I could imagine it now, hearing it from my shower that wasn't as loud as everyone seemed to think.

I could hear Andor get up from the bed, a bandaged stomach and hands and everything. I was surprised he could stand up.

He walked out to the farmhouses kitchen from the bedroom, trying desperately not to make his walking look less pitiful.

And Martha probably practically dropped her dishes that she was washing. "What are you doing up?" She said. She dragged out a wooden chair from the dining table. "Sit down. You need more then a day to rest."

He shook his head. "I don't want to sit still anymore," then cleared his throat,"where's Hope?"

"In the bathroom," Martha answered, picking up her stress cleaning again, "I finally got her to wash her hair."

After turning off the water and trying my best to dry my hair, I left the bathroom with a pair of grey sweatpants and an equally lackluster tank top.

Just like my mood right now. GREAT!

My mind slipped away from sarcastic thoughts and sassy one liners when I saw him. Just sitting on the bed, positive as all hell, like nothing as just happened. As if the world was still sane. He was so good at pretending the world was sane.

He looked up at me and his face lit up. "Hope-"

But I didn't give him the chance to finish saying my name. I had already practically knocked the wind out of him leaping in for a hug. After missing him for two months I was going to get a correct god damn hug!

I could have cried, and probably would of during the state of mind I was in, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He laughed a little under his breath and into my hair. I still wouldn't let go. "I missed you too," He spoke. He gripped onto me tighter. His arms were shaking and I wasn't sure if it was because of the pain he still had in his back or if he was still nervous around me. "I'm sorry," he said.

I let go of the hug, really confused, and stared deep into his eyes that I really, really, really missed. There was just something so innocent about them, or something that was trying to stay innocent. They were so bright and full of life.

I then moved my eyes to his whole face because rather than making more of a fool of myself staring into his eyes, I might want to pay attention to what he's saying.

"What's to be sorry about?" I asked, trying to pick up a smile but I didn't feel like making one. I just wanted to be real.

He sighed. "I got myself hurt. I put myself in that place."

"- no you didn't." I didn't need us to both be blaming ourself like our really bad mental issues would probably make us.

"But I knew it would happen," he whispered so quietly that I had to move closer to hear. "I didn't even tell you."

I then remember that. Why didn't he tell me? That had been poking at me. It was a question I couldn't get answered without asking him and I couldn't have asked him. "Why didn't you?" I spoke softly too, so he would have to get closer to me.

"I just", he stopped talking to take a breath and bite his lip on impulse, "wanted to be good enough for you. I wanted to be good enough for me."

"What?" I let out softly because that's all my brain would give out.

"You're so tuff and I'm not." He almost looked embarrassed. "I couldn't even save myself from a plan I made up."

I sighed again, deeper this time, and didn't move any closer to me. "I just wanted to be able to stick up for myself so maybe when you eventually left," he paused and gazed to me with the biggest blue eyes that he had ever had, "I could come with you."

He shook his head, hiding behind his big mop of brunette hair. "God, I feel so embarrassed."

"Goddess," I corrected.

He moved his head up, so I could see glances of his eyes staring back up at me again. "Good thing you're more embarrassing for me."

I almost crossed my arms, but I didn't feel like unlacing my arms from around his neck. I still wanted him to be close. Maybe even more close. "I don't remember you being such an asshole."

Andor's eyes got wide again and he looked genuinely nervous. "That was a joke, right?"

"Yes," I blankly answered.

And I made sure our lips met because it felt like they hadn't in such a long time. It was that brake down feeling that made my breathless, but I refused to take any breaths.

He held onto my back tighter and I was laying flat on him on the bed. The kissing became repetitive like a clock ticking away, but I didn't mind. It was a good repetitiveness.

We kissed more and more and got closer and closer through the minutes.

His breath hitched as layers left and the kissing became more messy and my heart was racing like nothing I had ever felt before. I could feel covers around me and his breath on my nose and his body right beside me.

