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Isis was having the time of her life, for all the seriousness of the talks. She'd decided that since she'd only ever get one shot at it, she would take the Palace for every hospitality that was on offer.

And by indulging the hospitality of the Palace, Isis had gotten to know the man that was King Stanislaus Weninger. After all, as he himself told everyone, he was just a man.

"Nice shot on that last club, Isis," The King said as he dropped down from his horse.

The two had been playing polo for the better part of the afternoon. She'd never seen the sport, but Isis would swear she was born to play it. With one hand on her reigns, and the other wrapped around the mallet, she swung triumphantly as she steered the horse towards the King.

"Nothing to it Stanny! Just point and swing!"

Stanny – as Isis insisted on calling the King – simply smiled back, "You were born to play this game, my dear. When all this is done, you'll have to give some thought to joining the national team. I'll sponsor you myself. What do you think?"

Isis blushed. The Leiden Polo Squad was revered around the world. And with the King's sponsorship…

"I'll uh… I'll have to think about that."

The King jumped off his horse and offered a hand down to Isis, "What's there to think about? I don't offer my sponsorship to just anyone, you know."

"I know… its just."

"Just what?"

Isis took his hand jumped down, "I've worked really hard to get to where I am, Stanny. I can't just walk away from that. I'd be leaving my job, my friends. And someone has to keep an eye on Violet too."

"You really care about her, don't you Isis?"

Isis sighed, "She's my friend, Stanny. I care about all my friends. But she's special. Violet… she's a beautiful soul on the inside. But she pushes it down so far that most people can't see it. Sometimes… I wonder if she'll ever get past the war."

They walked a few paces towards the clubhouse. But as they arrived at the door, the King suddenly stopped, and he slammed his fist into the wall.

"God damn that war! Damn it all! It didn't have to happen! It shouldn't have happened!"

He slammed another fist into the wall, "Violet didn't deserve that! No one did! But I wasn't strong enough to stop it! I wasn't good enough!"

He was about to slam his fist for a third time, when Isis grabbed his arm and stopped him, "Hey! Stop it! Its over now! Look, you can't changed what happened before, but you can do something about what happens next! Just take a minute and stop, alright?!"

The King felt Isis' strength holding his hand back. A part of his spirit felt impressed at her determination.

"You should have been a soldier, Isis. You're a far stronger woman than I am a king."

She shook her head, "I grew up on the Apple Islands. The war never came there, but we had to learn to look after ourselves. I know you'll figure out a way to fix all this."

The King smiled, but screaming from near the palace chased the smile from his face.

Helga ran towards them, waving and screaming and shouting, "Your Majesty! You must come quickly! Please!"

"Calm down, Helga, what's happened?" The King said, holding the girl by her shoulder.

"It's Violet, your majesty. She has a pistol! She's… she's going to kill the Queen!"

─•~:~•─

The King and Isis ran quickly through the halls of the palace, only to be stopped by Henrich.

"Your Majesty, please, it isn't safe. Wait here!"

Dozens of armed soldiers carrying rifles and wearing battle-ready uniforms crowded in the hallway, using overturned furniture as cover, shouting, and yelling orders.

The King shoved Henrich to one side, "Get out of my way. What's going on here?!"

Isis shoved her way past the soldiers and peered down the hall. Her mouth dropped in shock.

Violet had the Queen on her knees, one metal hand with a grasp of her black hair, and the other holding a pistol to her temple with perfect discipline. Violet's eyes – blue and deep as the ocean – were stained red with tears and sorrow.

A soldier racked the bolt on his rifle and screamed, "Put the weapon down, now!"

Violet failed to respond, simply blinking as if she was lost at sea.

"For god's sake, just shoot her already! What the hell are you all waiting for?!" The queen shouted in tears, trying to struggle in Violet's grasp.

But the Doll – or the Girl, Isis didn't know which – wouldn't let her go, and simply continued to hold still.

Isis forced her past the soldiers and cried out, "Violet! What are you doing?! Stop it!"

Violet suddenly blinked, and turned slightly to face her friend, "Isis… what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing?! Violet! Look around you! You have the Queen of Leiden at gun-point!"

Violet looked down at the Queen, still struggling in her grip, "You hear that, you miserable little Doll! Let me go, and I promise that you'll only spend the rest of your life in prison for this disgrace!"

Violet locked the hammer of her pistol back and said, softly, "Your Majesty. Please stop talking."

The Soldiers responded, each of them taking careful aim at the Girl holding the gun. One man, who must have been the commander by Isis' guess, took a step forward and shouted, "Private Evergarden, my name is Colonel Mann. I order you to lower your weapon and take a step back, immediately. If you do not comply with my orders, I will order my men to open fire."

Violet stepped forward and dragged the Queen with her, causing her to cry out in pain, "I cannot comply with that order, Colonel. The Queen has committed treason, and it is my responsibility to ensure she faces the King's justice."

The King eventually forced his way beside Isis, "Violet, what on Earth are you talking about?! Treason?! Have you gone mad? That's my wife!"

"I am sorry that you had to find out this way, Your Majesty, but your wife is criminal and a traitor, who seeks to frame someone…"

The Doll fought it, but lost the final war.

Tears fell from Violet's eyes, like a gentle rain on the floor, or like the snowflakes falling gently outside the palace windows.

"It's not true…" she sobbed to herself, "It's not true."

The Queen again struggled, "For God's sake Stanislaus! She's completely lost her mind! Shoot her!"

A pair of Soldiers drew closer and aimed their rifles, "Permission to open fire, Colonel!"

Isis tried to shove them back, "No, stop it! You don't know what you're doing!"

The King in turned shouted, "I gave no such orders! Everyone hold fast!"

But the Queen rose suddenly with strength that no one thought she possessed, and shoved the Doll forward.

"Shoot her!"

Violet turned with her pistol, at the same time a Soldier raised his rifle.

And a single shot rang out.

─•~:~•─