“Kel Jess screamed,” My gaze didn’t waver from Griffen.
“Go save the people,” I yelled. Everyone filtered out of the burning room. Jess stayed and tried to find a way to get out over the fire to me. A timber fell amd Jess scurried across it. He was two feet away when Griffen spoke.
“If you come any closer I will shoot her,”
“What do you want,” I said glaring at him.
“The crystal, the same thing that Garados wants,”
“But my answer will be the same. I will not give you my crystal,” But a sudden move almost chaged my mind. Griffen had dropped his bow and now gripped a knife at my throat.
“How about now?”
“I still will not give up the crystal. Go ahead and kill me if you want, but you still will not have the crystal,”
A trickle of blood ran down my neck.
“No,” Jess screamed.
“I’ll be taking her,” Griffen said.
“Jess just go. I will always be with you,” His face full of anguish, Jess lept through the fire to find the others. Griffen scouped up his bow and arrow and hoisted me through a window and out onto a walk. Gripping onto my wrist, he led me down the walk. There were a few trolls who were told to watch me.
I didn’t meet up with my friends for some time, so I don’t know what they went through, but they did tell me this.
They had managed to find Jess and all of them ran down to the dungeons to let the villagers out. The stair trembled as they decende down.
“The keys,” Mathyus shouted. As he trusted them towards Kalob who just managed to grabb them, inturn unlocking as many of the cells as he could. Jess, Mathyus, and Horitori led the people out of the collapsing building. In the cells children and women were crying. Jess pushed a women out of the way as a beam came crashing from above. Everyone made it out of the castle as the last of the stones fell from the upper level.
I watched from the hill where Griffen had left me. I saw scatters of people, but then I saw our little group getting the people out of the way. But then dust grew up from that pile making it impossible to see anything. Then a strange silence filled the air. Little by little the dust settled until I could see everything once again, but our little group couldn’t be seen. I grew frantic as I searched for them.
A hand covered my mouth, and I saw Jess. He untied the bonds that the trolls had tied around my wrists before running off. He held onto me, kissing my forehead cheeks and lips. I closed my eyes letting him consol me. I began to think how I could have ever loved Horitori even a little bit.
“I wouldn’t be doing that if I were you,” I heard Griffen say. Jess turned around thrusting me behind him. “She’s my captive,”
“I don’t think so,” Kalob, Mathyus, and Horitori wrestled Griffen to the ground and bound him where I stood.
“Watch him,” Jess said to Kalob and Horitori.
“We can go home,” one of the people said.
“But we are different. What are we going to do about the ones who lost their years?” said another.
“Be thankful that you are alive,” said Horitori who had been listening.
“Its hard to be thankful when you are unable to work your own farm to feed your family,” said and old man. “I never asked fo rthis,” I knew that these people didn’t deserve this. I had to do something.
I beaganto search for the spell that would reverse this spell. I didn’t know who I did it, but Jess said that I slowly floated into the air, which made the people gasp as they stepped away from me. I twisted and turned calling out to my friends, “Circle around me, I need your power too,” But it wasn’t enough. “Bring Griffen too,” Holding onto their powers I said these words.

The spell that was said
become reversed
Return to the way they were.
Bring back their youth
Restore their health
Let them be how they were.

