"Knew it." Seymour whispered.

"Catherine did this?" Sparrow looked over at Catherine, who was clearly faking a cry to guards.

"Indeed." Bash nodded, glaring at Catherine from across the room.

"One moment." Sparrow walked over to Catherine and sniffed, "Oh, Catherine. I just heard the news."

"I presume Bash told you the 'unfortunate' news?" Catherine raised a brow.

Sparrow nodded and covered her mouth, "Would you mind coming to the church with me? To pray for my mother?"

"I wish I could but there is far too much to be done in the wake of your mother's death." Catherine informed her.

"Oh please? Just this once." Sparrow took Catherine's hand, practically pulling her to another room, which was not the church.

Catherine made no objections until they reached the room,"What do you really want?"

Sparrow dropped her facade, "You killed her."

Catherine was silent for a few moments before speaking,"I know I did."

"How could you do such a thing?!" Sparrow stepped back.

"I have my reasons." Catherine answered calmly.

"What reason would you need to murder my mother?" She shook her head.

"I won't tell you because you could never understand." Catherine turned her back to leave.

"Then help me understand." Sparrow walked towards Catherine.

"Even if you understood, you wouldn't believe me." Catherine crossed her arms.

"And why wouldn't I?"

"You're a child. Children don't understand such complex things in life." Catherine turned to face her again, her face stone cold.

"Whatever my mother has done, it did not mean she had to be killed because of it." Sparrow blinked before she left the room, slamming the door behind her.

"I knew she wouldn't understand." Catherine muttered to herself,"B*tch..."

Sparrow sighed and moved her hair out of her face, going to look for the others.

**

"Are you sure you wouldn't like some bread? You've been ever so kind." A cook, Daphne offered.

"I am in no need of your service, I have come to serve you all." Aerin declined her offer with a smile.

"Serve?" Quinn raised a brow.

"Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it. A King should not be opposed to minor tasks like this." Aerin answered her.

"But that's our job, we're to serve you." Daphne hummed.

"Do you ever get a break from this?" Aerin asked her.

Daphne slowly shook her head, "There's the holidays, we get to go home sometimes."

"That's the word, sometimes. Life for you isn't fair so let me treat you to some time off where I do the serving." Aerin offered.

"The King and Queen will get mad." Quinn stood up.

"They don't need to know. Besides, I have plans for the King later." Aerin stated.

"What?" Daphne raised a brow.

"I'm taking him somewhere, he insisted we do it later so I have free time." Aerin told her.

"Where are you taking him?" Daphne questioned.

"A place in my kingdom." Aerin answered.

"And then what will happen?" Quin leaned forward, wanting to know more.

"I'm afraid it's confidential, my dear." Aerin informed her, confident in his lie.

"But-" They both tried to get more information.

"No, I shall speak no more of our business venture." Aerin turned his head away.

"Well, there is always the Queen but she's not allowed to rule." Quinn shrugged.

"And why is that? If I may ask." Aerin questioned this absurd fact.

"Since the Queen isn't of actual Royal blood, she isn't allowed to rule. But when the King dies, the next in line will become Queen if the Jury allows it." Quinn explained.

"I suppose that makes sense. I thought it could be some gender nonsense." Aerin shook his head.

"It usually is, which is why if the Jury doesn't see Princess Ashton fit to be Queen, they need to find a King for her to marry instead." Daphne sighed.

"This is why I prefer my Kingdom, gender doesn't matter. You can be a woman and fight or a man can clean. It all depends on what they are capable of." Aerin told her.

"Aerin!" Romulus ran into the room.

Aerin sighed and looked over,"What? What do you want?"

"They have some really good rum here, and I think it's making me woozy!" Romulus laughed.

"My god." Aerin muttered,"What did I say about drinking?"

"To have fun?" Romulus asked.

"No, I said no drinking." Aerin reminded him.

"Oh.. Right. Hey, did you hear that Diane, the King's mistress is dead?" Romulus took a swig of a flask.

"She's what?" The girls looked at each other.

"Could you be more blunt?! And yes, I heard." Romulus put his head in his hands.

"What's the cause of death?" Daphne asked.

"From what I've heard it was asphyxiation due to pressure of the neck. To put it more simply, strangulation." Aerin informed them.

"Oh god." Quinn sighed.

"Death is unavoidable, it catches up to us all one day." Aerin comforted, though it wasn't very comforting.

