The Kingdom

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper drug himself out of a trance and shook his head after Sparks withdrew. He gave a cautious look to Max and gained a questioning look in his green eyes.

"What do you mean he was being over sensitive? What happened? Is he coming back?"

He backed up a step and narrowed his eyes at Max and Eli.

"He's the only one that can teach me everything about the King's Men. You two may be able to help me control my magic but I still need to learn the history and workings of them! Did you say something to run him off? What'd you do!"

Vesper's eyes slowly started growing darker and the clouds above did a little of the same, thunder starting to quietly rumble in the distance.

[crimson92]

Max rolled her eyes to the sky as her mouth dropped open, "Are you seriously blaming me?! I didn't do anything! He was blaming himself about whatever mess everyone is in and I just said, you wanna blame yourself? Fine, do it, but that's not going to change anything about the current situation so how about we focus on that?! Look, if everyone is going to have a problem with me, then maybe Sparks should find another spell to send me back cuz this is just getting ridiculous!"

"NO! ENOUGH! Both of you!" Sparks intervened, "Max, you're not going anywhere! Vesper!"

She turned to the prince with a stern glare, "She didn't do anything, not really. Max is just really blunt and sometimes, what she says doesn't come out the right way. She's actually a really nice person and she didn't mean to offend him, but I'm sure he'll come back. As much as he doesn't seem to like Max, he's willing to do whatever he can to help you. That's what we're all trying to do, so please...let's not fight. Calm yourself...control your emotions."

She put her hand over his eyes and made him breathe while Max just sat on a nearby rocked she had called up from the ground. Eli sighed from his place on her shoulder and shook his head, hoping nothing else will go wrong for them.

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper pulled away from Sparks, thunder still in hearing range but growing quieter. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a gunshot in the distance. They all turned around in time to see men in the Annaleian military grab riding towards the house. They carried large guns and as Gunther came out they immediately began to circle him. Gunther and his son were both trying to talk but before Vesper knew it the men had raised their guns and peppered both Gunther and Elead with bullets. Time stopped and Vesper's eyes immediately turned ink black. Suddenly the thunder was right upon them and the wind began picking up, lightening strikes scorching the ground in spots. It was nearly as dark as night and before they knew it Vesper had begun running full speed at the now frightened horsemen.

They never saw that it was Vesper as he suddenly erupted into a black half demon, half dragon creature with glowing golden eyes that sparked maliciously at them. They began to scatter but Vesper's form grew until he was the size of three of their horses in length and two in height. In one solid movement he'd jumped before them and opened his large mouth to let out an earsplitting shriek, long, sharp fangs glistening even in the lack of light. His face was beastly and long like the snout of a dragon with the tip of it missing and appearing to just be bone. His body had the appearance of a long dragon with sharp spikes all along his tail. His wings were thick and veined though, with bones visible.

With a loud hiss, and every tooth showing, he raised his large demon-like, clawed hand and took a swing at the first row. Seven out of the fifteen men went flying through the air, bloodied and dismembered. Vesper crouched before the remaining men and stretched one limb out to them, favoring a rabid wolf eyeing its enemy with venom. He hissed once more, lips raised like a cat's. They all looked at him fearfully.

[crimson92]

"Oh my...god," Sparks whispered at the scene before her, feeling her knees begin to shake in fear.

"Eli! Quickly!" Max shouted, jumping into action as Eli jumped from her shoulder, his body beginning to glow golden before he was encased in a ball of black and yellow fire, the ball growing bigger and bigger until he was taller than the barn by 100 feet and his wings expanded from his back across the forest.

"V-Vesper...I didn't know you could..." Sparks whispered to herself, staring at the beast before her in shock.

Max turned back to her friend, gritting her teeth before going back to her and grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her, "Sparks! Listen to me! We have to stop him and get those men out of there! Come on! Snap out of it!"

Sparks shook her head and nodded hesitantly, running after Max and Eli as the great dragon quickly rushed over to where Vesper's beastly form was. Eli grabbed Vesper's tail and pulled roughly on him, dragging him away from the other men so that they may be able to get away. Sparks called lightening down from the skies and pushed the remaining men back close to the house before creating a circle around it to protect them so Vesper couldn't get to them easily. Max took her place beside Eli, the shadows all moving and trembling before they circled her completely, engulfing her and merging with her body to make her stronger. Several large shadows in the shapes of vicious, feral beasts ran beside her, ready to attack on her command.

