Chapter track: Fire on Fire by Sam Smith.

Eliza stood on the stage; the shock on her face was intense; she didn't seem to understand what had happened. It was like a bad dream—a bad dream she so desperately wanted to wake up from. Pariah fidgeted in her seat; she wanted to stand by her princess; she wanted to be there to hold Eliza. She could feel the heat from the sun begin to grow. There was trouble brewing.

Eliza stood on the stage, being adorned in her new jewels by the kingmakers. She didn't understand why everyone was so calm. Her mother had just turned to golden dust and vanished before her very eyes, and no one seemed bothered! No one cared that her mother had just vanished and she might not be coming back!

Pariah looked at her princess; the sun had begun to scorch people outside, and Eliza was losing control of her powers. Eliza was on the stage, her legs shaking under her weight. She felt the world come crashing down on her and she decided to just let it out and fall to the ground, but she didn't fall.

Pariah stood behind Eliza, holding the princess up. She held Eliza like she was the only thing that Pariah loved in the world.

"Stay strong; you're a queen now; you cannot break here. I'm here; I'll hold you for as long as you are weak, but you need to put on a strong face for your people. There would be time to grieve, but not here. Hold my hand and stay strong; stay strong, my queen." Pariah held Eliza, supporting her princess with every bit of strength she could muster.

"She's gone, isn't she?" Eliza's voice cracked.

"We'll talk about that later. You're hurting your people; control your powers, Eliza." Pariah looked ahead, avoiding Eliza's teary eyes.

The new queen took a deep breath, and the sun began to dim. The kingmakers weren't in the least bothered. They still went on with the coronation like Eliza had not almost torched everyone to ashes.

"Your mother would be proud, Eliza." Pariah said, still looking ahead, away from Eliza's stare.

Eliza stared at Pariah, hoping and silently wishing that she would look into her eyes, but Pariah didn't look, so Eliza stood strong and she held in her tears. Once the kingmakers had adorned her in her jewels, the young queen stood to face her people and spoke to them.

"Today, I, Eliza, now Queen of the Sands, stand before you and promise to move you forward and fight only for your good. To be here to protect you, guide you, love you, and cherish you. To be the Queen you seek!" The people erupted in cheers for their new queen, and then came the hardest part of Eliza's life, or so she thought.

She had to prove that The Sands had accepted her, and she was able to control her sun. With raised hands, Eliza moved her sun further and further away from her kingdom. Each time she moved the sun, the land became colder and colder, till snow began to fall in The Sands.

The people cheered, but Eliza wasn't done. The once golden brown sand now turned blue and reminded the young queen of the water and her mother. Eliza was going to say farewell to her mother in grand style. She moved her hands, but this time it wasn't the sun that moved; the sands answered to Eliza's thoughts, and she began to change its color.

Eliza had two balls of sand up in the air, one blue, like the sea, and the other golden, like the sun, and with them, she formed a heart. Half blue and half gold. It was the representation of her and her mother's love. If she didn't get the chance to say a proper goodbye, Eliza just hoped that her mother could see the heart wherever she was.

Eliza dropped her hands, the sand heart fell, and the sun returned. The blue sands slowly faded away, and Eliza was left with her golden brown sand. It turned out that Pariah had been right. The Sands wouldn't abandon Eliza when she needed it the most. Eliza looked up to the sky, and there was only one sun in it; it was her sun. She was now the sole ruler of The Sands. Her mother was gone forever.

"Goodbye, mother." Eliza kissed her palms and blew, stirring little golden sand particles into the sky. She might not be ready, but it was time to say goodbye to her mother.