Alice's POV

After the maid had left clothes on my bed, I had crawled reluctantly from the comfort of my bathtub, towelling myself dry as I walked over to them. They were simple, plain clothes, nothing at all like my apprentice uniform. In contrast to my usual black attire, I had been given a white blouse, loose jeans and black riding boots. Upon searching through my drawers, I found some other clothes such as socks, and I quickly get dressed after glancing at the clock. Ten minutes to 6.

There's a knock at the door, and I fix my blouse before opening it.

"Hey" a demigod grins, and I smile warmly back. "I was sent here to come and escort you down, y'know, 'cause the castle's a pretty big place. Oh, and I'm Deamon by the way. Hey!"

I look quickly at his clothes; judging by the blood red coat and golden edges, he's definitely of high importance. "Alice" I reply, shaking his outstretched hand.

"Yeah I know. We all do-the castle's buzzing with the news of Kaz's apprentice living in the castle." He links my arm before I can protest and leads me out of the room, the door automatically shutting behind us. "I didn't mean that to sound offensive or anything, it's just that we don't get visitors often, and well, you're a guest, and more importantly, you were Kaz's right hand girl, right? So, you kinda get why everyone is freaking ou-"

"For God's sake, Deamon, let the girl breathe!"

A girl a bit older than me breezes past me to plant a kiss on his cheek. She looks at me and grins, her long auburn hair swirling behind her, and I instantly associate her with the king.

"I'm Robin, the princess, and unfortunately, also the girlfriend of this idiot right here." Deamon huffs at her, and she laughs, cuffing him round the head hard. I find myself instantly liking the girl. "Come on, I'll take you down to the dining room."

I take her extended arm, and she gently leads me down some stairs as Deamon races ahead, calling something as he leaves which I miss.

"Your arrival has caused a bit of a stir, it is true. And well..." she bites her lip, glancing at me, "...something happened between my mum and da-I mean, the King and Queen. He's angry that mum isn't letting us punish Duncan and is letting him go to the Yogscast for punishment."

"What are they going to do to him?" I ask fearfully.

Robin smiles at me reassuringly, and I relax almost instantly. "Don't worry! Simon and Lewis were his best friends-he'll be punished, but it won't be as severe as anything you're thinking."

"What did the King say to your mu-I mean, the Queen?" I frown, noticing that something wasn't quite right. I also seemed to associate the King as someone serious, but Tia...she escaped with me, and I felt like she was less formal than him.

As if reading my mind, she bites her lip. "Normally, my dad is just like Deamon but...he...well, he had his suspicions that Tia and Duncan had something going on behind his back."

I frown. "That's ridiculous! I mean, Duncan cared about her a lot, but...if something had happened between them, he would have told me!"

She sighs. "I know! We all know it's stupid, and even with Deamon using his mind reading skills and proving what we already know, my dad still doesn't buy it. He...lashed out at my mum and then left. I think he's come back for dinner, though so...the atmosphere will be a bit tense. Just stay quiet unless they speak to you, okay?" I nod in response, and we enter the dining hall. Instantly, all eyes are on us as we enter.

The Queen is sat at one end of the table, and she smiles warmly at me as I enter, but I can feel an uneasiness in it. Some of the other guests I recognize, like Deamon, who pats an empty seat next to him for Robin to sit, and Cisco, who meets my eyes with a smile and gestures to the empty seat beside him. I oblige and seat myself down, smiling at anyone I look at.

The King is sat at the opposite end of the Queen, and I bristle as soon as I see him. His eyes are dark and unforgiving, and his arms are crossed. He's glaring at Tia, who seems to be looking everywhere but where he is.

There are murmurs on the table as servants serve meals to us. I lean to Cisco, who leans in closer to hear what I'm going to say.

"Is this how every meal goes?" I whisper, and he chuckles deeply near my ear, which makes a shiver go down my spine.

"No-on top of the fact that, as you probably already know, Ridge and Tia have fallen out, this is not just a dinner, it's a council meeting."

"Falling out is a bit of an understatement" I murmur, staring at the bruises on Tia's wrist. When I glance at Cisco, he's glaring at Ridge-I guess he'd never seen the bruises until now.

Ridge doesn't look up and instead concentrates on glaring at Tia.

As the food is finishing being served, and one of the last servants pours me a drink, Tia coughs loudly, and stands slowly.

The whole table stands and I quickly join them, smoothing my jeans down. Ridge, I notice, does not stand.

"As you all know, this is our monthly council meeting, only this time we have a lot of pressing matters at hand. Some of the subjects for tonight's agenda include the upcoming inevitable war with Syncrasis, Israphel and Herobrine, the impact on the poorer villages, evacuation preparation, the cost of this war, what to do with the apprentice-" On cue, some people glance at me, and Cisco's hand squeezes mine softly, "...and what to do regarding Duncan from the Yogscast."

Immediately, all attention goes to Ridge who doesn't appear to have moved at all during Tia's speech. She stands awkwardly for a moment, obviously waiting, as we all were, for Ridge to do something, but when he doesn't, she sits down, and we all follow.

