Yumina sat down and sighed.  She had tried many things lately, but they didn't
adequately solve the problem.  She could have had a success on one of her last 
attempts, had she been willing to pursue events further.  However, there were 
some things that she was unwilling to do, and sacrificing a person's sanity was 
not one of them.  She would never do that again.

She calmed herself for a moment, pondering what she might do differently this 
time.  She had felt the disruption of a great evil during the last timeline, and 
while it was too much to hope for a complete destruction of Beliel, maybe he 
would be too busy with other matters to interfere with her workings this time.  
She was certain that some of the events set up by him previously would still 
happen, such as the death of the king, but maybe he wouldn't cause any new 
changes in this timeline.

The central problem, she mused, was the connection between Ilysa and the two 
princes.  That connection had taken what could have been a successful attempt by 
her to avert the deaths of the two princes and made it meaningless.  The prince 
that she was with was invariably driven to grief and sorrow at her death, enough 
so to cause that prince to give up his life.

"But can I use that emotional connection in some other way?" Yumina whispered to 
herself.

With this thought in her mind, Yumina began preparing for her plan.  She was not 
happy about what she was going to do, but she had to see if this would work.  
She was about to sacrifice a person again, but she could think of no better way. 
She wasn't going to let things get out of her control this time, and she knew 
she could keep watch on only a few elements.

But would Averny react the way she wanted him to?

-----

The Gates of Time

Created by Lady Brick

Chapter Nine:  The Path of Betrayal

By The NightGuard

-----

Ilysa stared at the gates to the Temple of Fire.  She had heard about how large 
this place was, but she had never been able to truly understand it's real 
magnitude.  Staring at the structure of stone, surrounded by walls that looked 
like they should be surrounding the castle of Sankria, she dismissed all the 
images she had in her mind.  Looking at the building, she began to realize how 
small and insignificant she really was.

Ilysa shook herself out of her daze and began walking towards the temple.  She 
had no idea what to expect when she reached the temple, but she certainly 
wouldn't find out by standing at the bottom of the hill that the tower was built 
on.

The last thing that she was expecting at that moment was for a stranger to call 
out to her from behind.

Ilysa nearly fell over as she spun to face the person behind her.  In fact, she 
would have had not the man in question reached out and caught her hand.  She 
clumsily regained her balance with the man's help, and slowly looked at the 
person who had nearly scared her out of her wits.  He seemed only a little older 
than her, but had a bearing that indicated he might actually be older than his 
features indicated.  Regardless of his age, Ilysa felt a strange familiarity 
about him, as if she should know him for some reason.

"I'm sorry to startle you like that," the man said.  "I didn't expect you to 
react like that.  I just happened to see that you were going to the temple, and 
thought that we might walk together for a little while."  He gave Ilysa a 
friendly smile as he spoke, and she felt like she could trust him.

"Th-thank you," Ilysa stammered, trying to regain her composure.  "I would like 
someone to walk with.  It's been a long trip for me, and I've been alone most of 
the time..." Ilysa trailed off, not knowing what to say next.

"Well then, it would be my pleasure to accompany you to the temple," the man 
offered.  "I would assume that this is your first visit here, right?"  Ilysa 
nodded as she began to walk beside the man.  "Well then, let me be the first to 
welcome you.  Oh, I've forgotten my manners, haven't I?  Allow me to introduce 
myself.  I am Averny of the Order of Fire, and I welcome you to our home."

"Averny?  Why does that name sound so familiar?" Ilysa asked, slowing her pace.

"Don't worry about that now," Averny told her.  "It's getting late, and we 
should be more concerned with getting to the temple now.  I'm sure you would 
like to get your things arranged before nightfall, and I am sure that the people 
of the temple are concerned about my whereabouts."

"Are they this concerned about all of the initiates?" Ilysa asked.  "I would 
think they would be too busy there to concern themselves about the comings and 
goings of each student."

