Crimson Rain

by The God Slayer

Decades after the planet has finally known peace, through great sacrifice and struggle, something ancient and sinister stirs beneath the surface. A mad man rises with power the world thought was extinct and declares war on the planet, igniting a turn in history millenniums in the making.

4. Get out Alive

Notes: Warning concerning content of this chapter. If you are easily triggered by traumatic scenes or descriptions, please proceed with caution or skip the chapter.

Get out Alive

Edgar pushed all his resources into securing that the events that happened between his daughter and the council man went unheard of to the general public. As much as he wanted the world to know just how vile the men of the council was, he knew letting that information out would not only hurt Emma and her honor, but anger the rest of the council. And he didn't want any form of payback towards his wife and daughter, whom most of the Council seemed to hate beyond much else.

So instead of showing the world their intentions, he was forced to file Olmpa's arrest under the guise of another crime. Thankfully no one questioned it, not even Olmpa. He was glad to get a lesser crime than the attempted rape of a minor, and royalty at that, if he gave up his position, holdings and swore never to mention what almost happened. He was also placed under permanent watch, so that he could never hurt another person.

In the time form then to his daughter's ball, he grew even more anxious. He kept waking in the middle of the night thinking he heard his daughter screaming for him, or from vivid nightmares where everything was ripped from him—his kingdom, his friends, his wife, his sons...his precious daughter. It made him so ill that he would wake and throw up, which only worried his wife. When he woke to them, he went to his daughter's room immediately to check on her, and would find her peacefully asleep, so out of it it was absolutely precious. He would kiss her goodnight and retreat to his room.

Thankfully the nights soon settled and he no longer heard his daughter screaming for him when she wasn't, and instead, he woke to mornings where she was eating at the breakfast table with smiles and attempts to snatch foods she wasn't supposed to be eating without strict permission.

As he poured himself a cup of his wife's tea one morning, she came running in—nearly tripping herself and smashing her head into the counter—shouting. All the nightmares rushed back to him and he turned sharply to see what the matter was and growled. Her brother, Benjamin, was being chased by his sister, laughing so hysterically that he was crying and barely able to breathe.

Terra had quickly jumped back when the two rushed by her and now ran around the table like children, shouting and laughing. Edgar wasn't in the mood. "What is going on? Settle down you two, now!"

Benjamin came to a stop, causing his sister to plow right into his back and then onto her bum. "Father, tell Emma to—" he broke himself off to finish another round of laughter, which apparently was contagious as his wife giggled. "—stop chasing me."

"Emma, dear, what in heavens are you doing?" he asked her as she got to her feet, face red from the exertion of running.

"He t-t-took my art book!"

And, right in his son's hands, was just that book. Edgar couldn't understand the problem though. It was just art. "And you decided to chase him clear across the castle for it?"

She blushed. "It...it is p-p-private! T-Tell him to give it back!"

"I don't know what she's talking about," Benjamin said through a snort of laughter, opening the book to scan over the pages. "I mean...this doesn't look like an art book to me, it looks like love letter. Emma, who is this?" he lowered the book so she could—and only her—see the page he was directing. Her cry was loud enough to shatter glass. "Ahahaha," he lifted the book all the way up so that her jumping at his sides to get it was meaningless. "Why don't you get a step ladder, Emma? I'll wait."

"Give me m-m-my book!"

"Benjamin, son, give me that," Edgar yanked the book out of his hands, to his daughter's horror, and looked at the page his son was referencing to. There was a halfway complete portrait of some man. The contours of his face was elegantly recorded and the smallest details rendered in such a way Edgar knew what emotion had bred the imagery; a crush. For that Lucas Duan. The man who had asked for her hand for the academy's summer ball.

Even while his daughter cried for him to not look at it, he saw in her beautiful handwriting 'Emma Aria Aden Duan' (for she never desired to write it the correct order), and 'Emma Duan-Figaro', and 'Emma Figaro-Duan' and blushed himself for all the girly hearts and lovey-dovey stuff written underneath the portrait of the man who was stealing the beauty and innocence of his precious daughter. Had his daughter really grown? Was she really entering the phase of her life where she could harbor attraction for another? What happened to his four year old princess? The dear girl who sat on his lap in Thamasa while he read books or papers, or the girl who asked if she could go fishing with him and her uncle. The smiling face drawing on the floor of the castle, humming? Where had the time gone?

"Give it back!" she screamed, crying now, and that's when he was drawn out of his head, for his wife started shaming him for looking at the book. Quickly, he clamped the book shut and held it out for her, abashed for his actions, though he was uncertain why. She ripped it from his hands, very rudely, and then turned to smack her brother's arm with it. Even Edgar flinched at the amount of strength she put behind it.

Benjamin yelped and started rubbing the spot on his arm, glaring at his baby sister. "What the hell Emma? I was just playing around."

"You...you brainless—"

"—Emma," Edgar warned and she sucked in a breath, clamping her lips shut over the string of insults she was very much going to say. "Does that silly book mean so much to you that you would run around the house like some crazy person? Risking your own life? What if you had fallen and hit your head?"

"Aye, what would have happened?" Benjamin copied, though with a boyish giggle when she turned her head sharply to look at him. He knew she wanted to hit him with the book again. "What? Aden is so quiet today."

Her face went red. "My name is Emma! Emma!"

"Benny," Terra said, warningly. "Stop baiting your sister."

"Aww," he said, pinching his sister's cheek—much to her annoyance. "I was only teasing my sweet sister, wasn't I Emma?"

She slapped his hand away. "Stop that!"

"Stop what?" he asked, pinching her cheeks even more. "Aww, look at how red her face is. Isn't it adorable?"

"I said stop it!" she cried, shoving him back.

"Alright, alright, calm down you two," Edgar said, smiling as he disengaged his daughter's fingers from around his son's forearm. "Benjamin, as adorable as her reaction may be, stop teasing your sister. If you continue, your mother and I cannot help you from the outcome. And princess," he said, now resting his hands on her shoulders, trying hard not to squeeze the life out of her from the expression she was giving him. "We need to talk, in private. With your mother too, I mean."

Benny oh'd with a grin. "She's in trouble, isn't she?"

Terra shooed him away before Emma could erupt in another fit and then made sure her son wasn't hanging about any doors or windows, before she went to stand by her daughter and husband. Emma was clutching the art book to her chest, as if they meant to steal it away from her and it contained her heart.

"Wh-what did I do wrong? He...he t-t-took my things. I—I didn't start anything, I swear."

"Oh, you aren't in trouble," Terra said with a smile and pulled a chair out for her to sit. When they were all seated, she continued, "When your father agreed to let you go to the ball with Lucas, you gave you a set of rules. Do you remember them?"

Emma's eyes went to her father then back to her mother. "I think...I think so."

"Would you repeat them for us?" Edgar asked.

"Um..." she chewed her lip, thinking. "You said..."

Edgar sighed. He knew she was too excited that day to recall anything other than 'you can go'. "Emma, I expected you to remember them."

"I know! I know!" she shouted. "I'll remember them, I promise, I promise. Please let me go, oh please, I'll remember them, I will!"

"Edgar," Terra whispered from her seat, eyes glowing with motherly love and spousal annoyance.

He grumbled. His wife had just stolen the most perfect opportunity for him to revoke their daughter of Lucas Duan's company, but that glare. She would not let it stand if he did. He hated it when she did that. "Fine...the rules were thus; you are not to drink—" that was a given, but she nodded vigorously despite it. "—you are not to leave the ball room with Lucas or any other soul beyond your guards. You are to eat no more than two sweet foods, the rest must be what we have sent ahead for the chefs to prepare for you. You will not let Lucas put his hands on you unless it is strictly appropriate and only when you are to be dancing. You may not make any further promises or arrangements between you and Lucas, because you will not be returning to the academy. And lastly, you will be home at precisely seven with your guard. Your brothers and I will be going to our own arrangements, but that is not to encourage you to disobey me or your mother, is that understood?"

She nodded again. "Yes father, I understand." He narrowed his eyes at her and asked her to repeat the rules, and then to his annoyance, she repeated him word for word. So it was because she was excited that day. He would have laughed had this not been grievous for him. "Mother, father...?"

Terra was the one to ask her, "What is it, dear?"

Her eyes focused on her mother with such intensity Edgar was sure the question would be... "...how will I know what is 'appropriate'?" and there it was! Edgar's cheeks burned hot red and he glared at his wife. Terra giggled and reached out to put a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"I doubt we will need to regulate that, my love."

"Terra!" Edgar squealed. "Of course we do!"

She passed him a look, which made him quiet down, and ran her hand across her daughter's cheek. "You run along now. I must speak with your father."

"But mother, I want to talk—"

"I said run along now." she said again with a sterner voice. Their daughter pouted and then hurried off. That's when Terra turned to him with a furious look. "Are you able to tell me why you think our daughter should need a talk about inappropriate touching when we, in all our infinite wisdom, have not sat her down to have the talk yet?"

He sputtered. That had completely fled his mind! And he had almost gone too far... "I'm sorry, that...that slipped my mind, love."

She shook her head, annoyed. "Clearly...now she is going to be bothering me once again, only now she won't let it go because she thinks it's a rule she might break without knowing it." Edgar's cheeks darkened. There was no way their daughter would ever do something like that, even accidentally with the aversion she had to touching, and now that he thought about it, adding that rule really made him feel foolish. Emma neither had the experience to want to try it or the desire to want to try it, only the severe annoyance with people—most often strangers—touching her.

"I'm sorry," he offered her, knowing it meant little against what she now had to handle. "I know it is of no help, but when I come back from my trip to Nikeah," he hesitated. This sort of thing always unsettled him. "We will sit her down for that talk. It is time."

Terra smiled. "It is."

••••••••••••

Terra went looking for her daughter soon after talking with Edgar. The girl was not in her room and knowing where she might be this day of fine weather, turned about and made her way to the gardens just below her daughter's room. And, as she approached the pond, there her daughter sat. She was throwing stones into the pond with a look of agitation, causing the fish to swarm away and even breaking lily pads.

It was unusual to see her daughter acting so carelessly with animals that Terra was taken aback for a moment, but then worried made her move forward again. She sat down beside her daughter and looked at her. "We clearly need to talk." Emma only sighed and threw more stones into the water. "Emma, talk to me please. Tell me what is going on." Another sigh. Sometimes she was so much like her father. "Do not ignore me, my love."

"I don't want to talk," she mumbled.

Terra let the quiet go for a minute and then shifted to look at her daughter's face. "You are upset." Emma looked away, clearly annoyed. Terra giggled. "I will take that as a yes." she reached out to brush hair from her daughter's face. "Why are you upset? Is the summer ball something you do not want? If that is the case Emma, it is okay to tell us. You don't have to go."

Emma looked at her finally, for just a few seconds, before looking down at her legs. "That's not it..." she sounded angry, and that confused Terra.

"Then why are you upset?" her daughter again mumbled something under breath and this time, getting a little annoyed herself, Terra reached out to grab her arm and make make her daughter look at her. "No, tell me what is upsetting you. I cannot tolerate this behavior anymore, this...this silence. If this is not about the ball or Lucas, what is it about? Please, talk to me Emma."

"You know what I'm angry about!"

Alarmed by the sudden out burst, Terra leaned away. "Watch your tone, young lady." Terra was pretty certain she heard her daughter mumble something that sounded like a mock of what she said, and a brief anger burst in her heart before quickly evaporating into understanding. "Now you will tell me what is bothering you or so help me, I will put you over my knee."

Emma's cheeks burned red. "...father said..." she hesitated. "...why are you..." she shook her head, obviously confused on how to proceed, and then said, "...you will still send me away, won't you?"

Ah. So that was it. Had she been hoping this entire time that they would change their mind? Was that what she meant earlier, when she said she wanted to talk with them? How could she have come to that conclusion? Was it because they had agreed to let her go to the summer ball with Lucas, or something else entirely? Terra sighed and looked up through the canopy of the willow.

"I wish there was a way for us to make you happy and keep you safe," she said, watching the sun shift through the branches. "I know it is painful for you to move away again, and that you think your father and I do these things to hurt you, but you could never understand the situation we are in as your parents. How much it terrifies us to see these things happen to you and around you. To us, we just want you to be safe and sound, and happy, but when do we determine as your parents to give up your safety to make you happy?"

Emma frowned. "I'm not—"

"And even if we wanted to do that," she looked at her daughter. "How can you tell us you are happy when you very clearly are not?"

"Being sent away won't make me happy either," she protested angrily. "You say you love me but all you guys do is try to get me out of your way."

"That couldn't be further from the truth," Terra said. "But how could I ever convince you?" she asked quietly, sadly. "I have a wonderful daughter I love with all my heart and she fears that I don't. It is a pain I hope you never have to experience." she rubbed tears away, sniffing.

Emma's eyes filled with tears. "Me?" she squeaked, causing Terra to look at her. "You...you two are the ones that h-hate me...how is that not painful?"

Terra reached out to pull her daughter close and held her tightly. "No, no...we love you so much." she knew she was crying. "I love you so much. So much that I have to hold myself back from tearing that academy apart for what they have done to you, but like a shadow to that love, I also have fear. I cannot even imagine a world without you Emma...you were the answer to a question I had not thought of. You are everything to me and more." she squeezed her tightly to her and then smothered her daughter's face in kisses. Emma tried to pull away, but Terra giggled and held her closer. "I am never letting you go again."

"Mother!" Emma cried, sniffing, embarrassed and annoyed.

"You are too cute for me to stop," Terra laughed, kissing her cheeks again.

"Please!" she protested, and so Terra finally let her go, laughing. Emma rubbed at the kisses with a furrowed look.

"If I must annoy you with my hugs and kisses for the rest of your life, I will." Terra said, trying to impose a more serious tone into the conversation now. "I will do whatever I reasonably can to prove our love for you, even if you cannot see how I have to put you someplace you don't like to show it."

The girl sniffed again and looked at her with tear filled eyes. "What...what if I don't like it there?" she asked, trembling. "What if they are m-m-mean to me there, too?"

Terra took her daughter's hands in hers and squeezed. "If you are being hurt there and if you are unhappy...then I will bring you back home and you will continue your education here in the castle, with me." and then she said, "And while you are there, your father and I will visit you every other day or so."

"Do you p-promise?"

"I swear it," Terra said. "I swear it to you."

There was a pause, and then suddenly her daughter asked, "Would...I mean...could Alexander...I mean may Alexander...v-visit sometimes, too?"

Alexander? She thought, watching her daughter's eyes. There was a different kind of glow in them, not the same when for when she talked of her handsome Lucas Duan, but different. The glow seemed as bright as the sun. Oh my... Terra realized her daughter may very well harbor an unknown crush. Well, she wanted to giggle, at least the loss of Lucas as a crush won't deter her much. "I don't see why not. It would have to be up to Alexander, of course."

"T-then I'll give it a try." she mumbled, rubbing at her nose.

Terra smiled. "You are the most wonderful daughter on the planet Emma, you truly are."

••••••••••••

The day of the summer ball was nearly upon them.

Emma often forgot that it was not a dream, that Lucas had asked her, out of a gaggle of pretty girls, to be his partner at the dance. A realization that kept gripping at her heart though was that after the summer ball, after tomorrow, she would be sent away to a far away academy—where she could not bother anyone anymore. Far away from her family and everything that had become familiar, far away from Lucas.

The only positive she could take from the situation was Lucas.

She looked at herself in the mirror then, feeling a little confidence, but at sight of her strange eyes and ears which pointed out of her curly mess of hair, that confidence evaporated. A whisper of freckles dotted the bridge of her nose, so ghostly against her skin it was almost impossible to see, but enough that she had been teased by it. She reached up and covered her ears but the reflection that stared back at her was still displeasing. She smiled a little, and found the sight of her teeth another blight. She looked away then, tears in her eyes.

How had someone like Lucas found anything of value in her?

Emma glanced over to the dress her mother had made special for her and felt dread in her heart at the notion of wearing it, especially in front of the kids who had tormented her over her homely appearance since the moment she landed in Figaro. Who was she, to prance about them as if she fit? She the goblin princess, the masquerading beast, the nightmare made flesh, the bastard. Her tears fell quietly down her cheeks.

She had heard the knock on her door but could not bring herself to look at who it was, not in this pathetic state. "Emma?" her brother had called. She reached up to wipe at her eyes and shifted on her seat to look toward the door. There her elder brother stood, hesitantly, frowning. "Emma, what's wrong?" Cambyses had never bestowed such open worry upon her before, and it was a little alarming. He approached. "Tell me who it was that hurt you and I will find them."

"I'm f-fine," she mumbled, sniffing.

"If that were so, you would not sit here crying," he remarked.

She shook her head, getting a little annoyed now by his unscheduled visit. "Why are you h-here, Camb?"

Cambyses stepped back, clearly embarrassed, and maybe even a little annoyed himself. "I'm your brother...can't I just see you?" She put her eyes to his, for the briefest of seconds, and then looked away without saying a word. He shifted, uncomfortable. "If you won't tell me what happened," he muttered. "At least tell mother."

"Nothing happened," she mumbled. "I'm just...tired."

"On the eve of your summer ball?" he asked, surprised. "I would have thought you would be wired beyond excitement..."

"Why are you here?" she asked again, knowing her tone had been laced with some sort of anger and he could see it.

His face darkened and he reached up to rub at his neck. "Alright, you caught me..." he took a breath. "I'm in need of your opinion, your...you know...girl opinion."

"Huh?" she looked at him, dumbly.

He chuckled. "I...I am taking Cadence out tomorrow, for the first time in months, and I was...was wondering where you might suggest I take her?"

"Me?" she asked, confused. "W-why me?"

"Well, since you are a girl, you can offer the feminine opinion I need."

"With?" she asked, still not really understanding.

Her brother laughed, nervously. "Cadence does not particularly like the most common of womanly things, not in the same way you might or other women. She is more...practical. I was hoping she might have mentioned a place of adoration to you, or something of the like."

"Oh," Emma said, realizing what he needed, but knowing she was nothing like a common girl. What sort of advice could she offer, and why would she ever assume to know the heart of such a beautiful, intelligent woman? It felt like an overstep. Suddenly, a very devilish thought came to her, at the course of all the teasing and mean things she had been put through by her brothers. She could easily set him up for failure, for revenge, but just as sudden as those thoughts came to her, her heart ached and she turned them aside. No, no matter how they treated her and even should they hate her, she loved them with all her heart.

I could not do such a cruel thing...

You could, her voice said quietly.

Emma sighed. "I...I don't know if I can help, but..." she pressed that voice back into its little cage and thought on all the conversations she has had with Cadence and remember, and all of the interactions, big or small. An easy task for her, given all of the conversations her sensitive hearing allowed her to pick up or how much she witnessed about the castle.

Her brother pressed her, suddenly confused by the silence. "Emma?"

She blushed. "Um...well...well she did mention missing her home."

"Her home?" he repeated quietly, brows furrowed. And then his eyes lit up, just when she thought he might bark at her about how stupid she was. "Of course! Kohlingen...! She must miss it so, being stuck in this homely desert!" and then, startling her, he took her into a tight hug and laughed. "It is perfect, thank you so much Emma, thank you!"

She was dumbfounded, surprised beyond description. "It...it is?"

"Yes, of course!" he laughed, letting her go. "You will never know how much you saved my skin, little sister." she smiled, brightly. It felt good to have been needed, especially so by her brother. He ruffled her hair then. "Thank you!"

••••••••••••

Edgar paced his study briskly, trying very hard to keep himself from doing something he would regret. It was very difficult. Tomorrow, he would escort his daughter to the summer ball and give her hand to a man and ask him to protect her. How was she ready for this? How was he ready for it? He sighed and stopped beside his desk. Hanging on the wall behind his chair, was the family portrait. It was old, so old in fact, that Terra was still pregnant with Emma.

His sons were the dazzling example of princes. Dashing and dressed up. His wife had worn a large common dress, finding the extravagant dresses too restrictive and painful to wear. It didn't matter to Edgar of course, Terra was beautiful in just about anything and he would never dream of making her dress any way she was not comfortable. It was the subject of contention for the council though. They had wanted her "dressed as a queen". Edgar had put his foot down and they relented, but not before pointing out that for the next portrait, it would conform to standard. And the next would be ten years later, as such they operated when it didn't come to five year gaps. It would have meant little Emma standing beside them...that had never happened.

Instead, he had a dozen or so portraits and pictures of his daughter scattered about the mantle of his fireplace. All of them were from Thamasa, and only two included him and Terra. It made his eyes swell with tears. Everything had been ripped from him and Terra, the joys of raising their daughter, of seeing her grow...all of it. And now, just when it seemed like he had gotten her back, he had to continue to divide his time from his daughter with others. And worst of all, with a crush.

It is but one day! He told himself as he lifted one of the photos. He laughed at the sight of it. It always did manage to cheer him up. Emma was just a toddler, probably no older than five or six. Gau was holding both her hands and lifting her off the ground to swing her. The picture had been caught mid-swing, so part of her was blurry, but her face and that joyously pure expression still visible.

Edgar laughed. There were so many things about his daughter that reminded him of his wife. That purity of heart, of trust and love...that had been all Terra was when she first woke in Narshe and arrived at his castle. A hesitant, inquisitive mind of what seemed infinite patience and solemn loneliness. A soft spoken gentle soul of untold beauty. Edgar sat the picture back down at the thoughts of the woman he had fallen in love with and crossed his arms behind his back with a sigh.

His daughter had taken after Terra in so many ways, though that shyness that never seemed to end was not present in Terra, nor that brittle temper. That was all her, or so he thought. Relm had said Emma gets that temper from him, but he could not remember breaking so quickly and easily. Relm was adamant about it though, and just said it seemed like it wasn't simply because Emma's patience and tolerance was much thinner than either of her parents'. That part, Edgar at least agreed with.

What might you be, when you have grown and left us? He wondered, staring at the darling little face of his daughter. He couldn't really imagine her as anything else, and the idea of an adult version of her was humorous. Her husband would have his hands full with her, that's for sure. He sighed at that thought. It was unavoidable, even should it be that Lucas was not meant to be. His daughter would find someone to love and if she did not, it would come to him or his sons to find her a suitable match. All of which, of course, meant grand children eventually.

Grand children! He gasped, horrified by it, but then the inklings of what they could be like warmed his heart. Grand daughters like his little Emma, with smiling faces and bright eyes. Grand sons with that indomitable will of their mother. All with the pale green hair that came from the love of his life. Edgar truthfully did not see his daughter branching out, and so did not see a future for her beyond staying with them, content with just being their daughter. He knew deep down it was part of a desire of his. He did not want to lose her. And yet, despite that, he knew it was also incredibly selfish of him. Emma deserved more. She deserved everything the world had to offer, even if it meant he lost her.

He chided himself. There were times he kept wondering why he hadn't matched her to the Seventh Prince of the Veldt yet and whenever he thought of it, he remembered the age gap and felt stupid for behaving so boorishly over Lucas despite his designs with Qudin and Emma. What made him entertain Qudin but not Lucas? He grumbled to himself, annoyed. I know Qudin, he told himself. I do not know Lucas and I do not desire to.

A knock on the door stole his attention. In came his wife, looking a little sad. "Terra, my love...whatever is the matter?" He could not take more bad news!

"Nothing is the matter Edgar, I am just..." she hesitated. "I am just unsure about tomorrow."

Edgar nodded. "I understand...Terra, if this is not something you are comfortable with, know that I am not either. We can still say no."

"Oh Edgar," she mumbled, coming to sit in his chair. "Of course I am not comfortable with it. She is just ten and three...but I am worried more for may come of her life if we deny her anymore of it."

"Heavens...we aren't denying her of life."

"We aren't?" she glanced at him, and it made him uneasy. "You do not even believe that, Edgar. Time and time again we have stepped between her and life..."

"To protect her!"

"Of course," she agreed quietly. "Of course, but we still did so."

"So then, what would you have me do?" he asked her, coming to sit beside her and take her hands. "In this, I will do whatever you want Terra. You just need to tell me." Tell me, he urged. Tell me to tell her she cannot go. Save me from pushing her towards a life that involves us less and less. Tell me, Terra!

Her lilac eyes widened and then she shook her head. "Just promise me Edgar," her voice was gentle, so gentle it almost hurt him. "Promise me that when she goes to East Gate I will see her whenever I desire. Promise me...please." the tears had finally begun to burn in her eyes and Edgar took her hands up in his.

"My love," he whispered, briefly pressing her hands to his lips. "I promise you with all the honor and life in me...I will never keep you from her and I will never let another keep you apart either." Tearfully she wrapped her arms around him and cried. Edgar held her tightly. "My dear lovely wife..."

••••••••••••

Emma had thrown up thrice in the morning of the day of the summer ball.

It was only after she convinced her mother that she was not sick that her mother relented on the idea of keeping her. She concluded it must have been nerves, very raw nerves, and frowned as she held Emma's hair up the third and last time she threw up. By afternoon, her stomach stopped feeling topsy-turvy and she was able to join her mother for lunch. When she arrived in the great hall, she stopped in her tracks. Only women were in the hall, gathered around one table.

Emma felt nervous again as she approached them. "Mother?" her mother turned and smiled at her. "What...what's going on?"

"Why, nothing to worry about," she offered quietly and patted the seat beside her. "Come here and sit with your mama." Emma hesitantly sat down, flustered over the term her mother had decided to use, and then her mother kissed the side of her face with a giggle. "That's my baby girl."

