Thalia awoke to a soft knock on the door .She already knew who this was."Get your butt in

 here!"she called ,chuckling quietly to herself.Amara burst in ,eager and excited to see Thalia again.Being the only person Thalia trusted,these days were the highlights of Thalia's week."Hi!"Amara grinned as she ran into Thalia's arms .

"You know you're my best friend right?"Thalia told her as they broke apart.Eyes sparkling ,Amara replied that she was her only friend.Shrugging , Thalia sat on her bench .

"Do I have any mail?" She wondered as though she expected Amara to know.And as usual ,Amara did know!

"Yes ,from King Nai"Amara replied ,somberly.Groaning ,Thalia read through his letterth."he's threatening us with a war unless I agree to marry him!". Amara's face went pale , caramel brown eyes wide with horror and her heart shaped mouth in a perfect O.

"Your hairs in your face,"Thalia told her ,pushing back her long, auburn hair behind her ear.

Amara made no response,"are you going to marry him?"she asked.It only took one glance at Thalia's pained face to know the answer.Gasping for air ,Amara stuttered,"I h..have to g..go!",before rushing out of the Queens Quarters.

Back inside her own room,Amara began to cry.She'd never wanted to come here but had to do so to support her family.Once she had arrived, she had learnt that she had to sleep in a rat-infested basement with a creaky,wooden bed with a holey,paper-thin blanket and pillow.The room was drab and had stone walls that allowed all the cold,winter air to swallow her up.All she had to put all her worldly possessions in was a cardboard box that the mice chewed through easily.But whilst working in the palace ,she had met Queen Thalia and had slowly but surely fallen in love and now she'd never have the chance to admit her true feelings to Queen Thalia.She wasn't gullible enough to believe that the Queen felt the same way about her but it was something she had to get off her chest.

Men didn't have a life.If they did they'd actually tell the woman they were pretty.Take Queen Thalia for an example.Such a lovely complexion upon her dark skin ,not a spot to be seen .With Beach waves within in her black hair ,that hosted gold streaks .The story was that she was born with them , signifying that she was the one to lead their country,more powerful than any man.Why couldn't men be content rather than treating her like a doll that had disappointed them.That was Jason's view of her but he didn't love her.All he knew was that she deserved better than what she was given.Another tourist had crossed her and now he was down in dungeons.At least that was what his sister told him.Lana had been a protector of the palace as long as Jason could remember.Queen Thalia had to deal with far too much and he wished he could help.But it was all out of his control. Brought back to reality,Jason heard a loud commotion : ran to the window .Face pressed against the window ,he saw that Lana and Doug were fighting, which wasn't an unusual occurrence.That was when it hit him.DOUG HAD A KNIFE. Lana clearly hadnt noticed:Jason wished he could warn her.For a split second ,Jason flinched upon instinct.Once he looked back ,Lana lay limply on the floor,her eyes glassy.The figure stared up at him as Jason realised that it was Doug ,who was wearing a maniacal smile on his face:head tilted too much to be normal.Slowly,he pointed below Jason and began leveling his arm until it pointed at him ,as though sizing him up.Terror filled his mind , rendering him paralyzed.For quite a while,Jason began to ease into a feeling of a safety.Until the building erupted in flames.Doug stood below dunking a stick into water , a sizzling sound crackling.Slowly Jason realised that Doug had flecks of red stained into his teeth, pieces of flesh inbetween his teeth.

Quickly,Jason swirled around , searching for an exit . Panting,he rattled the doornob.It was jammed.The only other option was the window.The window directly above Doug.But there was no other option,Jason propelled himself out the window, soaring above Doug . Triumphantly,he continued his way before realising he was falling towards Doug.His face fell into an expression of pure terror.

Just ahead lay the castles towers ,built of grey,stone bricks and had a solid gold roof.Jason

made an attempt at flapping towards the building, feeling sure that Queen Thalia would understand and help him.However this only brought him down,as he had forgot to propel himself further, whilst Doug smirked and held his knife facing Jason.Out of nowhere ,a woman with chestnut hair and unexplainably pointy ears pounced upon Doug, tackling him to the ground whilst Jason landed.Fearfully,Jason stared at her whilst she continued beating the man who had killed his sister.Ears pricked up,the woman looked up and motioned for him to run to the palace.Without hesitation,he sprinted away.Maybe he'd fight one day but today was not the day.

