Chapter Twenty-One

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"Jane, dear? We haven't seen you in days, honey." Evie called out into Jane's locked room, where she could hear pages flipping, and a pen scratching.

No answer.

Evie left the bedroom, and went to find Carlos, who always ate breakfast at Dragon Hall with Jay, even though they both lived in Hell Hall now.

"What's up, E?" The young man asked as soon as he saw his friend, who looked awfully disheveled.

"Jane's locked her room, and won't answer me. You know I'm the worst at lockpicking, so I was hoping you or Jay could help me get it open." Evie explained, and the two boys followed her to Jane's room, where the sounds of writing and reading could still be heard from the hallway.

"Alright, just give me a few minutes." Carlos explained, pulling his kit from the inner pocket of his jacket, and going to work on the door.

"You know why she's locked up in there?" Jay asked while they waited.

"No idea. Last night, Mal and I were thinking that we hadn't seen her lately. Earlier this morning, I went to check out a book from the library, and noticed that she'd taken out quite a few, half a week ago." Evie explained.

"So... She's on a weird Auradon study kick?" Jay offered, glancing at the door with distaste.

"No, I know Jane. If she was just distracted, she'd still be able to hear me. She's too polite to just ignore us." Evie muttered. Jane had really come out of her shell since she moved to the Isle, but sometimes her Auradon upbringing shone through.

"Got it!" Carlos smirked, and pushed open the door. What they saw in the room was... Surprising, to say the least.

Jane was hunched over a notebook, writing furiously as various books floated around her in magic. She'd pause in her writing sometimes, to look up, and flip through one book, then another, before writing some more. Diaval, who sat at the window as a raven, held a basket of food in one claw, and sometimes tossed a muffin or other food item to Jane, who caught it in her magic, eating it without stopping her work.

"Jane? What's going on here?" Evie asked kindly, and hoped that it hid the nervous tremor in her voice. As if she finally realized she was being spoken to, Jane started, and all of the books fell from the sky, released from her magic. A light paperback plopped onto her head.

"Ouch!" The young faerie muttered. "What are you guys doing here?"

"You wouldn't talk to me, Jane!" Evie exclaimed. "You locked your door and I had to grab the boys to come open it."

"Oh goodness! I'm so sorry Evie!" The girl exclaimed, glancing back at her work. "Diaval said I was the Secret Keeper, whatever that means, and I was just so busy. I don't know what came over me."

Evie walked over to the pile of books and papers, and glanced at Jane's writing.

"What are the four horsemen?" The blue princess asked, and as she said it, the title resonated deep within her bones.

"They represent the end of the world, Evie." Jane explained. "You, Jay, Carlos, and Mal. The four who will end the world."

"We don't want to destroy the world," Carlos interrupted. "How would we live in it? Or exact our revenge?"

"I don't mean literally, Carlos." The girl explained. "It's more like the end of an era. The end of life as we know it."

"Auradon." Jay confirmed.

"Right. You aren't only the horsemen though. You're also the knight, witch, wizard, and king." Jane explained, and none of them really understood her, but that was alright, because they would, soon. They'd come to terms with it and know the truth, and deep down, the part of Jane that was nothing but magic knew this, as instinctually as breathing.

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