***

Diana ran around the flower-sprinkled garden her feet refusing to make any sound, she felt delirious over the feeling of adrenaline coursing through her veins and the wind whooshing through her light brown hair. The practice had made her muscles hard and her endurance long-lasting but that didn't mean that she would accept losing to her elder sister.

"Taemia...Stop!.." Diana's yelled panting as she tried to catch up, her legs failing to do so.

Taemia didn't stop but slowed down to a jog and when she spoke her voice wasn't even breathless "Have you not been exercising? I am not even running at my full speed."

Diana gasped for air and closed her eyes, a tired and relieved smile graced her face when she felt her breaths become normal. After opening her eyes she gave Taemia a scowl.

"I get the fact that you are fast. Will you stop rubbing it in?"

"Never," Taemia said with a small smirk. "But I suppose you have been getting faster." She conceded with a smile.

"You are just saying that to make me feel better." Diana protested but nevertheless, a delighted smile appeared on her face and a slightly smug look appeared in her eyes.

Taemia noticed this and gave her a light push "Don't let it get to your head. Just because you are fast for your age doesn't mean that you are the fastest out there. Don't forget that it is a proud head that sometimes makes the most powerful of us lose."

"Remember when I asked for your opinion?" Diana paused her face scrunching up in confusion "Oh wait, I didn't"

Taemia shook her head in amusement and started to run again, she slowed to a jog when she saw a lithe young woman glaring at her.

"Hello Florencia," Taemia said politely when she reached her.

Florencia gave Taemia a disdainful look twirling her umbrella between her fingers. She wore a long evening blue kaftan with shimmering stones that looked like stars and her midnight black locks had been combed and set up in an exquisite bun with a few curls hanging down her face.

In other words, she looked ready for a masquerade ball.

Diana looked at Florencia and her lips curved downwards. She didn't hate Florencia she just disliked her, immensely.

Okay, so maybe she did hate her but it hadn't always been that way.

There had been a time when she had looked up to Florencia. It was hard not to love her. With her deep blue eyes and fair skin, she looked ethereal. Everyone liked to look at her, everyone admired her, and their heads turned when she passed by.

Diana had always looked up to the princess and had aspired to become like her too. She had begun to sit for hours in front of the vanity, hiding her flaws, having her hair curled just like Florencia and even trying to dress like her.

She had been foolish, young, and naive.

This all changed the day Diana saw Florencia and Aveille, Florencia's personal chambermaid who wasn't much older than her. They had been sitting on a picnic blanket under the blossoming trees, Diana had been forbidden to come near them for they were six summers older than her.

But Diana was not one to listen to her elders and in order to not miss out on anything, she had hidden behind the large blossoming tree, eavesdropping and occasionally peeking.

The conversation was uninteresting, Florencia and Aveille exchanged gossip about people Diana had not even heard of.

Just as Diana was about to get up and leave, Prince Zeid of the Secundus palace appeared and Diana sat down again.

Prince Zeid was one of the bravest, toughest, and definitely the most handsome princes from all the houses. He had sharp features, dark black hair but not midnight black, and green emerald eyes. He had an easy charm and was known to be respectful. He was basically the prince from almost every girl's dreams and stories.

Diana once had an inkling of a crush on him but had pulled herself out of it knowing that he was just too old for her and maybe too good. He was the perfect boy, always following orders and Diana didn't think that she could spend her time with someone so used to not messing around and breaking rules.

Diana realized that she couldn't abandon her hiding place and stroll in so she climbed the tree and stared at the trio. She felt guilty and knew what she was doing wasn't morally correct and hoped that the daemons would forgive her.

She saw Florencia smile at the Prince and gestured for him to sit, the Prince did so and for a few minutes they conversed in Ayrith and then the Prince seemed to notice the girl beside Florencia.

Diana wasn't surprised by this. People often forgot that the universe itself existed when they talked to Florencia. What surprised her though was the double-take the Prince seemed to do when his gaze landed on Aveille.

"What is your name, glorya?" Zeid asked in Ayrith giving Aveille a charming smile. Glorya served as a compliment to women in the country of Aerith. No man had ever turned his face away from Florencia before and certainly not called someone glorya in her presence.

Diana stared at Aveille trying to see what it was that had captured the Prince's attention. Diana realized that she hadn't noticed Avielle shimmering red curls, her large green eyes, and her flawless skin before. If compared, Avielle could actually outshine Florencia in beauty.

Diana wasn't sure as to why she hadn't noticed this before and then she realized why. Whenever someone important came, Avielle tried her best to melt into the shadows. She stepped away quietly so that Florencia could bask in the attention. Kind of like what she was doing now and it didn't seem to be working.