"If by they you mean the priests, then yes, they are usually too busy to concern 
themselves with every initiate," Averny answered her.  "However, there are a few 
people who are particularly interested in where I am, and they would not like me 
to be out this late alone."

"Alone?" Ilysa asked, but didn't have time to get any more information out of 
Averny.  They had nearly reached the main gate of the Temple of Fire, and she 
could hear people shouting from the top of the wall.  The gate doors were 
quickly opened, and a mob of people swarmed out towards her and her companion.

"Prince Averny, you know that you shouldn't disappear like that!" an older man 
shouted at Ilysa's companion.  The man continued to shout at them, but 
everything else he said went unheard by Ilysa.  She could only focus on one 
thing:

"I've been walking with the prince?" Ilysa whispered, then fell to the ground.  
She couldn't believe it.  It wasn't possible.  People like her just didn't meet 
important people by chance, did they?

-----

Yumina watched Ilysa as the months pass.  Once again, she was drawn to Averny, 
just as she was in the previous timelines.  Again Yumina watched as Averny 
helped teach Ilysa how to use the magic of the Order of Fire.  Once again, she 
watched as Ilysa began to study from the books of magic that Averny had imported 
from the Temple of Light.  Through it all, however, there were no signs of 
Beliel's activities.  

True, although this was exactly what she was hoping for, it still left her 
concerned.  She knew that Beliel could be as secretive about his actions as she 
could, but she had expected that his movements would have had some noticeable 
impact upon this timeline.  She wished once again that she could look directly 
at what Beliel was doing in the same way that she could look in on the actions 
of the humans, but that ability was still beyond her power.

"No use wishing for what cannot be had," she said to herself.  "There are still 
things to be done."

-----

Beliel had things to do himself, and they didn't involve Yumina's meddling with 
the timeline at all.  He still had to admit that he was surprised how easily his 
brother had accepted taking on physical form for the battle in the last 
timeline.  Beliel knew that his brother would be disrupted by the Blood Moon's 
dagger, and that it would take time for him to recover his strength.  Beliel was 
no fool, and he used that time to the fullest.

He looked around his private 'room', the one with the faint representation of 
the Tapestry in it.  There, off to one side, was the vial of blood that he had 
previously discarded.  While it was drained of any power that he might use for 
himself, he had another plan in mind this time.  Reaching into his cloak, he 
pulled out a dagger, broke the vial, and began scraping at the dried red crust 
on the inner surface of the vial.

-----

Yumina began setting up the attack that would be needed to complete her 
objective.  She was not happy about doing this, but she had a plan, and she was 
going to see it through.  While previously Beliel, or someone working for him, 
had likely intercepted the letters between the princes, Yumina took on that duty 
this time.  She had to make sure that the impending battle was fought on terms 
she set.

-----

Night fell over the Temple of Light, and the cool breezes that it brought were a 
welcome change after the heat of the day.  Despite the late hour, most of the 
initiates in the temple were still awake, taking advantage of the break in the 
recent heat wave.  The students ate, talked, and joked with each other, all 
happy within the protection of the temple.  They had little idea of the 
happenings of the outside world, and in general could hardly care less.

One initiate, however, made certain to pay attention to the happenings of the 
outside world, and he was anything but happy this evening.  Daric stood in 
Phair's private meeting room, waiting to hear what the old man had to say this 
time.  Daric was pretty sure he knew what was coming, and although he knew the 
two of them would have the same argument that they always had, the laws of the 
temple required him to appear before the head of the temple if requested to do 
so.

"Daric, I know that you still trust your brother Averny," Phair addressed his 
guest.  "I can respect that, but not all of the other members of the Order of 
the Burning One should be so easily trusted.  They are warriors first and 
foremost, and they should always be treated as such."

