was going to have a long speech in privet along with scolding. However she had no intent of having time for it. Opal had saw the sadness in Pings eye she could see that mentioning Lilly hurt him but she didn't understand why.

Lance watched Candy with Thorn. He walked over as he bent down and offered to help Candy if she wanted. He stared at Thorn as he smiled slightly. "You know Candy is one of the best around your lucky to have her." He said softly as he watched Thorn. He could that The Queen's spell was weakling around him. He could see that Thorn's memories where trying to surface. He smiled as he looked to Candy and spoke softly." Don't give up hope. I'm sure it's hard but I think you might be closer than you know.' He said and smiled at her warmly.

Thorn stared at Candy as he looked at her. He froze as he felt her touch his hair it sent shivers through him. He stared at her in wonder as he looked to the young man that appeared. He watched the young man curious about him. " It's ok don't worry about me. A little pain makes you stronger." He said as he looked to the young man. " Your well trained almost too well. None of the people here where trained as well as you other than the elite guard. You don't walk like one of them and you don't act like any from around here. Your here to kill the King aren't you? " Thorn asked as he looked to Hope. " The women there isn't from here she uses strange magic and is trained very well. She almost managed to kill the King. I don't particularly like the wicked man. However the Queen seems to like him. He is very odd just like you and her. And the others that make your group. " Thorn said as he looked to Candy. " I'm not the one you should worry about. The King will force the Queen to use her magic and come down hard on all of you here. You better pray she shows mercy to you."

"There is no need to be upset. Let's just be glad she didn't die." Lagordir said plainly. Finishing his meal, he excused himself and took his dishes to te sink where he washed them and then walked upstairs to his room. Looking through his things, he smiled when he found her photo and sighed softly. "I have no idea where you are, but I'm bringing you back. I made a promise to our children and I'm not a fan of breaking promises Lilly." He said softly. Lagordir put the photo away and walked back down the stairs. "I'll be outside, working." He explained and gathered the stones and metals to work on the orders Opal had placed. Once outside, he sat down and started to work on some items.

Daphne smiled at Lance, "I'm not giving up. Your father is in there somewhere and he'll come back when he's ready to come back. Until then, all we can do is wait and care for him like a friend." Daphne answered softly and looked at Thorn. "Perhaps you are right, but if you're always feeling pain, you'll never get better. My job is to make you feel better sir Pharom." She explained softly.

Heath finished his meal and washed his dishes he head outside to help Ping. He pulled out the books Opal had taken from the forge. He left the magic ones alone not wishing to deal with them. He flipped through the pages as he read about the weapons. " humm...tricky." He said as he sighed and hung his head." I'm not fond of magic even my own. But Opal is right these weapons are well beyond the ones we can make. I hope your up for the task. I can shape the weapons but I need you to set the stones and lastly we will need Opal to enchant them. It looks like Opal found the enchanted metal we need for each weapon. If I didn't know better I'd say she for saw this. She is strange in her ways sometimes. " He said as he walked around pulling each piece of material they needed for each and every weapon and request Opal had suggested.

Once he had everything laid out he walked over to the first sword to be made. The sword would be able to cut any magical attack and would come at it's masters call. It would be indestructible and immune to dark magic. He was sure this was for Lance. It was called the Holly Knights blade. The blade could more into duel swords or a powerful lance. Heath stared at the enchanted metals as he held out both his hand he started to used his own magic with metals as the metals started to morph and transform into the shape from the book. It took him longer because of his missing hand. He needed two to do it correctly so he was being very careful to do it right even if it took longer with one. He was pouring sweat from the amount of concentration it was taking and physical effort. He had made a promise to his mother to save his father and he was going to keep it. Besides if he could master this then in his time he could produce better weapons and truly become a great blacksmith like his father and grandfather.

