Aqua opened her eyes, an impossible possibility merely moments ago. She breathed out silently, her body still refusing to get up. Her eyesight was blurry, yet using what little information she gained; she knew she was in her own room.

In her home.

Those words should've offered comfort, but it was now meaningless. Another phrase that was empty of emotion. Her mother was gone, and now, her home felt like it was just another unknown place. She could be in hell once again and still feel the same way.

Her mother.

The past few memories returned to her brain like a blow to the chest, and all air escaped her lungs. Apparently, the Lord wasn't decided she wasn't suffering enough and decided to let her keep those memories. She should've died, or at the very least, gotten amnesia. But no; those horrific memories kept coming back, taunting her. She could've saved her mother. Then again, maybe not. Maybe if Francesca hadn't come, then her mother would still be alive.

Francesca.

She was the one to blame. If she hadn't come, her mother would be alive. Everything she touches becomes horrible. Everything she tries to do goes wrong. She never cared about her mother anyway. Maybe that's why she came. To make sure their mother died.

At once, all the ache, all the sadness in her body went away, replaced with an intense feeling of rage. She jumped out of bed and stormed to Francesca's room and yanked her door wide open. Her eyes burned with hatred, as she glared right into her sister's confused face.

"You."

The word felt bitter in her mouth, as if she was swallowing acid. "This… This is all your fault!"

"What are you-"

"Don't…" She took a deep breath, as if to calm her thoughts but it did no good. "Don't you dare play dumb. After all you've done. Don't you dare do this to me."

Her sister's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about? I wouldn't do anything-"

Once again, she interrupted, her thoughts becoming more and more vicious by the second. "You never cared about mother, and you can't fool me. You didn't come with me so you can save her; you came because you wanted her dead." There. She said the worst.

"Of course I care about mother. What are you-"

"Just shut your mouth! I don't want to listen to all your lies anymore!" Tears threatened to come. "You're nothing but a liar! You're just a cruel person who doesn't care about anyone but herself!" Without thinking she hurled a ball of water straight at Francesca, hitting her with a satisfying oomph. Her sister was starting to be angry and she knew it. Francesca has little if any control over her temper. But her response was calm, but was forced through gritted teeth.

"Aqua, if it wasn't for me, you would be dead, back in hell, so don't you dare talk to me like that. I cared about mother equally as much as you do so don't accuse me of something so terrible like that ever again!"

The fact that Francesca remained stable until the very end surprised Aqua, and made her even more irritated. She hurled another water ball at her sister. "What, you can't take the truth?!" Another water ball. And another. Her sister would soon break down. No doubt she couldn't control her temper this long. Aqua hurled another one, just for good measure.

However, this time, when Francesca lost her temper, it wasn't what Aqua was expecting.

Her sister stood her legs bruised and shaky. She was still wearing her dress from the party, cut unevenly and with some patches that looked somewhat like burn marks. Her hair which was previously tied in a messy ponytail was now down, and her long bangs hung over half over her face. Only one eye was to be seen, and its pupil glowed with an otherworld-like appearance. It seemed like her eyes were burning, and this time it wasn't the harmless kind. It was dark, dangerous. Aqua seemed to get lost in her eyes for a moment, and in that moment, she realized how unwise her previous actions had been. It was too late now though. Then a spark appeared, and it seemed to be coming from her… hair? Yes, Aqua saw it now, her hair was changing, her highlights changing colors – red, orange, yellow, all blending into each other, as if it was fire itself.

Aqua got one good look at her sister and realized what monster she had created in those few minutes, as well as her fate. Then she realized something else. Francesca was the exact reflection of her, all those years ago. The night she murdered Hans.

Her sister's inner demon took over, and hurled one fireball after another at her sister, who was hastily trying to make a water shield strong enough to deflect off the fireballs. Aqua's eyes widened. The effort to call for help was dismissed a few moments before, when she attempted it and her voice caught in her throat, causing her to cough. She rapidly sent water balls in attempt to make Francesca stop, to bring back her little sister, but as soon as the water balls got anywhere near Francesca, it sizzled and evaporated into thin air.

Francesca took a step forward, and before Aqua realized it, she was only a couple of footsteps until… The older sister barely had enough time to finish her last thought before Francesca released an enormous fireball that lit up the entire room.

Francesca

She woke up in a room moments after, and sat up. The room was horribly burned, and her sister lay in a corner, completely still. At once, all memories of the past few minutes came rushing back to her.

She murdered her own sister.

She heard footsteps hurrying down the hall.

If they found her like this… No doubt they would behead her. Just because you are a princess doesn't mean you're above the law, especially if you murdered the crown princess of Arrendale…

Aqua shook her head. Now was not the time to think about it. She had to go get out of there. And, without thinking, she ran, out into the hall, out of the castle, and into the mountains, into the woods where she could not be found.

What time is it?

SUMMERTIME!

IT'S OUR VACATION!

Omg guys I am so happy it's summer because, I can finally write more chapters for you guys! YAYYYYY! However, I would not maintain a proper schedule, because, guys, I got stuff to do. But, this is the last chapter of the book, and I would upload the epilogue later today. So, guys, that's basically it! I'm going to leave a note on the bottom of the epilogue too, so… yea! :D