“Liar, Liar Stephan. Come on what’s the worst that can happen?”

You’ll become afraid of me.

Stephan sighed before smirking and collecting water. “I can do the same thing the fronds did without the fronds.”

Zen’s eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t?

Stephan held his chin and rubbed it. “Hmm, free bondage act plus keep nosey girls away from me? Guess which I choose?”

He sent the coil of water at Zen who giggled, “Demon!”

Stephan was swept by his mind.

“Alright my little demon, get rid of these people,” commanded his mother as he spread his ice over thousands of warm-blooded individuals until they froze. Then he crushed them like glass. Nothing was left of the Tokens. They left a fertile blue planet for Bei to scrounge over.

“Stephan. Stephan!” He turned misty eyes to her. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his bed. He shuddered still lost in the memory. Every detail of how he earned the monicker came to him and he let Zen rock him on his bed.

Slowly, the memories dissipated and Stephan held onto Zen for comfort. He burrowed in her arms, in her warmth. Gradually, he began his story. From the Anshrank mission to the rest. Everything tumbled out in a jumble of words and thoughts that she heard. The tears came to his eyes and he shed them with such force as to tumble her down on the bed, but she never stopped holding him. When he could breathe again, he searched her eyes and slowly tried to climb off, but Zen was, for once, stronger than him.

“Zen, let me go,” he sniffled not fighting nearly as much as he should have.

Zen tightened her hold and tilted her head to him in question. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“You’ve heard my story. I’m not staying around when you decide to….”

Zen sat up and stared at him. “To what, Stephan? Chase you away?”

He nodded remembering Mira’s reaction to his past. She’d chased him out of their bohio for weeks until he publicly apologized to her as if he had anything to apologize over. The cool touch of skin brought him out of his musings and back to the present where Zen’s eyes sparkled like midnight pearls and she wore a small smile.

“I don’t see a monster or a world destroyer. You want to know what I see?” she said swiping his hair from his forehead.

He nodded intrigued. Most just ran from him. Even his crew was hard to convince in the beginning. Except for Kiera and she was the android of the group.

Zen leaned in so their foreheads touched and he took a steadying breath, breathing in her scent of midnight and wolfsbane with an undercurrent of power so strong it dulled the senses. He blinked as those moonlit eyes stared into his own and her hand played with his fingers.

“I see a desperate older brother looking out for his sister. I see a brave young soldier surviving,” she said petting his hand softly. “I see a young man in love, who was tricked, a victim of abuse, and I see a vulnerable boy who never stood a chance against his mother, but somehow despite all odds, he got away. He became the captain of an unruly crew he put together and works as a decent space pirate under the GC. I know I can trust him. Now, do you think you can too?”

Stephan stared wide-eyed and speechless. Tears started to collect again and Zen once more pressed him to her chest. He snuggled to her and slowly both fell into a groggy sort of half-awareness.

Zen still held him to her.

He sat up. “I think you’re a fool for believing that Zen, but you’re my fool from tonight,” he whispered staring into her shut eyes. He felt vulnerable under her gaze.

Zen once more pulled him to her sleepily. “I’m your fool,” she sighed.

He snuggled into Zen’s arms and slowly they fell into a deep sleep.

###

Zen awoke to find herself spooned against a hard male body, strong hands went around her waist and a leg was tangled between her own two legs. His breath ghosted past her ears, tickling the hairs on her nape. She would have screamed at him if she hadn’t known how deeply asleep he was. Little snores left him and she chuckled. Slowly she pulled away, inch by tiny inch til she was free and left his bed. It was still dark out but the light of the rising sun was starting to peak against the trees. Zen looked out the window to find Senka on the balcony next to hers staring silently at the trees.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Something is coming this way Zen, and it's coming fast.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are guards in the forest. It’s only a matter of time before they find this place.”

Zen stared out at the forest. “How do you know?”

Senka grinned. “The shadows speak to me sometimes and right now they are warning me of danger in the forest. I can then assume they are the guards you and your brother are running away from since the force is large and spread out...searching for something. You made a mess getting here no doubt. These men will find it soon.”

Zen gaped. “The cave! It will lead them straight here. We have to go.”

Senka shook his head. “You still have time for a good breakfast. I’ll wake everyone. You go and prepare breakfast.”

