The pillow beneath Reine's head feels warm against her skin as she buries her face into it, wishing to numb her senses into oblivion for a little longer, but the light of the sun is shining too brightly into her room and she knows she can't hide from the day forever.

Sighing, Reine lets her eyelids flutter open, groaning slightly as her head pounds in time with her heartbeat, and she knows it is from the abundance of crying and the lack of food and water. Before she can even get her bearings, she feels two cool fingers press against her temple, and the pain slowly ebbs as though it is being pulled right from her.

As her eyes focus, she sees Namjoon kneeling beside the bed, staring at her with concentration as his fingers press lightly against her temple.

"Better?" he asks, pulling his hand away.

Reine nods. "Thank you."

Without another word, Namjoon stands and walks out of Reine's vision, which is quickly filled by Hoseok instead as he kneels on the floor next to her bed.

"How do you feel?" he asks.

Reine thinks about it. She feels the stiffness in her body from sleeping for so long, her stomach crying for food and her throat drier than the desert of Chaleuse.

Though Namjoon took the pain of her headache away, everywhere else still hurts.

Especially her heart.

"Fine," Reine says, slowly sitting and trying to bring life back into her body. "Leave so I can get ready for the day. Please."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Hoseok says, bowing deeply as Namjoon tilts his head forward in respect. Jungkook walks to Reine, biting his lip as he sends the other two Archangels a look before turning his attention to the Queen as she stands from the bed.

"We will be right outside," Jungkook says, sending Reine a small smile before bowing and leaving with the other two to let her be alone.

As much as she wishes to spend the entirety of the day curled in a ball in her bed, she knows she needs to bathe, get dressed and get some food and water in her system so she can properly focus on today's task: finding out where the weapon is that can put the Horsemen back into their boxes.

Reine moves quickly, drawing herself a bath and cleaning herself, trying to ignore the scars on her body from her journey in the outer regions. After she can't stand the thought of being able to see them anymore, she gets out of her tub and dries off, wrapping her robe around her body as she moves to her wardrobe.

She stares at the collection of beautiful dresses before her, her skin crawling at the thought of having to dress up again. She pulls at the fabrics within her wardrobe, searching for the most casual, plain dress she can find so she won't feel like a complete liar wearing a dress made for a Queen.

After rummaging through the dresses, Reine finds a white, simple lace dress with bell sleeves and a floor-length skirt with no accents of gold or flowers like she is used to.

She knows it won't get much better than this. She used to wear this when she would be confined to her room when the most important meetings would take place in the throne room. She would allow herself to be comfortable in her own safe space while trying not to worry about what could be said in the meetings she was not allowed to go to.

These meetings were different than the ones her father would hold in the library; the library meetings would be held in a more casual setting, and Reine could get away with eavesdropping as it usually involved close allies to her father.

The throne room meetings - the ones she was barred from - usually involved members of faraway royal courts and potential allies - or potential threats, depending on how the meetings went.

So today, she will wear this dress and pretend the world isn't crumbling around her for a moment.

After slipping the dress on, Reine pulls half of her hair and pins it, leaving the rest to hang loosely around her shoulders as it dries.

As she has slipped on her white heels, her bedroom door opens and Reine straightens, ready to scold whichever Archangel deemed it appropriate to enter her room when they all knew she was bathing and changing her clothes.

She stops short, however, when she sees the kind eyes of Genevieve peering into the room, a tray of food and a glass of water in her hands as the Archangels surround her, Hoseok opening the door for her to enter the room with Namjoon and Jungkook walking in behind the two.

Hoseok closes the door behind him as Genevieve sets the tray on Reine's bed and turns to her, bowing deeply.

"Your Majesty, I am so happy to see you back home safe," she says. "I brought breakfast for you."

Reine finds herself moving forward, and suddenly, she is wrapping her arms around Genevieve, her head resting against the elderly woman's shoulder.

Reine doesn't have much in terms of people she can trust; her parents and her best friend were all taken from her, and the three men she had opened herself to had betrayed her.

But the first face she saw when she woke after being brought to her room on the day of her coronation was Genevieve. She was always close to Reine's mother, but she was never anything less than kind to her as well.

She doesn't have much, but she still has her.

Reine pulls back, her lips tilting upwards. "I apologize for the informal behavior. I am happy to see you."

Genevieve smiles, the gentle wrinkles in her aging face deepening as she takes Reine's hands in hers.

