Arwen smiles as she takes in the smell and atmosphere of Innisfuil Valley, the sacred home of the Beltane festival where many queens have displayed great power and many triplets have been conceived, ready to be born in the winter.

It is a festival of fire, passion and desire and Arwen expects to see many young couples sneak off into the woods in the oncoming few nights. She almost hopes her and Klaude would be one of those.

First will be the Hunt, then the next day will be the Disembarking and then the final night will be the Quickening - after that the Ascension begins. Finally. She just wants it all to be over so she can feel safe and so her and Klaude can become queen crowned and king consort respectively. Their version of a happy ending. She clings to that hope.

Innisfuil Valley is a big, isolated place with tall trees all around, creating the dense thicket of the forest which surrounds it. It is like a dark cage of leaves and branches to protect the heart of the island, the Breccia Domain.

She is at the edge of the forest and is almost invisible amongst the busy people of Fennbirn as she stands in the shadows, revelling in being relatively invisible even if it is for a temporary time. She's glad to escape be out of the way of Cierra's potential ire.

Tents are being put up all around but Arwen's and her sisters' encampments have already been built. Standing tall and sharp like the twin spires of the Volroy which will be the home of one of them once the Ascension Year ends.

The tents all have their own decorations and colours to represent the gift of their queen. Pretty red lanterns are hanging for the Westwood encampment of elementals. The fire inside is a special representation of Nalani's famous flames and to send a message to the rest of the encampments about Nalani's gift.

The actual fire is only little at the moment, started with ease by one of the many surrounding elementals and Arwen knows that later the elementals will start the enormous bonfire which flames will be roaring and unnaturally enormous. Such is the elementals power these days.

To her left further down she can vaguely see the Arron encampment, with hounds and poisoners sitting and guarding all around, their faces all sharp and observing, waiting like a snake to take a bite out of somebody. Their tent is nearly as big as Arwen's and has the Arron crest hung up at the top which sends fear into those around but also demands respect. It's entirely dramatic and over the top. Distasteful.

Hanging purple crystal mobiles for the poisoners are also around the tent which blows back and forth in the slight spring breeze, creating a small tinkling sound like bells chiming. The Arrons decorations are as sharp as glass and extravagant to represent their lavish taste.

As Arwen scrutinises the Arron encampment she catches sight of a tall pretty girl with long ice-blonde hair. She must be an Arron then, the pretty girl sees her staring and gives her a smile that is purely wicked and for intimidation.

Snarling, Arwen starts to pool her shadows around her palms and the obsidian-black mist/smoke lingers there waiting to be released. She may be scared of many things but she will not allow this random girl to intimidate her and certainly not from a distance.

The beautiful girl only scowls at her but has the good sense to lower her gaze eventually as she tosses her platinum locks behind her shoulder and goes back to her business.

"Was that truly necessary Queen Arwen?" A voice from behind her asks as they step forward.

Arwen spins around to see a stranger staring back at her.

A tall young man with pale skin, ice-blonde hair and icy blue eyes stares down at her as he towers over her with his incredible height.

"And who are you exactly?" Arwen asks, scowling slightly at being crept up on. He instantly makes her uneasy. People usually stick by their own encampments and he certainly isn't a shadow.

The stranger only laughs and then gestures to his himself,

"Can you not tell by features?" He asks patronisingly, "or at least my hair."

Arwen takes a moment to look at him again and comes to the obvious conclusion immediately. After all, he shares the exact same colouring of the girl at the Arron encampment.

"You're an Arron," she says, trying and failing to keep the disgust from her voice. Cierra has told her all about them. The Raduron matriarch absolutely loathes them. And she's heard so many tales of their brutality, especially when their was a poisoner dynasty of queens.

"Adrion Arron to be exact and I can see that the shadow queens are definitely famous for their wit," he says smirking and chuckling to himself, "I've never seen a shadow before but I've heard of you and for someone so famous you're not awfully impressive or the type to inspire much fear I suspect."

Such boldness and brashness of him. To talk to a queen like this. Him. A poisoner. A man. No one else would dare. He must truly support his queen. Or he is simply too arrogant. At least Cierra was right about one thing to do with them, the Arrons are certainly power hungry.

