It only took my eyes mere milliseconds to realize what had unfolded before me, but it took my shocked mind several good seconds to fully understand what had happened. But when it finally sinks in, I am relieved as I've never been before.

"It's over."

He did it. I couldn't begin to put into emotions- much less words- how ecstatic I am that it's all over.

But just as I'm ready to celebrate, another cries out in anguish- her dreams, now, unobtainable.

"No!"

She kneels by the dissolved pile that is finer than chalk dust, scooping it up in her hands as if trying to restore it once again to its wholesome self while the powder slipped from her cupped hands.

I've never seen her in this state of utter despair- vanquished, in a near sense, at this defeat- yet, I don't feel any pity for her as she kneels on the ground, desperately trying to recover a dead dream.

While she falls apart at the end of her vision, my attention is drawn to Xalale.

"Mallory."

It's the night of the dance all over again. Everything has shifted in a different light, with a more amiable air surrounding us.

For once, through this entire ordeal, I finally recognize the person behind those piercing blue eyes, and it almost relieves me as much as ensuring peace in our universes.

Approaching him meekly, I restrain from giving myself away completely.

"It's not frequent enough that I say this," I begin, a small smile inevitably sneaking onto my face. "But thank you."

A burden is noticeably lifted from his shoulders as he straightens and replies- a hint, just a hint of an amused smile behind his word

"And I suppose I ask this seldom: what for?"

Standing before him for the first time, in what seems like a decade without any traces of bitterness or hostility or division of any kind, my anger had worn me out to nothing, so now I allow other emotions to filter through freely.

"You ought to know by this point."

Then I know- I know like I know the sky is blue and the sun comes and goes- that our differences are amended, forgotten, the fracture healed, and damn, have I missed that feeling.

We're both about to speak when a spiteful voice, reminding us of a broken presence, spits out from behind.

"Is it amusing to you to witness my downfall? Have not the Fates cut me down enough?"

I take a step toward her, bold and without any hesitation; I can sense Xalale at my back in support- the odds were no more in her favor.

"Aelita, it's over. You've lost. No one is out to get you, it's you who keeps sabotaging yourself."

For once, she didn't look like the collected, regal leader that she usually portrays herself to be. When she finally drags herself off the ground, she remains burdened with anguish over her loss- her back toward us as she covers her face, trying to retain her composure, I assume.

I glance back at Xalale, the same question racing through our minds: what to do with Aelita. We certainly couldn't let her have another opportunity to find another artifact of mass destruction, but some within me felt some sort of pity for the woman- however crazed and manipulated she is. I know Xalale won't be as merciful in his dealing with her so I speak up first, taking a step to reach out to her.

"Aelita," I begin. "You don't have to wallow over a trinket; you don't need any of this- just give it up. Whatever has passed has passed."

Though stiffening at my words, she doesn't respond nor turn around. At least, I thought she didn't respond.

Her voice is a sullen whisper that you would imagine an angel of death would breathe into your ear.

Even as I risk a step closer, straining to hear what she's mumbling under her breath, her words are still too soft for me to pick up on.

Regardless, I sigh, tired of her charades. "Aelita, you're over with, just gi-"

"This is your fault," She seethes, her words finally coherent.

"What?"

"You are responsible for all of this."

At first, I think she's directing the blame at Xalale- the one who actually, physically shattered her dreams- but when she speaks, I realize she's addressing me.

"How dare you! You stupid, foolish girl."

I'm slightly baffled about why all her anger is steered towards me in this, but I'm not entirely surprised she's pinned me as the scapegoat.

Glancing back at me, her eyes flashing with ferocity that it could turn the sun to ice right into its very core.

"How dare you."

Before I can even speak up and defend myself, it comes at me; a blur of energy straight towards me.

She had been poised and ready to take aim, waiting for that perfect moment.

A mere chilly blur that whizzes past me in a blink of an eye, my brain is slow to comprehend, but my body quick to react as it reflexively tenses up- my eye squeezing shut in paralyzed fear.

But hearing something a shattering behind me, I open my eyes, realizing no harm has come to me. She missed.

As Xalale comes to my side, taken back by his mother's outburst, Aelita turns tail and races to the staircase, pausing at the base of the structure to send me a chilly smile, with dark intentions dancing in her eyes. The message was clear: her sights are set on me.

"I'll be waiting, dear," She calls as she whisks up the icy stairs into the unknown.

She's challenging me, taunting me with an unquestionable confrontation. Her words and actions have wrought their intended purpose, though. I'm rearing for a resolution to this and she's just given me one- albeit a risky one.

