The queen awoke with a start, straight out of a nightmare, and straight into the cringingly familiar sound of her bodyguard's frantic squawking. She immediately shut her eyes tight and dropped her head back down to the bed of leaves on her treehouse floor, groaning quietly.

Glory allowed herself a moment to settle into reality (even if she'd almost rather be back facing her own fears in slumberland than dealing with Deathbringer's right now).

"How can you be sleeping when your queen needs protection!?" she heard his slightly muffled voice from outside. He was trying to whisper, and failing miserably.

"I-I just dozed off for a second! I've been awake almost —" Banana's anxious voice came next, but Deathbringer jumped back in before he could finish stammering.

"No! No excuses! This is entirely unacceptable!" Deathbringer hissed. "What would you have done if I'd been some conspiring murderous worm? Perfectly able to sneak right into my target's quarters because, oh look, lucky me! Her guard is asleep at the door!"

Banana tried again. "I'm not the only —"

"Anything could happen to her! Don't you realize that!?"

Glory growled, directing her focus inward as she pushed herself up. Silver burbled softly beside her. Gently, Glory scooped the sloth up and placed her to the side, then swept over to the flowered vines of her doorway. She took a deep breath before she snatched them aside.

"Deathbringer!" she snapped.

The NightWing jumped, followed by Banana, and the two dragons immediately lifted their gazes to meet her furious glare, now frozen on the leaf platform outside.

"What are you doing?" she demanded without hesitation. "It's not even dawn yet."

Glory could just barely see the guilt that flashed in his eyes; though she had no idea if it was really there, or just something her expectations had conjured up in the dark. By the colors of the night sky peeking between the trees around them, she guessed that first light was still a few hours away.

Deathbringer swiftly ducked down into a bow. "Forgive me, Your Majesty," he said. He glanced at Banana and Glory could almost feel the force of his stare. "I stopped by to check on things, and found your guard asleep on duty."

The queen took a big breath in, and exhaled quietly through her nose. A few images from her unconscious were still a little fresh in her mind, and she hoped no one would notice the slight quiver she could feel in her scales. She carefully stepped out onto the platform and looked at Banana.

Banana looked back at her with wide, rueful eyes before also dropping to bow.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," he said. "It was an accident."

"One accident is all it takes for —" Deathbringer started.

"Deathbringer," Glory interrupted firmly. "Banana is speaking to me."

She watched her mate twitch and fidget in frustration as he shut his mouth and forced his gaze down to the leaves. She squashed an eye-roll before turning her attention back to Banana.

Banana hesitated. "Um, that's all, really. I guess I just dozed off for a second."

Glory studied him, then glanced to Deathbringer.

"Surely you weren't alone," she said. She tilted her snout up to the branches above them, and called, "Rafflesia?"

A third RainWing thudded down in front of them only seconds later, and Glory could just make out the distinctive shades of red shifting in her scales.

"Your Majesty?" Rafflesia said.

"Is that what happened?" Glory asked.

"Yes; I was just about to wake him up when Deathbringer arrived," she told her.

"Alright." Glory turned to look at her bodyguard, who didn't appear to be satisfied with this explanation at all.

Deathbringer flung his tail around and over his talons indignantly, squirming a bit as he gave a snort. "That isn't my point. What if all these dragons happened to 'have an accident' in the same night? Who's going to be protecting you then? They need to be aware of the potential consequences of their 'accidents'."

"They are aware," Glory insisted immediately. "But they're still dragons, and accidents happen sometimes." She turned to Banana again. "Next time you think you might fall asleep, you should tell someone instead of letting it happen, okay?"

Banana nodded. "Yes, of course, Your Majesty."

"Thank you," said Glory.

Deathbringer was already shaking his head at them.

"No! This is not sufficient protection!" he said.

Glory sighed. "Deathbringer..."

"Things like this wouldn't happen at all if I was still in charge of guarding you, and you know it! Why can't I have my full position back?" he pleaded anyway.

"Because I gave you an assignment!" Glory stamped a talon, bristling with impatience. "I gave you an order! And I'm giving you another one right now — stop arguing with me, stop harassing my other guards, and if you can't check on me without waking me up in the middle of the night to do these things, then don't."

The queen didn't stick around to stare at the agonized look her bodyguard gave her after that. She lashed her tail, and signaled for her night guards to follow her as she leapt up and into the treetops. She didn't know where she would go so early (just...anywhere away from Deathbringer right now), but she knew she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep even if she tried.