Arwen's eyes darken and she purses her lips in annoyance,

"I could have you dragged to Cierra Raduron and punished for this," she snaps, trying to be threatening but failing to keep a small amount of fear from her eyes. This has caught her off guard and he reminds her of Cierra which makes her nervous.

"What can't fight your own battles?" He taunts, raising an eyebrow, "if you can't handle me my Carina will make short work of you in the Ascension."

Arwen looks down not bearing to face him, she knows she is handling this badly but honestly, it feels like she is talking to Cierra and she doesn't know how to react, it is ironic that she hates confrontation when she is a queen.

"Why are you doing this to me?" She asks abruptly, "I have done nothing to you."

"I want you to die," he states plainly, "I want Carina, our poisoner queen to win because I want my family to regain our former standing and power, then the poisoner dynasty will start again."

Arwen says nothing as he leans down to face her,

"In a years time I will still be here at Innisfuil Valley celebrating Beltane but so will you I suppose because either way you will still be here, in a more ghostly form I suspect. The Breccia Domain is the less desired place to celebrate but I'll sure you'll make do," he says but then wags his finger at her, "but I do hear that there are plenty of other queens down there to keep you company so when Carina poisons inevitably poisons you ... well you'll have plenty of company amongst the little lonely ghosts down there."

In that moment Arwen wants to be powerful, to make him choke on his words and feel weak but she can say nothing. She just freezes and it feels like she's underwater. It's like when Cierra punishes her. Arwen wants to break out of it but she can't, all she feels is sheer panic.

Arwen is still silent as he takes her hand quite delicately and places a cold emotionless kiss on her pale skin,

"I do so hope we meet again," he says smirking at her once more and giving her a quick wink before he starts strolling away back to his poisoner pack.

Taking some deep breaths she turns away from his direction to the woods and smooths down her dress in an attempt to calm herself down. Arwen begins panting and blinks, trying to keep tears from falling.

She can't bear it. She let him make her feel inferior and intimidated. Arwen understands what people mean when they say poisoners can cut you apart with a few words. Shadows do it as well. But none have been that direct before. Only Cierra. And she is used to that but from Cierra alone.

Arwen nearly cries out as she thinks on how she wasn't supposed to be a queen, not when she's so sensitive, so weak.

Weak. Cierra's favourite word to describe her.

She can't bear it.

For a moment she feels her gift stir. Almost like it's reminding her that if she simply embraced the darkness of the gift then nobody would dare stand against her again. It's true she would have untold power but Arwen never wants to become like Cierra. Anyways, that part of her can only be triggered permanently with very extreme negative emotions and only to powerful shadows. A thing called shadow sickness. Hopefully it'll never happen.

Suddenly an hand gently grabs her arm and she pulls away immediately before she sees who it is,

"Calm down Arwen," Klaude says putting his hands up in surrender, "sorry I left you for so long, I was just doing practising archery with some Wolf Spring boys."

He is smiling at the memory, looking perfectly healthy as his wounds have finally healed, but then he notices her red eyes and her expression,

"What's wrong?" He asks, taking his hands in hers as he leads her to sit down on a nearby log.

Quickly, she wipes away any tear residue on her cheeks and tries to hide her face from him, letting her sheet of loose black hair shield her face from him.

"Nothing's wrong," she says quickly trying to smile, "I just had a small run in with one of the Arron boys that's all."

His face darkens as he looks at her again, "Tell me what happened," he says, locking gazes with her as he pressurises her with his intense glare.

They have a small staring contest for a moment before Arwen finally relents and throws her arms up in exasperation,

"Fine," She says, "he just made me feel out of sorts, that is all, he was just trying to intimidate me is all but his disposition was so much like Cierra, he made me feel weak with ease and I hate it."

He gives her a small hug for comfort as he lets her head rest on his shoulder,

"You are not weak in any way, be grateful for you good heart and your empathy, it's just a trait those stupid vipers will never understand," he says, stroking her hair, "they will never feel love, not truly, not the way I love you and they're probably miserable old bastards because of that, because no one actually wants them or their queen around."

Arwen laughs a little at that, pulling away and wiping her eyes again.

