The princesses slipped out the room while the peering eyes of the crowd were distracted by the duel. Cora pulled Maren across the balcony, their fingers intertwined.
Maren was shocked, unable to fully process all that had transpired. She was long aware of the secret of the Star Court, but couldn't fully wrap her mind around the fact that it would soon become common knowledge.
When she'd first learned the secret, she knew their situation was more than unfair. It was an injustice. She saw it within Twelve when she'd lose her temper. After nearly two hundred and fifty years of thankless servitude to the Empire — stuffing one's light behind a mask and cloak — they were tired. Maren did not blame her. She did not blame any of them.
And then there was Lexi.
When Thirteen had uttered the name, Maren couldn't believe her ears.
Lexi.
Her long time friend…
…a descendant of the Darkwood King.
Maren knew she would have to discuss this with the Star Court — with Lexi — she just didn't know when. Or how.
Cora whipped between the bushes, practically dragging Maren behind her.
Maren hadn't had a moment to take a good look at Cora's face. She wanted to know her thoughts about all this. Before they began the trials, Maren did most everything by herself. But then, her and Cora began to mend all the broken things between them. And Maren started to find herself wanting to know Cora's opinion.
But now, the feeling was even stronger. There was so much at stake.
Though Lexi had never been rude to Cora, her courtesy never extended beyond general politeness. And she knew this was because her friend held a nasty grudge.
During their years at the Academy, Lexi and Ariel helped Maren navigate Cora's ire. In their last few years, Cora had taken a step back, and ignored Maren but her antics the first few years were simply juvenile.
Honey in her textbook pages.
Talking behind her back.
Planting bugs in her room.
All in effort to push Maren further from her. Her friends had been there for all of it, including getting back at her. Ariel was like Maren — softer and more understanding. Now that things were better between Maren and Cora, she knew he wouldn't hold things against her.
But Lexi?
She didn't know.
Finally, they made it to the center of the garden. Twelve stood there, shining like a beacon, her expression calm. She shined in the night, a beautiful picture of age. Twelve was the eldest among the Star Court members, and though it took them many years to age, even time was inescapable to those with magic in the fabric of their being.
And though time had stolen the suppleness of her skin, Maren saw the eternal fire in her eyes. Not magic, but something more vibrant and lasting. Twelve was so bright, she nearly missed Selma lurking in the shadows beside her.
"I'd wondered where you'd gone," Maren grinned, releasing Cora's hand.
Twelve matched her expression, "Thirteen insisted she cause the chaos tonight and someone had to hold down the fort."
"This was planned?" Maren asked, bewildered. "When you asked me about a riot tonight-"
"-it's because I knew, yes," Twelve replied, her grin expanding. "You're not the only one with a few tricks up her sleeve, darling. I remember my mother well. I know all about you Sapphire women and the trouble you get into."
Maren smiled again, and threw her arms around Twelve.
"I'm so happy you're here."
Twelve let out a soft noise under her breath, like a chuckle and returned the hug.
Then, Maren gripped her by the shoulders and pushed herself away, lightly.
"But that doesn't mean I'm happy you kept this from me."
"Child," Twelve replied, her expression grim, "if we thought it didn't have to be this way, we would have told you. Unfortunately, the situation is far more dire than we imagined."
Twelve stepped aside and Selma stepped forward, a bag at her side.
"Greetings Princesses," she said, a forced smile on her face. "Thank you for heeding my request. While we may know little about each other, I am deeply grateful and honored to be in your presence."
"Alright, yes," Cora sighed, her arms crossed as she stepped forward beside Maren. "What have we been summoned for? It's been driving me mad ever since Maren told me."
Selma's gaze dropped, her lips pressing in a thin line.
Maren could tell she was nervous — like she was forcing herself to be here. And Cora's impatience wasn't helping. Everything about her body language was tight and cagey, like she was trying to make herself smaller and less visible.
Selma sighed and slipped her hand into her bag. She then pulled out an old, leatherbound book with a bare cover that had been weathered by the ages. She averted her gaze, and held it out to Cora.
Cora gripped the binding, its weight heavy like a rock. She gazed down at it, unsure how to react. Maren leaned in close for a better look.
She knew there was no way either the Star Court nor Selma knew about the memory stone and their dreams of Elena. Maren wasn't even sure this was the book she was looking for. But she also knew she had to take a chance.
"Care to tell me why we're receiving this?" Maren asked, her gaze flitting between Selma and Twelve.
Selma's expression grew pained. She shut her eyes, her head dipped low.
"I prayed to the Goddess every day for weeks," Selma muttered, wrapping her arms around herself. "I needed advice. I needed to know if my decision to confess was just."
