I will figure this out even if you don't love me like her; I will save you, my burning star."

  /// pov: Charlotte September 16, 1087, Ruined Castle of Kazfels Kitchen

  Charlotte hasn't moved an inch since Freya left her behind in the kitchen; her body went numb, and the sound of the broken pipes dripping was the only thing keeping her conscious. She could only keep her eyes half closed, and her mind was becoming buzzed.

  "Freya, who are...?" She groaned.

  "( You know more about what's happening here than I do, and I'm the Head Knight of this ruined kingdom. Just who exactly are you?)" Charlotte started twitching her fingers, trying to feel anything at all.

  An ominous voice pierced through the rhythmic beat of the water droplets hitting the fallen pots and pans on the floor. "Now this is a predicament; I'm surprised the arrow wasn't the one to blame this time."

  Charlotte lifted her head and looked up at the door. "Lich?" she muttered.

  She was standing in front of the kitchen island, blocking the doorway Freya had exited.

  The Lich smiled and summoned a book into her right hand. "Now this is new, but I think I understand everything. You don't know how to fight Riftwalkers because you've never seen one. Am I correct?" She said with a hum.

  Charlotte laid her head back down, not answering.

  "Which means if you have never seen one until now, that means you have never seen a rift," she smirked.

  Charlotte could feel some of her strength coming back from anger; "You knew this was going to happen? Didn't you?" She said grumbling.

  "Of course not, I am not your enemy." The Lich laughed and twirled around the table to look at Charlotte's back wound; "That looks pretty bad; don't worry, Equila will make sure you live. Since the only way I know you could die is by a piercing arrow through the heart." She smiled; "Or was it a sword?" She tried to touch the bandage, only to see her finger freeze and fall off in front of her.

  She shook her hand until another one grew back completely fine again while Charlotte watched with disgust.

  "You are a Riftwalker! You did this!" She accused while trying to lift herself.

  The lich leaned down to look her in the eyes with a smile. Charlotte was blinded by their eyes' orange hue. "I am many things, but like I said, I am not your enemy, for I am not an arrow. You are curious, aren't you? About her?" She hinted with her teeth, now showing with her smile.

  "I won't tell you, because you don't know who you are to her. However, I will say this to you: Freya Guistiza, the Flame of Protection, will lose, and then I can finally have what I want." She laughed as Charlotte's face showed a hint of rage.

  The room got colder, the frozen droplets began freezing in place, and the creaking of busted pipes turned into a deafening silence. The Lich hopped onto a chair so she would not be frozen from the wet ground. She closed her book and bowed to Charlotte, who struggled to get up.

  "I will also tell you this pretty sparrow; her sword can no longer close Rifts." With those last words being said, the Lich disappeared in a haze of smoke, traveling out of the kitchen through the broken pipes.

  Charlotte lifted her upper body with her arms. She could feel the surging pain run up her spine. "Her sword can't close Rifts?" Charlotte stared down at the floor, slowly recalling their duel; her anger soon gave way to a feeling of fear.

  "Her stance is not like a magic caster, but more like a swordsman, not to mention." She immediately remembered the end of the duel, where Akrelus turned into a sword, winning her the fight. "She knows how to use sword combat. Not magical combat."

  Charlotte moved her body to turn around so she could sit. Her golden blood bled through the cloth bandage, even slowly drizzling across her pale skin. She clenched her jaw, trying not to howl in agony. "(Where's the potion?)" Her vision blurred as she frantically looked around, and soon she couldn't see anymore. She went blind. She began rubbing her eyes more and more until her golden liquid seeped through her closed eyelids.

  "What's happening?" she said, whimpering as she felt the golden blood run down her arm.

  A quiet yet peaceful voice whispered in her mind, "(You have gone blind temporarily; you pushed yourself too far today, Charlotte)."

  Charlotte hyperventilated, clenching her face; "Equila, how? How is this possible! This has never happened before. The Everbreeze will fix this!"

