*Princess Tara in her cell*

I pulled my matted hair away from my face, my eyes widening in excitement as the footsteps in the dark hallway outside my cell grew closer. There was only one person who visited the dungeons this late.

However, I was filled with disappointment when a figure dressed in the telltale blue Ice Guard uniform turned the corner. I tensed up, preparing to be beaten, but quickly relaxed when I realized this was the Ice Guard. The one who was secretly a Flame.

"Good evening, Princess," he said softly. "Your Highness? Are you alright?" He added when I didn't respond.

"Yes, I'm fine," I sighed. "Sorry, people just don't call me that anymore. I'm not really used to it."

"What else would you call a daughter of the Queen?" The Ice Guard crouched in front of my cell, a glint in his eye.

"Traitor, wretch, human lover...and worse things," I laughed dryly.

"It's not fair, what you have to go through," the Ice Guard sighed. "My grandparents once told me that people used to call you the Princess of Light and Life, and they'd say you left a trail of smiles wherever you went."

"If this is another lame attempt to get me to apologize to the Council, it's not going to work," I rolled my eyes.

"It's not," the Ice Guard shook his head. "I just wanted to tell you that Thorel became Warrior Chief yesterday, since Holly's too young. You probably won't ever see him again."

"What did my mother do to him?" I hissed.

"Nothing," the Ice Guard chuckled. "He left for his mission last night, and members of the Myers family kind of have a habit of dying on Royal missions..."

"Don't say that," I shook my head. "Thorel is very resourceful, he'll find a way to get back. I know he will."

"I'm not saying he's going to die, I'm just saying that it's a possibility," the Ice Guard sighed.

"Hey, be quiet in there, Ralph!" Another Ice Guard barked from his post across the hall. "I'm trying to watch Auraview here!"

"Perhaps you've had a bit too much halfie juice, Burt," the Flame spy- Ralph- smirked, standing up. "The only Aurascreen in this place is two floors up, and the Captains are always hogging it."

"Come on, I only had, like, two mugfuls," Burt protested.

"Are you talking about your 3012 Warmatch World Championships souvenir mug from a few years ago? That thing's bigger than Queen Saralee's throne!" Ralph's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Goodbye, Princess, I gotta go get that dude home," he shrugged. "Captain'll kill him if he finds him like that."

"Bye," I said weakly, crawling back to the corner of my cell and fidgeting nervously with my rusty shackles.

I shook my head as salty tears began to drip down my bruised face and onto my tattered dress.

You're such an idiot, Tara. You've fallen right into her trap. She can't make you cry by beating you or torturing you, but she can make you cry by sending Thorel on a dangerous mission.

However, beneath the stony later I had developed around my heart, I knew that my tears were justifiable. She had just hurt me in the most horrific way possible. She gave me what my heart needed, and then tore it away.

"I heard that Thorel was sent away to Earth to complete a mission he'll probably die on," a familiar honeyed voice mused. "I'm so sorry, Tara. I know how much he means to you."

I looked up to see my mom with her hands on her hips, staring coolly down at me. This was strange, she usually sent Ice Guards to get me when she wanted to see me. She never came down to the dungeons herself.

"Get lost," I spat, looking away.

"That's no way to talk to your mother," Queen Saralee clucked disapprovingly.

"I think it's excusable when my mother is you."

"I love you very much, Tara," she looked down at the floor. The diamonds on her belt glinted as she shifted her weight.

"Well, you sure have a strange way of showing it," I lifted up my chained arms.

"You don't get it, do you?" The Queen shook her head. "I'm just trying to make you perfect. Different people need different things to get to that state of total completion. For some, a vial of Iceheart Serum is enough. Others need eight years in the dungeon."

"So you were planning to leave me here for eight years no matter what? But what about all that stuff about releasing me if I apologized to you and your Icehearts? Was that a lie too?" I gave her a hateful look. 

"No," she shook her head. "I'm not just demanding your subservience for the sake of my ego, even though I know that's what you think." 

"Then why take the trouble to do all this?" I gestured to the dank cell walls around me.

"Because, Tara, you're just like I was before I became Queen," Queen Saralee sighed. "Your heart is too pure to be frozen using conventional means. People like us need trauma to Turn, and you and I both know that Thorel was the last straw. Someday soon, you will apologize to the Council, and on that day, I will know that your Turning is complete. Until then, have fun!" She chirped, walking briskly away with a flourish of her gossamer cape. 

I couldn't have been more thankful that I didn't take Ralph's advice. My mother had no intention of freeing me, even if I apologized to her. She'd just make me her slave instead of her prisoner. 

Oh, Vivi, where are you when we need you the most? 

As I stared emotionlessly at the thick grate above my head, I uttered a silent prayer. 

Oh Lumys, Keeper of the Moons and ruler of the night, it is true that the people of this Empire have made many terrible mistakes in recent years. If you have it in your heart to forgive us, I ask nothing for myself. It's alright if I have to stay in here for eight more years, and die here, even. Just please help Thorel and my sister find each other, and protect them. 

Looking out the barred window into the Royal garden, I could've sworn I saw both moons glow a bit brighter for a second, as if in acknowledgement.