She was in a place she hoped never to see again. A large dressing room, with a great mirror and wardrobe. A tall woman with platinum blonde hair stood next to her, holding a measuring tape. She wore a white wedding dress that was too loose on her.

"You've become thinner since you were last fitted," Emanda commented, tightening the dress around her waist. Noelle did not reply, just stared sullenly outside of the window.

As soon as they returned to the castle, Adron ordered Emanda to take her to the dressing room and put on the wedding dress. He wanted to get married immediately, so the wedding would commence within a few hours.

She sat motionlessly as Emanda glided the makeup brush over her face. She let her put on lipstick, eyeshadow, mascara, highlighter, eyeliner, lip liner, foundation, contour... when she was finished Noelle did not even recognise herself. A completely different girl stared at her in the mirror.

Behind her, the door creaked open. Noelle did not bother to look, since she recognised the voice.

"King Adron says he wants his bride ready for the wedding in ten minutes," Lolita said. Noelle's heart burned at the sound of her voice, a raw reminder of her betrayal.

"Okay dear, she is almost ready," Emanda replied kindly to her daughter, motioning for Noelle to stand up and turn around. "Does she not look wonderful?"

Lolita would not meet her eyes. "She does, mother," she whispered quietly. As soon as the words left her mouth Lolita excused herself, closing the door behind her as her decreasing footsteps echoed down the hallway.

"Let me look at you again," Emanda commanded, spinning the girl around as she observed her with a critical eye. "I think you are good to go. Follow me."

Noelle made it her best effort to make her footsteps as tedious and slow as she could, hoping she could prolong the wedding in some way.

"Hurry up, worthless girl!" Emanda snarled, grabbing Noelle's arm and dragging her along like a rag-doll. She tried not to stumble as she was tossed down the hallway and into a small, white room, where two great black doors stood in front of her.

The flashbacks to the Forest of Nightmares were unreal. Suddenly, Noelle was reliving her worst nightmares. Behind those doors, rested her fate... her future. There was no going back. She would never see Valerie, her parents, her friends or anyone she knew in London ever again. But to save Dacnella and Zuzanna, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make.

The gateway to Hell opened, and Noelle stepped into the blazing heat. A thousand demons were seated in the stands, their ugly eyes fixated on her. The red carpet below her feet burned with each step, and her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Satan himself, dressed in a dark, neat suit, beard well groomed and dark hair slicked back, a venomous smile on his face.

Noelle took her place beside him, staring up at the intricate ceiling. It was laced with carved patterns and paintings, almost beautiful in the depressing state she was in.

"King Adron of Dacnella... do you take Noelle Park as your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest asked, his voice booming and loud. It was just like in her nightmare.

"I do," Adron announced, turning his sickening face towards her. Noelle wanted to scream.

"Noelle Park... do you take King Adron of Dacnella as your lawfully wedded husband?"

Her last chance of redemption shimmered away as she replied "I do". The guests cheered and Noelle slammed her eyes shut as she waited for the nightmare to end. She did not know how much more of this she could endure.

. . .

The wedding reception was held in a large ballroom, decorated with massive paintings plastered on the walls, paired with golden frames with serpents carved into them. Diamond chandeliers hung from the ceiling, their bright glow lighting up the room in a warm hue of yellow. An orchestra played on the side, consisting of violins, piano, saxophones and trumpets. They played a lovely tune, though Noelle was in no mood to enjoy it.

"Congratulations on your wedding, Queen Noelle." A woman came up to her. She was hanging on the arm of a wealthy looking man, both dressed in exquisite formal outfits. Noelle smiled stiffly, accepting their congratulations grudgingly.

Everyone was looking at her... all of the demons had their eyes plastered on her, observing her, judging her. They were so close, Noelle found it hard to breathe. A grimy hand clawed at her throat, squeezing until it felt like her lungs might burst. Laughter echoed in the air... it was too loud... Noelle's head was pounding and it felt like she might explode.

Her past, present and future was shattered on the floor like a pathetic hourglass, despair spilling from the cracks. White spots filled her vision as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and soon everything turned black.

Screams filled the air.

. . .

"Who wants to hear a joke?" Roland asked, a goofy smile on his face.

"I do! Go on," Lolita said, hanging onto his every word. Noelle nodded along.

They were around a small campfire, sitting on some logs to keep dry. A large pan containing mushrooms and water was placed on the fire, their poor attempt at making a stew with limited supplies.

"What do you call a man with no arms or legs hanging on a wall?" Roland said.

"What sort of joke is that?" Lolita laughed, but thought about the answer.

Noelle replied with the most logical answer. "A man with no hands or legs hanging on a wall...?"

Roland rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No, it's a painting," he said, like it was obvious.

"That- that's so bad!" Lolita exclaimed.

"No it isn't! What do you call a hairy man sitting on the floor?" He asked again, and the girls burst into laughter as they tried to shush him. "A bush!"

"Roland stop!" Noelle wheezed, slapping her forehead.

"What- what do you call a man- a man who's got no head, arms or legs standing s-straight?" Roland managed to get the words out, chest heaving with laughter.