"I am here as long as you are willing to have me, Your Majesty," Genevieve says, bowing again as she lets go of Reine's hands. "Please eat. Your companions here said you didn't eat or drink much yesterday."

Reine's stomach growls at the mention of food, and she clears her throat in embarrassment. "I will, Miss Genevieve. Please do not worry."

"You have not introduced your friends," Genevieve says, gesturing to the three men standing near the door of the bedroom.

Reine hums. "I met them on my travels. They are willing to help me find out who killed my parents and everyone else that day."

The three men share a look, and Genevieve lets out a small sigh.

"Please do not bury yourself beneath your burdens, Your Majesty," Genevieve says quietly, bowing again before moving to the door. "There are so many people who desperately need you to be above ground."

With that, Genevieve slips out of the room after sending the three men a polite smile.

Reine moves to the bed, sitting and pulling the tray over her lap, immediately digging in and not caring for her manners as she eats.

"Your Majesty," Hoseok speaks after a few minutes of awkward silence. "We should talk about your plan for vengeance."

Reine's eyes snap to him, who is watching her with a wary look in his eyes.

"This path you're on - the path of vengeance," he continues, "will lead you nowhere except the darkest corners of your mind. You will never truly find peace because finding the killers will not bring anyone back. If you spend your time and effort tracking down these people, you are neglecting those who need you to stand and fight for them. Do not fight for the dead when you need to fight for the living first. You saw the villagers out there. You saw how deprived they were of basic human needs. Those people should be your priority, Your Highness."

Reine takes one last sip of her water before she stands, moving to smooth out the wrinkles in her skirt and turning to face the three men in front of her.

"A group of people invaded my palace on my coronation day and killed everyone in the throne room in front of me while I lay covered in the blood of my parents. After they thought everyone - including me - was dead, they cheered in victory and promised a night filled with celebration. Somewhere along the way, Claire was murdered because she was running to see if I was okay. I woke hours later, bathed and told that every person I hold close to my heart is gone and I am meant to put on this crown and smile at my people while my heart has never felt heavier. You are expecting me to let go of that day - of that pain - and put a smile on my face to please everyone?"

Hoseok holds his hands up, shaking his head. "I meant-"

"My entire life, I was told to smile and wave," Reine interrupts, her hands trembling. "I had to be perfect in every way because I was taught the moment I show weakness, the people waiting for my downfall will cheer and smile as I plummet to the ground. I opened that box because for once, I was not able to stop myself from crumbling. I was not able to plaster a smile on my face and be the perfect doll I was created to be because someone took a hammer and shattered me. I saw that box and I saw an opportunity to piece myself back together in any way I could, because the people who used to glue me back together were killed earlier that day."

"Reine, we-" Jungkook says, but Reine glares at him, causing him to fall silent.

"I know they need me," Reine says, feeling even angrier when tears spring to her eyes. "I was raised my entire life to know that all of these people would be under my care when I ascended to the throne. What I was not prepared for was that I would lose everything else in the process. How am I supposed to be a positive light for my people when I don't even feel hope within myself anymore? How am I supposed to smile at my people when I know that there are people out there in my kingdom who are responsible for my pain?"

The three stay silent, letting Reine vent out her emotions as she paces back and forth in front of them, her heels clicking on the floor.

"Do you honestly think I do not know of my responsibilities?" Reine snaps, glaring at them for a moment as she forces her tears back. She stops pacing, her back facing them as she stares at the crown she is meant to wear.

"I have never been more aware of what I should be doing," Reine says, her voice quiet. "But all I can think of is their joyful laughter as the life left my father and mother's eyes. All I can think of is Claire laying on the floor, alone and in pain as she reaches for me."

She turns to them, angrily wiping a tear falling onto her cheek. "I can't let go of this pain. I can't let go of the anger. I can't let them get away."

"And your people?" Namjoon speaks. "Do you expect them to continuously starve to death while you chase your personal vendettas?"

"Why can I not do both?" Reine yells, and she can see the shock on Hoseok and Jungkook's faces while Namjoon remains calm. "Why do I have to choose? Why am I not allowed to want something for myself? Why am I not allowed to be a human with feelings? I can send people to the village with food. I can send doctors to heal the wounded. You know what else I can do? Search for this weapon and put a stop to the Horsemen before they kill me and wreak havoc on the entire planet. I can also keep searching for who killed my people. Everyone is acting as if I need to choose one and let go of the other choices. I should not have to let go of what I want for myself when I cannot be the Queen I am meant to be until that burden lifts from my heart."