"So what are you proposing this time?" Daric said, a little frustrated.  He was 
right; this was the same conversation as the last one, and the one before that. 
In fact, this seemed to be the only conversation that they were having lately.  
It had not always been like this.  Phair had seemed to become more distrustful 
of the Order of the Burning One for some reason, but Daric had no idea what that 
reason was.

"I suggest that we begin preparing for the worst," Phair replied.  "We have no 
idea what they might be up to, and that could prove to be our greatest weakness. 
I still suggest that we send a scouting party to the Temple of the Burning One.
Unless we know what their plans are, we are at a disadvantage."

"We've discussed this before Phair," Daric retorted, "and as I told you last 
time, unless you could come up with some reason for sending this scouting party, 
I would not support your actions.  To be honest with you, I'm tired of having 
this discussion.  If you ask me, you're just acting like a paranoid, jumping at 
any shadow that you see."

"You would do well to remember your place," Phair warned Daric.  "You may be the 
heir to the throne of Sankria, but here I am the head of this temple, and you 
are the initiate.  Do keep this in mind."

A harsh response formed in Daric's mind, but he held it back.  True, he was the 
prince, and the heir to the kingdom, but he couldn't afford to earn the anger of 
the Order of the Shining One.  Reigning in his temper, he finally asked, "Is 
there anything else that you wanted to speak to me about?"

"No, that will be all," Phair replied.  "You are dismissed."

-----

That night, Yumina send Phair a dream.  She knew that she had promised not to 
influence people's minds directly, but this wasn't influencing, right?  She just 
sent him a vision of what was to come.  Actually, from her perspective, she was 
showing him what had already happened, numerous times.  She showed him, in vivid 
detail, the battle between the two Orders, and the destruction that would ensue. 
Any decision that he would make would ultimately be his.  Granted, Yumina had a 
good idea as to what he would do, but that didn't matter, did it?

-----

Phair woke with a start, his body covered with sweat.  He had just dreamed the 
most horrible thing he could possibly conceive:  A war between the two orders 
and the death of both princes.  At that moment, he knew that he could no longer 
wait for Daric to come around to agree with him.  Action was needed, and it was 
needed now.

Phair nearly leapt out of his bed, and began marching to the barracks where the 
temple guardians stayed.  He was in such a hurry that he didn't bother to change 
out of his nightclothes.  He walked, quickly but still quietly, past the rooms 
that housed the other priests and priestesses, past the rooms where the 
initiates stayed, all without seeing where he was going.  Only one image did he 
see, and that was the image that still lingered in his mind after waking.

He reached the barracks, flung the door open, and woke hurried to where the 
watchman was sitting.  "Quickly, wake four of the best men here," Phair ordered, 
"and tell them to be ready to depart within an hour.  If they ask why they are 
being awakened, tell them that the High Priest of the Shining One has given them 
an assignment, but tell them nothing more."

While the watchman rushed off to carry out the high priest's orders, Phair began 
planning what he would have them do.  "Daric will be outrages if he hears of an 
attack on the other temple," Phair mumbled to himself, "but if I have them 
simply spy on the enemy, Daric might never even know about the incident.  I have 
to do this much at least, or else all of Sankria may be doomed."

-----

While Yumina was busy overseeing the events at the Temple of Light, Beliel was 
busy with his own mission.  He had been subordinate to his brother for too long, 
and he now had his opportunity to correct that condition.  Now that the blade 
was coated with the last residue of Yumina's blood, Beliel had the tool that he 
needed to finish off his brother once and for all.

He stalked over to his brother's chamber, the blade concealed within his robes. 
He couldn't give his brother any indication of what he was going to do, lest 
Bhaal find some way to counteract his plans.  While Bhaal was able to sense who 
might have importance within this particular timeline, he couldn't see the grand 
scheme of things.  While Bhaal was interested only in continued survival, 
regardless of what time they were in, Beliel had much greater ambitions.  Bhaal 
wanted to have an influence over how the timeline eventually formed; Beliel 
wanted to determine what timeline came into existence.