"Aerin, your daughter's looking for you too." Romulus took another drink.

"She's going to kill you when she finds out you've been doing this." Aerin teased as he left the room.

"So will Seymour." Romulus chased after him.

"You're a bad influence on them." Aerin shook his head.

"I know." Romulus agreed.

"Honestly, at least I don't murder in front of them." Aerin pushed open the throne room door,"Most of the time."

"Don't tell me he's drunk." Seymour looked at Romulus who stumbled in.

"Would I even need to?" Aerin sighed.

"What has he had?" Alec raised a brow.

"Some rum, I believe. That's what he told me." Aerin informed them.

"Can't werewolves not get drunk? Or is that a myth?" Sparrow asked.

"Definitely a myth, he's an incredible lightweight." Aerin answered her.

Sparrow nodded.

"I think I need some more." Romulus told him.

Aerin let go of the shoulder he was supporting and let Romulus fall over,"No."

"But Aerin!" Romulus groaned.

"But nothing, now, I have to speak with the King." Aerin stated.

"What about?" Sparrow looked at him.

"Oh, we're looking into some business. I need to know if he needs to reschedule." Aerin explained.

Sparrow nodded slowly before joking, "Keep him away for as long as you want."

"Don't worry, I will." Aerin smirked, a hint of malice on his face as he walked off.

"Did anyone else see his face?" Alec pointed.

"What part of it? His big nose or the clear foreshadowing of doing terrible things?" Fenna questioned.

"The foreshadowing." Alec nodded.

"Either your dad will die or he'll be caught in an endless trap, knowing Aerin." Seymour crossed his arms.

Sparrow nodded slowly, "So.. Both bad?"

"Expect nothing less." Seymour shook his head.

Sparrow sighed and sat down on the throne, "This feels weird."

"I suppose it would." Fenna nodded.

**

Aerin walked along the corridor until the distant image of the king caught his eye.

"And I want it done by the end of the day." Henry pointed at his guard.

"Ah, Your Majesty. I need to ask if you'd like to reschedule do to Diane's passing." Aerin approached him.

Henry turned to Aerin, tilting his head, "Why would I need to do that?"

"Maybe I misunderstood, were you not close?" Aerin asked.

"Yes?" Henry raised a brow.

"I just wondered if you needed time." Aerin told him,"Though, we could go right now."

"Of course we can go now." Henry shrugged.

"Alright then, I shall lead you there." Aerin informed him, starting to walk.

"Where exactly are we going?" Henry asked, following after him.

"The Tree of Immorality that you wished to see." Aerin answered.

"Ah! Of course." Henry nodded.

Aerin gave the King a fake smile as he lead him out into the woods, walking deep inside.

"Is it much farther? I could've gotten a carriage here faster." Henry groaned.

"We're already here." Aerin smirked, drawing back a curtain of thorns to reveal the same tree that the relics were placed on.

"Oh my.." Henry looked in shock, "This is.."

"Wonderful, isn't it?" Aerin cocked his head to the side before taking a single leaf from the tree.

"It is." Henry nodded, looking at Aerin, "So how does it work, friend?"

"Just eat this." Aerin passed the leaf to Henry.

"A leaf?" Henry raised a brow.

"Indeed, it contains the Immorality you so desire." Aerin nodded.

Henry took the leaf and inspected it, "Alright. Thank you."

He did a small fake smile before he took a bite out of it. Aerin watched as a golden light surrounded Henry, everything was going to plan.

"This is part of the process, right?" Henry looked around.

"Of course." Aerin answered as the glowing stopped,"You are now immortal, Your Majesty."

Henry smirked and laughed, "Finally! I'm now going-"

Aerin smirked as he pushed Henry into a portal to a dimension of nothing, a fitting punishment for a deceitful monarch.

"Heh, I wonder if the Queen is free this evening." Aerin wondered.

~Back at the castle~

"So I have to go and get Natasha, trick her into going to the dungeons and spending her life down there with Amala." Sparrow sighed.

"That's the plan." Fenna nodded.

"Great." Sparrow nodded, "Who wants to trap her in the dungeons?"

Seymour already had cuffs in his hands,"She plotted against us all, I'll do it."

"She was manipulated, though." Alec pointed out

"She's been abusive my whole life." Sparrow looked at Alec.

"Gimme." Alec grabbed the handcuffs from Seymour and ran.

"Fenna? Who would you like to go with?" Sparrow asked.