"I'm not a baby anymore," she grumbled in protest. Her mother laughed but did not press the issue. "Mother, why...why is everyone here?" hopefully her mother understood who she meant.

"Why, this is the summer ball, my love. It is a day for women. We thought perhaps you would like the company before you need to get ready."

Emma passed the faces of the women gathered around one look. The women of each family was here, from the Cole women to the Gabbinani wife. It made Emma nervous. Whatever could they need to be here, right now of all times? Maria laughed suddenly. "Heavens, you look as if you just spotted a ghost, girl."

"As to be expected of her, she's frightened to the core." Celes had said and watched with those vibrant blue eyes. Emma did not know her long, or well, but there was one thing she had learned quickly from Celes. Unless she wanted you to see, there never came emotion to her face. Relm had always said the woman was controlled in every facet of her life, and Emma was beginning to understand what that meant. There was no doubt Celes felt and possibly felt strongly, but it was without a doubt something she tried hard not to show.

"Frightened?" her mother said and snatched Emma's face by her chin to make her look at her. "Are you frightened, my love?"

"No mother," she mumbled. How was Emma to explain the knots in her stomach? This foreign feeling of not wanting to go and yet wanting to go with all her might. This inexplainable desire steeped in intense uncertainty. It didn't even make sense to her! All she knew was that she wanted her mother and father to go with her, and knew that was not possible, and that if she portrayed that desire to them they would just not let her go. She was starting to feel sick again at the thoughts.

"Are you lying to me?" she asked. Emma could feel all eyes on her. She shook her head. "You best not be."

And so the women began to chit-chat amongst themselves. Emma relaxed just a fraction and ate quietly from the plate that had been allotted her. There was a single fruit pastry, a sunny-side up egg, a scoop of mashed potatoes and a single piece of thin ham. It was better than most morning meals she was permitted and even though she had been granted a meager amount of meat, she was pleased by it all the same.

While the older women talked, Cadence got up and came around to sit beside her. "Are you feeling better?" she asked quietly, perhaps to keep the conversation between them. Private. Emma smiled at her consideration.

"I'm feeling m-much better, yes."

"Good," she offered through a gentle chuckle. "I would have hated to see you miss out on this chance, even if I do not think you should be going with any boy."

Emma creased her brows at that. Wasn't the entire point of the summer ball, to go with a boy? Why go to a couple oriented event alone? Was that even possible? She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, curious as to who would even do that. Cadence must have understood some tidbit of the emotion on her face and gently elbowed her. "You get such an intense look when you start to think girl, do you know that?"

"I do?" Emma asked, surprised.

"Yes, it is much like reading an open book. The whole world can determine when you are thinking." Emma blinked. That had come as a surprise to her. Was something like thought discernable by expression? "Whatever is making you think so much?"

"I'm not..." she was going to protest, but the look Cadence gave her indicated she should not even try. "...I...I just thinking about the ball, that's all."

"What about?" Cadence asked. "If you do not mind me prying, of course."

Emma did not mind sharing. In fact, she would have loved to ask every woman there, but she wasn't sure how to voice the confusing emotions in her and the strange questions. Whenever she tried, the words froze in her mouth and then she'd push it all aside. She wrung her fingers through each other, feeling heat rise to her cheeks and in her chest. "I..." the words were burning in her throat. "I...I don't know..."

Cadence reached for her hand. "Take your time...it's okay."

And Emma tried, she truly did, but the words burnt to ash in her throat and she looked away. "...never mind."

Cadence frowned and let her hand go. "You must learn to speak to people when you feel upset, Emma." she reached out to tap her shoulder. "You are surrounded by people who love you, so let them try to help."

Emma held her stare for just a second before looking away. I wish I could speak what's in my head, she thought, angry at the jumbled mess of her thoughts, of her feelings. It always felt as if she were trapped in her own body and mind, unable to escape the painful thoughts and questions she couldn't wrap her mind around. Left feeling alone and afraid. So very frustrated.

I want to tell you so much, Emma thought, on the verge of tears. There's so much I want to say...I don't know how...I'm afraid...I'm confused...

You are weak, the voice hissed. Pathetic. Weak. Stupid. Useless.

Emma finally let her tears go and her sob cut the conversation around her in half. Everyone quieted and looked at her with wide, pitiful eyes. Her mother was holding her an instant later, rocking her back and forth like a weeping baby. "Oh my lovely girl, oh stop those tears and tell me what is bothering you. Let me help, sweet child, let me help." but all Emma could do was sob and do so hysterically. Terra rocked her back and further more, and smoothed her hand down her hair. "Please Emma, please, talk to me my love, talk to me." Emma could not stop the tears. The frustration and pain in her heart gripped angrily at her thoughts, and not being able to voice them, only made the tears come much faster.

Cadence cleared her throat. "Terra...I do not think she should go, not like this."

And that had brought some inkling of strength to Emma. She shoved out of her mother's arms, still crying, and shouted, "No, p-please! I w-w-w-w-want to go!"

"Why are you so upset then?" her mother asked, eyes wide in fear. "You cannot keep going like this Emma, you need to talk to us."

And, surprising Emma, Celes stood from her seat. Her eyes were almost cold, but there was an understanding peaking out from behind that stare. "We will give you two a moment. Come on, everyone, let's go." and she ushered them out quickly, without sparing a second look back. Cadence followed slower, looking back with a frown, worried.

When they were alone, her mother took her by the face and made her look at her again. There were tears in her eyes, and that unsettled Emma even further. "I love you Emma, with every fiber of my being. If you have something you need to tell me, but you feel like you can't...well, I just want you to know you are safe with me. I could never not love you, no matter what you say or do or think. I am here for you, always." With a loud cry, Emma wrapped her arms around her mother and held her close. "Oh my, sweet girl, my beautiful sweet girl..."

It took an hour for her to calm down, and not even then she spoke. Her mother was exceptionally understanding, and even more patient. She just helped Emma back to her room and sat with her there for another hour, quietly holding her hand and humming a soothing song. A song Emma could not remember first hearing, but knowing she had heard it almost all her life. Somehow, that powerful motherly emotion reaching her even through the unfamiliar.

There was nothing but shame in her. And disgust.

I'm so tired, she thought, feeling the burn of fresh tears around the corner but trying so very hard to hold back.

Of course you are, the voice whispered. You do not need their help to find peace.

Emma thought of all her problems. Of all the things that were coming to her and being taken from her. The freedom to leave the castle, the freedom to choose her school, the decision to send her away yet again, the bitter sweet participation of the summer ball and of being near Lucas, of leaving her only friend in all the world behind, of knowing her stupidity and inability to talk and feel like a person screwing up the only time she had left with her family. With her mother.

She wanted to fling herself into a hole and never leave it.

I want to be normal, she felt such pain at that, to the deepest part of her being. I want to be normal...!

"Mother?" she cried into the quiet of the room.

Her mother's beautiful lilac eyes caught hers. "Yes, my love?"

She swallowed back the fire of fear in her throat and looked down at her hands. "...I...I don't want to go alone."

Her eyes widened at that. "You mean to the summer ball?" Emma nodded. "I see..." she was quiet for a minute, considering it. "I understand. This is new for you, not just this ball or Lucas, but going out into the world on your own, to be around others your age. It is enough to drive me off the edge of my sanity, and I am not the person directly experiencing it." she leaned over and took Emma's hands with a small smile. "You do not have to fear that uncertainty. It is only natural, even more so for you. You are such a gentle soul..." she kissed Emma's fingers and smiled even brighter. "You won't go alone, if that is what you desire. I can ask your brothers to go with you."

Emma's eyes widened. "No! You can't!"

"Why not?"

"Camb...he...he is leaving with Cadence...I..."

"Benjamin would be willing to stay for you," her mother said.

"No," Emma cried again. "Please...don't m-m-make them stay behind for me."

Terra frowned at her and leaned away. "What might you have me do then, my love?" Emma mopped angrily at her tears and shook her head, not knowing herself. Her mother, as patient as a saint, brought her into another hug. "And you still want to go?" she asked in a whisper. Emma nodded. "Then...then you will go, but please, let me know if you change your mind. It is never too late to do so Emma, never."

However, when the time came for her to start getting ready for the ball, Emma did not change her mind. The nervousness that made her sick to her stomach was gone, but not forgotten, and she felt a little stronger. It was not something she wanted to ruin with her out bursts, those out bursts so many had told her is an unruly, unattractive characteristic of her. She wanted the ball to be perfect, to have something to cherish with Lucas. She would not destroy it by demanding her brothers to stay with her and thereafter incite their anger and resentment.

So alone she sat in her room waiting for her mother to return to help her. She stared into the mirror that always seemed to reflect back an image she detested. An image that, almost daily, made her cry. It wouldn't matter after today, though. If she could dance once with a man as handsome and smart as Lucas Duan, then it would mean that her ugly demeanor, her unruly behavior, could be stomached.

The door creaked behind her but she did not move.

"Emma?" The voice startled her. She turned on her seat. There at the wall separating her room from the hall and door, was Celes Chere. In her arms, she carried a small pale brown box. "Might I come in?" unsure of whether or not she should deny the general of the country, she nodded. The woman moved with grace and beauty. "I do not know if your mother told you earlier, but...she asked me to help you."

Emma's brows furrowed. "Help me?"

"Your mother does not know how to prepare makeup and the such," Celes explained quietly. "You must have noticed your mother does not wear it." Emma, actually, had not. The beauty was natural? It made Emma shrink even further into herself. How could such a beautiful woman spawn such a feeble, ugly looking monster of a child? "I see," Celes muttered, realizing the silence meant she hadn't. "Well, that is for the better, I think. I do not think women should wear makeup, not in the way society dictates it and you," she lifted Emma's face by the chin, using her finger. "You do not need it, not the way another might."

Emma felt deflated of the last of her confidence. "...why?"

Celes smiled. "Because you are very much like your mother in that regard. You do not cover natural beauty, Emma."

"Me?" she mumbled. "Beautiful?" she shook her head.

"I would not speak untruly to you," Celes said patiently. "I do not lie."

"You wouldn't have to be lying," she mumbled.

"I see...well then, you ought to know I'm never wrong. So if I cannot be lying to you and I cannot be wrong about your beauty, what else is left to me?" she asked gently. "You think yourself a homely thing?" Celes laughed. "You do not know the depths of your own beauty, and I do not blame you. You have been kept inside, much like a bird in a cage, and when left to fettered about, you bump into disgusting excuses for children. Cruel to their bones."

"They say—"

"I can hazard a guess as to what they say about you," Celes cut her off. "but I know they are wrong. You should too." Emma just blinked and Celes smiled. "Hadn't you caught the eyes of one of the most handsome bachelors at your academy?" that was enough to stun Emma from her words. "If you were truly as grotesque as you think you are, as others say you are, do you think he would call you pretty? Would he shower you with his attention over others? I suppose he could be a man that does not see beauty, but let's face it...that's pretty much all men can see, when they are smart enough to look for anything other than their own pride."

Emma thought on what she said with great caution. Lucas had never said anything about whether he thought she was pretty or not, and she had never thought to ask it. Lucas had demonstrated an eye for beauty though. Emma could recall a dozen times where he had basked girls in the halls with commentary and flourishes. It was not whether or not he found beauty in people, but whether or not he found it in her. Could he be interested in her though, despite those tendencies, if he didn't think she was pretty?

Emma felt a little peace settle in her heart. Celes' words made sense, in some ways. What person could court someone who was supposedly so repulsive that people thought of monsters? Emma smiled a little and then reached out to hug the kind woman.

"You will see," Celes said quietly, gently pushing her away. "When you have grown into your body and you have every man within fifty miles calling upon your audience." that had confused her. What did she mean by 'grow into your body'? "Then you will know the bitter jealousy that burned at your class mates."

Emma mopped away fresh tears. She would settle with even a decent beauty. She did not want or desire to be the object of every eye, or the jealousy of others. She just wanted to be of worth, and had learned early on what others consider ugly was not worth a thing.

"Come now," the woman said, opening her box. "Let's get you ready, hm?"

And for half an hour, Celes Chere carefully put just an "ounce", she called it, of make up on. Celes had told her there were two things she could benefit from enriching, but not covering; her eyes and her lips. When Emma asked what she meant, Celes only laughed and continued. By the time that she was finished, the clock was nearly at two. Terra and Cadence had entered the room only a minute or so after Celes had finished, as if they knew without being told.

As soon as her mother saw her, she started to cry and then went over to hug her daughter to her and cry some more. "Terra, Terra, stop, you are going to crush the life out of her and ruin the makeup." with a laugh, she released Emma.

"I'm sorry, it is just...oh..." she sniffed. "You look so beautiful, Emma."

Emma smiled a little. "You r-really think so?"

"Oh, certainly!" and then she frowned. "I'm so sorry I could not help you with this, my love, it is just..I..."

"It is okay," Emma cut her off, smiling. "Lady Cole told me earlier. I understand."

"Oh, heavens, thank the gods for that." her mother looked so flush, so worried. Emma felt horrible for making her feel that way. "Oh! I must go down stairs and speak with your..." she hesitated. "...your father. He will need to know it is time to ready the carriages." Emma did not catch any of what she actually meant and said nothing when her mother left, preoccupied by her reflection in the mirror.

Cadence giggled suddenly and took her arm before taking a seat beside Emma. "Oh! You simply must tell me everything about this charming Lucas of yours." Celes lifted a brow but pretended like she was putting more things away in her box, when she was really just dilly-dallying about. She wanted to hear, too, but Emma hadn't noticed that either.

"Tell you what?" Emma asked, very confused.

"Why, everything! Whatever was it like, his request to take you to the ball? What is he like? Go on, you must share!"

I...I must? She thought. "I...uh...I don't know, he just asked me."

Celes looked up and then quickly looked down. Cadence frowned. "You couldn't mean he just walked up and asked?" Emma shrugged. "Heavens...that's not very romantic."

"It...it isn't?" The thought had never crossed Emma's mind. What was to say was romantic or not to another, anyhow? For Emma, the care he had shown was something she thought existed only in novels. It didn't matter to her if he did not flourish her with purple-y recitations or the like. He had asked her in his way, and that was more special than anything else to her.

"Well, I suppose it could have been, it just doesn't sound too special. If you told us—"

"Cadence," Celes cut her off, rising. "Enough. Do not pester her about it, she's clearly uncomfortable."

"Are you?" Cadence asked Emma then, eyes wide. "Did I make you uncomfortable?"

Emma shook her head and answered honestly, "No."

That made Celes laugh and shake her head. "You are a strange girl indeed, Emma, just like your mother in so many ways." and then she laughed again and left the two alone.

"My mother might be right at least in that I might have overstepped," Cadence offered with a small smile. "I'm sorry if I had. I just get so carried away. Do not mind my silliness, if I have. I meant no harm."

"It's okay Cadence, really."

Cadence reached over to pinch her cheek. "As sweet as you are strange." Emma swatted her hands away, though with far more playful annoyance than real. There was a pause, and then a gasp as she thought of something. "That reminds me about something your brother brought up the other day." Emma waited, nervously. "Do you even know how to dance?"

"N-no."

"And you never bothered to ask anyone?" she asked, expressionless. "Emma...what were you expecting to do when you got to the ball?"

"I—I don't know...I didn't think it would get that far."

"Oh dear...what will we do with you?" she shook her head. "At least tell me you know what following a lead means?"

Emma blushed. There had never been a need to ever learn, and since strenuous activity caused her to have an "episode", Relm and Gau feared teaching her or inspiring her to do so on her own. It was one of the few things even Gau was afraid of allowing, that "rough" activity. The closest to dancing she ever got to was a very, very rare "free" dance, with the last having been at the Antlion Celebration. She was scolded for that, and she supposed rightfully so. She had been quite out of breath, to the point of pain in her chest. But it was so exhilarating!

Celes sighed. "Heavens...you are a princess and no one thought it wise to teach you how to dance?"

"I...I couldn't because of m-m-my illness."

"You couldn't even dance?" she gaped. "Well, what do you expect to do at the ball if you aren't allowed to dance?"

"I'm allowed today," she mumbled, wringing her hands together. "To dance for a few minutes at a time..."

"Well!" she stood and extended a hand. "We have some time...let me show you how to dance just a bit, or at least how to let Lucas lead you."

Emma could only gape.

••••••••••••

"Cambyses, it has been a responsibility of older brothers since society has evolved," Edgar complained. "Especially so within the Figaro family." Terra had just walked into the room, so she was not entirely sure what was being discussed.

"I am to head out in an hour with Cadence, father. You know how important this is to me, to us."

"Your sister needs you."

"She is always in need of someone," Cambyses said. "It is just one night, and she will be surrounded by her guard. Can that not be enough for her, just for tonight?"

Terra understood now, and came to stand beside her husband. "Cambyses...she wants you or your brother to go with her, but she is afraid to ask one of you. And seeing as how Benjamin has already left, it comes down to you."

"As it always does," he said quietly. "Why can't she go with captain Wren? Or Jakle? Or how about not at all?"

It was of course understandable, her son's position. It was all but said that he would marry Cadence, and the bitterness of having not been around her for more than a few minutes the last few months had been unbearable for him. He set this plan in motion months ago, and it would be wrong to ask him to pass it up, but how could Terra weigh the two requests of her children against each other? Emma was her youngest, but Cambyses was an adult. She could not control him, not truly. And would it be right to? She didn't know anything anymore, it seemed.

Edgar crossed his arms. "And you would be fine with that, denying your sister something like this?"

"I'm not fine with any of it," he said. "In fact, I distinctly remembering telling you not to let her go, but you disregarded me on that just as you did back in Thamasa for so many things."

"Do not bring that up again," he warned, eyes burning.

"There we go again," Camb said. "You love her so fiercely you cannot see the light of day sometimes. It is okay to not give into what she wants father, that doesn't make you a bad parent, even if she has had a terrible life. It makes you a good parent, to know when to say no, despite it all."

That had made Terra gasp and look at her husband. His face was red, but from embarrassment or anger, she could not tell. His eyes then narrowed. "You were allowed to go to this ball at her age."

"Yes, I was," he admitted. "However, I was not a sickly child surrounded by peers who did nothing but torment me, nor was I little girl, as such they are more easily manipulated and abused and other such things. I should not have to explain to you the predatory nature of men, father. And for that, the situations are completely different. Emma does not understand the social demands she is stepping into, she may never understand them. The simplest of things others convey she struggles with. I will never agree with putting her into situations as if she were normal father, because she isn't, and when you aren't those situations can chew you up and spit you back up."

"So you would have me deny your sister everything in life? Do you not see how that is punishing her for something she cannot control?"

"I never said everything," he snapped. "There are just a good deal of things she will never be able to understand, or to experience. It is cruel to expect her to be something she will never be, to tell her she can have these things in life, when she cannot."

Terra cut in at that part. "So what sort of life do you see her living Cambyses? There is no family for her if she does not reach into society, if she does not engage with others."

"Of course there is," he told her sternly. "You two just refuse to do what needs to be done. Emma will never find a lad her age that will like her, let alone learn to love her as the years go by. That is not something she will ever possess. If you two would just see the way kids truly treat her, especially the boys, you would understand that. Of all the countless times she has been bullied out of my eye sight—and I'm sure it happens all of the time—I have seen it hundreds of times. Emma will never find a suitor which capture her heart, because they simply do not exist. In their eyes, she is an unkempt, unruly, comely little beast, which they afford themselves the luxury of teasing her about those thoughts as often as they desire!"

"She is not some beast for—"

"I know that mother," he all but snapped. "I do not think it. I am merely stating the fact as others see it. I am simply trying to get you to understand there is no one out there for her! Not in the ways that you desire!"

"There is someone out there for her," Edgar protested. "There is someone out there for everyone."

"No," Camb said, angrily. "You need to face reality. Your daughter does not look normal." that made Terra gasp. "I'm sorry mother, I don't mean Emma any harm—I love her and I do not see her as others do—but that does not mean anything, in the end. Your daughter does not look normal, let alone entirely human. She has pointed ears, strange eyes no other human has ever possessed, and stranger teeth yet! Do you think there are men out there who will look passed that, the way we can, her family? I'm telling you right now father, there aren't. You are such a rarity it is almost comical. Most men sell their daughters' hands, for gods sake! Your understanding means nothing for Emma and continuing to act as if she can be given the things others get with ease is cruel for her."

"So what is your grand plan for her?" Edgar howled, and Terra tried to quiet him. "Would you see me bind her in irons, lock her in her room?!"

"Of course not! That isn't the point of my—"

"Then what?!" he snapped. "You think I even like the idea of my daughter leaving me, leaving her mother? Finding some man who will never be worthy of her? You think I desire that? I hate it more than anything in this world! If it were up to me, she would never leave this castle, she would stay a child forever, but that's not how it works. Your sister is sick and different, and she will need someone there to take care of her when we are gone, when you have ascended to the throne and have no time for her!"

"Father, listen to me—"

"Tell me what you would do in our position!" he snapped, and finally Terra managed to calm him down.

"You want to know what I would do?" Cambyses asked, glaring. "I would have married her off to Qudin the moment he had shown interest in her, whatever that interest might have been." he scoffed. "You two love her though. I understand that. I would hate to bear the idea that I would have to force my daughter to marry someone, especially someone so much older than her and a stranger, but I would also not hesitate if my daughter were like Emma. Because she would be safe...she would be cherished. It would be a certainty."

Terra felt tears in her eyes. "You do not know anything, Camb. You talk so easily of what you would do, or how you would have done things differently, but you are missing the difference between us; you do not have children." that made her son look at her, uneasily. "You will not know the uncertainty, the fear, the insecurity, that follows parenthood until you have held your child in your arms. When you do, you can speak to us about this, but until then...you know nothing." Edgar reached out to hold her hand, to give her strength.

Cambyses nodded, slowly. "Aye...you are right. I am not a father yet." he unfolded his arms and looked at them squarely. "With Cadence, I can see that future for myself and I won't risk it for something I don't even think my sister should be doing." and then he walked away, squaring his shoulders as he did.

Terra wiped her tears away as her husband went to hug her.

••••••••••••

Cadence and Celes would not take no for an answer. Thankfully, they did not want to mess up her hair or her makeup, so they demonstrated together. Celes took on the role of the man, since she was just a bit taller, and Cadence the woman. They showed several different dance patterns one could assume, and where she put her hands and how to follow the man. Cadence had explained it was all about letting the man quite literally lead your movements, to basically be a putty doll in his arms.

Emma watched with wide eyed fascination. She had never seen a pair of people dancing together before, not in person. She had seen paintings and watched little music boxes open and display two figures dancing, and had once or twice seen Gau twirl Relm around, but nothing that was true dancing. It filled her heart with a greater unease, and yet a fiery desire to experience it herself.

"Of course, no man will ever dance this well," Celes said as she twirled her daughter back into a ready position. "Men have the feet of a boar."

"Cambyses, especially!" Cadence breathed with such disappointment.

Emma giggled. "Mother says father and Camb dance well."

"Your mother adores the men in her life far too much to be honest about them," Celes said with a small smile. "Your father is an excellent dancer, I will give him that, but Cambyses is a sight for sore eyes." Cadence laughed.

"Do you think...Lucas will be a good dancer?" she asked.

"Possibly," Celes muttered. "It really depends on how he was raised."

There was a gentle knock on the door that took them right out of their conversation. Terra came in, quietly, smiling. Emma noticed her eyes immediately. She had been crying. "Are you ready yet, my love?" she asked, offering a bright smile. Emma glanced from her mother to Cadence with a worried look, but the young woman did not notice her.

It was like a great fire burning with in her. All her emotions mixed into one masked emotion that saddled the line between fear and happiness. She swallowed back a cry and stood. "Yes, mother, I'm ready."

••••••••••••

The closest women in his life came down the stairs together first. He stared in pride and fear at the vision of his daughter, by just how beautiful she was. Celes had worked her hair into this elegant twisted bun, leaving just wisps of hair to fall down along her ears and temples. A very modest sense of make up had been applied, across her cheeks and nose, and some sort of gloss to her lips. In her arms, was her dress, sealed in a carrier.

Emma was a vision of beauty.

Edgar could not stand thinking of it, of his daughter growing. It tore him in two, and he knew if he didn't say or do something he would call off the entire thing. He coughed, to clear his throat, and smiled at the women of his heart and then took his daughter into a hug. "My, look at you. You are absolutely beautiful, my little girl." there were tears in his eyes, and while they assumed he was teasing them, his tears were honest. It was Emma though that looked at him with a frown of uncertainty. He did not like the way her eyes made him feel, so he sighed. "I would hate for my dear girl to be late...so shall we be off, hmm?" Edgar smiled and led his wife and daughter out to the carriage.

It took them an hour to reach their destination. On the drive over, Emma kept squirming by the window. It took Edgar a moment to notice why—she was trying to keep herself awake. Edgar glanced at the clock on his wrist and frowned. It was nearly six pm, just an hour and a half from reaching her bedtime. He felt something stir in his chest, unrest maybe, though he feared it, whatever it was. She should be home...reading or drawing or even yelling at me for not letting her go. What am I doing? I am spoiling her beyond belief.

He looked at her from the corner of his eye and saw that her cheeks were rosy red, more than usual, and she was watching the scenery go by with an earnest smile. She was happy, and he could not recall seeing that expression on her face since a few weeks after she moved to Figaro. Has your life truly been so bad to you? He thought. His mind went back to the journal and his heart paused momentarily. Of course it has...she has not been happy Edgar, you daft fool, and it is because you haven't been paying attention, because you would have rather believe in a story that she was happy and you were a great father than see the suffering on your baby girl's face.

