Author's note: Phew! We got Nova out... finally.

*PTSD Trigger warning for this chapter* If PTSD is a new term for you, I am glad to be the one to make you aware of it. So, google it after this chapter, for more clarity or just drop by in my DM or comments. Our protagonist was not a born hero. She has abandonment issues *points to the Chief.* The way she tackles the racism, the same way people around her will tackle her trust issues. I don't know why I felt the need to explain this. But well, yeah.

***

The palace never ended! It recoiled around itself, twisted in uncountable passages, opened into several unused, yet gorgeous rooms, went up and down through staircases that all looked the same, and spiraled my already unhinged self into eternal dizziness.

I just wanted to go to the library!

And here I was, looking at what seemed to be a dusty old storage room.

Asking the house-helpers, was out of question, for they looked at me as though I'd leap out of my skin and bite them in the throat and suck out their life source.

Going to the balcony, with a view of the Winter gala's festivity, was a completely barred option as well, and I realized how much I missed the sunshine's warmth and the evening's chill, just being in the palace for two days. It was coming to an end. And I had only visited the greenhouses once!

Three days from now and the sky would light up like a bride, marrying the man of her dreams.

Three days and the Winter Realm's shooting stars would bless the earth.

Three days and the Conquest would end.

Three days and the next Conqueror would be crowned.

Three days and the Throne of the Four Realms would arrive!

Amelia had wanted to see it, I reminisced, and I knew I had never been so right about not giving into her tantrums. She wasn't here - a relief - but hopefully she'd be safe with Uncle Barak - he adored her like a daughter anyways.

I closed the door of the storage room and walked on, not knowing where the beautiful marble floors of the palace guided me. A friendly presence approaching me, my instincts announced, yet some part of my mind still reeled with wayward thoughts.

"Eleni, dear, are you quite done with all the exploring?"

I turned around with a tired shrug, my voice almost a whine, "I am lost, Your Highness. Why is your palace so big?"

Lord Orlon laughed through his chest. He was tall, and his broad figure should have intimidated me. But it didn't - in just two days, he felt like Uncle Barak with a crown, just with a warrior-build. I apologized to the Throne for having judged him so harshly and I realized all the royals had two different personalities, eerily like the Gemini twins.

His brown eyes crinkled, and he extended his arm. "What are you looking for, Milady?"

Shy, I gulped, but linked my arm with his, "Library, of course."

"Of course, of course." I heard the smile in his voice as we walked side by side.

Once we rounded a corner, I was finally able to take in the beauty, without worrying about bumping into a scared house-help or opening the door to a servant chamber or landing myself onto some restricted floor. Three enormous arched windows passed us, the middle one's pane open, and I let myself inhale the coastal smell of Winter Realm's evening breeze.

Without stopping to think, I raised a hand. A seed buried deep under the palace's soil said hello to me and I snapped my fingers. An emerald-hued shoot sprung out of the wall's edge and pirouetted until it coiled itself around the open pane. An ivy!

"Girl!" The Summer Lord attached to my arm gasped.

"What? There are no plants in the palace." I said and pursed my lips.

"Well, t-they are outside. Lots of them. In the backyard." He harrumphed.

"Can I go outside?"

"Do you not want to see the library?"

He patted my arm with his other hand, when I didn't drop my frown, "That's what I thought. Come on, now."

We climbed down a staircase of another section of the palace, and I controlled the urge to peer at their family portraits, lest I asked him a question and dampen Lord Orlon's cheery mood, having already done the damage of sprouting up a green ivy in his red palace.

"This is Doran's study!" I said as I recognized the intricate door, the door behind which he had kissed me a few hours ago. My face reddened yet again. I wished he would hurry back from whatever, rash-driving thing, that I assumed he was up to.

Lord Orlon was saying, "And here, is his private library." I almost heard a wink in his voice, as he pulled me forward to the diagonally opposite door.

"Are we allowed in here?" I asked, as I peered inside.

"Eh, let us be the rule-breakers for once!"

I chuckled and stepped inside and inside was magnificent! Right above my head, was a sumptuous crystal moon-like chandelier, radiating the place with a glow that resembled... Doran's. The floor beneath my feet was stony, yet a musky smell of ply rose from it. Lining the walls, were beautiful works of art - sculptures of women laughing on the streets, an abstract art of a Fire Dragon roaring, a bright display of a volcano bursting, a beautiful green meadow with a stream close by, and so many more that my sight couldn't take all in at once.

"This feels like a...museum," I said.

Lord Orlon stepped aside from me, and walked over to the rows of bookshelves to our left. "Sure does."

Following him, I called out, "The paintings are beautiful."

