Shadow Wood, Desmond, 10416 P.C.

Todd was alone in the basement when he awoke. Quietly, he laid on the floor, listening to the murmur of voices upstairs — they must be having breakfast without him. Sighing heavily, he rolled over and climbed to his feet, raking a hand through his hair. He stood still, silent, staring around at the empty basement. Why did he suddenly feel so alone? Forgotten?

He washed the sleep from his eyes in the bathroom and tried fixing his tousled hair before he ventured up the stairs. Phillip stood at the sink, washing dishes while Hannah dried them, and Abby, Bethany, Matthew, and Stephanie all sat around the table, quietly talking as they ate their breakfast. For some reason, Todd wasn't hungry. He felt sick, in fact. He felt certain that if he ate anything, it would come right back up. He couldn't understand why he felt this way.

"Where are Annabella and Jessie and Terrence?" he asked as he wandered up to the table.

"Annabella and Terrence went on a walk," Hannah replied as she handed him a plate with pancakes on it. "I thought Jessie was still downstairs."

She hadn't been — not that he had seen. Something told him the curious girl had followed Annabella and Terrence. Setting down his plate, he took the last empty chair — beside Stephanie — and let out a quiet breath.

"You okay?" Matthew asked him. "You look like you're going to be sick."

"Um, yeah," Todd said a bit uncertainly. The smell of the food was turning his stomach, and he pushed the plate away hesitantly. "I... I'm not very hungry."

"You should eat something," Stephanie murmured, not sparing him a glance. Bethany was staring at him, her huge eyes blinking in innocence. Abby stayed silent, her gaze on her food.

"If you're not feeling well, perhaps you should lay down," Hannah suggested. "The trip has clearly worn you out."

Todd swallowed uneasily, avoiding Matthew's stares. Something told him the other boy sensed Todd's apprehension. Something felt off. Todd could feel it in his chest. "I think I need some fresh air." He pushed his chair back and rose to his feet. "I'll be back."

He needed to find Annabella. Talk with her. Something wasn't right about this whole situation.

No one stopped him as he left the house, bringing along a borrowed sword just in case. It bugged him that he had lost his weapons in Zusia. They had been his last connection to Benjamin besides the wristwatch, and the fact that he had gotten it from Benjamin was the only thing that made it special. He took a deep breath of winter air and made his way into the forest, noting how quiet the town was. The woods were even quieter. He found footprints — they must have been Annabella's and Terrence's. He followed them.

Just as he suspected, smaller footprints also peppered the path alongside them. Jessie.

He found her first. She was sitting on a fallen long, her face lifted to the sky, eyes closed. She seemed deeply concentrated, a frown creasing her features. Todd crept closer, trying not to startle her too much. "Jess?"

She jumped, gasping in surprise and dropping a small object she had been holding in her hands. Turning to him, she exclaimed, "Todd! I didn't hear you coming."

He smiled faintly. "I'm as quiet as a ghost, Stephanie says."

Jessie rolled her eyes, but she smiled, reaching down to pick up what she had dropped. Todd drew closer, realizing that it was a small wooden cube with engravings burned in it.

"What's that?" he asked, sinking down beside her.

She paused for a moment before revealing it for him to see. "It's a yaidem cube," she said, holding it out in her palm. It was small enough that she could nearly conceal it in her hand. "It's... magical."

"Magical?" His gut clenched. "But..."

"There's more magic in the world than just Athrii, Todd," Jessie replied practically. "I mean, just look at Matthew. Trust me, this isn't bad. It's about memories. My mother gave it to me. It's... kind of like a treasure chest, but for memories. When you hold it, you can search through it, basically, and relive certain memories. If you and another person touch it at the same time, it'll take you back to the very first memory you both share together."

It was strange. The sickening feeling wasn't leaving his chest. In fact, it seemed to be growing bigger. She had never shown him something like this before. "So, like, if I touched it now while it's in your hand, it'd take us back to when we first met?"

"Yeah."

"It'd actually take us back?"

"Well, sorta. It's hard to explain, really." Jessie gave a small shrug, and then, after a pause, offered it to him. "Want to see? We met in the Refuge Sanctuary. It'll take us back there, show us that moment."

Todd wasn't sure he believed her. The cube wasn't glowing like he thought magical things did. It was just plain old wood. It was most certainly one of her little pranks, but why not entertain her? He reached over and touched it.

The ground rolled in on itself, morphing into stone as the trees were sucked into the earth. Todd's heart pounded hard in his chest as he recognized the throne room in Zusia. It was dark and empty, but Todd could hear the sounds of screams outside; they curdled his chest, freezing him in place.

