Chapter 2: Zusher Rhakheir/Windsor

Windsor stared out the window, his thoughts drifting with the comings and goings of the tides. He sighed in boredom, the sea looking ever so peaceful and ever so uneventful. His frills drooped,  white hair floating about his head. Brushing back the longer strands, he sometimes forgot that his horns were spiraling out of his head, and often got spooked by them. He saw a group of small guppies pass by the windows, which were coated in algae from over a few years of buildup. He smiled, silently thanking the gods above that their waters were the cleanest thing in the ocean. But his smile disappeared when he saw a large dark mass appear in the distance. He raised his head and narrowed his eyes, watching it grow larger to reveal the head of a massive tiger shark. Windsor raised a brow as he watched the beast charge closer and closer. The guppies scattered to evade the shark ramming it's head into the window.

Windsor smiled, staring at the creature with half lidded eyes, "You're not gonna get me that easily, Serena." He crossed his arms. The creature seemed to be smiling, as if amused that it had been found out. It began to spin in a circle, it's features changing drastically so, that one wouldn't have thought that she was a shark at all. She took the shape of a mermaid, her black and white skin shining in the sunlight as placed her hands on the glass.

  This was his best friend, Janavel Jashid.

Or more commonly known as Princess Serena of the Articus Region.

  It had taken this light blue-haired, yellow eyed beauty six weeks to make it to the Oceani, and it had all been worth the wait.

Not to say he had a bit of a crush on her, but they've known each other since the day they were born into the royal family. It's not every day that you get to grow up with a princess. He had begun to feel a certain fondness for her over the past couple of years, though it wasn't it any romantic interest.

  That is to say, they did grow up together, but they had to be separated because of the relations between their kingdoms.

"Just because you and Serena get along doesn't mean that our kingdoms do, my son. I wish it could be that way, but it's not that easy." His father had said, trying to explain to a crying and confused five-year-old Windsor.

  But here she was now, smiling at him from outside the window, obviously trying not to laugh, but failing.

Making sure that no one could see them, he glanced both ways before opening the window.

  She swam inside, making sure not to disturb the books that Windsor was 'reading.'

"You know you're not supposed to be in here." He said, closing the window, "You know that you'd be bored without me here." She retorted, sliding the book her way, "So, this is what you're 'studying'?" She asked, making sure to mark his spot before flipping through pages.

  Windsor nodded, laying his head down on the desk, "Lords and Invaders: The Founders of the Continents. Written however many years ago, with no author or family tree to date back to." Serena made a noise, one that either meant she was listening or phasing in and out of the conversation. "You've read this before though." She gave the book back, "Mother says that repetition is the key to success. So I have to memorize this if I want to be a good king." His reptilian-like tail hit against the side of his foot.

  "All I'm hearing is that your mom has a trident up her-" "Serena-!" "You know I'm right." She shrugged, "His Majesty barely knows anything about the ancient laws and culture, and look how he's doing." Windsor sighed, "You're just saying that because you finished your classes earlier than me." Seeing as how her kingdom was completely different in culture-and temperature-of course her classes would be different.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Look, all I'm saying is that, in the end," she tapped on the page that he was on, "this stuff won't matter. No one's going to be alive long enough to uphold the traditions."

'The whole point of traditions is to pass them on, and uphold them.' He wasn't sure why he felt so frustrated, but he knew it wasn't because of her.

  "You may not care, but I do."

Serena was silent for a moment, "I never said anything about not caring, Windsor."

  "Our whole world is built upon these books."

He looked at her with a gaze that she didn't recognize, "For you to say that..." he just barely shook his head, "you've basically given up on your kingdom." Serena widened her eyes, then looked angry, and then looked guilty.

  "I-I didn't mean anything by it. I just meant... that's the reality. I'm not saying it will happen but it could and I-" "I have to study." He went back to burying his face into his book, trying to ignore the aching feeling in his chest.

"Windsor, I-" "The guards will be making their rounds here soon. If you don't want to get caught, I'd suggest you take your leave." 'Stop it...' he could see from the corner of his vision that she was still there, but then she disappeared, and he felt the push of water against his side, along with the small sounds of a crying girl. He gripped his book tighter, swallowing the lump in his throat.

'Come back...! Please...! I didn't mean it...!' "Dammit..." he dropped his book and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Why am I so stupid...?" He asked himself. A king shouldn't make his subjects cry, especially Serena, a his best friend of all people. He gazed out the window, hoping to find consolation in the sea.

