I lung towards Lady, spurred by my grief and rage.

Lady swings her fist, I duck and grab her wrist. Pulling her arm down, I jab my elbow into her nose. Her eyes water and she grunts, kneeing my stomach as she grabs my arm and throws me to the ground. I roll over and groan, staggering to my feet. It feels like someone crushed my insides with a hydraulic press.

Lady spins and her leg wizzes past my nose. I back away and stare daggers.

"Know this little mouse," Lady growls, "when I kill you; it will be slow and painful."

I charge again and throw another punch, but she catches my arm and uses my momentum to toss me to the ground. I slide across the marble floor, the skin on my face peeling off.

Rolling over I sit up and watch her approach, venom dripping from her lips, "Oh, little mouse. Maybe I should keep you alive to the very end. So you can watch me kill everyone you care about, their screams will haunt you, and their souls will torture you."

"Why are you like this?" I dryly cough and push myself to my feet once again. My legs shake and my arms lay limp at my side. "What happened to you?"

"What happened to me?" Lady smirks, "Life happened."

I block a punch and counter it with one of my own. Lady ducks. Jabbing her fist into my diaphragm, I back away and gasp. It's like she sucked all the air out of my lungs. She kicks my chest and I smash into the ground. I bend and hold my stomach, coughing and desperately trying to breathe.

Lady bends down and brushes a piece of hair from my face, "I wasn't the son he wanted." She pinches my cheeks tightly and scowls, "My father beat me because I wasn't a boy. He beat my mother too because of it. He wanted me to be tough, a warrior, a leader."

I pull my face away and kick her feet from beneath her. She tumbles back before jabbing her knee into my chest and punching my face. My eyes water and I cough violently, trembles crumple my body.

"You think I'm messed up?" Lady asks through her clenched jaw, her hand finding its way to my throat. "Let me tell you the story. After 13 years of torture, my father killed my mother and forced me to bury her dismembered body."

I stare into Lady's vengeful eyes. If eyes are the windows to your soul, then I'm afraid Lady doesn't have one. It died long ago.

"At 16 I left my father and lived on the streets before they forced me into a brothel where my body was exploited for years." Lady's breath is fast and shallow, her grip slowly tightening around my throat, "Then I saw him. Alaric's father. He took me from that wretched place and saved me, he nurtured me back to life when everyone else thought I was dead. But my father found me again and threatened to kill him if I didn't leave and use my beautiful body for good."

I struggle against Lady's grip; I grab both of her forearms and slam my elbows down. Her release on my neck loosens and I flip her over, smashing a fist into her throat. She chokes and jabs her fingers into my eyes. I flinch and she kicks me off of her and jams her foot into the back of my kidneys. When her hands find my neck again, she squeezes much tighter.

"I found Windsor, married into power and promised him a son. But I never pleased my father, he knew I bore a child who was not Windsor's. So he murdered the only man I loved. He killed Alaric's father because I gave birth to him. So I left."

I wriggle my arms out from underneath Lady and swing her off of me, "So you abandoned your son? The only person you had left of him was Alaric."

Lady snatches a dagger and plunges it into my thigh and rips it out. My scream is cut short as Lady squeezes my throat with intense power. "I left Alaric because he's the reason for my misery."

"Misery is a choice," I choke out, my air supply dwindling.

Lady squeezes harder, "Misery was pushed upon me. I killed my father and left Fide. I knew from that day forward I'd have to marry rich. So I found Luke's naïve, young father and got pregnant so he couldn't dump me on the side of the road like the rest of the world did. Luke's father cheated on me, he didn't love me, but I didn't care. Because no one can hurt a queen of a Clan."

But I can.

My eyes shift and fade into darkness. Convulsions rip through my muscles as they spasm. They beg for oxygen, which I cannot give them.

A voice shouts in the back of my mind as reality fades into a hum. In my darkness a beautiful sliver-eyed, brown-haired, curvy woman approaches me. Her manicured hand brushes my cheek and I focus on her.

Roxy smiles and sits beside me, "Get up pudge. I know you're sore and want to give in, but too many lives depend on yours." She slaps my cheek and stands, her hand outstretched to mine, "Get up."

I grab her hand but my legs give out, "I can't."