Zeid continued to stare at Aveille with an unhidden awe in his eyes, a look that hadn't escaped Florencia. For a second Florencia had just stared with an undescribable look in her eye. Her eyes flickered back and forth between Aveille and Zeid and her shoulders went rigid. Her blue eyes glinted as she stared at them, a second later her body went limp but her eyes stayed sharp.

Diana could almost feel Florencia's wrath as she glared at Aveille as if it was Aveille's fault that she had been born beautiful.

"I am sorry but my chambermaid does not speak Ayrith," Florencia spoke in a soft tone with an emphasis on 'my chambermaid' and an almost unnoticeable edge. Almost.

Zeid looked at Florencia as if he had forgotten her presence and gave her a smile "It's alright" He muttered to Ayrith before turning back to Aveille.

"What is your name?" He asked in a heavily accented Celysa and Diana bit back a gasp of surprise. Zeid was rarely one to converse in a language not his own, even Florencia had spent months learning Ayrith before she could converse with Zeid.

Aveille seemed to be aware of this, for she tried to shrink back in her cloak and began to cast furtive glances at Florencia, gauging her reaction.

But Florencia didn't look back at Aveille and instead stood up and muttered something about an important work before walking away, leaving Aveille and Zeid alone.

Aveille looked at the retreating figure of Florencia looking as if she would follow but Zeid asked another question and she kept sitting there in fear of not offending the Prince.

Diana climbed down from the tree feeling bad for Florencia's wounded pride and ran back to the palace ignoring Aveille's nervous giggles and Zeid's own laugh.

She ran around the palace trying to find Florencia and trying to soothe her when she did. A sudden crash stopped her in her tracks and made her run to Florencia's room.

Diana peeked inside the room and saw Florencia throwing vases and almost anything breakable on the wall in front of her.

Diana wondered if she should go on to comfort her and changed her train of thought when another antique (and probably priceless) glass vase flew and shattered into a million glittering pieces.

Diana quickly tiptoed outside and ran into her room telling herself that it would be over by tomorrow. Florencia would get over herself and it all would alright.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

The next day on her way to the breakfast table, Diana saw Aveille. Her hair was the same, her smile the same but her face, but her face was charred from one side. Black burns decorated what once had been flawless and pretty. Her eyes were swollen as if she had been crying all night.

Diana tried to convince herself that it must have been an accident but the waver in Aveille footsteps, the quiver in her lips whenever she looked at Florencia and the strange look in Florencia's eyes, whenever she looked at Avielle, told her that it wasn't.

Diana stopped worshipping the ground that Florencia walked on and threw her Florencia-like clothes down the drain feeling like it would have been an insult to give them to anyone.

The next time Florencia asked Diana to a tea party with other princesses, a rare event which Diana would have accepted without hesitation, Diana slammed the door in her face.

But still, she didn't confront Florencia, and nor did she protest. For she had never been the type to do that, she had been the one to run from the problem instead. She turned a blind eye to Aveille's pain feeling like the lowest scum on the face of the hearth.

"-Diana? Hello? Anyone still there?" Taemia's voice floated into Diana's ears making her realize that she had blanked out.

"Sorry. What were you saying?" Diana asked shaking her head as if clearing her thoughts.

"What Florencia was saying." Taemia corrected and turned to Florencia. Diana sighed and looked into the icy cold blue eyes of her sister.

"As I was saying-" Florencia gave Diana a pointed look and the slightest of a glare. "-there is a séoir on this furlough and the commoners have been invited to dine with us." Diana noticed the way Florencia said commoners as if they were nothing but little bugs. "Father has ordered our presence at the séoir. I have sent for the royal dressmaker, she will be here when the sun has set. Meet her and decide on your dresses, I had mine made moths go. You see it is-"

Diana had stopped listening at this point and all she could hear was blah-blah-blah-blah-blah in a haughty and proud tone.

She wished that Taemia would intervene and make an excuse but when she looked at Taemia, Taemia was already looking at her with a pleading look on her face.

Diana sighed but complied, it was her turn to make the torture stop anyway.

"Florencia your ideas are amazing. I am sure that your dress will be the most beautiful one in the hall. I would love to stay and talk but you see I have to go get my dress. Oh and let me take Taemia with me, she will help me select my dress."

Without waiting for a reply Diana grabbed Taemia's hand and begin to tug her out of Florencia's sight.

"Are we going to see the dressmaker?"

"Daemons no! Do you think that I just escaped from that wrath to plan my shiny, sparkly grave?" Diana retorted.

"So what are we going to do?" Taemia asked with a light laugh.

Diana felt a small smile grace her face. "Are you up for breaking some rules?"

Taemia felt a smile mirroring Diana's appear on her face. "You know being the elder one, I should not be encouraging you."

