Dainara stood in front of the mirror in her room, looking at the beautiful green gown she was wearing to go to Reaver's party. Queen Nichole had lent her some matching jewelry and shoes as well, and she had combed her hair so that it fell graciously over her shoulders.

She looked really beautiful and elegant, and seeing herself like that brought back memories of the times when she would wear her best dresses to go on dates with Lucious. How different those times were…She remembered how happy and excited she felt every time she was going to meet him after one of his missions; now, she was going to meet him after some time and all she could feel was sadness and pain. But he was not Lucious after all, he was just a man who had killed her beloved husband and had taken his likeness to torture her, to make her painful memories come back to her mind.

She took a deep breath and tied Nana's brooch to her dress carefully. She had to be strong, she had to make one last effort for the workers' lives…and then she would finally join her loved ones in death.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

- "Dainara, are you ready?"- said the Queen from the other side.

Dainara approached the door and opened it.

- "I think so"- she said nervously.

Queen Nichole was wearing a beautiful red gown tied in the waist with an elegant purple sash and some jewelry which matched her crown. She looked at Dainara and smiled.

- "You look really beautiful" - she said – "If Reaver wants to approach you tonight, he will have to get rid of all the men who will be around you first".

Dainara chuckled.

- "I don't think anyone is going to pay attention to me if I go with their radiant Queen" – she replied.

The Queen entered the room and looked at her with a worried expression.

- "Listen, I know that for you coming to the party is not a pleasant thing to do, and trust me that I would have never asked you to come with me had I had any other option" – she said in a motherly tone – "But I promise this is the last time you will ever have to see Reaver. You have my word".

Dainara looked down and smiled faintly.

- "Do not worry, Your Majesty. I will survive one more trivial conversation with him, and if you get the document it will be a very good thing for the poor workers, so it's worth it".

Queen Nichole felt a bit relieved to see that Dainara was willing to do it and didn't look as sad as the previous day.

- "Well, then I suppose we should get going" – said the Queen – "But before we go, there is something I should warn you about".

Dainara looked at the Queen and raised her eyebrows.

- "What is it?"

- "I believe you should be aware that Reaver is quite…promiscuous, and would never miss a chance to take a beautiful woman to bed".

Dainara's heart froze when she heard this. Promiscuous? Taking women to bed? It seemed logical that, after living so many years, he had slept with other women, but Dainara hadn't even thought of that…

- "What…do you mean he is promiscuous?" – asked Dainara, trying to keep her voice as firm as possible.

- "I mean that he really enjoys sex and it is said that he has many lovers, both women and men".

Dainara was so shocked that she couldn't speak. She stepped back and sat down on the edge of her bed. Lucious…he had told her that he had never made love to anyone else, and now…

Queen Nichole approached her quickly.

- "Are you alright?"

Dainara nodded, still looking down.

- "Look, what I'm trying to say is that you should avoid remaining alone with him. You are a very beautiful woman and he's definitely going to try to sleep with you tonight" – continued the Queen.

Dainara looked up and frowned.

- "And why are you so sure he's going to try anything with me? He's the host of the party, he needs to be with his guests" – she said firmly.

Queen Nichole scoffed.

- "You should be careful especially in his parties" – she said shyly - "They always end…in an interesting way".

- "Interesting? What do you mean?"

The Queen remained silent for a moment.

- "They always end up in orgies…" – she said finally.

- "Orgies?" – said Dainara loudly as she got up from her bed and started walking around the room – "That's what he's been doing all this time? Parties and orgies?".

It couldn't be possible, Lucious would never do such things…would he? Dainara started wondering whether she knew him that well after all…Maybe he had always liked those things, maybe he had lied to her when he had confessed to her that she was his first woman.

- "No, that man is not Lucious…" – she thought – "He is a depraved murderer…he's everything Lucious would never be".

As she walked nervously around the room, Queen Nichole looked at her, feeling a bit confused. She understood that this revelation was not the best, considering Dainara had to spend some time with him at the party, but somehow she felt that her reaction was more than just worry about her safety around him.

