[b]Kazelia![/b] For Azora? She can’t stand it. Can’t stand its implications. What’s offered. What’s been achieved. She turns with a flick of her cloak and a disgusted sneer and everything starts to fall apart as she leaves, as she fades away, as she leaves you behind— *** [b]Alina![/b] “Of course I do,” Momma says, squeezing your hand, and for a moment, everything is right. The moment doesn’t last. The moment never does. But for a moment... for [i]just[/i] a moment... You have your family again. *** [b]Kazelia![/b] Your memories slip through your fingers like sand. You remember the sound of waves breaking on an endless shore. You remember a frustrated growl, the swirl of shadows. You remember seeing someone crowned in light and glory, and falling in love at first sight. It’s fuzzy, but it’s also deja vu, because Adila? She burns. +Open your eyes!+ Her cloak flutters in the wind and the spray of the fountain. Someone said all those ragged holes were made by the void, which is nonsense, because how could nothing poke holes in something? It makes no logical sense! It makes you want to tug your adorable ponytails! +Absolute power, by its very nature, corrupts absolutely! Without limits placed on her authority, your High Queen must inevitably abuse it!+ It should be unthinkable. That’s what your mother thought! She sent you right out here to set this raggedy street preacher straight, which, come to think of it, it’s kind of weird how the infinite, hungry and lonely void managed to fit herself inside Castle Thessia, much less fuss about Adila and wring her skirts. Where’d she even get skirts that big? Sweat drips off Adila’s forehead and there is a terrible twenty-wagon pileup in your train of thought. +Who holds your [i]princesses[/i] accountable? The queens, certainly. Who holds your queens accountable? Why, the High Queen. And who holds her to account? Who watches the watchman?+ That’s... actually not a bad point. Like, if she’s wrong, then the worst that happens is that the queens have more of an excuse to talk to Ourania and give input on what happens in Hyperborea, right? Maybe, like, a Royal Council or something. And if she’s right... wowie wow, what if she [i]is[/i] right? That’d be the sneakiest place in the whole wide world for a villain to hide herself, right in plain sight! (That’s what your dad did, right? And it almost worked, too. If he hadn’t overextended at the Crystal Gala...) Someone throws a pomegranate and it spatters all over Adila’s dragon-sized shirt. You make the most indignant squeak. You’re not the only one. But that just makes Adila hold her head higher. +You cannot even see your chains! You cannot even [i]imagine[/i] them! You are not allowed to! Come, join the Watch, and together we can expose Ourania to the light! Our light! A thousand candles together can hold back the darkest night!+ You would hold a thousand candles if it meant you got to look at Adila. Listening to her gravely baritone explain shocking and scary plausible theories about Ourania a definite bonus. On impulse, you do a perfect cartwheel up onto the stage next to her, and everybody gasps! She tenses up, looking you up and down. +...[i]princess.[/i] Can I help you?+ “That’s my line, silly,” you say with a giggle, grabbing one of her slogan boards. “I want to know how I can help [i]you![/i] Viva la diva! We will overcome!” +You want to help me?+ Adila tilts her head, narrowing those so exotic starry eyes. Then she grins, a little warily. You really should be paying more attention to that wariness instead of just being over the moon that she’s smiling at you. +That’s right,+ she says, turning to the crowd. +Even your princess agrees with us! With our mission! Come join us, and together we will save Hyperborea!+ Yeah! Now you’re on steady ground. You are [i]all about[/i] saving Hyperborea. *** [b]Adila![/b] “Adila!” +Report,+ you think at your soldier, clambering down off your... pegasus? Yes. Your pegasus, Bellie. She’s so strong, carrying a dragon like that. Must be. Flash would be proud. “The strike force hitting Castle Selenia has returned, General,” your soldier says, saluting with her hand over her chest. “We have Princess Mio in our custody, and have informed her mother that she is to cede control of the kingdom to our forces effective immediately.” +Good work. Be sure to implement the security checks,+ you say briskly. The wonderful thing about holding recalcitrant princesses hostage is that, without fail, they’ll bring their friends into your custody soon enough. You have almost got your Hyperborean irregulars out of the habit of marching off to investigate suspicious noises alone, and the security checks should allow you to apprehend would-be rescuers before they even make it to the stockade. +Dismissed.+ “But Princess Alina...” You stiffen. This was one of her first missions in command. You felt she was finally ready. What happened? “She’s in the medical tent,” the soldier finishes, lamely. “She’s asking for you—“ You’re already moving. Stupid, stupid Adila! You are her general! It’s your responsibility to make sure your soldiers don’t lose their lives in the fight against Ouranian tyranny. Never give them tasks beyond their ability. Never give them too much dangerous information to leak to the enemy. Never put them in harm’s way without a backup plan. Alina trusted you! You burst into the medical tent like a thunderstorm. +I’m here,+ you think frantically. +Where is she?