“Demons?” Prince Varian said. “Demons? Am I really supposed to believe that?”

Ivy had a hard time herself. Demons weren’t supposed to be roaming around taking over cities. Then again, there was one in Atrican. She had first hand experience with that.

“I don’t care what you believe,” Prince Armond said.

“Demons live in the borderlands. The paladins keep them where they belong.”

“I have been to your ‘borderlands.’ What you can find there are their pets. Your church would not have the slightest clue how to act should they come across an actual demon warrior. Much less one of their leaders. And they will make their way across the ocean. They are coming.”

Rose stepped up to the table.

“Out,” she said, “both of you. Now.”

The two men shifted their eyes toward Rose. From her spot on the couch, Ivy couldn’t see Prince Virian, but Armond narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at Rose with a subtle frown on his face. Neither man had to face orders very often—or at all, for that matter. Still, Ivy couldn’t tell if he was actually upset, or just trying to somehow see what was in her head. Ha. Ivy wanted to know herself, but that was Rose’s power.

“That wasn’t a suggestion,” Rose said.

“We aren’t finished,” Armond said.

“Finish elsewhere.”

Prince Armond let out a guttural sigh, but pushed his chair back and righted himself from the table.

“Really?” Prince Virian asked, looking up at the bigger man. “I’m not done with you.”

“It seems you are,” Armond said.

“What, and all those lies for nothing?”

Ivy rolled her eyes, though she doubted anyone noticed. She was only just now realizing how spoiled her Pretty Prince truly was. It made sense, she supposed, and who was she to talk? For that matter, none of them really had a right. All four of them pretty much got their way of things.

Armond shrugged.

“The lady wants us out. Take it up with her. I’ll watch.” He smiled.

Prince Virian glanced from Armond to Rose and blinked.

“N-no,” he said, “that’s alright.”

Huh? Suddenly they were both deferring to Rose? Both men were…almost avoiding her gaze. Ivy couldn't quite figure out how they were handling the fact that Rose and her were witches. There were moments where it felt like nothing had changed. And then there was...this.

Their unease did make sense. Ivy wasn't sure how she was feeling about them knowing either. It still made her shiver thinking about it, but she did trust them more than anyone else save for Rose. Perhaps they just didn't know what to expect. Neither man knew what powers she or Rose possessed as far as Ivy knew. Maybe they were just walking on eggshells around her and her sister.

Prince Virian got up from his chair as well, and without a word to Armond, went for the door. Armond nodded to Rose, and then followed him out. Once the door was shut behind them, Rose glared over at Ivy. Rude. She hadn't done anything.

“I’m going to say something you’re not going to like,” she said. Uh oh. “But I need you to listen.”

“Okay…”

“We need to leave the city. Tonight.”

Wait what? Rose had mentioned something like this several times before, but she seemed serious now.

“Huh?” Ivy asked.

“Armond was not lying. I…saw it.”

The hard wood back of the chair she had been directed to earlier was starting to cut into her sore body, and she pushed herself up, groaning the whole way. Once she made her way over and settled into Mister Couch, she looked back to a stern-faced Rose.

“Saw what?” she asked.

“A demon army ravaged his country. One of them…took his wife.”

Ivy opened her mouth, but no words came out. Rose’s explanation wasn’t making sense on a multitude of levels.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Ivy said, “back up. A demon army? That’s a thing?”

Rose leaned back onto the table behind and massaged her forehead with one hand.

“There’s so much you don’t know.”

“Then tell me!”

Ivy once again thought of Atrican’s demon and of Rose’s insistence that no such thing existed.

“I don’t know if it will do more harm than good.”

“Shouldn’t that be for me to decide?”

“No.”

Ahhhh! Ivy wanted to scream! Screw it. She did.

When she finished, Rose was still looking over at her with tired eyes.

“Ivy,” she said, “you don’t want to be here during a demon invasion. No matter how well prepared Armond thinks he is.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“I can make you.”

Ivy couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“I’d like to see you try.”

Rose got up stepped in close, her lips a hair’s breadth from Ivy’s ear.

“You think you always get what you want?” Rose asked in a biting whisper that sent a chill down Ivy’s spine. “That’s because I let you. Not once in my life has something been taken from me that I did not allow. Not a cocky young witch with more power than sense, a deposed delusional prince with a vendetta, nor an idiot governor with more concern for who will next grace his sheets than the concerns of his people.

