She had haunted his dreams for so long...He even knew her name.

Liz.

A plain, sensible name - but somehow like music to his ears.

But this dream was different. In all the past dreams of her it had been as though he was observing the action, watching events that had been, that would be, that were...Events that had happened in another lifetime to someone that she called Max.

This time was different. She was there staring at him, her dark eyes wide with some unamed emotion - clearly seeing him, just as he was seeing her. Her long dark hair was streaming behind her in the breeze, her delicate form dwarfed by one of the gate-markers.

Jaxon licked his lips, spoke. "It's you."

She blinked, frowned slightly. "Don't you know who I am?" She asked in a small voice.

He could tell that his next answer was very important - that one wrong word might shatter her - and for some reason that was the last thing under the Illyrian sky he wanted to do.

"You're Liz." He replied carefully. He was eyeing her with concern. She was slowly making her way towards him through the waving grass, her eyes not leaving his face. He saw her face light up with pleasure, but also with concern.

"I am." She stopped about an arm's-length away from him. He wondered why it felt inherently wrong that she should do so. "And who are you?" She asked quietly, clearly willing him to give her the answer he wanted.

At least he knew THIS answer. "I'm Jaxon Falconer, Blue Prince, High King of Illyria." He replied. He hoped it didn't sound too arrogant. Tarsus was always telling him to behave like the king he was, but it had always made him uncomfortable to push his status on others.

Jaxon was disapointed when her face darkened, her eyes suddenly filled with tears. "No, who are you really?" She asked almost desperately.

His eyes narrowed. He didn't understand what she wanted - but whatever it was, he wanted to give it to her. "Who do you think I am?" Jaxon asked cautiously, not wanting her to lose it. He was unused to dealing with emotion in beings. His people were not a demonstrative group. Emotion was considered weak. He had always thought so.

Yet for some reason it did not seem weak in her. It actually seemed to him that she was brave to reveal so much to him in just a look, a sentence.

It was clear that she trusted him.

Liz had tilted her head. She was staring at him, clearly trying to come to a decision. "You're Max Evans." She finally told him, biting her lip.

He didn't hear her right away. Jaxon was staring at that lip. At both of them actually. He was horrified when he realized that he wanted very much to kiss them. He shook his head. "I have heard that name before." He told her quickly, trying to suppress the image that suddenly appeared in his mind. It was like a flash of memory...but he knew that is was not HIS memory...

"I better go." It was as though he was saying it in the vision, but then again, it was not him.

"Why?" Liz asked, her eyes wide with questions.

"'Cause if I don't go right now, things are going to change."

"Change how?"

Jaxon shook his head again, stared at her. She was directly in front of him now. He could tell that she wanted to touch him. He was shocked to realize that he wanted her to as well.

"Are you okay?" She asked him instead, clutching her hands in front of her, as if trying to control them.

"Yes. Why are you here? Did my parents send you?"

She looked sad. "You really don't remember me do you?"

Jaxon decided to be honest with her. "I don't - I know that I have seen you before." He didn't tell her that it had been in his dreams. She would think he was crazy.

Of course, I AM having a conversation with her IN my dreams, so maybe I am insane, he reflected wryly.

"Do you remember anyone?" She asked, clearly trying to get past her disapointment. "What about Isabel, or Michael..." She took a deep breath. "Or Tess?" She asked in a small voice.

"No. I'm sorry."

Liz did not look sad anymore, but rather thoughtful, like she was trying to work out a puzzle. "Wait! What about Tristandor...or Mirana?" She asked suddenly.

Max scowled, suddenly annoyed. "My sister and her no-good husband. How do you know them? Did they send you here?"

She blinked at him, surprised at his tone, although she did not appear frightened. Had he used that voice on any of his people, they would have been out of his presence in a split second.

He forced himself to calm down. He didn't know why, but he knew that she was not there to betray him. Somehow he just knew. "How do you know them?" He asked again, in a more civil tone.

"Mirana - she is Isabel where I come from - is one of my best friends. And Michael, er Tristandor, is YOUR best friend and is my other best friend's boyfriend." Her eyes narrowed slightly, "Although little good he's ever done you." She muttered to herself.