"What is this?" he whispered. Jessie stood beside him stiffly. He glanced at her. She was staring in shock across the room, and he turned to look.

The room was not empty. A woman was standing there, the most terrifyingly beautiful woman Todd had ever seen. Long, blonde hair and a blue dress stained dark with what Todd realized was blood. She held a dagger in hand, her back to them as she faced the throne. Yet, somehow, he could see the woman's face — the epitome of perfection despite the way blood speckled her cheeks like freckles. Those crystal blue eyes were practically glowing with fury and spite. Her lips were curled into a smile, a crimson slash in her porcelain complexion.

"I sensed you, child," she said, her voice striking terror like a dagger through Todd's chest. "There will be no escape."

"Jessie," Todd whispered, his voice trembling. "What is this?"

She gripped his hand in hers, ice-cold, and the scene morphed. They were outside the palace, in the garden, fires raging around them. Todd saw the woman again, bursting out of the window above them and landing easily amid raining shards of glass. In one hand she held a gleaming sword dripping with crimson. In the other, she carried a bundle, something wrapped in a blanket. She began to walk through the smoke and ash, stalking her prey: a little boy, no older than Bethany, scrambling through the haze.

"Susan!" the boy sobbed, stumbling to his knees.

"Your Susan is dead." The woman was creeping closer, now standing over the boy with contempt.

"Nooo!" the boy shrieked. "Daddy!"

"Your Daddy is gone," the woman whispered, crouching down before him. "He's deserted you. He doesn't care to stick around to see you die." She pulled out a dagger and placed it against the child's throat. "Let's see what happens when immortal blood is spilled."

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In an instant, Todd was sitting on the log again, staring out at the forest, open-mouthed. Jessie sat beside him, the yaidem cube clutched tightly in her white-knuckled hand.

"What was that?" Todd repeated for the third time. He didn't notice until then that he was tense and shaking. He looked at Jessie. "That... was not my memory. Neither of us were even there."

Jessie stared straight ahead, her face unreadable, not a single emotion revealed except the ever-tightening of her fist over the cube. "Of course you wouldn't remember that," she whispered, her eyes far, far away. "You wouldn't have been more than three years old." Finally, she looked at him. "Few remember things from that age. But then, I'd imagine that would have been traumatizing, so He must have erased it from your pretty little mind." She was talking plainly, simply, as if explaining things to a small child — yet there was an edge to her voice that startled him as much as her words. The sickening feeling churned within Todd. His mind refused to fully grasp what was happening. All he could focus on were Jessie's eyes. Those crystal blue eyes...

Like a loaded spring, he was off the log, throwing himself away and rolling through the snow. He scrambled to his feet, backing away as Jessie stood. The dagger she had nearly stabbed him with dangled in her hand.

"Quick reflexes," she commented. "I guess I trained you well."

"Who are you?" Todd demanded, heart pounding so hard the blood was rushing in his ears. He could barely form his sentences without stuttering. "What did you do with Jessie?"

A slow smile spread over the girl's face, and she threw back her head and laughed. It was Jessie's laugh, yet twisted and psychotic. "You're such a fool, Todd Vinson. I am Jessie. I am... many things."

Todd looked on in horror as Jessie's body began to morph. She grew taller, older, skin melting and stretching, hair growing longer, straighter, clothes growing and changing. Before Todd could fully comprehend what he was seeing, the Veiled Lady stood before him. She reached up with a pale hand and lifted her veil. Todd was standing face to face with the terrifyingly beautiful woman he had seen in the memory. She had Jessie's striking blue eyes.

"No," he whispered. "This is impossible."

"No, no, you know what's impossible?" the Veiled Lady demanded — and her voice was Jessie's. "It's impossible to believe that all this time I couldn't see what was plainly before me. That you..." She shook her head slowly. "I should have known."

"You should have known what?" Todd fumbled to draw his sword, his hands shaking, trembling. His mind spun in confusion. None of this was making sense. "What did you do with Jessie?"

The woman stared at him for a long moment, emotionless, before she reached up and tugged the veil completely off of her head and dropped it on the ground. "Your favourite colour is green. An earthy kind of green. It was the colour of your childhood bedroom."

Todd gripped his sword in both hands, trying his best to recall what he knew of the Veiled Lady. "You're a mind reader. You'd know that easily."

"I don't read minds. I read memories. You don't believe me when I tell you that I am Jessica and that I've been with you all along, but it's true." She paused, tilting her head, a little smile on those crimson lips. "You don't like chicken. You always gave yours to me because Stephanie wouldn't take it either. It makes sense now, strangely, why you two were so weirdly similar." The woman began to walk around Todd, and he followed her with his sword, struggling to understand her meaning. "Speaking of Stephanie... you taught her how to dance, and she taught you how to shoot. She was the first person you ever got to smile here in Desmond, and honestly, I think she had a crush on you for a while." She stopped, looking at him with a sardonic smile. "Good thing nothing came of that. That would have been incredibly problematic for Daddy."

