That dark copper hair, those amber-gold eyes, that teasing smile… They were all slightly different but also impossibly the same. She had no doubt as to who this was, even if it had been six years since then. Why? Because she had never been the same since her best friend went missing.

"Ya know, I hope those are happy crocodile tears," said the brunette as she played with the wolf mask in her hands, a gentle smile coming to her face, "I've missed you, Care."

It was like a dam broke inside of her when she heard the old nickname. She stumbled forward and buried her head in the crook of the woman's neck, hanging onto her old friend's clothes as though she would disappear at any moment. Hot tears streamed from her eyes as a torrent of emotions flooded her systems.

Meanwhile, the Cardinal turned into something akin to a stone sculpture. She didn't move and didn't draw a single breath. It was as if she were a block of ice. Caroline's mind had temporarily gone back in time. In front of her was that sad college student that had just left her sight a few moments ago, leaving her with what would become the biggest regret of her life.

Caroline's hands grip tightened, her hot tears falling onto the woman's neck. There was so much she wanted to say, but sobbing was all she was capable of doing.

Meanwhile, her old friend was gritting her teeth, her brows furrowed. Instead of looking like she had been caught off guard, she looked to be in some sort of pain. Despite that, her arms brought Caroline closer in a way that made one think she was holding a fragile piece of glass.

A few minutes later, a strained smile appeared on the brunette's lips as she spoke, "I honestly thought that you would have forgotten about me by now. 6 years is a long time…"

Still in the midst of many strong emotions, Caroline couldn't help but raise her voice, "Forget you? How could I?" Tears continued to run from her eyes, "I thought you were dead! I-I've regretted ever letting you leave that night… I regretted not going after you and—"

'—kissing you,' she finished in her head. These torturous thoughts had invaded her mind again. No, no, she had to push them down. She wasn't like that.

She gulped as she barely managed to stop herself in time. Mind in overdrive, she continued, "And, and when I… When I heard what those scientists did to their victims…" The petite blonde shook her head without breaking eye contact, her voice shaking, "I felt like I had been the one to kill you…" The guilt had gnawed at her for years on end. How many times had she dreamt of the 'would have' and 'could have'?

Something akin to a feral growl came from the woman in front of her as the taller woman gripped her shoulders, forcing her watery green eyes to look into her amber-gold depths. Her friend's irises were glowing as she let out an animalistic snap in response, "Those bastards are the ones to blame, not you. They turned so many lives into their personal guinea pigs, including my own."

Caroline lacked the words to speak as she stared back at her friend—no, the Cardinal, with widened eyes. For a moment, she felt a flash of fear as those glowing orbs threatened to engulf her but it passed as soon as it came. She felt tears threatening to rise once again.

'Right… What kind of horrors did she face to become a literal monarch? To be called the monstrous Cardinal? Six years… how much of that did she spend almost dying?' Her heart cried out at the thought.

She was so caught up in the moment that she had forgotten that they were no longer simple students in college. That night of 'what could have been' was far behind her. That little shock had brought her back to her senses with her feet now firmly planted in the present.

Everyone had heard the news anchors talk about the crazed scientists and the war that the Cardinal led against them. But… Ava was the Cardinal. The monster of retribution. The world's absolute ruler.

Her heart quickened. It was hard for her to wrap her head around. She would never have thought the girl she once knew was capable of… bloodshed. But what did she know? Time changes people, not to mention torture. Caroline couldn't imagine the savagery Ava had seen. Nor the horrors she had faced and had yet to face.

A chill went through her at the thought. Ava was certainly different. She was taller with upturned eyes, longer hair, and somehow more beautiful too. There was even a mature, sexy aura around her that Caroline couldn't explain. Seriously, how do you come out of a bunch of heinous science experiments looking better than you did before? And if she really had been subject to all sorts of crazy experiments, was she truly the Ava she once knew? Or someone else entirely?

'That depends. Which before are you referring to?'

'I've missed you, Care.'

'I honestly thought you would have forgotten about me by now.'

No, this was still Ava. The teasing, the nickname, and the tantalizing way her skin slightly tingled where they touched. As if electricity was passing through their clothes and into the skin.

The realization seemed to ease some sort of anxiety in her when Caroline remembered those were all distinct characteristics of her friend. But still, she had to ask. She had to know for sure. So, nervously, she stepped back a little to break physical contact. If this had been the Cardinal she'd been expecting, a stranger, her clingy behavior would have been seen as incredibly inappropriate. She needed to put distance between the—both physical and emotional.

Darting her eyes to the floor, she shifted on her feet before asking nervously, "Your Majesty, are you really Ava?"

