After a long trip, they had all finally arrived at the Snow kingdom. They arrived at the castle just as night was starting to fall. Everyone was ushered inside quickly so that no citizens could see them. They didn't want anyone to know who was with them at the moment. They didn't want any chance word could get out until they were ready.

They all knew the moment news got out about the location of either Dia or Riko, it was over. They'd be instantly tracked down and hunted. They needed to remain hidden for as long as they could.

"I'll show you to your rooms." Sarah called to them, "Leah, you go tell mom and dad about this."

Leah nodded and left them. Sarah led the rest of them to their rooms. Ruby was going to be staying with Leah. Hanamaru, Mari, and Kanan got a room together. Yō and Chika both decided to join them. Dia and Riko got a room for themselves.

Everyone settled down for the night. Tomorrow was when they'd start planning their attack. The Diamond kingdom was going to fall.

DIVIDER--

After they all ate breakfast, everyone gathering in the military planning room. They gathered around a table and talked about what they could do.

"How many knights do you think they have?" Sarah asked.

"Not too many as of now. Most were killed for being traitors." Dia replied.

"Then it'd be easy to storm the castle." Sarah stated.

"I guess."

"Are there secret ways in?" The head knight asked.

Dia nodded, "Yes. By the gardens. Behind the wood pile there's a passage to most of the castle."

"I think that might be a wise way to go. Get inside and take them from the heart."

"If you think that's best, then do it." Sarah stated.

The knight called some others into the room and they started going over the plan. Sarah dismissed everyone else to do whatever they wanted. She said she'd tell them the plan once it was made.

Leah took Ruby on a tour of the castle gardens. Chika decided to follow them. Mari and Kanan went and took a walk around the city. Yō wanted to go with them, but was told no because she would scare the citizens. Yō instead went and stayed with Hanamaru, who was sitting in her room and writing something down. Dia went back to her room. Riko followed her, unsure what else to do.

DIVIDER--

"Hey! Slow down!" Chika whined.

Ruby and Leah giggled as they turned to look at Chika. Chika frowned as she ran to catch up with them. Ruby bent down and picked Chika up.

"Can I carry you instead?" Ruby asked.

Chika struggle out of Ruby's grip, "No.

Ruby pouted. Chika crawled onto her shoulders. Ruby looked at Chika for a bit. Once Chika situated herself, Ruby and Leah walked on again.

"Your garden is so pretty." Ruby mused as she looked at all the flowers.

"Mom has a thing for making our castle look as nice as possible. It's a pride thing." Leah explained.

"Well, it certainly is over-the-top." Chika stated.

DIVIDER--

"Anywhere in particular you'd like to go?" Kanan asked Mari.

Mari shrugged, "I don't know my way around here. I have no clue what's around."

"Well, is there anything you'd like to go do?" Kanan asked.

"Hmm… do you think there's a pond around?" Mari hummed.

"We can go see." Kanan replied.

Mari smiled as her and Kanan walked through the town hand in hand. A few townsfolk looked at them, before quickly looking away. Kanan didn't like all the attention they were getting. She knew there was nothing she could really do about it. Mari was going to be recognized no matter what they did.

"I didn't realize so many people lived in the area." Kanan muttered as she ducked into a side path.

"Is this not common?" Mari asked.

"Not really. Most people aren't allowed to live so close to a castle." Kanan replied.

"Why not?" Mari asked.

"I don't really know. I guess for safety reasons." Kanan shrugged.

The two of them continued to wander through the town and look around. They eventually found a pond. The two of them sat down and enjoyed the calmness. They knew that would soon end.

DIVIDER--

"Maru, whatcha writing?" Yō asked as she jumped on the bed Hanamaru was sitting on.

"It's a potion. I've been working on it for a while." Hanamaru replied.

"What's it for?" Yō asked as she rested her head on Hanamaru's lap.

Hanamaru reached out and pet Yō, "That's not something I can tell you. It's supposed to remain a secret for a while."

"Alright! Just let me know if you need anything. I can sniff out any herbs you need." Yō said.

"Thank you. I'll remember that." Hanamaru smiled and kissed Yō on the head.

Yō barked happily as she nuzzled her face into Hanamaru's leg. She loved when she got attention from Hanamaru. Hanamaru chuckled as she continued to pet Yō. She worked on the potion while she did so. Yō didn't seem to mind. She just happily slapped her tail onto the bed as she nuzzled Hanamaru's leg more.

DIVIDER--

"Are you sure you're okay?" Riko worried over Dia once they were alone.

"I'm fine, Riko. How many times do I need to tell you that for you to believe me?" Dia said as she laid down on the bed.

"I'm just worried about you. You've been sick for a while now." Riko replied as she sat beside Dia.