  Equila sighed, "(That is a healing potion, yes, but it works differently on you.)"

  Charlotte let go of her face and slowly slid off the table, using its edges as a crutch.

  "What are you doing? You need rest." Equilas' voice echoed like a concerned mother's warm but angry.

  Charlotte walked forward, letting go of the kitchen island. She was slowly inching forward with her arms out, hoping it would help guide her; "I have to get there. I have to." The golden tears dripped off her cheeks.

  "Where are we going, dear?" Equila asked.

  Charlotte ignored her, and before she knew it, she tripped over a fallen pipe. The pain in her back stung as she screamed. She could feel Equila's emotions inside her sword, yearning to help.

  "Charlotte, stop! Why are you still moving?" Equila asked more concerned.

  Charlotte started crawling towards the door; "She's going to die; the Rift won't close. Equila, my Akrelus is..." Charlotte whimpered as she slowly stopped moving.

  Equilas' voice became stern. "Okay. I will help you, for I have seen the world through your eyes, yet I never let you see through mine." She paused, feeling Charlotte's heart beat faster. "I will give you my sight until you regain yours; that means you can't use summons or even advanced magic. However, I need you to answer something. Do you [eradicated]?"

  Charlotte's lip quivered at the question and whispered, "Yes." She felt a source of power flow within her from the answer; it was warm and gentle.

  "My only remaining power should be used on the Rift. I have also stopped your bleeding. Good luck, my child." Equilas' voice slowly faded out of her mind.

  Charlotte opened her eyes to see the tiles in the room begin to unfrost, and a puddle of her blood underneath her, but that wasn't all. She saw something else: small balls of light bouncing off the walls. She heard a noise and jolted upwards. Unsheathing her sword, it felt different to her than before. She walked forward to the cupboard to see what she thought was a mouse. Yet it had wings and one eye that covered its face. She looked beside the thing and saw the bottle of Everbreeze. She reached for it as the creature scurried away.

  Charlotte looked down at the bottle to see feathers floating inside of it; "Is this divine sight?" She asked Equila, but she was unresponsive.

  Charlotte sighed and sheathed her sword, and turned away. She slowly paced her way towards the door, but instead of them swinging open, they wouldn't budge. She peeked through a small crack to see a barricade on the other side. Charlotte rolled her eyes in annoyance. She backed up to the other side of the room and ran straight at the door, using her shoulder to help force it open. She flew outside, landing in a puddle of ooze. The bottle of Everbreeze was still being clutched firmly in her hand as she got up. The entire castle looked like it was on the verge of collapsing any second. As Charlotte looked down the halls for any sign of which way Freya could have gone, she heard a wrenching scream from the hallway in front of her.

  /// pov: Freya, September 16, 1087, Ruined Castle of Kazfels Throne Room

  The shrieking coming from the entity made Freya's whole body tremble; it got so loud that she had to cover her ears, causing her to drop Akrelus by accident. She looked at its glowing blue chest cavity, looking for any sign of its voice to give out. The Riftwalker started limping towards her, its arm reaching downward as if it wanted Akrelus. The closer it got, Freya could feel her body going numb.

  "(What is this thing? There has to be a way to make it shut up.)" Freya looked closer to see something familiar. It was wearing a red and golden sash that was bleached in black ooze, but there was no mistaking it as a royal sash.

  Freya remembered the crown at the throne room's entrance and put the two together. The King never died, because he was standing in front of her.

  The RiftKing stopped screaming, making Freya fall to her knees. She could feel her blood slowly trickling from ?her ears and slipping through her hands. His Highness shuffled towards her until he was looming over them; she could faintly hear his body shifting into an unrecognizable creature.

  "The Rift is our savior; the Rift is our god." It said with a husk as he reached down for Freya, grabbing her by the neck.

  It pulled her up to his face, their breath smelling like decay; "You. You ruin. Everything."

