Isaac was sitting in Diane’s room, by the window.

He loved observing her little garden and thinking of the ways they could improve it when Diane becomes the queen. Firstly, all the lilies had to go; he had an ingrained dislike for lilies.

Maybe some more roses, yellow and dark pink. King, all those hyacinths! And purple too! Are those chrysanthemums?!

“You’ll fall out, Isaac,” Diane commented as she walked into her room; there was nothing in her stance indicating she had taken more than a light stroll back.

Isaac hadn’t realized he was halfway out the window, so he laughed when Diane walked in. “Nice to see you too, Diane.”

His hugs were always bone-crushing, which was why Diane disliked them so. Still, she held back from telling him, as it would have made him miserable. Like all Florians, Isaac was a feeling, heart-warming person who longed to live in harmony with all that wasted oxygen.

“How long are you staying?” Diane asked him as they sat by the window so Isaac could continue his study.

“Aren’t I supposed to ask you that?” He pretended not to look at her, but Diane could see his eyes moving in her direction. “I hear you’ve found one.”

“I guess we’ll find out soon.”

Isaac’s expression became gloomier. “Is that a threat, Diane Hunster?”

Diane sighed. “Not if I can help it.”

If they had been different people, just a prince and a princess, their conversations wouldn’t have always ended in testing each other’s weaknesses.

“Look,” Isaac said, pointing outside. “You need to get rid of the chrysanthemums.”

Electricity was going through Diane’s body. “I thought you were supposed to love all living things.”

“Sure,” Isaac replied. “Hyacinths too. First the chrysanthemums, then the hyacinths.”

“And the lilies? You used to rave about those lilies.”

“The lilies can wait.” Then his eyes narrowed, and he said, “What’s he like?”

Diane sighed. “You’ll see for yourself tomorrow.”

“But I want you to tell me. What is he like to you?”

Diane leaned outside the window as well, but she couldn’t see what Isaac was talking about. All the colors blended perfectly in her eyes and made her more relaxed and cheerful. “Weak and ignorant. He hasn’t the slightest clue about us. Yet... he feels safe.”

“That’s good, isn’t it? We can play with him easier that way, make sure he knows who’s in charge.”

“You were spending time with her again, weren't you, Isaac?” Diane asked with disapproval written all over her face.

Isaac sniffed something. “Yes, the chrysanthemums have to go right this instant!”

“Isaac.”

“Diane.”

Diane was so nervous she couldn’t push the saliva down her throat. “What about the Judge?”

“What about the Judge?” Isaac’s lips twitched, and so did Diane’s. The look in his eyes made Diane sigh.

“How is she doing?” she asked with the most forced smile in the world.

Isaac turned away from her. “How should I know?”

“Isaac.”

“Yes?”

“You’ll burn yourself.”

Isaac sighed. “Don’t you have a meeting to attend?”

“I always do.” Diane gave him a pat on the back; he was still looking at her garden. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Be careful.”

“I am always careful,” he replied, now too occupied with matching colors to admit she was right.

Diane sighed more than once on her way to the meeting room. This entire charade of the ball was a reason for the royals to meet Thomas Hammer; she brought him knowing it was everything but for his good, but was now feeling guilty. What the Judge’s plans for him were was beyond her knowledge, but hearing Isaac’s comment made her certain it wasn’t anything good. Either way, another ruined life would soon stain her hands.

And for what?

The last thing Diane needed was the royals to see her weakened, so she pulled her front together before entering the meeting room; she knocked and didn’t wait for a response. Around the table sat five kings. Each of them different in both magic and capability, each of them equally lost. They were drowning in the blood and pity of their people yet felt deficiently powerful to do anything about it. Steadily being swallowed by black petals, they realized just how inferior they were compared to her. And they hated it more with each passing day.

“May I come in?” she asked when she was already in the room.

