Author's Note: Chapter One and Two (In the Market Square and Tea For Two, Meal for Three) have been revised in terms of how Korin and Sage met. Along with the honest critique and my unhappiness in the long run of how they "initially" met, I decided it was necessary to change it. And now, for those who have been a bit frustrated, a chapter that would answer some questions you've all been wondering.

Chapter 18: A String of Unfolded Mysteries

What felt like days to Korin and Sage were really a mere two hours when Lucia finally landed by Viola's cottage where Pockets, who was sleeping beside a small campfire, was awaken by Lucia's presence. He hopped over towards the two with a questionable look on his face, wondering why neither Juno nor Viola had returned with them.

Korin watched as Pockets sat on Sage's lap, then lowered his eyes. This was enough for Pockets to wail out upon the realization that both Juno and Viola had been killed. His cries were high pitched enough to shatter glass.

"What's with this rabbit?" Sage flinched at Pockets' cries as she picked him up with both hands.

"Pockets is Viola's companion." Korin watched as the flames began to build up. "Or was." He pulled Sage close to him and laid her down with him on Lucia, looking up at the night sky. His shoulder still stung him from earlier, but that was the least of his problems.

"I still can't believe it." Korin repeated over and over.

"What happened wasn't your fault." Sage assured him as she squeezed his hand.

"But it's interesting to know how two lovers can cause so much." Another voice called out.

A taste almost like bile touched Korin's tongue as he immediately recognized the voice. He slid off of Lucia and took out his sword, pointing it towards the direction the voice came from.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Korin was all but pleased at the sound.

Cyrus emerged from the shadows, carrying an unconscious Juno in his arms. He had his horse in tow with Viola's body strapped and slumped forward.

"Put down your sword," Cyrus sneered. "And go get a bed sheet or something."

Pockets approached Cyrus and looked over Juno. But what caught the bunny's attention was Viola's lifeless form. His eyes watered before he released another wail.

As Cyrus laid Juno down on Lucia, Sage looked over the mage. Among a few bruises, she noticed that Juno's necklace had been broken. As Sage placed her hand on Juno's cheek, she quickly withdrew it back as the flesh felt chilled to the touch.

"Cyrus," Sage's voice shook as she watched Cyrus unstrapped the bindings that held Viola. "Juno...is she...I mean, did she...?"

Cyrus unstrapped the last binding on Viola before he sighed heavily. He had seen Juno's attack prior to her unconscious state. He had remembered her mentioning of her limitations when it came to using her powers, but he had no idea the extent of her powers as to the one he witnessed.

He took Viola's body and approached the campfire.

"Juno's dead if she chooses to be." Cyrus finally answered.

"She's dead if she chooses to be?" Sage was dumbfounded by the answer. "That doesn't make any sense! Especially when she fell off of the sky!"

Before Cyrus could explain the reasoning, Korin emerged from the cottage with a white bed sheet in hand and laid it out on the ground.

"How were you able to find us?" Korin asked with distrust. "Let alone, how were you able to get up here so quickly? I thought it took half a day to get here by horse."

"Juno told me where you guys were heading before you three fled." Cyrus placed Viola on the middle of the sheet.

"Knowing you Cyrus," Korin kept his watchful gaze on the swordsman. "Why should I believe you?"

Cyrus folded the remaining sheets over Viola. As soon as he was done, he had not answered Korin's question right away, but watched the campfire before him. Finally, he got to his feet and made his way towards the side of the house to grab a shovel.

"There's a reason why I had to attack Juno," said Cyrus, returning with the shovel in hand. "She knew the reason beforehand."

"Then why would you attack Korin," Sage spoke up. "If you have nothing against him?"

Cyrus broke the dirt with the shovel beside a tree close by, digging a hole three foot deep. As soon as he picked up Viola's body, he stopped in place and looked at Korin and Sage.

"M'lady," Cyrus propped Viola up to keep her from falling. "I will tell you the truth. I've never been fond of your lover in the beginning." He shifted his attention towards Korin. "But for different reasons unlike the king's. I had promised Juno that if something happened, I'll explain everything."

Cyrus placed Viola's body in the hole, burying the body with soil. This had not sat well with Sage or Pockets. Pockets began to jump wildly, shrieking uncomfortably. Sage had to struggle to restrain Pockets but she too was visibly shaken from Viola's death. Viola had saved Sage from being choked to death by one of the attacking phoenixes.