Without question or further delay, I hurry over to the ascending staircase but am stopped by Xalale.

"Mallory."

At first, I believe he's going to try to dissuade me from following her; demand to he go after her instead since she's been his greatest stumbling block for years. But I'm genuinely surprised, and taken back, when he throws me his sword- that impressive work of craftsmanship- and gives me a knowing nod.

"Go."

It's a simple gesture, a simple assurance, but it revives in me the fire that I'll need going into this.

It's obvious now. His battle with his mother is over, he's put his past with her to rest. My battle is just beginning.

So with sword in hand, stomach in knots, and a cold sense of impending uncertainty before me, I pursue her into the unknown.

My bravery almost dies at the top of the stairs as I study what's before me.

I'm taken back to the days where I used to roam the hall of mirrors at the circus, lost and bewildered. This upper floor is about the same but with jagged, rough walls of ice and an enemy lurking behind every turn.

Uncertain as I am, I'm not here to shake in my shoes like a shy, helpless kitten. I've got a sword and my intuition (that I need to rely on more).

I'm not going to lie though, I'm a little unnerved. This is as far out from my comfort zone as you could get. Right now, there's a hostile- not to mention, vengeful- Aelita slithering her way, masterfully, might I add, through this deceiving maze, possibly lurking in every hidden corner for me. I don't see, or hear, her anywhere up here but I know she couldn't have slipped out. Even if there was another exit, I have a feeling she's more concerned about handling business with me first before skipping out.

Gripping the sword with lightly white knuckles and a shaky, visible breath that gives me away, I venture into the icy labyrinth.

So far, I'm maneuvering my way through this deceiving maze pretty good, all things considered. But the moment a swift shadow darts from the other side to the other, my heart thunders like a war drum and in response, I draw the sword even closer to my side.

Somewhere from within this kaleidoscopic maze, her sickly charmed voice speaks out.

"I have to say, dear, I'm genuinely surprised- and delighted- that you rose to my expectations."

"The games are over, Aelita," I call out, my back against the frigid walls- guarding myself against attack. "Either face me like you wanted me to or just give up."

"Dear, I never wanted to put you in a predicament, yet it seems I have."

For the life of me, I cannot detect which direction her voice is coming from. I do a little lost turnaround, trying to see if I can detect her blurry figure through the ice, but she eludes me. Somehow, I sense that, although I can't see her, she can see me.

"Are you scared of me?" I ask as I push on.

Already, I know the answer to that one, but I'm trying to buy myself some time in order to catch her off-guard and find where her voice is coming from.

Her chuckle sends shivers down my spine- there's something so inhumane and detached about it. She must have recovered her complacent demeanor from before because she sounds as carefree as a guilty man found innocent.

"Truthfully speaking," She begins, her shoes echoing along the floor out of sight. "I have never feared anyone in my life."

"Minus Xalale, of course."

In response to the jab, her tone comes out a tad sharper than before.

"I do not fear my son."

"All hatred stems from some sort of fear, at least, so I've been told."

Out of the corner of my eye, in the briefest second, she darts past, behind my line of sight. Quickly, I whirl around to confront her but catch nothing but the sound of her airy chortles.

"Sound advice. Whoever told you such things is wise. It would benefit you greatly to heed to their counsel more readily."

Her response is both a distraction and taunt, neither of which faze me.

"I don't understand, at all. Why give up all of this? What's the point?"

To the right of me, I see her shadow ripple across the thick, icy floor.

"You are so blinded to the truth, to the reality of it all. You come acting as though you are familiar with every quarrel that results from us; though it's simply your vanity revealing itself."

I scoff, "Of course, you created a plan to use your son's abilities, which you shun him for, to restore an orb that would give you, and you alone, a fresh start and I'm the vain one. Of course."

"Do not pretend you care for my son. I am his mo-"

"I care for him more than you ever had."

The temperature- which was already below existence- drastically drops after my comment.

"People say many foolish statements when they have yet to experience parenthood," Her voice could, at the same time, freeze a soul while burning them alive. "You aren't in a position to judge me in how I conduct myself with my son."

"Actually, I don't need to be in a position to do anything of the sort. It's clear as day, Aelita. And for starters, I will never be the sorry excuse for a mother that you are."

My tactic for drawing her out works.

From behind, I am bombarded with a shower of small yet razor-sharp icicles. They're going at such a high velocity that they shatter the barriers in their path, like mini bullets.

Though none of the shards cause inflicting damage, I felt the icy ricochet of them on my cheeks as they struck the walls around me. Recovering from the onslaught, I make a mad dash towards her. She flees the instant I pursue, again disappearing behind the frosty walls, but I can still see her shadow moving quickly through the maze.