Beliel opened the door to Bhaal's chamber and looked about.  There was no 
indication of anyone else being in the room, at least not to the natural senses. 
In fact, the room appeared to be pitch black, and an oppressive silence filled 
the room.  However, to Beliel's sight, it was anything but unoccupied.  In the 
back of the room, upon an ornate throne, sat Bhaal's essence.  While Beliel was 
relatively free to interact with the mortal world, Bhaal needed to expend great 
effort in order to do so.  While slaying the vessel that Bhaal rode in would be 
harmful, it was by no means fatal to him.  The only way to truly destroy Bhaal 
was to come here, and destroy his essence with a specially created weapon.

A weapon much like the one that Beliel was now in possession of.

Clearing his mind of any emotion that would betray him, Beliel strode forward 
into the room, ready to finally bring an end to his servitude to his brother.

-----

Ilysa read the message once again, still wondering why Averny had wrote it.  
True, it was in his hand, but it sounded like him, but for some reason she still 
had her doubts.  The note asked her to meet Averny on the back wall surrounding 
the temple shortly after the sun set.  While this wasn't the first time they'd 
asked each other to meet someplace by note, neither of them had gone up onto the 
wall before.  It had always seemed as if that place were off limits to the 
initiates.  Perhaps the guards made exception for the prince.  Ilysa wasn't 
really sure.

On the other hand, she wasn't going to miss a meeting with Averny.  She slipped 
the note into her pocket and walked to the gatehouse.

-----

The scouts from the Temple of the Shining One had made their way to the other 
temple without being noticed.  This was quite a feat considering there were no 
good places to hide around the temple.  They hid by the wall farthest from the 
gates and waited for the sky to darken a little more.  While the sun had already 
set, it would still be possible for someone to see them on the wall at this time 
of night.

They had spent most of the past two days traveling the distance between the two 
temples.  While they could have covered the distance much more quickly, secrecy 
was called for, and they had kept off of the roads and out of the towns.  They 
had orders to make sure that no one would see them.  These orders applied to 
when they were in the temple too.  While they were not to actively attack 
anyone, they were also to make sure that no one who saw them should live to tell 
about it.

As the sky continued to darken, the scouts prepared for this part of their 
mission.  They readied ropes and spikes, and began scaling the outer wall of the 
temple.

-----

Ilysa walked along the outer wall, thinking about what had just happened in the 
gatehouse.  The guards had tried to stop her until she told them that Averny was 
waiting for her up on the wall.  They certainly weren't going to defy the will 
of the future king of Sankria.  However, it was what the guards had said while 
she was climbing the stairwell that bothered her.

"Is Averny really up there?" one of the guards asked.  "I didn't see him go 
through here."

"I didn't see him either," a second replied.

"I don't know if he's up there or not," said the third guard in the room.  
"Still, I'm not going to try and get in her way.  I don't want to get on the 
list of people who aren't the prince's friends, if you know what I mean?"

Ilysa was becoming very concerned now, but she wasn't going to turn back now, if 
for no other reason than not having to tell the guards that she had been 
mistaken.  She wasn't one to go out of her way to make a fool of herself, at 
least not if she could help it.

She walked along the wall in silence, even when she passed the guards at the 
towers at the corners in the wall.  While they looked at her like she was crazy 
to be up here at all, much less at night, she paid them no mind.  She wasn't 
going to back down now.

As she started walking along the back wall, she thought she saw movement.  She 
wasn't sure, but there was a chance that it was Averny.  If it wasn't him, but 
instead someone else on the wall for some reason, she'd just ask the person if 
they had seen the prince.  However, if it was the prince...

-----

The scouts had just reached the top of the wall, and started pulling themselves 
over.  The first one had just touched down on the top walk of the wall, and 
began scanning around him.  He was just about to motion for the others to finish 
climbing over the wall when he spotted someone approaching.

