[[Music Recommendation: Icarus ~ Phildel]

Few hours earlier...

Oriana lay on her bed, feeling a heavy weight pressing down on her chest. She lacked the energy to get up or even lift her head off the pillow. The thought of facing another day, another conversation, another meal, felt like too much to bear.

She just wanted to disappear, to fade away into nothingness. She had locked her heart to Adric, and even now, she couldn’t hate him even after everything she found out the previous night, but she longed so much to see his face.

"Princess?"

A gentle knock sounded at Oriana’s door. She turned her head gently towards the door and sighed. She didn’t want to talk to anyone right now.

"Princess, it’s me, Louis."

Reluctantly, Oriana sat up. Although she didn’t feel like talking to anyone, she respected Louis due to his relationship with her grandmother. Even though it didn’t mean anything anymore because her grandmother had betrayed her. Oriana stood up, her feet touching the cold ground as she went to her door and unlocked it.

Louis entered the room. "Greetings, Princess Oriana. I’m sorry for coming so early in the morning."

Oriana nodded tiredly. Without saying anything, she went back to her bed to rest, using her hand to cover her eyes.

"I have something I need to tell you about your grandmother. Also, she left this book for you." Louis raised it up with an excited look on his face; he couldn’t wait to deliver the message finally to the rightful owner.

Oriana exhaled. "Leave it on my dressing table," her voice barely above a whisper. She was tired of hearing that her grandmother left things that were of no use to her. If she didn’t leave something so important as the Queen’s army, why leave a pearl necklace and useless books? It turns out her grandmother didn’t even know anything about her, leaving a book when she hated anything that concerned reading so much.

Louis was taken aback by the cold reply of the princess; he was expecting the girl to jump up at the mention of her grandmother knowing how much the girl loved the Queen Mother.

"I think it’s something you’ll want to look at now."

Oriana rubbed her eyes gently. "Louis, I’m not feeling great this morning. I’ll take a look at it when I’m feeling better."

Louis sighed, going towards the table; he put the book down there, where he also saw the princess’s necklace. As he always saw the necklace around her neck now on the table, he wondered if something had happened that had depressed the princess so much.

"I hope you feel better soon. An army awaits your orders," Louis muttered. With a slight bow, he turned to leave.

Oriana opened her eyes. "An army?" She wasn’t sure if she had heard right or if she was now hearing things just because Adric wanted an army. "What army?" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Louis stopped in his tracks. "The army you spoke to Freya about. The Queen’s Army."

Oriana jumped up from the bed, as if she hadn’t been acting so weak until now. With newfound strength, she ran to her table and picked up the book. "You know where they are? Did my grandmother leave you in charge of it?"

"No, she wouldn’t, when her precious granddaughter is here. The Queen Mother left you in charge of the army."

Oriana raised her eyebrows. "Me? But how come I-"

"You didn’t know about it?" Louis interrupted. "I was going to tell you when you were of age. So the day you arrived in front of me, I thought it was time for me to finally tell you, but then it seems like it wasn’t because we got separated again only to meet here in Avon. After I heard about your marriage with the Crown Prince, I had thought you wouldn’t be needing the army anymore as Avon has shown great strength in battle."

Oriana blinked, raising her hand as she tried to process everything. "So you’re saying that the army actually exists and my grandmother trusted me enough to make me the leader?"

Louis nodded. "Of course. Everything you need to know is in that book. I mentioned it once to you, the book, thinking you’d recognize the title, but you didn’t. I had told you that day inside the carriage that it was Freya’s favorite book."

"’More than a Bird’," Oriana repeated the title of the book. "How could I not recognize it, Nana? ’More than a bird’ could only mean Icarus."

Louis smiled. "You remember now." The man’s memory played back to that night before the Queen Mother died. The woman tore out the front cover of an actual book, giving it her own title. She gave it to him and had instructed him to keep it safe until the princess was ready for it.

Oriana flipped through the pages. She got to the folded page and opened it, reading the contents slowly. "’You’re More than just a bird. You’re a Queen who leads an army, you’re one who does not burn or melt even in the face of the hottest sun. Like the phoenix you rise, like the eagle you protect, and like the dove you’re fragile with a heart of gold. The Queen’s army is led by one who is more than just a bird...’"

Oriana dropped her hand to her side. It was really her grandmother. Effortlessly, her grandmother had written a line for her that was ageless to remind her that she was beautiful and loved. And to think that she had doubted her old woman’s words for even a second, Oriana ran to the table and picked up the pearl, kissing it deeply with her eyes closed.

"I will forever love you, Nana. Thank you," Oriana muttered when she opened her eyes, she said to Louis.

"Where is the army right now? We need them. Avon is going to attack Orion anytime soon."

Louis hummed. "The thing about this army, Princess, is that you have to be a Queen to actually summon them. I have met with the general this morning, and he is ready when you are."

"I have to be a Queen? That means... that’s fine, but we have to stop the Crown Prince before he attacks," Oriana ran to the door, excited and nervous at the same time. She couldn’t wait to protect her kingdom and also help the man she loved.

"Before you leave, Princess, there’s one more thing you need to know," Louis started, "..."