"I don't want to know!" Lolita giggled, her breath coming in short gasps.

"A pole!"

"S-stop!"

"What do you call a man with only a head? A football!"

He had managed to turn a miserable day into a joyful one, lifting everyone's mood even with the worst jokes in the history of mankind.

. . .

Noelle woke up, alone, in a familiar red room. She was lying on the bed, carefully made, still in her wedding dress. She shot up when the memories returned, crashing into her like a ton of bricks.

Reality hurts.

She had just been married to the worst man in existence, humiliated herself and passed out at the wedding reception, and woke up in the room of her nightmares, all in the span of a few hours. She could not even begin to imagine how furious Adron must be at her for ruining everything.

Noelle did not even register when the tears began to slide down her cheeks, staining her dress and the covers. She wanted to rip it off and wear anything else, to destroy any malicious reminders of her fate. Finally, Noelle allowed herself to cry, spilling out all of the hurt as she cried for Zuzanna, she cried for Roland, for Karol, for Jawad. For her family and friends, and most importantly for herself.

She had been so caught up in trying to save Dacnella and worrying about everyone else, that in the past weeks she had not even considered herself. It was the reason why she was in the situation she found herself in now, though Noelle would rather go through this a thousand times than let any hurt come to her friends.

She wondered what they were doing now. Two losses so close to each other must have been horrific, even more so considering one of them was the proclaimed "saviour" of Dacnella. She hoped Zuzanna was alright and safe, and that Adron had kept his promise to allow the people of the rebellion to live. As long as she was his wife and the Queen of Dacnella, Noelle refused to let any harm come to the people.

She could find the silver lining in using her new position for good, though it was severely overshadowed by all the other negative factors. She did not even want to think about what would happen to her tonight, when Adron finished celebrating and getting drunk with the guests.

The only reason she was in this situation was because of Lolita and her betrayal, her sudden hate for the girl rising. After all they had been through together, Lolita had just turned her back on her and Roland. Her blood boiled the longer she thought about it, though she was interrupted by a knock, following the door opening.

In it stood the very last person she wanted to see.

"Get. Out," Noelle ordered, pointing at the door as she stood up from the bed. If Lolita did not leave that second, she would find it hard to refrain from lunging at her.

'I-I want to apologise,' Lolita admitted in a small voice, but Noelle wanted to hear none of it. The stupid girl really thought she could make everything go away with an apology.

"I said leave!" Noelle screamed, still trying to hold herself back as she glared knives at Lolita. The girl crumbled under her cold gaze.

"I promise I can explain everything... please Noelle, I had no choice-"

She was cut off by Noelle slamming her against the wall, her chest heaving in anger.

"Are you deaf?! All of this is your fault! You're the reason why I'm stuck with Adron for the rest of my life, instead of being back with my family in London! Do you have any idea of the pain you caused with your betrayal? No! You didn't care for a second!" Noelle roared, and Lolita had the audacity to look guilty.

"I did care!" She tried to defend herself. "That's why I tried to stop them!"

Oh, this just keeps getting better!

"Well you did a great job, didn't you!" Noelle spat, finally letting the girl go. Lolita immediately scrambled away from her. "Get out of my sight before I lose my control."

Lolita did not argue, only soundlessly slipped out of the door. Noelle crumbled to the floor as the realisation of her actions dawned on her, tucking her knees to her chest as she cried her eyes out on the polished floor of the red room.

. . .

Are you alright?" Lolita asked, placing her hand on Noelle's shoulder. "You have been sad all day."

"It's nothing," Noelle whispered. She was not prepared to talk about her longing for London. Every day she spent away from her home chipping away at another piece of her, until she felt like a broken puzzle full of missing parts.

"Are you sure? You can talk to me," Lolita insisted, and Noelle was too tired to fight. Their constant walking was doing a number on her energy, and her aching feet did no favours to her wellbeing.

"I miss my family," she finally admitted in a quiet voice. Lolita stayed silent for a moment, a sympathetic expression on her pale face.

"I know what you mean. I barely get to see my mother, so I know what you feel like. Please feel like you can talk to me," Lolita emphasised, and Noelle's heart swelled with gratitude.

"Thank you, Lolita. You never do talk about your mother," Noelle mentioned, and Noelle thought the girl looked uncomfortable. Back then, Noelle suspected there was only a tense relationship between them.

"Oh, the topic just never popped up, I guess!" Lolita laughed, before quickly changing the topic. "Hey, Roland! Hurry up!"

Roland was a few steps behind them, examining a trail of footsteps in the mud. Noelle and Lolita looked at each other in puzzlement, before deciding to walk up to him.

"What's that?" Noelle asked, motioning to the prints.

"They look like they belong to a wolf or a small bear," Lolita commented, and Roland shook his head.

"I think they belong to a tiger," he said. "Definitely not a bear, though. This one only has three toes."

"They look more like wolf prints to me," Noelle butted in, analysing the footprints further. "Look here at the claws."

"Whatever animal it is, it's probably dangerous, so we should leave quickly. We don't want to be attacked," Roland said.

Later, Noelle found it ironic. There was something about her life that held that sense.