*Could they have known we were coming?* the scout thought to himself.  *Well, no 
matter why this person is here, I'll have to make sure that they pose us no 
trouble.*

Pulling a dagger from his boot, he crouched low against the wall, waiting for 
the person to approach him.  As the person approached, the scout noticed that 
they were wearing the robes of an initiate or priest, instead of the armor of a 
typical guard.  *I'll have to do this quick.  One strike.  I won't have a chance 
for another one.*

He waited until the stranger was almost upon him before moving.  The stranger 
was not looking at him, but began to say something anyway.  He made sure this 
person didn't get the words out.  Shooting one hand up, he clamped over their 
mouth, blocking anything the person might say.  With the other hand, he drew his 
knife across the person's throat, taking his her life instantly.

After a quick check of the initiate, he found out that she was female, but more 
importantly, unarmed.  The only thing of note that he found on this person, 
other than her robes, was a piece of paper with something scribbled on it.  
Unable to read the note in the dim light, he simply pocketed it, and then 
motioned for the rest of the scouts to climb over the wall.  There was still a 
mission to do, after all.

-----

Beliel walked up the stairs before Beliel's throne, the dagger still hidden 
within the sleeves of his cloak.  "Have you awakened yet?" Beliel asked his 
brother, not really expecting a response.

"Yes, of course I am," Bhaal rasped, his voice barely more than a whisper.  "You 
should know by now that those mortals can't truly harm me."  Bhaal's form, while 
never fully solid, was even mort translucent than ever.  While the humans 
couldn't truly harm him, they could still hurt him.

"I know," Beliel replied, his voice unconsciously becoming as quiet as his 
brother's.  He began slowly walking up the last few steps to Bhaal's throne.  *I 
just need to get a little closer, and then I can make my move,* Beliel thought 
to himself.  *I just need to distract him for a few more moments.*  "Have you 
been able to deduce what Yumina is trying to do in this timeline?" Beliel spoke 
to his brother once again.

"No, I haven't," Bhaal answered, raising his voice a little.  "She hasn't gone 
as far back this time, as I'm sure you've noticed, but I don't know what she is 
planning this time."

"So for once we have to be more cautious and reactive, instead of proactive, 
don't we?" Beliel asked, hoping to draw his brother further off guard.  Just a 
few more steps...

"Things have already started changing," Bhaal said, almost to himself.  "We 
should be able to act after watching for just a little longer..."

"No, we can act now!" Beliel shouted, as he leapt forward towards Bhaal and 
lashed out with the dagger.  Despite the fact that Bhaal appeared almost 
immaterial, the dagger struck and held in his form, smoking as it bit into him.

"What are you doing?"  Bhaal shrieked in pain.  "How dare you attack me?"

"Simple," Beliel said, holding the dagger into his brother and forcing it deeper 
into his essence.  "You lack vision.  While I relied upon you in the past in 
order to give me the information that I need, I have now found my own method to 
see the Tapestry.  I don't need you anymore."

"We can still work together," Bhaal pleaded, his life force weakening.  "You 
don't need to do this!"

"Don't I?"  Beliel replied.  "I have lived for this day, when I would finally be 
free.  I won't let anything turn me from this course."

With a final shriek, Bhaal's form exploded.  Beliel remained motionless for a 
moment, before he dropped the dagger.  The blade shattered as it struck the 
floor, all of its power expended.  Beliel raised a sleeve to his forehead, 
wiping away the sweat that had appeared there during the contest of wills 
between him and his brother.  While Bhaal had been weakened, it still took an 
incredible amount of power from Beliel to finally kill him.

Now that this task was done, though, Beliel could concern himself with more 
important matters.  Obviously, his first consideration was the actions of Yumina 
in this timeline.  She'd had the opportunity to work uninterrupted for a while 
now, and if her plans continued unchecked, she might actually succeed this time. 
Beliel had to make sure that didn't happen.

