If Frost had managed to replace his not-so-trustworthy steed, that'd have been it, but on foot he wasn't all that fast and the soldiers with him had been picked for size not speed. That was pretty much all that was keeping us ahead of them, that and the tight, twisty streets of Meridian's back alleys.

Well, I say we, but let's face it: I wasn't doing any running. (I did make a mental resolution to look very hard into athletic clubs at Sheffield if I ever got the chance. If this sort of thing ever happened again, I needed to be much better prepared). Fortunately, either I wasn't heavy enough to noticeably slow him or Vathek was a contender for whatever the biggest footrace in Meridian was.

Unfortunately, so was Frost and from glimpses I got as we cornered he seemed to be gaining ground.

"Is there anywhere we can hide?" I asked quietly, before Mom stretched up and pushed another snackbar into my hands.

Vathek shook his head. "Frost would sniff us out. We need to get some help if we're going to get rid of him."

I thought about that. "And are we running towards help?"

"No we're running away from him."

This was not good, I realised. Mom was in great shape but that wasn't a very athletic shape and neither Miriadel nor Alborn was exactly in fighting condition either. "Then we'd better find some help fast, because all we're doing is tiring everyone but me out."

"I'm open to alternatives!"

As we went past another alley, I saw a glimpse of water. That... gave me an idea. Not a great idea, a terribly risky idea, but an idea nonetheless. And most of my ideas had lately. Sort of. "Are we anywhere near a bridge over the river?"

"What? Um, yes."

"Is it a fast river?"

"Most of the rivers in this part of Meridian are. You're not thinking... even if you've learned to swim since we last met you're in no condition..."

"Getting Frost's sword pressed against my throat isn't going to be any healthier. I hope the others can swim," I added.

"I hope that this isn't the river I think it is." Vathek sounded grim but he hung a left at the next turn, with a shout for the others to follow us.

"What are we going to do?" panted Miriadel.

"The bridge," Alborn nodded. "Get across that and one or two of us can hold them back long enough for the rest to break contact."

"I like your plan better than Hope's," noted Vathek as he led us out of the alleyway and across the street that followed the river. There was a humpback bridge crossing the river. It looked sturdy enough, which was a good thing because the river that flowed beneath it was moving a lot faster than the relatively placid one that ran through Heatherfield. "This river doesn't go far enough for that."

At the foot of the bridge he turned and jerked his head for Elyon's parents cross first. "I'm the only one who can hold them off."

I was still processing that when he lowered me so that Peter could take me from his arms. Being considerably smaller than Vathek the young man struggled a moment and then threw me over his shoulder, which was considerably less comfortable than being carried bridal style. There was nothing wrong with the view I was getting though.

Just as I was handing Caleb off to Mom (so that he'd be less likely to be crushed accidentally in my new position) Frost led his men out of the alleys and managed to somehow – I didn't see it very clearly - put his jaw right in the path of Vathek's fist.

"Go!" the rebel shouted as Frost reeled backwards, his soldiers stepping past him and jabbing towards Vathek with the spiky ends of their halberds.

Peter ran up the bridge, Mom right behind us. We crested the hump just in time to hear cries from both directions. In the direction I was looking, at least it was from one of the soldiers - Vathek had seized the halberd by the head, yanked it from the orange-skinned man's hands and jabbed him in the face with the butt.

From the other direction, I heard Alborn's worried call of "Annihilators!"

An instant later the bridge blew up.

I'm not exaggerating. There was a sound like thunder, the stones came apart and we went flying into the air. If you've never been blown up, I can assure you that I have been and I didn't enjoy the experience.

Then I hit the water and the only thing that got my head back above it was that Peter had - thankfully - managed to somehow keep hold of me. I tried to look around for Mom - and the others but mostly Mom - but all I could tell from being neck-deep in the river was that the buildings were sweeping by awfully quickly. Hopefully faster than the soldiers could run.

"Mo-urgle," I managed to cry out as water went into my mouth.

"Don't struggle." Peter wrestled me around, holding me in front of him. "I have you." It would have been creepy coming from someone else, but for some reason - perhaps the fact I'd be busy drowning without his arms around me, let's go with that - it was reassuring. "Before I teach you to surf, you're going to need swimming lessons."

I shook wet hair back from my face, brushing it across his face and picked my moment. "Mom!"

A moment later I heard her voice. "Hope!"

Well at least her head was above water if she could shout. Could she swim? Probably. At a guess she'd have taken Will swimming when she was younger.

The rush of water seemed louder and I felt Peter's arm tighten around me. "Uh-oh." He started kicking his legs and paddling with his free arm, trying to get to the side of the river.

'Uh-oh'? What 'uh-oh'?

The water fell away from beneath us. An instant later we fell after it.

Ah. That sort of 'uh-oh'.

"Aaaaah!"

W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H.

I woke up lying on cold stone.

Not flagstones, fortunately, just a sizeable boulder with a reasonable smooth surface. It was damp and I was soaked to the skin. Well, if I lived long enough to get a cold it was a decent exchange.

And to be honest, being a bit numb in places was probably a good thing.

"Ow..."

There was a snapping sound and I rolled over, first onto my back - the stone was by the side of a river, presumably the same one I'd been in when I closed my eyes - and then, with some effort, onto my other side.

Peter was standing with his back to me, shaking out his shirt. This, of course, meant that he wasn't wearing his shirt. My cheeks flaming, I rolled over in the other direction. Okay, well he was obviously fine... er, in fine condition... in good health! So... "Mom?"

"I haven't seen her." He touched my shoulder lightly. "You swallowed a fair bit of the river. How do you feel?"

"Cold, achy... scared." I paused. "Could you forget that last bit?"

"Me too, on all three." I heard him working on the shirt. "I didn't think you'd appreciate me taking off your dress for it to dry -"

Actually I'd have been perfectly fine with that. There was a perfectly decent under-dress that would have kept me modest... oh wait, it was white and would be soaked. Better not to then. It'd be awfully close to breaking my promise to Mom.

"- so I put you on the rock where you'd get what sun there is until you woke up."

"And the others?"

He shook his head and then gestured up the river. "I lost track after we went over the waterfall and haven't seen them since I got to shore. Either they were swept past us before then or they got to shore before I did. It's safe to turn around now."

