*Elle's POV* 

Marcellus's voice and expression were so full of concern it was comical. "What do you say?"

"I say," I replied with a roll of my eyes, "that you're completely full of crap, and you'd be insane to think I'd ever side with you."

Marcellus smiled apologetically. "I will admit my methods of brining you here were unorthodox." I laughed, but he continued speaking over the interruption. "However, it was imperative that I got you here as quickly as possible in order to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. We really do need your help, Elle." Then he turned his attention to Raini "You see the logic in my words, don't you dear princess?"

"Oh please," I scoffed.

However, Raini surprised me by nodding, a serene smile on her face. "I do. I want to help. I want to stop Jacintha."

"That's not fair!" I cut in quickly, "you're using that mind control thing, just like you did with my parents!"

Marcellus shook his head, "I don't have the ability to control minds, Miss Carter. I believe I've told you this before. I only make suggestions." He stared intently at me, his eyes narrowed slightly. "And I've still no idea as to why it doesn't work on you."

"It doesn't matter," I snapped, "I'm not helping you."

"I figured it would take coaxing to convince you," Marcellus said, "That's why the king and queen wish to speak with you both."

That snapped Raini out of it. "The only king and queen in this Realm are my parents," she said, tilting her chin up with pride.

Marcellus smiled, "Well hopefully you'll see things in a different way after speaking with Seraphim." He turned on his heel and strode quickly across the room to the door. "Come along," he called.

Raini stood instantly. "I think we should go with him," she chirped.

"Sure you do," I mumbled, but trailed behind her anyway. I was as confused about Marcellus's inability to persuade me as he was, but I was happy about it. I would have been doomed if his strange power worked on me. As it was, I may still have been doomed simply for the fact that my new roommate was so completely affected by him.

As Raini and I followed Marcellus, I contemplated escaping. I wasn't in handcuffs or anything, so if I really wanted to I could run.

I wanted very badly to run.

However, I knew nothing about where I was or how to get back home. On top of that, I didn't want to leave Raini here alone. What with her apparent lack of free thought, she would need someone to defend her. And so even though I wanted nothing more than to get out of this place, I had to stay.

I glared past Raini, hoping that maybe being taken to this world had given me laser-vision or something and I could burn holes into Marcellus's back. Sadly, that didn't happen.

We traveled down corridor after corridor, and I began to wonder just how big the Abandoned Order's castle actually was. I recognized the castle from the game, but being there in person made me realize it looked more like a boarding school than a castle. That is, if the boarding school was completely washed in white paint. Seriously, who decorated this place?

We passed the first window I'd seen since my arrival here, and through its curtains a tiny sliver of pinkish light entered the hall. It was obviously early in the morning. That or I'd completely lost track of time during my captivity and it was actually sunset. However, as we moved further into the castle the warm smell of bacon reached my nose. Morning it was.

Further down the corridor, I could faintly hear a girl's voice. It was the same sharp and demanding voice I'd heard multiple times throughout my time here, and as we moved closer to the source of the sound I could make out what she was saying.

"You dare talk down to me?" the girl admonished, sounding shocked.

"Do you forget that I am king?" A man's voice replied, "As my queen you are to respect my authority."

"Dear, the war will begin in earnest soon, so why don't we drop these silly pretenses?" Her voice was sugar sweet and held a hint of a smile.

"I-I don't..."

"Seraphim, darling."

When Marcellus, Raini and I rounded the last corner we reached what appeared to be bedroom. The large wooden door that lead into it was propped wide open, and inside the white-on-white décor continued. The room was grand, with tapestries on the walls and a large piano in the center of the room. Right in front of the piano a short, elegantly-dressed girl with silver ringlets and a prideful gleam in her oddly-colored eyes smiled down at a man who was kneeling before her.

Marcellus shuffled uncomfortably and cleared his throat.

At the sound, the queen's purple eyes flicked up to where we stood. "Ah, you must be Elle," She smiled brightly at me, "and Princess Rainette!" She slipped into a quick curtsey before crossing the room to stand in front of us. Even with massive heels on, Queen Lydia was about three inches shorter than me.

I glanced behind her, watching as Seraphim rose, clenching and unclenching his fists. He stood perfectly still with his chin tilted upward, as if trying to regain some dignity.

"I will not curtsey back, if that's what you're expecting, Nonie," Raini snipped, frowning at the queen.

Lydia's eyes flashed slightly, but her smile stayed in place. She laughed, "Of course not. I am after all, beneath you. That's why I need your help."

"Stopping Jacintha?" Raini asked hopefully.

"Indeed," Lydia nodded. She gestured to a table on the other side of the room that was piled high with a spread of breakfast foods. "Why don't you both take a seat, have something to eat? We'll talk."

"Did you steal that food?" Raini accused. I was shocked by her boldness, and I wondered how long it would take for Lydia to lose her composure.

So far, she was doing a fabulous job. "Yes," Lydia replied without a hint of regret in her voice. "But when we are forbidden from working, how are we to earn our own money?"

Raini blinked, opening her mouth to respond but then snapping it closed again.

Feeling the need to defuse any awkwardness, I walked over to the table of food and Raini followed me. We sat, and finally she thought of something to say.

"Maybe if your kind hadn't rebelled against my father, you'd still have the ability to get jobs." Raini pointed out, picking at a blueberry muffin. "You should have been thankful for what you were given instead of always expecting more."

