The next day came and went much the same as the day before, and soon the days became weeks and the weeks turned into months. Janney and George continued to train and learn more control over their magic. While Jonathan learned more about the Light and the ways of a guardian with Keris or Aldar, sometimes he would join one of his cousins for the day. With each passing day, they grew closer to the inhabitants of the Eye of Light.

The dragons, while fearsome creatures, were also very intelligent and kind. They did not allow themselves to become bitter about being trapped inside the Eye and cut off from the rest of the world. While the land inside the Eye was lovely, it was still a prison they had not been able to escape. They very easily could have allowed for resentment and bitterness to fester and blame Virago for their imprisonment. Every one of the creatures that lived in the Eye revered Virago. They viewed him as their savior. He saved them not just from certain destruction from the Ich but from themselves and their foolish complacency. They realized they failed to recognize how important their duty as a guardian was, and the Darkness’s rise of power was partly their fault for their inaction. According to Aldara, the failure of good to stand up to evil is just as dangerous, if not more so, than the evil itself. The fey had been humbled and found strength in their humility.

The longer the children remained in the Eye, the more Janney worried about her mother. Janney knew that she must have been going out of her mind with worry for both her and George. She only wished there was a way to get a message to her to let her mother and Jonathan’s parents know that they were alright. George thought that Mr. Virago would know where they were. It was his magic that crested the Eye, so it only stood to reason that their grandfather would recognize they were transported inside. George was confident their grandfather was working on a way to bring them safely home. The longing to go home was obvious with the Cannon children. They loved their time with their new friends and greatly appreciated all the education they had received from so many of them. However, they longed to go home, and it showed.

Jonathan, on the other hand, did not seem to be bothered by the fact that they were trapped in the Eye alongside the fey. He grew more and more distant each day they remained inside. Not in a standoffish, leave me alone kind of way, but more of a person who was completely content. He seemed to have matured since they first arrived. It was as if he had become at peace with himself. In many ways, his training and education had been the most intense out of any of them, and it showed. Even George could see the difference. Time held a different meaning in the Eye. It was difficult to determine how long they had been there, whether it was weeks or months. The only thing Jonathan knew for certain was that it was long enough for him to accept the fact that he was a guardian.

It was another perfectly normal day when things changed. The day started the same as all the days had since they had arrived. A beautiful, warm summer day because the weather never changed in the magical land within the Eye. Janney decided to go for a walk rather than train with Pisteuo. She was feeling particularly homesick and did not want to be around anyone. George offered to go with her, but she told him she just needed to be alone and think. George looked at Jonathan, who just shrugged his shoulders to indicate he did not know what was bothering Janney.

“Girls.” George said as if that explained everything.

As she walked, Janney thought about everything she had learned since she had brought herself to the Eye. She thought about those she had met, Pisteuo, Aldara, Adir, and even Shai. She loved them dearly, and they have become family to her in a way she did not know was possible. She thought about her life back home and her mother, and how badly she longed to be able to go back home. Then she realized how much she would miss everyone who had become so dear to her recently if she did make it back home. That made her realize just how Pix and her grandfather must feel being separated from their loved ones for so long, and she began to cry. All the pent-up emotions held deep inside of her the entire time finally broke forth, and she found she could not stop crying.

She didn’t know how long she had walked. She walked through her tears until she found herself standing before the stream that ran along where Keris lived. She stood there for a moment watching the water flow around and over the river rocks before she sat down with her head in her hands and continued to sob. Lost in her tears and thoughts, she did not hear the unicorn approach.

“Come now, young one, is it truly that bad?” Keris asked in a warm, motherly voice.

Janney looked up and saw Keris standing next to her and could see the concern in the unicorn’s eyes, which made her start crying all over again. Keris stood there with her and waited without speaking. Knowing that Keris was there with her gave Janney a bit of comfort, and eventually, her tears subsided.

“What troubles you so much?” Keris asked Janney.

“It is all my fault.” Janney said.

“Who made you so important?” Keris asked with her eyes wide.

“What?” Janney answered in confusion.

“Everything is a lot to be responsible for. Maybe you don’t mean everything is your fault? What is it that you think you are to blame for?” Keris said as she moved to sit down next to Janney.

“I was not strong enough to stop the Ich. I brought us all here, and now we can’t get home.” Janney confessed.

“Ah, I see.” Keris said softly. “Do you want to know what I think?” she asked.

Janney nodded her head to signal that she did want to hear what the elder unicorn wanted to say to her.

“The Darkness has been fighting against the Light longer than you or I have been alive. The only way to defeat it is from deep within your heart. That is what the guardians are for, to remind us how we are to live. No one person is strong enough to take it on alone. Only together can we overcome such an enemy. So no, I do not accept your responsibility for not being able to stop that creature that even your grandfather was not able to destroy.” Keris said calmly.

“It is still my fault that we are trapped here.” Janney stated.

“That may be so. Or it could be that the Light needed the newest guardians to be preserved and trained. Maybe it was the Light that brought you here just for that purpose. You are needed as champions to fight in the new world. Where else could you get such an education? I love your grandfather, but he only knows one way, and a guardian needs to be fully immersed in the way of the Light. So yes, it may be true that your magic was the conduit that brought you here. Please consider the possibility that you were supposed to come here in the first place.” Keris said in a loving and knowing tone that only she could deliver.

“I just want to get home. I need to get back to my mother. She must be crazy worried, and it is all my fault.” Janney cried.

“Finally.” Keris sighed.

“What do you mean?” Janney asked.

“The truth. You finally confronted the truth. If that is what you want so badly, then do it.” Keris said as if it were the most obvious thing on earth.

“But how? I don’t know how to get us home.” Janney said firmly.

“Child, have you learned nothing about magic? Of course, you know how to get home.” Keris assumed her. “You have always wanted to get home since you arrived, but you did not have the need to.”

Janney sat still, letting the words of the unicorn sink in. The longer she sat, the more she knew that Keris was right. Magic was just as much about the need for a thing as the knowledge of how. In the time she had been there, Janney had learned quite a bit about the how. But did she genuinely have the need to go home? She realized that up until this moment, the answer was no. Suddenly, her tears stopped, and she found herself sitting up straight. Janney realized she could bring them back home.

“It is so glad to finally meet the real you, guardian.” Keris said with a smile.

“Oh, Keris!” Janney said as she threw her arms around the unicorn’s neck and embraced her.

“There, there child. I shall miss you too.” Keris said embarrassed.

Later that day, they all gathered in the glade in the forest where the children first crossed into the Eye. While Janney didn’t think that it made much of a difference where they were physically when they crossed through the barrier, she thought it best not to put that theory to the test. The goodbyes were harder than anyone thought. The time spent together had bonded them together.

“Can I come with you?” Shai asked Janney.

“I don’t think that would be wise Shai. I am not sure where exactly we will end up or even when.” Janney told the pixie.

“Don’t worry, Shai. We will make sure your father knows all about you.” Jonathan told Shai, bringing a huge smile to her tiny pixie face.

“Are you ready?” Aldara asked softly.

“Yes.” Janney answered with tears in her eyes.

“Then go in peace, guardians. Thank you for the gift of your friendship. Until we meet again.” the second prime said as she bowed her head.

Janney closed her eyes and concentrated. She felt the air come into her lungs, the beating of her heart. She could feel the heartbeats of the others around her. Time stopped. A peace fell over her. She could see the glade and the cave at the same time. She felt as if she had one foot in the Eye and one crossed over back home. She understood the need and trusted in herself and in the knowledge that she was a guardian in the service of the Light. Then the warmth of the summer sun in the Eye disappeared, and the world went dark.