As they entered back into the palace, for some reason aika felt a creeping sense of dread that made her twitch.

Her hands just kept grabbing at each other. Esther seemed to notice this and grabbed her hand, making aika look over at her in suprise.

Esther gave her a worried look. "You've been all twitchy. Is something the matter?"

"I just..... I just feel like something bads gonna happen" she admitted, pulling her hand away. "S'probably nothing"

But as they approached the emperors doors, aika began to fiddle with her hair. She jumped from foot to foot.

The door opened.

And everyone saw why aika had been so twitchy.

The emperor, lying in a pool of his own blood on the polished floor.

Marcassin almost collapsed, being steadied by Esther, swaine and Oliver ran over to the body and aika clapped her hands over her mouth, trying not to scream as Images of her parents corpses.

The emporer and swaine talked, then the emporer slumped and swaine screamed. Aika saw none of this. Her body was still.

Eventually, Oliver started to shake her. And she snapped out of it, taking everything in.

Swaine screaming over his father's corpse, Esther comforting a sobbing marcassin, Mr.drippy looking away in sadness, Oliver looking so haunted, like he'd seen this scene before.

Aika began to feel lightheaded, and fainted.

---------

"-Ka? Aika?"

Aika's eyes snapped open. Oliver was knelt over her. They were still in the throne room, but the emporer body was gone.

"What?" She mumbled, sitting up, and Oliver shrugged helplessly. "You fainted"

"Oh... I'm sorry" she whispered, looking over at swaine then immediately wincing.

His eyes looked so hollow and haunted. She clenched her fists but found herself unable to say anything. Nothing she could say would comfort him anyways.

Eventually, they all walked out. But swaine stayed. And he didn't move, for 2 days....