"She was still too young!" Sage lashed out. "And those damn idiots have no problem killing kids left to right!"

"Given who she was," Cyrus patted the last bit of soil over the grave. "And what she was known for, the Rasen would have no problem finishing her off. But I think she would have been happier this way."

"Why would you say something like that?" Korin crossed his arms over his chest.

Cyrus sat on the ground by the campfire with his hands folded in front of him. "I'm not sure if Viola had told you but she has an elder brother named Karis. He had been executed a year ago by the Rasen after being exposed as a spy to infiltrate the palace. I'm not sure if you're both aware but this area is the last standing village for trained rebellions. To keep safe from outsiders, they train underground. Although the scuffle with Neonyx is over, your father and Leia had kept from you the internal civil war that has been happening for decades." He took a quick gander at Korin, adding, "Before you were even born. When the king was sworn in for this title reign, he had promised to stabilize the country. But now, despite the ongoing fighting between the Rasen and them, it has never been resolved."

Cyrus picked up Juno in his arms and carried her in to the spare bedroom, laying her on the bed. Sage sat on the foot of the bed while Korin stood beside Sage. Cyrus sat on a wooden chair by the bedside. With his arm on the arm rest, he gave Juno's cheek a slight stroke with a single finger.

"Cyrus?" Sage watched the swordsman straight in the eyes. Unlike Korin, her trust for Cyrus had been up and down since he attacked Korin at the Masquerade Ball. That trust took a dive when Cyrus had blatantly refused to release her from the dungeons. Now that Cyrus had arrived, she wasn't sure how to comprehend his intentions.

"You were going to say something?" Cyrus eyed Sage through the darkness.

"How is it possible to choose to be dead? If Juno's not dead, then what exactly is going on?"

Cyrus exhaled slowly while his arms merged in to a prayer position. His fingers interlocked with each other as he fixed his attention on all three one by one.

"Juno's family is a rather interesting one. Her mother was a mage while her father was some sort of dark sorcerer. She doesn't know if they're still alive or when she started going off on her own. It wasn't something she thought of to often. Those who have her abilities carry a forbidden power that can never be used. If that spell is performed, there is a good chance that they would die as a result."

"Wait," Korin held out his hand to interrupt. "Does this have something to do with that attack she pulled off?"

Cyrus nodded as his fingers ran through the cracked jewelry. "Although there has been a history of mages, Juno's case is extremely rare, as she possesses both powers of light and dark. And when you're thrusted with something like that, you're in a battle with yourself."

"How would you know any of this?" Sage tilted her head to the side. "You aren't usually drawn in to that sort of magical world. Hell, you were never the fairy tale kind of guy."

"Just because I don't read you fairy tales before you sleep doesn't mean I'm unaware of their existence." Cyrus took out his sword from his sheath and propped it up against the wall. "I'm afraid I may have picked up more from her than I had intended."

Korin sat beside Sage on the bed, intent on listening to what Cyrus had to say.

"As you both know," Cyrus saw a candle upon the dresser and a few matchsticks. He struck one of them and dimly illuminated the room once the flame touched the wick. "Juno had served as the aide of kings of this country for years. Darius was no exception to this. She had never intended to abandon you Sage, as you had believed all these years. Instead, she had to flee because of the tension and threats she had received not only from Leia, but your father as well."

"So what exactly has Juno done to get my father mad?" Sage's eyebrows raised.

"Juno had advised your father against his relationship with Leia to a point where she had threatened to tell the queen. Juno was also against Darius' tactics to have Leia be his consultant to stabilize the country, seeing that she had come from a small village. As far as the affair is concerned, the queen had confronted your father but he denied the whole thing and insisted on not bringing it up again. However, Leia had overheard a conversation between your mother and Juno and that your mother was going to expose your father."

"Oddly hypocritical of the king to deny your affairs," Korin glanced at Sage. "When he was having affairs of his own."

"If word got out of the king's affairs with a commoner," Cyrus continued. "He would have lost face. Society had slowly gotten used to Leia being the king's mistress without knowing what happened."

"If my mother was determined to expose my father," Sage rested her head on Korin's shoulder. "Why would she kill herself?"

"She didn't." Cyrus shook his head once more.

"But," Sage was baffled by the response. Although her mother's death occurred ten years ago, Sage remembered her mom's body being hung and dangled by a noose. "Even my father was telling me it was suicide."