The carriage jostled and Emma blanched just enough to make Terra gasp and reach for her. She got motion sickness very easily. She looked extremely queasy but nodded vigorously to something her mother said, and then the window was rolled down just a bit, so that the fresh air could get in. He frowned. She's so sick, so weak...what am I doing? Why did we bring her back to Figaro? She was safe and healthy and happier at Thamasa, with her only friends, with her hopes on weak promises than faced with her hopes actually breaking before her eyes.

Emma made a face, like she was about to hurl and then groaned as she leaned her head against the glass. Gods...let this make her happier, let it make it easier to do what I must do. He pictured the gallant young prince of the Veldt and the proposal that he had once thought of several months ago. That his fool of a son had brought back to his attention just earlier. She could use a gentleman like that as a husband...gods, if it wasn't for that age. He felt like a hypocrite though, condemning men for their age when he and Terra had such a difference in age. No, no...it isn't the same thing. She was not thirteen or fourteen, but an adult. Emma is a child, barely out of her rearing years.

The thought of suitors and their age brought up angry thoughts of this Lucas Duan. He clenched his jaw unconsciously at the thought of him. He had spent nearly a week after telling his daughter she could go hearing about all of the wonderful things this Lucas said, did or felt. It was clear by the way Emma spoke of him it was merely infatuation built on the need to fit in, because he was the popular boy at school. If it meant she got her chance to be normal, to have friends, she would like this Lucas Duan. It pissed him off. His daughter was smarter than that, and yet it also pissed him off that she felt so alone and isolated she felt the need to conform so heavily to others' standards and desires.

He knew either way he would stand firm on her leaving Sunset and Golden Lion behind, that she would never see Lucas or her peers again. Why couldn't she have found a boy her age? Why couldn't she have forgo crushes until she was old enough to be wise? Edgar sighed. This all felt like a huge mistake. He was ready to call it off then if he hadn't turned to her to say 'That's it, we're turning around', because she was watching through the glass as they approached the castle where the ball was taken place. Her eyes were wide and sparkled in the torchlight and starlight.

Edgar's heart stopped. My poor girl...my precious baby. Just this once he would push through the spoiling, if only if he could see that look on her face again. "We're here," she breathed, looking over at her parents with a smile. "Thank you." she said again, reaching over to hug them. Edgar swallowed back a protest and smiled softly.

Terra giggled. "We just hope this makes you happy, Emma."

"It does," she said with a wide smile. "It does." there was a sparkle in her eyes that told she would cry if they kept talking, and not willing to ruin the pretty job Celes had done with his daughter, Edgar nodded and looked away. If he looked any longer he would cry. Tonight marked the night he would lose his baby to adulthood.

When they pulled to a stop, Edgar helped his ladies out of the carriage and walked them around the reception to get a feel for what the night would be like. There were lords and ladies with their daughters and sons, passing judgment to their daughters' escorts without mercy and unconvinced voices, but otherwise complying to their daughters when they whispered 'behave!'. Edgar eyed the boys and men uneasily, finding each face a threat to his daughter's youth, innocence, honor and sweet core. Beyond that he noticed that many of the girls did not attempt to hide the hatred in their eyes when they skimmed over his daughter. It was clear that they did not want her here, and as they moved beyond the girls, they were foolish enough to voice their thoughts. If he hadn't been a gentleman, he would have turned to them and given them a good slap, but his father had raised him better. He could only be thankful his daughter was too excited to hear them or pay their stares any of her beloved attention.

He spotted the dean talking with the security detail's captain, issuing them about the doors and windows with hard frowns. At least the dean was taking it seriously. He led his ladies towards the tables for a cup of wine (for himself and Terra) and a small cup of sugar ale for his daughter. She accepted the cup with round, fascinated eyes. She did not expect her father to hand her sweetened ale! She drank it quietly but with a wide smile and shining eyes.

The truth was that Edgar wanted to keep her distracted so that he could pick out the troublesome young man who asked his daughter to the summer ball. He knew her well enough to know that when she got distracted she took it to the extremes. So while she and her mother sat aside, to wait and drink, he excused himself for a moment to prowl about the crowd. From what he had seen from the drawings and the images off the school board, he knew who he was looking for.

It took him half an hour to realize the lad had not arrived yet and just when he arrived back at his ladies' side, he saw a silver carriage pull up and two young men hurry out of its depth. He stiffened up when his daughter gasped and sat aside her drink. Feeling hopeless and desperate to find a reason to whisk her away, he took her hand and said, "Now, my dear girl, you do remember your curfew, correct?" he hoped, begged and prayed she would fall short but she smiled at him—that smile that stole a piece of him.

"Yes father. I must be home at seven and not a minute later." when he did not say anything, she flushed. "Is...is that right?"

He swallowed back a 'no!' because he felt his wife's eyes on him, waiting, knowing what he wanted to say and ready to chide him. He nodded finally, feeling his heart tightened. "Yes, my girl...you remembered correctly."

She practically danced in place. "I promised you I would remember." there was that beautiful sweetness again. He took a breath and faced the men approaching him with an attempt at strength. The younger one said something to Lucas and then disappeared. His daughter noticed too and then turned, smiled and waved very shyly at him. While she was distracted, his wife seemed to catch his discomfort and leaned over to kiss the side of his face.

"She's happy Edgar, for the first time in such a long time."

"I know," he said, watching, sadly. "I know."

Lucas was in a traditional suit, pressed and smelling of rare island spices and flowers. His hair was combed back, pleasant and endearing as if royalty himself, with an even more charming smile on his face. He was a tall young man, but sort of wiry in comparison to his sons or other men in Golden Lion. His skin tone was different too; not yet tanned like Figaro men, nor like Veldtic men, but more...oily. As if he spent his life on a beach, or perhaps a boat.

No, that's not quite right either, he thought. Hmm...doesn't he come from Jidoor?

The young man was smart enough to address him first. He bowed respectively, as one would to a king. "Your Majesties." he rose. "I hope I did not keep you waiting too long. Our carriage met difficulty on the main road out of Figaro, near the Twin Rivers."

Emma looked at them, expecting them to be too polite. Edgar bit back a reply. He did not appreciate the tardiness displayed so far, but he could not fault them for carriage troubles. The Twin Rivers was a busy street and the rivers beside it often flooded the passage. "We appreciate your honesty, Lucas, and we perfectly understand the troubles you have faced. I am only glad you have made it here safely."

He bowed his head. "Thank you, your majesty." he turned his eyes to Emma and she lit up like a candle, face red and eyes downcast, yet jittery. He took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles and Edgar stiffened angrily. "Emma...I have thought of nothing else but this dance. I apologize for my late arrival...I pray the girls did not bring you discomfort?"

She shook her head. "I...they haven't."

Terra smiled. "Lucas?" he faced her, Emma's hand still in his—which the poor girl had no idea what to do with. Edgar was glaring, very much aware that it was obvious. It was beyond appropriate now. "Would you please be sure to bring her safely to her guards here at six? Our household will be asleep or gone by then and I would feel happier to know it will be taken care of. She is to have an hour here and then come home swiftly...she is a frail girl."

Emma looked at her mother with betrayal in her eyes. She wanted to speak up but knew better than to try. Lucas laughed. "I promise you, my queen. I will deliver her to her guards safe and sound. I would hate to tire your daughter out and or make her weak." Edgar watched the lad's eyes closely and couldn't help but see something in them he did not like.

"You bring me relief, Lucas," she admitted with a sigh. "If she at any point gets too weak, or pale, she must be refreshed immediately. Sugary drinks are the best solution to weakness."

"I am aware, your majesty, I promise. She had her spells plenty of times at Sunset. I will be prepared and vigilant."

Edgar held a hand out, to test this young man. His hand was immediately reached for, which Edgar had no idea how to take it. He didn't know what to expect. "Well then Lucas Duan, I am leaving my daughter in your care. I do not think I have to warn you what will happen if I find a hair out of place or a tear shed, do I?"

"Father!" and "Edgar!" were gasped at the same time.

Lucas laughed it off, as charming as his face looked. "I will treat her well your highness, and will take great care with her. I swear it."

After a long moment of silence, of glaring, he relented and shook the lad's hand firmly before looking at his daughter again. Her eyes were plastered on her handsome young escort. "Emma, my dear...do not push yourself. If at any moment you feel too weak, tell Lucas or the captain of the guard or a professor. Anyone. And...and have fun, my sweet girl." he kissed her forehead.

"I will father, I promise." her eyes skittered to Lucas quickly. "May...may we go now?"

He smiled. "Of course, of course...seven Emma, seven." he said as they started walking away. Terra sighed heavily.

"It will hurt to see her tears when we take her away from this all Edgar...it will hurt so much."

"It will have to hurt," he said, leading her back to the carriage. "What is right tends to hurt sometimes. She will know a better life far from this academy and its ilk. I just can't believe we just let her go in the first place..."

Terra took his hand and squeezed it. "Oh my dear Edgar...do not worry. This night will make things easier for her to deal with our decisions. We will see her soon." as he reached to close the door behind his wife, his eyes scanned the crowd entering the castle for his daughter and caught sight of her looking up at her escort with a smile. I love you Emma... and then he got in and they were gone down the road.

••••••••••••

The hall to the castle was elegantly decorated to the theme of silver and white, with giant chandeliers and golden tapestry. There were carvings made of ice in the likeliness of pouncing lions and hunting lionesses, and fountains of crystal blue water and long tables of fine foods and drinks. The people gathered were unbelievably beautiful as well in their black or gray dress suits or long, flowing dresses of silver, gold and blue.

The women gathered, or other girls, were alive with laughter, smiles and teases for their male escorts (or, if they were empty handed, their attempts to take an escort shamelessly) and the men content with the attention they were receiving. She glanced several faces she knew from her wing of the academy and tried to stay out of their sight, but they seemed to always follow her and Lucas as they walked deeper into the event.

The musicians hadn't set up so the dancing could not commence just yet. Emma's throat was already parched. It seemed hotter in the ball room than outside, and it made her nervous. She wondered if her hands were sweaty and if Lucas hated it. Don't think about that, she told herself as they neared the tables. Lucas let her hand go to pour her a cup of sugar ale and she accepted it, extremely grateful. It helped with her dry throat and her raw nerves.

"It seems like the music will start soon," Lucas said, watching ahead of them, towards the platform where the men were working to tune their instruments and set them up. The dean was pacing before the platform, shaking his head and muttering to himself. "The ladies' room is to the far left, near the terraces to the grand gardens. Would you like me to escort you?"

She loved his green eyes. They were unreal and made her feel like putty. She shook her head. "I'm...I can do it." she lifted her dress, tucked securely within a carrier, and turned away from the table. Her stomach was turning. Oh how wonderful was this day? She would never forget it, she was sure, even when she was a thousand miles away from him. She would think of him and she would hope to have it all again.

The ladies' dressing room was large and nearly empty, except to Emma's horror, Veva and her friends were there. She was looking into the mirror with regret in her eyes and scorn to her voice as she muttered about bad makeup lines or something. Emma stalled for a second and then turned, intending to come back later, when all of the sudden the other girl caught sight of her.

"Well...if it isn't Emma!" Emma turned to her as she and her friends, who seemed to pop out of thin area, circled her, preventing her from leaving. She ducked her eyes to avoid their anger. "And here we thought we wouldn't get to see you here. There is something I need to tell you, so this is perfect, right girls?" like sheep, they repeated their masters' cries.

Something to tell me? She feared what it was and pressed the lovely dress close to her chest, afraid for it. "What do you want, Veva?"

Arcy winced. "Please, don't be so cruel...we're here to say sorry, for all that we have done to you."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

Veva nodded and hooked her arm around Emma's as she led her further into the changing room. "Yes, truly. We had a long chat with Lucas and he told us that we took our teasing too far, that we hurt you countless times. You must understand...we were only playing around. We hadn't meant for it to get out of hand it is just...sometimes people do stupid things, especially things they do not mean. I'm told I have to be this type of girl and...I guess I just felt I needed to, too. I am truly sorry though, for all the things I have done to you. Could you find it in your heart to forgive us?"

Emma was uncomfortable. It didn't seem like a trick. They never did something like this before, and the girls sounded sincere. When she looked into their eyes, she could not see the venom she was used to seeing. Perhaps Lucas got through to them. A hopeful smile spread across her face. "I forgive you Veva and Arcy, I do." happily she sat her dress down on the counter so she could face them. "Thank you." when the group dispersed back to their mirrors, Emma reached for her dress to get changed in one of the cubicles when Veva stopped her.

"Emma, wait, wait..." she looked back at the other girls quickly. "Let me make it all up to you, okay?"

"Um...okay."

"Good! There is another dance that Arcy and I intended to go to with Kysle and Coslun. It won't be quite so boring, like this ball, and we'll be able to drink whatever we want and do whatever we want. Doesn't that sound grand? Say, wouldn't you like to join us?"

Emma could only shiver from the dreadful memory of drinking. The pleasant feeling in her belly was not worth the horrible things that came after, and certainly not her father's harsh temper should she break any of the rules (again). Though she supposed if she went she didn't necessarily have to drink or do something she wasn't supposed to be doing yet. Still, that uncertainty in her belly could not go away.

"I...it sounds nice, but...but I don't think I should go and I am here with Lucas."

Veva giggled, charmingly. "Who do you think told us about the dance? He wanted us to ask you if you wanted to go."

Her heart froze. So he didn't want to attend the ball with her? She frowned. She wouldn't keep him from going, at least. "Oh...well—well it is fine if he goes, but I think—think I will go home, then."

"Oh, you silly girl," Veva giggled. "He won't go unless you do and if you want to stay here, he will stay here with you. He's so smitten with you it is a bit silly, really, like a lost puppy." the girls giggled, except for Emma. She supposed that's just how girls talked with each other. "So, what do you say? I could give him the answer while you wait, if you want."

Emma felt weak. She didn't want to lose this chance to be with Lucas when she knew her parents intended to send her far away. This was her only chance at a ball, though, and if she left she would never get it again. She was torn between decisions. The only reason she truly wanted to go to this dance was because it was Lucas who asked her, so would it still mean anything if she went with him to another dance? She supposed it did. He was all that mattered to her right now, and she didn't want to lose him—he who bestowed his affections upon her when there were girls who were beyond beautiful.

"Will...will there be chaperons?" she should have repeated it to herself a couple of times in her head before she voiced it, for the girls started to giggle furiously.

"Wouldn't that be so lame, Em?" Em? Her heart fluttered. The girls had given her a nickname! "Besides, wouldn't you want a little alone time with Lucas? He's been so preoccupied with ideas on how to kiss you that he's not even aware it crosses his face."

He...he wants to kiss me? She blushed. Lucas wanted to kiss her? She wasn't sure what to make of that, or the feeling in her heart at that realization, but she knew then she would go. Her parents would be beyond cross with her when, and it was a when not an if, they found out, but what would it matter? They had already punished her with the ultimate punishment, so what more could they do? Send her back to Thamasa? They might as well, she would be so far away from them anyway. She finally nodded. "Okay, I will go. How—how far is it?" she went for her dress, but Veva sharply cut her off, leaving the dress where it was.

"Not very far at all! And no need for that. It isn't like this dance after all. We're going to dance in what we are wearing." she lifted her knee high skirt up with a bright smile. "And we need to take care of this a bit here..." she dragged the princess over to the sink and then wet a cloth so she could wipe away all of the makeup Celes had diligently put on her. "There! Now we just need to loosen that beautiful hair of yours just the way that Lucas likes it." she undid the bun and ruffled her hair about until it framed her face in beautiful curls and twists, almost like a tamed beast. "There, perfect! Look at how great you look."

Emma followed her hand to the mirror and smiled into the reflection. It certainly wasn't like how beautiful she looked with the work Celes had done, but it was nice. And she thinks my hair is nice! And if Lucas likes it, I will wear it however he wants. She faced the kind new friend with a bright smile and slight tears in her eyes. "Thank you Veva...I—I apish...apres...appreciate it."

"No problem," she replied through a narrow smile. "Now we have to be careful getting out, or the dean will tear us apart. I think the windows should be fine. Can you make it?" she asked as she opened the window. It was a good measure off the floor but Emma was certain she could crawl up the wall if need be, so she nodded. "Alright, you head out with Arcy and I'll go let Lucas know before I follow you out, okay? Good! This will be so much fun, I swear it." and then she left the ladies' room and Emma followed Arcy out of the window, feeling the lightest she had ever felt in years.

Arcy led her some feet away from the castle towards the grand gardens and there they waited for several minutes in the darkness of the night for Veva, Lucas and the other boys. It was a cold night and Emma shivered. I should have brought my cloak like mother said... she shivered again and felt the need to hurry back into the castle for just a moment, but then the boys appeared with Veva. She sighed through chattering teeth. Her puffy trousers (desert native clothing) and ruffled tunic was not enough for the chilly, desert air. Lucas noticed immediately and when he stood before her, he took off his cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"I promised to take care of you," he whispered, his hand remaining on the exposed part of her shoulders for a moment longer than he intended, eyes shining handsomely. She blushed under his stare, thinking of that kiss Veva had accidentally admitted to. He liked her and that made her beyond nervous. He reached up to brush hair out of her face and smiled. "I couldn't live with myself if I let something happen to you." She hadn't seen Veva roll her eyes and smiled at him in such a way that it showed just how much she liked him. "Are you sure you wish to accompany us to the dance?"

She nodded furiously. "I'm—I'm sure, Lucas, really."

He took her hand. "We should go then. It isn't far, but I do not want you out in the cold any longer." he tugged her towards the eastern part of the garden and the others followed behind quietly. Emma was so enthralled in her lovely escort that she had not noticed they approached the Domia forest, restricted due to monster activity and abandoned by all who once lived within since the World Change after Kefka's attack. When she finally realized where it was that they were traversing through, she gasped and stopped mid-step. Lucas paused. "Is something wrong? Are you cold?"

"I...I..." she swallowed back a cry. Only children feared fairy tales or ghouls! They weren't terrified...so why should she be? Feeling as if she could not lie to him though, she explained her hesitations and worries, and he chuckled.

"I would not let a single thing lay its hands on you, Emma, and I have come prepared." he patted the sword at his waist. "If you are too scared, I cannot, in good faith, continue any further. We may head back." he took her hand and intended to turn her back when suddenly she yanked it away.

"No...I mean...I'm fine." she adjusted the heavy cloak over her shoulders, still too cold, and followed after him when he began to walk again.

••••••••••••

Jakle sighed and paced the outer hall, where the majority of the security remained in wait for the princess. He saw that it was long after seven when he looked at the grandfather clock built into the wall above the glass doors to the great hall. The twenty men that accompanied him were pacing about as well, equally impatience and nervous. The last thing they wanted was to be chewed out by the queen and king for their daughter's tardiness.

He glanced at the grandfather clock again. Seven forty-four. It was already too late. He looked at his men. "Some of you head back to the carriage and prepare them for our leave, the rest of you stay here and wait. I am going in to get her." they went about their orders as Jakle pushed the doors opened and started to cut his way through the crowd of dancers. Some of them gasped and hurried out of the way, angered by the rude interruption and ugly sight of him.

He went searching for the princess first and when the minutes went by without any results, he sought out the Dean and found him by the platform coordinating the musicians. He stopped him and pulled him aside, despite the old man's objections. "What? What is it, well, hmm? I'm trying to coordinate idiots here and you are not making it easier!"

Jakle glared. "I do not care for your endeavors, sir, I am looking for the princess and her escort. Are they on the second level?"

"What? Why the hell would they be on the second story? There isn't any dance up there, you mumbling idiot," the Dean grumbled, pushing round spectacles up his thin nose. "Now the last I saw the princess was near the fountain. Have you checked there?"

Annoyed, Jakle shoved the man into the wall, catching the worried stares of a few dancers. "Now you listen here you pompous little shit," he growled. "I have checked the entirety of this blasted ball and I haven't found her. Are you absolutely sure she would not be on the next floors?" he nodded wordlessly. "What of the basement? The garden, then?"

"I...I suppose she could be at any of those locations if she isn't within the main hall," he grumbled. "I only know where she shouldn't...or rather she would have no reason to be. The event is here." he gestured to what was around him. "I will put aside the event though and help you look, of course, of course...but you will need to remove me, good ser."

The good captain released him with a scoff. "Send your men to the second and third floors. I'll check the gardens and basement."

As soon as he got his men to go to the basement and he went to the garden, he felt uneasy. Something horrible was going to happen, he just knew it, though it wasn't until his thorough search of the grand garden came up empty that that feeling solidified in his gut like a rock. He made his way back into the main hall, hoping his men or the Dean's men would have better results, but instead of seeing a man dragging the princess behind him he saw that same uneasy expression on their faces and knew.

She was not in the ball with the other girls, with her escort or even at the castle.

The Dean assured them everything was alright though and had a few girls check the ladies' dressing rooms and when even that came up empty, he started to panic as well. "Did you see anything suspicious?" Jakle asked him after they found a quiet spot away from the dance.

"Nothing at all," he said. "Everyone here has shown good behavior. I haven't even broken up a drunken fight yet...though the party is only two and a half hours on."

"What about her escort? Lucas Duan?"

"Lucas?" he mumbled, thinking over any memories that could help. "I saw him with the princess by the tables. They looked happy like the rest of the people here, but nothing out of the ordinary."

"How easy is it for anyone to leave the party?"

"Well," he mumbled. "I would say hard given your men have been guarding the only legitimate exits since the dance began."

Jakle's eyes widened. "What about the illegitimate exits?"

"The windows are the only illegitimate exits they could take without breaking a leg or arm," he said. "And that's only on the first floor, of which I haven't caught a window open or unlocked yet."

Jakle thought for a moment, his mind whirling. If he didn't find the princess and soon, he was sure the king would tear him apart. He was screwed. How could she have gotten out? We have been watching the doors...he froze. The ladies' room! He rushed passed the Dean towards the changing rooms, bursting in and causing the girls to scream and scatter. He ran to the window and tested to see if it was locked. Horror swept through him when it slid open effortlessly.

"Gods," he whispered. He dashed back to his men, ignoring the Dean's pleas to explain what was wrong and ordered his men to keep the ball secure and then hurried to one of the carriages. He knew enough to know that the girl was going to be sent away after dance and now it was obvious she had run away with this Lucas Duan out of some weak infatuation. That damn girl! Running off with him! How could she do this? Didn't she learn from her last little adventure?

"Ser, where are you going?"

"I need to hurry for Figaro and alert the queen her daughter pulled another disappearing act. In the mean time make sure no one leaves or enters the ball, do you understand? I don't care how long they have to wait there."

The young soldier bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Of course!."

None of them would have expected the Two Rivers to be flooded, and a large road of traffic there to block them for the remainder of the night.

••••••••••••

The forest was just as terrifying as she assumed from what she read of it, and it was quiet and colder the further they went. The ground was forever damp, it seemed, and squashed uneasily beneath her academy dress shoes. The trees rustled in the night wind, their nearly bare branches scraping against others in gentle howls, as if crying into the night their terror and anger. It was like a nightmare come true. Emma hurried closer to her handsome protector and reached for his hand, which he squeezed in support.

The dirt path they took was wide and twisted, worn out almost entirely by nature once more, and seemed to go in all sorts of directions. It was here that they stopped to argue over the correct direction to take, in which Veva stomped and stomped about saying "I'm sure!". It was decided to head further east, off the most visible part of the road.

This path led them through the forest for about twenty minutes before it opened into a field overtaken by weeds, small trees and thorny bushes. In the distance was an antiquated house that was nearly fallen through completely. It was clear the house was several generations old, and hadn't been lived in for decades, maybe even a century.

As they tore through the weeds, Emma trailing behind Lucas so that she wouldn't get caught by thorny branches, she realized where they were and froze in terror. It was Old Elric's manor; the supposedly haunted manor by an old lord who felt burnt by someone in her family. Many said that the place was condemned by the gods themselves, and a breeding ground for ghouls.

She wasn't entirely sure of the reasons people said such things, but she did recall how she learned of it all—through her brothers. They said some demon tried to rip the gods from the heavens here, where the darkest of magicks had been practiced by old Elric in hopes of killing off the royal line. Of course they were just tales, to scare children or liven up discussions, but it still scared her to her core.

She wanted to be as far away from it as possible, so against her own wishes to remain with Lucas, she took a step back. "Why...why are we here?"

Lucas looked back at her. "This is where the dance is, Emma. I helped to set it up so that we cannot be bothered by the guards." She fumbled under their stares and twisted her fingers through each other. How they would hate her for this. "I...I don't want to go. I changed my mind. Can we please go back?"

Clearly upset, Veva scoffed. "What, why? We went all this way, couldn't you at least check it out first? Everyone is waiting for us, you know."

"I'd rather go home, please." her request was ignored as Lucas looked at Veva.

"Enough Veva...if she is uncomfortable I will walk her back. You all may enjoy the dance without us." they all started to argue then, giving Emma time to think. She was being silly, she knew it. She had just walked the woods where she was certain monsters existed and lived, so why should she fear fairy tales of ghouls and demons wishing for death of the gods? I am acting like a child, she thought, watching Veva point angrily at Lucas and mention how walking back would not get them back in time to at least dance at the Ball. Gods...give me strength. Please. I do not want to ruin this...please, please. She closed her eyes, counted to ten to rid herself of her fears, and then sighed.

"Please—please stop fighting...I'll...I'll go, I will."

