In the center of the four allied kingdoms was a forest of dark blue. The trees and grass were different from the ones within the other kingdoms. Not only was the color different, but the length and width of the environment were unheard of. Trees as tall as a man and grass blades that reached a person's knee grew from the ground. However, that wasn't all that was bizarre about this location.

When the clouds would clear and the sun would shine bright, an island up in the sky could be spotted – but could only be distinguished as a dot. Not many have ever been up there, but those that have always had something to say. The most common answer was that a large island that held a castle rested in the sky. The temperature and humidity would change the moment they stepped foot on the island, reaching perfect temperatures for the average body. Like a bubble surrounded the island, one that would help it survive the harsh weather conditions.

Within the large castle were several dozen rooms, each with its own purpose and unique design, but the room of importance was a room of tables and chairs all in the formation of a square. Each one of the four sides had large banners that laid against the walls behind every chair. The banner to the East was an enlarged version of Leviere's emblem laying in between two wall torches. It was in its typical hot pink lettering and gold borders.

In front of the banner, blue pixels suddenly appeared in thin air. Like they were piecing together a human, the king of Leviere and Queen Ruby of Penn were formed in the same position they were in before they appeared. Once Ruby came to her senses, she jumped back and looked at her hands. As she frantically inspected herself, King Didus chuckled to himself.

King Didus: [Don't worry, you're fine.]

Ruby felt humiliated as she lowered her hands and awkwardly chuckled.

King Didus: [We're in the Conference Hall within the Northeastern Alliance's Headquarters.]

Ruby: [Nah for short?]

King Didus: [Excuse me?]

Ruby and King Didus blankly stared at one another for a short moment. His raised brows and crooked lips made Ruby turn away with a blush.

Ruby: [Nevermind...]

As she scratched the back of her head, Didus pointed towards the opposite side of the large square table.

King Didus: [You should take a seat there.]

The seat in front of the Penn flag stuck out more than the one that King Didus had just rested on. Penn's distinct white and blue color scheme set it apart from the rest, and that cheered Ruby up quite a bit. She ran over to the other side of the room and pulled out her seat.

King Didus: [I remember when you came here along with your mother several years back.]

Before she could take a seat, she turned to Didus as he had a soft smile on his face.

King Didus: [You sat on your mother's lap and played with her paperwork while our fathers talked about taxes. You were young, but so bright and brave.]

Ruby giggled and thanked him as she took a seat.

Ruby: [I don't remember much about my life as a princess, though. Heirloom wiped my memory, and it's done nothing but cause problems for everyone around me.]

King Didus: [I can only imagine how hard that must be.]

Ruby: [Yeah, it sucks...]

She lowered her head and began thinking about what her family in this world could have possibly been like. They probably acted a lot differently from her parents back in Winooski, but their voices and looks would be surprisingly similar. The thought of having a family that she didn't recognize scared her enough to make her heartache.

More pixels appeared towards Ruby's right and immediately caught her attention. As another human formed out of pixels, she admired the flag it was in front of. Unlike Penn or Leviere's flag, Jime had a rectangular shape with a triangle cut towards the bottom. It was rocking a rich brown and yellow stripes color scheme and had an emblem of a gold crown near the top. The flag hung off of the ceiling and looked very bland. Sooner than later, a slightly tanned man with a light mustache and beard stood tall and looked both ways. He confidently smiled and bowed before taking his seat and patiently waiting. Ruby got the feeling that she had seen him from somewhere before, but couldn't put her finger on it.

King Didus: [You sure took your time, Keshab.]

The tanned man narrowed his eyes and looked at Didus.

King Keshab: [Shut up! The princess is right there!]

Ruby awkwardly laughed. He joined her but only for a bit.

King Keshab: [A ton of my soldiers returned to the capital with important information a moment ago.]

He reached for the back of his head and began to scratch his hair.

King Keshab: [Apparently my Paladin demoted my general, a few of Devon's soldiers joined my side, and the war has become a lot more complicated than it was supposed to be. It's all confusing until you hear how the Aveay magi-knight explained it.]

Didus laughed.

King Keshab: [Anyway, where is Devon? He's usually the one to show up early.]

Ruby turned to Aveay's side of the table.

King Didus: [I don't know... He should arrive any second now.]

King Keshab: [Can you believe his ignorant ass?! First, he embarrasses me about my tardiness, then he–!]

The moment that pixels appeared in front of Aveay's banner, Keshab shut his mouth and sat back. Ruby giggled at his sudden change in behavior.

