Maluwa woke up and tried to fall back asleep.
She wanted to dream the bad memories away.
She finally opened her eyes and startled at Duwa hovering over her.
Duwa nodded.
“Your good now?”
Maluwa nodded like it was an exchange they had everyday
Duwa held out some clothing to Maluwa.
"Comb your hair and get dressed."
The clothing was very strange and Maluwa had never seen anything like it, but somehow, she remembered the style and knew how to wear it.
She slipped the outfit on and combed her long black hair.
Maluwa looked in the mirror that had been set up.
She looked alot like her mom.
Her long dark hair haloed her pale skin and her blue green eyes were drawn out because of her clothing.
She looked like she was made for the clothing.
Duwa came in and gasped.
"Maluwa! You look beautiful!  How did you arrange your sash that way? Can you show me?"
Maluwa blushed and nodded.
She rewrapped Duwa's sash expertly.
Duwa was pretty. She had light brown hair and well rounded features. Her skin was lightly tanned.
Duwa grinned.
"Man, Vanfor will be lovin me!"
The name startled Maluwa.
"Is Vanfor your boyfriend?"
Duwa nodded shamelessly.
Maluwa figeted. She drew her attention to the room.
It was very spacious with two queen beds against the wall.
A deep tub was in the corner and a mirror stood beside it.
Chairs had been placed around a rug in front of a fire place.
The walls held several colorful tapestries.
"Where are we?"
Duwa smirked and came away from the mirror.
"We are in the headquarters of a group that protects Tchotta."
"What's Tchotta?"
"The highest secured Division."
"Um, not to be dull, but what's a division?"
Duwa scoffed.
"The Divisions are a group of planets that all have different dimensions and ways of life, but are connected by a group of Fayaeries and their heros."
Maluwa gapped at Duwa.
"What are Fayaeries, how do you know all this,  and why do I suddenly remember all this?"
"Fayaeries are ultimate beings that hold together the very fabric of the Divisions. I know all this because our distant cousin Dzuwa told me. What do you mean you suddenly remember all this?"
Maluwa frowned. How many "uwa's" was she related to?
"I mean that I believe you. All the sudden I remember… I remember talking about the Divisions with my mom."
Duwa frowned.
"How is that possible? Why would you remember that when it hasn't happened?"
Maluwa shrugged.
"Tell me about… Fayaeries and Dzuwa", she prompted her cousin.
Duwa's confident smile returned.
"Dzuwa has been living in Tchotta for two years. She moved here a while ago and has lived here since. She tells me that the reason your city exploded is because", Duwa checked the door anxiously and leaned close to whisper. "The corruption."
Maluwa shivers and she had no clue why.
"What's that?"
Duwa smiled.
"Almost no one actually knows, but Dzuwa serves one of the heros as a companion so she told me."
"Wait, she serves a hero, as in one of the Fayaeries heros?"
Duwa nodded.
Maluwa mouthed “Oh”.
"Anyway, the corruption is a Fayaerie that has turned bad. The Fayaerie of Sky has turned bad. Regellis, her hero, is dead so she is looking for a new one. Two other Fayaeries are looking as well because their heros are dead too. That's why Guhury blew up. They were fighting. When they fight, bad things happen."
Maluwa felt a surge of anger. Three big baby Fayaeries had destroyed her family so some awesome person could serve them?
"Why do they even need heros? Why are they fighting? They don't seem to care!"
Duwa looked shocked.
"Maluwa! Calm down already! The Fayaeries need heros for earth. Fayaeries are too powerful to fight. Plus, they have to watch over their power."
Maluwa still felt mad, but she had to let her jaw drop at the idea.
"So the Fayaerie of the sky controls all the sky? At the same time?"
Duwa nodded.
Maluwa gasped.
A memory exploded in her head.
She collapsed to the ground while the memory flashed behind her eyelids

"Maluwa, you must listen."
Her mother's voice.
Maluwa didn’t want to listen, she wanted to go play with Dzuwa.
They were going to sneak into the meeting hall of the heros and pretend they had Fayaeries of their own.
"Maluwa!"
She sighed and turned to look at her mother.
Her mother looked her straight in the eyes.
"I already made you forget my real name. I will make you forget so much more, but first, I have to tell you this. Just make sure you tell no one," she said solemnly.  Then she leaned closer to whisper. 
"I am corrupt."

Maluwa sat up with a gasp. The words echoed in her mind.
I am corrupt…
Duwa slouched in relief.
"Maluwa! What happened? You just blacked out all the sudden!"
Maluwa opened her mouth to share but remembered what her mother had said.
Tell no one.
She closed her mouth.
"I just was holding my breath for too long."
Duwa frowned and rolled her eyes, but seemed to accept the excuse.
"We need to go. Fellucia wants to speak to us about the explosion of Guhury."
Maluwa rubbed her eyes.
"Who's Fellucia?", she asked.
"One of the heros."
Once Maluwa decided she would be able to stand without falling over, she pushed the memory from her current thoughts.
She would think of it later.
Duwa led her through a gorgeous building made of white marble. It had large open hallways with plants everywhere.
It must take days to water them all.
She followed Duwa until they came to a set of doors.
A metal plaque read,  "Fellucia,  Hero".
They both pushed open the doors and stepped inside.

Dzuwa watched her mistress pace back and forth across the room.
Even though the girls were about the same age, it was clear that Fellucia was in charge.
She just seemed so much older. Dzuwa didn’t know how else to explain it.
"Did you tell that serving maid to bring the two girls in here?"
Dzuwa nodded.
My cousins, she added silently to herself.
When she saw Maluwa, she was going to kill her.
Where had she disappeared to?
Dzuwa had simply received a note, warning her not to search and that her cousin's disappearance was classified.
It only made her more curious.
The doors lurched open and both girls jumped.
Dzuwa hurried to her spot behind Fellucia’s chair.
Fellucia sat down and arranged herself beautifully.
Duwa hurried in and began waving at Dzuwa.
Dzuwa panicked her drew her finger quickly over her throat.
Duwa stopped and blushed.
Then Maluwa walked in.
She was just as pretty and stylish as always.
Fellucia leaned backwards and whispered to her.
"You cousin with black hair is very beautiful."
Dzuwa nodded.
Maluwa’s wide eyes roamed the room before landing on Fellucia. Then they landed on Dzuwa.
She emitted a small gasp.
Dzuwa glared at her and then smiled.
Maluwa looked confused and almost worried.. She sighed.
"Hello girls. I am Fellucia, hero of the Fayaerie of Earth. She was disturbed by the news that your city was destroyed and wished for me to ask about the planet itself.
Duwa froze and glanced helplessly at Maluwa.
Maluwa nodded.
"The whole planet is in ruins. All of the trees have fallen and many fires burn there."
Fellucia's head fell.
Dzuwa stepped up to comfort her.
Fellucia waved her off.
"Dzuwa, I want a DNA test on them both. Then I need you to show your cousins around."
Dzuwa nodded gratefully.
She led her cousins to the door.
"I'm going to give you a DNA check. Hold still."
Both girls flinched, probably thinking of needles and blood.
Dzuwa smiled and raised the scanner.
"One, two, three," she murmured. After a quick click, she put down the scanner.
"My lady, I have scanned it and set them to print in your room once they have been verified."
Fellucia nodded.
Dzuwa left the room with her cousins behind her.
As soon as the door closed, she spun around and gave Maluwa a hug.
Maluwa stiffened.
"What's ever happened to you? Disappearing like that. I didn't know what happened when you stopped answering my letters. I thought you were gone!", she scolded.
Confusion flooded Maluwa’s eyes.
"Huh?"
Dzuwa rolled her eyes.
"Don't play dumb. Seriously,  what happened? We are best friends."
Maluwa stiffened and fell over in a dead faint.
Duwa dove to catch her.
“Maluwa!” she cried.
Dzuwa began to panic.
Something was wrong. Maluwa had seemed too… truthful.
“Duwa, what-”
"She was holding her breath again," Duwa explained.
Dzuwa was utterly mystified.
"What?"
"It's…  a long story."
 