"Vesper! Snap out of it! Come on!" she shouted, helping Eli restrain him by raising a wave of Earth and sending it onto his head, "I don't want to hurt you! Calm down!"

The shadow dogs, upon hearing their master's mental request, created what looked like a rope of black fire together and they all rushed the beast, jumping over him with the fire ropes and tying him down, pulling to make sure he didn't get any farther.

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper howled in pain and anger, the skies beginning to almost rip apart from the winds that were swirling in a large circle. Vesper felt something holding him down and in rage and panic he howled, his figure growing bigger and teeth managing to sink into the black fire rope. The pain that shot through him was stunning and nearly blinding but his stubbornness made him hold onto it until it snapped under his sharp fangs. He was up in seconds sizing up the dark dragon he'd slipped from under and snapping in frustration. His eyes were now black holes with red all around them, creating two swirling vortexes, as his size had tippled and he jumped at Eli catching him off guard.

He managed to sink a mouth full of teeth into the dragon's shoulder as Eli slammed him onto the ground with stunning force. He held on as Max's shadow dogs all jumped on him again, wrapping the black rope around his neck and pulling. When they finally managed to drag his head back down to the ground he'd ripped a gash into Eli's shoulder and as soon as he felt that side slightly lifting, he pushed up and unbalanced the dragon. Hacking from the rope that had tightened around his neck he twisted around onto his stomach and bit at the ropes again, this time almost letting go before it snapped. But when it did he shot up and swiped at the dogs, hitting two or three of them and snarling at the dissipating shadows.

After that he barely moved in time to avoid Eli landing heavily where he'd just been and leaving deep gouges in the ground from his claws. But Vesper only had eyes for the men behind the wall of electricity. With a rush he soared head first for them and made it halfway into the wall before it sent him falling backwards. He hit the ground heavily and before he knew it the dogs were jumping around him again. He hissed and swiped at them, the dogs dropping the ropes long enough to jump back. Vesper took the short opportunity to claw at the electric wall again, creating momentary slits in it before feeling himself being buried and tied down. As he fell the ropes began burning brighter and he howled in pain, momentarily stunned and still. Slowly he stopped struggling and became still, eyes squeezed shut and claws dug deep in the ground.

The sky began calming and in a flash of blinding light Vesper was lying on the ground with burns across his shoulders and back from the ropes.
The men all cowered by the barn as Sparks lowered her shield, one of them pointing at Vesper and running out to him.

"The Prince! That monster attacked him! Commander we have to get him back!"

The men, still extremely shaken up began slowly making their way toward him.

[crimson92]

"All of you stay...BACK!" Sparks screeched, sending several tendrils of electricity towards the guards, wrapping them up tight and sending them flying backwards, leaving them all momentarily dazed.

With them out of the way, she turned all of her worry to Vesper, gasping loudly before she quickly ran over to him, skidding to a stop on her knees as she assessed the damage. When she tried to touch him, her hand began to burn and she pulled back in pain when the heat marks on his skin began to sizzle. She turned to Max desperately.

"Max, what did you do to him?! His skin...he's got burn marks all over him! You have to help!" she cried out.

"A little busy here!" Max responded back distractedly as she held the now smaller Eli close to her, cradling his wounded shoulder gently.

"Max, please! This is your magic! I can't heal this!" Sparks begged.

"Hey! I have a wounded dragon here to heal and two innocent bystanders! Not to mention a few of the guards that actually survived the attack! Give me some time!"

Sparks was all but crying at this point as she kneeled over Vesper, brushing his hair out of his face, "Please..."

Max stared at her friend for a moment before sighing in exasperation and gently picking Eli, carrying him over to Vesper and laying him down next to him.

"Just give me a second, my friend, and I'll have you looking as good as new," she told him with a soft grin.

Eli gave a chuckle and nodded his dragon head, looking up at her, "It's okay, Max. It actually looks worse than it feels, don't feel pressured."

She nodded before turning to Sparks, "Alright, help me get the others and let's get them all healed, okay?"

Sparks nodded as well, looking down at Vesper one last time before leaning down to brush her lips against his forehead, "Everything will be okay."

