"My mother was a slave to a nobleman. Most called him Adrionus simply because he was a higher rank than they were. It would always be like that. My mother had been in his chambers one night and... well, you can guess the rest. When I was born, it caused such a scandal they killed my mother for misbehaving and seducing Adrionus. My father didn't want me of course, because I was technically an affair child. He was married to another woman at the time.

"The slaves didn't want to kill me because that honor was reserved to Serex children. Besides, I was the only heir to my father's riches. Noble blood is rich and no one can risk killing off a line, even if it was apart of an affair. So they gave me to a widow who was unable to bear children to raise since she lacked an heir. They... decided to raise me as a noble child and cover up the scandal. It was a stupid idea, really. They didn't think it through and I'm still upset about it.

"They dressed me up, taught me manners, taught me bits of English to make sure I was well-educated about the other side... But it wasn't enough for them. You see, Adrionus was a handsome man while my mother was less. They said my nose was too big, too fat, I had the face of a commoner. This was a threat to their stupid plan. So they handed me over to a man who specialized in altering.

"I was barely four years of age when they changed my face. I wasn't pretty enough for them. I wasn't noble-looking like they wanted. At first, it was enough but as time went on my caretakers grew desperate. They took away my food, scrubbed at my face-, everything to make me 'better'. Soon I was known as the 'noble doll'. Everyone knew I was fake and the adults would dress me up in everything they could to make me like the other noble children. Handsome. Well-mannered. So very fake.

"The servants kept the rumors quiet but I knew they hated me. I was an affair child being pampered every breathing second. I didn't deserve any of it, which is understandable. They kept me young for a while longer to truly perfect me. That's when I met Alexius. It was at a court meeting. It was also when I met my father for the first time.

"He... didn't pay much attention to me. I'm glad he didn't. I respect him for that. I already hated the attention they were giving me. Fussing over me. I hate being touched. But that day, I met Alexius. It isn't his official title but it's so long no one ever bothers. He wanted to play which wasn't normal for noble kids, but he was the prince so he could do as he pleased. He played rough and wild which was something I wasn't allowed to do. So, obviously, we became the best of friends. No one could stop me if I wanted to play in the mud or wrestle. For who would dare upset the prince?

"But soon after, I realized who Alexius truly was. To get into the technicals, he inherited his father's power of trapping minds but his were far more intense. He showed me a couple times by using servants or little animals, I thought it was quite cool, though I didn't fully understand what he was doing to them. He also has the power to transport himself to other places which was what you saw. That came from his mother's side.

"The problem with him was that he gained too many abilities. He was too strong for his own good. He has regeneration so cutting off his hand did nothing to help us. He can do what the rest of us can do but it's stronger than it should be. It may seem like he's invincible as I explain this, but with all abilities comes a price. The more he uses his powers, the more he loses from his own head. His true weakness is if he uses them too much. He'll burn himself out if he's in an intense fight.

"Understand? Okay. Moving on, Alexius was growing impatient as time went on. He wanted to do something other than being pampered all the time. So one day, he started to ask if he could hurt me. Just small things. Little cuts and bruises. Just to see. Out of rebellion for being fussed over everything and wanting to terrify my nannies, I let him. It was fun at first until he started to cut deeper. And every time, my nannies would treat me worse. Fuss more. Cover up. They even wanted to remold my hands when I came back up more cuts.

"They couldn't do anything about it. No one would stand against Alexius out of fear of his position and father. I believe that fear only fed to his mad desire. But soon, playtime ended and the noble houses were attacked by rebels. Most of them were slaughtered which meant less taxes. They came after me after they killed everyone else, making me watch for most of it. They kept me alive to gawk at in between the killings. I was too pretty to die.

"I managed to escape after shedding a few tears and asking for my cloth animal. The idiots actually believed me and I was able to run away. From then on, I lived on the streets with only my wits and face to keep me alive. People confused me with a Serex child often which got me into some trouble but I managed to escape. The lies one can tell is hilarious when one has been groomed to perfection his entire life. Haha I even told them that I lost Mommy and needed their money to find it. I can't believe that one actually worked.

