"We lived in a[i] castle?[/i]" Ghent seemed to repeat everything in a question of his own. First Wonderland, then magic, now a castle. A castle sure beat an apartment. If they'd lived in a castle, then that meant...no. That wasn't possible. [i]Was it?[/i]
	"Hold up. Am I royalty?" The news was going to Ghent's head, but he stopped. If he was of royal blood, he would have been addressed in a more respectful manner. Drust referred to him as 'boy' twice so far. This was not how one addressed a prince. The realization may have been disappointing, but Ghent was far from discouraged. Magic was nothing to sneeze at.

	"Alright, maybe not." Ghent declined the notion on his own, but he hadn't abandoned the idea entirely. Elayra had lived there too, so she may have been a princess. "I'm going to take a shot in the dark here and assume you're from a royal family," Ghent started to speculate out loud, but his phone put the theory to a halt. The ringtone was embarrassingly loud and festive; no one had bothered to change it from last Christmas. [i]Great. [/i]
	"Don't make a sound!" Ghent signaled them to be quiet as he fumbled to answer. All of this must have looked bizarre to his current guests, but he didn't have time to explain. 

	"Hello?"[i] Please don't be Henry again.[/i]
	"Ghent? Where are you?" Mrs. Preston sounded anxious. "Are you still with your friends?"
	Ghent kept Drust and Elayra in his line of vision. "You could say that." They'd been friends at one time, after all. This was not a lie, merely a method of survival. "I know you were relying on me to pick up the milk--"
	"It's alright, sweetie." The news of Ghent being with friends was a weight off of Mrs. Preston's mind. "Your father picked up a gallon on his way home. When will you be back? Henry is busy alphabetizing our movies, isn't he darling? Have you eaten yet?"
	"Oh yeah, just darling. I'll be a while." Ghent was conflicted, and his loyalties were split. Wonderland needed him, but so did his adoptive family. "Not yet, but I will. I have to go, okay? Don't worry about me, I'll text you later."
	
	Goodbyes were exchanged, and Ghent felt less enthusiastic than before. The phone call was a reminder of the people he had on Earth, and the damage he would cause by leaving this world behind. 
	"Er. That was my mom." Ghent held out the phone so they could take a look at the device if they so wished to. "We talk through this. It's kinda like magic, I suppose. Cool, right?" Explaining technology was not his forte. "Guess I should've asked this earlier...but how does the portal work? Can I come back after we save Wonderland?"