Dzuwa and Maluwa sat looking up at the stars over Guhury and laughing over their past adventures.
"Did you see the look on her face? Priceless!", Dzuwa laughed.
Maluwa laughed as well.
"We will be best friends for forever, " she sighed happily. A flood of memories filled her head.
Sleepovers, games, dares, and overall, hanging out with Dzuwa.
They had a deep friendship and trusted each other.
All the sudden, Dzuwa screamed.

Maluwa woke up in her room with Dzuwa and Duwa hovering over her.
She rubbed her head.
What had their mom's been thinking when they named them?
She felt an urge to trust them with her strange memories.
She would need friends.
Vanfor walked in.
"Never mind thanks to you, Vanfor", she muttered.
Duwa hugged him.
He whispered something into her ear and she laughed.
"Fine! Dzuwa, Maluwa, I am needed elsewhere. You'll be OK?"
We both nodded.
She and Vanfor left in a hurry.
Dzuwa sat down on the bed.
"Okay Maluwa. I know you too well. What's up?"
Maluwa frowned and took a deep breath.
"My mom erased my memories."
Dzuwa stared at her but didn't say anything so she took it as a good sign and went on.
"I've forgotten everything about my previous life here. Slowly, I've been having my memories returned. They always explode in the back of my mind and force me to relive them when it happens."
Dzuwa stood up and began to pace.
"That's crazy why would… what's your mom's name?"
Maluwa startled at the strange question and replied honestly.
"I don't know."
Dzuwa gaped at her.
"So you're telling the truth. I've grown up with you for all my life, besides the two years when I had left for Tchotta, and I can't remember your mom's name. It's  not like I never knew, it's…", she closed her eyes and seemed to think.
"It's missing," Maluwa put in softly.
Dzuwa nodded with wide eyes.
"Oh man. Who is your mom? Why is she hiding all this stuff from you?"
Maluwa shrugged.
"How would I know?"
They sat in silence for a while.
"I know how we can figure it out," Dzuwa announced.
"How?"
"If we keep getting you memories back, we are sure to find why. All we have to do is trigger them."
Maluwa nodded excitedly. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of secrets being hidden inside her. She wanted to get it out into the open.
"Maybe walking around and seeing some of this will bring it up. I remember being here so, ya."
"Come on."
They both got up and fixed their hair and clothes in the mirror.
Then they left the room in a flurry of excitement. They were going to get to the  bottom of this.
Dzuwa led her around the place showing her all sorts of things.
The whole place was beautiful. Wide arching doorways that led to long hallways.
Artfully decorated rooms of different colored marble.
It truly was a beautiful place.
Nothing happened.
They finally got tired and went to eat in the dining room.
"Can I have two pirqus and a declai?", Dzuwa asked.
"Me too," Maluwa added trying to cover her confusion.
She had no clue what either of those were, but she decided to follow Dzuwa's lead.
The serving lady nodded.
"Your lucky they are serving declai tonight. It's really yummy," Dzuwa murmured to Maluwa.
"I keep forgetting you don't remember what some of the things are."
Maluwa nodded.
The food looked delicious.
Pirqus were a type of pita filled with carnitas and other things Maluwa didn’t recognize.
Now the declais, that was what excited Maluwa.
It was a type of pie crust shaped like a orange. It had chocolate and some red sauce drizzled over it.
She had no idea what was in it but it smelled like heaven.
She had to take a bite.
It was crunchy, but exploded in her mouth.
Flavors that had been long forgotten came back to her.
It was the best thing she had ever tasted.
Maluwa was almost certain that given the opportunity, she would gorge herself to death on them.
"Uh… wow. That was nice."
Dzuwa laughed at her expression.
A maid walked over.
"Miss Dzuwa, Hero Fellucia requests your presence."
Dzuwa sighed.
"You can have the rest of my declai."
"What? But it's yours! You eat it!"
Dzuwa shook her head and laughed.
"I have to go. Eat it or I'm throwing it away."
Maluwa’s eyes bulged.
"Throw it away?! Are you crazy? I'll eat it."
Dzuwa laughed and quickly left the cafeteria.
A strange boy passed by Maluwa as she watched her cousin leave.
She didn't even see what he looked like, but a burst in her mind gave her no time to prepare.
She fainted and fell backwards onto the concrete ground.

Maluwa desperately tried to make it through the crowd.
She watched as a handsome boy walked up to the platform.
"Don't do it!", she screamed.
Her scream was drowned out by other people's cheering.
"You can't work for them! The corruption will kill-," someone stopped her scream by covering her mouth.
Her mother pulled her into her arms and rushed out.
"Oh Maluwa! What have you done! You promised to not share! If anyone knew you knew about the corruption, they would kill you! Shut up you foolish girl!," her mother yelled.
She then cradled Maluwa in her arms.
Maluwa shook all over.
"Get away from me!," she yelled.
One strong push sent her mother falling onto her back.
"Why did you tell me? If I can't tell other people,  we will all die!"
Maluwa’s mother got up slowly and looked at her bleakly.
"Oh my dear. I shouldn't have told you. I must erase your memory."
Maluwa began to shake in fear.
"And Maluwa? I wanted to warn you, the course of the Divisions is already set. They will die."

