Again, thanks for the reviews!

Special thanks to Ginnia for helping me climb inside the queen's head a little :)

Azkadellia paced back and forth across her bedroom floor, wringing her hands and chewing on her lower lip. This was a mistake, she kept telling herself. She had placed the letter on the desk in her mother's study just fifteen minutes prior. I shouldn't have done this. Maybe there's still time to get it back. She stood still. If I hurry, I can probably get there before she's out of her meeting. She exited her room and half-walked, half-ran down the hall. Down the staircase, past the library, turn right-

And she ran headlong into Ambrose coming the other way. He quickly reached out and caught her arm before she fell backwards.

"Slow down, Azkadee, what's the hurry?"

She straightened herself. "This was a bad idea, if I hurry, I can get the letter back before she sees it." She tried to continue past him, but he held her arm firmly.

"Wait a minute, now."

"Look, I know we talked about all this, but I realized it's better to know without words that she can't stand me than for her to spell it out."

"Come on, Az, we talked about this."

"But if she responds and tells me I'm right about all this…" Tears sprung to her eyes and she looked down at the floor. "I don't think I could take it."

"Azkadellia." He said sternly. Her eyes shot up, surprised by his tone. His face was serious. "You cannot live the rest of your life in fear of rejection. You are nearly thirty annuals old and Princess of the Outer Zone. It's time to act like it."

For a moment, she just stared at him. Then, blinking several times, she collected herself and stood up tall.

His face softened. "That's better. Now how about we take a walk in the garden and you can show me the new plants we received as a gift from the Eastern Guild."

The walk was brief, but therapeutic for Az, who took the chance to clear her head and regain her nerve. It wasn't five minutes after Ambrose returned her to her room that she heard a soft knock at the door. She crossed the room, took a deep breath and exhaled before turning the knob and opening.

She was looking into the lavender eyes of her mother, whose regal air was strangely replaced with one of humility. "May I come in?" she asked softly.

Azkadellia stepped aside and then closed the door behind her mother, who made her way over to the vanity and sat down on the bench, facing into the room. Carefully walking back, Az situated herself on the edge of the bed and looked at the queen, trying not to betray the anxiety boiling in her chest.

For a moment, the queen looked down at her carefully folded hands. Then she raised her head, her face showing pain that Az had never seen before.

"Oh, my Azkadellia, I don't know where to start. I've failed you on so many levels, I don't know that it's possible to make amends for them all."

Stunned, Azkadellia tried to make sense of her mother's words. "Failed me, mother?"

"I apologize that I have been hard on you lately. I tend to behave more as a queen than a mother interacting with her daughter. If I find it hard to be close to you, it's because of how dreadfully guilty I feel about everything that happened to you.

"I knew the witch had taken you. My folly was in underestimating her patience. I assumed that she had taken you in order to get to me. It never occurred to me that she planned on staying in you. I began to formulate a plan, should she try to confront me and enter into me. I consulted my friend the Mystic Man and together we prepared. When instead she killed DG, I was shocked. I never expected her to be patient enough to wait as she did. She wasn't going to take me, she was going to wait me out in you.

"I was then faced with a decision no mother should have to make. I could fight the witch and save you, or I could revive DG. I chose the latter, hoping that there would yet be a way to free you. The Mystic Man, your father, and I altered our plans. Instead of me using the emerald to challenge the witch, it was hidden, waiting for DG to do what I was no longer capable of. We feigned her funeral and sent her into hiding.

"After the eclipse, I felt so awful about the nightmare you had endured, I kept my distance. It seems that at the times you need me the most, I let you down."

By the time she finished, Az could see the deep heartache in her mother's features. She wondered briefly if she could sense Az's overwhelming shock. Her mother was there, in front of her, asking for her forgiveness.

She couldn't take it. Az quickly closed the distance between them and threw herself into the queen's arms, sobbing. "Oh Mother, I missed you."

"I missed you, too, my Azkadellia."

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