  Freya tried to pull her face away, looking down at Akrelus, who was lighting up. The RiftKing then threw her across the room in response, slamming her into a pillar at the front of the entrance. When she landed on the floor, her vision was blurring as she watched her already damaged staff being picked up by another enemy. The RiftKing pointed the staff up towards their god, as if he was going to sacrifice it to the void of the unknown with a chant.

  "The gods of this world ?abandoned us for so long. Now it's time to doom them with a song. The melody of humanity, the melody of lamenting"

  Freya slowly tried to get up, only to fall over to her side, looking at the fallen crown of the former king sitting in front of her. She extended her arm, trying to grab it desperately.

  "I, the King of Kazfel, will sacrifice a former god turned to stone," he continued, only to be stopped by a fireball aimed for his heart. He shrieked, only to get hit by another one in the mouth, unhinging his jaw.

  Freya was standing up with a fiery cape waving behind her; "Ya know you only allowed me to wear this once when I was a child, and I gotta say, your majesty. It still fits me better."

  In all of his rage, the RiftKing threw Akrelus up in the air towards the rift. Before the rift could consume him, Freya used another fireball on Akrelus, propelling him towards the opposite side of the room behind the RiftKing. Freya stared at him and then glanced at his heart; she could hear his ribcage vibrating to every beat it made as she rested her satchel on the floor.

  A faint noise came from his broken jaw: "Crown, give crown."

  He then screamed while the walls oozed more black liquid. Freya smiled and laughed at him, getting ready for his next attack in a running position. Just as she predicted, he screamed at her again, but this time she could see right through him; the scream he used before was a blinding attack. She swiftly moved to the right and bolted to the other side of the room. He then swung his arms in the air, making the rift lunge vines out of itself, trying to catch her. Freya, in response, jumped onto another pillar and launched herself to the other side of the room, keeping a smile on her face. "(I still remember the time I saw what power this crown had. I understand now why you feared me after I started laughing)."

  Freya landed on her feet and kept running towards Akrelus until the Rift was tired of her. It covered the floor in ooze to slow down her pace and caged her within its vines. It was dark and slimy inside, but Freya still had a smile on her face as she started giggling.

  RiftKing walked over, and it sounded like he was laughing with her in his demonic way. He stared at the vines, watching her struggle. Unaware that the Rift was the one struggling with her. He watched as light and steam pierced their way through gaps until a fiery explosion knocked him back, scattering his body into pieces. Freya stood there perfectly unscathed. The cape turned into what looked like wings. She walked over to Akrelus, not paying anymore attention to her fallen king, and picked him up. She took the crown off and hung it on her left forearm.

  "Let's end this, shall we?" she said with a smile, looking at her glowing staff.

  She walked to the center of the room and pointed Akrelus at the rift; "Oh ancient one, father to the deity, I, the daughter of Akrelus, will repeal the plague cast on our earth, to heal everyone's soul."

  Akrelus glowed only to slowly dim. She stared in disbelief; "What?"

  As she was distracted, she felt something hook her and swing her away from the center. Freya slid across the room, staying on her feet, and once she finally stopped, she looked back to see a familiar face and a familiar emotion.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  /// pov: Freya, ???????????????????????

  (Another page has formed in the book; it seems old and ripped on the edges. There are also weird stains covering this page.)

  "Uncle Kingy, Uncle Kingy, look, look, I am a king too!" said ?small Freya with a red towel on her back and a paper crown too big for her head that kept covering her eyes.

  The King laughed in enjoyment, watching the girl play, pretending to boss around the royal soldiers and staff. Meanwhile, her brother was sitting on a chair, reading a book unamused.

  The little girl ran up to him on his throne with her arms open wide; "When I'm king, I'm gonna stop all the Rifts!" She said proudly.

  The King took off her paper crown and set it aside; "Well, we have to see if the real deal fits first, huh?" The king said, taking off his crown and placing it on the girl.

