Gain had once considered himself a great warrior. He did not fear death. Besides, today he knew it was very likely that he would survive—he had value—a ransom would be paid, a demand met. Still, the pain of fear ripped and twisted at his heart as it pounded in his chest. He ached with just one thought, what will happen to her? She, who had no value. She, whom he had sworn to protect, just minutes prior. She, whose mere existence brought the faintest light to his dark world.

He could hear the release of the lock, and then the wagon doors opened. After being trapped in the dark, brightness obscured everything. He was still weak from poison, with no sword in hand, and even if he had a weapon there would surely be far too many for him to fight. There would be no grand battle. He was not the hero who would save the day, or even the villain who mercilessly determined the fates of others. In the end, he was just a person. And, in the end, there was very little a person could do in the face of the world's many cruelties.

He would do anything to save her, but what could he do? With the wagon door open and his arms and legs still free —Gain Remno first prince of the Remno Kingdom, the warrior who did not fear death, leaped into the blinding light, threw himself onto the ground, and... begged.

"Please, I will do anything you want! Pay any price! Kill me if it is your wish. But, please let her go!"

There was a long silence. Gain heard faint footsteps walking towards his direction, and then a soft kick at his back.

"Oh, get up you little monster!"

Gain slowly looked up at the woman in the blood-red dress who gave him the kick. "Valentina?"

She had grown into a woman every bit as beautiful as the Rose of Santina—the beauty whose hair shined of silver, and even as the color of her eyes matched their mother's blue-grey —they radiated none of their mother's warmth.

However, Gain did see something very familiar in her eyes, and it scared him.

Anne, who had followed Gain out of the wagon (with much less fanfare) held on to Gain's arm as he returned to his feet.

After staring at her brother for a minute, Valentina smacked her hand to her own head and grimaced. She then turned to the soldier with chestnut-colored hair, "Antonia! You got the wrong prince!"

Antonia immediately came to her own defense, "You said that he would be with the Princess, The Great Beauty of the Empire!"

Gain turned his head to Anne and gave her an I-told-you-so look.

"Oh, just shut up!" Anne smacked the wordless Gain's arm. "Begging? Begging for my life? That was your brilliant plan?"

"Well, it was sort of romantic if you think about it", Valentina mocked with an almost sisterly grin, "do anything you want to me, but please let her go—I think there was a tear..."

Anne blushed.

Valentina walked up to Gain, "So, what's this girl to you? Is she your woman Gain?"

"Ha!" Anne blasted.

Gain looked towards Anne, "She's... a friend."

"You don't have friends, Gain," Valentina mocked derisively. "And, you certainly don't have friends that are women!"

Anne looked at Gain, "He is my friend."

"Wow... Just, wow!" Valentina turned to Anne, "You are a woman, right?"

"Yes."

"Mental patient?"

"No."

"Princess?"

"Maid."

"Just... wow!" Valentina turned away from the pair, "So, my elitist, misogynist, monster of a little brother just begged for the life of a maid?"

Valentina looked at Anne again.

"Friends with benefits?"

"NO!" Anne and Gain both shouted.

Valentina chuckled.

A desperate Gain tried to change the subject, "So, where are we? What did you mean by 'wrong prince'?"

"Oh, that's right! You don't know. How rude of me..."

Inserting a little bit of sanity into the conversation, Anne mentioned, "Uhmn...you did kidnap us... Isn't it a little late to worry about rudeness?"

Valentina pointed to Abel with her thumb, "Well, to be fair, he was supposed to be Abel."

"So, kidnapping our brother was supposed to be better?"

"Oh, and you aren't kidnapped!" Valentina smiled, "You are our guests!"

"So, we can go?" Anne asked, hopefully.

"Well, I would like for you to stay— for a little while. But, yes, you may leave anytime you wish. It's not like we are Remno!"

Anne began to take note of her surroundings. They were in the middle of a grassy lawn that was surrounded by a rose garden. She noticed that Valentina was wearing a sword. To her right stood the guard Antonia. Standing behind them were a dozen soldiers. Further ahead she saw an elegant castle keep, itself covered with red rose vines.

"So, where are we?"

"Oh, Santina, of course!"

Gain was unable to hide his disbelief, "The queen's country?"

"Yes, our Mother's home."

The situation still wasn't making any sense to Anne, "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Yes, I guess so... let's head to the parlor, I will explain on the way there."

The three stepped into the castle, only followed by the soldier Antonia. As they walked, Valentina seemed to be directing most of her words to Anne, "It was Mother's idea. She hated Remno. Everything about it—well except for the four of us—yeah, she even loved that little monster over there." She gave Gain a quick glance. "But, she knew she was losing you to father, and she was being crushed by the weight of having no contact with the outside world. Even if she did escape to Santina—or anywhere, really—the King would just invade again. So, she figured that once I was strong enough to swim across the Black River, she would help me escape— even if she couldn't save herself, she had hoped she could save me. So, the plan was simple, fake my drowning, and pray that I could make it across the river to Santina. I was of little value to the King— it wouldn't have surprised me if they didn't even look for a body."

