Hello all! Thank you so much for your patience for this new chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and again if you have any constructive criticism please let me know. I am always looking to better myself as a writer. Stay safe!


"Mother, can we talk?"

The door was opened slowly, Helen peering curiously at her daughter. "Of course, but are you sure you aren't ill? You've never asked that before."

Eleanor arched her eyebrow and in a dead pan voice replied, "You want me to leave?"

She chuckled. "Come in. I was just teasing you."

Eleanor passed her mother and sat on the edge of Helen's desk. Taking a deep breath in, she stated, "I am just going to say it, you and Kas need to get passed this dispute. It is starting to take its toll on all of us, and in particular me. I can't keep being your messenger bird."

"Sweetheart, you aren't a-"

"You need to be the one to talk to him, not me."

Helen closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "My own daughter has to tell me to take responsibility, how far have I fallen?" She opened her eyes and a soft smile graced her features. "You are right. I am the one who fell victim to my fears and need to mend this." She placed a hand against her cheek and a kiss against her forehead. "When did you grow up so much?"

"I had to at some point."

"I guess you did."

"Oh, and one other thing," Eleanor leaned into her mother's chest saying, "I love you."

Helen was surprised by the actions of her daughter, but she didn't hesitate in pulling her closer in a tight embrace. "And I love you Snowflake. Don't ever think elsewise."

Eleanor couldn't help but smirk at the childhood nickname that her mother would still use when it was just the two of them. "Just promise that you will go talk to him, sooner rather than later?"

"I promise. I will do so before the sun sets this evening."

"Good." Eleanor then left Helen's study, leaving the older woman with her thoughts. Once the door was closed again, Helen looked out the window at the sun that was trying to break through the cloud barrier.

"She really is all grown up."

Yes, I will miss that little girl that used to run around the castle, giggling at the mischief she caused.

"We both knew this day had to come."

Helen released a mental sigh. Yes, but it came far too soon.

A few hours later, Helen left her study and made her way towards her son's room. She was hesitant to knock but gathered her courage and forcefully rapped at the door. There was no answer.

"Kasparov? I need to speak with you for a moment."

Still, there was no answer.

"Kasparov?" She reached for the latch, noticing how little force it took to open the door. Peering into the room, she noticed that it was vacant.

She made her ways towards the courtyard, listening for the sounds of clanking metal to know where to find Kasparov training. As she drew near the sounds of iron works clashing, she saw Kasparov sparing with Sir Ulrich.

"Sir Ulrich," she called out, causing the knight to stop. "Might I speak with my son for a moment?"

"As my lady commands," he sheathed his sword and looked back at his student. Giving him a brief nod, he turned and bowed to Helen before leaving.

Helen focused her attention on Kasparov. "We need to talk." He remained silent, a blank expression on his face. "I know you are still angry with me after what has happened, but I want to make amends, if not for our relationship then at least for your sister."

At the mention of Eleanor, Kas looked away knowing that what she was saying was true. He had relied heavily on his sister in the past few months.

Helen released a sigh at Kasparov's lack of a response. "Please, just listen to what I have to say. I understand you are angry with me; you would have rather I told you this myself sooner. You are right, I should have told you, but I never knew how to without losing you as my son. It was that fear that kept me from ever telling you.

"Yes, I had planned on having you be a crucial part of my plans prior to your birth, but I saw you as mine from that first night on. Not a pawn is some game, but my son. I do still expect you to play your part in this war, but I know that your trust in me is limited." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Know this though, I will protect you with my entire being, even if you can never see fit to trust me again. My plans may have begun because of your father's attempts to take everything from me, but he ended up giving me you and that is something I do not take for granted.

"I will love you till my last breath, and you will always be my son. I have said what I needed to, but I understand you may need time. I remember how it took me some time to come to acceptance that Maleficent saw me as her child and me to see her as a mother."

A silence permeated the space between the two, before Kasparov replied. "You are my mother; this has not changed. The years of memories and how you have acted towards Eleanor and me say just as much. What has changed though is my trust towards you. I will take my oath that I swore to this realm to heart and not waiver, but I will always have some form of doubt about your intentions."

"I am not foolish enough to think that things will ever be the same between us, but I can at least hold onto this and accept where we stand." She removed her hand from his shoulder and clasped her hands in front of her. "I love you Kasparov, that will never change."

"I love you to, Mother."

Helen felt her heartbeat quicken in her chest and could have sworn that it was about to jump out of her chest. Before she could register her actions, her arms extended out and pulled Kasparov to her. The young man was tense initially, but it eased out of his shoulders. He did not return the gesture, but let his mother partake in the physical exchange of her emotions and feelings.

Pulling away, Helen replied, "I will see you at dinner an hour."

"Until then, your grace," Kasparov bowed and took his leave. Helen watched her son back towards the depths of the castle, never glancing back. Helen herself followed suit and went towards the dining hall. Upon her arrival, she lit the hearth behind her chair with her signature blue flames. She watched them dance amongst the ash and kindling while she waited for the others to arrive.

As expected, Maleficent was first to arrive, and once she saw she was not alone, walked over to her daughter's side. "What seems to have your mind so preoccupied?"

"I talked with Kasparov. I believe we are once again on speaking terms, but not to where we were before."

"To think you ever would is the thought of someone naïve that does not look at events with a rational mind."

"You can't blame me for wanting to have what I once had with him."

"I understand your desire for things to return to the way they once were, but the situation has changed." She paused momentarily before continuing, "This is something that we can discuss later."

As soon as she had finished her statement, Eleanor walked into the room with Kas beside her. Elanor had a lightness in her step, one that hadn't been seen in a while. That wasn't what shocked Helen. It was the smile on her face, the genuine expression of contentment.