"You can't? Or you won't?" A voice asks from behind. I turn and my mother kisses the top of my head, "Get up."

"I can't."

"If you fall once get up twice," Adam bends down and pats my cheek, "Get up."

Roxy bends back down as a tear slips down her cheek, "I know you can fight this, do it for me. For us- for you."

"Get up," Roxy holds my hands tightly, "Get up!" She yanks up as hard as she can, "GET UP!"

I lurch out of the darkness and throw Lady off of me. I gasp for air and stand, facing her as she growls with irritation.

"This will be your last game, Lady." I cough and raise my fists up, "So make it a good one."

She lunges and I tiptoe back and forth, staying off of my heels. I dodge a punch and knee her in the stomach. She counters with the swipe of a knife. I back away as it nicks my collar bone.

"I'm done playing games," Lady drops her knife and picks up a bloody sword, "it's time you die."

The surrounding soldiers hold off Luke, Maverick and Alaric, leaving Lady and I alone. No one is here to save either of us.

Lady and I charge at each other as I swipe a shield off the ground. Blocking an attack, I slide my leg under hers. She stumbles and I block another swing before jabbing my shield into her hand. Her sword clatters to the ground and the shield pounds into her face.

She falls to the ground and reaches for her sword again, but I crush her hand under my foot. A bone snaps and she cries in agony. I drop to my knees and pin her arms down with my legs. Her struggles cease as the realization of her death hits her.

I grab the sword and she lays still as I press it to her neck. She shows no fear or regrets as she stares me down. "Do it, little mouse. Kill your cat."

I clench my jaw and press the blade further into her neck, drawing blood, but I pull away, "No."

"What?" She spits and wriggles.

"I said no," I pull the blade away from her neck. "You've been so desperate for power your whole life. You were suppressed by society and was treated as worthless. So you got yourself the most powerful position and punish those who've undermined you."

She glares and raises her chin, "So what?"

"So," I lean in, "the worst punishment for you isn't death, but a life of weakness."

Lady's composure degrades as her breathing picks up again and she looks around. Her warriors have stopped and stared at her with Alaric, Luke and Maverick at their sides.

"Roxy had a hard past, but she never gave in to evil. She surpassed it with grace, attitude and honour." I now brush a piece of hair out of Lady's face, "You will live a life in a cell, and will receive regular humiliation punishments in the Pit."

"No!" Lady pushes against me and I push her back down. She smashes her head into the back of the marble as blood pools out of her head.

I grab the back of it and hold it up, "If you love games so much, why don't you play the one you made?"

Lady clears her throat, shockingly composed, "Because I won't let my live to see the day." She raises her head again, but instead of bashing it onto the ground, she snakes her hand out and grabs the sword.

I grab her hand and shake my head, "No, not this time."

Lady screams and fights my grip before finally giving up, a tear trailing down her cheek. She peers at Alaric and Luke, "I am sorry my sons, but please let me die."

They stand silently and stare at me. They don't care what I do to her.

Lady turns to me as another tear drips down her face, "Jean, I'm sorry about the Immunis, but a foolish heart like yours would never understand. It's time for me to go."

"You want the easy way out," Luke blurts, a tear wiggling down his cheek.

"Maybe, but leaving my children won't be easy. I'm tired of suffering, and I would prefer this then smashing my head against the bars of a cell."

I loosen my hand and back away. I can't resent this woman forever, if I do it will ruin me. Lady stands up and drags her sword back to her glass throne. I grab her shoulder and kick the sword out of her hand.

"Luke," I turn back, "sit on your throne."

Lady needs to know that she doesn't have power anymore. I push Lady to her knees as she watches Luke take a seat in his rightful place. Covered in blood, his beautiful stature remains strong and sturdy as he stares into his mother's eyes.

I grab the sword from the ground, raise Lady's chin up and press the blade to her neck, "Any last words?"

"Take care of your Clan Luke." There's a pause and she nods.

I peer at Alaric and Luke and they nod as my swipes to the side she drops immediately, blood pooling around her. The resentment, pain and the life has completed drained from her eyes. I back away from her body and fall onto my knees in exhaustion and disbelief.

Luke and Alaric rush to my side, my head drops and I cry. It's over, it's finally over.