Lydia sat across from us and Seraphim sat next to her. "It has never been a matter of more, princess, but a matter of equivalence." She smiled at Seraphim, "dear husband, would you pour me a cup of tea? The peach kind if you'd please."

A muscle in Seraphim's jaw twitched. "Yes my love." Stiffly, the king took the teapot and poured its contents into her empty cup.

Lydia smiled sweetly at him before taking a sip of her tea. "And equivalence," Lydia continued speaking as she gently placed her cup on the table, "is why I brought you both here." She looked between Raini and I, locking eyes with each of us individually.

"You see, we don't want another war. We want peace, equality— for humans and non-humans alike to work together and share in the riches of our Realm as allies." Lydia explained, her insistent tone stressing the importance of her words. "We were ready to begin our campaign for interspecies equality when Lady Jacintha arrived. We will admit our mistake in bringing her here. That was wrong."

I laughed. "You think?"

"We wanted the help of a human, but we knew no human in this Realm would aid us. When you and Jacintha came into our forest, it presented the perfect opportunity. We had wanted you, as you were obviously the better speaker of your pair, but when we sent someone to the other side for you they brought Jacintha instead." Lydia explained, frowning slightly.

"We offered to let her return home as soon as we learned of our mistake, but when she learned about possibly meeting prince Casimir she begged to stay," Seraphim added. "From there, she conspired behind our backs with members of the Order, turning them against us."

"With how long you've known her, which I assume is a long time?" Lydia interjected, "has she ever shown signs of being manipulative? Selfish?"

"No," I replied quickly, disgusted by her suggestion. "I don't understand what you're talking about or why you all insist on saying this stuff! Maggie is a good person. If you gave her the option to come home, she would have!"

"How cool would it be to actually meet the Shadows of Light characters?" Maggie smiled, leaning back in her beanbag chair.

I laughed. "Obviously that would be amazing, but also impossible. Because like... they're computer-generated fictional characters."

"I know, but think about it! Meeting Casimir? Just... ugh, why can't he be real?"

"Because the only guys allowed to exist in real life are tools? I mean, that's pretty much an unspoken rule of life."

The memory threw me off slightly, and I forked a large clump of bacon into my mouth. Maggie wouldn't leave me just to meet Casimir. No way.

"She persuaded nine of our members, including the captain of our guard, and one of our best spies." Lydia said.

"As well as our seamstress," Seraphim added.

Lydia's eyes narrowed imperceptibly. "Yes. Our seamstress as well. But I was close to firing her anyway because she kept messing up the stitching in my gowns."

I glanced between the queen and king, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "Anyway, why do you need me now?"

"Well, you're close to Jacintha, she may listen to you." Lydia responded. "You may be able to stop her."

"I know you keep saying that," I sighed, "but what exactly is she doing?"

"She's power-hungry, and attention seeking. She probably felt ignored or inadequate in your world and she's trying to compensate for that now." Lydia said sympathetically. "She filled all of their heads with lies about how she could improve their lives, elevating herself in the process. And our guard, Kindle, she fooled him into thinking she cares about him. She brainwashed him, drove him away from me—!" Lydia took a deep breath to stop herself from reaching hysterics. "Us." Lydia grabbed Seraphim's hand. "Jacintha drove Kindle away from Seraphim and I. His friends."

"She's doing far more damage than good for our kind. Her radical actions are affecting the non-human kind greatly. Her assassination of the queen, her plots of war... she's trying to make herself into a queen— a goddess of sorts— and in the process she's going to get us all killed." Seraphim said, his expression grave. "The Abandoned Order is many things, and our methods have been viewed as radical, but we would never go so far as to kill Amaranth. She did that on her own."

Beside me, Raini sniffled. "What can I do? How can I help stop her?"

Lydia smiled gently. "I knew you would see reason, and may I just say: I am so deeply sorry about the fate that befell your mother. And I apologize for the way you were treated and brought here. Seraphim should tell his lapdog to treat you more like the princess you are." She looked pointedly at Marcellus, who had been standing so silently by the piano that I'd pretty much forgotten his existence.

Marcellus grunted, but otherwise seemed unaffected.

Lydia turned her attention back to Raini and continued, "We want to create a new world. An equal world. Unlike Jacintha, who only seeks destruction and complete power, we seek a peaceful future. I may be queen of the Abandoned Order, but I could never rule on a large scale," she admitted, looking meekly down at her plate. "You however have the makings of a perfect queen. I see so much of your mother's grace reflected in you."

Raini shook her head fervently. "Casimir is the one who's meant to rule."

"But my dear, you could do so much better! Think of the future you could create, everyone would love you. You could change all of the laws, make the world equal; make it so you could marry someone other than your current fiancé if that's what you want." Lydia shrugged. "The point is, we need you. You hold the key to everything."

Raini straightened, something in Lydia's words convincing her. "I'll do it. I'll be queen and make peace. I-I can change this Realm, I know it."

I nearly rolled my eyes, this couldn't be the truth. Lydia seemed... deceitful. And Raini was far too gullible.

"I will have Marcellus escort you both to a better room than the dungeon you've been occupying. I'm truly sorry for that, by the way." Lydia smiled, rising from her chair. "Elle dear, have you decided?" she addressed me hopefully.

"I..." I hesitated, playing everything out in my mind as best as I could. "I need more time to think about it."

Lydia nodded, her eyes full of sympathy. "I completely understand, it must be so hard to learn that a friend has done such terrible things. Take your time dear, but do not wait too long. The fate of so many lives rests upon you."

Wow, no pressure. 

_________

2017: Raini. Raini.