Devon appeared after the pixels finished doing their job, but unlike everyone else, he had two men dressed in black standing behind his shoulders. One of his men pulled his seat back and the other directed him to sit down. Keshab grew a nerve watching him flex. The moment Devon took a seat, he smirked at Keshab. With narrowed eyes, Keshab couldn't help but mock the blonde king.

King Keshab: [Oh look at me, I signed a contract with the South.]

King Devon: [It's been a while, hasn't it?]

Keshab crossed his arms and grit his teeth.

King Keshab: [Shut your ass up.]

As Devon laughed, he turned to Ruby's side of the table and suddenly came to a pause. Surprised to see her sitting on her mother's chair, he softly smiled and gave her a nod. Ruby felt guilty for ruining his plan but smiled back regardless.

King Didus: [We haven't used this castle ever since Jamison took the role as a Messenger, haven't we?]

King Devon: [May he rest in peace.]

King Didus: [Yeah. Let the meeting begin!]

Everyone turned to Didus and watched him stand up.

King Didus: [Surely you all know why I've called you here.]

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King Keshab: [Uh, no. We don't. You suddenly called us here.]

Devon agreed with him.

King Didus: [It's about the current status of the Hydra war. Their leader is within our grasp.]

Devon's eyes widened.

King Didus: [With the help of Queen Ruby and my royal knight, he is being securely held in a cell within my castle.]

King Keshab: [They were accompanied by the sorceress you banished a few weeks back, right?]

Didus nodded subtly.

King Keshab: [That means she's on our side.]

King Didus: [I wouldn't act hastily–]

Ruby: [You two are getting off topic.]

Ruby interrupted.

Ruby: [We came here to formally ask the rest of the alliance for a reasonable punishment against Heirloom.]

Devon laid his squared chin in between his crossed fingers.

King Devon: [Reasonable punishment? What held you back from dealing with it on your own?]

King Didus: [Hydra has done nothing against me or my kingdom.]

King Keshab: [Are you delusional, or have you forgotten the fact that one of their members nearly wiped out your squadron of guards? Or that he killed our Messenger?]

King Devon: [What they did to you wasn't as chaotic as what they've done to the rest of us, so we need to fill you in with everything bad that they have done.]

Didus turned to Devon.

King Keshab: [To begin, Hydra has been attacking small villages within my kingdom until we figured out what they have been doing. As a result, we increased our security measures. Since then, they slowly made their way to Aveay. After taking out a couple of their villages, they went silent.]

King Devon: [Ever since you received word from the Demon Lord regarding his attack, they went into a shocking silence. For about a year, they did nothing...]

Devon lifted his head and then turned to Ruby, which wasn't expecting to share eye contact. She quickly turned her head away.

King Devon: [that was until Penn was attacked.]

King Didus: [What could they be looking to achieve?]

Ruby raised her hand and stared daggers at King Didus. While she patiently waited to be called on, the other kings awkwardly watched her. Once Didus called her name, she spoke.

Ruby: [They believe that in order to get the better of the corrupted, they need to destroy what they've created.]

All of the kings raised a brow.

Ruby: [Heirloom told me that once, and I thought it was crazy.]

King Devon: [So it's treason, then.]

King Keshab: [You were close to Heirloom?]

Ruby nodded and then explained her situation. At first, Keshab found it hard to believe anything coming out of her mouth, but Devon confirmed everything.

King Keshab: [Since you know him most, maybe you know the best way to take care of him?]

He grinned smugly and rested his chin on his right wrist.

King Didus: [I received strict orders not to let her give punishment ideas.]

Keshab rolled his eyes and pressed his back against his chair.

King Keshab: [Why not? She's the queen of Penn, and from what we know, the last from her family.]

Ruby felt her heart stop for a second. Random thoughts of a family she never met flew in from one ear and out the other.

King Didus: [She spent too much time around the war criminal.]

King Keshab: [So what?!]

King Devon: [Rather than complaining, why not act your role?]

Keshab grew more agitated.

King Devon: [I'm sure the person that gave Didus those orders knows what they're doing. As for us, let's give our advice and get out of here.]

Didus nodded while Keshab pouted.

Ruby: [I really don't mind, Your Highness.]

King Keshab: [If you're okay with it, I guess it's fine. By the way, just call me Keshab. Actually, call all of us by our first name. There's no need to be formal.]

Ruby softly nodded. The room fell silent for a moment.

King Didus: [I think I've come up with a way to punish the convict.]

King Keshab: [That would be?]