"Mother if it is alright with you, I was hoping to practice with Kas for this evening to get better with handling Hell's Reaper."

"Sounds like a wise use of your time."

"Kas actually suggested it."

Turning to the young man she said, "That is very thoughtful of you Kasparov, are you sure that Sir Ulrich is alright with this change in your training?"

"He was alright with it. He actually said that it would be a good mental exercise for me."

"Hmm, very enlightened of him. Shall we eat then? I don't want to keep you two from your dueling practice."

The four sat in their respective spots at the table. Chatter was low, with occasional lulls but shorter than they had been. Kasparov spoke more than he had prior but kept some of his replies short. The small conversation was comforting to Helen. It gave some sense of normalcy to everything, although tense at times when conversation turned towards her and her son.

Once the younger two had finished their supper, they excused themselves to go to the courtyard for their practice. Maleficent did not stay long afterwards, stating that she was going to return to her study for the evening. This left Helen with her thoughts as she wandered the corridors of the castle. She did so until she reached the outer walls of the castle.

She looked down towards the courtyard where Kas and Eleanor were sparing. Eleanor was wearing her full armor, while Kas only have his breast plate and shield to ward off his sister's attacks. Eleanor seemed to be holding her own, but Helen knew that Kas was holding back. If it came to a match of brute strength, Kasparov would win hands down. But that was not the point of this session, it was to have his sister better understand how to use her weapon skillfully against those who would have had similar training as him.

Helen watched the two occasionally pause, with Kas pointing and demonstrating different movements that Eleanor would mimic afterwards. Momentarily she looked across towards the other side where she saw Brenner reprimanding some of the soldiers on duty that she could only assume were caught slacking. Returning her gaze back, she watched as Eleanor went through a quick succession of parries and thrusts that ricocheted off Kas's shield.

As she continued to watch, footsteps drawing near distracted her. Looking over she noticed Ulrich approaching, his eyes also trained on the two practicing their sword play.

"She is a fast learner, must get that from her mother."

"She is a fast learner because she has to be. We all must if we want to survive. Is there something that you wished to discuss with me?"

"If your grace will allow me, I would just like to observe my student with you to see what he needs to work on."

She motioned to the space next to her and returned her gaze toward her children. Despite the addition of armor, Eleanor was able to charge at Kas with speed that he did not possess. He was able to keep her strikes away though and retaliate with a few swings of his sword.

"He certainly has become stronger, but he still struggles with keeping his footing against opponents with speed."

"Indeed your grace. However, his ability to analyze an opponent's weakness has improved." As he said this, Kasparov used his shield to block Eleanor's strike and used his body to shove her back.

"It would appear so." The two watched as Eleanor engulfed her blade in flames and reset her stance. "This should prove entertaining." Eleanor waited patiently, until Kas charged at her quickly with his shield raised. They clashed and the sound of their blades locking continued to fill the air.

There was silence between the two for a few minutes, until Ulrich quietly stated, "Your grace, if I may be so bold, you look most beautiful in the evening sun."

Eleanor lost her composure momentarily, but quickly resumed her expressionless mask. Despite this though, she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and cursed herself for it. "No one has ever said that to me."

"You often are teaching your daughter at this time, so you aren't usually-"

"No, not about the time of day." She turned towards him. "Beautiful."

"I would never lie to you about such a thing your grace." He took her hand in his and placed a gentle kiss.

Another pause between them passed before Helen said, "Follow me."

The two made their way up towards Helen's study. No further words our sounds were shared between the two. Once they reached their destination, Helen turned back toward Ulrich. "Remember when you said you wanted to share another dance with me?"

"Yes your grace."

"Good." She opened the door and lead him to the center of the room. With a wave of her hand the sounds of a slow waltz started to fill the room.

"As my lady commands," Ulrich stated before falling into a bow. Helen returned with the customary curtsey and they stepped closer to each other. The music took them about the room, Ulrich's gaze never faltering from the azure orbs that looked back at him. Words were not shared between the two. Instead Helen let the music talk for her.

Helen felt a pull in her chest towards this man, someone who she had initially detested and would have killed without a second thought. But he showed her a kindness so few had ever shown her. She felt herself draw closer to him as they continued to dance. Once the music ended, they continued to move about, oblivious to their surroundings. Despite Ulrich leading, Helen stopped them still staring at him. She was fighting with herself over what she wanted to do, and the knight could see it. He waited, not wanting to force himself on her.

She leaned in and gently placed a kiss on his lips. Ulrich leaned into the kiss, trying to reassure the woman before him that his feelings for her were true. Helen slowly slid her hand to rest on his chest as she continued to fight with herself on if she should continue or stop. Breaking away she looked back up at him, unsure of what to do.

Ulrich gazed back at her and ran his thumb across her cheek. He leaned in to kiss her again and was surprised that she did not resist. He slowly slid his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Once they broke apart, Helen rested her forehead against Ulrich's.

"Care for another dance your grace?"

"I would." She started another waltz and the two continued to slowly turn around the room. Chest to chest, the two continued to lock eyes with the other. When their second dance came to a close, Ulrich again leaned in to kiss her. Helen accepted, but did not pursue further. She felt Ulrich's fingers start to pull at the bindings of her dress, to which she reached to halt his hands and pulled them in front of her.

"Another night perhaps," she said as she looked away. "I need to spend time with this before it goes any further."

Ulrich raised both of her hands to his lips and placed another kiss upon them. "As my queen commands."

He then released her hands and left the room. Helen watching him leave and started to slowly pace about the room. Her rational mind could not connect the pieces as to how she had gotten to the point of sharing a romantic kiss with him, but her heart did not care and could only fixate on what she felt during that kiss.

So this is love?