"It's nothing. If it makes you feel better, Maru is going to make something to help me." Dia tried to reassure Riko.

"I guess that makes this a little better… but, why won't you tell me what's wrong?" Riko pouted.

"You don't need to know." Dia stated, "At least, not yet."

Riko sighed, "Fine… do you want to cuddle?"

"Sure." Dia nodded.

The two of them laid down on the bed. Dia cuddled into Riko. Normally, it was the other way around, but since Dia had been feeling ill, Riko had been swapping their positions. Riko smiled as she brushed Dia's hair.

"I love you." Riko whispered.

"I love you too." Dia replied.

Dia leaned up and kissed Riko on the cheek. Riko gave Dia a kiss on the head in reply. The two of them stayed like that and ended up falling asleep.

DIVIDER--

Over the next few days, the plan was perfected. They had all gathered in a room to hear the final version. Everyone but Dia, Ruby, and Riko were supposed to be involved. They were left out because of their alliances with the kingdom. No one wanted them to get hurt in the attack. They'd be the first ones targeted.

Sarah and Leah were in charge of the knights. Mari was going to be leading the ambush group. She knew the passages well due to always sneaking around them with Dia when they were kids. Kanan was going to be leading the main group that would charge through the gates. By leading, that basically meant she was just guiding them around. The knight in charge was giving the attack orders.

Hanamaru was going to heal anyone that needed it. She was also there to give messages to the kingdom about their successes and defeats. Yō was going to be with her as protection. Chika was remaining at the castle so she could be the receiver of the messages. Her and Hanamaru had managed to bond strong enough to hold long distance telepathic communications.

That night before they set off, everyone was unable to relax. It was very nerve wracking. This mission was going to be tough. Even if taking the Shining kingdom had been tough, this was even harder. The knights actually want to fight for the kingdom now. The others didn't really want to because of their treatment.

It was late that night. Hanamaru crept down the hall and into a room.

"Why are you here?" Dia asked.

"I came to give you this." Hanamaru replied and handed over a small vial, "Take it in the morning with some liquid."

"Thank you. Good luck tomorrow." Dia set the vial down.

"Stay safe. Who knows what might happen here." Hanamaru replied as she left the room.

Riko was awake. She kept silent as Dia snuggled back up to her. Riko was still very suspicious. She knew that Hanamaru and Dia both knew exactly why she was ill. Riko just wished she was told. She didn't understand why she wasn't. Riko couldn't help but wonder what Hanamaru had given to Dia.

DIVIDER--

In the morning, they set off to the Diamond kingdom. They would travel fast and make it in half the time it should normally take. Dia was sitting in the garden with Ruby. After they had waved goodbye, the two of them went to talk for a bit. Dia had snuck out earlier in the morning and taken the vial Hanamaru had given her. She was relieved to not feel like throwing up in the morning.

Riko was still as suspicious as ever. Now that Dia had something from Hanamaru and then her sickness just vanished, Riko came to be certain that the two of them knew exactly what was wrong. Riko felt anger at the fact she was being left out. She cared a lot about Dia and yet she wasn't being trusted with whatever the information was.

Dia felt bad about not letting Riko in on the problem. She just didn't know how to approach the topic. She also didn't know if Riko would be alright with the truth. The last thing Dia wanted was to lose Riko. She wondered if she should tell her anything. Even if it was just a lie.

"So, this is where you two ended up." Riko found them.

"Morning, Riko!" Ruby greeted her, "We were watching the sunrise! You missed it."

"That's too bad." Riko shrugged and took a seat beside Dia.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Dia greeted her.

"Eh… it wasn't the best." Riko replied, "The wind last night was loud."

"Yeah. That it was." Dia agreed.

"So, what are we going to do while they're gone?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know. Maybe we can help out around the castle?" Dia suggested.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you guys!"

They all turned to see Chika was running toward them. She was frowning. They had left her out.

"So… anything you guys wanna do today?" Riko asked, "Um… I mean, want to do today…"

Riko had a bit of a dialect difference from most citizens. She combined words when that tended to be frowned upon by those in the regions around here. She constantly had to correct herself. She was told not to talk like that, as it gave off hints that she wasn't from the same kingdom as she served.

"You can let your dialect come out. I don't think it matters anymore." Dia said.

"Riko, where are you from?" Chika asked.

"The Flor kingdom." Riko said.

"Um… what is that kingdom?" Everyone looked at her confused.

"Oh, right. You guys would know it as the Flower kingdom." Riko mumbled, "One ruler changed the word to a different language one time so that's what we've had to call it since then."

"Oh yeah, that dick. I remember his rule." Dia grumbled.

"He was a jerk!" Chika nodded.