King Didus: [In Leviere; the punishment for the murder of another sentient being would be a lifetime in prison, and treason is several decades depending on the act.]

King Keshab: [Okay, and?]

King Didus: [A reasonable punishment for both acts displayed on an inhumane level, would be death, would it not?]

Ruby pulled herself back and widened her eyes with a gasp.

King Devon: [I don't know much about the Leviere justice system, but the death penalty seems unjust.]

King Keshab: [They've destroyed villages and ended countless lives for the sole purpose of getting back at us, even though we didn't even do anything wrong. The death penalty only feels right.]

King Devon: [You two are sick.]

King Didus: [I made my decision based on the information the three of you gave me. The leader of Hydra has committed countless acts that go against the laws placed in your kingdoms, and to add on to that, he kidnapped the Queen of Penn, wiped her memory, and turned her against us.]

Devon clenched a fist under the table.

King Devon: [Still...]

Ruby narrowed her eyes and began to feel an aching pain in her chest. She had to speak up, but nothing good would come out of it.

King Didus: [He supposedly sent one of his henchmen to my kingdom and eliminated a whole squadron.]

Didus lowered his head and showed remorse.

King Didus: [I lost a lot of good men that day.]

King Keshab: [Good men you forgot.]

Didus turned to Keshab after hearing his mumbling.

King Didus: [What was that?]

King Keshab: [Don't worry about it. Looks like the majority rules. Didus, return to your kingdom and have Heirloom eliminated.]

Hearing them talk about murdering her closest friend, despite what he's done to her, made her unable to keep to herself. She knew the rules placed upon her showing up, but she couldn't sit down and let this happen. With her heart racing, she stood up with her right arm raised, and her left one tightly holding onto her chest.

Ruby: [Wait!]

She caught the attention of the other kings.

Ruby: [I know it's not my place to speak, but I honestly don't believe the death penalty is reasonable!]

Keshab released a sigh and then turned to her with a serious glare in his eyes. Devon smiled cheerfully.

King Keshab: [I understand that you lost your memories, but even you should understand what it means to have your entire KINGDOM eliminated.]

Ruby: [I do... but I don't get why you two think killing him is the only way for him to make up for it!]

Keshab raised his voice and straightened his posture.

King Keshab: [Him and his teammates have killed more people than in recorded history!]

Tears began to form in Ruby's eyes as Keshab's voice continued to rise.

King Keshab: [He doesn't deserve the right to live!]

Ruby: [HE'S A GOOD PERSON!]

She lowered her head and slammed both her arms against the square table. Keshab flinched as Didus sighed.

Ruby: [EVERYONE HAS A RIGHT TO LIVE! GIVE HIM TIME AND HE'LL CHANGE!]

As her tears streamed down her cheeks, Ruby sat down and covered her face.

Ruby: [What am I talking about?]

King Didus: [Sophia saw this coming.]

He smiled softly.

King Didus: [Though you aren't wrong, Heirloom has committed far too many heinous acts to be rightfully classified as a prisoner.]

King Keshab: [Besides, I know about what happened with him yesterday.]

Ruby raised her head.

King Keshab: [You tried to trick him into joining our side, and he betrayed you. He turned against you, yet you believe he still has good in him.]

She narrowed her eyes and looked away.

King Keshab: [No matter how you twist this, Heirloom isn't a good guy. Wherever he goes, trouble follows.]

King Devon: [I'm on the Queen's side on this.]

King Keshab: [That's because you're nothing but a fucking pacifist!]

Devon's guards narrowed their glares.

King Keshab: [You two are the leaders of kingdoms, kingdoms of which were hit hard by Hydra's raids... but don't even know the good from the bad.]

Ruby: [Please... just give him a chance.]

She clenched her hands against her thighs. Didus watched her cower in front of everyone with her head down.

King Didus: [Raise your head, Queen Ly. Stand strong for what you believe is right, and maybe then people will stand by your side. Right now, you're acting like a fool.]

Ruby clenched her teeth together.

King Didus: [We will proceed with the death penalty in two days, at dawn.]

Keshab nodded and got off of his seat. As he stood behind his chair, he began to turn into particles until he disappeared from sight.

King Devon: [Looks like we've lost the trial again.]

He stood up and followed his guard until the particle process began for him. As soon as he disappeared, Didus turned to Ruby.

King Didus: [Come here, Queen Ly. We must relay the decision to Royal Knight Do.]

Ruby stood up and walked over to Didus with her head down.

King Didus: [Keep your head up, will you? You're embarrassing yourself.]

Ruby let out a groan as they began to pixelate.