-----

"Who did this?" Averny screamed at the guards.  "Who even let her up on the wall 
anyways?"

"Prince, please calm down," Kindar begged of Averny as he placed his head in his 
hand.  "We're trying to find out as much as we can, but there is one thing that 
I can say for certain.  In the place that we found her blood, we also found 
scratch marks on the wall.  The best conclusion that we have is that some spies 
had entered the temple, saw her up on the wall, and killed her to prevent an 
alarm from being sounded."

"But that doesn't answer the question of what she was doing up on the wall in 
the first place!" Averny turned to shout at Kindar.  He then realized who he was 
shouting at, and quickly calmed himself.  "I'm sorry, Kindar, but you have to 
understand..."

"I know how you must feel," Kindar comforted Averny.  "I have had those that I 
love taken from me, but I have to admit that it was never in so cruel a way.  I 
truly wish there was something that I could do, but death is one thing that even 
the Burning One does not give us the power to change."

"He may not give us the power to restore life, but he does give us the power to 
give out justice to those who would take it away."  Averny faced Kindar fully, 
his eyes filled with anger.  "I assume we know who it was that tried to invade 
the temple?"

"We don't have proof," Kindar replied, "but you know as well as I do that only 
one group would dare to do this:  The Order of the Shining One.  I have tried to 
convince you of how dangerous they really are.  Perhaps now you will believe 
me."

"Daric, how could you agree to this?" Averny mumbled to himself.  Questions 
filled his mind, but no answer would come to him.  He had never before doubted 
his brother, but now he wondered if he was wrong all along.

"While I'm sure that your brother would not have originally consented to such an 
action," Kindar told Averny, "I am sure that the other members of the Order have 
twisted his mind to their ways.  While he once might have been a good man, he is 
now only a pawn of the Order.  We must now treat him as such."

"Agreed.  We cannot let this act go unpunished.  The Order of the Shining One 
has committed a grievous crime, and must be brought to justice.  Prepare 
everyone in the temple.  We march on the Temple of the Shining One at first 
light."

-----

Yumina watched the scene in silence, an invisible spectator.  Things were 
happening exactly as she planned.  The temples were once again going to war, but 
only one of them was ready for the impending battle.  More importantly, though, 
the two brothers were now on unequal standing.  While Averny was ready to fight 
and kill his brother, Daric had no idea of the actions of the past night, and 
still had faith in his brother.  This might just be enough to tip the scales.  
Everything was going according to plan.

So why did she feel so empty?

-----

The battle raged not far from the Temple of the Shining One.  They had received 
the call to arms just as soon as the messengers from the next town had arrived 
at the temple.  With very little advanced warning, and almost no time to 
prepare, the battle quickly turned against them.

At the head of the army of the Burning One, Averny spearheaded the charge deep 
into the opposing army's ranks.  He had one goal in mind, and he was not going 
to let anything keep him from his appointed destiny.  He searched for his 
brother, the one who was, in his mind, responsible for the death of Ilysa.  
Daric had betrayed him, and for that betrayal, he needed to pay with his life.

Meanwhile, Daric searched for Averny.  He was certain that if he could only 
speak to him, to reason with him, they would be able to come to some sort of 
understanding.  They would be able to bring an end to this senseless bloodshed.

Finishing off a young initiate of light, Averny whirled around to find Daric 
staring at him.  "There you are, you treacherous worm," Averny addressed his 
brother, raising his blade in preparation for his attack.

"Treacherous worm?"  Daric asked.  "What have I done to earn such a name, 
especially from you?"  Daric raised his sword into a defensive stance, not 
wanting to harm his brother, but still not willing to give himself up to death 
without a struggle.

"You know of your crimes," Averny answered, as he drew his blade back and 
charged at his brother.  "It was your order that caused Ilysa's death!"

The two princes locked blades as the battle slowed around them.  Soldiers and 
priests of both orders turned to watch the battle between their leaders, not 
sure of what the outcome would mean.

