Disclaimer: DK belongs to Meeeee-neko Ohkami. Got you there, didn't I?

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Ch. 7

The Horror of Herbal

Rasealene gazed at the destruction. She had decided to pay a visit to Lykouleon when she was stopped short from seeing Rath's room. The curtains were ripped apart, the furniture was battered, broken glass was lieing everywhere, and Rath was sitting in the midst of it all, shivering. Rasealene swept into the room, avoiding the glass shards with queenly grace (No pun!). "Rath dear, are you alright?" Rath flinched visibly and pulled some torn bedsheets around him. "Leave me alone!" He screamed.

Rasealene was taken aback. "What ever is wrong dear?" She asked, wrapping her arms around Rath. Rath pushed her away. "He's everywhere! He's going to kill me! AHHHHHHH!" Rath ran out of the room screaming.

"Oh my." Rasealene shook her head sadly. She was about to leave when something caught her eye. It was a gift basket. It had been beautiful once, but all the ribbons were hacked off. "Poor thing," Rasealene murmured completely forgetting about Rath and his issues. She picked it up tenderly and went back to her room. She left the basket on her table and went on her way to Lykouleon's room.

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Rasealene dressed for bed in a particularly bad mood. Lykouleon had been happy to see her, but he was also rather busy with his work. Rasealene suggested to him that she should help him and Lykouleon replied with a burst of laughter. "Rasealene dear," Rasealene recalled, "Leave the war and strategy for men. Aren't you busy with overseeing the castle? Don't worry your pretty head about politics." Lykouleon had then dismissed her.

Why couldn't her loving yet slightly stupid husband understand her? She could help! As she was preparing to be the future queen of Draqueen, she had been tutored in war tactics, politics, and history. He shouldn't let all that go to waste! Rasealene sighed and shook her head. No, she was being selfish, she will help in her own way, making sure that the castle affairs ran smoothly. Smiling on the outside, yet growling on the inside. She went to bed.

After drowsing for an hour, Rasealene got up. She couldn't sleep. She was too downhearted. She looked around her room, locking her eyes on the basket. Rasealene smiled.

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"Lala.." Rasealene hummed under her breath as she strung a long blue ribbon around the gift basket. Dressing people up cheered her, but since there were no people available, the basket would have to do. After finishing, she swept the empty ribbon scrolls out of the way. I think I deserve a little something. Raselane thought as she picked a small packet of tea. She looked at it. It said: Herbal.

"Herbal?" Rasealene echoed. "Oh yes, herbal is supposed to help my complexion right?" At the word complexion, Rasealene pinched her cheeks for a little redness. Smiling, she prepared her tea.

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The aroma of the cup was...not one of the best, but Rasealene was inspired by the thought of creating healthy-looking skin. She drank it in slowly, trying to ignore the taste.

"Ew, this tastes awful. I wouldn't drink it even if it helped my face!"

Rasealene observed her cup absentmindedly. "Even so, it's better than using rouge."

"Are you hearing yourself? You're willing to make yourself suffer in order to look prettier?"

Rasealene looked up. At first, she thought she was looking at a mirror, but realized that the person looked different from her. Her opposite's face was drawn into an ugly scowl, something that Rasealene would never do. "You are?" She asked politely.

"Your conscience." Conscience poured the substance onto the floor. "Don't do that! Think about the maids that have to clean up in the morning!" Rasealene said reprovingly. "Better them than me." Conscience retorted rudely, dropping the cup with a careless hand. It shattered to pieces onto the floor. Rasealene eyes widened. "You are a very rude indiviual." She stated.

Conscience grinned evilly. "Much better than a goody two shoes." She laughed. "I can not believe that you are my conscience." Rasealene frowned. Her face mirrored disgust. "Well you better start believing sugar queen, cause I'm gonna stick around for a long time."

"Sugar queen?" Rasealene protested. Conscience rolled her lovely emerald orbs. "Trust me, sugar queen is one of the nicer names I thought about." The Dragon queen of Draqueen (rhymes) drew herself up. "I refuse to believe that anyone that looks like me can be so nasty! I order you to get out of the palace!"

Her twin glared at her. "You can't order me to do anything missy. And besides, you're getting pretty nasty yourself." She raised a hand at Rasealene's angry sputtering. "You just ordered me out without considering how I felt and you think your husband as a big dolt." She studied her shiny nails. Rasealene opened and closed her mouth a few times. "As the queen, I am devoted to my hus-"

"Don't give me that sugary junk. The truth is that you resent Lykouleon for doing the fun stuff and underestimating you just because you're a woman." Conscience nudged the porcelain pieces of the mug around the floor with her foot, gleefully noting the scratches they made on the tiles. Rasealene slumped. The truth was that Conscience was right. She was resentful of her husband. However, something else bothered her.

"How come you're so mean?"

Conscience fell of her chair. "I am merely a reflection of your inner self." She sniffed as she sat back down. "I wouldn't have been evil if you were nice." "But I am nice!" Rasealene said angrily. "That's what you think. In reality, you're sneering at the peasants, growling at the servants, and laughing at the dragon officers. You always seem smug when you hear about a noblewoman going into disgrace and greedily use up the money in the treasury. All in all, you're not a nice person, Rasealene." Conscience said.

Rasealene's mind reeled. The shock of hearing someone say that she was anything but nice took a savage blow to her mental state. She tipped forward and back for a while, then dropped out of her chair, hitting the floor with a thud. Conscience peered at her. Then she shrugged. "Well, she couldn't handle issues about anything to begin with." Suddenly she grinned.

She grabbed Rasealene's still body and shoved it into the wardrobe. "It's time for me to take over in miss look-at-me-I'm-the-queen." Conscience muttered. Looking back at Rasealene, a twinge of regret surfaced. Conscience viciously squashed it down. "Rasealene will thank me when this is over. After all these years everyone will find out what she's is really made out of."

Conscience gave a laugh that could show up Nadil and picked up the gift basket. She fondled it lovingly. "This is the creation that brought me to life." She murmured. "It is my duty to pass it on." Conscience walked briskly out of the room and stopped in front of a door. She dropped it down onto the floor and walked away.

A sleepy head poked out of the door.

"Who's there?"

Dun dun dun! I bet no one expected that! I thought it would be cool to show a totally new side of Rasealene, something no one would be used to seeing. Any guesses on which door Rasealene's conscience stopped at?