After being asked to leave a second time, Sky and Bloom knew well enough that it wasn't worth it, walking all the way to the waiting room just to be called back in in about 10 minutes. So instead, they had each pulled a chair out and sat against the wall in the corridor. Joel was still in need of supervision and every now and then, the doctors advised that he be given space whilst they checked his medication and that he be given a chance to rest. He hadn't even lived a full day yet, and it could be weeks until either of them would be able to hold him. However, Bloom knew that all of this was necessary, to give him his best chance. She kept telling herself that everything would sort itself out in time. They had to remain optimistic. If they didn't, everything would surely fall apart.

"So, have your parents gotten back to you?" Sky asked now.

Bloom had sent a telegram from the hospital the night before, telling her parents the news, that her child was born but with certain complications. She repeated everything the doctors had told her onto the paper and sent it off. She had hoped for a quicker reply, but nothing yet.

She shook her head. "Nope. Soon though, I hope."

Sky nodded. "I talked to my father this morning. I hoped that it would be mum on the end of the line, but that was wishful thinking. Dad still runs everything. You'd think after all these years he'd give us all some space. But he's still the same man he always was. He just...doesn't see things the way I do. He never has."

Frowning, Bloom shifted herself round to face Sky properly. "Wait, are you saying that your father isn't...happy for us? That's his grandchild in there Sky!"

"No, no, it isn't that!" He leapt to his father's defence. "It's just that he went straight on to talk about me and you becoming the King and Queen of Eraklyon, how we would be an official royal family. He told me of all the training I would have to put Joel through, all the preparation towards him becoming Crowned Prince of Eraklyon. I don't want that, Bloom. I want to be a father. Not some royal supervisor! I want to teach Joel the important things in life, the things that truly matter. When I'm King, I want to be able to rule how I want to, with compassion. For both my kingdom and my family." He reached over and held her hand. "I don't want to be Erendor to Joel."

Bloom sighed. Sky and Erendor had never seen eye to eye, that had always been clear. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she'd always hoped that if anything could bring them closer, it would be their child, Erendor's grandchild. Clearly not.

"That's a long way away, Sky." She said finally. "There'll be plenty of time for that, plenty of time for everything. But for now...baby steps." She pointed a finger at him and added, "Pun intended."

He smiled and she laughed, resting her head on his shoulder. Both jumped at the sound of Bloom's phone ringing. She rummaged in her bag, and fished her cell out from the bottom of it. Sky watched her intently. He raised his eybrows questioningly and she nodded.

"It's them." She confirmed.

Answering the call, a hologram of her mother, Marion, appeared in front of her. Bloom's face lit up at the sight of her.

"Mum!" Bloom greeted.

"Hello Bloom dear." Her mother smiled.

"You got the letter then?" She asked.

Marion nodded. "Sure did. Oh Bloom, how are you handling it? It all sounds a bit too much..."

"Believe me it was." Bloom sighed. "But I can see him now. Makes it all easier to bear."

Nodding again, Marion took a deep breath and looked around herself. She held a hand to her face, distracted.

"Mum?" She couldn't help but worry. "Is everything alright? You seem out of it...nothing's happened, has it?"

Marion forced a laugh. She was trying, but the mask was slipping quickly. "You're always worrying about something or other. I'm fine, sweetheart. Everything's fine okay? And if it wasn't, you just leave me to worry about it, alright?"

She frowned, but despite herself made a small smile and nodded her head. Sky was looking awkward behind her, not wanting to get in the way of the mother-daughter bonding time. Maybe it was her who was out of it. I guess she was still shook up a bit. Shooting Sky a defeated look, he came closer to her, so Marion could see him.

"Ah, Sky." Marion said, clearly surprised by his sudden entrance. "How's everything on Eraklyon?"

"Um, I'm pretty sure it's all fine. I've not heard much from Dad lately, so nothing too serious. Family first now, right?" He grinned.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it."

Bloom smiled sadly. "You're sure you're okay, Mum?"

Marion smiled back. "Bloom, I'm fine. Trust me, nothing's happened, everything is-"

"Your Majesty!" A voice cried in the background.

Marion whipped her head round to see who had called her. Bloom longed to see who it was too. They didn't sound happy, that was for sure.

