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[color=4169E1]- [I]Pope John Paul II[/I][/color]
[/center][hr][center][b][color=4169E1]Location:[/color][/b] Servants' Quarters (Her Bedroom)
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	It had been a long night for Lyra in more ways than one, and she had hoped that once sleep finally took her it would erase the pain and guilt of failure. Well, it hadn't. As her eyes fluttered open in the early morning hours, for one second, one precious second, she forgot, but as her gaze landed on the spot where the Young Army Commander Gwydion Puck had died, it all flooded back to her. Sure, he hadn't been an honorable man, using children for soldiers certainly disqualified him of that role. Nevertheless, no one person had the right to decide who lived and who died. Puck at the least deserved a fair trial, not an execution. Not to mention the fact that he had been appointed into a position of authority by Queen Valda. By default, that meant she was suppose to protect him, and she had failed miserably at that. It made her feel as if she was ill fit for the title of knight. But, perhaps not even all this was what truly upset. No, what upset her the most was that a small part of her had felt that justice had been served, that the murder was justified and even--[I]satisfying[/I]. What had she become if she thought, even if for a fleeting second, that senseless violence was the way to attain peace? The notion truly sickened her.

	She took in a shuttering breath, before rolling over in bed to stare blankly at the ceiling. In retrospect, her only saving grace from the trauma of last night had been Asha. That woman was truly something else entirely. She would like to think that there was something between them, something more than a friendship, but perhaps that was just wishful thinking. Then again, Asha had stayed behind to comfort her and had even offered to spend the night with her, to which the usually so composed Lyra had been reduced to a blubbering idiot. She let out a groan and covered her eyes with her arm as if that could shield her from that embarassing memory. She was never going to live that down, was she? Probably not. After a few moments of just lying there, she eventually sat up in bed, throwing the covers off of her and swinging her legs over to where they dangled off of the edge of the bed. She absentmindedly ran a hand through the knots in her platnium blonde hair as she looked around her room bleary-eyed. Her gaze eventually gravitated back to that spot marred by death. Puck's ashes had since been removed from the room, but she knew that the memories of that night would last a lifetime. 

	With a sigh, she finally got up and readied herself for the day. Honestly, she wasn't looking forward to it. Puck's disappearance would be noticed, and she knew that no matter how much it would suck she had to report what happened. It was the right thing to do. It would be difficult, but since when was the right thing always the easiest thing to do? As she got herself ready, her mind went back to the shapeshifter family. They had gotten away scot-free, which was yet another blow against Lyra, the so-called knight in shining armor. She rolled her eyes at herself. She most certainly seemed to be wallowing in self pity. As she mentally went over the details of the previous night, something Thalia had said in passing before leaving stuck out. She had stated that Prince Myrus had a variation in his genetic code, which gave him minor control over kinetic energy charging, whatever that meant. She hadn't given her any other details a part from stating that this newfound ability was not life threatening as long as Myrus didn't try to bottle it up. She pursed her lips, not really knowing what to think about that little tidbit. 

	Just then, there was a knock on her door followed by the voice of none other than Asha the [b]Magykal[/b]. She about threw her brush across her room in sudden excitement. [I]Geez, girl. Get a grip,[/I] she thought, shaking her head at herself. She took a calming breath before smoothing out the fabric of her dress and walking over to the door. Opening the door, she gave Asha a warm smile. [color=4169E1]"Morning,"[/color] she greeted chipperly. However, her face quickly fell and even paled slightly as she saw who else had just walked up: [I]the Deputy Hunter Amarantha[/I].