Pixie: 21
Dawna: 24

Our lies are better than the truth
CLOVES; Frail love

'Do you think everyone will come?' the dotted woman asked nervously while biting her lip.

'Of course not,' the Queen responded as they entered the ball room. 'You ended up inviting over three-hundredth people so I hope that not everyone will come. '

They ended up inviting Pixie's entire family and every child, its siblings and parents that turned one in the same year as little Loöys. It turned out that around one hundredth and fifty children were born in that time frame. Some of them were too young to make it but most parents had accepted the invitation.

'Shouldn't we, I don't know, start decorating the place? In under an hour the party will start, and we have not a single animal in here yet,' the dotted women spoke concerned.

Despite her not wanting this party in the first place she had grown fond of the idea to surprise her little boy. He would obviously not remember much of his first birthday; however, Pixie loved the idea that she could offer him something like that. Growing up in a small house with four other children made it nearly impossible to have such an expensive and extravagant party for anyone. The dotted woman had never missed it, instead of wealth she had the most loving and caring family ever and she would never trade that in for money or luxury. Yet, knowing she could provide such a big party and all the love in the world for her son made her heart swell up in happiness.

'Hush, hush,' the Queen spoke. 'Step back, please and do try to enjoy the show.'

Pixie did as was requested and took a step back before she noticed that Dawna closed her bright blue eyes. All of a sudden, the pale girl started to hum a songlike tune before snapping her fingers multiple times. The chairs and other furniture disappeared immediately and made room for a circus like circle in the middle and tribunes. The high ceiling got covered with a red and white striped cloth and many animals appeared in the middle. There were elephants, dogs, lions, large birds, zebras and many more animals with their personal caretaker. The room was large enough to offer the animals a comfortable stay.

'Do you like it?'

Pixie frowned her dotted head as she pulled her lips in a straight line. 'I thought we had agreed on doing a zoo-theme instead of a circus –theme? We talked about this all day long, remember?'

A soft laugh escaped the other woman's plump lips as she shook her head. 'It was worth a try.'

Once again the room changed. This time Dawna had created small habitats for every animals pieces. At the right side stood the animals that lived in the rainforest, in the middle the ones that lived in the colder areas, on the left side the ones that lived in a more savannah-like climate, in the middle stood the giraffes and at the entry hung snakes and monkeys on high trees.

'Better?'

'Much better,' the dotted woman spoke with a happy and satisfied tone in her voice. 'I should really keep you, you do come in handy every now and then.'

'Oh please, when little Loöys grows up you do not need me for this kind of things anymore. I will be replaced by someone half my age, how depressing.'

'Do you think that he'll be capable of doing the same things as you when he gets older?'

'Hard to tell,' the pale Queen spoke as she turned to the worrying woman. 'No matter what happens, your son we be incredibly loved, and he will have the best teacher in the world.'

'Who? You?'

'Well you are certainly not going to do it, now are you?'

Pixie could not help but laugh before she walked over to the Queen where she pulled her in an unexpected hug. The two would rarely hug each other and if they did Dawna always had trouble accepting the form of affection. Being this close to her Queen only made the feeling of guilt grow in her stomach. Pixie had not been honest to Dawna and had therefore ignored the womans aunts treat. Doubtless she would either interrupt the party or arrest her afterwards for betrayal. However, Pixie very much doubted that Delphinium would let this pass silently, not after she had got to know the royal family. They were all very dramatic and extravagant.

'What are you doing?'

The dotted woman rolled her eyes and held the pale woman even closer while placing her head on her shoulder. 'I'm hugging you.'

'I can tell, but why?'

'To thank you,' the youngest woman spoke, but it was also to apologise for what was going to happen. 'So, hug me back or this will get awkward.'

Slowly, very slowly the other woman wrapped her arms around her waist and accepted the form of affection. 'It is awkward no matter what.'

'It'll be if you do not shut up right now,' the dotted woman warned her as her nose took in the strong smell of her Queen.

Strangely enough, Pixie felt safe in the cold arms of her protector. It was true; Dawna had protected both her and her son since the day she had saved them in the hospital.

Unfortunately, the Queen had also done some unforgivable things that made her stomach turn and her blood freeze in her veins. Those memories and the pain haunted her mind no matter how badly the dotted woman wanted to forget about all the bad things. Her mind simply did not allow her to forget about all the death and pain Dawna had caused and it was hard. How could someone so evil protect and take care of a citizen like herself? How could this be the same woman that enjoyed burning people and hanging them?

'What is happening? Did I do something wrong?' the white-haired woman suddenly spoke as she let go of the other girl. 'Why are you crying?'

Dawna had been right because the woman with the short hair was indeed crying silent tears. 'Dawna, do you love me and Loöys?'

'What do you mean?'

'You heard me,' Pixie spoke again while wiping away all her tears. The guilt she had been feeling was eating her up from the inside together with a feeling of doubt. 'Do you love us? Is that why you are doing all of this or is there an underlying reason? You once told me that you did not do love but why are you protecting us then?'

'You are my friend,' the pale woman spoke. 'My best and frankly my only friend so of course I like to spoil you and your little miracle. Of course, I want to protect you from those maniacs. Stop being so insecure every time I do something like this, it is not a good look on you.'

