[Music Recommendation: Icarus ~ Phildel]

Oriana’s eyes scanned the room as Nicholas read his new orders. Her hands didn’t leave Fidelis. All the young girl could think of at the moment was her first time in the palace. She thought she had survived because she was strong enough to overcome everything, but her situation at the moment proved that Adric had been the one shielding her from the evil she failed to notice, and now he was no longer there.

The words Adric had told her; that he would protect her as long as she was beside him, made even more sense to her at the moment. She hadn’t realized what exactly she needed protection from. She thought she could waltz her way around the royal family feuds and come out strong. That was the kind of girl she was, someone who had never been broken no matter what she faced.

Everything changed at the moment, as Oriana watched herself fall from grace with no hope of coming back up. She had tried to hold on even after watching people cruelly make a coffin without Adric in it holding a funeral for someone alive. She tried to protect the throne, stay strong and not cry in front of anyone. Then she heard that Adric was still alive, and it gave her even more hope, making her want to fight more and keep the throne safe until Adric returned. But right now...

Right now, Oriana felt broken. All the fight in her was lost, and she prayed to find her feet even for just a second, but she couldn’t. She wanted to be rescued. She was drowning, and there was no keeping her head above water.

"And for the former Queen who was exiled unjustly, her status shall now move up to be the Queen of the court, in charge of training all the ladies." Nicholas raised his hand, and the guards bowed, going back to where Oriana and Fidelis were. They tried to separate them, but Oriana didn’t want to let go.

"Let him be, he is injured..." Oriana begged, her eyes welling up with tears that she was afraid of shedding. She looked down at Fidelis. The man was now weak as he continued to lose more blood.

Adelaide, seeing what was happening, moved away from Nicholas as she made her way to where Oriana was. "I see you have a hard time obeying your king’s orders, Oriana." Saying this, Adelaide slapped Oriana’s hand away from Fidelis, causing the man to fall.

"No!" Oriana shouted, trying to crawl forward and help Fidelis, but before she could get to him, Adelaide took a step forward and intentionally stepped on Oriana’s hand with force.

The painful scream of Oriana echoed through the hall. She tried to stifle her tears of anguish. "Argh!!" she continued to scream when Adelaide didn’t move her shoe away.

Madame Rosalie shouted, trying to wriggle herself away from the guards. "Let go of her!" the woman cried, but she was held firmly in place.

"Beg the Queen to save you, Oriana. Beg me to save you," Adelaide grinned, not putting her shoe away. She enjoyed the agonizing look on Oriana’s face at the moment, and she would do anything to see it all day.

Oriana closed her eyes. Her whole body trembled with the pain she was now feeling. When she opened her eyes, she looked at Fidelis and saw that the man needed immediate treatment as he was losing so much blood. She turned to look at Adelaide, seeing the malevolence in the girl’s eyes. Oriana couldn’t believe the girl shared the same blood as Adric. It was too hard to believe.

"You won’t beg?" Adelaide asked, raising her shoe. She chuckled. "You must be used to pain." She moved her shoe to Oriana’s other hand, but before she could step on it, Oriana got on her knees with her head bowed and begged.

"Please save me, Your Majesty," she begged with her eyes closed as tears streamed down her face, which was bowed. If it was just her, Oriana would have tried to be stubborn, but she knew better than to be rebellious. It would only put the lives of everyone around her in danger, and she didn’t want her ego to destroy innocent lives.

Adelaide moved her shoe away, a little surprised as she didn’t expect Oriana to beg that easily. "You should have started with that, taking my hands the very first day you arrived Avon." She clicked her tongue, "But not to worry, your Queen has seen your sincerity, and I will help you. Guards, take them away."

This time without struggling, Oriana allowed the guards to drag her out of the room. Her eyes were on Fidelis, and she worried so much about the man, but there was nothing she could do at the moment.

Nicholas watched as Oriana left the courtroom looking vulnerable, a small smile tugging at his lips. It wasn’t as he had envisioned everything to happen, with Oriana looking at him like a monster, but things were still working in his favor. With Adelaide and Gwen set to make Oriana’s life miserable, she would have no other choice but to take his hand for help.

The mere thought of comforting Oriana under the dim lights in a warm room, with Adric out in the cold fighting for his life, made Nicholas happy that he couldn’t wait for the day to finally come.

With the news about Nicholas taking the throne and Oriana now a prisoner in the palace spreading even among the maids, everyone came to see with their own eyes the fate of the youngest princess of Orion. They watched Oriana being dragged like a criminal. Some of the palace servants cried, while some whispered amongst themselves.

Oriana saw Madame Rosalie struggling and trying to reach her, but nobody was allowed close to her, not even Freya, who was standing close to other maids as the young girl cried her eyes out.

"It’s okay," Oriana mouthed, closing her eyes as if to reassure Freya that everything would be fine. But as if it worsened everything, Freya bawled her eyes out.

Adelaide and her mother followed Oriana behind with smiles on their faces, enjoying the girl’s fall from grace.

Gwen cleared her throat, calling the attention of everyone who cared to listen, "As the Queen of the court ladies, I will now have everyone know that nobody is allowed to serve Oriana except those assigned by me or Queen Adelaide."

Freya turned to look at them, shaking her head slightly. She opened her mouth to retort, but Oriana signaled her not to with a slight shake of her head. If Freya should be punished, there was nothing Oriana could do to save her and she didn’t want that. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Sophie and Jasmine, who were not present during the time Nicholas ran out, saw Oriana being dragged out like a criminal. Both princesses had shocked looks on their faces.

"What happened? Was she the one who killed brother Adric?" Jasmine asked Adelaide, only to receive a stern glare from both her mother and her sister. Jasmine shrugged.

"I’m just asking because if she isn’t and Brother Adric comes back alive, we won’t be alive to tell the tale," she said, talking through her teeth and turning her head to the other side.

Sophie walked to Adelaide with a frown on her face. "Let go of my sister immediately. How dare you treat a princess of Orion in such a manner?"

Jasmine snorted, covering her mouth with her hand. "I guess even the fools have a say now. What has the palace become since after I left?"

Sophie turned to look at Jasmine. "Fool?" She scoffed. "Guess which fool has a husband that stays."

"Ha!" Jasmine gasped, turning to her sister. "Did you hear her? Lock this one up too!"

Sophie threw her head back, laughing. "Look who needs her sister to save her! A shameless mother of two."

"What?" Jasmine pointed at Sophie. "You!"

Even the maids were confused as to what was going on. They forgot about what was happening and had their focus on the older princesses of two kingdoms as they argued.

Adelaide and Gwen rolled their eyes, ignoring the bickering of Jasmine and Sophie as they weren’t the problem. They were now in power and ready to make Oriana pay for everything.

Oriana watched from the corner of her eyes, and she inhaled deeply. She had never been more grateful that Sophie was dumb. That way, nobody would treat her with contempt, and Oriana would have one less person to worry about. Getting to her room, Oriana was pushed inside, and the door was locked from the outside.