"How do you know you can accomplish everything at once?" Hoseok asks. "Reine, we know your heart wants what is best for everyone. We have never doubted that. But the darkness has clouded your mind and skewed your priorities. You cannot do all of that; it is too much for one person to bear. Sometimes, it is better to let go of the pain instead of living in it."

Reine shakes her head, tears clouding her vision. "You do not understand. Nobody ever understands me. I am a puppet to everyone - including all of you. You are only here because my life is the anchor to this curse. You are only here to keep that curse intact, not because you were genuinely worried about me. The Horsemen played a smart game, taking time to make me feel cared for and even loved, but even that was a ploy to use me to free the others and gain information from my mind. Not even my people believe in me; a rebel group came with the intention to murder me without even giving me a chance to prove that I was always focused on bringing this kingdom back into the light. Everyone is expecting the world of me, expecting me to do these great things while simultaneously watching and waiting until my inevitable fall when I try to live to these expectations. They ask me to give everything, and when I do, they say it is not enough."

She wipes the tears from her cheeks, her face flushed as she moves closer to the three, who are watching her with an array of emotions on their faces - from disappointment to pity. "No matter what I do - no matter what I choose - I am letting everyone down because no matter how hard I try, I am not who everyone needs me to be."

Reine turns and walks toward the door of her bedroom, hearing the three whispering to each other as they try to think of what to say to her.

"Would you all please leave? I need to be alone," Reine says. "I am too exhausted to keep pretending to be what you all need."

"Reine," Hoseok says quietly, and she can hear his timid footsteps approaching her from behind.

Reine slowly turns, her eyes moving to look at his somber gaze.

Almost as if she doesn't realize what she's doing, her hand comes and presses against Hoseok's cheek, her touch firm as she stares at him with watery eyes.

His own eyes widen in shock as his mouth opens to say something, but instead Reine speaks.

"Malvenu," she whispers, and Hoseok's body erupts in a golden ray of light for a few moments.

When the light fades, he is nowhere in sight while Jungkook and Namjoon look shocked.

Reine blinks a few times, more tears replacing the dried ones on her cheeks. "Where did Hoseok go?"

"How did you know to do that?" Jungkook asks, his shock resonating in his tone as well as his apprehensive gaze.

"Do what?" Reine snaps, frowning in confusion.

"You banished him back to our home," Jungkook explains. "That word, when spoken by a human to an angel, sends the angel back to Heaven. It is how we ensure the angels do not have too much power over the humans."

Reine shakes her head. "How in the world would I know how to do something like that? I only recently became aware of your existence."

Jungkook frowns, looking at the floor as he rubs the back of his neck. "He will return, but it will take some time."

"I did not ask," Reine snaps, hiding her own confusion at how she knew how to do that. "I asked you to leave me alone, and now I am insisting."

Reine walks out of her bedroom, slamming the door shut as she walks down the hallway. She has no idea how she knew what to do in that moment, but all she could feel was her anger reaching her breaking point yet again, and she suddenly knew what she needed to do.

Reine takes a long, steadying breath as she wanders around the palace, not paying attention to where she is going.

She needs to go somewhere that she can feel safe and protected - for one moment - so she can gather her thoughts and try to make sense of her catastrophe of emotions swirling inside her mind.

There are so many things she has to do. There are so many things she needs to be, and the more pressure is applied to her, the more convinced she becomes that she will not survive this.

Reine halts when she sees herself standing in front of a door, and her breath stops in her chest when she realizes where she walked to while lost in her thoughts.

Her parents' bedroom.

The last time she was in this room, she laid her head in her mother's lap while she ran her fingers through Reine's hair, comforting her worries of her coronation day that was to take place in a number of days.

Reine doesn't know if she should go in; she doesn't know if she is even allowed to be in there anymore. It was never her room, and she feels she would be invading her parents' privacy if she were to go in there without them present.

On the other hand, Reine's chest aches at the thought of laying in her parents' bed, being surrounded by their familiar scent while she tries to make sense of the mess in her mind.

Maybe, even if they are no longer here, Reine can still find a way to make it feel like they are here with her, comforting her through her struggles as they used to.

Reine takes a deep breath, making the decision as her hand wraps around the knob to open the door.