"You could have been killed! Or captured and sold off to slavers!"

"Gain, a woman in Remno is already a slave—and I would rather be dead than live like that."

"But, you were always the strong one. Even I was a little afraid of you." Gain said the words without a hint of embarrassment.

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"Ha! You were still a child. An evil monster of a child, but a child. Father was grooming you to become an adult monster, and eventually, I would be married off to be some noble's slave in Remno—time was not on my side." She paused— "By the way, what happened to you? You aren't quite the total piece of shit I expected. Did father's training not take?"

Gain's eyes shifted toward the ground, "No, you were right. I did take well to father's training." He then took a quick glance at Anne, "This slightly less shitty me is a more recent development."

"Well, good for you." Valentina said with a half smile, "I hope it sticks"

"Me too... Anyway, so you made it here."

"Yep, with just the clothes on my back and a letter for Grandmother and Grandfather."

The four had arrived at the end of a grand hallway, and Antonia quickly stepped forward and opened the door for Valentina and her guests.

"Please sit down." Valentina motioned her hand towards six chairs covered in white satin, and a large couch covered in the same. Anne and Gain each found a chair, as did Valentina. Antonia stood silently behind Valentina.

"Grandmother and Grandfather?" Gain's eyes brightened, "Are they still alive?"

"Yes, they are alive but retired. Oh, and I don't call them Grandmother and Grandfather, at least not in public. Mostly, I call them Papa and Mama."

"Papa and Mama? That means you are..."

"Queen Artemis— I picked the name out myself."

"Artemis—Goddess of the hunt?"

"Hey, I was twelve! And, it's not like I could run around calling myself Princess Valentina. That shit father of ours is evil, not stupid. He would have caught on."

"How did they explain the sudden existence of a grown daughter to the people of Santina."

"Well, nobody really questioned it. After what happened to Mother everyone understood why they would keep the existence of another daughter secret."

A handsome older man with a gentle smile opened the parlor door and held it open for an equally lovely older woman. She scurried through the door, "Is he here? Is he here? Is my grandson here?"

"Yes Mama, well sort of."

"What?" she flashed Valentina a puzzled look, and then walked up to Gain while holding Gregory's hand.

"This is the good one, right?"

Valentina just threw up her hands and shrugged her shoulders

"Oh my!" Queen Sara looked as if she was going to faint.

"What did you tell them about me?"

"Just the truth. That you were an evil child, and father was training you to be just like him."

"Oh."

"Should I call more guards?" Sara's tone took on an urgency, "Should we put some papers on the floor?"

"Papers on the floor?" Gain's expression soured.

A mischievous grin took over Valentina's face.

"Well, I may have taken a few liberties in my description."

Sara and Gregory made their way to the couch. As big as it was, they sat very close to each other, but they seemed to need to get even closer, so they shifted some more and got snuggly close. Their obvious affection for each other didn't escape anyone in the room and elicited a smile from everyone, including Antonia.

"Mamma Sara, Pappa Gregory, this is Prince Gain, my brother, your eldest grandson. He was raised to be a monster. But, he says he's trying to be less shitty than he used to be."

Sara smiled and waved at Gain, "Well, good for you! I hope it sticks (the good part, not the shit)!"

Gain laughed. "Thanks. Me too."

"And this is Gain's friend, Miss Anne."

"Oh! Isn't she lovely! Princess?"

Valentina quietly whispered in Sara's ear, "Maid."

"Maids, soldiers, we are all very open-minded here, dear."

"Yes we are," Valentina smiled and kissed the cheeks of both grandparents.

Gregory finally spoke, his tone hopeful, "You will stay for a while? Won't you!"

Valentina walked behind the couch and leaned over and put her hands on her grandparents' shoulders, "I am afraid they can't stay for too long."

"Yes, Princess Mia will be so worried!" Anne said, expressing a concerned tone of her own.

"The Princess will be worried about you, too? A maid that merits the tears of a first prince and the concern of The Great Sage of the Empire? You must be some maid!"

"I wasn't crying."

"Oh shut up —you little monster!"

"Be nice to your brother," Sara admonished Valentina. "He's doing his best to be good!"

Anne still wanted to convey her need to get back to her friend, who had to be sick with worry.

"Well, the Princess does love me!"

"She loves you? Ha! I wanted to meet the Princess before, but now I am super intrigued! We may have even more in common than I had thought!"

This exchange left Anne slightly confused—and Antonia the guard was blushing for some reason.