Maluwa woke up gasping for breath.
"No!," she cried.
It was then that she looked up.
A boy was carrying her down the hall with a woman in white beside him.
They both looked down in surprise when she yelled.
"You're okay! Thank goodness," the boy announced.
Maluwa gasped when she recognized him.
It was the boy in the memory.
She had to search her mind, but eventually, she found a name for him.
"Logn?," she said faintly.
Logn smiled and put her down.
She stood up slowly and almost fell over.
After steadying herself on a wall, she looked him over.
He had midnight black hair and icy blue eyes.
She noticed him looking her over with a strange expression. She stepped back an inch.
“I guess I’m more famous than I thought it strange fainting girls know my name.”
Maluwa blushed.
The woman, who was apparently a healer, leaned over.
“That was no faint! Her heart had stopped. I’m going to need to run some tests on you.”
Maluwa paled.
Tests?
Logn seemed to notice her discomfort.
“My dear, uh, healer lady, can you please let the poor girl be? Now is not the time to take tests. Plus, the Trials are starting in two days. She will need rest and won’t have time for the Trials.”
The tress seemed to debate this matter before agreeing.
“Fine. Just make sure you go right to bed.”
Maluwa nodded almost too eagerly.
As soon as the healer was out of sight, they turned to face each other.
“Thank you so much,” she told him with genuine gratitude.
He smiled.
“Your welcome. I am guessing you won’t tell me what this is about, so can I at least have a name? It’s for the Trials.”
She nodded but then gaped at him.
“You mean it wasn’t a joke? We really have a bunch of tests that we have to do called the Trials?”
He laughed and smiled compassionately.
“You forgot about them huh?”
“Uh, ya. Sure. My name is Maluwa!”
Her mind raced and she turned to sprint down the hallway.
She could hear Logn laughing softly, but she didn’t care.
She had a test in two days?
As soon as she was back in the room, she ran over to Duwa who had just been dropped off by Vanfor.
“Man, I just had the best time-,” Duwa started.
“We have a test,” Maluwa interrupted between her gasps.
Duwa sat up like lightning had struck her.
“A test?,” she squealed. “You had better be joking!”
Maluwa shook her head.
“Logn just told me about a test called the Trials and-”
“Ohh. Who’s Logn?”
“Duwa!”
“Sorry. Where is Dzuwa?”
“I have to ask, does it even annoy you to have such similar names?”
Duwa shook her head.
Dzuwa opened the door and walked in leisurely, just in time to meet a tornado of questions.
“Dzuwa! Do we participate in the finals?”
“What are the finals?”
“Duwa, it’s called the Trials. What do they even go over?”
“Who’s Logn?”
Dzuwa put her hands over her ears.
“What’s going on in here? The Logn Finals? What is that? A television show?”
Maluwa sighed and waited patiently while Duwa tried to explain it.
When Duwa was talking, there was no point in trying to get a word in.
Dzuwa sat down.
“So Logn is Duwa’s new boyfriend and he’s forcing you to participate in a race called “the finals”?”
“No!,” Maluwa moaned. “Logn is just a boy I met in the halls who told me about a test called the Trials that was coming up in two days.”
Dzuwa nodded sheepishly.
Maluwa narrowed her eyes.
“So Logn isn’t your boyfriend?,” Duwa clarified.
“No!”
Maluwa and Dzuwa said it at the same time in the same pitch.
They gave each other small glances.
Soon all three girls were laughing.
“Sorry,” Duwa laughed, wiping her eyes. “I couldn’t resist.”
They rolled their eyes.
“You had another memory return didn’t you?,” Dzuwa murmured to Maluwa when they had a moment.
She nodded.
“I’ll tell you about what triggered it and what it was later,” she returned softly.
Duwa smirked.
“Seriously though, do we have tests?” Duwa asked loudly.
Dzuwa nodded seriously.
“You do. I’m sorry I forgot to mention it.”
They groaned at her and she smiled apologetically.
“They will be in two days. All they are doing is trying to figure out what rank the fourteen and thirteen year olds should be.”
Maluwa nodded and straightened. She was fourteen.
“It happens every two years. Don’t worry though. Studying isn’t needed. There’s nothing to study for.”
Maluwa sagged with relief as she remembered Logn’s excuse.
“The only other thing it tests you for is if you are a pakrii of not.”
Maluwa groaned and rolled her eyes.
Dzuwa smiled.
“I’m fifteen so I had them two years ago, when I was fourteen. I tested positive for being a pakrii so I got to leave Oyyer, and come work for Fellucia in Tchotta.”
Maluwa frowned.
“Because you were positive, you got to work for Fellucia?”
Dzuwa nodded.
“Heros can only have assistance that are of a higher pakrii level.”
Maluwa contemplated this.
“I thought that heros chose an assistant and friend the day they are made a hero. I heard that heroes have to chose someone and tell them in person.”
Dzuwa nodded.
“You are correct. Fellucia was made a hero two years ago. I was chosen because of my pakrii level. I’m a seven. The levels go up to ten.”
“What level is Fellucia?” Duwa asked.
Maluwa focused on Dzuwa intently.
“She is a level eight. I know what you will ask next. The only known tens was Nyanja and Aroce. They are the leaders of the heros. Well, except for Regellis,” she added quickly.
Duwa and Maluwa shared a look.
“You never did tell us, why did the Fayaerie go corrupt?” Maluwa spoke in a hushed tone.
Dzuwa paled, but leaned closer to be heard.
“It is forbidden to speak of this, but I think you have a right to know. The Fayaerie killed Regellis. That is breaking the code of the Fayaeries and it immediately rots their core when they do a bad act. They lose all sanity and are filled with evil.”
Maluwa gasped.
“But that means the corrupt Fayaerie doesn't have a hero. Isn’t that a good sign? That means he can’t do very much to anyone.”
Dzuwa shook her head.
“Not good. As a Fayaerie, he has a right to having a hero. Anyone he can talk over could be his hero. That’s why they are paying extra close attention to the pakrii levels. They need to find the powerful people and get them hooked up with a good Fayaerie before the corrupt one can get his hands on them.”
Maluwa sat in silence to process this.
The corrupt Fayaerie was looking for a hero because he killed his own. So what happened to the other two heros? Did their Fayaeries go corrupt too?”
Dzuwa paled at the idea.
“No! Of course not. Rubious is dead because because he died in battle. Remember how your city exploded? When Rubious died, his Fayaerie, the Fayaerie of Light, lost a bolt of light that flew down and struck Guhury.”
Maluwa clenched her jaw.
“Now Lemenya, no one really knows how she died. She supposedly went off for some training with the Healing Fayaerie and died. Not many of us believe it though.”
Maluwa felt the name nudge something in her memory.
She tried to grab it, but it was just out of her grasp. It kept slipping away. After a few tries, it slipped away and disappeared. She couldn’t find it after that.
Her frown darkened her mood like a shadow covering a window during the day.
She sensed the day, it just didn’t reach her.
“I’m sleepy so I think I’ll sleep on this,” Duwa announced.
Maluwa looked at her in shock. How could she consider sleeping after hearing this?
Dzuwa, however, stood up as well.
“I want to go talk to Fellucia. She might need me.”
Maluwa saddened slightly when she remembered that golden Fellucia was Dzuwa’s best friend now.
Maluwa glanced between the two girls, and sighed
“Okay. I guess I’ll sleep now too.”

Aroce took his shirt off and quickly replaced it with a sleep shirt.
He had just been through a long day of training and was ready to sleep.
A quick, urgent knock sounded on his door.
He sighed and went over to the door.
He opened it a crack.
“Fellucia? What in the world are you doing at this time of night?”
He opened the door a bit wider when he saw how pale she was.
“I believe there is a great mystery on our hands. May I come in?”
Aroce nodded suspiciously.
“Whats up?”
“It’s the new girls from Guhury. Take a look at this one.”
She held out two DNA charts.
Both of them were very similar.
From his knowledge, he could see that it was a mother and a daughter.
“So what?”
Fellucia held out the person charts for them both.
“Look at the names.”
The first chart was the daughter. Her name was Maluwa.
Then he looked at the mother and gasped.
“Oh my goodness.”
Fellucia nodded anxiously.
The mother was named Lemenya.