"What do you mean?" Daric shouted.  "I don't know who this Ilysa is, so why 
would I want her killed?"

Averny kicked Daric in the stomach, releasing the brothers from their contest of 
strength.  Then, charging forward, he lunged with his blade, cleaving through 
Daric's armor and impaling him on the length of steel.  "You have become as 
corrupt as the rest of the people in this temple, and with your death, the 
throne of Sankria will be saved from your manipulation."

Daric fell to the ground, pulling Averny's sword with him.  Despite the fact 
that he was going to die, he felt no hatred towards his brother.  He never had, 
and never would.  As his blood spilled across the ground, tears began to form in 
his eyes.  "I would never betray you, Averny," Daric said, nearly choking as he 
spoke.  "You have to know that I would never do anything to hurt you.  I love 
you, brother."  Having said this, Daric breathed his last.

Averny placed one foot on his brother's corpse, pulled free his blade, then 
turned to face his men.  "The snake has lost his head!" Averny shouted to his 
army.  "All that remains is to burn the rest of it!  Show no mercy!"

With a renewed sense purpose, the Order of the Burning One pressed into the 
opposing army, giving them no quarter.

-----

Yumina watched as the battle continued.  Actually, it could hardly be called a 
battle anymore, but instead a massacre.  The Order of the Shining One, upon 
seeing the death of the prince, lost any motivation that they might have had.  
Averny, on the other hand, continued to stir his men into a killing frenzy, 
seemingly unfazed by the death of his brother.

Yumina spun as she heard the sound of clapping from behind her.  She knew who it 
had to be, but was still a little surprised when she saw him.  Beliel stood 
before her, applauding for some reason.

"I have to hand it to you," Beliel said as he smiled at her, "I didn't think you 
would be able to figure out a way through this puzzle so quickly.  I suppose 
that's what I get for not taking time to look in on your action this time.  
However, as I was otherwise occupied, I suppose that it doesn't matter much."

"What do you want, Beliel," Yumina asked him, her voice cold and emotionless.  
She wasn't going to let him get to her, not when it appeared as though had just 
won.  He would do anything to change that opinion.  She would not give him that 
satisfaction.

"I just came here to congratulate you on your accomplishment.  Am I not allowed 
to take enjoyment in a friend's successes?"

"I don't ever recall you ever trying to be my friend," Yumina retorted.

"Of course I didn't, but that's in the past," Beliel said.  "However, you've 
given me such a lovely gift to play with now, so I'm willing to try and put all 
that behind us.  Make a fresh start, if you will."

"Gift?" Yumina asked in shock.  "What gift did I ever give you?  If anything, 
the only gift I would like to give you is a way out of my life."

"Oh, you don't even realize it," Beliel said, feigning shock.  "I mean that 
prince down there.  Don't look so shocked.  You're the one who put him into this 
state of mind."

"I did this to him..." Yumina trailed off as the barriers in her mind crumbled, 
forcing her to look at what she had done.  Averny no longer had any care for the 
people he was fighting against.  He was now in the process of killing off all of 
the survivors.  What kind of king would he make?

"I'll see you in the near future," Beliel shot at her, "if you allow it to 
happen."

Yumina stood alone, wondering if she had indeed solved this puzzle.

-----

Well, this is my second part for an Improfanfic, and I have to say that this 
one was harder for me to write than the last one.  Still, I have to say that I'm
happier about this part than the last one, so I guess that the effort I put into
it was worth it.

Anyways, I want to thank LadyBrick for prereading, even though I couldn't find 
a way to use all of her suggestions.  She had some good ideas, but I wasn't able
to make use of them all.  Hopefully, next time I write something, I'll be able 
to make better use of my prereader input.

Of course, I don't know when I'll write again.  After this one, I'm a little 
tired, but it looks like the queue for High Stakes again...

The NightGuard