"Doris, sweetie, I've come to a decision. I'll spare Zero for your sake" DG told her daughter after talking with other members of the family for several hours.
"You mean it?!" Doris's blue eyes sparkled.
"Yeah, but on one condition. He's to be protector".
"Cool! Now we really are gonna be friends! Where is he now?!".
"Still locked up. I have to explain all this to him when I go down there to let him out. Hopefully he'll accept the conditions".
"Don't worry mama, he will. He doesn't wanna die yet. He's not afraid to, but he just doesn't want to".
Later, DG went down to the prisons and told Zero what she had come up with.
"You're spared, Zero" she said.
He nodded. "What's the catch?".
"How do you know there's a catch?".
"There's always a catch. What is it?".
"The witch is dead, but her spirit roams now, searching for a powerful, young magic user. Doris is her main target".
"You're asking me to protect her. Why? Why would you put the life of your only child in the hands of a murderer?".
"Doris trusts you. She cares about you, even goes as far as to call you her friend".
"There's nothing I can do against spirits, highness. I can protect her from physical danger".
"You don't need to. Doris wears this bracelet with three charms on it. I'm sure you've seen it before".
"I hate to admit it, but no, I haven't".
"It's silver, looks a bit like a bangle. But at any rate, it has three charms on it: a star with a diamond in the center of it, a circle piece with a diamond in it, and a sunflower with five diamonds in the center of it. The seven diamonds have protective magic in them, but they can't hold off the spirit forever. This is why Doris cannot leave palace grounds".
"She did with Azkadellia" Zero told her.
"There's the key word, Az was with her".
"Then I don't see why I'm needed".
"You're needed because there will be others who will harm her…even try to kill her. We can't let that happen. Which is why you'll protect her until Wyatt and Jeb come back with the Blood Moon Diamond".
"wait" Zero stood, "I have to baby sit Wyatt Cain's spawn?! Oh, terrific!".
"I know you're not too thrilled about it, but she really likes you. She's turned down all others. You've broken that cycle. Please, Zero, you're her only hope".
Zero considered it for a minute. Yeah, she was the daughter of his enemy, but as the queen's daughter, he couldn't risk offending her. That, and he owed her for freeing him. There wasn't another option. Zero nodded.
"I'll protect her…if it takes the rest of my life to do it".
DG opened the cell. "In that case, you're free Zero. Welcome to the family".
A/N: How was that? The stage is now set, let's get on to the good parts!
