This chapter is based on my findings from the book. As I have mentioned before, the two books I found in the King's chambers are actually different. The one I gave to the Princess is the book that the King is most interested in. The one I have is a decoy. That being said, the parts I have been able to translate are very interesting. As I theorised in an earlier entry, this book belongs to the Lupine who served very closely to Visara. The current passage I have translated tells of how Visara won over the Fae. In our history books, it is said she won them over peacefully. They say that Visara easily had the forces to overthrow the whole Fae ruling system. With the Lupine, Centaurs, Mer and Sirens behind her, she was unstoppable. However, in good faith and wanting to cause as little collateral damage as possible, She visited the Fae leaders with only her best warriors by her side. As a sign of thanks and respect, the Fae surrendered to her and pledged their loyalties.  That is what has been taught to us all these years.

Yet, this book states she did the very opposite. It states that she ordered a team of Centaurs and Lupine into one of the largest Fae towns.  They slaughtered hundreds. The rest they held hostage until the Fae agreed to her terms.

The more I begin to translate this book, the more I am beginning to learn the Visara may not be the pure, goddess-like entity we imagined. We always hold her on a high platform. She was our saviour and she was good. However, if this book is correct, it means she is no more of a person than any other ruler. A brute, perhaps. Using the term the ends justify the means as a reason to commit such a horrific act on innocents. Perhaps, she is nothing more than a victorious war criminal.

I wonder if the other ways she won over the creatures are the same as how they are depicted in our history books. Either way, it has dawned on me that there is an alarming amount of false information in our history. It is truly disturbing.

I hope that our current Princess uniting the lands does not use such extremes in order to gain victories. If she does, then is she any better than her father? Though with the current political climate, it would be a lot more difficult to paint Princess Illyana as a pure and kind saviour even if she doesn't do anything similar to Visara. There are no re-telling of truths in this uprising. None that do the princess any favours anyway.

~The Rising of the True Queen. Written by Master Audwin. Master Scholar during the reign of King Orian and King Chosen Matthias.

We stand in a quiet alleyway. There is an awkward, tense silence as we wait for someone to arrive.  They come suddenly. One moment we are alone, the next we are surrounded by figures. They wear hooded coats made of dark leathers and covered in buckles and straps. Over their mouths and noses are scarves. Merissa, Wyatt and the other Red Guard members tense next to me. Nianzu pushes me behind him slightly. After another few moments of silence, Merissa steps forward.

"Holly?" Merissa asks, stepping forward. Someone steps forward.

"Merissa," she says and I can hear the smile in her voice. Her eyes dart over to Wyatt. "Wyatt," she says, much more curtly. I can't help but smile myself.

"We haven't got much time, Holly," Merissa sighs. "Can you take us to your leader?" Holly crosses her arms and sighs.

"She is suspicious, Rissa," she warns. "she isn't a fan of bringing you all into such a secret place. She wanted to punish me just for communicating with you and even allowing you into our city," she tells us. I gulp.

"Just take us to her, we'll be able to properly explain the situation," Merissa sighs.

"Okay, but you have to give us all your weapons," she tells us. Wyatt begins to argue.

"Enough Wyatt," I order. "We are being invited into their home so we will respect their rules. They have every right to be suspicious of us and take the necessary precautions."

"But what if it is a trap?" he says to me.

"You're part of the most elite team in Vivelle. If you can't escape from a couple of bandits, then we might have to re-evaluate your position on the team," I tell him with a snarky grin. He huffs, but hands over his weapons anyway. Though it isn't like we are completely defenceless. With both Nianzu and Zoran, we are certainly well-protected.

Once we hand over the weapons, we are lead through a twisting route of dark, narrow streets. We finally stop at a small house.

"Wait out here," Holly tells us as she disappears into the stone building. It is nothing special. A run down cube with a crumbling roof and rotting wooden shutters falling off the window.

"Okay," she says and we walk inside after her. My eyes widen at a narrow hole in the floor. A circle cut into the stone with only darkness beyond it.

Wyatt looks down it and then frowns at Holly.

"How far does this go down?" he asks.

"Why don't you see for yourself," she grins as she pushes him inside. He lets out a little scream as he begins to fall. All of us reflexively jump forward and ready to attack. Only a second after he is pushed, there is a large splash however before a voice calls up.

"I'm fine, just a little wet!" he growls.

"Holly," Merissa scolds with a chuckle.

"Don't worry, you can all take the ladder," she tells us. I can't help but laugh myself. Some of the Knights step into the hole first and begin to climb down a small rope ladder. Then, Merissa goes down followed by me. I lower myself into the hole and feel around with my feet for the rungs of the ladder. It has been secured at the bottom so it isn't too wobbly as I begin to descend. The way it has been secured makes it pull away from the large river directly bellow the hole and leads to the bank instead. I land on my feet and immediately hold up my hands when I see a large group of the Knights surrounding myself, Merissa and a soaking wet Wyatt. Their weapons are drawn. Wyatt looks annoyed as he stands straight with his arms crossed and water soaking his clothes and hair. The other Red Guard members slowly drop down next to me and have the same reaction of quickly holding up their arms to show they aren't a threat. Finally, Nianzu and Zoran drop down. I can feel Nianzu tense to shift but quickly stop him.