Zen began to move.

“Don’t think I didn’t see you leave pretty boy’s room a few minutes ago. Best not to tell your brother about that. Then again he slept in that one’s brother’s room all night long so I don’t see the difference.”

Zen sighed. “The difference, Senka, is that I’m a girl and younger than him.”

“By how many seconds?”

“Three minutes. It gives him big brother status and a chance to say who stars in my life and who doesn’t.”

“You gonna let him get away with that?”

Zen grinned and began walking. “Not on his life!”

As she walked she thought about Stephan. His past had shocked her but her heart told her to take him as he was. Her mother hadn’t raised a simpering weenie for a daughter. Somehow someway what Stephan had lived through, put into perspective what could happen should the Dons get Ishevara; and it made her more determined than ever to stay away from them. She knew she was making the right decision in trusting someone like Stephan, who knew the limits these people could go to as to say they were limitless. She was in good hands and now she’d look out for him making sure he could sleep better and better each night because she cared for Stephan. She wasn’t going to let him punish himself any longer. Decision made, she tied her apron and started breakfast.

###

Everyone met downstairs for breakfast. Stephan met her eyes and blushed slightly which confused and angered Isaias.

“What are you blushing at,” he questioned digging into his eggs.

Stephan flushed harder. “N-nothing!”

“I don’t believe you, pirate.”

“Isaias, leave Stephan alone and eat, we're going to need the energy today,” Marco muttered, coming to Stephan’s rescue. Last night he had seen Stephan and Zen asleep in the same bed. It was obvious to him that something was going on with the two even if Isaias didn’t. He looked over at Isaias. They had shared a bed last night. After he had told him of his childhood last night, Isaias had simply curled around him until he’d fallen asleep. He’d woken to Isaias’s small snores in his ears. He blushed lightly and went on to finish his breakfast. It wasn’t long after that, the sounds of shouting caught all their sensitive ears.

Isaias stood. “They’ve found us.”

Marco put an arm on his shoulder. “We knew they would eventually.”

“I was hoping for more time, Marco!”

Senka rose and pushed Isaias back down. “Cool your jets, boy. They don’t know you are in this house. I’ll greet them while you escape from the exit I use. Zen, go and grab the registry from the library and bring it over here, quick now!”

Zen nodded and went through the doorway leading to the common room.

Shadow grinned when she was gone. “This is what we’ll do.”

###

Zen stepped deeper into the library, pocketing some very important books she had found on shadow elementals and the history of the Amargaritas along the way. She reached the back and found the scroll on top of a mantelpiece. It was ornate and covered in the same gold marks the scroll was covered in. She stepped up to it and picked it up, stashing it in her dimensional pocket and starting her way back to the dining room.

“Zen keep going the other way. Senka said we’d find a passage,” Stephan said, coming up to her. Both blushed slightly and Zen nodded, turning back around. They were joined by Isaias and Marco, who was also pocketing a few books including the one he had been reading before.

The others looked at him. He stopped midway into grabbing another book off the shelf and turned to them. “What?”

“I already took the necessary books for us, Marco,” Zen said grinning.

Marco blushed. “Oh.”

Isaias shook his head. “It’s fine with us Marco, just don’t let Senka see you stealing his books.”

Marco nodded and snatched the last book on his list. He closed his dimensional pocket and strolled ahead blushing. Isaias patted his shoulder and led him further into a stand of books.

“Look for a blue book with a yellow butterfly,” Isaias muttered looking through the stack of books on the shelves. They split out and looked for the book. Zen found it amidst lots of newspapers. When she lifted the book, the shelf Isaias had been searching on slowly slid back and the beginning of a tunnel was shown to them.

Well, here’s our way out. Zen if you please?”

“Isaias I am not your personal flashlight!”

“In this case you are! Look at how dark that tunnel is! Start glowing, firefly.”

Zen scowled but she slowly began to pulse the crystal’s power out till the tunnel wasn’t so dark anymore.

“Better scaredy cat?” she muttered walking off into the tunnel.

“Zen who said you could walk in first?” he asked.

“I did, come on! It leads upwards!” She started running up the tunnel with the boys behind her not knowing what to expect when she reached the top of this tunnel.