Lydia Rupert had always been known for her vanity. In the past she would find pleasure from gazing upon herself in the mirror. People far and wide could agree that she was indeed beautiful, perhaps even the most beautiful in all of Aia, or at least in all of Thais. She liked to think so anyway.

Now the once proud and beautiful queen fled from her reflection like the plague. After nearly twelve years rotting in a dungeon, with little food and only a lump of straw to sleep on, it was no surprise that life had taken its toll on her appearance. Her once elegantly styled hair was now overgrown, matted and quite possibly even infested with lice. Her lavish ball gowns had been traded for the smelly old rags she was forced to wear. For what might be the first time in her life, she actually thought herself ugly.

"Out of my way, puny slave girl!" roared an Orc Guard, as he kicked her in the rear with his huge metal boot.

Lydia let out a startled cry as she lost her balance, falling flat on her face, the floor hard and wet from the mopping she had just done.

The Orc Guard let out a full bellied laugh at her agony, splashing her further as he stomped past her and went on his way.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she picked herself up off the floor, and grabbing her broom, broke out into a run. Dashing down the long hallway of the palace, she ran straight into the slave quarters. Once there, she collapsed onto her bed of straw and let out every ounce of pain and sorrow. She was soon sobbing hysterically.

She had once thought that being stuck in a cave in the middle of a blizzard was bad, but her new life in the Orc Empire put that memory to shame. The Orc Empire put everything to shame. In her grief, she cursed him to the other end of Aia and back. Everything was his fault! It was none other than Edward Pendragon who gave the order for her to be given into the hands of the Orcs.

She had thought many things about her ex-husband. Weak … Reckless … Childish … Those were only some of the words she used to describe him, but she had never thought him to be so utterly cruel. That was the only word she could think of to describe him now. She didn't deserve any of this, at least she didn't think so. So what she had stolen the throne from him? Edward should have been grateful for what she had done. After all the times he had complained about not wanting to take the throne, she had thought that he might appreciate her trick a bit more. He would have been free to go off and live the life he wanted, allowing her to rule alone as she wanted. It suited both of their desires, or so she thought. Apparently she had been mistaken.

"One day, I will have my revenge on you, Edward Pendragon!" she declared, not caring if anyone heard her or thought her crazy. She knew that she was crazy. The Orcs had made her that way. "I don't know how, but mark my words! I'll find a way to escape from here, and when I do, you better watch out!"

Feeling drained and sore from the events of that day, she ended up crying herself to sleep that night, her mind filled with thoughts of how she would obtain her revenge if she ever saw Edward again.

Not too long after she had closed her eyes, she felt something begin to tug at her. It was magic. She knew that much without even second guessing herself. It had been a long time since she had been able to use her own magic, for the ugly metal band tightly clamped around her wrist prevented her from doing so, but she could still sense when magic was nearby, an ability she was relieved to still possess.

The tugging sensation got stronger and stronger until she felt as though she was being sucked in by something, and perhaps she was. She didn't really know what was happening to her. Although she tried to open her eyes, she found that she was unable to. In fact, she couldn't move at all. It was almost as if her entire body had been stunned. She couldn't feel anything. Not the prickly straw that served as her bed, nor did she feel the grimy rags that covered her body. She couldn't even speak.

Then, everything came back to her. She opened her eyes and stood up, finding herself no longer in the Orc's Slave Quarters, but rather in a land unlike anything she had ever seen before. The grass beneath her was purple, as were the trees surrounding her. For a brief moment, she thought she was back in Ghed'ahre, the land of the Vampires, remembering that the grass and trees there were a similar shade, but then she saw it and she knew that wherever she was, it most certainly wasn't Ghed'ahre.

Standing before her was a unicorn with a coat as white as snow and a horn that sparkled as if it were made up of pure diamonds. She remembered that as a child, her nanny had often told her stories of the fabled creatures and their unearthly beauty. She knew that they were a rare species, only inhabiting a few select places, the Dream Realm being one of them.

"Is this a dream?"

Getting to her feet, she started towards the unicorn, her hand reached out with the intention of petting the beautiful creature. Alas, as she got closer, the Unicorn became frightened and galloped away, leaving Lydia standing there all alone.

"Hmph! Stupid Unicorn!" She exclaimed, sticking her nose up at it's retreating form.

A part of her hated the unicorn for running away, but at the same time a part of her didn't blame it. A creature as beautiful as a unicorn was bound to be frightened by someone as hideous as her.

"If only I could steal some of it's beauty for myself," she muttered.

"Perhaps I can help you with that," replied an unfamiliar voice.

Old instincts kicked in when she heard that. With hands up in a defensive position, she was ready to defend herself should anyone jump out at her… but then she remembered that she couldn't actually use her magic, and instead reached down to pick up a rock. She felt pathetic and useless, but she wasn't about to go down without a fight.

"Show yourself!" she demanded. "I demand to know who's there!"

She nearly jumped right out of her skin when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Letting out a startled shriek, she spun around, ready to throw the rock at whoever it was, but stopped short as she got a good look at him.