"You love me?" Arwen questions. Picking up on his words.

He is silent for a moment as he contemplates what he just said. It almost makes Arwen smile. She has never seen Klaude look so nervous before and she caused it.

"Yes," Klaude says slowly, only just realising what he'd actually said. He's never said that to any girl. Well none that he meant it with, none of his casual lovers from Valostra. He never had a shortage of women, not when he had royal blood mixed with his looks and charms. But she is different, his feelings are different.

Arwen only jumps into his arms and he quickly lifts her up as she kisses him, her sadness forgotten as he spins her around.

"I suppose that means you love me too?" He says with a little amusement as he puts her down.

"Yes," she says, just taking the time to look at him as her hands rest on the beck of his neck.

He was truly so handsome, some charming and kind. And he was hers. And she was his. And that makes her happy, so euphorically and incandescently happy. The happiest she has ever been in all her days.

But the elated burst fades as quickly as it appears as she starts to overthink. As is her nature. And suddenly she feels a glimmer of fear. She doesn't want this life for him. Not here, not with the Radurons. Suitors have been known to die after all. Even Katharine the Undead's king consort died. And if she died, she wonders what will become of him.

Although he catches the subtle change in her expression. He has been studying and observing her. Learning to read her even when she doesn't tell him what she's thinking.

"What is it?" He questions with a frown as he switches from happy to concern within an instant.

"I'm afraid Klaude," Arwen says, feeling tears form again and the familiar panic setting in, "I'm afraid of Cierra, I'm afraid of Carina and even that stupid Arron boy who had no qualms about threatening me but most of all I'm afraid for us, we are finally so happy but what if it dies here, I've never had so much and I feel as if it could be taken away within seconds, I feel like I can't breathe on the island surrounded by all these shadows."

And Arwen just starts crying again. Even if it makes her weak she can't help it, she can't stop. It's been building up, since her and Klaude nearly died at Ondina's Cove. And since she killed Neela that priestess. Arwen just feels like she's spiralling and she doesn't know how to stop.

And it doesn't help with a gift as strong as hers, with her emotions so volatile the gift takes it's toll as well, sometimes she is drowning in it.

"I am here, you don't have to be afraid," Klaude says, trying to reach out for her again and she shakes him off, getting more hysterical by the minute as she keeps panting. Like she's truly struggling to breathe.

"No, no," she says shaking her head, "you have to leave, i don't want you to see me like this."

"You don't have to face this panic and fear alone Arwen," Klaude starts but she cuts him off.

"Leave," she orders as she tries to take deep breaths but she cannot.

Klaude's face crumples slightly at that as if she's truly wounded him,

"This isn't you," he says, "you're just getting upset which is understandable with all you've been through lately but pI'm not going to leave, not when you're like this."

He takes a step towards her and she starts raising her voice.

"Stay back!" She shouts a little, "you don't understand, I have no choices, no freedom. And what's left? Aside from you there is only fear. And I will likely rot as a fallen queen."

More tears start to fall from Arwen's eyes. It's likely her gift. She's used so much if it's power lately, tuning in with the darkness. It overwhelms her and increases her panic. It doesn't help that Cierra abuses her the day they left, with only her words this time. But there have been many times where she has left her bruises and marks.

Arwen feels too much and that can be a bad thing with the gift she has and the role she has to play to become queen crowned.

She eventually just sinks to her knees and keeps crying in despair, "I don't want to die," she whispers, "and I don't want to kill anyone else ever again, not like I had to with the prisoners or Neela. Every time it happens, even if it is for justice it feels like a little of my soul breaks off and I feel empty."

"Everyone thinks the triplets are so scared," she says, giving an uncharacteristically cold laugh, "but they're so far from the truth."

She pauses and looks him in the eyes with her red ones for a moment as she says, "we are cursed."

Klaude goes to speak again but the words die on his lips as he sees her eyes grow darker.

Slowly, they roll back into her head until Klaude can only see the whites off her eyes and her black veins crawl up her skin like shadows.  Her head rolls forward and then back and it looks like she is fighting with someone or something as she starts muttering things, strange omens and curses. 

"Arwen," Klaude says worriedly, shaking her gently, "can you hear me?" 

