Seraphina had locked herself in her room. She had shut everyone out, and didn't talk to anyone. She was in a dark head space, thinking about all the 'what ifs'. She couldn't get the sight of the dead prisoners and Morgana from her mind. She couldn't help but keep blaming herself. If only she had haunted her grandfather before, then perhaps all those people would be alive today. That sick, sick man probably saw those people as nothing more than batteries. Seraphina couldn't help but feel disgusted by her grandfather. How can one be so prideful as to kill his own daughter out of pure spite?

Seraphina remembers the time she had argued with her grandmother, Venessa. Sera had been furious at Venessa for not standing up against the king after he killed her daughter. Venessa had not given Seraphina an answer. If she had raised up against the king then it would have just been sketched up as a treason attempt and her daughter's death would have been simply said to be the Queen's plot to overthrow the king. Venessa couldn't let that happen and she feared that the King would not be above killing
her other children if it meant he could continue being the king. He would rather be known as the king than his own name.

Seraphina grabbed her hair as she tried to calm the growing ache in head. So many thoughts swirled in her head. She was afraid that the next corpse she would see might be of her family or her friend. That thought alone was enough to make her panic. She had no idea what the king was planning to do now but she was sure it must be something bad.

She couldn't help but feel like she failed. All that effort being a henchwoman to build connections, to slowly gain power in hopes of getting back at the king someday, was for nothing. She couldn't help but feel frustrated. Why did her father make her promise that she wouldn't try to get revenge?

She wondered what if she had gone after her grandfather before, would she have succeeded? Would she have died trying? Would all those people be alive today? Would it have hurt her family? Would she have survived?

She was going mad all alone but she didn't want to be seen by anyone in this state. She felt so weak, like she couldn't do anything. She wanted revenge. No matter what she told herself, that was the only thing she could think of. She wanted to kill the king.

But what if she did go to get her revenge, would he succeed? What if she didn't survive? What if the king tried to kill her family and her friends? Seraphina was starting to understand why Venessa didn't confront the king, she just couldn't bear to lose anyone else.

She felt very alone right now. She felt that no one could understand what she was going through. She failed at saving all those innocent people and Morgana. She failed her mother.

There was a knock on the door, Valerius was on the other side of the door. "Sera dear, please open the door. Let me in. Don't do this to yourself, dear." Valerius pleaded. Sera didn't want to see anyone but she couldn't turn her father away like that. She gets up and opens the door, she doesn't look at her father but lets him enter. Valerius smiled sadly looking at Seraphina's state, he was reminded of the ten year old Sera, crying in her room when she understood that her mother would never return.

Valerius couldn't see her so broken. He rushed to her and engulfed her in a bear hug. Seraphina couldn't hold it in anymore, she started sobbing and heaving. "That's it. Let it all out. It's going to be okay." Valerius patted her back to soothe her. It had been so long since she last cried in her father's arms but she just couldn't take it anymore, drowning in all that self loathing.

But Seraphina was also a bit frustrated with her father. She had to ask the questions, "Why.... Why did you ... stop me from ... going after him? ... Maybe all those people would have been alive today?" Valerius knew that Seraphina was blaming herself but he couldn't ever believe that Seraphina was to be blamed when the whole blame belonged to one person and one person only, and he would get what was coming for him. He believed Seraphina was ready to have her revenge.

"I hadn't asked you for that promise because I thought that you wouldn't succeed, although I was scared to lose you too. I didn't want you to reduce your life to just revenge. Your mother wouldn't have wanted that, she would have wanted you to lead a happy life, have friends, and fall in love. But I understand now, a man like the wizard king doesn't deserve to go unpunished anymore. Seraphina dear, go and avenge your mother's death but please don't think you are alone in this, rely on your family, on your friends. We all want to help you dear." Valerius knew Seraphina could handle the wizard king now but he didn't want to do it all alone.

Seraphina finally looked at her father. "Do you mean that?" Seraphina asked apprehensively. "Of course dear! I mean it and I will be with you every step. There is something more I need you to hear. I don't know about any prophecies. It doesn't matter to me whether you are a goddess or not, you will always be my daughter." Seraphina's eyes teared up again. She needed to hear that. She was Seraphina, Valerius's daughter, Selene's daughter no matter what.

"Thank you papa. I needed to hear that. And now I will make sure my grandfather pays for everything."

✧⁠✧✧

Seraphina was still in her room but she wasn't wallowing anymore. She was planning. She was planning what she was going to do. There was another knock on her door. She somehow knew it was not anyone from her family. Mortivus walked in. "Father-in-law must have been successful, you are not crying anymore."

Seraphina rolled her eyes when he said 'father-in-law', but she couldn't stop the slight flush in her cheeks. But her mind then moved to something serious. "All those people died, I could have-"

Mortivus stopped her from going on the same path of thought. "Sometimes even gods can't save someone from dying. What matters is how you are going to make sure it doesn't happen again." Mortivus's eyes held pain as he looked away for a moment. "You are thinking about Lunara. ..... Do you really think I am her?" Seraphina asked the question troubling her mind. "It doesn't matter what I think. What matters is what you think. And I think you already know the answer to that question. Now are you going to accept that answer or keep fooling yourself. Would it be too bad if you were both Seraphina and Lunara? Plus being the Goddess of the Moon would have some nice benefits." Mortivus gave a wink while saying the last sentence.

Seraphina couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I guess you are right." Mortivus smiled, he hoped that he was able to put her worries to rest. "I believe you are plotting your revenge. Why not do it while you are with your friends and family?" Mortivus asked. Seraphina hesitated for a moment. Then she said, "What if ... they get hurt in all this?" Seraphina was scared of this, she would never be able to forgive herself if their lives were cut short because of her.

"Who are you to decide for them, if they want to take part in this war or not? It should be their choice." Mortivus stated. Seraphina couldn't disagree. He was right that she should give them the choice and not make the decision for them.

✧✧✧

Seraphina had requested the group to come to her home and her family was also present as conveyed the story of her mother to the group. Nik and Sylvia already knew everything. Theron, Leo and Cassius only knew bits and pieces before but now they know the whole story. They felt really disgusted by the wizard king, how could he kill his own daughter in cold blood. They knew Sera was trusting them by telling them her story.

"So... what's the plan? How do we get this bastard?" Cassius asked Seraphina. Sera had been thinking about this. "We can't just walk up to him. It has to be something even a King can't escape. Theron please inform your father that I am calling in the favour. I am going to put the King on a Witch Trial for the murder of my mother."

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