A loud, terrifying rumble awoke Rose, her heart pounding in her chest, making her only hear her heartbeat. She ran out of bed and swung open her door, hitting the wall with a loud bang. Celeste bursted out of her room, screaming and wide eyed. “What is that?!,” she shrieked. Another loud rumble was heard, more threatening than the first. Celeste and Rose gripped the doorframe of their rooms. Amos and Queen Stellina ran up the stairs just as shook. “Is everyone alright?," he asked. “Yeah, we’re okay. But what is that?”, Rose asked shaking. “I might know”, Queen Stellina answered. 

They all turned their gaze to her. “It’s her, Queen Spina. She’s unleashing her evil, the darkness she’s kept for so long," she explained, her eyes dark. 

“We’re not even close to being ready. How do we even know when it all starts?”, Celeste asked tearfully. “We are close to ready. But if we need more time, we have another plan. Amos, you can explain."  Rose turned to him breathing heavily. “Celeste can make a barrier. When she sleeps, she can dream of almost anything. So, we think if she sleeps, she can dream up a barrier against Queen Spina for a few days. While she does that, you work hard on maintaining your abilities. By the time she wakes up, you’ll most likely be ready. Although, along the way, you will learn more. I wish there was more time, but she knows you came and can tell that your learning. She’s going to attack at your weakest point." 

Rose felt her heart stop, her ears ringing, making her head spin. Then she bent over. In her head, she heard screaming. “YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME!” Rose screamed and fell to the floor, grasping her head. They all rushed to her side, picking her up from the floor. “Oh stars, Rose?!”, Celeste said. “Rose, please say something. Rose?!," Queen Stellina yelled. 

“I heard her in my head," she said, barely enough for them to hear. “You heard her? What do you mean?”, Amos asked terrified. “She said I’ll pay.” The three of them glanced at each other. “She’s getting ready. It’s here.", the queen said gravely. Amos scooped her up and brought her back on her bed.

“What else did she tell you?”, Queen Stellina asked, holding her hand. “She said she will make sure I die… and all of you will die too.", Rose said, crying while curled up in a ball. Celeste wiped her tears, pulling Rose into a hug. “I’m never going to let you all die. If anything, I’ll risk my life for you”, Amos said determined. “Listen, I know you’re all scared, but this is when we need to be our strongest now. But when I mean now, it means this very second”, Queen Stellina said fiercely. They all lifted their heads. She breathed deep and continued. “Celeste, put up the barrier” Celeste opened her mouth to protest, but let go of Rose. “Okay”, she said quietly. Rose nodded rapidly. “No, no, no, please Celeste! What if you get hurt while you’re sleeping?” 

“It’s possible, but you can’t think about that” Rose started hyperventilating. “No, you can’t do this, not now. Listen, listen to me,” Celeste said lifting her head up. “While I’m gone, you practice without me. As much as possible, okay?”, Rose nodded, breathing normally. “I will be back before you even notice. Forget where I am. You need to be focused on where you are at the moment. Do you understand?” Rose couldn’t talk, but her eyes had said the answer. Celeste took a shaky breath. “Okay. Where is it?”, she asked. Queen Stellina left the room for a moment, and came back with a vial in her hand. “Take this, and your out. You won’t wake up for a while. Three days at most. I wish you luck”, the queen said. Celeste took the vile and nodded. Popping the cork cap off, she stared down at the bubbling purple substance. She glanced back at Rose, and swallowed. Rose gasped as she fell to the floor. 

“She’ll be alright. It’s what she always been meant to do”, Amos said, placing her on the Rose's bed. “Amos, get everything ready, then help Rose prepare", Queen Stellina said. Amos quickly bowed and walked away. “This is what I meant”, she said. “I know” “Just think about what will happen after this war.”, she reassured. “But what if it doesn’t? What if I really do die? Uniclandia dies, and you, Celeste, Amos, and everyone that disappeared. I'm not even ready”, Rose cried. “You will be, and you’re not alone. I will help you plan out our moves on Queen Spina, they will be there when the plan does happen” Rose stood up, pacing back and forth. “Um, alright. We will need Shivat, right?” “Yes” “Is she prepped?” “Of course. She was born ready”, the queen said smiling. “I’ll get ready, Celeste is ready, Amos is… and we will be ready” Queen Stellina took Rose’s hand and lead her down stairs, back behind the planning room. “I made a map. This has been planned for years now”, she said, rolling out a map with targets and lines. 

The map’s target’s were dotted with small gemstones. “The moonstone is us. The black onyx is her. The kyanite stone is our castle, and the Russian diopside is the Amazonite Forest. By the way, Mila said she’ll help us in the war” 

“No. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt, or losing a life” “Rose, she and the others have been ready for years. They know what to do” Rose paused. “What others?”, she asked. “The elements. The ones on your throne. Nature, water” “What about fire and air?”, Rose asked. “They chose the wrong side. She keeps them as her plan B pawns” “Okay, will we meet our water element?” “Yes, Mila is bringing her here, hopefully she’s okay in the storm” They both swallowed hard before continuing. “So, back to the plan. When Queen Spina gets to the Amazonite Forest, Mila will already be gone. So, we will go around the forest,” she said directing the plan of the map with her finger. “Celeste will still have the barrier up, but by the time it goes down, we will be in” “What’s gonna happen after we’re in?” “We capture her” Rose gaped at her. “It’s not going to be easy! What if she knocks the wind out of all of us, captures me, and it’s over. We need a plan B” 

“You’re right” After a moment of silence, Rose spoke again. “Wait. My powers… I can control them. What if I trapped her with them, hold her captive?” “That’s a good idea. But she has others with her too. Fire, air. Remember?”, Queen Stellina pointed out. “Right”, Rose breathed. Rose pulled out a chair and slumped on it. “That’s not a queenly posture” “I’m not queen yet. I might not be” Queen Stellina looked at her confused. “You’re backing out? You can’t” Rose huffed. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying what if I fail you? Everyone?”

“You’re not going to” “How do you know that?”  “It’s because I have faith in you, so does everyone else. If we didn’t, Mila wouldn’t be walking through a storm to help you, Amos and Shivat wouldn’t risk their  lives for you, Celeste wouldn’t put herself in a deep sleep and hold a barrier to protect you. I wouldn’t be helping you along the way, or even give you the throne, if I didn’t have faith in you.” Realization dawned Rose’s face. “Why didn’t I think of that?”, Rose asked herself. “Come on, let’s continue with our planning, conquer the world.”, Queen Stellina. Rose smiled at her playfulness. “Okay”

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