Standing in Prince Lumen's castle, Corona was standing next to Prince Lumen as he talked to people in his party. The many people who were attending this banquet were from different villages and were dressed in fancy clothes. It was by far the most elegant party Lumen ever held. There was a ballroom with non-stop musicians playing, good caterers, a breeze that touched everyone like a mother's loving hand, all that was missing was Princess Sparkle dancing with her spider. Corona even put on a purple dress and let her hair fall down. She wanted to look nice but not too much for Lumen.
" So then I told my sister Sparkle, if it doesn't gloss throw it away, unless it's a sword." Everyone around Lumen except Corona laughs. They were laughing or they were pretending to laugh; Lumen was so funny to look at they might forget his jokes aren't funny.
" Seriously, Lumen," a woman in a red dress started. " How many Invectoid's have you fought?"
" I never keep count of my fights, but for a pretty girl like you my memory works faster. I say one thousand to one hundred thousand Invectoid's. I've always tried to be diplomatic and make a deal with them, but that's a bet I've always lost. Now that we are friends this conversation stays with the five of us."
Corona stood around feeling her life wasting. Even though some of these people were in their eighties or nineties she felt like her life was wasted more than any or theirs. Venus was always with her but she had no idea how she felt. Corona was thinking about how she doesn't know any of these people. She sees the ballroom dance floor. She never stood on a dance floor before. She remembers Hunter promising to teach her. She shudders when she feels someone holding her hand.
" May the gentlemen ask the lovely lady if she would dance with him?" Lumen tried pulling Corona to the dance floor. She didn't move a muscle. She feels it's wrong to go on that dance floor. " Don't be shy. Remember when you wanted to be someone other than a Spider Rider? Here's your chance. Let's dance."
Corona was thinking of all the reasons why she should not dance. She can't dance, she doesn't want to be seen dancing with Lumen the royal prince around all these people, she just had a big fight with Hunter today and she wants to talk to him before he walks in and mistakes her and Lumen together, and she can't dance. But she remembers how Hunter never fulfilled his promise.
" Alright, I'll dance with you, Lumen."
Lumen pulled Corona to a random place in the ballroom. The dance was Lumen, who was still so much shorter than her, holding her waist and trying to dance with his eyes closed. He danced around with everyone. The music and the dancing was making Corona dizzy. Then Lumen switch dance partners with the music and Corona made a mess falling down.
" I am so sorry... I am sorry about that... I didn't mean to..." Corona falls down again. Her feet felt like they were trying to stand on ice. Lumen helps her up. She was embarrassed.
" How careless of you Corona," Prince Lumen laughs gently in a sniggering manner.
" If you're going to make fun of my dancing then I don't want to be here anymore, Lumen!" Cooro made a scene trying to leave the ballroom. They were stepping out of the way to let her leave. Lumen pulls on her hand.
" I didn't mean to sound rude, Corona. It's just I am a little older. My voice sounds different, I'm cuter than I used to be, and all the girls in the kingdom want me. The only one who hasn't fallen for my charms are you and my lost love Beerain. Remember how foolish I was trying to find her? I am already close to my king ceremony and not once have I kissed a girl on the lips."
Corona's face blushed red and her eyes widened in fear when Lumen tried kissing her on the lips. She moves her hand and takes a spoon from a man's hand.
" No!" From all her fear and frustration she hits Lumen on the noggin with her spoon. She instantly regretted it. " Lumen, I am sorry."
Lumen looks up at her. The prince didn't seem to have any sign of anger on his face. He actually seemed happy. " I'm often told not everyone is as romantic about people like me. Who am I kidding? There is no one out there that wants to be with me; I already checked the village."
Lumen broke out of his smile and cried. He cried all over Corona's hands and everyone at the party backed away from him and gave Corona sour looks. Corona didn't know if he was crying or fake crying but she comforted him.
" Lumen, you are an amazing prince. Everyone likes you. When your kingdom is in parole you stay behind to protect everyone. When Stags showed up for the first Oracle Key you stayed in front to help your guards. You are also smart in your own way. Hunter could never run a kingdom like you and that is why someday you will find a queen."
Corona gives him a hug to cheer him up. It was the longest most tearful hug she ever gave to a friend but Lumen didn't return her hug. He soon fell down. Corona finds out. A needle was pronged into his neck. Fire suddenly burns into the room then electricity zaps the room.
Corona assumed it was one of Lumen's ideas of a good party until she say another man not dressed formally for the party. He was taller than her, his hair was jet-black and longer than hers, he was blind with closed eyes and holding a glaive like Aqune.
" Are you two the Spider Riders?" He asked. Even though he was about Corona's age he sounded like one of Mantid's Big Four. Corona stared at him wondering if he shot the needle in Lumen's neck. " Yes or no, are you Spider Riders?"
Who was this man? He seemed to strong to be a bandit and he wasn't an Invectoid who still wanted revenge against the Spider Riders. Everyone was scared and Corona is angry.
" It's time to come out, Venus. Spider-"
Corona was hit by a pronged needle like Lumen and loses consciousness. Out of the flames another man appeared. He was hunched over with long black hair. He could almost be the blind man's brother, but they seemed to be uncaring of the other one's conditions, the hunched man coughing blood on the ground. The hunched over man walks up to Corona and looks at her manacle.
" This lass with blond hair and ponytail is a Spider Rider." He drops Corona's arm and lifts up Lumen's arm to see his manacle. " This blonco boy is also a Spider Rider."
" Smukge F. Bloodtail wants these two before daybreak. We'll never make it back on foot. And we can't escape with all those guards. They are coming up the stairs."
The blind man's eyelids glow before he created a clone of himself. The clone looked like him in every way but had green eyes instead of closed ones. The clone of the blind one goes through the door with his glavier to make a distraction. The blind one flashed his manacle in the air.
" Duck, Spider out." His manacle glows brilliantly with purple light shining in five directions and a tortoiseshell spider with white legs and black eyes appeared. This spider was twice the size of Hunter's spider and could crash through a building with one jump. The blind man lifted Corona and Lumen and threw them on the spiders back. " Carry these two to Smukge."
" What about you, Elwin?" The spider spoke sounding worried for his riders safety.
" Valiger and I can escape on our own. Now go."
His rider was making the spider perturb of his masters' safety. The spider followed his masters orders and made his escape. Corona and Lumen were manipulated into making that party, the perfect place to be where they would be open. Their top Spider Riders were gone. The rule of the kingdom would go to Princess Sparkle, and then she will watch as the Spider Riders like the one's fighting off all of Lumen's soldiers came back.