"And we've had eighteen new eggs this week."

...Errggh.

Glory rubbed her face, trying much too hard to concentrate on the reports that were being relayed to her. She was exhausted, frustrated, and it certainly wasn't helping that she couldn't stop drifting in and out of relevant memories from earlier this morning. Or...last night? Even time seemed to be blurring around her now.

Focus. Don't think about him.

"Eighteen?" Glory asked.

She took the scroll that was being held out to her and squinted at it. Her scribe was already busily at work copying the next report. Glory saw her nodding her head as she wrote.

"Fifteen RainWings; three NightWings," she affirmed.

"Only three," Glory sighed.

The NightWing paused to look up at her queen. "Don't fret, darling. We're much fewer in number, and you know how horrid our living conditions were for so long. It's expected, even if it's unfortunate. And three is quite good considering the weeks we've had only one, or none at all."

Glory nodded, though she wasn't sure she'd ever figure out how this 'not fretting' thing worked. "Yeah."

Her scribe gave her a half-smile before returning to her writing. A brief moment of silence passed before she next spoke, which was juuuust enough time for Glory's eyes to shut again. She felt her head slowly slipping down, until...

"Five assignment changes."

Glory jumped back out of the fatigue that was slowly taking her hostage. But this time, unlucky for her, it hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Your Majesty." Her scribe stopped again, and placed the reed she was writing with down on the royal pavilion platform alongside her several scrolls and fruit ink. She gave Glory her full attention, and a rather concerned look. "Are you feeling alright? You seem a little..."

"I'm fine," Glory said quickly.

"If you'd like to do this later, we can always reschedule."

"No! We can do it now. I'm perfectly fine," she insisted again.

Her company hesitated. "You're also a bad liar, I'm afraid. Especially when you're too tired to keep your own scales in check."

"Greatness," Glory grumbled softly. She nearly let a flicker of surprise come through as well as she glanced down to check the colors she had on display.

"Don't bother." The NightWing princess wrinkled her snout in a facetious way. "Is it Fireclaws again? She has been very moody lately. Perhaps I should have another talk with her."

Glory perked her ears curiously. "Does she listen to you?"

"Barely," Greatness laughed.

She went silent, gazing at her queen with dark, thoughtful eyes. "So it's her, then, that's troubling you?"

"No," Glory said, a bit too quickly. She tucked her chin and looked down at the leaves beneath her stiffening talons. Arrghh, stop asking me! I can't tell you about this... Can I? She glanced up at Greatness, wonderingly.

Knowing her RainWings could barely count, let alone write, Glory had consulted with Deathbringer pretty early on about recruiting one of her new NightWing subjects to help with keeping track of reports and records. Her mate had somehow convinced his former queen's daughter to do it...or so that was how Glory had initially interpreted it; but the more she'd come to know Greatness, the more she'd realized that she actually wanted to be here helping her new queen. It seemed to give her a sense of satisfaction. Deathbringer thought it had something to do with how pleased she was to be relieved of any leadership positions.

Either way, Greatness had quickly settled into her new job and become a trusted scribe, record keeper, advisor, (and...friend?) to Queen Glory. But her issues with Deathbringer? ...Could she really trust her with that kind of information?

On the one talon, Greatness and Deathbringer clearly had some level of history behind them. Some kind of mutual understanding they'd never shared with her. Which wasn't any of Glory's business, really, even if she couldn't help being curious to know more about it.

But on the other talon... that history could also mean that Greatness might actually have some sound advice for her. Which might never be revealed unless Glory worked up the nerve to knock on that door.

Should I do it, then?

Should I tell her?

I've been keeping all this to myself for so long...maybe that's why I keep feeling like I'm losing my own sanity.

Greatness met her eyes in a way that almost made Glory question whether NightWings really couldn't read minds, and Glory found the words slipping out of her mouth before she could do anything else about it.

"I-It's Deathbringer."

She froze, holding her breath as a wave of shock swept down her spine.

But Greatness only blinked at her, and tilted her head.

"Deathbringer?" she asked.

Well...no turning back now.

Glory took a deep breath.