My mind was more then blank it was dazed.

And through the moments feelings got stronger and my heart muscles grew tense and we kissed and kissed and kissed until I fell asleep.

"What about a squirrel gun?!" Tom suggested. "There is a lot of those little assholes around!"

Hope stood up more straight in her chair, sitting her shoes on my new damned tabled! "That's not even witty or funny, just ridiculous."

I didn't buy new furniture for this castle so she could just go and sit her shoes wherever.

"And unethical," I sighed, scratching out that idea, "And I don't think Ianite would like it."

"She's all natures and stuff in this universe, isn't she," Tom asked.

I sighed, not sure if I was sighing out of frustration or wonder. "Yeah."

"Hey Hope," Tom spun backwards on his chair, "what if Andor is actually your son!" Tom exclaimed "and your the dead queen."

"Yeah", She tried to stifle laughter, slightly smirking, "and your Jesus Christ."

"But doesn't it feel weird," Tom scowled, "Jordan's alter ego being your boyfriend's grandad."

Hope shrugged, "No, I kinda forget about it, and it's not like me and Jordan are related."

"Well, yeah," Tom was still on the subject, "but isn't he like a brother to you."

Hope didn't answer and I was still writing on my whiteboard.

Tom crossed his arms, pouting. "You both fight like brother and sister."

"Do not!" We both snapped at the same time.

Tom rolled his eyes because he had just proved his point.

Hope's eyes widened. "I didn't tell him!"

I finally stopped writing on the whiteboard to look back at Hope.

"What?" I asked purely because of curiosity. It's gotten to the point in our relationship that I don't even try to pry in Hope's antics.

"I didn't tell him about your alter ego," She pointed to me, and I realized she was talking about Andor and his grandfather, the founder of the kingdom.

"Fuck!" She slammed her face on the table. "I'm a horrible girlfriend!"

"Don't worry," I almost threw my dry erase marker onto the ground so hard that it bounced. "I got this!"

I'm going to make so many star wars references!

And all of our wrist bands rung from a message from both of the Mianite's.

"They want us out by the docks," Tom whined. "I don't want to leave."

I picked up my brown bag with my journal in it. Hope picked up her pink backpack. Everyone was ready to leave except Tom.

Tom sluggishly got out of his seat and grabbed his holster from my table. "I don't like walking in the town. I don't care how much Ianite tries to get rid of the taint," Tom walked slowly to the door as Hope silently herded him out of the building, "it still smells like shit and dead fish."

"A broken goddesses psyche does that Tom," Hope gave out her last sassy comment before she headed out the door.

"So you don't find it weird?" Tom asked.

Hope snapped a branch back, probably trying to make it hit Tom in the face.

If we could just get through these woods we could figure it out. If we could only get through these woods without arguing for once.

There might be other people from Mianite here.

"Why are you so hung up over this," Hope said, not looking back at anyone,"Why can't you just let my commitment issues fuck off and let me be happy?"

"You slept with him!" Tom practically screamed, making the birds fly away and Jordan cover his ears. "That's it!"

Oh, what did I miss?!

"Um what." I questioned.

Hope was covering her face, trying to hide whatever blush was showing. "Stop-"

"Why are you blushing," I let out in a sing sung voice. Sure I was being an asshole picking on her, but it was so fun!

Hope rushed ahead of us, shrugging her quiver on her back tighter and ignoring all of us. "You're all embarrassing. That's why I'm blushing."

She continued to try to disappear through the thick wooded areas, but it wasn't working. Her light pink backpack wasn't very conspicuous.

"Leave her love life alone." Tucker whispered at us both. It felt like more of a growl because he was genuinely upset.

I shrugged. "I just want her to be comfortable with us."

"Well that helped," Tucker said sarcastically.

Tom tried to catch up with Hope, hopefully to apologize. He pushed through briars and all of the low hanging tree branches. He also tried not to trip on the vines creeping through the ground.