"Mamma, Papa, why don't you give Gain a hug and retire for the night? I have some important business that I need to discuss with him"

"But we just met! There are so many things that I want to talk to him about!"

"I know papa, but there just isn't time."

Gain gave an earnest smile. "Grandmother, Grandfather, I promise we will meet again."

Everyone stood up and exchanged hugs and kisses on the cheek with Sara and Gregory.

As the couple left, Valentina whispered to Gain and Anne, "Papa is so sweet—but not much of a fighter."

After she shut the door, Valentina continued, "Losing our mother to Remno, almost killed him. I was told he hadn't said a word since the day she was taken away. Mama was left to rebuild the kingdom on her own. It was in pretty good shape the day I made it to the castle gates, but the army," Valentina shook her head in disgust.

"Papa and Mama were so happy to see me! At first, Papa thought that I was Claudia. Mama and I just sort of went with it—anything to get him moving again. Eventually, Mama was able to explain it to him—anyway, we are a happy family of sorts. Not like Remno!"

"Was it all bad?"

"Of course not! Mother did her best, and Abel and Clarissa had good hearts!

"And me? Did I ever have a good heart? Was I always a monster?"

"No, not always. The King left us alone until you were strong enough to pick up a sword. Before then, you were sort of fun."

"Fun?"

"Yes, fun! We would go on adventures, put on dresses, and have tea parties!

"Dresses? Gain?" Anne grinned.

"Well, Abel too! I was the big sister, and they did pretty much anything I told them to. Not that they argued or anything"

"Ha! Ha! You too! I did the same thing with my little brother! But at least he put up a fight!"

"Oh! You are a big sister, too? How many brothers and sisters."

"Just one brother, but four sisters."

"Are you still close?"

"Very!"

"You are a lucky one, Anne"

"But you are in charge now?" Gain asked in an attempt to change the subject, as much as sincere curiosity.

"Yes, at first I was just in charge of the army. Papa never paid much attention to military matters, even before the invasion, and Mama had enough of a problem just rebuilding the kingdom in the years that followed. The kingdom was pretty much defenseless when I arrived."

"And now?"

"Our army is bigger and stronger than Remno's"

An incredulous Gain interjected, "That's impossible! Santina is a smaller country!"

"Not much smaller. And our pool of eligible soldiers is much larger. Would Antonia ever be a soldier in Remno?

"Haha. No, but a woman cannot fight like a man."

"Actually some can, but even if most cannot, they can still fight. And, unlike the warriors of Remno, who fight for pride or glory, our soldiers fight for something infinitely more valuable", she took Antonia's arm and rolled back the sleeve of her shirt to reveal a silver flower emblazoned on her forearm, "The Rose of Santina, every soldier knows who our enemy is, and every soldier knows what will happen to their daughters, their sisters, their mothers—to themselves—if they lose to Remno."

"That's not true! The women captured by Remno choose..."

"Gain, you fool! 'Slavery or death' is not a choice. Our mother did not choose Remno! No woman would!"

"Valentina!" Gain yelled in a reflexive attempt to respond to her anger—which was exactly the wrong reflex to have in that situation.

"My name is Queen Artemis! Call me by my name!"

Gain recognized the uncontrolled fury in his sister's voice and managed to find a polite controlled tone of his own. "My apologies, Queen Artemis."

"I meant to bring Abel here." The anger in Valentina's voice began to fade but did not disappear, "I figured that he would be the more reasonable of the two princes. But, since you are here. You will have to do."

"Do? Do what? "

"I just want my sister and mother back. As I said, Remno is no place for women."

Gain bowed his head, "Yes, Remno is no place for women."

"Good! I am glad we have come to an understanding."

"What understanding? What can I do? Father would nev..."

"Gain..."

"Yes, Val- Queen Artemis."

"When I was choosing my name, I seriously considered 'Athena' for a while..."

"The goddess of war."

"Yes. But, I chose the goddess of the hunt. Hunters kill to eat. Hunters kill to survive. I have no interest in war..."

"But..."

"But I will get my mother and sister back."

"Father will never allow..."

"Father can go to Hell!"

"He will fight..."

"I will have his head on a stick!"

"But, what you are talking about is war! Even if you win, thousands will die—maybe tens of thousands!"

"War with Remno is inevitable—I know it—everyone in Santina knows it," Valentina stopped and looked into her brother's eyes, "and you know it, too—don't you Gain."

Of course, Gain knew it was true. Weeks earlier he would have relished in the thought of leading men into battle—now he just felt shame at the thought.

"If you want to prevent a war—kill Father yourself—send Clarissa and Mother to me."

"But, how can I...

"Gain, one week—you have one week."

"Antonia, please prepare our guests for their return. Anne, it was a pleasure meeting you. Please give the Princess my regards."