"He's been driving me crazy," she explained in a bit of a rush. "He never lets me out of his sight — I had to make my guards ignore his orders, and lie to him about it, to get even a moment to myself. Until recently — only because I found a new assignment for him that's been keeping him busy. I thought things were getting better, but he woke me up hours before sunrise today, bullying my guards and arguing with me about it and —"

"Great moons! Slow down, Your Majesty!" Greatness fluffed her starry wings.

"...Sorry."

"No, no; it's alright," she quickly replied. "You're free to talk to me about anything, I just — I didn't realize —" She stopped, and heaved a heavy sigh. The tip of her tail twitched a few times. "Is it really that bad?"

Glory hesitated before nodding her head.

Greatness studied her for a few seconds. She then averted her gaze and shook herself.

"That poor boy," she said softly.

Glory blinked in surprise, entirely taken aback. Poor Deathbringer? ...I'm the one suffering here! Is she serious? But underneath her immediate questions, Glory couldn't help wondering, Is there...something I don't know?

The NightWing princess had a sad shimmer of nostalgia in her eyes, and a tiny, broken smile on her snout that looked out of place.

After a moment, Glory swallowed her pride, and asked, "What do you mean?"

Greatness looked her way again.

"He never told you about his mother?" she asked.

Glory felt a sudden tightness in her chest, and a strange feeling she couldn't quite place that radiated from it. His mother?

"...No," she answered honestly. Deathbringer hardly ever revealed any details about his life before her. That had never stopped Glory from thinking about it, of course; she'd even considered asking him about it at one point, but had decided against that in the end. If he wanted to keep his past to himself, he had every right to — no matter how curious another dragon might be. That was the kind of respect she'd want to be given, anyway.

"Hmmm." Greatness nodded thoughtfully. And again, as if reading her queen's mind, she said, "I suppose when he's ready to talk about it again, he will. It's not really my place to say anything."

Glory hesitated. Then a new thought struck her.

She braced herself. "Is it relevant?"

"What?"

"Deathbringer's mother," Glory said. "You wouldn't have brought that up unless you thought it was relevant...right?"

The NightWing only stared at her with an unreadable expression.

"Relevant, as in...?" she asked, sounding pretty convincingly like she really didn't know what Glory meant, but the queen knew her better than that.

"Relevant as in," Glory picked up her words, and gave her a keen look. "Might this information help me with him in some way?"

Greatness sighed, letting her wings droop out a bit. "I suppose it might. But I don't feel comfortable giving away Deathbringer's secrets. I assume there's a reason he's kept it to himself." She paused. "And he trusts me."

Even when she said things like that, Greatness never sounded perfectly sure of herself.

"He trusts you?" Glory asked.

The NightWing lowered her chin and nodded slowly. The sad, strange look from before was back on her face, and for a moment, she was lost in her thoughts. Or, memories? When she found herself again, Greatness did her best to smile through them.

"I knew her," she began. "His mother — Quickstrike." Glory perked up to listen. Greatness shuffled her wings slightly. "She was our tribe's assassin, and a close friend of mine. Mother didn't like it, but...I didn't care. It wasn't like I had anyone else."

They were friends? Then that must mean... Glory curled her tail as she thought about that.

"So...Deathbringer has known you..."

"Since he was an egg," Greatness finished her thought. She released a soft, forlorn sigh. "Quickstrike made me promise to watch over him if anything ever happened to her." Then quietly, she added, "I'm not sure how well I've kept that promise."

Glory studied the princess for a moment.

"What happened to her?" she finally asked.

Greatness averted her dark eyes, and stifled a nervous laugh. "That's where my story ends, I'm afraid," she said, fidgeting the tip of her tail. "Deathbringer might tell you more, if you really want to know." She paused. "Unfortunately, none of our dragonets ever had the lives they deserved."

"Do you think I should ask him?" Glory said.

"You can if you'd like," Greatness told her. "I'm not saying anything he's been through justifies his behavior now. But it might help you understand him a bit better, if he chooses to share it with you."

Glory stayed silent for a moment. Then Greatness hesitantly asked, "Have you told him any of the things you just told me?"

"...No." Glory looked away. "I haven't."

"I see," said the NightWing. "Well. That might be something to think about, too."

"...Yeah."

Glory really didn't know what she wanted to do yet. I'm still angry with him, no matter how sad this mysterious story might be...and I'm too tired to deal with anything else right now. Maybe after sun time, I'll talk to him. She perked up at the idea of sleep, and almost involuntarily lifted her face to gaze longingly at the near-perfect placement of the sun above the canopy.

