"Why would you marry him?" Leillan blurted out; she was almost shaking from anger.

 "You wouldn't understand," I turned away from her to tell the maids they could leave. I felt they didn't need to watch this fight that was about to spark up. "Besides it seems we aren't sharing important information with each other anymore," I heard a light scuff come from Leillan. As is she had no clue what I was talking about. As if she didn't lie to me about the bombs and I didn't catch her in bed with Delaney. 

 "This rebellion has changed you," Leillan whispered "The Cyra in Recline would have never offered to be a spy, to marry some random guy, and to be a damn queen! These people don't want someone like you," Her words sparked a fire in my veins.

 "What do you mean someone like me?" I turned to face her once again. She looked tired, with coal colored bags under her eyes and sunken cheeks. 

"Do you really need me to tell you? They see us as beneath them! They have powers, so they believe we should worship them like a god, not rule them. I went to Vinick, and I saw that all the ones in fine jewelry and grand clothes were those with unbelievable power. And you know who was serving them, being treated my they were the scum of the earth? Us, the powerless," Her tone was assertive in a way I had never heard before. Her words were full of such impact that almost made me want to sit down. I forced myself to stand up taller; I would not be intimidated by Leillan. It may be true that I had changed over these short few weeks, but It was for the better. She was right; the old Cyra would not do these, but I didn't want to be her. I wanted to grow and be even stronger than I am now. I needed to be. 

 "I can change that, I can make it so everyone will be seen and treated equal," I didn't mean for my words to be funny, but Leillan laughed as if I had told a joke. 

 "You think you saying 'hey treat people equally' will change anyone's minds? You need to put an end to powers, or there will never be equality," Leillan sounded like a completely different person. I had no idea what had gotten into her, but I wanted it to stop. End powers? How would someone even do that? We grew very quiet before I heard a knock on my door.

 "Lady Cyra it is nearly time, Do you have any idea where his highness may be?" said a worried guard. I signed and ran my sweaty palms over the small fabric of my wedding gown. It was still such a foreign feeling to wear such beautiful and costly things. 

 "I have to go find Harmony, who is not some random guy," I whispered before attempting to march out of my room for a dramatic exit, but my heels and the large dress made me trip a bit, I hoped Leillan missed that. I was lead to Harmony's room by a guard whose hair reminded me of a cloud by how large and puffed up it was. I had a great urge to poke at the dense curls, but I was thankfully able to stop myself. I felt terrible for all the maids I saw working at the speed of light to try and make our wedding possible. I knew what it was like to have to prepare a grand event in a short amount of time. I also know that somewhere like Leillan and cursing at us under their breath at us. The thought of Leillan made me pinch the edges of my nails. I now regret storming out the way I did. I wanted to go back and wrap my arms around her and tell her I was sorry for not telling her about the wedding. Though a small part of me still held hot anger towards her, since she still has yet to answer for the bombs or even what was going on between her and Delaney. I changed but so had Leillan, whether she wanted to admit it or not. 

 The guard left me soon after bringing me to Harmony's room. His pace was quick, and almost like he was jogging away from me. I pushed open the large doors to Harmony's room to find it was pitch black and my friend and soon to be husband was curled up on the floor cradling a suit jacket to his face. He rocked back and forth with choppy and quick movements. I lifted the front of my dress and took giant steps over to him. He was muttering something to himself, but it was too hushed for me to make out the words. 

 "Harmony, you okay?" I called out to him. It seemed he was stuck in a trance of whispers and rocking since my words did not affect him. I kneeled close to him and put my hands on his sweaty shoulders. 

 "Harmony," I said as sweetly as I could muster. He jerked his head up as if I had scared him. His eyes were looking around wildly, but once they focused on me, he smiled.

 "Cyra," Harmony's voice sounded calmer than his shaking body made him seem. I forced him into the bathroom to get dressed and roamed around the room. I picked up baby photos of Harmony. My favorite one was one where he was about two years old and laying against a patch of white daisies. He smiled up at whoever was taking the photo, and his cheeks were covered in strawberry jam. His pure happiness seemed to infect me and cause me to smile; I pulled the picture to my chest and took a deep breath. I want to see him smile like this one last time before the end of the night. I want him to be happy. Harmony deserved all the happiness this world could grant him. 

