Chapter 1

I watched as two young dragon slayers played in their cribs for the first time being brought home to the castle. "You're going to have a life so much better than mommy's okay?" I whispered sitting on the floor leaning on one of the twins cribs as the door opened several steps brushing against the floor as they walked into the room. As I glanced up towards Ryos who was smiling down at me then turned to see if he could pick one of them up. "Wait, no." I said getting in front of him, startling him.

"Wait, what's the matter?" He asked highly confused as I felt heat rise to my face watching his disapproving look.

"W-w-well...I read that some animals eat their young...um, I don't, I don't know if dragons eat their dragonlings." I stuttered as a smile came to his face as puffs of laughter were escaping that he struggled to keep back.

"Come here" He laughed grabbing me into a hug as he reached for my ear. "Nom" He whispered teeth nicking my ear. "I'm going to protect you...nothing will happen. To any of us."

Those words would soon be hushed in the back of my mind as a loud bang echoing throughout the halls disturbing our desperately fought for peace. A dream from so long ago. I moved myself slowly out of bed attempting not to get dizzy as I walked towards the kitchen, grabbed a snack, and headed back. Artemis and Sting were probably running around breaking things once again. The castle was quiet there were no maids or anyone that had been hired here bustling around with their usual chatter, the castle had magically been shushed making it almost a magical place. I could hear my own steps making their mark in the carpet along our hallways.

I watched the guards while eating my snack. Each guard looked at me, bowed, and returned to their posts. The castle begun to shake as if explosions were echoing throughout its being. Murmurs in the castle had changed from 'doesn't belong' , 'wrong class', 'disturbing Phantom spy' to "My lady!", "Queen?", and "Stay back it's dangerous here!" I glared at the guards whilst heading into my twins' room as the castle begun to shake.

I glanced down towards Riku who was standing in the middle of the room looking up at me wide-eyed with his giant red eyes that were brimming with innocence, they looked so much like Rogue's. "Where's your sister?" I asked Riku who looked towards the floor.

"Is it true?" Riku whispered as I looked down at him.

"Is what true?" I asked as Riku was looking up at me, biting his lip, sadly a trait that he had obtained from me.

"What the villagers say."

"And what do the villagers say?"

"That our side of the family is cursed...that-that the one's with the demon-eyes are the only ones to ever live on this side of the castle...that-that gran-"

I felt my eyes go wide pulling him into my arms. "Shhh...its okay.." I whispered knowing that it wasn't the time for silence. That I should probably explain that the reason his grandmother had died was a terrible accident. I felt my shaking hands tighten around his shoulder trying to figure out a way to explain that his father wasn't a murderer, that his grandmother's tragic death had been a terrible accident, and that his powers would never be a curse but a way to protect someone. "Where did you hear such foolish nonsense?" I whispered wishing they were older before they heard such foolish nonsense.

"Sis asked the other children why the adults all pull away fr-from us." Riku sobbed as I nodded

"Look Mommy's here. Right here. Mommy doesn't have pretty ruby eyes like you two. And mommy's okay isn't she?" I smiled trying to reassure him instead he shook his head.

"No. Mommy gets sick a lot. A lot more than when she was younger...the villagers told me"

I bit my lip attempting to come up with a lie, to avoid telling them honestly that my powers were just raging out of control at the current moment in time. The only one who knew was Rogue while we attempted to find out what was truly wrong with me. I hadn't even brought myself to tell Totomaru or my dear cousin Artemis. I never got a chance to tell Riku that it was a lie as he sobbed trying to figure out what was wrong with him...simply because he was different.

"Get away from my son!" A voice shouted as I spun around thankfully throwing up a shield in time as a shadow echoed around the bright colors as Ryos' eyes went wide as he rushed to me catching my arms to steady me before I fell back to the floor. "I'm so sorry" He whispered as I nodded looking at Riku.

"Riku. Where's your sister?" I muttered as I felt Ryos' hands tighten around my arms, he knew something that I didn't.

"S-she s-said...that she was going out to the garden...b-because she w-wanted to cwear her head." Riku hiccuped as I nodded feeling Ryos slowly place me upon the floor.