Lucas faced her once more. "Are you sure Emma? I do not want to force you to do anything you are uncomfortable about, if you are scared." she nodded and he smiled. "I swear I will protect you Emma. I promised your father and mother as well." he was right—he had promised. Gentlemen did not break their promises, especially to kings and queens and princesses. He was a knight-in-training after all, and if a ghoul should be brave enough to rear its ugly head, he would certainly vanquish it back to its fiery hell. When he reached for her hand, she gave it to him and let him lead her towards the manor.

The manor grew in size the closer they got until finally they stood at its broke double doors. It was huge, four stories high and looked so old a breeze would knock it to the ground. The windows had been sealed decades ago where others, on the top floor, had been shattered, leaving piles of glass and wood all about the yard. There were foot impressions in the damp dirt leading into the house, a dozen or so, indicating that many people were with in, yet she could not hear a single instrument and it looked like there were no lights lit.

Lucas was opening the door as she thought about it and the strangeness of their pick of venues. The door opened and Lucas stepped out of the way to beckon her in. "Come, I fear Coslun and the others might have drunk all the best wine."

Innocently she stepped through the arch of the door into the darkness of the great hall to the manor. She was right, there were no lights or sound and certainly no people. She took another step in, mostly out of confusion, before she turned to her company waiting at the door, drenched in moonlight. They were no more than shadows against the light. "Where is everyone?"

"Further in," Lucas said quietly, sweetly.

She oh'd and turned back to the darkness of the manor hall. "I...I can't see anything." she whispered, fearfully. He came in to take her hand.

"They are in the basement...here, I'll guide you." he gently led her forward into the darkness and she hesitated. "It will be alright, I promise." he assured her, but she wouldn't budge any further. He gripped her hand. "Now Emma...you are being rather silly."

Fear bubbled in her tiny heart. "I—I'm not sure if we should be here."

"Please Emma, at least let me show you before we head back." Lucas tugged on her hand, a little impatiently. She took a deep breath and slowly followed after him, unaware that Veva, Arcy, Kysle and his brother Eric remained still at the door way. The floor creaked beneath her feet and dirt lofted down from the floor above at the shifting weight in the old house, but she continued on, despite her heart thrumming nervously.

Sometime into the darkness the door seemed to vanish behind her and then Lucas let her hand go. She paused immediately, almost stumbling forward into the pitch dark. She couldn't see a thing, but she could smell something in the air that twisted her stomach. "Lucas?" she whispered into the dark. There was a creak behind her and she turned slowly toward it. "L-Lucas? Where...where are you?" she felt forward into the dark but could feel him. "Lucas?"

He finally answered her. "Just a little further Emma, just a little further." his voice was soft, as if he was a distance away, though she could feel him somewhere nearby.

She swallowed back a cry. She wasn't a child, she wasn't, so she wouldn't cry. "I...I can't see anything." he did not answer, but she could hear them all moving about and she sniffled. "Lucas please...I just want to go back now, please."

And then, cutting through the dark like a knife, was Veva's giggle and her sweetly asked question. "Why Emma...do you happen to be afraid of the dark?" despite the sweet tone, Emma knew. She was being mocked. "Don't worry much, sweet princess, Kysle is lighting a torch." and just as she said, a part of the room became lit and she saw Kysle holding a torch. He was standing beside Eric and Arcy. "Light the rest already," she barked at him. When he finished, the room was glowing faintly and she could see again. Lucas was standing by Veva now, arms crossed and staring coldly at her. "There, see? Everything is lit for the dear princess."

Emma was unsure of what was happening, and was still very much cold. She held the cloak closer to her shivering body, giving Veva something else to tease her with. "Lucas...I changed my mind. I don't want to be here."

Kysle chuckled even as he ran a hand through his hair. "You could have said that an hour ago instead of wasting our time..."

She looked at her escort's handsome green eyes. "Lucas—" her attempt was cut off by Kysle.

"If you wish to head back, you can. No one here is stopping you."

Veva and Arcy giggled when the princess just stared in complete confusion at Lucas and Kysle. "Oh my...I don't think she grasps what you are saying, Kysle."

Her eyes, round with confusion, went to the girls. Lucas took a menacing step towards them quickly. "If I wanted to hear you, I would have asked you to speak." they cast their eyes away.

"Yes, Lucas," the girls whispered fearfully.

He finally went to face Emma, standing so close they all but touched. He took her hand, played with her cold fingers for a second, and then sighed. "Emma...you must listen to me and listen carefully, do you understand? I would like not to repeat myself and I know just how peculiar you are." Eric was looking away, his hands tightened at his side like he was struggling against saying something.

"Uh..." she had no idea what to say, so she just nodded. He fixed the cloak around her shoulders carefully, sweetly.

"That's good." he reached up to brush a hand across her chilled cheeks.

"Are we still going to dance?" she whispered quietly, confused and frustrated.

Kysle started to laugh almost hysterically. "Oh gods...this is just perfect."

Lucas hushed him with an angered stare and then he looked at him. "Yes Emma...we will still dance, I promise."

A weak smile crossed her face. "Then can we go back to the ball now?"

He shook his head. "Our dance will commence and conclude here, Emma."

"Oh," she whispered, nervous. "Do—do we have to go to the basement?"

"Yes," he whispered. "However, first I want you to remain silent, no matter what is said or done, and you mustn't try to leave without my consent. Do you understand?"

Her brows furrowed. "What?"

"Do you understand?" he pressed again, a little harder.

She looked at the faces around her, that fear growing once again. She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "This isn't funny Lucas...take me home, please."

His handsome green eyes darkened even in the beautiful torchlight. "You did not answer me. If you do not answer me, I am going to lose my patience and I don't want that, so please...say that you understand me."

The tears started to come and go down her frozen cheeks. "I'm scared—"

Finally Veva had enough. "You truly are an idiot," she whispered with a shake of her head. "Did you really think any of us would befriend you? That Lucas would ever, honestly, court you? If you had, you are more fool than I thought."

Her eyes widened. "You...You..."

Lucas was not in the mood. His hands tightened into fists. "Veva, if you open that worthless mouth of yours again I will bury you, do you understand?!" Veva went pale and looked away with mumbles of apologies. "Now, when will the soldiers make their rounds?"

"D-Dawn, Lucas." Arcy provided for her friend, refusing to look up though. "Sh-should we head back and wait for you at the carriages or...or erase our tracks?"

Emma looked at them fearfully. Erase our tracks?

He turned to glare at her. The look in his eyes was furious. "What do you think, you fool? Do not waste your time with the tracks, I have made this clear to you all beforehand! Be quick to the carriages and await my arrival. We must leave Figaro as soon as possible." As the girls left, closing the door behind them, he turned to the princess once more. "Do you remember what I said earlier? Do not make a sound, do not move, and—" as he talked he reached for her arm. As soon as his fingers brushed her skin, she yanked as hard as she could away and turned to run.

It was fruitless.

Lucas was atop her instantly. He grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back into his hold. She struggled, screaming. "Quiet yourself," he growled into her ear, but she would not stop. He turned her around and covered her mouth, to muffle her cries. "I do not like being disobeyed, my sweet Emma, and you broke all rules at once. I thought we had come to an understanding..." tears still ran down her face, and he gently brushed them aside. Patiently. "If you promise me that you will behave, I will remove my hand. Do you understand? No screaming, no fighting...you must behave." he sighed at her, though there was a smile on his face. "And Emma...please, do not take me lightly. I do not normally issue second chances, not without first dealing a punishment." his eyes searched hers, and he seemed amused that she could not look him in the eyes. "Do you promise me, my dearest Emma?" for a long moment it seemed she would not answer him, but weakly she nodded. He smiled and slowly removed his hand, but the instant she was free she screamed, and as loudly as she could.

Whatever calm the young mad had vanished completely without warning. He tossed her to the floor with another sigh, this time very clearly exasperated. She hit her head on the floor from the fall and had no time to do anything other than lift her head before he was on her again. His hands squeezed tightly around her throat, until her breath struggled to break free. She struggled noiselessly against him, legs pushing and kicking beneath him and hands clawing desperately at his face and arms for freedom—for air.

Even as he strained harder on his grip, his face had remained calm. It was the veins bulging on his neck and the reddening of his face that had been the only indication of his hidden anger. Her vision began to darken, and her mind began to whirl frantically, senselessly. One moment she was back in Thamasa, running through the castle, chasing after Gau. The next she was arriving in Figaro for the first time, and feeling terror once again at the idea of finally living with her family. Her hearing began to go out, as if he held her beneath water.

What... everything was hurting, burning. Where am I? What...what is happening to me.

Air rushed through her lungs a moment later and it wasn't until sense was restored to her that she saw Eric pulling at his arm, begging him to stop. Kysle was laughing, egging him on. "Please Lucas, you have to stop. Remember what we are here for..." it was that which ended up making Lucas stop, and shove his younger brother away. Emma was wheezing and coughing still, and the redness and bruises had already begun to show. For a long moment, they stood and watched as she struggled painfully to regain her breath.

They were talking around her, but Emma could not understand their words. The dullness had begun to ring her ears.

Her eyes focused on Lucas through tears. He was fixing his shirt, annoyed. What was I thinking...why would anyone ever care for me? Visions of her childhood flashed through her mind, full of torment and isolation, and then Lucas knelt beside her and pressed his index finger against her blue lips.

"I apologize..." he looked displeased with himself, and with her. "I lost my temper with you, but you had given me no choice by disobeying me so openly." he brushed his finger over her lips and then to her cheekbones. "You must not disobey me again Emma, for I will not tolerate further disobedience. And I would truly hate punishing you again." and then he leaned away and glared towards the other boys. "We must move this along, the patrol will be here sooner than I would like." he directed Kysle next. "Have you done what I asked you to?"

He nodded, though his eyes remained on Emma. It made her skin crawl. "Of course, I finished with it all last night." a smile crept upon his face. "Are we starting now, or what?"

She found a piece of her voice lost in the pain. "S-s-stop...please.."

Lucas smiled at her, patiently. "We have been through this, my dear little Emma. This is something that has been set in stone, I must do it." as if on unsaid commands, Kysle reached for her arm, to lift her up. She panicked. She kicked her leg, hitting him between the legs like she had done so many times to her brothers but with all the force she could possibly muster. Kysle gave a loud scream and fell forward, groping his crotch, sobbing. Emma rolled over onto her knees in the confusion and crawled a few steps before forcing herself to her feet and forward into the dark.

She could hear Lucas shouting behind her, having finally noticed she was gone, and then the rest of them began to shout. Emma did not hear the words, only the surprise and anger of it.

"You fool!" she heard him snap. "Find the damn torch, and quickly!" It was so dark, so very dark that she could barely make out the wall beside her. The mold and soggy wooden walls crushed and crumbled beneath her touch.

Her heart was beating so fast it left her light headed. Her hands roamed eagerly over the wall. Please, she thought, near tears. Please! Let there be a door! Her plea had fallen on deaf ears among the gods again. It was as if they were laughing at her. She jumped when light flashed over her from the direction she had come. She spared only a second to look back at them down the hall before she started to run, as fast as her feet could carry her.

Lucas and the others were chasing after her, swearing and shouting. Emma skirted to a stop at the end of the hall, where the exiting door was boarded up. Panicking, she turned for the stairs at her left. Half way up the stairs her legs weakened and she collapsed, smashing her chin into the sharp edges of the steps. She gave a cry and forced herself back to her feet, trembling. By then she could hear Lucas and Kysle close behind her, and she was left breathless and exhausted. The stairs opened into a long corridor, and every door but the first right was boarded closed. At the end of the hall, she could spot another stair case to the left and a window that was also sealed closed. She wasted too much time thinking on what to do, for Lucas appeared a hand's length behind her just a moment later.

He was on her quickly. Emma screamed when his hands tightened around her arm and yanked her back, hard. When he threw her into the wall and her head hit the wood, he did not hoot triumphantly like Kysle had. Instead he let her go, allowing her to fall like puddy to the floor. His eyes had remained unchanged, but his nostrils flared and the veins on his neck were bulging once again. Kysle was the first to approach her lying there. He kicked her in the ribs, and smiled when she gave a cry and tried to cover herself from his onslaught. "You stupid bitch!" he kicked her again. "I'm going to make you suffer for that!" he looked to Lucas, watching calming. "Let's hurry this up, I have places to be and—"

His temper snapped. He drew Kysle up by the collar of his shirt and threw him into the wall. "If you ever dare to command me around I will tear your throat out. I own you, not the other way around. Do you understand me?"

Kysle nodded very slowly, trying very clearly to hold back his own anger. The fear and respect he had for Lucas had won. "I understand...I'm sorry, Lucas." he skirted his eyes away and nudged towards Emma's direction. "I just...I thought we were supposed to hurry and leave, before the guard comes around."

Lucas released him. "You will not act on your own any further." the boy mumbled his okays. Lucas turned without another word to him and went to kneel beside Emma. Her forehead was split across her left eye, and bled quite profusely. She was trembling, too disoriented to attempt to run from them any further. Lucas asked, "Now will you behave for me, my Emma?" when she did not answer him, her weak groans of pain the only sound reverberating around them, he sighed and lifted her up by her hair. She cried. "You dare to ignore me, to defy me?!" he yanked her hair harder. Tearfully, she nodded her head, sobs choking the words from her. He smiled. "All good things come to those who obey."

Eric appeared at their side, twitching and looking pale. "Lucas...it...it is getting late."

Lucas sighed, before standing and taking Emma with him. He plopped her on her shaky legs. "It is rather late, isn't it?" Kysle mumbled.

"I am aware," Lucas snapped, holding Emma to her shaky legs. She could barely stand and tried her hardest, it was clear, to resist fighting back, as he demanded, but the moment he opened a door and closed it behind them, she lost it. She started sobbing and kicking wildly as he dragged her into the room by her hair. When they were within the middle of the room, he tossed her to her face onto the damp wooden floor. He sighed again, this time very impatiently, like a parent tired of scolding a child. "You are very hard to teach, my sweet girl."

She pushed herself up weakly and tried to get to her feet but Kysle knocked her back over. "No one said you could get up yet, bitch. It is far more fitting you lie in the dirt where you belong." he circled her, eyes hungry. "Let me go first, Lucas, please. I have wanted this revenge for years!"

She looked into those handsome green eyes. "L-Lucas..." she was so quiet she wasn't sure she spoke, but when he came to kneel beside her and arched his eye brows at her, she begged him to let her go. He frowned deeply at her and then reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her right ear and shook his head.

"I cannot do that, Emma," he stroked her cheek softly. "I am driven by honor and loyalty to do this to you, from my father to your family, it has to be done...but do not worry your pretty little head over it. If you do not resist me, or any of us, you will not be hurt." he leaned in to kiss her and screamed when she bit his lip the hardest she could manage, until she tasted blood. He let her go and then laid a hand over his lip, though there was a smile cracking through his anger. "My...you are truly an exquisite girl. It must be that Figaro blood of yours." despite his approval and smile, he back-handed her. Her head hit the floor and a muffled cry came from her lips.

"Lucas, can I go first?" Kysle begged again, but Lucas shook his head.

"No," he said, licking the blood from his lips. Emma was still moaning in pain, crumpled on the floor, when he removed his overcoat. "I must teach her first." he sat his overcoat gently over a rotten old chair and undid his tie calmly as Emma struggled to her knees and hands, tears streaming down her face and blood freshly trailing down her lip to her chin and then her throat. There was a tear over her eye where her face had hit the ground and now dripped blood into her eye, so obtrusive to her eyesight that she did not see Lucas undressing until he was by her in just his dress pants and leaning down to pin her to the ground.

She gave a loud cry and tried to hold him back. His face was calm. "Now, now...stop that fussing about, I would rather you were awake and coherent when I do this, but I will do whatever I must to get you to stop." She pulled one leg free and smashed her heel into his chest, or tried to at least, but he caught her by the ankle and then pinned it to the ground. He clucked his tongue in disappointment even as she still struggled to free the other leg and repeat her attempts, but he pinned that one down too and laughed at how weak she was. "You are as weak as you are pretty, Emma."

"Let go!" she cried, hands searching over the floor blindly for anything that could help her escape. Her fingers brushed over something square and jagged and before anyone knew what she was trying to do, she flung it towards Lucas's head. He dodged it the last second though and laughed, very much amused. Angrily she searched for another weapon, and he leaned over her to pin her arms down with his hands, using his weight to keep her from using her legs like before. He smiled down at her. "I do love this wildness in you Emma. You are so docile usually...but I do find this incredibly attractive." he knelt down to kiss her neck even while she struggled and sobbed. He smiled against her throat. "Hmm, you are cold, let me help you with that." he kissed his way up her throat to her jaw and then to her earlobe, where he bit her.

Her struggles made it impossible for him to get any further than that though, so he pulled away with another sigh, still using his weight to keep her down. Her legs still kicked angrily under him and her voice was hoarse as she screamed and screamed. He shook his head. "I told you I would rather not do this, but you leave me little choice." he started to punch her, until her screams broke into quieted groans. When she laid trembling beneath him, face bloodied and body hurt too much to continue her protests, he started to undress her.

Regaining her strength, at least very little of it, she pulled her feet away from him, though they dropped out of weakness and her breath came out ragged, tired. He smiled and looked at his companions. "Would you mind holding her still for me? I believe she's at that stage where she can't quite think straight."

Eric, teary eyed, came over to hold her left arm and shoulder down while Kysle went to the other side. She moaned in pain at the intensity of their hold but they did not relent. Lucas went back to his task, so calm it would have unnerved the eye of a storm, as he quietly undid the strings to her shoes and delicately peeled them off her feet. He sat them aside, lined up perfectly, and then started on her socks, which went halfway up her legs.

He seemed entirely pleased by that, for when he took them off he looked at her with a puzzled look, though she was barely conscious. "My," he whispered, before lying them down. "You are quite a taste." he knelt over her and ran his lips over her mouth, tasted her blood and then moved further down to her throat again as his daft hands undid the buttons to her blouse. Her chest heaved in ragged motions under his oddly gentle hands, quick and weak. He went for her puffy desert trousers next and pulled them down her delicate legs. Upon seeing her legs, he smiled and said, "What a lovely creature you are." before he went for her panties.

Her breath came out rough but she managed to shift about in weak protest. "No!" she wheezed through tears and pain. "S-stop...stop!" he gave her a look before removing her panties. Her screams grew, but this time he was not patient about it.

"Cover her mouth, Kysle." he ordered, tossing her panties aside as he unbuttoned his pants and shifted down them just enough to show himself. His companion did as directed, laughing cruelly at her useless screams. She started to cry when she felt Lucas's warm fingers near her thighs, inching slowly up.

I don't understand, I don't understand, she cried to herself. What did I do wrong? Why are they doing this to me? Why? Suddenly she recalled how lenient her father had—out of the blue—become to allow her to go to the dance in the first place. Lucas was over her again, his breath hushed in her ears as he fumbled with himself to get between her legs. That's why he allowed me to go...he knew this would happen.

Emma screamed when Lucas pushed in, taking her virginity. Why?! Why did he do this to me? He's my father and—and I love him. Why does he hate me? Why? Lucas pushed in harder, with a shuddering whimper of pleasure as tears swelled in her eyes. She could only imagine her father arranging this to happen to teach her a lesson, that when he said no he meant it. I only ever loved you, she thought, seeing her father's face glaring back at her. Why? He pushed in harder and harder, his voice hushed as he whispered pleasantries to her, until warm blood was released and she cried out painfully again, unable to even voice her pain from their cruelty.

He kept going, harder and harder, even as she tried to break away from her captor's hands, but they were too strong for her. Please! She thought. Please someone...please...I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Lucas began kissing his way down her throat to her chest, biting, licking and sucking as harshly as he could. Someone...anyone...please help me. No help came for her. She could only feel his hot breath and the unbelievable pain between her thighs, and hear only the thrum of her heart and his moans of pleasure.

Her tears were hot and her screaming hoarse. She wanted nothing more than to just die right that second so that she did not face this night every day of her life, to face her parents and brothers. She just didn't understand. Why were they doing this to her? Why did she deserve this? Was it truly because she was unacceptable to people? Could someone hate her so thoroughly that this could happen?

"Emma," he whispered roughly into her ear, pushing harder, to purposely cause her pain. She cried. "I've dreamed of this for months," he told her, voice strained. "You are everything I have ever dreamed of." Eric looked away, crying, and Kysle looked ready to throw Lucas off for his turn. Finally, after a few minutes, Lucas shuddered and laid down on her, spent and intoxicated by her sobs. Ignoring Kysle's urgent pleas to move, he caressed her body, kissing her tenderly and touching her, whispering his loves and his pleasantries.

"Lucas," the impatient lad growled, removing his hands from her mouth. Instead of screams, she only cried. "We do not have all night!"

Lucas lifted himself away from her trembling body and laughed as he pulled his dress pants up. "I suppose you are right." he took another moment to redress himself before moving out of the way for the impatient young man, buttoning up his shirt as he paced a circle around them.

Kysle took her by the throat and made her look at him. "I told you I would make you pay, you little whore, and now I can. If you want to get out of this alive, you will behave." to reiterate his anger, he started punching her and kicking at her body, laughing whenever she jerked away in a cry or tried to cover her head. He would have kept pounding her face and body with his fists and kicks if it wasn't for Lucas stopping him with a rough shove.

"Enough," he growled. "Take her and be done with it, or leave."

He withheld a tart reply and went about his task. He took Emma with far more force than Lucas, trying with every ounce of his being to cause her harm rather than to achieve pleasure for himself. Eric had run away to the corner so she was free to voice her cries, which only seemed to drive Kysle to hurt her more and more. He mocked her body as he went on, never kissing her or touching her, only hurting her. For a long minute the room resounded only with her sobs and his demeaning comments until at least he scoffed and rose.

"She isn't as pleasing as I thought a princess would be," he spat near her and buttoned his pants. "I don't give a shit what you do with her, I'm out of here." she rolled her head away from the light of the torch Eric had put on the wall, too sore and tired to be able to handle its shine. Lucas looked at him.

"Do not speak a word of this to anyone, just get your parents and head to the harbor. If you do not make it before we leave, you will have to face the brunt of this by yourself."

Kysle shrugged. "I'll be there." he looked at Emma one last time and then he turned to leave them be. Lucas went over to her and knelt, brushing hair from her face and wiping blood away from her eyes.

He frowned at her discomfort, as if it truly all was her fault, like it hurt him to see her like that. "Ssh, ssh," he whispered, running his hand down her messy hair to soothe her. "Sssh Emma, sssh." she was too weak, too cold and too score, to reject him so she just laid there and sobbed over her pain, over her confusion and fear. She wanted whatever it was to be over with, for them to just kill her so that she could close her eyes and rest. Her eyes started to close when he started directing his brother, though she tried her hardest to follow Lucas when he got up to charge his brother in the corner.

Her vision faded for a moment and when they opened again Eric was walking towards her with a strange expression, trembling himself. He looked at her. "I'm so sorry," he whispered as he knelt to take her like his brother did, and Kysle. Her cries filled the house with an eerie echo for only a minute before she passed out.

When Eric finished, he scurried away whispering his apologies even though she was not awake and hid in the shadows of the corner watching with round, fearful eyes as his brother stepped up to take his second turn. It was during this time that she woke in confusion and started fighting him again with new strength, even more confused than before because she had momentarily forgotten what had happened.

He fought her back by holding her down or pinning her arms out of the way so that he could kiss her tenderly, to stroke her face and neck, to his trail his hot lips down her body, but the further he went the more she fought him. At first, he promised he wouldn't hurt her if she stopped her crying. She did try, but she could not hold off her sobbing, and before he started taking her, he asked, "why are you crying? I thought this was what you wanted?" and then he began hitting her, trying to get her to stop her fussing about. She passed out again.

When she woke, it was because of the unbelievable cold. She shivered as she peeled her heavy eye lids open. She could scarcely breathe easy. Was it all a dream? No, no, what was this pain from if it was all a dream? She rolled her head to the side, groaned, and saw Eric leaning against a wall talking to his brother. "Uhnn..." her weak mumbling caught their attention.

Lucas gazed over and smiled as he walked over to her side. He looked at her face and pushed some hair out of the way. "Good morning, my dear Emma." She coughed and tried to move her hands, but she was too tired. "I hope you don't mind, but..." he rose. "We mustn't stick around any longer...those pesky soldiers of your father's should be coming around the Domia woods any moment now, and I would hate to be caught in their way when they find you." he looked at his brother. "You know what to do and Eric, my dear brother...do not dare to question my authority. Do as I told you and get to the carriages quickly." and then he left them be, shutting the door behind him.

As he approached her, Eric whispered his apologies and begun hitting her. She cried and cried and tried pathetically to cover herself but could not block his onslaught. He was shouting 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" now. Suddenly he stopped and her breath came out in a wisp of white in the frigid air. This was it. She would surely die now. She just wanted to rest, for the pain and the humiliation to finally stop, but then he returned to her side and started to drag her towards the door. Her eyes closed, opened and then closed again as her mind raced for everything she missed and would miss out on, for the one thing she absolutely wanted that very second even if he hated her.

Daddy...

And then she blacked out.

---

"Damn this cold," captain Wren—of the seventh division and of the Sun Tower to the west—growled, his breath wisps of white in the air. It was late in the morning, nearing dawn, and he was off in the woods with his addled minded new recruits on a routine run for curfew dodgers, thieves, traders, predators and murderers—all of which, of course, were never out in the woods. He had spent three years now walking these woods for things that would never be here and now, thanks to his recent screw up at letting the princess push him away and run off like a hooligan, he would probably spend the rest of his life doing just this.