 Guards came in; they told me it was time to go. My heart sank. My hands grew sweaty. This was real, I was about to get married, and I was going to be queen. I didn't want to think past the wedding because I knew I would shatter like glass in front of the squad of guards. Harmony and I were escorted to the ballroom. I kept looking up at him. I scanned his face, taking in every last inch. All the worry lines on his forehead, the freckles on his lips that I had never noticed before, and that small veins on his neck that traveled down under his shirt. I wondered if he had marks down his body like Arksel. Thick black veins that pulsed through him or would they be more like Zydan's; fluid grey flowing lines. We met up with my mother, and I insisted Harmony stay with us. I had a deep feeling that if I let him go, he would drift off like when a child lets go of a balloon. So I gripped his hand tighter and refused to go without him. 

My stubbornness paid off since my mother thankfully agreed to it. Though I had a feeling, she wanted this just as much as I did. Walking down the aisle, I felt nothing but fear. I had never been in front of so many people. As if I was on display for the whole kingdom and the one person I wanted to see was nowhere in the crowd; Leillan. My eyes scanned over the crowd, and her bright hair and dark ocean eyes were not to be found. I did find my brothers, Taj was flirting with a nearby maid, and I locked eyes with Efrain. I smiled at him, but he stuck his tongue out at me. I guess even when I am getting married, and about to be queen, you can rely on my brothers to act like dingbats. When we got to the end of the aisle, I felt like all the air in my lungs left. 

My mother and Harmony felt hundreds of miles away, even if they were right next to me. From the corner of my eye, I could see Quillian smiling like he was a proud mother. That oddly made me feel a bit lighter. I barely heard the man marrying us speak since my attention was on the maids and guards that stood around the boards of the room. How many of them had powers? How many of the royal court had powers while their staff had none? Leillan was right that maybe they thought we were beneath them. I would change that, with or without her help. 

When I gave my vows, I felt as though someone else was speaking through me. The words flowed through me in such an odd tone and rhythm that it didn't feel like me. The crowd began to cheer, and I looked over at harmony. He looked over at me. We both knew what came next, and we both feared to move even an inch. A small tear shimmering tear strolled down his cheek, so I reached over and wiped it away. Harmony retook my hand, then squeezed my hand tightly. 

"Ready?" He mouthed, my knees felt weak. 

"Never," I mouthed back. Harmony chuckled a bit; it was a sad chuckle as if he felt the same way. He pulled me back down the aisle, and this time, I didn't have my mother for support. I felt like I was a child again, needing my mother to comfort me and give me guidance. I wanted her to pull me into her arms and tell me everything was going to be okay even if it was a lie. Harmony pulled me out of the castle and past the greenhouse. To a part of a kingdom, I had never seen before. It looked like a small lake with many people gathered around it. I stopped in my tracks. Tears filled my eyes, and I couldn't stop my body from shaking.

"Harmony I can't do this," My voice cracked as my cheeks flooded with tears. Harmony cupped my face with his large warm hands. He pulled me to his chest and wrapped his arms around me. 

"You can Cyra; I have so much faith in you. You were-" he cleared his throat "You are my truest friend and the only person in this world I want to run this kingdom and hold my powers,"

"What if I fail?" I balled up his suit in my fists. 

"Success can not survive without some failure just like you need bad to have good," I wanted to stand there forever, I wanted to freeze this moment for the rest of my life. Soon harmony let go and guided me to the edge of the water. It seemed to be completely covered with light blue, glowing flowers that made the air smell sickeningly sweet. People in robes and masked covered faces held candles and circled the lake. They hummed in a low pitch that gave me goosebumps. The sun was now high in the sky, and the air was warm, yet the water was ice cold. Harmony stripped off his coat and shirt before heading into the water, but what I saw made me do a double-take of his body. He wasn't like Arksel or Zydan. He didn't have black or grey marks. No his body was covered in flower-covered vines, they curled and stretched over his dark well-formed frame. Would that happen to me?

"Will I get vines?" I asked, looking him over.

"You mean binding marks? Those with power only get them when they truly become one with their power. They become bound to each other. For you see Cyra, you do not completely control your powers. You work together with it," He slipped into the water, and I lifted my dress to follow him. The water was so cold it burned when it touched my skin. The ground was rocky and uneven, so I slid my heels off and tossed them in the distance; I didn't really care where they landed since I had more important things to focus on. I winced when my bare feet touched the sharp stones at the bottom of the lake. Somehow this crisp physical pain was somehow more tolerable than the emotional distress I had been feeling these past few days. We walked till we were in the middle of the lake and the water drifted up to my waist. The water only seemed to grow colder and colder with each passing second. 

