What felt like forever waiting for impact, she peeled open her eyes. Mare had shot down her the ball of power with water. Queen Spina turned on her heel, fuming with anger. Mila jumps out on the other side, her eyes and veins glowing bright green, flower vines wrapped around her body, but more grew off of her. The vines lunged forward, wrapping Queen Spina’s arms with flowers. She shrieked, her eyes bulging from her head. Yanking her, Mila held her grip, shoving her into a corner. Mare stirred up water, letting it rise into the air, then threw her body forward with the flood of water. The water slowly grew into a larger flood, drowning the queen in an invisible ocean of water. Abruptly, the water fell to the floor. Swiveling around, a wicked man, all dark gray, grinned eerily. He unleashed humid air into Mare’s lungs, then Mila with her other hand, she wrapped a thick vine around his neck and chest. 

The man struggled, but then laughed. Ripping the vines off his neck, he rushed toward Mila, knocking her flat on the stone floor, making her lose  grip of Queen Spina. Gasping for air, she ran from the room. “MARE!”, Rose screamed. Mare turned around and jumped Fiama like a wild cat, freeing Rose from her suffocating grip. Rolling on the floor, Rose crawled away, glaring out the window. Queen Spina running further, Rose created a golden light at the bottom, and jumped out the window. Her stomach screaming, but Rose didn’t miss a splatter of blood fly out the window. Falling on the cloud of light, she rolled off of it and breathlessly ran towards the queen. A bolt of lightning struck Rose, making her scream. But she didn’t die. Feeling as if nothing happened, she pursued chasing her. In reach of a grip, Rose tackled the queen. 

“I thought you were going to die!”, she spat. "Not that easily!", she screamed. The golden light ran rapidly across her veins, her eyes now appeared to have gold flecks. "Yes dear, not that easily", she shot, throwing Rose away for her. "You should've stayed in your pathetic little home", Queen Spina snarled. Rose panicked as she lit a fire on her hands, then thrusting it at Rose. "AHHHH!" The heat radiated onto her body, aiming for her heart. Celeste sprawled her body out in front of Rose as a barrier. Celeste grunted as she tried to hold the swirl of fire away for her chest. "GO!", Celeste yelled. Rose didn't budge, until she decided to move towards Queen Spina. The wicked queen grinned, but it faded as quickly as it came.

Rose's body trembled, birthing light from her arms. She then jumped onto Queen Spina, knocking her hard with a solid loud crack! The queen shrieked as Rose's lighted hands as they reached for her neck. She tried to keep her grip, but a twill of thorns wrapped around her legs. As Celeste tried to free Rose, the vicious Queen Spina ran into the dark of the forest. "Rose! Hey, say something." Rose grunted, snapping the thorns from her waist with blood covered hands. "I'm fine", she said, storming after the queen. "Rose, stop! She left. This gives us a chance to regroup ourselves." "No, I'm going to get her. Not to mention that Amos and the others need us." 

As panic settled in her eyes, Celeste stood up, racing for the castle as Rose followed. Bursting through the door of thorns, a large puddle of water with dead flowers covered the black stone floor. Rose and Celeste shared fearful expressions. Then, a sudden cry for help unsettled them more than they already were. Running into the throne room, Mare laid on the floor lifelessly, while Mila was crouched in a dark corner, fire and smoke surrounding her. Celeste enclosed Mila in a protective bubble, and walked through the fire. "What happened to Mare?!", Rose asked. "They… they ended…", Mila stuttered. "Please, just say it", Celeste said on the urge of crying. "They killed her. Mare's dead." Rose couldn't breathe staring at Mare's cold body. Stumbling out of the room, tears slid down her cheek. "Rose. I'm so sorry you had to see this." Rose turned with slumped shoulders. "No Celeste, don't feel sorry for me. You should be feeling sorry for Mare. She died trying to help me. I even said it. I wouldn't be able to handle it if anyone died because of me. Mare is dead because of me", Rose said holding a hand to her forehead.

"It's not your fault. Queen Spina is responsible for any type of darkness, evil, grief" Rose sat on the floor, expressionless."I don't think I can make it through this." Celeste swiped her eyes and kneeled down next to Rose. "No. You are not going to discourage yourself. I know a tragedy took place in all this, but right now is only the beginning. We have to stay prepared, focused, and determined. Just imagine what will happen when this is over." Rose shoved her hair out of her face. "I know…..wait, where are Queen Spina's elements?", she asked confusion settled in her face. Celeste's eyes widen. 

"What about Amos?", Celeste asked. Rose's heart sunk. "What if… if they… what if they ended up like Mare?" Celeste leaned her head against the wall, shutting her eyes tightly. Rose felt anger boil in her veins, her heart pounded faster as every second passed, her head throbbed at her thoughts. Rose closed her eyes. 

Walking out of the dark castle, the storm grew heavier, all the trees blackened by the shock of lightning. Thorns grew from dead flowers, dead grey butterflies dispersed on the cracked ground, with one dead body. Rose fell to her knees, crawling to the corpse. When she turned the body's head, she screamed. Amos' eyes were slowly being covered with black mist, his curly brown hair smeared in dirt and chipped glass, and one thing Rose should've caught before: his own sword in his injured hand. She cried, holding his arm. Then an unsettling crunch caught Rose's attention. 

Slowly releasing his arm, she walked towards the dark shadow hidden behind a fallen tree. The only noise Rose heard was her heart beating irregularly. Taking short paced breaths, she pulled back a charcoalized bush, only to reveal another familiar face with dead eyes: Queen Stellina holding a burned ruby heart, wrapped in thorns. Rose cried out, pounding the ground with her fist, then ran from the queen's body, only to see more horror. Rose fell to her knees, hyperventilating, digging her nails into the cracks of the ground. Mila, Shivat, Celeste, and a body of a man wrapped in a silver cape, laid down all lined up, and every right hand was holding a ruby heart wrapped in thorns. Then a faint growling was heard in the distance, making Rose stop in a heartbeat. Turning with caution, she tried to crawl away. A jet black wolf with fire opal eyes, and charcoal grey teeth, sharp and deadly, pounced on Rose, clawing and tearing at her chest. Crying out in pain, she tried to grasp a thorn wrapped heart, but it wasn't in reach. Rose tried to kick and scratch and shatter the wolf, but it was too solid. With one last attempt of being spared a gruesome death, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Rose's eyes flicked open, her body shaking. "Rose! What happened?", Celeste scrambled to hold Rose, but she stood up. "Where are you going?", Celeste asked grasping her ankle. Rose breathed heavily, her eyes flaring with rage. "I'm going to end Queen's Spina's reign. She's going to die!"

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