Chapter 4

"Kouen!"

The Queen woke up with a near blinding ray of sunshine in her eyes. Being just a bit hungover, that light was pure evil. Before sitting up, she felt the heat of another body next to her and began to panic. She was in a conflict with herself, should she be happy she remembered everything that had happened, or dread it? The body, or rather, the 1st Prince of the Kou Empire, stirred in his sleep next to her, causing her to stay very still and hold her breath. She sat up and stood, then aware she was naked. For a split second, she went to grab the sheet to cover herself, but then again, he had seen everything already, so she merely walked to her chair and took her silk robe from it, wrapping it around herself. Avalia heard the prince groan softly, along with hearing the sheets falling on the floor next to the bed.

"Come back to bed." It was a command, but soft. Full of promises from the way his voice sounded, rough, low, undeniably sexy, and only made the Queen's attraction to him grow. Was this the way Kouen had planned on trapping the Queen into an alliance? By seducing her? She cursed at herself silently. Avalia was in an inner turmoil too long for Kouen.

"Avalia." The way he said her name made all of her thoughts come to a record scratch stop. She hesitated, not turning around.

"I need you." His voice was too much for her, and when she turned, the Prince laid naked on the bed, in all his glory. The breath in her throat hitched as she looked at him in surprise. She hadn't remembered that truthfully, as she had been rather drunk. But the immense amount of pleasure...now it made sense. 'What the hell?' She thought, what would another "private meeting" with the Prince hurt? The Queen felt the robe slip from her shoulder as she walked towards her large bed. The large and warm hands of the Prince pulled her beneath him, his lips cutting off the giggle that passed through hers...

Later in the day, when the Queen and Prince decided to leave the safety and comfort of the Queens bedroom, conflict had arose. Walking down the large staircase, she saw bags, for leaving. She knew King Sinbad would be leaving, but there were too many bags...Yelling brought Avalia's attention from the luggage.

"What, so you're just going to leave? You didn't discuss this with me, let alone Mother!" Kia yelled, dangerously close to her sister.

"I don't need to talk with you or your Mother, I am free to leave." Whoa. Those words tore through the Queen in a way she had never felt.

"My Mother? She's your mother too! Or are you forgetting that? Do I need to remind you on why you and I are still alive?" The two continued to argue when King Sinbad appeared next to Avalia. She took a deep breath and did her best to stay calm.

"She wanted to leave. I thought if she came and stayed at the Palace in Sindria for a while, that might give her the break she needed." Sinbad said softly, his tone calm but had the underlying tone of panic. When she didn't respond, he opened his mouth again. The Queen's hand raising cut him off.

"Leave us!" Avalia's voice rang throughout the room, signaling everyone but her daughters to leave. Kia walked a few feet away from her sister, attempting to calm herself. Mia, however, seemed ready for a fight.

"I don't have to ask you to leave." She said defensively. Kia made a noise in frustration, almost mimicking the Queens.

"Actually, you do. You are a Princess in this Kingdom and by right, you do as I say. If you leave without my permission, you are stripping yourself of your title and therefore banishing yourself from the Kingdom of Rein. Is that what you want?" The twins looked at their Mother in horror for a moment. Neither one of them knew that, even though now that they heard it, it made perfect sense. Just because they were not her children by blood, did not mean the Queen hadn't raised them from a young age, giving them the best education money could buy, giving them the best training she could find, and made sure they never had to worry about anything. But as much as she had done, in the moment, Mia did not care.

"Then I am no longer a part of this Kingdom." Walking away from the two, the older twin stomped away, yelling for the Sindrian King. Kia, naturally, ran after her sister, begging for her to wait. Avalia's eyes were wide, filling slowly with tears. Sinbad and his attendants came out of one of the side rooms, knowingly hearing their entire conversation.

"No, Kia, I'm not staying. If you want to be with me, you will come with me." Mia yelled. Kia was then in inner turmoil herself. Stay with her Mother or go with her sister. Why was this a choice she had to make? Surely she would be banished as well.

"I know it's not fair, but you must make a decision Kia." Avalia said after clearing her throat. Kouen and his siblings had gathered near the Queen, the Princes hand resting on her shoulder. Kia looked between the two. Tears filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks as she walked towards her Mother.

"I do not have a sister." She said, her voice cracking. Mia, surprised by her younger sisters actions, decided to lash out at the Queen.

"This is your doing! My Sister would always be with me. If you hadn't adopted us, we would be fine now. Happy together without having to worry about making you happy!" She yelled. Everyone in the room seemed to stop breathing as Avalia turned.