Maluwa nervously watched as the line drew closer.
It was almost her turn to go into the strange room and be tested.
Duwa would enter next.
Maluwa once again gulped.
The past few days had been full of discussing the tests and what to expect.
Maluwa had ran into Logn a few times and chatted.
They were becoming good friends.
She once again was shuffled forward.
Duwa walked in.
Duwa had grinned back at Maluwa, but she knew that Duwa was very nervous.
The seconds ticked by more slowly than Maluwa could have thought.
Then it was her turn.
Someone opened the door and Maluwa managed to stumble through.
Two, no three people stood glaring at her with their arms crossed.
She gulped.
Fellucia was there as well.
“Are you Maluwa?” A tall lady in white asked. She had an air of confidence about her.
Maluwa nodded curious about who she was.
“I am Nyanja and this is Aroce. I hear you already know Fellucia.”
Maluwa paled slightly. Was the test this important?
“We know you are Lemenya’s daughter. How did this happen? What happened to Lemenya?”
Maluwa gaped at them.
“I am not Lemenya’s daughter!”
Her voice seemed to return and the trembling left her.
“I know I’m not… her daughter.”
Maluwa finished quietly as a sliver of doubt entered her.
She didn’t know who her mother was.
Her mother was dead and had been corrupt.
Her mother had known an awful lot about the corrupt too.
Could her mother be Lemenya?
Nyanja’s eyes narrowed.
Maluwa knew she had taken the doubt for hesitation because of a lie.
“Tell us what you know. Plus, we have proof that you are her daughter.”
Maluwa stopped preparing a protest in her mind.
“What?”
Nyanja snapped her finger and Aroce held out two DNA charts.
They did show very similar patterns.
Side notes had been scribbled in, explaining the logic behind it.
Lemenya was her mom.
That meant she would know what happened to Lemenya.
From what she had seen, Lemenya had been very open with her and shared everything.
Before erasing it.
“I think I am Lemenya’s daughter,” she slowly informed them in shock.
Aroce and Fellucia sagged, but Nyanja straightened.
“That means you can tell us what happened.”
Maluwa shook her head.
“No, I can’t. My mom, Lemenya, wiped all my memories of this place. It’s true that they have been slowly returning, but lots are still gone.”
The three heroes shared a look
“Listen… Maluwa. Your mom was…”
“Corrupted?” Maluwa guessed quietly.
Aroce and Fellucia’s eyes widened, but Nyanja kept her cool.
“Yes, but do you know why?”
Maluwa didn’t know, but she tried to guess.
“Was it because… she killed someone?”
Nyanja even let her jaw drop.
“No! Of course not!”
“How do you know that?” Fellucia asked suspiciously.
The young girl was proving to be intimidating.
Maluwa shook her head nervously and tried to laugh it off. No one joined her.
“Your mom was corrupted because the Sky Fayaerie corrupted her.
She learned something big about the corruption. She figured it all out and knew how to stop it, but before she could share, someone corrupted her.
A day after we learned of her corruption, she disappeared!” Nyanja explained.
“We didn’t even know she had a daughter,” Aroce put in.
“Two,” Maluwa corrected absentmindedly.
“Two!”
“Uh, ya.”
Nyanja gave her a withering look.
“You say your memories come back?”
Maluwa nodded. She was too busy processing it to speak.
“You will inform of of whatever memories you get, the moment you get them. Understood?”
Maluwa nodded obediently.
Nyanja didn’t look very approving, but she turned on her heel to go.
“Just scan her and call the meeting over. We already know her rank.”
Nyanja and Aroce left the room.
Fellucia came up and scanned her.
“You will receive a note in the morning telling you your rank and level of pakrii, if you are a pakrii.”
Fellucia rolled her eyes and Maluwa needed no reminder to escape the room.
She went straight to her room, where Duwa and Dzuwa were waiting.
“What in the world took so long?” They both cried.
Maluwa sat down still in a daze.
“I’m Lemenya’s daughter. I know how to destroy the corruption.”
Dzuwa and Duwa gaped at her.
“I think she has gone mad,” Dzuwa told Duwa.
“No I haven’t! It’s true. Nyanja, Aroce, and Fellucia and told me so!”
“Sure…”
The girls continued to debate the truth in Maluwa’s statement as they went to dinner.
After snagging three of the last declais and eating the delicious food, they had decided to settle it by checking her pakrii level in the morning.
“I know that Lemenya’s level is eight so your level will have to be eight of higher to prove it,” she hold told Maluwa.
Maluwa collapsed into her bed and was asleep in seconds. She was far too tired to stay awake.
The next morning, Duwa and Maluwa got up and dressed.
It was a rest day, so all there was to do was wait for Dzuwa and the notes to arrive.
The notes arrived first.
“Open yours!” Duwa urged.
“I want to wait for Dzuwa to arrive,” Maluwa countered.
She was very nervous and wanted to put it off for as long as possible.
Duwa shrugged and opened her own.
“Oh! How cool! My rank is a nine! That means I can hang out with heros if they let me!”
She sighed though when she saw her pakrii.
“A big fat zero,” she mumbled.
Maluwa comforted her friend and celebrated with her.
Dzuwa arrived soon after.
“Sorry I’m late! I slept in and Fellucia wanted help dressing…”
She sighed.
Maluwa stared at her cousin.
The thought of Dzuwa helping Fellucia dress was… disturbing.
“It’s okay! Maluwa waited for you anyway,” Duwa informed her.
Maluwa nodded and began opening it with shaking hands.
“You’re results have been calculated by the tests… bla bla bla… ah. Here we go. You’re a level nine in rank… you’re a level ten in pakrii.”
Dzuwa and Duwa yelled excitedly and jumped all over.
Maluwa didn’t notice any of it.
Her hands shook even more as she read the next line.
“Your life is in danger now. Three Fayaeries will be hunting you for your service. Please come see me at four.”
Dzuwa and Duwa had stopped.
They regarded her with big eyes as she sank to the bed.
“Well, I guess you were right after all.”
Maluwa really wished she wasn’t.

