“WHAT? Maybe that might have been worth mentioning before now?!” Keelia shouted, and then covered her mouth, hoping Cligan wasn’t listening.

                “Seriously? Is everybody we know evil?” Everie sighed. Wait, this could work out for our own good, Keelia pondered. He doesn’t know that we found out who he is, we could use that against him! We could feed him with false information!

                “Guys! This could work out for our good! I need to go visit him!” Keelia hurriedly exited the room. She felt somebody catch hold of her arm and she spun around. “Everie!”

                “Keelia, I don’t think that this is smart. He could hurt you, or worse, turn you into a Crypja!” Everie begged her not to go so that they could make an actual plan.

                “Everie, trust me, okay?” Keelia whispered. His grip softened on her arm.

                “Just, be careful,” he whispered back. He released her and she dashed down the stairs, grabbed her violin, and burst out the door. The crowds had receded and she was able to run fast enough that people didn’t recognize her.

                Keelia slowed to a walk right as she got to Mr. Thisgy\Straten’s music shop. She took a deep breath and entered. The aisles were empty, as usual, and she could see Straten’s deep red hair over a small bookshelf. He turned around and smiled brightly when he saw Keelia. “Keelia! You are just the person I wanted to see!” he ‘joyously announced’.  Now that Keelia knew who he was, he sounded too happy to see her. She kept her composure though, and faked a happy smile and ran over.

                “Hey, Mr. Thisgy! Sorry I haven’t been over in awhile!” Keelia said.

                “Oh! No matter, I have a present for you!” Mr. Thisgy held out a beautiful green stone set into a silver encasing that was attached to a silver chain. Hah! Nice try, Straten! I know what that is. It’s a Crypja key, and there’s no way you’re making me put that thing on. While she thought that she took the necklace and studied it for effect.

                “Wow! Thanks Mr. Thisgy! I don’t know what to say!” Keelia said.

                “It even has your initials engraved on it!” he exclaimed. Keelia looked at it. KAA. Those are not my initials, mister. She laughed to herself, they spell the name of Kaa in The Jungle Book!

                “That’s so cool! Where did you get it?” Keelia asked with faked wonder.

                “I made it myself, here in this shop! Try it on!” He pushed.

                “First, let me play you a thank-you song!” she offered. He accepted and sat down. Keelia brought her bow down onto the strings and began to play a dark melody. It was the same melody she’d used on Kation in the trolley on the way to the wedding at the palace. She watched as Straten clutched his head. She was pounding him with black, gray, and navy-blue notes. She stopped when she heard people shouting outside. She tuned them out when she heard Straten laugh.

                “Keep playing, Keelia, you’re speeding along the process.” Keelia spun slowly around, afraid of what she might see. All around Straten, the black and gray notes were settling into the shop, turning instruments and furniture gray. Her eyes were wide open now. What have I done? The violin slipped from her fingers and fell with a crack to the floor. She looked down to see the broken violin, and choked back a sob when she saw what was happening from it. Flowing from the cracks in the violin were black and gray wisps of color, causing more of the room to turn black and gray.

                “No!” Keelia sobbed and she tried to cover the cracks with her hands. The moment it touched her hands, it sunk into her fingertips and made its way to her wrists. She cried out, surprised at the pain of the dark colors. She stood up quickly and ran out of the shop. When she noticed a door that she recognized she stopped, but when she did, the pain grew more. All it wanted was for her to move. Her limbs were tired, and she stumbled to her knees. Her cries were hoarse, and the blackness kept creeping its way up her arms. The pain felt like shards of glass slicing up her arms and into her bones. She heard the door open and a scream of surprise. Strong arms lifted her up and carried her inside the door. Then all went black. Outside the house, near the edge of the forests, the Crypja began their trek into Crecklington, Nivara.