"I'll go with Seymour to make sure he doesn't break anything." Fenna sighed.

"The keys for the dungeons are on your left as you past the first door." Sparrow nodded before she walked off, knocking on Natasha's door once she arrived.

"Hm? What is it?" Natasha questioned.

"Can I come in?" Sparrow asked.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't." Natasha told her.

"Too bad." Sparrow hummed and walked in.

Natasha sighed as she looked at Sparrow,"What do you even want."

"I have a job for you." Sparrow leaned against the door.

"I don't want to do it." Natasha shook her head.

"You have to." Sparrow shrugged.

Natasha rolled her eyes as she walked over,"What is it then?"

"So.. Did you know you're gonna be Queen?" Sparrow raised a brow.

"Well, I should assume so." Natasha crossed her arms.

"Yeah. Catherine and our father decided it was not best for me to rule. After everything that happened.. So they appointed you as the next in line, but you have to do something before you can become Queen." Sparrow explained.

"I'm listening?" Natasha raised a brow.

"Well.. You need to go down to the dungeons. Grab the staff that the Queen's need, and then bring it back up." Sparrow shrugged.

"Seems simple enough." Natasha nodded as she walked off.

"Yes, it is." Sparrow nodded, quickly following after her.

Natasha continued down to the dungeons and began looking for the staff. That's when she heard a small bang from beside her.

"What the?!" Natasha turned around.

"Aha!" Seymour shouted out as he cuffed her hands.

"What are you doing?!" Natasha yelped.

"Arresting you, what does it look like?" Seymour questioned

"I am a princess!" Natasha pointed.

"And? I'm a prince." Seymour told her.

"You're a freak." Natasha spat.

"And you're ugly, at least I can get a man." Seymour pulled her up.

"Get off me!" Natasha pushed him.

"No can do, lady." Seymour shook his head before shoving her into the same cell as Amala.

Natasha glared at Amala, "This is all your fault!"

"Hey, don't blame me. You were dumb enough to fall for it." Amala chuckled to herself.

"Surely you'll give us separate cells?" Natasha looked at Seymour.

"Nah, you can rot together." Seymour told her as he began to walk out

"You!" Natasha spotted Fenna, "Your my sisters friend, tell her that this was a huge misunderstanding."

"Why should I do that?" Fenna raised a brow.

"Because I was forced by her." Natasha pointed at Amala.

"I wouldn't call it that." Amala shook her head.

"Not helping!" Natasha looked back at Fenna, "Please?"

"Hm.." Fenna drew out her answer,"Um, no. I'm just going to see my dad now, okay?"

"Don't you dare leave me with her." Natasha glared at Fenna.

"Heh, enjoy~" Fenna winked at her before walking away.

Natasha groaned and sat on the bench, crossing her arms. Fenna headed upstairs to the throne room and saw Aerin making idle chatter with Catherine.

"You're too kind. Mister.." Catherine waited for a name.

"Aerin, m'lady." Aerin held out his hand to her.

"Aerin." Catherine took his hand and shook it.

Fenna approached Sparrow and whispered,"What is he doing?"

"He.. Is flirting? With Catherine." Sparrow answered.

"Pardon?" Fenna looked at her.

"You heard me." Sparrow nodded.

"He goes all this time without a woman and the first adult mortal woman he sees, he goes straight in." Fenna sighed as she looked at her father.

"Has he ever been in a relationship?" Sparrow raised a brow.

"I don't know, probably not though." Fenna shook her head.

"And he chooses.. Her?" Sparrow pointed.

"Yes, her." Fenna nodded,"They look to be having a pleasant conversation, actually."

"So, what do you like to do? Would you like a stroll around the castle? I can get the maids to make some tea." Catherine smiled.

"That would be great, thank you." Aerin nodded.

"Come along." Catherine stood up, waiting for Aerin.

Aerin smiled and followed close behind Catherine.

"Oh my gosh." Sparrow sighed.

"How in God's name does that work?" Seymour questioned.

"They have so much in common." Romulus shrugged.

"Like what?" Alec looked at Romulus.

"They're both rulers, both hate your father, both have a tendency to murder people." Romulus listen off on his fingers.

"Understandable." Seymour slowly nodded.

"I wasn't expecting it though, I thought he'd be single forever." Fenna admitted,"Where... Is Henry, though?"

"He never came back." Sparrow shook her head.

Fenna watched as her father turned the corner with Catherine,"I think I know why."