Lux didn't have to be told twice to heal up Phoebe and Edgar. Now that Alastor was feeling inspired, he was also feeling generous. In fact, he was so excited about his brand new ideas, that he paid no attention to everyone's glares and hateful expressions.

Phoebe and Edgar were immediately taken to the dungeons. The latter was still passed out while all that was happening, but Phoebe put up quite the fight and Alastor had to call in six of his strongest soldiers to manage to lock her up, and even then, they barely made it.

Caroline stomped her feet, and attacked and kicked and screamed, but she failed to save her friends. Eventually, she followed her father to his office and pretty much trashed it.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Edgar and Phoebe did nothing wrong! Haven't you already done enough to all of us?", she yelled at Alastor.

"Consider yourself lucky that I'm not executing them! They're both traitors, plotting against the crown!"

"It wasn't them! For the last time, you can't avoid giving me the blame! This was all my idea! I got Edgar here and I forced him to find out your plans and tell me! On the same false grounds, you executed Andy. And why the hell would you cut off Lux's hair? First you threaten her son and now this? How dare you?", Caroline shrieked, picking up a chair and throwing to the ground. Angry tears ran down her red from fury face. She clutched her fists and panted, trying to calm herself.

"Consider all this your punishment. Locking you up would mean nothing to you, but seeing your friends pay the price... I can see that you can't bear it.", he sneered.

"So it's a war you want, huh? Because apart from the war against your brother, you'll be having a civil one in here. When the time comes, know that I won't be on your side. You should have played your cards better. The way you're playing, you're going to lose all allies you may have had."

"You forget that I have your ex fiancé and the Harrow spawn in my dungeons. You have no choice, Caroline. It's either your allegiance or their death."

"Allegiance can't be bought! It's earned! You should know that better than anyone!"

"I told you my offer. And the Dows... There's only one of them left, is there not?"

"Leave Esmeralda out of this!", Caroline screamed again, throwing all the stuff off her father's desk. She took two steps back, glaring at him and his surprisingly calm behavior and trying to cool off herself.

"You're free to visit them, if you want, but they're not getting out of their cells any time soon.", he shrugged.

"Phoebe is not even sixteen years old yet, and you've thrown her in a cell to rot for how long? Huh?", the princess slammed her hands on the now empty desk.

"She knew what she was getting into when she came here and she knew what sort of trouble her brother is in. She is the one responsible for her actions and will be treated as such.", he told her, not losing his temper.

"I hate you.", she hissed and stormed out of the office, slamming the door as hard as she could.

Caroline immediately ran down to the dungeons and asked for Edgar and Phoebe's cell numbers. That's where she found out that they were kept separately.

She kept herself from kicking the wall in frustration and took a deep breath, once again clenching her fists. After thanking the guards, the took off for Phoebe's cell because it was the nearest one. The guards who took Phoebe there couldn't take her any further due to her strength (which she didn't let go to waste).

When she arrived, Caroline saw her friend glaring at the ceiling with a tinge of boredom.

"Phoebe?", she called.

The youngest Harrow sibling looked up immediately and rushed to the bars. "Queenie!"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm as okay as one can be when they're locked up in a dungeon. Like, this is a damn palace. How long has it been since the cells got cleaned up? I'm pretty sure there's some dry blood in that corner...", Phoebe grimaced pointing at the back of the cell.

"Keep saying things like that. I'm going to need all the arguments I can get for the next time I have a talk with my dad.", Caroline grumbled.

"How is Edgar holding up?"

"I haven't seen him yet. I just finished trashing my father's office and throwing a tantrum. Suffice to say that none of that worked...", the princess sighed.

"That good, eh?"

"It's worse than it sounds."

"I can imagine.", Phoebe smiled proudly. Caroline chuckled. "I need a favor..."

"Anything.", Caroline said immediately. Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "What? As long as you're here, I'm responsible for you."

"I can handle myself!"

"Oh, I don't doubt that, don't get me wrong. I don't only feel responsible for you; it's the same for Esme and Edgar."

"So you're the mom of the group."

"The mom?", Caroline tilted her head in confusion.

"You know, the friend that acts like a mom and is overly protective of everyone and always does the responsible thing."

"Oh, god... That does sound like me...", the princess's eyes widened in horror. "Anyway, what favor did you want to ask for?"

"Lux is pretty powerful, isn't she?"

"From what I know."

"Do you think she'd help send a letter to my brother? I want to check up on him. I just... I don't know where he is right now. I thought that Lux might be able to locate him or something."

"I'll try my best, I promise."

Phoebe's face fell and both girls stayed silent, mostly because Caroline didn't know what to say to comfort her friend.

"Are you sure you're okay?", she asked eventually.