"Sure are. Let's sit. I am tired from walking the entire length of the palace."

He sat around a long, circular table, at the end of the library. A large semi-circular shelf, with books neatly stacked back-to-back, enclosed the table from one side. and I sat across him. I only had to turn around in my seat, and the shelf zoomed in and slid open its doors. "Wow!" I muttered as I sorted through the books that the shelf had provided me with. I found a familiar children's book, from which I used to read bed time stories for Amelia, and retrieved it.

"This is ingenious." I looked at Lord Orlon, wide-eyed.

"Milan."

"He had a way with magic."

"A little too much."

I leaned forward, "I am sorry for your loss, Your Highness."

He raised his head, a wistful smile on his lips, "And I am sorry for yours. Egan would've adored you."

I did not let my hands shake, or my eyes blur, as his words hit me. "He was my friend, and extremely worthy of the Throne. I never understood why he didn't come for the Finale. He'd have won. But now I see why." He smiled affectionately, "Because he had more beautiful things in his life than just a throne."

I licked my lips, absorbing the information. "But he left Ralph." I whispered.

"Yes, biggest mistake. The boy would've had a better..." He stopped, and sighed, and I wished he hadn't.

"Anyways, you know Doran's mother was a painter."

I blinked my eyes at him, "Are they hers, the paintings at the front?"

"Some, yes. Some, not."

"They are all...beautiful."

"Yes. Thank you." He nodded to himself; a hazy blur of memories seemed to pass through his eyes. And we sat in silence, a comfortable one.

"Your Highness..." I started, unable to hold off, "What if others find out you have been sheltering me? Does it not bother you that I am a Luesha?"

"It might if you suddenly attack me. Are you planning to?" He laughed and a small dimple appeared on his chin, making him seem somewhat younger in the moment.

"Not yet," I said, smiling wide.

He continued, "And if someone does find out, then well, you are the Summer King's sister. Also, your Autumn Queen somewhat trained you, as far as I've gathered. Bless them both."

My hand flew to my mouth, stifling a gasp.

"And, I have given up the responsibilities as the ruler. So, the worst of all will be on the High Lord's head. He brought you here, after all. And a large assorted crowd, tagging along."

Doran would take the burn of it all?

"I am so sorry..." I whisper-screamed, my eyes blurred all of a sudden. He had strived to protect his son with all his might and...

"Oh, don't be, child. I'm glad you're here. I was just messing with you. I'll handle it... for all of them if it comes to that." He smiled, reassuringly.

Child, my heart clenched around the word.

After a few moments of overthinking and debating, I asked, "Did the...plant bother you, Your Highness? My E-Earth magic?"

"Maybe." Pat came his reply.

"Do you want me to remove it?"

He scratched his stubble and rose up from his seat. I had blundered, indeed. I should have asked for his consent before letting my magic out, that he considered as the enemy power. After an excruciatingly long pause, he replied, with his back turned to me, a hint of restrained amusement dripping in his voice, "Not yet."

I grinned from ear to ear, squealing silently.

***

Stay in the palace.

That's all he had said to me, before he dashed out of the door looking like he'd stumble and drop down to the ground any moment. My half-sibling.

Ralph had a history with drinking, Lord Orlon had told me over dinner. Something to do about his mother, but he had been vague. Were these his fiends growing up? I had never seen his rage directed to me, and the image of it didn't seem to leave my mind. His eyes had been so... angry. I shouldn't hold it against him. He wasn't himself. But he could have tried, just a little.

I sighed and recalled how he had stood up for me against everyone in the ring. That was him, this wasn't. I chanted in my head - He won't abandon you, Eleni.

Where would I go, if the King of the Summer Realm turned his back on me?

Una had crossed a line when she spoke about my father! Was she on edge or was it impossible to bring her out of her hateful inhibitions? How had she accepted me with my fire, even having known about me since a long time? Would the two Realms never see eye to eye? If she hated Ralph, then would she...

Where would I go, if the Queen of the Autumn Realm turned her back on me too?

"You did not eat, dear, and now you are simply twirling the wine glass. This is not done." Lord Orlon's gruff voice reverberated in the silent dining hall, while the only sound had been of our frequently alternating sighs. The game of chess, that he had tried to teach me after dinner, lay half-played on the table ahead of us, for we both were too distracted by Doran's absence.

"He really didn't say where he was going?" I asked. Again.

Lord Orlon frowned, "Heavens, dear, no!"

I spoke through a sip. "It's getting late." My feet tapped under the table, as I looked at the midnight's sky rolling over outside the windows.

"Well, it's Doran. He comes and goes when he wants. Does what he wishes. Zero regard for..." he swirled a hand around the dining table, "this."