But he only saw a glowing white light, making him feel even worse. 'Just the sea saying what an idiot you are...' but upon further inspection, he realized that-as he blinked-the light didn't leave. He thought it was just because of the sun reflecting off the surface of the sea, but it wasn't. The light was there still, taunting him, it confused him as well as spiked his curiosity.

'Stupid bugs...'

He thought he must have been hearing things. What in the world were bugs? He'd never heard that strange word before.

  The light began to grow brighter, but his eyes didn't sting. However he closed his eyes tight, and prayed that nothing would happen.

But something did happen. Something unexplainable, something extraordinary, something that not even he could recall from all the books he's read. One minute, he was feeling things that wanted to make him hide under a rock forever, now he wanted to get out of that rock, and explore whatever place this was.

  Unlike the elaborate and decorative ocean blue walls of the castle, these walls were brown. Unlike the dark waters of the deep, it was bright and fluorescent. "Stupid bugs..." that word again. "Bugs..." he repeated. Looking around the room, he saw a mirror, clothes that were hung, and a girl about his age that was buttoning up her shirt. Feeling embarrassed for having peeked upon a her, he turned.

Thankfully her back was facing towards him, but he still felt so indecent. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-" "Clement! It's time to go!" She yelled, "Yes, ma'am!" Came a reply.

  He furrowed his brow, had she not heard him? "Um... I'm sorry?" He said again, but the last thing he saw when he turned was the cream-colored feathers of a creature exiting through a curtain of something that looked like dead kelp, but he knew they were alive. He decided to follow the girl, eager to explore more of this strange place. He wasn't sure why.

He had no intention of peeking upon her again, that was for certain. But all his thoughts left him when he gazed at the beautiful scenery that only he thought existed in dreams. Everything was so... bright. The winged girl was fixing her bangs, trimming them it looked like. He stepped closer, curious to look at her face for the first time.

  He sucked in a breath when he took her in. Her eyes were the most blood-red thing he had ever seen. He wasn't sure if he had even seen the color red before, and if he did, he couldn't remember.

He was fascinated.

  A pair of bright rubies seemed to be embedded into this creatures face.

That might have been an exaggeration, but it just felt right. It wasn't until her wings opened and closed twice that he finally noticed the extra appendages. 'So are these what the creatures of the surface look like?'

He reached forward. "Can you... hear me?" He asked. It was a stupid question, but he couldn't help it, he just had to know. He placed his hand on the ridge where feather-met-skin, surprised to find that he could just barely feel the soft downy feathers of her wings. Almost on cue, she paused all her movements, and remained still. He could see-as much as feel-the sinew and muscles tense up beneath her feathers. It was the strangest thing. He looked at her eyes again. 'I wonder how many stars they've seen...' he'd only heard of the word 'stars' in the ancient archives of books he owned. His heart rate began to rise when she looked at him, her gaze piercing through him. Striking, alert, and cautious. He swallowed, "H-Hello there..."

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Haven felt a pair of eyes watching her from where she stood, but she saw no one there.

  Her mind must not have been fully awake yet. She felt as if someone was trying to reach her, but the only one here was Clement.

"..."

  "Clement!" She called, a strange feeling beginning to form in her chest. He should've been back by now.

She let out a trill of frustration.

  A cold wind brushed by her shoulder.

"Clement-!" "Wait-!"

Haven whipped her head around, tense.

For the faintest of moments, someone was in her home, and they definitely were not from the village. She had confirmed that already. "Are you okay, bird brain?" Clement spoke from behind her, "I got the berries you asked for oh so nicely." He joked. But Haven wasn't laughing, she glanced once or twice behind her before grabbing Clement's hand, "Let's go." He nodded. Now, the way she could enter and exit in and out of her home was through a large hole that had been there for a long while now due to bugs an other things knowing away at the tree. The two stood side-by-side, "Remember your lesson?" She asked, "Don't look down, only forward." Clement said, his voice cracking. Haven smiled, "You go on ahead, I'll catch up." With a deep breath, she slowly let go of his hand, and let the weight of her body drag her down to earth. Closing her eyes, she felt the wind whip against her face, the blood rushing to her ears as her heart rate began to elevate as she neared the canopy.

  Instinct took over, it always did. She created an updraft of air with the very force of her wings, propelling herself upward in an aggressive spiral, she let out a cry, laughing to herself as the wind tickled her hands. Twisting her body downwards, she shot off East: to Central Caeli.