I rolled over again and then tried to sit up. It wasn't the most comfortable thing I'd ever done but at least I could manage that. "So she could be upriver or downriver?"

"I just don't know. I'm sorry."

I rubbed my face and tried to think. God. She'd had Caleb too. Cornelia had trusted me with him. "Okay. Thanks for keeping me alive, by the way."

"Any time." He took my shoulder. "You probably shouldn't try to move though. You're still exhausted and probably hungry."

Oh he would mention that. Now I couldn't ignore the way my stomach was trying to gnaw its way through my backbone. "We should go upstream. If Mom was swept past us, there's no way of knowing how far she went, so we might need help. If she got out before us... well, how far did we get carried?"

"A mile perhaps. If you look back that way, we can still see Meridian - barely. I think the horizon's closer than it is on Earth. Otherwise I'd be able to see the cliff and not just the rooftops."

Horizons weren't always the same distance away? It took me a moment to realise that that would mean that Metamoor was a smaller globe than Earth was. Well, that seemed plausible. "So only a mile... that's not too bad."

Peter gave me a questioning look. "We may not be able to get up the cliff to get into the city."

That hadn't even occurred to me and my cheeks coloured. He must think I was an idiot.

"Why don't you watch the river in case someone goes by," he suggested. "I think these trees -" The riverside was lined with tall and sturdy looking trees - "mark the edge of an orchard. If I can get you some fruit to eat, maybe that will help you... feel better."

"Not keel over dead, you mean."

"Well I'm sure you'd like to recover to the point that you can walk on your own two feet." He grinned. "It's not that you're heavy, but I'm just not as muscular as Vathek. Sit tight a moment."

He walked into the trees and I looked down at the water. Well this was a mess. Hopefully Will and the others were doing better than I was. I'd lost Mom, I'd lost Vathek and Caleb and both of Elyon's parents... It was a good job that I wasn't one of the Guardians or we'd all be doomed.

Moving slowly I pulled lightly on the dress, hoping to at least get it to stop clinging to me. The long skirts were supposed to be flowing, but right now they were just uncomfortable and I suspected that the colour had run a bit. If I was purple-skinned right now...

Yes, I was trying to distract myself from what might be happening elsewhere? Could you blame me? Being swept off a waterfall had knocked me silly. If the same had happened to Mom then she could have...

"Well what do we have here?"

I jerked my head up and looked across the river. Frost was obviously soaked through, his long blond hair still dripping as he glared at me from the other bank. Slung across his shoulder was Mom, a length of rope knotted around her legs. She wasn't moving which frightened me until I realised that there wouldn't be any point in tying her legs together unless he thought that she might try to run away. So she wasn't dead!

It took a moment for me to realise that the Hunter was still talking to me. "...pays the price."

"Sorry, what?"

He glared at me and then produced a short, curved dagger from his belt. "Do you need a demonstration?"

Well from this distance I doubt he was planning to stab me which meant... "No! I just... zoned out."

Frost's lips drew back from his teeth. "Do that again and your mother won't be quite so pretty."

"I won't!" I'd messed up so much, I couldn't risk her life.

"Now get your ass over here."

I looked at the river in despair. "I can't."

He placed the knife against Mom's leg.

"I can't swim! Heck, right now I can't stand!" I pulled myself slowly towards the edge of the boulder until my feet were dangling over the river. "If it'll save her I'll throw myself in, but all it'll get you is my drowned body floating downstream!"

"Useless girl," grumbled Frost, looking me over. "Tell me where the princess is and your mother lives. Otherwise..."

I'd seen this question coming. How could I not?

But what would I tell him? Could I betray Will for Mom? Would Will want that? Well she wouldn't want this to be happening at all... but it was Mom!

Frost eyed me arrogantly as I wrestled with the decision and shrugged his shoulders, catching Mom before she could fall to the floor. "I guess you need some reminding that I'm serious."

Mom's eyes blinked and opened sleepily. Even across the river it wasn't hard to tell the moment that she focused on the bright blade of the knife: "Aaaaaah!"

"Don't!" I shouted, but the word was drowned out by a crack of thunder from the direction of the city.

The Hunter looked in that direction and then back at me.

"That wasn't me!"

"Stupid girl," he snorted. "That came from the castle."

"That's where you'll find Elyon," I told him quickly. It wasn't as if Phobos was likely to be unaware of that explosion. I only hoped that it was a good sign. "There, I told you. Now let Mom go!"

Staring back at the city and - I guessed - now aware that there was no real chance of him getting back there and to the castle in time to make any difference, Frost snorted. "I don't recall promising you anything like that..." He looked past me. "And don't you try anything either, boy."

I glanced back and saw Peter step out from behind a tree. He grimaced at my look and shrugged helplessly.

"So what will you do now?" I asked Frost. "By the time any of us get back to the castle this will all be over."

"And your princess will be a footnote in the history of Meridian," he spat back.

"Wouldn't that rather depend who writes that history?" I pressed my hands against the stone, willing them not to tremble. "If you're not going to let Mom go but you're not going to hurt her... well, what does that leave?"

"I'm not ruling the latter out."

"Oh come on, man," Peter exclaimed. "What's that going to get you?"

"A moment's satisfaction."

I saw the Hunter ball a fist – in anger or frustration - and with an effort I held up my own hand. "Think about it. There's two possibilities here: either Phobos wins or Elyon does. In the first case, we're worth far more to you as prisoners to hand over than we are dead. In the latter case, do you really want her to take a personal dislike to you. Either way it goes, you'd be making a mistake."

Frost's face twisted in anger but he didn't strike Mom. "Clever little girl."

"My name's Hope." And hopefully I was clever enough. If Phobos did win then we were all in a great deal of trouble.

"You have a better idea?"

"Why don't we all just take a walk back to the city and see what's going on? You know the way back and you have Mom so you've got the upper hand here. If your boss won then you'll have us right on hand."

"And if the Princess wins - unlikely as that might be - I'm walking right into a trap. I don't think so."

I frowned. Okay, so what would make this palatable for him? "Are you sure that's how it has to go? I mean... I know you captured Taranee and you tried to catch us a couple of times, but have you done anything other than that sort of thing? Because, yeah, you'd have to start over but if you deal honestly with us then it doesn't have to be from the inside of a cell."