Greatness must have spotted the starved look in her eye as well, for her gentle laugh interrupted their silence a second later. Glory blinked herself back to reality, and looked to her.

"Why don't you go ahead?" Greatness said. "It's alright to start your sun time early every once in awhile. And honestly, I can tell how badly you need it just by looking at you."

Glory quickly stifled the prickle of orange surprise climbing up her spine, and the bashful pink blossoming in her ruff. Is it really that obvious?

She wanted to decline the offer again, just keep pretending she was fine and could keep going with all her queenly duties for another eternity. But she knew, and she knew Greatness knew, how impossibly difficult that would be for her, if she didn't sleep first.

Glory finally said, "Y'know...I think I will."

Greatness smiled, and bowed her head.

The next few moments brought the RainWing queen up to her favorite spot on her favorite sun time platform. She circled around before she spread her wings wide and settled down with the biggest breath she'd taken all day. And as her body melted into the leaves with the long slow sigh that followed, Glory could already feel the midday sunshine carrying her away.

Then she opened her eyes.

And a little gold dragon was smiling at her.

"Sunny!" Glory breathed. For a second, she almost forgot she was asleep. She swiftly sat up and fluffed her wings to chase away the tiny starbursts of rose and amber that were already peeking out in her scales.

"Oh, gosh," Sunny stifled a giggle. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"You didn't!" said Glory in a rush. "I mean, um. It's fine." She paused. "Hello."

"Hi," said Sunny.

The two dragons stared at each other, and Sunny blinked. The tip of her harmless tail swayed thoughtfully as she tilted her head.

"Did you forget I was coming today?" she asked.

...Yes.

Glory tucked her chin slightly. "Maybe," she sighed.

She had indeed, guilty as charged, completely forgotten about Sunny's scheduled dreamvisit. Should I apologize? Explain myself? ...Ugh, I'm so over today. But as annoyed as she was with herself and her current troubles, that sentiment did not reach over to Sunny.

Sunny eyed her perceptively for a moment. She took a step or two closer to Glory's spot on the sun time platform, and wrinkled her snout.

"You look very tired, even in your sleep," she observed.

"Thanks," said Glory.

Sunny laughed, cupping a talon over her snout as she sat back on her haunches. "Sorry... I just meant — if you are very tired, I don't want to take up all your sun time."

"I'm fine," Glory told her.

"Hmmmm," Sunny gave her a playful-suspicious look.

"Really, I am." She hesitated. "Well — mostly fine. But you don't have to leave. I'm definitely fine enough for a dreamvisit."

Sunny studied the RainWing queen with a creased brow, clearly considering the words; she almost never stayed if she thought Glory needed more rest. Which Glory appreciated a lot, even if she'd never actually told her that. But sometimes — times like these — a visit with Sunny was almost just as good as sleep.

Ever since Glory's friends had started the Jade Mountain Academy, Sunny had been checking in on the rainforest, and Glory, nearly every week without fail. If she couldn't make it, she sent someone else, and the others visited her regularly as well. But no one dedicated as much time to it as Sunny. Glory knew that was just who she was, but it still made her feel pretty nice.

The little SandWing hybrid eyed her up and down. "Well...alright," she said. She smiled again, and her moss green eyes twinkled knowingly. "But I won't stay too long. You need your rest, Glory; that's really very important."

"I know," Glory sighed. Trust me, I know.

"So, how is everything?" Sunny asked.

Glory hesitated.

Sometimes it took all her strength to keep from blurting about her problems to Sunny — even her problems with Deathbringer. She'd never really been afraid of what Sunny might think about them. Sunny never judged her about anything. But her other friends? Tsunami and Starflight, in particular. They'd never trusted Deathbringer. Or, Glory had never felt they did, anyway. She never, ever, ever wanted them to find out that things weren't perfect between her and her mate. She couldn't bear to think about the obnoxious "I told you so"s, and the inevitable know-it-all look she'd get from Starflight that always made her want to scratch his snout right off his pompous little face.

If that meant also keeping the truth from Sunny, then so be it.

Even if she still felt a little rotten about how quickly that instinct always hit her.

Do I really need to worry about her telling them? Sunny's grown up a lot... She probably wouldn't let anything slip if I told her not to, Glory thought.

...But I don't want to drag her into this, either. She doesn't need to know. One friend knowing is quite enough for now.