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  Windsor felt his whole body and soul crash into what seemed like a bottomless pit. This took place right after the surface creature had left him standing there. She hadn't seen him.

"Wait-!" The moment he lost contact with her, he had fallen through the floor. The cold air engulfed him, draining every single feeling from his body. For a moment, he panicked, thinking that he would freeze to death. Whispers from unfamiliar voices filled his ears, steadily growing into overlapping discussion.

The noise eventually became so loud that he was forced to cover his ears, it did little to help. The sheer volume of the voices caused something to strike him. He didn't know why, he didn't know where, he didn't know how, but something was different. He scrunched his eyes tight, trying to force the bile down that was threatening to spew. Against his own volition, he opened them, and the scenery changed. 'Why is this happening...?' He wondered, genuinely confused. Who wouldn't be?

A large broken statue of what appeared to once be a dragon-like creature-in an overcast woods-marked the entrance to a dungeon. Beyond the broken statue lay a scanty, ragged room. It was covered in cobwebs, creatures of an ugly grey color, pointy noses, and a scaly long tail-which appeared to be long dead-and broken pottery. Windsor flinched as he saw a shadowed figure walked by, followed by three more individuals holding a torch, although they held it in the opposing hand, so he couldn't see their faces. Even so, the light allowed him to see remnants of even more, smaller, statues-long lost and eaten by time itself.

  He decided to follow them, though it's not like he had much of a choice. His legs were moving of their own accord, being dragged-it felt like. He wasn't sure if they would be able to hear him like the surface creature, but he didn't really feel like trying this time. He would observe this round. As he continued ahead, he listened for their footsteps, hearing the crunching of dirt and of something being kicked gently away from their path. When the footfalls stopped, he stopped with them, noticing that further ahead were three passageways. Windsor's ears instinctively twitched, trying to pick up any sound, but all was silent apart from the wind blowing through the tunnels. They took the lefter side of the tunnels, but he took the right. Leaving the middle untouched, he prayed for his safety.

He prayed for the other four of course, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they were going to be just fine.

The paths' twisted trail led past rooms that were worn down from years and years of age.

Maybe past lost treasures, even more unknown rooms and armories, but he soon entered an more ragged area. As he looked inside, Windsor discovered that there were several braziers scattered around, somehow they were still burning, or starting to burn again. 'What happened in this place?' Ignoring the growing suspicion, he treaded onwards, deeper into the dungeon's expanse. He passed various passages, most of them leading to nowhere or back to the same path. For a while, it started to become steadily annoying when he realized that he had gone in circles for the majority of the walk. But throughout these walks, he started to wonder what was going on back at home. How long had it been? Was this all just a dream? A nightmare? Hallucination?

He eventually made it to what appeared to be the final room, a large metal door blocking the path beyond. He lifted his hand, dragging the tips of his fingers across the lock, tempted to hook one of his sharp nails to see if it would do anything. In the dim light provided by torches, he realized his skin looked more mulberry-a violet colored tone-rather than a rich blue color. Was this because he was above water? No, he wasn't even sure he was still in the water. He looked along the rim of the metallic door, and narrowed his eyes.

  Ominous symbols covered the rusted skin of the doors frame, somehow remaining untouched by the elements of this dark place. Windsor took a step back, realization suddenly dawning. 'It's written in Diatryxt...' the language of the Ancients, back when the world was just beginning. But... you couldn't find anything like this in some old dungeon... you'd have to be one insanely lucky person to stumble upon this. Although, he was in a dream. This made his spirit sink through the floor. 'Dreams are for children...' his mother had said. "'Don't let your mind be fooled by stupid delusions of imagination.'" But he couldn't help it. He didn't care. He gazed upon the scripture, trying to translate what he could. "To open... the runes must gather... Corruption...?" That last part scared him a little bit. What was Corruption?

Again, another word that left him stumped. He would worry about his vocabulistics later. He was more concerned about the Diatryxt writing on the door. He suddenly felt claustrophobic, the long hallway suddenly seemed so much smaller than he remembered.

  He began to panic. Why did these simple words have such an effect on him? This was just a dream, wasn't it? Why did it feel so real? His heart started to race when the words started to glow a light blue. Suddenly, the door began to shake violently. Something was trying to escape. He didn't pay attention to the footsteps behind him.

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Windsor reared back, falling out of his chair. He was back underwater. He sucked in a deep breath, hyperventilating a bit. 'I'm... back...?' His head felt light, but his body felt heavy. The whole ordeal had taken a lot out of him, more emotionally than mentally.

