Chapter 1

A young woman sat at her table, seeming utterly alone. Her pretty, long silver-white hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, with a few locks trailing out to give her a somewhat regal appearance. Her abnormally long white eyebrows were covered up by the loose strands of hair. The woman was also wearing a long-sleeved, button-up black dress that went almost to her feet when she stood. Underneath the dress was a long-sleeved light green undershirt. Under her eyes, bags showed signs of many sleepless nights, though they were mostly hidden by her round spectacles.

In front of her sat a small golden tiara, lined with shining red jewels. The woman stared at the tiara, her expression slowly growing into one of hatred. Her eyes flickered and head tilted slightly, as though she was listening to something while looking at the tiara.

"Stupid tiara," she muttered. "Horrible, ugly, dumb..." her gaze hardened, and her voice grew a bit louder. "I know you're there! I know you can hear me!"

"Well well well," a soft, male voice only she could hear whispered in her ear. "Look who's getting brave."

The woman kept her pale eyes fixed on the tiara. "Tell me what you did," she repeated her demand, one she had put out many times before.

The voice chuckled in her mind. "Nothing you didn't want at the time," it coed, and the woman leaned angrily back in her chair. "Now, now, Simonne," her glare softened with its voice. "It's just you and me now. No need to worry about those mean people, judging you."

The woman leaned forward, closer to the tiara. She shook her head slightly. "No... you don't really care about me..."

"Oh, but I do," the voice became as sweet as honey, luring Simonne closer. "I've always cared about you. That's why the human had to go."

Simonne frowned, and shook her head violently, breaking away from the tiara's hypnotic voice. "No... You were the one who drove Ben away!" she leaned back, clutching her head. "Ahh! Stop doing that! Stay out of my head!"

She could feel the tiara getting irritated. "I still don't understand what you see in that mortal. He cannot give you the powers of ice, and he just doesn't look right for royalty..."

"I am not royalty!" Simonne snapped. "And Benny was a good man! He didn't deserve whatever you did to him."

"How do you know I did something bad?"

"His face," She let her chin rest on her arms, which were folded on the desk. "I could see it. You made me say something awful, something that scared him away forever..."

"Hmph," the tiara scoffed. "If he loved you, he wouldn't have left. Either way, he's gone now. Like I said before, it's just you and me."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it," Suddenly, Simonne heard a rushing noise. It sounded like an airplane. "Oh, god, no..." she whispered, sitting up quickly.

"Quickly," the tiara's voice hissed. "Put me on, before another barrage hits!"

"No!" Simonne gritted her sharpened teeth and raced into what was now only her bedroom. She snatched up her old hiking backpack and furiously began to stuff it with items. The people of the city had been warned, of course, so she knew what she had to pack. She found a nice pair of her drumsticks and decided they would fit nicely in one of the side pockets. Simonne didn't really know what to after the bombs fell, if she survived, but she still packed what she would need. She strapped a green, rolled up sleeping bag to the top of the pack, then walked quickly out into the kitchen again. She stopped when she remembered the tiara on the table.

"Forgetting something?" she could practically hear it sneer.

Simonne cautiously approached the item. Should she take it with her? Her hand slowly reached out and lightly picked up the tiara, and at the moment she heard a distant but loud whistle.

"No," her voice was small from fear, and she held her arms above her head as the first explosion sounded, far away.

"You fool!" The tiara's voice shouted. "Put me on!"

"No!" she yelled back as another bomb his, closer this time. Everything seemed to rattle as the ground shook.

"DO IT!" the voice shrieked in Simonne's mind, and she put the hand that wasn't clutching the tiara against her aching head.

"Oh god," she staggered as two more bombs hit, only blocks away.

"FOOL!" Simonne could hardly bear it's voice.

"STOP IT!" she shrieked back, jumping as another bomb hit. That one had sounded really close.

"Only when you put me on!" it's voice ripped through her head.

She looked up at the ceiling as the roar of plane engines moved right above her head. "Oh, BREADBALLS!" There was nothing else she could do. Simonne closed her eyes and held the tiara over her head.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as the whistling began, without knowing who exactly she was apologizing to, and she placed the tiara on her head. The whistling and the tiara's laughter were the last things she heard before all went black.