She got up from the bed and stopped her.

- "You have nothing to worry about, Dainara" – she told her firmly – "Just remain in a crowded room talking to him for a while and I promise we'll leave".

Dainara sighed and nodded, and the two women made their way to the main gates of the castle, where an elegant carriage was waiting for them to take them to Reaver's manor.

When they arrived, almost every noble from Millfields was already at the party, and even some carriages carrying nobles from other parts of Albion were stationed nearby. Elegantly dressed men and women made their way through the manor's gardens towards the main door, which was open.

Queen Nichole and Dainara got off their carriage and also started making their way towards the manor. As they were getting close to the door, Dainara's heart started beating so fast and she felt like she was about to faint. She took a deep breath.

- "Everything will be alright, don't worry"- said the Queen smiling.

Dainara nodded and, before she had time to say anything, a group of nobles approached them, bowing to the Queen politely and engaging in pleasantries.

Soon, they found themselves at the manor's door, where Barry Hatch greeted the guests happily. As soon as he saw the Queen, he opened his eyes widely and bowed.

- "Your Majesty! It is a great pleasure to have you here. I'm sure Master Weaver will be very happy to see that you have finally accepted his invitation to come to one of his parties".

Just hearing that name made Dainara feel a choking pressure on her neck.

- "I just want to socialize with the nobles of my Kingdom, and what better way to do so than by attending one of Reaver's parties"- the Queen then turned to Dainara- "This young lady is a good friend of mine; she doesn't have an invitation, but I hope that's not a problem".

- "Of course not, Your Majesty"- replied Barry- "Master Weaver is always happy to have beautiful women around him".

Dainara tried to force a smile and the two women entered the manor, which was already full of guests drinking, eating and flirting with each other.

- "Let's go upstairs to the main dining room; Reaver must be there"- said the Queen- "We'll greet him, mingle for a while and then, while you talk to him, I'll go search his office. It won't take long, I promise".

As they were going upstairs, Dainara did her best to remain calm. She couldn't allow him to see her like this, she had to remain firm and think of a good reason as to why she was there at the party since he would surely find it very strange that, after their last conversation, she had decided to see him again.

- "I'll tell him I'm here to ask him to hire the workers back since I'm the only person on Albion who is not afraid of him"- she thought.

The main dining room was crowded and, as soon as they entered, a lot of nobles approached the Queen, trying to talk to her. Queen Nichole smiled and greeted them all while she looked around the room trying to find Reaver.

- "He's not here"- she whispered to Dainara- "I wonder where…"

Before she finished her sentence, a big door opened and Reaver appeared behind it, smiling happily and greeting everyone around him. An attractive blonde woman, who was wearing quite a revealing dress, was holding his arm.

- "There he is"- said Queen Nichole looking at him- "Let's approach him".

Dainara remained still, unable to move, and the Queen held her arm and pulled her forwards. They hadn't even got close to him when Reaver turned around and spotted them, making his way towards them quickly along with the blonde woman.

- "Oh, Your Majesty! What a pleasant surprise!"- he said- "It is truly an honour to have you here tonight; I'm very happy that you decided to grace us with your presence".

- "A Queen deserves to have fun from time to time, I suppose"- replied Queen Nichole- "Besides, this is the best way to interact with the nobles of Albion".

Reaver then looked at Dainara, who did not dare to look at him directly.

- "I'm elated to see you here too, my dear"- he said with a smirk.

Dainara nodded, unable to utter a word. Now not only her neck seemed to be choking, but her dress seemed to be pressing her entire body.

- "I do hope you two enjoy the party"- Reaver went on- "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must greet the rest of my guests".

He bowed to them politely and approached a group of nobles who were talking cheerfully. Queen Nichole looked at him and raised her eyebrow.

- "Well, that was unexpected"- she said- "I thought he would pay more attention to us".

Dainara also looked at him and frowned.