If anything, he wanted to go back to sleep, but was afraid to be thrown back into another whirlwind of confusion. He wasn't even sure if he had fallen asleep at all, maybe he was teleported somewhere? Unlikely. The bird-girl would've been able to see him, and that was ruled out the moment he had tried speaking to her. And then there was the voices he had heard when he was falling.

  It might have just been his mind staying half-asleep, but he could have sworn that the bird-girls voice was among the cluster. The more he thought about it, the more clearly he could hear her. '...War...' he furrowed his brow. "War...?" He repeated aloud, knowing he wouldn't need an explanation for what that word meant. The frustration and fear was building up again, not exactly helping him. After that, the day went on in a series of events that left him feeling even worse. Firstly, Serena wouldn't talk to him at all. She only glanced at him once, maybe twice, and went to the opposite side of whatever hallway or room they were in. However, his mind kept drifting to the Diatryxt writings. During his study sessions, he had only managed to learn a few sentences in the old language, but he just couldn't really get behind it, so he gave up. Now he realized just how much he wished to go back and pursue the old language. He passed butlers and maids, all who bowed in respect for the young prince, he paid them no mind, but returned their respects with a simple hello. He made a couple of blind turns, not realizing that he was near the front gates of the castle. He looked up, hoping in the far reaches of his mind he'd see a shadow with great wings.

  "Sire!" A voice boomed. Windsor veered back, wrenching his hand from the gates. Two guards dressed in royal attire swam towards him, "You know you're not sssupposed to be out here." The first one spoke with a warning his, his snake-eyes being the only thing visible through his helmet. It was meant to be threatening, but he knew these two well. They were twins-brothers-and they were the only soldiers he knew that had ever come close to being like friends. The first ones name was Zino, his brother was River, who seldom spoke. "Hello to you too, Zino." Windsor smiled, looking back at the gates. "The Queen iss assking for you." He continued, "Sshe hass important matterss to disscuss."

  Windsor sighed lightly, watching a small pod of dolphins pass by. When he didn't respond, Zino added, "If you wissh, your highnessss, I can report you aren't feeling well." Windsor chuckled lightly. His Mother would always summon him for trivial things, things that didn't need his attention whatsoever, the color of the gardens fence, what type of jewelry she should wear, the list could go on.

He remembered fondly how, when he was younger, that Zino would make up an excuse for him to not be there, even when he never asked, he would do it when he felt necessary.

  "No. That's okay." He faced them. "Did she say why?" Zino shook his head. "What goess on between the royal family iss none of my businesss." Windsor cleated his throat. "Right then." He nodded, "It's besst you go now." Windsor swam between the brothers, his mind-again-becoming preoccupied with all that had happened.

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  His mother was the most terrifying and authoritative person he had ever known. Vibrant seaweed-green eyes, long braided hair, reaching down to the floor, but remained suspended in the water. White freckles dotted her prussian blue skin, like stars. Her tiara was more so a headpiece with a sapphire that belonged to her great-grandmother which she-of course-inherited. With every breath she drew, Windsor saw the gills on her neck open and close. 'She's nervous...' She was standing over a table, staring at a map of the kingdoms in the ocean.

They haven't spoken a word to each other in the past twenty minutes, which to Windsor, was like an achievement. He wasn't sure what she wanted, but he assumed that it had something to do with the map. Were they going somewhere? Did someone cross the border? "I've been wondering..." she said, her voice carrying a hint of an accent. "How have your studies been going?" Windsor kept in a sigh, "Going well, I suppose."

  He knew that was the first thing his mother would ask him. But usually it was like commanding a soldier to give a report. This sounded... genuinely curious, in a weird sort of way. "Good, good." This whole thing felt awkward.

"Why did you summon me?"

Her eyes went to him, then back to the map. "Is it strange for your mother to ask for her sons company?" Windsor ground his teeth, "Only because you never do." He noticed her hands had balled into fists, "Something's wrong, is that it?" He heard her sigh shakily. "Articus is instigating a war against us." Windsor widened his eyes.

"Mother I..."

"Don't apologize." She faced him, something close to a small smile was dancing on her face, "I know that I only bring you here for small things, but-" "You've been shielding this from me. Distracting what's been going on between our kingdoms." She nodded, "I wasn't sure if this was something you wanted to get involved in." Windsor felt a little bad now. "Is this why you've been pushing me to waste the day inside, studying?" She let out a rueful laugh, "Partly yes, but I do want you to retain all the information you can when you become king." 'But I don't want to be king.' This was the one sentence he was so damn tired of hearing. Out of all his older siblings, why him?