'Why me though? You could have saved any mother whose baby was dying but you choose me. Why?'

'You are wrong there,' the Queen spoke. 'I did not choose you; I was simply visiting the hospital that day when I found you.'

'Why did you save me?'

'Why are you asking me all those things?' the Queen asked but as soon as her eyes noticed the way Pixie was rolling her dark eyes she spoke again. 'I saved you because my instincts took over, alright. Everyone always thought that I was this heartless beast so I suppose the little coal inside of me started to beat that day. I saved you because I had no choice, when I saw you lying there screaming for help, I knew that this help would not come from anyone but me. Now, there is your answer. Can we stop it now before you get even more sentimental? Most people will be arriving in less than half an hour and we need to get dressed.'

Pixie knew that the other woman was hiding the fact that she has lost her baby girl for her. Despite knowing the facts, the dotted woman did not dare to speak of them. Dawna did not appreciate it when people unravelled her past and asked too many questions and that day should be all about her firstborn.

'You're right,' the youngest of the two spoke, pushing her guilt to the side. 'I guess I will see you soon then, tiger.'

The party had started, and the most important people had arrived already when the cake was brought in. It was a family tradition of Pixie to bake the cake together with the one whose birthday it was, but since Loöys was not even capable of holding his rattle for longer than a few minutes Dawna and she had to do it. The cake had over ten layers; each layer showed a different habitat with the animals that lived in it. The animals in the room matched the animals on the cake and those also matched the outfits. Almost everyone was dressed in an animal costume and the ones who were not got a free make-over from the Queen who was dressed as a tiger herself. Pixie had chosen to be a white owl with wings and big eyes. Little Loöys, who had no choice whatsoever, was dressed up as a ladybug by choice of his mother.

'I hate the singing part,' Dawna whined as at least ten guards carried the heavy cake in.

'Don't be such a party pooper,' the dotted woman replied. 'Just sing softly, that way no one can hear how much you suck at singing.'

Her ears were filled with a chuckle with caused her to smile proudly. Soon the cake was presented to them as everyone came closer. The pale Queen lit on the one, big candle before everyone started to sing a birthday son in harmony.

'Alright then, happy birthday Loöys, you may blow out your candle.'

Pixie ended up blowing it out and soon everyone started to applaud before the cake was cut. The dotted woman noticed the little ghost boy that run around the place with a happy smile on his lips. He petted all the animals and played with all the children without them knowing it. Pixie was the only one aware of his presence and this made it even harder for her to stay quiet about his presence, especially since the other woman was still mourning her brothers death.

'I must admit that this party is a bit much,' a familiar voice stepped forwards. Her grandmother, who was dressed as a lion, soon pulled her in a hug before whispering softly in her ear. 'Mathias would have loved this so much, lieverd. He would have been so proud of his son and of you.'

'Thank you oma,' the dotted woman whispered before placing a kiss on her head. The oldest woman saw this as a chance to pull the dotted woman closer so no one would hear what she was about to say next.

'We are ready. I have twenty-three people on lookout, over twenty people are armed and more than fifteen people are in this room. If she tries to do anything, we will make sure to fight back.'

Pixies heart was filled with abhorrence just thinking about the Queens faith. She was going to stab her in the back multiple times, only to have others try to kill her.

'Please, oma, please don't do this. I've accepted my faith and so should you. Don't kill her, don't kill Dawna.'

'Look at him, Pixie, just look at your little boy,' the oldest woman spoke, causing the dotted woman to look over her shoulder in order to see the little boy.

The now one-year old was incapable of eating cake, yet he had gotten the biggest slice. His small fists demolished the cake as he through it all around the place while a giggle left his lips. The sight of him being so carefree and happy filled her heart with happiness and an intense pain; knowing that she would have to leave him behind.

In the corner of her dark eyes she noticed a certain pale woman coming their way, causing her to smile automatically. Dawna was something else and she was one of the few people to have seen her true colours. No masks, no acts but the real her. This alone made it worth to die for.

'Unbelievable,' the woman with the short dark hair spoke as Dawna joined the conversation, ignoring her oma intentionally. 'You two aren't related by blood, yet his actions are very much alike to yours.'

'Oh please,' the pale woman spoke. 'I would have at least eaten a piece of this delicious chocolate cake.'

'As long as you did not poison the cake, I'm fine with it.'

'It is almost touching how well you know me. Unfortunately I have to inform you that here is no poison in the food or air, although I must admit that some of these people look poisonous to me.'

'Did you look in the mirror again?' the dotted woman asked before she stuck out her tongue.

'How rude, please forgive me,' the pale Queen spoke as she suddenly became aware of the older woman's presence. 'How are you doing this fine evening?'

The two women shook each others hands before they both smiled at each other. The way they spoke to each other reminded the dotted woman of what was about to happen, and it was killing her. Who would take care of her family? Who would look after her little boy? The chance that the royals would allow her to stay alive was even smaller than the chance that she would suddenly become Queen. There was no way Dawna would let her walk out without a fight. Pixie was going down, and with that in mind she wanted to enjoy the last moments of her life surrounded by the people she loved more than anything in the world. Including a certain white-haired woman.