Opal finished her meal and washed her dishes. She walked over to where Tony was as she handed him a book. "Here I found this for you. Once the others have the magic stones placed teaching you will be easier. Until them I think we should start with the basics. This is the book of Water and Sky. You have the aura of a water and Sky or that is what it appears. Water is good a healing, Candy has a strong aura for it. Sky is good for fighting and transportation. Water can also be used to protect. I can't teach you natural magic like making a cup appear out of thin air. But I can teach you how to tap into the elemental magic you do have. The stone will help you control your magic but for now I can teach you how to summon the wind, storms, how to make water into shapes and turn it into it's different forms. I can teach you how to heal. I would like to teach Lady Candy but I know that Mr. Thorn comes first." She said as she smiled warmly at him.


Lance smiled at Candy and nodded. " That's the spirit." He said as he looked to Thorn and grinned." Don't worry we all can handle our own. And Lady Candy is right. You need to let her take care of you." He said as he turned and saw Opal with Tony. " Opal right now may not be the right time to teach them. Wait for the stones to be done. However if you want to help why don't you heal him and show Lady Candy how to use water to do so if she allows it. " He said looking at Opal knowing she just wanted to help the others. Lance looked around as something hit him. " Where Ashia? " He asked not sensing her anymore.

Thorn looked to Candy as he nodded and sighed. " Fine you win. " He said as he looked over at Tony and Opal. He looked at the young girl as he saw a stunning resemblance to his Queen. He was surprised he hadn't seen it before. " Heaven's words you look just like her. " He said his eyes transfixed on Opal. He looked to the young man hearing the name Ashia and then looked to Opal again. " So your the one the King wants. My Queen will be furious when she finds that there is another her. " He said as he thought about the girl he had seen in the dungeon locked in the magic bubble the King had captured. " Ashia the beautiful half elf girl with long brown hair and endowed with pink aura and magic? " Thorn asked as he tried not to laugh holding his side from laughing slightly. " She is in the King's dungeon. He was using her magic the entire time to lead people here. " Thorn said as he looked at Lance's face and Opal. " Let me guess you are the people he was leading here. That girls has been here since he has. I really don't want to be here. My Queen is in danger that snake I don't trust him. I don't believe it's her he really wants. I believe he has something planned for that one over there. I honestly believe he plans on Killing my Queen for some dark plan of his. " Thorn said frowning as he sat there. " I wont kill or attack any of you but I have every intent of finding my Queen and saving her from that snake. I honestly believe that's why he tricked me into coming. He knew I had no chance against you. " Thorn said as her frowned.

Lagordir focused on making the necklaces for Tony and Daphne, and found himself smiling. He loved making things for other people. Looking over at Heath, he nodded. "I'm always up for the task, I'm sure we'll do just fine. It might be hard, but it's not impossible." Lagordir explained and continued working on the necklaces for both of his friends. He made sure that they were perfect before letting them cool off in the water. "I don't like that she put herself in danger for this, but I'm glad Lance ended up catching up with her. It makes me feel just a little bit better." He admitted and smiled softly.

Lagordir noticed how much of a hard time his son was having and frowned, "Hey, don't strain yourself. If you need to take a break go ahead." He said. He wasn't being mean, he just didn't want his son passing out for working too hard. He knew his father would have said the same thing if he were here. Smithing was a hard thing to do, many people thought it was just hitting things with a hammer but they never took into consideration things like the heat, concentration, the item being worked on, and the time spent on each item to get it done perfectly. It was both physically and mentally exhausting.


Tony looked at the book, then at Opal as she spoke while he finished up his food. She was going to teach him magic? Did he want to learn magic? Well he wasn't sure, but if it would help then he'd do his best to learn. "So you think that I have what it takes to learn some magic?" Tony asked her. He wasn't even aware that he could learn any sort of magic, he wasn't a healer like his sister or a fighter. Even so, Tony was actually excited and looking forward to learning different things he could do with magic.

Daphne smiled warmly at Thorn and listened to him. So Lilly had Aisha? Daphne worked on replacing the bandages she had wrapped in him while listening to what he was saying. "We all want to save her Sir Pharom, and we will. We just have to make sure that we are prepared to fight him." She said simply. She was happy to know he wouldn't fight them, but now she was worried about Aisha, was she okay? Was she hurt? She now had another reason to help get rid of the king, she just hoped that they weren't too late.

