Gaius and Sumia woke up to the abrupt stop of the carriage. Gaius looked at Stahl, who was still unconscious, and then noticed the handcuffs that had been placed on all three of them. Gaius groaned at the fact that they had been captured yet again.

The door to the carriage opened, and the sudden sunlight was jarring to Gaius and Sumia. Kellam didn't say a word to any of them – he merely linked their cuffs together with a chain, and aggressively slapped Stahl in the chest to wake him up.

He led the three out of the carriage, and they found that they were being led to the royal castle.

"Oh, bloody hell." Gaius muttered to himself.

Lieutenant Phila and Donnel were passing by the four with a group of accompanying soldiers, and Stahl immediately grabbed Donnel's attention.

"Hey, I remember you!" Donnel said in an aggressive voice. The glare on his face was quick to morph into a grin, however. "My foot – the one you put a damn axe through – was healed by the mages. You wanna see?"

Donnel gleefully knocked Stahl down to the ground. Then he kicked him in the chest three times before leaning up to grab him by his hair.

"Look at you, all handcuffed and helpless…"

Lieutenant Phila gave Donnel a disapproving look and shouted "Not now, Donnel! We have more important matters to attend to!"

Donnel had an uneasy look on his face and let out a sigh. "Y-yes, Lieutenant Phila. M-my apologies. It won't happen again."

Donnel frowned as he walked back to Phila and the soldiers. "Don't break away and pull something like that again, Donnel," Phila could be heard saying as the two walked away.

Kellam stared at the two for a moment before looking forward and leading the three into the royal castle.

He waited by the front entrance for a bit, and Stahl and Gaius both took note of the golden interior the castle had to it – it actually looked rather nice.

After a short while, King Frederick noticed Kellam and his prisoners from the top floor and came walking downstairs to greet the knight. "I see you have brought Sumia and…" His eyebrows furrowed at the sight of Stahl and Gaius. "…Who are these two?"

"Her associates, my king – they've been traveling with her for the past several days, apparently."

King Frederick let out an 'hmm'. "Is that so? They look like nobles…but I have never seen them before in my life. Oh well, why should I give a shit at this point? I'll just go and alert the Queen to your presence," he said before walking back upstairs, with Stahl and Gaius also noting how uncaring he sounded towards the whole situation.

After about a minute, Queen Cordelia came walking down the stairs for Kellam and the trio, and Stahl and Gaius could hear Sumia exhuming – her face also turned as red as blood. Stahl and Gaius, for their part, weren't happy to see this Cordelia, either – a good idea of what she was like had already been painted in their heads.

"Your work here will be remembered, Kellam," Queen Cordelia said as she observed Sumia and the other two men that had been brought before them. Kellam smiled at the mention of his name. "You are now tolerable to me."

"Thank you, my Queen – and I just want to say, it was not easy. These three here, they ruthlessly slaughtered all the soldiers that had accompanied me. But I was too strong and too loyal to you and the Archanean Empire. I took them all down myself, my Queen!"

Queen Cordelia cupped her chin in interest. "…Fascinating."

"Will I be getting any awards, my Queen?"

To that, Queen Cordelia only let out an 'hmm'. "We'll cross that bridge later, Kellam. For now, I want you to join General Sully at the west corridor. I'll take these three to the dungeon myself."

Kellam nodded and walked away, a sigh of exasperation just barely audible. Meanwhile Queen Cordelia, placed her hand on the chain that linked together the three's handcuffs – and she got within Sumia's personal bubble. Stahl and Gaius could only feel awkward and uncomfortable about the whole thing. Sumia looked up at the Queen with nothing but pure hatred, while the Queen looked down at her with but a smirk.

"Welcome back, Sumia."

Queen Cordelia tapped her boots impatiently.

Directly before her were Stahl, Gaius, and Sumia, all chained up to the wall. They were in the dungeon room, not too far from where Nowi and Tiki were being kept. Sumia gave Queen Cordelia the death glare and Stahl and Gaius were simply wondering what was taking so long.

Just then, General Sully walked up to Queen Cordelia, with Vaike to her left, Cherche to her right, and Kellam directly behind her. General Sully and Queen Cordelia silently acknowledged each other before a tall and lanky man with a small goatee and long hair moved past the knights and the mage to face Queen Cordelia, with another man with pale blonde hair and muted green clothing following him. Stahl and Gaius recognized the older looking man as Validar – and behind him was his son, Robin.

Their eyes widened at the sight of Robin, unsure of whether he would existed in this universe due to the lack of any mentions of Grima in this world. But moreso, both Stahl and Gaius frowned to see him on the side of the Archanean Empire.

"My Queen," Validar said, bowing in politeness. Something about his voice sounded calmer and more collected than the Validar they had fought in the war against the Risen. "My apologies, but I felt a very…odd energy when I came into the castle, your highness."

Queen Cordelia's eyebrows furrowed. "What exactly do you mean by 'very odd energy', Validar?"