"Your father, in my opinion, is that stupid to believe anything that came from Leia." Cyrus snickered at that thought. "Not to mention the entire country."

"What happened to the queen?" Korin wrapped his arm around Sage.

"The king's mistress and a few Rasen had launched a surprise attack against the queen. Not only out of jealousy, but to keep silent of the situation. Leia had murdered your mother and hung the body in one of the towers to cover up for her crimes. Juno had witnessed the whole thing that night but she had not reported it to the king nor myself."

"But...but why didn't Juno stop Leia in the first place?" Sage stood to her feet. "She was there! She witnessed the whole thing!"

"Tensions between her and the two of them were thick." Cyrus continued as he spoke to Korin and Sage like they were children, all the while, maintaining his composure. "Even if Juno were to say anything, the chances of your father believing her are slim. Maybe he might be more aware of Leia's intentions, I really don't know. But I think he was concerned of his pride much more, thus wanting to find a way to silence his wife."

Sage balled up her fists and shook it a few times. "How...I mean...of all things...there's no way Juno could have..."

"Betrayed the innocent?" Cyrus tilted his chair back. "She had told me once that she felt she had deceived both you and Korin. For it was she who confided in me that night you three were attacked. Even though I had to assure her that I wouldn't kill you three."

Cyrus watched Sage, who had her mouth hanging open. "I was never reassigned to your cell in the first place. Leia even tried to convince me not to go near you until your execution." He then turned to Korin and said, "You were supposed to be locked up yourself, but now, in the eyes of the king and Leia, you can consider yourself a runaway fugitive."

Upon realization of what Cyrus meant, Sage was left stunned in to silence. "This 'her' you kept referring to. It was never Leia, was it? You were talking about Juno were you?"

"Now I'm just more disturbed than relieved." Korin sternly announced. "It's as if Juno knew not only about the attacks back at the Cryptica Forest, but even at the Masquerade Ball. She was never there when the Rasen caught me yet she knew how I got the bruises. She was in on this, wasn't she?"

Silent for a brief moment, Cyrus stood to his feet and made his way to the window, looking up at the full moon.

"Sage," Cyrus' fingers clenched on to the curtain. "I need to talk to Korin alone."

Sage glanced at the doorway, worried of another possible attack.

Sensing the troubled worries, Cyrus casually answered Sage's doubts. "There are no traps or Rasen within a hundred mile radius. Rest assured m'lady."

Sage hesitatingly relented and left the room. Once she closed the door behind her, she pressed her ear against the wooden barrier.

Cyrus kept his gaze upon the fresh grave he dug for Viola while Korin shifted his attention back and forth between Juno and Cyrus. He found the temptation to strangle the swordsman, but thought of the better, especially when Cyrus had shown no desire to attack ever since he arrived.

"It was Juno's own mistake," said Cyrus, as if he were confirming Korin's suspicions. "She had never meant to hurt you in the first place. But what she had done to you was out of her own selfish desire."

"Does this have something to do with Juno's illness lately?" Korin took Cyrus' seat on the chair and kept watch over Juno.

"Illness?" Cyrus replied in wonderment.

"Juno hasn't been feeling well ever since the Masquerade. I don't think she had ever fully recovered after the beating but apparently, when we were heading for the dungeons, she had almost keeled over." Korin, as Cyrus had done earlier, tilted his chair back, propping his foot against the bed to hold his position. "After what you just said, I wonder if it was all a lie."

Cyrus closed the curtains and leaned against the wall. "Juno wasn't that sort of ill, I suppose. Whatever she may have been feeling could have taken a toll on her body."

"Enough with the damn riddles Cyrus," Korin felt his patience wearing thin from Cyrus' rambling. "If you know what's ailing Juno, then say it. Otherwise, quit dancing around the subject!"

"Well, persistent aren't we?" Cyrus couldn't help but chuckle. "All right, fair enough. At the night of the Masquerade, Juno had seen your make out session with Sage up on the balcony and left. When I found her outside, she was a complete mess. I had known her for quite some time, but it was the first I've seen when she teared up." he glanced back at Korin, who had an unreadable expression on his face. "She loves you Korin. A lot. Just not only as someone who raised you when you were a kid.

Upon realizing what Cyrus meant, Korin placed his hand over his mouth in shock. Could that explain why Juno had been sick ever since that night?

"Juno knew that she couldn't see you that way," Cyrus continued on. "Nor would you have reciprocated her feelings in that sense. Her initial desire was to give a good enough reason to break you two apart. Except it led to a last resort to have Sage taken away."