They were graceful, or so their clothes made them. They were sure, or their eyes twitched. Hatred spread throughout the spacey room of no particular use. But why? What had Diane Hunster done so wrong to earn such dreadful glares? Perhaps she knew too much, or she wittingly failed to hide it. Either way, it was no secret she knew them all to the core. Such a dangerous person should've been erased from existence long ago; they had had their chances, missed them all on purpose. They hid behind a mask of sorrow as they watched her crumble, yet none of them was brave enough to say a word. Even drained of her potential, she was still a beacon of hope, as well as a reminder of their sins. Though they were all very different. Despite all that, the five royals of different races gathered in the spacey room of Painron's grand castle in an already-established order. Beside her father, King Brandon, sat Jeremiah, the King of Florus. He was the only one Diane trusted. The wide-eyed man in his early forties, with a long, chestnut hair, sat, remiss, over a bunch of papers in front of him and occasionally lifted his square glasses, which somehow always found their way back to the lowest of his long nose. Just in front of him sat Victoria White, the Duchess of Iceleus. Was it her white hair or clear eyes, Diane couldn't tell, but she always reminded her of a ghost. When younger, Diane feared her greatly, always running away; now she ran for a different reason. People talked about the mysterious death of her sister, the late Queen of Ice herself, but our little princess might have been the only one who knew the truth. And Victoria despised her for it. Her daughter Sofia was no different: she was the sole person Diane hated more than the Duchess. About Elisabeth, the Queen of Aquarius, there wasn't much to tell. Like all of her subjects, she had the most beautiful, deep blue eyes reminiscent of an ocean and her daughter Naisa might have been the most beautiful girl in the entire world. But there was shallowness behind her perfectly molded face: Naisa was a coward, a sordid princess who feared being forgotten. Elisabeth's plans for her daughter were always grandiose; she had her eyes on Isaac to become her son-in-law. Needless to say, it wasn't going too well. The last attendant was Henry, the King of Flamus. He was a strong and courageous person Diane had admired for the longest time. Unfortunately, she had realized he wasn't like she had imagined: he was a person who shamelessly enjoyed all the pleasures the world could offer. Tied around his big stomach was a golden belt they said he got from one of his mistresses. No one managed to confirm the story; she was long dead before they found her.

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They were all expecting something from Diane. It made her sick in the stomach. She wanted to scream, but she knew no one would hear it.

“You are early,” Brandon commented with discontent.

“Well, I thought you were all dying to hear the news,” Diane replied with a smile. She was now standing next to her father where she could see everyone.

“How is the Judge’s mission advancing?” Jeremiah asked her warmly.

“She brought a boy with her. Is he really one of them?” the Queen of Aquarius asked, full of suspicion.

“I would say so, yes,” Diane answered, full of shame she couldn't understand.

“About time!” Victoria let out and, upon meeting Diane’s furious eyes, uncomfortably shifted in her seat.

“Why are you here, Duchess? As far as I remember, this summons is for rulers only,” Diane asked.

Victoria's pale face boiled with anger and her eyes shifted to her king. He stayed silent, as always. “Well, I am here to give my support to His Majesty.”

“I think he is perfectly fine on his own,” Diane insisted. ”You may leave now.” And the Duchess did, without a word.

“Now, where were we?” Henry asked, mockingly looking at Brandon.

“The boy is... strange. I am certain he is one of us, but he has no clue about any of it. He has spent his life in a secluded town where he does manual work to earn a living. He has never gone through Nowhere and I don’t think he recognized me in that way, or, at least, he's not aware of it,” Diane reported. “But I have decided to take him with me to Carcer, to test him. You will all have the chance to meet him at the ball as planned but do not push him too much. The Judge said to wait until he is ready to come to terms with his future.”

“Are you sure you are not wrong then? I mean, the five of us know you are not exactly, at your prime,” Henry mocked, causing Elisabeth and the King of Iceleus to chuckle victoriously. Elisabeth's clear eyes finally met Diane's. They looked at each other for a second before the queen angrily slammed her hand against the wooden table.

“You all think this is funny? She is having fun with that man while my people are dying! Tell me, Brandon, would she be needing as much time if Demons were flooding your living room? And what, wait?! For what?! For Aquarus to completely disappear?! Will the little coward be ready then?!” Elisabeth screamed at the top of her lungs and repeatedly hit the table. “I say we tell him everything and make him do his job!”

Diane went blind for a moment. “Then, why don’t you do something about it, if you are all so capable? Don’t you feel embarrassed relaying on a twenty-three-year-old to save your people?!”

“What did you just say to me?!”

“I said that you are incompetent, Your Majesty! For a whole year, your people have been dying while you were waiting for me to form the Six and do what?! What exactly do you think I can do?!”

“Whatever that bitch Clara Heal tells you to!” Elisabeth paused to take a breath. She pushed the stray strands of her hair back, and, completely calm, said, “This mess started with a Crystalian; it is only right it ends with one.”

The King of Stone was the next to rise. “My daughter has been doing her best. Everything will be resolved in due time, as promised…”

“And if her best is not enough?” Elizabeth insisted.