She doesn't answer as her eyes roll back but her black eyes are now black with a ring of bright silver around them. 

They are both the most haunting, beautiful and mesmerising thing he has ever seen. If he wasn't so terrified he would stop and admire them. But whenever this person is it is no longer Arwen. 

"Come," She says, her voice deep and different than her usual smooth voice. 

This voice is ancient, not like any voice he has ever heard. This voice is older than time itself. This woman is ethereal and Klaude does not need an oracle to know that she is also deadly. Beautiful is not the right word to describe her.  She is neither old nor young and she is neither beautiful or ugly. She simply is power.

Something that has never been before, something unknown to the likes of humans.  The other Arwen does not need to gesture, he follows her anyway by a certain magnetic pull that he cannot resist. 

As she walks, all the clouds block the sun and an enormous shadow is cast onto Innisfuil Valley and it goes silent for just a moment.

All the birds seem to stop chirping and the trees shrink back in both fear and anticipation. The only sound left is the wind whispering its secrets in both recognition and in respect to whoever this new Arwen has become. They walk and walk, her wild black hair and black dress flowing wildly in the breeze and to Klaude it seems like forever. He is almost in a trance as his feet simply follow the pull, he cannot explain it nor can he stop it.

Even in amongst the vast woods where there is seemingly no path, every plant and animal shrinks away into the background of nature's canvas to create a path for her. 

Not daring to breath or look back, Klaude keeps following her for what seems like an eternity. 

Then she suddenly halts and something ripples and shifts in the entire atmosphere, almost announcing the arrival of someone or something.

Klaude looks around but his attention is instantly stolen by the perpetual depthless hole of utter darkness that lay in the ground before him. 

The Breccia Domain.

He'd have to blind not to recognise it after his mother's tales and to not simply feel the otherworldly energy admitting from it. No. There is certainly nothing like this in Valostra.

Everyone knows that it is more than just an empty hole, especially after the tales of Katharine the Undead came to light. Arsinoe the White Handed insisted it be documented but not everyone believed her or perhaps those around her simply wished to cover it up.

It is only told as a scary story now, meant to scare or even be told as a joke between friends. Nobody truly knows what to believe about it but most stay clear of the Breccia Domain anyway.

Rumour has it that the dead queens are still falling and the pit has no end. But nobody truly believes that. After all, Katharine the Undead reached the end.

His mother had told him that it was the heart of the island, the place where the Goddess's eye is always open and always watching. She loved to teach him things about the island when he was young, she always missed it and sometimes Klaude wondered if she regretted leaving and marrying his Valostran father. Still, he always enjoyed hearing tales of Fennbirn, it almost didn't seem real. Until he arrived.

No one knows how the Goddess truly keeps those fallen queens or what she turns them into.  The monsters that lurk in the imagination. Kind mothers and fathers denying their existence to their children but they are real, very real. Just lurking and subdued.

For the first time Klaude feels sacred, genuinely fear race through his bones, making them tingle. This is not a game for the likes of mortals. Or for a mainlander such as him.

"This is the Breccia Domain," the woman says, the words rolling off of her tongue effortlessly, "This is where my heart lays." 

Klaude looks up at her questioningly,  "Your heart?" He asks, struggling to keep the evident fear from leaking into his voice. 

The woman smiles and it is a horrifying and wicked smile that is foreign and unfamiliar on Arwen's face but she says nothing as she turns towards him and traps him with her gaze, 

"Can you feel it?" She whispers looking up to the dark sky where ominous black clouds circled overhead and raising her arms up, embracing the wind entirely, "can you feel the crying of my heart?" 

The question doesn't seem to be directed at him but Klaude doesn't pay attention either way as one sound starts to invade all of his senses.

"The Breccia Domain was here when I created this island and it will be here when it falls," She says, "This is where my immortal essences tied to,  giving my first daughters a connection to their powers. That power of mine is what gives this island its gifts and prosperity." 

She stops before anger creases her face, "But now they have all become so ungrateful, so assured of my daughter's gifts. So I gifted my war daughter a shadow daughter but they're still so ungrateful, like mortals always are." 