"Regain your strength. I'll be right with you. And I'll be back with Rio." Ryos whispered as I nodded. Feeling a rushing of adrenaline echo throughout my being as I watched him pull out the sword that was mostly kept for show for the first time in his life. He had only recently re-equipped that thing with a different outfit that was a baby blue and contained coat tails, white leggings, and boots. Somehow he had managed to look okay in such an outfit. I pushed myself off the ground grabbing Riku as we hurried outside towards where they should've been-it all happened so fast-an ear piercing scream reaching my ears as I watched my cousin's husband suddenly look almost helpless as he reached for his wife...and missed.

I gasped staring towards the window, there was no way something this terrible could happen...not after all we had to do to fight for our freedom all over again. Why would anyone want to take my dear cousin away from me all over again? I stared as Ryos caught up to Sting hurrying out towards the woods as flashes of magic lit the night sky, a wailing screaming echoing throughout the air. "Mommy, Mommy, what's happening to Uncle Sting?" Riku murmured his little hands shaking as he attempted to grasp ahold of my dress with his little eyes staring out the window the capability of hearing better than I could.

"Oh honey...It'll be fine soon...they'll fix it." I whispered trying to stop my hands from shaking and fill my voice with confidence. I glanced towards one of the guards. "Totomaru is to read Riku a bedtime story till I get back. The dragon book third to the left." I stated as the guard's eyes went wide fully understanding as they scurried off to get Totomaru understanding the code I just spoke. I felt my feet burn into the carpet wedging themselves deeply until Totomaru's hair appeared as I nodded towards him, I felt my teeth grind understanding what had to be done now. We had to get my dear little cousin Artemis back. I walked towards the library digging my heels that I struggled to walk in till that very day deeply into the carpet my rage blooming to the surface of my eyes but never managing to leave. I pushed open the door to the library where the two dragon slayers were already gathered. I glanced at Ryos standing in front of Sting who was flipping out in the middle of his mother' library.

"He took one of my dragonlings he's going to pay." Rogue growled as I nodded sitting on the arm of the chair he was sitting in. There were a lot of people who were going to pay. A lot more than they had. And it wasn't money.

"What happened?" I asked, meaning that I would want the situation we were in, in detail as I glanced towards the garden again with the nagging feeling in the back of my mind as I took unwilling glances towards Rogue's arms. Neither of his arms held our precious daughter, the one that was supposed to be out in the garden, the place that Artemis had been kidnapped from.

"Go get some sleep" Ryos whispered as I shook my head, this wasn't time to be sleeping. This was a time to be sending all of the people out and looking for all of them everywhere that we could possibly get too.

"Where's my daughter?" I asked sternly as Ryo's arm tightened his muscles flexed as he looked up towards me with the beautiful red rubies that echoed all of the world's emotions at once. His hand tightening was all I needed to know. All of his emotions were written all over his face, his eyes deepening with a temptation of a plan forming within his head. I felt myself prying, I wanted to hear the words out loud. I wanted to hear "oh, she's just in the garden, I have someone with her." even though I knew those weren't the words that I was going to get no matter what.

"They took her. They took her with Artemis and Peyton."

I took breath feeling it hitch knowing that was what happened. It still wasn't the answer I wanted. I wanted to pry harder. Force him to lie to me and search desperately around the castle for a daughter who wasn't there. I wanted to scream that it was his fault for not checking the garden even though I knew where she was, even if but moments before. How could he have known? I took a deep breath. "I believe in you. Bring our daughter back." I whispered as I glanced over to Sting, Ryos's eyes looking faded as he struggled with his first falling out with his "older brother". "Right now...he probably doesn't like us." I whispered as Ryos shook his head.

"We'll figure it out." Ryos said rubbing his hand threw my hair "Go check on Riku." He whispered as I nodded a reply standing up slowly as I exited the room watching as the two kings begun talking. I couldn't tell Ryos. I just couldn't tell him about the way the twins felt. Not yet. It wasn't fair...for the villagers of all people...for the villagers to tell them that their eyes were demon eyes. I pressed a hand to my chest biting my lip. Everything was going to be okay. It had to be. I walked further down the hallway still within the same corridor that Sting and Ryos were talking in it would've been a straight walk back to them.

"Someone get King Ryos!" A voice screamed as I felt the carpet pressed up against my face.

"Are the twins okay?" I glanced around feeling my eyelids become heavy as I struggled to stand my legs seeming three times the weight they were early that morning.

"Shit! The queen's collapsed!"

Rio- looked like Rogue

Riku-Rogue's eyes but Celestine's hair