Everess cried, surrounded by pitch-black darkness. She hugged her legs by the chest as she tried to console herself desperately. All she could hear were her own cries as it echoed into the void that surrounded her. Brief echoes came and went, voices whose origins she could never discern. She felt helpless as she heard their cries. She felt alone at that moment in the void. For some strange reason, despite the muffled voices she heard from time to time, it was like the void was there to comfort her, to console her.

“Everess,”

The Void seemingly called out to her. She was shocked as the voice was familiar to her. She looked around as she tried to see or hear where the voice came from.

“Everess, get away from here!”

She heard another, and she stood up and tried to follow the voices that echoed throughout.

“Where are you?!” she cried as she desperately ran the nothingness.

Fire suddenly appeared and surrounded her, as it revealed what looked like the front of the sanctum castle. There she saw in horror, familiar faces to her that now lay lifeless on the pavement. She heard more cries of pain.

“No!” she yelled as she held her head and she crumbled to her knees, “What’s going on?!” she cried again as she saw some of their servants, soldiers running away, from something — from someone.

The vision then changed that formed to her mother, who now was lifeless on the grounds.

She looked in horror to see her mother, dead before her very eyes. The pain she felt was unbearable and then she saw her father defending her mother from someone in the sky, all bloodied. By then, she knew her father was weak and tired, but still giving his all. Eventually, the shadow attacked him from above with glowing maroon eyes. Her scream echoed through the void, purging her of all the pain and anguish. Lighting the void surrounding her.

“Everess, no.”

She heard her father’s trembling whisper with his last breath. It devastated her as she saw her father die in front of her. Her hands shook out of dread and agony and she heaved as she glowed like a thousand suns and then unleased another ear-piercing cry of agony and despair.

She was on her knees as she hugged herself, with the fate of her parents lingering on her mind. As her glow dimmed, she heard faint cries that were not hers. She opened her eyes and saw another light that came from above. It looked as though a drop of water as it sparkled and illuminated the darkness that surrounded her. The faint cries grew louder until the light rushed down to her and turned into a bright maiden, shrouded in cloth and bathed in light.

Fear froze her as she stared at the entity with her eyes covered in cloth. She saw a sparkle from her cheeks, as though she cried herself. Her lips shook, as she didn’t know what to do. She could not move and saw the mouth of the entity as if she was trying to say something to her.

The entity then slowly reached for her hand and there she heard, “Help me,”

Unable to react, the entity suddenly opened her mouth and was blinded by the light. She felt hot as the light intensified. Then, after the light had consumed her, a piercing scream reverberated throughout, as feeling the intensity of the waves and the power within the scream itself. As the scream echoed, she then woke her up from her slumber. All sweaty, in a bed she was unfamiliar with.

“Princess!” someone beside her suddenly tried to calm her down. “It’s all right, you are safe.” Said another.

She looked outside and saw nighttime. One of her servants then went outside of the room while the other attended to her. Her lips still trembled as she stared outside, she tried to calm down as she listened to the sounds the crickets and insects make in the night.

“Princess?” She her a somewhat familiar voice. She turned and saw that it was the Imperial Diplomat Moselei Faktu. With a sigh of relief, the old man smiled at her while she broke down and cried.

Moselei quickly ran to her side and consoled her as she cried her heart out.

“They’re all dead! I wasn’t able to do anything! I should’ve helped them!” she cried out as the other servants left the two in the room.

As Moselei comforted her, as she felt his rugged hands caressed the back of her head, he spoke. “But you did help,” he said.

She suddenly stopped crying and looked at the old man. “How?” she stuttered.

Confused, Moselei looked deep into her eyes. “You don’t remember?”

She tried to remember. All she could recall was the heart-piercing screech as she blacked out then. She tried hard, but nothing.

“You enveloped the courtyard with a vast light as you screamed, Princess. After that, the enemy was nowhere to be found. You saved what was left — you saved me,” Moselei pointed out.

“I don’t remember that ever happening,” she uttered and gasped. “My parents, are they alive? Please tell me they are?!” she held the old man’s hand tight but Moselei averted her eyes. Her grip loosened as she welled up and cried once more.

