The next day, Crystal found herself wondering whether she should give Alastor another chance, stay for her siblings or just run away.

She wasn't really sure where she would go, but she was seriously thinking of returning to her village, reuniting with Benny and going on that trip around the Kingdoms she had always dreamed of.

But then again, she had just come to the palace. She shouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions or make rash decisions. Maybe she would come to get used to it.

Who am I kidding? Alastor showed his true colors from the very first day. Caroline kept shaking whenever he spoke. There's no getting used to this.

There was a knock on the door, interrupting her train of thought.

“Who is it?”, she called.

“Who else could it be this early in the morning? I mean, it could be your sister, but she's really busy these days. It couldn't be your brother because he sleeps until noon and I don't think your father would come visit you after last night. Based in what you told told me, anyway.”, someone babbled from outside. Only one person babbles this much.

“Come on in.”, Crystal sighed. Don't get me wrong she was glad it was Margaret, but she wasn't really glad she was in the palace. She would rather be outside, as you've probably realised by now.

“Thank you.”, Margaret smiled awkwardly as she walked in the room. “Is everything okay?”, she frowned.

“Can I ask you something?”, Crystal frowned.

“Of course you can!”, Margaret reassured her.

“Do you promise to not tell anyone? Not even Andy?”, Crystal furrowed her eyebrows.

Margaret bit her lip and frowned. “I promise. You can tell me anything.”

“I- I want to run away, but I'm not sure if I should... I can't take it living here. I grew up in a village. My father keeps making remarks about me being a peasant. Not that I mind, I would enjoy much more being a peasant rather than a princess. It's just... The way he says it, as if it's meant to be an insult. And I don't like the way he acts in general. Caroline is terrified of him. Tristan didn't even show up at dinner. I can't be the only one who doesn't like him and thinks that something is off!”, she said exasperated and flopped down on her bed.

Margaret bit her lip, once again. “Your father is a strange man. He keeps to himself most of the time and has been acting even weirder ever since queen Olivia died. You've probably noticed that he doesn't show any emotion.”, Margaret explained. Crystal nodded. “He wasn't always like that. Before Olivia died, he was overcome with anger and hate. He was mad at his brother. He still is. I don't know what could have happened to make them hate each other so bad, but I have my suspicions. Anyway, it's not my place to talk about it.”, Margaret shook her head.

“What do you mean you have your suspicions? What do you think happened?”, Crystal asked.

Margaret smiled faintly. “What causes most fights like this; a woman.”, she shrugged. “I have to go talk to my daughter now. She's been down lately and she won't tell me why... I'll go try and cheer her up.”, she frowned.

“Faith, right?”

Margaret nodded. “Yeah. She works at the kitchens.”

“I wish I could help you out... I'm not really the best on giving advice. I'm sorry...”, Crystal frowned.

“Oh, don't sweat it. It's alright! You're still too young to have experience in this... Teenagers can be tough to deal with if you're an adult and especially if you're their parent.”, she laughed.

“Alright... If you say so.”, Crystal smiled.

“And about your issue... Give your father a second chance. Take it slow. Don't make any rash decisions. Running away is harder than it sounds. Trust me, I know.”

Crystal wondered what that was about, but didn't ask. “Okay.”, she nodded and Margaret left the room.

A few hours later, Crystal stormed in her room and slammed the door with such force that the whole room shook. Dinner was an even bigger disappointment than the previous one.

She had never been stressed before in her life. She had never been so angry. This place was a bad influence to her. It wasn't necessarily changing her, but it didn't feel right.

She couldn't bring herself to stay any longer. There was a light knock on her door.

“Crystal?”, Tristan asked from the corridor.

“Leave me alone...”, she grumbled and buried her face in her pillow.

“Yeah, no one bosses me around. I'm usually the one bossing others around, so I'm coming in.”, Caroline grumbled and walked in. “You wait out here.”, she told Tristan.

“What? No!”, he started, but Caroline slammed the door in his face.

Caroline scanned the room. “You haven't packed yet. Good. There's still time to change your mind.”, she muttered.

“What?”, Crystal turned around and looked at her.

“Oh, please. Just because our brother is absolutely oblivious, it doesn't mean I'm too. Two dinners. You ran away twice. You visited your horse yesterday, right after a fight with dad. Probably to check if he is in shape to go on a trip, even if you did it subconsciously.”, Caroline rolled her eyes.

“How did you--”

“Don't go. I've thought about it too. He will never stop looking. You won't be any more free than you're in here. Being on the run isn't freedom.”, her sister interrupted her.

“I can't stay here! I'm not made for this kind of life! I was raised in a tiny village, not in some castle. Father keeps glaring at me as if I murdered his parents and makes me feel bad for not growing up royal. I can't take it!”

“Of course you can. You can on take anything. You're just afraid, and no. I'm not calling you a coward. If you want to run away, be my guest. I won't give you away to dad, but mark my words; it won't end well.”, Caroline warned her and ran outside, leaving her sister dumbfounded and giving Tristan the chance to get in the room.

“What is going on?”, he frowned as Caroline stormed past him. Crystal bit her lip. “Crystal. What's going on?”, he repeated.

“I want to run away.”, she looked away. “Please don't tell dad!”, she rushed.

