I was in the kitchen, about to go downstairs when I heard footsteps in the room where Joseph and Dominic slept. I didn't understand why, but I couldn't move; I just stood waiting for something, but nothing happened. Suddenly I heard a voice, low but strong. They seemed to be arguing in whispers. I didn't want to listen, afraid that the reason for the discussion was myself, but I couldn't control my curious side.

-You must be going crazy! Don't you understand that you can't do this to her? In another situation I would support you, but we are dealing with something beyond our desires and we should not interfere. -said Joseph with a reproachful tone.

-I do understand. You are the one who don't understand what I feel. I am trying my best to avoid my feelings, but I can't. Always when I see her; when I touch her! It's not just desire. Now I'm sure it's not just desire. When I hear her voice or see her smile… My mind goes blank and the world stops. I forget everything and everyone and can only focus on her. How much I want to make her happy. Joseph, please try to understand. Believe me, I am containing myself with all my strength. - Dominic spoke in a frighteningly sad but hopeful way. I felt a chill running through my stomach. Was he talking about me? Wasn't I the only one who felt those 'urges' when we were together?

-Dear gods… Are you sure you are not confusing things? She is the Heiress. The Descendant. You know the powers she has. You know the influence she has over people. - whispered Joseph.

-I know, I've already thought of that hypothesis. But that which I feel awoke the first time I saw her, and it has continued all this time, even while I was away from her. You know I'm no inexperienced young boy Joseph. I wouldn't say that if I wasn't fully sure. You also know that I have no intention of hurting her, on the contrary. I will give my life for hers.

-I know that Dominic. I could already see in her eyes what she is starting to feel... and that she is also confused. But you can't guess the future. At any moment we may end up facing the inevitable. If some tragedy happens to you, how do you think she will feel? We can’t afford messing with her mental stability. Apart from that, you must remember that you are still affected by the Heir. As much as you have managed to change, Orion's influence still exists... And, our lives are disposable, unlike hers. I really want her to be happy by your side, but I don't know what can happen. I don't know if it's healthy to nurture her attraction for you. Even though she is not much younger than us, in many aspects she is still a child. -Joseph continued, with his now soft voice.

-I know that. That’s why I will wait until she learns more about the world, about her surroundings. I will wait until she understands. And even though I can’t guess the future, you can. - said Dominic with a strange tone.

-Yes, I can but it is increasingly difficult to see beyond the darkness. I'm not being able to decipher the signs and it's making me afraid.

-Perhaps because the future has not yet been written. The paths to be traced are still undefined. If I never try to make her happy, I will never know if it would work out or not. In any case, I am not even sure how she feels.

There was a long pause. I could hear the sound of the waves, beating away on the rocks.

-That's right. But I am still against it. If one day I will have a bad vision about that, you must give up and I will force you to do so. And if you hurt her in any way, I will take the pain myself. And you know that you must not, at any time, go beyond what is allowed. I don't know how much she understands about these matters. Although she seems frighteningly adult, remember that she was arrested when she was still a child Dominic.

-I know that. I will not do anything that will disrespect her. What I feel is beyond human desire…

-My God, you have already become a complete fool! -Joseph said.

-It's frightening.

-Who would say that someday I would see Dominic "Dark" Knight, the Black General, scared. - laughed Joseph.

-Shut the up, you bastard.

Then the silence took over. I ran back downstairs, with my head throbbing from so much information. I fainted instantly as I lay down in my bed.

I had a quiet night with some strange dreams that I could not fully remember. The sun rays touched my face waking me up, but I remained in bed for a while, thinking about the day I would have ahead. We would finally meet Heath, and I couldn’t wait for that. Then I remembered the night before and that I would have to take an attitude as to the effect I was causing on Dominic and what he and Joseph talked about. I never wanted to make them uncomfortable with my presence, but apparently that was happening. As they said, something about my powers might have been affect them.

I got up and went upstairs to the kitchen, which smelled great. Joseph, as promised, was cooking breakfast. Dominic was not there.

-Good morning! - I exclaimed smilingly to Joseph.

-Good morning Althea! You woke up early again. Sit there and give me some minutes. I am almost finishing. -he spoke in a cheerful voice.

I nod to Joseph and sat quietly at the table, back to my thoughts and reflections. It was so hard to know which path to take, what to do not hurt anyone. I wasn't an indecisive person, but in the last days I couldn't stop thinking about the consequences of my actions, to the point that I was angry with myself. But at the same time, that was the first time I really had to think about the people around me. It was the first time I had people around me that I could think about.

After a few minutes, I ate another wonderful unknown meal together with Joseph. I realized that something was wrong. The silence continued, and Joseph seemed to be reflecting on something that left him in a catatonic state. Also, I had not seen any sign of Dominic on the boat.

-Joseph?

-Yes?

-Is everything okay? -I asked while looking at him directly in the eyes. I realized that he tried to look away, without success.

-How do you do it? -he asked, now coming closer and sitting in front of me.

-Do what? -I questioned, without understanding and still waiting for the answer to the first question.

-I don't know how to explain it. Let's say you have some kind of effect on people. At that very moment, when you asked me how I was, I felt obliged to answer and it was as if all my thoughts were drained. I had to concentrate, with an unexpected effort, to get maintain my thoughts. -he said gesturing something without the slightest sense; at least for me.