Glory brought her gaze to the leaves Sunny sat on, and the uncanny way her body didn't sink down into them when she wasn't really there. A few more RainWings snoozed comfortably around them, completely unaware that their queen was up and talking in her dreams. It was a little strange when Glory's dreams were in the same exact location she'd fallen asleep, but she didn't really care as long as it worked.

"Things are alright," Glory said finally, meeting Sunny's eyes again. "I've just been dealing with Fireclaws' drama again for the past couple days. Nothing I do seems to satisfy that dragon."

"Oh, yikes," said Sunny. "That's been going on a while, hasn't it?" She shifted her wings, then rolled her shoulders with an undaunted expression. "Well. I'm sure we could come up with a good plan if we put our heads together. Do you want me to come back sooner? I could even do tomorrow, if you want." She paused. "And if you've had enough rest."

"I dunno," Glory nearly mumbled. "I feel like I've tried just about everything at this point."

"Hey," Sunny said softly, reaching a wing out even though she couldn't do anything with it here in a dream. Glory looked up at her. "Don't give up. You're a great queen — I know you can handle it. We just need to figure it out first. Okay?"

"...Alright."

Sunny smiled. "Tomorrow, then? Same time?"

Glory had to fight to keep the pink from showing in her ruff.

Sometimes she wasn't sure if she even deserved Sunny's help after all the years she'd spent underestimating her; but Sunny really enjoyed helping, and whenever Glory voiced any of her troubles, Sunny was quick to jump right in with her own suggestions. And the more Glory listened to them, the more she'd come to realize just how clever her friend was.

She just also sort of wished it hadn't taken one-on-one dreamvisits (in which talking over Sunny wasn't as easily accomplished) for her to come to see it so clearly. But if it had ever haunted Sunny before, it certainly didn't anymore. So maybe I should try letting go of it too.

"Sure," she said. "Let's try tomorrow."

The little gold dragon brightened even more.

"That's the spirit!" she said cheerily.

Glory let a tiny smile sneak onto her face.

Suddenly, Sunny gasped and clasped her talons over her snout, her green eyes blinking wide.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" she exclaimed. She lowered her talons to reveal a big toothy grin. "Before I go... I have some incredible news that will probably cheer you up!"

"Oh, yeah? What is it?" Glory asked, perking her ears.

The SandWing looked as though she might explode from her joy at any moment. She stifled a laugh, fidgeting a bit. "It's Tsunami. She's...she's with egg!"

Oh.

Glory stiffened as prickles of emerald scratched at the surface of her scales. She couldn't tell if she was caught more off guard by the news itself or the fact that it could still affect her like this.

Why do I even care? I've been over that for years now, haven't I? And it's not like I didn't see it coming.

I should just be happy for them.

C'mon, Glory, they're your friends.

She forced her best happy look. "Really? Wow! You'll have to tell her and Clay I said congratulations."

"I will!" Sunny nearly squealed. "Aaaahh, you should've just seen Clay when Tsunami told us! He's going to be such a perfect dad! I'm so excited for them!"

Sunny paused for a moment, her eyes sparkling dreamily. "Almost makes me wish I could have my own eggs," she sighed. But quickly, she giggled over it, and gave Glory a dashing little smile. "But, y'know."

Glory blinked at her, unsure of how to respond, even if she knew exactly what Sunny meant by that. Glory also couldn't help but note the extra surge in Sunny's confidence that had taken place ever since she'd opened up to everyone about preferring females. The way Sunny glowed now made it difficult for Glory to imagine talking over her even if she still wanted to.

I wonder if I'll ever feel that good about myself.

Glory shook her thoughts away.

"Heh, yeah," she said. "I guess we're gonna be aunts, then, huh?"

"I KNOW!" Sunny cried. "Can you believe it!? Fatespeaker's really excited too. I managed to get her away from Starflight for a minute and she's agreed to help me set up a hatchery in one of the empty caves. But it's a total surprise right now, so shhhh." She jokingly raised a talon to her mouth.

Glory stifled a slightly awkward laugh. "That's great! I bet they'll love it." She paused. "Sooooo, should I be expecting this hatchery to have some NightWing eggs before long, too?"

"Oh, my!" said Sunny. "Fatespeaker hasn't said anything, but I wouldn't be surprised if she was next, honestly. She and Starflight have been inseparable lately. It's really kind of adorable." She looked away for a second, smiling bashfully. "I'm really glad he's happy with her."

