Xiatriz was a beautiful city. A tower of white stone towered over the city. The shabbier part of the city was on the outskirts but not along the main road. As they walked into town, the sun was just rising. The horizon was red and the clouds highlighted pink. The four of them set about looking for an inn.

Approaching a well kept and large inn, they noted the sign which was of a dragon painted red. The dragon, at least to Alissa and Hanpan's eyes stood for danger and the red for magic. Alissa and Hanpan hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Tiara asked, turning towards them.

"That sign basically reads Danger: Magic," Alissa whispered. "I'm not scared of magic but...."

Her voice trailed off as Tiara looked at her skeptically.

"Where I come from, Alissa, dragons are rare and beautiful creatures. I am a dragon as well at will. You must remember that."

"Which means you won't be able to think a dragon means danger," Hanpan said.

Tiara glared at him. "Must I change to dragon form, mouse boy?"

Hanpan gulped and paled. "No, that's okay."

"Good," she said. "Now let's go. It's the cleanest inn. It probably would be best to go there."

Alissa nodded, still hesitant. Aenea looked at her. "Come on, Alissa." Grabbing Alissa's arm, while Tiara grabbed Hanpan's, she pulled the girl into the inn.

The inn was unusually quiet. Only the innkeeper and two patrons were about. The innkeeper nodded to them and held up a finger signifying that it would be just a moment and that they should take a seat. He bustled away. Sitting in a dark corner, the four of them surveyed their surroundings and looked over the other two in the room.

One was dressed in dark green and sat in a corner alone. He was eyeing them as they eyed him. His face was creased as though it were a weathered rock. His eyes were grey and his hair black. He seemed a foul man. Tiara stared boldly at him, though the others had long since turned to look at the other man. The man stared back at her and watched her, looking her over.

As Tiara and the man in the opposite corner had their staring contest, Alissa, Aenea, and Hanpan were carefully looking over the other man. The man was studying his mug of ale and they were able to look him over unabashedly. The man wore blue, a blue the color of the sky. He seemed fair and wonderful. His blonde hair was clean. He seemed young yet old. Alissa and Hanpan soon became disinterested but Aenea stared at the man.

Alissa frowned upon seeing her two friends staring at these strange men. She shook her head and turned to Hanpan. "Remind me when I start mooning over strangers to stab myself," she whispered to him.

Hanpan laughed. Tiara turned and glared at him sharply. She stood, a frown on her face and walked across the room, taking a seat with the man who she was staring at.

"Hello," he said, his voice a whisper in the quiet room.

"Good morn," she said, softly, smiling. "What is it you wish?"

"Nothing at all. You intrigue me, is all."

"I do? And why would that be?"

"I have not a clue. You tell me."

Tiara frowned at him. "I tell no one anything unless I wish to."

He nodded. "It is understandable." He smiled for the first time, though it was only a slight smile.

"You intrigue me as well," she said, softly.

Then she saw the innkeeper come in, she stood, leaned forward and whispered something in the man's ear and then turned to join her friends. The man smiled softly to himself and then sat back, hiding himself in the shadows as much as he could.

~~~

Tiara lay stretched out on her bed in her room, grinning to herself. She had asked for her own private room. She stared up at the ceiling and grinned. There was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she called.

Alissa came in, shutting the door behind her. "Tiara, we have to talk."

"About what?"

"That man downstairs. Well, both of them."

"What about them?"

"Aenea seems intrigued, almost taken by the man who wore the sky blue. He seems fair enough. But then there's the other man. He seems....well, he seems odd. Almost foul. Tiara, I want you stay away from him. Please."

Tiara laughed. "What seems foul must be fair and those that seem fair must be foul. Talk to Aenea, she could tell you much the same." She grinned. "Trust me, Alissa. I can take care of myself. You needn't worry about me."

Alissa frowned. "If you say so. But please be careful, Tiara."

Tiara looked at her curiously. "Of course I will be careful. I can take care of myself. I assure you, the blade at my side is not for show."

"I know that. But for me, please."

"I will. Don't fret. Go speak to Aenea. Tell her of your doubts or whatnot."

"I will."

Alissa turned and was gone.

Shortly after Alissa left, there was another knock on Tiara's door. Tiara grinned. "Come in," she called, softly, fairly sure of who it was.

The door opened and shut behind the figure. Tiara sat up with a start upon seeing who stood there. A man dressed in sky blue stared at her, a wicked smile across his face. Tiara pulled herself to her feet, terror flowing through her body, she drew her sword. With a snap of the man's fingers, the sky blue robes fell away and she saw the truth of the man's appearance. He wore brown robes such as of a Wizard, and his brown hair was messy and filthy, his black eyes seemed to grin. Tiara gulped.

"Hello, my dear," the man said, his voice hoarse with evil. With a snap of his fingers, Tiara's sword clattered to the ground and she screamed...