She shook her head, tears falling.
"But when I saw it…I knew what my family had done was dishonest — cruel."
Maren and Cora shared a concerned glance.
Dread pierced Maren's gut, twisting and coiling within her like a thorned vine. Twelve was there — involved — and hadn't batted an eye.
Which meant she knew something. Something big enough to run around, setting an elaborate plot, just to lure Maren and Cora into a secluded location during an event.
"What did they do?" she asked, swallowing down the sensation that'd worked its way to her throat.
Selma quivered in fear, her eyes wide. "They awoke…something. I didn't know what to call it. I didn't even know what it was until…until one night I saw my mother creeping around in the dead of night. She met a man. A man in a suit and mask she called Stranger. He kept something inside a holy box made of crystal — like the ones made in Inaha's Temple."
Selma's fingers dug into her arms, but her eyes remained fixed on the ground in front of them.
"The creature shrieked an awful sound. It pierced my mind, distorting my thoughts. Had it not been for the box…" Selma shivered harder, her tears falling more rapidly, "I'm not sure what would have happened."
Maren glanced at Twelve who kept her eyes averted, her expression deathly serious.
"She told the Stranger that she needed him to place it in the cave of Mt. Caylor." Selma said.
Cora's eyes widened. "The first trial?"
Selma nodded. "She told him it has to be perfect. That she doesn't want any harm to come to the Prince Candidates but that my brother must be the one to marry the Princesses and take the throne," Selma shook her head. "But in her desperation to see her son rise, she does not understand the way this darkness has dulled her senses. She has been near this creature — heard its baneful cry — and I believe it has clouded her judgement. Just as it did mine."
Selma reached a shaky hand toward the book and opened it in Cora's hands to Chapter two.
"While I stirred in my decision to confess," Selma pulled her hand back, "I retreated to the secret library to calm my nerves. And that's when I remembered a book my father once had me read. At the time, it was terrifying to read. I thought him cruel for making me read this. But now I understand why."
Beneath the glaring moonlight, Maren could see the illustration on the page. It was like nothing she'd ever seen.
Illustrated like a children's book, a human with wide, bloodshot eyes and flesh hanging from its bones let out a piercing shriek that left its victim disoriented. The infected monster bit into the other human's flesh. And as it fed, a worm emerged — drawn in messy, chaotic streaks of dark purple, black and red — crawling from the living corpse's ear and burrowing into the wound, infecting the bitten human.
But the creature seemed odd to Maren. It wasn't drawn the same as the other two. It looked like the monster that emerged from that golden-haired Prince in Maren's dream of Elena.
That wolf of shadow.
"It's called a Darkspirit," Selma said. "They were believed dead, but some of them have been alive for more than seven hundred years."
Beside Maren, Cora gasped and the heat from her body surged. She burned so hot, so suddenly that Maren thought she might burst into flames.
She had never heard such fear radiate from her. Cora's eyes were wide, her hand covering her mouth.
"That's it," she whispered, stumbling back as she dropped the book in Maren's hands. "That's what I saw in my dream."
"You saw this?" Twelve asked, her tone weary.
"Not really," Maren answered. "Cora and I have been receiving…visions of sorts. Not of the future but of a…past. One we've never known."
Selma's eyes widened, hope filling her gaze. "The goddess has spoken to you. I…I was right. I was right to let you know."
"But I still don't understand," Maren said, gazing at her. "What is your family trying to accomplish? Do they have this monster?"
Selma swallowed hard and straightened, facing Maren. She took a deep inhale, and explained. "My family has rigged the trial. But I believe this creature has poisoned their minds. I believe simply hearing its cry once is the reason I did not contact the Star Court sooner."
Selma flipped through the pages. Images of a creature passed their eyes. The book lightly described how this monstrosity could oppress the senses with its cry, and enter a human body through its wounds and crevices. The host would rot rapidly while still alive, losing itself completely. All the while, the creature would multiply, spreading itself to different hosts, through wounds and orifices.
The illustrations depicted a small child, in bare feet and rags, holding a doll and a stick as it defeated the creature with fire magic.
Maren was horrified, and Cora looked like she was ready to vomit.
She looked up, meeting Twelve's steady gaze.
"Nearly seven hundred years ago," Twelve began, "Empress Syrah of Gold — the first Starblessed in history — destroyed all knowledge of these creatures."
Maren blinked, confused. From what she remembered, that particular princess was known for her love of knowledge. She married the first Prince of Forsyth.
Why would she destroy the very thing her husband loved? Maren asked herself.