"That's why you're so attached isn't it," Tom smirked.

If he gets smacked it's not my fault! I tried to tell Tucker through my eyes.

"Because you slept with him and you're really young," he continued to ramble on,"You know that was really dangerous of you-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP, OKAY," Hope snapped, whipping backwards and jabbing her finger at Tom's cheat, "MAYBE I DID, BUT THATS NOT THE REASON I'M "ATTACHED"!" She waved her air quotes right in Tom's face, "I'M SORRY IT'S STILL TAKING YOU SO LONG TO UNDERSTAND THAT IM NOT ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL TEAM ANYMORE!"

And leaving Tom in the state he was, which he deserved, she walked as fast as she could away from our seeing eyes without looking like a fuming teenager.

"Good job, asshole," Tucker hit Tom over the head.

"Ow," Tom whined, he looked a little upset at everyone including himself. "Sorry."

"First time you've said that in a while," Said even Jordan as he stepped over a fallen tree branch, writing in his Journal.

I think then Jordan had a small realization of what Hope had actually said, but kept it to himself.

I knew though.

I always know.

"I found your hidden fucking castle!" Hope screamed back to us.

And Tucker and I rushed forwards to where Hope was.

I peaked through the lining trees.

I saw a glimpse of what I knew I would find. Huge buildings made of stone and cement. A farm with its own irrigation system, which Jordan looked very impressed with. Beautiful gold and silver lined the streets and minerals glimmered down the stone paths like blood. It was gorgeous in a earthy kinda way.

But I knew I would find this. The complex design, the craftsmanship, and the perfection of everything.

The Wizards.

So the random note we had gotten was correct, which was nice for Sonja.

She was so excited to see something familiar, spinning through the stone paths, letting her feet follow the lines of silver and gold dribbling down the flagstone paths. As much as she would ever admit it, she missed Mianite. I think she missed Mianite more than Hope.

On the other hand that meant whoever had gave us inside intel was correct and smarter then I had originally thought.

One night, in the last weeks, me and Sonja got this letter. She said it had been sitting at our doorstep. A yellow envelope, stained with age, with a blue stamp to keep it closed. A stamp like something you would find in the 1700's, except this stamp had little gold flakes tossed into the wax mixture. Sonja and I opened the letter to see words that told us about more people from where we came from.

You should know these creative fellows. They're very keen on your old world. It's like their muse.

The letter stated where to find what we suspected were the rest of the Wizards. How they got here was unknown. Wag couldn't even explain. The only thing powerful enough to bring them here was fate itself.

We went through the darkest parts of the woods that used to be infested with, what Jordan liked to call, It. As the letter had said, the Wizards were here, hiding in the woods.

The letter was signed with the initials D.M.G.

"They even got the smell," Sonja started deeply breathing in the air surrounding us. "How did they make it smell like Mianite?!"

Not only was the smell of Mianite surrounding us, so where thousands of buildings. By thousand I mean thousand.

There were delicately made cottages, with shingle roofs and log siding. Dainty doors and gold incrusted windows. There were barns filled with healthy animals and fields filled with green crops. There were brick and mortar castles, and towers, and bridges crossing on top of small creeks and huge rivers. There were just plain empty buildings that they hadn't found anything to do with that seemed to have the most attention to detail.

Everything was lush and beautiful and full of life. There were multicolored flowers and trees with fruits and wild animals on the loose that just scattered around everywhere. There was wildlife I hadn't seen.

And through all of this, they had built the whole shabang on this area that they had turned completely flat. It was their canvas that they filled with all of their creations.

"It does smell like Mianite," Hope agreed.

She didn't look to good.

Since we got here, Hope had been seeming different. It wasn't age or love. It was something I only seemed to notice. She was more cynical, more self-destructive, more "I don't give a shit". I don't even think she knew herself she was acting this way.