In the distance, continuing their thorough search, he could see lit torches—indicating his men took their new job too seriously. Of course he was glad they did, he couldn't help but think they would only end up like him—stuck! He lifted his own torch high up as he pushed through thickets. Soon he cleared through the thickets and was on a twisted, old path. He gave it one quick search before he took a few steps to get to the other side, when he paused, something catching his attention. Slowly, he turned the light of his torch to the object of his sudden attention.

A strange print in the dirt. Carefully, he leaned down to examine the print. A sense of pride, of excitement, ran through him at his discovery. A footprint! Finally he could catch someone that ought not be here, or at least this late. It was suspicious, it was...exhilarating! He jumped to his feet and whistled for his men. Within two moments, seven well-trained soldiers poured out from all directions and formed a perfect line before him. He smiled at his men, proud.

"Looks like there might be someone hiding out in the woods. The print is pretty recent, but might be a few hours old. I want three of you to trace the opposite direction of the print in a wide comb. You find anyone, capture and drag them to me. If they run, chase them but you are not allowed to hurt or kill." they shouted their military 'yes sir!' and was off the next second. "The rest of you, join me. We're taking this path. I know where it leads and I have a feeling we have a few people enjoying illegal substances with minors up ahead."

The path continued on for half an hour before they found more prints, heading off path through gentle shrubbery and thickets. He had one man stay at the path, for when the others returned, and took the last three with him, following the now more recent prints. For the next half hour they pressed on and just when Wren was about to call off the search, fearing his suspects had already escaped, one of his recruits paused.

"S-Sir!"

His sudden shouting scared the hell out of him and he jumped, banging his head on a low branch and biting his tongue. "Damn it, Gres, be quiet!"

"B-but sir...!"

"What is it?" he growled, turning to stand beside his recruit. He followed the underling's eyes and saw through the thickets, Old Elric's house. Of all the things to interrupt him for or scare him about, this was it? "Gres, that place is a condemnable hell all the gods wouldn't even touch. Why the hell do you think our suspects would head into that unholy mess?"

"The door..." he muttered, pointing a gloved hand toward the house. "Last night, when me and Laik did our search, that door was closed."

Slowly a smile crept on Wren's face. Perhaps tonight would be his night to find something that would never be forgotten, that would earn him a spot on a higher rank and pay. "Well then, I suppose we ought to check it out." when they got to the door, Wren turned to a recruit to his far left. "Sedin, keep at the door, watch for anyone and should someone make it passed us, chase them down."

"Yes, cap'n, sir!" Sedin said, saluting, before he took his spot. And so he took Laik and Gres into the house. Laik had taken Wren's torch, to light another, and then placed it on the wall to create extra light. As soon as the room filled with light, Wren could see clear evidence to someone being here, very recently. Not far from the door way, he saw prints of what looked like a struggle.

"Someone was on their back here, see?" Wren leaned down to gentle point out what he meant. Gres leaned down to inspect.

"Sure does, Captain, look there—" Gres pointed ahead. "—this dirt is disturbed, in more than one place."

"Well I'll be damned," Wren said with a frown, looking closer. There were faint foot prints in the door. "Men, at least two of them. One of them wore boots, the rest casual. See this heavier print?"

"Sir, this one here is too small...perhaps a child?" Laik called out ahead, by a door way. "It is pretty heavy printed though, looks like a lot of force was pressed."

"Move aside and don't ruin it." Wren barked, carefully picking his way across the ground to Laik's side. Gods be good...don't let it have been a child. Please don't let this have been trafficking. Gods be good... "Point the torch down for me, Laik. Gres, get over here damn it."

"Sir, I found blood." Gres called from his spot, from where he was further inspecting their older find. "Only a drop though."

Damn it, he thought bitterly. Now all he would think about is finding the family of a slain child to report to, or a scene to report to the generals. Then he got to inspect the smaller one and although it was indeed in child size compared to the others, it was not one. This much he knew. "Thank the gods, it isn't a child."

"Sir?" Laik leaned down to see it better. "Are you sure?"

"I am positive. It was a teenager, a girl...see this impression here?" he pointed to the end of the print. "I know that mark. It is a pattern in the Golden Academy's dress shoes." he stood up straight with a sigh. "I hope what we find ahead is a girl being an idiot drinking with some dumbass boys her age. Laik and Gres, follow me." when they went through the door way, they saw an upstairs and an open door beside it leading down stairs and then to the far left a large open door leading to a library. "Laik, stay right here. Don't let anyone pass, we'll be back to inspect the downstairs and library soon."

At the top of the stairs Wren stopped Gres. "Oh gods..." he leaned down to examine the blood on the wooden floor, fearful to who it belonged to.

Gres growled at the amount. "By gods..." and then Wren rolled over a piece of wood lying next to it and saw how the blood was patterned on it. "The weapon?"

"Looks like," Wren said in a ghastly whisper. There were three rooms, but only one of them was open. A room to their right, and closest to the stairs. The blood trailed into the room haphazardly, and he knew it was the only important room. He stood, quietly with a lithe and anger he did not know he had, and unsheathed his sword. Gres, as silent as a mouse, did the same. "Get ready. If we see anyone in there, any man—" he stressed the word. "—kill him." and then, avoiding the trail of blood, they entered the room.

It was a decently sized room, but at the back it was stacked full of old boxes and fallen book shelves. But it wasn't the eerie paintings on the wall that grabbed his attention, or the old rug that probably outdated even King Edgar's grandfather, but clothes scattered at the center of the room. Not just any girl's clothes, but as he suspected earlier, a girl student of Golden Academy. "Let the gods be merciful..." Wren heard Gres mutter behind him in a tone the young man never displayed before.

Wren didn't have to get close to know that was where the girl laid, possibly fought back at. In the middle of the clothes, more blood. Something was off though. It looked like something was laid down over the blood, for it was smeared in a manner that supported his thoughts and if the body was moved like it was when it was dragged into this room, then there would be more trails or more blood in or out of the room. He sighed, sheathing his sword when he caught no sight of another. "We'll take a glance in the other rooms, then the library. I fear what we expect to find is in the basement." and then, near a cry, he repeated his recruit's words, "Let the gods be merciful."

Downstairs he found Laik by the door, though now he was accompanied by the other men, who reported they found trails, but all leading in, not out. Wren told three of them to sweep behind the house and continue a search east, and then had the rest of them guard the door ways. "Gres, with me." he ordered again, not wanting the other soldiers to see the mess he had, sadly, gotten Gres into. There was no need for them to see the out come, they were not ready for it. He would spare as many younglings as he could.

Together they took a peak into the library. Except for moldy, cluttered bookshelves and another old rug, it was empty. The window had been sealed with wood, so they knew no one could get out or in through the library. Gres shivered beside his captain, fearful. "Captain, I don't like how this is turning out."

"Aye, but sadly this is our job. One day you might be leading recruits of your own and find something like this or worse, so I need you to toughen up." he looked to the young man. He was no older than seventeen, and had shaved his golden hair nearly to the skin to fit the new rank he had been given. He wore his suit well, too, and had a mean arm for sword and shield fighting. He would make a fine knight in the future. "Think you can be tough, Gres?"

"Yes sir, but I would hate to see the parents of the girl after tonight..."

The gods wouldn't even face them... Wren thought, weakly, before he turned to the door leading down stairs. "Torches, Gres, there are pins on the wall. Fill them, will you?" within moments Gres had lit all the pins on the wall and they could see down the lengthy stair case. At the end, they could see only darkness. "For pity's sake..." Wren growled. How far does this damn place go? "More torches Gres." and so his recruit complied, returning with unlit torches and one lit. "Good, at least we won't have to squirm around the dark."

At the end, Gres's torch only revealed a space ahead of them by five feet, beyond that it grew as dark as ebony. "Gres, to our left, light that pole." even as his recruit did as he was told, Wren continued on, now carrying his own torch. It took several minutes to reach the northern wall, where he lit a pin on the wall and then continued down the length of the wall to the eastern side, repeating himself.

Half of the room was lit, and he could see it was stashed full of things from the old owner of the house, Elric, and things from people wishing to dump. There was a fire heap beside him, full of fire eaten wood, and a box next to it full of wood, eaten slowly by termites. He kicked at the box, suddenly irritated, and grimaced when it crumbled and fell to the ground, scattering the wood and causing it roll in loud thumps and thuds. Even as the noise continued, he looked to Gres to apologized when he heard a strange noise north of him, in the unlit area of the basement.

Before he could inspect or inquiry his recruit about it, Gres swore. "Sir! M-more blood!" and then Wren looked to his recruit and the now lit area by him, and saw a blood trail leading off toward...the unlit side. Slowly Wren made his way toward the blackness, holding his torch before him, all the while Gres said his prayers.

"Oh Great God, give ear to my plight. Grant me and those around me your mercy, your love, and your protection...give me the courage to continue and your blessing to the victim of this horrid crime..." Wren thought he heard the youngling crying and could not fault him had he been. And just as Gres gave the final line of the prayer, "Amen" Wren's torch caught the back wall and all along it.

Lying naked and battered, covered in mud and blood in a fresh hole, was just a girl. In the trick of the light of the torches, the girl looked blond, as blond as the ex-general Celes Chere of Vector and the dead Empire, possibly as blond as Queen Relm of Thamasa, Warden of the East. But then he studied the girl's face and leaned closer, and saw that the hair was not blond, but mint green and that despite all the blood and wounds inflicted on her face, that he recognized her. And it horrified him.

For he knew this girl. He was sent away, years ago to the Thamasa islands to protect an heir of Figaro, the only female to be born to King Edgar and Queen Terra. And now it shattered his heart. Before him was the darling—and infuriating—Emma Figaro. Beaten to death.

Wren didn't expect Gres to recognized her, at least not in the stage she was in and how dark it was, and so he couldn't expect his recruit to understand why he started to sob. "Sir..." he whispered, lying a hand on his captain's shoulder, to get him to look away. "Please, turn your eyes away, for your own good captain."

He shrugged the youngling's hand away and in a growl, said, "Get the others." when the recruit did not budge, Wren's anger flared. "Now!" and then Gres started for the stairs even as the captain dropped to his knees above Emma, thankful that at least the she died with her eyes closed, and in her sleep. With shaking hands he removed his cloak and began to lie it over her. When the blanket touched her skin, he saw the weakest of movement from her hands and jumped to his feet. "Laik! Laik! Get the hell down here now!"

All at once the soldiers poured down the stairs, swords unsheathed and expressions of pure rage on their face, only to find their captain crying and shouting prayers to the gods in thanks. "Wh-what captain?" Laik sputtered, unwilling to see what was by his captain's feet.

"Go as fast as you can and fetch the medics in the eastern garrison. Bring the whole damn field if you have to!"

"Y-yes sir!" and then he was gone.

"Sir, captain, what is going on?" Gres pushed through the others. "Why the medics?"

Wren held his hands out. "Give me your cloaks and be quick about it." swiftly they fumbled for the clasps of their cloaks and then piled them into their captain's hands. Gres repeated himself, and Wren growled. "Look at her, do you not recognize her?"

Peering closely, Gres cried out. "P-Princess! Oh gods, why her? Why her?!"

"The princess?!" the others echoed, pale.

"She's alive, men, but barely. Gres, this is the most important mission you will ever have in your life."

"Sir?"

"Ride to Figaro Castle, tell the Queen, see if you can get to the King before his leave. You must ride as if the world depended on it Gres. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" and then he, too, was gone.

"I want a fire going now men, and be quick about it. The rest of you who haven't a thing to do, I want you to ride to town and get the rest of our squadron and get to the Ball. Secure it, don't let anyone out. Sedin, stay. Who ever did this might come back to finish the job, and I'll need some help. I want you to stay at the top of the stairs, report anything and I mean anything." Sedin helped with the fire before he took his spot at the top of the stairs. When everything was taken care of, Wren took a spot by Emma in the dirt.

Her lips were blue from the cold and her skin ghastly pale. Dried blood caked her face, hair, chest and legs. Underneath them whelps, bruises and cuts. Seeing her in this state broke his heart, and only made him think of what turmoil she had been made to endure. He reached for her hand, tiny and cold, and wrapped his around it. "You are safe now..." and then he started to cover her in the cloaks, tucking them in around her and for a pillow.

It took a few hours for Laik to return with dozens of medical officers and their undergrads. Laik said there were carriages outside, waiting to take her someplace else, but Wren didn't want her moved until the medics were certain she was alright to move. They had moved her to flatter ground, onto a wooden medic bed, and started to do quick work on her. It startled Wren to see the medics' faces; expressionless, without any fear or grief. But then again, it was probably for the best. He knew it could influence their ability to save lives.

Through the whole thing he stayed by her side, holding her hand, though he was told she did not know he was there. When they started to check around her abdomen for any internal damage, she flinched and then started to mumble. The lead medic looked surprised for a second, but he paused and then—thinking she was awake—said, "Princess, don't worry, we're here to help. What I'm going to do is going to hurt you, but it will help later on. Can you hear me? Princess?"

The girl laid unmoving, her groans of pain the only indication that she was alive. She gripped Wren's hand and he smiled. Tough tyke, he thought with a smile. "Emma? I need you to stay strong."

Two words left her mouth that early morning—only two words—and were hoarse and weak. "I'm...s-sorry..."

---

It was only four in the morning, and yet she had to send her husband off to Nikeah. She always did so with tears in her eyes. Every time he had to leave the country without her, it scared her. There were so many dangers out in the world, and all of them had no mercy. It took all her might not to tell Edgar he could not leave, to keep from tears and hysterics in front of everyone by the Castle gates. It was why she was so thankful her boys were around, to remind her of him, but she knew it was mostly Benjamin around these days since her eldest was too busy with his love and his schooling. It wouldn't be long until Benjamin has to leave, just like Cambyses. He would probably become the next generation thinker, to create things that could have never been thought of, alongside Setzer's boys too, of course.

Once Benny and Camb were gone, she'd only have her little princess. It was one, if not the only reasons, she loved the near inequalities between a daughter and a son; it kept at least one of her children around for the long run. It was lonely times like this that she'd think of her daughter marrying a nice knight, particularly with curly hair for cute grandchildren, who would live within the castle so she would be able to see her daughter, her son-in-law and their children. She could picture them now; chubby faces like Emma's, curly hair like their father, button noses and rosy cheeks. Of course she couldn't forget the detail where they were sweet fiends, and she could spoil them behind their parents' backs.

It was later in the morning when she finally had time to set up her daily routine. After she put aside her fresh dough to rise, she wen to make her morning tea.

Terra sighed even as she filled a kettle, thoughts returning back to her daughter. She hoped this Lucas Duan wouldn't be anything serious for her daughter, so that the perfect man could find her. And then she laughed. Her daughter probably wouldn't know what to do or say if a knight appeared to swoop her off her feet. Children's laughter made her glance up from the sink and out the window; it was a beautiful morning, and the children were sure to take advantage of it. Playing catch and other Figaro classics, while their mothers pooled together by the seats, under nice shade, to talk and sip fancy juices.

She smiled at them before she went for a mug, recalling watching her sons play just like them. Before she could dwell on not being able to see her daughter play, she heard shouting from the end of the hall, outside of the kitchen. She paid it a second of her attention, it cleared, and then she went to the other end of the counter and sat her mug down, so that she could retrieve her jar of tea. I will need to wake Emma up. We have so much packing to do...oh, I suppose another hour or so won't hurt. Again shouting echoed to her, but this time she did not pay attention to it. Until the kitchen doors slammed open and soldiers poured into the kitchen, all screaming at once.

It startled her, but she calmed them down enough to ask, "What is going on? You nearly gave me a heart attack!" That's when she recognized one of the men, a new recruit of the seventh division. What was his name? She thought with a frown. "What is going on?"

"My q-queen..." he said, his breath shallow and his face covered in sweet. Now she remembered his name. Gres, top of his class, and son of a Lord from Miranda who had moved to Figaro nearly twenty years ago. "Your...your daughter...she's—she's been hurt!" Terra dropped the glass jar of tea.

Gres and the other soldiers—in which she found out Jakle was among them and that they all met up on the road during a race back to the castle as Jakle had been caught in traffic and road troubles—immediately took Terra off to where they would meet the medics in charge of the princess. During the run, Gres informed her that he was with Captain Wren, running a routine search in the woods, when they came across suspicious prints and then blood. The instant he said 'blood' she started to go into hysterics, and he regretted saying it.

"Is she okay?" Terra asked, crying. "Oh please tell me she's okay...!"

Gres wasn't sure what to say. Even though the princess was alive when he left, something could have happened. "I—I..."

"Gres, please, she's my daughter—"

"She was...alive...when we found her." he answered reluctantly as he and two others pushed a barred door open, into a larger room where several women were clearing the medic's table. Again he found himself wishing he reworded himself.

"Alive? Is she that b-bad?" her eyes went to the table, fearfully, and then back at him. "Gres, what happened to her?"

"Your Grace, I—I'm not sure."

"Where is she?"

"Captain Wren is bringing her with the other medics from town, my queen, they will be here soon. I'm sure." he led her over to a chair and was alarmed by the strength of her grip, though he was happy holding his hand was helping her—even if it was only by a little. "Would you like me to get you something?"

"Y-yes," she answered, watching the other end of the room, where the entry doors were with wide eyes. "I need to contact Edgar, before he sets off."

"My Grace...?"

"A paper and pen, with the fastest bird you have."

"I will be back as quickly as I can," he turned to a soldier by the door. "Jakle, accompany the queen in my stead." and then he was off, quick as lightning. When Gres returned, he found Jakle by Terra's side, hand in hers, and grimacing in pain. "My queen, I have returned." he sat a bird-cage down by her feet and handed over the quill and paper. "I also brought a carrier, in case the bird doesn't get to the docks fast enough."

"What? The bird won't make it?" she echoed, fear ridden. "Why?"

"M-My Queen, I only meant it as a precaution. I'm sure the bird will reach him."

And so she went to writing her letter, quickly and to the point. She wrote "URGENT" on the front, and even sealed it with a code red wax, hoping that if Edgar did not receive it first, a soldier would and do whatever he could do to get it to the king. Gres offered to send the bird out, but she refused and hurriedly walked to the window. She tied the note onto the bird's leg, double checked the note and tube casing, and then used a new string to tie over the tube and leg. And then she helped the bird out the window and watched as it flew off to the east, to its trained station.

Next she had one of the soldiers find her son, Benjamin, and bring him home. When asked about Cambyses, she shook her head. He was probably on his way back from visiting Cadence and her family in the west, so any hopes of reaching him were close to zero. It took only two hours for them to find Benjamin and bring him back before his mother in the medic room. At first he was furious—he had just gotten back from his own travels and was exhausted—but when he saw his mother's face he went silent. He had never seen that expression on her face before, and it terrified him.

"Mother...? What's going on?"

She took a staggering breath, unsure of how to precede, for all she knew was that her daughter was hurt. She had no other details other than it was very critical. "It's your sister...she's been hurt—" just then the doors were thrown open and dozens of people garbed in medic wear poured in. Two women wheeled in a table-bed and by its side, Captain Wren. Terra wheeled around to see and let out a ear-deafening scream at the sight of her daughter's face. "Emma!" and then she was by her baby's side.

Ben's eyes widened as he watched the medics pull Terra away so they could switch his sister to the main table. They removed the cloaks from her body and the queen froze at the sight, completely taken aback. The left side of Emma torso was grotesque; purple, yellow and red, it was swollen nearly all the way down to her hip. Her right wrist was swollen, and her left arm colored just the same as her torso, and Ben knew it was broken. Of her face, it was swollen and purple, though Terra could not see much more of any other details with all the blood and dirt caked on.

"Emma...oh my sweet Emma." she started to cry even as Benjamin took a few steps closer to the table.

A medic, the lead officer, pushed him aside and started to tend to the princess' torso. Her eyes were closed, but he could see them fluttering underneath her eye lids and hoped she was, at least, not having a nightmare. "What...what happened?" he asked, looking over at his mother. "Who did this to her?!"

Terra looked up at him with a soft expression, and all could see was the uselessness she felt reflect in her gaze. "I don't know..."

He gripped his hands tightly. "Does...does father know?"

"I sent a bird, it might make it to him before he gets too far off shore." she answered, reaching for Emma's free hand as soon as Captain Wren let it go to talk with a group of soldiers by the back of the room. "Your brother will be home by tomorrow, maybe after tomorrow."

"What will happen now?" he asked, and she thought she heard a near break of his voice. "We need to find who did this."

"I know. Captain Wren...?" he looked over at her. "Will you find General Hals, and the others? Bring them to the throne room and tell them everything you know. They must not let who did this to my daughter get away."

"Yes your Grace. Jakle took the precaution of securing the ball room as well." he bowed his head and then said, before he left, "when she wakes...will you tell me how she fairs?"

Terra smiled at him weakly. "Of course, ser. Now make haste." when the room was cleared of all but her, Ben, the medics and a few soldiers, the lead medic lowered his inspection and when he got to her broken leg, he paused. He passed a look, thankfully unnoticed by the queen and prince, to his second and then looked over at the queen and son.

"Your Grace, I need this room for our team. You must leave."

"What? I need to be by her side—"

"—we must keep the area clean, and we needn't any distractions. Please, my queen, it will only improve her chances."

Reluctantly she rose, though in her hand she still held her daughter's, and took a chance to peer at her daughter's face again. Gently she leaned down to kiss her daughter's forehead and whisper, "I will be back, my sweet angel, I promise." and then she laid her daughter's hand on the bed, carefully, and then turned to leave with her son.

"M-mother..." the medics were just as surprised as the queen to hear the girl's voice, and see that she was waking. Terra flew back to her side and took her hand again.

"Oh Emma, I'm right here, you are safe now. Captain Wren found you dear, he brought you to the medics. They are going to help you now." Though the girl's eyes did not open, she took a weak breath and went silent again. "Emma? Emma?!"

"My Queen, please, you need to go!" and then the lead medic had two nurses lead the queen and prince out of the room quickly.

It felt like days to Terra, pacing the hall outside the medic room. Benjamin had gotten her water and food, but she did not touch them. Her stomach felt like it was doing somersaults and her head hurt too much to even think about eating or anything else. Soon the sun waned from the sky and it grew dark and cold. Several times a few nurses left the room and returned with new supplies, and refused to say anything to the queen.

It wasn't until that night that she was finally allowed into the room and had her questions answered about her daughter. It took a few minutes for the medics to clear the room of the supplies, the bloody rags and equipment, but as soon as it was done the lead medic sat Terra down.

"First, let me get the good news out. Your daughter's injuries were very serious, but she will recover from this as well as one could expect. She suffered from a broken arm and legs, a fractured wrist and a few broken ribs—of which one had ruptured inner lining and brought on internal bleeding. It was taken care of though. She will need a lot of bed rest, and fluids. I already sent out an assistance to bring you a few medications to help deal with her pain and any infections. If you can keep her well rested and dulled, you can expect recovery."

That filled Terra with relief. Sabin had once broken his ribs, and the worse was when he had fought Vargas. It took many spells and Returner medics to get him suited well, but he lived. "And...and will she be able to move as she had before?"

He frowned. "It is too early to properly judge, but...no. It will be tough to get her back on her feet, but as the way she was before?" he shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it will be a miracle she even walks again."

Tearfully Terra looked away. "Is that the bad news?"

The medic officer asked if her son could leave, but she shook her head. "My Queen, this might be something you want to hear...alone."

"We are a family," she said. "He should hear too, now just tell me what is wrong."

The man looked at the prince squarely for a moment and then back at the princess, before finally looking at the queen. "Your daughter was..." he hesitated. "She was raped."

At first the emotion that overwhelmed her was anger, an anger she had not felt before. It swelled inside of her and threatened to burn everything else out, but as quickly as it had come to her, it shifted to fear. A fear that her daughter had experienced something so cruel, so violent, and had no means of understanding it, of forever facing it for the rest of her life. A fear that she was broken. Then it was worry, for how she could never help her daughter.

Benjamin ran off as soon as the medic had spoken, and it was clear he was crying. Terra had no one left to help her through this, to help her with her daughter. She dropped to her knees and sobbed into her hands. The medical professor knelt to lay a hand on her shoulder, to try and console her, but nothing he said seemed to reach her. After a moment he told her, as gently as he could, that he would have the princess moved to a more secured room, for privacy. He asked her where the girl's room, but Terra could not answer.

One of the soldiers that had entered after Benjamin dashed out volunteered to help guide them to her room. It was Wren.

"Come, I will lead you there."

The medic glanced at the queen. "Shouldn't we wait for her?"

Wren shook his head. "She needs a moment...let us provide it."

••••••••••••

The letter had arrived the very morning he was aboard the ship called Ice Gaze, heading toward Nikeah to meet with the lords concerning funds for their new projects. A soldier ran into his office on the ship, waving a red sealed letter around like a chicken with its head cut off, and started screaming that its urgency was labeled even higher than that of their own lives.

It wasn't until Edgar read the contents that he understood why the soldier was so afraid, and knew by the man's expression that he had read it. It was hard to believe that his daughter had been found the way the letter described, but yet here he read it in his wife's hand writing. Edgar dropped the letter and ran straight to the shipmaster himself to explain what happened and why he needed to turn the ship around. The captain did not argue, and Edgar hoped it wasn't because he was a king but a grieving father.