"No, we don't want to show them what you are yet. Save it for if we are in really big trouble." He lets out a huff but does what I say. As we wait for Holly I can't help but look around. We are in a small cavern which has been lit by firelight. A large river flows slowly next to us. There are lots of small wooden boats wobble on the surface attached to wooden posts on the bank.

"Two of you per boat," Holly says. Nianzu automatically pairs himself with me. We head to the first boat. It is big enough for about six. It wobbles as we step in. After a few seconds, we sit down right in the middle. Two Knights of the Pheonix get on either side of us, still pointing their swords in our direction.

I watch as the others get on. Zoran gives me a look. It may be the bond from the blood oath, but I can sense exactly what he wants to do. I give a small nod.

He lets out a little yelp as his boat violently wobbles. My eyes widen as his huge form makes it easy to seem as though it is an accident as his weight seems to make it harder to actually steady himself. Suddenly, he falls over the side of the boat. I stand quickly as do the others of my team.

"Zoran!" I shout. He doesn't reappear on the surface.

"Current must have got him," one of the knights say. "I thought there was nothing you lot couldn't do," he mocks. I glare at him.

"He was a friend," Merissa snaps. They just shrug and untie the ropes of the boat. One of the Knights drops their sword and begins to row the boat. The river leads into a dark passage which is only lit by the small lanterns attached to the boats as we enter it. We all sit in silence as we row down the river for about ten minutes.

The dark passage opens up into a huge cavern with the river running around one side of it before disappearing into another passageway. The cavern is full of Knights. They are all in their uniform of sorts. The hooded coats and the scarfs covering up their noses. They are all also silent as they stare at our boats. The cavern is illuminated by multiple fires in pits all around the room.

The boats come to a stop and are tied up. We get out and step onto the side. Holly leads us up through the crowd of people until we come to the centre where a woman stands. She wears the same as the others, her face covered.

"So," she begins. "You've come to ask for our help?" she asks.

"Yes," Merissa begins.

"I wasn't talking to you," the woman snaps. "I am talking to the Princess." I drop my disguise. Luckily, it isn't noticed as my hood is up and my face is hidden by the shadows of my hood. I don't want them knowing my ability to change my form. I lower my hood.

"Yes, I do," I tell her. Her eyes fall on me and narrow.

"Princess Illyana," she says and bows her head slightly. "You know, you are lucky you came when you did. if you had come a week earlier, I would not have received this message from Ren Yuan the leader of the Capital Division and one of the five commanders of our organisation." She holds up a note and I frown. "I'll read it out," she sighs. "To my fellow commanders. I am writing to tell you of the alliance between the Knights of the Pheonix and the Princesses of Vivelle. Somehow, Princess Fallon, Princess Rayana and Princess Shaelyn were able to find our base. How they did it, they have yet to tell me. After some negotiating, we have come to the agreement that the Knights will aid the princesses in order to ensure Princess Illyana's victory. After meeting with them, I truly believe that they want to do what is best for the people of Vivelle and share our values. This is it. We may finally be able to make a proper difference instead of petty crimes and targeting unimportant people. It is my request, that if Princess Illyana asks for your aid, you give it. The True Queen will rise. Down with the False King." There is silence and I feel my heart racing.

"My sisters," I whisper, feeling my eyes tingle with tears. I smile widely. "So they are okay at the moment," I say and let out a sigh of relief. Wyatt touches my shoulders.

"Yeah, and they've somehow managed to get the most stubborn group of criminals on your side," Merissa chuckles. I laugh too.

"Those girls have always been very clever," I grin. I feel so proud of them and somehow less alone knowing that they are doing so much to help me. Even though I knew they would, actually seeing something that they've made happen when I am so far away from them makes my heart race with joy.

"So," the woman huffs. "As Ren has made the decision for us, what is it you need our help with?" she asked and I can hear the annoyed tone in her voice. My smile falls off my face and I turn serious.

"Three weeks ago, my team and I freed the centaurs from Flon mine and killed all the masters and the Lady Kanya." Her eyes widen.

"Quite a feet. Again, what do you need us for?" she snaps. I give her a glare before continuing.

"To make sure that my father does not suspect me and use it to either tarnish my name or worse, kill the rest of the centaurs in all the other mines, we decided we need someone to take the credit." She sighs.

"So, you want to paint an even bigger target on our backs?" she growls.