It was like crystal vases poping under stress. The magic spilled out over the people, shedding their coats of old for coats of new. The people were now the way that they once were. Now the slow migrationg back to their homes could begin.
Once everyone began to leave, Jess started interigating Griffen. But once he got into a temper, it was hard for him to think rationally.
“Jess,” I came up to him and held his waist. He was seething with anger and refused to look at me. “Jess,” I said more firmly. He looked at me. I touched his forehead and he began to relax. I let him go and he opened his eyes. Then I went to talk to Griffen.
He wouldn’t look me in the eyes.
“Why?”
“I was sent to kill you for the crystal, but at the last minute I thought it better just to threaten you. You had become my friend. But what I wanted was more powerful than the crystal, or at least that was what I had been told. The object you carried was in your bag which I have in my pocket. Take it out,” I reached forward to his cloaks pocket. I pulled out the black cloth that I had found at the village in the silver bowl. Unwrapping the black cloth, I found a golden disc.
“What does this do?”
“I don’t know personally, but the one I work for does. The only thing that she said, was that it was needed with your crystal,”
“We have to make sure that these people get back to their homes. We will have to bring you with us. Let him go, he won’t try to leave without what he was sent for,”
Even though Griffen had betrayed us, he still helped us rebuild the village that we went through to its original splender. Each of the boys used their power to help make the village beautiful again. But even though we saved this village, it only reminded me of what Garados had done, nd how I would have to protect the obcedian block forever.Jess came over and put his arms around my shoulders.
“Your not happy, anything I can do?”
“It’s just that I will forever be burdened with guarding Garados from others, that it seems almost poitless to have fun. And I still want to see if my mother is alive. She might have escaped. I told Horitori that she didn’t, but maybe I was wrong. But with this, I don’t see how I could,”
“Everythng will be fine Kel, you do realize that. We’re here for you, I promise,” I gave Jess a smile.
“But why would they want to stay and help. All of them must have other lives, all except you and Mathyus,” He let me go and joined the guys in a game. As supected, Griffen stayed. He came over to me to watch. No one trusted him any more. I didn’t want to believe that i couldn’t trust him, but I had to admit that part of me did.
“He really cares for you,” Griffen said.
“I suspect he does,”
“Kel, I’m sorry, I wish that there was another way,”
“You were only doing what you were told,” I said to him, still watching the other guys.
“Perhaps you can forgive me even though they cannot. I know that part of you sides with them,”
I turned towards Griffen, “I can try, but it might take awhile,”
“I can’t go back to the one that I work for. The only reason I did was because if I didn’t my family would pay, but I have all ready. Just from listening to the villagers I found that when Garados went through there nothing was left. I’ve lost them, and now my friends. The Huntress will just have to live without the power of the crystals,” he turned to go.

“Alexandra, the one who we met in the woods. You were working for her?”
“I told you I was forced. I loved my family so much that let her change who I am for them,” I gave him a strange look. “She gave me the ability of sight from and eagle, the strength of the bear, and stealth from the wolf. I am the ultimate hunter, but none of that matters now. I lost everything,”
“No you haven’t,” I said, “You still have one friend,” He smiled weakly and left towards his camp that he set up away from everything.
I walked into the woods to get out of the sun and noise of everyone. The air was cool and I felt safe in the long branches.
“Why did you save meKel?” Startled I turned around to see Horitori.
“It wasn’t right to leave you there,”
“Is that all?”
“Yes,”
“No, there’s more,” he said. “Part if you loves me and couldn’t bear to leave me there,” he had his hands on my shoulders and was looking at me, but I couldn’t look at him. “I’m right,” I pulled away from him and began to walk back to the village. But I couldn’t leave.
“It was the love of a friend that I gave you,” I turned around, “Horitori I can never love you like you want me to. My heart belongs to Jess. You understnad that, but I can love you as a friend,’ I left him staring after me.
“So has she decided to join the victory game,” said Mathyus as I came out of the woods.
“I believe she is here to be with her lover,” Kalob teased. I gave a little smile but still kept my sullenness too.
“You want to tell us something,” said Griffen who came over. Everyone gave him wide berth.
“I need to find my mother, I have to know if she is alive or dead,”
“We’ll go with you,” said Mathyus,”
“You don’t have to, you must have something better to do,”
“Not really,” said Kalob.
“We might as well go now if we want to get a good distance in,” said Griffen. Everyone looked at him. “She forgave me, why can’t you?” He headed back to his camp to get ready.
“Well I suppose if we have to forgive him, I do,” Mathyus said.
“And I,” Kalob answered.
Jess hesitated, “Oh what the hell,”
“Did you here that Griffen, your friends forgive you,” he turned around and smiled. That was the first time I saw that. His eyes danced and he ran back down the hill to join us.
“There is one thing that we need to do first,” said Mathyus. We looked at him with inquisitive looks. “Food,” we all laughed.

END PART 1