  When the crown was placed on her head, the young Freya stared at him as if she were going to be sick, then she started laughing uncontrollably with golden tears swelling up in her eyes. The royal guards ran over to her, trying to help, only to be pushed away by her force. Nicholas stood up, startled, and ran to his sister. He was the only one who could touch her. He slowly led her backwards to the middle of the room, away from the king.

  They watched in horror as something pierced out from her back, what looked like feathers, soon turned into wings. When they fully sprouted, they were lit ablaze, and the young girl fainted. Nicolas tried shaking her as the crown rolled off her head towards the king; it rested on top of her golden tears, staring at him.

  "Freya! Freya!" Nicolas cried, but she was unresponsive. When her wings finally rested on top of her, the paramedics and fire brigade ran in with heavy flame-resistant suits and carried her out. The King and Nicholas watched with worried expressions.

  /// pov: Charlotte, September 16, 1087, Ruined Castle of Kazfel

  Charlotte limped through the crumbling hallway that was unrecognizable to her. She stared at the torn tapestries leading to the throne room, only to feel an uneasiness as if she weren't alone. She put her hand on her hilt, ready to slice whoever was behind her.

  Then a familiar voice, a comforting voice, echoed behind her, "Charlotte, this is my duty, not yours; after all, I am-",

  "Freya!" Charlotte turned around quickly, only to be shocked. Freya was wearing the same uniform she had, but her cape was red and much larger.

  Freya smiled back at her; "You know what? Let's forget about this stupid prophecy, Sparrow, and go to the river in Mangeal, and watch the moon rise through the shade of the trees." She said with a twinkle in her eyes.

  Charlotte stepped back and drew her sword, pointing it directly at Freya's throat. Yet instead of being upset, the woman in front of her was still smiling.

  "You're smarter than before, Charlotte, after all, if you don't defend yourself,"? Freya said with a maniacal gaze. "You're gonna get shot down again!" She said, slashing with a scythe.

  Charlotte jumped back, dodging the attack. "I know you aren't Freya. You may sound like her, but I can see through your disguise, invader." She spat in anger.

  The imposter turned her head away, looking at the torn tapestry of the twin phoenixes. Their disguise slowly faded out, being replaced by a figure with horns, who wore a mask that looked like a barn owl's face. He was wearing a cape that was made of shadows, and not a single bit of skin was showing.

  Charlotte stood there, too stunned to speak or move, and because of that, it was too late; she felt the scythe's blade hook her, slamming her into a wall, causing her to lie there unconscious. The figure then walked over, humming, and put Equila back into Charlotte's sheath, and picked her up, housing them onto his shoulders.

  "You are going to enjoy the next part of the act, Sparrow." He said with a laugh before fading into shadow.

  /// pov: Freya and Charlotte, September 16, 1087, Ruined Castle of Kazfels Throne Room

  Freya stared in horror as tears streamed down her face. She was slowly regaining her mental balance. She saw Charlotte in their grasp, unconscious.

  "Nicholas, this was your doing, wasn't it? You asshole!" She said, only to spit up some blood.

  Nicholas nodded and laughed, dropping Charlotte onto the ground.

  "Let's show her the real you, Freya! I'm tired of the hero you always portray!" He said menacingly.

  With a snap of his fingers, a mouse creature ran towards Charlotte and bit her, seeping mana back into her veins through its fangs. She immediately jolted up on her feet, as if nothing had happened, in a fighting stance. Her expression calmed down when she saw Freya standing in front of her.

  As Charlotte walked towards her, Freya started laughing menacingly, causing Charlotte to stop in her place; "I'm gonna kill you! Nicholas!"

  Charlotte turned around to see the shadowed figure bowing to them.

  "Pleasure to meet you again, my dear Sparrow, but I shouldn't be the one you are glad to see," he said calmly as the room shook.

