As I walked farther away from my mother and deeper into the castle I began to accept my defeat. I had no more ideas on how to save my mother. My only hope was whatever my father was up to. But then of course there could be nothing and I'm wasting my time. No, there has to be something he's hiding.

Sneaking around in my own home was more difficult that I imagined as usually my father is in his study when I sneak about. Guards looked at me suspiciously, they knew I was following my father at a time I was not supposed to. But they never said a word. My father went into an area of the castle that I knew was strictly forbidden for me to go. So naturally I went up the stairs after I heard his get off at the top.

I didn't know what was beyond these stairs so I took my time and was extra sneaky and quite. From my father going up the stairs first I knew they creaked so it did take a little while to get up with minimal creaky. I just hoped that father couldn't hear it.

At the top of the stairs was a door that was left ajar and I could hear my father and someone else inside.

"You have to let me do it, it's the only way to save my wife," my father was pleading with someone. He sounded so desperate.

"I told you Italus I only have enough left for a few days you need to go back weeks to reverse the curse. Did you forget that the last time you turned back time I told you it would be the last," said the other voice. Wait turn back time? "Besides even if there was enough to go back that far you have five people here who would be unaffected and then you would be exposed," five people, does he mean Xander and his siblings? I had to figure out what was going on. So I pushed the door open.

"What is going on father?" My father immediately turned to me looking surprised. But there was no one else in the room with him. My eyes scanned around shelves with books and bunch of mysterious things and then I saw it, a severed wyvern head on the wall and below it was something that looked like an altar with a dip in the middle to hold liquid.

"Victoria what are you doing here?" My father demanded.

"Seeing what your up to. And what's this wyvern head doing here, what's with the talk of turning back time. I want answers father," the wyvern on the wall laughed.

"She is certainly like you when you were younger Italus."

"And who are you and more importantly what are you doing here?" I asked the wyvern head.

"It's time to tell her the truth Italus. After all she is the one you want to carry on your legacy." My fathers legacy?

"I suppose I should finally explain things to you Victoria." My father started.

"Should you even be calling her that? Or has it been so long that you forget her real name," the wyvern head said. My real name? Nothing this Wyvern is saying is making sense. And more importantly why can it talk!

"I'll get to that part. But first Victoria, this is the head of the wyvern that Zeckensaw slayed."

"That's impossible! Zeckensaw slayed the great wyvern centuries ago! There should be nothing left of that Wyvern much less it's head in perfect condition," right from the start this isn't making any sense at all.

"What if I said that it has been only around a century," said the wyvern head that according to science should not be handing on the wall in the castle.

"I would say that your insane!"

"Victoria, can you name all past kings of Vimore," my father asked me. I wasn't expecting my royal knowledge to be quizzed today. I didn't know everyone's name, but I knew the family tree.

"Well first there was Zeckensaw, then his son, then Italus the first, his son, Italus the second, his son, Italus the third, his son, Italus the fourth, his son, Italus the fifth, his son and then Italus the sixth which is you father," I didn't really see why this was important right now.

"Why don't you know the names of the sons of every Italus?" The Wyvern head asked.

"I-I don't know. I thought I knew them. But I only know Victor but he-"

"That's the only one," the head said.

"Victor has never been king," I said confused.

"That's right. You call him Victor these days, just like everyone calls you Victoria. Victor has been king before, at least in everyone's memory," nothing that head is saying it making any sense.

"I'll explain better Victoria, I suppose it best if I start at the beginning. After Zeckensaw slayed the great wvyern he took the head as a spoil of war for himself, while everybody who came to live here got a scale from the wyvern, this wyvern. After the castle was built Zeckensaw hid the head here as a trophy, but he believed that there was something special about it. When Zeckensaw died part of his soul came to exist in the wyvern.
"Then his son took over and you know about his rein. The new king's son, Italus had an interest for magic and he eventually found the wyvern head and began to try and figure out its secrets. And he did. Except there was one problem. What Italus had figured could not work unless everyone in Vimore all had a scale from the wyvern so he united all citizens in Vimore and the ones that his father had banished-"

"But father," I said interrupting him. "Isn't that what you did? The people who were banished made a new kingdom but when they started having money troubles you married the princess and united the people."

"Victoria please listen. The banished people had someone they worshipped like a goddess. They listened to whatever she said. Italus fell in love with her and married her and now everyone wore a wyvern scale. Italus had two children, a son and a daughter. When she was young the daughter was killed. Italus was overcome with grief. All he wanted was his daughter back. So he used the power of the Wyvern. He turned back time to the day she was born. Except Italus knew that Vimore wasn't the only kingdom in the world. So for outsider purposes, he manipulated everyone's memories to believe time had passed, his rule had ended, his son had ruled Vimore and now Italus played the part of his grandson, he now went by Italus the second," this was so much to process. I could barely wrap my head around it all.

