I pushed myself up off of the ground, ignoring the protests of Leaf and Aldrizzt and beginning to think exceptionally dark thoughts about Pink. Strangely the thought of her betraying me felt almost familiar, though I couldn't remember why.

I caught sight of Elijah being supported either side by Metal and Stone, and my heart immediately leapt into my throat. If I had been just a few more seconds earlier I could have protected him. And if I'd been just a little bit later... He could have actually died. And now, out of the God of Light's blessing and without the power of the Divine Sword to help me... He might have stayed dead.

Even now he looked far too pale, cringing in pain as Storm pressed a wad of cloth onto the wound and called for a healer. I stood immediately, fighting off the wave of nausea that came with the movement. I was used to being thrown around like a ragdoll, but Elijah definitely wouldn't be able to cope as well as I did. His pitiful Holy Light aside, I doubt that he had ever been seriously injured in this lifetime. It would be a completely new experience for him.

At least, I hoped it wasn't a regular occurrence for them to get injured like this.

"Step aside," I told Storm, lightly pushing his shoulder away. He and the others quickly began to protest, but when I met their eyes they quietened. Glad that I didn't have to speak much I put my hands directly on Elijah's shoulders, ignoring his sharp intake of breath. A quick overview of the wound with my sensing ability told me that, thankfully, the sword wasn't anything like Roland's wicked sword had been. It wouldn't require the same amount of effort to heal, which was definitely a blessing at this point. One Moderate Heal later had the wound firmly sealed (Though a faint pink line remained) and my Holy Light almost completely depleted. I could manage a Low-Level Heal at best. Irritating, but given my lack of preservation back there I suppose I would have to make do.

Now that I think about it... I haven't properly fought in this lifetime before, have I? I suppose this is what's to be expected for a body that's never been in the God of Light's favor. Even my blood doesn't have as much Holy Light in it as before.

Tcht. I feel kind of cheated. A whole lifetime dedicated to that old geezer of a God and the next body he gives me is actually a downgrade?!

When I looked up from glaring at my hands I found twelve shocked people staring at me, as well as one mildly amused Dark Elf. Trying not to let my embarrasment show I told Ellijah sternly, "You should sit down."

He flushed a bright red, "I-It's okay I feel completely fine now. Y-You on the other hand..."

I gave him my brightest, most intimidating smile before continuing in my 'Preaching' voice, "Ah! Brother Ellijah, you couldn't possibly have hit your head during the fight?"

He looked immensely confused, but eventually shook his head slowly.

"Oh," I adopted a small, unsure frown, "I apologize for assuming. It's just that Grisia distinctly remembers asking Brother Ellijah to sit..."

He immediately paled more before sitting obediently. Even the three who had been surrounding him worriedly evacuated back a few steps when they caught sight of my frown.

Their familiar reaction chilled me, reminding me how close to the edge of their memories I was stepping. Giving Ellijah one more careful lookover I decided that he would be alright without me hanging around, and with a small sigh of relief I turned on my heel and marched away.

"W-Wait!" I stopped and turned back with a small irritated frown to see Leaf a few steps away, looking at me with motherly worry, "You can't go walking around like that! Stay here until the healer arrives!"

"It's fine," I said with a small wave of my hand, "I have things to do. Aldrizzt, let's get going."

"Now, now," Aldrizzt said careful, a trickle of unease creeping into his words, "There's no need to run around straight away. Why don't you just-"

I shot him a dark glare, "I don't know about you, but I'm definitely not going to be here when Chasel hears what happened. Unless you would like to explain everything in absolute detail to him, I suggest you come with me."

His idiotic smile froze at that, and I could see the indecision flicker across his eyes before he sighed and began to walk beside me.

"At least let me come with you!" Leaf said quickly.

I looked to Aldrizzt imploringly. He rolled his eyes at me, but turned to Leaf and said seriously, "I'll look after him from here on out. You're to stay here with the others."

"But-" Leaf almost looked annoyed at Aldrizzt's interferrance.