Lance placed his hand on Candy's shoulder as he gave her a warm smiled. " Don't worry about Aisha she is strong and besides she is smart like her mother." He said to her as he looked to Thorn. " You have your hands full here. If you don't mind I'm going to go see if I can help Ping and Heath. They may need some extra help." He said as he turned looking at Opal. " Opal don't push them to hard. Remember they are new to all of this. Pretend it's me your teaching again." He said to her as he smiled fondly at her and smiled seeing her softly blush. He turned as he headed out to where Ping and Heath where.


" Sorry for barging in unannounced." Lance said as he entered the shop where Heath and Ping where at work. He walked over and helped Heath as he smiled at him. " I figured you could use some help." He said as he looked at Heath. " You've never been good at asking for it." He said to his friend with a smile.

Heath looked up as he smiled seeing Lance there and laughed as he heard him. " You do know me far better than I would like. Thank you though for everything. Thank you for going with Opal. I swear she is going to be the death of us. She is sweet but she is just like......." He said as he paused and looked at the book. " You know you want to help me set the parts our like these diagrams show? " He said quickly as he worked with Lance and smiled when they where done. "Wow we got done really fast. " He said impressed.

Thorn looked at Candy as he looked over at the strange young girl with the other man. He looked down at his wounds honestly impressed with her. " You are better than the healers we have. Strange for you to be so gifted." He said as he watched her feeling something strange as he did so. He wanted to hate her and the others here but he couldn't. For some reason he found himself mesmerized by her.

Daphne smiled at what Lance said and nodded, "You're right, she'll be okay." she said and nodded. "Sounds good." she agreed and turned her attention back to Thorn who was watching her carefully it seemed. "Thank-you sir Pharom. I take practicing this skill very seriously." she replied honestly. Of course he wouldn't remember that he was her first 'patient' in a way. He was the one always helping her with her studies for the exams. It was because of him that she had been able to get to where she was now as a nurse. "Are you feeling alright? Do you need anything?" she asked softly.

Lagordir continued doing what he was doing but when he had finished with the orders that Opal had placed, he looked over at Heath and Lance and smiled. "Thanks for the help, we have various things to make so I think we'll need all the help we can get." he admitted. Hearing what Heath said, Ping smiled sadly and decided to keep busy by making more swords since he was starting to learn. It was depressing that he was never able to learn this from his father, but his father would be proud of him for not giving up on doing what he loved. He was going to perfect everything there was about smithing and he wasn't going to rest until he did.

Thorn shook his head for no. ' I am fine you should rest." He suggested knowing she looked a little tired. " It's not like I'm going anywhere any time soon. I had a number done on me." He said looking around for the ones that had did it. " They are good kids." He said finally trying to make her feel better not understanding why he felt the need to do so.

Heath looked at Ping as he walked over and started to help him. " Your doing awesome put if you did a smaller hammer here it will form better and you'll get a better fusing of the metal." He said pointing out a section on the hilt. " You really are amazing at this. " He said being honest as he smiled.

Daphne smoothed out her dress and smiled. "I'll try to get some rest then." she answered honestly. "I'm sorry they hurt you, I guess it had to be done though but I'm glad that you'll be feeling all better soon I promise. You're in greats hand." she said and giggled. When Thorn mentioned the kids, she felt the tears coming and smiled weakly. They're our kids Thorn. Of course you don't know that and I'm not going to tell you, you wouldn't believe me if I told you anyway. she thought to herself and fanned her eyes to keep the tears from coming. "Sorry...they are wonderful kids..." she whispered quietly.

"A smaller hammer?" he repeated and looked at where he was pointing. "So if I were to make a smaller hammer, it would help me make this?" he asked his son. Lagordir smiled warmly, "Thank-you Heath. I try my best. I guess all those years of devotion towards smithery really came in handy even though my schooldays were cut short." he said and laughed. His school grades had started going down slowly because he would always spend more time learning about smithing instead of doing homework.