"He wears all colors of clothes, but never red. And today was a black day, apparently." Lord Orlon grumbled some more, and it was almost comical how he whined, but my mind halted at black.

"Black what? Black clothes?" My eyes popped out of my head, "He what?"

Right on cue, a sharply dressed house-help came running towards us. "The Lord is here." She bowed; her eyes open wide. Her flustered self, scared the living daylights out of me. Lord Orlon had already risen up from his seat, pulling his serviette roughly, and walking off. One sharp nod at me, and he told me to stay where I was.

I looked at the woman, once he was gone. "Is he okay?"

She took a step back.

"I asked, is he okay?"

She trembled, "H-He is not alone."

I stood up, annoyed, "That doesn't answer my que-"

A loud roaring of running footsteps outside the palace, told me that the security was tightening yet again. And I looked at the entrance to the dining area.

Doran walked in as if he had just returned from a midnight walk.

I took in his black leathered clothes, and to my horror, I found blood swipes clearly marked. I opened my mouth to ask, but another figure emerged from behind him, dressed in a thick black hooded cloak.

He raised his hood and a whirlwind of emotions attacked me. My breath hitched in my throat, eyes widening. My legs having a mind of their own, retreated back rapid and quick, until my ankle hit a settee and I stopped. Breaths ragged, I blinked my eyes and clutched the fabric of my dress at the stomach.

Neo was here! He had found me!

"Eleni! It's Nova." Someone said. My palm ached.

The face who laughed at me, mocked at me, growled and sucked the blood out of me - the image of the dead guards' lying in a pool of blood flashed in my head, Serena's stricken face with a dagger inch apart from her throat, Ralph spiraling down into abyss, Una's sorrowful face after Spikes' death - everything flashed in my head. Suffocating and painful. Neo had found me!

The hazel eyed-man took a few stunned steps back and averted his gaze from me. Someone clutched my arms and attempted to turn me towards them. "Eleni, listen to me." - Doran's voice - "It's Nova. The one you scried for. The one you voted for to be your King."

The firm grip that I had managed to keep on my slipping insanity, tugged at me - Nova! - Begging me to snap out of it. Because, this wasn't that face. This face was full of despair. This face was guilty. This face was poignant. This face ached with the gloom of isolation, of imprisonment.

There was a difference, now that I looked closer  and deeper. Deceptive appearances, was all it was. Even with the same face, same golden hair, same set of eyes, same muscular build like his twin, there was a softness in his face, a pull that assured you this person was trustworthy, one whom you could trust with your life.

No wonder Neo's masquerade had carried on so long.

I let out a shuddery breath, the palace floated back into vision, the chairs, the table, the game of chess. I sensed Doran's familiar touch, the heat of the chandelier above my head. I snapped out of it. This was Prince Nova. King Nova.

Guilt. Guilt. Guilt. That was all I felt. I had treated him just the way the servants in the palace treated me. Like a creature to be afraid of.

Doran's hand still clutched at my elbow - I took hold of my senses and curtsied, out of habit, "Your Majesty." My heartbeat never had been so thunderous, as they were in the moment, while I put on an elegant show of normalcy. But I knew that the damage was done.

Prince Nova did not look at me, eyes lowered to the ground. His sharp jaw clenched, the hard swallow at his throat unmistakable, his fists tightened together. In the moment, even the tall shadow of his broad figure wasn't scary. "Doran," he said with the low raspy rumble of his voice, "Upstairs?"

"Yes. Let's get you..." Doran's voice shook as he took a step ahead.

"I know the way. I remember. Same as your Summer Realm's Palace, this." Prince Nova gave him a tight-lipped nod and walked away, hurried and perturbed. Leaving a reek of deathlike stillness in his wake, as his black cloak followed his trail.

He stopped halfway on the staircase and looked down at me. He opened his mouth once, and closed, and lowering his gaze, he whispered, "I am sorry, miss."

And before I could say anything, he jogged off.

Doran let out a huge sigh by my side, "Eleni. I should've warned you. I didn't think this through. I am so sorry. Are you okay?"

I turned to look at him, his face flushed and needlessly guilty, "I should be sorry. I just offended him. What's wrong with me?"

"Hey, it's not your fault, Eleni. Nova understands."

And a musky fiery smell hit me, his - "Doran! You saved him!"

He roved a hand through his velvety hair, and my eyes caught the sliced and bloodied skin of his knuckles, "Someone had to."

And I had a feeling that no one other than him might've succeeded.

I pointed to the blood on his clothes.

He shrugged, "Not mine."

"Liar."

"I am fine, really," Doran chuckled and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. Liar.

