Twenty-five years later, present day...

Twenty years ago, Ruby Tully had been crowned queen of Ariel at seventeen years old. Although standard kingdom authority would have agreed that she was a few years too young to take on such a role, Ruby and her father both realized that the king couldn't keep ruling on his own. Two years after her coronation, eighteen years ago, a young man named Marcus Swift began working under the royal doctor for medical training. At first, Marcus had been flippant and teasing toward the queen; but eventually Ruby noticed that he gradually gained respect and even awe toward her. A year after meeting him, Ruby was ready to marry the wonderful man - but Marcus had been hesitant about asking royalty to marry him. A year and a half later, Ruby smacked - quite literally - the words out of him as he stumbled to ask her. Another year and a half later, Princess Emily Swift was born. Marcus and Ruby had vowed never to let anything happen to her, especially after Ruby remembered Aaron saying that she'd almost been kidnapped as a toddler. Seven years after Emily's birth, Falte Watson had returned to the castle without a family or a home. He had lost everything in a sudden fire that nearly spread throughout the kingdom, yet within a few months, the kind man was back to normal. Three years later, Ruby's father had fallen terribly ill with a lung disease. The former king had scared the whole kingdom, but somehow he had managed to pull through what seemed like the worst attacks. A year after that, Ruby's uncle, Lucy's brother, had gone missing under mysterious circumstances. When he hadn't returned in more than a few weeks, Ruby assumed that he was dead - as much as it pained her. Not even a year later, an injured man appeared at the gates of Ariel, disoriented and defensive. Ruby had immediately taken him in and ordered Esther, the royal doctor, to help him. When Shintaro was well again, he had been promoted to the guardian of Ariel. After three years of safe and enjoyable peace and quiet, Arielians began going missing. Seven months ago, way too many Arielian citizens were murdered brutally. Six months ago, Shintaro and the skilled tracker named Amy had caught the culprit, who had turned out to be Falte's presumed-dead son. Five months ago, Ariel had fallen into the clawed hands of Darkness. 

Five months ago, Queen Ruby had been hurled into a sea of blackness that she couldn't swim out of. She'd been thrown into a dungeon with her adviser and her husband, who was already battling against the effects of his new magic. Even though Marcus kept his demeanor encouraging and humorous, concealing the symptoms as best he could, it wasn't hard for Ruby to see. There would be some nights that she would wake up and find him sitting up with his hands over his face, but she was too nervous to confront him. After the burst of magic he'd had the first time, she didn't want to startle him just in case. It hurt her that she was thinking that way, in a way that almost suggested that she didn't trust him anymore, but she truly didn't want to hurt him or anyone else.

Five months ago, Ruby's daughter had been taken away from her. Before Ruby, Falte, and Marcus had been put into their own dungeon, the one that they very rarely used, Emily had been yanked away from their grip - very literally.

When The Dark Lord had appeared to do his bidding with them, Ruby and Marcus had immediately grabbed their daughter in a protective swirl of panic. Neither of them had known what to expect when they thought about The Dark Lord, and even though he looked like a simple man with long dark hair and red eyes, there was something terrifying about him. 

As the king of Darkness had grinned down at them, showing sharp fangs, a shiver of horror had spiraled down Ruby's spine. Emily, nearly crushed between her parents, had shuddered beneath their arms as she stared at The Dark Lord like she couldn't look away. 

The Dark Lord's blood red eyes had trailed over the terror-stricken group, his gaze delighted in a twisted way that had made Ruby's gut wrench. When his eyes caught on Caynen, he had burst into cackling laughter, causing Ruby to jump out of her skin. 

"Ah, Caynen Edmonds," the Shadow King had chuckled at the Light. Ruby noticed with a twinge of confusion that his voice was heavily accented with the same sharp pronunciation as Ozai. "Still alive, of course. Even when you weren't in battle, you always were a determined soul." 

Ruby, though she'd found it somewhat difficult to move under her shocked fear, had glanced over at Caynen to find that he was scowling scathingly and defiantly up at The Dark Lord. 

"Tell me, general," The Dark Lord had asked lowly, leaning forward a bit to level his gaze with Caynen's. "If you're still alive, how long has it been?" 

"If you're so smart," Caynen had said coolly, but his gaze remained angrier than Ruby had seen, "you should know that yourself." 

Before Ruby could register, a sharp crack split through the room and Caynen jerked sideways with a grunt. 

"Wrong answer," The Dark Lord had hissed through his teeth, his accented words sharp. 

"Hey!" Artemis had suddenly cried, leaning forward to shield Caynen as best her small body could. "Don't hurt him!" She glared hatefully up at The Dark Lord, who tilted his head with a smirk. 

"I'll do whatever I please, little girl," chuckled The Shadow King, straightening up again. "And if you wish to remain alive, I advise you do nothing to get in my way. I have a very thin line of patience, and I will not hesitate to kill you." 