With that, she stood up and rushed over with Max to retrieve Gunther, Eleade, and three other soldiers who were all still alive, but severely wounded. They dragged them over to where Eli and Vesper were laying, with a little help from the shadow dogs Max commanded, and had them all forming a circle. The golden-green eyed female took her place in the middle of that circle after making the proper spell vortex around them. She sat down and crossed her legs, lowering her head as she concentrated her energy. Within moments, her hair was floating and within a few moments more, her hair and hands had red and gold flames in them, her body glowing a bright gold. The same fire began to circle the injured ones, a yellow light emanating from the flames and covering them. Max was breathing deeply now, a slight sheen of sweat forming on her brow as she forced the magic to spread to all seven of the injured bodies.

Sparks and the other soldiers watched in amazement at Max's abilities, the girl healing the fallen. The gash in Eli's wound started to close up, the blood disappearing from it and making the dragon smile. The burns on Vesper's back starting to heal faster and leaving nothing but light trails of what may have been a horrible scar had it been anyone else healing him. The bullets from inside Gunther and his son were lifted out of them and the holes sealed up as their heartbeats strengthened. And as for the other soldiers, they all looked as good as new. When the healing process was done, Max released with a gasp and leaned forward to draw in some breath, content with her work. Once this was done and the fire had subsided, Sparks dropped down next to Vesper and lifted his head into her lap, waiting for him to wake up.

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper groaned and slowly began to regain control of his sore limbs. He felt someone holding his head up and he softly turned his head the slightest before carefully and slowly opening his eyes. Hovering above him was Sparks' worried face and he blinked a few times to regain control of his senses.

"An- Angel? What just happened? Wh-"

Vesper squeezed his eyes shut and lifted a hand to his throat where one scar remained, a jagged white half moon circle across it. He took a shaky breath and tried to sit up. In a moment one of the soldiers was helping him up and bringing a horse over. But Vesper reached for Sparks and told them he was going nowhere without her. In a little time they'd got up onto the horses and Vesper had to have the soldier behind him holding him up so he wouldn't fall off from exhaustion. He looked to Sparks to his left and reached out for her.

"Let them... take you back to the castle. I... I can't... wait."

Vesper closed his eyes and took a breath the soldier spurring the horse on and having two other follow him. Vesper was passed out halfway before they got back to the castle.

[crimson92]

Sparks watched as the guard rode away with Vesper, worry invading her body and making her unable to think straight. She was only able to get her thoughts together when she heard another soldier shouting and she turned in shock to see the remaining ones surrounding Max and Eli, their guns out and aimed at her.

"Max! No! What are you guys doing?!" Sparks exclaimed, moving to help her friends when she was stopped by another guard.

"Please, Miss, the prince ordered me to take you back to the castle," he told her, pulling her along beside him to the horse.

"No, not until you release my friend," she demanded, struggling a little.

"Sparks go!" Max ordered, causing Sparks to look up at the grinning girl, "We can handle this, don't you worry. You just get back to Vesper and make sure he's alright."

"How dare you use the prince's first name in such a familiar fashion!" one of the soldiers barked.

"Ah, pipe down!" Max punctuated with a kick to his face.

Before she could say anything else, Sparks was picked up by the guard and whisked away towards the castle, leaving behind Max to fight the other guards with Eli by her side. Withing a few hours, they made it to the castle and Sparks jumped down from the horse, quickly running through the halls, demanding to know where Vesper was. One of the maids was able to take her directly to him and Sparks was led into a posh looking room with the curtains drawn and Vesper propped up on the pillows. She quietly walked over to him and sat down in a chair beside the bed.

"Oh, Vesper," she sighed, gently brushing his hair out of his face before placing her hand on his cheek, "I guess you needed training more than I thought you did."

Her eyes caught sight of the burn that was still on his neck and she winced a little, "I guess Max missed one. I can't blame her, she was healing seven of you...we'll have her look at it when she gets here...if...she gets here."

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper groggily shook his head and smiled.

"I felt her healing me. This one healed just as much. It was just deeper."

He settled back and looked at her with reddish pink eyes that were slightly wide.

"What happened back there? And how did I even get this? All I remember is Gunther and Elead... then some gunshots."

Vesper hissed and lay his head back on the pillows, gently rubbing his eyes.

"Gunther wasn't hurt was he? I've known him since I was five. He was the only one who was willing to hide us when my father was fighting with Rajus for Annalei's independence. He's been a close friend of mine since then... He's alright, isn't he? God help anyone who'd hurt him."