"Are you scared of me, Aelita?" I call out, losing my wind a little.

Suddenly, she stops and before my mind can catch up, she issues a blast of ice at my feet, just missing my toes, as an imposing chunk of ice blocks me in. I realize then, with sinking dismay, that she led me into a trap. Always the master manipulator.

The space is more open than the rest of the maze but with a wall at my back that leads to the outside, I'm cornered. Beyond the thick icy walls, I can hear ravenous roaring outside, all due to high winds.

Stepping into view again, Aelita presents herself but doesn't appear so amused anymore. Though I'm slightly unnerved, I take my stance and hold the sword at ready.

"As much as we are both inclined to believe, none of this is about Xalale," She says, her voice empty of a telltale emotion.

"That's not new information to me. I know this is not about him, this is about you."

She stands before me but just out of reach still.

"This is about both of us, Mallory. Your faults, my faults, our shortcomings-"

Giving her a disdainful look, I retort. "Don't lump us together like we're the same person. I know my failures but I try to fix them. The question is, do you know yours?"

"I've never failed at anything on my own accord, but I have experienced loss, and I believe you should as well."

By now, she's close enough where I can step forward and take a swing. But just as I'm in the midst of going to strike her, I realize she can cut me off with a flick of her wrist. My mid-action assumption is proven true and before I can recover, she has knocked the sword from my hand, sending it off to side with a chilly gust. A moment's confusion is all she needs to gain the upper hand.

Now, she looks on with a patronizing smile.

"As I've aforementioned, it would bring almost equal pleasure as restoring that orb to end you right now, but I know it would please me even more to allow you to suffer in a crueler fashion."

I don't know what would be a crueler sentence than to kill me right now, but I'm not going to open my mouth about that. Instead, I scramble to my feet, eyeing the sword by the wayside but not dumb enough to try to dive for it.

Though she claims she's not going to kill me, her approaching steps towards me don't alleviate any concerns that she doesn't have ill will for me. Since I don't have any feasible way of protecting myself, I have to use my words as a shield right now.

"He would have forgiven you."

It actually surprises me that this is the first thing I blurted out, but I guess when you're trying to buy time you'll find anything to say. Aelita looks slightly puzzled at this.

"He claims he wouldn't, but I know he would have- eventually. You had your new beginning right in front of you."

"Forgiven me? What could he possibly forgive me for?"

This woman astounds me.

"How about rejecting him for starters! Oh, and maybe, I don't know, emotionally manipulating him. There's a great place to start."

"I have taught him every skill I know on how to hold himself as king and as a man."

"Guess what, Aelita. You have failed once in your life- the biggest failure of your life: being a mother."

I don't know whether the ice building in the cusp of her hand is intentional or not, all I know is I better watch out or else she might turn back on her word about not ending me right now.

"I was protecting him from people like you."

"What a sorry excuse for a mo-"

"-I was protecting him from heartb-"

With no warning in the least, the ground beneath our feet explodes from underneath. Too shocked to scream, I'm flung, along with chunks of ice, into the air and slammed back down. The worst that results from the violent interruption, though, is the winding getting knocked from my lungs.

"Jesus."

Groggily at first, then with coherent clarity, I get up and try to collect my bearings. My eyes catching a glint of metal nearby. The blast managed to move the sword closer to me, but I'm separated from it now by the gaping hole in the floor; it teeters dangerously close to the edge and I would have to inch my way carefully to retrieve it. It's a risk I'm willing to take, one that rewards me.

Snatching up the sword, my priority turns to finding Aelita.

I spot her- or rather she spots me first by hurling a sphere of jagged ice at my head- causing me to hastily move aside as to not be maimed.

The impact of whatever broke up the floor was powerful enough to destroy the blockade that was trapping me in, as well as the wall that once protected us from the elements outside. Now that the wall is broken, I can now see what was causing the howling winds.

Sometime while I was here, a beast of a blizzard broke out, roaring about with blinding chaos- something I would have distinctly remembered when we were outside trying to sneak in. It's clear this storm is not formed solely by nature, there's a more sinister air to it. It growls like a living entity that's clawing at the floor to flood in completely. My hair whips around my face in the sharp winds that spit in an icy snow mixture.

Aelita stands near the breach unconcerned about the raging storm, instead, focusing her icy rage on me.

It's a situation of act now think later- and so I do.

The first hurdle I have to jump over (literally) is the hole separating me and her. As long as I'm trapped on this side, she has the advantage. I need to be more direct in my attack and I can only accomplish that if we're on the same side.