Doran had come back safe, snatching the devil's precious treasure, right from under his nose. It could've gone horribly wrong, but it didn't. How would Neo react once he finds out?

I swallowed hard, and Doran took my hand in his and walked me to my room. And left with a soft teasing kiss on my knuckles.

***

I woke up, drenched in sweat. The nightmares were getting pretty lame by this point. There was a devil, there was an angel. He wore black, she wore white. He sucked blood, she hollered in pain. He thundered his power and she... her powers didn't comply.

I wiped the sweat off my brow and upper lips. Why wouldn't my powers come out if I commanded them? Of course, they would. Anytime. Anywhere. Anyhow. I rolled off my bed, shirking off the thick duvet. The darkness in the room told me it was past midnight.

I looked at myself in the mirror attached to the wall in the washroom of my room. My lips were pink, instead of chapped, my ivory skin glowed in the wintery weather, dark hair silken and grown tad longer - curling right above the dip of my hips, the black eyes of my reflection peering back at me, and my face smiled. Sad yet hopeful.

Sleep wouldn't come again, I reckoned and I picked up the book from the nightstand that I had brough back from the library. Pulling the lever of a crystal ball, next to the book, I let my eyes focus onto the soft light that emanated out of the Summer Realm's device. Light magic. My eyes fell on Doran's kerchief and I tied my hair back with it. Smiling to myself, I opened the book.

Now that I knew Ralph must be back at his home, Una at hers, and Serena at the embassy, Doran and Prince Nova in the palace with me, and Lord Orlon being the kindest of all, what did I have to worry about? My job had been done. I could go to sleep and let them handle the mess. They were the royals, the Defensors, the ones in power, the saviors. And I was just a mere Corresponder, running from the law.

What was I looking for? Peace? A few silent moments?

Would I ever get that? No.

For in the next moment, I felt the walls around me shake and the pages of my book flew violently. I squinted at the whirlwind, and rose up on my bed, peering at the window. Was another thunderstorm on its way?

Well, the thunderstorm was on its way to me alone.

A white light started to glow in the center of my room. And I perked up.

I had seen the light, the whole of the Conquest had, the entire Four Realms knew who it belonged to.

Forced to squint my eyes, as the energy shell started growing brighter with every passing moment, I dared not move, I dared not breath. The crystal lamp on my nightstand flickered and its light died.

The portal pirouetted and I braced myself, body numbing with fear and readying itself for whatever was to come. Hands raised, my magic on the tip of my fingers, I cackled my knuckles in vain. The book dropped to my lap covered in a duvet.

This light sorcery, in the hands of the devil had suddenly become dark.

With bated breath, I waited for him to appear through the crack of space. That's what he did, switched places with his twin in the duels. Made him fight and take the credit. Devil!

He had indeed found me.

The portal glowed like a sun in the room which suddenly seemed closing in on me, but I stayed put. I won't be scared again. Not ever. Maybe it was just another nightmare. If he comes out of the portal, I'd fight him. He had only one element, and I had two!

And just as abrupt the arrival of the white shell of energy was, its disappearance was even more abrupt.

It vanished sucking the air around it, with a whoosh, making my duvet flung from my body, taking the book along with it. Disappeared. The book had disappeared through the portal.

My forehead furrowed in question. Nothing happened. No one came?

But when the crystal lamp flickered back, illuminating the room like a moon on a night devoid of it, I noticed a small box lying on the floor. Right where the portal had paid a quick mysterious visit. Frantic and afraid, I jumped from the bed and picked it up.

The small intricately designed wooden box, was warm in my hands, still pulsing with the aftereffect of the Ancient Sorcery. I opened its latch with trembling fingers, plopping back on the edge of the bed.

Inside was a blue sundial. Tied on its rod was a lacy white ribbon.

My heart stopped. The ribbon was familiar like my own skin. There were many such back at home.

As I pulled out the sundial, I was surprised how I hadn't fainted yet with the implication. But I wished in my hearts of heart, that I was wrong. It couldn't be.

There was a note under the beautiful blue sundial, which I had envied many moons ago. Putting the box and the sundial on my lap, I unfurled the twice-folded parchment -

Nooooo!

The door to my room opened with a violent thud. "Eleni, what just-"

With mind numb and vision blurred, I raised my head from the letter to look at Doran, standing in the doorway, panting with fast breaths.

The letter burnt in my hands and turned to ashes, sprinkling ominously on my lap. My own magic. I had lost all my control. I had lost everything.

And it all came rushing back to me -

The bargain. The deal.

"Doran," I spoke, my heart numb, "He has my sister."

"He has my Amelia."