[b]Adila I![/b]

Eupheria hits you.

To be fair, that’s because you’re holding her.

To be even more fair, that’s because she’s trying to struggle to her feet and take the Caduceus back, and that would destroy everything in the room, including— perhaps especially— Euphie herself.

She’s the way you remember her. She hasn’t aged a day. She’s gangly and her hair’s full of bouncy curls and she’s old enough to be a queen herself. Just like you, really. When she cries it’s a messy affair full of snot and great big tears rolling down her cheeks and snorting breaths through her upturned nose.

She hits your chest with one long hand, curled up into a shaking fist, and it’s like having a beanbag gently tossed at you.

“I hate you,” she gasps out, broken. “You abandoned me and broke my heart so bad it’ll never ever be fixed. I hate you. I [i]hate[/i] you. Why don’t you love me? Why don’t you kill me? At least then...”

She leans forward into you, blows her nose on your shoulder, and sobs incoherently.

***

[b]Alina![/b]

The room recedes. No; you grow. You lift your chin as you stand radiant in your battle regalia, easily the match of Helya. Your lavender hair cascades down in perfect curls. [i]This is what you want.[/i] Yes. Yes, it is. Maybe now, when Oberon sees you, he’ll take you seriously. He’ll regret stabbing you, rue the day he made [i]that[/i] mistake!

Your crown blossoms, new colors twinkling into place alongside the old: powder blue, sea green, ash grey, burnt ochre, midnight maroon, and the grand centerpiece: radiant diamond. Each and every one has powers you never would have dreamed of wielding! [i]This is what you want. Princesses love lights.[/i]

When you blink, emerald tears run down your cheeks in rivulets, dropping to the floor as tiny, flawless emeralds, until your eyes are wet and soft and whole. Your limbs, instead, become gleaming silver crystal, shaped like ones belonging to a knight you once met. Effortlessly strong! Beautifully shaped! [i]Yes, these are much better than the eyes. The eyes made you sad. These make you want to jump to the sky. This is good. This is right.

You should give everyone else what they want most, too.[/i]

But where to start? Maybe you should pull the void out of Kazelia’s soul; she’d thank you! You could give a curse— no, a [i]blessing[/i], to make Azora a good little princess, guilty forever, groveling at your feet. You could have Helya and Tashanna and Rita as your royal consorts, and give them dresses befitting their new station, glass corsets and translucent silks and dainty veils! You could stuff Adila’s soul full of lights, and lock Adila I and Eupheria in a room until they apologized to each other or made out, and you could make Jessamine twice as strong and fast and nimble, and, and...

***

[b]Kyouko![/b]

When you come to, it’s to a headache that’s already slipping away, rain dripping down your fur, and the sound of Kazelia’s voice. She is more lovely than the nightingale which calls down the close of day, and you sigh happily as you sit up and dust down your dress. Already that silly skirt seems a passing fancy.

Yes, everyone seems enthralled by your destined to be betrothed... at least everyone who wasn’t tossed down or knocked aside in the battle against Eupheria. That’s why you’re the first to notice the wavering in Kazelia’s voice, and the first to notice that Alina is playing a dangerous, dangerous game.

As the King of Ilumina and the Princesses of Askaia and Ilumina gasp in surprise, jolted from their appreciation of Kazelia’s song, you slip a weighted line out of your sleeve. While you’re very sure that Kazelia will be able to handle this... it’s always prudent to have a plan B for pulling it out of her hands.