Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

Author's note: This video is so cute! It is also relevant to the topic at hand.

____________________________________________________

Amber

"GET UP PRISONER!"

A ginger guard barked at her, and then turned once he gave her the necessary substenance.

It was time for her morning chow-gruel and some greasy remnant of a long-forgotten loaf of bread.

Oh, how she wished she could go back to eating her fine foods!

Back when she ruled the world along with the rest of her family...

"Mama?"

"Yes, precious," she teased.

"Do I look pretty?", she asked while holding the brush she had received as a birthday present from the queen.

"Yes, the prettiest," she answered as she lovingly pinched her cheeks, causing her only daughter to giggle and leave the room once she felt satisfied of her mother's love for her.

"Mom! He hit me first!"

She sighed. The fight had started again.

"NO! He did!", the youngest son responded back.

"Well it's your fault," the oldest son replied.

"Now boys...if you don't get it together, I'll have to call your father in," she taunted.

Both boys quickly glanced at each other, panicked that their brute of a father might come in for real.

Noting their fearful expressions, she nervously laughed and bid them come closer. Tying their suits properly, she sent them off after making them promise to behave properly during the event.

It was their last days as royals and they were going out in style.

As she proceeded past the hallways, she observed the banners. A CENTURY OF GOOD TIDINGS, FORTUNE BEFORE YOU, and other similar expressions donned them.

Grinning, she mused that it was nice to see that the people in the quadrants still cared about their current ruling family, even if they were originally from the North.

Reaching the throne room doors, she jerked them open to find them sealed shut.

What was going on? The only time these doors could be locked was at night-during meetings with the council of the quadrants.

Surely this was a mistake. Maybe one of the guards had accidentally left it closed, after all an hour was left until the official change-of-command ceremony.

Pulling on them again, she nearly collapsed with the strain of her effort. Biting her lip, she pondered on what this could mean before fetching a servant's eye.

Phrasing it politely, she asked, "Why are the doors still shut?"

The servant stared straight ahead, not daring to look in her eyes, and hurriedly left her side.

Well that was...different.

Upon her husband reaching her side, she girded her loins and was about to express a complaint to him when his eyes looked behind her.

"What is the meaning of this?", he inquired of the approaching councilman.

Clearing his throat, he stated, "There was a slight error made in setting the date. Seems like the change-of-command ceremony will happen shortly after the conclusion of the quadrant TRIALS this time."

Befuddled, her husband's protests fell on deaf ears. Taking deep breaths, he postulated on why they had to remain here when there was no longer need for an appointment.

"You are right. No need for that type of appointment," another councilman said. Clicking his tongue, he came into the light, and declared, "But unlike what my fellow councilman may have been informed of, there is a need...for another type of appointment."

"GUARDS!", called the original councilman. Swords drawn at the couple as well as the children who had arrived later, the family looked on in shock at what was happening.

"Stop that right there!", the current king proclaimed, triumphantly sauntering down the hallway.

"My liege...", the second councilman started.

"Councilman Mbela, you made use of your power for the very last time. Mark my words, you and your allies will be soon to get their just desserts."

Councilman Mbela smiled. "You are right. We will be rewarded for our efforts in time. Councilman Silva?"

"To Champ Paisible!", cried Councilman Silva, blowing a current of wind out of his mouth as he moved his hands away from his mouth, revealing parched lips, and stretched his fingers wide.

"This is mutiny!", called out the king as the security dragged him away from the Councilmen and his extended family.

Dropping to her knees, Amber let herself be cuffed and taken away. Whispering softly to her children, she said, "Never forget mommy loves you."

Witnessing the tears in her family's eyes, she felt her heart become impaled when the man she had at least to that point hated the most in her life, her husband, was stabbed in the heart as he continued to fight back. Slumping to the floor, the guards carried off into the barely lit passageway adjoining the throne room to the east.

No one ever came back from there.

It was where the execution grounds of the royal family were rumored to be hidden.

Tossed in a stale hay bag, she was picked up like a pig, and lifted up by one of the guards.

After quite some time of walking, she was thrown to the ground. Left bleeding, she touched her hand to her temple and found it sticky with a dark liquid.

Whimpering, Amber quieted herself and swore that one day, she would find out what happened to the remains of her children.

On that day, vengeance would rein down from the heavens upon those who ruined her family.

Slapped back into the present, she now found herself facing one of her family's murderers.

"Councilman Mbela, what can I do you for?", she inquired, spitting blood as she tried to get the taste of his awful name out of her mouth.

Mbela chortled. "What a curious turn of phrasing. Are you sure it was not 'do for you' instead?"

Former noble lady Amber smirked, saying, "As if I could do anything for you in my present state. To suggest that would be tantamount to...treason."

No longer beaming, Councilman Mbela raised his hand to strike her yet again, but stopped midway from landing the blow.

"You're trying to get a rise out of me? Cute."

Now, Amber was the one that beamed. "Oh no. I was just asking a question, but I'll ask it again so that you can understand. What do you want?"

"To lead our country into prosperity."

Daen, the ginger guard, chuckled at the thought of him reciting Amber' royal family's mantra against her.

"Good for you. Although I am a bit confused on what I have to do with it," she replied.

Mbela clicked his tongue again. "You will be present during the congratulatory service to the winners of the first round...", he commanded. Stepping closer, he added, "...and you will act like you like it."

"Alright," she conceded.

Daen furrowed his eyebrows. With no sign of protest, the lady had agreed to their request.

"Would that be all?", she unenthusiastically asked.

"This is...unusual for you. Where's your spunk and sense of one-upping me? Do you truly care nothing for the people under you?"

"The people have never been under me and can think for themselves. I, as their humble leader, albeit formerly, have a duty to attend to, and that's that."

Mbela laughed. "The people are ignorant fools whose constant avarice is never quenched till their untimely demise."

Peering up at him, she queried, "Have you quenched your avarice for blood then?"

"I am always satisfied, madame."

After they both had left her holding cell, she muttered under her breath a sentence she commonly used when her former husband's cold temper simmered to a boil.

"Tell yourself that."