"Soon I got into a rhythm of stealing and conning people into giving me their money. But I was still five years old and unable to age which didn't help my case. My body was still weak and even if I was fast, I couldn't fight. Then... I met Gideon. It was on the streets on a rainy day. I had just finished my lunch when I went searching for a new cloak hoping I could coax one off of one of the men in the market.

"When Gideon came up from behind me and held a knife to my throat, telling me that if I didn't hand over my money he'd kill me. And me... being my younger self... I looked back at him with a nice smile before cursing his name to the winds and threatening to kill him if he even tried."

Gideon bursts out laughing, interrupting the serious story Adrien was telling. He falls back on the couch and lays down on Shiloh. "I-It was so funny! You were so serious!"

Adrien snorts, "And I was. I can still kill you if I wanted too."
Gideon wheezes loudly going into hysterics, clutching his stomach. Shiloh winces from being squished under Gideon before chuckling. "I wish I could have seen that face," Shiloh comments eagerly.

Gideon howls with laughter before smacking the wall. "It gets me everytime! Every time I remember it-pfft hahaha!"

Adrien scowls at him. He crosses his arms over his chest, "I remember your face when I pulled my own knife on you. You weren't laughing then, were you?"

Gideon continues to laugh and waves him off. "Yeah but still! You were all: I'll slice your head off if your finger moves," he mimics in a high voice, forcing a serious tone onto it. Gideon chokes on his laugh before sharing a humorous look with Shiloh, "I should share that memory with you, it was priceless!"

Adrien rolls his eyes as he shoots him a look. "I'm trying to explain everything and you just interrupted me."

Gideon struggles to regain control of his laughter, red-faced and leaning on Shiloh. He gasps a few times before falling silent. He smiles smugly before nodding, "Alright, keep going."

Adrien scowls for a long moment before breaking his stare. His attention turns back to me with a serious look. I watch him with equal sincerity knowing this is important for me to hear. These are the answers I've been looking for.

"Anyways, after we settled terms with each other after tossing a few threats back and forth, we decided to work together to pull a few stunts. At the time, he assumed I was a Serex child which was probably why he accepted my offer to work together."

Gideon nods solemnly, "You didn't look real, even I knew that. You're better now but you..." he cringes, "it was kinda creepy actually."

Adrien just sighs. "Moving on... after working together for a while we decided to continue on with our path. But soon, the Guard came looking for me assuming I had been kidnapped in all the chaos. I was still the heir to my father's fortune so I still had some value to them."

His voice tightens, "I didn't want to go back. I never wanted to go back. I was done with that life and was perfectly happy being on the run. So we worked together to evade the Guard and continue hiding. Though... I didn't tell Gideon why they were after us. He assumed they were after us for all the stunts we pulled. It wasn't until later that I told me who I actually was.

"He was upset, of course, because I lied to him about being a noble child. Anyways, we split up for a while after that until I saw him again at one of the markets. He was being attacked by a few Guards..." Adrien trails off before glancing at Gideon.

Gideon clears his throat, lowering his head. "I told you already, they weren't attacking me."

"It sure looked like it," Adrien retorts, "and that's what I'm going to tell Eve. Okay?"

"Okay."

"I stepped in and together, we escaped from them. We decided to join up again and continue fighting. Later, Gideon found this house and we were able to sleep with a roof over our heads. But it wasn't until Alexius started hunting me when I realized he was a threat. He grew obsessed with finding me for a reason that escapes me. For I could never conjure anything that could be created in his twisted mind. He set traps, left notes, he even managed to corner me a few times but never used his prisoning ability on me. We managed to shake him a while back, right before we ran into Shiloh and we've been home free ever since.

"But I digress, we began this conversation to discuss Alexius after all," Adrien flicks his wrist in the air with a bored look. He locks eyes with me before saying, "Alexius is quite dangerous and will be causing more problems for us in the future. His obsessive behavior makes him a threat to us and the life we built here. You may view us as monsters, killers, or even cruel beings but this life was built from the ashes we had left of our past life.