~~~

Aenea looked up sharply from petting Auri when she heard the scream. Auri jumped down and whined. Aenea rose to her feet and ran from the room, stopping at Tiara's door. The innkeeper, Alissa, Hanpan, and several patrons of the inn were standing clustered in and outside of Tiara's room. She pushed her way in.

Her jaw dropped in horror at what she saw.

Blood splattered the walls, floor, and bed. Tiara's body lay crumpled on the floor, dead, beaten, mutilated and stabbed. Tiara's sword lay nearby her body, not even bloodied, as though she had never had a chance to hit her killer. The room was literally bathed in blood.

Part of a dark green material was clutched in Tiara's cold and pale hand. Aenea knelt down beside and pulled it out of her hand, frowning slightly.

"What happened?" a man's rough voice said, as he pushed his way into the room.

Aenea looked up from Tiara's side and saw the man who wore dark green. She noticed a small tear on the man's cloak. Alissa exchanged side-long glances with her. Alissa looked at Hanpan, who stood closest to the man. Alissa nodded and briefly, Hanpan tackled the man to the ground and Alissa came in, sword drawn, prepared for attack. The man rolled to his feet and stood looking from Alissa to Hanpan to Aenea. He did not draw his sword. He did not attack. He just stared.

"What is the meaning of attacking me?"

"You murdered our friend."

"And where is the evidence of this?"

"Right here." Aenea held aloft the green cloth. She pointed at his cloak. "Your cloak is torn."

He glanced at the cloth and then at his cloak. "But I wasn't anywhere near here."

It was then that the Xiatriz Guard arrived. Alissa said, "He's the killer."

They nodded and grabbed the man roughly.

"But I didn't do it!" he protested as he was led away.

Alissa sighed deeply. The innkeeper stared at her and pulled her away.

"Time you buried your friend. Get her body out of here. It's bad for business," he murmured.

"Yes, yes, we'll deal with it. Give us a few minutes, please."

He nodded and ushered the other guests out of the room, shutting the door behind, leaving Alissa, Aenea, and Hanpan alone with Tiara's body. Auri had slipped into the room and was sniffing Tiara's body. He pawed at her body, making it move.

"Auri! Stop that!" Aenea said, sharply.

He continued to sniff the body and meowed plaintively. Then he walked away with his nose up in the air and started to sniff Tiara's sword. He stayed by that and purred.

"He's trying to tell us something," Aenea said. "He has to be."

Alissa looked at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Watch him."

He left the sword and pawed at Tiara's body again and meowed, then went to the sword and purred. He repeated this process over and over. Alissa frowned.

"Why is he so interested in that sword? He seems to snub Tiara's body," she said.

"I don't know. Hanpan, could you change to cat form and ask?" Aenea asked.

Hanpan looked at her and gulped. "I'll try," he said.

He transformed into a small black cat and spoke to Auri. Alissa and Aenea listened, waiting. After a minute, Hanpan turned back to human form. His eyes were wide, his face pale.

"Auri says that's not Tiara. He says that body's nothing but a fake. That Tiara's still alive and that man was framed."

Aenea's and Alissa's mouths both dropped. "Tiara's alive?!?!" they shouted in unison.