It was four. Logn had been amazed, but not surprised, when he heard of Maluwa’s rank and pakrii level.
He had offered to walk her to her meeting, and Maluwa had readily agreed.
She didn’t feel like going by herself.
“I still can’t believe you're a pakrii level ten!”
Maluwa slouched a bit and rolled her eyes.
“I thought you said you weren’t surprised?” she fired back.
He laughed again.
Maluwa blushed at the sound.
All of their arguments stopped once she saw the doors to Nyanja’s chambers.
Logn fell strangely quiet.
She reached up to knock and hesitated.
Logn pounded on the door.
She gaped at him.
“What are you doing? I, uh, argh!”
Logn grinned brightly but quickly hid it when the doors opened.
“Logn, Maluwa. Thank goodness you both made it on time. Come in.”
Maluwa was so surprised she couldn’t even pretend to not be.
Why was Logn here?
“Sit here.”
Nyanja led them in and had them sit on plush chairs before a fire.
Looking about the room, Maluwa noted that the room perfectly reflected Nyanja.
Beautiful, neat, and unique.
“I know both of you must be suprised why the other is here,” Nyanja began.
Logn and Maluwa glanced at each other.
She smirked in a friendly way at the surprise in his eyes.
No surprise huh?
Logn colored mildly and looked away.
“Maluwa, you are here because I need to speak to you about what is to come.
Your power equals mine, but only the Fayaerie of Water was missing a person when i came of age. There are three Fayaeries that don’t have someone. The Fayaerie of Sky is corrupt, so he is out of the deal, so that leaves Light, and Healing, which was your mother's Fayaerie.”
Logn’s eyes widened.
“Whoa. Her mom is Lemenya? Didn’t Lemenya go corrupt and then die?”
He seemed to notice Maluwa had stiffened.
“Sorry. I forgot you were here. Trust me though, I understand. My dad was Rubious.”
This came as a shock t Maluwa.
“Your dad is Rubious?”
He nodded.
“It’s not really common knowledge that my dad and Regellis fell in love and, um.”
He blushed a dark shade of red when Nyanja put her fingers on the bridge of her nose, as if feeling a headache come on.
Maluwa stared at him.
He blushed again.
“That probably is what ruined my rank.”
Maluwa sighed.
Nyanja seemed to recover. She fixed Logn with a fierce stare, but he returned it innocently until she looked away.
Maluwa had to cough in order to cover her laughter.
“You, Logn,” Nyanja said with clenched teeth. “are here because you also are a pakrii level ten.”
Maluwa almost didn’t notice the feeling of getting slapped in the face. It was becoming second nature to her.
“So he will be hunted as well?” she asked Nyanja.
They both stared at her and Maluwa shrugged it off uncomfortably f.
Nyanja sighed.
“Did you not hear him say his rank was ruined? To be a hero, you must have a pakrii level of eight or higher, and, you must have a rank of seven or higher.”
“My rank is three,” Logn explained.
He was clearly discomforted.
Maluwa gave him a look of compassion which he tried to smile at.
“So what is rank anyway?”
His smile was brighter now, but in a mocking way.
He laughed into his hand and Nyanja’s eyes bulged.
“Rank is a measurement of what job options you might have. The higher your rank, the better the job. Rank is measured off of your character qualities and determination in certain things. Mr. Logn here, has a rank of three, because it is hard for him to take things seriously, gets very emotional in the face of big things unless he’s joking, can be very rude and forgetful of his place, and he can’t handle being alone!”
Logn flinched as she counted off his “rankly flaws”.
Maluwa felt mad at the end.
Not very mad, but it just wasn’t fair to Logn! Well, maybe the system did make sense, but if he worked at it, changing those flaws would be easy enough. They were silly things that made him a human!
Well, he wasn’t really human. He was pakrii.
“How am I different?” she asked calmly.
Nyanja smiled sympathetically, like she knew Maluwa wouldn’t understand.
“You, are a lady of quality who is determined and sets her mind to her work, knows how to control her temper until breaking point, even at breaking point, she lets it out slowly until it is manageable, you know when to joke and when to be serious, and you are supportive of others!”
Maluwa frowned.
Logn glanced at her, but there was no hate in his eyes.
She said Maluwa hid my feelings well?
“Let's move on to more important matters already. I believe Logn would make a good guard, or despite his less than satisfactory rank, an assistant.”
“Seriously?” Logn asked.
Nyanja nodded.
“That is an option worth considering”, Maluwa tried to say casually.
“See that you think on it. I would say your cousin Duwa, is a good choice as well, but she has no pakrii at all. An assistant needs to be able to support your magic if you lose control in a flood.”
Maluwa frowned.
“What’s a flood?”
Nyanja laughed dryly for the first time.
“You will know eventually. For now, you are dismissed.”
We all stood and exchanged curtsies and bows.
As soon as she closed the door, Logn turned to her in excitement.
“Would you seriously consider me as a “maybe” for your assistant?” he asked breathlessly.
Maluwa laughed.
“Why shouldn’t I? I have to admit, the other ways of judging “ranks” I’ve seen before were a lot worse than this one, but it still doesn’t feel right.”
Logn smiled.
“I’ll see you around then?”
He looked so sad with his blue eyes wide.
Maluwa almost forgot to answer and walked away.
She remembered just in time.
“Definitely.”
They both walked their separate ways.
That night, was the first night when the whole Fayaeries-fighting-over-her thing settled in.
Sunlight flooded Tchotta in the middle of the night and everyone had to wake up.
Seemed like Sunny kept losing control up there.
It was a good thing to keep in mind.
Maluwa groaned and pulled the sheets over her head as soon as she awoke.
The midnight sunbathing hadn’t been much help for her sleep.
Duwa shoved her out of bed.
“Ahh! Duwa! What were you- oh.”
Duwa nodded.
Their belongings had been packed into a few small bags, including their new wardrobes.
“Because of the battle, we have to go to another Division that doesn’t have any cities around. We have to perfect the perfect princess.”
Her tone was rude at the end of her thought, but Maluwa let it slip.
It probably was a mistake. Or a joke.
No way was she showing Duwa how much her snide remark had hurt.
It was no surprise to her that Logn was coming.
Maluwa was rather devastated that Dzuwa couldn’t come, but Dzuwa needed to stay with Fellucia, and Fellucia was needed at Tchotta.
It was the way they were traveling that made her nervous.
They stepped up to a pulsing beam of light and threw their bags in.
The beam was in a locked room deep within Tchotta.
“Um, so how do we get there?” Maluwa asked, not at all liking her own conclusion.
“We jump in,” Duwa rolled her eyes.
Maluwa backed up a step.
“We are traveling in a light beam?”
Logn shook his head.
“We are traveling in sounds most solid form. A sound wave of sorts. Did you not notice the way all sound seems to be here in the room, echoing, and then it is soundless at the same time? Don’t worry though. It doesn’t hurt that bad.” He hesitated. “Brace yourself all the same.”
She gulped.