"Oh right, so I should trust you?"

"You have a better deal on the table if Elyon wins?"

That got a snort from the big man. "That's true." He put his knife away. "Alright. There's a place I can cross the river upstream away. I presume your boyfriend can carry you that far. I'll take over from there."

"I can carry Hope as far as we need to go," declared Peter.

"This isn't gallantry, boy. A hostage who can't run away is considerably easier to deal with than one who can."

W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H.

The crossing that Frost had in mind was about halfway to the cliff, at a point where the river narrowed. There had been a bridge here once, I thought, or at least someone had tried to build one, because there were two broad stone pillars rising from the water, even if no actual bridge connected them. On either shore, stone piers had been built out and Frost climbed the one opposite us.

"Leave the girl on the other pier," he called to Peter. "Then back right up. I don't want you getting any clever ideas."

Peter grudgingly moved to place me upon the pier. "Like what?"

"Like anything!" the warrior spat.

I gave the young man a nod to back off. We didn't have much choice to trust Frost but he evidently didn't have even that much incentive to put faith in us... And he was right. If I saw a way to get rid of him without endangering Mom, I'd take it in a shot.

Frost was carrying Mom over one shoulder, much as Peter carried me. Now he tightened his grip upon her and backed up a bit before running up the pier. He had, as I'd noticed before, a pretty good turn of speed. Even so, my heart leapt up into my chest as he vaulted off the pier towards the first pillar. I didn't care much what happened to him, but if he messed up then he might do Mom a serious injury.

I needn't have worried. Frost's heavy boot crashed down upon the pillar and he barely slowed to take a quick step across it to kick off towards the next. He landed on that one too but his last jump was barely long enough and he wobbled on the edge before throwing his weight forwards. Little as I liked Frost, I sighed with relief when he managed to take a step away from the edge.

Without ceremony he hoisted Mom off his shoulder and dropped her next to me. She cried out at the sudden impact.

"Mom?" I threw my arms around her.

"I'm okay, hon'," she assured me, hugging me back. "Are you feeling any better? I don't have any snack bars..."

"Peter found me a little fruit," I assured her. I wanted to ask her about Caleb, I couldn't see the flower but if, by any chance, she'd hung onto him or hidden him then Frost finding out about him could be bad.

Now he grabbed me by the shoulder and lifted me up off the ground.

"Wait," Mom called and reached into her pocket. "Hope needs her medicine." She produced a small aerosol can.

Medicine?

Frost's hand lashed out as Mom removed the cap and he closed his hand around her wrist. "What is this?" he grumbled, forcing her to move the can up in front of his face. "This isn't a bottle. Are you trying to trick me?"

"Yes," Mom said sweetly and pressed down on the valve.

I don't know what was in the can but getting it sprayed into his eyes must have hurt like crazy because Frost screamed shrilly and let go of both of us. I fell back onto the pier but Mom managed somehow to stay upright and she threw herself against him. The big galhot staggered back and off the pier, while Mom fell onto the edge and barely avoided rolling after him.

Peter ran up onto the pier and produced a knife to cut Mom's ankles free of the rope. "What happened? What did you do to him?"

"Pepper spray," she told him succinctly, capping the can again before taking my arm. "It probably won't slow him down for long, we have to run."

The two of them hoisted me up and tried to share my weight as they hurried further up the river side. It wasn't working very well - they didn't take the same length of strides and it was slowing them down.

"Let me carry her," Peter said after the second time they almost dropped me. "Do you think you can hang on to my back?"

I nodded and Mom helped me to climb up piggyback on him. "What happened to Caleb?" I asked as Peter started to trot along. Carrying my weight slowed him to more or less Mom's jogging pace.

Mom's face coloured slightly. "I've still got him," she promised. "I can't get him out right now. I hid him from Frost in my clothes."

"He's not squashed is he?" I asked in horror.

"No, but he's slipped a bit and I don't think I can get him out without taking off more than would be decent."

Peter looked determinedly in the other direction. "You know, if you think you can manage running faster, we should do that. Frost might be out of the river by now and I don't think he'll let you use that stuff on him again."

"I'm feeling very motivated to try," Mom assured him.

W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H.

There was no obvious way up the cliff so we followed it, looking for a lower spot, or a stair. Peter was breathing heavily after carrying me around and I'm afraid my stomach was rather rumbling - the snackbars had been an hour or two back and one piece of fruit hadn't gone very far.

Still, the fact that a gnawing sensation in my belly was noticeable compared to the way everything else felt - aches, stabbing pains and the occasional moments when I simply couldn't feel anything in an extremity - was probably a good sign.

There wasn't a road or even a path to follow but nearer to the cliff the orchard had given way to a field of what looked like wheat (although it was at least as tall as I was, almost as tall as Peter's head was) and there was an un-cultivated strip of land between the wheat and the cliff so we simply jogged along that. I wished we were still by the orchard or we could have taken a break and I might have got something to eat.

"I think I see a house up ahead," Mom reported after a moment. "Maybe there's someone that can help us there."

"It's not much of a house, just a shack," Peter pointed out.

"It might also be all they have."

I shifted slightly to see the house - or at least the roof of it - better. Peter was right, it wasn't very impressive. "Let's just hope that they don't decide to capture us for Frost."

"Well you're a little ray of sunshine today," Peter noted.

Turning my head slightly I rested my cheek against his dreadlocks. "Hey, I'm hoping we're okay. I'm just... keeping other possibilities in mind. Planning for them."

"So you can talk them around the way you did Frost? You girls are pretty amazing."

"The others are amazing. You should see what they can do."

"Don't under-estimate yourself, sweetie," Mom disagreed. "I'm proud of Will, but you're the one who convinced that... man to accompany us back towards the city. Without that we might not have had a chance to get away."

"I didn't know you'd be able to knock him back into the river though! I didn't even know you had that stuff."

"I know. But you created the opportunity. You're a smart girl, Hope."

"Smart and cool - you know, calm in a crisis," added Peter. "I love Taranee to bits, but she can be a little hot-headed sometimes. Which sort of fits now that I know about the fire thing."