- "Who do you think that woman is?"- she asked.

- "I don't know…Probably his latest bride. He has a new bride every now and then"- she remained thoughtful for a moment- "We have to get his attention, I can't trust his guests to keep him busy long enough…"

- "Bride?"- interrupted Dainara, unable to control the anger in her voice- "What do you mean? Is he going to get married?"

Queen Nichole looked at her and frowned. What was wrong with her? Why was she asking those questions?

- "I don't think Reaver will ever marry anyone, he's way too egocentric and promiscuous to do so"- she replied- "I mean that she must be his latest lover".

Dainara scoffed.

- "Then it's natural that he's not paying attention to us"- she said bitterly- "He's busy…"

The Queen felt so confused. Why was Dainara angry about Reaver's lover? It looked like she was almost…jealous.

- "Are you alright?"- she asked her.

- "Yes, of course I'm alright"- replied Dainara, trying to calm herself down- "Why shouldn't I be?"

Queen Nichole smiled.

- "Come on, let's mingle for a bit".

The two women approached a long wooden table and each one took a glass of wine before joining the conversation of a big group of nobles, who were pleased to have the monarch among them. Despite her efforts to concentrate on the conversation they were having, Dainara couldn't stop looking at Reaver and his lover. He seemed truly happy, like he had already forgotten about her and his so called love for her. It was true that she had asked him to leave her alone but, somehow, she hadn't really expected him to take it as well as he seemed to have taken it. And seeing him with that beautiful blonde woman…how could he? All this love that he had claimed he still felt for her after all these years, had it been a lie?

- "He is not him, he's not Lucious"- she thought, trying to reassure herself- "Lucious would have never done any of the things this man has done, Lucious would hate him".

Dainara finished drinking her glass of wine and took another one while she still looked at the couple.

- "I can't be jealous, I have never loved this man, I just hate him"- she went on thinking as she drank from her glass- "I should feel sorry for that poor woman…"

Suddenly, she found her glass empty, and she reached for another one. Somehow, the warmth of the wine was calming her nerves and making her feel better. Queen Nichole looked at her as she took her third glass of wine and frowned.

- "Don't you think you have had enough?"- she whispered to her- "I need you fresh and sober for our mission".

- "I'm fine"- replied Dainara, taking a sip from her glass- "Just a little nervous".

Queen Nichole looked at the direction she was looking at and raised her eyebrow. Was she looking at Reaver and his lover? Could it be she was really jealous of her? But, why would she be?

She got up and checked the golden clock that decorated the mantelpiece of a marble fireplace.

- "I think it's time to get to work"- said the Queen- "Approach Reaver and talk to him. As soon as I see him busy enough, I will sneak into his office. When I'm done I'll come back here".

Dainara drank the rest of her wine at once and took another one.

- "Go"- said the Queen.

Dainara sighed deeply and made her way towards Reaver slowly. When she was getting close, he looked up and spotted her, smiling at her charmingly.

- "Will you excuse me, please, for a second?"- he said to the guests he was talking to- "Stay here with them, Valerie, dear".

Reaver approached Dainara, who looked at him bitterly.

- "I must admit it greatly surprised me to see you here"- he said- "After our last conversation, I was under the impression that you didn't wish to see me ever again. Not that I'm not delighted to have you here, of course".

- "I just came here to ask you to hire again the workers you fired last week"- she said as firmly as she could.

Reaver scoffed.

- "Oh, please, my dear…Let's not talk about business now. We are at a party, let's just enjoy it!"

- "How can you enjoy a party knowing that some poor people are dying out there because they cannot afford to buy their medicines?"- she asked harshly.

- "Let me propose something to you"- he said with a smirk- "If you are so worried about those workers, why don't you come back tomorrow and we discuss about it over dinner?"

Dainara scoffed.

- "I'm not coming back tomorrow or any other day because, as I already told you, I don't want to see you ever again".