“I don’t like traveling this way either, but it's the only way to switch Divisions without using a sound ship.”
Maluwa noticed Duwa staring at Logn strangely.
Duwa blushed and looked away.
“Well then let's use a ship,” Maluwa suggested. She wasn’t really ready to jump into a glowing pillar of sound.
Logn gave Duwa a side smile that seemed to say, can you believe this?
Maluwa frowned.
“The Fayaerie in control of the Sky is corrupt… ?” Logn prompted.
“Oh. Yeah.”
“It’ll be okay. It doesn’t really hurt. It is… nice. Sometimes. It’s hard to describe. Just trust me.”
Very much against Maluwa’s judgement, she inched forwards and waded into the beam of sound.
Logn was right. Then ride was very hard to explain.
You just… pulsed and rose with sound.
Loud angry sound, soft gentle sound, so many sounds.
And then there was the silence.
Maluwa decided that the saying, “Silence is golden”, must have come from someone who was just on a sound wave.
It flowed with indescribable emotions.
Then, the beautiful silence was halted suddenly. A huge grinding noise filled the waves and maluwa felt like she was being turned inside out.
She wanted to go die in a hole.
In fact, she felt like she had died in a hole.
Finally, it was over.
She landed on shaky legs and found solid ground beneath her feet.
Out of all the awesome feelings she had experienced, the puky one had to be the one to stick around.
Maluwa grinned.
Logn almost collided into her when he landed.
He was sobbing, and he looked like he wanted to murder someone.
Maluwa took a nervous step away.
Nyanja’s words about his low rank came back to her.
It was only then, that she looked around.
The air was humid and sticky.
Everything else was… they must be in a different dimension.
White sand beaches and crystal blue oceans. Dense green forests outlined the beach.
The detail and beauty of it all took her breath away. She could see things exploding with life all around her. Shadows seemed alive.
Plants danced. It all was shaped intricately.
She could almost see the path of things yet to happen.
It was completely awe inspiring.
Her sick feeling left.
Duwa came out of the beam and puked.
Maluwa looked away and sighed. The feeling was back.
Logn had just gathered his wits and left the spot when Duwa came threw and puked on a moment later.
Maluwa winced at the thought of what could have happened.
Soft footsteps sounded and Maluwa looked up.
She was shocked to see a boy about a hundred feet away walking up.
Being in the sound beam must have strengthened her hearing.
As she waited for him to show up, she and Logn helped Duwa to sit down and relax.
Seeing the beautiful area had the same effect on Duwa.
Then the boy was there.
He was a bit taller than Logn, but with much the same build.
He had thick bronze hair and tan skin. His blue eyes were the same bright color as the ocean.
Maluwa looked away so he wouldn’t notice her ogling him. He was very handsome.
“Hello!”
Maluwa noticed his eyes focus on her for a while before moving on.
She bit her lip.
“My name is Lloyd. We were warned you would come here to wait for the fight to finish out.”
Duwa was too busy ogling the scenery to reply.
Logn was sizing Lloyd up, so Maluwa was the one to reply.
“Hi Lloyd. My name is Maluwa. This is Logn, and my cousin Duwa. May I ask what dimension this is?”
He nodded at her and answered.
“This is the fifth point dimension.”
Maluwa didn’t even try to ask what that meant.
“Wait, you said “we”. Are we putting a whole village in danger?” Logn questioned.
Lloyd shook his head and helped to gather some of our bags.
“Just my family.”
Maluwa felt guilty, but she consoled herself by remembering that they had volunteered, not been forced.
“Come on, this way!” Lloyd led them away from the beam and down the beach.
“We’ll be going on the beach for as long as we can. Then we will go into the shade, but trust me. The shade isn’t much better. You should still use this,” Lloyd told her, holding out a thick cloth.
“Huh?” Maluwa replied. After all, you have to say something smart when meeting a new person.
Lloyd lifted the cloth to put it over her head.
“You have paler skin so you will burn quickly in the sun.”
Maluwa waited quietly while he draped the cloth in a good position.
She felt her face going red.
“Oh, um, cool.”
Lloyd laughed, but unlike Logn, his was sincere and kind.
He had a nice laugh.
Maluwa paused.
Did she really just think that?
“Not anymore,” she murmured and pushed it out of her mind.
They trudged on the beach for the rest of the day.
It was exhausting and Maluwa had to force herself to take another step. The cloth Lloyd had given her did more bad than good. She just kept sweating.
The thought that cool tree shade was right past some of the sand dunes to her left was unbearable.
The food she had downed for breakfast in Tchotta seemed to be “sound waves” away.
When they settled down to camp, Maluwa had to admit that she was thankful for the cloth after all.
Duwa and Logn both had painful sunburns on their arms and faces. They were bright red and made both of them wince. Maluwa had only a slight red color, but no sunburns.
Lloyd looked a bit tanner than before, but otherwise seemed fine.
He didn’t even look tired.
Duwa and Maluwa sat down on the makeshift beds Lloyd gave them, while Logn swam in the ocean to cool down.
“I kind of wish I hadn’t refused my cloth Lloyd offered me,” Duwa panted.
Maluwa fanned herself with a plant leaf she had found nearby. It helped considerably so she showed it to Duwa.
Within five seconds, both girls had a pile of different type of leaves for their fans.
They went through and tested each one until found something they liked.
Lloyd emerged from the forest and laughed at them.
“We are really out of shape!” Duwa remarked to them both.
Lloyd set down the wood and began to arrange a fire.
The girls gasped at the thought of heat and looked at each other in shock.
“Don’t worry though, Mother will make sure you get in shape quick enough!” Lloyd said, not noticing their discomfort.
“Your building a fire? What in the world for? Do you want to burn us alive?” Duwa finally erupted.
Lloyd shook his head and began to light it.
“We need a fire to cook food, we need it for light, and as hot as it seems now, the night is freezing cold. You will be huddled by it once it gets dark.”
Maluwa exchanged a doubtful look with Duwa.
She was so warm that she couldn’t imagine being cold.
With her temporary super sensitive hearing, Maluwa heard Logn come back and climb out of the ocean.
She turned around.
He was rubbing a towel on his head.
When he stopped, his hair was in black spikes.
All three of them laughed.
Logn frowned and reached up to check his hair.
Feeling the spikes, he laughed as well.
They ate some of the pasta that Lloyd provided and tried to fall asleep.
“Can’t we, we get more leaves to be blankets?” Logn shivered..
None of them wanted to admit it, but Lloyd had been right.
It was freezing cold and them were huddled next to the fire.
Lloyd himself stretched out behind their huddled circle around the fire. He was gritting his teeth against the cold, but eventually managed to relax.
Maluwa frowned.
It didn’t seem fair.
“We can’t have blankets because of the war,” he said simply.
“Huh? How am I stopping everyone from getting blankets?” Maluwa asked in confusion.
“Not you, the war. It is safer to sleep here than in the jungle, but we are exposed. If one of the Fayaeries lost control and accidently let go of an element, something bad would happen and we would need to get away. If our legs got caught in the leaf, we could get stuck. It may sound silly, but that’s what my mom said. You don’t argue with her.”
Lloyd shrugged and rolled over.
Maluwa however was feeling worried.
She realized the cold wasn’t bothering her anymore and took the opportunity to fall asleep.
Something told her she would really need the sleep.

Aroce rubbed his head in slow circular motions.
Things were getting to be out of control here.
Groups of people were attacking Tchotta and leaving notes, saying they worked for the rebels.
How would the Fayaerie of Sky have connections with so many humans? Unless… he had secretly swept up a hero from somewhere.
Was there an unknown hero?
It was all too frustrating.
All the heros were out around town, fighting off the corrupt attacks.
Then here he was, sitting back and watching.
It was then, that Terrinous ran inside panting.
“Have you defeated the rebels on the north side of town?” Aroce asked hopefully.
Terrinous shook his head, looking pained.
“Oh sir… it was awful. They captured Maccauzi and I think his Fayaerie has joined the corrupted! Maccauzi is fighting against us now!”
Aroce moaned.
“The Sky Fayaerie has been sending freak storms all day! No one can fly anywhere! Nyanja can barely keep everything from flooding! Now the Animal Fayaerie is gone! We won’t be able to get enough food for all the people. Animals will probably attack us too!”
He sunk into a chair feeling overwhelmed.
Then he remembered that while Nyanja was busy, he was the leader of all the heros (non corrupted ones), and needed to be strong.
“Go find the others and alert them. We must pull our defenses back and evacuate one third of the city. Tell the evacuated people to come to the palace and they shall be taken care of.
Terrinous nodded and left the room looking relieved.
They had a plan, but they couldn’t hold off much longer.
He hoped that the war over the girl was almost done.
They would be needing her.