Heath laughed as he looked to Ping. " It's ok mother wouldn't let me get away with smiting instead of schooling. She told me that when you where with her you did do schooling and she insured that you learned even if you didn't know you where learning. " He said as he smirked thinking about his parents and their playful fights over things. " Of course you had your own say and the two of you ended up chasing each other around the castle and ended up in a tickle fight and you both ended up winning. Mom made me do schooling every other day and Smithing a full day on the days I wasn't schooling." He said as looked to Ping. " Besides your young and you still have you whole life a head of you to learn. " He said being honest as he looked up feeling the air grow cold. He stopped what he was doing and before he could say a word something massive hit the barrier Opal had put up. It shook the entire city. Heath grabbed Pin and pined him to the ground under him as he summoned metal around them making a shield. When the shaking had stopped he let the shield down and helped ping up returning the metal to it's normal form. He bolted along with Lance outside to see what had caused the shaking.

Opal snapped her head towards the east of the city as she suddenly bolted for the front door. She left the door wide open as she stared up at a large dragon along with a army. She felt fear as she stared up at the great beast. The beast looked angry. She knew that the barrier she made wasn't going to just fall down. Apparently the massive beast had just figured it out. The beast locked eyes on her as it growled out in anger.

Hope woke up from the shaking and manged to land on her feet being shook right out of the window seal. She followed after Opal and her mouth fell open seeing the great beast. " Oh my we are in trouble. " She said as she looked to Opal. " I know your strong but please tell me that barrier can withstand attacks from that thing. I swear I'm not allowed to get sleep here." She said looking up at the beast. " We need to take out that beast and keep the people here safe. We need to do it without the originals. " She said as she looked seeing Lance and Heath. " Gear up it's time boys!" She said as she looked to Opal. " Get your bow.

Lagordir laughed softly and looked at Heath. "Did she really do that?" he asked and nodded. "Well that's good that your mother did that. School is important, and smithing will always be there but school isn't forever you know." he said to his son. Well he had to agree with his son, he did learn when he was with Lily, she was always so smart, it was one of the many things he loved about her. He frowned slightly as he thought of her beautiful smile and how she looked in that dress for the party. His parents adored her, his mother always talked about her when she wasn't at his house, she always talked about how sweet she was. His mother was right, Lily was an angel and now she was lost within herself. So she and him got into tickle fights? Well now he knew what to look forward to, if he ever got her back of course. Before he could say anything else, he felt the ground shake violently and then he was on the floor, his son protecting him. After being helped back up, Ping watched Heath and Lance run off. Quickly, he ran into the house to check on the others.

Tony was surprised when he felt the earth shake and once it stopped, he made his way to where Daphne was kneeling on the floor and Thorn was still on the couch but he could tell his sister was frightened. "Hey, don't be scared, we'll be okay." he said to her and smiled reassuringly at her. "W-what was that?" Daphne asked and looked at him. "I don't know, but we'll be okay. We aren't leaving from here anymore, we can't keep running." Tony said and looked up when Ping ran into the house. "We're okay, are you?" he asked Ping. "Y-yeah I'm fine, just a little shooken up as I'm sure we all are." Ping answered.

Opal waved her hand as Heath, Lance, and Hope along with herself appeared fully ready for battle. She looked over at Hope and saw the fire in the women's eyes . She knew that Hope had endured enough here. She could see that Hope was losing hope and knew that they had to finish this. She looked over at the house knowing it had to be done. She frowned as she looked inside at the other. " I'm sorry please forgive me." She said as she put up another barrier locking them in the house. She did so under Hope's order. Hope was her commander here and leader. Opal followed Hopes lead as they leaped from the city. The barrier never broke nor cracked.

Opal pulled out her bow as she took aim along with Lady Hope. The pair managed to send lethal shots to the dragons skull. They wait for it's mouth to open and both shot arrows up into the soft part of the mouth just under the brain. Their arrows where enchanted with magic only adding to their lethal power.


Lilly Stood on the other side of the barrier she summoned her power and manage to break through the barrier. She found what she was looking for the second barrier was around it told her everything she needed to know. She threw her hands forward as the barrier shattered she laughed staring in at Ping and the others. However before she could attack or move she was hit by a powerful attack. She screamed out as she hit the ground flying.