  Freya and Charlotte looked at the goop that once was the King of Kazfel, reformed into a distorted monster. He now had eight arms that acted like legs, that he was standing on, a giant eye that was placed in its deformed mouth, and on top of his head were giant looming antlers and a crown made of black jagged stones.

  Even though Freya saw an amalgamation, Charlotte saw who it was. "Your Majesty?" She called out in confusion.

  Charlotte stepped back as the RiftKing began advancing. Freya stepped in front of her, shielding Charlotte from the upcoming scream attack. The scream was soon taken over by other voices in Freya's head as she pointed Akrelus at the king.

  "Freya, you can't!" Charlotte screamed out, only to be ignored.

  A wave of lava appeared in front of them, but instead of crashing into the king, it redirected itself at Nicholas.

  Nickolas dodged and laughed; "Am I distracting you? Don't worry, sister, I'm leaving. Oh, and Charlotte, I hope we can see each other again soon." He said before fading into a shadowed portal.

  Freya clicked her tongue at him and looked behind her to see Charlotte holding the hilt of her sword again. Before The RiftKing could attack again, she grabbed Charlotte, dashing to a crumbled wall to hide behind for a short? time.

  "I can feel that Equila is weak right now. I suggest you don't fight." Freya said sternly.

  "No, I can! I can still-" Charlotte drew her sword as it was shaking in her hand, only to be cut off by Freya.

  "You are going to die if you walk out there! You can barely even run!" Freya yelled, seeing Charlotte flinch back at her, from raising her voice.

  Freya sighed and turned her around; "You can still help; I can't close this portal, but that means you must be able to instead." She turned back around, looked at Charlotte in the eyes, and walked up closer; "When the RiftKing is dead I need you to walk into the center of the room underneath Rift, and point your sword skyward, while saying, Oh ancient one, father to the deity, I, the daughter of Equila, will repeal the plague cast on our earth, to heal everyone's soul."

  Charlotte felt ??tension in her stomach as she withdrew her sword. "And what about you?"

  Freya smiled and slid the crown back into her hand. "This will let me win, but I will warn you, I won't be in control of myself fully. I might even go insane."

  Charlotte tried to take the crown away from her, only for Freya to step away, hiding it behind her back; "Right now, this is our only trump card to win. I already know how I am when affected, but you are a whole other story. So please do as I say." Freya ordered her as she slowly raised it to her head.

  Charlotte nodded as she dug her thumb into her finger, watching her walk away again, helpless to stop her.

  Freya walked out of their hiding spot and put the crown on. She could feel its power surging through her before she started losing her mind again. The RiftKing shook the room when it spotted the only light source bright enough to dispel its darkness. It thrashed its arms on the ground, causing rubble to fall from the coned ceiling. Freya showed a crazy expression and pointed Akrelus at him again.

  "Let's play Uncle Kingy!" she said, laughing.

  The RiftKing screamed again in her direction, without even realizing she was already gone. Freya moved to the far right of the room and channeled multiple fireballs on her way, aiming at him from multiple directions. The Rift started oozing more liquid, trying to aid the amalgamation, but it wasn't enough. With every step Freya took, she left a steaming trail from the ooze evaporating.

  "(Freya, can you hear me, my child?)" Akerlus said, his voice piercing through her crazy laughter.

  "Oh, so I have finally gone so loopy that you can talk to me again," she snickered at him while dodging a piece of concrete the RiftKing threw at her.

  Akrelus grumbled, "(This is no time for games! The longer you wear that crown, the more insane you will get! However, I realized something since our last fight with Equila, I mean Charlotte.)"

  Freya laughed while ducking under another attack; "What? That she is surprisingly even more attractive? I couldn't think that was possible either, but here we are!" she said, enthused while casting a meteor shower over the RiftKing.

  "(Ugh! Child, will you ever listen to me! As you know, we aren't accustomed to the magical arts; however, I believe I can transform again after you cast enough spells. Just keep throwing spells at him.)" Akrelus said with his voice fading, being drowned by Freya's laughter again.