Maluwa looked at the hot sun and back at her cloth covered friends.
They looked like narrow piles of sand with legs.
It was mid-day, and she was starting to feel hungry. Her legs ached from the walk yesterday.
She and her friends had long since given up on supporting the cloth with their arms so they could see.
All the sudden, Lloyd jogged up and stopped her.
She pulled the cloth back so she could look at him.
“There is a steep cliff up ahead all the sudden so we are going to head into the forest. We should reach my house by night if we don’t run into any creepy crawlers.”
Maluwa strained to see a cliff, but all she saw were more sweeping sand dunes.
She didn’t like the sound of that “if”.
Lloyd had them wait for Logn and Duwa who had been lagging behind, before sharing.
They nodded and all of them took off their cloths.
Maluwa almost enjoyed taking off her cloth, just to dump it on Lloyd because of how unexhausted and cheerful he was. She knew it wasn’t very nice, but who would know?
They changed course and headed into the forest.
At first, the shade felt nice and Maluwa enjoyed the new five point dimensional scenery.
Then she began to understand why Lloyd had made them walk on the beach.
For one, it was way more humid in there. They almost sweat more than they had on the beach.
Two, it was a much rougher area.
Logs and strange plants were all over.
Trekking over around and under things was even more tiring than walking on sand.
After one hour, Maluwa was ready to die in a hole.
Unfortunately, the only hole she saw belonged to a cobra.
Not wanting to intrude, she let him keep his house and hurried on.
It got darker in the forest and strange sounds filled her head.
It was easy to imagine monsters out there.
Just in case those monsters were real, she decided to stick close to Lloyd.
He had a fast pace going, but looked very confident and unafraid.
He also had a knife.
“We will be at my house in five minutes,” he told her cheerfully.
“I am ready for some real food and-”
He paused. His face went paler.
So did Maluwa’s.
She heard it.
A strange unnatural whistle filled the air.
Lloyd froze and leaned back to whisper to her.
“I’m going to get Duwa and Logn. When I call, run as fast as you can to that tree and don’t look back. Once your by the tree, you will see my house. Run to it.”
“No! I need to help.”
Lloyd looked her up and down.
“Nah. You're a bit too shrimp like. Seriously. Run.”
She scowled at that.
“Fine.”
He slowly walked back to Logn and Duwa.
The whistling got louder and louder.
It chilled Maluwa’s spine.
Then it stopped.
Dead silence.
“Run!”, Lloyd yelled.
Maluwa took off as fast as she could.
Something jumped out of a huge plant behind her.
She tripped only like twelve times, and made it too the tree alright.
A small cottage stood right before her with its entrance facing the beach.
Someone looked out the window and spotted Maluwa.
Maluwa waved her arms wildly and the person ran to one side of the hut.
Maluwa sighed.
She made it to the door.
It was open.
“Hurry child! Come in before Maucker gets you!”
Maluwa needed no more encouragement to run inside.
She waited anxiously and gasped with relied when Duwa and Logn stumbled inside.
Now Lloyd was left.
They waited and waited.
Finally he limped inside.
He had a bruise on his ankle, but seemed fine otherwise.
“Mother! I’ve scared him off again!”
A lady laughed.
Maluwa turned around.
They were in a large room with a fire burning merrily.
It was a cozy homelike place.
It reminded Maluwa of her own mother. She would have liked this.
“Welcome. I’m sorry about your chase from Maucker. Or creepy crawlers, as my son calls it. My name is Valja and this is my daughter, Soliska. We are glad to have you here.”
Valja was pretty with paler skin that suggested she stayed inside. She long short blonde hair that was done into a complicated braid. Her eyes were dark brown.
Soliska was almost a mini Valja, except she had darker skin, like her brother, and eyes like his. She looked up at them with her blue eyes and smiled.
It made Maluwa long for her own little sister. The one she couldn’t remember.
She knew she had a sister, she just didn’t remember anything else.
Soliska suddenly ran up and wrapped Maluwa in a big hug.
Maluwa laughed and hugged her back.
“Hey Soliska. Nice to meet you two.”
All of the older kids grinned at each other.
“I know you must be tired and hungry, so let's eat,” Valja took charge.
She seemed to be a very kind, motherly person, but Lloyd was right.
You didn't tell her no.
Valja fed them some soup. It seemed like the greatest thing Maluwa had ever tasted.
Besides a declai.
Once they were finished, everyone was really tired, so Valja hustled them to bed.
“Logn dear, you can sleep with Lloyd. The girls can either have my bedroom, or they can sleep with Soliska.”
Soliska grabbed Maluwa’s hand.
“Will you stay in my room?”
Maluwa shrugged.
“Sure Soliska, if that’s fine with your mom?”
Valja nodded.
They went into Soliska’s room and rolled out the blankets Valja had given them.
Maluwa yawned.
Soliska slid off her bed and sat beside the girls.
“Have you really been to Tchotta? What is it like?”
Both girls laughed and tried to explain Tchotta to her.
“Where are your mothers?”
That made Maluwa fall silent. She shared a look with Duwa.
“Our moms left us in an explosion,” Duwa finally answered gently.
Soliska nodded and grabbed their hands.
“It’s okay. My daddy died when a monster attacked Mother. He just got in the wrong place at the wrong time and… snap.”
Soliska sighed softly.
Maluwa an Duwa shared a sad look.
“Where are your daddies?”
“My dad is in Tchotta.”
Maluwa paused.
“I don’t know who my dad is, or where he is.”
Soliska nodded.
“Sol… Soliska? Can I call you Sol?” Maluwa asked cautiously.
Soliska brightened.
“Secret nicknames! Mine can be Sol. Duwa can be Two. Hmm. What should Maluwa’s name be?”
Maluwa bit back a laugh and shrugged.
Duwa pretended to think.
“Hmm…. oh! I know! Her nickname should be Mal!”
Soliska nodded.
“We could be called the secret three!” Duwa announced.
“Soliska?”
Soliska was asleep.
Maluwa tried not to laugh as Valja served them breakfast.
She had just been introduced to the family pet, Hankie.
Hankie was some sort of cat, bird, and pony mix.
She kept cawing softly and licking her tiny front hooves.
She had paws on her back legs.
She looked like a large cat, but had a horsetail, and horse hooves. Her head stuck up like a bird's and she had a small pony nose.
She was mostly fur, but a few colorful feathers popped out.
If someone had described Hankie to Maluwa, Maluwa would have thought she would be… interesting.
She was actually rather beautiful, though being in the fifth point dimension may have had something to do with that.
Maluwa still wasn’t quite sure what the dimension meant.
“Caw?” Hankie seemed to ask.
Sol giggled.
Lloyd put his hands over his ears and muttered something starting with “that bird”.
Valja stood up.
“Alright everyone, we have work to do. Sol, Lloyd, go work on your chores. I’ll be sending them out to help you as soon as we are done with our talk.”
Lloyd grinned at that and walked outside.
Sol grabbed Hankies leash and the two went outside.
Valja turned to them all.
“Lets sit in the living room. When I took you all in, I agreed to teach you lessons about pakrii, Fayaeries, and the like.”
Maluwa nodded. That didn’t sound so bad.
Valja cleared her throat.
“As you know, a pakrii is a person with the ability to hold and use magic, but they don’t start out with any. The pakrii levels are the amount of magic you can hold. Why do Fayaeries single out pakrii with a high level to be their hero?”
Maluwa had to think on that.
Logn raised his hand immediately.
Valja nodded at him.
“Because the Fayaeries give their hero some of their magic to use in wars and stuff.”
Maluwa felt sure her mouth had shaped the word “oh”.
Valja nodded.
“Correct! That is why they train their hero. Why do you have to have a high rank?”
Logn lowered his head.
It was Duwa who answered.
“You need rank so that you can control the power.”
Maluwa considered resting her hand on his shoulder, but decided against it because that would make things awkward.
“I have one more question. If you were a hero, why would it affect your Faerie if you died?”
Maluwa and Logn raised their hands.
“Maluwa?”
“It would hurt their power that they gave you, in turn, hurting them. They would lose that power.”
Valja looked surprised.
“Who told you that?”
Maluwa was quiet for a moment before replying.
“My mom.”
Duwa gave for a sharp look that Maluwa pointedly ignored.
During the long walk, Maluwa had discovered smaller memories slipping into her mind.
Only the big ones made her faint.
Mostly, they were memories of her mom talking with her or playing with Dzuwa.
Strangely enough, she never saw her sister.
Not one memory even hinted of her sister.
It was confusing to her.
“You can go outside and join up with whichever one of my children needs help,” Valja said interrupting Maluwa’s thought..
They all nodded and tramped outside.
Sol was nowhere to be seen, but Lloyd was stumbling up under a basket of plants that seemed to touch the sky.
“Whoa! Are you guys going to eat all that?”
Lloyd nodded and managed to set the basket down on the porch.
“We will eat it during winter.”
Logn looked up at the sunny sky.
“So… what’s winter look like here?”
Maluwa playfully shoved him and he laughed, unfazed.
“In winter, the day gets so hot and bright that the whole forest burns up and the ocean boils. Our house burns too, unless we have a thick coat of soil over it. That’s what Soliska is working on. She would rather haul mud about than garden.”
Lloyd rolled his eyes, but it was obvious that he would rather dig in the mud too.
“He’s a nice brother,” I murmured to Logn.
He smirked.
“What’s it like at night?” Duwa wanted to know.
Lloyd sat down on the porch.
“It gets so cold that everything freezes over and snowstorms go all night. Because of how cool and wet the mud is, it freezes and permanently covers our house until spring.”
She nodded, impressed.
“Does anyone feel like helping?” Lloyd asked sweetly.
Maluwa giggled.
The three of them stepped down to help.
He led them onto a forest shaded path by the beach that went on for some time. Finally they came to a huge tree shaded clearing with bits of sunlight peeking through the leaves.
Plants were everywhere and they all seemed ripe. The huge basket full Lloyd had brought hardly made a dent.
Maluwa groaned with her friends.
Lloyd showed them how to harvest the different plants and how to best fill your basket.
Maluwa only had about half as much as Lloyd had, when she started feeling herself shake. She began making her way back.
It took a while, and lots of rests, but she finally made it back to the cottage and deposited her food on the porch.
Valja was slowly bringing all of the food into the small house.
She smiled gratefully at Maluwa.
“We never have gone so quick,” she announced before going inside with an armful.
Spotting Sol, Maluwa made her way to the small girl.
She was pulling a wheelbarrow as big as her, full of mud.
Maluwa watched in shock as the little girl hauled it up a few steps and began slathering the mud onto the wall.
She caught sight of Maluwa and waved with her muddy hands.
“Hi! Oh look! Duwa’s here too!”
Maluwa turned around to see her cousin march up to the house.
Her basket had barely anything in it.
Maluwa sighed and got an idea.
She motioned for Sol to come over and told her the idea.
Sol giggled.
She turned around, looking like she was busy plastering mud.
“Two! Two! Come here!”
Duwa looked around in confusion before remembering her “secret nickname”.
She began to walk towards Sol and Maluwa.
“Ready? Three, two, one… go!”
She and Sol threw a mud ball at Duwa.
She shrieked and tried to move out of teh way, but they both hit her.
She looked down in shock, but smiled when she glanced back at them.
“Oh, you are going to pay for this.”
She began pelting them with mud balls.
Sol and Maluwa cheerfully returned them.
The three of them laughed and ran around by the house, grabbing mud from everywhere and chucking it.
Finally they came to a truce.
“Okay. We have a truce,” Sol laughed.
Sol turned out to be a very good aim and she had strength to propel the mud with.
A mud ball flew through the air and smacked Maluwa right in the back.
She gasped and turned to see Lloyd laughing.
“I’m sorry, but I just got here. We can’t end the fun now,” he reasoned.
All three girls responded with a mud ball to his face.
A while later, they went down to the ocean to wash off all the mud before it could dry on them.
Maluwa was almost angry with herself because she hadn't swam earlier.
The water was gloriously warm and shallow too.
She could walk out extremely far and have it only come up to the top of her shoulders.
Orange floats had been chained to the ground at the point where it would go over your head.
Beyond them a ways, were green floats that marked the edge of “safe” waters.
Lloyd said that meant water where creepy crawlers didn’t swim.
After they had gotten out, Maluwa was looking around, when she realized someone was missing.
She frantically checked everyone to see again.
Someone was missing.
“You guys? Where is Logn? He hasn’t come to the house with plants yet. Where is he?”
Everyone searched for Logn around the yard, but he was nowhere to be seen.
It was getting dark and Maluwa was worried.
“Let’s search the field.”
Lloyd led the way and they all hurried to the field.
Logn wasn’t there.
They convinced Sol to go back and tell Valja that they were looking for Logn.
Everyone took a different direction and began calling for Logn.
“Logn!” Maluwa called.
She waited in silence for a moment before moving on.
“Maluwa?”
Maluwa startled at the sudden voice and relaxed when Lloyd walked out from behind a tree.
“Any luck?”
She shook her head and he sighed.
“Then I best go north.”
All the sudden, a memory exploded in the back of her head. It was bigger than the others and hurt a lot more.
Maluwa screamed and helplessly waited for the memory to take over.

