A/N - New chapter! The one before the last one, my people. Enjoy :)

She had been running for an hour, hearing the chaos that had been unleashed in the castle as the queen's guards looked for the three fugitives. A queen and two princesses, it was the strangest group of fugitives Cordelia could think of, but at the same time she knew that if one of them died, the prophecy would be broken— and she couldn't let that happen. She had to kill Fiona, before Misty died. But how to do that, if she didn't know if the other princess was already dead? What if it was necessary that Misty was alive for Cordelia to kill her mother? So many questions, yet no answers until the woman was dead.

When she resurfaced from the darkness of the woods, the first thing she saw was blood. Staining the grass, covering the knights' corpses and the blades that were stuck in them. Blood, that came from innocent people, people whose only crime had been fighting for their kingdoms. She quickly fled the place, the now ripped skirt of her dress getting red stains with each step she gave. In her mind, just ending her mother's life. She kept running through corridors and rooms, avoiding her mother's guards. They all had darkness in their eyes, as if some evil spirit was controlling them. It seemed that Fiona had given her men at arms the order to kill every single one of the southern knights, starting a small-scaled war in the gardens of the castle. Cordelia saw some of her maids corpses on the floor of her chamber, having been brutally beheaded while she was away. I could have saved them.

When she arrived to her mother's chambers, she found her mother sitting on a chair, waiting. "Welcome home, Delia. I was waiting for you." she told with a grin, her dark eyes staring directly at the girl's. She was as haughty as she had ever been, despite not wearing her crown— that now rested on the bed. The walls, most of them covered by paintings of her in different moments of her life, had a darker tone than the rest of the castle, as if the dark magic was inlaid on the stone. Between the paintings, framed daggers hung with the names of their victims under them. The princess' heart was leaping against her ribs like a frantic bird. Perhaps it knew it had little time left. "I see what have you come here to do. After all, I knew all this from the very beginning."

"The prophecy."

"Yes, the prophecy. I've known about it all my life, even before it was actually made by that old seer. But well, it was never meant for you to know. My plan was not telling you, and after today, I would live forever and take your soul. You'd be my puppet." Fiona stood up and walked to the other end of the room, taking her crown from the bed and putting it on. "But of course, a queen's secrets never stay fully hidden. That old hag, Myrtle, she had to be curious and stay in the room while the seer talked. I guess it doesn't matter now, she's dead and burned. But you, my little princess… What am I going to do with you? You know what this means, right?"

"For once, I do know." Cordelia's confident, sure tone surprised both of them, but she didn't stop or walk away. She felt powerful, as if magic was growing inside of her, burning in her veins. She couldn't flee, not now. She didn't want to anyway. She took the gold cup that was placed on a table and served herself some wine, drinking it without taking her eyes off her mother. "One of us has to die." she finished. "It's a shame that I've never killed anybody."

"Not yet. But that is what you came here to do." the woman moved her hand and suddenly the candles of the room lit, shining around them. It was enough for the two of them to distinguish the glimmers in the other's eyes, Cordelia seeing pure darkness inside her mother while the queen just saw kindness inside of hers. "That was the plan. A supernatural would come here and try to kill me, but I'd be faster and crush their skull before they could even look at me."

"Makes it a little harder when it turns out to be your own daughter."

"Not really." the woman shook her head nonchalantly and Cordelia chuckled.

"Is that why you were so horrible to me? Because you knew I was to take not only your power but your life someday?"

"You took my power the minute I gave birth to you. A queen becomes a mother, and she can't help but see her mortality in that cherubic little face. A new princess, a future queen. Every time I looked at you I saw my own death. You were a constant reminder of my worst fears. I didn't act as a mother, but not because you were powerless. But because you were too powerful. It was nothing personal, my dear. I loved you plenty, though. Just my own way. Your fault was that you were looking for another version of motherhood. And now, here we are." the queen told, walking to grab another golden cup and serve wine for herself. "I can feel the power vibrating off of you. It feels good, doesn't it?" she took a sip from the wine, smiling as she walked back to her chair. "After all, you're my daughter. My daughter, my nemesis, and my successor. My next victim. It's my power, not yours."

"Of course it is your power. As it comes to me, it leaves you. You have to kill me before I have all my powers, and you have to die for me to truly live." Cordelia could feel the saltiness of the tears that had run down her face to her cheeks, some of them resting on her lips.

"Crying over me…" the queen sighed, rolling her eyes and then taking another sip of wine. It was one of the best barrels they had, specially made for her. She had been drinking from it for years, what had made her immune to the high quantity of alcohol it contained. "Isn't that the ultimate twist."

"I'm not crying over you." Cordelia hissed, taking another sip and then looking at the woman with a teary but hateful look. "I'm crying for me. You were the monster in every one of my nightmares. Twenty five years spent either trying to prove myself to you and get close to you, or get away from you. I'm crying for the girl in me, who dies when you die."

"Then kill them both right now."

"If you insist."

It had been less than half a second after Cordelia had spoken when the daggers that hung from the walls flew towards the queen at a vertiginous speed. The queen let out a gasp and raised her hand, making the daggers stop and turn towards the princess, advancing towards her. The girl stopped them once more, making them fall to the floor and turn into dust. "You'll go to hell for this." the queen told with rage, gracefully opening her arms and feeling the burn appear on the palms. Suddenly fireballs were flying from one side of the room to the other, Cordelia going to find refuge behind a wooden folding screen. Soon the screen was burning to ashes, and Fiona appeared in front of her, hands directly on her daughter's neck, slowly choking her to death. "Your days are over, my love. I'll kill you with my bare hands."

"No, mother… I won't let you kill me..." the girl said throatily, kicking in the air as she tried to free herself from her mother's grip. Her toes barely touched the floor, and slowly both of them started levitating. If she spent a few more seconds like this, she'd be dead. She knew it. She had to do something. Starting for the hand that was around her throat, the flames started extending through the queen's body, their heat making her free Cordelia and starting walking backwards between screams. Her steps were messy, her hands searching for a way to extinguish the fire. But it was too late, she noticed. Cordelia was more powerful than her now. She looked panicked to her daughter one last time, watching the girl stand in front of her motionless. It was as if life had reduced its speed suddenly, the woman's eyes asking for forgiveness silently while a scream ripped through her throat, her back hitting the fragile glass of the window and breaking it. She was going to lose.

For once, she was powerless before her daughter, she realized as her body cut the air and fell to the grass, her spine breaking in two on a rock and her skull hitting the floor roughly. The men stopped fighting, the woman's powers stopping to make effect on the knights that now asked for surrender with fearful and confused looks. Many meters high above, Cordelia observed the peculiar post-war scene, with all the knights standing and walking to surround the queen's body, the young princess swallowed hard and wiped away her tears, looking at her mother's corpse with a mixture of sadness and hate.

"You always said you'd rather burn than boil."

Well, hope you liked it! Will be continued, and of course reviews will be very appreciated!