Well that was nice to hear. I'm not sure how true it was in an objective sense, neither of them being particularly unbiased, but knowing that they thought that was definitely reassuring. There were more pressing concerns anyway. "I think we've been spotted."

The farmer was human - or escanor, I suppose - and he was armed. Okay, with a pitchfork, but it was in good condition and I didn't want to get stabbed with it. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"We fell off the cliff," Mom explained shortly. "We're trying to get back up there. I don't suppose you could point us in the right direction?"

His eyebrows drew together. "Fell off the cliff, did you? You must have had a soft landing. Is the girl hurt?" He didn't lower the pitchfork.

"I'm just tired." I didn't think it was the right time for an explanation. "If you can point us in the right direction then you'll be rid of us."

He grunted. "Fine. Don't want you city folk damaging the crops. Taxes are bad enough. Follow the cliff for another couple of miles and there's a stair someone carved years ago. It's steep, but the next place isn't for as far again and you'll be doing well to get that far before sunset."

"Thanks, man."

The farmer gave Peter an odd look. "You're not from around here? Came for the coronation?"

"Uh, well yes that's right," agreed Mom.

"And somehow you fell off a cliff? I told 'em! I told 'em all there'd be trouble!"

"Well you weren't -"

There was an enraged cry from behind us. Frost's voice unless I missed my guess, and there was a 'sching' noise that sounded ominous.

"- wrong." I craned around but couldn't see far enough behind me - particularly as Peter broke into the fastest run that he could.

The farmer looked about as horrified as I was, practically dropping the pitchfork as we passed him. There was a meaty crunch and he cried out in pain.

"You're dead!" Frost snarled. "Dead!" It was pretty clear that that was a promise, not a deduction.

There was another scream from the farmer - so at least he wasn't dead. Mind you, Frost might change that in a misplaced sense of completion.

After he killed us.

There wasn't even time to ask Peter to drop me and run - if he and Mom split up then Frost might only be able to catch one of them after he killed me. And even if there was time, it would have been rather insulting.

There was, for reasons that I could barely guess at, a brilliant flare of white light from the direction of the city. I didn't have time to think about that.

As if from a great distance I heard Will's voice: *...free this crown and protect those who wear it!*

I felt a weight upon my head and cold metal pressed against my forehead. I had felt this before but this time there was no shock of Phobos spell tearing into me.

"But...!" Frost shouted in disbelief. "What is this!? Are you the princess after all!?"

The Crown of Light was on my head!

Oh no! If Frost got hold of it, he could take it back to Phobos!

The hunter's powerful hand grabbed by shoulder and tore me away from Peter. The boy whirled and I saw Frost draw back his sword for a thrust that would pierce him through the chest.

"Stop!" I screamed...

...and the world froze in place around me.

W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H.

Peter stared at the sword pointed at him. Frost stood in mid-lunge, me dangling from his offhand. Mom was still turning to look back.

They'd been in those poses for a couple of minutes as I struggled to get loose from Frost's fist. It was deathly quiet. I wasn't entirely sure what had caused this - it couldn't have been me, could it? - but it had reached quite a way.

Hopefully it was keeping the poor farmer alive.

After considerable wriggling - honestly, it was like Frost's every finger had its own bicep (whatever a bicep was, some sort of muscle) - I managed to get myself free of his hand, although the shoulder of Elyon's dress tore in the doing. A small price to pay, as was the flopping to the ground with all the grace and dignity of a bag of groceries.

Careful experimentation determined that I was about up to sitting up but that my legs were definitely going to be up to holding me upright. Okay. I could work with that.

Step one was to turn around and check on the farmer.

...there are no words. I will, I suppose, have to try though. There were bits of his... innards... spilling out. He was alive still, but I think he must have been kind of wishing he wasn't. I hoped he wasn't conscious during this... extended moment I was experiencing, because that would be horrible.

So. Step one was to stop Frost, because right now he was making everything worse. Step two, do something to keep the farmer from dying. Step three... get some food. Ugh, the very thought of eating after looking at Frost's handiwork was enough to kill my desire to eat but the fact was that I needed to.

*Taranee? Will?* I thought, hoping that one of them would hear me. Granted I was nowhere near where they should be, but I'd heard Will earlier anyway so...

There was a faint whisper of noise and when I focused on it, it resolved into Taranee's voice. *Hope?*

*Taranee! Thank goodness! Help!*

*Shouldn't you be safely with Vathek? How are you even telepathic all of a sudden?*

*I don't know, the crown just appeared on my head and it sounded like Will was talking and everything froze before Frost could kill Peter -*

*Peter! Is he alright!?" the bespectacled Guardian demanded urgently. *What did that monster do!?*

*Nothing yet,* I reassured her quickly. *Everyone's sort of frozen in place except me. But Frost was about to stab him! If it all unfreezes...*

*Can't you do anything? Where are you? What is Vathek doing?*

I took a deep breath. Okay, I needed to keep my head. *We got separated. I'm with Peter and Mom, I don't know where the others are. We're outside the city - there's a cliff with the city at the top and a farm at the bottom.*

WIll entered the conversation and I felt a surge of relief. She was okay. *Hope? I don't think we have much time. Elyon's fighting Phobos but it isn't going well. The Crown of Light vanished when we were clearing it of Phobos' spells.*

*That seems to have worked. Or at least, I'm wearing it and it's not hurting me.*

I could practically hear a relieved sigh. *Well at least that's working, although why... oh! I'm an idiot. I told the Heart to free the crown and -*

*- protect those who wear it,* I finished. *I heard. And since the last person to wear the Crown was me and I was rather in need of protection the Heart must have sent the Crown to me!*

*Is Mom alright?*

*For the moment.* It would probably be best, I decided, to leave telling Will about Mom being captured by Frost until she could check for herself that Mom had survived the experience intact. There might not be time for an extended panic. *Look, I guess we need to get the Crown back to Elyon, but I have a bit of a problem here. If things just start moving...*

*Can you use the Crown of Light to fix that?* asked Taranee. *If you managed to freeze them all in place with it, you might be able to do something else.*

*Like what? Make a sandwich?*

*...*

*I'm still hungry, okay? And it's not as if I understand magic! What am I supposed to do? Wish his sword would turn into sandwich, snap my fingers...* I could at least do that much. -snap- *and... oooh!*

Well I don't suppose that Frost would cause Peter very much harm, stabbing him with a stick of french bread, particularly one that had been cut upon along its length and filled with cheese and bacon and chicken.

