Immor woke as something brushed against her forehead and she blinked in confusion as she looked up. The light of the room was dim, but she could see the face of her teacher standing over her. The soft gray hair, her dark eyes, and wrinkled skin giving her away, but she was still full of grace and elegance. Immor immediately felt as if she was safe, and she breathed out slowly, her body relaxing against the bed.

“I am not dead…” Immor murmured.

Her teacher, Maybeth, smiled slightly, and shook her head, “No, child, you are not, though you knocked on Hade’s door, thankfully he was not at home,” she sat down at the edge of the bed and looked her face over, “You are very tired. I healed you…in case you were wondering. Your hounds brought you, also in case you were wondering.”

Immor swallowed hard as she glanced around the room. Nothing had changed. This had been her bedroom in finishing school, meaning she was in the finishing school after all. Her hounds probably would have taken her here since they liked her teacher and knew that Immor trusted her. The fire in the hearth was warm, and she could see all the paintings she had made in a corner and the piles of clothing and folded linens that she had prepared from her schooling days were also there.

Immor looked at her teacher and murmured, “How long have I been here?”

“Two days,” she answered, “You were very sick and wounded,” she said, “Though half of it was your fault, your power broke out and nearly killed you. As for the other half, your babe is gone.”

Immor pressed her hand to her stomach and nodded once, “Yes.”

“I have one question,” she said with narrowed eyes, “From the magic of it, the babe was a good few days old…your marriage was younger.”

Immor sat up slowly, grunting in pain but her teacher propped pillows behind her to help her, “I have much to tell you, teacher.”

She narrowed her eyes, “Do tell.”

And so, she did, starting at the beginning when she had gone home back from finishing school, through all the difficulties, and up until that day. They stopped between the stories so that Immor could eat and drink tea to calm herself down when it was difficult to tell the story. Immor did not want to tell her some things, but she forced herself to, and surprisingly, her teacher understood.

Maybeth brushed her finger against her chin, “Your father’s power is indeed great,” she said, “Giving you not only such excellent healing powers, but the power of the sun itself…though you are not strong enough to use it, and I do not recommend you do.”

“It hurts to do so,” she confessed, “I did not want to use it.”

“Yes,” she said with a frown, “As for the enhancement magic inside of you, that is also a powerful gift.”

“Is it?” she asked with a frown, “What could I use it for though?”

“Enhancing anything,” she answered, “For instance, if someone has a flame you can make it a fire, if someone has a drop of ice you can make it an iceberg…make anything bigger.”

Immor thought it over, her eyes narrowing, “I need to figure out what to do.”

“You need to rest before you do so,” she answered, “The King is tracking you down. Thankfully, you came here in the middle of the night and only I know you are back, but if other people knew, then they would tell the king.”

Immor breathed out slowly and closed her eyes, “I need help, to figure out how to get revenge.”

“Must you?” she asked.

Immor opened her eyes and looked at her with a startled expression, “I have to! How can I let him die like that?”

She tilted her head and raised her eyebrow, “Think carefully, Immor. What can you do…to not get revenge? What can you do…to make it all change?”

                                                      Question Time: If you were Immor, what would you do?

                                                    A: Train to be an assassin and kill Herron and the Queen

                                                                B: Become a nun, who needs revenge?

                                                      C: Become a pirate queen and take over the kingdom

                                                                                            D: Other

Immor fell in and out of sleep after her teacher left her to rest. She could not keep her eyes open half the time, but she kept asking herself what she should do. She was in confusion, and her dreams were haunted by the past that she could not change.

Dreams were flexible, but the past was unyielding. She tried to imagine it differently. She tried to think about what she would do instead of what she did, and everything would turn out better. At the end of the day, nothing was better, and she woke up in the same state she was in. Her body ached, but her healing magic was being channeled to help her. The ache in her heart was not something magic could have healed, and she was unwell. Sometimes she would wake and expect Ginny and Donna to be there, but they were not. They were dead. The thought would make her feel horrible and she would fall back into a restless sleep where Galadan was torturing her, but his face always morphed into Herron’s.

Immor woke at last when Maybeth came in and shut the door quickly behind her, “Teacher?” she murmured softly, “Why do you look distressed?”

“Herron searched the premises for you, thankfully he did not find anything,” she sat down with a bowl of soup, “He knows it was the queen…word has it that he sent her to the tower. I have never seen him so angry. When you first told me, I did not believe it, and now I can fully say that I do.”