Opal appeared as she stood in front of the house acting as guard. She stared at the women not seeing her mother she saw the monster that was once her sister. "Your not Lily give her back her body! I wont let you hurt them any more. " She said knowing there was only one way to get Lilly back and save Ping. She turned her head as she looked at Ping. " Promise me that you'll dance. I always wanted to dance with you papa." She said as she turned in time as the wicked women ripped her heart from her. Opal however did the same taking out the dark heart that didn't belong. She smiled as the wicked women screamed dying as Opal crushed the dark heart. " Don't you know Kindness always wins? That's what my mother taught me." She said as she hit the ground looking at Lilly. " Your free now you don't have scream no more. Take care of them please." She said as she closed her eyes and burst into purple dust.

Hope screamed as she felt her heart breaking. "NO!!!" She screamed as she turned seeing the barrier's vanishing. She looked down at her arm band as the purple jewel in it shattered. Tears streamed down her face as Heath and Lance fought the last survivors of the attack not yet know what had just happen. Hope finally managed to stand as she put all her sadness into her attacks. She finished off the rest of the army with no help from the two boys. She then ran heading for the house. She hit the ground as she saw the purple dust starting to float upwards to the sky. " No...." She said as she looked seeing Lily. She moved to the young girl seeing that she was back to her normal self. Hope held tears in her eyes as she saw a purple flower in Lilly's necklace. She stared at it as it glowed full of hope and light. She watched as the glow moved through the necklace healing Lilly. She watched as Opal's staff suddenly turned into a ring for Lilly. Hope had tears steaming down her face as she watched jewel in it shatter letting her know Opal was really gone this was not a bad dream the little girl she had watched grow was gone. She held Lilly close as she finally picked her up and took her into the house placing her in Pings arms. She held some of the shards of Opal's jewel as she looked to Thorn. She walked over to him as she crushed them in her hand a purple dust falling over Thorn. Suddenly his appearance changed back to the Thorn that Candy knew as he fell into a deep sleep.

Lance watched Hope as he felt his heart shatter. He ran as fast as he could and hit the ground as he saw what was left of Opal. He had never thought she would leave him. He had always seen his life with her. He didn't know how to feel as he stared there in horror. Opal was his reason for getting up in the morning and the one person he could never imagine a life without. She hadn't asked for help she let herself be killed. She hadn't even said goodbye to him. He sat there as the sky starting to pore rain suddenly matching how he felt. He just sat there as Hope went inside with Lilly.

Heath hit the ground with Lance as he stared at the purple dust. This wasn't a trick Opal was gone. She had been braver than even he had. He felt many emotions as he stared down at the ground. He had many regrets when it came to Opal and many things he had wanted to fix when they got home. But there would be no going home for Opal. He couldn't move and he couldn't think as he stared at the dust that was starting to flow away in the rain. He was happy that Lilly was there but not sure if he was happy at the cost it took.

Lagordir and the others watched as Opal, Heath, Lance and Hope left to deal with the danger. Lagordir didn't feel it was fair, for them to just sit here and do nothing but there obviously was nothing that they could do. He took a deep breath and let it out as he sat down next to the couch and looked at his friends. They all had been through a lot in such a short amount of time but they managed to move on. At least they still had each other, that was important. "What are you making Ping?" Daphne had asked him. He was sure she was talking about in the smithery. "Heath is teaching me how to make a proper sword. I'm trying to learn to make weapons and I will teach him how to make the smaller things. We're helping each other, it's nice to have someone to talk to when you work." Lagordir answered with a smile. He looked up when he heard a laugh and widened his eyes when he saw Lilly. He knew it wasn't really her, even though it looked like her.

His eyes cut to Opal though and he frowned. "D-dance?" he asked and smiled. "Of course Opal, we can dance whenever you want." he said honestly but his smile vanished when he saw that Lilly ripped out his daughter's heart just as Opal did the same thing. "Opal!" he screamed and quickly ran out to where there was now only purple dust. "Opal?" he whispered and with trembling hands, tried to pick up the dust. "Opal!" he cried. "Opal come back, this isn't funny..."he said, his voice breaking at the last second.