"Stop being petty," I growl at her. "You are already the most hunted criminal group in Vivelle. You might as well become a target for actually helping people instead of stealing from petty nobles no one cares about." She doesn't reply, but she gives me a cold glare. "Before we left the scene, we made sure that your banners were placed amongst the bodies," I tell her. She takes a deep breath but again doesn't speak. "We now want to free the centaurs in Ronzal Mine," I tell her. There is silence. Then, she laughs. More people around us begin to laugh too. I just wait until they are done.

"Oh, you're being serious?" she asks mockingly.

"Very," I reply.

"Ronzal mine is very different from Flon Mine," she snarls. "Thousands of years ago, back when the gods still looked over this world and before even the First War, this part of Vivelle was ruled by very greedy and cruel brothers. The Ronzal brothers. They ruled with an iron fist. They killed and tortured whoever they pleased. But most of all, they liked precious jewels and golds. They didn't care where it came from. They owned many mines and emptied them of any precious stone. They stole from the Fae and other humans. They were so powerful and rich that no one could do anything to stop them. So their wealth continued to grow and grow along with their body count. Where Ronazal mine now is, used to be their special palace. It was there where they kept all their riches. They had rooms full to the brim of precious jewels. Every single stone you could imagine was kept there. Some uncut, some encased in spectacular jewellery. Not only did they have precious stones. But also metals. Silver, platinum, gold are among just a few. They became so cruel in their greed that even the gods intervened. The god of the earth made a huge hole open up around the great palace. It swallowed the whole building then it shook and shook. Breaking up the castles and spreading the precious jewels and metals across miles and miles both along and down," she stops and I raise my eyebrow. Of course, I know the story of Ronzal mine. "You see, for the last hundred years, your relative Kings have been trying to dig out every bit of that treasure with relative success. The history behind it also adds a huge amount of value to whatever comes out. So as you can imagine, security is extremely tight. Not only that, but the tunnels go on for hundreds and hundreds of miles. They are a maze that not even the workers know how to navigate. There are passages lined with the bodies of humans and centaurs alike. There is no way you will ever be able to get every centaur out. You'll either get lost and die of starvation or suffocate or you'll be caught by security and accused of trying to steal some the jewels and then executed." I take a deep breath.

"We'll be able to do it," I say. She scoffs.

"Don't you think we've tried?" she snarls.

"Well, now you have us."

"What are you going to do that we can't?" she snaps. I look up at Nianzu and smile.

"Let's just say we have a few tricks up our sleeves." She sighs.

"Fine, Princess. Let us think of a plan and then I will tell you how stupid it is." I smile. She lowers her scarf and hood, revealing her face. The others follow suit and the room seems to relax a little. "I guess we are allies anyway," she sighs, sounding resigned. Seeing that we are on good terms, I look over to the water.

"It's okay Zoran, you can come out now," I say. Confused frowns cross the faces of the Knights as I shout at the water. A few seconds, Zoran'shead appears out of the water, his golden eyes glowing and a wide grin on his face. There are gasps as they see him. He swims to the side and pulls himself out of the water, his tale returning to golden, scale-covered legs that glitter in the firelight. He stands up slowly and Wyatt throws him spare clothes. He puts them on and walks like nothing is wrong. Meanwhile, the room is silent with shock. I expect none have actually seen a Mer.

"Er," is all the leader can say.

"I feel like that is something we should have known about," Holly says. Merissa shrugs.

"We are in the company of the Queen of Vivelle. Of course, we are going to take precautions when entering a possibly hostile situation," she replies.

We make our way over to a large table and begin to talk.

After a few hours, we have something that could work. It is Zoran who gives us an idea that could save us. He holds up a small glass vile that hangs from a chord on his neck.

"Is that what I think it is?" the leader who we now know is called Odelia.

"Siren's Tear," Zoran replies. "A gift for me on this journey from Queen Seraphina. There are ten drops in here."

"So what are we going to use it for?" she asks.

"Are there any Mer and Siren brothels in this city?" he asks. The room goes silent as everyone clicks onto what he is saying.

"Yes. One. But it is hard to even get in the door and security is tight."

"That won't be a problem," Zoran replies.

"So what you're saying is we heal the Sirens and Mer, giving them back their magic and freeing them. Then, we ask them to help us so they can use their voices and magic to enchant all the security at the mine?" I ask. He nods his head and I lean back in my chair.

"Well then," I smile and look at the Red Guard. "Let's go to a brothel," I tell them.

"Now that brings back some memories..." Wyatt chuckles. I roll my eyes and slap him on the shoulder.

"Wait, what?" Nianzu asks.  I laugh and Merissa sighs.

"Just..." she begins, shaking her head. "Don't ask," she finally says. Nianzo just raises an eyebrow at me.

"It is more innocent than it sounds, I promise," I laugh. Odelia looks at me curiously then back at the Siren's tears.

"This could actually work," Odelia says. I nod my head and grin.

"Yes, it could," I reply.