  "Alrighty then, so what you are saying is, Random Bullshit Go!" Freya yelled out before jumping into the air to dodge another attack.

  Freya tried to cast any spell she could think of, meteor showers, fireballs, even lava waves. Yet the RiftKing showed no signs of stopping. It crawled across the room, knocking down pillars, disrupting its movement. Meanwhile, Charlotte watched from afar and glanced up at the Rift; it was growing.

  "Man, you suck!" Freya taunted before jumping onto a pillar and laughing.

  RiftKing angrily slammed into it, making Freya jump off. The pillar toppled over, crashing onto the RiftKings' neck, pinning him down. She then pointed her staff at its eye, yelling, "Flame laser!"

  The RiftKing pushed itself up, breaking free with a deafening scream so loud Charlotte had to cover her ears. It then moved to the center of the room and stomped on the floor, creating cracks. Freya took notice and started giggling as Akrelus burst into flames.

  Freya smiled as she got into a stance, holding the bottom of her staff like a sword. She yelled, "Now this is an actual fight!" before Akrelus transformed into a sword with a fiery blade.

  Before The RiftKing could process what happened, Freya dashed in front of him with red feathers following her trail. Charlotte watched with a look of amazement before flinching as she saw Freya thrusting her sword and stabbing the King in the eye, pulling it out. A howling scream of agony echoed through the halls as the rift oozed more liquid, trying to aid again. Freya jumped back and slid the eyeball off her blade with her foot, then played with it like a soccer ball, even landing it on her head and balancing it.

  "I know soccer was fun! Let's play that!" She said, bumping it off her head, then kicking it towards its stone crown, causing it to shatter, and exposing the heart.

  The RiftKing screamed out as ooze spilled out of its mouth before it closed it with a set of teeth. Freya gagged at the thought before running towards a fallen wall.

  Now blind, the RiftKing began shoving its body from side to side as it thrashed, causing the floor to slowly give way. Freya ran up the wall and jumped, her cape looking like wings, trying to fly before stabbing her sword down onto the heart. The RiftKing made a shriek so loud it caused Charlotte to fall to her knees, allowing her to see the cracks forming underneath her. She felt the floor begin to crumble and got up, running to the entrance of the Throne Room, picking up Freyas the satchel on her way out.

  "(You can do it, Freya, and I will close the Rift, I promise!)" she thought before hiding midway down the stairway.

  Freya was latching on hard as the RiftKing was trying to fight back, then she heard the floor rumble before feeling gravity lowering them both.

  "FINALLY A REAL FIGHT! I WAITED SO LONG FOR SOMETHING NEW!" She said before laughing hysterically as they started falling through the floor.

  Their weight made them fall through into the catacombs, and then soon underneath ?to what used to be the frozen Calvary's hideout, turned into a black sea with ice chunks. The RiftKing was drowning, and with one final heave, Freya pulled out its heart and swam away, watching it fall to the abyss. Looking for the exit, the only things lighting her way were Akrelus and her cape. She found what seemed like the stairs to the catacombs and swam up them. Before she ran out of breath, she reached the top of the staircase and gasped; her face looked as blue as a blueberry as she crawled her way onto solid ground.

  When she finally gathered enough strength to stand, Akrelus turned back into a staff, and the heart fell on the floor. Freya looked down and stomped on it before putting her hand on her head to feel the crown still there, and chuckled.

  "Alright, Dove, I'm coming back." She said before lifting her foot and pointing her finger like a gun at the smashed organ, igniting it with a laugh.

  /// pov: Charlotte September 16, 1087, Ruined Castle of Kazfels Throne room.

  Charlotte drew her sword and climbed back up the stairs to see a giant hole in the center leading down into the castle. She looked for any sign of Freya; "She... No, don't think that now, Charlotte, you have to do your part."