"Stop."

"Stop why? Because you're beginning to see clearly, Deliverer?" She let out a bitter laugh. "Of course. Deliverer. It was so dreadfully obvious. He played us both for fools."

Todd shook his head, ever so slowly beginning to realize what this meant. "No. No, you're wrong. We already found the son."

"Who, Brandon? He's mine. Raised to be deadly, trained to play the part — he'll be glad to know you fell for it."

"Stop lying to me!" Todd yelled, his chest heaving with the sudden labour it took to keep breathing.

"I'm not lying. You saw it yourself. Accept it."

The world slowed. The sickening feeling was all-consuming; the pit in his chest was full of shock and horror. Jessie was a traitor — the Veiled Lady had been with them all along. Terrence was a liar, a traitor, a spy...

Annabella.

Todd reacted on instinct: he ran. Hard. Jessie's maniacal laughter followed him through the trees as desperation and terror drove him in a blind panic. The trees whipped by him, the undergrowth fought to trip him, but he didn't stop — couldn't stop. "Annabella!" She was out there, somewhere, with a traitor. "Annabella!"

"Todd?" she called back, and a temporary relief flooded through him. Her voice was concerned — she had heard the utter terror in his. He veered toward the sound of her voice, bursting into a clearing where she and Terrence stood. Todd stumbled to a stop, gasping for breath as he pointed his sword at the man.

"Get away from her." He barely recognized his own voice.

"Todd, what are you doing?" Annabella asked anxiously. She stepped away from Terrence, and Todd glanced at her, his chest heaving, his hand holding the sword quivering so much he had to grab the handle with his other to hold it steady. The truth dawned on him like a bucket of cold water, freezing him in place:

She was his betrothed. Dear Creator, it had been him all along.

Jessie's cool voice arose behind him. "Brandon," she singsonged. Todd whirled, backing away from her as she stepped into the clearing. She was in Jessie's form again — small, innocent, charming.

With a deadly, crimson smile. "We've been compromised," she said, narrowing her eyes at Todd.

In silent answer, the young man known as Brandon drew his sword.

Annabella whispered a curse, quickly backing away from him to join Todd. She grabbed Todd's arm, pulling him back as Jessie approached. "What's happening?"

"A good old-fashioned betrayal, dear Princess," Jessie said. Once again, she morphed into the Veiled Lady — Todd couldn't bear to watch the scene. She discarded her veil, tossing it aside like a handkerchief. "Todd... just so happened to stumble upon a revelation I hate myself for not realizing sooner."

"What... in the...?" Annabella sputtered, her hand tightening on Todd's arm. "Y-you...?"

"She was with us all along," Todd whispered. Was there grief in his voice? The realization that one of his closest friends had truly been one of his deadliest enemies all along threatened to tear him apart.

Annabella was breathing heavily. "Terrence..."

The young man gave a small smile, stepping back to fall in line with the Veiled Lady. "Sorry, Princess."

Todd could feel Annabella trembling. Then, she grew terribly still. She drew her own sword, stepping forward to stand beside him. "You lied to us," she said, her voice as hard as stone.

"Doesn't it just break your heart?" the Veiled Lady simpered. "Your friend. Your allies. People you thought you trusted."

"I will kill you!" Annabella bolted forward, lifting her sword in a powerful arc. The Veiled Lady lifted her dagger — it glittered with purple Athrii, and the moment it connected with Annabella's steel, Annabella was flung back. She collided with Todd, sending both of them crashing to the ground.

Todd coughed, sitting up on his elbows, still gripping his sword. Annabella rolled over, gasping wildly, fumbling with her weapon as their opponents closed in.

"Look at them," the Veiled Lady said, her tone full of mockery. "Perfectly destined for each other all along and we never even guessed it."

"What?" Annabella panted, looking at the Lady before turning wide eyes on Todd. He swallowed hard, watching the confusion play across her face. It was replaced by realization. And then shock.

He didn't wait around to see the disappointment. He pushed himself to his feet, facing the Veiled Lady. Some sort of determination filled him. Perhaps it was grief. "You won't win this. He promised."

"He's not here," the Veiled Lady spat. "Go ahead, little boy. Call your Daddy. He won't save you from me this time." She drew a sword from the folds of her dress, a devilish smile crossing her face. The sword flickered to life, it seemed, glowing a purplish hue. "Let's see when happens when immortal blood is spilled."