Her jaw dropped wide open, and with it the rock in her hand, landing on the ground with a soft thud.

If she thought the unicorn was beautiful, she was sorely mistaken. For the man that stood before her now made the unicorn look hideous in comparison. He looked like a god… He had long white hair that seemed to sparkle much like the unicorn's horn and skin that was pale and without blemish. But the most startling thing about his appearance was his eyes; bright green orbs that pierced through your very soul. He was the very definition of perfection.

"Forgive me for startling you. I'm afraid I might have startled your unicorn friend as well," he apologized.

"A-Are you a … a vampire?" She asked, finding herself struggling to form words in his presence.

The man raised a single arched brow at that. "A vampire? If I am, I certainly don't look like one."

"That doesn't mean anything," she retorted. "I know one who has managed to retain his human appearance by refusing to drink blood."

"I have heard tales of such a being. Regardless, I assure you that I am not one of the undead, though just as powerful, perhaps even more so, if I might add."

He wasn't kidding. She could sense the immense power radiating from him. He possessed strong magic indeed, but not like anything she had ever sensed before. The closest match she could think of was Gyendal.

"Who are you? And why am I here?"

He nodded his head, bowing chivalrous to her. "I am Caius and I have summoned you here because I heard your plea for help."

"I don't recall pleading for help," she insisted, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"You wish to seek revenge on those who have wronged you. You wish to reclaim the beauty and power that was so unjustly stolen from you. I can help you achieve your goals, if you will let me."

"How? How can you possibly help me? Even if you were to free me from the Orcs, I am pretty sure it would take nothing short of a miracle to restore my looks."

"It is not so hard," Caius claimed.

Reaching out his hands, they began to glow with magic. She saw his lips move but heard no words come out. Before she fully knew what was happening, she felt a jolt course through her body, followed by a loud crack. It took her a few moments to figure out what was going on, but then she noticed how bare her wrist felt. The anti-magic bracelet had fallen off, and now laid at her feet, broken and singed.

"Now that you have your magic back, you should have no problem reclaiming the beauty you so desire."

She was just about to question him when she noticed that the Unicorn she saw earlier had returned. It moved towards them as if not by it's own will. She sensed Caius' magic coursing through the creature. Somehow he was controlling it. She finally understood why the unicorn was frightened earlier. It wasn't frightened by her, but by the power this one man had over it.

"You see, there is a way to steal the unicorn's beauty for yourself," Caius explained. "If your desire for beauty is strong enough, that is."

Lydia didn't waste any time thinking about what it might all entail. "It is. Just tell me what I must do."

Caius smirked, willing the unicorn to lay down before their feet. "Close your eyes and think about the unicorn. Imagine the unicorn morphing into you, replacing everything you hate about yourself with everything you wish you had from the unicorn."

She nodded and closed her eyes, following his directions without hesitation. Eventually she began to feel something happening. She felt a huge burst of energy enter her, making her feel more powerful than she had ever felt before. She felt a change take place in her body. It was changing shape. Every now and then she felt a twinge of pain, but nothing she couldn't bear.

Eventually the changing stopped and she opened her eyes again, met with the sight of the creature that lay lifeless at her feet. What was once a beautiful unicorn was now nothing but an ugly, shrivelled up corpse. She briefly felt bad for having caused the creature to die, but it was short lived as she thought of her own appearance.

"Did it work?" She asked, turning back towards Caius. "Am I beautiful again?"

"See for yourself," he said. Conjuring up a dainty hand mirror, he handed it over to her.

The reflection she saw made her gasp. Not only had it restored her to her former beauty but it had made her even more beautiful than ever. Her hair was still long, but was combed and well kept, not a tangle to be found. Every scratch and scar on her skin had healed. Much like his own skin, it was completely without blemish. Her teeth were pearly white and her nails were clean. And most importantly, her rags were gone, replaced by a beautiful black gown similar to the one she used to wear.

"Now that I've proven to you that I can help, perhaps you will be willing to hear my proposition?"

She pondered it for a moment. Caius certainly had proven himself. He was powerful; a beneficial ally to have on one's side. She got the feeling that he could do so much more, and she was eager to see and learn some of these things.

"I'm listening."

"I will help you reclaim your throne, delivering its current king and queen into your hands for you to do as you wish with them, and in return, you will help me achieve my ultimate goal," he proposed.

"Let me guess, you want to take over the world?"

"Not exactly," Caius chuckled. "Let's just say that you're not the only one who lost their kingdom."

That sounded fair to her. A kingdom for a kingdom. Besides, it might be in her own best interest. An alliance between two powerful kingdoms would add some extra security in case anyone ever tried to overthrow her again. She wasn't about to let that happen again.

"I will accept your terms, so long as you promise never to go against me when we both have our kingdoms restored to us."

Caius smirked, nodding his head. "The same goes for you."

"Good. Now get me away from the Orc Kingdom."

"With pleasure, your soon-to-be majesty."