+ “Is that you, Addy?” Alina is lying on a cot, her lavender hair slick on her forehead, her cheeks pale. She’s holding her hands tight over her stomach, her impractically floofy uniform stained almost black around the gash. When she looks up at you, her eyes are unfocused. “I... I have to tell you...” +Shhh, I’m here. Don’t speak. Save your breath.+ Guilt chews up your insides. You should have been there alongside her! You should have used your shield, the one Hanna made for you, huge and black and impenetrable; you should have been Alina’s shield. “Addy...” You lean in close, wanting to remember this brave soldier— this brave follower— wishing there were some way you could save her— She lets go of her stomach and there is an explosion. You fall back on your rear end in stunned horror as... confetti? Streamers? What?? “The strike force had no injuries and succeeded completely, General,” Alina says, sitting up with a silly giggle and saluting. “I did everything like you told me to!” She swings her legs off the cot, smiling broadly. “I was gonna make you wait a little more, but I just couldn’t stand waiting any longer! You looked soooo sad, and I can’t [i]stand[/i] that, Addy!” You are aghast. Flabbergasted. She... you thought she was seriously injured! Does she have any idea how irresponsible and distressing her little prank was?? “But if I really had been,” she adds, tilting her head, “what would you have said to me?” She bats her bright eyes, the ones that make it impossible to stay mad at her, and you sigh. +I would have told you that I would have avenged you,+ you say, resolutely, getting back up on your feet. And you almost miss Alina’s expression turning glassy for a moment before she bounces off the cot and clasps your hand. “Just wait till you see the victory dinner I made!” You sigh and let her drag you along. It’s impossible to stay mad at her, after all. Just like it’s impossible to find the courage and sit down and talk to her about what the two of you really mean to each other, because the thought of her little face falling, or even her withdrawing from the campaign completely... You are fearless in everything else. You’re allowed to flinch just this once. *** [b]Alina![/b] +Just hand it over. I promise, everything is going to be just fine. We’ll fix everything.+ The crown is so heavy on your head. A hot wind whips at your skirts, sand scouring the sides of your Glass Knights flanking you, huge and glossy black, their antlers clawing up at the cloudy sky. You’re tired, Alina. Tired of a stupid war. Tired of watching your friends trying to fight you to defend the status quo. Hadn’t you all agreed that revolution was important? But noooooo, once someone actually achieved the goal, it was all “nooooo, Alina, you’re going mad with power!” Adila’s letter convinced you not to listen to the part of you that’s convinced she’s just jealous she didn’t get credit for winning. For now. Caddy slowly twists under your hands. You can feel the pressure all the time, the buzz of having him in your head making your teeth want to vibrate. He’s so [i]helpful.[/i] He’s [i]learning.[/i] He wants nothing more than to understand you and make things the way you want them and it’s not your fault he didn’t understand at first, that the inside of your head wasn’t what he expected, and it’s not his fault either, and nobody’s [i]listening[/i] no matter how many times you try to explain they won’t [i]listen[/i] just stop and [i]listen[/i] “Alina?” You jerk your head up. Adila was saying things. You nod, because you were listening! Totally! +And once we unpetrify Ourania...+ She’s got a big lead-lined box. You’re not stupid. She’s going to lock Caddy away for being a bad snakes-stick. He stabs panic into your thinkpan at the thought, his want to be useful, and you shoosh him by rubbing his heads. It’s terrible to contemplate, isn’t it? Because you’re still tempted. You really are. Adila’s right when she says you haven’t been yourself, or maybe you’ve been too much yourself, and you need to stop this before everybody in Hyperborea hates you forever and ever for just trying to do the right thing and just not being Adila when you did it. “You’re not going to hurt him, right?” You blurt it out, maybe a little too loudly. “He really is a good snakes-stick, and he’s scared of the dark, so please don’t close the box! And don’t touch him! He’s [i]my[/i] friend!” You approach the box, and Adila backs away as you hold your friend over the box. Okay. You can do this. All you need to do is set him down, and the war’s gonna be over. That’s all you need to do. Just let go. Adila won’t close the box. She [i]can’t.[/i] And that’s when you hear Zipatoot buzzing in alarm. The poor dear’s worrying her head off, zipping this way and that! +What is that?