After being carried away, Cyrus and his friends found their arms magically frozen to floating large stone slabs inside a metal prison. Water flowed outside a force-field-protected window and as a few fish darted by. Cyrus could tell they were miles underneath the palace. A subterranean stench of mold caused the room to reek. Severa stood eyeing Cyrus and his friends with a look of sadism on her face.

“Guards, leave us,” she ordered and all of her men complied.

Severa’s ice blue eyes shifted from Cyrus to Van to Antonio. “I know better than to trust humans,” she said. “You have the pitiful belief that this hurdling chunk of rock was designed for you and you alone.”

“You’re one to talk,” Van said struggling against the ice magic holding her in place. “You have been nothing but cold to us.”

Severa raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. “And why should I act any other way? Us elves care for the planet, something you mercilessly exploit.”

Severa raised her hand to her face and the pupils in her eyes shrank. A glisten of fangs formed in her mouth as she sighed with a sadistic look on her face. “If anything the world belongs to us and you are the pest deserving to be scrubbed from it. Under my new leader ship, I will unite the Acridian sand elves and the Slyphen air elves and we shall purge this planet of this human strain.”

Cyrus opened his mouth and tried as hard possible to intimidate the elven villainess. “Severa, as a human prince and future leader of Aristillus, I shall never allow this.”

“Actually you will,” Severa lifted her staff causing the tangle of pipes above them to jostle loose and water began to drip onto their heads. Everyone let out cries of discomfort.

“What is this torture?” Antonio said, still bare chested.

“Crazy water,” Severa exclaimed, her eyes widened nearly beyond her eye lids. “It may seduce you to a mirthful madness if you drink it, but when it soaks into your brain, it literally drives you batty. As it drips on your head, expect yourselves to become more and more unhinged until you’re crazy babbling psychos.”

Everyone glared silently at Severa who just shrugged her shoulders. “ It’s the easiest way to get spies to squeal so I’ll come visit you once I pay a visit to my dear old father.”

Severa let out a short laugh before coldly turning around and walking out.

“Ai,” Antonio said as soon as Severa was out of range. “So posh and so elegant, yet crazier than an armadillo on wheels.”

“Is that all you care about?” Van responded. “How attractive she is?”

Water dripped on each of their heads causing each person to wince. Antonio was caught in mid sentence rendering his calm charming demeanor frazzled and unnerved. “I uh…”

Van’s bared her teeth and lowered her thick eyebrows. She was feeling even more agitated from both the water and Antonio’s nonsense. “Of course that’s all you think about. And that’s all you ever will think about. Ever since we left Scum County, you’ve been nothing but a decadent fop and any advancement I though you made has gone down the drain.”

For the first time, Antonio had no response. He just quietly bit his lip until another drop of water splattered on his head. “You don’t understand me at all, Vanessa.”

”Of course I don’t,” Van responded. Cyrus could tell she was feeling more self righteous by the second with how she frowned and glared. “Unlike you, I’m a rational human being with rational feelings towards everything and everyone.”

“You’re not,” Antonio mumbled under his breath. “There’s no way you are chica.”

“What did you say?” Van asked. Her eyes bulged as she lashed out against the ice, crackling it loudly and screaming. “You think I can hear you trying to weasel your way out of this?!” Well listen to me loud and clear, you…are the biggest, most thoughtless, most self centered, most arrogant, most…”

“Vanessa Montero,” Antonio said with his chest out and a solemn look on his face. “I love you.”

Cyrus gasped as Vanessa’s jaw hung open, frozen in mid-sentence.

Antonio’s chocolate eyes softly looked at Vanessa who couldn’t seem to fix her mouth. “Ever since Scum County, I’ve been trying to hide how I feel inside. But I can’t anymore. Vanessa, ever since you admitted you truly loved me after I broke your heart, I’ve not been able to shake the grip you hold so tightly on mi corazon.”

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Vanessa remained still except for when a drop of crazy water on her head caused her to twitch. Another drop fell on Antonio’s head which provoked another outburst. “Vanessa, I’ve come to the realization that you are everything I needed in my life.”

Vanessa closed her eyes. Cyrus could tell she was incredibly troubled by what Antonio was saying. After he toyed with her, she knew he wasn’t the easiest person to trust even if he had joined the good side. “Antonio…” She said, a tear trickling from her eyes. “You were everything I ever wanted and you took that away from me…How can I possibly trust you ever again?”

“Because…I really do feel that way, mi amor. Sometimes my chest feels funny and I need to remind myself that it is merely the ache for you.”

“I don’t trust you at all…” Vanessa shook her head and quietly began to cry.

“But I…but…I…I meant it,” Antonio murmured and only Cyrus could hear it. “I seduce chicas all the time, why is this so difficult?”