- "Oh, is that so?"- he said, taking a sip from his glass- "Is that why you have been looking at me all night?"

Dainara blushed and looked down, also taking a sip from her glass.

- "You know, you should really watch your drinking, my darling. I don't think you are used to drinking so much".

-"You don't know anything about me!"- she said loudly.

Several guests stopped talking and looked at her.

- "I believe we should go on this conversation somewhere more private"- said Reaver.

- "No, I'm not going anywhere with you"- she then looked up and saw Reaver's bride looking at them intently- "Besides, I don't think your girlfriend would like that a lot".

Reaver chuckled. He loved seeing how jealous Dainara was getting.

- "Oh, you mean Valerie? Don't worry about her, my dear, our relationship is not that serious".

Dainara frowned.

- "Is that why she was holding your arm all night?"

Reaver smirked and took another sip from his glass while he looked at her seductively.

- "Is that jealousy what I sense in your voice?'

- "Jealous? Of course not! Why would I be jealous of someone who is stupid enough as to be with you?"- she said, trying to convince herself that she really meant those words.

- "Why, indeed?"- he said, looking at her intently as he went on smirking.

Dainara could feel her cheeks burning, and she wished she could just disappear.

- "In any case, I can assure you she means nothing to me, darling"- he went on- "Just say the word and I will send her away if you wish. I would much rather have you by my side".

- "You mean take her place as your lover this month? Oh, no, thank you"- she replied bitterly- "If you are already tired of her just choose another one of your lovers. I have heard that you have quite a long list".

Reaver looked at her and smiled. The anger she was feeling was making her eyes shine brightly and even her hair seemed redder as if the fury intensified its colour.

- "You look absolutely beautiful tonight"- he said sweetly- "In all the years of my life, I have met many beautiful women, but I have never met one that matches your beauty".

Dainara blushed again and started feeling so confused. How could she feel jealous if she hated him? How could she feel happy when he complimented her? She caressed Nana's brooch.

- "I must be strong"- she thought- "He's a despicable man…He's just trying to confuse me".

She drank what remained in her glass.

- "You are not Lucious, you will never be"- she said firmly- "And I will never love you".

Dainara turned around and went downstairs quickly. She needed to leave, she needed fresh air to be able to breathe. On her way to the main door, she picked a bottle of wine, hoping that the liquor's warmth would make her feel better before the Queen saw her. The Queen…she hoped that she wouldn't have any problem now that Reaver was not busy talking to her.

She left the manor and ran through the gardens until she left the premises of Lake View Manor. She then followed a path which seemed to lead to a dense forest. It was quite dark, the only source of light being some torches tied to wooden posts along the way. Dainara found a little empty cave and hid there, hoping to forget about the world.

- "I can't love him; I can't feel anything for him, only hate and pity"- she said to herself as tears came to her green eyes- "I need to remember who he really is, what he has done…"

Dainara held the bottle firmly and drank from it.

- "I need to forget about Lucious…No, I need to forget about Reaver…He's not Lucious, he only looks like him…"- she drank again from the bottle- "I don't care if he has a thousand lovers…I don't care if he sleeps with all of Albion in his orgies".

Suddenly, Dainara imagined Lucious surrounded by beautiful women and men on his bed kissing him, touching him…A strong pressure on her chest made her unable to breathe. A tear rolled down her cheek as she drank again from the bottle, letting the wine warm her sadness.

- "How could he do this to me? He said he loved me! He said he would always love me!"- she said bitterly.

Dainara remained in the cave thinking about Lucious and feeling betrayed until she lost track of time.

Suddenly, she got up from the floor, spilling what little remained in the bottle. Everything seemed to move around her, and she had trouble walking. She was not used to drinking alcohol and, after drinking so much wine, she had got totally drunk.

- "I'm going to confront him…I'm going back to his manor to ask for an explanation"- she then chuckled- "That will ruin his orgy for sure".