"So she knew about the attack after all?" Korin removed his hand from his mouth.

"While it was true that Sage's servant was the one who told Leia where Sage had been hiding, Juno was the one who told me which path was the easiest to take. But during that time she confided in me, she began to regret her situation. In the end, she no longer wanted to bear that sort of guilt."

Korin stood to his feet with his eyes on Juno's unconscious form. His arms quickly shot out towards her. His hands wrapped around Juno's neck while his fingers squeezed her flesh in a tight hold.

All the while, Cyrus watched in plain view. However, he had not stopped Korin or held him back.

Korin let out a scream in a mixed rage of anger, frustration, and vengeance. As he continued to choke her, his hands began to shake her.

"I had often wondered," Cyrus took a step back from where he stood. "What would have happened had you not met Sage in the beginning. Would you have had feelings for Juno? Would it have been possible that this internal battle could have been prevented?"

Korin had awoke from his trance where he was consumed with anger from Juno's actions. He looked down at his hands wrapped around Juno's neck, and at her head tilted back. Korin's hands shook when he became aware of what he had been doing. His fingers loosened its grip from her neck, revealing red marks on her flesh. Weary from tonight's occurrences, he laid on top of Juno, with his head resting on her stomach.

"Now really," Cyrus grabbed his sword and placed it in his sheath. "Was it worth knowing the truth if it was only going to break you like that? I'll leave you two alone for the time being."

As Cyrus left and closed the door, he noticed Sage sitting up against the wall with her head buried in her arms.

"You heard everything, did you?" Cyrus' tone retained its calm.

Sage nodded in reply as she slowly raised her head and looked up at Cyrus. Her lips parted, about to speak in a questionable manner, when Cyrus stopped her.

"Now do you see why both of us rejected your affairs?"

"It's just impossible," Sage nearly stammered. "Why couldn't...I mean...if Juno knew Korin loved me, she should have just accepted."

"It's not that easy as those fairy tales." Cyrus ran a fingernail down the lines of the wall. "And she had accepted. You didn't see her pursuing Korin when she found out the truth, now did you?"

But in a way, she did." Sage fired back. "When she talked to you the day I was attacked."

"Juno's not asking for a pardon from anyone," Cyrus reached for Sage's hand and helped her to her feet. "Not even from you. When you've lived as long as she had, the loneliness does get tiring."

"I've seen the way you two have interacted Cyrus," Sage used her hands to brush off the dust from her skirt. "Back when she resided in the palace and even recently. Why couldn't you two have just gotten together?"

"Juno never sought or desired a relationship with me. Even then, she made it very clear that all we had between each other was an understanding." Cyrus cleared his throat and led Sage down the small steps in to the living room. "No matter how many times she said that, I knew deep down she was digging a hole for herself, getting more lost, deeper in her own lies. Trust me, she wanted to stay away from it all. Despite who or what she is, it's hard to imagine her having those sort of trivial feelings."

"That's crazy!" Sage sat down on the armrest of one of the couches. "If Juno were to love someone, it wouldn't be trivial!"

"A human being can only go up to a hundred years if they are lucky enough. Juno can go on for however long she could last without worrying too much on how she would look. I suppose she was on the mind set that it would not matter if she loves someone. That a man she would love would age and die, eventually leaving her."

"So why couldn't Juno tell us this?" Sage crossed one leg on top of the other. "Why couldn't she tell us her side of the story?"

"She had intended on explaining everything once you guys got back to Viola's house. Juno must have known something was going to happen that made her doubtful." Cyrus ran his hand through his hair before he added. "So she left me a part of her memory."

"And when she tried to keep the Rasen back..." Sage was putting the pieces together, looking forward to Cyrus' answer with a sick feeling.

"Juno did it to save the both of you." The swordsman sat beside Sage.

"But now that I think about it," Sage swung her dangling legs to and fro. "Juno didn't just have a breakdown, did she? It's not what you told Korin. I mean, the way she had been acting. The way she was lately..."

"Did you remember what I told you and Korin earlier?" Cyrus lit a candle on the table with a few broken matchsticks. "That Juno was fighting a battle within herself. Light and dark cannot mix. One has to overtake the other. The shadow created in her heart would have turned her from the person you knew, to someone full of hate and despair."

He thought back to the night of the attack in the Cryptica Forest.