"Tristandor is NO friend of mine." He told her firmly. "Why are you here? And what is a boyfriend?" Jaxon asked, images of his sister suddenly filtering through his mind. The only memories he had of her were bad ones. She was a tyrant and a shrill-voiced witch...one who had always been jealous of he and had conspired with her husband and his parents to try and steal his throne.

He refocused on her, saw that she was smiling sadly. "A boyfriend is like a partner, I guess....less then a husband, but more than a friend."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" He asked her, then clamped his lips shut. Now where did that come from?

"I do." She replied, still smiling, although she had tears in her eyes. "Max is my boyfriend."

He was not at all surprised to hear this. "But you said that I am Max."

"You are." She had unclenched her hands. One was reaching up. It touched his face lovingly. "You are mine."

"But I am not Max...I am Jaxon." He managed to croak. He almost gave into an irresistable urge to turn his head, to kiss her palm. But he was NOT who she thought he was...she had made a mistake. He could not take advantage of her like that.

"You are both Max AND Jaxon." She replied firmly. "They've surpressed the real you somehow, have made you forget -but I know who you are."

Jaxon stumbled backwards a step. He had to get away from her. He could not think clearly when she was so close to him. "Who are they?"

Her beautiful face clouded. "Tarsus of Dernia - and his leader, although we never did know who HE was." She told him.

Jaxon's felt his stomach clench. "I am his leader. Tarsus is my right hand. He is above reproach." He told her stiffly.

She just looked at him. He could tell that she thought that she was right, but she was not going to argue with him. "We better leave it alone." Liz finally said. "I don't know how long I can stay...there is so much to say Max! You have to help me figure out how to get you back."

"Back where?" He asked, letting her change the subject.

"Back home, where you belong. With Isabel, and your parents, and Michael....and me." She was looking around at the stone circle suddenly, her eyes wide with curiousity. "Where are we?"

"We are in the Waylandian Ring." Jaxon replied, suddenly realizing how peculiar it was. "I'm not sure why." He admitted sheepishly.

"But we're on Illyria?"

"Yes, of course, where else would we be?" Liz suddenly looked suspicious.

"How long have you lived on Illyria Max...er Jaxon?"

"My entire life of course."

Liz sighed, shook her head. "So they've not only made you forget, they've also planted false memories."

"What do you mean?"

"It's too complicated to go into now." Liz turned back to him, smiled lovingly. "I just want you to know that we are going to figure out a way to get you home."

"Why?" Jaxon was confused. He WAS home.

"Because I love you - we all do." Liz replied, touching his face again. His breath caught in his throat.

He was staring at her lips again. He had never kissed anyone before - but why did this all seem so familiar? He could feel his head beginning to lower. Liz's gaze was hypnotic...he seemed to have absolutely no control over his behavior.

All he knew is that his lips needed to be on hers...

"Max..."she sighed, their mouths only a breath away from each other.

And suddenly he felt like he had been kicked in the stomach...The last image he had of her was of her eyes widening in panic....she was reaching for him..."MAX!" She screamed.

She was gone...

Jaxon opened his eyes. He was not at all surprised to see that he actually WAS being kicked in the stomach...by one of his guards. He was lying sprawled on the hard stone floor of his cell.

"Get up you traitor! Your parents are ready to see you know..." The guard kicked him once more for good measure, then left him a moment's peace to get ready.

Jaxon sat up, scrubbed his hand across his eyes.

He remembered everything.

Who was she? Why had she been sent to tell him all these lies - to haunt him?

He climbed unsteadily to his feet, shook his head. His jaw set.

It was his parents - it had to be...they were trying to control him by using his dreams. He swiped a hand through his hair, straightened the tunic he had been wearing for the last week - ever since his parents had captured the Citadel...and him.

He would face them - and they would not know that they had FINALLY gotten to him. She meant nothing. It was all a ruse to wrench him from his true friends, back into their evil clutches.

While his mind was telling him all this, his heart was beating a mile a minute - as though HE was somehow wrong in all this. He pushed the feeling aside.

For this was the worse part of all...these dreams had reawoken something within him that he had thought he had long hidden, buried, done away with...

He was beginning to feel again.

Jaxon erased the admission from his mind. He straightened his spine, walked to the open door of the cell. He glared at the guards waiting for him. When he spoke, his tone was arrogant.