At the palace gates,Jason could see just how majestic this palace was.The gate he now faced was a shimmering gold.On duty was an incredibly stubborn guard who spoke in a pathetic monotone ."But sir ,a murderer is after me!"Jason pleaded.

"Perhaps,"

"Do you know Lana?!"He blurted out,knowing that he'd surely know her.The guards eyes flicked with recognition.

"perhaps".

"She was my sister.I dunno when we'll…"he told the guard,his shoulders slumped down.

"Gettin kiddo"the guard told him ,eyes wide .Swiftly ,the guard took his gun out,pointing it into the distance.Quickly, Jason glanced back to see Doug,knife ready and grinning his psychotic smirk.

"GET IN!"the guard yelled ,shoving him into the castle grounds.Within the next 10 seconds,the gate's had closed and the guard lay in a pool of blood .But for now Doug couldn't enter and Jason was safe. And yet there were so many deaths to save him.All Jason knew was that he wanted Doug dead.

We need a real ruler,one that can take us to great things.That ruler is me.Help me overthrow this second-rate woman who has got too big for her boots and you will be rewarded greatly.Join me now,not tomorrow,"Doug yelled out to the pub ,any who refused would have to be killed but that wasn't Doug's fault.No-ones but there own for refusing such a great offer.Around 30 citizens were listening to his speech ,sitting at a wooden ,round table and upon dusty,oak stools.The cat and mouse pub was a run-down pub but the only options for the low-life scum that came here.And these low-life scum were the best he could do to join.They could only afford a pub with grey,rotting walls,with cracks all around ,they could only afford a pub with a pungent stench.And these people were people who would have a vendetta against Queen Thalia or that Dratted General Vivelda.Where was she from again?Was it China or Japan?Perhaps ,he didn't care either way .All he knew was that she got in the way of him killing Jason and he could not forgive that.Lana's favourite person in the world would die due to her actions.If she was alive, she'd rue that day but he would still continue his actions.

"WHO'S WITH ME!"he roared with raging fierceness.Crowds cheered,fists in the air.He now had his followers.

General Vivelda was alive.Injured but alive and that was all she could ask for.Besides they would never let her die ,no matter how much she begged.Barely surviving but she was a survivor.Living against all odds and living at a cost.Would it ever be worth it .No.All she could do is watch the days go by and hope for a better future.A better tomorrow,a brighter today:a day that would never come.And now with the chances of a war ,she didn't know what to think.With all this on her mind,she began towards the palace she knew so well.Back in Japan,she had loved her Palace but going back was no longer an option.Her only option was to stay here.Her brother would never allow her back again.Not after the…incident.

The TV blared as Thalia sat fixated to the looscreen.For tonight ,she could not sleep , feeling afflicted by her choice.Never had she imagined herself marrying that excuse of a human.A pervert if she ever met one:only a pervert could wish to marry a girl at least 30 years younger than he.Quite frankly,he disgusted her and she felt repelled by him.Suddenly,a loud rap shook her into motion as she jumped to her feet.It was Angelica,the scullery maid.

"Your Majesty,a young boy,the brother of Lana has arrived covered in blood,".Biting her lip ,Thalia remembered the day he was born.She was there, lending support to his mother.It had been a long, painful birth taking up to 24 hours.

"Show him to the Ruby room and instruct him to come to the throne room,"Thalia informed her and lay back done as Angelica made a swift and quiet exit.The Ruby room was part of the safety corridor ,protected by ancient spells.Thalia had ensured that the help had rooms in this corridor, despite them being paid.These people were practically her family.The corridors were vast and appeared to be a bright rainbow with silver floors ,hard yet comfy.Each room had a theme and the Ruby Room was,as you'd imagine a red colour with every different type of shade.The king mattress had a spotty duvet and many shelves above contained books.There was a fluffy,black carpet and a desk with a files folder.It certainly was a exquisite bed chambers to sleep in.

Jason sat in the bed with the white and pink polka dot duvet, thinking of his little street orphans ,that he brought food and comfort .Over time ,he had grown rather fond of one group in particular,the naturals.Their names were Poppy, Violet and Ash.The flowers ,poppy and violet plus the ash tree.

It was weird how Ash was separated.His mother's choices had always made Jason wonder.....