Both Tony and Daphne watched in horror as the events unraveled in front of them. Daphne felt her heart break, watching Ping break down. She wished there was something she could to to cheer him up but the best thing anyone could do was give him some time to calm down. She watched Hope and smiled sadly seeing her old Thorn back and fast asleep on the couch. Carefully, she stood up and carefully lay him down properly on the couch and looked over at Ping. Tony also looked at Ping, feeling terrible as if it were his fault. It seemed like Ping was the one that suffered the most through all of this.

When it started to rain, he had to go back inside to keep Lilly from getting wet. He had Lilly back, but he had lost his daughter and that seemed like a very heavy price to pay. Lilly wouldn't have wanted this but he guessed he really had no choice or say on the matter. He knew that Opal did what she felt was the best thing to do, Ping felt horrible though, he didn't want to do anything right now, he honestly just wanted to sleep.

The weeks passed and nothing seemed the same. Hope tented to stay out on guard duty as she called it, Lance and Heather with her. Both Lilly and Thorn slept not waking. The King hadn't seen another attack and this worried Hope and the others. Finally Lilly stared to move. She slowly open her eyes as she wondered if she was dead or not. " Where am I? " She asked weakly as she looked around thinking she remembered the strange place. Her head was killing her. She held her head as she looked down at her necklace and suddenly the memories of that evil thing came back to her. She cried and shook as she remembered what it had done to the people she loved so much. She curled up in a corner of the room and cried. No one would believe it wasn't her doing. She had remembered screaming trying to fight the monster that the King had put in her. But it just slapped her back and locked her away in a dark place. A beautiful girl had appeared with the light and the monster had feared her just seeing her. She wondered what happen to the girl. She had a feeling it because of her she was free. Lilly sat there not sure if she could face anyone after what had happen. She was afraid as she lifted the shirt the monster had put on her afraid to see the monster's marks going up her entire right side. She sighed as she saw there where no longer any marks. However she was a mess mentally and her head was killing her.

Thorn slowly started to wake his head pounding as he looked at the strange clothing he was in. He couldn't remember what happen but he had a feeling something had. He looked around and found himself in Candy's room. "CANDY!!!!" He screamed out as he tried to get up having to use her bed for support finding that he was very weak and his head was spinning. He managed to stumble to the wall and use it to get to her door as he open it and started calling out for her CANDY where are you?"

As the weeks passed, everyone was silent. Everyone had changed somehow after the events that took place that one fateful day. Hope's actions replayed in his head over and over again. Lagordir didn't want to bother making things anymore, he just sat on the couch and would glance out the window every now and then just to make sure hope, Lance, and Heath were still there. Opal's loss affected every single one of them, he wasn't sure who was hurt more by the event but it didn't matter because everyone was hurting. Standing from his spot on the couch, he made sure not to step on Tony or Daphne who were sleeping on the floor as he made his way over to where Lilly was. He frowned when he saw she was crying and sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her in his arms. He didn't say anything, he just held her in hopes that it would help her relax. "You're okay now..." he whispered to her and wiped away her tears. "Please don't cry." Lagordir said quietly. He looked up when he heard Thorn calling out for Candy. Gently, he shook her until she woke. "Thorn's calling you." he informed.

As time passed, both Daphne and Tony remained worried about everyone else. The house was too quiet ever since Opal's death. Still, Daphne and Tony knew that the best thing they could do was give their friends some time to accept what happened and they would be there if anyone needed to talk or anything. Daphne and Tony currently lay on the floor after having fallen to sleep there while keeping an eye on everyone. Feeling something keep moving her, Daphne rubbed her eyes and looked at Ping who informed her that Thorn was calling for her. Smiling sadly, Daphne nodded and stood up. "I'm coming!" she called back after hearing Thorn herself. Quickly, she made her way up to her room and frowned when she saw him up and at her door. "You sir need to be resting!" she said seriously. "Go on, get back in bed." Daphne said and helped him get back on her bed. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked quietly.