"That's an order," Aldrizzt said with an air of finality. I gave Leaf what I hoped was a reassuring smile before walking away, breathing in and out deeply. As we rounded the corner I let my shoulders slump a bit, clenching my teeth as my vision blurred. Without a word I reached out and, though I rued having to, grabbed Aldrizzt's arm for support. He stayed silent for a moment before saying quietly, "I would recommend you visit a healer, but I have a feeling you'd reject it anyway."

"It's fine," I grumbled, "I took a few more blows than I expected."

"You're twice as stubborn as Neo," He sighed, "I assume you're not walking around in this state as a show of sheer stupidity, so where are we going?"

"Pink's house," I replied as I began to lead us through the now deserted campus, "She's probably already run off, but I might be able to figure out what she's up to. And it'll be a bit quieter there. I think we have a few things we need to speak about."

"Grisia I know you don't owe anything to me but..." He sounded more worried than I'd heard him in a long time, "Please dont tell anybody. I don't expect you to believe me, but I'm not... Not like you think I am."

He looked on the verge of breaking down, and I replied in a somewhat shocked manner, "Woah, calm down. I'm not going to tell anybody anything. Geez."

He didn't looked like he believed me, "Then why have you asked me out here?"

"I could... use your help," I admitted as I carefully turned the handle to Pinks door. I hadn't sensed any traps, but who knew what kind of magic Pink had managed to conquer in over a thousand years of living?

His tone suddenly turned cold, "Whatever you think my people do, I don't do. I'm not some kind of necromancer who's willing to go around destroying everthing, so if you think-"

I walked into the house cautiously before deeming it safe. With a tired yawn I gently sat in one of the armchairs, wincing when my wounds began to ache, "Just be quiet and sit down already. If I wanted to destroy a bunch of things, I definitely wouldn't need to ask for help."

He didn't sit, standing a fair distance away and staring at me suspiciously, "What, then?"

I thought for a moment on how I was supposed to respond before saying slowly, "How long do Dark Elves live for?"

"A couple thousand years is the norm," He said carefully.

"And you are...?" I prompted.

He looked a little bit offended at this, "Past the thousand mark, if you must know. And yes, it is still rude to ask somebody elses age, no matter what their race."

"Really?" I raised my eyebrows, "You didn't seem to mind lording your age over us before," He looked confused, and I fought hard to keep my face serious, "Don't worry. I doubt your hair can become any more white than it was before, so Teacher definitely won't be able to tease you for being so old!"

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked in a worried tone, "I knew I should have gotten you a healer..."

"Ha? Don't tell me you're thinking of turning back on your word! Didn't you promise to always be there to help me that time we retrieved the Eternal Tranquility? Or is your promise broken now that I'm no longer the Sun Knight?"

His expression turned completely blank. I waited for a moment, expecting him to respond any second. Instead he remained rooted in spot, utterly silent.

I felt worry begin to niggle at my heels.

Don't tell me... I've broken Aldrizzt?

"Heyyyy?" I asked uncertainly, "Anybody home?"

He didn't reply, even after I 'carefully' threw a small pillow at him. It hit him straight in the face before falling to the ground, yet he still didn't say anything.

"Oh God of Light..." I mumbled, "Don't tell me I actually broke Aldrizzt? Hey! Aldrizzt! Wakey wakey? How am I supposed to tell Neo I broke his travel companion..."

Still in silence Aldrizzt sat, opening and closing his mouth several times before saying slowly, "You never cease to surprise me."

"Thankyou," I replied graciously, "I do try."

"Care to give me an explanation?" His voice was calm, but a pitch too high. It was the only sign of his emotions, as his face was still carefully blank.

"Well I was kind of hoping you would be able to tell me..." I admitted sheepishly, "I kind of... don't remember everything yet..."

"I'm confused," He said slowly.

I couldn't keep the disappointment from my face when I replied, "Well that makes two of us, then."

"When did this...?"

"I've always remembered bits and pieces. I kind of... relived them when I go to sleep," I trailed off before asking hopefully, "I don't suppose you know any magic that would cause this?"