"Yeah." Glory flicked the tip of her tail. "Me too."

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Sunny met her eyes again.

Glory had only just noticed the sunshine dancing on her friend's golden scales; she wondered if she was imagining things or if Sunny just liked the way she looked when it cloaked her.

"I should let you rest," she said.

"Alright," said Glory.

"I'll see you tomorrow, though!" Sunny assured her. "And then we can get to work on Operation Fireclaws." She raised her eyebrows.

Glory couldn't help but laugh again, and quickly smothered it. "Okay, but...don't worry too much about me if something comes up at the school. I'll be fine if you can't make it."

"Oh, I'm not worried," Sunny replied matter-of-factly. "I know you'll be fine, no matter what. You're the best queen in Pyrrhia. Right beside Thorn, of course."

Glory snorted, hurrying to squash the rosy speckles that were already threatening to slither out onto her wings and ruff.

Sunny gave her a warm smile. "Bye, Glory."

"Bye." Glory extended a wing to wave.

She watched as Sunny closed her eyes and lifted the star-shaped sapphire to her forehead, and then she was gone.

A few hours later, Glory woke up feeling surprisingly rejuvenated.

No Sunny... Guess I'm not dreaming this time.

She lifted her gaze to the shimmering hues of emerald leaves for a moment, then scanned the nearly-empty platforms around her. Looks like I overslept, too. Almost everyone's gotten up but me. She sighed. Perfect.

But at least I feel a little better.

Glory stretched up to her feet, arching her back and unfurling her wings before shaking herself from horns to tail. She allowed herself a big yawn as she shifted her scales to a warm dark sangria. Then she moved to the edge of her platform and crouched, readying for takeoff.

The queen swept low first, enjoying the breeze that nipped between her scales. When she'd finished that silly little moment of self-indulgence, she started the short journey back to the royal pavilion.

And when she arrived, a certain black dragon was already there, waiting for her.

Ugh... Just, stay calm. You need to talk to him, anyway. Glory still tensed up a bit as she floated down to the platform, and softly landed across from Deathbringer.

Awkwardly and hesitantly, the two dragons made eye contact. Then Glory took a big breath, and approached her mate. She didn't really know what she was expecting, but still found herself a bit surprised when the NightWing immediately spread his wings and knelt down into possibly the lowest bow he could achieve.

"Glory..." he whispered miserably. "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. Again. I was completely out of line, and..." he sighed. "I-I really didn't mean to ruin your morning. I'm so, so sorry."

Glory could only stare at him for a moment, mouth agape.

She closed it again, and blinked.

"I forgive you," she told him plainly.

Deathbringer lifted his face to send hopeful eyes her way. "You do?" he asked.

Glory softened.

"Of course I do," she said. "I mean, yeah, I was mad. I'm still a little mad. But I'll always forgive you. Well, probably. Assuming you don't end up decimating someone in a rage-fit over their incompetence, or something."

"I would never!" he protested.

She gave him a tiny, rueful smile. "I know." She paused. "But...Deathbringer, we still have to talk about this."

He sighed and nodded, getting back to his haunches in front of her. "Indeed. I came prepared for that."

Glory hesitated, looking at him.

"We have a lot to talk about, actually," she breathed, and steadied herself as a rush of guilt hit her chest. "I haven't been completely honest with you lately. And I want to amend that, because it's not okay. But I really, really need you to listen to me."

Deathbringer quickly straightened his posture and gave her his fiercest "listening" look, which only served as another punch to Glory's heart. He didn't even seem angry with her for her admitted dishonesty. Did he already know?

"Yes?" he said.

Glory cleared her throat, and met his eyes. Now or never, either way. I have to do this.

"I need a break," she forced out.

He blinked at her, surprised. Then he asked, "A break? From being queen?"

Glory closed her eyes. She opened them a moment later, bracing herself with a swallow of nerves, and tried to stop the tremor in her wings.

"No," she choked. "Deathbringer... I-I need a break, from you."

notes:

sorry to break all the ripnami/cleril hearts. i am your worst nightmare — the claynami trash lord. (please don't hate me hjsdgfiadhfo;asjf;)

AHEM.

anyways, i must regretfully announce that updates will be less frequent for a while, as my summer is over and it is time for the homework gods to start punching me in the face for another eighteen weeks.

thank you to everyone who is still reading. ;w;