“Maluwa! You. Must. Hold. Still!”, her mother said furiously.
She was trying to strap Maluwa into a still metal chair and put cuffs on her.
“No! Not again!”, Maluwa screamed.
She remembered the pain. She also knew this would be the last one.
All of her precious memories would be gone after this swipe.
“Don’t take them,” she hollered.
Her mother managed to slip the cuffs on her.
“Maluwa,” she warned darkly.
“You know I’m corrupt. I don’t feel anything right now except for what my master wants. I shared this with you because he has mercy on you. He likes you and doesn’t want you destroyed. If you don’t want to die, do this.”
Maluwa sat back with tears on her cheeks.
Her mother looked at her coldly and began wiping away the rest of her memories.
Maluwa acutely felt the pain of each one disappearing.
She hung on to them and thought about them as much as she could, but they always faded away.
Then she was empty.


Ch.4
Maluwa grabbed her head.
She wasn’t sure if it was still there.
Her head was aching something awful and her brain seemed to pound into her skull in time with her heart beat.
The return of almost half her memories had taken it’s toll.
She opened one eye and shut it.
Then she sighed.
She opened both eyes and forced herself to sit up.
There was no point in lying around.
Duwa gave her a big hug.
“Maluwa! I am so glad that you feel better! Oh my.”
“I’m fine. What happened?”
“I could ask you the same thing! You were out to long for it to be a memory so what was it?”
Maluwa clung to her head as she answered.
“Give me a moment…. okay. It was a memory, well, tons of memories. I got back like half my life because in one memory, I thought through almost all my memories. There still are a lot of blanks, but I got more back. According to this, I never had a sister.”
Shock filled her and a great sadness too.
She had been imagining her sister the whole time? Maluwa had been so certain that her sister existed.
“Wow, that’s amazing! Did you get memories of your mom? Or anything new?”
Maluwa grimmanced.
“No. That’s the thing. I only got back some of my memories, and most of them were the same thing! Playing with Dzuwa, hanging out with someone who looks remarkably like Logn but older, and sitting around my house. Nothing important. Now that all of those memories are out, it’s like there is another layer of hidden things beneath them. They are a lot harder to reach, but I can sort of… feel them.”
“No way! Do you think your mom hid those there because they are more important?”
“Maybe…”
“Now that one part is interesting. Do you think Logn has an older brother?”
Maluwa shrugged and slowly relaxed her grip on her head.
“Oh, by the way, Logn still isn’t back. I’m sorry.”
“What? No! Where is he?”

Logn sat back in the chair.
Dinner had been delicious and the pretty girl had let him eat as much as he wanted.
As if she knew he was thinking of her, she turned around and smiled warmly at him.
“Why won’t you tell me what your name is?” he tried again.
She just smiled.
“I told you. Your friends can’t know who I am.”
“What if I swear I won’t tell?”
She hesitated.
Her pretty black hair sat still on her shoulders.
Logn liked her hair.
“Please? I just want to know the name of my rescuer!”
Logn had been out in the fields when a tree had unexpectedly fallen on him, trapping him beneath it. He had been knocked out and gotten a serious bump on his head. He felt like he couldn’t remember some things.
The girl had saved him and brought him to her cottage.
She sighed.
“Fine. I can’t give you my real name, but I can give you a fake one. Just call me Lucy.”
Logn grinned.
Lucy looked relieved.
“I like your name, Lucy.”
Lucy simply smiled.
She looked so familiar…
“I have a question for you Logn. Before you go back to your friends.”
“Okay,” Logn agreed.
“Do you want to stay with me? We can work together forever!”
Logn really wanted to say yes, but something held him back.
This girl is corrupt, his mind whispered to him.
Huh. What did that mean?
Logn shrugged.
If that was all that held him back, he would agree.
“ALright. That sounds great.”
Lucy smiled at him in delight.
She pulled out a thin golden box.
“This holds some of your memories that you lost. If you're going to stay, I need a few more memories from you. Is that okay?”
Logn nodded but suddenly felt sick.
His stomach was churning and his mind felt like it was trying to escape from his head.
He shoved the weird feelings away.
She put him inside a chair and hooked him in.
Then she began.
Logn felt pain.
Such pain-
His memories were leaving. He tried to pull them back but they got away.
He put in a final effort
Then he was empty.
She smiled at him and gave him a hug.
She was pretty. They were together.
He would be alright.