Hazel sat on her new bed, looking over her bandaged arms as she explored the memories from earlier. By her side was Nedoza, who talked on and on about the book she'd just read, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Hazel was clearly not paying attention. It turns out, however, that she noticed.

"You okay, Hazel?" Nedoza asked, sitting up straight.

"I'm just thinking, is all."

Hazel gave her friend a quick smile before returning to her blank gaze.

"About what?"

"Oh, nothing really," Hazel said, remembering Siyan's words, "I just don't do crowds."

Nedoza nodded in understanding.

"I feel you there, but sometimes it feels nice to sneak out and get some fresh air. This palace may feel big to you, but when you're trapped in here for your whole life... it gets rather boring."

"I can imagine."

Hazel rested her chin in her palm as she figured out her next words.

"What would happen if you got caught? Sneaking out, I mean?"

Nedoza's face lost a bit of its color and her near-white eyes went wide.

"I had to stand on the edge of Mount Giyalas on a windy day. I would have died if it weren't for Mother."

"Your mother?"

Tears formed in Nedoza's closing eyes.

"Father banished her after she rescued me," Nedoza explained, her voice shaky, "but I don't think she ever left this range. I think the mountain took her that day."

Hazel couldn't think of a response. Her mind was blank, and as she heard Nedoza's voice become more unstable, she began to feel tears of her own begin to fall down her cheek.

"Queen Kaidja hasn't been seen for nearly eighty years."

"How could the queen herself be banished?" Hazel wondered aloud.

"She was born a peasant. It was arranged, but if she was seen as a threat to the remains of the kingdom, she could be banished. Thus, she was."

Nedoza's face went blank.

"And the three-generation marriage cycle is 'cleansed' with me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hazel demanded.

It seemed everything in this world was new to her. She moved her place on the bed, sitting cross-legged with her hands resting on her knees, ready to listen."

"Every three generations marks a cycle, and each generation's eventual partner is somewhat pre-determined at birth," Nedoza said, "the first generation marries a noble, the second marries a peasant, and the third 'cleanses the bloodline'. The eldest son must marry the eldest female cousin, or if the ages are too different, the eldest daughter."

Hazel froze.

"I am the eldest daughter, and last year marked my one hundredth year. I have no choice. When Father dies, he must propose, or the court will be angry."

Primitive, that's what it was. That's how Hazel described it to herself as Nedoza left the room, slamming the door behind her. Cleansing the bloodline? It was more like warping it to her. Come to think of it, that would explain the significant tension between her and Siyan which plagued them every time they were in a room together.

The sun's warm even rays shone through the bedroom window as it set below the mountains, obscuring the town in a premature darkness from the shadows cast by the tall summits. Hazel stared out the window which faced the town, sighing as she dreamed of being home. The castle was beautiful, yes, but even luxury felt wrong when she wasn't back with her three closest friends. Nedoza could try all she wanted, but she'd never replace Iain's jokes, nor Venice's laugh, nor Lauren's constant nagging.

Even the grandest castle is worthless without anything to fill its corridors, and the hollow space in Hazel's heart where Earth once filled grew more and more with every passing second.

Something interrupted her thoughts.

Down by the wall, a cloaked Siyan hopped over the wall's edge, sprinting at full speed back to the palace doors. He pushed the hood off his cloak, which he wrapped around him as the cold of the evening began to set in. A glow of deep red light, and then the sound of the door opening.

Why doesn't he just use the stairs? Hazel wondered before remembering the emotionless faces of the guards which protected the vulnerable grounds from unwanted visitors. She felt a chill go down her spine as she thought of the way the sun shone on their spears.

~~~

The next morning couldn't come soon enough. One thing was for sure, she was not missing what Siyan was up to. She leapt out of bed, rummaging through her drawers until she found a similar looking cloak, though in a deep burgundy rather than the plain black. Hazel shrugged, wrapping it around her anyways.

It felt just like velvet, and its ribbon ties brought a very nostalgic feeling along with them of Halloween nights on Earth. Venice had worn a similar cloak one year. Just remembering the memories with her three best friends brought a sinking feeling in her chest. What a lovely way to start the morning: with dread.

And then she heard it. The creak of Siyan's bedroom door and the sound of fading footsteps. Hazel's heart sped up. She pulled the sides of the cloak together and followed, not letting Siyan see or hear her.

She knew where he'd go, straight to the same place on the wall near the ledge as the day before, where no guards could see past the distance. Hazel waited for the palace doors to slam shut before making her way out herself.

Aha, she thought, watching as he hopped the wall.

Hazel stepped closer to the wall. Her heart pounded as she approached, her vision slightly blurred. It was still a huge drop to the lower ledge, and she was anything but prepared. One wrong step...

She shook her head.

I can do this.

Hazel sat sideways on the wall, one shaking hand on the cliff beside her. She looked down at the drop. It had to have been no less than five meters. One foot on the stone... two feet... she let go of the wall, sliding down the rough stone and holding in a scream the whole way down. There was no way she could make a noise if it could get her caught.

One ledge down, a few more to go. She crawled to the edge of her current one, her mind spinning furiously. It would be a long morning.

At last she reached the ground, but Siyan was nowhere in sight. Hazel sighed. She'd lost him. She pulled the hood over her now very scratched cloak and ducked into the pedestrian traffic of the nearest street she could find.

The city center, right! Hazel remembered.

She pushed through the crowds, much to everyone's annoyance, but she kept on going. If she followed the current road, it looked to end up in the circle where she'd ended up before. Her mind began to clear.

Focus, and don't let him see you.

And then she heard it; the same music as the day before, the woman's beautiful voice cutting clean through the busy atmosphere of the city. Sure enough, by her side was a hooded figure singing along, swaying to the tune of her harp.

Hazel tip-toed her way across the edge of the circle, careful to keep her hood up, until she could hear them clearly.

"Maybe someday I'll show you the palace," Siyan said, letting the sun glint on his headpiece.

"Aren't you the third generation, though?" the woman asked.

"I can still love you, no customs can prevent that."

"You couldn't even marry me if the generation were right," she said, "I'm not Altered."

Siyan ran a hand through the woman's indigo hair, letting it brush against her chin before lowering it.

"What difference does that make? Once I marry her, we can change the laws, we can change the customs, it won't matter. It's not like Nedoza even wants to rule," Siyan said, his voice getting excited, "and I'll be able to love you."

"I'm not even supposed to be on this planet, don't you see?" she said, flicking her loose tail in agitation.

"That will all change, Nosiji, I promise you. Just give me time."

"We don't even know when the king will pass. And- and if he finds out about us, I don't know what will happen. If he even finds out about me... Jalaiko drove me out and I'm not going to be thrown back to Emnad!"

"Don't you worry, love, I'll protect you. Whatever it costs, I'll do it all for you."

Siyan leaned in towards the woman, giving her a gentle kiss. She looked up at him with a sorrow in her eyes.

"I trust you," she said, "I really do."

"Then I'll see you for the Day of the Souls tomorrow."

Hazel lowered her gaze, thinking over what she just overheard. Something was coming, she could feel it. And whatever it was, it wouldn't be good.