A/N- Ok people, I'm back! Sorry, seven was too big of a number, so now I'm accepting seven reviews from anybody! Many thanks to Choco Strawberry for reviewing five times! Well, we reached seven, and just saying to all you people out there who read this but don't review, how hard can it be to type a few words and then hit the little button that says 'post review' or something like that? I will accept it even if you just say 'ok'. Enough of my babbling, I'm sure you all want to read the chapter.

Coronalia

I met Skyra outside the classroom and asked, "What do you want to discuss with me?"

She hissed, "Not here! I want to go somewhere where no one will overhear us."

"Ok," I said. "I know just the place. Follow me."

I took Skyra through the school into the courtyard, where all students were allowed to go, but nobody really liked it here except for me. Right now, no one was there, so I took Skyra through a curtain of ivy into a cave, with a refreshing breeze blowing. Nobody knew about this place but me, and now Skyra. They all assumed it was just ivy growing on a rock. Skyra hesitated at the mouth of the cave as I headed deeper in. I was about 20 feet away when I realized she wasn't with me. Walking back, I found her at the entrance, not wanting to go any farther. Oops. I should have known. Air elements don't like going into the earth, just like some earth elementalists can't stand being up high. I pity them, because I love roller coasters.

Anyway, I had to half drag Skyra into the tunnel. She refused to come until I told her that there was always a wind blowing, so there was always fresh air in the cave. Finally I got her to go down. Eventually the tunnel opened into a cave that looked like a room, except for the fact that the walls were solid gems.

Skyra just gaped at the beauty of it all. Suddenly a ray of sunlight fell through the hole in the ceiling, making the whole place sparkle with several different colors.

Skyra said, "It's beautiful."

"Yes, I agree. Now, what did you want to tell me?"

She described what happened when Bob called her up to his desk, then what happened in the duel room. When she was done, I was already having a suspicion, and it wasn't a good one.

"I think I…might know who put the message on the clock." I said slowly.

"Who is it?"

"Well…it's a long story, so get comfortable." I told Skyra about a man named Karo, whose favorite color was the same yellow as the paint on the clock. Karo was about twenty, and apparently when he was about fourteen or so, he had a girlfriend.

"I don't think you know Aquella, but-"

Skyra interrupted me. "Mademoiselle Foodle said that Aquella was a lot like you, a water elementalist, and she skipped the beginner's class, just like you."

"Uh…" I laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess so. Anyway…" I continued.

"Aquella was Karo's girlfriend, and he would have died to save her. As it is, there was also another dude, and he was jealous. Apparently Aquella's family had done something to his family; I have no idea what, but oh well. One day, he kidnapped Aquella and held her prisoner. Karo practically went crazy looking for her. Every day though, that other dude, his name was uhh…I forgot, but he tortured her every day just for the heck of it, and for revenge."

I just noticed that Skyra looked shocked. "What? I didn't exaggerate that much, did I?"

"No." she whispered. "No."

"What? I haven't even finished yet!"

"Don't tell me any more. I know the rest." she groaned.

"What? How?"

"I…don't…feel…so…good."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Apparently that dude kept…taunting Karo with little notes talking about Aquella. Then, when he finally rescued her…she got stabbed in the chest. He took her back to his home. A few minutes after they arrived, she died. Right before though, she told him 'I am not going to die. A six-year-old child awaits me. I shall become that child, but all memories of mine will fade away…good-bye Karo. I love you."

"I- how- you- I thought you never heard of this!"

"No. I have. Because the person who kidnapped Aquella…is my cousin."

"WHAT?!"

"Coronalia, it's true."

"How- how- how is this possible?"

"My cousin is 28. His name is Europhix. I never liked him, but I had no idea that he would do such a thing. Until that one night…here, let me tell you.

"One day, when I was eight, I came home from school and found Europhix in the kitchen. He was holding a bloody knife in one hand, and a bottle of wine in the other. When I came in, he smiled drunkenly at me. I turned and ran upstairs to my room. After I dropped my backpack, I went back downstairs, because, heck, I was curious about what Europhix was doing, and I knew that it wouldn't matter how drunk he was, he would never stab a family member.

"So I followed him, and when he went into our attic, where my mom and dad told me never ever to go into, I climbed up as well, but I didn't go in because he would have seen me. I just peeked in the room, and saw swords, axes, spears, any weapon you can name, and a girl, lying on a bed. She had aqua colored eyes, the color of the Caribbean, and she was chained to the bed. Oh yeah, thought I might mention, the 'bed' was nothing but a piece of wood.

"Anyway, Europhix was talking to the girl, like teasingly, and he wasn't very nice. So then, he held up his knife and…and…I don't remember what happened, but I heard the girl screaming, and I thought she screamed something like, 'Call this number 8254672', so I went downstairs, got the phone, and dialed it. Apparently it was Karo's number, and he was like, 'hello?' so I told him about what was happening, and if I could've seen him, I'm sure his face went pale.

"He asked me urgently, 'what's your address?' and I told him. Well, fifteen minutes later, I heard someone park their car in front of our house, and a tall dude wearing jeans and a sweatshirt started picking the lock. I watched him, because it looked so cool, the way he did things so quietly, and when he was done, he slipped inside, but not before asking me, 'do you know who called me?' I told him that I called him, and he was like, 'how could you have called me?' And even if you did, how'd you get my number?' I told him that there was a girl in the attic, and she screamed the numbers, so I ran downstairs and called. Then he looked as if he might believe me, but we heard screams coming from upstairs, and he ran as fast as he could.

"I followed more slowly, and when I got to the top, I saw him, half carrying the girl, but Europhix…he…he threw the knife, and it hit the girl in the chest. Blood splattered everywhere, and it…it…it was the most horrible thing I ever saw.

"The boy ran out of our house, and Europhix screamed, 'Karo! Aquella is going to die!' Then he smiled wickedly. And that…that's all I remember."

I looked up to find that Skyra's eyes were brimming with tears. The memory must have been painful; an innocent little eight-year-old seeing murder in front of her own eyes, and the murderer was her cousin.

"Skyra." I said.

"What?" she asked me.

"You are going to be fine."

"I know that, but it…it…it was so hazy that I thought it was just a bad dream. Now I realize…it really did happen."

"Here, let's talk about other things. Why would Karo be after you, if you helped him?"

"Well…I don't look anything like when I was eight, so he might think that since I look a lot like Europhix, he probably knows that I'm related to him. I doubt he would recognize me after six years…"

"Hmm…that would probably explain it."

"What's your weapon of choice?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"What's your weapon of choice?" she repeated.

"My- oh right. I chose throwing knives."

"That's cool. I chose a bow and arrows."

"Nice. How do you like it here so far?"

"It's…peaceful here. In this cave, I mean. Hey, do you know what Karamu said the other day?"

"What'd he say?"

"We were in the practice room, and he was like, Coronalia's pretty. Then I raised an eyebrow and he said, 'good.' Like, it was really obvious that he meant you were pretty."

"Really? I doubt it."

"Well, I think he meant it."

"We should go back now, after all, there is still homework to do."

"Yeah."