---

                Keelia awoke in a small bedroom. The light from the window flooded in like a waterfall and landed on her face. Her first instinct was to look at her arms, but she didn’t want to see them. She faced her fears and looked at her arms, expecting to see complete black. They… looked normal. There were bandages up to her wrists, and she couldn’t feel her arms. Other than that, they looked normal. No black. She tried to sit up, and was successful. She felt too dizzy to stand up, and she noticed a glass of water on the table beside her bed. She attempted to grab the cup with her hands, which felt frozen. Her fingers worked, barely, and she lifted it to her mouth. Her throat sang as the cold water entered, and she almost got up when the door opened. “Keelia, you’re awake!” Eliza’s worried eye’s softened and she sat down on the bed. “We were so worried about you. I won’t pummel you with questions, but brace yourself. The others have been writing them down,” Eliza lovingly said as she stroked her daughter’s hair.

                “How did I get here?” was Keelia’s first question. Eliza’s worried eyes came back when she answered.

                “Counselor Alie and Laurelin came running into the house with you in Jian’s arms. They said that they found you on their doorstep. What were you doing at their house?” Eliza asked.

                “Well, I went to see Mr. Thisgy after we found out that he was Straten, the leader of the Shen Drar,” Keelia began, and Eliza nodded. “Then, when he gave me a Crypja key, I fooled him by saying that I wanted to play him a thank-you song. I played the same song that I played on Kation on the way to the wedding. But this time, when I played it, the colors were black and gray, with hints of navy blue. I thought nothing of it until those dark colors settled into the room around us. I kind of freaked out when I saw them because I was ‘speeding up the process’ of dulling the colors of the world,” Keelia stopped and let Eliza calculate what she’d just recalled, then continued. “In shock, I dropped my violin, and when I looked down, it was leaking black and gray. I reached down to see if I could block the colors with my hands. It felt like glass and… darkness.” Eliza’s eyes were watery at that point.

                “I’m so sorry, Keelia. We should have looked after you properly,” Eliza whispered. Keelia clung to her mother. MY mother, Keelia thought happily. “Perhaps, if you played more music, it wouldn’t hurt as much?” Eliza suggested, reaching for the keys of the piano near the bed.

                “Don’t!” Keelia shouted. She did mean to shout, but she never wanted to hear music until the Shen Drar was defeated, and it was safe to play again. “Don’t. Not until we know that it’s safe.”

                “Keelia- You’ll have to play at some point. If you don’t, it will destroy you just as easily as those dark colors.

                “No, mom,” Keelia replied harshly.

                “I’ll tell the others that you’re awake,” Eliza got up and spoke as she walked away, “I really hope you change your mind, sweetheart.” It was a few minutes before the first people arrived. The three that arrived first were: Jian, Laurelin, and Alvis. I wonder if Alvis told them, or anything. Their faces were all filled with relief when they saw her.

                “Couldn’t keep you out of bed, could we?” Alvis sighed. Oh, right. The Crypja attack in Tennessee…  She turned her eyes to meet the Alie’s eyes.

                “Thank you. I wasn’t sure if you would be home,” she said quietly.

                “We weren’t sure if you were going to make it, Keelia,” Laurelin said, her voice catching near the end.

                “Keelia, we have something that you need to know,” Jian’s voice was barely a whisper. Alvis’s eyes widened.

                “I already know that Alvis is your son, if that’s what you’re going to tell me-” Keelia said.

                “That wasn’t really what we were going to say. Although,” Jian paused and pulled Alvis close, “it was a great relief to us that he was still alive. But Keelia, did he tell you the rest?” Alvis made a choking sound and tried to leave, but Laurelin pulled him toward her.

                “We thought that Plydis, the dragon, had killed him. Well, him and our daughter, his twin,” he paused, leaving Keelia gawking at Alvis.

                “You have a twin?!!!” she said loudly. Alvis didn’t look up, but nodded. “Who?”

                “You,” Alvis sobbed. Keelia’s world completely stopped.