Vesper's eyes began growing dark again but he diliberatly shut them and took a deep breath, calming himself.

"Why was Max having to heal me anyway? And the men..."

Vesper closed his eyes and sighed.

[crimson92]

Sparks stared at the prince for a long moment, at a loss for words; "...You don't remember anything...do you?"

She put her hand over the scar on his neck and sighed, "Gunther and Eleade are fine now, though they may be a little sore for a bit. They were shot, multiple times, but Max healed them too."

She closed her eyes then and took a moment to collect her thoughts, "Vesper, you need a lot of training. There's a power inside of you, a deep, strong power that...makes you...change. You turned into some beast like thing and attacked the guards! And when we tried to stop you, you turned on us. You attacked Max and Eli and her dogs and me...Max was finally able to control you though with ropes of black fire. That's why you have those injuries and that's why she had to heal you."

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper's eyes grew ghostly white and he moved away from her. Pain in his eyes shone very brightly and he forced himself up. He shook his head in horror and opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by his father throwing open the doors. Hurt hazel eyes stared at Vesper from beneath a crown of brown, slightly curled hair. He rushed over to his son, ignoring Sparks on the other side of the bed. Vesper's raven haired mother followed closely behind Anthony and began fussing over him, her bluish green eyes sparking.

"Vesper, my God! I'm so glad you're okay!"

The king embraced his son and pulled back to put a hand on the boy's cheek.

"What happened? Why were you there! Thank God you weren't hurt worse!"

Vesper pulled away from his father and looked at him oddly, piecing together what Sparks had said about Gunther, Elead, the gunshots and the guards.

"Dad, were the guards... shooting at Gunther and Elead?"

Vesper looked at his father, eyes now gray with tiny black specks. But the King sighed and turned away while Vesper's mother noticed Sparks for the first time. Vesper continued horrified.

"They were! Why- who ordered them to do that! I want to know! I want them execu-"

"I did Vesper."

Vesper looked up to his father, eyes pure white once more. His mouth fell open and he shook his head. The Queen however forced a smile and looked at Sparks. She lifted her voice to interrupt the commotion going on.

"So you must be the lovely Sparks I've heard of. It's so nice to finally meet you."

She held out her hand and took Sparks', still smiling, and held it for a moment before jumping slightly at the pitch in Vesper's voice.

"How could you?! Gunther's been our closest friend since- since I can remember! And you tried to have him executed! I-"

"I told you not to keep going there Vesper! Did I not forbid you from visiting him months ago?! He-"

"He's my friend! You don't have a conscience anymore do you!?! How could you- He's your friend too!"

"Business is business and I have a kingdom to run here; Something you'll be having to do someday too. I'm thankful to him for what he did ten years ago but the past is the past Vesper! It must be put behind you! He's been caught selling secrets, that you no doubt told him in confidence, concerning our military! Crimes do not go unpunished in this kingdom!"

Vesper looked at him, mouth hanging open and gaze full of fire. He slowly shook his head.

"Gunther would never-"

"A poor man will do anything for a penny! He may have been a good man at once but he's not any more! But you won't have to worry about defying my orders and going to see him again. The guards had specific orders to kill him at all costs and Papero told me the general managed to get the two of them away from that girl. Vesper, I'm sorry you have to go through this but it had to be done... I expect you to report tomorrow morning, to my study to resume where we left off on Annalei's history. You are the future king. Nothing must keep you from your studies when your people need you."

Vesper watched him go with anguished, violet peppered eyes. He drew his knees up and put his head down breathing slowly. His mother put a hand on his shoulder and barely shook her head.

"Vesper dear. I'm sorry. But your father is only doing what he feels is right to protect the people-"

"By killing an innocent man?!"

Vesper looked at her with tortured dark violet eyes and tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Just leave me be!"

Vesper tearfully watched his mother leave and turned his face away from Sparks, quietly mumbling.

"Please... I just need some space... You're likely to find Rofus if you head back to your room."

[crimson92]

Sparks stared at Vesper helplessly, biting her lower lip before getting up slowly and quietly making her way out of the room. She couldn't believe what she had heard, that they were able to detain Max and drag the other two away to have them...

"That doesn't make any sense," she mumbled to herself, walking through the halls towards the room she was given, "How could they have? Max is Max...she's too strong for a mere human to stop, so how did they do it?"

