Sage hurried after Stuart as he strode across the cave's sandy floor; he disappeared around the curve of a stone wall.

"What?" she muttered as she hurried after him, still clutching the piece of paper, "Stuart ... ooohff", she grunted as she slammed into his back and hurriedly stepped back, "Sorry, you stopped suddenly." Stuart nodded but didn't turn around, "Is everything okay?"

Sage moved to his side, where she found him quickly wiping at his cheeks, "No, not everything is okay."

"What's going on?" Sage asked, her voice hushed, "How can I help?"

Shaking his head, he moved forward into the gloom, "If you cannot do what you're asked," she heard him clear his throat, "there is nothing that can be done to help."

Following Stuart as best she could in the gloom of a passageway, Sage was surprised when they stepped out of the stone tunnel into a beautiful green island with periwinkle-blue water surrounding it as far as the eye could see.

"The islands," Sage whispered, looking up into the beauty of the canopy of green trees and hearing the bird calls, "how many places are there like this?"

"Twenty small havens similar to this one," Stuart said, looking around, "this one is the receiving island; from here, the person is given refuge for the night in the caves above and then moved in the morning to the correct island for them."

"Twenty islands," Sage whispered, "how many people live on these Islands?"

"Many," Stuart said, "at the moment, we're running out of time to save them," he looked at his watch on his wrist, "and I need to get you home before Maddy's curfew."

"Maddy has a curfew?" Sage said, blindly following Stuart through the rambling passageways until they came to a tunnel-like passage where the lights automatically came on as they walked, "where are we?"

"Below the house," Stuart said as he pushed open a door into the well-lit basement.

Sage stepped out and froze, "This place never has the lights on."

"Only when you were last seen going onto the hill trail," Maddy said, stepping out of the shadows, "are you okay?"

"We both are," Sage said, "I learnt a lot today."

"I'm glad to hear it," Maddy said, hugging Sage and looking past her to Stuart, "can you get me home? It's past the Channing curfew."

"Of course," Stuart smiled, "is someone watching?" Stuart asked. Maddy silently nodded, drawing a frown from Stuart's intent gaze, "It will be my pleasure to help you confuse them ... besides, it's a two-birds-one-stone scenario, we can get rid of those …" he inhaled sharply, "… people, still save the day, and I need to chat with your father."

Maddy frowned but said nothing; instead, she whispered to Sage, "I have your dinner in the oven, the house is secure, and there was a parcel sent to you via your office; you'll find it on the hall table with the rest of the post."

"Thank you, Maddy," Sage said, "go … I'll see you tomorrow."

"Will you be here tomorrow?" Maddy asked, worry dripping from her words.

"I shall be," Sage said, gently squeezing Maddy's hand, "we have a lot to talk about."

Nodding, Maddy turned to Stuart and nodded. The pair left through the passageways again. Sage stood in silence, holding the piece of paper Stuart had given her, "I'll give it to him tomorrow," she whispered as she slowly moved through the basement and turned off the lights, "shower first and then dinner."

Feeling cleaner and fuller after a fantastic dinner. Sage sat in the library with her laptop closed on the table, the folder holding all the information she had been working through lying next to it, Stuart's paper and the still sealed parcel from the office. What had started as an assignment and a way to escape her family had now become a race to save people from … what exactly?

Why were they there?

Where did all this link together?

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

How did the legend of the house, Charlotte's birthright, the Magi's Coronet and the Islands all fit as one?

A thought suddenly struck, and Sage reached for her laptop, opened it and punched in her security code to put those required security measures into place. She had learnt long ago that her family thought nothing of tracking her location by finding her electronics; not only were they intrusive into her love life, social life and, if they could get it right, her work life, but she had learnt many years ago that they found nothing they did wrong or invasive. In this way, she was shielded and never had it become more critical than now not to be found. Setting the search into motion, Sage opened the folder and slowly continued to piece the information timeline together. There was something she was missing, and she was going to find it. Strike that ... had to find it. Slowly working through Charlotte's life, family, and story, then moving on to her children's family and the events that happened in their lifetimes, Sage began to see a more precise story. It was different from what she expected, and not until she came to the period of the Second World War, where the sudden disappearance of Coopers Cove from any public record coincided with several missing person reports, did she dare to think there was more to the fight for this place than a simple family feud.

