[Blaze_of_Glory]

Great posts everyone. Thanks for including Scarlet.

I love seeing how everyone's writing styles have evolved since 2015.




I straightened the hem of my long, dark red gown. Lifting my chin, I gave polite nods to the Exilian nobles and high-ranking members of the guard. But for the most part, I ignored most of the people entering the great hall. I didn't see the point in displays of politeness, not with most of this irrelevant rabble.

I looked up at the sight of two figures stepping into view. I suppressed a scowl. Neva and Mireya, arriving almost late. They could show a bit more respect to such an important meeting, one that could potentially change our entire future.
It was our parents' greatest ambition, for us children to return to Estoriana and reconquer it in their name. Now that the banishment curse had been made permanent, the former kings and queens of the fairytale world had no hope of returning to their former homes. However, they certainly would not give up so easily, and had been plotting all these long years to have us achieve the vengeance they could not reach for themselves - as well as take over both worlds.

While I was in full support of these plans, I had no interest in taking vengeance on behalf of anyone. What was the point in such a pursuit? Revenge didn't give you anything, not power, or influence, or a way out of this miserable place. The only thing it could give you was a brief sense of satisfaction, and I had no interest in such a useless thing. Besides, if Mother wanted revenge, she could have done something productive for all these years... Something other than be little more than a pawn in Jafar and the others' plans.
But of course, it was not revenge that she wanted. I repressed the urge to scowl once again.

"Where have you two been?" I asked, keeping voice cool and aloof.
"Nothing much,” Neva replied, “Just went to watch the seasonal migration," giving a friendly smile that I did not return. Mireya remained silent, not one who spoke overly much to others besides Neva. Though the three of us had grown up together for most of our lives, I'd kept my distance, while those two had always been close. It wasn't like I particularly disliked them or anything, I just didn't see the use in such things as friendship. I was willing to work with these girls, and we would conquer Estoriana together, returning to our rightful place as its rulers. I wasn't interested in anything beyond that.

If you let someone in, let them know too much, you would open yourself to betrayal. It was inevitable. If there was one thing I'd learned from Mother, it was that.
You may fool yourself for a time, thinking such emotions as love or affection was enough, but eventually reality would set in. Wealth and power were tangible goals of actual worth. Human emotion was fickle, a temporary distraction at best.

I was surprised Neva, in particular, didn't appear to have grasped that yet. After what happened with Saskia, her old best friend, one would think she's have learned her lesson.
But then again, I had always felt that Neva was hiding something. There were things she was planning with her mother, I knew, that the rest of us weren't privy to. It was another reason I couldn't really trust her.
Mireya, on the other hand, was entirely on board with the revenge mission, fully believing the descendants were cruel and unjust for trapping us in this world. I supposed it was understandable, giving what had happened to her family.

The three of us entered the Great Hall together, taking our places on the raised dais alongside the other rulers of Exilia. Mother caught my eye, but I purposefully avoided her gaze. The two of us had never seen eye to eye, but lately the distance between us had seemed greater than ever.

Queen Imperia began addressing the gathering. It would appear that the descendants had planned yet another gathering for tomorrow, a fairly large one this time. I'd lost track of how many of these parties they planned every year. Yet another reason we deserved to rule Estoriana - we'd find something more productive to spend our time doing than attending balls all year round.
Nothing of much import happened during the meeting. The plan was the same as always - keep on high alert when the descendants were gathered in large numbers - when their magic was abundant, it caused the veil between worlds to thin, and one day, we would be able to slip through.

Just when I'd begun to think nothing of particular interest was going to happen in this meeting, the ground beneath us suddenly began to shake. Glasses sitting on tables started to clatter, and several people fell out of their chairs. The rumbling grew more and more intense, until it felt like the earth was going to split open beneath us. Overhead, the chandelier began swinging wildly.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the shaking stopped. I loosened my grip on the nearest pillar and saw my own startled expression reflected on Neva's and Mireya's faces.
"What was that? An earthquake?" someone in the crowd exclaimed.
"Is it caused by the migration?" I asked Mireya and Neva. They both shook their heads.
"The herds had moved well beyond range when we left," Neva explained.

It was the strangest thing... Almost like a violent spasm had passed through the planet of Exilia itself, like the entire world had become unstable. I shook my head. What was going on here?