"They didn't."

Sparks jumped at the familiar voice and turned around to see Max standing behind her; "They think they were able to get the farmer and his son away, but I was able to trick them with a little shadow magic. They took away two replica dummies while Eli hid the real ones away somewhere safe."

"Oh god..." Sparks whispered in relief, holding a hand to her head, "Vesper is going to be so happy to hear that...but what will happen when they figure out they don't have the real Gunther and Eleade."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, let's just be happy that the day didn't end on an incredibly bad note," Max said.

She walked a little ways ahead of her friend, her mind too foggy to really focus on any one thought; "King Rajus," she whispered, it would be a good idea for you to appear with some advice now."

"Or it would be a good idea for me to disappear," Max put in as she started to fade into the shadows, "Someone's coming."

[❖Amani❖]

A figure covered in a cloak came stumbling into the hallway and quickly disappeared down the stairs, the cloaks hood pulled down over its face. Rajus materialized behind Sparks, ignoring the hidden Max.

"I had no idea the power he harbors. And released with such anger..."

His figure, thought still transparent was becoming more and more visible to the human eye.

"If I'm correct that was Rofus leaving just now... I have no clue why."

He sighed.

"Why don't you got to your rooms. I've got an old friend to visit. I'll come back to fetch you when Vesper is feeling well enough to talk. And please get some rest."

Rajus dissipated and left Sparks standing there slightly confused.

[crimson92]

"I see he's still sour," Max said when the king and the cloaked figure disappeared, her eyes narrowed.

Sparks merely rolled her eyes and grabbed Max's wrist, dragging her into her room. She closed and locked the door, swiveling around to find Max already sprawled out on the bed, a blissful smile on her face as Eli curled up next to her head.

"Awwwww! This bed feels so awesome!" she exclaimed, letting out a large sigh.

"Right..." Sparks replied distractedly, pacing back and forth in front of the bed.

Max sat up and watched her for a moment, "...What's wrong?"

Sparks stopped and stared at her friend, shaking her head, "Everything...Everything is wrong. Vesper's father ordered for Gunther to be killed for selling secrets, Vesper has some sort of beastly power inside of him, and there seem to be lots of sneaking around and people hiding stuff from me. How am I supposed to help if I'm kept in the dark!?"

"Beats me, I guess we'll find out everything as we go along," Max replied easily, laying back on the bed.

Sparks growled in frustration as she stomped her foot, "This is giving me a headache!"

Max looked at Eli and the two of them chuckled quietly before something strange started happening. The room seemed to have gotten darker, the shadows acting up and creating a circle around the girls and dragon. Max sat up when she sensed something strange...something, sinister.

"Wha-What's going on?" Sparks questioned before letting out a cry when something rammed the door.

There was a feral shrieking as the thing kept pounding on it, as if trying to break in. Max jumped up and stood in front of Sparks, backing her up into the bed as her eyes turned black and the shadow creatures surrounded her protectively. She held her hands out, sending out a blast of blue fire that hit the door, pushing it back tight. The beast on the other side shrieked before pounding on the door faster and harder, something close to scratching noises being heard.

"Get away from here!" Max shouted, her whole body glowing as she sent out one last wave that hit the door and everything went quiet.

The shadows settled back down and light entered the room once again. Max ran to the door and opened it, both girls shocked to see large scratch marks on the wooden surface, starting at the top and dragging all the way down to the bottom and were at least 5 inches deep.

"What was that?" Sparks questioned quietly.

Max stared at it before her hands began to glow a light green and she put them on the door, already starting to regenerate the damaged wood"...I don't know, but whatever it is, it's not nice...We can't let the prince or anyone else see this or things will really get out of hand."

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper hissed in fury as he made his way through the stables and eyed each horse carefully. The cloak he was wearing was drawn tight around his face and he smiled when he noticed a palomino mare already saddled and ready to ride. Vesper slunk over to her and stroked her soft muzzle, smiling and whispering to her quietly. But when he heard footsteps behind him he swung around, reins still in his hand, and saw the stable boy and his master running towards him. His face was masked in shadow and hidden from their view but he could see them perfectly, and as they neared him and idea popped into his head. Apparently from what Sparks had said, anger had triggered his last transformation and right now he was still very testy.