Marion's most devoted maid, Cora, appeared by her side. She opened her mouth to speak, but the Queen held up her hand, silencing her.

"But, Your Majesty-" Cora tried again.

Marion turned her ear to the girl, who whispered furiously in her ear. She nodded a few times, then sent Cora back down the corridor.

Bloom gave her mother a questioning look. "What? What's happened?"

"I'm sorry dear, private business...you understand right?

"No, I don't!" Bloom cried.

"Hey...calm down..." Sky tried.

"It's all under control." Marion assured her.

"What is?" She pressed.

Marion opened her mouth, but sighed when she realised she didn't know what to say. She had no excuses. "Look, Bloom, all you need to worry about now is your own family, your son. I will worry about everything else, okay? I will worry about my business. Now, I really have to go. I'm sorry, but that's just how things have to be. I love you, Bloom. I'll talk soon."

"Mum, wait-" Bloom called.

But Marion had hung up, the hologram zapped back into Bloom's phone.

"Bye." She whispered.

"I'm sure everything's fine." Sky said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You'll see. It'll sort itself out."

"I hope so." Bloom agreed.

And yet Bloom couldn't push away the nagging feeling that something was seriously wrong. Gut instinct had been her most trustworthy companion over the years and she wasn't going to let go of it, especially now, when she had more than her own life to protect.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

The only window was high above her head, and it was a small one at that. There was no way she could ever reach it, and if she did, there was even less of a chance of her being able to get through it. The tiny spear of light that managed to force its way into the darkness lanced down in front of her, illuminating the thick dust that hovered in the air. If she pushed herself forward, she might be able to get a little warmth from it, but she preferred to stay in the shadows, hiding her face. Her wrists ached from the heavy shackles that were wrapped around them, hanging her from the wall. They were so tight, and they stretched her arms high above her head, cutting into her flesh. They weakened her. Every hour drained her even more. The walls were cold and damp, but she didn't feel it anymore. She didn't feel anything at all. Apart from the anger at what had become of her. She wasn't made for this. She should be ruling as queen, but, of course, all that changed a long time ago. No one believed her love was true, but it was, and all of her jealousy was sparked by that love. She had heard of the saying, 'If you love something, let it go.' Whoever came up with that had clearly never experienced what love is. She'd never heard anything more stupid in all her life. She was the worst criminal in all Eraklyon, locked up in a cell deep underground. No one could help her now. Not even herself. She'd gone from being the King's Liaison to the most wanted criminal after an act of treason against the future queen, a title she should be holding! She couldn't understand why Sky didn't love her. Diaspro had it all. She was beautiful, clever, funny, interesting...his parents could see that (after all, they had chosen her to be his bride) so why couldn't he? And Bloom? Ugh! She was pathetic. She'd destroyed Diaspro's happy ending, just to get her own. As far as she was concerned, Bloom was the one who should be locked away. She had been cut off from the world around her. She didn't even know what season it was anymore, what month, or day. How long had she been here for? Your guess was as good as hers. The only human contact she had was the guards that came down once every two days to throw her some food even the pigs refused to eat. Many times she had considered giving up, but if she did that, then how would she ever escape? At least when she died, she'd know she'd at least tried to show everyone that they were wrong, get out of this hell hole. Footsteps sounded, clunking down the steps that led to her cell. she stood up straight, trying to look as dignified as she possibly could.

"Diaspro?!" He called out, his voice echoing with the dripping ceilings. "Are you going to speak to me today? You know I just hate to see you in such a state, but I think I have something to cheer you up." His voice mocked her mercilessly. She rolled her hands into fists, biting her lip. Oh, how she wished she could be free, even if only for one minute, and she'd blast him into the middle of the next millennia. "I bring news from your dear old...acquaintance, Prince Sky!"

He reached her cell, opening the heavy iron door and walking confidently into the light. He dropped a pile of rotting food at her feet. Her amber eyes gleamed menacingly from the darkness, and as they narrowed at the guard, he smirked evn more.