Sage paused, her hand frozen mid-air as her mind worked the puzzle pieces. Could it be … she hesitated, "No way," she whispered, "could there be a …."

Her words trailed off in the silence as her mind kicked her body into gear, and she put another search into play.

"There is a chunk of missing time," she whispered as she began to make notes, "this is …" the first search dinged, suspending her words as she looked through the information received, reaching over to the printer she had brought from the office and turning it on Sage began to print, "this is a lot of damning information."

How was it possible she was able to get to this information?

The constant asking of that from everyone involved in ... whatever this was had come home hard to Sage. If no one else could find this information, how was it possible for her to find it?

Words Stuart had said when talking to his sister came to mind ... Rosemary designed it that way.

Did her Grandmother know about this information?

If she did, why hadn't she used it? Why wait until now and bring Sage into the mix?

Sighing, Sage continued to read and make notes, occasionally reaching for the plate of snacks she had brought with her and sipping at the cold coffee in the nearby mug. Time passed silently as she continued to work, absorbed in what she was doing, finding and reading?

The sudden appearance of a tray on the table beside her startled Sage, and she snapped out of her absorption to find Maddy standing beside her, smiling.

"I knocked, I called out, and I have been speaking this entire time, but you were somewhere else," Maddy said, "sorry I startled you. I'm guessing you have been working all night. I switched your bedroom light off on the way here."

"Oh …" Sage said, rubbing her tired eyes, "that would explain why I need the bathroom so badly."

"Have you had a break at all?" Maddy asked.

"I remember pacing a little," Sage said, hurriedly standing and leaving the library.

"I guess she really needs to go," Maddy chuckled as she carefully pushed the tray onto the table scattered with freshly printed documents, "what are you working on so intently?"

Picking up a paper, her gaze scanned the page and froze, "How did you get this information?"

"That seems to be the question everyone is asking," Sage said as she gently took the page from Maddy and gathered the corresponding sheets, "I have a deadline before this place is destroyed and exploited."

"Stuart told me about the legal document he gave you," Maddy said, sighing, "so it's true."

"Yes, it is," Sage said, "having breakfast with me, Maddy?"

"I thought you'd like some company," Maddy said, sinking into the opposite chair, "and we can chat uninterrupted."

"Good thinking," Sage said, inhaling deeply, "fresh coffee."

"Here, have a cup," Maddy said, grinning as she filled a large cup and handed it to Sage, "I brought a variety of foods that you may like to have and can be eaten cold."

"Ohhhh," Sage looked over the plates, "all finger foods … brilliant. I'll start with this…" Picking up a muffin-shaped yellow item, Sage bit into it, "… is this egg and bacon in a muffin?"

"It is," Maddy smiled, "do you like it?"

"Soooo delicious," Sage said, silently enjoying her breakfast and sipping at her coffee before a thought penetrated the taste festival her mouth was having, "Did you get home safely last night?"

"Stuart got me home without encountering Jeffery or anyone associated with him," Maddy said, nodding, "he stayed chatting with my Dad for a long time."

"You're related to Stuart, aren't you?" Sage asked.

"I suppose everyone in Cooper's Cove is nowadays," Maddy said, "I'm sure if we looked at the family tree, we could figure it out," Maddy sighed, "but that is not the most important thing right now, is it?"

"No, it isn't," Sage said, "saving the islands is more important than anything, and I'm putting together a timeline for certain things," Sage said, "I'll need to look into who can be trusted with what I find."

"What are you looking for specifically?" Maddy asked.

"There is a lot of time missing, and the reasons for Coopers Cove being struck from public record seem to be a little difficult to find," Sage said, murmuring as her mind returned to the problem at hand, "I'm running searches on a few hunches I had during the night and I'll wait and see what comes of it."

"What kind of hunches?" Maddy asked, a frown puckering between her brows.

"A lot of secrets seem to have started around the Second World War era," Sage said, "a lot of changes happened as well …" Sage met Maddy's intent stare, "… tell me about the Channing Curfew."