"That's right," a cold voice said from behind them. They spun in terror.

~~~

Tiara opened her eyes. There was a silvery light over everything even a bit of gold light. She looked around. The room she was in was long and narrow. The light surrounded her. Looking at the silvery room she realized it was like a window. Looking through the "window" she saw the room she had formerly been in. Then she realized she no longer wore her sword. She saw Auri sniffing at the object where she was contained. She heard the voices and saw the man in dark green get dragged away.

"Oh my God. I'm inside my sword." She frowned and started to bang on the sides of the inside of the sword~her prison. "Help! Let me outta here!!!" she screamed with all her might.

No matter what she did, no one heard her. She listened as she heard them say that she was alive and then her eyes widened in fear as she saw who stood behind them, shuddered as the man, now dressed in sky blue spoke.

"Dammit," she muttered. "Now, Norridt's got my friends."

~~~

The man in green looked around his cell in the dungeon and sighed. He didn't understand this but he had to live with it. If you look foul, people will think you're responsible for the evil things that happened. He sighed again, thinking of Tiara's last words to him.

‘Meet me later and we can talk,' she had whispered in his ear before she walked away, swaying her hips gently.

He sighed. And now she was dead. He found her beautiful and intriguing. She seemed different from any other woman he'd ever met. He sighed and ran a hand through his black hair and sighed again. Now she was dead.....

~~~

He wore sky blue robes and had blonde hair. He grinned evilly at them.

"So you know that my set up was just that, don't you?" he asked, coldly.

Alissa's eyes narrowed as Tiara's "body" disappeared. "Where is she? And who are you?"

"I am Norridt." With a snap of his fingers he revealed himself to them. "And she is locked in a chamber you can not see."

"Why?"

"Because she will not succumb to me!!!" he shouted, angrily.

He raised his hand, preparing a spell. As the spell of fire unleashed, Aenea disappeared, holding Tiara's sword and Auri. A soft blue glow surrounded Alissa and Hanpan and time stopped in the room.

~~~

Aenea appeared before the man in green. "Shhhh," she hissed, slapping her hand over his mouth as he started. "No one must know I'm here."

She took her hand away. "Why are you here?"

"Tiara is not dead. She is within this sword. We must hurry. You must come with us. You must help me. I can not be away too long. He will break loose of the spell and then Alissa and Hanpan will die."

"What do you mean?"

"Just come with me." Touching his arm, they disappeared. They reappeared in the room at the inn.

Nothing had changed. Aenea snapped her fingers and through out a shield to block the fire.

"Wizard Norridt, you belong not on this world. You have tortured Tiara enough. She will return to us-now." She handed the sword to the man in green and nodded. "Only you can do this," she said. "Only you."

He frowned, not sure, while the others looked at him and Aenea curiously. Norridt was frozen in a hold spell. Looking at the sword, he saw nothing unusual but he could sense Tiara's presence within the sword.

"Tiara," he whispered softly. "You intrigue me as much as this sword does and this damned spell."

There was a flash of light and he dropped the sword. Tiara appeared suddenly before him, grabbing her sword off the floor where he had dropped it and crossing over to Norridt.

"Think you can get away with doing this to me, Wizard?" she growled. "Think again."

It was then that the wizard disappeared.

"What the hell?? Dammit, Aenea, if this is your doing....."

"I didn't do that," Aenea said.

Alissa looked at them, her face grim. "I didn't do it either. It is the way of this world. If magic is misused then the misuser is banned forever from this world. He will never return here."

"Thank God," Tiara muttered, sheathing her sword. "He has gone too far one too many times."

She turned to the man in green. "We still do not know your name."

"I am called Stephen."

"Thank you, Stephen," Tiara whispered, stepping up to him and hugging him.

Hanpan looked sheepish. "Sorry about earlier. We didn't know."

"I know," he said.

"I apologize," Alissa said.

"It is no matter now. Perhaps we can travel together."

"Sure," they all said in unison.

~~~

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