*Sis, I can practically see you drooling.*

I crawled over to sit between Peter and Frost, reaching up to the sandwich and pulled it out of Frost's hands, tearing it in two when the end in his hand refused to move. *Hey, it's bad enough seeing the poor guy Frost hit first. I don't want that happening to Peter.*

*Agreed!* Taranee explained. *Whoops, that was close!*

*We're going to have to help Elyon,* agreed Will. *Hope... we'll get to you as soon as we can!*

*Deal with Phobos first,* I insisted. Chances were they'd not be able to find us in a hurry, it wasn't as if I could give good directions. *I'll take care of Mom and Peter.*

Not that I was sure how to do that, but as I chewed on the first bite of the sandwich I could come up with priorities. Disarming Frost didn't make him any the less dangerous since none of us had any means to counter the fact he was as large as any two of us. So the first priority had to be doing something about him or anything else might not work.

The second priority - sorry, Mr Farmer - was getting the crown back to Elyon. Her parents had seemed certain that that would give her an overwhelming advantage againt Phobos. If she and the Guardians were already having trouble then they would need that.

And it would be good if I could help the farmer. Poor man. He'd not asked us to bring this trouble onto his doorstep.

Elyon had been able to heal me with little more than a laying on of hands - or at least so it had seemed. Of course, she'd had weeks of magical education with coaching from Cedric. All I had was a magic crown.

It would have to be enough.

I looked at the pitchfork on the ground. Maybe if I sort of wedged it in front of Frost...

No. That was what he might do. There had to be a better way.

Instead I looked over at the farmer. Okay, it might not be the first priority but for that every reason should I experiment in healing him? But a mistake could kill him. Granted he wouldn't survive if I did nothing. What could I do with this magic?

Well what could the others do?

Conjure fire like Taranee. Make devices talk like Will. Hay Lin could fly... well that might be useful to get to the castle. Cornelia's control of plants could be handy here. Maybe I could use the corn to tie Frost up? Or... what was that? I'd heard something...

Well I'd already turned one thing into another. And Irma had done it within the first few days she'd been a Guardian.

Still, I'd never actually seen a toad. It was easier to imagine a frog. I'd probably better hide him from Will though or she might do something ill-advised.

"Be a frog," I ordered Frost, waving my hand dismissively in that direction.

Nothing happened.

"What? Do I have to say a magic word? Frog!"

That did it. Also I dived to save the bit of the sandwich he'd been holding from landing on the ground, which was totally unnecessary since the frog and the sandwich both remained in mid-air. I had a feeling that that wasn't normal physics and it wasn't the sort of question I could reasonably ask a teacher at school.

Also I got dirt on my face and almost lost the sandwich I still had left in my hand. Almost. I took another big bite, cramming as much as I could into my mouth. Manners were clearly less important than hurrying.

Okay. So why had my second attempt succeeded and my first failed? I really needed a teacher. I...

I was being an idiot.

*Miss Rudolph! Miss Rudolph! MISS RUDOLPH!*

There was a mental gasp of pain. *Please, not so loud? Is that you, Will? Is everything alright?*

I took a moment to boggle that the Crown was apparently powerful enough for me to reach across the Veil back to Earth. *Sorry. I'm Hope. We've met but you thought I was Will at the time. She might have mentioned me.*

*She did, yes. And you did manage to make quite a splash at Sheffield. So what can I do to help?*

*I sort of need emergency magic lessons. I'm wearing the Crown of Light -*

*You're what!*

I took another bite out of the sandwich. One advantage of this sort of communication was that I could talk with my mouth full. *It's a temporary situation. I need to get the crown back to Elyon, but I'm a good way away from her. And... someone's hurt. I want heal him if possible.*

*Oh my goodness! Well I'm not a physician, dear. Who is hurt and how?*

*I don't know his name, he's just a farmer! Frost stuck his sword into him and yanked it out and now there's bits everywhere and - oh no - I can't be sick. Don't be sick, dontbesick. I cannot throw up. Ugh.*

Miss Rudolph sounded more than a little bit alarmed. *Hope, are you sure you aren't hurt too?*

*Elyon said I'd be okay if I kept eating. But that's not important now.*

*If you say so,* she agreed dubiously. *So where was this man stabbed?*

*Um. In the... belly?*

*Oh dear. Are there... sort of sausagey bits spilling out?*

I squinted cautiously. *Ugh. Yes.*

She sighed. *It should all be one long piece. Ideally fix any breaks and put it all back inside him. More practically, just cut away anything two damaged and patch together the ends of what's intact. And hurry, he won't have much time.*

I tried to make sense of what had been ripped out of the farmer. If it had all been in one piece before then it certainly wasn't now. After a moment I gave up. *I can't make any sense of it! Isn't there another way?*

*I... perhaps I'm making this more complicated than it need be. Try asking the Crown for help.*

*Um... do you mean that it's alive?* I asked, reaching up to touch the thing. There was the smoothness of metal but not the cool that I had associated with it.

*I wouldn't go that far, but there's supposed to be some degree of consciousness to help a young Queen until she gains experience. You want the man healed, so if you let it know that then it should help you.*

I ran my fingers over the gem set in the brow of the crown. Where the metal had a gentle warmth, this seemed to almost pulse beneath my fingertip. "Is she right?" I asked. "Will you help me?" I took my hand away and it felt natural to point the finger at the farmer. "Will you help him?"

It seemed that the answer was yes. Light - the light of Meridian? - welled up through me. It wasn't coming from me, nor from the crown. This was Meridan's own magic. I could only believe that it would recognise the farmer as one of Meridian's people.

A glow covered the farmer and I hoped - begged really - that it would restore him to full health. To my surprise though, the glow spread back to me. "Hey, I said heal him not me!"

The pain was falling away though and when the glow faded away, I found that I could stand up. (I didn't stop eating the sandwich though). The farmer was sitting up too and Peter and Mom stumbled, calling out and looking around.

"Where is Frost!" Peter shouted. "He was right here, where that frog is!"