Immor swallowed hard, “Of course he threw her in the tower,” she sighed in frustration, “He thinks his mother killed his son, and Herron would probably crush her for it,” she rubbed her forehead, “I do not understand villains, teacher.”

She smiled as she shrugged her shoulders, “Nobody can, dear girl,” she set the soup in her hands, “Eat, you will need your strength. Have you thought of what to do next?”

Immor picked up the spoon, her eyes on the soup before she shook her head and took a bite of the soft chicken, “I have not,” she murmured after she swallowed, “I cannot think. Every time I do I think of what I would have done differently…how I could have changed it all.”

Her teacher studied her, “Immor…you have an enhancing power,” she said, “If you can channel it and use it to enhance my power…I could send you back in time.”

Immor studied her with wide eyes. She had never heard of the power to send someone backward or forwards in time. Time was not a power that anyone spoke of, and she certainly did not learn it from anywhere. She wondered what other powers she had not heard of, but her teaching having such a powerful magic was beyond her, yet she was not surprised her teacher had it.

“You…” she hesitated, “…can send back for…months?”

She nodded once, “I can send you back years,” she said, “As for myself, my power can only be set back months or even weeks if I cannot concentrate right. I lived the age twenty-one for ten years.”

Immor’s mouth dropped open, “No wonder you achieved so much at a young age.”

“It is only natural,” she answered, “Only I knew what happened since it was my power, but if I send you back…then the both of us will have all the memories of what happened.”

Immor felt her heart begin to pound and she swallowed hard as she stared at her teacher, “You mean…I could go back before Galadan came here and prepare for it?”

“You can go back…” she hesitated and said, “…and save Myrta. Do not let Galadan have a reason to come here,” she said firmly, though her eyes looked at her with excitement.

Immor’s lips moved wordlessly, and she sat forward, her body surging with renewed energy, “Yes! You are right,” she said, “The king—err…when Herron came here and asked me to go with him to Bringdon then I can say yes! I can say yes and go there and stop it all from happening—”

Maybeth hesitated, “It may not be simple, you have to seek me out first thing. I will remember, but if I do not…if there is a chance, I do not remember you will have to tell me so that I can help you. I know I will believe you. I have not told anyone that I have the magic of time in my fingers.”

Immor pressed her hand to her mouth and nodded before she lowered her eyes, “What…but I will not know Galadan?”

“You do not have to,” she said firmly, “You can stop everything from happening.”

She hesitated, “Then I would have to meet Galadan all over again?” she thought a moment and then realized it would be better that way, “Our first meeting was terrible…mayhap I can make it better.”

“If you meet at all, Immor,” she said with a frown.

Immor felt her heart begin to race, “What…you mean not meet him at all?”

She nodded once, “You wanted to protect him, am I right?” she tilted her head and frowned, “Is this not the best way to protect him?”

Immor felt her heart ache suddenly and she pressed her hand to her chest, swallowing hard. She had just come to terms with the thought of loving Galadan, and now she was supposed to give him up? She hesitated, her mind clearing from the thoughts. If she did give him up, she could stop everything from happening and he could have a happy ending. She frowned, wondering what a happy ending was.

“I know you are torn about this,” she said, “But think logically. I taught you to think logically. I told you that emotions and thoughts are useless. Love makes you stupid.”

Immor pressed both hands to her forehead, rubbing her fingers into her forehead, “I know…” she said softly, “You are right…love does make you irrational. But what is rational?” she raised her head and frowned, “Am I not to see him again?”

She shook her head, “Seeing him and being with him are two different things, Immor. Figure out what is best. If you want a happy ending this is how it has to be.”

Immor smiled bitterly, “What is a happy ending? In this new life we speak of. I will not have the happy ending…Galadan will,” she thought it over for a moment before she sighed, “And that is fine with me.”

The very thought of not seeing Galadan again was strange to her. Immor knew nothing about falling in love, but somehow, she had grown to care for the devil prince. She did not know why her heart believed that she loved him when her brain could not comprehend the thought. However, it was love that unlocked her seal, which was evidence that she was in love. She frowned, but how, she thought, did one know they were in love. She breathed out slowly and pressed her hand to her forehead.

A person in love was stupid, just as Maybeth had told her. They could not live without the other person and their emotions were unstable and in a rage. She did not feel as if her emotions were unstable, and she believed that living without Galadan would save him in the end which led her to want to stay away. Then there was the idea that loving someone also brought sacrifice. She would want to sacrifice being with him to make him happy. Immor was so very confused she wondered if going back in time would dim the feelings that had brought all these questions.