“So listen to me now. You will come with me away from this place. I will continue to protect you from this shit world. You will do this because you have no choice in the matter. I get what I want. Always. Not you.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Rose spun on her heel, showing Ivy her back.

“R-rose?”

It was like another person had taken over Rose’s body. Ivy had seen her upset and disappointed before many times, but never…hostile. An unshed tear formed in each of Ivy’s eyes.

“Pack whatever you can carry for several days,” Rose said, and started walking to her bedroom.

“No!” Ivy shouted, standing. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you or if the demons are really coming, but I’m not running! I’m done running!” Rose spun back to face Ivy, her face a twisted mask of rage. “I tried that once before, Rose. Don’t you remember? It didn’t work! There’s always another thing around the next corner. I can see it in you too. You’re running from something. You won’t tell me your past, and that’s fine, but I won’t let you control my future. I…I’ve made something here. Whether you approve or not, I won’t abandon my life and restart again!”

“Ivy-”

“No. I’ve let you talk, and I didn’t like what I heard. So you listen to me. This isn’t happening. You got it? I’m sorry. I love you more than anyone. You know that, but you need to let me make my own decisions. If you want to leave on your own, I’ll probably be a mess, cry my eyes out and well…yeah. But I’ll support your decision and see you off with a heavy heart. Yet, I’m. Not. Leaving. Got it?”

None of it seemed to get through to her at all. If anything, every word Ivy spoke only fueled the fire building in Rose’s body. Was that steam rising from her head? No. Probably not.

“I can’t accept it,” Rose said through clenched teeth.

“Then I’ll let you stew on it.”

Ivy dropped into the witch world, her vision darkening to the shades of gray that she was all too familiar with now. A single step along a curving edge of a path took her from her home to the street below. Behind her, Rose’s scream put her own to shame. It felt like it shook the very world with its anguish. The tears building in Ivy’s eyes finally fell, wetting her cheeks. She had no desire at all to hurt Rose, but the older witch needed to hear what Ivy had said. If it came to a true conflict between them, she didn't know what she would do.

Ivy knew Rose had the strength and experience to not only fight Ivy physically, but mentally. Over the years they had sparred occasionally, and Ivy had never once come out on top. Powers or no, Rose had never given Ivy a single opening. Yet still, she was still more afraid of how Rose might mess with her head.

Ivy shook her problems from her head and wiped her damp face with a sleeve of her tunic. She'd deal with each trouble as it came. Maybe Rose would come around without any fight at all. For now, she had to play mediator again. Finding the princes within the witch world proved to be a simple task. It still amazed her how far she had come from when she had first awakened, stumbling around in a broken world that could hardly be described. Now, while everything still looked cobbled together by an unfathomable mind, there was some reason to it. Or maybe un-reason. Did that make sense? Not really. But what mattered was that the princes were not far off at all, just down the street from her home, surprisingly still together.

She followed the path that opened up to her, somehow starting off by going further away from the two men, yet still being the best route. Once in position, she dropped her power, and like always, color and sense returned.

“Whoa!” Prince Virian jumped back from her sudden appearance, while Armond didn’t even flinch.

“What, you still haven’t gotten used to it?” Armond asked.

“N-no,” Prince Virian said. He eyed Ivy and then looked around the empty street. Night had already fallen before their meeting, and this district housed mostly merchants that woke and slept early. “Shouldn’t you be more…careful?”

“Has she ever been?” Armond asked.

Oh. Right. She had pretty much just appeared directly in front of them. Uh…oops? She scratched the back of her head, also looking around like she was nervous. In truth, within the witch world she had verified there were no other moving bodies anywhere outside. The men supposedly knew about her, but it still would be strange to appear like that.

“She’s not even trying anymore,” she thought she heard Virian say under his breath.

“What was that?” she asked.

“Nothing.”

“Okay…” Ivy said, “anyway, I’m glad you two haven’t killed each other yet.”

“Barely managing,” Armond said, getting a chuckle out of Ivy.

“Should we…continue?” she asked. She gave Prince Virian a look. “I think I know a place.”

He smiled.

“Ha. Shall we?”

Armond rolled his eyes.

“What did I do to deserve this?” he asked no one.

Ivy and Armond followed Prince Virian through the market up to the gate to the nobles’ district in silence. Despite Ivy’s suggestion, she actually had no idea where Prince Virian’s little underground hideout was located. Clearly, it was in the nobles district, and Ivy gave Armond a sideways glance. She wondered when the last time he had passed through these gates, if ever.