"And to save to you trouble, this happened four more times," said the head. I counted in my head. No it's impossible!

"Your Italus the sixth, but your actually the first Italus?" I asked.

"I am every Italus."

"And the Princess who always died?"

"Is you my dear Victoria, Madeline, Persephone, Diana, Fiona, Elizabeth," those must be the names I was called in my past lives. "Those marks on your body, we've always called them birthmarks but there really-"

"How I was killed," I said interrupting my father. That all made sense now, the story of the girl who went out in the gardens and got killed, that was me. "So every time you turned back time you made new rules to protect me from what killed me in the past."

"I need this to save your mother, I need you in order to save her," my father said. Surely turning back time isn't the only answer.

"I overheard the wyvern head say there isn't enough blood to go back far enough."

"In order to go back there must be a mixture of great wyvern blood, blood of its master and a few drops of liquid diamond," my father said showing me a vial he had around his neck. I was sure that the liquid shouldn't solidified long ago but in a world where your entire kingdom time travels, I'm sure anything is possible. "I knew that there wasn't a lot of wyvern blood left when I fixed things the last time so just in case I sent people out to search for a great wyvern. It just so happens that there was one born on your birthday all this time."

"I will not harm Veronica father," I stood my ground.

"But Victoria if I name you my heir right now you'll have the power to save your mother with just some blood from you and Veronica," me, his heir, the next queen of Vimore.

"You'd make me queen? After years of being oppressed because I'm a woman," as big as my desire to be queen is, the way I was treated growing up cannot be easily excused.

"Of course I would, Victoria I need your mother, I need to have my perfect family. Every time I've turned back time, it's been for you. Victor may be the eldest child and my son, but he doesn't have the same drive as you Victoria. You have the skills to rule this kingdom," father held out the vial of liquid diamond all I had to do was call Veronica. I could save my mother and then become queen.

"What would happen to Xander and his siblings."

"Oh they'd have to be killed for sure," no father can't hurt Xander.

"I won't do it father. Family isn't meant to be perfect. Mistakes happen and people die. Every time something goes wrong you can't run up here and try to fix it. You must face those problems and conquer them head on. Not up here in a tower. If I died every time then maybe I was meant to be dead. You, mother and Victor have been the family I've always known. But know I have more people I need to think about. And there's more to all this isn't there, you want to rule over Vimore forever, have the perfect kingdom and the perfect family. Well father, nothing exist to be perfect, certainly not family," Veronica is my family, Xander and his siblings there my family too now, I have to protect them all.

"Victoria...well then I see. I suppose I have only one option left," what is my father going to do now. I braced myself for the worse. But he only muttered a spell. I've always known father to use a sword but now knowing that he's the original Italus, I know that his magic skill are much greater than mine. I watched as my father slowly began to fade.

"What are you doing father!" I cried. He only smiled at me.

"I've lived far longer than I should've. I know you've been taught not to talk back to me, but I'm glad you did my daughter. You've made me see the errors in my ways and now I shall pay for them. I've always loved you my daughter, and your brother. Both of you must looked out to your mother for me. I'll miss her very much," and then all of him faded away but one thing dropped on the ground and I picked it up.

It was the vial of liquid diamond.

"You know hold the power of time princess. You know you could reverse time back far enough to save both of our parents," the wyvern head said. And he was right, I am the only person with a great wyvern and the vial. I studied the vial in my hand.

Don't change the flow of time

This must be what Azure had warned be about
"The one who walked out of water should be healed now. Go Princess Victoria, master of time," my mother! As I left the room I took the key that was hung on the wall and locked the door after I left. Placing the vial around my neck and hiding it in the dancer outfit I was wearing.

I raced down the stairs and out to the battle grounds  where there was no longer a beast. But my mother crumpled on the ground and holding her was Victor. I rushed over.

"What happened?" I asked Victor.

"I don't really know. One second the beast of agitated and next thing it started to fade away leaving mother. I should be asking you what happened." I couldn't tell him what transpired in the tower. I couldn't tell anyone.

"Father knew and ancient spell, it would heal mother but..." I started to tear up. "He's gone Victor," he started to tear up too.

"Oh my, what's going on my children," I froze and looked down and looking back at me was my mother. Victor and I engulfed her in a hug crying because we had our mother back, but at the cost of our father.