"Well?" Liz demanded. "What is it that I need to know?" Kid and Melaena looked at each other. They didn't want to hurt Liz, but they knew that if Liz heard the "truth" from someone else, it would hurt worse.
"Liz, you might want to sit down for this." Melaena said. Liz sat down in one of the chairs next to Kid. Melaena sighed deeply. "It's about Francis."
"What about him? Is he alright? Is he sick?" Liz asked, fearing the worst. What if Francis had a terminal illness, but was afraid to tell her?
"Oh, he's alright. It's just his mother and I had a little chat, and she told me something very unsettling." Melaena said.
"Well, what is it?" Liz asked, getting impatient.
"Liz, you are one of my best friends, and you know I would never lie to you, so here it is: Francis is engaged. He has been since last spring." Melaena replied. Liz said nothing, but she felt her heart being ripped from the inside out. How could Francis keep this from her, and string her along like this?
"To who?" Liz asked.
"To my friend Urania." Melaena said sadly.
"Urania? Did you know this? Since the beginning?" Liz asked.
"No. I'm just found this out minutes ago. I am just as surprised, and furious as you are." Melaena said. Taking her hand in hers, she said, "Liz, I'm so sorry. All I wanted was for you to be happy." Liz got up and embraced Melaena, crying into her shoulder. Melaena felt herself grow hot with fury. Her best friend had fallen in love with Francis, and who could blame her? He was handsome, charming, and an all around perfect gentleman. But the whole time, Liz was being played for a fool. To Melaena, that was unacceptable. She was going to have a little talk with Urania as well.
"Don't worry, Liz. You'll get through this. You're a tough woman." Kid said. Liz smiled at him.
"I need some air." Liz said as she walked out of the parlor. She needed to confront Francis. As she was walking down the corridor, she saw him. He was reaching out to embrace her when he was met with a hard slap across the face. The maids looked on in shock.
"What the hell was that for?!" Francis exclaimed.
"For keeping something like that a secret from me!" Liz shouted.
"What are you talking about?" Francis asked.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about, Francis! You've been here all this time, spending all this time with me, while the whole time you were living a lie!" Liz spat. Francis's eyes grew wide. How did she find out my secret? he thought.
"Liz, I can explain-"
"Don't fucking bother! Men like you are all the same! You charm women and play with their feelings, when it's all a lie! You never cared about me at all! You were just using me!" Liz shouted, cutting him off.
"Liz, you wrong about that. I do care about you. I love you." Francis said, but was once again met with a slap to the face.
"Don't you ever say that to me again! I never want to see you or speak to you again!" Liz said as she yanked off the charm bracelet Francis had given her and threw it on the floor, pushing past him as she ran to her room, where she remained and cried herself to sleep.
*****Later That Evening*****
"Lady Arachne, your daughter is here to see you." said Mosquito, bowing.
"Very well. You may go." said Arachne. Mosquito did as he was told and left the room. "Isadora, my darling. How wonderful it is to see you" she said smiling, but frowned upon seeing the large bruise on her daughter's face. "What on Earth happened?"
"That bitch Melaena slapped me." Urania/Isadora said. "I've been banished from court."
"And so has your brother." Arachne said.
"She got this crazy idea that I'm engaged to Dracul, and was upset that I kept it from her. Where on Earth did she get that idea?" said Urania.
"She got the idea from me." Arachne said matter-of-factly.
"What?"
"Well, I had to say something. Dracul was getting too involved with that Thompson girl. He would have ruined everything! I had to say something to separate them. I thought about killing her at first, but that would have been much too suspicious." Arachne said. Urania scoffed.
"How much longer do I have to kiss up to that spoiled, pampered, royal bitch?" Urania spat.
"Language, darling. And you won't have to put up with her much longer. She will be giving birth soon, and when that happens, we kill her, and take the children's souls. Now, I want you to go rest." Arachne said. Urania gave her mother a peck on the cheek and went to bed.
Turns out Francis was not the only one keeping secrets. Urania Von Schultz, Queen Melaena's childhood friend, was really Isadora Gorgon. When Arachne was defeated 800 years ago, she left Isadora to protect her from harm. As an infant, Isadora was adopted by the Von Schultzs, an aristocratic family and friends of Charon's royal family, and given the name Urania. Upon hearing of Arachne's resurrection, which happened after the murders of Melaena's parents, Isadora ruthlessly murdered her adoptive parents. She had also placed herself in prison as a setup, to trick Melaena, and after the wedding, she left to reunite with her mother Arachne, under the pretense of going on vacation. Isadora was a classic wolf in sheep's clothing.
While her daughter slept, Arachne pondered on how well the plan was going. Soon, she will have Melaena and Kid out of the way, and she would finish the task that her sister never did. And with her son's foolish romance at an end, things can finally go as planned.