"It's getting overwhelming, father," Robin said before Validar could reply to the Queen. Robin then pointed to the three people who were all chained up. "It might have something to do with these three."

Validar cupped his chin in interest. "These two here…the nobles..."

Queen Cordelia crossed her arms and looked at Validar, confused. "They are indeed an enigma. I've never seen either of them at any noble gatherings and events. Even the most obscure people the noble community has to show up every now and then That's just how it's supposed to be."

Validar slowly approached the three. "…I see, my Queen. Robin, take a look at the redhead. I'll observe the one with the scars."

Validar walked closer to Stahl until he was barely a few inches away from his face.

"Erm….hello…" Stahl said awkwardly, trying to cover up how nervous he was getting.

Validar just…stared at him, with no real emotion – at least none that Stahl could see. While he had a smile on his face, the smile seemed to be devoid of any real happiness. Then Validar placed his index and middle fingers on Stahl's forehead, and now the prince was getting really confused.

Then, suddenly, he felt great pain again.

But this pain was very different from when the corrupted bear scarred him. He was trying to figure out what it even was. The only thing that they could even think of what was happening was that his mind was being…attacked. And Gaius began to scream, Stahl realized that he had the exact same feeling, courtesy of Robin.

The two suddenly had their lives flash before their eyes – from the earliest memories they could recall, to their time in the Shepherds. Lissa, Maribelle, Owain, and Brady all came careening through their minds, and while Stahl wasn't sure what Gaius felt about all of this, he himself knew what to make of it. And then their world's versions of Cordelia and Sumia popped up, with moments of affection that the two had witnessed. The same thing happened with Kellam and Sully, and the pain was only intensifying, as were the visions.

Then an image of Cherche riding her beloved Minerva soared through their minds, followed by Vaike enthusiastically combating Plegians with his axe. Chrom and Lucina popped into both their minds, wielding their swords and slaughtering Risen one by one. And then their world's version of Robin joined the two in their crusade, blasting out fire towards the green monsters. Then the three disappeared, and then Validar popped up, only grinning sinisterly. Above Validar rose Grima, the Fell Dragon.

Grima let out a horrible roar, and Stahl and Gaius' memory trip suddenly came to an unbearably jarring halt.

Stahl and Gaius both breathed heavily, with Sumia looking completely baffled. Validar and Robin both looked baffled themselves, and they looked at each other in their confusion.

"What…what the hell did you do to us?!" Stahl demanded, wanting to know why his entire life just suddenly flashed before his eyes.

Validar and Robin whispered among themselves, to Gaius' anger.

"Hey! My friend asked you a damn question! What did you do to us?!"

Robin took a brief look at the two before turning his head back to Validar. The two conversed for about another minute before they walked up to Queen Cordelia.

"My queen…" Robin said, in a somewhat concerned voice. "These two…there is something very strange about them, indeed."

Validar added on, "As soon as you are available, we must discuss them. I have seen some strange things in my life, but these two here – I have never seen anything like them."

Stahl and Gaius were only left wondering what that all meant. They were sure the flashbacks they just experienced were part of it, but they had no idea how Validar and Robin could've pulled off such a feat.

Queen Cordelia nodded. "Understood. I'll meet you on the first floor whenever I can. General Sully, Kellam, accompany them."

Validar, Robin, General Sully, and Kellam all walked away, leaving Vaike and Cherche with Queen Cordelia. Stahl couldn't help but notice that Cherche had the same uneasiness to her that he saw back at that town.

"What exactly do want us to do?" Cherche asked, her tone just an uneasy as her expression.

"You two stay here in case anything goes up. There's some…personal matters that I must attend to."

"Yes, my queen," Vaike replied, with a smile on his face showing that he was much more comfortable with the situation than Cherche. Gaius grimaced, flashbacking to both the moment Vaike accidentally got him in the nuts and when he snapped at him for it.

Queen Cordelia turned and slowly walked up to Sumia. "So…Sumia…" she said, her voice unnerving to both Stahl and Gaius. "What have you been doing since you escaped?"

Sumia growled and gritted her teeth, and lunged herself as far as the chains would allow her to. "These chains cannot hold me, Cordelia! When I get out, I will relish in seeing your blood spill!"

Stahl and Gaius were jarred to see this – their Sumia could never hope to master the intimidating tone.

Queen Cordelia didn't look too intimidated though – she merely cupped her chin in apparent interest. "Heh, you've done nothing but train yourself to kill me – haven't you, little one?"

Sumia's face began to redden. "And to think I wasted all this time trying to get to the Insurrection! YOU WILL DIE TODAY, CORDELIA! YOU WILL DIE TODAY!"

Queen Cordelia let out a small chuckle and began to pace around. "I'm in your thoughts every day, aren't I? I bet you can hardly go so much as an hour without thinking of how much you want to kill me. How you want my blood on your hands. How you want to stare at my dead corpse and feel triumphant. Oh yes, do correct me if I'm wrong."

There was a brief pause as Sumia looked down to the ground in silence. Her answer was clear to everyone, and Queen Cordelia let out a smug 'hmm.'