It had taken hours to reach the shore, hours he spent worrying and worrying over his daughter and what could be happening to her while he was not there to protect her from the monsters that hurt her in the first place. When he made it to South Figaro's stables and was finally able to purchase a bird, he didn't have the time to cut around the mountains. He rode straight to the caves that his band of pirates had once taken many years ago to infiltrate the kingdom. Luckily for him the entrance was still open and stable enough to get through, and the monsters inside hardly a problem.

When he finally made it to the cell room and shouted to the guards to open the doors, they were confused and worried.

"My Grace, what are you doing down here? Have you been down here this whole time?" the soldier asked as he opened the door.

"I cut through the underground caverns to get here," he muttered, pushing past the man. "I need to get to my wife. Where is she?"

"Oh, right, sorry sir! She is with your daughter, in her room upstairs." and before the soldier could say anything else, Edgar ran off and up the stairs faster than anyone could have thought possible of him.

His daughter's room was on the second level, to the right side of the stairs and at the end of the hall, near the third story stairs. It was placed above the garden, just for her, and now Edgar regretted making it so far away from his and Terra's chambers. When he got to her room he slammed the door open, startling his wife, and took a deep breath to calm his nerves and replenish the oxygen he had lost in his frantic run.

Terra was sitting on a wooden chair besides the princess' bed, wringing out a wet rag over a sturdy wooden bucket by her feet. His wife passed him one look before she looked away, back to their daughter lying helplessly on her bed, and started to dab the blood and mud off her face. The girl on the bed looked nothing like his daughter, but a husk of what once laid like a skeleton into the blankets, with eyes sunken into black rings and bruises and cuts. One of her eyes had been swollen shut completely, and it was clear as Edgar drew closer that her lips had been bit. Pressure marks were around her throat, and at the top of her arms. Everything else was hidden either under bandages or blankets.

He couldn't believe what he was looking at was his little girl. Tears built in his eyes. My sweet little girl...

Just then Terra rose from her seat and started to dab away a fresh trail of blood from their daughter's nose. She dipped it back into the water and wiped the last of it away, where it had trailed to her chin. Edgar looked away from his daughter's face. "Terra, is she..." the fear of it not being okay choked him. He looked back up. "Is...is she well?"

Through a shaky sigh, Terra said, "Yes, she will be okay." and then she pulled the blankets down passed Emma's waist and Edgar felt his stomach drop. Their daughter's torso had been wrapped entirely from her breasts to just above her hips. The bandages were stained with fresh blood. Terra daftly began untying them. As soon as his wife pulled aside the stained bandages, Edgar adverted his eyes from his naked daughter. He could barely find his voice, his courage, to ask if she needed help with anything.

A gentle sob left his wife's lips even as she finished retying fresh bandages. Emma whined quietly against her mother's touch and she smiled. "Ssh now, my sweet, all will be better."

Edgar approached and laid a hand on his wife's shoulder before leaning over to gently brush hair from his daughter's face. "Rest now, my little girl." when she settled back into a noiseless slumber, Edgar took his wife aside. "Terra...you need to tell me what happened. The soldiers told me she was found in the eastern woods, just outside of the castle's perimeter, but that was all."

Terra brushed tears from her eyes. "Yes," she started to cry again. "She was found inside of Old Elric's manor, in the basement."

That flared his anger violently. That manor had history with the Figaro family, and it was clear that it was picked on purpose. He couldn't tell his wife that though, he knew it would frighten her further. He took a breath. "How did the boys take this?"

Terra shook her head. "As soon as he heard, Ben fled to his room. And oh dear...Camb hasn't even returned yet."

So he doesn't know, Edgar thought pitifully. Regardless, it was clear that Benjamin needed to be spoken to, to have the situation explained. So that he knew his sister was alright now. "I will speak with Benjamin, my dear, you stay with our girl." before he departed, he went over and kissed his daughter's forehead. I will be back for you. "I love you," he whispered. And then he went for the door. In the background, he could hear his daughter's labored breathing and wanted nothing more to flea as his son had.

As he reached the door, his wife stopped him. "Edgar..." he turned to look at her, worried. "Edgar...she...she..." tears ran down her face as she dropped into her chair, exhausted. "Emma, she was...was raped."

The words seared through him like fire. His stomach sunk. "What?"

Terra looked away, letting her tears fall and took Emma's cold hand in hers. "You heard me," she cried. "She was raped Edgar, and...and left there to die as if she meant nothing..." she started to sob loudly. "My little angel, my baby...what did she e-ever do to anyone to d-deserve this?" and then she hid her face against the mattress, to hide her sobbing.

He couldn't breath. He looked toward Emma, mind whirling, not understanding, until he looked at her again. The thought of men touching her in such a...violating her trust and body, her soul. It was too much. He felt so sick to his stomach. He turned and fled from the room. Tears were threatening to break free as he rushed down the halls, for privacy, for safety. Soldiers which happened to be in his way were shoved aside without second thought, though none of them seemed to mind it. Edgar felt that anger rising. Do they all know what happened?

Edgar slammed the study door behind him, trembling and walked toward the table. He pored a glass of bourbon, still trembling and tried to remain calm, but the tears finally broke free. His sobs echoed in the room as he dropped to his knees. Why, he asked, leaning his head against the edge of the table. Why did you do this to my daughter? he asked the gods. What has she done that could ever warrant something so...so evil? He threw his glass across the room. "Damn you," he growled. "Damn you...!" he hid his face in his hands, sobbing.

---

Two days later, Cambyses made it back to Figaro. When he arrived at the castle, he found it quiet and ridden with soldiers. They did not answer his questions on what was happening, they only glared and all but spat out that he should find their commanding officers for information. It was strange. Soldiers he had known for years turning him aside like he was some criminal. Camb was beginning to fear there was a coup d'état at play, started by the council or some angered lord.

It wasn't until he happened upon his brother in the gardens, beating angrily at a dummy with a dulled sword, that he finally uncovered what had transpired while he was gone. Benjamin's eyes were red and blood shot. He looked so broken.

"Ben," Cambyses said, approaching. "I have been looking everywhere for a familiar face...I am glad to have found you." he stopped when he noticed his brother was refusing to face him, or answer. "Benjamin, did you hear me?" he reached to touch his brother's shoulder and the young prince shrugged him back.

"Do not touch me!"

"What is going on with you?" Camb muttered. "Are you okay?"

Benjamin shoved him back, and shouted on the verge of a sob. "We all needed you!" he shoved him again. "Emma needed you!"

Cambyses held his brother back. "Now, listen..." he tightened his hold on his little brother's shoulders. "I do not know what the hell you are talking about, Ben. What happened, and why did you all need me?

Benjamin broke free of his hold. He looked ready to fight. "This is all your fault! If you had just gone with her—had you just acted like her brother for once in your miserable life—she would not have been left defenseless! All because you are a selfish jackass!"

"What?" Cambyses snapped. "How am I a jackass? What didn't I do for little spoiled Emma?"

Benjamin's temper finally snapped. He shoved Cambyses so hard that he fell backward and into the gravel. "You...! How can you speak that way about your sister?! You are not a man, you are a shadow of a boy!"

Cambyses got back to his feet, irritated, and fixed his tunic. "If that's what you want to believe, go ahead and believe it."

"It is the truth! Emma had asked for you to go with her!" he cried. "And you denied her...and because of that, someone took her to the Domia woods, to Elric's old manor!"

He chuckled as he adjusted his shirt and dusted it free of the dirt and dust. "Is that so...well then I hope she didn't embarrass herself too much, what with all those ghosts and ghouls." It pissed his brother off further. Cambyses noticed, and smiled. "Oh, what then? Goblins and trolls?"

"You are a worthless ass, you know that?"

"If something happened," Cambyses snapped. "Then just tell me what it is. I can't keep beating around the bush with you for not knowing what happened while I was gone."

Benjamin shook his head at his brother, letting his tears fall. "She was taken out there so someone could hurt her, Camb. They...they raped her, and then left her there to die."

Cambyses suddenly felt very sick to his stomach. The soldiers nearby had been watching, and were glaring at him in anger. It all made sense now, why everyone was so secretive, and seemingly angry with him. But surely this was just some joke of Benny's? There's no way... "Benjamin, I swear to the gods if you are joking, I will—"

"Why the hell would I joke about something so horrible?!" he was ready to pounce on Camb. "If you had just gone with her like she asked, like our parents asked, then this would have never happened. She would be safely home right now!"

Cambyses was lost and didn't know what to say, or what to do. His little brother was right; this was all his fault. There was no way he would have known what would happen, but his presence would have ensured no one would try. It simply never would have happened if he had been there. He knew he was crying now, as it was clear this was no prank. His baby sister had been raped. Gods...she is only a child, he thought.

"I'm so sorry Ben," he mumbled through tears. "I'm so sorry..." Benjamin, unsettled by his brother's tears, brought him into a hug.

"I'm sorry...I said things I shouldn't have."

Cambyses held him back. "No...you spoke the truth. The simple fact is that if I had gone with her, she would have been safe. I failed this family...I failed her." he took a deep breath, to calm himself. "Do we have any clue as to who did this?"

"We do not have any evidence of anything, but general Suon believes the likelihood of Olpma or Mural being responsible is pretty high." he continued with, "When captain Jakle searched the ball room, he found one of the windows in the changing room opened, as well as Emma's dress. She never even got dressed for the dance."

"What, but..." and then he remembered Lucas. "Where the hell was her escort through all of this?"

"I'm not entirely sure of the details, but I heard Jakle telling mother that Lucas and his brother left Emma to be with their friends and other lords' offspring." Benjamin frowned. "I...I have a feeling they were playing a prank on Emma, by inviting her to the ball. Why else would she leave the castle alone when she knows it is dangerous? She must have gotten emotional over something..."

"That is assuming she left on her own will," Camb muttered thoughtfully, but he was thinking along the same lines. Emma was well known for running off at a confrontation, especially one that embarrasses her. If she had been brought there as a means of laughter, he was certain she would have fled. But assuming that was the case, how did happen upon Olmpa or Mural, provided they were the ones who did this too her? Someone would have had to know she was leaving.

I knew that bastard should have been executed, he thought grimly. "Benjamin, isn't Olmpa locked up?"

"Aye, he is."

"Then how could he have done it?"

Ben shrugged. "The working theory is that he was let out, but I don't buy that. That man has hurt many lords, and their daughters and sisters. There is no way a soldier would be willing to help him now."

"And so we know that he was locked up at the time of the ball? Of Emma's assault?"

"We don't know anything for certain," he said. "Not until Emma wakes up. She is the only witness..." he crossed his arms. "Father and mother would know more, I'm sure."

Alarmed, as he thought his father had set sail, he asked, "Did you just say father? Isn't he supposed to be at Nikeah?"

"Mother sent a bird, and it reached him in time. He got here yesterday morning."

"I see," he started to think. "And where is Emma?"

Benjamin looked away. "The last place I saw her, she was in the medical office. I'm sure they moved her to her room by now though."

Cambyses gave his brother's shoulder a hard pat. "I know you are worried, frightened even, but I promise you...Emma will pull through this, and father and I will catch whoever did this to her. We will make them pay."

Benjamin sniffed and rubbed at his eyes. "I just want her to be okay..."

"She will be...in time." he gave his little brother a hug before hurrying off to find his parents.

It took only a moment of questioning soldiers within the castle to learn where his sister had been taken, and that his mother was there too. It did not come as a surprise to him. It was natural that his mother would be with his sister. He thanked the soldier and went on his way.

His sister's room was guarded heavily. Two soldiers at the end of the hall, two at the stair case and two more at the door. They were like stone. He approached them quietly. "Is my mother inside?"

One of the soldiers turned only his head to look at the prince. The sigil on his chest indicated he was of the Golden Lions. The most elite force within the Figaro Armed Forces. "We have been ordered not to let anyone through."

"You can't be serious." the soldier continued to stare. "I'm her son!"

"Orders are orders."

The door opened and Terra stood there, looking annoyed and confused. "What are you doing outside this door..." her eyes locked onto Cambyses and then she gave a cry before taking him into her arms. It was the first time that Cambyses had experienced such an intense hug in a very long time, one that felt as if he couldn't breathe. Was this how far his mother had fallen into despair and pain? "My sweet boy," she cried. "I'm so happy you are here."

Cambyses held her. "I heard what happened. Mother...I'm so sorry I wasn't here earlier."

"Shush now," she mumbled, breaking away from the contact. "How could you have known..." she told the soldiers it was okay and then guided Camb into the room. Her voice never went over a whisper. "She is sleeping inside, so we must be quiet."

He nodded. That was obvious without being said, but he knew his mother was fragile right now. Inside of his sister's room, he felt extremely awkward. The last time he had been in here was to spitefully put her things, all dirty and exactly how she hated it, on her bed. Even then he had spared no time to wonder, to understand his sister even a little. The room was relatively plain. Whereas he and his brother decorated their own quarters with heraldry and swords and all such things that captured their interest, his sister tried very hard to hide her passions. The instruments which she adored were kept in glass container, which was covered with a table cloth and now held up photos of the family—and not a single one of herself. The same thing rested on her dresser, about half a dozen photos of her family and Thamasan guardians.

The tall book shelves in the back of the room and the one opposite of her bed were stuffed to bursting with all sorts of literature, and were pristine of dust. The one painting on the wall was a famous one, and gifted to her by their uncle. It was of sunset as seen in the Veldt, facing the ocean in all its beautiful glory.

It was as if she wanted to hide herself against the world, even in the privacy of her room. It made him uncomfortable.

He turned his eyes to watch his mother walk towards the large bed. His little sister seemed so small in the massive bed, and so fragile. He drew closer. Her flesh was white as milk, colored only in the places where her bruises and cuts were. Terra gasped and went to a bucket of water. Cambyses could not take his eyes off his sister, watching as his mother dabbed at her nose and ears, clearing away blood. After a moment she placed a new cloth, damp, on her head and sat down in the chair beside the bed.

His mother took her hand, which was like a claw. Her hair, which she had been so obsessive over as far back as he could remember, hung around her face in simple, brushed waves. It was a strange thing, it being the only thing of color about her now. But now this thing, this broken creature, was his sister.

"Will she be alright?" he asked after a long moment of silence. His mother adjusted the prayer band above his sister's bed, with the blue yarn and willow branches, and looked at him through exhausted eyes.

"I have been told she will recover, but..." she closed her eyes. "...they warned me she may not have full use of her arms and legs, not like before at least."

Cambyses bit back a swear. The last thing needed right now was to upset his mother further. "A miracle then, that she will recover at all." his eyes went over his sister, so beaten she was scarcely recognizable. If it weren't for the hair, he never would have known it was his sister lying there. He found the courage to ask the next question. "Mother...Benjamin said she was...that she was raped."

Terra looked at him sharply, with tear stricken eyes. "It is the truth." she sighed, and looked at him again. There was a forced smile on her face. "When did you get back, Cambyses?"

"I landed in South Figaro a few hours ago. The roads were damaged, so it took me some time to return to the castle. I found Benjamin, and he told me everything."

"Well, I am glad you are finally home." she reached over to touch his cheek. "I cannot think of my babies being so far away from me right now." Cambyses understood that perfectly. Terra let him go. "You said you were with your brother earlier...where is he?"

"I left him at the gardens...why?"

Terra looked at her daughter, solemnly. "I have tried to speak with him about it, even tried to ask him to come see her, but he refuses..."

Why would his brother of all people refuse to see her? "Did he give a reason as to why?"

"No, but I...I suspect it has to do with her rape." she admitted.

Now it made sense, in a way. "He just needs some time to deal with it" he looked around for any indication of his father being around, but found nothing. Didn't Benny mention their father being back home? "Mother...where is father?"

Terra froze. "Your father also refuses to come see her..."

Cambyses could not believe that a child's father would refuse to see their kid after such a trauma. "You can't be serious!" his voice practically rattled the room. "How could he be so stupid, so selfish?!"

She shushed him. "Quiet, or you will wake her!" He apologized, and then asked her why he refused to see her. "I assume for the same reasons as Benny."

"This is outrageous!" he hissed, trying to contain his tone to a level his mother would not flip over. "It is his daughter lying here, and he thinks he can hide? Tell me where the stubborn bastard is, and I will drag him here by his damn ears."

Terra took his hand. "No, that won't be necessary. I will go speak with them both...I would have earlier, but I did not have anyone to leave her with. Your uncle is still at his dojo, and Celes and Locke haven't returned from Narshe."

Cambyses relented. "Fine...but bring him back quickly." Terra kissed his cheek, hugged him and then departed quickly, but only after checking one last time on her daughter.

With his mother out to fetch his father, and hopefully Benjamin as well, he went over to the seat his mother had been using. At the feet of the chair were a dozen different prayer bands, unfinished. He lifted one of them up, to inspect it, and then pulled the last few pieces together so it was complete. The pale red yarn symbolized strength, and with the white threaded around it, it was meant to wish for fortitude. He hung it over Emma's bed and sat back down.

I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Emma, he thought, reaching for her hand. I proved to everyone just how unready I am to take father's place...but most of all, I showed them how much I failed as your brother. He tightened his grip on her hand, tears building in his eyes. What I would do to hear your voice, screaming even... he tucked her hand beneath her blankets. Deciding to let her rest, and peacefully as she could, he leaned back into the chair and watched her.

It was a good few hours later that Cambyses realized that his mother was having trouble locating their father. His back started to ache, so he got up to pace the room. "Come now, mother...hurry it up." he looked at the grandfather clock. It was a little passed seven pm. Where did she go? Narshe?!

He turned in surprise when he heard the wet coughs of his sister. She was coughing heavily, but seemed to still be asleep. "Emma?" he asked, hurrying to her side. "Emma, are you awake?" but her coughs only answered him, until at last they stopped. He could see blood in the corners of her mouth. "Damn!" he hurried to the bucket and wet a cloth. "Hold on, hold on..." he opened her mouth, and saw a bit of blood. "I don't think that's good...god, where are you mother?" he dabbed away the blood from her mouth and helped to lift her higher before continuing to dab at her mouth. She cried painfully at the movements but did not stir. "I'm trying to help," he whispered to her. "I promise."

The doors suddenly flung open, banging against the wall. Cambyses jumped and dropped the wet cloth on the floor. "Terra!" it was his uncle. Cambyses turned around the corner to the door and saw his uncle standing there, face pale and breathing hard. When their eyes met, it was clear that whatever Sabin was going to ask, to check if it was real, was confirmed. His eyes filled with tears and he hurried passed the prince to his niece's bed.

At the sight of her, he covered his eyes. "Gods...why..."

"I understand how you feel," Camb started. "But you have to be quiet around her." Sabin nodded, sobbing quietly. "Uncle, did you come across father?"

Sabin peeled his eyes away from his niece to his nephew. "What do you mean?"

"If you didn't come across mother or father, how did you find out?"

Sabin shook his head. "General Suon was at the gate when I arrived. I knew something was wrong when he had Karin leave with the kids, but this...gods...why did it have to be this?"

Cambyses patted his shoulder. "She is well uncle...she will live."

"Yes...she will, but in a nightmare." he mumbled. "Where are your parents? Why aren't they here with her?" For a moment Cambyses explained the situation, and that it had been three hours since his mother departed. Sabin swore under his breath. "God damn it, Edgar...now isn't the time for your foolery."

"He's frightened," Camb tried.

"He's frightened?" Sabin snarled. "How does he think she feels?" he gestured to Emma lying helplessly beside them. "She needs her father and mother!"

"I know," the prince said. "but that's just how he feels. He's scared to see her."

Sabin swore again. "I will go look for them..."

"No, wait," Cambyses stopped his uncle from leaving. "Please, allow me. I will know where to look."

Sabin's eyes went to the door and then his niece. It was clear he didn't want to be alone with her either. In that regard, he shared a piece of what Edgar felt. Finally though, he nodded. "Okay...but be quick, Camb. And if you have to beat him to get him here, do it."

"Of course," he hugged his uncle. "I will be back shortly." and then he was off.

•••••••••••

Sabin wasn't sure what to do. He sat down beside his niece and sat there quietly for a good long minute or two, and then sighed. "My little doe...I'm so sorry this happened to you. You, of all people, deserve nothing but happiness..." he sniffed and held back fresh tears. "Gods...Edgar was right. You should have been sent to that girls' academy long ago..."

Emma began to breath heavier, and quicker. Sabin glanced up, frightened. "What's wrong? Gods, please, wake up and tell me what's wrong!" but her breathing continued to quicken. "Damn!" he reached over to pull the blankets down, hoping it would relief a bit of the issue, but it didn't. "Please, not now! Gods!" suddenly she began to jerk around and convulse. Sabin knew what it was immediately. He knew better than to hold her down, but he dove at the table for something small and strong. He found a twig. He put it in her mouth. "Come on sweet girl, don't do this, please..." after a moment it stopped, and she slumped back into the bed in quiet. Fresh blood trailed down her nose, but her breathing seemed far more normal.

Fearing another episode, and being ill equipped to deal with them, Sabin charged out of the room. He took a soldier by the arms. "I need to fetch a medical officer. Do not let anyone in this room other than the king and queen!"

The soldiers saluted. "Yes, sir!" and then Sabin dashed off.

•••••••••••

It all came to her suddenly. The pain and then the confusion. Where...where am I?

She couldn't see or smell quite right, and the black she was now lost in terrified her. The last thing she could remember...the dance...Lucas...the girls... when the last bit of it came to her, she started to cry. It hurt everything even to cry, and she found that her voice froze painfully in her throat. Fear tore at her heart as a thought crossed her mind. Was she dead? Or had Lucas and his friends taken her someplace else? The cold of that night...the touch of them... she sobbed.

In her mind she could still hear them, smell them...feel them. Please... she thought. Please someone...I'm sorry. Her consciousness was a fleeting thing. She dozed off quickly.

When she woke up next, it was colder wherever she was and her head was throbbing more than it was before. She could feel something wet on her face but she couldn't lift her arms. They felt like noodles held down by concrete blocks. She groaned and stopped trying at all, to listen. There was the dulled sound of wind and water. A...a storm, she realized, or hoped. I...I can't tell. She tried to speak, but the air that came in only hurt.

Weak, a voice whispered in the back of her mind.

Emma felt hot tears running down her sore face. No...not you...go away!

Who else will answer you? the voice asked, quiet and mocking. Who else will even deal with you?

Emma tried to will the voice away. I don't want to talk to you! Go away! And just like that, the voice had vanished. The loneliness felt even colder without her voice though. Mother... a sound, which she could not make out, carried from somewhere nearby. Fearfully she tried to back into whatever she was lying in, but the act hurt and she cried out. "Uhnn."

"Emma!" It was loud to her ears. She winced. "Sweet girl, you are awake!" it was then that she realized it was her mother. She felt warm hands envelop hers and squeeze. "Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can." Emma tried very hard to do as she was asked, but she couldn't even feel her fingers. It must have been clear to her mother that she was incapable, because she let go of her hand.

Wanting her mother to know, to help her, she started to move her head, side to side. Every bit of the movement hurt and brought new tears to her eyes, but she needed her mother to know she was awake. She did not want to be left alone. Frustrated she tried to speak, but the noises she could make were ineligible. Her body shook from the cries.

"My sweet little girl," her mother said softly, again touching her hands. "I am here for you, do not be afraid. I will protect you, from everything and everyone." Emma's breathing came easier to her. Her mother's presence was one of immense comfort. "Everything will be alright now, I promise. Rest your little heart and let mama sing you a song." her mother began to recite a soft lullaby.

Emma listened to the sound of her voice, letting it draw her from her pain, from her memories, into a quiet slumber.

•••••••••••

It took Cambyses an hour to locate his parents. A soldier had informed him that Terra went looking for her husband, having found out he took a chocobo to the west, to the new castle construction site. He was of course furious. What would possess his father to travel so far out, when his daughter laid in her bed, beaten and traumatized? He wanted to drag his father back to the castle by a carriage, drag him until he felt every ounce of pain his sister was feeling. But as he rode out west, those feelings dulled. His father was simply trying to deal with the turmoil in his heart the best he could, although Cambyses could not condone it himself, he knew he could not judge it. If it had been his daughter, what would he do?

What were you thinking? He thought angrily as the new castle's tower came into view. It rose high into the sky, against a backdrop of mountains and green. Nearer the castle, he spotted two birds hitched to an old log. He jumped off mount and tied it to the log, and hurried into the unfinished tower. His parents were on the first floor, arguing. It was mostly his mother doing the shouting, but his father's voice was booming too.

"This isn't about us Edgar," she howled. "Don't you see that? I understand you are in pain—I am too!—but right now our daughter needs us...she needs you."

"You don't understand," he cried. "I...I can't see her like that. I...I just can't." Cambyses approached loudly, to catch their attention. His father's eyes went to him, wide and ashamed. "Cambyses, m'boy...what are you doing here?"

Terra seized him first. "Why aren't you with your sister?!"

"It is fine mother," he held her by the shoulders. "Sabin is with her." his parents looked surprised. "He...he heard from Suon."

She pressed a hand to her breast. "Bless him..."

"Mother, you need to get back to her, immediately."

"Why?" his father asked, but it was his mother he paid attention to when she asked if something were wrong.

"Uncle and I have no idea how to deal with her if she needs attention."

Terra nodded. "Of course..." she turned her eyes to her husband, and anyone could see the anger in them. "You will come back to the castle and you will see your daughter." he looked away. "Edgar, I am not asking!"

