They arrived in the Kingdom, in the forest near the Cybill Castle. Home, Elijah said, but he barely recognized the place. It was nightfall and they docked the boat at the end of the stream. Arachne still hadn't uttered a word to Elijah since their fight.

Then she finally spoke. "How do we get into the castle, Elijah?"

"There's a backdoor for servants and maids that Abe and I used to sneak out to play in the garden when we were children," he explained as they walked towards the castle. "We'd pretend to sword-fight with wooden swords until Father found out and reprimanded us."

"Do you love your brother?" It was a question out of nowhere.

Elijah paused before continuing to walk. "Yes, without a doubt."

"I also had a brother, his name was Phalanx," Arachne said softly, placing her hand on Elijah's shoulder, spending chills down his spine. He hoped the girl couldn't see the blush that crept into his cheeks. "He was ten years old when my parents kicked me out."

"Oh, that's...so sad. I can't imagine being without Abel."

"Phalanx is probably around twenty-five now, I hope he finally found a wife, he used to be girl-crazy," Arachne chuckled and Elijah never realized how beautiful her laughter was. "Sometimes, I do think I'm a selfish, arrogant creature. If I never challenged Queen Athena, I would be by Phalanx's side."

"You could have never known that my mother was going to curse you."

"Yes, but, Elijah, you must understand—nothing good ever comes from getting close to a member of the royal Cybill family." They had arrived at the royal garden and Arachne bent down. A spider jumped from the petal it was onto her finger. It walked along the back of her hand before disappearing into the grass. "Except you, Eli." The way she said Eli made Elijah's heart pound.

Suddenly, there was a yell and they were quickly surrounded by royal guards. "What the hell? Elijah, what's this—" Arachne screamed when a knight grabbed her by her hair. "Let me go, jerk!"

"Hey, let her go!" Elijah shouted, trying to help her. Then someone else grabbed him and Elijah's jaw dropped when he turned around to see who it was. "Father?" The man nodded and let him go. "What's going on?"

Elijah realized that Mother and Abel were also there, standing the closest to Arachne. "Mother? A-Abe?" Elijah asked fearfully. Abel looked confused but avoided eye contact.

"Elijah!" Arachne struggled against the knight.

"So we meet again," Mother breathed, scowling. "Piece of vermin."

"Go rot, Athena."

Elijah tried to grab Arachne but another guard stopped him, glaring. Arachne screeched, thrashing and kicking. "Release her, please, release her!" He begged as Abel stepped forward.

"You know, big brother, it was really smart of you to capture Arachne and bring her back to Cybill Castle. All of the Kingdom should see a selfish monster like her die publicly. The execution is tomorrow."

Arachne stopped struggling and looked at Elijah, horrified. "Is th-that true? Even after everything I told you, you chose them over me? Was all of this a plot to bring me back to the castle and execute me in front of the Kingdom?"

"What? No, of course not!" Elijah was shocked, looking around to see if anyone would stand up for him. He looked at Father and Mother, but they were void of any emotion. He looked at his baby brother. Surely, Abel isn't a part of this—

"Take Arachne Idmon away to the dungeons," Abel said.

"Arachne!" Elijah yelled. They carried her away as the fair-skinned prince turned to his family. "You traitors! I know the truth, the prophecy, if there was one in the first place, was false—"

He was suddenly hit in the head and everything went black.