"How long have you known about this?" Clare asked in a threatening voice.

Elizabeth didn't get why her daughter was acting this way. For her, it was just a flower.

"T-two days, princess," the practitioner shuttered.

"You knew that the flower was bad for two DAYS," Clare spoke through gritted teeth, "and you didn't think of asking for this permission EARLIER?!"

"Princess, I-I'm... I," he fumbled for words but couldn't find any.

"Prathilipi is one of the most used and most important herb in the medicinal practice, and you almost put people over here in DANGER by not getting stock sooner, because- why?" Clare talked demandingly. Elizabeth had never seen her daughter talk this way. Now she finally understood why everyone was afraid of her.

"P-princess, I-I-I'm so sssorry, I—"

"Sorry?" Clare beamed. "You're sorry?"

"Classandra," the queen warned. "Calm down."

Clare grit her teeth so hard to stop herself from saying anything that Elizabeth could actually hear it cracking.

"You may leave for your journey. Make sure you make it quick, considering that you will be needed if there is an emergency," the queen said calmly to the practitioner.

"Of course, your majesty," he said, taking a quick bow as he was very eager to get out of the princess' sight as soon as possible.

"Wait!" Clare called out.

The practitioner stopped with dread.

"What happens when you consume a Prathilipi flower that has gone bad?" She asked and the queen's eyes bulged ever so slightly. "It could have drastic effects depending on the cure it is used in, your highness, " he said. "But mostly, it reciprocates the rot nature of its current stage."

Clare closed her eyes in rage.

"And how bad was its rot today?" Clare asked calmly. The practitioner didn't answer and put his head down. That was an answer enough for Clare.

"Get out!" Clare barked at him and the practitioner walked out swiftly.

A moment of silence lasted between the mother and daughter, both staring at the ghost of the running practitioner.

"Did you consume the flower?" Her mother asked. Clare's confidence shattered to pieces. For the first time in the entire conversation, they looked at each other's eyes, both searching for information that they know they will never find.

"I don't know what you did," the queen said through gritted teeth, maintaining immense eye contact. "Whatever it is, fix it before it goes out of hand!"

Clare took in a shaky breath and left before she could get out another word.

Clare rushed to her chambers and found Alex waiting for her outside her room. "What's wrong?" Clare asked immediately.

"OK, I know you are dealing with a lot right now but the way your acting is getting out of hand!" Alex yelled at her in whispers.

"What do you mean?" Clare asked, confused.

"There's a rumor about you planning to wage a war against all our allies. Clare, why would you do that?"

Clare couldn't comprehend her brother's statement, for the details were not adding up.

"Alex," Clare said, "how exactly could I place an order for a war when I don't have the legal rights to do that? I'm not officially crowned a queen yet, remember?"

"And I thought so too," he said frustrated. "That's why I went to the soldiers' grounds to comprehend things with my own eyes. And they are preparing for a war! Orders from the princess!"

"Alex, how could I—"

"Unofficial. Order." Clare had never seen her brother this angry before. It was making herself feel small, but she made sure she portrayed her confidence, but she still couldn't get out any words.

Alex looked around to spot any eavesdroppers, but couldn't find any, yet, he wasn't satisfied. "Let's go inside," he said. "Not a matter to be discussed in the corridors." Clare nodded her head vigorously and pushed at the door. It didn't budge. She pushed again, still no luck. "I guess it's stuck," Clare said. "Let me try," Alex said, stepping forward to give it a try. He wasn't victorious in the deed either. "It looks like it's locked. Do you have the key?"

Clare thought about it, and suddenly, like the water rushing out of the dam, she remembered her doppelganger. "I don't remember where I put my key," she said. "I was kinda distracted when I left."

"Fine. Keep searching," Alex said. "I'll go bring your spare key that I have in my room. If I take too long, just visit me in my room. This matter needs to be discussed."

"Alright," Clare said and Alex turned to walk away swiftly.

Once Clare made sure that no one was in sight, she vigorously banged at the door and prayed that no guard would come running at the ruckus. After a few more bangs, the door was opened by a bored looking Classandra's face. "What do you want?" The girl asked. "What do I want?" Clare asked, trying so hard to maintain her cool. "This is my room."

"I thought you left," the girl said matter of fact. "Come in," the girl said reluctantly as Clare didn't seem to talk much further.

Classandra stormed in and slammed the door behind. A quick look at the floor told her that her packed things were missing.

"Where are my things?" Clare asked in an angry tone.

"Now that I am the princess, those things belong to me. You can get whatever you want on the road," she said curtly. Classandra was shaking with fury, her eyes shut close and teeth clattering. "Get out of my room," Clare said through gritted teeth. "I'm sorry, what?" The copy asked in surprise. "Get. Out. Of. My. ROOM!" Classandra screamed.

The doppelganger smirked at her while taking tentative steps towards her. Once in close proximity, she said, "oh dear Clare. You may be able to send me out of your room but you can never send me out of your life. Good luck enjoying your freedom while it lasts. In a few moments, you're going to be the imposter while I'll be the heir of the Utopian kingdom."

Before Clare could react to her statement, the copy was out of the room. Clare had started to regret sending her out of the room for it was now far more dangerous than it was before. Clare went to the door to open it to follow her mistake, but on queue, Alex walked in.

"Is everything alright?" He asked a heavy breathing Clare. She simply nodded a yes since she didn't want to make matters big.

"The war," Clare said, "is either a rumor or a conspiracy against me. Don't worry, I'll look into it."

"Clare," Alex said in a warning tone. "This is not a simple matter. If there really is someone conspiring against you, we need to find them quickly before things get out of hand."

"I know, I know," Clare said, rubbing her forehead as every passing second increased her frustration. "I must first send in an order personally to stop the preparations for war. We'll discuss other things later."

"Clare—"

"I need to leave now, Alex," Clare yelled at her brother. "Alright," Alex said as he stepped back. Classandra walked out of the room immediately, leaving a very clueless Alex behind.

As Clare mentioned to her brother, she headed straight to the soldiers' training camp. The second Classandra entered, everyone stood up with bowed heads. She had always experienced an act of fear from these soldiers, but this was different. This was pure fear. Not a hint of mockery. She wondered what her other half did to make chest high warriors turn into scaredy cats.

"Shut down the preparations," Classandra's voice echoed. "There is no war."

The soldiers lifted their heads to look at each other in disbelief.

The commander stepped forward to ask, "is this a final order, princess?"

"Yes," Classandra stated firmly. "There will be no war."

Clare started a mental war in her mind to weigh out her options on what to say and what not to say, finally deciding to inform them bits and pieces. "If you ever encounter a figure of mine giving you orders to start a war, just remember, that is not me. There is no war and there will not be one, especially with our ally kingdoms."

The commander looked confused but agreed anyway since the order was directly from the princess, the seemingly cruel heir of Utopia.

"Make sure this information doesn't spread," she said in one last breath and walked out.