She hoped that what she saw in her nightmare was just that, a nightmare. But there was no mistaking that they were in fact, dead already. She clutched her chest as she felt the pain of her loss. Her only family, now gone from this world. She was at a loss, unable what to think or what to do. All she could, was let her out.

After some time, she calmed down. With no more tears to shed, she felt lost and empty. Moselei then suddenly handed her a cup of water, to which she drank. She looked at the old man as he walked back towards the balcony. She followed him and saw the beauty that lay outside.

The stars that littered the sky, and the lanterns that lit up the streets, there was no mistaking it. They were in an imperial town now.

“Isn’t Samau beautiful at night, Princess?” Moselei suddenly asked as he enjoyed the cold night breeze.

“Samau? How long was I out?” she asked, as there was no way they were in Samau that fast.

“You were out for a week, Princess. I was worried and sick until you suddenly had one of your episodes,” Moselei said as he chuckled out of relief.

She took a deep breath. For her, it only felt like hours. She can’t fathom that she was in that void for an entire week.

“Thank you,” she said as she lowered her gaze, still feeling lost due to the time she was in her dream. She slowly looked at the diplomat but Moselei did not look. He only cleared his throat as he looked up and admired the sky.

“See the sky, Princess? It smiles upon us. Despite the geography of the land, Samau is blessed by its clear night sky,”

She knew about it from a book she read once. She then looked up and found it indescribable. The book did not do the town justice. She was in awe. She spent her nights at certain times of the year up on their observatory to experience these kinds of clear night skies — but here; it was a nightly occurrence.

For a moment, astonishment drowned all her sorrows as the stars glittered like a mosaic in the sky, with their different hues.

She then took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she felt the chilling embrace of the wind as it calmed her down. As she looked at the town below, her smile was slowly taken away.

“I understand that you just woke up, Princess, “Moselei said as he looked at her. “I am deeply sorry for your loss.” The old man said as he held her hand tightly.

She tried to hold everything together as a tear ran down her cheek. “Thank you,” she said.

“I don’t want to bring this up either, but I’m afraid we have no time,” Moselei said as he let go of her hand and looked at the town as well. “About the Prince. I still wish for you to go. The current acting High Wizard gave us their blessing and affirmed your father’s commitment. I hope you feel the same way.

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“Yes,” was her short answer.

All she could think about at that moment was why they were attacked that far south.

“Princess, may I speak to you, not as a diplomat, but as a concerned old man, and father?” Moselei suddenly said.

“Why yes, of course, you may,” she said as Moselei sat her down in a chair and he sat across from her.

He was fidgeting. He was suddenly uneasy and she couldn’t tell why. Moselei also suddenly avoided eye contact with her as she saw his hands, shook, as he struggled to hold it together.

“Is something wrong, Diplomat?” she suddenly asked him and that got his attention.

“I trust you still remember the order the Arch Chancellor gave?” Moselei asked her.

“Yes, clear as if though it happened yesterday,” she answered as Moselei only nodded.

“May I be truthful with you?” Moselei suddenly asked. I nodded at him and waited for him to talk as he tried to compose himself. “Before I ask it, may I know how you feel about the Prince’s recent actions?”

Her grip on her nightgown squeezed as she bit her lip firmly.

“I — to be honest, I don’t know,” she answered as she lowered her head. “The only thing I can think of right now because of your question is, why did he order this attack at us?”

“If I may be so bold to say, but I doubt that he ordered this,”

“Then who ordered this?!” she suddenly shouted. “The Arch Chancellor couldn’t possibly order this, right?” she lowered her head once more.

Moselei dropped to his knees, “My dear Princess, I know the Prince personally. Despite what’s been going on, I still feel that something is not adding up with his actions. This is not like him at all. You should know this too,” Moselei explained as he begged her.

He was right. She too knows the Imperial Prince, maybe a little too well. She had trouble thinking of a reason he would order such an attack.

Was I really that powerful? She thought as she recalled being told that she was the only one who put a stop to him.

Teary-eyed, she looked at him as he struggled to explain what he meant.

“Then tell me, what would make Tamiron do this? Do what he is doing to the Empire. Do you know?” But Moselei couldn’t answer. “You don’t but I do. He was open to me, and I was to him. We were best friends. So I’m having a hard time right now believing things I have not seen myself. So tell me, again, why would he do this?” she said as she held her tears back. Her hands clenched at the thought that her only best friend ordered this.