He smiled and experimented with his anger by letting himself get furious but letting it ebb enough to know what was going on. He was surprised to feel fangs on both his upper and lower jaw, but as a scratchy hiss erupted from his throat he thought of Gunther and felt them growing longer. He stepped toward both of his assailants and growled at them, an unearthly sound that sent them running. He smirked and forced his blood to quit boiling. They hadn't even realized it was him. The smile faded though as he mounted the mare and spurred her on, setting off at a gallop.

He'd had it with his father and training. Gunther just happened to be the last straw. For the past few years his father had gradually continued to grow worse and worse and Vesper just didn't think he could keep up with it. He squinted into the rain as he rode the horse out of the palace gates and into the town, keeping to the main roads and urging the mare as fast as she would go. He continued on, getting a good head start and managing to reach the docks in a matter of hours. He slowed down a bit as he saw the one long pier that stretched out to what appeared to be a floating deck out on the water, and beyond that ships of all different sizes. Vesper stopped the horse and pulled it to a stop, dismounting and walking back from the water towards a large wagon with a horse still hooked up to it, grazing on the grass.

Vesper walked closer still and before he could knock on the wood, a gypsy came crawling out of the back and smiling a black smile at him. Her auburn hair was frizzy and embellished with beads. Her green eyes danced when she looked up at VEsper and held her hands out.

"Young Prince! 'ow lovely ta see ya! Wot would ya like taday?"

Vesper pulled his hood down and looked at her carefully, a weary smile on his face.

"Cara, I want something strong and potent that will... hide me I suppose. From the supernatural you could say. I need something really strong. I just need it to last long enough for me to travel to the Native Islands."

She looked at Vesper closely and nodded slowly with concentrated look on her face rounded, dirty face.

"I 'ave sumthin' in mind young Prince."

She beckoned to him to follow her to the back of her wagon and reached through a bluish purple blanket to produce a bright orange drink in a bottle. She smiled.

"You drin' this an' you'll be mighty 'ard ta fin' fer 'bout four weeks. You'll be 'dere by then."

He took the bottle and uncapped it, sniffing doubtfully at it and looking back to her, dark green eyes sparking. She nodded to him before spotting the ring on his finger.

"You take tha' thing off an' ya prolly wouldn't need this. Tagether nothing coul' fin' ya. Not even tha devil!"

She winked at him and he took a breath, silently apologizing to Sparks for this. He tipped the bottle back and drank down the contents savoring the sweet tanginess. He then proceeded to tug on the green ring until it came off, leaving a band where it once was. He smiled at Cara and backed away slowly.

"I owe you Cara. Thank you."

Cara smiled and waved to him, wishing him good luck. Vesper simply nodded to her and continued back to the mare. Mounting the horse, he spurred her onto the long pier and kept her walking until he reached the large open platform. He jumped down and scanned the rowboats all around him until he saw the man he was looking for. Rofus sat in a rowboat waving at him and Vesper took a deep breath before walking over to them and jumping from the platform he was on, into the rowboat. He steadied himself and looked to Rofus then, eyes a burning scarlet.

"I trust you Rofus."

The man nodded.

"Don't worry my Prince. I personally know the captain. He served alongside myself and Rajus. We've had this in place, in case you ever wanted to... Are you sure about this?"

Vesper snarled and looked out to the water.

"Yes. The King's Men need me most now."

"What about Sparks?"

"I regret this but she wouldn't understand. She would want me to work it out between Annalei and the King's Men. But all I want is the King's Men. My father always told me you have to make your own choices... That it's the making of the king. Well I choose the King's Men."

Vesper turned slightly at the sound of bells ringing in the distance, declaring it to be six in the evening. He shook his head and reversed to watch the sun starting to stain the sky pink.

-------------------------------------------------------

Rajus materialized in Sparks' room, distastefully eyeing Max and Eli. He looked at Sparks sitting on the bed and emerged from the shadows, frowning.

"Why do you look so upset? Did something happen?"

She told him about the marks and he turned to look, freezing when the bells of the chapel began ringing. He paused and smirked.

"Six O'clock."

He then paused and looked at her softly, blue eyes shining.

"I haven't heard from Vesper. This whole situation must have shooken him up. Perhaps you would go talk to him. Though I'm able, i chose not to enter without him admitting me. But he wouldn't answer. Maybe you could get him to answer?"

He sighed.

"His father used to be so different..."