Zora's heavy eyelid fluttered, and she through the bright sunlight streaming through the cave's entrance. She was so warm. Her head rested onto something hard and flat. It rose and fell. All drowsiness vanished, and she shot to her feet.

     The Nefari was awake, gazing up at her with an amused smile. But in his eyes, she could see the pain and scarcely restrained hunger. He'd been awake for a while.

     "Sorry, I fell asleep. Stars, I didn't realize how tired I was. I hope my head wasn't too heavy," she babbled, heart racing. Would he pounce and gobble her up?

     And oh, holy mother of the moons, was that her drool on his chest?

      "I'm not going to eat you. We may eat humans, but we aren't immoral."

      Zora wasn't too reassured, but she did relax. "Alright then. But if you pull a move on me..." She brandished her comb. The Nefari gave an exasperated sigh and flashed his pointed canines at her –far more lethal weapons than her decorative jewelry.

      His hand skimmed across his bandaged waist. "You stitched me up?" he breathed as he probed the ridges beneath the cloth. Zora nodded mutely. "Are they from your dress?"

      "Would you have preferred dying from exsanguination?"

      "No, no. It's fine. Thank you."

      She settled into a cross-legged position directly across from where he laid, and looked him square in those glowing eyes. "Since we may be here a while, I think it would be beneficial for us to exchange information about each other. I don't want to keep calling you 'Nefari' in my head."

      "But I rather like calling you Clumsy-Human-Girl-Who-Tripped-Over-Me-While-I-Was-Passed-Out." He winked, although it looked more like a wince.

      "Stop hitting on me."

      "If I recall accurately, you were the one trying to bash my head in with a rock, Princess."

      Zora resisted the urge to smack him. "Dammit," she hissed, "I'm trying to make progress here with you! And don't call me Princess."

      "Fine, fine. I thought all girls enjoyed the nickname, but I suppose ladies first then."

      "Oh, you go right ahead." Zora smirked at his bewildered countenance.

      "Is that some sort of a human joke?"

     Zora almost doubled over, suppressing a howl of laughter. "Never mind. It's not quite as funny if you don't understand it. I'm Zora, and my goal is to return to Etharia to murder my brother Gregori, the kingdom's current ruler."

      "So the nickname Princess does work!"

      "You're impossible."

      "I've been told. My name is Jurauk. My stepmother's the one who stabbed me. I think it's because I'm a threat to my brother's inheritance of the throne."

      "What a sorry bunch we are," snorted Zora.

      "Indeed. Care to explain why you are a wanted criminal?"

      Zora scowled, angling her body away. "I killed my misogynistic pig of a father, failing to do the same to my equally wicked brother. What else is there to it?"

     "You seem to harbor a deep hatred for them both."

     She snorted. "Aren't you a genius. Tell you what. If your wound is feeling better, we can hike up to the Etharian wall and get out something to eat. Besides me," she added, upon seeing his golden pupils slide over to her neck.

     A visible gulp traveled down his throat. "Right. That would be fabulous."

     In the end, she had to drape his arm around herself and lug him to an upright position. Jurauk managed to slide into his shirt by himself and gave her a nod of confirmation. "Let's go."

     The trek wasn't long. Zora hadn't realized just how close they were to Etharia. Out of the blue, she thought of Pyter, and the flames in his eyes when he'd handed her the comb. He knew she would find a way to survive.

      At the thought of this, she allowed herself a small grin. Oh, Pyter. I do hope to see you again soon.

      "We're there," she announced as they emerged from the shadows of the trees. "This is the wall."

     "It's so...short."

     Zora gawked. "Short? This is the tallest wall built in human history."

     Jurauk snorted, blowing a stray red strand out of his face. "Hilarious. That's just human history. This is nothing compared to Ledzemok."

     She shrugged. "Well, why haven't you eaten the entire kingdom yet?"

     He spread his hands in a placating gesture. "No idea this place existed. We've been feeding off on villages scattered outside your realm. Perhaps if I return to my country alive, I'll see if we can launch an assault here."

     "As long as I'm not in it," snickeredZora, coldly looking upon Etharia. "If the wall is so short, why don't youscale it yourself?"

     The Nefari tried to hide the bit of drool on his cheek. She could tell he was ravenous. "If there's food behind it, even a fatal wound will not stop me."

      Before Zora knew it, he'd leaped onto the way, claws finding niches even her fingers could not find. He climbed so fast, she couldn't tell if his feet were even touching the stones. To her dismay, there was already a blot of blood on his shirt where the wound had reopened a bit.

     "Only eat those doing wrong!" she shouted, shaking her head. She couldn't tell if he heard. One moment, he was ascending the wall. The next, he was over and gone. A few confused guards looked about, wondering about the red blur that had just passed.

     Zora quickly retreated into the shadows to avoid detection. The tree limbs swayed, blocking her from sight. She snagged a few ripe, red apples hanging overhead, stomach growling from a lack of food. Biting into it, she chewed thoughtfully from where she sat in the cool shade.

     Then the screaming began. Zora bolted upright, her apple core tumbling from her fingers. There seemed to be a commotion just beyond the Etharian wall. The guards standing vigilante at the tops shouted down and disappeared.

     Out of nowhere came a brilliant blue flash. It was so brilliant, it lit up even the day skies. There was a ripple from the kingdom, pulsating outward in an invisible ring. The force rattled Zora's very bones.

     It was too great of a feat for anyone normal. The only thing she'd ever dreamed of close enough to the spectacle she'd just witnessed was laced within the stories her nurse used to whisper to her before bed.

     Magic.

     "Oh, Jurauk," she breathed, "what have you done?"

I hope I made you laugh. Sorry for being dead guys! but i'm back now. this will probably be the last chapter of 2017! wow, this year has literally flown by. I never imagined Dark Queen would grow so large and quickly, and it's all thanks to you <3

@AlphaGirlRules made a fanart cover for me! I love it :)

also, I received my very first drawing tablet (Wacom intuos art) for Christmas and was messing around with it (I've never drawn digitally bahaha). I was trying to draw V from BTS, but somehow it morphed into Jurauk XD here it is! you don't have to think of him like this; this is just my personal vision lol

still needs a lot of work, but whatever XD I hope you guys have a WONDERFUL New Year's!

Discussion Questions: What do you think of the interactions between our MC's? Do you like the way the story's heading right now?