"No," He said, eyes wide, "I've never even heard of anything like this before."

"Damn," I cursed under my breath. I pulled myself up off of the chair, glad to find that at least the nausea had passed, "Would you mind helping me search this place then? I have a feeling she's involved in this."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Aldrizzt said darkly. I was surprised by the emotion that had seeped into his voice, but didn't ask. It seemed like a sore subject, and I wasn't going to press him for anymore information today. He still seemed shellshocked from my earlier confession.

I looked around the large room with a resigned sigh, trying not to think about how long it would take to search everything thoroughly. If it was an ordinary house there wouldn't be a problem, but in Pink's house... Any innocent item could be the gateway to another world. For all I knew that chair I sat on was actually carnivorous. I began searching the shelf nearest to me, looking at each plush toy critically before tossing it behind me. It was slow, but it was my best chance at finding out what was happening. I was beginning to give up hope as I finished the third shelf when Aldrizzt called out in an incredulous voice, "Grisia, look."

I turned to see him holding a small, painfully pink notebook (After today I never want to see anything Pink again!). I took it off him carefully, turning it to and fro in my hands for any sign of necromancy. When none appeared I opened the front cover carefully.
I stared blankly at the first, poorly decorated page which said;

Pink's Diary
Do not enter!

Apart from disgust at an ancient Liche actually having a diary I felt a sudden burst of hope. I turned the page carefully, worried that my luck would turn and it would tear, or spontaneously combust. I smoothed the page gently before reading the slightly brown ink.

Dear Diary,

Sun asked if I had a diary. I decided to get one. It was one of his smarter suggestions.

I'm not sure if I'm doing this right. What am I even meant to write in this stupid hunk of junk? Tcht. What a waste of good blood.

Pink

I read the passage over a few times.

It's... written in blood, isn't it?

"Disgusting!" I snapped before slamming the book shut and throwing it at the wall. Worse than being unbelievably unsanitary, it was new! Which meant that she hadn't lied; she hadn't kept record of anything that had happened in the past.

I stomped out of the house, closely followed by Aldrizzt, "The school has been evacuated, right?"

He nodded, "Only your Knights and Chasel should still be here. They're probably cleaning up the mess..."

"Good. I need to talk to Cloud," I frowned, "You distract Chasel for me."

"I refuse!" He said promptly.

"What?! What about all that talk of helping me you spewed last lifetime?!"

"I am helping you. You're not going to get far if you don't start relying on Chasel and Neo," He said seriously, "Without their help any real information on the Twelve and any known Liche's will be out of your reach."

"You can't be serious! They'll never help me!" I argued angrily.

"That doesn't change a thing," He said firmly, "They're the only two who will be able to give you the information you need. If Pink was around, it would be different, but she's already turned tail. You won't be able to avoid the Twelve if you want to find the truth."

"I can't let my Knights remember," I said softly.

He looked surprised, "You mean... they don't already?"

"No, and they can't," I stopped him and said seriously, "You have to promise me. I can't drag them into this."

"Grisia..." Aldrizzt started slowly, "It's wrong to keep them in the dark. I thought you'd already moved past this..."

"Please," I said quietly, "Just trust me. I need to do this without anybody knowing. You're the only one I can rely on not to be targetted... Even then you'll have to keep a distance from me."

"Why?"

"Because you're more powerful than them. And you have experience with Liche's," I said simply.

"I meant; Why do I have to keep a distance?" He reiterated.

"Because I'm the one she wants dead," And she'll do anything to make sure that happens.

I felt despair set in. I had to finish this quickly, before Richelle had a chance to hurt anybody else. She could be back at any moment, yet I was going to have to run around looking for information that people were trying to hide from me. While avoiding my Knights. And learning magic to help me kill her. And finding a replacement for the Eternal Tranquility to seal her.

Great.

Time certainly flies by... *Cough* I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. The most recent chapters of LoSk posted on PrinceRevolution has made me change the storyline a bit, and Im glad that I didn't get much further with the old plot I was going to follow, because you'll probably all find the new one much more entertaining.