Cambyses laid a hand on her shoulder and walked her away from his father. "Leave him to me, mother. You need to go back to Emma."

"But—"

"Trust me...one way or another I will bring him back to see her." he hugged her. "Go be with her...please." she sniffed, teary eyed, and hugged him. He laughed. "Go on mother, we will be back shortly." she kissed his cheek and hurried out of the castle.

With his mother gone, and unable to witness whatever might happen, he turned to his father. The man had turned away from them and went to the nearest window, to gaze broodingly out. Cambyses neared.

"Father, you know what you are doing is not right."

"I know," he admitted quietly, eyes lost.

"Then why?" Finally the tears broke free and he leaned his head into the stone wall. It was uncomfortable seeing his father cry. The last time that he had seen this was after his sister's first seizure, which had revealed she had Sand Fever. "Father..."

"I have failed her," he said, his voice barely over a whisper. "I never should have let her go with that boy...all of this..." his words died through a cry.

"If you want to blame yourself, fine," he turned his father to look at him. "But I won't allow you to punish Emma for it. I will drag you back there by your ears if I have to."

Edgar finally looked at his son. "How do I talk to her, without the right words? How...how do I face her knowing her pain is something I can't take away?"

Cambyses sighed. "You just do...it is a comfort for her father, and you need to weigh that against your own feelings."

"Of course she matters more than me," he snapped, eyes blazing. "You all do not understand...I love her with all my heart and now...now I am afraid to talk to her."

He crossed his arms and shook his head. "Do you think your fear tops hers?" he asked. "You are allowed to feel your fear, your uncertainty, it is what makes you human...but can you really let your daughter sit in the fear she has now, without the support and love of her father?"

Edgar looked at his son, in surprise.

•••••••••••

Terra had raced back to the castle as quickly as possible. Her chocobo puffed in exhaustion by the time that they had reached the western stables outside the wall. When the stable master saw that she had returned without the king, he asked if she were okay. She thanked him for the concern but could spare no more time. She handed the reigns over, asked him to take care of the bird and ran off.

When she arrived at her daughter's wing, she saw Sabin hurrying down the hall with a medical officer at his side. Fear guided her feet. She ran into the room, making it before them. Her daughter laid in her bed, breathing a little hard, but breathing all the same. She went to her chair, to the bucket for her wet cloth, but as she knelt, the sound of her daughter's voice stopped her.

"Uhnn."

Terra's heart soared. She stood up, tears in her eyes. "Emma!" she shouted, just so happy. "Sweet girl, you are awake!" she took her daughter's hand and squeezed it. "Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can." she could feel her daughter trying, but it was clear that she could not. Terra removed her hand and sat down. "My sweet girl," she spoke softly. "I am here for you, do not be afraid. I will protect you, from everything and everyone." she touched her little girl's hand again, gently. "Everything will be alright now, I promise. Rest your little heart and let mama sing you a song."

Terra thought immediately of a suitable lullaby. It had been Emma's favorite when she were smaller. She began to sing. "Sleep my child and peace attend thee," her daughter's breathing was still wild. "All through the night, guardian angels gods will send thee." Terra could feel her hand trying to move. "All through the night, soft the drowsy hours are creeping. Hill and dale in slumber sleeping." her daughter settled, relaxed. "I my loved ones' watch am keeping, all through the night..." her daughter was asleep, breathing gently. Terra smiled and leaned over to kiss her daughter's forehead.

"Rest, my sweet."

Just then she heard people enter the room and lifted a hand without looking back to let them know to be quiet. The footsteps approached softly. "Is she asleep?" Sabin asked.

"Yes," she said, turning to look at him and the medical officer. "She was awake, but...she couldn't speak or move her hand."

"That is more than expected," the officer told her. "She suffered immense damage to her limbs, so I needed to give her something for the pain. The concoction I gave you would have numbed her completely...I'm surprised she was even awake."

Terra smiled. "My little girl is a stubborn one, just like her father."

The officer nodded. "I was informed she was experiencing seizures...was she seizing when you arrived?"

Alarmed, Terra shook her head. "No, I didn't even know she was awake at first...will she be alright?"

"It is hard to say," he went to examine Emma. He checked her ears, eyes and nose and then her pulse. "I would need more time to examine her, but given your daughter's prior medical condition, I would say it falls within the boundaries of normal for her." Terra was not pleased by that answer. The officer could tell though. "Do not worry, I will provide you with a new drug. We use it for people suffering from epilepsy. It will not rid her of the seizures, but it will help normalize the pattern, and it should lessen the symptoms she might experience after an episode." when he dug through his bag and recovered the bottle of medication, Terra was confused.

"This isn't like she was taking before..."

"No, it is new drug from Jidoor. It is a bit stronger than the others, but it has promising results." he handed it over. "Just be sure she takes one in the morning and one at night, and always after a meal."

Sabin frowned. "There is no way we can feed her anything but milk and honey right now...will that be enough?"

"It should, but we do not really have a choice at this point. Not until she is better and is capable of eating on her own again."

"She isn't able to eat?"

"It isn't so much that she isn't able to," he mumbled. "It will just be very hard for her to sit up on her own and of course to move her arms."

She oh'd. "I will take care of it, then." Terra thanked the officer and even hugged him. "Thank you, thank you."

"Let me know if anything else happens," he told her as he picked up his medical bag. "And...and gods preserve her." he bowed his head and left them be.

Sabin went to the other side of the bed and pulled a stool close so he could sit opposite of Terra. "You're right, you know..." Terra looked at him. "Emma is a stubborn little one..."

Terra laughed. "For all her fears and insecurities...she is a very brave girl." Terra brought her daughter's hand to her lips and kissed it. "She's my little lioness." the silence went for a minute, until Sabin leaned back and asked where his brother was. Terra wasn't in the mood to discuss that buffoon, but she knew it was important to Sabin to know. "He ran away Sabin...he doesn't want to see her."

Sabin's eyes widened and filled with tears. "Damn his foolishness..." he shook his head. "You have to understand he doesn't mean to cause harm. Edgar has always been the type of man that has...how do I say it..."

"Who has difficulties expressing his feelings?" Terra asked.

He nodded. "Yes...when our father died, he did not cry. I knew he felt the same pain that I did, that the anguish was tearing at him, but he was strong—for me." he tried to keep his voice low, to keep the tears at bay. "You just have to give him time..." and then he offered Terra a small smile. "It is one way he and Emma are a lot alike."

Terra giggled. "Yes, that is very true." she brushed her hand over her daughter's knuckles. "And what a lovely thing my little girl turned out to be..."

•••••••••••

It was late by the time that Edgar and his son returned to the castle. They had returned with a leisurely pace, so they could talk. It was obvious to Edgar that his son was trying to sooth him, to help, but the discussion only hurt further. He could not get his mind off what had been done to his daughter, and that he could do nothing to help her. No one around him seemed to understand his position. It wasn't as if he didn't want to see her, no, it was quite the opposite. It was that fear had clouded him entirely. What if his presence would make her uncomfortable, afraid even? What if he said something wrong and it upset her? What if he didn't say enough, and that hurt her?

He knew that regardless he needed to see her, but that trouble followed him all the way to the castle.

When they stopped at the stables, his son took his shoulder and squeezed. "Everything will be alright, don't worry." But he did. And as they came to her room, he wanted to turn and run. To hide someplace where no one could ever find him. Cambyses turned to look at him. "Come on, don't make me drag you."

Ashamed, he followed his son into the room. It was not surprising to see his wife still sitting there with their daughter, but he had expected Sabin to return to his family. When his brother rose and walked over to bring him into a hug, Edgar held him back. "I'm such a fool, Sabin," he mumbled.

"You are a frightened father," he told him with a frown. "All that matters is if you push through whatever you are feeling to see her."

Edgar knew he was right, and if his brother had managed the courage to see his own daughter during her condition, why couldn't he see Emma? He thanked his brother and approached the bed. Terra still had her back to him. Her attention was on a new prayer band, the largest yet from what he could see. He brushed her shoulder, to let her know her was near, and looked at his daughter. Sabin quietly exited the room, to give them privacy.

Even though it had just been a few days since her assault she was starting to look like a skeleton. Her flesh clung to her bones like wet cloth over branches and her hair was messy and ruffled around her face, and even that began to lose its color. It was so startling to see the welts and splotches of purple, black and yellow against such pale skin that he wanted to look away. He held onto that courage though, with all his might.

He turned his gaze to his wife, to her hands. "How is she?"

Terra glanced just a bit toward his direction before going back to her prayer band. "She lives," she said, almost coldly. "If she is lucky, she will be able to walk and use her arms again." she put the band down and looked at him. She had been crying again, he could tell. "She had a seizure earlier Edgar."

Fearfully, he asked, "What did it take?"

Knowing what he meant, Terra shook her head. "We should be thankful it stole nothing from her or impaired her, but it could mean a regular return."

He looked back at his daughter. Her breathing looked labored, but steady. I should have been there for you...

"The officers prescribed her something for the pain," Terra continued quietly. "And something for the seizures. They want her dulled to sleep as much as possible."

He didn't know how he felt about keeping his daughter dulled but he did think it would be monumentally horrible if she hurt herself in this state, so he said nothing as Terra explained to him how best to check their daughter's bandages, clean them and reapply them. He had to steel himself, though, because Terra had to show him how it worked by actually changing their daughter's bandages. Edgar couldn't stomach it for so many reasons, but he tightened his resolve for his daughter's sake. If only because, soon, he would seek the man responsible and beat him so bloody he would be in a far worse position than his daughter.

Finally, when the lessons were done and he was made known where the medical supplies and medication was stored, Terra sat beside Emma and took her hand. Tears began to run down her face and the pain returned to her expression. It was unforgivable that someone had thought to burn his daughter with such pain, a pain that reached his wife. "Terra...she will be okay."

She smiled, though it was forced. "I know," she cried. "I thank the gods...she is doing so much better than when she first arrived. I can only thank them that it hasn't gotten worse."

Edgar understood. "I will bring the world's finest professionals from all over the world if I must...she will receive the greatest care in the world."

Terra shook her head. "Edgar...do you really think our daughter is going to want the company of strangers after what she experienced?" he hesitated, having never thought of that. So that was why Terra had the medical officer teach her. He felt so foolish for not having caught on earlier. He looked away, ashamed. "I doubt she will feel safe around others any time soon..."

Furious now, he looked at his wife. "I will rebuild this world to make it safer for her then." Terra looked at him then, through tears. "We need to know who did this to her, Terra. Who found her?"

Terra said, "Captain Wren with his men. They were patrolling Domia."

Alarmed, Edgar asked, "Terra, why would our daughter ever leave the ball, let alone to trek through Domia?" Terra couldn't say. "I do not think our daughter went of her own will. Someone was with her, and I think whoever it was must have dragged her along."

"I agree. She would not have left on her own, she is such a tender soul, so easily frightened."

"Someone at the ball must have seen something."

"Jakle had questioned those at the ball when he noticed she was missing," she explained. "No one recalled seeing her after she went into the back room. All he could find was the open window."

"That just means that whoever stole her away from the castle did so discreetly, as to avoid attention from the dean or security. And since we know where she had left the castle, we can use that to rule out suspects."

"Edgar...the dressing room is only for females."

"A rule," he said. "That can easily be broken."

"I don't see how it helps us," Terra said.

"It helps us immensely," Edgar told her. "We can ask around, conclude who was not in the ball during the time of her disappearance. Then we can see who had been lingering in the ladies' changing room. Then we can determine who might have been in Emma's company at the time of her departure of the ball."

"That is a mighty task," she mumbled. "but what if whoever took her wasn't even part of the ball?"

"That is a good point, m'dear, and we will come to that once we run through those at the ball." she acknowledged him with a nod. "I have one last question...do we know where Lucas was during all of this? Why didn't he stop her from leaving, and if he didn't know about that, why didn't he go looking for her when she hadn't checked back with him?"

Terra hesitated, knowing how he would react once he knew, but could not bring herself to hide it from him. "Edgar, and do not shout, but...Lucas and the girls—" he asked what girls. "—the girls who have been tormenting our daughter." he ah'd. "Well...Edgar, it was all a ruse."

"What?"

"They had invited her there to plot against her."

He was trying to keep his calm. "What do you mean exactly by 'plot against her'?" he was afraid he knew already.

Terra looked away, tearfully. "Lucas had deceived her. He never meant any of what he told her. It was all a ploy to get her to the ball so he and the girls could trick her, to humiliate her. The dean questioned the girls before they left the ball...they admitted to everything."

If he got his hands on that Lucas, he would bust his head right open! "So that also could be what separated our daughter from the ball." At that moment Edgar saw only red. He wanted to tear Lucas to pieces. He wanted to, for the first time in his life, kill and it was so intense that if his wife hadn't reached out to take his arm he would have stormed off in search of the young man right that second. "That bastard!"

Terra gasped. "Be quiet Edgar!" she hissed. "Do not wake our daughter."

He ducked his head. His wife rarely let her rage take seat of her life, but he knew better than to test her and that fearsome motherly anger. When it came to her children she would do just about anything for them, whatever it had to be.

Edgar looked at his daughter. The broken and beaten sight of her infuriated him and broke him all at the same time. "We will know soon enough when she wakes what happened...and gods help the people who hurt her, for they will know a pain they have never felt before."

Her eyes widened. "What do you think extreme violence would solve?" she asked him, patiently. "Do you think it will make your daughter happy?"

"Are you asking me to let this go?"

"No, of course not, I just...there are more important things you need to focus on right now. Your daughter, for one." he turned away from her. "Justice can come later, when your daughter has healed and you have been at her side."

"You do not understand," he snapped hotly as he stomped to the door. "The moment someone had hurt her, their fate had been sealed. There will be no mercy." and then he slammed the door behind him, barely hearing the reprimanding from his wife.

••••••••••••

The next few days was excruciating for Terra. She hardly left her daughter's side, fearful she would miss her daughter when she woke and needed her. She barely slept or ate, and kept to holding her daughter's hand and whispering prayers into the lonely air of her daughter's room. Occasionally her daughter would stir long enough to cry or to be fed her milk and honey, before falling back into a deep and troubled sleep.

In the following days, Benjamin still refused to visit her, and whatever visits Cambyses had made were short as to avoid overcrowding. To her surprise, Celes and Locke came to visit twice, after they had been informed of what happened. Celes had sat with Terra and held her, letting her cry. Cadence was there for Terra and Emma the most of all. She would fill in for Terra whenever she needed to eat or rest, and it was almost impossible for Terra to explain how much it meant to her. Sometimes, when Terra returned quietly, she would hear Cadence singly quietly to Emma, or reading one of her dozens and dozens of books. None of it seemed to wake the poor girl, or provoke anything, but it did not stop Cadence from trying.

On the twelfth day, when it looked as if her daughter could not survive another night without waking, without eating, Terra prayed to the gods for hours. She went to the temple and left offerings and prayed. It seemed, as night fell, that the gods finally answered. Her daughter woke mumbling incoherently and her left eye, which had gone down in swelling, roamed in a way that seemed...blind.

Terra had taken her hand and held it close. "My sweet girl, how I have waited to see your pretty eyes and hear your voice." but Emma had fallen asleep just as quickly as she had woken. And so Terra fed her more honey and milk, and began praying again.

On the fifteenth day, just before sunset, her daughter finally woke. Terra hadn't meant to, but she had fallen asleep in her chair, and woke to her daughter's whines. She leapt to her feet and brushed her hand over her daughter's forehead. "Emma, oh sweety, can you hear me?"

Emma turned her head away from the fading light through the windows and tried to speak. "eh..uhrt..."

Terra lifted her hands away from her daughter. "Did I hurt you, dear?"

Emma tried to speak, but the words were a mess from her mouth, and ended with another cry. "Hold on, I will get you something for the pain." she went to the bag beside her chair and dug through it for the medications. She stirred honey into a cup of milk and then poured in the pain medication as she was shown, and then brought it to Emma's lips. Emma drank desperately. When she was through, Terra sat the cup aside and brushed hair from Emma's face. "There, that should help." she let her hand linger on her daughter's cheek for a second before moving away. "Are you hungry? Do you think you could eat?"

Emma's hands twitched, but unable to move, she tried to nod. It was a sluggish and strange movement. It was clear to Terra that her daughter was trying to nod, that speaking might hurt too much still. "Okay, I will go get you something to—"

"Na...nah..." her daughter wheezed, crying. "Dahn...goh."

Terra took her daughter's hand. "Okay...I won't leave. I will stay right here with you, I promise." and for the next hour and a half, her daughter went in and out of a fitful sleep. When she no longer could sleep, she had managed to communicate that she was hungry. Terra was so relieved to hear it that tears burned in her eyes and she promised to have all her favorites, even sweets, brought up if she so wanted. But the realization that she could not leave the room hit next.

"Emma? I...I need to go to the door, to call for a maid. Is that alright?" but her daughter didn't seem to hear, so Terra snuck away to the door. The soldier outside turned to look at her. "Corporal, I need food prepared for my daughter, but I cannot leave this room. Would you please fetch my son and explain the situation to him?"

"Of course your majesty," he said in the same whispering tone as she. "I will return shortly."

It took only an half hour for her eldest to arrive, with a tray of all sorts of foods. When Terra peaked under the tops, she smiled. He knew without being told that softer foods should be on the plates. "This is perfect, thank you Cambyses."

"Of course, anything." he glanced over his mother's shoulder. "Is...is she really awake?"

She nodded and pressed a finger to her lips. "Yes, but keep your voice down. I think the noises hurt her head." he nodded, and followed her into the main portion of the room. Emma laid still like a stone, so it was understandable when Camb passed Terra another look, as if to say 'are you sure?'. Terra rolled the cart toward the bed. "Emma, my sweet, I have something for you to try to eat."

"Uhnn...mha...eik."

Terra didn't know what she was trying to say, but she hoped it wasn't anything serious. She helped her daughter up and stuffed a few more pillows behind her back "Are you ready? I'm going to start with some porridge, okay?" she pressed the spoon to her daughter's lips and sighed with great relief when her daughter ate it hungrily. Cambyses took a seat on the stool opposite of his mother and watched, patiently. Emma had almost two bowls of porridge before she pursed her lips. "Oh, I'm sorry," Terra put the spoon back into the bowl. "Are you thirsty?" her daughter tried to speak. Terra assumed it meant she was, and pressed a glass of water to her lips. After it was empty, Terra helped her back into a resting position and tucked the blankets in around her.

"hiht...uhrts..."

Terra frowned and glanced at her son, confused. He gestured to the light and Terra oh'd. "Hold on dear, let me draw the shades closed." she hurried to the window and drew the heavy curtains closed. "Is that better?" but her daughter was quiet again. It took her returning to the bed side to realize she had fallen asleep.

Cambyses stood. "She is recovering...slowly, but surely."

Terra was thankful for that, too. "It will be some time I think before she is on her feet again, but gods am I happy she is awake and capable of eating now."

Cambyses looked her over, worriedly, and said, "Would you like me to stay, so you can take a break, to eat and rest?"

"That...that would be very helpful, yes." she hugged him and went to get her things. "I will be gone just for a few hours, is that okay?"

"Mother, mother, please," he laughed. "You need your rest, too. Come back when you are well enough to."

"Thank you Camb," she went to the door and smiled tiredly back at him. "I will be back soon and...and if she wakes..."

"I will tell her you will be back," he said, guiding her out the door. "Now go eat and rest, mother."

And for once since her daughter's assault, Terra had taken more than a moment's reprieve for herself. The rest felt so good that she had over slept, though thankfully when she came running back to the room Cambyses told her Emma did not stir. It was the start of a more relieving recovery, too. For the next week, Emma woke longer and longer, and ate so much Terra could barely keep up. It was a blessing though, and one that Terra tried to keep encouraged.

By the next week, her daughter was able to see partially through her eyes, and the swelling had reduced significantly. She was even able to speak without pain, though the swelling made her sound funny. It was during this time that Emma refused to go back to sleep, and it was only through her tears and sobs that Terra could guess why. So to help with her nightmares, Terra began mixing a concoction she herself took during her journeys into her daughter's water. It didn't help very much, but it kept her through the dreams. It felt horrible to force her to stay in them, but rest was just more important right now.

The medical officer came by once since the last time to check on the progress and told Terra that it was all going very well, that he was astonished by Emma's recovery. He was actually alarmed by her progress, but encouraged Terra to help her with minor therapies. That was the last time he came by, but Terra didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad one.

It was only three days after that Terra tried to speak with her daughter, to get her to speak.

"Emma?" Terra sat down beside the bed and reached for her hand. "Do you mind if we talk for a minute?" but her daughter's eyes—once so energetic and colorful—were now dull. She didn't even move. Without a sign to go forward or not, Terra decided to just continue. "I know you do not want to talk about what happened right now...you probably won't want to ever...but I want you to know that I am here for you, always, if you ever do want to talk." There was no reply, no acknowledgement. "Okay sweety..."

When she fell asleep half an hour later, Terra snuck out and went looking for her husband. She was hoping her husband would have suggestions on getting their daughter to talk, or that he would visit her. When she found him, he locked himself away in the solar with Suon. As soon as she entered the room, he dismissed them all and waited until they were gone to ask her how Emma was fairing.

"Physically...she is doing very well," she answered, quietly, as she found a seat. "She still will not speak to me, Edgar. It is a miracle I can even get her to eat."

He sighed. "Perhaps justice will ease her mind," he said. "I am certain that if I could just do that..."

She understood that Edgar was handling their daughter's attack in his own way, and that that was seeking revenge, but she could not understand how the man could not worry more about getting their daughter better than to seek out the man who had hurt her.

"Oh, but Edgar, something is wrong with her. I don't think we should be focusing our energies on searching for this man, not right now, because she's—"

"—Terra, dear, of course she will be acting strangely, it is only natural given what she experienced. I am certain though that if we could just find the one responsible, and punish him, Emma's mental state will improve." he thought for a moment, and then asked, "Is she awake right now?"

"If she were awake, do you think I would be here?" he pinked a bit. "Besides, what do you need of her?"

Edgar went for the door. "I was going to ask her a few questions concerning the assault."

That was the last straw. She took his hand before it could touch the door knob. "You can't just waltz into her room and question her on her assault when you refuse to even visit her! When you can't even be bothered to go talk to her!" tears were running down her cheeks. "I will not allow it!"

Edgar relaxed under her touch. She was unraveling, he knew it, and he could not fault her, but he knew where he stood in this all, and that was to find justice for his daughter. "Terra...I am just trying to find the person responsible. This is important and while we wait, he could be escaping this country—escaping my grasp!"

"So you have no time for your daughter?" she gaped at him. "She's been beaten and raped and all you care about is revenge?" Terra gripped her hands. "How dare you! Can't you put your pride down for one damn moment and help our daughter?!"

"Has she even requested me?" Edgar whispered, watching her eyes widened. "That's what I thought...she doesn't want to see me regardless of what I want. It makes it the perfect opportunity to find her justice."

"What am I supposed to tell her when she does ask for you, hmm? That you would rather catch the man who hurt her than talk to her?"

"Tell her the damn truth," he snapped. "No one asked you to lie to her." and then he stormed out of the room.

••••••••••••

It was clear that her family thought she did not take note of their absence, and from what she could make out of the arguing she heard twice in the halls between her parents—she supposed they thought she couldn't hear—it was because Benjamin could not stand to see her. The arguments never detailed why her father hadn't visited, but Emma knew why.

She had anticipated it back in those woods, during the pain, but a foolish part of her had hoped. She looked up at the roof, winced at the pain the light brought to her swollen eyes, and thought of where they would send her and whether or not she would be forgotten there. I hope they send me back to Thamasa at least, she thought, and then suddenly terrified she wondered if Relm and Gau would even accept her now. They weren't her parents, so what did they owe her? She felt a hole in her heart. Where will I go if they don't want me? Tears burned in her eyes. No, no, no...please, gods, please don't let them hate me too, please.

She went to sleep that night crying and her dreams were haunted by her memories of the manor. Her attackers were taller in her nightmares, and they all sounded like Lucas. His handsome green eyes were greener than they actually wore, a mockery of what she thought they once were, and in her nightmares she could not scream. The only thing permitted to her, just like the actual attack, was her crying.

Lucas snickered and pinched, cuffed and kissed, mocked and kicked and it all made her fear double. "This is what you wanted," he cried to her as he tore her clothes off perpetually. "This is what you wanted!"

She cried. No, no, no! Please stop!

"This is what you wanted," the others mimicked coldly, eyes sparkling from the shadowy corners of the room.

No. I just...I just wanted someone to like me, I just wanted to be...

Lucas was kissing her just like he had in the manor, but now his touch was like fire to her skin, hurting and burning through her. "Mine, mine, mine," he whispered harshly into her ear. "Mine, mine, mine."

Someone, please, she cried as Lucas's hands burned through her skin. Help me!

She woke in a start, drenched in sweat. Her mother was sleeping in the chair beside her, hands still wrapped around a partially completed band for prayer. Set on the table were various liquid bottles of medical solutions for her pain and peace of mind, but none of it worked much at all. The window was open, to let in the cool breeze. She shivered, too cold, reminded too much of the manor.

Her tears quietly swept down her face as she watched the night sky.

A few days later, she stayed up longer than she usually was allowed by her mother. Her mother had given her a drink medicated with the solutions on the table, but Emma waited until her mother turned to spit it back into the cup. She did not want to close her eyes, to see those nightmares again, and was grateful when her mother suspected nothing. So her mother left her be after she helped her recline into the comfort of her pillows and went to get refreshed herself.