Phoebe looked up from the floor and bit her lip. "I just feel so useless and pathetic... I had one job coming here, and I messed it up before I even arrived. I tried to help with the revolution inside the palace and I failed with that too, and now I'm locked up in a cell waiting for Alastor's next mood swing to get me killed or used as leverage against Scott and Crystal. I honestly can't decide which is worse."

Caroline subconsciously reached for Phoebe's arm through the bars and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You're not useless and you're not pathetic. The fact that you're locked up is my fault for slipping up and calling you by your real name. If it weren't for you around here, we would have done absolutely nothing. Edgar would be most likely not be here either. It would have been just me and Esme trying to bring the king down. You may feel like you've done nothing, but you're wrong. Everyone contributes something to the team and you're the one providing most of our motivation and protection- and these are not just it. Don't let a setback bring you down."

"How am I supposed to help if I'm locked up?"

"Just the fact that my dad dared hurt you and Edgar is enough to make me even more determined to get back at him. He's going to regret hurting us. All of us."

"Queenie...", Phoebe sighed, smiling softly. She shook her head and laid her head against the bars.

Caroline got on her toes and leaned in until her forehead touched Phoebe's. "It's going to be okay, I promise." Despite the cell being a few steps lower, Caroline still had trouble reaching Phoebe's forehead.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I can see the future, remember?", the princess smiled at her. "I have to go check on Edgar, but I'll be back later with Esme and news on contacting your brother, okay?", she whispered.

Phoebe nodded. Caroline got on her toes once more and pecked Phoebe's forehead, before hurrying away and making her friend's stomach explode.

Edgar's cell was a little deeper in the dungeons and wasn't taking being imprisoned as calmly as Phoebe was.

"I'm freaking out. I'm not used to this. There are rats in here, I tell you! Rats!", he ranted.

"Is that your only problem in here?"

"Of course not! I'm bored, there are no other prisoners to talk to nearby and I'm going to end up talking to the rats one day! I came here to have a good time and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now.", he frowned. "The guards keep ignoring me, the food they bring me is terrible and the bed is itchy and full of bed bugs. Your father should really do something about the conditions down here."

"I'll talk to h--"

"And the rats! Did I mention the rats? The rats are everywhere. Everywhere."

"I don't see any right now.", Caroline told him.

"They're sneaky ones--", Edgar stopped abruptly as a baby rat ran across the room and passed by near his feet. He let out a terrified scream and jumped on his bed. "I'm going to die in here."

"It's just a baby, Edgar. Relax.", Caroline sighed. "I'll see what I can do. I'll try to get you into Phoebe's cell or, at least, somewhere nearby so you'll have each other's company."

"Thank you!"

"I have to go now. I'll be back with Esmeralda and proper food later."

"You're the best."

"I doubt that, but thanks.", Caroline cracked a small smile and walked away.

As she exited the dungeons, she only had one thought in her head.

It was time to check on Lux.

×~❦~×

Crystal, Alex and Scott were having a really awkward dinner with Daniel.

"How has life been?", the King tried to make small talk.

"Sucky.", Crystal said absent-mindedly, glaring at her plate. Alex elbowed her. "Oh, right, sorry. That's not proper language to use at a royal dinner. I meant to say absolutely terrible.", she grumbled in a mock-fancy accent.

Scott bit his lip to keep himself from laughing at Daniel's exasperated expression and gave Crystal a proud wink. Daniel noticed and raised an eyebrow.

"The food is great.", Alex grinned, trying to change the subject.

"Thank you. I'll tell the cooks.", Dan replied. "How have you liked your rooms so far?"

"They're good. I just prefer cleaning up myself. I value my privacy.", Crystal glared at her father, gritting her teeth.

"Okay, what's your problem?", he asked her.

"Oh, nothing. Just the fact that you've been avoiding to talk about the war that's been brewing up for over two months now.", she rolled her eyes.

"Can we please not do this over dinner?"

"That's what you say every time! You don't want to do this over breakfast and you don't want to do it over lunch but whenever we're not eating, you're locked away in your office to avoid the subject!"

Scott and Alex worriedly glance at each other, bracing themselves for the fight that was going to ensue.

"Crystal, you don't understand that what you think of as a solution is only going to cause more problems. A peace treaty--", Daniel tried to explain.

"Would do nothing! Alastor would find a loophole and attack anyway! Besides, it's your kingdom he's been torturing all these years! He's no king, he's a tyrant, and you've done nothing to save your people for the past seventeen years! You've been sitting on a throne moping instead of actually doing something."

"You have no idea how hard the past few years have been.", her father told her carefully.