+ Adila’s voice has an edge to it that makes you wince. “It’s just my Zipatoot, she’s scared! Probably because she sees you and me and thinks— I’ll be just a moment!” Adila is saying not to go, but she’s [i]not[/i] your commander anymore. [i]I want to get to Zipatoot![/i] Caddy responds by thrumming in that satisfied way and pop! You have little wings on your ankles! You flutter right up to Zipatoot and cradle her mirror head. “Shoosh, shoosh, widdle Zipatoot. It’s all right, Mommy’s here. What’s the matter?” And Zipatoot, bobbing up and down on her pretty glass dragonfly wings, shows you in her mirror face. You see Adila’s soldiers, carrying nets, and witches from Hecatia, carrying serious-looking wands, and you see them hiding in the Bazaar. They’re here. They’re [i]here.[/i] She asked you to come without your army and she brought hers anyway to capture you so you can be punished for the rest of your life. I trust the princess I care about to do the right thing, she said. What a big fat stupid lie [i]that[/i] was! +Euphie?+ how dare she how dare she how dare she how dare she how dare she how dare she how dare she how dare she how dare she “Everything’s fine.” You’re floating down. You’re floating over a sea of fire and fury. Caddy’s confused drone is bigger than all of Hyperborea crammed in your head. When you explode you’re gonna be the biggest brightest most beautiful set of fireworks in all of Hyperborea and won’t everybody feel sorry for you then??? “My silly widdle Zipatoot just didn’t understand what was going on. She was scared you were going to hurt me.” You look her in the eyes that aren’t there. “But you’re not.” You smile like glass, so easily broken. “Because you trust me. And I trust you. And once this is over, we’re going to go back to being bestest friends, right?” liar liar liar liar liar liar this whole time this [i]whole[/i] time lie about armies lie about Ourania lie about feelings lie about everything lie again you [i]dare[/i] her LIE AGAIN GO AHEAD DO IT +That’s right.+ liar liar liar [i]pants on fire[/i] A thin streak flashes out from the tip of Caddy, towards Adila and her stupid little friends, going so far and so fast, and then it explodes! Boom! Pow! How’s that for fireworks?? Then everything is chaos and Adila is yelling for her friends to come and save her while you and Caddy bring her whole world tumbling down on her head in fire and sand and won’t that teach [i]her[/i] a lesson, huh? “I’ll never forgive you, Adila!” Your Glass Knights are stomping on a witch and poor widdle Zipatoot is under a net and they cracked her mirror and you are going to punish them all [i]so much.[/i] What you did to Ourania is going to look like small potatoes! You’re going to make Adila say how silly and bad and terrible she is all the time instead of what she wants to say! You’re going to trap all of those nasty soldiers inside mirrors and then drop the mirrors down stairs! You’ll make Adila dance ballet on puppet strings for the rest of her life and then never show up to her dance recitals and she’ll have to tell everyone what a horrible person she is while she does it!! She wants to be the hero? She wants to make everybody hate you for doing what she couldn’t?? Then you’ll be the very worst, just for her!!! “I’m never ever not in a million years going to forgive you, and you! are! [i]the worst friend!!![/i]” *** [b]Rita![/b] There’s one surefire way to handle the world going really, really weird, and that’s just to ride the wave and not make a scene until you end up someplace where you can put yourself back together. You’re [i]Askaian.[/i] You have had a lot of practice at this. So when you end up dropping right on your little kitty butt next to everyone else right on the cold stone floor, you close your eyes and count the number of limbs you have until you get the same number three times in a row, and then you open your eyes. Oh. Uh. You’re still not on the bad trip, right? This certainly feels more solid and real than the flashbacks to Summerveil and then that bit where you were screaming for Lina to come out and face you while you hit exploding golf balls into the walls of Hobling Keep, all the while surrounded by an army of really freaky dudes. Yeah, yeah, don’t trust anything the incense shows you about a relationship, it’s just as likely to blow your fears out of proportion as your hopes, but... you don’t really feel that Alina’s hiding behind walls? Heck no. She’s tearing them down between the two of you. Right. Yeah. Tentacles. Focus on that. There are a bunch of slimy black tentacles in bronze armor coming out of the walls and the floor, doing their best to crush Eska (boo! hiss!) and, oh, oh Ourania, Dandy’s still tied up and rolling around frantically between really meaty tentacle slaps on the floor around her. Some princess needs to do something to help! But everyone else is still really, [i]really[/i] spaced out and trying to put themselves together. You huff and turn back into a cat, the better to get to her without getting hit. A princess’s job is never done! As you charge valiantly towards her, claws at the ready, you can’t help but notice the trail of ruined tentacles Azora Howl’s leaving in her wake as she flies at high speed towards the bier in the back of the room. The bier where a young princess lies in a glass casket, hands pressed over her stomach in gentle repose, and over her bobs the same really ominous scepter that Ourania told you about, and wait, [i]this[/i] is the tomb of Eupheria? Well, that explains a whole lot. Oh hairballs.