"We worked hard for this. To be feared instead of being afraid of others. To be in control when our entire lives were controlled. This is our freedom. And we won't let him take that away. Though his powers may be strong, we have something much better than that." The edge of Adrien's mouth twitches into a sly grin. "We have a Masser tamer on our side."
Shivers travel down my spine from his words. I watch him in utter shock as it dawns on me. "You mean... me?"

"Hold on," Shiloh cuts in, pushing Gideon off him as he sits up. His dark eyes land on me with worry. "You're going to use Eve to attack Alexius? But she doesn't even know how to control it! It could have been a one-time thing or-, or it could backfire and kill us all!"

Gideon bites down on his lip. "I don't think this is a good idea, Adrien... I know you were keeping her here because of the Masser incident but to have her fight Alexius... We can't even fight him on our own and she's never fought a day in her life." Gideon quickly glances at me apologetically, "No offense, Eve but we all saw the way you held that knife."

"It's true," I admit slowly before looking back at Adrien. "And I agree with Shiloh, I didn't even know I could do that. I... I don't think I can do that again. And I still don't understand why I could stare a Masser in the face when I can't even see it."

"That is a bit strange," Gideon comments, "everyone who was born here can see a Masser. But people on the other side can't have abilities like we can. Maybe she's a half?"

"Both my parents were human," I argue gently, "my dad was killed by a Masser a long time ago anyway. I don't think if he was born on this side he would have died. Mom can't possibly be one either since she has all her family still alive and well on this side. Dad had the same. I still think this is some kind of fluke."

"Even so, it could work," Adrien continues as if he hadn't heard me. He straightens and turns to Gideon with a new light in his eyes. Excitement. "I've come up with a plan that will get us out of our troubles so you need not to worry."

"What kind of plan?" I ask edgily.

"We need to recover from Alexius' attack but I do have a specific date in mind for our attack," Adrien begins as he holds out another piece of paper that resembles a list in their beautiful language. Gideon leans forward, studying it, before his eyes widen. "His day of birth?"
"He did invite us," Shiloh mumbles. Then he grimaces before shaking his head, "It's obviously a trap."

"I know, and that's the point. We'll set a trap within his trap. Of course, there is preparation involved along with training and lessons for Eve on our basic etiquette but-"

"Are you sure we can do this?" Shiloh cuts him off, fear clear in his eyes. "We've ignored Alexius all these years but now you want to attack? What changed? Why should we retaliate at the risk of our lives and now Eve's?"

"There couldn't be a better time to strike," Adrien answers confidently, a new attitude and side to him I've never seen. The fire in his eyes, the confidence in his voice, it almost makes me want to trust him. "No one has been able to kill the Masser ever since it was created in the Rift when the Guard tried to open up a gateway to the other side. Otherwise known as the border between our side and your side, Eve."

"So what is this place?" I ask hesitant, unsure if he'll give me an answer.

"No one's sure," Gideon answers for him, "it's just a place on the other side of your's. It's technically still in your forest but somewhere else." Gideon runs his hand through his thick golden brown hair before giving Adrien a reluctant look. "Anyway, what exactly is this plan of your's?" A perfect curl of hair falls in front of his scarred eye, bouncing once before falling still.

"If we play our cards right, Eve will learn to fully tame a Masser," Adrien begins. My stomach drops with panic at the sound of "learning to tame a Masser". I can't possibly do that, can I? "We'll go to his party as expected and hold out for as long as possible. When the moment comes, Eve will call upon the Masser to attack the party and allow for us to escape. No one has been able to kill it for generations, even Alexius has tried with the Guard and failed. There's no killing a Masser, but if Eve can control it we can do anything we want with them."

"Why go through all the trouble just to escape? He'll just come and find us again," Shiloh argues defeatedly. His hand limply gestures to the open book still displaying Alexius' perfect face. "What do you suggest we do afterward?"