Artemis had shrank back, her eyes filling with terror, but her angry scowl didn't leave her face. She had kept her mouth closed after that, much to Ruby's relief. 

"Now," The Dark Lord had said reasonably, allowing his red eyes to travel across the room again. "Since Caynen doesn't feel like answering me correctly, would anyone else like to try? The practice to keeping track of years is something that has been lost to me, nor do I care much to attempt it." 

The room had remained silent until Falte, his voice quavering and his expression horrified, had timidly answered. "The war ended twenty-seven years ago, if- if that's the answer you're looking for."

"Ah, yes," The Dark Lord had said with a grin. His red eyes had locked on Falte, his fangs glinting underneath the kitchen light. 

Then his scarlet eyes had snapped to the side, where Ozai was sitting with Nanami held tightly in his arms. The Dark Lord's gaze fastened fixedly with Ozai's, and for a moment the two stared at each other. Ruby had noticed that Ozai looked more terrified than angry - his eyes were wide and his jaw clenched. Ruby had also noticed in that moment how similar the two men looked. 

Before she'd had the chance to look closer, The Dark Lord had shot forward faster than a bullet. Nanami had scrambled away immediately and was clutched in Falte's hold, frightened tears running down her cheeks. Ozai hadn't been so lucky. In less than two seconds, he was dangling a few inches above the floor, his throat caught in The Dark Lord's grip. 

"Hey!" Amy had yelled fiercely, straightening away from the counter she'd been carelessly leaning on. "What do you think you're doing? Put him down!" 

Ruby had tried to call out for Amy not to do anything stupid, but her voice caught in her throat as the tracker darted forward. 

A moment later, she was on the floor, grimacing from the hard hit she'd taken to her face. And worse, The Dark Lord hadn't even looked at her. 

"Thorn," The Dark Lord had seethed over his shoulder without taking his eyes away from Ozai, who was struggling for air. "Take them away. Separate them however you please, but leave the princess here." 

"WHAT?" Ruby had cried, her voice finally returning to her. She had wrapped her arms tighter around Emily, refusing to let anyone take her daughter away.

But as Thorn entered the room, he'd had the audacity to be the one to pry Emily's parents away from her. 

That was the last time Ruby had seen her daughter, and with each passing day, her hope of at least catching a glimpse of Emily was slowly fading away. Though she tried to convince herself to remain strong, she wanted to cry every time she thought about it and everything that had happened. 

What was there to remain strong for? 

~

The sound of a shrill scream woke Ruby, and she sat up in a startle. Her ginger hair momentarily blinded her, and she frantically threw it away from her face. Her heart in her throat, she looked around frantically. Thankfully, Falte and Marcus looked just as shocked as she was, which meant that neither of them were hurt. They were sitting near to each other toward the back of the cell, leaning on the well behind them as if they'd been talking absently. 

Ruby tried to calm her pounding heart. "What was that?" she asked hesitantly, glancing out of the cell as if she would be able to see exactly what had happened. She knew that it was pointless to try to look out - there was no one else in the dungeons near to them. Ruby hadn't seen any of her friends or family - mostly a few roaming Shadowbeasts and Darks since they had been locked up. 

"Not sure," Falte said with a solemn shake of his head, but he didn't seem to think more of it. 

Marcus was looking at the wall across the cell, his dark eyes distant yet trained fixedly on the concrete. He looked worse than yesterday - the dark circles under his eyes had deepened, he looked utterly exhausted, and he was shaky from lack of proper food.

They all were. 

Though they were given food and water, it wasn't enough to keep them healthy or strong. Plus, the food tasted like spoiled garbage, and although Ruby had had to learn to get used to it, she didn't think much of it now. 

However, there were times where Caspian - the castle chef - managed to sneak down to the dungeons and give them as many delicious scraps as he could sneak. Somehow, Caspian had remained the castle chef, though he probably was ruled under fear and obedience now. But he still had the heart and courage to bring food down to his king and queen, which he kindly claimed would always be his rulers - no matter who The Dark Lord was. 

Though this touched Ruby's heart greatly, she couldn't help but have her doubts. She didn't doubt Caspian - he and his family had always been faithful to his royalty, no matter what the circumstances - she doubted herself. 

Though she was rightful ruler of Ariel...

How was she the queen now?

~

HERE IT IS, THE FIRST OFFICIAL CHAPTER OF FREED!!!

This one MIGHT be a bit shorter than United, but you guys probably don't trust me anymore XD. I had said that United was going to be short, but NOPE

It's FREAKING FIFTY CHAPTERS-

WHATEVER-

Thanks for reading!! 

Tell me your thoughts and opinions, I love hearing them!! 

P3ac3!!!~~~~