"No, I don't, because I had an amazing life until your brother decided it was revenge time! You've been safe in a palace all this time. I spent months on the run. I actually killed someone. I held my dead brother in my arms.", she snapped. "You lost us and all you did was make empty promises while Alastor tore everything apart. Giving him the entire blame is easy, but it's wrong to ignore the other people responsible, and I'm not talking just about you."

"Maybe we should take a step back...", Scott muttered at Alex, who nodded and went backwards with his chair. Giving one last glance at the table, he grabbed his plate and kept eating from a distance.

"Alastor is dangerous, you can't just march up to him! He's got leverage on everyone; he was careful enough to make sure no one would get in his way to power.", Daniel told his daughter.

Crystal shot out of her chair and slammed her hands on the table. "You can't just sit back and watch the world burn! You are a goddamn King and he's taken up half tour kingdom; do something."

"There's nothing I can do without getting your and your mother's lives on the line!"

"Our lives will always be on the line as long as your brother has power, why don't you get it?"

"He's not that dangerous! He can't hurt you while you're here!"

"Tristan was here and he still hurt him!", Crystal yelled. The table flew out of its place and slammed against the wall, scattering food everywhere before falling on the floor.

"Damn, Crystie! It's the third time this week! You can't just throw all this food around...", Alex frowned.

"That was a month ago. My brother can no longer cross the border.", Daniel ignored him.

"Yeah, he can.", Alex got out of his chair, more engaged into the conversation now that his food was gone.

This got the King's attention. "How?"

Crystal and Scott looked at Alex in a way that made him feel stupid. Maybe that was their intention but it didn't make him back down. "Lux Bailey is on his side."

"I already know that.", Daniel said, inquiring for more.

"They have a deal, so he basically controls her. Even if she doesn't want to help him, she will.", Alex elaborated.

"She's just a witch--"

"She's not just a witch. Everyone with any knowledge in the Magical field says she might be the most powerful witch to ever walk this earth.", Alex cut him off, obviously annoyed by the comment the King was about to make.

"The only relation I ever had to magic was my wife, so I guess it's not a surprise I didn't know that."

"It's not a surprise you didn't know that, because Cheryl hates Lux.", Crystal glared at him.

"She is a bad person.", Daniel crossed his arms.

"What did she ever do to you? Like, personally. Has she done anything to you?", his daughter dared him to answer.

"Well... no, but Cheryl--"

"Cheryl should back off my mom.", Alex stood up and crossed his arms.

"Excuse me- wait, are you Lux's kid? Lux has a kid?", Dan stared at him in disbelief.

"Yeah, she does, and you just pissed him off...", Scott grimaced.

"Who would- it was Meadows, wasn't it? Benny Meadows is your father?", the King failed to acknowledge him and kept his attention on Alex.

"Was. Your brother got my uncle to kill him."

"So this is personal to you."

"It's personal to just about everyone around here, but sure, I'd love to see justice served to the man who ruined my mother's life and made her the most miserable person I know.", Alex gritted his teeth.

"Of course you're defending her, you're her spawn."

"Excuse me?", Crystal raised an eyebrow before Alex could say anything. Scott got a glimpse of sparks igniting in Fang's palms and gulped. "How dare you judge someone from their heritage?"

"I--"

"How dare you? You don't get to say things like that, especially when someone has never done anything wrong to you. Mom was the one that had a feud with Lux, not you. Mom has the right to argue with her if she wants, but you don't have the right to attack her kid like this.", she glared at her father.

"Alex was the one who kept your daughter safe when she was gone for a month and you didn't even look for her. He took her in and helped her feel better about what happened here at the night of the ball, a night I'm not proud of.", Scott glanced at Crystal. "He was there for Crystal when I was busy chasing my tail trying to find her and you were hanging around in your palace, staring out a window. You don't get to say anything about Alex. You should be thankful, not this ungrateful.", Scott shook his head in disappointment.

"Let's get out of here.", Crystal scoffed, shooting one last glare at her father, before wrapping her arms around Alex's shoulder and leading him out of the room while trying to comfort him.

"Thanks for sticking up for me...", Alex told them a while later.

"That's what friends are for.", Crystal smiled at him.

"Let's just go back to our room and sleep it off...", Scott sighed.

"That's all we do whenever a problem occurs.", Alex remarked.

"Yeah, it's called avoiding the issue until it goes away, and unsurprisingly, it almost never works.", Crystal replied.

"Well, I could use a good night's sleep anyway, so...", Scott shrugged.

"You want to sleep? Wow. That's quite a turn of events.", Alex whistled.

"Shut it, Fang."

By the time they got to the room they shared (because they couldn't bear being alone), their frowns had turned into smiles and soon, they were fast asleep.