Lilly tried to clam down as she felt arms around her. She then saw it was Ping as sweet as ever. She tried her best not to cry knowing it wasn't helping anyone. " I-I'm so sorry." She said as tears streamed from her face at their own will. " I promise it wasn't my doing. I tried to fight the thing that man put in me." She said as she thought about the horror the thing in her had done. " I tried to fight it. Why? Why did it do such things? " She said as she shook still from fear and stress. "I thought you where never going to talk to me again. The thing never listen to me. "


Thorn wrapped his arms around Candy as he held her. He hugged her tightly not letting her go. He just held for a while as he finally got the courage to ask what had happen. " I have no memory of anything other than the night of your coronation. But from the mood I feel and the strange attire I'm in I have a feeling something did happen and something very bad. I'm sorry if I hurt you. I feel like I was put under a strong spell. I feel weak and my head is slightly hurting." He said as he smiled down at her and kissed her forehead. "Your still my Candy and will always be My Candy."

Tony woke up a few minutes later and walked over to the kitchen so he wouldn't disturb anyone. He was sure people were hungry though and he was going to make them something. What could he make though? Quickly, he ran up to his parents' room and opened the closet. Taking a box, he ran back down to the kitchen and frowned as he set the box on the table and opened it up. It was filled with his mother's recipes. Tony looked through them, one by one until he found one he thought that everyone would enjoy. Quietly, he grabbed what he would need and started to work on making something delicious for these people who lost practically everything.

Seeing her cry just made him want to cry but he couldn't, he had to be the strong one here. "I...I know it wasn't you. You would never do the things that were done..." he whispered and frowned. "It did what it did because he wanted to be the king and rule the land his own way. He knew that if you started thinking the way he did, people would follow because people loved you as their ruler. He was cruel, and he thought he could do anything if you were on his side." Lagordir explained. "Evil people just do evil things...b-but it's over now. I hope it is anyway..." he said softly and smiled sadly at her. "Lilly, I will never stop talking to you...no matter what happens I will always talk to you." Lagordir assured.

Daphne frowned, "That's probably for the best." she started but he needed to know what happened, he deserved she tell him the truth and so she did. Daphne told him everything that had happened up to this point. She made sure she left nothing out and was in tears. "You didn't know who I was, you left with Lilly and I was jealous but you did nothing wrong, you didn't hurt me...physically anyway. You were still kind when you showed up here with us after our children hurt you. I was your nurse again and you didn't look very happy, you didn't like that a human was near you, because humans were the enemies. None of that bothers me though. What truly worries me right now is everyone else. Opal's death really hurt them all." Daphne explained.

Lilly looked up at Ping as she heard what he said. It only made her cry harder as she clung to him. Lilly finally stopped crying unable to cry any more as she wrapped her arms around him and hide her face in his chest. She sat there for what felt like a eternity. Finally Lilly spoke knowing at some point she had to. " I know your right and you are far to kind. I'm sorry for all that was done. I'm sorry for all the death the pain. How can I face anyone?" She said as she sat there. She sighed as she tried to gather herself. " No...dragon wouldn't approve of this. He would tell me if he was here that it's my duty to help. No matter how hard something is if it's the right thing to do then you do it. " Lilly said as she finally looked up at Ping. " I am sorry for the evil things that happen. I know there is no excuse and I will do whatever I can to help. I-I'm sorry." She said softly as she tried to stand. "I'll go make myself useful and clean if you like."

Thorn looked at Candy as he gently put his hand on her shoulder. Though without a word he gently moved it down to her waist and pulled her to him in a loving embarrass. He held her in his embrace as he thought about everything she had said. He closed his eyes just happy to have her safe and to know she was unharmed for the most part. He finally open his eyes as he sighed softly. " I'm sorry that you where made to endure all of this. And I'm sorry I wasn't with you to be your shield and sword like I promised to be. But I'm here now and I want to still be yours. Before you can help the others you need time to heal yourself and to cry. Now you are safe my beautiful Princess. Go ahead and cry and let everything out. Your safe in my arms for now. We have time for this the King wont attack for another week or so. With the loss of Lilly he wont know what to do right off hand. "