She was less lively, acting like some kind of Robot. Just trying to get through another day, and even herself wouldn't note the dark circles under her eyes or the angry green flakes that were showing more and more in her eyes.

I felt bad, which is why I was trying to get everyone to leave her alone.

"I wonder where the Wizards are?" Tom asked.

We started to walk past the small cottages and farming areas. Those streets lead to the bigger more complex stone buildings. Some of those buildings where furnished and some were completely empty. Still they were just as complex as the other.

"The wizards still have to much time on their hands," Hope said a sentence that I was sure I had heard her say before.

By Hope, Jordan was jotting down ideas. It seemed like he was getting inspiration from everything he saw.

"Your going to make me a new bow," Hope nudged Jordan on the side, "Right."

Jordan tried to stifle a laugh, still looking down at his journal. "You wish I liked you that much."

The paths started to get wider and the growth got more pack and complex. Like they were painting over something over and over again. Just keeping onto the layers.

And right at the end of the wide path, in the middle of this wonderland, was a huge fucking castle. I mean ginormous. The stone was fitted and squared perfectly. The windows had a solid gold tint to them. I mean this castle was about as big as Ianite's temple in Athoria. Even the vines running up and down the towers didn't like messy.

But there was a huge mote around the castle and I wasn't sure how we could get past that.

"There's tapestries covering those tower windows," Hope pointed out. On the middle and biggest tower there were tapestries of green, blue, and orange.

"They're probably sleeping in there," I inquired, adding on to Hope's point. I shrugged. "We need to talk to them."

"I could climb up," Now Hope was trying to problem solve with me, and that problem solving was making her more happy. Or distracted. "But the mote is so big."

"You could get closer to the edge." And there was Tom with the dangerous idea.

"I'll have to anyway," Hope started to edge towards the side, "To be able to eyeball the ledge anyway."

Hope was edging farther and farther closer to the edge. It was like a centimeter at a time, and another centimeter and another and another.

Hope lost her footing right at the edge of the ledge. She flinched, holding her hands in front of her, and tripped.

Jordan went to catch her.

They both screamed, falling, until.

They both landed. On a stone bridge. That just appeared!?

"What?" Jordan let out in horrified shock. He looked about as pale as Hope. "I-" he stammered "-what?"

The stones rose from the mote and slowly turned into a pattern. That pattern lead to the entrance of the castle.

"They would find a way to use the force to make a bridge," Jordan stated sarcastically.

Everything seemed so small inside the castle compared to the outside. From the outside it seemed like something I would actually look for treasure in. On the inside, it was a little cottage. Well the walls were pure stone, but everything else was quaint.

Shelves were lined up on the wall. Books packed as tightly as they could. Glass bottles filled with substances of different colors were strewn all over the place.

A big red carpet practically covered up the rest of the floor, giving the place a very nice warm feel to it.

On those carpets were four desks. The one desk had a great deal of papers on it, complimented with a jar of ink and a pen. Whoever wrote here didn't take time to let the pen dust because there was ink everywhere.

The second desk had lots of those little potions on it. In the middle was a teakettle on a burner, and a magic book that was scarily close to the burner. The Magic book had the same cover as Wags, but the gemstones were different. The writing inside was also different.

The third desk, simply had a cookie jar on it.

But the fourth was a different story. It had a white sheet on it, and it seemed like that sheet had been sitting there for so long that it collected dust.

There were three staircases leading up to the second floor, and it was a very long staircase.

Oh sweet Dianite, no! I sighed to myself.

But there was nothing else down here except shelves of books and scary potions. We weren't on the hunt for liquids that could kill us. We were on the hunt for wizards.

"We need to see what is up all of those staircases," Tucker said, being the team leader he thought he was. If anybody was a team leader it was me!

He was right about the staircases, and to show how better of a leader I am, I thought up of a plan at that exact moment. "Race you-" was all I had to say.

Everyone was in there teams and running up the other winding staircases.