She goes to close her eyes again as she continues,  "Hear the drum of my heartbeat and the cries of my daughters, queens and triplets but long forgotten and tossed aside. They are angry and tired of being trapped in the dark for so long. Like me. I've been trapped and rotting for eons.
Can you hear them now mortal, can you hear their cries, can you feel their anger and pain, can you feel death?" She asks and he cannot keep the fear that is practically oozing from him, 

"Listen." 

Wisely, Klaude says nothing as he obeys her and starts to listen. It is utterly silent for a second before the steady drum and thudding of a heartbeat is all he hears.

Thud. Thud. Thud. 

It kept going and it only got louder and louder and louder. Soon Klaude has to cover his ears and it becomes too loud to bear. 

"Do you hear my heart mortal?" She questions, "it grows stronger than it ever has before. The fallen's blood feeds and sustains me and it's nearly time."

He fears asking what she means as he starts to the heartbeat grows so deafening it hurts his ears and it's almost as if the pit starts rattling.

Klaude eventually closes his eyes to block it all out and tries to block it everyone and everything. 

Then something stirs within the darkness like something awakens.

Then it all stops.

Something else ripples and Klaude looks up to see the woman who wears Arwen's face, 

"Death will arrive on swift wings," She tells him, giving him one last horrifying smile before the silver vanishes from her black eyes and her smile drops as she falls. 

Taking his hands from his ears quickly Klaude gets up and rushes to wear Arwen lays and kneels down beside her as he held her up, 

"Arwen!" Klaude calls, "Wake up." 

He tries to wake her but she doesn't stir and the black veins have now vanished and her pale porcelain skin is back to its usual perfect paleness and her face is peaceful; it looks like she is sleeping. 

Carefully, he lowers his head and listens for a heartbeat. 

He soon hears quiet thudding from her chest. Faint, but her heart is beating. He analyses her quickly and sees she has no physical injuries. Breathing a sigh of relief, Klaude just holds her as he rocks her back and forth, never letting her go for a moment. 

Then he starts to look up and sees that the clouds have parted again for the sun, letting rays of gold flops through Innisfuil Valley. 

He hears the cheerful sounds of birds chirping and no violent thrashing of the wind. 

Blinking slowly, he comes back to reality and shudders as he feels the faint echo of the fear that he felt earlier. 

The coldness he felt when someone or something took over Arwen's body, mind and soul. That woman was not her.

She was not of this world. Time passes but Klaude does not feel it as all he does is hold and comfort Arwen. 

Soon Cierra and a hunting party of Radurons and shadows find her. Spies always keep an eye on the young queen these days, ever since the incident by Ondina's Cove.

Pure worry is on Cierra Raduron's face as she rushes towards him and Arwen, her whole pack of hounds and shadows flanking her. She barks orders at them all but Klaude does not absorb anything. Her lips start moving and it looks like she is shouting at him but he still couldn't absorb anything. 

Cierra rushes towards him and starts shaking him forcefully and restrains him as Arwen is taken from his arms and placed into the arms of Orpheus Raduron, who seems like a giant as he carries Arwen, who gradually starts opening her eyes as they search for Klaude naturally.p

Klaude reaches for him but Cierra uses her shadow powers to stop him and her black swirls tighten around him like a rope. 

"What happened child?" She shouts, her jewelled earrings rocking as she shakes her head, "Tell me!"

It is a dangerous thing to disobey Cierra Raduron but at this moment in time Klaude does not care. She continues to shout but he ignores her. Soon he feels pain as Cierra's shadows unwrap themselves from him and he is yanked to his feet by a few large shadow men and made to stand. 

So many people are rushing around, with the Radurons and Cierra at the centre of the storm, controlling all the ensuing chaos surrounding them. Everyone cares about Arwen at this time and he is glad for it. No one cares or notices as he goes to sit by a nearby rock. 

He tries to make sense of the woman's last words, of the omen and prophecy of death that she spoke of but it gives him a headache and he starts breathing too quickly again. 

Soon Klaude takes deep breaths to calm himself, running his hand through his messy brown hair but then gasping, his eyes snap open as he realises who had taken Arwen over earlier. Who had controlled her and awoken a dormant power like no other.

The Goddess.