"If I had not adopted you, you would be dead. Let me rephrase, if I had not bought you from a Slave Market, you would be dead. You were, what, 3 years old? No one else wanted you. I am the reason you and your sister are still living, you bitch!" Avalia yelled back, just as angry. Mia was shocked that those words would ever leave her Mother's mouth, even more shocked that they were directed to her. Before she could respond, Avalia was turning away.

"Leave!" She commanded, walking towards her large staircase, her guests and daughter following quickly after her. What hurt Mia the most in that moment, was her sister did not spare her another glance. The Sindrian party left the Palace quickly, much to Mia's dismay. The Queen paced in the large living room, blinking away tears. Kouha attempted to make Kia feel better, but it was no use. Kouen watched his Queen pace, worrying slightly.

"Avalia, sit down." He said softly. She only shook her head. Pacing helped keep her anger down. If not, she would surely be hurting something, or someone.

"Why would she think she could go without asking me? All of those Royal lessons, was that not a clear topic?" She muttered, not talking to anyone in particular. Kouen sighed in frustration a bit. It was clear to him that this was upsetting her more than she wanted to admit. The First Prince stood and stopped the Queen.

"Look at me. It will be okay. Sinbad won't keep her there forever. She will come back." He explained, hoping that would calm her. It did not.

"Come back? She's not allowed back." Avalia said simply.

"Mother!" Kia exclaimed, tears still running down her cheeks. She always knew the Queen of Rein to be soft, warm, motherly...as her Mother should be. But in times like these, it really showed how much of a Queen Avalia Rein was. The cold, domineering Empress of Pain was not an easy person to know, nor a person anyone should. This was how she lived, how she kept herself sane. For others, if life was too hard on them, or they needed it to be over, they could end it themselves. For Avalia, if her life was not perfect, she would live in that forever, never being able to feel that relief others might be able to. Avalia was someone who knew hardship and suffering well, and as her life progressed, she wanted that pain and suffering to stop. Cutting those off who cause her that was what she had to do, no matter who they were. Because in this life, the only person that would be with Avalia forever was herself. The Queen felt herself began to get more and more angry as she thought of the event that had just happened.

"Of course, the first man she happens to have sex with, she runs off with." Kia looks at her Mother.

"Mother! You shouldn't go spouting off about that!" She argued, her face a bit red.

"Why not? It's true. No man is worth destroying your relationship with your family for. I thought I raised you girls to know that." She muttered again. Kia felt the need to defend her sister.

"You don't know the reason why she left." Kia yelled, standing. The Queen stopped and looked at her daughter.

"Oh, and you do?" Kia raised her head a little.

"As a matter of fact, I do. She left because she was sick of you controlling us." Kia said in a defensive tone. Avalia laughed harshly.

"Controlling you? Firstly, any controlling I do is because not only am I your Mother, but news flash, I'm your Queen! Secondly, I instruct you two do your duty as Princesses. You two begged me to be Princesses, but now you don't want to do any work? God forbid I have you talk to people." Avalia turned away, brushing her ebony hair from her face. Kouen watched the two argue in amusement. He would never tell his Lover how enticing she looked angry...simply because it would make her more angry. Nothing good comes from fighting with an erection...

"So, are you saying you want to leave now? Because I'm so controlling? Go, then, you're banished as well!" She yelled. The blood from Kia's face drained. Two large guards, who seemed to be Fanalis like the Princess, grabbed her by her arms, lifting her and bringing her to the door.

"No, Mother, I'm sorry! I take it back! Please, Mother!" Her voice grew quieter as the guards brought her down the hall. Kouen and his siblings were surprised.

"Why didn't you tell them to stop?" Kouha asked, bewildered.

"Because they're bringing her to her bedroom, not the the gates." Avalia muttered, pouring herself a large glass of wine. They all seemed to sigh in relief.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, for all that has happened today. Is there anything we can help you with?" Koumei asks, looking at his brother for what it seemed like approval. Kouen nods.

"No, thank you. I apologize for all of this drama. It truthfully never happens, so I did not handle it well." She admitted, a bit sheepishly. The Queen and her quests laugh a bit at the remark, then started chatting about nothing in particular. Down to the other side of the Palace, the Princess yelled at the guards, who locked her in her room. She pounded on the door, knowing it would not break. The guard looked at her sympathetically.

"Forgive me, Your Highness. If I was not commanded by the Queen, I would not have done that." Kia hated herself in that moment, being handled like that by those men, such strong beings, made her feel..strange. The look in the mans eyes was not one she had seen before. Kia merely exhaled dramatically and walked towards the window, looking out at the evening sky. The younger twin laid down on her bed and closed her eyes, slowly drifting off.