"He is the frog," I told him. *Thank you, Miss Rudolph.*

*I'm glad to help, Hope. Now I do have to get back to my other students. It's quite hard to teach magic and maths at the same time!*

*Thanks!* If she was still in Heatherfield next Christmas she was definitely getting a present.

"You're kidding, right?" Peter asked, looking down at the evidently freaking out frog. "How did that happen?"

I flicked my finger at the crown I was wearing. "Elyon's novelty headgear is quite useful."

He glared at the frog for a minute and it stopped in place, staring up at him with wide eyes. "You know, I've never been so tempted to kick a dumb animal."

"I don't know how dumb he is." I looked more closely. "I get the distinct impression he can understand you."

"Then if he does he'd better hop it."

I giggled as Frost took the hint and made his best speed back towards the river.

"It wasn't that funny, dear."

"Frog! Hop it!"

Peter looked at Mom. "Even I think I was being kind of lame."

She shook her head. "Hope hasn't heard all those hoary old jokes a million times. Although I get the impression that Irma's working flat out to fix that."

W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H.

The throne room of Phobos' - properly Elyon's, I reminded myself - was a bit of a wreck.

I'd expected that though, so I'd told the Crown to take us to Elyon's rooms, which were rather nice. It was a gamble, of course, since servants might have been inclined to take Phobos side. Then again I was reasonably sure that the servants had seen more of him than most and would have reason to prefer Elyon.

Finding the throne room really wasn't a problem. It was large, it was a focal point of routes through the castle and most importantly -

FWHHOOOMMMMM!

- yeah. Follow the sound of explosions. Unmistakable really.

Mom gave the doors - now leant against the wall opposite the doorway - with a certain amount of trepidation. Peter stuck his head around briefly and the castle rocked again while he did so. I licked the last crumbs of the sandwich off my fingers (Mom had insisted I finish it, no matter that I felt better now).

"Elyon's at the other end of the room," Peter murmured, moving back. "Judging by the glowing white ropes around her, I think Phobos won but the others are still protecting her."

"Then he hasn't won yet." A thought struck me. "If she's at the other end does that mean that he's at this end of the room."

"Don't do anything crazy, Hope," Mom warned me and then looked at Peter. "Did you see Will... and the others? Are they okay?"

"All limbs appeared to be attached."

There was a boom and a wave of heat.

"Taranee's steaming mad though," he added slyly.

I restrained myself to a brief giggle. "Now how can we get past Phobos to get to Elyon?"

Mom shook her head. "Probably not the best idea, sweetheart. Are there any doors down at the other end?"

Peter agreed that there were and we worked our way around the adjacent chambers until we found one of them. It rattled as we approached, as if shaken by a fierce wind. Which given that Hay Lin was in there, might well be the truth.

"This doesn't look much better," admitted Mom.

I dropped to my knees and squinted through the keyhole. "It looks okay, the others are covering Elyon and this part of the room's getting sheltered the same way." Turning the handle didn't open the door though - it seemed the lock wasn't just ornamental. "Great."

"Can't you just... zap it?"

I frowned. Probably yes, although how was trickier. And I didn't want to shatter it - that could end up hurting one of the others.

Then I noticed where the hinges were and ran my thumb down the lower of the three. "Let me through please." The metal parted like butter and I repeated the process on the next two, although Peter had to lift me up to get the top one.

"Okay, let's go."

"Let Peter get the door," Mom suggested, pulling me back slightly. "You focus on getting to Elyon quickly." She leant forwards and whispered into my ear "And no showing off to impress Peter. However hot you think he is, we need to win this."

"Mom!"

She kissed the top of my head. "I was young once too."

Peter gripped the door. "On three?"

We nodded.

"One. Two. Three." He yanked it open.

I ran through and saw a pink glow holding back a barrage of green glowing darts flung towards Will.

Taranee and Irma combined their powers and a jet of steaming water hosed across the throne room towards Phobos who raised his hand and gestured sharply to deflect it away from him.

Elyon was indeed bound although it wasn't rope. White bands of energy srapped around her in three places held her suspended slightly off the ground and her head sagged limply, as if she was asleep.

"Hope?" Cornelia exclaimed.

There was a shout from the other end of the throne room. "What! The crown!"

I lifted it high above my hand. "You gave it to me, Phobos. Crowned me Queen if you want to look at it that way. But we both know who it really belongs to."

"NO!"

A crackling stream of black lightning crashed down towards us and all five Guardians fired their own attacks into the beam to halt it.

Weakened by the four elements it clawed ineffectually at the pink shield of magic that Will raised with a sweep of her arm.

I wasn't sure if Phobos words that morning would matter but it seemed like an easy risk to avoid. "Elyon, I offer you the Crown of Light! I bestow upon you this symbol of justice and wisdom. Of honour and loyalty. May your eternal power illuminate the spirit and the path of your loyal subjects."

And then with both hands I placed the Crown on Elyon's head.

The little princess - not that I was any larger than she was - lit up like a lightbulb except much more impressively and the bonds holding her were blotted away is if they had never existed in the first place.

I staggered back, hands moving to cover my eyes. I didn't get the chance because Elyon clasped them between her own. "I'll try to live up to your example, Hope, and to those set by the Guardians." Her face hardened. "And my brother has given me an example of what not to do."

In awakening, Elyon appeared to have grown in stature and Phobos seemed to have shrunk proportionately. Or at least he looked meaner and less significant in comparison. "Damn you!" he shouted impotently, not even bothering to cast a spell against her. "Damn you!"

"That was your plan all along." Elyon waved her hand regally - not the mere flick of a Princess' fingers but a more forceful gesture. One worthy of a queen.

Phobos was driven to his knees as bonds formed around him. They also formed around Cedric, who I now saw was sprawled upon the floor, presumably having been defeated at some point earlier in the battle.

"You've oppressed Meridian... no, all of Metamoor... since our mother died," Elyon pronounced grimly. "If I thought that you'd wanted to steal my magic to rule over them better then I might be able to someday forgive you for that. But all you wanted to do was to break through the Veil so that you could exploit other worlds as well."

"What else is power for!?"

It was not Elyon who answered him.

"You could heal someone," Taranee pointed out.

Cornelia nodded in agreement. "Or you could protect someone."