"I'll take that as a 'yes, I'd love to hear all about the latest news from the outside world, which I've been cut off from because my ex never loved me and ran of with some babe, leaving me to rot'..." He said in a sarcastic sing song voice. Diaspro snarled, and the guard raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "I believe that is the first time you've broken the silence! I am shocked. Anyway, do you want the good news, or the bad news?"

Diaspro remained silent, her gaze fixed on him. She couldn't be bothered to listen to his annoying voice for much longer. In fact, she was never bothered.

"Well, I guess, really, the good news and the bad news are all the same really. You see, all of the kingdom is rejoicing, but you? Probably not so much. The thing is, that Sky, your one and only, has recently had a tiny little baby boy with um...hmmm, what do you call her again? Ah yes, with Bloom." Diaspro gasped, looking away. The guard laughed at her. "I thought that might hit a nerve."

She closed her eyes tight, tears stinging them. Like she said, she still loved Sky, and the guard was right. Although she wasn't the only one for him, he was the only one for her. She couldn't let this go. Sky was starting his own family, with a different girl, while she was left here, in the cold and dark, exiled for the rest of her days. She clenched her fists tighter, summoning all her power. She was going to kill this jerk, if it was the last thing she did. But, as quickly as her power flowed into her, it flowed out, into the chains, which glowed red hot, burning her wrists, before fading back to a dull black, all evidence of power disappearing into nothingness. The guard laughed at her.

"You're nothing!" He yelled. "You will die here, Diaspro, with nothing but your own anger and pain to mourn you. Sky doesn't love you! Why would he? Why would he, when he has someone like Bloom? He doesn't even think about you, yet you spend every minute of every day of every year, here, with nothing but him on your mind! And for what? You still think he's gonna ride in here on his white stallion, and carry you off into the sunset? Cuz guess what? Not gonna happen. Ever!"

Diaspro's wrists were on fire, but she couldn't stop the energy flowing into her hands. She knew what he was saying was true, and that hurt more than anything else. No matter how hard she tried to block him out, it was like her ears wanted to hear it, although it was the most horrible truth she had ever had to face. His words spun in her head, along with old memories of the happiness her and Sky had shared. It all became noise, buzzing relentlessly in her ears. The guards laughter joined this crazy swirl of madness, and the pain in her wrists caused her head to throb. She screamed aloud, as though a knife was being plunged into her heart. "NO!" she howled. "STOP IT! GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Awww, you want me to leave so soon? The fun's only just beginning!"

Her hands were glowing bright red, and her energy started to spread, along her arms at first, but then it consumed her entire body. Her muddy blonde hair rushed around her, and a red glow shone out around the cell, getting brighter by the second. The guard shielded his eyes, blindly stumbling away, but collapsing to the floor.

"W-What are you doing?" He shouted. "What's happening?"

Suddenly, the shackles started to melt. Diaspro had no idea how hot she was burning, but if she could melt the iron that imprisoned her, it was at least 1,000 degrees Celsius. She never knew she had that in her. Her anger had sparked a new found energy inside of her, and she wasn't holding back on it. As her hands slipped free, she rose into the air, all of her energy forming a crystallised ball between her palms. "This is what happens when you mess with Diaspro, Fairy of Gemstones and worst criminal in Eraklyon history!" She hollered madly, firing at the wall the guard was cowering against.

He tried to get out of the way, but the sphere travelled at lighting speed, rocketing into the wall which exploded in a cloud of white ash. It collapsed down on top of the guard. He ran as far as he could, his dying screams cut short as a huge lump of rock fell and hit him. He dropped to the floor, hitting his head again as he fell. Diaspro looked at his lifeless body, breathing heavily. She felt no remorse. His legs were completely crushed in the rubble, and he lay on his front, arms sprawling out on either side, one sticking out at an odd angle. His eyes were glazed over and unseeing. Blood trickled form the corner of his mouth and his brown hair was sticky with the blood that pooled from a gaping gash in his head, spreading across the floor. The smell of death lingered in the air.

"The bastard deserved it." She spat, floating over the destruction and landing in the open, free at last. "It's time for a a reality check Bloom. Things are about to get a whole lot more real."

A/N: So, that was the rewritten chapters. This story is now off hold again, and chapter nine will be up ASAP. I left off in the same place as last time, but there were some extras along the way :)

Don't forget to review guys, see you on the next update x