"Maybe it's time we started being honest with each other," Gwyneth said.

"What do you mean?" Elric asked, shifting his gaze to the princess.

"We need to learn to trust each other if we're going to make it out of here alive."

"I'd like to think most of us trust each other." Elric's gaze wandered to Aston who huffed and crossed his arms.

Gwyneth sighed. "Then maybe it's time we start to trust Aston and give him a reason to trust us."

"Give him a reason to trust us?!" Elric exclaimed, pulling his legs in from where he had been stretched out. "It should be him giving us a reason! He's the savior yet he's almost gotten us killed multiple times on purpose!"

"Do you think I want to be in here any more than you?" Aston gritted his teeth.

"Ah yes, us being trapped here was also your fault. I was referring to when you nearly set Isla on fire and froze Gwyneth in a block of ice until she caught hypothermia."

Aston huffed again, leaning against the stone wall. It's not like he would actually kill them.

"Enough!" Gwyneth shouted. "Let's not look to the past anymore. We agreed to a truce, and we should honor it. Elric, why are you afraid of ghosts?"

Elric paused. He wasn't expecting that sort of question out of nowhere. "There is a reason." He leaned back, not wanting to share too much.

"Fine, I'll start. I'm afraid of Aeceria burning. I used to have a lot of dreams as a child of our kingdom being burned to the ground."

"Like a premonition?" Elric sat up, intrigued not only by the dreams but the fact that she hadn't told him sooner.

"I don't know for certain." Gwyneth shook her head.

"I remember you going to the king and queen about them." Aston reminisced.

"Y-You weren't supposed to know that!" Gwyneth blushed. "That was a private conversation between the royal family!"

"Private? I could hear you blubbering from across the castle-"

"No, you couldn't, you little eavesdropper!"

"Don't act like that's your only fear." Aston crossed his arms. "You're also afraid of the dark."

"Not more than any other normal person." She crossed her arms and huffed.

"Gwyneth, why hadn't you told me about your dreams before?" Elric asked calmly. The two of them were close, so why hadn't she gone to him?

She sighed. She knew it was only a matter of time before he asked that. "I didn't want anyone to know. If it really was a premonition, I didn't want to worry anyone. And if it wasn't... Well, I didn't want to look... you know..."

"Stupid?" Aston finished for her.

"Shut up."

Elric nodded. He could see that. She wasn't the type to worry others and even less so at her own embarrassment. "Very well. The reason I'm afraid of ghosts is..." He paused, easing the fear back down. "The trainees in the barracks used to speak about ghosts often. There was a case where an acquaintance of mine reported seeing a ghost one night on his way back to the barracks. This continued for three nights until he just... disappeared..."

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"That was Jasper, wasn't it?" Gwyneth frowned.

Elric nodded. "Of course, if I had told you, you wouldn't have believed me."

Gwyneth wanted to console her friend but knew he spoke the truth. Had he told her, she would have dismissed him and called it a coincidence. After seeing them for herself, she found herself believing the story more and more.

"And that wasn't the only incidence. Several other occurrences of ghost sightings in the past resulted in disappearances as well."

Gwyneth felt awful. She had no idea her castle was so...haunted.

"Enough about me. Aston, what are you afraid of?" Elric asked.

Aston paused. There was no way he was getting out of this after the other two shared their fears. Yet, he didn't find it awkward sharing his deepest fear with them. "Death."

"As many do."

"You can't die until you fulfill the prophecy, right?" Gwyneth asked; an attempt to console him.

"And what happens after that? What if I die the next day? What if I die saving the world?" Aston frowned. "I almost died before. That's how I discovered my magic. I had fallen from the cliff of the waterfall, scared out of my mind. I pictured myself still standing on the cliff, and the next thing I knew, I was there. At first, I thought maybe I had dreamt it, but then I remembered hearing stories about magic, especially the Fae. I tried performing other magic and that's when I discovered I could summon fire."

"So, that's when you found out. I had always wondered."

"Wouldn't that have given you more of a reason to train?" Elric asked. "To better defend yourself from mortality?"

"But that would require so much effort..." Aston whined. "Besides, I can't die until I fulfill the prophecy."

"Isn't that what I just-" Gwyneth blinked. No, he was still scared, she reasoned. This was just a front — a lie to convince himself that he would be all right.

How much time had gone by since Isla was taken from then? Aston had already been drugged thrice, and they were given pills in lieu of a proper meal. The Fae who brought them these strange concoctions explained that the pills suppress hunger by supplying necessary nutrients. Without any windows, it was impossible to tell how much time had passed.

"What sort of man is this king?" Aston asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm not quite sure." Gwyneth shook her head. "There isn't much information when it comes to the Fae city. However... Fae can live for over a thousand years. It is entirely possible he is the Fae's first king."

"He's that old?" Aston's jaw dropped.

"Our world isn't as old as it may appear." Gwyneth paused. Aston motioned for her to continue, so she assumed this was yet another fact he had never heard. "A thousand years ago, all the races lived in peace. At the time, the Almighty was still living among us. For reasons that were never recorded, he left one day. Shortly after, the Fae attacked Aeceria. When they realized humans were much stronger than they anticipated, they fled back to the forest. Not for long, because they went after the Cathruli as well."

"Aboracies teaches something similar, I believe. They mention a time of peace as well as times of war. It was one of the few things I was interested in, but they never went into much detail. Let alone how old our world is."

"I wonder what type of place Halcyone would be if the Almighty was still around," Elric said wistfully.

The three were interrupted by the sound of a door opening. Loudly. Florian approached their cell and unlocked the door. "Come. The king wishes to meet with you," he ordered.

Aston was half surprised. After what Gwyneth had said, he was half convinced war was the last worry the king had.

They trailed behind Florian and weren't surprised when the other two Fae from before trailed behind them.

"I don't believe we ever made a proper acquaintance." Gwyneth turned to the two behind her.

"I'm Lam," the one with long hair said before motioning to the other. "And this is Firth."

"I'm the Princess of Aeceria, Gwyneth, and-"

"The other two are Aston and Elric. Yes, your friend Isla has told us as much."

"Where is she?"

"I'm right here!" Isla's voice cut through the conversation. She was waving from the top step of the staircase.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're safe!" Gwyneth beamed; relief flooded through her eyes.

Isla nodded. "I imagine I've had it easier than you. Just wait until you see the city!" She beamed. If Gwyneth didn't know any better, she would have thought Isla was here on vacation; not as a prisoner.

They made their way out the door and down the outdoor hallway. At the end was a sight Gwyneth and the others would never forget.