Emma used the time to try and forget the horrid sensation of their hands on her body, their voices and their demeaning comments but the harder she fought to forget the better she remembered the assault. What did they do to me? she wondered, closing her eyes so tightly that it hurt. Why did they do it to me? Why do they hate me? She opened her eyes in a haggard sigh and looked across her bed to the table to her left, where her mother had left a few books for her a few days ago. Maybe she could find the answers to what it was in some books...but she suspected it would be a good while until she could move by herself and gave a frustrated cry as she sunk her head back into the pillows, defeated.

There was a hard knock on the door but she tried to ignore it, hoping they would just go away, however it was her brother, Cambyses. "Emma, are you awake?" She looked at the door, confused to hear her brother. What could he be doing here? He is probably going to tell me he hates me, she thought. "Emma?" he pressed softly, and before she could say anything, the door opened and he walked in.

He was dressed in his academy attire, a dark doublet and dress pants, with his hair braided down his back, note yet at their father's length. Around his waist was his Second Sun issued broad sword, from his knighthood training. He had just gotten finished with a round of training, she realized sadly. He had skipped something, she was sure, to see her. I took him away from his work, she thought tiredly, adding it to the list of problems she caused.

"Camb?" she asked, shifting so that she wasn't lying quite so awkwardly. Even that hurt, immensely.

He smiled at her, just a flash of uncertainty in his eyes before it vanished to a gleam of brotherly worry. "I haven't caught you at a bad time, have I?" he asked, looking around the small room for their mother. She shook her head as much as she could without pain. "That's good! I have been thinking about you all day." he explained, reaching for something in his doublet. "Cadence and I went into the city and got you something." She watched him remove a small box without any wonderment she would have shown before the ball dance, and he noticed it easily. He shifted it about in his hands, unsure. "Cadence saw it and thought you would like it..." he sat the box on her lap, in which she replied to with grimace. He quickly stepped away, aware he scared her, and cleared his throat. "If...if you don't like it, I can exchange it for something different."

She looked at the box reluctantly. "What is it?"

He laughed. "Open it." She looked at him with such an expression he blushed. "Oh, right." he hurried over and slowly took the box to open it, and then he sat it back in front of her. Her eyes went over the silver hull of the flute with disinterest, and he frowned. "...like I said, we can exchange it if—if it isn't what you like."

Mechanically she said, "Thank you." never removing her eyes from the flute.

Sensing their discussion would not get anywhere through her efforts, he looked around the room and spotted the books. An idea popped into his head. "How about I read to you? I can see that tower of books near you hasn't been dented yet." she followed his eyes to the books and then the smallest of smiles graced her beaten face. "Does that sound good?" she nodded and he went to pick a book. He settled on the one at the top, a study book. He frowned and then shuffled through the tower, unsure if that was something she wanted to read at the moment. He found a book on elves and dwarves getting into a war, and then took a seat beside her bed. "The Great Elven War by Toban Grot sound good?"

Pale purple eyes just seemed to stare into his soul. He looked away, uneasy, and began reading the first chapter.

She wasn't stupid. She knew he was only here out of pity, and maybe shame. If she had just fallen ill with the Sand Fever or the flu, he wouldn't have given her a moment of his time, especially after their recent fights. That was why he did nothing when she was bullied at the academy and why he, apparently, said no to going with her to the ball. She sighed and interrupted his reading with a question that was burning her mind. "Camb...where is Ben?"

He looked flustered. "Well, Benjamin is currently away training with Hals."

"And...and father?" her eyes caught his and he felt it hard to look away.

"He is busy with things of state, I believe."

She watched his eyes for a moment and he started to tremble. It was like she was trying to read his mind. He avoided her eyes, missing how her expression shifted into one of shame. Finally, she asked, "Do...do you know where mother is?"

He was still looking away when he answered. "Yes, I do. She went to the kitchen to brew some tea and get something to eat, but she will be back soon, I promise."

"Okay," she whispered, leaning into her pillows and closing her eyes.

"Emma?" he asked. "Would you like me to continue reading?"

"I..." she shook her head. "I—I just need some rest."

Unaware that he was scowling, he said, "Right, and you do need your rest." he rose. "I will get mother when I see her, okay? For now get your rest baby sister." When he closed the door, he heard her crying and decided to let her work it out.

••••••••••••

Cambyses went searching for his parents and just as he suspected where he would find him, he came upon them arguing in the foyer on what to do with Emma—as they had been doing since his mother was trying to get his father to visit Emma, but was failing, as Edgar masterfully diverted priorities. Camb knew why. It was the same reason with Ben...he was too afraid. It was shameful though, and he knew that it was hurting Emma.

Well...at least they are not within ear-shot of Emma this time, he thought as he tried to disengage them from their argument. They would not relent.

"Be quiet for one damn moment!" he howled and they went silent, ashamed. He crossed his arms. "Good! Now that you two are done acting like children might be you will want to discuss Emma?" Edgar's eyes drifted away, away from them, and Terra agreed, apparently exasperated because that was what she was trying to do the entire time. "While you two bicker Emma is wondering where her brother is and why he refuses to see her and directing that cannot wait! In the mean time we should consider getting Relm and Gau over here to talk with her...I think it could help."

Terra sighed. "We sent word to them, but they are unable to leave their kingdom unattended, not right now at least."

Cambyses swore. They were most likely their best bet. He looked at his father and then grabbed him by the collar of his dress shirt. "Then it comes down to you! Man up and face your daughter! It is cruel what you are doing to her!"

Sweat beaded on the king's forehead. "I—I can't. I mean what will I say to her?"

"I am not the one who has to think that up," he snapped. "As long as you don't royally muck it up, anything you say should be good. It is visiting her and asking about her that will help."

Terra reached for her husband's arm, to stop him from turning away from them. There were tears in his eyes. "Edgar...please, listen to him. You need to see her, to show her that you are here for her, that you love her. It will help, I am certain of it."

Edgar ripped his arm away. "You think I do not wish to see her?" he snapped. "Of course I do! I can't stop thinking about what happened, about how my...my poor daughter is in pain! I...I just do not know how to approach this; what do I say to her? How do I look at her without worrying her, without reminding her of what happened to her? I will only act abnormal around her and I am sure that would upset her more than my refusal to see her!"

"Then how long do you intend to ignore her?" Camb asked. "How long must she wait for you to see her, to think that you no longer love her?"

Edgar looked at him with round eyes, clearly having never thought that was how she would take it all. "I could never stop loving her!"

"Then you need to prove it to her," he said. "Go. See her. Tell her everything will be okay and that you love her."

For a moment he let the silence continue on, until at last he sighed and his shoulders sagged. "I'm afraid...I can't do it alone. I won't be able to face her."

Terra took his hand. "You won't go alone Edgar...I will be there with you."

He nodded. "Then I will see her..." he looked at his son. "Do you think you could find your brother for me and try to convince him to visit as well?"

"I can try, but he's really upset. It might need you and mother's force to get him to visit." so Camb left them to their current mission, confident his mother could give his father enough courage to face his little daughter and show her that he still loves her.

••••••••••••

It took all of Terra's might to pull her husband closer and closer to their daughter's room, and then even more persuasion when they stood before her door. The lack of any sound emitting from the room made Edgar want to call it off for another time, a time when she was awake, but Terra would not have it. She pushed the door open and then shoved her husband in through the doorway.

The cowardly king opened his mouth to hurry a worried string of hellos, how are yous, and I love yous, but paused when he saw his daughter sleeping, an empty mug to her left on the dresser. "Well then...it cannot be helped—" he turned for the door but his wife stopped him. "—she's asleep." he whispered, almost on the verge of begging her to move.

"Asleep or not, show me you still care." she crossed her arms defiantly in front of the door and raised an eyebrow. "Now." Shyly Edgar wheeled back on his heels to face his daughter again and took a deep breath.

You can do this Edgar...she is the same as before; your sweet little angel, your adorable princess, the innocent child. He bent down over the bed to take her tiny hand in his and became appalled by how much tinier she appeared now. Under his hands he could still feel the scrapes on her knuckles and palm, and tried to fight back the images of his daughter trying to desperately fight back from his head. No, I need to think of something else...anything else. Carefully he brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles before he tucked the wool blanket in around her. Next he went for the blank paper and quill on the table and started to write something down. When he was finished, he folded the paper and laid it on the dresser beside her. Hopefully you will know I still love you, he thought as he leaned over to kiss her forehead. "I will see you soon, Emma." and then he went to Terra's side and was promptly allowed through.

He retreated to their room, uncaring that his lovely lady followed, and as soon as she closed the door behind them, he started to cry. Terra was at his side instantly, soothing him.

••••••••••••

The next morning when Emma woke, her mother was waiting patiently in the chair beside her. It startled Emma but whatever protest she was going to offer to the behavior was silenced as the queen hurried to her feet to uncover her daughter. As if being unable to walk by yourself wasn't bad enough, her mother had to help her wash and dress. It was one of the most humiliating moments she had ever been in, but she was grateful her mother both ignored her scars and tried her best not to look in the first place—and that she was willing to go so far to help.

The water was toasty and made the aches hurt less, though it did sting her cuts and bruises fiercely. Her mother used a soft cloth to help wash her, going slow and pausing whenever Emma twitched or pulled away in fear, having remembered something. Terra was understanding through it all and would wait until the girl allowed her to move again, until finally she was thoroughly cleaned and given new dressings for her wounds. Her mother's hands were soft and warm, and it made her drowsy. She forgot how comforting her mother's presence could be...

And then, after being helped into something that would not be too heavy for her or cause her too much discomfort, Terra left her at the windows per her request and promised she would be back soon. Outside, running about the garden, around busy soldiers and maids, children shouted and laughed, ignoring their mothers' bellows to stay close and out of trouble. She watched the children play noisily for nearly an hour before her pain came back.

And then she saw a young man, not much older than her brothers, lean down to kiss a young maiden sitting on one of the benches and stiffened. Why does she allow him to kiss her? She wondered, remembering Lucas. How could she like it? Tears burned in her eyes at the memory. With what she thought would follow that kiss, she shuddered in fear and closed her eyes against the nightmares threatening to break free.

Ripping her from her thoughts, someone knocked on the door. "Emma, are you awake? May I come in?" It was Cadence, someone she did not expect to hear from, not ever again. What was she to say though? Deny this woman entry even though she had given her so much help and compassion when she didn't have to? Was it right to deny her brothers' lover?

She hesitated. "Of...Of course." And then the door opened and Cadence stepped in. She was carrying a vase of flowers stacked onto a little red box. She's here for Camb, she thought with a sigh. She really didn't want to see anyone, especially right then. Wishing to be free of pitiful stares, she frowned. "If...if you are looking for Camb, he isn't here."

Cadence laughed and sat the vase on the table with the box. "I'm not here for that idiot dear, I'm here for you."

"Me? Why?"

"Why shouldn't I be here for you? You know your brother isn't all that fun. He's business and work most of the time, just like your father. Regardless, can't a woman be a friend with another woman?" and then she came over to the window and peered out the glass, curious as to why the princess would be by the window. When she saw only children, she smiled down at the princess, assuming the girl wanted to be outside. "Would you like me to help you outside or at least open the window?"

Terror seized the girl, but the woman did not notice. "I—I'm fine here, really," a terrible blush appeared on her face when she jerked painfully suddenly. She could not deny she was in pain though, and if she tried, she was sure Cadence would get angry. "Um...would—would it be okay if I asked you for help back—back to my bed though?"

Horrified that she did not suggest such a request before the girl could, Cadence hurried, blushing. "Of course I'll help Emma." she carefully lifted the girl to her feet, trying to be tender and aware of her fears. Through the short walk to the bed the girl trembled against her side, still too weak to even stand.

Gods...the poor girl. Her recovery is going to be a long journey... Once she seated the princess down on the bed, she smiled weakly. "Is there anything else you would like help with, or need?" she asked as the princess laid back with a content sigh and smile, closing her eyes. She only shook her head. "Oh, right, I brought something for you." and then she scurried over to the table and recovered the red box. "They are chocolates, the finest available."

She did not open her eyes though. Cadence deflated. Cambyses had promised her she adored chocolate, that for as long as he knew his sister, she could not resist sweets. If that was true and she paid it none of her adoration, it meant the girl suffered more than anyone thought. "Would you like a piece?" she pressed, lifting a caramel covered orb out of the box. "Do you not like caramel? There are other kinds, too."

Finally her eyes opened and locked onto the woman. "I'm...I'm fine Cadence, really, and I'm not allowed to have sweets."

Cadence laughed. "And who said that, hmm? I think you are old enough to decide what you can and cannot eat now. If your father and mother are so worried about your health that they would refuse you harmless delicacies such as chocolate, their worry is too much. Chocolate won't hurt you or anyone else." she held out the caramel piece. "What do you say? Do you want to live on the dangerous side, hmm?" her playful smirk finally made the princess smile. "That's what I thought! Chocolate temps every soul."

"Okay...but—but just one piece."

Cadence giggled and helped her to sit up against her pillows. Despite the girl only meaning to take one, she ate nearly half the box before she remembered the seriousness of her parents' laws and, unwilling to make her already bleak chances of staying in Figaro with her family any bleaker, refused any more candies. Maybe they will forgive me...she thought. Maybe they will let me stay.

Cadence frowned. "That brings me to something important, actually," she took a breath. "We need to talk." suddenly she went pale. "What is wrong, Emma? It looks like you saw a ghost."

Emma tried to keep her tears in check. "Talk? What for? Did I do something wrong? I didn't mean to."

"Gods be good," Cadence laughed. "What are you talking about? What could you possibly do to get in trouble? Your parents are so smitten with you that punishments are out of the question...why I bet you could get away with anything, dear girl." thankfully her teasing tone was caught by the girl and reciprocated with a relaxed giggle. "Heavens...when you smile and laugh like that Emma I swear you could break the hearts of every man on this planet." That made her go quiet and cast her eyes away. "My apologies...my mouth sometimes runs off ahead of me."

"It is fine," she said flatly. "What did you want to talk about?" Cadence could feel the girl was trying to get rid of her and she actually felt like she should hurry away, before she made matters worse.

Cadence hesitated. "Your parents pressured my mother to make me do this...so please keep in mind that I refused to do as they asked, but they were persistent. I hated keeping the truth from you, so I'm telling you it now before I ask. I just wanted to come over and talk, but they..."

"They what?" Emma cut in, clearly getting annoyed with the woman's avoiding ways. "What is it?"

"They want me to ask you who...who..." finding the words too difficult to say, she said, "To ask you who had hurt you."

"W-What?" the princess looked away, her fingers slightly lacing through the woolly knots on the edge of the blanket as she thought on what to say. If I tell them...oh if I tell them what will happen? They will hate me, I know it. If I just listened, if I just stayed where I was none of this would have happened! Unable to tell her the truth, Emma did what she could only feel was right. Lie. "I...I don't know," she muttered. "It was too—too dark and I couldn't s-s-see anything."

The young woman was persistent though. "What about the voice? Do you recall his voice, or anything he might have said?"

"C-Cadence, p-please, I—I don't want to talk about this," her voice cracked. "I'm too tired."

Cadence frowned but took the girl's hand, tightly. "I'm so sorry Emma...I wish I could help, I wish I could take it all away, but the only way to feel better, to move on, is to talk about it. However if you need some time to tell us who did this to you, that is okay, just...just don't wait too long. He could hurt another girl."

She hadn't even noticed tears started to build up until Cadence asked if she were okay. "My head just hurts..." she hoped her lie sounded as good to Cadence as it did to her.

"Do you need me to get you something?"

"No, I just need some rest. Please, just...just go."

The princess refused to look up at her and that's when Cadence knew something was terribly wrong and that somehow, and for some reason, the girl had lied to her. The only thing she couldn't figure out was why the girl felt the need to lie in the first place. Fear, shame, sadness, pain...all of that could be a factor into it, but for some reason Cadence felt like there was more to it. Something horrible and wrong.

But what could scare her worse than her rapist? Her eyes widened. Oh Gods no...she isn't afraid is she? She's...she's... "Oh Emma...please don't tell me you are protecting him!"

Emma looked up at the older woman with a shocked expression. "W-w-what? That's...that's not it!"

"Then why do you refuse to tell your parents who did this to you? Emma, he could hurt another girl...don't you want to make sure that doesn't happen?"

Was it wrong that she didn't care for anyone at that moment? She felt like a monster ignoring Cadence's worries for others. No...they hated me and my father used that to punish me. They won't hurt anyone else...

"Please don't ignore me Emma...this is serious. I do not understand why you are protecting him from your father."

Protecting him? Emma repeated, horrified. No! I want him to die! I want him to suffer like I have suffered but...but...

Death... the voice whispered in the back of her mind.

"Please help us find him Emma, please!"

She felt an anger swell in her chest she hadn't felt in weeks. I wish she would just shut up! She doesn't understand anything at all!

That's right, her voice whispered. She shouldn't even be here. She doesn't truly care about you.

Her voice was right. No one truly cared for her and when Cadence's pleas continued on to stop 'protecting the man who hurt her', Emma lost her patience. "You don't understand anything!" she howled.

"Then help me understand," she said patiently. "Just talk to me—"

"You can't ever understand what it is like!" she screamed so loudly her throat hurt. "You will never understand w-w-what it was like to feel like like that, to smell them, to hear them, to f-f-feel them like that!" the tears could not be held back. "You will n-never be hum-humiliated and tricked that way, so please...just leave it alone."

Cadence's eyes widened at the girl. "Emma, I know I could never understand what you are going through, but if you would just talk to me..." she paused as the girl's choice of words rushed through her mind. In a gasp, she covered her mouth with trembling hands. Oh my...no, that...that can't be. "Gods Emma...there was more than one?"

Fear crossed the girl's eyes. It was clear she had not meant to mention it whatsoever and so she started to sob. "Please Cadence, please! You—you can't tell anyone, I b-b-beg you, please!"

Cadence had startled to her feet, pale. "You can't expect me to keep this a secret Emma! Why would you even want me to?!"

"Please"! she cried. Oh how could she ever get Cadence to understand? If her parents knew, if anyone else knew, they would hate her if they didn't already. There would be nothing to live for. "Please, I'm begging you," she sobbed. "D-d-don't tell anyone, please!"

"Not until you tell me why!"

"No! It isn't your business to know!"

"Tell me or I'm going to your parents with this right now!" her shouting had gotten loud enough to quiet the princess. "Now!"

Tears burned bitterly in her eyes as she thought of all the reasons she did not want others to know, but only one seemed to find its way into words. "Because...because my father set it up!"

Cadence could not believe what she just heard. "What? Emma, do you...you know how that sounds?"

She started to sob. "I heard them s-say it...and my father won't see me. H-He knows that I know...!"

"Emma, this is insane! Even if they said he did set it up, how could you believe that?"

"Because he's always hated me! Please Cadence...I will do anything. Please don't tell them."

What was she supposed to say? She couldn't make that promise, she didn't want to, and yet she didn't want to break the princess' heart anymore than it already was. "How can you put me in this situation, Emma? You know your mother and father expect me to come back with answers...what don't you want me to tell them? Who? How many? Or just that you think your father was involved?"

"All of it!"

"Emma, I can't do that. I won't do it."

"Is that what all of this was...?" Emma asked softly, staring at her with a grief stricken expression. "You acted kind to me just so you can get what you wanted?" how stupid she had been. Why would anyone like Cadence ever want to talk to her? It was the same no matter where she was or who she was with. There was only those who used her and discarded her. She felt so foolish, so pathetic. Everyone just takes...what will I have left?

I will never take, only help, the voice whispered. You now know how many people you need to eliminate...

Emma squeezed her eyes shut, against her tears. "Leave!"

Clearly horrified by the accusation, Cadence softened her expression and took a step towards her. "Of course not Emma, I would never just...just be kind so I could—"

"—I said leave!" she howled. "Now!" When the older woman hesitated Emma knew there was nothing she could do to get the woman to leave her to her shame. Stranded in her bed her only option was to scream until her demands were met. "Get out! Get out! Get out!"

"I'm so sorry Emma," Cadence whispered before she left the room.

When the older woman was gone Emma started to cry until it slowly turned into screaming, which she was sure to do against her pillows and under her blankets. Why did she have to move to Figaro? Why did she have to meet Lucas and fall for him? Why did she have to beg her father and mother to let her go to the ball dance? Why didn't she just take 'no' as her answer? Why was she so stupid? Why did she survive Lucas's assault? Why couldn't she just have died that night?

She just wanted the pain to stop, no matter what. If she had only the strength to reach for her medicated water she would try to overuse it, or if she could get to the window or even... her eyes went across her cup to a letter facing toward her, leaning against a little box. It was open and written in elegant Figaro cursive. She knew who it was just by the writing. Her father. She reached for it, through the pain.

In a whisper, she began aloud, pushing through how much her eyes burned focusing on the cursive writing.

To my sweet daughter,

I have not yet seen you and I can only imagine how it feels for you. For that I must offer you my deepest apologies. I had not intended to cause you any harm or grief, I have just been...very stupid. If you read this and accept my humblest of apologies, please attend the next capable dinner with the rest of us. Of course, that is only when you are feeling stronger, when you feel you can. Do not worry over any you have missed, or may miss, until then. There will always be plenty of chances, but only one to get right for you. Sabin and Karin will be there too—as well as everyone else, but you know that so forgive my rambling. If you do not accept my apologies...please know that even then I will always love you and nothing or no one can stop me from loving you.

Please be sure to get your rest, my dear.

Your loving father,

Warm tears bubbled up in her eyes. Those words certainly didn't sound like they could come from someone who hated her, who had set up her assault, but it didn't make any sense. If she could forget how lenient her father had become so suddenly, or what she heard from her attackers, why didn't he see her? What could possibly be the reason he refused to see her if it wasn't because he was punishing her?

••••••••••••

Cadence wasn't sure who to go to after hearing what the princess of Figaro thought about her father, and how many people hurt her. It was the girl's parents that had pressured her into finding out who had hurt their daughter, and used her own mother to enforce it, but how could she confront her parents or the princess' parents when the girl had begged so much for it to remain a secret? She didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings, to make things worse, but she couldn't let the group responsible go unpunished. Her emotions were a mess now, and she hoped Cambyses would be able to help her sort them out, and what to do. She found him in his room, studying away a list of people who were involved in Emma's life.

So she swore him to secrecy and when he finally caved, she said, "It is about your sister."

"What about her?"

"She...your parents made me talk to her, to try and get her to tell me who raped her. And—and...oh Cambyses, it is terrible!"

Cambyses' eyes widened. "She told you who did it? You cannot keep this secret. My parents need to know. Tell me and I'll deal with it."

"No, you swore to secrecy! If I told you what I know, you could not tell anyone. Do you understand me?"

"I...I promise." So then Cadence first told him how his sister was acting, and how she managed to get some answers. "So then, who did it? The one who did this to her needs to pay, but if I knew, then I could find another way to 'figure' it out. Emma would never have to know."

Cadence looked away. "She didn't tell me the names, just that...it was more than one person."

Cambyses was sure he heard right, yet nothing would let him accept it. More than one person? Olmpa didn't even sound that cruel...but if it wasn't Olmpa, then who? "You must have heard her wrong Cadence. There...there is no way—"

"—I heard her clearly! She said 'they' hurt her! I heard her fine!"

"And she didn't say who did it?"

"No, only that..."

"That...what?"

"You have to promise not to say anything!"

"I already promised, now just tell me."

"She said that she heard them say that...that your father set it all up."

"What?! Is she insane?! Why would our father do that?!"

"Calm down Cambyses and take a minute to try and understand." she laid a hand on his. "These people knew she was listening, and said he was involved to hurt her. The way that I understood it...she takes Edgar not visiting as a sign of the accusation's legitimacy. She thinks he knows that she knows..."

"This is absurd," Camb growled. "My father loves her to pieces! There is no way he would do that, not even to his worse enemy."

"Nevertheless, that's what she thinks. She begged me and although I didn't say I wouldn't tell anyway, I'm not fond of breaking her trust either. What do I do?"

"We shouldn't tell my father or mother...not now at least. We need to figure out who did this first, and then we will bring this up. If father knew she thinks that way, then that would make this situation worse."

"So then, how do we find out who did it?"

Cambyses sighed. "I think the first thing we need to do is find Lucas and his friend Kysle. Confront them, ask them what they saw and if Emma left with anyone...or who left after her."

"That is a good idea to start from. Will you go alone?"

Cambyses kissed her cheek and then shuffled to his feet. "Yes, I will have to go by myself. If this isn't the truth of things, it will only cause grief and waste my father's efforts at finding the truth. Until I find it out, it will just have to be me and you."

"Emma said they tricked her, so maybe we can just ask around and find the ones she is talking about."

That caused him to stop by the door. Tricked her? And then he knew who was involved and it drew an anger over him he did not know he could feel. The trick...what he heard about the girls and the ladies' room...he knew. "It was Lucas." His voice was hardly a whisper and she asked what it was he said. "It was Lucas...he did this to her. It only makes sense. He and his friends...he's the one that tricked her, that—that hurt her."

Cadence put a hand over her mouth. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know..."

---

EDIT:

(The chapter has seen it's full rewrite, as of 2021)

If you are a victim of abuse—emotional, physical or sexual—please know you are not alone. There are places you can go to talk to people, strangers if it will help you feel comfortable, and family that loves you.

Please go to thehotlineDOTorg for more information.