"Speaking of which, I've been thinking of pushing them back for a while." Windsor was almost tempted to ask, "What have you done with the Queen?" But he knew his mother wasn't one for comedy, so instead he said, "Really-?!" He almost shouted.

"Because I'm sending you away." He stopped dead. 'Sending me... away?' "What?" He said incredulously. "What is my name?" She asked randomly, taking off her tiara slowly. He furrowed his brow, confused, "Mother-" "I will not ask again." She said sternly, holding the tiara, which was also somehow a necklace, tightly in her hands.

"Mithra Rhakheir; Queen of Oceani." He said, still confused. She didn't say anything, just clipped the tiara-now necklace-around his throat. 'Speak with your mind.' "I hope you remind your children of that title." She smiled, returning to the map, "'Remember the forgotten, forget what you remember.' Doesn't make any sense I know, but it's in one of your textbooks somewhere." 'What is my name?' Windsor tried to calm his breathing, "Bocrarn Strongfist: an Autobiography." 'Collette.' Now he felt strangely nervous. 'The castle isn't safe.' "Ah, Strongfist was a strange one. His findings on the relics were indeed one for the history books. 'In seven days time, it will be destroyed.'

  He found it hard to remain calm. "Why are you...?" He asked hesitantly, unsure if he should've thought, rather than speak. "Diplomatic business. The trade routes between Caeli and us have been looking a little suspicious, lately. I want you to investigate them." 'Take the central route. A soldier will be monitoring the exchange.' "Have them take you to the border." Just get as far away from here as you can. You'll be on the run once you leave the ocean.'

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  "His bloodwork is normal, nothing out of the ordinary." The doctor said, his bird-like mask making his voice sound muffled. Haven nodded, nibbling on her thumb, "Did you-" "Yes, Ms. Highwillow, I double-checked and triple-checked the data, he's fine." Her unease wasn't settled. She only hummed.

"I just want to make sure, with all that's been happening in Herba." The doctors' voice carried his understanding, "I know. But neither of you have even been remotely close to them, so I wouldn't be too worried."

She stared at a peaceful-looking Clement, knocked out from anesthesia, from the waiting room. Wires and tubes connecting from in, and outside of him. She loathed the sight of it, but she felt it necessary to make sure he didn't become one of them. The Infectus, is what they called them. Corrupt beings that were nothing but monsters.

  The infection had started in Ignis, striking down both the King and Queen.

  Both were powerful warriors who ruled in the land of fire. Ignis being the capital of their proud, ash-laden place of a Kingdom.

  Haven didn't know if they had any heirs, and she didn't really care. Outside of her own home, dangers were lurking, and-as she fiddled with the soldiers badge she had earned over a year ago-she had to protect Caeli. She wouldn't be able to focus if she was busy worrying about other Continents that had nothing to do with her. But she couldn't help it. As she waited for Clement to wake from his little nap, she began to ponder. Something was coming, something big. She didn't know what, she didn't know when, but she was ready. She'd face it head on, and defend Caeli with her life.

Haven knew she was thinking too much. Today was her day. He made it kind of obvious, but Clement had something planned. He'd been more cheerful than normal, although that was just his personality. Only fifteen, and he carried enough enthusiasm for the both of them. "Still waiting for him to wake up?" A voice chimed in.

Tied brown hair swept over her shoulder, black jacket, striped shirt, gloves, and jeans. The typical Sunday outfit. Clements' sister, Rolmi Emberhelm, the oldest-and only-sibling to inherit their profit, which they had used to help Haven pay her rent while she lived in the Arbor Vivi. "Valerie." Haven smiled. "I thought it was my job to worry about him." She japed, pulling up a chair from a nearby table. "Oh, I didn't know that the position was already taken." Valerie huffed, a smile spreading on her face. She was about as tall as Haven, without any unique physical features to prove that she is from Caeli, other than you hands, which were more like claws that someone had dipped in permanent black ink, and her left eye being completely blotted out to a cloudy gray color, leaving only her-turquoise colored-right one.

Friends since childhood, her company alone got her through times in her life when she wasn't feeling so great.