Not a single breath escaped from her as she bowed her head, fidgeting anxiously with her hands. While she had been up in her own head, the woman in question had removed her gloves both them and her wolf mask on the bed behind her.

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"Yes," Caroline's heart thudded in her chest, "and no I suppose," the Cardinal replied while putting a finger on her chin thoughtfully.

Confusion and worry nipped at her, "What do you mean?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

The brunette was now pointing at a large clock on the wall, "Time changes everyone. That's why I said yes and no. You can't truly say you know me like you did then. And I guess… the same goes for me."

"I'm sorry for asking. I guess I don't know you like I did back…then. I, uh, Av— um, your Majesty wh—"

—'why choose me as you servant?' She was going to ask. Beforehand, she thought she understood the thoughts of the mysterious monarch. Either she was chosen because of the dragon or for less pure reasons, but now she wasn't sure simply due to the fact that she now knew who the Cardinal was.

But for now, her question would go unanswered as she was interupted.

The woman sighed with a sort of pout forming on her beautiful face, "I don't like you using the stuffy formality, but I guess you kind of have to call me by my title… at least, around others."

Suddenly, she closed the distance, delicately placing a finger under Caroline's chin, pulling her gaze up to meet hers. She was grinning devilishly as she watched the heat rush over the blonde's face, her voice trailing her actions, "But when it's just us, call me Val."

Caroline swore her face was burning and her brain was seconds away from overheating. This woman was even more daring than ever! 'Monstrous' must have meant monstrous flirt!

She had forgotten her question!

But then her brows creased and another question popped into her mind to replace the former, "Val? Not, Ava? Avangeline?" She was confused since the brunette had just admitted to being her lost friend.

The Cardinal's face fell slightly as backed away and leaned against her bed, " 'Valtaeru Asura', with only a chosen few calling me Val. Though, everyone from the outside just calls me 'the Cardinal Majesty' now.

After that last night with you— when,'" she sighed, "when I was kidnapped. I became a mere number in their grand schemes. Only beings with names have rights. Numbers have none."

Caroline felt her eyes stinging as imagined it. She couldn't fathom it all, but that could have easily been her and she knew it.

As if sensing Caroline's rising emotions, Valtaeru shook her head, "I'll skip that for now. The sole few of us that survived took on new identities. We gave ourselves code names. We used those names throughout the war and now they've become as real as any other name."

'War… This is the Cardinal Majesty standing right in front of me… Valtaeru Asura is right in front of me. Why do I keep forgetting that?' Caroline's hands gripped the soft fabric of her uniform in distress.

Did she truly abandon her past as 'Ava'?

"But what about now?" What about your family?" Caroline didn't know why, but her tears had resurfaced. There was this aching feeling she had in her chest when she thought she might have never crossed the woman's mind. But she didn't—no, she couldn't voice those thoughts.

The monarch responded harshly, almost snarling, "What about them? Do you think they could live normal lives if others found out they were related to me? They'd end up dead! I am the Cardinal Majesty, the Empress of Asura! I have no kin!"

She looked at Caroline ferociously, "Do you understand?"

Those eyes, warm one moment and suffocating the next. She was telling her to keep quiet about her identity. An order. Caroline nodded, trembling slightly at the sudden change in tone. An order from the Cardinal was never to be disobeyed.

Gritting her teeth, she growled sorrowfully, "It's better this way. My mom got remarried and my sister is engaged. And even if I did tell them, well, you know how biblical my mom is. She'd probably think I was the same as the devils." It seemed like she wanted the best for her family but all Caroline could hear was how lonely Val sounded while talking about it. She even seemed to grieve over them.

Guilt poured over her like a bucket of ice water when she saw the pain in her old friend's eyes, but at least she had her answer. She still cared about her past. While she wasn't Ava, Ava was still her. Or at least, a piece of her. Maybe that piece is what reached out to bring Caroline to Asura in the first place.

It wasn't like she was the same person she used to be either… People change every year, every day, every hour. There's always change.

Her body, heart and mind were in conflict with each other as she went over all the different rumors in her head. There was so much she wanted to say, to ask, but she was getting nervous. She was meant to be a servant here. The direct servant of the Cardinal, whom she now knew to be her old friend. Servants didn't ask questions. They did what they were told weren't so overly familiar with their master.

Even if Valtaeru had told her to drop the title when they were alone, Caroline hesitated.

Unconsciously, she was putting a barrier around the depths of her heart. Minerva's voice was echoing in her mind, 'Make sure to remember your contract and your standing at all times.'

The new found knowledge she had stumbled upon didn't change her position. She was the personal servant of the Cardinal Majesty. A servant. And a servant, especially a straight servant, would never have designs on their master.

But if the Cardinal wished for her, she as a personal servant had certain obligations to fulfill, right?