"What?" Adriana exclaimed, not sure if she heard correctly. "Kabos wants to take over Gregoria?"

        "Yes." Skylar replied solemnly. "When I was out, I had a vision, but not a normal one. It's the kind where you're seeing a scene take place in front of you in real-time."

        "A Sighting?" Adriana gasped, "I didn't think those existed."

        "Me neither." Skylar replied. "I---wait, James?"

        "Hey Sky." Adriana had completely forgotten about James's presence, even though he was still holding her from when she had almost toppled over. "I'm glad that you're doing well. Mother and Father send their regards."

        "Their regards?" Skylar scoffed, "They probably just wanted you out of the house."

        James considered this before nodding.

        "Probably."

        "Anyways," Skylar turned her attention back to Adriana, "Do you know what Ariesia is?"

        "Yeah. I read about it a couple days ago."

        "Well, when the Ariesians came over to Gregoria after the murder of their royal family, some of them were not exactly thrilled about it. They created a group that went around terrorizing the villagers of Gregoria and threatening the royal family. Their group, called Troya, continued for a number of decades before being shut down by your grandfather. Everyone thought they were done with the Troya for good.

        "But they kept operating, underground, in the shadows. Mysterious deaths followed their rumored whereabouts, until your father caught their leader, Jared Opendaugh, and executed him. From that point on, the deaths stopped, the fear decreased, and everyone was thought to be safe."

        "So what does this have to do with this Kabos character?" James asked impatiently.

        "I'm getting there." Skylar replied. "I had heard of a continuation of the Troya, but I didn't think it was true. But I did a little research, and apparently they're still operating in secret. Except, instead of murdering villagers and threatening the royalty, they have a new goal: to obtain your power."

        "My power?"

        "No. Dawn's. Your power is of the night, which they see no need for since it is said to be inferior to the Light. Kabos and his father, Phillip, come from a long line of Ariesian descendents, and they are working for someone much higher up in the Troya, who has managed to stay in hiding for decades. Kabos was set up to find Dawn, to make her fall in love with him. A weak body is easy to take power from, and a body strengthened by love and then having that love torn away from them, is a very broken body indeed."

        "So he's going to break her heart and then take her power for this...this Troya."

        "Correct."

        "Well this changes things." Adriana muttered. "I was just on my way in here because Kabos invited Dawn to his house tonight for dinner. I knew something bad was going to happen there, but now I'm pretty sure I know exactly what's going to happen."

        Skylar's eyes grew wide. 

        "Tonight? That doesn't give us much time."

        "No. Not much time at all."

***

        This is a big night. I have to dress the part. Dawn thought as she sat in front of her vanity, staring at her face. Her bright blue eyes stared back at her excitedly as she considered the night ahead of her. Impressing Kabos's father through her charm wasn't the hard part; it was impressing him unconciously without even opening her mouth.

        Dawn stood up quickly and strode over to her closet. The only thing that remained of her fight with Adriana was the broken doorknob. Everything else had been put back together through the combined efforts of Rissa and herself.

        Dawn snapped her fingers and the closet door sprung open. Hundreds of multi-colored dresses hung in front of her, but Dawn knew exactly which one she wanted for tonight.

        It was a silk magenta number with sleeves that tapered off at her elbow and a V-neck cut that was lined with gold thread. The dress had always been slightly long on Dawn, so she paired it with gold heels that let the dress skim the floor ever so slightly. She sat back down at her vanity, applied a light sweep of rouge to the tops of her cheekbones, and arranged her hair in an elegent updo complete with diamond-tipped hairpins.

        If there was one thing a princess did best, it was make a good impression.

***

        "Dawn! Dawn, open the door." Adriana called out, her face red and her chest heaving from running through the castle. James and Skylar were behind her, flanking her on either side.

        "Dawn!" she shouted again before trying the doorknob. It opened easily, and the three barged into the dimly-lit room.

        It was empty.

        "Oh no." Adriana murmured, eyeing the setting sun through the window across from her. "We're too late."

        "No we're not." Skylar replied, "We can still catch her before she leaves."

        A door slammed from below them.

        "C'mon."

        The three ran back to where they had been just minutes before. The scent of Dawn's favorite lilac perfume lingered in the air.

        "Wait." James stopped Adriana before she could open the front door. "May I ask why your sister is courting someone who wants to destroy her kingdom?"

        Skylar and Adriana rolled their eyes simultaneously.

        "She doesn't know he's trying to destroy the kingdom."

        "Really? You haven't told her yet?"

        Adriana took a deep breath.

        "I've tried. But she won't listen. Come on, we have to get going."

        James shrugged and followed them out of the door. Adriana could faintly see a slim figure in a pink dress walking off in the distance, confidence oozing out of every stride she took.

        Adriana, James, and Skylar ran as fast as they could to catch up with her, but it was to no avail. Adriana watched in defeat as her sister knocked on the door of one of the village houses, smiled at the person who opened the door for her, and walked in. The door slammed shut with a resounding bang.

        I have to warn her. I have to. Adriana thought, and ran up to the door. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand to knock.

---

A/N: We're getting close!! The final three chapteres will be BIG!

After I finish this story, I will be editing it big-time and adding in scenes to make it longer. After that, the next part will be released...and the major cliffhanger will be resolved. :)

Remember to comment,  vote, and check back for the next update!

-Katherine