"Mom wanted me to give you this." Valerie poked her arm with the corner of a small, neatly wrapped box with a blue ribbon tied to keep it closed. "Said not to open it until midnight." Haven took the box, turning it in her hands, "Why midnight?" Valerie shrugged, "Apparently that's the time you were born. 'Right on the dot,' she said." Haven nodded, placing the box in her lap. "Read the card." Valerie leaned backwards, the smile in her voice evident. Haven flipped the small card attached to the ribbon, reading; "'To my future daughter-in-law-'"she stopped there, "Oh my God..." Valerie let out a snort and started laughing, "B-Believe me... when I say that I told her not to write that." She chortled.

Haven couldn't help but smile anyway. "'Your mother wanted me to give you this when you were of age. I hope you feel her walk beside you everywhere you go. XOXO Madam Emberhelm.'" Haven's smile withered when she read the rest. Her heart hammered and her grip became taut. "So how is Mrs. Emberhelm?" She asked, trying to dispel the feelings that were beginning to swell. "You know you can just call her Freida, right?" Valerie stretched, letting out a yawn. "Right, um..." Haven drummed her fingers on the card, then swiftly and suddenly picked up her bags and left.

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  Twittering on the edge of sleep and being awake, Windsor remained still. Three days. Three full days of preparation and exhaustion since the warning his mother gave him. During that time, he had wasted away packing just one satchel, pouring hours upon hours of gathering necessities for his journey. Rations, books, maps, books, currency, and... more books. He had just turned away from the highest possible shelf in the castles library and gone around a corner when he rammed head-on into a passerby.

  Both being knocked down caused all the items Windsor had to float aimlessly to the seafloor, one book somehow managing to land almost carefully on his face. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't-" "I wasn't watching where I was going-" they both said at the same time. Windsor frantically began gathering the books he needed while continuing to apologize.

  "It's just that there's this thing that I have to do, and I can't miss it. It-It's really important, you must understand-" "Are you going on a quest of sorts?"

  He let out a small and anxious laugh, "Not exactly, I'm not supposed to say, but Mother's..." he stopped short when he grabbed the book that the stranger was passing to him. Only, she was no stranger, she was Serena.

  Her eyes held a quiet curiosity to them. They held no sadness, no anger, just pure curiosity.

  "So, you really are leaving." Her voice held a sad tone to it, but she kept her composure. Windsor wanted to speak but his voice was caught in his throat, his mouth trying to form words, but he couldn't find them. "You don't have to say anything, silly." She straightened herself, "I know why you're leaving."

  "You... You do?" he froze, his attention being driven to something floating beside him.

  A glowing white feather seemed to be coming towards him but it disappeared as soon as he blinked. "You've finally convinced Her Majesty to let you reach the surface." His eyes flickered back and forth between her and the feather that was no longer there. "Y-Yes..." his tail swished back and forth, giving away his nervousness. Serena suddenly grabbed him by the arm and help him up, then pulled him close. This surprised him, causing his cheeks to tint a light yellow. His grandfather was a shapeshifter, which made it possible to change his overall appearance. It just so happened that Windsor had inherited the bit that changed color. He found that this made absolutely no sense whatsoever but he's had to deal with it since day one.

Serena placed both her hands on either side of his face, turning it this way and that, seemingly inspecting him. "Mhm. Diagnosis: you need sleep little princey." Again, taking his arm, she led him down hallways of emptiness, passing maids and servants who smiled at the sight of the two royals hand in hand once more.

She was leading him to the royal gardens. Windsor still couldn't seem to get out anything. Now that she was here, he wanted to tell her everything that had transpired over time. He wanted to tell her of the winged creature he saw, the strange dungeon, how he had saw the color red for the first time.

"Serena I-" "Here!" She opened the glass framed door the reveal the lushness of the extraordinary flowers that had bloomed. Every time he saw it, it never ceased to take his breath away. Almost dragging him-if that were possible-to a nearby seabed of anemones, she sat down and smiled.

"I'm sorry."

Serena blinked. Windsor felt hole in his heart grow larger. 'Has she still not forgiven me?'

He couldn't blame her. He had acted out irrationally. "I-I've been wanting to say that for a while now, but I couldn't find it in myself to say it, I hope you can forgive me." He lowered his head. "Maybe if you sit your butt down and enjoy the view with me I'll consider it." Her smile was all he needed to see. Windsor tried to hold in a sigh of relief but it just turned into a weird hasty breath of sorts, making Serena laugh.

He joined her, settling on the soft bed and took in a relaxing breath. It was like a huge weight had been lifted from him, and he could finally be free. For once everything was perfect. It felt perfect. But it wasn't. In the far distance, his brain couldn't really register what was going on. An arrow had found itself lodged right in Serena's chest.