 "It felt like you were in my mind." He concluded.

Invading minds? That was a power I didn't believe I had.

-I don't know what you're talking about. Are you asking me if I can control what you're thinking or something like that?

-Perhaps.

The silence came back, but I did not let go of the fact that he had not yet answered my question.

-Is everything ok Joseph? -I asked, now trying not to face it.

He did not respond immediately. He seemed to wonder what he should answer for me. After a long pause he faced me again and started talking.

-I don't know if you fully understand how difficult our mission is and all the adversities we are about to face. We must protect you beyond everything, including our lives - this is something we have already discarded, our lives. But in the end, Althea, our biggest challenge is to leave you unharmed from the wounds we cannot avoid.

-I don’t understand what you mean Joseph. -I replied, trying to absorb his words.

He then made a long pause and sighted.

-After all these years, you are regaining your freedom, your life. And I'm afraid you are not yet ready for eventual losses. -Joseph then continued. -I saw your past Althea. I have had several visions with you since the day I was endowed with my powers. You are the only person that I was able to see without meeting beforehand. And even though I met you personally only a short time ago, I would dare to say that I have a great affection for you. I see you as a younger sister. The last thing I want to see is you getting hurt.

-I feel the same way about you, Joseph. Even though I met you a short time ago. I feel as if we've known each other for years, and the same I feel with Dominic.

-And that’s exactly what I fear. -he exclaimed. -As I said before, we are ready to give our lives for yours. If something happens to me or Dominic, how will you be? I have come to the conclusion that we have acted wrongly in not planning enough the next steps after taking you from that place. We should have hidden you in a safe place first. Given you the opportunity to have a normal life and adapt to the world. Sometimes I think I should have given you a chance to choose. Choose to fight or not to. I think I might have wronged you Althea.

-Don't say that, Joseph. There is no way you can protect me from everything. I believe is not possible to know the whole future, even with powers like yours. All this connection... I think the right word would be "destiny." I feel like I was destined to meet you both. I feel I am destined to meet this man; the other Descendant. After all, that is the reason for my existence. The reason for my birth. As you said yourself, I am the break of a cycle. I can't escape that, there is no other choice for me.

He seemed to analyze my answer, word for word. I was also absorbing what he had said. The idea of my life having a meaning. And the fearsome idea that I had no choice.

-Just promise me that no matter what happens, you will never give up. -he said, holding my shoulder. -Things will get more and more difficult. We are about to go into a dangerous and insane trajectory. I need you to promise that you will not surrender.

-I promise that I will try... that I will fight until the end.

-Then we have an agreement.

We smiled at each other and felt a relief, as if a wall had been torn down. I decided that I should know more details about what was to come, about what I would have to face in the near future.

-Joseph, do you know anything about Orion? About his powers? -I asked, now standing, looking at the waves through the window beside the table.

-I know little about him, you should have asked Dominic. I heard stories about the Descendant, that he is has such an imposing aura that very few people can face him without losing consciousness when he uses his powers. They also say he can invade anyone's mind, as long as he has recently touched that person. Most possibly, all the powers that you currently have, so does have Orion, but he is more experienced. Yet, I don't think he is stronger than you. Orion already had the opportunity to explore his own potential to the fullest. You are just beginning.

-I don't know why you think I'm stronger than him. It doesn't make any sense. -I said. In my opinion, Orion seemed to be someone I should fear.

-Think Althea… why do you think his family locked you up when you were just a child and tried to hide you from the world? And why do you think we were not attacked yet? Orion doesn't want to hurt you because you're something vital to him and he doesn't want to attack you directly because he fears that it will awaken something very powerful that he won't be able to face. You are a first of your kind, and no one really knows what to expect. Do you understand?

I did not answer. I couldn’t see a sense on what Joseph was saying.

-But we must be cautious in any case. I am sure that, until the day we must face Orion head-on he will test us through his subordinates. We have the whole navy, army and the World Government looking for us, prepared to attack us without mercy. There are many powerful people allied to him.

-Don't you think it's impossible to win this war? The three of us against the world. Don't you think we should get an army to help us? - I asked, with the real doubt in my voice. Joseph and Dominic could be strong and incredible fighting, but it was impossible to believe that they could defeat thousands of people at the same time.

-Don't worry about it now. You know, around this world there are several people who believe in us, who believe that someday one person will be strong enough to defeat Orion's clan. There are armies of rebels scattered all over this continent, who have been fighting for years against the oppression of the Descendant. Our main mission is to reach them. We must find these different groups and unite them. Our crew will also increase until then and we will have many companions.

-Really? - I asked incredulous. - How many do you think they will be?

-I'm not fully sure. Our army will be thousands. But the ones closest to you will be... nine. Maybe ten. They will be the ones leading this war by your side.

Happiness invaded my chest and I felt pain in my cheeks, so great that it was my smile. Those words meant something to me that maybe no one else could understand. I would have others close to me. Maybe ten others!

-But take your time. Our journey will be long, and things can also change along the way. For now, try to be content with Dominic and me. - he laughed.

I remembered then that I had not seen any sign of Dominic since I awoke. That was not usual.

-Talking about it, where is Dominic? I haven't seen him anywhere today. - I asked Joseph, trying to seem as indifferent as possible.

-Ah, yes. He left very early. He went into town, I think. Looking for his friend, the carpenter.

-Hmm.