Moselei looked at her as he tried his best to answer, “The Prince I know loves the people, not just his subjects, but to all the people that’s within the borders of the Empire — even the Orderians. You, of all people, should know that.”

“Then why?” She asked abruptly again as she took back her hand.

Moselei stood up and sat back down across from her. “I’ve been asking the same thing. All this time, I’ve been thinking, what’s going on? Is this a rebellion? A setup? As far as I can tell, his relations with the Imperial King, and his sister, are all well. He has some minor disputes with the Imperial Court and with the Imperial Council,”

“So you’re saying someone framed him? Set him up then?” she clarified. “Set up then?” she clarified.

“No one can set up the prince like what you just said. He may be a fighter but he knows if he is being played.” Moselei explained. “The Arch Chancellor taught him the other side of politics the Imperial King cannot. Sure, The Prince and the current Arch Chancellor butted heads a few times. However, outside the confines of the Imperial Throne Room, you can even dare say that Menoich was like a second father to him. He cared greatly for the prince like he was his own,” he sighed as he grabbed himself a cup of wine and drank it down in one go.

“Then why order his death? By the sound of this, it is very unlike him either,” she got even more confused by the details she got at that moment.

“Everyone did not take it too well, but the Imperial Council.” He sighed. “They became the rational thought behind Menoich — who was known to be by the book and a man of the law. They put him straight. Hence why the Order went through in the first place,”

“Look, everyone was stunned, even his father. I was there when the Imperial King was dumbfounded. I can still remember the look on his face upon receiving the news. The fear that shocked me throughout my body, the fear of him falling from the throne of four horns. Menoich was mad, fuming. He doesn’t have any idea what could’ve triggered this,” then Moselei looked at her with a broken-hearted face.

“He was supposed to be our next king. The King already planned to step down by the end of this year, but,” Moselei’s grip tightened and held back his emotions.

She doesn’t know what to say.

“I ask of you, Princess. To help us find the answer to that question of ours,” Moselei sat back down again.

“What you are asking is easier said than done, especially after what he did to me,” she said as she held back her tears but failed. “I can’t simply hold back if I ever come face to face with him. I might end up doing what the Arch Chancellor ordered me to do before I could even utter the words,” she explained.

It surprised her to see Moselei suddenly bowing his head, already touching the floor, right in front of her.

“I beg you, Princess Everess Ressei, I understand the horrible things he did, and may have done to your family. But I beg you, I simply cannot accept that our beloved prince Tamiron is capable of this. I beg you to at least know before doing anything that could take away his life.”

Her lips trembled. There he was, right in front of her, as he begged for the life of their prince. Begged for something her father and mother used to have.

“He is your friend,” Moselei suddenly uttered. “Let’s do this for your friend.”

Her lips shook. She wanted to answer right then and there, but she couldn’t. She just looked away as Moselei looked at her.

She suddenly stood up with arms across her chest. Facing Moselei away,

“I don’t know.”

They were silent for a moment as the crickets filled the chilly night. Then she heard him stand up.

“I will give you until tomorrow then, Your Highness. Please rest before I finally take you to your meeting place with the others. I hope that you will heed my call,” Moselei said in a broken voice, and then heard the door close.

She cried on the balcony, the stars above silently witnessing her grief. The weight of responsibility hung heavy on her shoulders, and uncertainty clouded her mind. The night breeze, once calming, now carried the burden of her decision.

As she gazed at the stars, she felt a mix of emotions swirling within her — the pain of loss, the confusion of betrayal, and the plea for justice. The universe seemed vast, yet her choices felt confined.

With a shaky breath, she wiped away her tears, finding solace in the night sky. The stars twinkled, each holding its own story, a reminder that even in the vastness of the cosmos, every individual’s struggles were unique.

“I don’t know,” she whispered to the universe. As if seeking guidance from the celestial bodies above. The crickets continued their nocturnal symphony, a backdrop to her internal turmoil.

After a moment, she turned away from the balcony, her heart heavy but resolute. Tomorrow held the promise of answers, but tonight, she would find solace in the embrace of the night and the silent company of the stars.

End of Chapter VII