Going back two years would mark her at fifteen years of age, which was when Herron went to Bringdon while she was attending finishing school. A girl became a woman at age sixteen, and there was always a very large ceremony for it where she would be introduced to court. Immor had hated being introduced to court, and now she had to do it all over again. Also, there was the change of wardrobe. She would be getting a woman’s style of clothing, and her first pieces of real diamonds cut into a style that only women wore. She would also receive her first set of pearls. They would be given by Herron because her parents had forgotten about it. She wondered if she should accept them from him or not.

Before all that could take place though, she had to make sure Galadan did not go north to fight, and that Myrta would not be alone with Herron for even a moment.

Immor raised her hands as she stood before the window, her eyes narrowed as she began to let her power out and stretch upwards. She breathed in slowly, her eyes falling shut as she felt each layer of magic that had been unlocked inside of her. She had studied magic for years, as was the requirement of a noble. Even if nobles did not have power or were born with very little, they were supposed to study all of it until their magic had been unlocked, or in her case, she had studied it all. She was still surprised over Galadan’s power. She had not studied magic such as his that seemed so destructive, yet he was in full control of it. The power to take a wound and give it at the same time was uncommon, and one she knew of. However, linking himself to ten other people and managing to kill all of them was extraordinary and she had never known a power that was so powerful as that.

She brushed her hand against her face as she stared out of the window and a smile came to her eyes as she saw one of her hounds running across the lawn. Everything about her past seemed to catch up to her fast. When she was fifteen, she only had six hounds, and two years later, two had died and the rest had gotten their babies which equaled twenty. She could never use them on group hunts because they could not be around people. Her father hated her for having them. Her hounds hated him.

Immor pressed her fingers against the glass, “I won’t see many of you for a while yet,” she said with a smile, “But remembering how adorable you were as puppies,” she shrugged her shoulder, “I do not mind,” she sighed, “Though…losing two was sad enough for me.”

Immor pulled her hand back and closed her eyes, breathing out slowly as she turned and walked to the bed before she sat down again, wincing as she did so. Her power was thrumming through her body, but Galadan’s power had done some damage to her when it was attacked by ice. She wondered if ice was his weakness if that was the case. She knew he could train to overcome weakness, but if his magic was that deeply affected, she did not know how he could ever do it.

There was a knock on the door, and she raised her head, “Come in.”

Maybeth came in, her hands holding a tray of tea and she smiled slightly, “Are you ready?”

Immor nodded, “You are all right…living those two years all over again as well?”

She nodded as she set the tray down, “I am used to bouncing around time,” she answered as she sat down and poured herself a cup of tea, “Have some…before you go. It will calm your nerves.”

Immor stepped across the small room to the table and sat down, taking a cup of tea for herself, “I only hope this works.”

Maybeth nodded once, “I understand. I think it will,” she watched as Immor drank the tea speedily and set it down, “You are already nervous?”

“Extremely,” she answered with a frown, “I did not like the age fifteen. I hope I can live it better.”

She smiled, “Let’s talk about timing then,” she sat forward, “I will send you to the day Herron asked you,” she said as she placed the teacup down on the saucer.

Immor shook her head, “No,” she said, “Send me back to the day I left to get here because my father asked me first and I told him no because of education. Now I can say yes to him, and everything will be prepared by the time Herron asks me.”

Maybeth nodded in agreement, “You are right,” she said, “Do you remember the date and time?”

“Not the time,” she said, “But I remember the day,” she sat forward after telling her the exact day, her hand to her heart as pain lanced through her body, “What about my power?” she whispered, “Will it be sealed again?”

“Once power is unsealed it cannot be sealed again, no matter what time or place,” she said, “And that goes for many different things, so be careful. If something extraordinary happened during the time we are taking back, you cannot undo it. Be careful.”

Immor frowned slightly as she wondered what it meant, but she took her words and remembered them, “I will,” she said firmly, “Do not worry.”

“Good,” she said as she took her hand, “Now also, remember this. Your body is not made for time magic,” she said with a frown, “I may only be able to bend time with you once. If something goes wrong, you must come and find me…I will reverse time and warn you so that you can try again. But your memories will be altered. This is the only time you get where you know what is going to happen.”

Immor nodded firmly, “I will remember.”

“Good,” she said as she reached out and touched her forehead, “Now enhance my power.”