"Or," Will added with a grin in my direction, "You could create a sandwich."

"Basically," declared Irma. "You don't have any imagination, Phobos!"

W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H.

Outside the castle a crowd had formed. When Elyon appeared the cheer that went up seemed to rock the castle.

She'd gone out alone, which left the rest of us standing in the wrecked throne room and for the most part wondering what to do next.

There were some exceptions however. Phobos and the still-unconscious Cedric weren't going to be given any choice in the matter. And Mom had - after a moment of privacy in the corridor outside the room - produced Caleb's flower-body to reunite him with Cornelia. I doubt she was thinking much of anyone but him at the moment and I couldn't blame her.

"So does Elyon have any dungeons that can hold these two?" asked Taranee with a thoughtful look towards Phobos. Peter had his arm around her shoulders and didn't seem likely to let go of his little sister any time soon.

Of course Will and I weren't any different - Mom and I had her flanked, sitting on a fallen pillar. "I'm sure she has them - but I'm not so sure that he might not have some way out of any prison that he's used," she agreed.

Phobos was at least prudent enough not to rant about how 'no prison would keep him'. On the one hand that would be suitably stereotypically villainous so it would be ticking that box as far as experiences went. On the other hand there was a perfectly obvious rebuttal to that and I wasn't sure the Guardians wanted to go there.

I wasn't keen on the idea myself. Still, I wasn't entirely going to rule it out.

It was a depressing thought, much too dark for a moment of victory.

"Maybe he could be turned into something more easily restrained," I suggested. "You're fond of flowers, aren't you, your highness?"

That earned me a glower.

"It's a thought." Will lifted the Heart of Kandrakar. "I don't suppose you have any suggestions how to wrap up our loose ends?"

It really didn't surprise me that she talked to the pendant. After all, she and I were now on first name terms with just about everything electronic in our apartment. And if the Crown of Light had some degree of sapience... the Heart was surely far more so.

In response to the question, the glow of the sphere pulsed briskly.

It caught all of our attention and then the next pulse was far brighter, leaving my vision obscured for an instant.

When the light cleared I was no longer in the throne room.

Instead I sat at one end of a bench in the abandoned amusement park we had left the day before - had it been so little time? Across the avenue, Peter sat upon the bench opposite with the arm that had been around Taranee's shoulders now draped across the back of the bench.

There was no sign of the Guardians - or of Phobos and Cedric (about whom I cared about one thousand times less).

I had time to look for Mom and spot her at the other end of the bench I sat on, similarly confused and alarmed.

Then a portal opened between the two benches. Opened, swept backwards and then closed once more after no more than a second.

In its wake were my sister and our friends - well, the other four Guardians. She had more friends than that I think. Perhaps I might too. They were no longer transformed into Guardians however. Instead they wore the same clothes they had worn on arrival here - still stained by the dirty water of the 'Tunnel of Love'.

"...tell us more?" Hay Lin begged someone - evidently their sudden arrival had cut off a conversation.

Will looked around and spotted Mom and I. "Sorry," she apologised. "Kandrakar hijacked us to take care of Phobos. I hope you weren't worried."

"We hardly had time - we just got here," Mom told her.

Taranee tilted her head slightly. "But... we must have been in Kandrakar for ten, fifteen minutes."

"I get the impression that time doesn't really matter in this business." Peter told her, having moved to his sister's side. "What happened to Phobos and the snake-guy?"

"Kandrakar has a prison," Hay Lin explained. "Grandma... she said they'd be kept there until they repent their evil ways."

Irma nodded her agreement. "So pretty much forever."

"I'm glad to hear that. Does that mean that it's all over?"

Cornelia looked wistful. "This time."

"This time?" Mom repeated my friend's words as a stern question. "This had better be the last time."

Will smiled confidently. "I doubt threats to the cosmos like Phobos come around every week, if they do..."

"If this Kandrakar thing that they can demand more of you than you've already given..."

"We're not going looking for trouble Mom. But if it comes after us... we'll deal with it together."

Mom folded her arms - but she folded them around Will in a hug. "That 'together' had better include everyone's families." She made a beckoning gesture towards Hay Lin, who gave her a startled look, pointing at herself.

Taranee caught the goggled asian girl by the arm and towed her forward to join the hug, Mom freeing one arm from around Will and hooking it around Hay Lin's slim shoulders. Peter hadn't resisted Taranee's pull but Cornelia still seemed engrossed in Caleb, who she held with both hands before her heart.

Irma and I exchanged glances and for once we were in agreement. We each took one of the blonde's elbows and pulled her forwars to join the rest of us.

"Come on, Corny..." Irma began.

"Caleb's part of this too," I added slyly. "No fair keeping him to yourself."

"What!? You two..." she protested.

Irma smirked then darted her hand up to brush a lock of Cornelia's long straight hair back from where it had spilled past her ear and towards her face.

Will and I grinned at each other, my sister surrounded by friends and family, myself part of that precious circle. She slipped one hand out and clasped mine, our fingers interlacing.

W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H.

It took no more than a few minutes for families to gather once word was circulated that we had returned.

We'd been away most of a day. Parents had covered for those of us expected to be at school that day. I suspected - and was later to confirm those suspicions - that some of the parents had made excuses to their places of work. In the case of the Lins, that meant the almost unprecedented decision to entrust the Silver Dragon to the junior staff. I gather that holidays for Hay Lin very rarely meant leaving Heatherfield.

Upon the arrival of the Hales, Cornelia went to meet them. It was possible - at leastwith some familiarity - to see the conflict between her usual dignity and the temptation to abandon it and throw herself into their arms. Her father solved that by stepping forwards and taking the paternal privilege of an extended hug.

She looked like she needed it and I think he needed the reassurance too - that his little girl had made it back.

Certainly he wasn't the only parent to deliver hugs. Irma's mother even went around all eight of us of who had returned. I wasn't complaining. Hugs were a goodness.

"So is it all over?" Mr. Lair asked hopefully.

Will shot a look at Cornelia... and at Caleb. "Well there are a few loose ends, but mostly, yes."

"Loose ends?" asked the police officer.

"Caleb - the leader of Meridian's rebels - got turned into a flower. Cornelia's taking care of him."

"He got turned into... a flower?"

"Not a toad?" asked Mr. Cooke.