Tristan furrowed his eyebrows. “Why? I mean... I know that dad can be pretty tough to deal with, but he's not the only one around here. We've been getting along. You've been getting along with Caroline, as far as I've seen. Margaret will miss you. So will Andy.”

“I want to go back home. I feel trapped in here... I've always wanted to travel and I can't do that if I'm stuck in here for the rest of my life!”

“Crystal, you are home! Home is where your family is!”

“No, Tristan... I'm sorry.”, she looked down.

“Fine. It's your life, do whatever you want.”, he grumbled and started walking away.

“Tristan, wait!”, she called.

“Don't worry, I won't tell dad.”, he frowned.

“That's not what I meant!”, she called again, but it was too late. Tristan slammed the door behind him, the same way Caroline had a few minutes before.

She was sorry things went this way with her siblings. She was mad at herself.

But did that stop her from packing her bags? Of course it didn't. If it had, the story would have probably ended here. That, or it would have gone way differently.

The problem was that in order to go, she was going to need help and she didn't want anyone else to get in trouble for her. She figured that Caroline was her best shot, but it would be hard to convince her.

But she had no choice. If she managed to get Caroline's help, she wouldn't need to ask for anyone else's and only one person would be involved in her running away.

Caroline was pretty smart, smarter than she showed; she had proved that when she figured everything Crystal had planned before she had even made a decision. She had grown up in the castle and probably knew every corner of it. Plus, she might have been terrified of her father, but she could still cover for someone; she had done that countless of times for Tristan.

Crystal had to decide, so she did. After quite some time, she managed to find Caroline's room and knock on her door.

“Who are you and what do you want?”, Caroline asked. Her voice sounded sore, as if she had been crying.

“Uh... It's Crystal. Are you okay?”

“You didn't answer my question. What do you want?”

“I- Can I come in?”, Crystal asked. She heard some grumbling from inside, and Caroline opened the door.

“Sure.”, she shrugged. Her eyes and face were red and puffy and her voice sounded even more sore without the door blocking it.

“Have you been crying? What's wrong?”, Crystal frowned, forgetting what she was there for.

“Nothing. It's none of your business.”, Caroline glared at her.

“No need to get defensive and all! I'm just trying to help!”, Crystal raised her hands in surrender.

“What do you want? You still haven't answered that question.”, Caroline crossed her arms.

Crystal bit her lip. She needed Caroline's help, but she was also really worried about her. She figured that finding out what was wrong with her sister was more important. “What about a deal? You tell me what's wrong with you, I tell you what's wrong with me and we help each other out.”, she suggested.

Caroline seemed to be thinking about it. After a couple seconds, she nodded. “Fine, but you'll go first.”

“Deal.”, her sister agreed and shook her hand.

So Crystal explained how she wanted to run away and how desperate she was for Caroline's help.

“So you've made your decision. You're leaving.”, Caroline frowned.

“I can't stay here, Caroline! I grew up in a village by the woods! I feel confined in here, like I can't breathe.”, Crystal explained. “Besides, dad can be a handful from what I've seen...”,

“Yeah, but he's our father! He's family! You can't give up on family!”, Caroline argued, but mostly seemed to be trying to convince herself.

“What has he ever done to you other than verbally abuse you all day, every day? Whenever he talks to you, you turn pale! Did you really think I hadn't noticed?”, Crystal protested. Her sister bit her lip.

“Still. I can't- I could never leave Tristan... He wouldn't last a day without me watching out for him.”, she gulped. “I got an opportunity to leave too. I- I was with this girl, Faith, for two years. You must be familiar with her parents.”, Caroline blushed.

The memory of Margaret telling her that Faith had been acting distant and didn't talk about what was bothering her came to Crystal. “You broke up...”, she frowned.

Caroline nodded bitterly. “Dad got me a suitor. Some Duke's son, apparently. I told Faith and she suggested we run away, but you saw how dad came after you even after sixteen years. He would never stop coming after us... Besides, I already told you. Tristan and dad aren't exactly on the best terms. If I left, they could... I don't like thinking about what could happen if those two were left alone. It would be bad.”, Caroline rushed.

“Whoah, slow down... I knew you were stressed, you looked like it, but it was only the tip of the iceberg! You're not responsible for everything and you shouldn't worry about everything either! You have your own life and ought to make your own choices, and I know it sounds selfish, but sometimes you have to put your own happiness first, especially if you've been trying to make everyone else happy to your expense for years.”, Crystal told her.

“I guess I just wasn't raised like that. You said it yourself; you grew up free in a village by the woods. I grew up in a luxurious prison surrounded by rules.”, Caroline shrugged bitterly.

“There's always room for change.”

“Some things never change, though. No matter how much you try, no matter how much you lose and no matter how many times you fail, some things will always stay the same.”

“That's exactly your problem! You should try to see the bright side sometimes. You're talking about trial, loss and failure. What if you achieved, earned and succeeded? All you have to do is believe in yourself.”

“That's the point, Crystal. I stopped believing in myself a long time ago.”, Caroline looked away. “Anyway, a deal's a deal. I'm going to help you.”

“Yeah, but I didn't manage to help you!”, Crystal protested.

“Sometimes a pep talk is all one needs. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll actually take your advice and change.”, Caroline shrugged again.

Crystal gave her a light smile and they started talking strategy.