So, without hesitation or thought, I take a serious leap of faith and practically fling myself onto the other side where I land hard on my knees. I have no time to cringe or recover before Aelita is swinging another wave of crystals at me, causing me to scramble out of harm's ways with not a second to spare.

Thankfully, I can get to my feet, get a proper grip on the sword, and brace myself before her next blow can arrive.

Going along with the theme of acting for thinking, I lunge at her with the tip of my weapon angled at her abdomen- not hesitating at the possibility of gravely injuring her.

She evades me just quick enough that I can't stop myself on the frictionless ice and fall to the ground. Soon, I feel her towering over me. One second the sword is in my hand, the next, a chilly blast ensues I relinquish the weapon.

I turn to face her, trying to scramble to my feet but ultimately sliding back as she approaches closer.

"What else have you to prove?" She coyly remarks. "You seem so very high in your mind but you achieve so-"

She's gotten too close- she's tripped up.

Staggering back with a siren-like wail once my foot slammed into her chest, she gasps for breath as I finally get to my feet, scoop up my sword, and swing at her.

Metal rings out as she shields herself with a warped pillar of ice, thick enough that the blade only leaves a dent in the surface. Unexpectedly, she shattered the pillar, sending the pieces flying with some ricocheting into my eyes.

The advantage is hers again and she goes to strike me. Thankfully, my reflexes kickstart and I swing wildly, causing her to back up as I stagger backward, dangerously close to the hole.

The ice pieces are small enough where they don't have any damaging effects and simply melt on their own, so I'm able to recover quickly.

Looking around, I'm a bit dumbfounded when I don't see her anymore. My guard remains up, though, as I creep closer to the hole in the wall that exposes the room to the harsh climate outside.

Looking down, I suddenly see her.

Somehow, doing our fight, when I pushed her back, she must have tripped over her dress or slipped because now she clings to the icy floors, hanging from the open hole in the wall. Though she tries to claw her way back in, I can see her efforts are of no use and are only wearing her out.

In an instant, I forget about everything else and hurrying to her, the wind violently assaulting my face as I kneel near the edge.

"Aelita."

Even as she battles to pull herself back in, she doesn't spare me the hostile glare sent my way.

I don't know what's gotten into me. Not even a day ago, I would have hung back as she tried to climb back into the room, concerned but not daring to do anything about it. Today, though, in the brutal face of the weather, drained and freezing, I'm extending a hand out to her. This woman, who is more self-centered than the sun, I'm actually trying to help her!

"Aelita," I have to yell to be heard above the noise. "Give me your hand."

At first, she ignores me by trying to drag herself up, but when she falters and starts losing friction, that's when she turns her venomous eyes at me, yet she still continues to fight on her own.

"Aelita, just give me your hand!"

I lean farther down just so she won't have to stretch as far up- all she has to do is take my hand.

With my body practically hanging out of the building, I can see that the bottom is nowhere in sight due to the volume of the storm; a complete whiteout.

I'm giving her one last opportunity.

"Aelita, please."

Looking up at me, pausing in her vain efforts, I think she's finally going to give into my help. But unpredictability runs rampant in this family.

She does seize my hand, but only to try freezing it- ice trailing up my fingers in an icy frost- causing me to recoil, and in turn letting go of her. She tries to get a good grip on the ground but there's not enough friction to hang on.

Right before my eyes, I watch her fall off the side.

My wide eyes stare back at her surprised ones. It's as though she's falling backward in slow motion, like a fallen angel through the storm. The only sound that has time to come out of her mouth is a small gasp.

Instinctively, I draw back, not wanting to hear whatever sickening noise she might make as she comes in contact with the ground.

In the next instant, the storms dies. No more are the beastly winds or biting snow or blinding winter rage. All is dead silent, except for my shallow breathing. My blood even running cold.

It's one thing to watch someone die on TV, it's a whole different experience being so close to someone who was just alive seconds ago and trying to kill you now deceased.

Though my mind is telling me not to, my body is too curious for its own good, so I peer down at where she landed.

I can only stomach it for a second before I have to look away.

It was worse than I imagined.

Now, with no blizzard blocking my vision, I can see the bottom clearly.

Below, icicles, larger than I'd ever seen, all pointed up like the tips of soldiers' spears, stare up at me- their tips coated crimson. It results in being Aelita's final resting place. A painful but swift end.

I just pray I never have to see another impaled human being again- I've seen more than I should this summer.

Though shaken, I'm alive. I've come out on top. Finally, I can say with certainty: it's over.