She started making her way back to the main path slowly and went on walking until she arrived at the manor's door, now closed. Everything was silent around the manor, everyone seemed to have left and the party was over. For how long had she stayed in that little cave? She looked up and saw some light in the windows upstairs.

- "He's surely enjoying himself up there"- she thought, burning with jealousy.

Dainara approached the main door quickly and started hitting it loudly.

- "Open up! Open the door immediately!"- she shouted.

Soon, the light of the hall was turned on and Barry opened the door, wearing his pyjamas.

- "What is going on?"- he said angrily- "Who are you? The party is over".

- "I want to see your Master"- said Dainara firmly.

Barry frowned.

- "What? Are you mad? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

- "I demand to see your Master!"- she insisted.

- "Listen, miss, I suggest you go back home and come back tomorrow when you are sober…Master Weaver can't see you now".

Barry tried to close the door but Dainara stopped it.

- "Why can't he? Is he busy pleasing his guests?"

Soon, more servants left their quarters and came to the hall to witness the scene.

- "Miss, please, just leave…"

- "Are you so busy you don't want to talk to me anymore?"- she shouted loudly- "I know what you are doing!"

- "Shut up! Shut up!"- said Barry nervously.

Suddenly, a voice startled them.

- "What on Skorm is…? Oh, it's you".

Reaver came downstairs, surprised to see Dainara there. He was wearing an elegant red silk robe which let his bare chest show.

- "Master, I'm very sowy, I tried to send her away but…"

Reaver ignored Barry's comment and approached Dainara.

- "What are you doing here, darling? It's very late".

- "Did I interrupt your little orgy?"- she asked bitterly.

Reaver looked at her and smirked.

- "I believe you have drunk way too much, my dear. Come, you need to lie down for a while".

- "You want me to fall asleep so that you can go back to your lovers? This is what I am now? A burden to you?"

Reaver held her hand sweetly and brought her inside the manor.

- "Let's go to my office to talk, shall we?"- he then turned to Barry and the rest- "I will take care of her, go back to your quarters all of you. Come on, chop chop!"

The servants went back to bed while Reaver and Dainara entered his office, closing the door behind them. He took her to a velvet sofa and made her sit down.

- "Rest here, my sweet, you truly need it".

He then walked towards his desk and sat down behind it.

- "I already warned you about drinking too much, you should have paid attention to me"- he added.

- "What do you care? I'm not important to you anymore, it seems".

Reaver looked at her and smiled.

- "Oh, but you are, my dear. I have always worried about your well being and I always will"- he said- "Now the curious thing about this situation is, do you care for me?"

Dainara scoffed.

- "Why would I care for you? You are a horrible person!"

- "So you said some time ago. Yet, here you are, dying of jealousy just by thinking that I'm sleeping with someone else"- he chuckled- "I must say, my dear, that you have a very peculiar way of hating me".

Dainara remained silent for a second. What was she doing there? He was right, she was supposed to hate him, she couldn't be jealous…She touched her forehead and sighed.

- "I…I shouldn't have come here. I'm sorry if I bothered you…"- she said, getting up from the sofa and getting ready to leave.

Reaver got up from his chair and approached her immediately, making her sit down again.

- "You haven't interrupted anything, my love"- he said, sitting down by her side- "While it's true that there's an orgy going on in this manor, I was not part of it".

Dainara looked at him, confused.

- "What do you mean?"

- "I mean that I haven't been with anyone else since you came back"- he went on- "I can't sleep with someone else knowing that you are here somewhere. I…still love you".

Dainara smiled as she felt her dizziness overwhelm her, making her fall back on the sofa.

- "I…I need to go"- she said.

- "You cannot leave like this, my dear"- he said- "You need to sleep".

- "I…can't…"

Dainara lied down on the sofa and closed her eyes.

- "Just relax, my love. I will take care of you".

Reaver approached his lips to hers and kissed her sweetly.

A comforting warmth invaded Dainara's body. He was there, by her side, she could feel him…as if nothing had happened, as if time hadn't passed.

- "Lucious…"