Being friends with both of them, young Cyrus got the impression Antonio was telling the truth for once.

“Maybe….” The young prince said with sudden realization. “It’s because you’re so good at being phony that when you want to be genuine it sounds phony?”

Antonio hung his head in shame. “Cyrus, hombre, I think you’re right.”

Cyrus looked to Vanessa. He wanted to comfort her but he knew whatever he said wouldn’t help her. Even for a prince who had a lot to learn about women, he knew this was something she had to resolve on her own. Cyrus began to cry too.

“Cyrus?” Antonio asked. “Why are you crying?”

”I don’t know!” Cyrus exclaimed. “I just want this water to stop dropping on me. It’s making me hormonal.”

For two minutes, there was nothing but the sound of sniffing and sobbing until a click from the lock on the door cut them off. Cyrus, trying to hold back the tears, expected to face Severa but instead he saw an elven soldier dressed in his metallic blue armor and helmet holding Oga’s hand and a staff in his other hand.

“Here we are princess,” the elven soldier said. “You said you left your dolly in this cell block?”

“Aww yes, thank woo,” Oga said batting her eyes and trying her hardest to cover up the rasp in her voice.

Cyrus immediately knew something was up and the soldier did too. “Wait a minute, there are prisoners in here!” The guard yelled, but Oga quickly leaped up and slammed her fist into his exposed midriff.

“What do you think are in jail cells, dagger ears?!” Oga snarled as the guard doubled over. She quickly swiped his staff and bashed his head with it causing him to fall flat on the floor.

“Silly guard!” Oga taunted. “You should know never to trust an orc who disguises herself an elf!”

“Oga! Cyrus exclaimed.

Oga used the magical staff to unfreeze her allies from the stone slabs where they dropped to their feet.

“Quick we need to get out of here!” Oga shouted. “There are very few guards who don’t work for Severa.”

“Little elf chica?” Antonio asked, still only clad in a bathing towel. “Did you really poison the king?”

Oga was about to speak before Cyrus himself answered for her. “Oga, if you don’t mind, I’ll tell him.”

”Cyrus, do you know something?” Van asked, sniffing and wiping her tears away.

“Yes,” the prince said. “That Everblood who is with Severa is a master of illusion and I quickly realized in the dining hall that Oga’s fang was on the opposite side of her mouth. Severa was trying to frame Oga for poisoning the king.”

There was a look of amazement on everyone’s faces that Cyrus would notice such a thing. Oga broke the silence. “Wow, Big Orc Prince has brains. That’s amazing since the average orc IQ is 6.”

“Exactly! But I agree Oga, we must go. Your dad is in jeopardy and we have to save him from Severa.”

Oga crossed her arms. “I don’t want to save him. I just want to run away and live the rest of my life with the orcs.”

“You don’t want to save your father?” Cyrus asked, before he saw the upset in Oga’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Van asked seeing it too.

Cyrus looked at Oga for an ok before he explained to his friends what became of Oga’s mother.

“I have no love for mi papa,” Antonio said with a nod. “I agree we should abandon him.”

Van looked troubled as well. She looked directly at Cyrus and Cyrus could feel she had some issues with her family too.

Cyrus finally spoke. “I don’t believe you should forgive your father for what he did. But Oga, do you really believe he’s a bad person or just listening to some unfair rules?”

Cyrus held his hands apart and made a magical poof in front of Oga’s face. “I have a magical friend who told me about kings and queens who follow laws passed by their parents and grandparents that are unfair. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t change them. I could tell your father loved you dearly, but he was just a slave to stupid tradition. Perhaps he can change things for you…”

Oga observed Cyrus with her large round eyes. Her little fang bit into her lip and he could tell she was actually pondering the questions he raised.

Oga stepped forward and put her hands on her hips, talking in her brash voice. “If I save him, he better change the rules and accept me as an orc! I’m no elf and I never will be…”--a certain earnesty shone in the elf child’s eyes--”but he is my adopted elf daddy.”

A smile appeared on Cyrus’ pudgy face. “I’ll make sure he changes things for you, Oga. I was meaning to do that until Severa poisoned him.”

“Alright,” Oga said. “Let’s do it!”

Before anyone could move, Antonio spoke once more with a motion of his hand. “Van…”

“Look Antonio,” Van said, avoiding his stare. “Let’s put this whole thing aside right now. I have a lot to think about that doesn’t involve love.”

The young knight gave a look of resolve and bravery in the face of evil. “This Everblood killed my master and I have sworn to avenge him, even if he terrifies me to the core.”

“I understand,” Antonio said in an honorable voice.

“Thank you,” Van said with a soft smile, finally meeting his gaze.

The four heroes hurried down to the Water Sanctuary where they hoped they could save the king from an untimely demise.