“Then your daughter can take over. If she is capable to, that is.” Bradon’s eyes were steady, his face emotionless. Even if he was burning inside, he did not let it show. More than his power, his stance and attitude browbeat the people around him. Without a word, he pointed to the door. “That would be all for today. The ball is tomorrow. You should all focus on having a wonderful time. We will discuss the matter further some other time.”

It was funny how they all feared the leader of the people they once despised and hunted. But the times had changed more drastically than any of them wanted to admit. Their destinies lay in the hands of their worst enemy and all they could do was sit and wait.

“I was tired anyway,” Henry commented. Elizabeth pushed her chair back and angrily left the room.

After he had made sure he was completely alone with his daughter, Brandon slapped Diane on the face so hard her head turned to the side. He then grabbed her sore cheeks and forcefully turned her head back around.

“Don't you ever, even for a second, think about your actions? You are bemiring the name of this family!”

Diane was red with rage. She clenched her fingers so tightly they turned a peculiar shade of white. Only seconds away from exploding, she took a deep breath.

“Are you deaf? Did you not hear my question?” He was spitting all over her face and his fingers were so deep in her skin that Diane thought they would perforate it.

“So you would rather have me stand there and let those good-for-nothings insult me?!” she managed to mumble.

“I don't care! You are the future Queen of Crystalia and you will behave like one! The next time you make a circus of my crown I will do much worse to you than Clara Heal ever could. Do you understand?”

Diane stayed silent, now wincing in pain.

“Do you understand?” he repeated, in a tone much lower than before.

She nodded as much as she could. “Forgive me, Your Majesty,” she knelt and apologized once he let go of her face. If she weren’t Brandon's little heiress, she would've let out a tear. Her face showed no emotion instead.

“You are stronger than what you currently see. Not just your power but your spirit as well. You just need a little help seeing it.” There was a long break. She was kneeling, not wanting to upset her father even more. “You are my creation after all. Had you shown any less than what I had expected I wouldn't have made you a Raven.” He was lost somewhere again, took some time to come back. “Stand up. Have you found Fiona Roswell?”

“Yes, sir.”

They walked out together. Diane’s cheeks were bruised, but she knew exactly how much makeup she would need to cover them for tomorrow.

“Finally. Good. Take the map and leave for Carcer as soon as possible. The Judge left you a letter. She is urging you to hurry up. I still do not understand why she could not tell you that in person. She was the one who sent you on this mission in the first place.”

Diane kept turning around to ensure they were alone because she didn’t want unnecessary casualties. “Because she is never alone.”

“Have Isaac go with you. He will come in handy. Besides, the Judge would not make decisions that would harm him.”

“I would not be so certain,” Diane scoffed.

Brandon stopped walking and lifted her chin. “I apologize. Put some ointment on that.”

“I will,” Diane replied. Then she glanced at her father with a shy smile. “I also wanted to ask you something else. I talked to George and he said something that bothers me a little. He knows about…”

Brandon suddenly turned left without a word and left Diane to find her way back to her room by herself. She was hoping, from the bottom of her heart, that her father would be able to give her a slice of his time to talk about things her mother could never understand. He was a powerful man, so he could imagine what it would feel like to lose it all one day. He was confident and decisive and always capable of caring about himself. Diane Hunster didn’t have a sense of self, she was not allowed to. So, every time she felt doubtful, she would have to seek an opinion from the outside.

I should ask the Judge. She will help me, maybe. If she doesn’t… Maybe I should talk to Isaac. But then again, it’s not like he would ever disobey her.

Then she stopped abruptly. Her head felt heavy and sore and her body surprisingly light; with each step, she could feel her breakfast nearer her mouth than the moment before. To disobey. She had been told she had done that before, and that was why they all ended up like this. But why did she do it? She had always been obedient and tried to follow the Judge’s commands as blindly as possible. It must have been something she couldn’t stand behind. Murder? Of masses? Of her people?

“To let Demons run free. No. No, it can’t be. They are the enemy. Why would she? Why? Who? And why didn’t I? Would I… King, my head hurts,” she rumbled on until she managed to reach her room and lock the door behind her. As she stumbled towards her bed the sky finally decided to let its drops tranquilize nature.

I mustn’t let my thoughts wander so. The last time I did, only misery followed. My role is to turn their dreams into reality. Nothing more, nothing less. Knowledge will only bring pain. If I come to understand my past actions, then… No, I would never do it again. I will defeat Him this time for sure.

Diane winced in pain for an hour or two, the questions refusing to let her rest; then she fell asleep, hoping to find in her dreams just a moment of peace.