'Very well, thank you. I must congratulate you with this amazing party. When Pixie told us that you were throwing Loöys an animal-themed party we were not quite sure what to expect but you have truly outdone yourself.'

'That is very kind of you to say, I am very relieved that you like it.'

Her heart sunk in her chest by the sound of her omas sweet voice. It was all fake. All of this was. She had organised a party for her firstborn and it would get a dark turn. The one-year-old would most likely no longer have a mother after that night, he would be an orphan, but in that moment no one knew. This was her farewell party, and that hurt.

'Right, Pixie?' a voice suddenly called up, causing the short-haired woman to look up in surprise.

Both women were looking at her with raised eyebrows, causing her cheeks to automatically warm up.

'Sorry, you saying?'

Dawna frowned at her before speaking up again. 'I was telling your grandmother about what occurred with Loöys when we tried to bath him last week. Do you remember?'

'How could I ever forget?' she asked as a big smile appeared on her lips. 'Loöys wasn't having it that day. We had just undressed him when-.'

The dotted woman was rudely cut off by ten armed guards that stormed the party. The sound of their boots that hit the floor angrily and their anger caused multiple children to flee the scene while others started to cry and hid behind their families. So, they were actually going to do it at the party, in plain sight when everyone she loved could witness it. Of course, Delphinium would let her go down like this.

Her dark eyes immediately glanced over to her oma, trying to make it clear that she didn't want her to move a muscle. Luckily for her, the oldest woman seemed to be incapable of moving. Her brown eyes looked at her grandchild with hurt as she started to cry. She would not be capable of ordering anyone anything at that point, and even though it broke her heart to see her oma like that it also caused a feeling of relieve to wash through her.

'What is happening?' the short-haired woman asked seconds before the guards had grabbed her arms and pushed her upper body on the table violently. She knew exactly what was happening but refused to say it out loud.

The young woman was facing her child as the men handcuffed her rather roughly. The blood in her veins froze as fear combined with worry filled her entire being. Her dark eyes could only look at her gorgeous little boy, knowing that she would never see him again. Pixie would never see her son grow into a beautiful man and she would not be there to tell him how much she loved him. The worst part of it all was that this was fully her fault. All of this was.

'Yes, please do tell us what the meaning of all this is,' a voice called out. 'What are you doing? Who gave you this order?'

'I did,' another familiar voice called out. This time the voice belonged to Delphinium who had entered the party wearing all black and an evil look in her eyes. 'Pixie, you are hereby held on suspicion of playing an important role in the resistance and for treason. You have the right to remain silence, everything you say can and will be held against you in court of law.'

'Wait, what?' Dawna asked again and by that time Pixies cheeks were wetted by the many tears that had escaped the prison that her eyes formed. 'Auntie, what are you doing?'

'We have very good reasons to believe that this woman right here is the new leader of the resistance. She has been undercover and selling out your secrets for months now.'

The guards had pulled the dotted woman up and forced her to look in a pair of bright blue eyes that looked confused. All she could think about was her little boy that was now crying loudly as he watched how his mother got dragged out of the room with violence. This would be the last time that she would ever see him, and it shattered her heart in pieces.

'Tell me that this is a lie, Pixie. This must be a misunderstanding. You would never lie to me, right? You just would not.'

Part of her knew that it was not too late to lie. She could make everyone believe that this was one big mistake. However, the dotted woman had never been one to lie to people, especially not to the ones she cared about. The lies had been a huge burden on her soul and the weight of it was slowly killing her. It was now or never, if she chose to lie this time, she would never be honest.

'I-I'm s-sorry,' her voice cried out weakly. 'I'm s-so s-sorry. You must l-leave, Dawna. You m-must. Otherwise they will kill you too! Please g-go to your r-room before it's too late. Safe yourself, p-please.'

Something broke in the eyes of the other woman. Pixie had been just another soul to betray her and this thought made the dotted woman repel herself. What had started as a way to follow into her fathers footsteps had ended in an unexpected friendship. The short-haired woman had tried to stop leading the resistance, but it was too late by then. They all listened to her and trusted her. She was so important that no one would even dare to do as much as point a finger to their Queen without her knowing it. Every move they made had to be checked and approved by the dotted woman, which was the main reason there had not been an attempt to take Dawna's life in months.

Men with black clothes and weapons entered the room; revealing that her oma had given the order eventually. Dawna had noticed them too but did not seem to care too much about their presence. All she could do was look at the face of her betrayer; her best and only friend.

However, the tears that were streaming down her pale cheeks showed that none of this mattered anymore. Pixie had betrayed her and had dug her own grave. Just like her father had done.

The pale woman blinked one time, causing everyone in the room to faint immediately. Everyone but the guards that held the dotted woman, Lady Delphi and herself. The last thing Pixie would see before she was thrown in the dungeons forever was the sight of her unconscious family.

'Take her away, then,' the Queen spoke with a heartless voice. Yet, the other woman could hear the slight tremble and the hurt in her voice. 'Throw this traitor in the dungeons.'