“Can I talk with you?”  Suho and I walked back into the living room and I sent my question to the new Warrior who was sitting across from the door.

  Our entrance must not have been heard since a few of the boys jumped up in surprise.  All eyes were on us as we stood in the entranceway, well all eyes were on me to be more precise.  I’ve gotten used to them always watching me, but it still makes me a little nervous when all of them look at me at the same time.

  “Please?”  I asked again.  After talking with Suho it’s time to talk with the new Warrior about all of this.  I need to know a few things so I don’t tread in unwarranted waters with this Warrior.

  He gave me a curt nod as he got up from the chair.  Stalking towards me, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from his walk.  I blinked back the strange thoughts running through my head as he stopped only feet from me.  Giving the boys a soft reassuring smile, I went back outside with the Warrior I still had no name for.

  Unlike when I went out with Suho I didn’t go over to the pool to sit.  The pool was somewhere special to Suho and I when we needed to talk, I want to find a place that the two of us can call a safe space.  It may not be for a while now, but at some time in the future I hope he can see this place as a place of freedom.  But I have to get though to him like I got through to the others.

  I don’t know what will be able to help me get though to this Warrior.  Like Suho said, this Warrior was going to be the toughest to get through to.  It was clear that he was hiding something, protecting something.  That Card that was in his care, he was guarding it.  If he wasn’t, he would have given it to me when I asked about it.

  I stopped by the pond that was made not long after my introduction it this world.  I felt that this pond is my first real connection to this whole world.  It was the one representation that all of this was real because it never went away.  It was always here to prove to me that this all wasn’t a big lie; I saw it be made and I see it still here.

  I looked into the clear depths with a soft smile on my face. “D.O made me this pond, you know?  It gets its water from an underground lake, so even if I drain the water from it, it will only replenish itself.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”  The Warrior asked me, sounding rather annoyed.

  I continued to stare at the little creation in front of us, “This pond reminds me that this is all real.  I never thought any of this was possible until the beginning of this school year.”  I explained.  I wanted him to know me, to understand where I came from.  Maybe that would help him trust me a little.  “I knew nothing of this world until a few months ago.  I never knew Cards and Warriors existed much unlike all the other students here.”

  I felt his eyes watching me, “Again, I ask why you are telling me all of this?  What reason do I, as your Warrior, need to know all of this?”

  I looked up at him, “Because you are my Warrior you need to know this.  As you have already seen, I’m nothing like other Dealers.  Each boy you saw in that room when you first appeared brought with them something I had to face, something I had to fight against to get them to be like they are with me now.  I gave them freedom and choice, and in turn they bring me happiness.”

  “Why would a Dealer ever give their Warriors freedom?  We could easily leave you, what right do you have to give us something we never have had before?”  He asked back.

  And what right did I have?  But on the other hand, what right do Dealers have to treat these Warriors like nothing?  Neither of us has a right to anything, yet we all claim we do.  I don’t have the right to treat them like nothing, but neither do I have the right to pretend they are not what they are.

  “I may have no right to do the things I do, but would you rather suffer for a couple decades more, or enjoy a little peace before going back to hell?”  I countered.  I realize that they have all lived hard and painful lives in these Cards, but they deserve to have a break, they have suffered enough and if I could I would stop their suffering completely.

  “All Dealers are the same in the end.  You may act nice now, but you cannot guarantee that you will never exploit us when the need arises.”

  “Then we deal with that when the time comes, if it ever comes.  Open up to me, at least a little.  Tell me your name, that’s all I wish for at this time.  I can’t keep referring to you as the ‘New Warrior’ now can I?”

  “The others have all given