"Dedication can be a powerful tool. And with that level of dedication, Sumia, you would be one of the best slaves the royal castle had to offer. But when used poorly, dedication can destroy a person."

Sumia shook her head and continued to give Queen Cordelia the death glare. "My parents were good people, Cordelia. Good people that didn't deserve the fate you gave them. Would you like me to enlighten your soldiers here? How you killed your parents and framed mine for it?! How you punished them for your crime?!"

Vaike and Cherche looked at each other, completely baffled, but Queen Cordelia only laughed. "You were always a delusional one, Sumia. Letting these fantasies and false memories consume you. Hell, that's why you want to kill me? This whole time, it's been because of some damn delusion? That's new, I must say."

Before Sumia could bark out anything else, Queen Cordelia leaned down and began to whisper in her ear. "I remember the looks on your parents' faces as I executed them. It was pitiful. And they were the perfect slaves to frame."

Sumia's face was reddening deeper than any human face should ever reach, and Stahl and Gaius had no idea what to make of any of this. Then Queen Cordelia did something that surprised everyone – she pulled out the key from the belt on her skirt, and she undid the chains that kept Sumia in place.

"My queen! What are you doing?!" Vaike out, extending his arm. Queen Cordelia held her hand up and motioned for him to stop.

Sumia stared at Queen Cordelia before letting out a cry of rage and charging towards her – but the Thorn Queen merely dodged her. Queen Cordelia looked perfectly content, while everyone else tried to figure out what was going on. Sumia grabbed it and tried to stab the Queen with it, but she dodged every time. Sumia's cries of rage got louder as she grew frustrated with not being able to kill the Queen.

She tried to deck and kick Queen Cordelia, but the redhead merely dodged. Then, with lightning reflexes, she pulled out a knife from her belt and slashed Sumia in the shoulder with it.

Sumia let out another cry, this time in pain instead of rage, and Queen Cordelia smirked. "My turn."

As Sumia struggled to move her arm, Queen Cordelia grabbed her spell book from small table that was by the dungeon wall. She flipped the pages around until she stopped and let out a content 'hmm'. And with the snap of her fingers, Sumia began to scream.

As she was forced to collapse on the ground and screamed in agony, Stahl and Cherche both grimaced, neither being able to bare this sight. As for Gaius, memories were beginning to flow through his mind. The way she was reacting…it reminded him of how he felt when Henry cast that spell upon him. He wondered if it was the same spell – an idea that was disproven when Sumia began to rapidly bleed out from the nose, and blood could be seen soaking into her clothes. He surely couldn't recall that.

Sumia groaned very loudly as she got up, and that glare remained glued to her face. She charged towards Queen Cordelia, but the Queen merely dodged her again. She looked at the book again, but sneered and placed it back on her table. She grabbed Sumia's hair and yanked it violently, causing the latter to let out another horrible scream.

Queen Cordelia began to mercilessly deck and kick Sumia faster than the escaped slave could react. Sumia tried to let out a punch, but Queen Cordelia blocked it, and used Sumia's hand to slam her against the wall. Blood was coming from her nose again – and this time it was completely natural.

The Queen slashed Sumia in the shoulder again, and then kicked her in the chest. Sumia groaned again, and turned to see Queen Cordelia slash her in the leg. She tried to land in another blow, but she failed, and Queen Cordelia bashed her in the face with her knee.

Vaike was the only one who looked comfortable. Cherche was grimacing and trying to look away every so often, even letting out a groan of discomfort. Stahl and Gaius were quite disturbed on their part, and memories began to flash of the two women's lives as Pegasus Knights. The prince and the thief remembered all the affection and the adoration Cordelia and Sumia constantly delivered to each other. They thought of the love that blossomed there, and the hate that thrived here.

Sumia began to breathe heavily as Queen Cordelia began to punch her in the face repeatedly, until the brunette was forced down to the ground. Sumia began to cough very violently, but Queen Cordelia didn't look like she cared. She aggressively yanked Sumia's hair again, and then she kicked her in the chest twice. Sumia struggled to get up, but ultimately collapsed onto the ground.

Queen Cordelia let out another smirk. "All that time you spent readying yourself to kill me – it was all a waste."

Queen Cordelia dragged Sumia back to the wall where Stahl and Gaius were still chained up, with Sumia being too weak to fight back. Queen Cordelia locked Sumia back into her chains, and then she began eyeing the trio.

"Once we figure out what the hell is the deal with your two friends, they will most likely be killed. But not you. I won't give you the pleasure of a quick death. You won't be dying for quite a while. I still have so much in store for you."

Queen Cordelia walked away from the room, with Vaike immediately following. Cherche stared at the three for a while, before sighing and trying to catch up with Vaike and the Queen.

As Sumia tried to collect herself, Stahl and Gaius looked at each other, having not the slightest idea what to do. They were still trying to let that entire scene sink in – neither knew what to say to Sumia, if they should even say anything at the moment.

Then a tear came down from Sumia's eye, and the two were only left even more uncertain.