Adrien pauses. He lets out a low sigh before turning his head up at the ceiling, momentarily lost in thought. "We'll have to leave this place. He knows where we are now so it's no use staying here. Though I hate the thought of leaving here... it's unavoidable."

"So we'll just move elsewhere and hope the Masser kills Alexius?" Gideon frowns, unconvinced with the plan.

I'm too stunned to speak. Me? Tame a Masser? The mere thought of myself having powers is so far from understanding and accepting, it isn't even in my realm of concern right now. It's the fear of facing a Masser again. Over and over again until I can control it. That's what has me worried at this point.

"Maybe..." Shiloh trails off before silencing himself.

Adrien watches him curiously, "What?"

Shiloh grimaces, "Maybe we could leave this place entirely."
Adrien's somewhat light expression dies as soon as the words were out. He openly glares at Shiloh. "That's out of the question. We're not leaving here."

"It would make more sense than just moving," Gideon suggests slowly, "If the Masser is attacking the party that gives us time to run back to the border and slip through the gateway without consequence. Granted, we may fall into the bodies that piled up there but we've done it before. We could rid ourselves of this place and finally just..." Gideon smiles softly with a distant look. "We could just leave this place and forget the past. Start over."

Adrien shakes his head, "No, we won't leave."

"Why not?"

Adrien stiffens as if he were trying to avoid the question. He scoffs before shooting me a look, "It can't possibly be any better over there than here, right? Everywhere's messed up but we have to learn to live with it. So tell me, is it any better over there?"

I swallow and lean back against the wall. I shrink under his harsh gaze before glancing at Gideon and Shiloh who watch me hopefully. My heart begins to crush from the pressure. Which side do I take?

"Well, you can't kill anyone over there. Um, and there are a lot more rules but you're safe to walk the streets. I don't know a lot about this place but I do know that I felt safer there than here. No monsters, no corrupt police... it's more stable," I answer slowly hoping I don't sound too one-sided. Of course home is better than here, but I don't want Adrient to become angry with me and threaten to kill me again.

"I can live with the no killing part," Gideon pipes up looking excited, "and maybe it'll be more exciting!"

"It's not... blood-rushing exciting," I remind him, hoping I'm not leading him to believe it's some sort of fantasy on my side. "But it is safer."

"Why don't you want to leave this place?" Gideon asks directly, with a hurt expression directed to Adrien.

Adrien slowly sits on the edge of the couch near Shiloh. His eyes downcast as he stares at his lap. Defeated. "I don't want to run from my past. I don't want to run from my life. Leaving would mean I'm a coward and I could never live with that."

"You aren't a coward for wanting change," I speak up, my voice slightly shaking unsure if I have the right to say this. "Change is part of growing and moving on. It isn't weakness to move on, it's strength to have the courage to keep going."

"Exactly, so why not go on a new adventure together?" Gideon asks brightly and holds his hand out to Adrien. He flashes him an excited smile, "Will you join me once again, Addy?"

"They have thousands of books on their side," Shiloh adds eagerly, "colored inks, all the paper, and supplies you could ever want to write your books...!"

This time, Adrien looks up with true curiosity in his eyes. "Thousands?"
"More than you could ever hope to read in a lifetime," I add with a slight smile. "Thousands upon thousands of books."

"You can think about it," Gideon suggests, slowly lowering his hand. "We still have time to think and come up with a complete and solid plan. I know how you hate rushing into things."

Adrien nods.

"So! Eve," Gideon turns to me with a grin, "tell me, what's it really like over there? Shiloh's information is a bit rusty and he said much has changed when he saw your house! What is it like there?"

Shiloh watches me eagerly as he takes another sip of his tea. His cheeks flushed, contrasting sharply from his pale skin. Perhaps the reason they are all so white is that the sun doesn't shine here... I catch Adrien's eyes as well filled with wary curiosity.

I take a deep breath as my heart races under their stares. It's okay. They won't hurt you right now. It's going to be okay. Just start talking. I fist my hands together before watching the round table instead of their eyes.

"Well... there's something called the internet..."

(Now I really want to