  She looked up to see the Rift rumbling in place, sucking in the yellow orbs, expanding itself even further. She rummaged in Freya's bag, taking out a leaking mana potion to regain strength. Before she could take another sip, she felt Equila get colder, creating a jagged ice path and a platform for her to reach the center of the room. Charlotte took a long breath before taking the first step. The yellow orbs swirled around her as if they were trying to protect her from being detected until she was standing underneath the Rift on the platform.

  She closed her eyes, pointing Equila up at the Rift, and started quoting the incantation, "Oh ancient one, father to the deity, I, the daughter of Equila, will repeal the plague cast on our earth, to heal everyone's soul."

  Charlotte felt a ?stiff wind come up from underneath her as a golden summoning circle appeared. The room brightened up as an icy hurricane slowly started engulfing the two inside. The hurricane picked her up from the ground, floating her closer to the rift. She watched as the ice formed over it, slowly freezing over its surface, before hints of cracking showed. Equila shook in Charlotte's grasp as a blue beam channeled through the sword, piercing straight through the rift, causing it to envelop ?itself. Disappearing to wherever it came from. The ice hurricane slowly died down, lowering her carefully to the ground. She couldn't stop looking at the empty spot where the rift once was, amazed, stuck in the same pose. She then heard a voice snapping her out of the moment: "Dove, I'm so sorry."

  Charlotte turned around to see Freya standing hunched over with the crown on her head, with a frantic smile.

  She then stood up straight and placed her left hand on her head as she clenched Akrelus in her right. "I will fix it, I will fix it, I will not shoot..." Freye stammered frantically before collapsing onto the ice bridge

  Charlotte immediately ran over, rushing to her side. She tried touching the crown only to burn herself, seeing that it melted onto her head. She looked up at the ceiling as the first sunray pierced through the holes of the broken stained glass windows, causing the ooze to evaporate as if it had never been there to begin with.

  "Sorry, Equila, but I need to save her. Even if that means we might go blind together." She whispered before freezing up her hands, grabbing the crown and pulling with all her might, until it finally broke off.

  // pov: Nicholas ???????????????????

  Nicholas watched over an unconscious Freya on a hospital bed, listening to their father talk to three different adults: the doctor, the royal arcanist, and a guard.

  "It was strange! In all my years of just standing there, that was disturbing. His majesty was playing with her as always, and when he put the crown on her head, it was like she lost her mind." The guard said, reenacting the crown being placed on her head.

  The Arcanist glanced over at Freya. "The Royal Crown was made during the golden hunt. Where the people believed, those with the golden blood running through their veins had protection. Also from what I know, the crown is one of three keys used to open the Tower of the Ancients," he said, stroking his beard.

  Mr. Guistiza looked at Nicholas. "Boy, are you sure that's all that happened? The Crown fell off, and she went unconscious?" he asked with a stern tone.

  Nicholas nodded, not looking at them.

  "Well, I can cut off the wings, or I can trim them into a shape that wouldn't get in her way in the future. They look like they will continue to grow on her, though no matter what." The doctor said, flipping through a clipboard.

  "It's your call, Head Knight." The doctor called out to the distracted man watching his child in pain.

  "Clip them; they are a part of her now, and I want her to be proud of that, but while remembering that she has to be careful. Nicolas, let's leave the doctor to his work," he said before turning away out the door.

  Nicolas patted Freya on the arm, trying to comfort her; "It's okay, sissy. I promised Mamma I would take care of you. I think your wings are pretty," he said, getting off the chair.

  "Nicholas," Freya faintly whispered, stopping him.

  All four adults looked over, shocked.

  Nicholas turned around back towards the bed and tried hugging her over her giant wings. "Yeah, I'm right here," he responded.

  Freya mumbled something only he could hear, causing his eyes to swell with tears. Before he could respond, his dad grabbed him by the arm, dragging him out of the room.

  "Nicholas, I promised Mama I would protect you, too," Freya whispered to him.