Prince Virian went up ahead, spoke to the gate sergeant for a moment, who saluted, and then scrambled his men to open the gate. Being royalty had its advantages, apparently. They passed through unmolested, though a few soldiers did reach for their swords when they saw Armond stroll on by. No one bothered them as they followed Prince Virian, though every noble did want to talk to the prince. He was recognized at every turn, and approached by all. No one even spared Ivy or Armond a glance, though. Prince Virian smiled and exchanged pleasantries, sometimes a bit of gossip with each noble before moving on.

“This is why I don’t like going out,” Armond said beside her.

Ivy looked up at him and chuckled.

“Jealous for attention?”

“I get it enough from where we come from.”

True enough. Most would probably know who he was dockside. Though she didn’t imagine that many would approach him.

Eventually Prince Virian turned down an alleyway between two sprawling manors, giving relief from the sycophant nobles trying to get in his good graces. They wound around a few more ridiculous yet beautiful estates before he stopped at the side of a random wall surrounding one of the most lavish mansions. The stone wall was taller than most houses in any other district, and the manor ascended high above that. None of this looked familiar.

“Hey,” Ivy said, “is this—”

“Oh,” Prince Virian said, turning, “we can’t use that other place anymore.” Ivy frowned. She couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. They had shared their first drink in that hideout. “It got flooded a couple of summers ago.”

“Right,” Ivy said.

“But don’t worry. I know the guy that owns this place. It’s well stocked.”

He pushed against one of the rectangular stones in the wall, and it sunk maybe a half foot inward. At his feet, the alleyway floor clicked, and a trapdoor popped open. Prince Virian beamed over at Ivy.

“Fancy,” she said, and Prince Virian bent down to pry open the entrance.

Prince Armond, on the other hand, shook his head before lining behind the younger prince. They went down in turn, leaving Ivy for last, though Armond barely fit through the small opening. She descended down the ladder into a damp cellar, the whole thing feeling a lot less glamorous than when she had been fourteen.

At the end of a short stone walkway, the place opened up into a square room, the walls lined with bottles. At the center was a polished round table and a few chairs. Ivy perked up right away and began perusing the wine. She really had no idea what to look for, but it was fun nonetheless. Nothing was labeled anyway, but she pulled various bottles from their resting places and gave them a looksie. There was a whole wall full of pretty light pink wines that looked yummy.

“Here,” Prince Virian said behind her. She spun and he was holding out a crystal glass already filled with a cherry red fluid.

Ivy smiled.

“Is this—?”

“Of course.”

“Mmm, I think I will. Thank you.”

She took the offered glass and downed a long gulp of the stuff. It went down like the God’s nectar. Fruity and sweet, with just enough burn to feel alive.

Past Prince Virian, Armond was already sitting at the table scowling at them.

“Why am I even here?” he asked.

Prince Virian spun his back to Ivy and returned Armond’s scowl.

“You’re here,” he said, “because you’ve committed treason.”

“Treason is allowing you to continue to rule.”

“And you’re better?”

“Yes.”

Ivy sauntered over to the table, sipping her wine and grinning at the two men. She wished there were snacks, though. She sat at one of the three chairs, and watched them bicker at each other, her eyes shifting from one to the other over the rim of her glass.

“This entire continent will fall because of you,” Armond said.

“What is this your ‘demons’ again? How long is it you’ve been waiting? Thirty years? They going to show up before you die of old age?”

“They are real, Virian,” Ivy said, dropping her glass for the first time.

Both men tore their attention from each other to regard her.

Prince Virian spoke first, “You’re taking his side?”

“There’s no side here. It’s just true. I’ve…seen one.”

Prince Virian stared at her open-mouthed while Armond only clenched his jaw.

“Where?” Armond said.

“Calm down,” Ivy said, “it wasn’t one of your demons. Besides its nowhere you can reach anyway.”

“They are all my demons.”

Ivy rolled her eyes and took another swig of wine.

“Fine, then I suggest you two work out your differences, make some kind of truce, and prepare the city for a demon invasion I guess.”

Virian still hadn’t stopped gaping at her.

“Are you serious?”

She didn’t respond, and looked to Armond. He didn’t appear any happier.

“And you?” he asked. “What will you be doing?”

“I’ll figure out how to dismantle the church, and get you the demon that’s living in Atrican.”

“What?” It was both men this time. She smiled and took another drink.