"No, dad," his son replied. "Although Hope did turn someone into a frog so you might want to be careful."

I shrugged under several questioning looks. "Only once. And he had it coming." That didn't stop the stares so I added: "And I can't do it again."

There was a measure of relief. Apparently adding the ability to - what's the word? Transfigure? - someone into an animal would have been a step too far. I'm not sure what scale they were using in comparing it to being able to conjure fire, command the winds or... well the list went on. Still they appeared to be unanimous so presumably it had some validity.

"I'm pretty sure I..." Irma looked around and for once restrained herself. "...can't do it either."

She totally could. Hopefully she wouldn't. Well, maybe if it was just Uriah...

"Caleb will keep," Mom told us firmly. She put her hands on my neck and Will's. "Come on girls. You'll see your friends again tomorrow at school. Let's go home."

So we went home, together.

W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H.

Monday afternoon I was called into the Principal's office a little before the end of the final period. It was history. I'd been on tenterhooks all through the class but Professor Collins hadn't acted the same way that he had before - he only asked me one question and everybody in the class had got asked something so I didn't feel singled out.

"Take your bag with you, Hope." Collins scribbled quickly on a sheet of paper. "Here's today's homework." He smiled slightly. "The same as everyone will be getting in a few minutes."

I took the paper and slipped it into the pages of my textbook before putting that in my backpack. At least I'd have evidence of it if he was up to something again.

Principal Knickerbocker was waiting for me at the door of the office and smiled at me. "You're not in trouble, Hope. Your mother's here to see you."

She opened the door for me and I saw that she was right: Mom was sitting in one of the high-backed chairs of the other office. The other was occupied by Maria Medina of Interpol.

"Mom!" I practically flew to the former's arms. "Is something wrong?"

She hugged me back. "Not that I know of, sweetheart. Ms. Medina wanted to share the hospital's results."

We'd revisited the hospital on Saturday for more blood samples to be taken. Apparently they'd rushed to get results today - or worked on Sunday. Remarkable either way.

I sat down in Mom' lap. I was probably a little too large for that to be comfortable for her but she made no complaint and instead rested her arms loosely around my waist.

"Hello Agent Medina. What did you find out?"

She smiled lightly. "More than the last test showed. Sorry about the difficulty about that. We're still not sure what happened there."

"Does it matter?"

"I suppose not." She straightened slightly, looked out of the window for a moment and then back at us. "Mrs. Vandom, if I recall correctly you told me during an earlier conversation that you had only given birth once? To your daughter Will?"

"Thats right. It would be rather hard to mistake the experience."

"I suppose so," the police psychologist agreed. "Well... it might surprise you then to learn that the tests returned a very high probability that Hope is your biological daughter. The probability of anyone in the world having that close a DNA match to you with more than two degrees of separation - descended from one or more of your grandparents is tiny. Fractions of a percent. Most courts would generally accept that as binding in a paternity case, you know."

"Well, I'm fairly sure that Mom isn't my father. Then again, what do I know? I haven't had a single biology class yet."

Maria Medina smiled slightly. "Well... it's indicative that Will's DNA matches Hope's even more closely. More closely than a siblings usually would in fact. Of course, the uncannily close resemblance hinted at this already. I'm afraid there isn't any definite answer, but we're currently tracing the medical staff who attended on Will being born because it seems possible that you may have given birth to twins, Mrs. Vandom."

"I..." Mom seemed flabbergasted. Either she'd never consider this as a possible outcome or she was a great actress.

"If that is the case, that would mean that Hope was abducted at birth," the other woman continued. "The only other likely possibility would be that you and your husband both have close relatives who have had a daughter with each other. We haven't turned up anything like that though. The odds are very good that you really are mother and daughter. I'm sorry I don't have anything more to tell you right now. If we find anything else.."

"Thank you," confirmed Mom. "Uhm... if you don't mind. I'd like a moment with Hope."

"Of course." Medina and Knickerbocker stepped outside politely and I turned in Mom's lap, burrowing my head beneath her chin.

For a moment we shook against each other with emotion. An outside observer might have thought we were crying. Actually we were trying to keep our laughter from being too obvious.

A moment or two later and the bell sounded the end of the school day, prompting us to pull ourselves together. After checking with Maria Medina that she didn't have any other 'revelations' for us we excused ourselves from Principal Knickerbocker (who gave me a smile that suggested she'd have hugged me if it wouldn't have been unprofessional and told me she was very happy for both of us) and went to look for Will and the others.

We found Taranee, Irma and Hay Lin hanging out by the door out of the school. They were easy to find - Irma was certainly making enough noise about her current topic of choice: Cornelia's absence from school.

"...I could have had a tragic romance, but nooooo... so Corny gets a long weekend but Mom and Dad say I have to be back at school today..."

"Who would you have a romance with?" asked Hay Lin. "Vathek?"

"I don't think that Phobos was seeing anyone," I offered. "But your dad might not approve. I mean - he is in jail and that hair..."

Irma threw up her hands. "Very funny!"

"I'm trying."

"Very trying," she agreed. At least I think she was agreeing.

"Hi Mom!" called Will as she joined us. "What's the occasion?"

"Nothing too serious." She gave Will a quick hug. "Interpol just wanted to tell me that Hope is my daughter. As if I needed them to tell me that. Do you want a ride home before I go back to work?"

"Thanks Mom, but we're planning on visiting Cornelia. She's still refusing to come to school or... well, to do anything but look after Caleb."

Mom shook her head. "I feel sorry for her, but that's not healthy."

"Tell me about it."

"But please don't," Taranee said and then slapped her hands across her mouth as she realised what she'd said. To an adult!

Mom just joined us in giggling at the expression on the dusky girl's face. "I'll restrain myself."

"Thanks. Cornelia... she wouldn't react well."

"No, perhaps not." I felt Mom ruffle my hair. "Well, if all else fails you can turn Hope loose on her. She's practically weaponized high spirits today."

I drew up my chin. "I'm not going to see Cornelia, I'm going to see Caleb. I may tell him how moody she's being."

Mom chucked me under the chin and gave Will a hug before we parted ways: her back to work and I and my sister and our friends off to the aid of one of our own.

That's what it was all about in the end.

Fini.