Lailack grasped Hazel's arm, shaking her gently. 'Are you okay? You drank the water too! No, please don’t leave me alone, my queen. I’m so scared,' she cried.

Ranya and Goltha collapsed to the ground, their bodies disintegrating into dust alongside Crest.

"My queen!" Lailack shrieked.

"Lailack?" Hazel asked in a trance.

"My queen."

"I'm not dying," she said, looking at Lailack's face in a trance. "I'm still living," she shook her head. "I have no sign of pain," she touched her ears, nose and mouth, "or am I bleeding," she asked Lailack.

Lailack examined Hazel from head to toe, relieved to find no signs of bleeding.

"No, my queen," she held Hazel's hands as she answered, stunned at the discovery. "You are fine. Don't … don't you drink the water?" Confused, Lailack asked.

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"I ate the apple as well Lailack, but I'm alive, and Mask died; I.. I drank the water but...but I'm alive and…" Tears streamed down Hazel's cheeks. "They’re gone. What’s happening to me? Am I dying…slowly? Is this a slow, painful death, Lailack?'"

"No! Don't say that my queen," Lailack begged. "You're scaring me; please stop saying that." She shook her head. "You will not die; nothing bad will happen to you because you're strong; you're strong, my queen," Lailack smiled bitterly.

"Really?" Hazel asked, cupping Lailack's face; she stared into her eyes as if searching for the truth in those eyes. "Am I really strong?"

Lailack nodded, "Of course, my queen…" But she gasped as a spear pierced her neck "My...my queen…" she muffled, her eyes closed, and she fell into Hazel's arms.

"No! No, Lailack!" Hazel looked in the direction the spear had come from and saw two women and three men approaching. In their hands, they held bows and spears.

"Lailack!" Hazel screamed, holding her tightly as she fell to the ground. "No!"

Lost in her sorrow, Hazel didn’t notice the onlookers staring at her with mixed emotions: awe, fear, and confusion.

"Grab her!" one of the men barked as he halted, and the others seized Hazel's arms, dragging her away and leaving Lailack behind.