"Empress Syrah was from Forsyth. Being known as the oldest city in Carbouran, our records and knowledge is vaster than any on the continent," Selma continued. "Empress Syrah thought she was doing the world good by destroying evidence of magic. She believed its knowledge was too powerful for humans, who had summoned these creatures. She believed the monsters were eradicated from our world. That someone before her had killed them all."
Selma closed her eyes, and when she opened them, they were fierce.
"But she was wrong. My ancestor, a Forsythian Princess and scholar, deceived Empress Syrah, and copied every detail of this one particular book. For whatever reason, this book was more important than any of the others from before the Empire. What she did was treason and continuing to keep hidden knowledge from the Empire is just as bad, but you must understand — my country is an old one. Knowledge is all we crave. It runs in my blood. We could not destroy something so precious…even by demand of the Goddess herself."
Maren bit her lip, looking away. This was treason. If Maren, Cora or the Star Court punished Selma right now, not a soul would raise a hand against them.
Maren peered at Selma, who cowered under the light of the moon, holding strong to her truth.
So why does punishment feel so wrong?
She took in a deep breath and exhaled.
Before she made a decision, she knew she'd need as much information as possible.
"You said you found this book in the library?" She asked.
Selma's eyes widened. "W-well…I remembered this story book my father had me read. It had been hidden in the secret archives. At the time, I couldn't understand why it had been hidden back there or why I was forced to read something so...grotesque. When I found it, I read through the whole book, and finished the last page. That's when I learned of my ancestors' treachery."
Maren nodded, "thank you for telling me, Selma. I know this was hard to do."
Selma bowed deeply.
"I am a servant of the Goddess. But still I am human and imperfect. I pray that my honesty will move your majesties to be benevolent in my family's punishment. For I truly believe they are not in their right mind. I pray that you both will see the honesty in my heart and heed my request."
Maren nodded again and turned to Cora. "We must stop the games."
Twelve opened her mouth to speak but she was cut off.
"We cannot," Cora said, holding Maren's gaze. "We must consider that the other Kingdoms in Carbouran have secrets hidden from the empire."
Maren straightened.
She had not considered that.
"That is precisely right, Princess Cora," Twelve continued. "There is another reason we invited Lady Raine as our Prince Candidate. Not only is she your good friend and loyal to the empire, she is tried and tested in the field. The history of Carbouran is too long not to suspect the other Kingdoms. We have the utmost confidence that she will surely make it to the final round and uncover the secrets of the six Kingdoms."
"So Lexi is an agent of the Empire," Cora clarified.
"Yes," Twelve answered. "But she is also a true candidate. You may take her as seriously as the others."
Maren's thoughts stirred. She never considered anything truly romantic with Lexi, though her friend teased her as often as possible.
Still, Maren glanced at Cora who looked queasy. Would Lexi really be a good wife to Cora?
Maren sighed.
She couldn't think about this at such a time. Not when a political war was brewing.
"Even so," Maren said, closing the book and holding it to her chest. "I am not comfortable putting Lexi on the front lines with the other Prince Candidates, even if Ariel is there."
"We will have to discuss this another time," Twelve replied, peering over their heads at the building where the distant sounds of cheering could be heard. "It seems Lady Lexi finally finished the fight."
"Princess Selma," Twelve turned toward her, "I trust you can get back to your room without issue?"
Selma nodded, bowed, and scurried off through the gardens.
Maren's brow furrowed as Twelve turned back to her. "How do you know Lexi won?"
"You haven't seen what she can really do." Twelve chuckled, tugging Maren along, pulling her in close. "To be a Darkwood is a special thing."
Maren kept silent.
She did not know what to make of all this. Selma and Twelve didn't seem to know about the memory stone, but somehow, all of what they saw was connected to current events.
As they entered the building, a realization dawned on Maren. She didn't catch on to the plans for the events that transpired — planned by the Star Court. She didn't see through Lexi's secret and surely didn't expect such treachery from the Kingdoms.
Lexi stood victorious on the stage, bowing deeply to the Star Court members and the crowd — some cheering wildly and some stewing in anxiety.
Hayden gritted his teeth angrily. He stood, and trudged out of the ballroom with his tail tucked between his legs.
But gazing at the Prince Candidates before her, she saw their expressions — some, the lack thereof — and knew one thing for certain.
Nothing would be the same from here on.
They would have to choose carefully.
Choose someone fair and trustworthy.
Someone who can stand beside them.
Treat them as equals.
And lead with a pure heart.
Maren gazed at Cora who stood beside her now. Cora noticed, turning toward her.
And Maren wondered just how they were going to fix this mess?