Tia's POV

I never usually led the meetings. It was always Ridge who took them, and he would tell me how boring they were. But things were definitely not dull. Not this time.

The tension in the air between Ridge and I hung like a cloud, and everyone else could feel it. After he had stormed out, Deamon had come to comfort me, and I had soon dried my tears. I was upset, of course I was. Scared, anxious, sad, betrayed-I had felt them all. But I'm not a little girl anymore. I am a queen, and we are at war. Crying could come later. Right now, I had to prepare to save everything that I could, with or without the king's support.

"Obviously, we are at war. We are up against strong enemies with a powerful army, a mutated dragon and two legendary monsters which have terrorized our friends on Voxel Island. First of all," I take a quick sip of my water before continuing, "...wars cost money, of course. How much will we need to fund the army and the weapons we need to destroy them?"

Deamon clears his throat, and we all turn to him.

"Money isn't actually much of a problem, here. We already have a large army, and with the upcoming war and the promise of a rich reward, many of the poorer folk have volunteered to join us. Weapons wise, the Yogscast should be able to provide those with little to no cost. I'd say that money is not an issue here."

"Thank you Deamon" I smile, and he grins back.

"The battle will destroy a lot of our land. Elevn." He stands, running a nervous hand through his spiky blonde hair. "What will become of the poorer villages on the outskirts of the west side?"

"If we battle on the field, the damage is limited. If they break through our defenses, all of the west villages will be destroyed and the enemy will have a clear path into our centre."

"We need to increase our defences then?" I ask, and he nods, sitting. "Alright. Deamon, is that possible?"

"Yes. It will mean dropping our defenses slightly on the north west but I can allow Team Crafted to block that end."

"Good. We have no need to look into evacuation as of yet. Now..." I look over at Alice. She swallows as she looks at me, and glances away.

"I'm sure you've all heard about Alice, Kaz's apprentice."

"Ex apprentice" Cisco corrects me, and Alice smiles at him gratefully. I smile too.

"My apologies. Now, currently she is staying in the castle, and I personally have to problem in her doing so. If there is any objections, then I will-"

"I have an objection."

I stare at Ridge for a moment, before regaining my control. "Go on."

He stands and slowly advances towards the girl.

"How do we know we can trust her?" he asks quietly, staring at Alice with intense eyes. She cowers away, and Cisco automatically puts an arm out in front of her.

"She saved me, and helped myself and Duncan to escape." I pause. "I owe her my life."

"In that case, we use her as a spy. Send her back to Kaz, make her plea for mercy, and then she can give us information about their armies whereabouts-"

Ridge is cut off when Cisco stands, his hands balled into fists.

"Are you mad? Kaz will not forgive her, and she will guess our plan straight away-she isn't stupid! And besides, Alice deserves a break after being-"

"Shut up" Ridge says calmly. Cisco stares at him with wide eyes, and opens his mouth to speak again. "That's a direct order from your King-are you going to disobey?"

The whole room is silent now, and Cisco is trembling from rage. He glares down at Ridge with pure hatred in his eyes, and for one moment, he looks exactly like Mexxy, with his green eyes glinting angrily.

"My father was right" he hisses. "You are the scum of this earth"

Ridge simply smiles lazily at him, and my outraged brother storms off to the other side of the room. Deamon sprints off to get him, stopping him and speaking to him in hushed, pleading tones.

"If no one objects, then..." Ridge smiles, and places a firm hand on Alice's shoulder who is shaking in her seat.

"I object" I snap, rising from my seat. Anger flooded my veins, and I storm over to Ridge. I had had enough.

"How dare you accuse me of cheating on you? How dare you insult my brother and order him to shut up? And how dare you try and send an innocent girl to a death sentence?" He tries to speak, but I slap him across the face. Hard. 

"Don't you ever forget who was the rightful king of this throne! Don't you ever forget who gave you the crown that you wear now! After everything I've done for you, you're going to throw it all away over some petty accusation?" Power was rolling off me in waves as I finally stand up against him.

"I am not some pathetic little girl who has no power. I am the queen, and I gave you the power of the king as choice. I overrule you in everything. You have destroyed my family right from the start, and even though you did, I still gave my heart to you. I gave everything to be with you! But if you can't let one little thing go-and that little thing, like every one has said, isn't even true-then it's over!"

He stares at me, stunned. The entire room is watching me, but I don't care.

"Get out, and think about what you've done. And then come and talk to me when you've finally realized that the whole world does not revolve around you."

For a moment, he remains in one place, paralyzed to the spot. Deamon tugs him gently, and he walks slowly out of the room, as if he has forgotten how to put one foot in front of the other.

I turn round to the rest of the table coldly. "Alice will remain in the castle and will be treated as a guest. Anyone who objects will be fired. As for Duncan, his fate remains with the Yogscast. Council dismissed."

I leave briskly from the room, leaving the chaos I had just created behind me.

Note: WOW TIA CALM THE HELL DOWN

Anyway...bet you people who have read Tick Tock are cheering! WOO!

Anyway, more updates coming soon...including a Teencast update?! ;D