"Hush. If anything happens, I'll take the blame alright?" Diana asked thinking about what could go wrong.

***

"We are in so much trouble!" Taemia said sounding panicked.

Diana didn't have a better response so she stayed quiet. They had escaped the palace grounds dressed in clothes that belonged to commoners. They had left their clothes behind the sculpture of Celeste but now the clothes were missing and they were sitting (actually, Diana was sitting Taemia was pacing around looking well.. scared) beside the sculpture feeling miserable.

They had chosen clothes that didn't scream royal but looked important. Besides the clothes had the seal of the palace on them which allowed them to go outside and inside, whenever they pleased.

Diana cursed all of those robbers. Why couldn't they find other stuff to steal?

"What are we going to do?! The guards will never let us in these clothes!" Taemia cried looking panicked.

Diana didn't reply as she thought of a way to try and get out of the mess they had found themselves in. Their clothes which marked their importance were missing. They had been kept behind the statue, in the gap between the statue and the palace wall. Getting out of the palace was always easy, no one cared about two girls dressed in servant attire leaving, it happened all the time.

Had the guards not been changed from the time they left, they may have recognized them and let them in but Diana knew that wasn't a possibility. Diana felt her lips press together in anger, her fists tightened and frustrated tears went down her cheeks.

"Sweet Celeste, are you crying Diana?" Taemia asked noticing her sister's stained cheeks. She swore under her breath and ran a hand through her hair "I am so sorry, I am supposed to be the elder one, aren't I?"

Taemia sighed, sat down beside Diana, and put an arm around her pulling her close "We will get out of this one, I promise okay?"

Diana gave a half-hearted nod. They were going to be okay, they always are. Yet this didn't help to stop the foreboding feeling from spreading in her gut.

"I-I can talk to the guards. I will try to and if we get in, I will handle it all. You don't need to say anything." Taemia said with a burning resolve and a weak smile on her face.

Diana knew what it meant. Taemia was willing to take the blame for her but it had been her fault. She had been the one to convince Taemia to leave the palace grounds and she had never been the one to break a promise.

"Okay," Diana said crossing her fingers behind her back. When the time would come, she would take the blame. It was the least she could do.

"Here it goes." Taemia gave another weak smile and they got up to make their way toward the palace gates.

"Excuse me!" Taemia called out to a guard smoking a cigar. "Can you open the gates?"

The guard had blonde hair and light blue eyes, as soon as he caught the sight of them, he blushed and dropped his cigar, stamping it. He paused as if just realizing their request and looked over them, taking in their ratty old clothes

"Gates?" He repeated. His voice held a note of incredulity in it as he spoke: "For you?"

"Yes. We are the princesses of the kingdom." Taemia said her voice sleek and authoritative. "I demand you to let me in."

"You are?" The guard asked doubtfully glancing at their clothes. "Are you certain?"

Before either of them could reply, a large man with jet-black hair and dark calculating eyes appeared.

"Bran! What is going on here?" He spoke as he peered at Taemia "Who are you, people?"

"I am Taemia Tatterfell Cameria and she is Diana Crescent Cameria," Taemia said, gesturing to Diana as she spoke her name. "Open the gates so we may enter."

"Ah.." The guard said with a nod, a serious expression appearing on his face. He gave a mocking bow. "It's a pleasure to meet my lady. If you would accompany me to the end of the rainbow on my flying pegasus and join me for a drink,"

Taemia turned red as the guards laughed, their voices mixing as one. Her violet eyes flashed with annoyance as she looked at the guards. Before she could let her anger leave in the form of harsh words, a guard pushed past the others.

"I got one," He yelled, his voice changing to a frightened one. He staggered around like a terrified boy as he spoke. "I am Jesperson but I can't fight to save my life. Someone save me. I need a girl to protect me. Help!"

The crowd dissolved in boisterous laughter at his words while the two princesses stood, fuming at his words.

"You are committing treason," Diana spoke, her words sharp. "You will be punished for it."

"Who will punish me, my lady?" The man asked glancing around before his eyes came to rest on hers. "You? Can you lift a sword? Do you know how to use one? Just a tip, the pointy end is the one you attack with."

The crowd laughed and Diana curled her fists, ready to attack when Taemia grabbed her arm.

"Come on. They are idiots. Not worth our time." She spoke, hiding the anger she felt.

"I am going to have them fired for it," Diana muttered, the rage she felt evident in her voice.

Taemia neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement and instead she changed the topic and asked the question that lingered in their minds.

"What do we do now?"

Diana didn't think that she was asking her so she didn't reply and if Taemia was, then she didn't have a reply.

***

Okay, so I might have changed some stuff. I'm sorry if you read the previous version (which was idiotic and chaotic) I might be making some more edits so bear with me, please.