"Welcome to your new home!" The younger sister looked up at her new mother, who's eyes were the same beautiful shade at the sky. Her hair was as dark as night, her skin flawless and beautiful. Men in armor hovered around them nervously, which only made the girls nervous. Kia whimpered and looked down, not moving. Why were all of those men around them? Where they there to take them away again? Both girls began to cry. The woman who took them away from that market place kneels beside them.

"Girls, what's wrong?" She asks in a panic. Mia points to the guards vaguely, wanting them to go away, but also wanting to know why there were so many of them. Who exactly was this woman? She motioned for the guards to move back, and they did quite a bit.

"Honey, they're only here to protect us. They won't hurt you." The woman said softly. One of the guards walked very slowly towards them, his hands up.

"Your Majesty, this is not a good place to be. Scouts have been spotted, you need to go inside." The guard advised. This seemed to anger the woman but did as the guards said, ushering the girls into the Palace. Entering the large building, the girls looked around in confusion. Who was this woman? Why did she help them? Mia looked up at her.

"Who..are you?" Mia asked softly, her voice a bit broken. The woman caressed her face gently

"My name is Avalia." She answered simply. Mia then directed a question to the guard.

"Why do you call her Yourjesty?" The guard chuckled as Mia scrambled the words together. He bent down slowly.

"I call her, Your Majesty, because she is not just Avalia. She is Her Royal Majesty, Avalia Rein, Queen of Rein. And as her daughter, you are Her Royal Highness, Mia Rein, Princess of Rein." Mia and Kia looked at each other. Then Mia pointed to Kia.

"My sissy too?" She asked. The guard nodded.

"Yes, she is Her Royal Highness, Kia Rein, Princess of Rein." Mia and Kia looked at Avalia in awe.

"Queen..."

Kia woke auddenly when she heard her door close. Springing from her bed, she saw her Mother, holding a candle.

"It's just me." The Queen's soft, warm tone was back, full of apology and sorrow. Kia sighed, no longer angry, just sad. The Queen spent a moment lighting the candles around the room before pulling a chair next to Kia's bed, sitting down. The sit in silence for a few moments before Kia breaks it.

"Is she...really banished forever?" She asks, her voice very quiet. In the dim candle light, she could see a soft smile grace her mother's lips.

"No, my Dear. I would allow her to come back now if she wanted." The Queen responded softly. Her answer confused Kia a little.

"Why?"

"Why, what? Why would I let her back?" Kia nodded.

"I would let her back because she's my daughter. I don't doubt that King Sinbad performed well, if you know what I'm getting at, and she didn't want him to leave her behind. I wanted you girls to be strong, but sometimes those temptations...you just can't say no. I understand completely." The Queen looked almost old in the candle light. Ageless usually, but in this shadow, you could see the age on her face. The war and murder she had seen, the birth and miracles, the life and death.

"Why did you buy us?" She had asked a thousand times before, but she wanted to hear it again. The real reason.

"You two...reminded me of my sister. She had dark, dark red hair. When I saw you two, I just couldn't help it. I didn't care how much it was, I would pay it." The girl looked at her mother, bursting into tears. Throwing herself on the ground, she rested her head on her Mother's lap, sobbing uncontrollably. Avalia was shocked at her daughter's sudden burst but ran her fingers through her red hair gently. Kia begged her Mother to stay with her, and Avalia agreed. Holding her daughter while she cried herself to sleep was the hardest thing the Queen had ever done. Tears filled her own eyes as she thought of the her other daughter, and how she might never see her again...little did she know...

The next morning, they were awoken by screams. Guards opened the door to Kia's room in fright.

"Your Majesty! It's her Highness Princess Mia!" Kia pushed her way out of the door before Avalia could, who ran quickly after her, her sword in her hand. Running out the front Palace door and to the gates, she saw Kia run around the building to the cemetery. For a moment, all she sees in Kia fall down in front of the statue made for the Queen's sister. But it's stained. With blood. Her daughter screams and sobs, reaching for the statue. Avalia doesn't seem to understand for a moment...until she actually looks at the statue. And what she sees is a body hanging on it, blood dripping down. Her eyes slowly widen as she realizes. That body belong to her beloved daughter Mia. And she was slain in cold blood and draped on the statue of her Aunt. Time stops for a moment. Avalia does not breathe. She does not move. She only thinks. Sinbad was not the killer, that she was sure of. Especially since he stood not 5 feet from the body, tears of his own in his eyes, trying to comfort the sister of his dead Lover. The guard quickly brings a note to the Queen, which is slightly stained in blood. Avalia crumples it in her fist, her anger building before she lets out a scream in utter anger, the ground around her shaking, her Djinn seemingly screaming with her. The words that leave her mouth are not in her voice, but her Djinns, and terrifies those around her.

"No one crosses the Queen of Rein!"