"How are you not completely freezing?" My teeth clattered when I spoke. 

"I used to swim in these waters every day as a child. Isele flowers hold special abilities that we need for this ritual to work. Sadly they also have the ability to make water almost unbearably cold," Harmony explained. He turned to face me and stuck out his hands to me. I looked over the flowers that ran over his body one more time before taking his hands. The flowers were bright pink and deep orange, which were much different than the deep blue ones that swam all around us. When I took his hands, the humming got louder and more haunting. Small orbs of light swung up from the flowers and drifted into the air then the sky went from noon daylight to midnight black; even the masked men around the water seemed to vanish, but the hums were still as loud as ever. Harmony flipped my hands, so my palms were facing up then quickly the vines that grew from his arms crawled over mine. I felt a surge of electricity run through me; I had to close my eyes since the power hit me so intensely. 

"No matter what happens Cyra, you can not let go," His tone was firm but not harsh. I felt my right eye begin to burn, almost like a small fire was slowly growing within it. 

"My eye, Harmony what's going on with my eye," between the ice, the rocks, the power, and now my eyes my body felt too confused on what sensation to focus on. 

"Just do not let go Cyra," His voice sounded weaker than I had ever heard it before. I opened my eyes and looked up at him. His hair had lost all if its lavender color and his eyes were no longer a vibrant green. He looked so tired I wanted to cradle him in my arms. He had been so strong as long as I've known him seeing him look as sick as he genuinely was hurt me. It seemed the stronger I got, the weaker he would become. This ritual was killing him. 

"Harmony we need to stop" My head began to pound from the surge of energy running through me. I attempted to tug my hands away, but the vines were keeping me locked to him. "Harmony I don't want to kill you," I fought my urge to cry harder than I had ever fought anything before. Harmony looked like he might pass out at every moment. 

"We can not stop," He whispered. All our memories we shared flooded my head. Seeing him for the first time and being starstruck by him, his joyous laugh in the transport when I promised to be his friend, him bravely standing in front of the royal court and fighting for Leillan and I, the warm smell of him when he held me close right before I left for Vinick, and finally his soft hands holding mine when I promised to marry him. 

"I-I can't do this without you," I noticed his skin got a shade lighter, tears streamed down my face, and my throat felt as though it was closing shut. I was losing my ability to breath just as quickly as I was losing Harmony. The pressure on chest felt as though everyone in the kingdom was standing on top of me. "Please don't leave me," I begged as I tried to look up at him through my salty tears. I felt the energy flowing between us begin to slow down, and the hums quiet. Which meant Harmony was almost finished.

"Cyra, oh my sweet Cyra, I am not leaving. I will be in a different form. I will not be my physical form, but I will be with you. I will be the bright colors on the flowers when you need something to cheer you up, I will be the warmth of tea to comfort you on a cold morning, and I will be the melody they songbirds since to announce to you another day has started," He began a coughing fit, some bright crimson blood landed in the water before quickly disappearing from my sight. The vines crawled off my arm, and the ones that once grew out of Harmony's body dried up and fell off his body. He collapsed forward a bit, but I caught him. 

"Harmony!" I held his head above water as the rest of him sank. "Please stay, I love you," I began to hiccup a bit as I cried. Harmony reached up and traced my right eye that had been burning before lightly with his finger. 

"I will be there with you. I am with you forever and always. You have brought me so much more joy than I have ever experienced. I love you, my dear friend, Cyra," Then he smiled up at me. The same smile he gave in the photo, he gave me his beautiful jelly smeared face smile. I sadly smiled as I leaned down and kissed his forehead. 

"My dear friend Harmony," I whispered into his ear. He gripped my hand tightly before letting out a large gasp. When he slowly felt colder and colder, I knew he had passed. Time seemed to slow down. My world seemed to be imploding right before my eyes. I felt one of the masked men grab me to pull me away, but I ripped my arm away from him. 

"I can't leave him! Don't touch me!" I screamed as more people came around me to take me away from Harmony. I trashed and pulled myself away. I felt one tug my arm back quicker than I react to and stick something sharp into my arm. Soon my vision became foggy and blurred. I fell backward into the water with a tremendous splash. The cold water welcoming me, and I drifted off. I was slipping into darkness. 

My dearest friend Cyra

{Hello! So  I will be getting back to my one update a week schedule again! So watch out for more chapters coming soon. How do you guess believe the rebellion will go on without Harmony? do you agree with Leillan?}